Poll Winner: The Dip

The winner of this fun little poll was "the dip" picture with 43 of the 123 votes! "Down the Stairs" came in a close second and will absolutely have a special spot in our home as well. Thank you so much for your votes and I promise to post a picture of it above our mantle once we {finally} move into our new house!
I enhanced the winning picture {above} by using picnik. I converted the b&w picture to sepia and then added dramatic touch with a vignette around the edges. The picture will be framed in a brown frame and will compliment our chocolate brown furniture just perfectly.
original photo by: nicole green

Twist & Wrap

This, my friends, is the beauty of wearing a long veil on your wedding day...

...letting it twist and wrap around you before draping it over your arm. Perfection in my book.

image via mimmo & naz as seen here on style me pretty

Birthday Boy

Today is my husband's 28th birthday. He celebrated by going fishing and I celebrated by going shopping {i managed to get him a few things and rewarded myself in the process, naturally}. His brother presented him with his birthday cake...a bottle of Miller Light with two lit candles taped to the neck of the bottle. We serenaded him. He loved it.
For those of you planning a wedding, perhaps this is a more suitable cake...
image: found on the blog of southern weddings

Feeding the Blogging Addiction

Dear Bloggity Blog Friends,
I am searching for new blogs to read. Lots of them. You see, I love the challenge my Google Reader presents to me everyday. Every morning I wake up to find about 60 new blog posts to read. Throughout the day that number grows and grows up to about 100 while I try to knock off a handful every couple of hours. So, its like a race. I try to keep my head above water and my Google Reader tries to stress me out by feeding me as many blog updates in one day as it possibly can. We have a love hate relationship.

Like I said before, I am searching for new blogs to read so that I can continue this fun little game that I play with my Google Reader everyday. So, send me your blog, the blog your bff from 7th grade writes, your dog's blog....whatever. Special requests are as follows: fabulous wedding blogs by brides-to-be, nesting blogs {severely in need of tips and tricks for decorating our new home} and blogs that make me giggle by posting about the randomness that is life. Allow me to give you references for said special requests:
<> Fabulous wedding blog by a bride-to-be: the artsy bride, grey likes weddings & veiled vows
<> Nesting/home decor blog: decor8, coco kelley & this young house
<> A blog that makes me giggle: just shoe me, daily pep talk from a best friend & blogging barbie

My Google Reader and I thank you for your assistance in feeding our addiction to the reading of lovely blogs. Send them our way!
The pretty picture {above} to accompany this post was found on the delightful blog of Southern Weddings.

PSA: Google Reader for Newbies

Hi friends,
If you're a veteran blogger and blog reader then I'm sure that you know all about Google Reader {how can you not?}. However, for those newbies out there that haven't heard about Google Reader, listen up.

Back in the day, I mentioned {here} that Google Reader was the best thing ever. It still is. Google Reader constantly checks your favorite blogs for new content and shows you the updates of each of the sites you subscribe to on one easy to read and condensed window. So, no longer will you find yourself going to your favorite blogs only to see that they haven't yet been updated! Instead, by going to Google Reader, you'll only see the blogs once a new post is up! So go to Google Reader and start "subscribing" to your favorite blogs today!

(hint: searching for "jessicalynn402" and "pennedandpretty" should pull up my blogs & allow you to subscribe!)

And, since every post should have a pretty picture:

sweet bouquet photo by Divine Light found via Lucky Me

A Gray Suit

I love this wedding. Mostly due to the gray suit donned by the Groom. Maybe it's because my Daddy wore a gray suit on his wedding day. Or, perhaps it's because wearing a gray suit on your wedding day is something a little different and unique. Either way, I just love the look of a man in a sharp gray suit. The pictures from this wedding will help to explain why:
The suit, the patterned and textured tie and the to die for boutonniere make this little groom a sight for sore eyes. I'll attempt to stop drooling over his lovely suit for the rest of this post, I promise. There are other things to drool over.
I just love the shot below. I love everything about it.
Now this, my friends, is how a newly wed couple should make an entrance into their reception. How breathtaking to be in such a gorgeous setting surrounded by those that love you. And could we please take a moment to notice the killer back of the brides dress!? Oh my!

I just had to sneak in one little detail shot from this wedding. Coasters served as pretty little escort cards that are just too cute.

Pictures via: evoke photography. See the rest of the wedding here. Be sure to check out the cake and the non-matchy-matchy bridal party!

Flowing Goodness

I just had to share a dress {besides my own} that I am quite fond of:Ruffles at the top and texture along with flowing goodness at the bottom. Me likey.

The pictures above were from the couples wedding, but I was desperate to see more pictures of that lovely dress. Imagine, to my delight, when I came across their "just because session" {here}. So, I think that it's safe to say that I have found a dress for our vow renewal...
pictures by chenin boutwell ... a highly recommended addition to your google reader.