I love the fact that I have family that is willing [and able] to help with with some DIY projects. My dad's friend was tearing down his privacy fence. Thankfully, dad saved some of the wood to create directional signs for the wedding. I absolutely love these! They will be placed on main intersections near the farm, as well as in locations around the property to help direct guests. So super excited to share this sneak peek :)

I ran across this on another site and thought it was absolutely fantastic!! I searched it down to Martha Stewart's Weddings website and cannot wait to include it in our day. I think it would be such a great distraction for our guests while they are waiting for the ceremony to begin. 

"Find your birthday and its corresponding tree; see if the personality traits listed match yours. If you're an apple tree (December 23 to 31), are you flirtatious, adventurous, always in love? If you're a fir (July 5 to 14), are you sophisticated, moody, industrious? Let guests read up -- and let the conversations bloom."

Read more at Marthastewartweddings.com: Take a Bough: Wedding Program Idea 

After making my to-do DIY list...I kinda panicked! I have A LOT to do still! So I decided that I would go ahead and do what I can now to get it out of the way. First thing to check off: Photo Sharing Cards

With about 5 1/2 months to go [and through the suggestion of the MOH] I finally made my DIY To-Do list...and holy cow, do I have a lot of work to do :) Obviously, I will have some help on things with my mom and other family/friends. Here's a run down...

My sister sent me a picture of a racing themed cake last night [#3 below]. Instantly got me thinking about how we could tie Steve's love for racing into a Groom's cake. The wedding always [seems to be] for the bride. And although Steve is a good listener when it comes to my crazy ideas...I know he's just humoring me :) I figured this would be a great way to bring some of his [reasonable] ideas to the day. Some of you may remember the birthday cake I got for him this past year [to the right]...such a hit! There are so many unique ways to create a grooms cake that I wanted to share some of my favorites from all corners of the lovely internet. Seriously in love with the first three below. And even though Steve doesn't drive a sprint car, I had to share it anyways! Who knows...maybe we could work in a replica of his car?  I love the mechanic cake toppers too! So many choices!!

I swear it has been raining in Indiana for 2 straight weeks. The sun tries to show his 'brighter' side...but it's more like playing peek-a-boo than anything. That gets me thinking....in the back of my mind, sitting on a little stool in a dark corner, is the thought of having a rainy wedding day. Rain + Ceremony outside = one stressed out girl! I'm trying to keep him in that little dark corner, but also know that he can't stay there forever. Two options: [1] Rent a tent to cover the ceremony site on the front lawn...just in case. [2] Setup the reception site in the barn so that just in case it rains, we could always do the ceremony in the barn too....obviously neither is ideal, but both are possibilities. $$$ vs convenience? I did run across this wedding online [same venue] that had both ceremony and reception in the barn....so there is hope for that option :)

So obviously I can't post pics because good 'ole Mr. P3 may get a little snoopy and see. But let me tell you, I love love love my dress :) It's the not the one I searched all over Indiana for. That one was so beautiful, and obviously a favorite, but the lace irritated my skin horribly...and lord knows I don't want to have to worry about that all day. The lovely Linda that helped us that day told me to pick out 6-8 dresses to start with. So I let everyone pick out a couple for me to try on [might as well have some fun with the experience]. My mom, Maid of Honor, Future Mother in Law and future Sister in Law all went with me. I grabbed one dress off of the rack that looked fun, even though it's not something I would have normally picked out....and it was gorgeous once I put it on! It quickly became a front runner. After trying it & the other favorite on [more than once], the let's-try-this-on-for-fun dress became the we're-t. I love my dress and cannot wait to put it on again :)

Super excited that we found a DJ yesterday! He actually is my mom's neighbor but had forgotten he DJs until I ran across him on the IndyChannel's A-list....with a 4th place finish in 2010 our of 57 DJ services. Mom called him to see if he was available....ta da! He was! I talked to him later in the evening to discuss some of the details and after talking it over with Steve, we were very excited to finally mark it off of the list!

Now...on to the wedding dress shopping! Me, mom, steve's mom and our MOH are all heading to Louisville to go dress shopping! I've been trying to track down a very specific Allure gown, and nowhere in Indiana had it in stock to try on! Ah! Thankfully, some girls at work told me to check out Louisville....and I found 3 sizes just at one store! Needless to say, I made an appointment immediately and are headed down there first thing Saturday morning!

Being a graduate of Ball State, I have a little place in my heart for Ball Jars....even more so after we picked the Breeding Farm as our ceremony and reception location. I've been searching for creative ideas for reception decor with mason jars and ran across this wedding....and fell in LOVE!! How simple & rustic, yet chic and creative. [Images from atelier joya]