Our Dreamy Fall Wedding Video

Friends!

As many of you know- my husband and I were married last September.  It was such a special day filled with wonderful memories. 

I wanted to share our wedding video with you all. 

Without further ado…

Thank you for watching,  and a major shout out to all of our families, friends, and vendors who made this incredible day possible! 

Vendor Details:

• Venue: Over The Vines, Edgerton WI

• Photography: Twig and Olive Photography, Sun Prairie WI

• Videography/DJ/Uplighting: Complete Weddings & Events

• Dress:  Michelle Roth, Australia

• Makeup: JV Makeup Artist, Madison WI

• Floral/Wedding Planning: Just Details, Cedarburg WI

• Cake/Desserts: The Cake Connection, Milton WI

• Catering: Blue Plate Catering, Madison WI

• Caricaturist: Caricatures by Bernie Tennis, Madison WI

• Pastor: Andrew Suhr of Christ Church, Mequon WI

• Ceremony Vocals: Emily Shircel, Cedarburg WI

• Shuttle Service: Badger Bus Lines, Madison WI

• Rehearsal Dinner: Great Dane Brewing, Madison WI

Our Wine-Themed Fall Wedding

Hey Friends!

Finally getting around to this extra special post….

…better late than never- amiright? 

In short- our wedding was all that we could dream, and more. It was the perfect start to our lives together. All of the planning came together seamlessly, in a whirlwind of joy. 

Please enjoy some of our most treasured photographs. 

 

So there you have it-  a peek into our perfect day!

I hope you enjoyed this post, we are incredibly grateful to all who made our day so special.

My DIY Raised Bed Garden- Update. Tips, Tricks, and lots of Pics included.

 

I wanted to give y’all a garden update. Prepare yourselves for lots of pictures! I have completely, totally, utterly, become a crazy. plant. lady. I don’t know what has happened, or what has taken over me. Since I do not have any kids to photograph, apparently this is my outlet? A year ago, I would have laughed in your face, if you told me that this  is how I spend my thyme now (..you guys, I even make garden jokes..). Either way, gardening and photographing nature’s beauties has become my recent obsession. It makes me happy, so I’m rollin’ with it.

Now that I have come clean about my addiction…I’ll start with some real talk.

First of all, I need to get this out there. I have NEVER  been able to grow anything. Ever.  Many thymes (…ugh…I can’t stop, sorry)…, my followers will say things like “I am so jealous of your green thumb” or “I’m so bad at gardening”…. I was no different, and do not have ANY special mother-earth-magical-garden superpowers. I promise. So please do not look at these pictures, or read my blog, thinking that I have any more talent than you do. I am brand spanking new to gardening, and this is the first time (in my life) that I have been able to keep anything alive…for more than a week, that is. If you want to start a garden, but are afraid that it will not be successful, I encourage you to try! I had these worries too, and it has really worked out for me. I know the biggest reason my plants are actually thriving is because of three basic things: Sun, water, and good soil. I’m sure you’re thinking ….DUHHHH, Katie…but hear me out.

Sun: there IS  such a thing as too much, or too little direct sunlight. Although this sounds silly, I genuinely did not know this. The way our garden is situated, it seems to be the perfect balance of shade and light. Our garden patch is surrounded by trees, so it isn’t getting full sun alllll day. In the past, I thought, the more light the better… makes sense, right? Wrong. plants need some shade too!

Water: Mother nature has been my home-girl this season, not gunna lie. This summer we have had alottttttt of rain. This has been wonderful for my thirsty, growing babes. I still water on hot, dry days, but like I said, the watering has basically been done for me.

GOOD soil: Since our beds are raised, we were forced to purchase fresh dirt, rather than use what was already there. This was a game changer. Getting quality soil is key for plant growth.  Once again, this sounds obvious, I know. In the past, we would simply get out the dusty ol’ tiller, and plant directly into the ground. Our soil quality was obviously lacking in nutrients, because we didn’t have much success. I urge you to take my word for it, and treat yo-self’ to some quality soil. Your plants will thank you.

 

If you have made it through all of the above ramblings, you’re in luck. Here are the pictures I promised. Enjoy.

 

This was about two/three weeks after we planted, in full sunlight. If you read my original garden post, you’ll know that we planted mostly everything pre-sprouted (about 3-4 inches). We did this because, by the time our garden was built, it was a bit late in the growing season. Next year we plan on starting everything from seeds.

 

This is our garden in its current state, on a cloudy day. As you can see, it has really taken off. We went from cute, organized plants, to a full on jungle. I have embraced the chaos, and choose to see it’s unruly beauty.

 

Pictured below, is our main fruit-growing section. We have blueberry and raspberry bushes planted here. These probably will not fruit this year, but hopefully next season there will be an abundance of berries! Good things come to those who wait, right? I am beyond eager for these sweet morsels to arrive.

 

Best part? This garden is puppy approved. Our beloved 13 year old Bandit is a huge fan. He looks pretty excited for the blueberry and raspberry bushes to fruit, as well.

 

We just love letting him run around the garden to explore. He adores all the different sniffs, twists, and turns the structure provides.  One thing man and beast have in common? It’s both of our happy places.

 

*Disclaimer: I am going to do a separate post alllll about what we have harvested so far, and what we have made with the fruits of our labor. However, I couldn’t resist, so here’s a sneak peek of my favorite shots.

 

Bountiful broccoli. I honestly didn’t even know how broccoli grew, before we planted some. It started off almost floral looking. Then, voila, broccoli started to bloom from the center of the plant.

 

Fresh, yummy, romaine. I cannot tell you how crisp and decadent this was with my homemade buttermilk ranch dressing.

 

Check out this cute lil’ bell pepper! We have not harvested these yet,  but I can almost taste the stuffed peppers I will be making……yum!

 

This grilled corn on the cob was just amazing. Every kernel popped in my mouth. It was so marvelous that I didn’t even top it with butter or salt!  I couldn’t get it in my face fast enough. No lie.

 

For the final shot, I had to include our first official, farm-to-table, meal! We made Pasta Primavera. For the sauce, we used parsley, garlic, shallots, tomatoes, mushrooms, eggplant, and zucchini. This was decidedly the most rewarding moment so far. The meal was divine, I almost licked my plate. Of course, it tasted even better knowing that we somehow grew it all. #winning.

 

Anyone else out there feeling empowered by growing and eating their own food? This garden adventure has been such a joy. Thank you for tuning in, and keep an eye out for my next posts containing recipes and more pictures!

 

 

 

 

 

I’m engaged!!!! How it happened.

engaged. fiance. wedding. marriage. ring. venue. cake. dress. budget. AHHH….  so. many. words….all spinning around in my head!

 

The ring!

let the planning begin!

More ring!

 

Although we have been engaged for about two months now, I still am not used to using these words to describe my life. Getting engaged is such a happy and magical thing, but it does take your brain a little while to adjust to this surreal feeling…please tell me I am not alone…!

Let’s dive into the good stuff. Our beautiful engagement story begins with a memorable drive home. It was a Friday, and I’ll be honest,…although excited for the weekend,… I was tired, crabby, sweating, and HANGRY. My 45 minute commute had fully gotten the best of me, and I was less than pleasant… if we’re putting it lightly. I called my (now) fiance…yep, still feels weird saying that…on the phone, to complain about all of the above things. He sounded flustered, but I didn’t think much of it, because I was being an irritating pain.

After 1.5 hours of sitting in traffic, above irritations had turned into full blown rage. I stormed up the stairs to our apartment, opened the door, and was greeted by my sweet man on one knee holding flowers, along with the most beautiful ring I had ever seen.  Nerves and joy spread across his face as he said, “Katie, will you marry me”? My jaw dropped, I was stunned, and my mood was instantly changed. I was seriously in full shock mode, I barely even squeaked out a ‘Yes’! *Side note: This ‘shock reaction’ phenomenon amazes me. We have lived together for a few years, tell each other everything, have thoroughly talked about getting married…how then, does a proposal illicit such a stunned reaction? This is fascinating to me because we both knew marriage was in our near future!!!

Right after he proposed, we danced around in our kitchen for a few minutes and then popped open a bottle of wine to celebrate! We quickly face-timed both sets of parents and they were equally as excited. My parents live about a half hour away, so we jumped in the car, and went over to celebrate together! That night we ordered in from our favorite spot, made a blazing fire outside, and truly relished the moment. What an imperfectly perfect day, I will cherish these memories always.