Hi friends! It feels so great to be back in the swing of things and back to blogging. It’s been a whirlwind past two weeks and I’m feeling recharged and ready to tackle new projects and ideas for the blog in 2014.
I couldn’t have asked for a better ending to 2013… a wonderful Christmas spent in Atlanta and Greenville, New Year’s Eve in Charleston and getting engaged! My holidays looked a lot like this…
These comfy pajamas and coffee mug were the perfect pair for lazy mornings and sleepy nights.
Lots and lots of sweet treats. Chocolate cake this good can’t be passed up.
One of my best friends from DC came in town for all the festivities. We rang in 2014 at the Charleston Aquarium and had so.much.fun!
Now, for my favorite part of 2013 and the holidays…
…getting engaged to B! The proposal was everything I could have wanted and I still can’t stop smiling thinking about it. The big event went down at sunset on December 30th at the Pitt Street bridge, one of our favorite spots in Mt. Pleasant, and some of the pretties sunset views. Before the new bridge to Sullivan’s Island was built this was the small one that was used. Now, it’s closed down and has benches, palm trees and a running path. It was there, at one of the first spots we went to when we started dating two years ago, that he got down on one knee. Later that night we met a group of friends out to celebrate and have essentially been celebrating every day since.
It all still feels so surreal and exciting. Since wedding planning in Charleston is madness, we’ve already looked at two venues (William Aiken House & Lowndes Grove) and started planning for the big day in spring of 2015! Current and past brides, I’d love to know any and all pointers. Special memories, favorite registry items, day-of advice, anything! I promise not to overtake the blog with wedding posts, but will be sure to share plans along the way.
2014, I can’t wait to see what you have in store.
xx
So so excited for you!! It’s such an amazing time and you go girl for already venue shopping!! My best friend is getting married in Charleston in two months and I would be happy to put you in touch with her since she is also planning this as a destination wedding! Congratulations!! What a wonderful start to your 2014!
CONGRATS! Such wonderful news 🙂 May this be the start of a long and loving life together!
The only advice I have as an engaged lady is to soak it all up! Once you have a date/venue everything seems to settle into place. Oh, and wine helps with wedding planning!
YAYY!! Congratulations, Ashley! So, so excited for you!
Congratulations!!!!
My biggest piece of advice is to spread out purchases. My husband and I paid for a lot ourselves, so it made things less painful. I bought 1 bridesmaid gift a month leading up to the wedding so they’d have some good loot but I wasn’t buying it all at once. Same thing with decorations – I had certain things I wanted to incorporate, like wine bottle luminaries – so we bought neat looking wine bottles throughout.
Also, I have a GREAT friend from college who works in the wedding planning industry in Charleston and would love to give you her contact information if you want insider advice on vendors!
– Catherine
Ashley! Wow! Congrats to you! Looking forward to all of your wedding posts. ( : Happy New Year!
Congrats! It looks like you had an amazing holiday! Look forward to reading your Wedding Posts!
Congratulations, congratulations!!!! So very exciting – enjoy all the celebrations and happiness! Can’t wait for some wedding blog posts… a Charleston wedding will be absolutely gorgeous! xoxo
Ahh I’ve so been looking forward to this post!! So excited for you love and can’t wait to hear more about the engagement and wedding planning! Have a wonderful week love! xoxo
congratulations!!! such exciting news 🙂 you’ll have so much fun planning the wedding. xo jillian – cornflake dreams
Ahhhh! Congrats! Very exciting news! Xo
Ahhh congrats to you!!! I hope you enjoy celebrating this special time–and good luck with planning! A wedding in Charleston sounds gorgeous!
AHHHHHHH I saw the title and the page couldn’t load quick enough! Congratulations!!!! So exciting!!!! You look positively glowing/beaming in your pictures!!! Can’t wait to share some wedding planning details together!!!! Btw love that necklace you wore for New Year’s!
Congrats!!! So exciting, enjoy every second!
You guys are SO cute. And yes, Amanda is right — you’re both glowing! Congratulations!!
I’ve been waiting for this post and to hear how it happened!!! So excited for you, friend, and you know I am here to help in any way possible! Lowndes Grove is my hands down favorite venue in Charleston. Pretty sure you have a have a planner for both of those locations, so let me know if you need suggestions on those, as well! YAY!!
congratulations on your engagement!! such great news
Congrats- so happy for you!
CONGRATS!!! Sounds like you had a wonderful holiday and I’m so excited for you and your fiancé!!! Can’t wait to hear about the wedding plans!
Congratulations, Ashley!!!! What an exciting time for you! I can’t wait to hear about your wedding plans!
xo
CONGRATS!! You had a wonderful holiday. I hope 2014 is even better.
Congratulations on the engagement! I am having a long engagement which was great for figuring out the venue we wanted and all the details we wanted as well! We were able to have the pick of all our vendors thanks to the long engagement too. My advice is don’t take it too seriously. There were times where I was insanely stressed out because of his family and my family and I didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. That resulted in me getting my feelings hurt when I could have just said what I needed to say. Since I adopted that mentality, things have been so much easier! Enjoy this time… it’s been the fastest year of my life! xo
champagneandsuburbs.blogspot.com
So incredibly happy for you Ashley! I saw your instagram post over the holidays and couldn’t wait to here all about it on the blog 🙂 Can’t wait to see little peaks of the planning process.
xx,
jen
http://www.comfortably-chic.com
I’m so happy for your pretty lady! You two make the most adorable couple.
CONGRATS!!! Tantiiii Auguriiiiii!
Congrats Ashley!! I got engaged last July and my advice would be to book the ‘big stuff’ like your date, venue, church, band, etc. right away which can be overwhelming at first but once that’s done you can really relax for a while and just enjoy being engaged!! Such a fun time!!
Congrats! Being engaged is the absolute best and the time will fly. My advice, tackle one big thing a month. I had a 14 month engagement and never felt any stress (well ok 1 month from the big day gets a little nutty) because I stayed organized and stuck to a goal of one big decision a month. Enjoy it!
Congrats on your engagement!! Sounds like you had a wonderful holiday season!!
Nikki
thefashionablewife.com
How lovely! Best Wishes!! I have been to many events at Lowndes Grove and loved every single one for the uniqueness of the space. William Aiken is lovely too and accessible for downtown guests without cars! SO many possibilities! Hooray!!
yeah!! Congratulations, I cannot wait to see all the festivities over the next year!!
OMG that’s where I got engaged!!! Love that spot! Congratulations! I’m so excited for you!!! Getting married in Charleston is amazing!
Congratulations on your engagement!! Being engaged is such a fun time so soak it up because it goes so fast! I wanted to get married at the William Aiken House. It’s such a gorgeous place and the location is great. One tip I have regarding your honeymoon is if you don’t have a passport yet don’t wait till 4 weeks before your wedding to get one! Talk about unneeded stress!
OMG congrats!! So exciting :)) What an awesome holiday!!
Oh my goodness!!!! Congratulations 🙂 You are going to be such a beautiful bride and I’m so excited to follow along and see all that is to come!
Congrats!!! A coworker of mine got married at the William Aiken House – lovely venue!
Not sure how I missed this until now, but YAY! So, so excited for you. What a perfect ending to 2013. Sending lots of love and best wishes. I might have to resume wedding registry posts!! xo
YAYYY!! Congratulations!! Can’t wait to see your wedding posts 🙂
Congrats, that’s so exciting! Love the blog and hope you’ll be sharing all the details with your readers!
How on earth did I miss this? BIG congrats girl! Happy planning 🙂
Such an exciting holiday for you…congrats!!!
Ashley we are SO happy for you and B! You are marrying a fantastic man and he is marrying a fantastic lady – the two of you are perfect for each other! Both lucky!!!!! Love you!
Ashley,
Congratulations. I’ve been so behind in my reading and finally went to blogloving and picked a few blogs. Fabulous news. So happy for you.
Leigh