Disclosure: This post contains paid placement. All thoughts and opinions are my own!

It's almost the one month countdown until S and I say I DO! I can't believe we've been engaged for almost 11 months and soon we will get to call each other husband and wife! This past Saturday S and I, along with my Dad and Stepmom, headed up to Whidbey Island for our cake tasting, wine tasting and a visit to the farm providing our flowers; seriously such a fun day! As all the details begin to fall into place for our wedding, the love between S and I only continues to grow and we get more and more excited about celebrating with so many of our closest friends and family!

However, with so many things to consider in the planning of our big day it can also get easy to get lost in the details. S and I have made the intention throughout our wedding planning process to have fun, laugh a lot and find small moments to step away from wedding planning and just enjoy being engaged. One of the moments and days we have most enjoyed as an engaged couple was our engagement photo session.

The Bride's Guide: 6 Essential Items to Prepare for Your Wedding Day

This post is sponsored by BabbleBox.com on behalf of Single Edition Media. As always, all opinions are my own!

Well hello 3 month countdown to our Wedding Day! Things are getting seriously real over here in terms of wedding planning. S & I visited Whidbey Island a couple weekends ago (where I grew up and where we are getting married!) and found some great recommendations for our guests for lodging, dining and spending time on the island for our big day!

As much fun as we are having, I'm not gonna lie, wedding planning has been and continues to be a bit stressful. From our guest list, to dress shopping, to the food, to choosing our venue, it was hard to know where to start. With a vision in mind for the perfect day, I've partnered with Babble Box to share a list of 6 items to help things go a little smoother and to prepare any bride for her wedding day . . .

 ~ The Bride's Guide: 6 Essential Items to Prepare for Your Wedding Day ~

Getting Married? Keep Your Guests Informed with Your Wedding Website!

Engagement Photo Shoot Sneak Peak! Photography: Studio Underground 

Soon after S & I got engaged we knew we would need to put together a wedding website. This was actually one of the first things we did after S popped the question! With friends and family spread near and far, we wanted to make sure we had all the important details in one place to help our guests be able to focus on the celebration and not stress about the details.

A wedding website is an easy way for guests to find all the wedding info they need in one place and GoDaddy’s new website builder is a one-stop-shop for creating your own dream wedding website. We included our wedding site on our Save-the-Dates, knowing that many guests would need to make travel and lodging accommodations prior to our invitations going out. GoCentral gives engaged couples an easy way for their guests to find all the wedding info they need.

Wedding Registry Essentials: Outfit Your New Home Kitchen

The countdown is officially on! Less than 4 months until S and I get married on an island! We are deep into wedding planning with (most of) our vendors nailed down and focusing more on many of the details and, of course, continuing to add to our wedding registry, so fun!

Since S & I met in Ann Arbor, Michigan, one of the many things we have loved as a couple is enjoying a home cooked meal together. A visit to the farmers market, a quick stop for a bottle of wine and and a meal cooked together at home, is our idea of a great weekend day and/or evening. When creating our bridal registry, we wanted to include long-lasting, quality cookware that we will use for years to come.

This has become particularly true since moving into our new home in West Seattle. Prior to buying our first home, we lived in a loft in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle (with a kitchen so small we couldn't both fit in it at the same time) and before that we were in an apartment in Half Moon Bay on the California coast (again, hello tiniest of kitchens. . . ). We are so excited to now have a full kitchen to cook in!

As such, outfitting our new home kitchen is at at the top of our list of wedding registry essentials. Calphalon provides me with the highest quality tools, expertly crafted and designed, to bring the best out of every meal, which is so important for me and my fiancé as we look to have the best cookware. When I register for Calphalon products, I know I’m registering for the highest performing tools for my kitchen. They have a variety of cookware, bakeware, cutlery and more!

Just Got Engaged? 6 Things To Do Right Away!

Just got engaged?! CONGRATULATIONS!!!

It's the 6 month countdown until S and I say "I Do"! And 6 months since S dropped down on one knee and proposed at sunset on a Washington Coast beach. We were out for one last end-of summer camping trip and it was absolutely perfect. Accompanied by a bottle of wine, we were enjoying a sunset beach bonfire (yes, you can really have a campfire right on the beach of the pacific ocean coast!) and breathing in that gorgeous salty fresh beach air. As the sun dipped just below the horizon, he pulled me towards the Pacific Ocean and dropped down on one knee. It was utterly romantic and I, of course, said an immediate YES! 

Since it was late at night, we were out of cell phone range and on West Coast time with alot of our family in the Midwest and on the East Coast, we chose to wait til the drive home to share the news. We had over 12 hours to just savor the moment, start dreaming of our wedding and celebrate just the two of us!

Since those 12 hours, we have been fully immersed in wedding planning. Beginning with phone calls to friends and family to share the news and resulting in questions of when, where, etc. . . right away, I have realized planning a wedding really is a full time job, even if you're working with a wedding planner or coordinator! With 6 months down and 6 months to go, I thought now would be the perfect time to share 6 things I found were super important to do right away after I got engaged. And of course a huge congrats!

Put a Ring on It!

Disclosure: Thank you FireCushion Diamonds for sponsoring this post. All thoughts are my own!

Happy New Year! I cannot believe it's 2017 and the year S and I are getting married! That's right, he put a ring on it! I am just loving being engaged and am currently in full wedding planning mode; seriously so excited for the year ahead. Over the holidays I took some time out from the family festivities and wedding planning madness to visit LT Denny Jewelers in Pioneer Square and play dress up with FireCushion Diamonds. Because who can resist the opportunity to play dress up with diamonds? Definitely not me!