Thank you Basic Invite for sponsoring this post! Basic Invite is dedicated to serving up perfectly customized stationary.

Getting married? A huge congratulations! Now comes the fun part, it's time to spread the word and communicate with your loved ones that you want to celebrate with on your wedding day! You might not know all the details yet, but it's important to let your friends and family know the big W's (who, what, when, where) via save the dates as early as possible so that they can also get ready for your big day and mark it on their calendars.

If you're planning a rustic wedding, think down to earth and natural, yet sophisticated, where nature plays a starring role,  I've partnered with Basic Invite to share some rustic wedding themed save the date tips for you! Your save the dates are your first communication with your wedding guests before the big day and the perfect first opportunity to convey your natural meets elegant style.

Whether your venue is a mountain lodge, ranch, forest setting, lakeside resort or a vineyard (my now-husband and I chose a vineyard on an island for our wedding just over a year and a half ago!), these tips are sure to help you on your rustic wedding planning journey and as you create your rustic wedding themed save the dates!

32 Wedding Guest Dresses Perfect for a Spring Wedding

It's officially wedding season! This week kicked off with the first day of Spring and next week S and I head to our first wedding of 2019! Cheers to all the beautiful couples getting married this year (I can't believe it's already been a year a half since S and I wed!)

If you're looking for that perfect dress to wear to 1, 2 or multiple weddings this year, don't stress, I've got you covered! I've rounded up 32 of my favorite wedding guest dresses perfect for wearing to any spring (or summer!) wedding, no matter the dress code or venue.

I've included options in a number of lengths, colors, and styles, as well as price points for all budgets. Whether you are traveling near or far (near for us next week!) to see your loved ones married, one of these beautiful 32 dresses is sure to help you shine as you hit both the photo booth and dance floor.

Happy wedding season!

Tips for Reusing and Rewearing Your Wedding Day Jewelry and Accessories Beyond Your Big Day

Disclosure: Affiliate links are occasionally used throughout this site, which means I might make a small commission if you click on a link & make a purchase. Products gifted are marked c/o. Thank you for supporting Story of My Dress! All thoughts are my own!

Target Cold-Shoulder Floral Maxi Dress (sold out, similar) | BHLDN Yates Stole | BHLDN Crystal Clutch (sold out, similar) | Badgley Mischka Dawn Crystal Back D'Orsay Pump c/o | Marc Jacobs Sunglasses (sold out, similar)

I can't believe it's already been almost a year since S and I got married! It's been such a beautiful year and I wake up so grateful every single day for marrying the love of my life. We just got back from our Honeymoon in the Greek Islands (post coming soon!) and we are currently planning our 1 year anniversary, eek!

I also can't believe it's been a year since we were wedding planning. For the year leading up to our wedding, planning for the big day pretty much consumed all we did from choosing my dress to creating our website to putting together a wedding day emergency kit.

After choosing my dream wedding dress, on the to do list was to choose my wedding day accessories and jewelry. One thing that was really important to me in choosing what I wore for tying the knot was choosing not to wear things I would only wear for a few hours on one day of my life and then just put in a box somewhere and maybe pull out every now and then for nostalgia.

As such, I really took into consideration what I would wear alongside my dress and made a plan for incorporating them into my wardrobe after the big day. And today, I'm sharing those tips with you!

Tips for Reusing Your Wedding Day Jewelry & Accessories Beyond Your Big Day ~

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You're Invited: Maggie Sottero Pop Up at I Do Bridal and the Story of Finding My Dream Wedding Dress

Thank you Maggie Sottero for sponsoring this post. All thoughts are my own.

Dreams do come true! Today, I'm not only sharing the story of finding my dream wedding dress, but I'm also so excited to finally be able to share that I will be partnering with Maggie Sottero (the designer of my wedding dress!) for a pop up event at I Do Bridal in Seattle (the bridal boutique where I found my dress!) on Friday, May 4, 2018! Brides-to-be, you're invited!

The 6 Best Pieces of Advice We Received Before Our Wedding

From the moment you announced your engagement until right up to your big day, does it seem as if everyone has the best words of advice, pearls of wisdom and suggestions for your wedding? This definitely rang true for S and I. And while most of the advice we received was only in good nature and only with the best of intentions, it was definitely a bit overwhelming at times.

However, some of the advice we received was actually really good and I'm so glad we listened! Today I'm sharing the 6 Best Pieces of Advice We Received Before Our Wedding. Also these are the rest of our engagement photos I promised (wedding photos coming soon!).

Photography: Studio Underground

You're Invited! Wedding Wire x SoulCycle Bride Ride & Groom Grind

Thank you Wedding Wire for sponsoring this post and partnering on the Bride Ride & Groom Grind! Wedding Wire is the easiest way to find local wedding venues, cakes, dresses, invitations & more. Thank you for supporting Story of My Dress! All thoughts, as always, are my own! 


Exhausted from wedding planning? Want to sweat out the stress and tension? Me too! I've partnered with Wedding Wire to co-host a SoulCycle Bride Ride and Groom Grind with Kate of All Things Kate and you're invited! I'm practicing my cycling skills while on our mini-moon on Whidbey Island and can't wait tap it back with a Signature SoulCycle ride this weekend!

Here's all the details:

What To Include In Your Wedding Day Emergency Kit

Disclosure: Affiliate links are used throughout this blog. This post contains paid placement. Thank you for supporting Story of My Dress! All thoughts and opinions are my own!

With less than a week until our wedding, S and I are crossing our final T's and dotting our final I's in preparation for our Big Day! Our endless to-do list is beginning to shrink down to just a few last items to take care of and friends and family are starting to arrive in Seattle! We are down to the nitty gritty details and beginning to pack up everything we might need to get hitched, including the oh-so-important Wedding Day Emergency Kit.

If you've ever been a bride or bridesmaid it's likely you're familiar with the Wedding Day Emergency Kit. This kit contains all those just-in-case items needed to avoid mishaps and make sure your dream wedding goes off perfectly! Kept close at hand in the bridal prep area and throughout the ceremony and reception, these lifesavers make sure you're ready to handle anything.

I recommend packing up the kit in a tote bag, tackle box or the Sterilite Stack & Carry Tray Organizer Storage Tote (which is what I'm using). If you're not the DIY type or too busy wedding planning (seriously, I get it!), the Sheemergency Kit for Brides by Pinch Provisions is a great option. Priced at less than $40 with 50 travel size products, this kit is ready for any emergency and also perfect for packing for your honeymoon!

If you're more of the minimalist and interested in a mini kit with just the absolute must have essentials for mishaps, Wedding Wire recommends 7 Things You Actually Need in Your Wedding Day Emergency Kit. It's also perfect as a starter kit and you can create the rest of your kit with exactly what will meet your unique needs.

However since I'm one that tends towards the better-safe-than-sorry, a Wedding Day Emergency Kit with all the essentials is a must-have for me. I've listed below everything I'm including in my kit. Because as much as I've spent the last 12 months preparing and creating a perfect day-of itinerary, I know that hiccups are bound to happen.

~ What To Include In Your Wedding Day Emergency Kit ~

Engaged in Seattle

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.

How to Use Social Media For Your Wedding

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

photo credit: Jenn Haskins of Hello Rigby

When do you share about your engagement on Facebook? Should you have a Wedding #hashtag for your big day? Do you want guests sharing your Ceremony live on Instagram? These are just a few of the many questions I've pondered while preparing for our big day and considering how social media may play apart in our wedding festivities.

I've discovered quite a few great tools related to social media that have come in handy during wedding planning, from website builders to hashtag generators to Snapchat geofilters by WeddingWire. These tools have and continue to make planning easier, while also customizing our wedding festivities and keeping our guests informed. However, there's also some wedding etiquette I've had to consider in regards to social media, such as do we allow phones during our ceremony and when to announce the engagement on social media.

Today I'm sharing 10 tips on how to use social media for your wedding, including a few of the things we are planning to do for our wedding in only 64 days!

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! 

Gifting Jewelry This Holiday Season

As a lover of jewelry since the days of playing dress up in my Grandmother's closet as a child, jewelry definitely tops my Christmas list this year. From necklaces to earrings to bangles to rings, I'm doing my best to stay on Santa's nice list and hoping my stocking is full of sparkle, and gifts under the tree full of shine!