Eyes on the Bride: Julia A.

I'm very excited to have Julia here to talk about her Labor Day weekend wedding and all the planning that's going into the day. I am a frequent visitor to Julia's blog, Lemons & Loafers, so it's alot of fun to have her hop on over to TWB for the day. So Julia...take it away!

(photo credit: Kate McElwee Photography)

Bride's Name, Age, Occupation – Julia, 26. I work in marketing at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. I am also a Health Coach and Fashion Consultant at Lemons & Loafers.

Groom's Name, Age, Occupation – Anel, 25. Anel is an incredible photographer (Adz Photos) and personal trainer. He is also a volunteer firefighter in his spare time.

City of Residence – New York City.

Wedding Location – Portsmouth, RI at a gorgeous and romantic estate and grounds on the water. It’s incredible. I cried when I first saw it!

How you met – At work. We both worked at Integrative Nutrition, a holistic health school where I still work. Anel saw me during an interview and walked past 6 or 7 times in the hour so he could look at me again. We became fast friends and that bloomed into a relationship. I had to tell our boss we were dating, so I waited for the staff holiday party 2 years ago and made sure he had a few glasses of wine first!

How long you've dated – We have been dating for 2.5 years.

How he proposed – This is quite a story. Anel proposed on my birthday at midnight on a quiet bench on the Seine river overlooking the sparking Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. It was too good to be true! You can read the whole story here.

Wedding colors/theme – Our colors are bright pink, peach, and bright yellow. The bridesmaids are wearing beautifully bright yellow and the groomsmen will be wearing navy blazers, khakis, and Vineyard Vines ties in true Rhode Island form. We want the whole wedding to be preppy and classic with a little bit of whimsical thrown in.

Bridesmaids' dresses info – They are wearing yellow Alfred Sung dresses that have pockets. All of my bridesmaids are different heights and shapes and somehow it looks good on all of them. I’ll definitely be borrowing my sister’s after the wedding!

Best part of planning – Buying a wedding dress. I tried on over 20 dresses and when I found the right one, I just knew! There were lots of tears and it made me finally feel like a real bride. I could actually picture walking down the aisle with Anel at the other end.

Worst part of planning – Trying to stay within our budget. I had these grandiose ideas of what I wanted our wedding to look like but then I realized that everything has a price, and for weddings, the price is generally pretty high. It’s been quite a challenge but I’m very happy with all of our decisions so far.

Most surprising part of planning – That Anel wants to be so involved! I love that he cares about the décor, invitations, and what colors are featured so much. It’s nice to know that this wedding is just as important to him as it is to me.

Favorite vendor so far – I absolutely adore all of my vendors but I think that my favorite people to work with so far have been my friend Erin who designed our save-the-dates and is also on board to design our invitations, table cards, menus, and all other printed material for the big day, and Kate, our adorable photographer. Erin is always so positively up beat and comes up with the most gorgeous designs. Kate is funny and sweet the most talented wedding photographers that I have ever seen. You can see some of her photos here.

Places you registered – Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Sur La Table. We went for classic pieces that will never go out of style. I cannot wait for all of our red Le Creuset pieces to arrive!

Any Do-It-Yourself (DIY) plans – I don’t have any patience or talent for DIY so not yet. I’m turning to many talented Etsy artists to do this for me!

Honeymoon Location – We are honeymooning on the Amalfi Coast in Southern Italy. We can hardly wait for a week of the beach, Italian food, good wine, and lots of relaxation. Then we’re off to Bosnia to have another celebration with Anel’s family there.

Doesn't Julia's wedding sound like one that you'd definitely have a blast at? I can't wait to see photos after her and Anel's big day. Thanks for stopping by TWB, Julia!