Own It [JULY]

Today I'm linking up with the wonderful Christina over at The New Mrs. for the Own It link up for the month of July! Here are the things I'm owning up to...

My bestie Erika, my fiance, and I were way too excited last night for the season premiere of Lifetime's Little Women: LA! The three of us haven't missed a single episode and always group text during it. 

I'm slightly obsessed with the fun little signs I made for our "crazy" wedding party pictures. This one is my favorite and I know all my Florida friends will love them!

The first step is admitting you have a problem and I have no problem admitting am addicted to wine and painting classes. I'm going to one I planned tomorrow for my alumni group here in Atlanta and we're going to paint our city's skyline. Here are a couple of the paintings I've done at these classes in the past. 

My cousin Heather's wedding is next weekend and I still haven't found a dress a like for it. Hopefully this weekend I'll have some luck. Regardless I'm so excited to celebrate with her and the rest of our family!

If you want to join in on this link up it's running through Saturday and happens the last Thursday of every month. Here's to owning up to the things that make us the wonderful people we are! 

                                                                                                               XOXO,

                                                                                Jordan

Read More

Wedding Wednesday: How I Chose My Bridal Party

"Will you marry me?" was the easiest question I've ever answered but the question that quickly followed was one of the hardest...

"Who are you asking to be your BRIDESMAIDS?"

^ Made by my baby sister ^

I am very fortunate to have a great number of ladies who I consider my closest friends, so when I started thinking about who would be standing (for a very long time during my Catholic wedding mass) by my side on my wedding day I became very torn. I didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings but I knew that was pretty much inevitable with a circle of friends as big as mine. After many ugly cries and sleepless nights, my sweet fiance Brian suggested I make a list of qualities I wanted in a bridesmaid. Even though it seemed silly at first I followed the "coach's" advice and I want to share it with any brides to be that might be going through what I did. These are qualities important to me so make sure you think of what it most important to you when you start "recruiting" your bridal party...

1. Is she encouraging and understanding? Sometimes you need a cheerleader rooting for you when a family member or vendor upsets you, luckily my MOH is a cheerleader at Mizzou lol! A simple "how is planning going?" call or text out of the blue goes a long way for me. Also, is she willing and able to spend the money that is necessary to be a bridesmaid? Three of my bridal house party girls are in other weddings this year and I didn't want to create a financial hardship on them.   

My Maid of Honor and baby sister, Larissa

2. Is she not only my friend but my fiance's friend too? Just like the ever wise Spice Girls say "ya gotta get with my friends..." I often thought, "Could Brian call her for backup during a meltdown or bridezilla moment?" "Will he be able to ask her for help with his wedding tasks if he needs it?" 

My first Disney friend and bridesmaid, Katie. 

3. Is she ready and willing to play host? Wedding festivities, while joyous, can be hectic and overwhelming. Would she help keep the stress low and spirits high as well as take the reigns when needed without being prompted? Is she going to be able to help with venue set-up if need be?

My sorority sister and bridesmaid, Erika, (she set Brian & I up)

4. Is she going to give you an honest opinion when asked? This one is tricky because some brides want everyone to agree with what they say but that is not me! I needed my girls to keep it real, especially when I started going overboard with wedding favors and decor. Can she reign me back in when I'm overthinking every little detail?

My Epcot Guest Relations BFF and bridesmaid, Kathleen.

Each of my bridesmaids possess these qualities and each played a large role in Brian and I's relationship. He and I agreed to have 4 bridesmaids and 4 groomsmen, which is a great number, but I wanted to find a way to include 4 other ladies who are very important to me so enter the bridal house party!

My house party girls are crucial to my wedding and they each have a role in the ceremony. Pretty much the only difference between the bridesmaids and house party is that the bridesmaids stand with me while the house party girls have a task to perform during the ceremony. Erin, my childhood bestie (top right), is reading the first reading during our wedding mass. Stacy, my sorority sister (top left), is reading the same passage that I read at her wedding which happens to be very near and dear to our sorority. Kacie (bottom left) and Alexis (bottom right), my sorority sisters, will be serving as the "gift bearers" better known as communion presenters.

Each and every one of the ladies are beyond important to me and I love them dearly. They have all helped me through the highs and lows of love and deserve to be a part of the most important day of my life. All eight of these ladies will help me get ready the morning of my wedding, take an obnoxious amount of pictures, strut down the aisle before me, watch me marry the love of my life, and celebrate the night away with plenty of bud light, champagne, and the greatest hits of 2009. October 17th will be here before we know...time to bring our stanky legs out of retirement y'all!

                                                                                                                XOXO,
                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                      Jordan   

Read More

Weekending

Hey y'all and Happy Monday...well as "happy" as Monday can be. 

Today I'm linking up with Biana over at blovedboston to share the highlights from my weekend so make sure to hop over to her blog to link up and enter her giveaway for some gorge Kendra Scott earrings! Now onto my weekend...

I absolutely LOVEEE arranging flowers myself, so much that I'm even doing my own wedding flowers, and I wanted to play around with some seeded eucalyptus since I had never used it. So on Friday my sweet fiance Brian called around to some local florists and found a shop that had some. He came home with seeded eucalyptus, hydrangeas, and baby's breath for me to experiment with. I stopped by Kroger for some pink spray roses and the only ones they had were these "on their last leg" reduced price ones but I got them anyway and here's how my arrangement turned out...

Saturday was our date night where we went to dinner and then went in search of some new luggage for our honeymoon. My mom's best friend was very generous and purchased all the luggage credits on our Honeyfund for my bridal shower gift so we've been itching to find some. We were browsing through Marshalls looking for vases and Brian found the most perfectly "me" suitcase. 

It's Diane von Furstenberg and is absolutely perfect. Before we bought it I quickly looked up some reviews on her luggage and they were great so with it being a steal at right under $100 we got it!

Since Brian is a golf coach at Oxford College of Emory University, he always has opportunities to help out with cool sporting events. On Sunday we were the pace cars for some cycling races. He had worked the race events on Thursday and Friday too and was excited for me to take part on Sunday. I paced two races, my first being for the juniors which were kids 13 years old and under. They were beasts and so inspiring! Here they all are after their finish...

Well I hope you all have a great week and I'll see you in a couple of days for my next installment of Wedding Wednesday...this week's topic is about my bridal party!

                                                                                    XOXO, 

                                                                                             Jordan 

Read More

Oh Hey, Friday! [my very first link up]

Hello everyone and HAPPY FRIDAY! I'm so excited for my very first link up with Oh Hey, Friday! with the ladies over at {the farmer's wife} and September F A R M. I'll go ahead and get right to the point...here are my five highlights from this week...

[one]

My dog Mulligan (on the right) and cousin's dog Mocha (on the left) could seriously be puppy models if Calvin Klein ever made a dog fragrance line! Look at that smolder LOL :)

[two]

My sweet "Disney" family, the Brankamps, that I made magic for over 5 years ago texted me from Walt Disney World and seriously made my week. I left Disney just a little over a year ago and every time I seem to get sad about it someone sends a little pixie dust that makes it easier without even knowing it! On my very last day working at Disney I made a file for them filled with goodies so that on their next trip I could make magic for them even though I'm not there anymore. Needless to say I got choked up when I told them. #TheMagicLives

[three]

Brian kicked my butt at the gym this week. I wish I was one of those people who enjoys working out, and maybe one day I will be, but as for now when I feel like slowing down I keep thinking WEDDING DRESS!!!

[four]

My friends are the coolest, no seriously. Three years ago while working at Epcot I became great friends with one of our international representatives from Germany named Jana (pronounced Yah-Nah...I get more offended at people saying it wrong than she does lol) and on her last day of work I told her how I was so excited to see her travel all over the world but was incredibly jealous that I would probably never see these places in my life. Right then she made a promise that she would take "me" with her on all her adventures if I made her a Flat Jordan. I made the Flat Jordan with material from work (oops sorry Mickey) and colored her in the infamous Walt Disney World Guest Relations outfit. I thought she might take it a couple places and then it would get lost or something but it's been three years and I still get FB notifications with where Flat Jordan has been. You can see her travels to places like Egypt, Disneyland Paris, and most recently South Africa and Barcelona in this PHOTO ALBUM !

[five]

I've been vicariously living through my bestie Kathleen over at Places I Will Go this week because she began her 16 day trek through Europe. I think the only person leaving more comments on her photos than me is her mom. Kathleen also took at Flat Jordan on her travels and you can see her adventures on instagram with #FlatJordan

And just like that I've done my first link up. Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

                                                                XOXO,

  

                                                                                    Jordan

Read More

Wedding Wednesday: A Crash Course in the Kennedy-Schiffbauer Wedding

Hello everyone and welcome to my very FIRST installment of my Wedding Wednesday series that I will be doing leading up to my wedding that is rapidly approaching in under 3 short months. Each Wednesday I'll talk about everything from dress shopping to flowers and bridal showers to photography shot lists. I will share what I've learned along the way and welcome any advice from former brides or wedding goers. To get things started here is the quick rundown of my wedding...

Where: Cleveland, OH...the home of my sweet fiance Brian.

When: October 17th 2015, our anniversary as well as "Sweetest Day" a holiday founded in Cleveland.

The Ceremony: Saint Martin of Tours Catholic Church, the same church Brian's parents were married at 32 years ago!

The Reception: My pinterest venue dream come true: Legend Lake Golf Club (where my future brother-in-law is the assistant golf pro)

The Wedding Party: 4 Bridesmaids, 4 Groomsmen, 4 Bridal House Party, 4 Ushers, 2 Flowergirls, 1 Ringbearer.

My Colors: Navy and Grey...if it were in the spring it would've been Blush and Bashful for sure! #SteelMagnolias

Best Advice So Far: have a videographer, get a day of coordinator, put someone in charge of your phone/social media for the day, please don't act like Scheana Marie did at her wedding on Vanderpump Rules (this tidbit was from my future mother-in-law) & don't sweat the details because people remember the happiness of the day not what the place cards looked like.

Along with every engaged couple ever, immediately after announcing our engagement we were flooded with the question, "Where are you going to have the wedding?!" I am from West Virginia, Brian is from Ohio, we fell in love in Florida, and we currently live in Georgia so I can see why it was the most common question! After a ton of discussions with each other and our parents we decided that Cleveland was the best option for us because it was home to Brian and a short 4 hour drive for my side of the family and with some of my very close loved ones being older, a long travel time would've meant the strong possibility of them not being able to make it. So as much as I was crushed of not having a feature on Southern Wedding's website (LOL) I followed my little southern heart and made the choice that allowed more of my family to be there on our special day.

Even though our wedding is up north, I'm incorporating a few of my favorite southern wedding traditions which makes for a fun time explaining them to our venue coordinators along with Brian's friends and family. Here are a few of the things I'm having on our big day...

-Burying the bourbon when we go up to get our marriage license one month before our wedding.

Southern folklore says doing this wards off rain on your wedding day if done 1 month before at the location you're getting married.

-Having a "bridal house party" filled with beloved sorority sisters and childhood friends.

A house party is an extension of the bridal party & a way to include loved ones without having a bunch of bridesmaids.

-Getting a Groom's cake made for Brian...the sweet baker didn't understand why I wanted a football themed cake at my wedding!

-A cake pull at our rehearsal dinner for my bridesmaids and house party girls. Since we want to take our "mini moon" in New Orleans I thought this tradition was adorably appropriate.

-MONOGRAMS and lots of them y'all!

There ya have it, a quick rundown of what's consuming my free time until October. Let me know your best wedding advice or your favorite part of your wedding day in the comments below!

                                                                                                              XOXO,

                                                                                                                       Jordan

Read More

Weekend Update: Charleston...made in Carolina.

This weekend I spent in the beyond beautiful city of Charleston, South Carolina with my amazing childhood friends Meg and Ross. The last time I was there I was about 8 years old so it was nice to experience it as an adult this time around. Here are a few highlights from my trip! After dropping our dogs off at The Wag Factory we went downtown to a little Greek place called Saffron where we had wine, hummus, and the most amazing Greek dessert torte that wasn't photographed because we devoured it in about 45 seconds. The next morning my fiance Brian and I decided to walk to through through the city to a little breakfast place we saw had great reviews on Yelp called Sunrise Bistro Xpress, it did not disappoint! Here is my breakfast burrito that was cut to look like sushi and Brian's breakfast pizza that had sausage gravy and an omelette on top, delicious!

I'll be honest a morning stroll seemed like a lovely idea at 9AM when we left the house but the walk back was rough because it was already around 97 degrees by 10AM! However in between my whining that it was too hot I was able to get some lovely pictures... This is Cannon Park. I was told that there used to be a museum here but a fire destroyed most of the museum and instead of rebuilding it they salvaged the front entrance and turned the property into a park, this has Leslie Knope written all over it to me lol!

To my wonderful Bravo obsessed surprise my friends live on the same street, and only about 4 houses down, as Patricia Altschul, the scene stealer of one of my favorite shows Southern Charm. I tried my best to play paparazzi and get some shots of her beautiful home.

Once we got back we quickly changed into our swimsuits and hopped in the car to head to Isle of Palms for a birthday party for my friends' friend and a day at the beach. The beach house we were at was incredible! It had the perfect size pool and even had a full size sand volleyball court. I left my phone in the car so I didn't have to worry about it getting wet at the pool or beach so here's a picture of us crossing the Ravenel Bridge :)

That night we ate dinner at The Tattooed Moose and I had the Thanksgiving Sammy, if you're in Charleston go there and thank me later. Sunday before heading back to Atlanta we went to my friend Meg's salon so that she could do a quick wedding makeup trial for me. It was my first time with airbrush makeup and wowza! It's the only way to go girls! I'll spare you the "before" shot and just let you see the finished product, that stayed perfectly placed for over 10 hours when I washed it off. It made me want to test the 16 hour guarantee airbrush makeup advertises.

So there it is, my quick trip to Charleston. We loved it and can't wait to make another trip up...when it cools down a little!

Read More

Follow My Blog On BlogLovin

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Read More

It was all started by a post...

Read More