Megan Mace

Wedding Planning: Take Two

If you had asked me 11 months ago when we set our wedding date that this is the situation I’d be in 2 days before the original wedding date, October 17th, 2020, I’d audibly laugh and say “Wow, did you just make that up?” 

As most of you know, Witt and I decided to postpone our wedding from October 17th, 2020 to May 21st, 2021. We owe the most popular gal in the world right now, COVID, all the blame for that one. We made the decision in early August. The main reasoning behind our decision was for the safety of our guests. We didn’t want to put our guests in the position to “choose” between going to our wedding and putting their health at risk or not being able to come celebrate. Ultimately, we’re still very confident in the decision. However; we will be getting married on the new date no matter what.

Wedding planning took a pause after the initial rush of switching all my vendors over to the new date. I still look back and am so fortunate that every single one of my vendors was available on the first new date we wanted. (I’ll make sure to list all of my vendors at the end of this post.) It’s now on a Friday, and in the spring, which is not anything close to what I wanted. However, I knew I didn’t want to wait a whole year from our original date to marry Witt, just for the sake of having a fall wedding on a Saturday. It was the definition of “life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.” 

As the new planning is starting to pick up, now that we’re about seven months away, I’m feeling more confident than I was with the original color scheme. For those of you who follow me and have seen my home decor, you know that I love whites, creams, ivories, gold, twinkle lights and candles; and that’s exactly what this new wedding aesthetic is. It’s warm, classic and romantic. Not that I didn’t love my old colors — trust me I did, but the whites just feel so much more like me. It also worked out because my venue, Allenbrooke Farms, painted the walls white over quarantine and it fits perfectly with my new vision.

The new bridesmaids dresses are a stunning champagne satin from Show Me Your Mumu, and I’m keeping the men in classic black tuxes. I don’t want to look back at my wedding pictures and have anything that dates it. 

My florist Carre at White Blooms Florals has been a dream to work with. She’s had the hardest job of all my vendors as far as having to help me reimagine a whole new floral vision. I’m forever grateful for her patience and kindness. 

The timing also worked out better for me because I’ve gotten to know my wedding photographer, Laura Moll, so much more than I would have if I were to be getting married in two days. She’s truly such a talent and I feel like I’ve known her for years. We even got to shoot together a few times which is always great. (pictured below!)

I also want to give a huge shoutout to my family at The Knot for helping me through all of the planning changes through the app. 

Witt and I can’t wait to be married, but a part of both of us is excited that this short season of being engaged doesn’t have to end quite yet. We have a little bit longer to look forward to the wedding now. I never thought I’d say this, but I’m happy we postponed. Everything really is falling into place and working out for the better. I’ll continue to update you guys as the wedding planning continues. Until then, I’m filling in the small details and enjoying being that annoying engaged girl on instagram. 

Wedding Vendors:

Venue: Allenbrooke Farms

Wedding Planner: Emily at As We Gather Events

Florist: Carre at White Blooms Florals

Flowers: Fifty Flowers

Extra Decor: Alphalit Nashville

Photographer: Laura Moll 

Videographer: Angel Moreno

Catering: Central BBQ

Happy Hour Catering: In Good Company

Bridesmaids Dresses: Show Me Your Mumu

Wedding Rings: American Jewelry Co.

DJ: JR through Premier Events

Hair & Makeup: Libby Barnes & Katrina Brooks

Wedding Dress: Maggie Sottero 

… now what?

Everyone talks about working hard to achieve their goals, but no one really tells you what to do afterwards. Whether you work 10 years to achieve one or 2 weeks, I think we’ve all had that feeling of… “now what?”

It’s like Taylor Swift said in her Netflix documentary after she had won her second album of the year Grammy for a different genre and it’s what a lot of people say after their kids move out. The “now what’s” can even hit you after you’ve deep cleaned the whole house. Goals big or small, this feeling is something I’m all too familiar with. It’s almost like an empty pit in my stomach. I don’t know where to go or what to do next.

This feeling also doesn’t come specifically after you reach a goal, it also comes when you change your mind on a life path.

The thing is, so many people associate quitting with failure, but what if it’s just changing our minds? I mean, can you imagine if we weren’t allowed to change our minds on what we love to do and who we spend our time with? We’d still be stuck with the 5-year-old dreams of becoming an astronaut or a princess and the friends we made in Kindergarten. The 15-year-old you has completely different goals than the 20-something you. I think your life should be made up of lots of goals and unlimited chances to change your mind. It’s ok if what you thought you wanted turns out to be nothing like what you wanted it to be. It’s also ok if it’s exactly what you wanted it to be.

I think a lot of us as a society get caught up in the meaning of success. A lot of us equate success with fame, money and things. Some of us equate it with love, family and peace; and that’s just it. Success for one person looks and feels completely different than another. For some of us, showering daily is just a chore, but for a new mom or someone with crippling depression, a shower is a huge success. When did we stop celebrating all of the little success in our lives and get so caught up on only the big ones? I thought about this answer for a while, and I think social media has a lot to do with it. If you post that you mastered a new recipe, you won’t get near as many “likes” as if you get engaged or announce that you’re going to be on TV. It’s a vicious cycle that I find myself slipping into a lot these days.

Moving forward, I’m going to start celebrating every little thing that makes me happy. I don’t need to validate my reasoning to anyone but myself. I don’t need to post about it or even tell anyone about it. I do, however, need to start finding those little happy moments in my life again. My success should be validated by only me.

So yeah, the “now whats” will happen, and that’s ok. However, I don’t think they should be so negative and I don’t think we should be comparing the “importance” or “status” of our goals to one another’s. (Or to each of our own goals’ level of importance for that matter.) If it’s something you want to achieve in your life, that’s all the importance you need. It doesn’t have to be some life-changing, earth-shaking goal… it just has to make the one life you have a little (or a lot) better. Change your mind if you want, whether it be half-way to a goal or after you feel you’ve achieved it. Listen to that little voice in your head. You’ve got this. Embrace the lulls in your life as a moment to take a deep breath and figure out… “now what?”

Xo Megan

How I Edit My Photos (Step-by-Step)

I have recently found a new love for editing pictures over the last year or so. I get questions about how exactly I edit my photos on my phone, so I thought I’d make a step-by-step picture guide. I’m using an iPhone picture and two apps.

The apps you’ll need:
Lightroom for iPhone
Facetune 2

Here is the photo I’ll be editing:

First thing you’ll do is import it into the Lightroom app.

Next, you’ll scroll over to the presets section. (If you don’t have presets, GET SOME. They’re life-changing! I have some of my own presets you can purchase HERE.)

I use the preset “WINDCHILL”. So, I’ll scroll down and apply it.

Now for this particular photo, only a few edits need to be made. First, I’ll go into the “LIGHT” tab, and adjust the Contrast and the Shadows. I’ll be turning the contrast down, and the shadows up.

Next, I’ll head into the Color section, and turn up the Warmth and turn down the Vibrance.

Next, I’ll go into the Effects section and turn up the Texture and Grain.

Finally, you’ll export this photo to your camera roll. Next, you’ll go in and open the Facetune 2 app.

Next, you’ll import the photo from your camera roll into Facetune 2. All we’ll be doing in this app is re-lighting the face, although I use this app for serval things (like getting rid of pesky light switches in the background, imperfections on the sidewalk etc. I’d suggest playing around with the Patch, Vanish, Whiten, Smooth, and Refine tools for editing.)

Now when the relight tool pops up, it will look way too bright. What you do is turn down the level and if that still is too bright, go into the “BLEND” mode and turn down the brightness exclusively.

And that’s it! You can now export your photo and post wherever your heart desires. Here is the before and after:

the uncertainty of 2020.

If you had told me that this is what my 2020 would look like, I would have laughed and said “what movie is that from?”.

I think all of us are still trying to catch our breath and figure out just how to settle into this year. Starting a new year is terrifying in itself, much less adding this mess on top of it all. The mess I’m referring to it, you guessed it, COVID-19.

My sister, Liz, was diagnosed with COVID-19 right before everything got so… real. She still has no idea where she got it or when. I think that’s the scariest part about this virus for me; there’s no way of telling if, when, or how you’ll get it. You don’t know if you’ll have mild symptoms or end up in the hospital on a ventilator. There’s only so much you can do to keep the loved ones in your life safe, and it’s unbelievably hard to let go and trust that everyone is taking the same precautions that I am. My sister has since recovered (thank God), but that doesn’t take away all the worry I have over the rest of my family and friends potentially getting it.

I’ve been coping with my anxiety during this time but simply saying this phrase to myself; “there’s nothing I can do about it.”

I can take all the precautions that I’m currently taking, but in reality this state of the world is so out of my control that it is oddly reassuring to me. I’ve always been a big believer in “what’s meant to be will be,” so I feel like this time of my life is really putting that theory to test. I’m putting a lot of faith in God and taking the time to talk out my anxieties with those closest to me. I’m keeping myself busy by doing a lot of things that I could never seem to make time for. Some of these include:

Teaching myself new makeup looks
Brush Calligraphy (I ordered a book off of Amazon here, and I’m working on learning a new skill.)
Organizing my junk closet
Trying new recipes
Watching new TV series
Going golfing with Witt
Spring cleaning (that is actually very satisfying; cleaning my windows, doors etc.)
Wedding Planning
Getting more into photography
Learning more about my Ennegram type and the enneagram types in my life
Online shopping (oops.)

I’ve found that all of these things make the time go by so fast, which as I’m sure we are all feeling… these days can get long.

Witt has been working from home as well, and it’s been an adjustment for sure. He stays in the office all day (or if he’s on a phone call, paces) and I sit with my laptop wherever I’m feeling that day.

I think it’s important to address that you do NOT need to be productive every single day you’re home! One of my biggest pet peeves is when people feel the need to blast all over social media how productive they are every. single. day. I’m productive some days, but I’m also productive in sitting in my pajamas all day just taking care of myself. It’s ok to work, it’s also very ok not to work. This time is a gift; not only to your mind, but to your family/whoever you’re quarantined with. Back before all of this happened, I just wanted Witt around more, and how lucky am I to have so much more quality time with him. This time in our lives will (hopefully) never happen again, and I have to admit that the extra time with Witt is special.

I’m constantly looking for ways to help those out of work at this time. I try to eat at local restaurants as much as possible, and I would also love for you to comment below any ways that I could help more.

I still don’t really know what to make of this time. There is so much negativity in the world, but I’m trying my best to see the positives. The days I have trouble seeing positives, I do some soul-searching and take a step backwards. This time is temporary. Everything will be okay.

xo