Lilly Lovin' with Natalie Franke Photography!

It all started with a text from Natalie saying, "Guess who I just got off the phone with?!"

A massive smile ran across my face as I eagerly responded, "WHO?! I like where this is going..."

And that's when she told me she was taking the photographs for the BIG Lilly store opening in Towson, MD! I was so excited for Natalie and was thrilled that she shared it with me! Luckily the ladies from Lilly said that she could share the images with me and naturally I was PUMPED to share them with y'all!!

Look at that impact table up front!

Doesn't the front of the store look AMAZING?

I love the nautical touches in the powder room, they even painted the ceiling! 

This is one of my favorite shots Natalie took! Look at the oars in all the Lilly colors--Shorely Blue, Lilly's Pink, they're all there!

A crabfeast is a Maryland staple. You allllllways eat crabs on newspaper and it would have taken a real Marylander to know that!

Check out those crab mallets on the ceiling! All the crabs and lemons are too much fun too!

I am LOVING this painted quote with the crabs and pink and green--that is LBP to a tee!

A HUGE thank you to Natalie of Natalie Franke Photography for sharing your special images with me!

I am excited to hear how much all my Maryland Lilly Lovers enjoy the new store!

Happy shopping!

xxKatie

Summer Braids (Formerly Titled: "Long Hair Don't Care")

Let's get one thing straight: I have never ever ever liked having my hair in my face. It drives me nuts. When I take tests, I automatically put it back in a ponytail despite any straightening or styling I've done. I get so distracted by having my hair in my face that it is almost always tucked up or pinned or half pulled back in some way (excuse all the awkward self shots...I raided my profile pictures album):

Tucked back take 1...from Bayside Bride (if I wear my hair down, it typically means just like this)

Half up...from Christmas

Pulled back...at a party

Restrained with a headband...at a football game (I KNOW for a fact this day I put it in a pony because it was SO STINKIN' HOT, but we beat Alabama so naturally my hair-do/overall looks were NOT my priority that day)

Case in point, this summer I've been rocking the braid. Whether it's french braided or a regular fat braid in the back, it has been the perfect way to wear my hair without looking like I just got back from the gym.

I want to master this side/french braid because it's so put together! If only LC wasn't in every "good hair" picture everywhere. Whenever I look for good haircuts she ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS pops up!

I may or may not have googled how to french braid your own hair or something along those lines so I'm not a seven-year-old asking my Momma to help me with my hair...

Anyone else out there rock the Summer braid? Any tips for french braiding your own hair? This girl could use some tips!!

xxKatie

Wedding Pins via Pinterest

Anyone who's made the Pinterest transition knows I've been pinning up a storm! I go from this board to that board to every other board to repinning and liking so much! It tends to get out of hand sometimes, but I just love the live element of the inspiration board. I'll never forget any of it! Here are a few of my favorite weddings pins:

And last but certainly not least, my favorite:

All of these images can be found on my Wedding board on Pinterest! Need an invite? Leave a comment with your email address that you check most often OR shoot me an email and I'll get y'all on the bandwagon!

xxKatie

(P.S.: On both of my tests this week I got A's! I have to brag a little bit, I'm SO proud!!)

Weekly Gratitude

So somehow I forgot to do this last week. RUDE. Here we go making up for it all!

1. Thanks to Amanda, Amy and Skyler for all having birthdays this weekend. Y'all RULE.

2. Thanks to all of them having a Lilly-esque theme. It was great to get dressed up and have everyone lookin' great!

3. Thanks to Bayside Bride for providing me with so much these past two weeks! So much to work on, look forward to, and plan for the rest of the summer.

4. Thanks to Scotty McCreary for recording "For Once in My Life". It's slowing becoming one of my American Idol faves!

5. Thanks to the Lilly Warehouse sale--you got me a bunch of steals to be proud of for the rest of the summer and into the school year since I got a few transitional pieces too!

6. Thanks to Country music for being better in the summer.

7. Thanks to all the Etsy shops that have made this birthday season fun. I don't want to give anything away yet since it hasn't arrived, but thanks in general.

8. Thanks to Costa del Mar for reaching out to me. Y'all look for a post coming up soon to hear all about it! Doin' big things this week!

9. Thanks to everyone who's been reading this week. I think we're all SO busy and the comments and tweets me so much!!

10. Thanks to Polyvore who told me I've been in both the 77th and 74th most viewed profiles on the site!!! SO exciting!!!

xxKatie

Meet the Team!

Head on over to your favorite bridal vendor guide and mine, Bayside Bride today to meet the team! We're officially official and I couldn't be prouder! We had a photo shoot last week (I've been DYING to show y'all the pictures) with most of the interns and all the pictures were taken by Natalie of Natalie Franke Photography and Krista of Krista A. Jones Photography! We had a blast all afternoon and I couldn't be more excited to be working with everyone!

Here we are! From left, Blakely, Mia, and me!

This one is one of my favorites of the whole shoot! It was fun to see all of our different takes on "Bayside Bride" and the color scheme in our outfits. They were varied but still had a fun cohesiveness that looked good together!

Here we are rocking out Bayside Bride "uniforms"!! Let your love set sail...

Some of you might have seen this one on facebook in B&W!

This is another one of my favorites! 

We had such a great spot--so many different locations to choose from and still in the same neighborhood park! Lucky us!!

I am SO proud to call myself and intern for Bayside Bride! I cannot wait to see what it turns into and work with everyone else! June certainly seems to be heading in the right direction!

xxKatie

It's FRIDAY!

I had to post this song today! I know there are some people out there who vehemently hate this song, but I'm a huge fan! To my favorite logic boys, I still laugh about class...to this day it brings a smile to my face! The Glee version of this song makes me so happy! Emma (how Glee is she?!) and I were cleaning the store one day after we had closed and we were JAMMIN' out to this song! It is so much fun for the weekend!

I've had one of the busiest weeks of the summer (not that there have be a whole lot...) and am looking at a very busy week ahead of me too full of working, tests and my very first Bayside Bride intern meeting! I can't wait--that's later today!

Any big plans this weekend? Glad you have an extra day?! (Jonathan, tell Patrick he can finally wear the white and seersucker and we won't be mad! How very un-LBP of him!) I surely can't believe that May is over!

Here's to lookin' at you June!

xxKatie

Charleston, SC Recap

Just yesterday I got to spend all day in Charleston, SC! What a bad city to be stuck in--right? (wink-wink). I had internship training all day on Daniel Island and we wrapped up earlier than I expected so I got to entertain myself for 2 hours. Not wanting to spend any money but still wanting to shop I found myself in a bit of a bind. Unless you're like me and love weddings...I managed to take what I called in my facebook status the "Charleston bridal boutique tour". I hit up all kinds of different stores along King Street and even headed into a store on Church street when I went back to where I was parked! These were my favorites:

1. Lula Kate

First I headed into LulaKate! I saw this the first time I went to Charleston but unfortunately they were closed. This time I got to window shop for a little longer than what most people would consider "normal" but they had a stunning sleeveless, ruffled v-neck dress. I couldn't get enough! It was similar to this dress from their blog:

2. Modern Trousseau 

They're by appointment, so I browsed from the outside again. I've seen many of their dresses in different magazines but have fallen in love with this dress:

I love the playfulness of the polkadots! I would probably remove the belt because I'm not cool enough at all to pull that off but I love the shape and inlay of the polka dots. It would be so fun with the right colors!

3. Fabulous Frocks

I'd written about Fabulous Frocks during Southern Weddings Week ! I was on my way back to the car when a dress in the window caught my eye. I didn't even realize it was Fabulous Frocks so I got so lucky! 

This dress was in the window! I went in to inquire more about it (and as I told them..."It's never too early! Right?"). This Romona Keveza dress was beautiful in the window. The ruffle detail was so pretty and feminine and delicate that I had to ask! The sales team was all so friendly and nice (even though they're by appointment too I had to pop in) and they even had a Charleston Fashion Week designer in their company!

Then a friend (HEY SASS--enjoy your shoutout my lunch buddy!) and I went to lunch at Virginia's on King which was Southern deliciousness. I had the grilled chicken sandwich special and he had a fab looking tomato and grilled cheese combo! We had a great time and got to enjoy a perfect perch right by the front door which was great for CHS peoplewatching!

As you can tell I had a wonderful time playing around in Charleston! I was very lucky to get this internship as well as have enough time to dillydally around in such a beautiful city all day long!

xxKatie

Bayside Bride LAUNCHES TODAY!

Today Bayside Bride launches! I am interning for this WONDERFUL company started by two amazing Annap gals! Anyone remember my senior pictures? One of my first posts! The photog who did them for me is one of the founders with another photog/web designer! I couldn't be prouder to be working with this team! Natalie says of the opening, "Bayside Bride is the comprehensive wedding planning resource for couples getting marries in the Annapolis area! With a top-notch vendor guide, DIY ideas and inspiration from real weddings and engagements there is a little something for everyone. Our mission is to provide Annapolis brides with the resources to plan their dream wedding, while also promoting the best wedding vendors and small businesses in Annapolis."

Here's a midshipman and his future bride! Just about nothing says "Annapolis wedding" like a midshipman and his future wife! I get chills just thinking about it!

Krista points out, "The design culture in Annapolis is incredibly unique and it's one of the things that makes this town so special! [AMEN SISTA!] My goal in designing the site was to incorporate the nautical preppy mix that is Annapolis."

Here are Natalie and Krista (respectively)--how adorbs are my new bosses?

TODAY IS THE DAY so be sure to head on over to BaysideBride.com and check out everything we have to offer! Talk about a dream internship! Add us on Facebook too, especially if you're in the Annapolis, MD area!

xxKatie