Brian + Shayla: Engaged

Told that there’d be cute guys at church, Shayla came to see if the rumors were true. Not one to get lost in the crowd, Brian noticed her right away. His mind immediately began churning ways that he could approach her.

As luck would have it, one day they found themselves having sat side by side each other. While Brian chatted with friends on one side, he was well aware of Shayla’s presence. He quickly finished his conversation and mustered up the courage to introduce himself. Just as he turned around to say hello, Shayla turned in the opposite direction to chat with friends. Strike one! He gave it another shot on a different day only to find his words stumble out of his mouth. With nowhere for the conversation to go, they simply fell to the ground. Strike two!

The old saying still rings true, third times a charm. Running into each other at another church event, Brian’s determination gave him just the confidence he needed to give it one last shot at talking with Shayla. Who knows if it really would have been his last try, but it doesn’t really matter. Shayla was equally as interested in Brian. They made up for all the conversations they missed out on and from that day forward they were inseparable.

He finally got her and wasn’t ever going to let her go.

trains, rust, portrait, engagement, couple, Portrait of a girl smiling looking at her fiance Couple embracing each other in front of a large industrial rusted wheel Engaged couple walking and laughing togetherCouple looking at each other with & ampersand in the background Couple standing in front of larger wooden doors to the train depot Portrait of a couple in front of the abandoned train cars Couple embracing by the abandoned railroad cars Couple embracing by the abandoned railroad cars

Date Idea: Valentine’s Day Advent Calendar

December came rushing into my life so quickly that I never got around to creating an advent calendar. I was so disappointed until I realized I could redeem the idea for Valentine’s Day. There is something special about building up the anticipation for an event.

When Vitaliy and I were dating, we never really liked the idea of Valentine’s Day. We always felt that love should be celebrated in small doses on a consistent basis. That’s not to say that doing something big for your loved one is a bad thing. But if you only do something once a year because you’re obligated to, they’ll likely notice.

This Valentine’s countdown will give you a little bit of both. It will allow for small celebrations as it leads you up to the big day when you can go all out. We created it together and it made me even more excited for February to arrive.

Here are a few pictures to get you inspired and you can even take a peek at some of the ways we’ll be celebrating next month. Remember, you can click on the images to view them larger.

Like this date idea? You might also like this sunrise date.

Pink and red envelopes from Paper Source with Valentine's Day countdown calendarvalentine's day, diy project, date ideas, romancePink and Red envelopes with handwritten notecards for Valentines's Day
Writing numbers on the envelopes with a marker valentine's day, diy project, date ideas, romance

Celebrate: Engagement Dinner Party on Lake Tahoe

This engagement dinner party styled by Victoria of A Subtle Revelry left me wanting to throw my own. Seeing that I’m already married, it gave me the perfect excuse for an anniversary dinner party. Wherever you’re at in life, I hope this will leave you wanting to grab your closest friends and toast to life and love.

The magic of Lake Tahoe is enough to set the tone for a celebration of romance, but the fun details Victoria added took this simple dinner and made it a party. An old rowboat, a sequined bottle of bubbly, and a confetti filled table were just a few of the design elements that made me swoon. To see more pictures and further details on how to recreate this party for yourself, look A Subtle Revelry Online Magazine and the accompanying blog post.

Now that we’re all inspired to celebrate, who’s throwing the first party?

Styled by: A Subtle Revelry
Hair and Makeup: Melanie Meyer
Photography: Pictilio

table, chairs, table details, mountains, dock, lake, water