When I was little, I used to pretend I was a horse. Or a wolf. Sometimes a tiger. Whatever suited my fancy. I was one of thooose girls. I didn't really play with dolls or put on lipstick and wear my mom's heels. Instead, I created elaborate stories in my head and played them out for hours, sometimes days, until the story was complete.

As I got older, I thought for a time that I wanted to be a writer. Instead of acting out the stories in my imagination, I tried to put them on paper. I would sit down and start these grand novels, only to begin another one after a few chapters in the first. I had every intention of finishing them. I just... never did. Apparently writing isn't my strong suit.

Then I found a camera. Jackpot. I found a way to stop time. To tell real stories. The kind of stories that should be remembered. Need to be remembered. Stories full of life and love that beg to be preserved and shared.

So I guess you could call me a story teller. A really, really ridiculously blessed and happily married story teller who can't cook but laughs a lot and has three dogs. I love my life.

And I'd love to tell your story : )

Wedding Wednesday: Choosing Your Colors

“What are your wedding colors?” It’s probably one of the top asked questions when people find out you’re engaged, second maybe to venue or what your dress looks like. And for a good reason, too. The colors you choose have a way of defining the style and atmosphere of your wedding. Colors play a huge role in emotion, so choosing a color palette to suit the mood and and style you envision is a crucial step in planning.

In recent years, it’s been most common to pick two colors. I chose two colors for my own wedding because that’s what I had always heard other brides respond with. And while there is nothing wrong with picking two colors, the truth is that your wedding will be based around more than just two colors. Most weddings actually have 4 to 5 colors included in the color palette: 2 main colors and 2 or 3 accent colors. The accent colors are what most people don’t plan on.

Using my wedding as an example, I consciously picked the colors pink and green. Unconsciously my accent colors became white and black. Because if I had LITERALLY only made things either green or pink, let’s just say that would be a tacky eyesore! You need the accent colors to break up and add contrast to the main colors.

I used the color black for all the writing on paper goods (invitations, place cards, menus, etc.) and white linens.

Though my flowers were primarily pink and green, I had some white as well, and I used a black and white ribbon around the stems.

To give a strong visual, imagine if I had used a pink tablecloth instead of white for the reception!! Talk about an eyesore.

Photography by Scott Jarvie

Now, this isn’t to say that brides are literally picking two colors and there are tacky weddings everywhere. Not at all! The point of this is to bring awareness to the accent colors, and help you to think about them. Had I actually thought about my accent colors, I don’t know if I would have gone with different colors or if I would have stayed with black and white, but it would have been nice to have the option.

So, if you are in the process choosing colors, think about the accents! Here are two fabulous websites that can be great in helping you decide: Design Seeds and Colour Lovers. Design Seeds is run by a woman with amazing taste in color palettes. She adds new themes daily, based on beautiful photographs. It’s a great place to get inspiration, and you can search palettes by color, season, and several other categories. Colour Lovers is an awesome website where you can join and create your own palettes, playing around with any and every color imaginable. And you can also search palettes made by other members.

I’ll leave you with a few pretty palettes for inspiration!

Purple Earth Tones: