We experienced first hand that spending money is inevitable when planning a wedding inspiration shoot. (Spending money for anything in life is pretty much a guarantee today, but that's a different discussion, haha.) At the beginning of the process for our Rose Quartz and Cobalt shoot, we didn't really think about the money that we would be investing in the session ourselves. When this styled shoot was just a small little baby, we only thought we would need flowers, a dress, and two models. But being the very high end thinkers and dreamers that we are, we noticed that this shoot was going to be much larger than having just three or four components. As Marlayna and I entered into the later stages of planning, we realized that in order to make this shoot match what was in our heads, we had to put forth some sort of monetary contribution. This included paying for the venue, gathering tablescape decor, and purchasing materials for our DIY activities. We certainly saved quite a bit of money by doing a lot of things on our own and gathering coupons for Target and Hobby Lobby. There is no shame in our coupon and final sales game, haha. We tried really hard to make sure we split the costs equally and that we weren't going ridiculously over budget for any one thing. We were thrifty in our purchases and definitely kept each other in check. And I never realized how awesome and beneficial...

Shawn and I finished August with April and Corey's Alice in Wonderland inspired wedding at Liriodendron Mansion. It was a breathtaking day, and most of the decor for the day was made by April, which was even more amazing. On top of the Wonderland details there was a huge surprise for their guests during the ceremony when a live hawk flew in and delivered their wedding rings! I had been looking forward to their wedding day since I met these two last Fall for their engagement session, and I knew then that they are the perfect pair. Getting to read their engagement story just solidified that thought even more "Corey knows I have a love for animals. One day he took me to the Maryland zoo in Baltimore and surprised me by telling me that we were going on a behind the scenes tour of the penguin exhibit! We were able to go in the penguin exhibit and be surrounded by dozens of curious penguins. The zoo keeper giving us the tour asked if we wanted a picture, which we definitely did! So when we got together to take the photo Corey got down on one knee and proposed. Of course I said YES!!! Even the penguins were excited for us; both Corey and I got little nibbles on the leg from our penguin audience!" How adorable! April and Corey are two of the sweetest people with the biggest hearts. I loved getting to know them and...