So the traditional first anniversary gift is the gift of paper…well I knew exactly what to do as my job is literally to make things with paper everyday. :) Now this illustration of our wedding venue hangs on our wall amongst illustrations of more of our other favorite places. It’s so special.

Apparently it’s not uncommon for newlyweds to feel a bit down after the big day. So much time, effort, pressure, and love was put on crafting the perfect day for an extended period of time and in the blink of an eye it’s done.

It’s like coming down from a high. Suddenly the bubble of bliss has popped and everyday reality has set back in. It’s called the Post-Wedding Blues. And it’s a real, common scientifically-researched thing.

If you’re working with a planner chances are they will handle the timeline, but no matter how much you trust them it’s important that you and your fiancé review it well in advance and adjust it as necessary. If you’re developing the timeline on your own, hopefully I can share some helpful tips. Either way a day-of timeline is a crucial detail to wedding day success.

We’re still in awe over how amazing our wedding day was! We were blessed to have everything come together just so to create something even more magical than our wildest wedding dreams. There’s honestly no other way to describe the day but as was PURE MAGIC!

Our rehearsal dinner at Old Lahaina Luau on Maui. Captured by the extremely talented Dallas Wilson Wedding Films.

On the eve of our wedding day, we celebrated with all of our guests by treating them to a quintessential Hawaiian experience—an authentic Polynesian luau at Old Lahaina Luau!

Congratulations and welcome to your first full day of married life! After all the planning, smiling, meeting, greeting, laughing, crying, dancing, adrenaline-filled culmination of months and hours on hours of planning and effort for yesterday, it’s totally acceptable to be exhausted.

And while I fully encourage you to get some rest, I wanted to share some fun things to remember and do the day after your wedding.

So we had an amazing time in Hawaii and an intimate destination wedding was definitely right for our big day, but we’ve grown up together for the last 13 years. That’s 13 years of integrating our lives including family and friends so it seemed only appropriate to have a big, blowout reception when we arrived back in Nashville…here’s how it went down!

Every couple wants their wedding to be unique. The wedding should be a reflection of you as a couple. It is your big day after all. We’re hoping sharing some personal touches we added to our ceremony and reception will help others find some creative ways to make their days stand out from the rest.

Whether your reception if 32 people like our Maui reception or 175 people like our Nashville reception, these small (and mostly inexpensive) personal touches can really take your reception to the next level.

Here’s how we added a little #shabraun flair to our receptions without blowing our budget.

Your wedding ceremony is about you and your fiancé so make it YOURS! There are no rules in weddings. Make it unique and meaningful to the two of you and it’s sure to be an unforgettable day. It truly is the little details that make the day personal. Check out some elements we included to make our big day memorable to us! (Note: There may or may not have been several pop culture references throughout our ceremony….psst there were LOTS!)

After months and months of planning, you’ve made it to the final countdown. This is where the excitement butterflies start fo’ real because it’s crunch time. And while you can find fantastic wedding planning checklists online, we wanted to share some tips for final countdown that made an impact for us in the final stages of our wedding planning process.

We loved the chance to have some fun with our ring bearer. Ring security is a great option for boys, especially if they are slightly older than typical ring bearer age, because it gives them a better sense of the importance of their role in the big day. Plus “the costume” for the job is a suit and makes wearing one more enjoyable if you’re playing the security agent role seriously.

Asking your nearest and dearest to be apart of your wedding is almost as exciting as getting engaged, but coming up with how to pop the question can be a real struggle. Just remember your crew/clan/squad has been by your side through thick and thin. They love you as much as you love them, and they will be over the moon to stand by your side on your wedding day—gift or not gift. However if you are set on gifting, we wanted to share what we found for our wedding party asks in the hopes it would give you an idea for your own special asks.

Make your guests feel welcome as soon as they arrive with a welcome bag filled with local goodies and personal touches. Welcome bags are a great way to say “Thank you for making the trip, we are so excited you are here, and want you to relax and enjoy yourself!” Plus they are really fun to put together. :)

For us the biggest benefit of hosting an intimate wedding was in QUALITY! Quality time with guests, quality of food, quality of location, quality of service, etc. Being able to put an emphasis on quality, really gave everyone the unforgettable, luxe experience we wanted.

Everyone’s priorities are different—from couple to couple and even from couple to their parents—so I’d recommend establishing your priorities as a couple first then discussing with your parents (especially if they are helping pay). Hopefully all the lists will overlap though there will likely need to be some compromises made.

Destinations wedding planning isn’t always as easy, breezy as you’d expect. Make sure you know what you’re committing too (and how others may react) if you’re thinking about an intimate destination wedding.

Our August destination wedding day beautifully captured by Dallas Wilson Wedding Films in Kula on Maui, Hawaii.

Teale and her husband Justin of Teale Photography killed our formal Nashville engagement photographs and we can’t wait to celebrate with them on Maui in August then tear up the dance floor of L.A.Jackson later that month! Let’s I DO this thing!

Still over the moon about our engagement…and in such a beautiful setting, it’s gorgeous! LeBraun knocked it out of the park.