Guest Blogger: Karis Crosby!

Good morning Red Robe Design readers! This is one of my absolute favorite blogs, so I’m really excited I get to be a guest here this week!

            I’m Karis Ann Crosby and I went to OBU with Bethany when she was a senior and I was a freshman. She was one of the reasons I pledged EEE at Ouachita, she walked me through my first (and last) pageant, and her apartment became my second home. It was so wonderful to be a part of her special day last weekend. It was such a breath-taking and sweet celebration! So, for my post today, I wanted to share with you Five Friday Favorites about Bethany’s wedding!

Weddings require months and books and lists and meetings and tastings and samples and fittings of planning. Or so I’ve heard.

1.  Grooms Survival Kit - Bethany is so creative, giving, and thoughtful. She took this survival kit idea and made it personal, full of Tyler’s favorites. This little extra gift is a witty and fun way to calm nerves and remind your groom that he is in your thoughts, on your heart, and you would pick him every time.

           

In case you can’t read from the picture, the Grooms Survival it includes:

                        -Socks ...to keep cold feet away

                        -Lifesavers (the good fruity, gummy kind!) ...to keep you from drowning in                         emotion.

                        -Bottle of Dr. Pepper ...to keep your energy up

                        -Mints ...to ensure a minty fresh kiss

                        -Ring Pops ...in case you forget the essentials

                        -A Guitar Pick ...to remind you that picked you and only you.

2.  First Glance- When I once saw a bridal party taking pictures after their first glance, my heart sank. Movie’s and stories all my life seemed to say, “it’s bad luck to see the bride before the wedding.” But have you ever noticed that in shows or movies where the couple see each other before the ceremony, it always seems to calm their nerves or bring them back to why this whole celebration is taking place to begin with? From what I observed this weekend and from what I’ve been told- first glance is an excellent idea for several reasons:

2.

~it allows the couple and bridal party to have the majority of their pictures done before the wedding. Bethany was very intentional about wanting to be personal, wanting to recognize and thank everyone who came to celebrate her big day. Having her pictures done, for the most part, allowed her to greet more of her guests sooner.

~it gives the couple one moment for just the two of them. The whole wedding day is whirling with guests and family and photographers and so many people to see. But for their first glance, Tyler got to see his bride and his best friend for himself without 700 people watching. A moment just for the two of them.

 (annnd their first glance is captured by CandleLight Films... http://vimeo.com/31109381)

~Lastly, I’ve heard that it helps with nerves! :)

3.  The Toneys and the Briscoes- I absolutely LOVE how close these two families have grown. Being with them is one of my favorite things! They are SO fun, inclusive, loving and unique! Their love for the Lord and godly relationships are evident and mirrored in Tyler and Bethany’s relationship. LOVE these families!!!

4.  Day of Rest- Instead of rushing straight off the honeymoon, Tyler and Bethany took a break on Saturday. They stayed in Texas and saw their families, made sure they had everything packed and simply rested after a weekend of craziness and ten months of planning. I think this is brilliant!

5.  Support and Love- It was so neat to see Bethany and Tyler supported by the people who have grown up with them, poured into them, and deeply care about them, their relationship, and their families. The celebration was so happy and included so many!!

P.S. Meant to bee :)

and they were meant to be. or bee. or bEEE.

Guest Blogger: Amy Lynn Wentz!

Hey guys!! I am so excited to be a guest blogger for my best friend, Bethany!! My name is Amy Lynn and I met Bethany my freshman year at Ouachita Baptist University! (the best school on the planet) She lived on the same hall as me in the freshman dorm and I have to admit... my first thoughts of Bethany weren't the absolute best. But let me explain :)

You see.. she, her roommate (Megan) and her suitemate (Meredith) were preparing for one of the TWIRP nights at Ouachita and they were all out in the hall taking pictures. The night was 50s themed so they had their cute little poodle skirts on with their cute tops and their initials pinned to their tops. Like true 50s girls. Call it jealously..call it what you want.. but I took one look at them and rolled my eyes, saying out loud "Oh those Texas girls..." Little did I know, that those Texas girls would end up being some of my best friends!! Thankfully, the Lord changed my heart about Texas :) I love it - especially Dallas!!

Well I'm not here today to tell you mine and Bethany's whole history of our friendship. That would probably take too long! But what I AM here to tell you about is what's "in" for this fall. Whether its clothes, accessories, shoes, handbags - let this be your shopping guide for your fall looks.

I have put together some outfits thanks to polyvore.com! What a great source for fashion!! Granted - most of the stuff on there is way to expensive to be anywhere near practical. But there are lots of pieces that you can find somewhere like XXI for much cheaper! :)

fall1 by amylynnwentz featuring platform boots

fall2 by amylynnwentz featuring oversized jewelry

fall3 by amylynnwentz featuring metal sunglasses

I hope you enjoyed my guest post! Feel free to visit me anytime over at www.amylynnwentz.com! :)

Guest Blogger: Madaline Meatte!

Well hello! My name is Madaline and it's nice to meet you!

I write the little 'ole blog "designer. wife. regular person." and I'm the designer/creator of Paper Clouds!

It's funny how people meet through the blogging world.  Well, Bethany and I didn't really meet through the BLOGGING world.  But rather through the skype world.  See Bethany is BFF with Amy, and Amy and I worked at The Church at Rock Creek together.  Well, one day Bethany asked Amy, to ask me via Skype about something Graphic Design related...and I responded and asked Amy to ask Bethany another question...then Amy decided we just needed to skype on our own and quit annoying her.  And thats some what the story of Bethany and I.  We're addicted to skype and often times result to skyping, tweeting, facebooking, and sometimes texting all in the same day.  Can you say meant to be?  I say so!  Anyways, so while Bethany is out galavanting by the ocean, I thought I would stop by and introduce myself.

Did you know there are only 58 days until Christmas?  Yea, me neither! Oh. Mm. Gee.  I really feel like I need to get on my Christmas Shopping and Making!  Something my husband and I are really going to try and do this year is hand-make the majority of our gifts.  We're working hard to keep the spending at a minimum and put a little more thought into the gifts we give instead of a giftcard!  I know, I know some people say screw a handmade gift, gimme that giftcard! But I know just how much I love receiving a gift that someone has put a lot of thought into and I absolutely love doing the same for someone else.

Well, to help us out with our budgeting and handmade Christmas gift giving, I created a few little printables for myself, as well as for you guys!  One of the first things I wanted to do was...create a list.  I mean even Santa keeps a list!  It's essential!  Hopefully this will help you keep track of who you're buying gifts for, what you bought them, how much you spent on them and if you've wrapped it yet!

Second on the list is we hope that since we'll be working on spending a little LESS money on gifts this year, that we can spread the gifts out a little further!  Meaning -- co workers, friends, small group friends, pastors, mailman and neighbors!  We aren't going to go all out, but something simple like Homemade Praline Ice Cream Sauce, maybe a Citrus Salt Body Scrub and homemade Christmas Cookie Dough!  Now go on and tell me there isn't one of those that you MIGHT like to have given to you?  Thats what I thought!  So for all those yummies you're going to make for the gift of giving.  I'm including a printable that you can include with the recipe and a matching tag you can cut out and add to the outside!  I love making things pretty!  It's such a simple way to make such a big impact!

I hope these lovlies put you in the Christmas Spirit (Fa la la la la laaa!) and will maybe make you think a little more about giving handmade gifts!  P.S. I know where you can find some fabulously designed products that could give you a start! Paper Clouds and Red Robe Designs! (Don't forget Bethany's shop is on vacation until November 1st!  But go ahead and give her a favorite so you don't forget to check her out when she's back!)

Thanks for letting me stop by!  Come visit at my place!

Guest Blog: Caroline Hulse!

Hi Red Robe Designs readers!! My name is Caroline and I am the crazy person behind the shop Cotton Lane and author of the blog Good Times Never Seem Sew Good. When I'm not blogging about my new life as a newlywed, DIYs, fashion (sort of), and other tid bits, I am either busy creating fresh goodies for my handmade shop or working non-stop at a local fabric store. Are you tired yet? :)

Bethany asked me to guest post for her while she is livin' it up with Tyler on some exotic island.. oh how I wish David and I could honeymoon again! 

I'm here to share with you five of my FAVORITE things about my FAVORITE season, Fall.

1. Leaves changing.

pinned here.

2. Scarves.

found here.

3. Apple Cider.

pinned here.

4. Pumpkin...everything.

pinned here.

5. Flannel.

pinned here.

what are YOUR favorite things about Fall?

xoxo,
Caroline

Guest Blog: Abby Turner!

Hey guys! Today our guest blogger is Abby Turner over at Charmed Bliss! Abby and I attended the same university in Arkansas, were EEE sisters and even competed in Miss Arkansas together! I have been reading this girls blog from the get go and let me tell ya- Her blogs are encouraging to read!! So show her some love on her blog today and enjoy her post on Wedding Cupcakes!! 

Im getting hungry just thinking about it!!! :) 

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Hello!! My name is Abby Turner and I went to school at Ouachita with Bethany for 3 years and then competed against Bethany in Miss Arkansas when she was beautiful in pink and got top 10!!

This picture is of me and Bethany at the Miss Arkansas Golf Tournament in 2010! We had such a good time and that was the first day that Bethany and I spent some one-on-one time talking about Tyler and she told me, "You just know! Everything is perfect with Tyler." She was so happy! As you can see on her face! So when Bethany asked me to guest blog while she was on her honeymoon, I was absolutely thrilled! This is my first official "guest blog" and to be honest, I am a bit nervous. My blog is called Charmed Bliss and you can check it out here! I got the name from one of my favorite verses in Nehemiah, like seriously who knew thatNehemiah had good, encouraging verses in it? It's one of those small books in the back of the Old Testament that we kind of forget about but it has so much good stuff! The whole point of my blog is to encourage my readers that through daily happy moments and life meltdowns-God's joy, his bliss, is your strength! That right there is my mission.

A little bit about me. I. LOVE. CUPCAKES!!!! I love them so much! They are just so cute and fun. So what I started doing when I went to Miss Arkansas was a cupcake countdown. It caught on and was so much fun that the nickname Cupcake Queen was placed on me. I LOVE IT!!

So what better to do on Bethany's Blog today than talk about different ways to use cupcakes with your wedding!

This one, without the design (I like my cakes very plain and elegant) is perfect. Just imagine all of the tiers in between the cupcakes as cake. Do you get the picture? All of the layers that have the paisley design on them are cake so that your guests can have a choice between cupcakes and cake! It is also a cheaper version of using cupcakes! In order to feed 300+ guests just think of all the cupcakes you would end up buying. 300 cupcakes at $3.00 a piece. WOW!! Compared to 100 cupcakes at $3.00. Changes the price a little bit!

Now the next two are not really what wedding cakes are supposed to look like-however they are great for parties. The whole point of a wedding cake is for it to look elegant and classy. This is something that these two aren't.

I love pictures. The use of pictures should be essential in every room, party, and especially weddings! I love this display! With the use of pictures and the top tier of cake is so pretty! I love it!

These next two pictures are how I would set up cupcakes at my wedding. I love making it look simple and elegant. And the top picture....The winter wonderland is how I hope my wedding looks one day! The display and detail is exquisite! Perfect use of cupcakes!

These next two pictures are perfect for a cupcake display at an outside wedding! It is so unique by the way that the cupcakes are held by ribbons! Perfection!! Please use this if you are having an outside wedding-Aren't those colors fun too?!

Now you can't have a wedding without a man. And Bethany has found a great one! I hope you have been reading her past blogs about their love story. But she figured it out! She has a man that loves and values her more than anything.

If you haven't figured out what Pinerest is. Please go. Right now. And figure it out.

PINTEREST.COM

I will still be here when you return :)

GO....Right now!!

I found this letter on Pinterest and I thought I would share it with you in the season of love and spirit of weddings.

This is what you deserve! And if you don't ever figure anything else out your entire life-Please know this: God has created you perfect and trust me I am speaking to the choir. I am living in Texas right now..away from all of my friends and all of my family and I hardly know a single soul. It has taken me 3 months to realize that I am happy as a child of God and I do not need to satisfy "myself" through a boyfriend.

There is a guy out there who will say this to you. God will bring this guy to you at the right time. Trusting God means trusting his timing. And until his timing is evident you can live a charmed life having the BLISS of the Lord as your strength to get you through this season. Be encouraged today. As fun as it is planning weddings and looking at cupcakes- Know that God will provide you someone or maybe he already has and you have a different bliss that you are being charmed by, but God will provide. One day.

But until then....

Be Charmed!
Abby

It was so fun sharing this day with you! I hope to see you over at CharmedBliss.blogspot.com!