Happy Birthday, Little Blog!

I published my first blog post on June 12th of 2014, which means that a few days ago this blog turned 1! When I started, I really didn't know if I would stick with this for more than a few posts. But 30 posts and a year later, here we are, just truckin right along.

I started this blog for two reasons- 1) To keep our sweet friends and family up to date on what's going on in our lives and Cy's career, and 2) to be a resource for other girls in the baseball life. Before Cy got drafted, I had a lot of questions and concerns about what our life would look like as a married couple in minor league baseball. I came across a few blogs written by baseball wives that really helped me get a grasp on what to expect, and it was a huge relief. I decided that if even one girl saw my blog and was encouraged by it, that's all that mattered, and I took the leap. And now a year later, I have made connections with so many girls who have read what I've shared here! It is really an honor to enjoy friendships with other women in baseball, and to share experiences through this online space. The internet is pretty cool sometimes.

In the past year, I married my favorite person in the whole entire world, we have lived in 4 states and traveled over 17,000 miles (collectively), I have made some amazing friends, we survived our first season and a half of professional baseball, I've seen some of my best friends get engaged (next year will be FILLED with weddings!), my very best friend had a beautiful baby boy, and we've had many more adventures along the way. It's been a big year!

Here on the blog I've written about being engaged, married life in minor league baseball, putting together our first home, some products I have enjoyed, shared some struggles, and just talked about life in general. Close to 20,000 page views later, I am blown away by the fact that people are enjoying what I share. It means so much to me that someone takes time out of their day to interact with what I put out here in internet land. Thank you for giving me a place to share my (sometimes rambling) thoughts and interact!

Big shoutout to Aubrey , whose blog I have followed for close to 4 years, for being so genuine and showing the positives of doing this crazy thing, and to my fellow baseball wife Cayte for encouraging me to take the leap and helping me figure this thing out along the way! It has been so much more fun than I expected. If you're reading this and thinking about blogging, holler at me. It's been a great way for me to stay busy, process some of my thoughts, chronicle our adventure in baseball, and make some really great friends.

So to wrap it all up, thank you. I love writing and sharing part of our lives here. Thanks for following along, sharing comments, and being my friend along the way. Baseball is crazy, but having a place to share and interact with y'all has been a great point of stability. Hopefully the next year brings some more wonderful adventures that I can blog about along the way ;)

Xo, Hannah

Is it Engagement Season??

HOLY MATRIMONY!! Is it just me or is EVERYONE getting engaged?? I love it! Right now 3 of my very favorite gals are proudly sporting new left-hand bling (S/O to my baseball sistas Tessa and Kassie, and my lifelong best friend Courtney!), and another will be before much longer ;) Not to mention all the newly engaged girls I know through school! I seriously love love love it. Marriage is AWESOME, and the engagement season leading up to it is just so sweet.

A little throwback to when Cy proposed to me- June 8, 2014 at Horner Ballpark

In the spirit of all the bridal bliss and excitement, I've rounded up a few cute things for all the sweet brides-to-be as they start this exciting season- these would make great gifts as well!

1. Earrings - Love these sweet Kendra's, very bridal and a great accessory for everything from showers to engagement pics and beyond.

2. Kerastase Elixir Ultime - This nourishing oil is AMAZING for your hair. It is pricey, but worth it. I bought a mini bottle at my salon before my wedding in November and it is barely 1/4 gone. Get started now on healthy hair for your big day!

3. Maxi Dress - Every bride to be needs a white dress (or three) and I love that this is perfect for honeymoon wear too.

4. Date Bracelet - In case you didn't know, I'm a bracelet addict. Wearing the date of your wedding day is a perfect daily reminder of what all of your planning (and sometimes stressing...) is for.

5. Bride Tank - Perfect for wedding errands or getting ready on your big day.

6. TimeWise® Miracle Set® - Flawless skin on your big day starts with taking care of it early. I use this set every single day, it works! (I am a Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultant and would LOVE to get you on a skincare plan, mention this blog post and I'll give you a sweet discount too!)

7. Wedding Planner - Now that the planning is underway, staying organized is crucial. And what better way than with a cute planner sporting your new name? I used this planner and loved it!


There you have it, 7 fun things that every newly engaged gal could definitely use! If your love language is giving gifts, these are great items that I guarantee any bride-to-be would so appreciate.

Until next time,
Hannah

PS. If you are looking for more bridal inspiration, scroll on back to my "Wedding Wednesday" series :)

Wedding Wednesday, Part 3: Get it booked!

Hi friends! I know it's been like a month since I posted last, forgive me! Between school starting and Cy coming home for a visit, I have been a little busy :) Currently, Cy is in Phoenix at the Brewers complex doing some rehab work on his arm. He developed bicep tendonitis at the end of his season, so they are just easing him back into throwing shape. As of today, they think he will be ready to start throwing again this weekend! PRAISE THE LORD!!

So the subject of this installment of Wedding Wednesday (only 6 more Wednesdays to go, ahh!) is choosing your vendors and locations! At first this can be a pretty overwhelming thought… There are just so many options! For me, it was pretty easy because I had a clear idea in mind, and didn't have time to do anything but just get moving. ;)

The first vendor I booked (3 months before Cy and I actually got engaged… haha!) was our photographer, the incredible Hannah Hagaman of Cottonwood Road Photography. I have been swooning over her work since she started her photography business. Hannah was actually a senior at DBU my freshman year, and we reconnected last year when I did hair for one of her best friends' weddings! Since then, she has recommended me as a stylist to several of her brides, so in addition to knowing that her final product is amazing, I had the opportunity to see her in action! It was important to me to pick a photographer that not only made incredible photos, but would bring joy and excitement to the big day- and Hannah is that and more! When considering who to hire for your wedding photography, start by asking around with any friends who recently got married. Then check out the websites of anyone they recommend to see what photography styles you are drawn to. Get in touch with various photogs and see what services are available for your date, and get your favorite person booked fast! Remember: your wedding day goes by fast, you want quality pictures to remember it by.

The second thing I booked was ceremony and reception venues. Since our wedding is in a town we don't live in, we had to find a church! The first place I looked at wasn't exactly ideal, so my cousin Donna recommended I look at the original First Baptist Decatur building, now home to Grace Baptist Church. As soon as I pulled up, I was in love. The church was built in 1904, and I love the vintage feel! The church also provides a wedding coordinator, and Megan has been SO helpful and kind to me in the planning process.

Since the church is older, it doesn't have much of a reception space. Thankfully, the Decatur Civic Center is a gorgeous facility just minutes away! My Granny had a surprise 85th birthday bash there for my Pawpaw a few years back, so we were familiar with the space. We went over and met with the director (Mrs. Sherwood is one of the SWEETEST ladies ever!) and quickly booked the venue! One great bonus is that the Civic Center has it's own catering company, so I didn't have to look any further for the food. Check and check, on to the next item!

Another important detail is your stationer. I choose to have a designer create my invitations and have them printed, and I am sooo thrilled with how they turned out! Aubrey is a lifestyle blogger and incredible web designer, so I contacted her to see if she might do my invites and she so kindly said yes! Whether you choose from a ready-made template or have something custom created, it's important to get this done step done early.

The last vendor I booked was the cake baker, Mrs. Berry. She is a high school teacher by day and a fabulous cake baker on the side, and was recommended to me by both Mrs. Sherwood at the Civic Center and my cousin Donna. I had actually had her cake before at my cousin Samuel's wedding, so I knew she had great stuff! I went ahead and booked, and we set up the cake tasting and "final decision making" appointment for when Cy was home a few weeks ago. Let me tell you, this woman is the queen of cakes!! We are sooo excited for what she is baking for our big day.

In addition to the vendors above, there are a couple other details to consider. For florals, I am so fortunate that one of my best friends has a ton of experience doing wedding flowers! We will be going to the flower market and picking out everything, and she will be making the bouquets and whatnot. For hair, one of my former roommates is a fabulous stylist and is coming up for the wedding. We are also SO fortunate to have some incredibly talented musicians for friends who have offered to do music at the ceremony. If you have talented friends, ask them for help with aspects of your wedding!

As you can see, most of my vendors were found through recommendations from other people. I cannot say enough that asking people around you for input can be the most helpful thing!!

To end this post, I'd like to share a few of our engagement photos! Hannah did an amazing job, and I am so excited for her to be capturing our wedding day as well! Be sure to check out Cottonwood Road Photography for more of her fabulous work :)

Until next time,
Hannah

Wedding Wednesday, Part 2: It's in the details

Life update: On the 26th, I moved into me and Cy's apartment! It's weird living alone for the first time EVER, so I am definitely excited for the wedding to be here so Cy can move in. Last Friday I finished up my online summer classes (praise the Lord!), and picked my mom up at the airport! She is here for a week helping me settle into the apartment and do wedding things, it's so great to have her here! So far, we have painted the bedroom, put together the dining set, and bought some of the home essentials. It's definitely feeling unfinished right now, but I have three months to make it feel like a home before the cutie pie himself moves in!

In some not so exciting news, Cy's team is on a road trip right now, and last night when they arrived to the field they found that their locker room had been broken into. Womp womp.  Both of Cy's gloves were stolen (one of which he got less than a week ago) along with many other guys gloves and sunglasses and whatnot. The team filed a police report, so hopefully some of the gloves are found or something, I'll report back if there's any updates. Baseball gloves are VERY expensive and VERY crucial for the players, so it is really tough that they will have to share until they can get new gloves, and then somehow get new gloves broken in and comfortable to use while playing. But as Cy said, "There's nothing we can do about it now, no need to waste time being angry, just gotta keep going." 

……

Now to the original subject of this post, WEDDING WEDNESDAY!

I have always been great with big ideas and overall goals and plans, but details are not my thing. (I took an aptitude test and the results said I would be a great CEO, score.)  So when I started wedding planning, it was a breeze to get the big "necessary for a wedding to happen" things like venues, dress, photographer, stationery, menu, and color scheme nailed down really fast. In fact, I had several of those things done before we were actually engaged…… oops ;)

But now I have arrived in the land of details- a terrain I rarely dare to venture into, as I can usually delegate that stuff to people who actually enjoy it. 

Luckily, I have some people in my life who are very organized and have been incredibly helpful in reminding me of details and helping me take my overall vision and zoom in on specific things that need to be planned (I'm looking at you, Jen and Amy!) Since my overall vision for the wedding is very simple and elegant, it is for sure easier to keep all of the details simple as well. It's just a bit of a brain workout for me to be thinking of so many little details at once. 

One thing that I'm currently stuck on is how to do the altar for the ceremony. The church we are getting married in is very old and filled with gorgeous stained glass windows, so I want to let that beauty speak for itself and not try to have other decor compete much. There is a beautiful stained glass window above the baptismal area, so I'd love to keep things simple so that can be accented as opposed to using an arch that could be distracting. We will have a little table for the unity ceremony, so I am leaning towards just having lots of florals throughout and keeping the details very minimal and clean looking. 

One thing that has been AWESOME is our premarital counseling! We have finished the 2 books we were assigned (The Treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn, and This Momentary Marriage by John Piper) and are now getting into doing the assignments and will start the actual discussion sessions when Cy is back in town. These are details that I love keeping up with! Cy and I both realize that marriage isn't some magical world where everything is perfect- it will be difficult sometimes! So we love that we going through a pretty rigorous premarital counseling course that is helping us prepare for everything that lies ahead and building a solid foundation for a lifelong marriage. 

So all in all, I am currently living in a world of centerpieces, specific decor for specific things, and accent pieces. I have had a few "Wow, this is really overwhelming" moments, but no major stress or breakdowns thus far. After all, even if the details aren't 100% perfect and the most fabulous of all time, I will still be marrying Cy, and that's what matters! 

Married friends- Do you have any details that snuck up on your at the last minute in your wedding planning? Leave me a comment!

Until next time,

Hannah

Wedding Wednesday- Part One

Including today, there are 17 Wednesdays until I marry Cy Robert Sneed! Yes, I am counting. Every day. What can I say, I am excited!! So with that being said, I thought it would be fun to do a series on how the wedding planning process is going thus far.

Today's subject is the basics of planning. Our engagement is 5 months total. In today's world, that is INCREDIBLY fast! Most planning timelines you find in magazines are at least 12 months. Needless to say, planning a wedding in less than half that time can seem like quite the daunting task at first! Thankfully, I have found a few tools that have really made the process simple.

For me, the first step in getting things done was getting organized. My sweet employers gave me this wedding planner by Erin Condren and it is incredible! It is very comprehensive and is packed full of check lists to keep everything on track and in one place. And its adorable so there's that too.

One day by miracle of all miracles, I came across the fabulous Karley Kiker on twitter. Karley is a Dallas girl who planned her own destination wedding in 4.5 months, and she recently published Hitched in a Hurry: The Ultimate How-To for a Speedy "I Do.  This book is amazing, it takes the timelines you find in magazines and condenses everything into a 6 month or shorter timeline! Hitched in a Hurry is not only full of all kinds of tips to make a speedy engagement a breeze, but also keeps the perspective that while the wedding is fun, it's the MARRIAGE that is truly the focus. If you are getting hitched in a hurry, you need this book. I'll even give you my copy. Seriously. You can find her website here!

Last but certainly not least is the book I keep turning to- A Christ-Centered Wedding by mother-daughter duo Catherine Parks and Lisa Strode. This book is "a guide to believers who want their wedding to portray the relationship of Christ with the church and to reflect the gospel to all in attendance… emphasizing the sacrificial love of the Savior more than the modern world’s idealistic view of romantic love." It gives practical advice to keep your focus on what truly matters for every aspect of planning a wedding. Cy and I really want the gospel to be evident in our wedding, and this book has been invaluable to me in planning for that. My copy is dog-eared and worn, and I will be recommending it to all of my friends for sure!

Ta-da! These three things have been incredibly helpful to me in the planning process, so if you are engaged or will be one day, keep these in mind! Wedding planning has been pretty stress-free for the most part for me thus far, and I am loving this fun season of life!  Stay tuned for the next installment in this series to see what else is going on in my little wedding-planning world ;)

Until next time, 

Hannah

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