A Very Lilly-Themed Bridal Shower

As soon as my mama's friends found out I was engaged, they immediately went into shower planning mode. And knowing me as well as they do, there was no question that this would be a Lilly Pulitzer Bridal Shower! I knew they were a very creative and crafty group of women, but I was floored by how beautiful my shower was! My all time favorite Lilly print is Hotty Pink First Impression. Anyone who has been to my home knows that the print is EVERYWHERE- on a large canvas over my mantle, a monogram canvas on my mural wall, even my shower curtain is HPFI. So the ladies took that and ran with it!

The adorable shower invitation! The ladies even found someone local to make cookies that were very Lilly-fied

Since my house was already filled with Lilly and Lilly-inspired items, the ladies raided my house for a few things to add to my shower. The way they put it all together, combined with the things they made was just beautiful!

They even ordered Lilly Pulitzer Hotty Pink First Impression vinyl to make my Bride to Be banner!

My "throne" as they called it, using my Lilly Pulitzer murfee scarf in the much loved print. (My scarf is from the original release of the print a few years ago, but other fun prints and colors are still available here!)

They used my canvas print as the backdrop for the cake table. The cake was fabulous!

My new monogarm <3

The Lilly-inspired shift cookies were almost too adorable to eat- almost!

I've wanted one of these old windows to hang in my house for ages, this was a shower gift from one of the gals. She took all my favorite photos of R and I and made something I can hang in our home. 

As of today, we're down to only 16 days until our wedding day! I can't wait to be Mrs. Smith!

I can't wait for 08/07/2015!

The cake was made by the same woman who will be making our wedding cake. She said she was so excited when they asked her to make a Lilly Pulitzer inspired cake because she has heard so much about it from her daughters- I love how it turned out! The inside was pink and blue. I can't wait to see how my wedding cake turns out after seeing her beautiful creation!

E & R

Of course I wore Lilly to my Lilly-themed shower. I had a dress from the fall line in 2011 that had been sitting in my closet, never worn, just waiting for the right occasion. I was so excited to finally get to wear it! My mama and maid of honor both wore Lilly for the occasion, and I bought R's daughter her very first Lilly dress for the shower. She looked absolutely adorable! 

My mama, on the far left, is wearing the Palmer (no longer available, but you can find the "updated" version of the dress here), and Roman's daughter is wearing the Betty dress in Electric Feel from last summer. 

Lilly Pulitzer Evie dress in Ring Pop. I wish they still made this style- it's so wonderful! 

ADPi sisters, college roommates, and now my Maid of Honor. I don't know what I'd do without this girl! 

My MOH is wearing the Gabby shift dress. The blue is no longer available, but they currently have it in prints and an adorable pink here! 

With both my grandmothers

I am blessed to have so many truly fabulous women in my life. They gave me a beautiful shower, where I felt so loved and had so much fun! 

xx, Emily Ann 

Engagement and Wedding Dress Shopping!

I can finally share the news! I hinted a few weeks ago that I had some big life news to share, and now that we have told all our family and friends, and wedding invitations have gone out, I can share the news here! Our summer started off with lots of excitement when R asked me to marry him. It's been a whirlwind summer to say the least! Both being teachers, we wanted to go into the new school year as man and wife and are getting married in August before going back to school. Who says you can't plan a wedding in 3 months or less?! We may be crazy, but we're ridiculously happy and everything has really been a series of miracles (at least according to my mother) in terms of everything coming together for our big day on August 7.

It shouldn't come as any surprise that I have been wearing Lilly for all the big events that go along with wedding planning. When Roman proposed, I was wearing my Lilly Pulitzer Atwood dress from last summer (similar available here) in Sea and Be Seen with the navy Amalie cardigan. I couldn't stop smiling that day! 

Once we picked the date, my mom and I started making dress appointments. We went to one local shop, and then we spent the day in the St. Louis area shopping for dresses. With our short time frame, we new there wasn't going to be any way to order a dress, so we had to find one in my size that the bridal shop would let us walk out with. It proved to be a harder task than I imagined! We left St. Louis frustrated and without a dress. 

My dear friend Maggie went with us for the day of dress shopping! She's the one who originally introduced me to Lilly back in our college days. I'm wearing the Lilly Pulitzer Marlisa Maxi from last summer (similar available here) in the blue Let's Cha Cha with a natural Sullivan belt from a few years ago (similar here) and my favorite navy Amalie Cardigan, Maggie is wearing the Betty maxi from last summer (similar here) in Electric Feel. 

As upsetting as it was to not find a dress in St. Louis, a friend of my mom's suggested we make a trip to Low's Bridal in Arkansas. It was a trip that took us over 3 hours, but we were not disappointed! Low's Bridal is in Brinkley, Arkansas, located in an old hotel. When we walked in for the appointment, I thought I had stepped into an episode of "Say Yes to the Dress" and was somehow in Kleinfelds! There were gorgeous dresses everywhere, they had refurbished the old hotel while still keeping that antique charm, and we were led to a room filled with dresses all in my size. When I found "the one" I had my moment and cried, not cute crying, but ugly crying. I was so happy and relieved to have found the dress (under budget!) that I would be walking down the aisle to marry R in. It was a wonderful day!

Leaving Low's Bridal with my wedding dress in hand! My dress is under wraps until after the wedding day. :) I wore my Lilly Pulitzer Parrish Maxi from last summer (similar here) in Sea and Be Seen. I decided it must be my lucky dress- it's the dress I wore when R and I went ring shopping and found my dream ring, and it's what I wore when we found the dream dress!

I have been documenting all the wedding planning and prep along the way to share with y'all here. Next time, I'll post all about my Lilly Pulitzer themed bridal shower! I'm so excited to share this journey as I get ready to marry the love of my life!

I can't help but share just one more ring pic. Snapped this one just this week after getting a fun summer pink manicure. 

xx, Emily Ann

Lilly Does Kentucky Derby

I know that the Kentucky Derby was over a month ago at this point (oops!) but I'm operating under the philosophy of better late than never! With school finally out for the summer, this teacher finds herself with free time once again. I thought what better way to jump back into blogging than with some fun photos from a Kentucky Derby party I attended- especially with American Pharaoh winning the Triple Crown just a few days ago! There aren't many options for events like these in my small town, but with my best friend living just a few hours away in St. Louis, we found a perfect event to sport our Lilly and watch the Derby. A closer college friend was helping host a fundraising event for Haven House, a charity that helps families to remain close to the hospital during long stays and times of need. (Much like Ronald McDonald House, only it's for family members of all ages) So Maggie and I dressed in our best and attended this fantastic event in Clayton, MO!

But first let me take a selfie... Up close look at my accessories! My fascinator was from Vineyard Vines, and I adore it! Necklace from J.Crew. 

Maggie and I are both sporting Lilly Pulitzer! She's in a pink seersucker dress from last summer, and my skirt is the Lavender skirt in Mint Julep and my top is the Barcelona cami from Express. I'm obsessed with this print!

College roomies reunited! I can always count on Grace for a good time!

ADPi sisters <> <3

Adore days with my best friend! 

Shannon, in the middle, is on the board of the Young Professionals board for Haven House. So proud of him and all his hard work- it was a great event! 

Adore this picture with my girls. It was a great day for a great cause! 

Hopefully I'll be back with a lot more to talk about this summer. I have some very big, exciting life news that I'll hopefully be able to announce soon. I can't wait to take you all on this new journey with me- more to come soon! xx

Lilly Pulitzer and the Carolina Cup

It doesn't take much to prompt me into a Lilly Pulitzer purchase, but there's just something about a fun gift with purchase that really makes taking the plunge that much more fun. Every year, a group of Lilly Pulitzer Signature stores in North and South Carolina all participate in a fun promotion that goes with the Carolina Cup. They design a cute tshirt, a koozie, and you get both for free with any full price dress purchase.

I'm always a sucker for a coozie. And the cute Carolina Cup design on the front left chest is simple and fun. 

How adorable is the custom Lilly drawing on the back of the tshirt?! I couldn't resist the pink and Lilly artistry. 

I had told myself no new purchases for a while, but I just couldn't resist an adorable, pink Lilly t-shirt! And of course it's never hard for me to find something from the current season to purchase. I had been eyeing the Palmetto V-Neck T-shirt Dress in the print In the Vias. Of course this was the perfect excuse to go ahead and purchase!

I was thrilled that PinkBee Westend- Greenville was participating in the promotion. I first shopped with them during the After Party Sale in January, and they were fabulous to work with. You can contact them via Facebook, or e-mail, or just give them a call! They are always so quick to return messages, which I love. They also post on Instagram (@pinkbeewestend) frequently, adding to my Lilly Wish List with all the adorably fabulous outfits they post! The gals have always been very sweet, and my dress was shipped the very day I ordered it. Not to mention, who doesn't love a handwritten, personalized note with their order? I look forward to shopping with the ladies PinkBee Westend in the future!