engaged with joy – Bailey Gaddis Blog

What better way to start this new chapter of your life than with a crisp white slate, set in a whimsical winter woodland?

Winter weddings offer many advantages (like better rates!) but one of the brightest aspects of a wedding during this chilly time of year is the cheery, loving, and fresh-start vibes reverberating through the season. Oh, and there are few things as romantic as cozying up by the fire with celebratory champagne and your sweetheart, while snow gently coats the land. The following destinations offer the best in winter wedding venues.

1. Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe – Incline Village, NV

Whether you want the backdrop of the deep blue waters of Lake Tahoe, an intimate mountain lodge, or the grandeur of the Lakeside Ballroom the Hyatt can deliver a wedding even more spectacular than all your Pinterest wedding boards combined. As you near the big day, the Hyatt will help calm your nerves with sunsets that make you forget to breathe, a spa full of magic-hand masseuses that melt your stress, and nearby tree-lined slopes that offer endless exploration.

Destination Wedding To-Do List: 8 Months Before

September 8, 2017September 6, 2017 baileysandbabiesblog

You’ve locked in your wedding venue of choice, committed to sticking to your budget (you can do it!), and hemmed and hawed over that tricky guest list until it was just right – congrats! You’ve got your momentum going and have tackled some of the biggest destination wedding question marks. Next up on your schedule . . . so much more. But, peeling back one layer of to-dos at a time, and not getting ahead of yourself, will ensure it all gets done in a calm and competent manner. And, if you’re a Type-A-er like me, you’ll be flooded with bliss every time you get to check a box – so, isn’t it great there are so many boxes?!

Let’s get started:

1. Make Your Online Registry.

You’re going to be doing a whole lot of organizing to make sure all your guests have an easy and enjoyable time while attending your destination wedding, so girl, you deserve gifts. And, it’s tradition – so yay!

Destination Wedding To-Do List (12 Months Before)

September 1, 2017August 19, 2017 baileysandbabiesblog

The price you pay for a gorgeous destination wedding (beyond the actual price) is a lot of work on the front end, beginning about a year before your wedding date. The good news is everything doesn’t have to be done at once, as long as you spread out the to-dos over a 12-month period. To get you started, here’s a list of the top tasks to tackle one year prior to The Day.

1. Decide the Essence You Want Your Wedding to Exude.

Getting clear on the vibe, theme, spirit, or whatever you want to call it, for your wedding will make all your other decisions easier because you’ll have a better sense of what you’re trying to create. For example, my fiancé and I wanted the essence of our wedding to be classic, nature inspired, and surf centered. We ended up getting married on the beach in Nicaragua with a driftwood and local flower backdrop while surfers rode an epic set of waves behind us. I chose a classic lace dress and had white roses in my hair. Deciding on our “essence” before planning made it easier to craft our dream wedding.

7 Reasons a Destination Wedding Might Be For You

August 29, 2017August 16, 2017 baileysandbabiesblog

The question has been asked, the ring is on the finger, you’re high with excitement, and then pop – you think about hosting the wedding in your hometown and your bubble is burst. For some, the idea of having a wedding surrounded by hundreds of their friends and family members, while immersed in a familiar environment, sounds like a dream, but if you’re someone who contracts into a stress ball at the thought, check out the following list to see if you’re a good candidate for a destination wedding.

1. You’re a Workaholic

If you’re a constant “doer” it can be tricky to be amongst the physical to-dos of your hometown without knowing how to sign off to enjoy your wedding. I’m such a habitual “get stuff done-er” I was emailing while in labor with my son. So yeah, a destination wedding was a must for me. Getting out of Dodge, or Phoenix, or New York, or wherever you hang your hat, can be the exact prescription you need to fully immerse yourself in the romantic, let your hair down, in the moment, goodness of your wedding time.