Ixnay The Tan Lines

This is going to sound really silly when I write it, mainly because the thought of saying it out loud sounds even more ridiculous, but I need to avoid tan lines at all costs this summer.

Natalie Portman Rocking the Tan Lines
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My dress, as you've seen, has a low-cut, strapless sweetheart neck so the remnants of bikini ties, tank tops, or even backpacks could be detrimental. No, not someone's-going-to-die detrimental or the whole-day-is going-to-be-ruined detrimental, but worth putting some effort into. Here's why: We are an extremely outdoorsy couple. Hiking with the dogs every morning, bike commuting to work most days, boating the New Mexican rivers on the weekends, surfing while home in Los Angeles. All of those things are bound to put their little sun-scorched fingerprint on my body. Especially since we live at 7,000 feet (the sun is stronger at high altitude) and the warm months continue through October (when our wedding is) so you can bet we'll be outside until then.

Bandeau Swimsuit by Vix Swimwear

I'm not a fan of tanning beds (which could pose as a last-minute semi-solution) nor am I fan of staying inside or wearing long sleeves when I'm outside (I'd like to look at least a little sun-kissed on the big day). Make-up might smear onto my dress and self-tanner isn't really going to help if I'm still headed out for fun in the sun. Plus, I've never used it and am bound to end up orange.

Athleta's Convertible Tank (the straps are removable)

My mantra for the summer? Bandeau bikinis and tube tops. It's hard to find a tube top that also has a shelf bra in it but, lo and behold, here's one active-style tube top I found by Athleta. Know of any others? The one I own is about to get really gross from too much use this summer.

How are you dealing with tan lines for your wedding? Any other appearance woes you're trying to solve?

Dear Inspiration Board

[DISCLAIMER: Design inspiration overload ahead. You've been warned.]

Dear Inspiration Board,

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How I heart thee. You've helped me conquer the big-picture decisions that go hand-in-hand with wedding planning. Do we want a modern, clean-lined reception at a minimalist hotel? How about a rustic, wood-adorned affair in the forest? Maybe a seashell and starfish-themed event by the ocean? Or, a farm-inspired barns, hay bales, and BBQ bash?

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Just when I think I have everything figured out, I come across a new version of you beaming with crafty, unique, and creative details I've never seen before. Darn you for totally making me re-think everything I had going. But, thank you for making me swoon, too.

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Color schemes, accessory options, bouquets, cakes, dresses, and jewelry. You cover it all. In one perfectly. neat. little. square. Oh, how I wish wedding planning was as easy as throwing one of you together. You seem so comprehensive yet you are actually just one little, non-concrete step in this process. You're merely a vision.

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A vision beyond my crafting (if you can call it crafting) means. I've made one of you on Polyvore, but it neither helped me win the contest I made it for nor became useful in my wedding planning besides, well, here. This should really be an ode to the masters-of-inspirations boards like Snippet & Ink and Ritzy Bee.

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So, please, as much as I hate turning into an internal game of tug-o-war over wedding details when I come upon a new version of you that speaks to me, please don't go away. Your links lead me into a black abyss of 'net surfing and, as much as I hate to admit it, I could do that all day long. But, you can go away once I start tackling DIY projects, purchasing invitations, table numbers, lanterns, and ring pillows.

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Until then, oh inspiration board, I'll heart thee and those who create you. Even if you make me more indecisive than I already am.

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XOXO,

Ms. Cowboy Boot.

P.S. I thought I'd include my favorite versions of you within this letter. Enjoy!

How have you used inspiration boards in this process?

Our Horse Theme

You've seen our save-the-date and the gorgeous horse that Mr. Cowboy Boot drew. The horse wasn't exactly planned for. There were several ranch-themed ideas Mr. Cowboy Boot played with--barns, barn swallows, and prairie grass--before whipping up the image that adorns our save-the-dates. He put a lot of time into "our horse" and it shows. We plan to use this image as a monogram of sorts.

Mr. Cowboy Boot's horse

Now, because I love this horse as much as I do (and because Devil's Thumb Ranch has hundreds of horses and a gorgeous stable), the horse theme started to grow. I suddenly wanted to thread horse-related objects and images throughout our decor. To be honest, it's not like we're horse people. We didn't grow up riding nor do we own horses or anything like that, but we do love the animals. They are just so gorgeous.

In light of trying to find ways to incorporate horses and horse-related things, here's some inspiration I've come across on the internet.

Horseshoe Invitations by Greenwich Letterpress

Horse Drawn Carriage
Photo by The Image Is Found Photography

Favors from Ritzy Bee Blog. Our save-the-dates are also on this derby-inspired post, here.

Ranch Inspiration Board with horseshoe escort detail from Snippet & Ink

Table Cards from Martha Stewart Weddings

Trash the dress (if only I knew how to ride like that!) from photographer Critsey Rowe

Our florist got married at Devil's Thumb Ranch last year. During her ceremony, she had the ranch release the horses in the field behind them. This was an awesome addition for their photos and something we might just have to copy.

As of now, I have a bucket of horseshoes for who knows what. Any ideas? I'm collecting vintage horse postcards for people to pen some well wishes to us (in lieu of a guest book).

The postcards I just won on eBay

And I'm considering using horse breeds instead of table numbers. With ten tables, I'm trying to get Mr. CB to sit down at the drawing board once more and illustrate some different breeds that are recognizable from each other. My mom, who owned five horses growing up, helped me to identify the most known breeds: Appaloosa, Thoroughbred, Mustang, Clydesdale, Shetland Pony and so on.

Do you have any suggestions for our horse theme? Are you including a theme in your wedding?

Meet My Wing Women

A little surprise showed up in mailbox today. And I am more than thrilled. My two beautiful MOHs put together a little par-tay for yours truly. I've been looking forward to celebrating with my closest female friends and family for some time. The sweetly handwritten invitations say "Join us for light lunch, dessert, and cocktails." And, it's at my parent's house (where I grew up). 

After getting this, I realized I've talked on and on and on about the dresses that will adorn my beautiful bridesmaids, but I have yet to introduce you to them. When choosing my bridesmaids--I will have five by the way--I decided to go with friends who I've known for years, who have been close to me during significant points in my life, and who felt like natural choices. None of my bridesmaids live in Santa Fe. In fact, the closest are a six hour drive or an hour-and-a-half flight away. Not to mention they are completely spread out from each other (LA; Boulder, Colorado; New York City; and Upstate New York). There are numerous other friends I'd make bridesmaids if I could, but I had to put a cap on it somewhere.

First, I'd like to introduce you to my two (yes, two) maids-of-honor. We'll call them MOH J and MOH A. I've known MOH J since we were little 14-year-olds out on the soccer field in Los Angeles. My junior year of high school, I transferred to her school and we randomly had lockers next to each other. We spent our senior year of high school stalking a young, handsome, male celebrity who lived across the street from me. We've been best friends ever since. During my junior year of college, I transferred colleges and ended up in Boston with her, too. I met MOH A my junior year of high school in chemistry class. MOH A and MOH J were already friends. MOH A and I were lab partners and quickly became good friends. We both have parents that are psychologists so, subconsciously, I think we relate to people in a similar way. Senior year, we attempted to learn a song on guitar together for the senior talent show, only to fail miserably. But, we got to have private lessons from a very handsome young lad. The three of us have been tight for years. Both ladies currently reside in Los Angeles.

MOH J

MOH A and her puggle, Jackson

Next, Bridesmaid Georgia* (*this is a nickname)
I met Georgia in line at JFK airport in New York during my junior year of college. Where were we headed? Florence, Italy, for a semester abroad. How many people did each of us know going into it? A whopping zero. Thanks to my family's chatty ways, Georgia made fast friends with my grandmother and mom and soon we were introduced. We spent the semester hopping all over Western Europe together and bonding over snowboard trips to Switzerland and Austria, during which we partied with pirates and fended off butt-pinches from drunken Italian men. We've stayed friends after our semester and visited each other in our respective cities--Georgia in Boulder. I even spent a snow-filled Thanksgiving/birthday at Georgia's parent's house in Maine where we hot-tubbed under the falling snow and drank champagne.

Bridesmaid Georgia (looking at camera)

Next up: Bridesmaid FSIL
Bridesmaid FSIL is Mr. Cowboy Boot's step-sister and the person I most look forward to seeing when we head back east to visit his family. She put together the decorations for our engagement party (which were gorgeous!!!!) and is game for pretty much anything! Not to mention, she's a seriously good cook. Even though Bridesmaid FSIL lives in Albany, NY, we've spent a reasonable amount of time together during visits, work trips, and holidays. We've even giggled over an episode of Rock of Love Bus together. To her right is Junior Bridesmaid A (we'll call her JBA for short). She's is Mr. Cowboy Boot's niece. She'll be 10 at the wedding and will be arriving by train with her grandfather (Mr. CB's dad) after a cross-country trip. Now, that's a bonding experience I wish I had when I was little.

Bridesmaid FSIL and JBA

And last, but certainly not least, Bridesmaid AC.
I met AC in British Literature (our teacher was half Greek/half Australian, wtf?) at Emerson College. I can't remember our first date, but we had so much fun in Boston together--heading to Manchester-By-The-Sea on the weekends and to Montreal in the bitter cold of February! Besides constantly being asked if we are sisters (I wish!), we are extremely similar--we love to chill out when we're tired, party it up if the mood is right, and be in the mountains skiing, snowboarding, hiking, and camping. The only dissimilarity we have is that I can't speak a lick of French. Oh, and she's got a good five inches on me.

Bridesmaid AC

I am more than thrilled that these girls will be standing by me on the big day. They've already been uber-supportive (dealing with my dress schizophrenia) and lovely to this day.

How did you pick your bridesmaids?

On This Harvest Moon

It started out completely unplanned. It involved cooking dinner in our new kitchen, one glass of wine, two handfuls of sage from our greenhouse, and Neil Young playing on the stereo. The song Harvest Moon came on and we started dancing a little, the harmonica sailing away in the background. We started thinking, this could be our first dance song. We both love it, the lyrics make me sigh, and it's easy enough to sway around to for three-and-a-half minutes or so. And it's the kind of song that makes me want to get lost in Mr. CB's eyes forever.

After a couple more minutes of both of us crooning in the kitchen, I started wondering "When is the full moon around our wedding date anyway?" I pulled out my crack-berry and got to work. The first calendar pulled up a full black circle over our date with a full grey circle over a few other dates. "I think it's the full moon," I said,"Oh, no, wait. Maybe it's no moon."

The Harvest Moon

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Mr. Cowboy Boot took a look. "Nope, that's the full moon," he assured me. I couldn't believe it. The full moon on our wedding date. The barn's floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking that gorgeous valley and the mountains that surround it, completely white-washed with moonlight. If you've ever been at a high altitude on the full moon, you know how magical it is.

Moonlight over Colorado
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Then I got even more curious. What's the actual "Harvest Moon"? I googled to find out it's the full moon closest to the September Equinox. It provides farmers with extra light as the days grow shorter so they can finish up harvesting their crops for the season.

More Moonlight over Colorado
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So, when's the September Equinox? September 22nd. That makes the full moon on our wedding date the official Harvest Moon. I've been in shock since I found this out, completely in awe of the coincidence. I love it. And, yes, Neil Young's Harvest Moon is fated to be our first dance song. With lyrics like this, how can it not be?

Come a little bit closer
Hear what I have to say
Just like children sleepin
We could dream this night away.

But theres a full moon risin
Lets go dancin in the light
We know where the music's playin
Lets go out and feel the night.

Because Im still in love

with you
I want to see you dance again
Because Im still in love with you
On this harvest moon.

When we were strangers
I watched you from afar
When we were lovers
I loved you with all my heart.

But now its gettin late
And the moon is risin high
I want to celebrate
See it shinin in your eye.

Because Im still in love with you
I want to see you dance again
Because Im still in love with you
On this harvest moon.

To find out if what stage the moon will be in at your wedding, head here.

What's your first dance song? How did you pick it? Did you have any random coincidences happen with your wedding?

Le Honeymoon

Mr. Cowboy Boot and I didn't really think we were going to take a honeymoon at first. After going through our budget time and time again, there just wasn't room in it for a trip. We figured we'd save our money after the wedding and plan something big for the following year. My dad, however, didn't agree with this idea. "It's really important for you guys to be together as a married couple after the wedding," my dad told us. "Just the two of you, to feel your decision and let the marriage really sink in before getting back to everyday life."

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I took this to heart and approached Mr. Cowboy Boot about the idea of a mini-moon. Just a three or four-day trip after the wedding to celebrate--it could even be within driving distance of the wedding, somewhere like Jackson, Wyoming. Heck, we could even camp. Although I've always pictured plush down comforters, candles, massages, and wine for my honeymoon, I was willing to suck it up and camp if it meant it could happen. (For the record, we love to camp--it's just not my exact idea of a honeymoon).

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Somehow this idea grew into Sayulita, Mexico or a train trip through our northermost state, Alaska. While Mr. CB dreamed of big mountains, heli-skiing, and fly-fishing, I had my sights on sleeping in, drinking margaritas on the beach, and plenty of good surf sessions. We agreed that Mexico would be cheaper, is somewhere we've both never been, and would feel exotic while not completely blowing the cash load because it's not that far from New Mexico.

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Then what happened? Qantas went and had a huge airfare sale. We're talking the cheapest it's been in ten years. And where do they fly? Australia and New Zealand. For about $100 more than flying to Mexico we could get to Auckland and spend almost two weeks on the north and south islands of Kiwi-land.

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I bet you can guess what we did. That's right. We bit the bullet. Two tickets to Auckland, New Zealand please. (As if the images didn't tip you off). The flight leaves from Los Angeles two nights after the wedding. To save money on four more plane tickets, we'll drive from Colorado to LA after the wedding. With two days to go 14 hours, we might even make some fun stops along the way like Vegas (where Mr. CB's never been) or Moab (the mountain bike capitol of the US).

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So far, we haven't planned very much. Because there is a lot of territory that hasn't been hit by the guide books yet, we plan to rent an RV and explore roads that entice us. If we get lost, we'll have home right there. But don't worry, there will be a few luxurious hotel stops (and a few massages) along the way. We're also hoping to go horse-trekking, whitewater rafting, surfing, hiking, SCUBA diving, and cycling through the wine country. Any tips for us? I could use a recommendation or two.

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I feel like New Zealand will be the perfect blend of what we were going for--a little adventure, somewhere we both haven't been, my surfing, Mr. CB's mountains, and, hopefully, a lot of pampering, good food, and local wine.

Did you find a great deal on plane tickets for your honeymoon? Where are you going?

Hive Knows Best

Hive. I need help with a decision. After that last flower post, I had a sudden change of heart. I get a little uneasy when this happens because then I'm suddenly heading down a path that involves lots of back-and-forth with my vendor. In this instance, my florist. And I hate to seem flighty and indecisive--It doesn't do anyone any good.

But, the feeling I got was so intense, I can't ignore it. I started thinking that maybe I want more cream or white in my bouquet with hints of peach, instead of having an all-peach bouquet with touches of cream which was my original plan. I am worried that the bouquet will disappear into my dress if it is too creamy and white will be too stark against ivory. But, now I'm thinking the peach bouquet might not seem classic in 30 years. If I go cream and white, I can use a colored ribbon to add pop. Or, vice-versa if I go for colored flowers. Give me your vote!

Peaches with pops of whites and creams wrapped with leftover ivory fabric and a little raffia:

Sources: Juliet Rose, Lisianthus, Dahlia, Hypericum Berries, Larkspur, Ranunculus, and Stock.

Some peach bouquet inspiration:

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Mostly white with pops of peach and apricot wrapped with peachy ribbon and raffia:

Sources: Juliet Garden Rose, Lisianthus, Hypericum Berries, Larkspur, Ranunculus, Stock, and Dahlias

Here are a few inspiration photos of mostly white bouquets with bursts or tinges of color:

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So, which do you like better? Option 1: mostly peaches with bursts of white? Or Option 2: White or cream with pops of peach or apricot? Or should I mix up the color variation differently or do different specific flowers in peach or cream?