#they actually have playlists on spotify so if youre interested hmu | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

reversecreek · 4 years

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clicks onto the dash wearing kitten heels n coyly holding my bang....... hi. me again. it took me so long to select a gif to use on cricket’s intro n i settled on this one bc he looks so unsure abt his smile n it’s rly his essence <3 u can find his pinterest board here n his (work in progress) spotify playlist here. hmu to plot!!!

* alex wolff, cis male + he/him | you know cricket donahue, right? they’re twenty-two, and they’ve lived in irving for, like, all of their life, on and off? well, their spotify wrapped says they listened to should have known better by sufjan stevens like, a million times this year, which slipping on wet leaves to photograph a tree struck alight by lightning, delivering a tedtalk to your own reflection to hype yourself up to buy groceries, hiding your hands inside of your sleeves in case you grew an impromptu megan fox thumb overnight thing going on. i just checked and their birthday is october 1st, so they’re a libra, which is unsurprising, all things considered. ( nai, 24, gmt, she/her )

HISTORY:

cricket ws born to a couple tht lived in lilac ridge. their trailer was tucked closest to the woods n always fell under the shade. it was like the leaves wanted to pretend they were a perpetual hanging cloud on the family n that was kind of fitting. their only reason fr having him in the first place was a kind of shrugged like........... we’re under the income bracket we’d get child benefits so why not! may as well try it to rake in some extra cash! needless to say they didn’t rly think it thru or anticipate all of the responsibilities tht came w children n wound up seeing him as an extremely large burden n boy didn’t he know it!

(child neglect & abuse tw) i’ll try to keep this part vague n brief but things were Not Good for cricket growing up. people in lilac ridge didn’t like his parents n it was for a gd reason. he remembers foggy things. being little n wandering around combing the grass with a stick to search for wrappers to suck on bc he was hungry. feeling uneasy when the front door opened. finding out his name was cricket bc the insects used to crawl into their trailer thru the vents n his parents liked to squish them into the carpet -- his mum told him as much once. i think this says a lot. to excessively trim the fat of the story he wound up entering the system at around 8 after his latest and most serious hospital visit. his parents hd to deal w the authorities n last he heard they bounced to evade charges.

(anxiety & violence & trauma tw) cricket sustained a few lifelong injuries from his time in lilac ridge. his knee didn’t heal right which meant he had (n still has to this day) a limp n he’s partially deaf in one ear. he’s always been an incredibly insecure n anxious person so this mde him rly self conscious going into a strange n new environment tht wld b difficult fr any kid to adjust to, nvm w these added worries. he jst felt like something weird to ogle at honestly. he probably wld have felt like that no matter where he was or what he looked like. he cld be in a huge hall of 200 people all wearing the same uniform n he’d still feel like the odd one out. needless to say this didn’t rly help him make friends

cricket’s coping mechanisms were romanticising the things tht other people found ugly or embarrassing or painfully ordinary. he liked it when the rain hit clunky drops against school windows n forbid everyone from playing outside bc he could feel the vibrations through the rubber soles of his shoes n it was a little bit like hearing all of the world at once fr just a moment. he liked medieval fantasy lore about stout gnomes w crumbs in their beards n cheeks red from ale. he liked fallen nests with the remnants of hatched eggs still dirty from the branches n soil they’d hit on the way down. he liked the way the sunlight leaked thru the leaves of the trees in the woods and how, when he sat very still, he could tune into the ringing that was always in his ear n pretend it was coming from the same place, that light thru the leaves, that the angels were trying to talk to him.

he spent a lot of time in the red room at his high skl (i’m begging u this is not a 50 shades reference) (after googling i jst realised it’s called a darkroom bt i’m leaving this fr the sake of sexy bimbo authenticity) n felt quite at home in there. he borrowed a camera whenever he cld (maybe he did yearbook) n photography became his way of immortalising the world as the romanticised version he wanted it to be. his memories were bad bt his photos were beautiful. maybe if he took enough they’d paste over n bleed into each other. maybe bad cld be replaced w beautiful if he tried his very best.

he got placed into fostering w a family once bt apparently didn’t meet the vibe check of their tastes so he wound up returning to the group home he’d initially been placed in. overall this is where he grew up n he aged out the system rather than getting adopted. there was a sense of floundering/isolation/not feeling gd enough in tht bt cricket made do the best he knew how.

that said there were some gd points! (shocking i kno bc his life hs been so fking bleak so far bt please it’s ok........) (is it?) (🤔). basically he interned as an assistant at this local photography studio during high skl working under this kind of whimsical yet endearing old man. suspected wizard possibly in cricket’s eyes, as an avid fantasy genre reader. for one of his bdays said old man / his boss bought him his very own film camera n cricket cried bc he’d never been bought a bday gift. this ws rly embarrassing bc this old man didn’t know how to emote n neither did cricket so he ws jst sort of sat wiping his eyes n sniffling saying he wasn’t crying as the old man pretended to suddenly clean his lenses. when cricket graduated he offered him a full time position there. they do like. wedding photographs n family portraits n all kinds of things...... pay isn’t huge bt it’s something n he Loves taking photos so it’s sexy <3

PERSONALITY:

SUCH an anxious person it’s actually unreal. overthinks absolutely everything he’s ever said. one morning he might hv put green socks on n for the rest of the day he’s nervously looking around like omggggggg they’re all looking at my socks probably thinking im a little green sock boy thinking i’m a fool n a jester this is all everyone’s probably thinking about i hv to hide my green socks..... even tho literally no-one cares

once saw a girl eating a chicken wing n in his head was like ok she likes chicken good future gift idea..... n turned up at her house with an entire rotisserie chicken

probably thinks WAY too hard abt what to write in bday cards n googles like generic ideas that he can use.... u open a card from cricket n it always says smthn weird like “Warmest wishes and love on your birthday and always!” or “You deserve everything happy. Wishing you that all year long!” tht he got off google

nervously fiddles w things a lot. literally anything. his hair. the cuffs of his sleeves. a thread on his bag. u name it

struggles w eye contact sometimes............ it’s like. he wants to talk to ppl n make friends bt he’s honestly so bad at it. he’s fumbling thru life like a nervous headless chicken

ALWAYS has his camera on him. like always. will tke a photo of u bc he thinks u look nice then be like im so sorry im so sorry...... bowing his head shakily holding his camera bc he doesn’t even kno what possessed him he jst thought it’d be a nice photograph bt boundaries exist. probably breathes very heavily over this later in his room panicking thinking he nw seems like hannibal lecter

probably more confident online bc he has time to think abt what he says more.......... i can see him hving a group of online friends tht he’s more confident w. honestly he’s pretty witty at heart he jst has a hard time verbalising things so ppl overlook him sometimes bt once u get to know him more / he’s more comfy he can b a funny little man.....

loves photographs where he cuts something out of them. loves missing spaces n voids. thinks it’s a rly interesting concept when something that isn’t there becomes the focus of a photograph where everything else is. probably loses his mind fr a collage like a front row 1d stan. likes experimenting w light n perception. pretty artistic honestly hs probably made a stop motion film in the past bc that’s just an extended form of photography in his mind bt i doubt he showed anyone

ummm...... very sweet bt like. he reminds me a lot of this quote. “he had the awkward tenderness of someone who has never been loved and is forced to improvise.” feel like tht sums him up quite nicely

WANTED CONNECTIONS

someone he met at a wedding: cricket probably ws forced to photograph a wedding fr his boss one time n it cld b interesting as a place to meet from that....... like. i can imagine either it being rly awkward maybe he accidentally spilled a drink on ur muse n was stuttering rly apologetic n it ws just a train wreck. or mayb they took pity on him or even (in a shocking turn of events) a shine to him n invited him to drink n dance. omgggg the thought of cricket trying to dance makes me wna die n probably mkes cricket wna hyperventilate bt idk maybe he went wild n let loose. mayb they wound up damaging the camera somehow. mayb they had to scramble to get another one n ur muse covered the cost n it was a strange late night excursion tht cricket thought about a lot since. cricket probably vowed to pay them bk somehow no matter what. idk. we can work things out. lots of diff options here. doesn’t have to b a wedding either can b any event tht required a photographer

ppl he went to school w: pretty self explanatory i suppose...... maybe they were frm completely different worlds..... mayb ur muse was popular n cricket was definitely not but they got paired fr an assignment n had to work on a project together....... mayb cricket asked ur muse on a date one time n it was completely embarrassing bc he didn’t realise they had a bf n it haunts cricket at night still bc he’s rly dramatic.... mayb ur muse felt sry fr him n ate lunch w him n inducted him into their group like a lost puppy finding a home.... world’s our oyster

neighbours from his brief time at lilac ridge: not to reference taylor swift but i’m gna reference taylor swift n say we cld do a seven inspired plot here. sighs a little..... then sighs a lot. he was here ages 0-8 so idk. we cld work out childhood plots perhaps....

sickening simp: i mean.............. cricket probably gets crushes on ppl so easily like just. anyone who’s the slightest bit nice to him.................. he’s a disgrace. ok i take it back. bt also please get it together freak............... i didn’t say that. he’d probably b extra nice to this person n try n pay close attention to things they liked so he cld get them little gifts. just a bit embarrassing n lovestruck bless his heart. wldn’t expect anything back tho honestly that just isn’t something he tends to do.

let’s go gays: cricket’s bi but he probably was rly in his head abt liking boys n tried to sort of squash it internally during his younger yrs...... i think he’s more comfy w it now MAYBE idk bt back then i picture him having a friend tht ws kind of like. similarly loserish as him perhaps (no offence to ur muse potentially filling this plot or cricket bt let’s face the facts) n they’d hang out n play games a lot n one time it jst kind of happened n he was like............. *struts in looking around sharply* What going on here? except not. bc it’s cricket. more like *shambles in looking around anxiously* What’s, uh... What’s... the happenings? S--... I’m sorry. (immediate apology for saying what’s the happenings bc nobody talks like that n it was an impulsive panic bc he didn’t know what else to say)

those who grew up in the system w him: maybe at the group home or i’d also like the family that fostered him n said sayonara. honestly i imagine the parents just thought he ws a bit too much of a handful / had too much baggage which is rly quite merciless n terrible but. if u think that aligns w ur muses home situation hmu......

um. can’t think of more bt just anything honestly. jst go wild.......

#irvingintro #abuse tw #neglect tw #trauma tw #anxiety tw #violence tw #DOES A LITTLE JIG #admittedly i didnt include a formative moments section like my other intros bc idk what kind of superpowers i was inhaling the fumes of #for those intros but #i'm a mere mortal now.

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klaus-is-the-real-number-1 · 6 years

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She’s Electric (Number 5 x reader)

54A/N: wowowow so im not smart at all so hopefully i pulled the whole fake smart act because im pure clueless :))) hope yas enjoy :)) still havent posted the playlist of all the songs because my spotify has my full name and am not that commited for ppl to find this soo. and i also went a bit off like i hope this is what you want lmao.:)) stay fresh. (ok so you have powers in this and its more like portal jumping rather than spatial jumping so you like create holes and jump down ? if that makes sense(also if anyone gets the date hmu))

ASK: jellyxfulll:hi could you please do one where the reader is really smart, likes coffee and sarcasm (legit a carbon copy of him) like five and when he meets them he’s absolutely smitten ? i have a lot in common with him anD i wAnt to bE loVed bY mY fiCtionAl chAracteR

Words: 2146

Black coffee steamed in it’s mug as it sat out in the open, wind swirling it in different patterns. The swirls of steam looked like it was dancing a tango, as if the beat it was dancing too kept getting faster and faster until a sudden stop and the steam disappears, signifying the end of a dramatic dance.

Black ink stained up the side of your hand as you furiously wrote away, you just couldn’t get the equation right and you couldn’t use your powers, not yet. You were on the run from the commission as they wanted to use you for your powers, it was a valuable asset, time travel and dimension jumping, the Handler said it could open a whole new market for them but once you refused they came after you.

You’d got the equation wrong while you were running and you got stuck, you got stuck somewhere, an abandoned world that hadn’t been looked after. Years and years passed with you stuck in the wasteland of a world until the Handler came back but you couldn’t say no otherwise you’d die alone with no chance of seeing your loved ones again. So you became a killer to survive, you kept to yourself. In that world it was kill or be killed.

After years of service you thought you had the equation, endless nights of black coffee and sleep deprivation you thought you’d got it right. All you wanted to do is go and see your family again but next thing you knew you were 16 years old again and stuck in some random dimension but it was a start. You had removed any form of tracker the Handler had on you back in 1854 after completing your last mission.

During your time in the small town you’d managed to get a small job to rent a tiny one bedroom apartment, it wasn’t the best but it would do for the time being, until you get the maths right.

You let out an exasperated sigh, slamming your pen down on your scribble ridden page. It was a bright but nippy day meaning you could sit outside in peace and be uninterrupted. Griddy’s was always quiet on week days, the perfect time to go for a black coffee and just go over everything that’s happened, it’s good to do that sometimes, just to think and remember.

Reaching for your coffee, you underestimated the distance between the mug and your hand resulting in the mug falling. You open a portal under it so it falls right into your hand and take a sip, placing it down gently in it’s original place.

“How did you do that?” A boy was suddenly next to you, an excitable expression present on his face. He looked about the same age as you, but he had a look in his eyes, like he’d seen some things.

“What do you mean?” You ask, pretending to be confused, taking another sip of your coffee. You watched as he pulled the seat opposite to you out and sat down crossing his arms and legs simultaneously. He looked at you with a slight smirk.

“You’re y/n, aren’t you?” He leant back in his chair, scanning you up and down. “I’ve heard so much about you.” His eyes could tell 1000 stories but you could tell that he had no one to tell, no one would understand.

“huh, interesting, I’m not going to lie to you, I don’t really know who you are.” You say matching his movements but making sure you can have easy access to some form of weapon of he attacks. For all you knew he could be part if the commission finally catching up to you.

“I’m Five, ex-commission.” You narrow your eyes at him as he sticks his hand out, you take a glance at his hand. You reach out but just before you meet his hand you grab the handle of your mug, bringing it to your lips. Fives hand drops and he lets out a breathy laugh, crossing his arms again.

“I would introduce myself but you seem to already know who I am so I guess there’s no need.” You give him a sickly sweet smile before taking another sip. You had heard a little bit about Five, he had a similar story to you,stuck in an apocalypse, ran away from the Commission to see his family and tried (and succeeded) to stop the apocalypse.

Five couldn’t believe his eyes when he first saw what you did with the mug, there was only one person who he had heard that could do that, y/n. Five had heard rumours upon rumours about y/n, an example of some is that she was the most deadly killer the commission had ever seen and the prettiest person the universe had ever seen, and Five couldn’t agree more. He couldn’t imagine you ever killing anybody, your hair loosely hung with strands tucked behind your ear. Five took in your soft features, the warmth of your eyes and the freckles that littered all over your face and arms, presumably from the years in the apocalypse.

“It’s rude to stare.” You tell Five, not even looking up from your writings. Out of the corner of your eye you see him shift uncomfortably, averting his eyes. “Listen, I don’t know why you’re still here but if you’re lying about being ex-commission and are here to try and kill me I think you should reconsider your options because we both know who will make it out alive.”

“I’m not lying about being ex-commission, I know what it’s like and I think I can help you with getting back.” Locking eyes with Five, you saw the sincerity in his eyes. He held out his hand, you think about the worst possible outcomes from this situation, you take his hand.

You had never travelled the way Five normally does, you just were not used to it. As soon you reached the desired destination your knees gave out and a wave of nausea washed over you. A retching sound made it’s way out of your body as you cover your mouth with shaking hands, as if that would stop you from being sick.

“How the fuck do you travel like that?” You almost shout at Five, staring at him from the floor, you didn’t even know where you were, you didn’t care. Another wave came over you again along with a banging headache. The one thing that you were grateful for in the Commission is that they let you travel how you wanted, the first time you had used a briefcase you could’t stop shaking and being sick which wasn’t the most efficient if you needed to complete a mission.

With a flash of blue Five was holding a glass of water crouched down next to you. “Here take this.” He held the glass closer to you.

“How is making me sick going to help me get home?” You say cautiously taking the glass from his hand. You sit up straight and try to take a deep breath in.

“Just show me your equations, I’ll see what I can do.”

Days turned into weeks, then weeks into months. The more time you spent with Five the more you began to forget about the equation. Truth be told, you got the right equation about 3 weeks into working on it with Five. After years of being alone you liked spending all this time with Five, you were both equally as emotionally deprived as each other, both in need of a friend who you could relate to.

Feelings for Five was also a newly developed emotion, the more time you spent with him the stronger these feelings got and all of his family could tell. You had met the Hargreeves on many occasions, often getting comments about how much you had made him come out of his shell since he stopped the apocalypse. But it’s not like you wouldn’t do couply things, if that was even a word, you would hold hands, cuddle and exchange compliments back and forth all the time. It was done so casually, as if you both didn’t know what to do with your feelings.

You were currently laid down with your head in Fives lap as he absentmindedly ran his fingers through your hair, occasionally twirling stands in his fingers. It was a summers day, natural light streamed through the open window, giving the room a natural glow.

“y/n,” He lightly taps your nose. “You’re really pretty.”

You smile, leaning into his touch. You knew you had to tell him at some point, about the equation, you just didn’t know how. Sighing, you sat up and faced Five, you noticed in the past months how his features had softened from the hard, brooding looks he used to give.

“Five, I’ve found the equation.”

“What?”

“I’ve found the equation.” You repeat with more force. “But I’m torn, I don’t know what to do.” You searched his face, trying to read the emotion. “I miss my family so much. But I don’t want to leave here, you’ve shown me theres so much in this timeline.” His face dropped.

Five didn’t want to sound selfish but he didn’t want you to leave, the past few months had been the best time of his life, he’d found someone who understands him. Y/N never questioned his coping mechanisms, you had actually made him accept his own past and move on with his life. He doesn’t know what he’d do without you. Five eyes began to sting, he felt a wave of sadness but also anger, he felt himself getting warm, an uncontrollable range swept over, consuming any other emotion that was in it’s way.

“How long have you had it for.” Five had a quite voice, not looking you in the eyes.

“A few months.” You watch as Fives fist clenched. “Five I-” But he had cut you off.

“So you’ve just been leading me on.” Five eyes met yours. They weren’t the soft, welcoming eyes you had come to love, they were cold, hard and shut off, the only emotion you could see in his eyes was anger.

“What no, why would you-”

“Maybe you should just leave.” Your chest sank, Five let you go from his grip and stood up. He looked like the killer you had only heard about mere months ago, he didn’t look like your Five anymore. “Just go, y/n.”

So you did, no arguments, no questioning, you had gone. As soon as you left the room Five caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror but the reflection wasn’t him, it was the killer that he thought he’d left in the Commission, he was his clenched fists and cold eyes. He couldn’t believe he spoke to y/n like that, looking like this.

“Y/N!” He called out, he was in a cold panic. He kept calling your name out, traveling to your work, your house, all your favourite places but you weren’t there. Five had been told that you handed in your resignation at work and your flat was cleared, you had gone home.

Five didn’t know what to do with himself since you had left, he was constantly thinking about the what ifs, what if he acted differently, what if he didn’t snap. You had been gone from Fives timeline for almost a year, he didn’t have much to remember you by other than one picture that he had on his bed side table. The picture was taken by Allison of the two of you, you had both fallen asleep on the sofa downstairs, you looked so peaceful together as Five held you in his arms.

He fell in love with you in the time he had met you, the complexity of love confused him but he wanted to figure it out with you. He loved the way you talked, how you carried yourself, your smarts, your personality, everything. It was a cold night and Five wasn’t able to sleep, he just laid there staring at the ceiling. There was a strange noise, a noise he knew well, y/n.

“Hey Five.” You were breathless, it had taken you so long to find the right equation for the frequency of Fives timeline, to see him again.

Five couldn’t believe his eyes, you were really there. Without a second thought Five leapt out of his bed and crashed his lips to yours, he pulled away and tightly wrapped his arms around your frame.

“I’m so sorry y/n. I’ve missed you so much.” You couldn’t agree more, leaving was an impulse moment of anger, there was a gap in your heart that only Five could fill. “y/n, I love you so much.” He held your hands, his eyes were soft again, filled with love.

“I love you too.”

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memobigs2122 · 3 years

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Katherine Tang

4th / Marshall / Biochemistry/Chemistry major with Psychology Minor

Hobbies/Interest: baking, binging shows/movie series, embroidering, having an existential crisis, raising my billion succulents, taking personality tests (I have no sense of identity ig oop), playing acnh (i don't play as much bc of school tho :()going for boba/coffee/mcdonalds runs, in terms of music according to my spotify wrapped, I like pop, kpop, show tunes, and cpop (in that order) LMAO, harry potter, lotr, anime, kdramas, and shows on netflix or disney+ (some of my fav shows are kuroko no basuke, haikyuu, my hero academia, once upon a time, shadow and bone, and hospital playlist! I haven't watched season 2 of hospital playlist yet so if you're interested in watching with me hmu <3)

About: Hello litto(s)! I'm Kat and I'm a current 4th year Biochemistry major with a minor in Psychology. Some quick facts about me are that I'm a Virgo, INFJ, Ravenclaw, and my love languages are tied between Quality Time and Words of Affirmation! I'm from the 626 (which is in LA County if you're like h u h where) so naturally I love boba (when my friends let me choose a place to eat, I will actually decide on which boba place I want to go to and then pick a restaurant around there HAHA) I'm very involved on campus (my apartment mates like to joke that I'm UCSD's #1 supporter KJSKJDS this is not true) bc aside from classes and MEMO, I'm a Well-being Peer Educator, a TLC tutor, and work in a lab! So even tho I have an off-campus apartment, I spend the majority of my week on campus HAHA As your biggo, I hope that I can be someone that you'll be able to come to for anything! Whether you need advice about life, somebody to rant to, or just somebody to hang out with, I'm here for you litto! I can give you a lot of insight on what it's like to apply for various positions (and how to deal with rejections haha :.), I actually got rejected from 21 jobs before getting my lab job so ik the struggle!) Not gonna lie, I spend a lot of my time studying and working, but I like to think I have good time management skills so I will always make time for you!! I'm always down for study dates or boba/coffee runs (I have a car so I'll drive you <3). I also love to bake, so if you ever wanna bake something together I'm down (even if you're a beginner, I'll teach you dw!!) If you ever need me, I'll just be a message away! I can't wait to make some great MEMOries with you <3 (very original, ik LMAO)

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awakeandalive2012 · 3 years

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The Long Overdue Wedding Post

**This post is LONG overdue so apologies on that front**

*Also, it’s going to be a little long, so grab a snack and enjoy*

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Before I begin, I want to first reach out to every single person who liked and commented on our photos, sent a message via any social media platform, sent a text, called, emailed, and spoke with Caleb or I directly, and/or helped with any aspect fo the wedding at all. For all of you, THANK YOU. We could not have asked for an amazing support system to help with with our May 2021 wedding. We sincerely appreciated all of your gifts (if you gave any) and your kind words of congrats and well wishes. So again, from the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU. We feel so loved and are truly touched by each and every one of you. No amount of words can adequately communicate how I am so grateful to have you all in my life.

Now, since it's been a few months since the nuptials, even though I reflected some in my last blog post, I wanted to take the time and focus one blog post about the wedding specifically. This post will focus on the proposal, the planning of every single aspect and the day itself. I know that some of my friends on here recently engaged, so I wanted to give them some advice that could potentially help them down the road. This could also be a good reflective piece for those that have recently tied the knots themselves. Every wedding is different, but I wanted to walk you through what my planning process was like.

Now without further ado, let's teleport back through time.

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July 2020 - The proposal. This is a time for celebration. Aside from the wedding, this should be an exciting for the couple. Many people choose to throw an engagement party as a way to introduce yourself as an engaged couple. We did not have one of these, we opted for a more private dinner amongst family instead. As many of you already know, Caleb and I got engaged on July 22nd, 2020. This was on the same week as my sister’s wedding and during our annual family beach trip. It was such a sweet and memorable moment of our lives. Shortly after we got back from our trip, I traded in my makeshift ribbon ring for a beautiful silver one. That was our way of celebrating our new status as an engaged couple.

Biggest tip: Enjoy the moment. This is only the beginning for you and your future partnership.

August 2020: This was when I got right down to planning and the nitty gritty. Discussing what you want for your wedding between you and your fiancé is an essential first step in planning a wedding. You want to be on the same page, after all it’s BOTH of your days, and it’s not one sided. There were several points that we wanted to take care of right off the bat: who was invited, if there would be a theme or not, basic necessities/vendors to have or cut, etc... In the initial planning phase, you both want to figure out what to keep and what to cut from the wedding in concerns with your budget. Right from the start, we figured out ways to minimize costs, thus we decided not to get a DJ and opt for Spotify playlists instead (a great money saver for sure). Pinterest was my best friend throughout the whole process in concerns with the vision of our wedding, as well as wedding looks for myself and my bridal party.

Biggest tip: Organization is KEY. I used both a physical file folder and Microsoft OneNote to keep track of all of my wedding planning. Zola, a wedding planning website, was also a super handy tool that I used. You can do everything; from checklists and guest counts, to seating tables, website and registry management, and so much more. I used Zola and TheKnot extensively in the wedding planning process, which saved me so much stress. You will most likely be multitasking, especially if you are balancing wedding planning with working. Organization will save you time and stress at the end of the day, so it’s Important to be organized from the get go.

September 2020: This was the month when I got the ball rolling on several wedding related tasks. One of the things I wanted to do was involve my bridal party as much as possible and shower them with so much love and affection. After all, they were going to share this special day with me. I sent these adorable bridal party packages to each of them. I also began research engagement photographers during this time. It was important to me to capture photos of us as a couple. These photos would also be used for our wedding invitations as well.

Biggest tip: Reach out to vendors ASAP. Do your research and make inquiries for any company that sparks your interest. They get booked especially quickly, particularly around spring and summer weddings. Some of the important requirements that helped narrow down my vendor selections included budget, services provided, available for our wedding date, work/samples of past projects, and reviews from previous customers. Even in today’s modern computer age, social media prescience is also another factor to consider, especially if you want to see their previous work. Other details would depend on the specific vendor but it’s important to look at these aspects and see if they line up with your vision for the big day.

October 2020: This was a big month for us as a couple! We booked our venue, and we got a lot of our vendors finalized/booked too! It's better to book the venue sooner rather than later, because like the vendors, venues get booked up, especially if they are popular in the wedding community. This was the date when I officially booked our venue; we decided to rent a lake house for our big day. It was such a huge weight lifted off my shoulders because without a venue, a wedding can't happen. In my particular case, I paid half the deposit this month and then paid the second half a month before the wedding. You can pay it up front (super pricy but it is all taken care of in one swoop). The lake house was significant to us as a couple. We also finalized and booked the caterer and HMU (hair and makeup) for the big day. These two caterers are heavy hitters; you cannot have a wedding without food and you sure want to look amazing on the big day.

Biggest tip: Pay off as much as you are able to for your vendors; ideally, the more earlier on, the better. Depending on your budget, balancing it out with your every day expenses can be a challenge. Stick to your budget in order to stay afloat financially. There will be deposits for most, if not all the vendors you decide to book. Be sure to include those additional fees, tips, and deposit payments in your budget.

November 2020: Around this time, we were finalizing all of our vendors and booking them for the wedding date. We also began going into more detail with each vendor. For the photographer/videographer, I sent an ideal shot list for them to work with for the wedding. We even had time to do our engagement photos! They turned out so lovely and the entire experience on the shoot was memorable for all involved.

Biggest tip: Be in constant communication with everyone involved in the wedding. I was talking with everyone involved and tracking every step of the way throughout the process. You do not want any mix ups or wrong information being given.

December 2020: Holiday season is the hardest time to plan details for the wedding because money will be tight and family gatherings are the #1 priority. By this time, I was in holiday mode, so not a lot of remaining details got finalized until the new year. The only thing I remember accomplishing in concerns with wedding planning was making our website and registries go live. We used Wayfair, Zola, TheKnot and Amazon for our wedding registries. They were super easy to set up and manage our gifts and RSVPs. The engagement photos we took earlier were incorporated beautifully into our website and fit our wedding theme beautifully.

Biggest tip: Remember to take breaks and enjoy life. Wedding planning is stressful but it should be something enjoyable. I sometimes got sucked into the details only to get carried away and whisk my time away. Granted I only got one or two small things done, but do not let that get to you. You have accomplished a lot at this point (the hallway mark) Good for you!!!

January 2021: This was around the time that I went dress shopping. This is the day (or multiple days if you are going to more than one store) in every girl's life that she dreams of. I walked into the store with somewhat of a concrete idea as to the style of dress that I wanted. The bridal shop I went to was very accommodating to all of my concerns and style choices. They were very supportive and took note of my concerns when I brought them up. I also got to share the day with my mom and my sister (via Skype). I tried on six dresses in total before I found my one (on the last dress actually). They were able to take the time and consult on each dress, where they would be able to make alterations, what worked and what didn’t, etc). It was an enjoyable experience and one I will not forget. We also sent out our save the dates. To save on costs, I noticed a lot of couples were sending electronic save the dates. I simply sent emails (also since our guest list was so limited) with a template I crafted from Canva (a design platform - free to use!)

Biggest tip: Take your time with picking the dress. Choosing your wedding dress is a big decision for a bride to make. Whether you find the one on your first store visit or your 10th, it’s a big investment. You will be wearing this dress for the full day. You will most likely be saving the dress afterwards to cherish forever. Choose the dress that makes you feel your best.

February 2021: One thing that couples forget to include with wedding planning is the legal aspect of the wedding. Requesting marriage license and finding officiants for the ceremony are two essential services that make a wedding complete. Depending on the state that you are wanting to get married in, there are certain steps and fees to take in order to get a license in a timely manner. Be sure to do your own research in order to dot all of the legal “I”s and cross all the “T”s . You can also research officiants in your nearby area which fits your preferences and price range. This was when I managed to purchase the majority of the items that were incorporated into the wedding ceremony/reception. A couple of my favorite items that I purchased via Etsy were our ketubah (wedding contract in a Jewish wedding ceremony) and our cake topper.

Biggest tip: Shopping online has changed the game in concerns with the wedding world. Especially when you want a specific item to round out the wedding decorations. Sites like Etsy, Amazon and Oriental Trading are great jumping off points for purchasing gift items, decorations and accessories for the wedding. I got the majority of my items from Etsy and Amazon, and they really completed the wedding’s look. In person shopping experiences like Michael’s, Walmart and other big name stores, can be great for those who like DIYs.

March 2021: Another big month for wedding planning! The big item for this month was sending out invitations. Because of the COVID pandemic at the time, we had to severely limit the amount of people invited. The look of the invitations mirrored our website and it included all of the information for our ceremony/reception. We also added the food options for the wedding (previously confirmed from our caterer). This was also the month where I went and dd my bridal trial. The trial is basically a preview form your HMU team for the big day. Here, you can see what works with your look and what needs to be fixed for the big day. I got my hair done first and then my makeup second. With the whole look done beforehand, you can see what the final look will be. This is really beneficial for brides that are undeceive. Our final accomplishment this month was booking the final vendors (the florist and cake) and sending a wedding day timeline to all vendors. It’s important here to track all the times as precisely as possible. Most vendors pay per hour (pre negotiated in contracts) so it’s important to have a schedule which they and your party will follow to keep everything orderly.

Biggest tip: For invitations, sending those out ASAP is important. That way, your guests can have an appropriate amount of time to respond. Also, this would be a good place to put meal selections on your invitations, that way, your guests can tell you what they want for the wedding. Knocking out two birds with one stone! Finally, triple check and confirm details (date, time, place, dress code, etc) that should be included on the invitation. More than likely, you will want to save a copy of your invitation to scrapbook for later. You do not want to be plagued by a small typo on your otherwise beautiful invitations.

April 2021: With one month out from the wedding, we were mostly focusing on tying up any loose ends and paying those remaining invoices. During this time we also sent out the finalize guest lists to our vendors, and ordered cakes (we used the same place for rehearsal dinner and wedding cake). We also sent rehearsal dinner invite, in a similar email format that we sent the save the dates. This would also be the time to inform all parties of the wedding day (or for us wedding weekend) schedule. Give your guests the information for the venue/parking information for all the events, and the timeline for the day. On your end, be sure to finalize all preparations, gifts, decorations, dress alterations for you and your bridal party, and any other item on your check list.

Biggest tip: Deal with any outstanding items while they are fresh on the brain. You do not want to run into any issues with the wedding being a month away.

May 2021: Wedding month!!! It's the big month! This is when we finalized every single detail. Last minute shopping trips, last minute checking over every single item, food, guest. All bills paid and finalized. No stone left unturned. But what good is this month full of celebrating when you are spending all your time finalizing your plans? Take some time too and CELEBRATE! We were fortunate enough to celebrate in big and small ways. I got the chance to pamper myself and my wedding party before the big day and felt so ready by the time the big weekend came. As soon as I finished the final detail (literally the day before the wedding). It was chaos right before, but with my amazing support system (my bridal party, family and of course my now husband), everything went smoothly.

Biggest tip: Enjoy every second of your wedding day!

*I might do a Day Of Blog later on to explain the details and how everything came together*

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Even after the big day is done, you are still not finished!

POST WEDDING:

June 2021: Be sure to THANK YOUR VENDORS. I sent hand written thank you notes to each vendor, wedding guest, and those that gave a gift from our registry. It’s so important to express your gratitude for them coming out for your wedding. Leaving reviews for all the vendors is also extremely important. It not only shows follow through on your end as a client, but it also shows potential new clients of your experiences so they can make the right decision for their special day. We also got our photos from our photographer and yes I shared those all over social media :)

July 2021: We got our videos back from the videographers. For our package, we got both a highlight reel with a song of our choice to play over it as well as an overall video of the whole day. I believe it was totally worth the price we paid for both videos. This month, I also got my dress preserved from the same place that I bought it from which was really convenient. We also framed our ketubah and it will hang in our house when we get around to buying one.

August 2021: It finally feels like I have finally settled into married life. There were still a couple of ongoing items to deal with post wedding. Changing last name is the next big milestone (for another posts when it eventually happens) but as of right now I am at a stalemate here because of COVID protocols and the SSA in office visits being unavailable at the time. I have (and still have as of writing this post) leftover wedding items that I plan to sell/donate for other people to use for their weddings.

TODAY:

It seems insane what a year will do for reflection on my special day. It’s crazy to imagine planning everything months, nearly a year even, to pull off a beautifully orchestrated event. And yet, here I am, months after, hardly believing that we did that. Honestly, what got me through the majority of the planning was having the best support system. No matter which aspect of the wedding was weighing me down in the moment, I was able to confide in my closest friends/family and they helped me make the best decisions possible for the best day.

Fro those of you that have a wedding on the horizon or if you just want to swap stories, I am always around to help in any way I can.

Happy planning!

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