Kiersten's Corner: My first time in Europe

Happy Thursday everyone!

In my introductory blog I mentioned that I love to travel despite the fact that I am afraid of flying in airplanes. My freshman year of college I heard about the International Programs opportunity through FSU and thought it would be amazing to be able to travel abroad. My roommate, the one who used to hold my hand on the airplane when we went to Dallas for cheerleading competitions, and I decided to apply to the program in Valencia, Spain. 

Receiving the acceptance letter to the Summer 2011 program was exciting yet nerve wracking considering I knew the only way I would get there was via airplane. I had 8 months to think about how awesome it was going to be to explore the world and how anxious I was about being on a plane for 10 hours. I came to my senses closer to the trip and realized that if I want to experience things and see the world, I needed to overcome my fear. 

So June 21st arrives and I'm headed to the airport and before I knew it we were in New York, then Valencia, Spain. Clearly complications arose but overall, no sweat. I spent 5 weeks in Europe this time around and it was such an amazing experience. We took side trips on a few select weekends which included: Barcelona, Madrid, Segovia, Toledo and Italy. 

Barcelona was a trip that a group of us took on our own where we stayed in a youth hostel.. which was for lack of a better word, interesting. Madrid was an organized trip through the program and we got to stay in a nice hotel called Hotel Regina. While on the trip to Madrid we took two side day trips to Segovia and Toledo. Segovia was the prettiest place I had been to up to this point. Italy was also a trip a few of us (only girls) took on our own. We managed to tackle the leaning tower of Pisa and then made our way to Rome for the majority of the weekend. In Rome I met up with my cousins who live in California, which was amazing considering we rarely get to see them in the states. 

In my opinion, traveling by train is the most productive and beautiful way to travel. You get to see so much while en route to your destination. Traveling by train from Pisa to Rome was magnificent. Seeing the country side was something I can only compare to the scenery in one of my favorite movies: Under the Tuscan Sun. Leaving Italy was sad because it was so beautiful, the people were so generous, the culture and history was unbelievable and overall it was something different from Spain and it intrigued me. Till this day I say I would like to live in Italy at one point in my life. We'll see how that goes! 

City of Arts and Sciences. Valencia, Spain

Barcelona, Spain

Toledo, Spain

Leaning tower of Pisa. 

My cousins and myself in Rome, Italy.

At the close of this trip all I could think about was that I hope I have the experience to go to Europe again soon before I am a working woman in the real world and never get summer vacations. I was lucky enough to be able to travel again this past summer with even more excitement than my first trip. BUT... until next Thursday where I talk about my second time abroad, enjoy the photos above! Oh.. and I have to thank my amazing parents for not only making this possible once, but twice! 

Feel free to share your experiences abroad, ask me questions about my favorite places, etc! 

Weekend Recap

Hi sweet readers!

The past few days have been insanely busy. It was a wedding weekend here at M.E.D. A full post on Amanda and Jason's day will be up soon! In the meantime, here is some instagram goodness that I snapped on Saturday.

We spent Sunday in clean up and recovery mode, and hit the ground running on Monday with planning meetings as well as meeting a sweet new bride and her fabulous mother. I feel so blessed every time I meet another bride-to-be and am able to be a part of their special day.

I'll be hitting the rode Thursday for my trip down to Tampa to visit a best friend and meet her sweet new baby boy. So tonight is laundry, cleaning and getting the house organized. Tomorrow is packing and putting together a goody basket for momma and baby. I am beyond excited.

Till next time!

MM

Kiersten's Corner- The Power of the Friendship Circle

Despite popular belief, friendship circles aren’t just for sorority women. Although sorority women are among the most common participants of a friendship circle, I’ve been able to dig a little deeper!

Most, if not all sororities have a traditional song or circle of unity that they sing or form together during special moments within each sister’s lives. There are different traditions for every sorority and it is a special bond that sisters share. A friendship circle usually forms toward the end of the reception. However, after doing some research to see some of the cool ideas done with friendship circles, I realized that this isn’t something exclusive to sororities.

The friendship circle or a variation of it, a wedding arch, is somewhat meant for a smaller wedding considering all the guests form a large circle in the middle of the dance floor. For both the bride and the groom, they start at a particular point in the circle and proceed around in opposite directions, hearing well wishes, receiving hugs and then eventually meeting back at the starting point. The wedding arch is similar in that two lines are formed heading towards the door! The wedding arch works best when the bride and groom are leaving, right before the end of the night. 

Please feel free to post any experiences you may have had with variations of the friendship circle, fun stories, etc! And please introduce yourselves and request fun topics you’d like me to write about!

And for now and until next Thursday:  

Wedding Wednesday MSL Feature

Happy Wedding Wednesday to you all!

We are busy bees over here at M.E.D. Amanda and Jason's big day is in two days, nine hours, and 16 minutes, so it is crunch time!

Wedding week is always so much fun. It's insanely busy, but the excitement and anticipation keeps us going. So does Starbucks. Kiersten, M.E.D.'s new intern, has been simply fabulous this week. I am so thankful for her!

For today's Wedding Wednesday post, I figured I would chat with you about this weekend's venue - Mission San Luis. This is one of my favorite venues in Tallahassee. There is so much history packed into this place, and the grounds are beautiful. Want a wedding outside? There's plenty of green space with beautiful surroundings. Want your wedding inside? The banquet hall is gorg. One of my favorite parts about the banquet hall are the soaring ceilings with wood beams. And I can't wait to get this courtyard all gussied up for Saturday's cocktail hour!

Here's a little history lesson on MSL:

Avisit to Mission San Luis transports you back in time. Your destination is a community where Apalachee Indians and newcomers from Spain live in close proximity drawn together by religion as well as military and economic purpose.

Modern day visitors to Mission San Luis discover a re-created community where time stands still. There they meet the people of San Luis going about the tasks that sustained life centuries ago. They walk the plaza where the Apalachees played their traditional ball games. They visit the most important structure in the Apalachee village, the council house, and also stop at the home of the Spanish Deputy Governor. Visitors are welcomed at the church built under the supervision of Franciscans, and at the friary where they lived. Mission San Luis is a very special place where history comes to life.

Inside the visitor center you will experience artifacts and art in many forms.

Make sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook to see all of the planning for this weekend come to life! 

MM

Weekend Recap

Whew!

What a crazy weekend, and boy did it fly by. This weekend was a weekend full of sports fun for me. We had friends in town for the Florida State/Clemson game, and in case you don't follow college football, we won, which is always a major plus! We caught a few hours of shut eye after the game and then woke up bright and early and drove to Atlanta for the PGA Tour Championship. Amazing. The weather was beyond perfect. The cell phone policy was a tad strict for my liking, so I only was able to snap one pic- while we were on our way out - while no one was looking. Geez!

We got back in town yesterday afternoon, and it's now it's back to the grind! It's wedding week here at M.E.D so we are busy lil bees! Can't wait to share with you pictures from Amanda and Jason's big day this Saturday! These two are seriously just too cute for words.

Cheers!
M

Kiersten's Corner

Hello everyone! My name is Kiersten Olson and I am the new intern at Molly Elizabeth Design. I am a junior at Florida State, currently majoring in Hospitality Management and Business Marketing.

My dream is to graduate, become a successful event planner (social and corporate), and move to New York City. Born in Long Island, New York I've wanted nothing more than to move back. Visiting almost every year since we relocated to South Florida has been quite a tease! 

I believe I'm on my way to a FUN and successful career as an event planner with all the wonderful mentors, including Molly, that I've come across during my intern experience. Thus far I am enjoying myself more than I ever thought possible! I've already met the September bride, discovered 'The Polka Dot Press", added to my koozie collection, discovered PicMonkey for some creative collages, met J&J Photography and had some great laughs and good times with Molly and our clients! Mind you, this has all happened in just a short 5 weeks!

I love to write and craft all kinds of things! Pinterest is my "go to"! I love the changing of seasons (fall and winter being my favorite) because I love pea coats, boots, and scarves... Oh, and how nicely my hair stays when it's cold!

 I love my Bloomingdales and Nordstrom but I NEVER skip over Marshall's! Starbucks is great, but NOTHING beats Einstein's Vanilla Hazelnut coffee. Everyday I find something new in planning in my own wedding. I think traveling is one of the most exhilarating opportunities, even though flying in an airplane is one of my biggest fears. 

Every Thursday I will post my blog "Kiersten's Corner" so you all get a little taste of my style and my inspiration that I hope to contribute to Molly Elizabeth Design.PLEASE feel free to comment, introduce yourself, etc! 

I LOVE meeting new people!

And for now and until next Thursday:

Wedding Wednesday: Statement Necklaces

Happy Wedding Wednesday!

Finding the perfect dress is top priority on a bride's ever-growing to-do list. But what about a fabulous necklace? These are some of my favorite statement pieces.

Hellooooo gorgeous! I am seriously obsessed with this necklace. It's perfection. You like it, don't you? You can find it here.

Here's a little "something blue"that might tickle your fancy! Click here for all the deets.

As you all already know, I'm drooling over gold right now. Fabulous. Buy here.

How precious is this peter pan collar necklace?  Get it here.

Any of these statement pieces will add the perfect finishing touch on your big day!