For women everywhere, planning a wedding can be one of the most exciting times of your life. But as I recently learned, there are also many reasons that can make it one of the most stressful.

Taylor proposed in one of our favorite spots on Wrightsville Beach, NC, and yes, Waylon was there with us, which made it even more perfect! Then that night we shared a gluten and dairy free pizza along with a round of celebratory cocktails at the beach Mellow Mushroom as we began making lists of who we’d invite, and a general plan for our wedding festivities. But as I quickly learned, part of the trouble with planning a wedding is that usually a parent is paying for it and has their own ideas about how things should be. So marrying together the parents’ vision and your own, can be a slippery slope.

Initially we did plan for a bigger beach wedding complete with irresistible catered gluten-free foods and imported gluten-free cupcakes, a.k.a. wedding number one. Unfortunately, the drama eventually got out of hand, and we decided to post pone things until we could pay for them next year, so then began the planning of wedding number two. This wedding would be similar, but all downsized to fit our own budget.  But as the weeks passed, we realized that after being together for six years, we a) did not want to wait another year, and b) would rather be saving those funds for our dream house.

And so began the plans for our actual wedding, i.e. wedding number three.

We decided on an elopement in an historic old courthouse in downtown Wilmington, to which family would be invited. To be followed by a delectable (and fancy) lunch. Which would then be followed by a dressy/casual, Garden & Gun-esque backyard party with friends and family, which I would deck out Pinterest-style and have catered with famed local Carolina BBQ, which would then be followed by a week on Wrightsville Beach with friends.

In the planning of not one, but three concepts for our wedding, I researched things large and small, which I am now so excited to share with you all! We’re only sad that it’s now over, but the vision for what we wanted absolutely came into light without, shall we say–a hitch!

Here are some of the endeavors I’m excited to share in the coming weeks:

-Choosing gluten-free dinner rolls to add to our catered dinners that no one would be complaining about.

-Finding the best gluten-free cupcakes on the planet, and the best recipe for making my own.

-Choosing the yummiest gluten-free cookies that would have anyone fooled!

-Discovering one of Wimington’s best resources for local favorite, Carolina BBQ.

-Selecting the best restaurant in Wilmington, and ensuring I couldn’t “get glutened.”

-Pinteresting-out our backyard, and how to do it for any table in a pinch!

-Ordering out when serving gluten-free for a large group.

-My favorite low-carb Summer cocktail, the Horni Cranberry.