I met CJ and Alexa on one of the biggest days of their lives so far…the day CJ asked Alexa to be his forever! I LOVE proposals, and I was so honored when CJ’s sister Tori reached out and organized for me to come capture the entire thing. CJ had both of their families come be apart of the event, and after he popped the question they all rode off on their family’s boat –– while drinking champagne of course!

Before you read any further, you HAVE to see the photos from the proposal day –– See CJ and Alexa’s proposal story blog post here!

I have loved seeing Alexa and CJ’s wedding preparations on Instagram and reached out to Alexa about sharing all of the things she’s doing while planning the day of their dreams. I am so thankful she is sharing with us and I can’t wait to see how all of these personal touches turn out!

---

CJ and I have been together for almost 7 years. We have our own personalities (that are totally opposite, but hey, opposites attract) and have also developed a personality as a couple.

Through the wedding planning process, it has been important to us to make sure we tell our own unique love story on the wedding day. There have been many discussions that have started with “I want this…”, ”This is my non-negotiable…”, ”My dream wedding will have this,” but we continuously remind ourselves that it is a day to celebrate us.

And we also didn’t want to copy Pinterest since everything on there has already been done.

So, I wanted to share a few things we are doing in order to keep our day special and personalized to us as a couple.

1. The Location

One of the biggest things we went back and forth on was the location for our wedding. We toured a few places and kept going back to having our wedding downtown. CJ went to NC State and I went to Meredith College, so it was very important to us to stay downtown, where we spent the most time and grew the most in our dating relationship. We’re getting married at Market Hall in Raleigh, which is the cutest place in the middle of downtown complete with cobblestone sidewalks and string lights.

2. The Guest List

CJ and I decided to have an adult-only wedding ceremony and reception. We wanted to stay true to this by not having a ring bearer or any flower girls as well. Don’t get me wrong, some of the sweetest wedding pictures include little kids, but we’re excited to celebrate alongside our closest adult friends and family.  

3. The Bridal Party Introductions

We both LOVE the office. I was so against it in the beginning and would not watch, but CJ got me hooked and it’s our favorite show anytime we’re together. We decided to take an idea from Jim & Pam’s wedding and our bridal party will be announced into the reception with the song “Forever” by Chris Brown playing in the background.

4. The Dessert

I have a huge sweet tooth and CJ does not (unless it involves Oreo). This made deciding on cake and desserts difficult for our reception, but we wanted to give our guests something sweet to eat. I hated the idea of a 5 tiered cake and CJ had no interest in eating it. Instead, we are having a small cake (just for the two of us) to cut and feed one bite, along with assorted cupcakes for the rest of our guests.

5. The Signature Drinks

During cocktail hour we’re going to have signature drinks, which is one of the best ways (in my book) for couples to share their favorite things. Hers will be Cranberry Vodka & His will be Long Island Iced Tea…we’re still thinking of fun names for them!

Making It Special For CJ:

“I love sports and so do my groomsmen, so they’re all wearing sports related socks. I have each one wearing a team they love.  I’m planning to wear one NC State sock (GO PAAAACK!) and one Carolina Hurricanes sock (or Buffalo Bills because, Bills Mafia!).”

Making It Special For Alexa:

“It was very important for me to show my personal style through my dress. I was very particular in style, fit, etc.…particular enough for it to take 6 stores before I said yes! I would say more about it, but CJ won’t see it until I’m walking down the aisle. :)”