Every year at the end of summer we take a trip to Indiana to spend time with Luke's family. Usually we drive and take Wilma and Hudson with us, but this year we decided to skip the 6 days of driving (round trip) and hop on the big bird and fly.

Last week we took our yearly voyage and we had a great time!

It was a week full of fun and family time. It seems like every night we all ended up sitting in Luke's parents' living room with all the 'grown ups' laid out snoring and the kiddos playing legos or fighting over who got to play on 'Mimi and Paw's' iPad. I love those memories! :)

We traveled sans-cameras last week and we don't have cell service up there, so even our Instagram's were a little sparse! But here are a few of our favorites!

I love this photo of me and our nieces, Hunter and Sophie! Hunter started 4th Grade this week and Sophie started 1st Grade.

Luke and Hunter look happy here, but about three minutes after this photo was taken they were in a full-blown jujitsu match! The girls are studying jujitsu and are a real force to be reckoned with!

One night the family entrusted Luke and I with the girls' care. After serving as judges for an impromptu Indiana version of the summer Olympics that included such events as Who Can Scream The Loudest Underwater, Who Can Do The Longest Dead Mans' Float, and Who Can Do The Most Graceful Walk Off The Diving Board, Luke and I ended up clients at the girls' Beauty Shop.

We also took the girls bowling one day!

We didn't venture too far away from the tiny town Luke grew up in, but when we did go to the city one day, we were so happy to get to see our friends, Indianapolis wedding photographers Cory and Jackie, who cooked us a delicious meal at their new house and let us spend way too much time visiting!

Now it's back to the Texas heat and back to work! :)

When you're starting to plan your wedding day, one of the first things you should sit down and figure out is your 'beauty schedule' for the day. If you don't know where to start, here's some of our thoughts on making sure hair and makeup enhance your timeline instead of make it more hectic!

1. Plan for all hair/makeup to be complete 2-3 hours prior to the ceremony start time.
If you're having makeup done off-site, plan 3 hours. If you're having the makeup artist on location, plan for everyone to be finished 2 hours before.

2. Plan 1.5 hours per person.
Some might need more, some might need less, but this is good average to start with. 1 hour is NOT enough time and will end up putting you behind schedule. Start counting backwards from the time you need everyone to be ready and go from there. Yes, you might have to start on hair/makeup early in the day. See the next tip for a solution!

3. Choose a salon/beauty professional who works with a team.
This is especially important if you have a large group of ladies who need their hair and makeup done. Choosing to work with an entire salon or a group of beauty artists helps things move faster as they can work on multiple ladies at one time.

4. Bride's finishing touches are last.
When an on-location makeup artist is at the wedding, we like to have the bride's finishing touches photographed to include in the wedding album. Having the bride ready to go, except perhaps eyelash application and lipstick, lets us get those photos we love!

5. Consider keeping a beauty artist around until after the ceremony.
It's becoming more common to have a hairstyle or makeup switch done during cocktail hour, along with any necessary touchups.

Bonus Tip:
Not related to making appointments, but super important! Plan time for makeup touchups during the day. Pack a small kit with powder, concealer, and lipstick and pass it to your most responsible bridesmaid. For a 6:30 ceremony start time, your makeup will probably have been completed at 4:30. If you stay at your reception until 10:30, that means your makeup will have been on for 6 hours. A few touchups will keep you looking just as beautiful as ever!

Several months ago we discovered The Lumineers and fell in love. How can you not hear this song and start dancing?