Y’all. Our wedding was a dream come true and I can hardly wait to share with you the a million precious moments. As I look back on every social media post, clip, photo, and video captured it truly does take me right back- even the blurry ones. I can’t delete a thing. It’s so crazy to me that I am now looking back at my wedding because for so long I was looking “forward” and building up to this day. During the planning stages and grabbing as much videos and photos along the way as I could- and wow I am so thankful for this. I think everyone expected it because I really do a great job documenting the journey no matter what I am doing most of the time though work or my sweet little boy, Caleb. I’ll admit, this wedding I stepped it up a notch though. A small part of me wondered ‘Hey, I could totally put my phone camera down right now and just “be in the moment” but I will be dead honest-during those moments I felt this little voice say “Hey. You will want to remember this too!” And to encourage y’all that think twice about documenting even the small silly things. Do it. I can confidently say, I took video of every little milestone, from the beginning stages of venue tours to Nick and I practicing our surprise choreographed dance we learned from a random YouTube video. And, instagramming throughout my wedding day. Yep. Live streaming my wedding ceremony from a little birds eye view to share the moment I walked down the staircase to the aisle and said I DO. I AM SO THANKFUL. Moments to relive that are now making Nick and I are crying and laughing so hard it hurts. Moments I have cherished with my son as he watches his mommy get married. The moments that are the beginning of a new chapter. I can’t wait to share with you this very special part of my life. Tons to come. I had originally started editing a few videos to play around with some concepts and they are currently LIVE on my YouTube Channel. Blogging is not a native element for me but I am now finding it new and therapeutic in a way. Expressing myself through editing life moments comes easy- taking a breath, literally listening to smooth jazz to chill me out so I can take a breath and write is a new world. I still blog through my mom blog group with collincountymomsblog.com but it’s entirely different here, so bare with me! I plan on pairing my videos with a post that should include some behind the scenes elements and more thought process. I love to share and can’t wait to officially get started!

-XO Socially Sarah

To kickoff sharing my wedding details, let’s recap what I shared to my instagram stories along the way. I have tons to make a separate post of what I posted and when, but here is what I shared along the way in my instagram stories and eventually I’ll post IGTV’s (which will also be on my YouTube Channel linked)

PRE WEDDING GRAM: 2 days before my wedding day moments, bridal crafts, wedding dilemmas, future husband moments, indecisive moments, designing my wedding timelines, sending out my wedding invites and more.

WEDDING DAY GRAM: I share moments from waking up, finalizing wedding preparations and gifts, documenting my makeup before and after, sweet sweet bridesmaids and their bridesmaids robes, my bridal suite decorations, walking into my wedding reception area and more!

Sneak preview of pictures! Professionals are from Tyler and Lindsey Photo&Video Team (based in DFW) and the other photos are my own! Plus of course snapshots from friends and family that sent some along the way!

The post Coming Soon! My Wedding Content! appeared first on Social With Sarah.

This video has been over a year in the making!!!!

Wedding Venue Tour Across North Texas: Video Blog by Sarah Crilley

<iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/VySNBc2S0Lw” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture” allowfullscreen></iframe>

This video has been over a year in the making!!!! You will notice our multi season display of clothing (we started tours in the summer and ended in the winter! 6 months of looking)

I highly encourage brides to document their journey as they look at venues. This video was truly a joy as we walked down memory lane. Just to hear our thought process early on was so sweet. We had no idea what we were doing and I am thankful we took the time to take quick videos along the way. Enjoy! Venues we toured included two beautiful ranch styles in McKinney, Legacy Ranch and Stone Crest. We toured two locations by the Walter’s Weddings Estates: Chapel Ana Villa in The Colony Texas and Aristide Flower Mound Texas.

https://waltersweddingestates.com/dallasfort-worth

More in depth look at all venues on my blog, www.socialwithsarah.com #nearlyanielsen #newlywednielsen

NOTE TO MY GROOM, HUSBAND TO BE: I appreciate my incredible groom, Nick for letting me document our journey and posting it on the internet. It’s not easy to open up and agree to post our little home video for others to see. They will watch tons of laughs and so much fun. It truly was a journey to get to this point! I love you for giving each venue a chance, giving your “all” when it came to the final decision.

Our multi-venue tour:

Venue #1: Avalon Legacy Ranch: Outdoor wedding, VERY Rustic, Woodland, Family friendly, Charming and Unique. Consider wearing cowboy boots with your wedding dress.

Avalon Legacy Ranch was the perfect rustic and southern Texas venue nestled in the woodlands of McKinney. Driving up to the venue you will experience true Texas, wide open farm land and cows. Guests will have the true Texas experience. The venue is 8 minutes from the McKinney square with is a charming historic district with plenty of shopping

The Alter is an arch complete with white Perfect to cater BBQ, perfect for a giant house party feel under twinkling string cafe lights on the humongous back patio.

The family that owns this venue is filled with love. They told us if it rained, they would hand-wipe down the seats. They were absolutely the sweetest people on the planet.

My fiancé was absolutely loved the lake, the alter at the bottom of the hill and how accommodating the staff was.

Venue #2: Stone Crest Venue, McKinney Texas: Outdoor venue with breathtaking views, grand feel, high vaulted ceilings, gorgeous new venue “feel”, wow factor.

The view was incredible, just minutes from McKinney. Similar priced to the other venues in McKinney. They quoted us $5,000 for the venue on a Friday. Discount for a January wedding.

Chapel Ana Villa: Romantic, elegant, classy, memorable.

First words out of my mouth (documented in the video) “THIS IS IT!”

I knew when we drove up that Chapel Ana Villa was the one. The venue has a romantic feel from the very beginning as you walk up to a grand fountain, the charming chapel is complete with a winding staircase, breathtaking magnolia trees(our favorite). This venue has the best of an outside feel INDOORS! We loved the easy access through the Hotel literally in the parking lot (easy access)

Hidden Pines: Located in Flower Mound and Lewisville. I noted the location wrong in my video as Aristide but alas, it was called Hidden Pines.

We loved this venue. Two words, Crystal. Chandeliers. This location was brand new! I think candles next to the fireplace would add so much ambience and set the love tones for any wedding. This venue has the perfect natural light for pictures.

++++

More in depth look at all wedding topics my blog, www.socialwithsarah.com #nearlyanielsen #newlywednielsen

NOTE TO MY GROOM, HUSBAND TO BE: I appreciate my incredible groom, Nick for letting me document our journey and posting it on the internet. It’s not easy to open up and agree to post our little home video for others to see. They will watch tons of laughs and so much fun. It truly was a journey to get to this point! I love you for giving each venue a chance, giving your “all” when it came to the final decision.

The post Wedding Venue Tour Across North Texas appeared first on Social With Sarah.

He had the ring in his pocket the whole time and I couldn’t believe it. 
He proposed at the park, Caleb was in on it. I can’t believe he kept the secret the whole time! Caleb came running over “I knew he was going to, Mommy! Are you surprised?!” (INSERT SHOCKED MOMENT. Yes.)

I still don’t know how they pulled it off! It was the sweetest thing ever, my jaw hit the floor.. and my heart still has butterflies. Life complete! #nearlyanielsen#nickandsarahtogetherforever

THE (real) MOMENT

But capturing “the moment” wasn’t exactly an option. Nick decided to pop the question while we were sitting at the park on a oversized rock watching Caleb play as the sun was setting. It was truly a picture-esk moment. I remember thinking for a split second, what a perfect place for a proposal. NOT REALIZING MOMENTS FROM NOW THATS EXACTLY WHAT WOULD HAPPEN!!!!

Nick didn’t drop down on one knee, he actually had my legs draped across his lap as we sat comfortably talking about the photo shoot and random little things. From there, he got VERY serious all of the sudden talking about how much he loves me and wants to spend the rest of his life with me and Caleb. Ah. This moment was absolutely magical, time stopped but I don’t recall completely how he asked. Nick agrees, he didn’t think about preserving our memories for a lifetime beyond what we could remember. To this day, we try to recall exactly what was said. I think I said ‘Oh my God. Yes!” or maybe just “OH MY GOD!” But, it was sweet, emotional and a complete surprise. I had just wrapped up a fun photo shoot with MayKing Looks Boutique at the Nature Preserve at Arbor Hills. Which, looking back I am sure he could have grabbed the photographer and let him in on the moment. But hey, he was a nervous guy that just surprised me at my photo shoot for work. I’ll cut him some slack on this one

I was completely decked out in athleisure  with a horrible spray tan. Sweaty. Ready for dinner! I was so excited Nick and Caleb had surprised me I didn’t think twice what they were up to. So, needless to say, this girl was NOT prepared to have the question popped one bit. I had my hair totally on point, but my nails were a wreck. Fortunately for fitness modeling I could get away without a manicure and a dark uneven spray tan. Ha! But, had I thought perhaps he would ask me to be his wife.. this girl would have been manicured to the nines.

The photos from the modeling shoot with tennis skirts and athletic wear went fantastic. The engagement photos.. sweet and very “in the moment” We went from Nick asking me in a long drawn out sweet way that we both can’t seem to remember what was said, to Caleb coming over to rub it in how HE knew the secret, to asking Caleb to jump in some photos with us and then he quickly ran off with my phone camera to take photos of trees, rocks, and squirrels!

Needless to say, I couldn’t wait to recreate the “moment” two years later at our engagement photo shoot. (Another blog post will explain more on why we waited two years to get married.) I work in media and absolutely LOVE videos. I have always adored engagement photos and videos. Anything that evokes emotion in photos or video I am drawn to. So when we were planning on sending out our Save the Date Cards for our wedding announcement I jumped on the opportunity to recreate our engagement moment to share our engagement story. We were excited to revisit the special rock, which he and I both remembered it differently so we have yet to find the real rock we sat on which we now call Mysterious Engagement Rock. We dressed up, entertained each other throughout the entire process. It was so special. Here is the video I made:

Sarah and Nick are Getting Married!

Music jingle: Marry You, Bruno Mars

Music: Sign Me Up, Matt Hartke

I literally can’t watch it without tearing up right away. We had such a fun time with this, felt very special celebrating our engagement and celebrating our big wedding day announcement! This was a huge deal for us to finally have a date on the calendar. July 13, 2019. Huge y’all. Huge.

Cheers to engagements. Cheers to a reenactment proposal. Nick deserves an award for how he got down on one knee with my ring and we over dramatized the moment. Joggers on the trail at the Arbor Hills Nature Preserve stopped to watch. I screamed YES! YES I WILL MARRY YOU just to keep the effect. Our photographer was entertained. Hey, we couldn’t have an engagement photo shoot without Nick getting down on one knee and I reasoned with him “FIRST of all, you never got down on one knee when you popped the question. So here is your chance!”. He did. And it was adorable.

I have to say, the photos turned out absolutely fantastic. The moment captured on video added to the story we were building in our little video we are using to build the wedding hype. I cherish the looks on our faces in each and every photo taken during our engagement photo session AND adding my little video of behind the scenes was more fun than I could have imagined. We laughed the entire time.

There is something to be said for waiting to take engagement photos until you are in the wedding planning process. For us, it meant victory! We are finally ready to walk down the aisle. It took 2 years for us to finally be at the place where we were 100% ready to plan the biggest party of our lives, the dedication to plan an event together so massive it took every single night after work to have intentional conversations about each other’s expectations for our day and what our day really meant. For the engagement photos, I wore my hair down. 2 years of being engaged had paid off for my hair! It was so short the day real proposed I immediately stopped my haircut routine knowing that I wanted long beautiful blonde hair for my wedding photos.

Our engagement photos were taken in February. In Texas, it was 70 degrees (not typically the norm BUT we lucked out with a warm day) The scenery was very open, not as much greenery as we liked how our outfits appeared bright and vibrant in the photos. Just about as bright and vibrant as our moments together

The moments caught on my phone where I am setting up phone camera 2 are hilarious and I will forever make fun of myself for this BUT I am telling you it’s worth it. Roll on the photo shoots. You can obsess over the shots immediately after the shoot AND hey, give back to your photographer. I made her an action packed video she can use for marketing of her in the ZONE with us. She was moving around to get the perfect shot (which she did) helping me with my flowers, my hair, etc.

Y’all I am telling you. Do this once and you will be hooked!

Tag me in your BTS moments. I would love to see them! #socialwithsarahBTS

The post Engagement Story + Engagement Video at Engagement Photo Shoot appeared first on Social With Sarah.

Behind the scenes, Cover a Fashion Show on Social media

There is nothing more exciting than covering a fashion show! Especially when you have the opportunity to capture moments on social media. The energy is off the charts! Designers, models, attendees. I live in Dallas, I have noticed there is extra excitement around fashion shows in this city. Fashion shows are few and far between, so it feels like an extra special occasion here. We embrace fashion from all over! With that being said, I thoroughly enjoy covering fashion shows my client hosts AND attends. Ruby Bhandari is the Designer of Silk Threads and she keeps her finger on the pulse of fashion in Dallas. I have covered fashion shows with her for 2 years and have enjoyed every moment! In the past two years, I have covered about 8 events from charity fashion shows to raise money, spring fashion line debuts and grand

Here are my tips for covering fashion shows on social:

-Start with still images

-GO LIVE, backstage, interview attendees, interview the charity, interview the Designer

-Build the hype

Simultaneously cover on Facebook LIVE and Instagram stories

-There are moments

The post Fashion Show behind the scenes! appeared first on Social With Sarah.

By Sarah Crilley
Bringing my son, Caleb to the State Fair of Texas year after year is something I look forward to. Each trip is unique to its own, and the kick-off to this State Fair season is extra sweet!
Our first stop is Stiffler’s Moms Cookie Factory. This will be our first visit to check it out with founder and owner, Tammy Stiffler.
Tammy Stiffler, nicknamed the Sweet Queen, owner of Stiffler’s Mom’s Cookie Factory is “rolling in the dough” at The State Fair of Texas 2018.. literally!
The newest creation she has brought to the fair is Stiffler’s Mom’s Cookie Factory, “It is homemade through and through!”
Stiffler buckets the fresh baked cookies (up to 3 dozen high!) which draws quite the attention walking through crowds at the fair! “It’s tempting to just want to reach out and grab one when you see someone walking by!”
Tammy and her staff work an entire month prior to the fair preparing for the 24-day event!
Fairgoers can watch the entire cookie baking process: From the big giant red mixer to the cookie dough dropped onto giant baking sheets, you can smell the cookies baking throughout the fair. YUM!
Rough numbers:
Tammy has the capability of making 8,000 cookies per day x 24 days of the State Fair of Texas= 192,000 cookies! (She actually believes it is more than that figure!)
Family owned and operated, Tammy Stiffler’s family has owned concessions since 90’s. They quickly expanded from one stand to several locations throughout the fairgrounds and take pride in bringing new and delicious sweet creations to the fair.
Other Fun Facts:
-The Stiffler’s make homemade ice cream with a John Deere Tractor!
-Tammy and her husband’s first date was at the fair!
-Tammy Stiffler has visited other fairs throughout the country to see what they can bring back to Texas. The Cookie Factory was inspired from Minnesota!
-Stiffler’s are the only stand that does DEEP FRIED DOUBLE STUFFED OREOS!
-“Stiffler’s Mom” is a fun chuckle relation to the movie, American Pie
-Tammy’s Big Tex Choice Awards winners: Fried S’mores, Fried Lemonade, Fried Taste of Autumn Pumpkin Pie
-Follow on Facebook, Stiffler’s Facebook Page
-Follow State Fair of Texas Facebook Page
Visit at The State Fair of Texas on the Midway! September 28- October 21st, 2018
https://bigtex.com

The post NEW COOKIE FACTORY AT THE STATE FAIR OF TEXAS appeared first on Social With Sarah.

LIVE at The State Fair of Texas, Sarah Crilley

“Let’s go to the swine barn!” Caleb said as he pulled me into a bardyard full of.. you guessed it.. SWINE! We never would have guessed what would happen next! Our eyes were drawn to the middle of the showroom was a little girl with a pink bow, sparkle rainbow pink jacket, confidence that soared. Waiting until she finished walking her pig, Caleb and I asked to interview Taylee. I am so glad we did, we leared all about where that confidence came from.

The post 5 Year Old Shows with Her Heart! appeared first on Social With Sarah.

The post Work appeared first on Social With Sarah.

The post Give back this Mother’s Day appeared first on Social With Sarah.

Battle of the Brides debuted January 2018! We had fun dreaming up this wedding-themed obstacle course to keep the brides at the show longer, give them a laugh, and let them compete! Definitely, a way to calm the nerves before the “big day” Enjoy the recap/Test run.

Battle of the Brides will return for Summer 2018!

The post Inventing Battle of the Brides for The Dallas Bridal Show appeared first on Social With Sarah.

I have spent time this holiday season, blogging, doing a few Facebook LIVE posts, welcoming in a Santa into my young professional group. I’d say, this year, I have the Santa tips covered!

Ho ho ho! Here is my Santa Claus recap!

“I AM NOT THE PERFECT SANTA”

I confessed my Santa Claus slip-ups (where I have almost gotten caught) to my fellow moms at Collin County Mom’s Blog

I confessed on Facebook LIVE (below) reading my blog out loud, explaining myself further.

“I WANTED TO HEAR FROM THE SANTA PRO”

I interviewed Santa himself with my young professional Chamber, The Dallas Junior Chamber of Commerce.

It is amazing to hear stories of a real Santa and how he keeps the spirit of Christmas alive ALL year long. His heart is full, I am so thankful that there are Santa’s just like this one that helps our children believe.

I am proud to say I am a strong supporter of Santa Claus.

The post I am STILL Santa Claus, The Santa Claus Publicity Tour appeared first on Social With Sarah.