I love introducing new brides! New venue searches, new styles and a whole new perspective on wedding planning from a fabulous girl that is as giddy as ever to plan the most amazing day of her life. So let's do this! Help me welcome this gorgeous couple that is about to embark on one of the most amazing (and stressful) events of their life! We are thrilled that she is going to be blogging her way to the alter with us :)

Gretchen hails from Southern California and is planning a totally fun wedding in Ojai, CA. Find out more about her below including her awesome inspiration board.

Age: 28

Where I am from: Originally from Springfield, Illinois and now living in Ventura, CA after moving down from San Francisco two years ago.

Wedding location: We plan to get married in September of 2013 in Ojai, CA. We decided on Ojai for many reasons: my fiancé, Derek was born and raised there; proximity to where we live now, and we found a venue that we absolutely fell in love with.

Bio: Derek and I met on Match.com four years ago. He was the third guy I went on a date with, so lucky for me, the third time was the charm! He popped the question when we were in the Bay Area over last Thanksgiving so that we could celebrate with our friends and my family. We are excited to incorporate personal touches into our special day and I plan on taking on lots of DIY projects to make our wedding uniquely “us” (without turning into this couple).

Derek is a real estate lawyer, but his true passion lies in fashion. He has an incredible eye for style, so we will truly be making joint decisions throughout this entire planning process.

I work in Santa Barbara, CA for a public affairs firm running their in-house social media and marketing. I pride myself on being a bargain hunter, baking whatever is most unhealthy from my Pinterest board, and knowing way too much about bad reality T.V.