Lovely Tonight

Wedding Recaps: Bride + Groom

2010-03-03T08:45:00.000-06:00

These are my most favoritest pictures ever... some of them are just so freaking sweet I can barely stand it. We are going to hang almost every single pic somewhere in our home I'm sure!

So here is our first look... WARNING: Picture Overload!

Here I come!

Hey sweetie!

Come hither ;)

Look at my purrrdy dress!

Matthew's grooms gift...shhhhh it's an iPhone!

My something blue!!!!!

Is this the most sneaky look ever?? I couldn't wait to get my Something Blue!

I heart my David Yurman! My man takes hints, see the story here :)

Poor little Matthew had this one hair that would NOT sit down... I was trying to fix it...with no luck. That little hair will make many appearances later... haha

And here come the framers...

Don't know why but it's so sweet to see Matthew holding my little train!

See the wild hair?? haha

Who doesn't love a good "Groom holding the bouquet" shot?!

My 2nd favorite photo! Don't worry...you'll see my #1!

I love the way my dress looks in this pic...me notsomuch lol

Patiently awaiting the ceremony to start, so peaceful

I love all these pictures...the most fun I have is trying to find that wild hair! I laugh everytime I see it!

Is it bad that posting these makes me want to put my dress back on and dance around the house?!

Next up: Ceremony!

** All photos unless noted are by the GLORIOUS Shea Photography. Check her out at byshea.com :)

Wedding Recaps: The Girls

2010-02-28T09:32:00.000-06:00

While the boys were taking pictures around the chapel, us girls were striking a pose in another part of the grounds. Everything was so pretty, so there was a photo opp everywhere! I'll now introduce you to my lovely girls!

This is Maid of Honor #1, my best friend Sarah Bear :) We are equal halves of each other and I couldn't see my wedding without her standing right beside me. I know I'll be there when her day comes along as well! We met in High School and have been inseperable ever since!

Maid of Honor #2 happens to be Virginia and boy is this girl crazy! I also met her in High School when I entered her and Sarah's "group" and we three became the Infamous Trio! We never left each other's side! There is never a dull moment with ole VA and I'm so excited she's moving back to the south!

I met Miss Linds in college when three crazy events happened...1) she just so happened to be behind me in line our first night as Phi Mu's 2) she became Sarah's lil sis in Phi Mu and 3) she started dating one of our best guy friends. After that we had to be friends :) She embarked on our trip to Nashville with me to follow a boy that wasn't Matthew (that's another story altogether!) and is now dating one of Matthew's groomsmen...coincidence?? I think not ;)

Stephie is another wild child and I'm so thankful Lindsey introduced us all. She's also engaged and I can't wait to be in her wedding in June. She has a darling daughter and an amazing fiance and is always there when you need her!

And last but not least Anna Banana! I've known this chicky since Junior High when she bit my shoulder in the lunch room. We were fast friends from there on! We roomed together in college and were also Phi Mu sisters! I was in her wedding last year and have turned to her for all things newleywed and domestic!

And these darling girls are my Flower Girls, Logan and Alana. Logan is my half sister and Alana is her best friend! She didn't want to walk down the aisle by herself so she invited Alana to walk with her! They are the sweetest little things and oh so polite!

I love my girls!!

Next up... Our First Look and some of my FAVORITE pictures!

** All photos unless noted are by the GLORIOUS Shea Photography. Check her out at byshea.com :)

Wedding Recaps: The Boys

2010-02-09T12:00:00.001-06:00

Now it's the guys turn and boy are these dudes awesome! If I must say so myself we had the most attractive group of groomsmen/groom there ever was! Hey I can be biased right?

The guys were done getting ready and went to take their group pictures. Why is it so much easier for guys to get ready than girls?! So unfair...

Matthew and his Best Man #1 Mr. Bear ( Mrs Bear's other half from Think Happy Thoughts )

Best Man #2 is Matthew's dad

This is one of my favorite picture of all time!! Shea just told them they should kiss... and this was their honest reaction!! Matthew and Sam were not so keen on the idea :)

Here is Matthew's younger brother Taylor. He's a High School senior and we are hoping he becomes a Tennessee Vol as well!

And last but not least, Matthew's fraternity brother Rockoff... one of the NICEST and funniest guys I've ever met!!

** All photos unless noted are by the GLORIOUS Shea Photography. Check her out at byshea.com :)

Wedding Recaps: Getting Ready

2010-02-08T10:30:00.001-06:00

Alrighty so almost 6 months after my wedding I'm finally gonna get to recaps! I planned every single second of this wedding by myself so I'm excited to finally get to show it off!!

My day started with the uber-talented make up artist Amy Lynn Larwig...who will never tell you but had a PHENOMINAL wedding of her own, it blew me away!! You can see her blog here.

One of my best friends, Lindsey, decided to show off her hair net! Be-a-u-tiful!

We laughed, told stories, and just plain chilled while my makeup was getting done. Most people say this is where they start to freak out, but honestly I was the calmest I've ever been.

We then hopped in our vehicle and got dropped off at the chapel where we all got dressed!

My super sweet mom was so helpful... I swear she doesn't look a day older than I do!

Lastly my veil was put on and...

This little piece was attached to the inside of my dress. It was a piece of Matthew's mom's wedding dress and was my Something Borrowed. The pearl bracelet you will see was a high school graduation present and was my Something Old.

My gorgeous best friend and partner in crime (also Maid of Honor) Sarah just getting ready for the big day!

Mom and Sarah fluff my dress... and the big reveal... next...

**All photos unless noted are by the GLORIOUS Shea Photography. Find her online at byshea.com :)

WHO DAT?

2010-02-07T22:20:00.000-06:00

I'm interrupting my regularly scheduled posts to share my excitement!!

The SAINTS WON THE SUPER BOWL!!

I've been a pretty closet fan b/c I have this serious knack for jinxing teams at all levels and I REALLY wanted the Aint's to finally turn to the SAINTS!!

Growing up, Nawlins was a mere 3 hours from my hometown so it was a fun short drive vacation spot. In college, I went to many many formals down there and when Katrina hit, it was a completely different place. It tore the city up and I even called my favorite little clothing store in the Garden District to see if they made it out ok. Going to Mardi Gras was just different after Katrina, a little more dangerous and the crowds just not as packed. Luckily New Orleans didn't get hit as bad as the Mississippi Gulf Coast but I can still remember watching Shepard Smith anchoring from a hotel on Bourban when the hurricane hit.

It's unbelievable that just a few years after the Super Dome was full of people that had no homes and chose not to leave their city that a football team of this calliber came barrelling out of it!! I secretly made a Saint's shirt since there were NO SAINTS memorbillia to be found here in Nashville and I'm gonna say that it was my homemade **love** that won the game for the City's team!

Excuse the backwards letters, had to take it with Matthews iPhone, I seem to have lost mine :(

Really it wasn't just my homemade **love** it was a city full of that same love. A support from a city that never gave up, no matter how many times they lost and how many Super Bowls they didn't make it to. I'm proud to cheer on the Saints and loudly chant

WHO DAT?!

The Post I Didn't Want to Write

2010-02-07T10:35:00.000-06:00

This post has been a long time coming, which is probably why it's taken me so long to do it...almost 4 months to be exact.

I started this blog with a purpose, to show all my friends and family the plans for our big day and to share ideas and get advice on all things wedding. What I gained in the process was close to 50 followers who didn't know me or have anything to do with our wedding. It is FABULOUS! It opened my eyes to a ton of other traditions, ways of thought, and ideas from planning my wedding, to cooking and home decorating! I love this little bloggy community which is why I feel I need to say this even more.

I'm pretty sure I suck at this whole blog thing. There I said it...first step is acceptance right?

My posts are more than sporatic, they lack any real feeling or originality, and I haven't made any real connections with my readers or those whose blogs I stalk. And I think I've figured out why. I've been writing each post for my readers and not FOR ME. I understand you have to have an audience and your readers have to want to read your posts, but that pressure has made blogging completely unattractive to me.

So, I'm going to do what I've been promising all along. I'm going to do my wedding recaps... and after that I'm not sure what's going to happen. I may drift out of this little bloggy land and ride off into the sunset to merely stalk and comment on those other blogs that I love so dearly. Or I could just start actually blogging for me. I haven't quite figured that out yet.

GapKids Casting Call!

2009-11-10T22:27:00.004-06:00

Bloggy friends,

I need some help from you and your bloggy friends! My littlest sister Logan really wants to be in GapKids... just so happens there was a GapKids Casting Call and she entered!

God bless her she's six and just as precious as she could be! I'm not sure she has a fighting chance but I don't want her to just get 4 votes and feel terrible.

So I need a favor, if you could just go and vote for her I would be FOR-EVER grateful! You can vote everyday, once a day until Nov 17th!

The link is here. If you can't find it there go to http://family.go.com/gapcastingcall and her Member Name is MelLogGar.

I'll attach some pictures :) from of course our WONDERFUL photographer Shea Halliburton!

Thanks girls!! Posting and re-posting is a-ok by me...any help is appreciated! :)

Alright Girls (and possibly boys?)

2009-11-09T11:08:00.001-06:00

Ok folks,

Step outside of your Google Reader...

And tell me what you think of my new blog layout?

Good, bad, indifferent? I need some comments ladies, I'm missing the blog love!

So this post isn't completely pictureless I'll share some of my favs before I start with the recaps!!

Can't wait to share the rest!

Uprinting Rolled Canvas Giveaway!

2009-11-08T10:45:00.002-06:00

Bride on a Budget is hosting a giveaway of a Uprinting.com Rolled Canvas! Perfect for all those wedding and engagement pictures you may not have hung up yet! She also has a super cute blog too!

Visit her site and check out this awesome giveaway!

Booo on Halloween Candy (and a Curious Puppy Dog)

2009-11-07T19:25:00.006-06:00

Thursday was quite a day...

We left Thursday morning to go to work like every other day. We always let Bentley have the run of the house downstairs and babygate the stairs so he can't hurt himself running up and down. We put up everything on the coffee table b/c he loves to grab things off of it. He chewed up my first Social Security Card and many other things... thank goodness I changed my name! ;) I filled up his water and food, took him to pee outside, and then left for work. Apparenly what I didn't do was get our massive bag of candy left over from our non-existant trick-or-treaters off the end table and put it in the cabinets.

By the time M got home, it was a disaster zone. Candy was everywhere, empty wrappers were all over our living room floor. Half eaten Blow Pops were stuck in Bentley's fur and M&Ms were EVERY-WHERE! M picked up every wrapper and counted how many pieces of candy had been eaten. Our little 7 pound Yorkie baby ate three mini Crunch bars, a Reese's cup, and lord only knows how many mini packets of M&Ms. He licked on about 5 Blow Pops that were stuck to our Oriental Rug underneath our dining room table.

Needless to say I WIGGED OUT. Chocolate for a doggy is bad news bears. I called our vet, who happened to be out for the day. I called my Mom to ask if she knew what to do and even posted my quandry on Facebook. I called my vet back and they recommended that I go to the pet emergency clinic to go thehis stomach pumped. Then one of our friends called, her Dad is a vet and he said to just look for warning signs of sickness like throwing up, peeing alot, and bad diharrea. All bad, gross things. So instead of spending a ton of money at the pet emergency clinic we chose to wait.

I watched him like a hawk all night long. He acted like a normal doggy but he was definitely amped up on caffeine! He spent all night playing with his toys instead of sleeping like he normally does. And I stayed up with him. I just couldn't sleep thinking he could seizure out at any time. So crazy little me stayed up... and he was fine. YAY! But we definitely learned that we can't ever buy chocolate again, ever!

Vendor Review: Fresh by CarryAnn

2009-11-02T19:25:00.001-06:00

Fresh by CarryAnn may just be the single most helpful vendor I had on my side during my wedding. If I can give you any advice at all, make the drive to Mt. Juliet. I can guarantee that you will never regret it! First off, she is the cutest little thing you will ever see! Second, she was soooo much less expensive than any other florist we got quotes from and for the exact same thing! I was amazed when I got a $3000 quote from Enchanted Florist...and when I took the exact same idea to CarryAnn she got it done for $1600. Phe-nominal!!! She also was basically like the wedding planner, she got to Scarritt as soon as it opened, decorated EVERYTHING and then took it all down afterwards. She even transported things to 3rd aVenue from the ceremony (ahhh-mazing)! She decorated and supplied every decoration we needed for the reception and then came back at 1:00am to come pack it back up! She loaned us every single vase for our orchids so we didnt have to buy any (I'd say about 25 in all). Now this may be standard for florists but it sure made me feel special!

I even got a cute little mockup of my bouquet, even though I didn't have Bridal Portriats done!!

She also came in and set up my cake topper (which I sent to the Reception w/o any instructions apparently) and they contained NO FLOWERS! If it wasn't for her the top of my cake would have been naked!! She went out of her way to make sure that all aspects of my day were perfect and I didn't have to lift a finger... we kept all the orchids and the GORGEOUS floral arrangements that lasted for weeks! Seriously, they were still perfect when we came back from our Honeymoon!

The only thing I could even think of that wasn't just perfection was our billing, she didn't charge our credit card for the deposit. But that's it! We had a contract so I wasn't worried about it and as it showed, I shouldn't have been...she was one of the best decisions I made!!!

To book Fresh by CarryAnn you can visit her online at http://www.freshnashville.com/ and I promise you will not be disappointed!!! You'll even get a little surprise when you book her for your wedding! (I'll never tell but I promise, it made us feel very very special!!!)

A++++++

Teaser Slideshow!!!

2009-10-27T21:03:00.004-05:00

Get excited!!! My wonderful, glorious, uber-talented photographer, Shea has put together the slideshow of all slideshows of our wedding!!

Check it out by following this link: http://byshea.com/mrandmrswilkins

Make sure you have the volume turned UP because the music is perfect!! It sets the mood and the songs are very near and dear to our hearts :)

Enjoy!!!

Vendor Review: 3rd aVenue South

2009-10-13T14:25:00.002-05:00

How much did I love 3rd Avenue South?? LOTS!! It was in the perfect location for us! A block off of Broadway it really fit the bill for a fun, party place that we could transform into our own! You can view lots of pictures of the venue at www.nashvilleeventspace.com under View Local Venues or my previous post about it here. The venue costs include tables, chairs, linens, plates, food, bartenders, pretty much everything. The planner there, Laurie, really tells you like it is. She has a great view of what you want and how to make it happen. She maximized our seating for our budget (we did have to stretch it a little to get everything we wanted) and created gorgeous intimate spaces for the guests to be away from the hustle and bustle of the dance floor.

Laurie created multiple scenarios for us depending on guest count and set up appointments with the in-house caterer who I will brag on later! She does also offer her services as your full on planner and her prices are pretty in line with most other planners in Nashville. If I hadn't already decided that I wasn't in need of one, I probably would have hired her. She put everything together for us the night of the reception, drinks and food ready when we got there, she boxed up our to-go food, and quietly made sure we were happy...and we were, we really were!!

The cost of 3rd aVenue South is the biggest thing though, it's not cheap. When I originally called she estimated at least $100 a head, which was more than I wanted to pay for just the reception. We shopped around and really didn't find another place downtown that would be totally transformable like 3rd aVenue was...so I called back and said... "This is what I have, can we make it work?" She agreed at first, then called me back and said she had been thinking about it and it was going to be tight. She went over everything and it's cost and politely asked if I had any other funds we could throw towards it. I did, I had low-balled it bc I've worked in Sales for 3 years and knew how this would play out. When we agreed on the price, I signed in confidence bc I knew she would be honest with me and lay it all out. While it was still kinda close to the $100 a head mark, it was under and I got alot more than I could have wished for!!

So 3rd aVenue: A+, would recommend anytime!

Vendor Review: Scarritt Bennett Chapel

2009-10-12T13:24:00.002-05:00

Almost every bride in Nashville knows about Scarritt Bennett! It's actually called Wightman Chapel at Scarritt Bennett but not many people remember it that way. Its one of the hardest places to schedule a date with and the workers who schedule those dates are very accommodating! I called NUMEROUS times to see when they had available dates and they were always very nice and never made me feel like "here's that girl again..." You can catch up on my booking it here!

Now after the fact was just a little bit different. I understand it's a busy place and they book back to back weddings/rehearsals but there was no need to act like they did regarding time slots. I'm almost always late, it's just my thing. Well the day before the wedding was crazy! I had to pick up my dress, get it to the hotel, get our nails done, etc...so I was a little late to the Rehearsal, well about 38 minutes late. The FIRST thing the coordinator for Scarritt said to me was "If you are not out of here by 1 minute after six, I'll have to charge you extra". These people LOVE to charge you for stuff... they threatened to charge me there, they did charge me to use microphones, if you want to bring snacks or drinks, all sorts of crazy stuff. For what they charge to use the place (a cool $1750 is the going rate for 2009, it goes up $50 every year) I should have been able to spend the night there if I wanted!!!

The staff also threw stuff away in the brides room, including my dress bag...so my poor little dress has no home. :( They just weren't that warming, actually pretty bitchy! Like I said, I get that they book stuff tight to make the most money, but there's no reason to be ugly to people. But they will continue to do it because the venue is GORGEOUS! Even with the experience, it's not enough to say that I would chose somewhere else. I couldn't have been happier with my choice!!

So chapel: A++++, Coordinator's attitude: D- Booooooo

Honeymoon in Hawaii: Part III

2009-10-11T17:34:00.012-05:00

We did so much on our last full day in Hawaii that it needed a post all it's own!! The night before our last day we took part in Hawaiian tradition....a LUAU!!

They called M on stage to try and make noise with the shell... he lost to a little kid!! haha

And my fav...the flame throwers!!

The next morning we woke up bright and early to pack up and head to Pearl Harbor... I won't even tell you how long it took us to get there... we decided to get on the bus instead of a cab... worst decison of our lives!!! We were on athat bus for almost 2 hours and we saw EVERY PART of Honolulu/Waikiki!! It gave us something to laugh about to say the least!!! But when we finally got there it was worth it!! If you don't know the story of Pearl Harbor I would recommend doing some research...at the very least watch the movie with Ben Affleck and Josh Harnett! :) You'll learn something and see some hotties!! lol You can still see part of the ship where it sank and oil is still leaking from the engines...it really is unbelievable.

We then showered up and went shopping before catching our plane back to Nashvegas! We made a deal, if I got a new pair of Chanel sunglasses (I have a bit of an obsession, buying a pair has marked quite a few memorable occasions in my life...getting my first real job, going on a date with M, and now our Honeymoon!) then he could get a PS3! Buying his PS3 was the first thing we did when we got to the mainland...after taking a nap of course!!

So that was our honeymoon!! We had a great time and are already planning our next trip!! I can't wait to share with you all our AMAZING vendors! They really made the difference in our perfect occasion! :) I would recommend them ten times over!! And my glorious photographer has sent me 4 teaser pictures and I should have the rest by the middle of next week!! WOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOO!! Vendor reviews here we come!!

Honeymoon in Hawaii: Part II

2009-10-06T22:05:00.026-05:00

And then we headed to Honolulu! (you like how I'm not addressing the fact I haven't posted in a month? lol) We stayed at Hilton Hawaiian Village which was BUS-Y. I've never seen so many people in one place, but it was gorgeous!! There was always something to do and this half of the trip we actually stayed pretty active! Before we even checked into the hotel we decided to trek up Diamond Head! Diamond Head is a dormant volcano that the US Troops used for lookouts during the war. The adventure is a .75 mile walk mostly uphill that leads you to a beautiful view of Waikiki/Honolulu. Whew what a walk!!

We went through the pathway...

Then stopped halfway to rest...and take a few pics of the crater!

Through the dark tunnel carved into the mountain...

And up these ridiculously steep steps...wow were my legs hurting after 2 sets of these!!

And then we were there!!

The way down was much easier!!

We then checked into the hotel and did some sightseeing around the hotel!

They even had little penquins!! How cute were they?

View from our room...

We had 3 full days of relaxation...

Whew...and it's not over yet!! Our last day was action packed, and it will be Part III!!

Honeymoon in Hawaii: Part I

2009-09-07T22:24:00.031-05:00

So here comes the fun stuff! After the reception was over and we were all packed up we headed to Hawaii!!! I would recommend spending your honeymoon in Hawaii in a heartbeat! We split our time on the island of Oahu into 2 halves, the first being on the North Shore at a resort called Turtle Bay. Some of you may know it of "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" fame. It was everything you could have imagined and more!!

We were greeted with Lei's....

And champagne!

We then retreated to our own personal hammock!

Good times were had on the beach:

A little R&R...

Before our couples seaside massage...oh so good. Beer= Gooooood

And some seriously delicious meals...which I completely forgot to take pictures of!!

Who could possibly forget about the pool? Us lazy bums spent most of our time here...

And one of my fav pics from the first half of our trip!

I documented the first half of our trip on Turtle Bay's stationary and since I missed out on a cool ring shot at the wedding, I thought I'd try to recreate one of my own! Not as cute but hey I tried!! LOL

Stayed tuned for Part II, Honolulu/Waikiki!

I'm baaa-aack!!

2009-09-06T16:00:00.003-05:00

Whew! What a glorious 2 weeks it has been! I feel like I have so much to share that I don't know where to start! Hawaii was amazing and we have TONS of pictures from the Honeymoon! But before I share any pictures or vendor reviews there are some thoughts I want to share for some of you future brides-to-be to help with your sanity!!

While I did think my day was perfect and I couldn't have hoped for a more beautiful and fun way to celebrate our union, there are some things I would do differently:

1. Don't schedule too much on your big day. I know you think you are going to have time and you want to please everybody but seriously, plan things at a minimum. Example: I had a friend of M's family plan to throw my Bridesmaid Brunch on the day of our wedding. I felt I was going to be rushed but I didn't want to cancel on her so I said it was fine. And it was a lot of fun, we drank mimosas, laughed, and relaxed, but it made the rest of the day VERY TIGHTLY scheduled which led to me not getting to do everything I wanted to.

All the girls at the Bridesmaid Brunch: Steph at New Beginnings, Linds, Anna, me, Sarah (MOH), Virginia (MOH), and Caitlin of Think Happy Thoughts (my proxy)

Which leads to...

2. Give your photographer a list of photos you want. Because I was so rushed getting our hair done, my makeup done, etc, it completely distracted me and I totally forgot to give Shea a list of photos that I wanted to make sure were taken. So while she did amazing I'm sure with just about everything, we didn't get any pictures of just our rings. I'm so disappointed with myself I don't know what to do, but that's life. Nothing I can do about it now. We also didn't get to take all the photos before the ceremony like I wanted to so we spent more time than I wanted getting to the reception to PAR-TAY!

3. DO NOT serve red wine at your wedding if you plan on dancing! It's a great thing that I'm pretty laid back because my dress got SOAKED in Merlot on the bottom. My aunt and grandmother were wigging out on me but I just wanted to party!! I wish I would have thought about it and avoided even the chance of it happening but once again, now I just have to hope that the cleaners can remove it.

4. Hire professionals that will take care of you. I had some phenominal vendors that I can't wait to share with you and I hope it helps in making some of your decisions for the future. They set up and packed up everything where I had NO worries. I will say that I wish I had more of a dedicated wedding coordinator. I planned this whole thing by myself but M's mom's friend was a wedding planner and she offered to do the rehearsal and day off at no charge which I was super excited about. It kept me from having to spend extra money on a planner and I had someone to tell me how to do things...but once the reception hit she turned into a guest. So because I didn't really have somebody on my side I have no idea where my bouquet went, my cake topper, and various other random things. So please, please, please hire a planner, even if it's just day-of.

5. Don't let planning the perfect wedding shadow the fact that you are marrying the man of your dreams. This is something I can say I actually did and it was amazing. I wasn't a ball of nerves at all, I wasn't worried that something was going to be wrong and ruin my day. And when it was over, I hadn't built it up so much in my mind that I was disappointed that it was over. Yes I had an amazing day and I would have that party every single day if I could, but it was purely because we were celebrating something so great and all my family and friends were right there with me! But I don't miss planning my wedding and I'm happy to be married to my man!!!

So I know this post was boring and without many pictures, BUT I thought it was really important to share my small tidbits of info. If I can just help ONE person I'll be happy!! But next up....VENDOR RECAPS AND HONEYMOON!!!! WOOOO HOOO!!

Best Wedding Day EVER!!

2009-08-23T21:59:00.003-05:00

Hey bloggy friends!!

I know I was pretty much non-existant last week but I have some A-MAZING recaps for you all! I'm going to finish up my vendor recaps for all you Nashville brides to be (and I had some GREAT ones) that I want to share while I'm waiting for pictures!

Now I'm packing up for Hawaii and we can't wait to get there! It's so great that I'm a MRS :) I can honestly say I wasn't nervous at all and we had a very busy, peaceful day! Pictures to come!!

Love you all and see you all when we get back (I have about a million posts in my Reader) that I just can't get to tonight!! Congrats also to LauraAnn at The Beginning of Forever, we share the same wedding day!

C + M

2009-08-13T09:53:00.014-05:00

I'm such a slacker! I've had these little beauties hanging out in my inbox for quite awhile, I just haven't gotten around to sharing them!!

My good friend Shea Halliburton is a genius with a camera. Her pictures are so natural, she caught M and I in our most regular of situations. She masters lighting and gave us pictures that are literally timeless! I've already planned where a few are going in our home...which I also need to update pics of!! She took us to the craziest places here in Nashville, places I didn't even know existed! We even ran into a couple of barking dogs and asbestos warnings! :) To check out the slideshow check out byshea.com/candiceandmatthew . To see all the pics, click the little arrow down in the bottom right hand corner, then the little shopping cart for our entire session! So without any furthur hesitation, I'll share my favorites!!

If you would like, check out Shea's full website... byshea.com . She is amazing and offers her services at an amazing price as well!! 9 DAYS!!!

Wedding Day Attire!

2009-08-11T14:00:00.000-05:00

I'm not talking dresses or veils, I'm talking the important stuff...shoes and purses!!

So unfortunately Christian Louboutins were not in our wedding day budget so these pretty darlings will not be donning my feet

But these will!

I picked up these little cuties on sale at Macy's for like $50 bucks and they are perfect! While they are no Christian Louboutin's they are a great fit! Because I'm so tall I couldn't have had a heel as high as those precious little Louboutins. You like how I'm talking myself out of them little by little?? Haha, but no I really love my little splash of color under my dress!

I also picked up this darling little clutch for all those wedding day necesities: make-up touch ups, my iPhone, and probably a hair brush. It's so freaking cute and it matches my dress perfectly! I picked it up at Ann Taylor loft for a whoping $14.99 marked down from $69! Don't I love a bargain? I also picked up some cute little gold sandals for $9.99...oh yeah!

This weekend I also picked up my wedding earrings! They are cluster pearl dangling earrings and were the perfect compliment to the pearls that I got for High School graduation!

Lots of shopping I've done lately! Looks like I'm all figured out attire-wise EXCEPT for my garter. I'm completely stumped as to what I'm looking for.

Any help girls? I know there are some wonderful etsy goodies out there!

A boy and his toys :)

2009-08-10T21:54:00.019-05:00

This weekend we got in our car and drove 6 1/2 hours to visit my parents in Mississippi. And while we were there we visited with good friends and family...and we had a shower!! It's so funny how the shower that was thrown by my parents friends (who haven't even met M) gave him more than any other shower thrown by M's parent's friends! He had a great time!! M got a leaf blower, a chainsaw, and....drum roll please A GRILL!!!

We went and picked it up tonight from our local Home Depot and I tell you M was like a kid in a candy shop! He picked out stones to go underneath it so it will be good and ready for our guests to start rolling in next Wednesday night! And what's a shower post without some good ole fashioned pictures?!?

First gift of the day!

That's an excited face if I've ever seen one!!

Look at all the gift helpers we had! I think they opened more of our presents than I did!

I think we know what's in there! Haha what a great way to wrap a chainsaw!!

My Memaw handmade us matching aprons with our schools on them, University of Tennessee and Mississippi State University! She said she heard we were getting a grill and couldn't resist :) How cute is that!

Our festive bow hats!!

So sorry about the quality of the pics, we saved them on a disc and obviously we didn't save them in good quality! A great time was had by all in MS and I definitely miss hanging out with my parents and my little sister. I can't believe I'll see them in just a short week!! It's sneaking up on us!!

Holy Moly!!

2009-08-06T12:00:00.000-05:00

All I can say is W-O-W. I just logged into the Knot and it was so kind to inform me that we have 16 days until our wedding. Really The Knot?! As if I wasn't counting down the days myself and realizing every hour that passed is another hour I'm not getting back. Am I freaking out, you ask? Join me, won't you!

Haha! Honestly I'm not all that freaked out. At this point the few things that I have left on my To Do list are not that important (minus the Programs and our Wine Labels) and if they don't get done, they just don't get done!

Last night I met with my planners and they pretty much told me I'm in the home stretch! Other than making sure someone would be able to bring a few items over to the reception venue, I'll all good! I am putting my lovely friend (and Proxy) Caitlin at Think Happy Thoughts in charge of that task! She has happily obliged!!

Today we are taking off early and getting our Marriage License (bout time huh?) and doing our first tasting! Yuuuummmy! Then we are headed off to Mississippi for another shower!

Because I don't want to leave you with no pictures, I'll share some of 3rd aVenue South, our reception venue. I know I have yet to share pictures but the place is awesome. It's right downtown (a block from Broadway), has an open floor plan with a loft area and a secret passageway so the wedding party will be able to come in unnoticed! For those of you without a venue...check it out! Laurie is super helpful and pretty much lays everything out on the line for you!!

The Loft area

When you walk in :)

All images are from www.nashvilleeventspace.com or by David Wright Photography.

It's so close I can taste it!! But I promise I'll be back with my make-up trial and photos from the last two showers that we have had! We're in the home stretch!!

Back in Action!

2009-07-16T08:36:00.003-05:00

I survived my Bachelorette Party (barely) and we closed on the house on Monday!! We won't have internet or cable at the house until Friday so blogging will be very sparce until then. Watching continuous Friends DVDs is about the only form of entertainment we have right now!

But when I return I will have a plethera of posts with tons of pictures! I can't wait to share my weekend with you and some pictures of US in the house!!

Bachelorette Par-tay!

2009-07-09T20:02:00.003-05:00

Hey ladies I am heading to my "Destination Unknown" Bachelorette Party! I've heard talk of condos so I assuming we are heading some place beachy...woo hoo! I'm super pumped and I can't wait to see all my darlings! Two of my friends from high school and two of my chickys from college will be there and I can't wait. Sadly my friend Stephie from New Beginnings is set to be due today so we will not be joining us... we will miss her, but can't wait to see her bundle of joy when we get back! Well we are off to pick up one of my friends from DC at the airport so see you when I get back!!

And they're off!

2009-07-06T20:54:00.010-05:00

Not the horses at the Kentucky Derby...my invitations!

As you all know I mailed my invitations out 2 weeks ago and now that all our family and friends have them in their hands, I figured I would share them with you all!

Of course we have pictures of us dropping off the lovely invitations:

(I'll be honest, these are "fakes", I ended up going inside and hand canceling each one of them!)

I was a lazy bum when it comes to the design of these invites... I went to Hello Lucky and had them do them for me! So unfortunately no DIY story here, but there will be some of those come later!

So here is the whole set:

(Invitation, Outer Envelope, RSVP envelope, RSVP address label, and the RSVP)

The Invitation:

The RSVP:

Sorry for the blurryness of the pictures... I'll try to do an update when the lighting is better! Here is a link to the actual invitations, http://www.hellolucky.com/regency-digital-wedding-invitation-fuchsia.html. Now the envelopes were letterpress (swoon) and the invitations and the rsvps were digital but they looked super close to letterpress! I would recommend Hello Lucky to anybody! Just beware, there is no inner envelope!!

I had all the rsvps sent to my parents in Mississippi and my mom and 6 year old little sister had a blast going through 32 of them today when they got back from their 4th of July vacation! So about one third of our invitations have come back and very few have declined!!

This should be interesting...

Moving....again...

2009-06-29T09:42:00.010-05:00

Alright boys and girls have I got a surprise for you. We are moving, again.

"What? Why? Didn't you just move??" Yes we did, and we aren't just apartment snobs who can't say in one place... WE FOUND OUR HOUSE!!!

I know I said previously that we were planning on building and we were. We found the perfect little Centex home and we started picking everything out. We picked our lot, we picked our brick color, shutters, carpet, cabinets, everything. We were at the last stage of the Centex home buying experience: putting all this together and telling us when we could move in. And that's where it all came tumbling down. As everyone knows one of the biggest motivators right now to buy a house is the $8000 tax credit you receive when you are a first time homebuyer and you close on your house before December 1st, 2009. I talked about it on my last house post here. As we were talking with our agent he started using words like "should" and "could" and "might possibly" when referencing whether or not our home would be completed before December 1st. While, he said, there was a great possibility it would be done, he just couldn't guarantee it. Woah Nelly. Hold on right there partner!

We talked at length about our options such as closing in escrow, moving us ahead of non-first time homebuyers, and he refused to budge on any of it. It looked as if we could take the chance to get it built in time or walk. We walked. And it was the best thing we ever did.

We spent the rest of that night looking at a little website called http://www.musiccityhomesearch.com/, which by the way is GREAT for finding a home in the Nashville area. We wrote down the addresses of about 4 homes that we liked the look of and set out the next day to see them all. It was like Goldilocks, some were too small, some were too old, and some were too far out, and one was just right. We scheduled a tour and put the contract in the very next day. The sellers accepted our FIRST offer and we were officially first time homebuyers! So this post has gone long enough without some pictures!

This is the front of our house (duh lol)

The kitchen and that beautiful hardwood (!!!)

The foyer has a high ceiling that lets in a ton of light!

Living Room with fireplace

Master bedroom on second floor with trey ceiling :)

It is more than perfect. It's a 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath house with hardwood on the first floor. It has a precious mudroom coming from the garage and an office off the foyer! I've even already planned where we will put our Christmas Tree!! I will have tons of pics once we move in and get everything all settled! We close July 13th and we are sooo excited! You think it's a bad idea that this is the day after M's Bachelor Party and my "Destination Unknown" Bachelorette Party? We shall see!

I feel like poo :(

2009-06-29T09:26:00.002-05:00

Poor little me is as sick as could be. My little throat has been kinda sore for the past couple of days and last night I woke up in the middle of the night like someone was stabbing me in the throat. I can't breathe, I can't talk, I can't swallow without massive pain. It's no fun at all. Especially seeing that my job involves nothing but talking. I called first thing this morning to get an appointment and the best thing they had was 10:30am. Boooooo. So I've been sitting in misery since I woke up at like 6:00.

What's no fun is that I have plenty to do. It would have been glorious if I could have used this day to run errands, schedule our Engagement pics (which HAVE to be done before this week is over with), and start to pack up this apartment again. <---There will be more on that later. Bentley needs to go to the vet for his annual checkup, M's car needs new tags, seriously the list could go on and on.

But I'm stuck, in this bed, feeling like utter poo not able to do any of it. Excuse my pity party for a few minutes...we will be back to regular blogging in no time :)

My Something Blue

2009-06-22T08:16:00.008-05:00

Q: So what was better than my man coming home from Las Vegas in one piece?

A: My man coming home from Las Vegas in one piece...with a present!!

I have to admit that M and I don't have many secrets, I'm honestly having a hard time thinking of one...except for the occasional shopping trip I go on without his knowledge! And I eventually cave on those too! He tells me when girls hit on him, he tells me when he goes number 2 (gross I know) and he can't ever seem to hide a gift from me. But I really thought he wouldn't spill the beans on this one...

I have been hinting very lightly since we got engaged that I wanted my gift from him to be my Something Blue and I wanted it to be in a ring form...and made by the wonderful David Yurman. That's not asking too much is it (haha)?! I pointed to it in magazines, I talked about it everytime we passed a jewelry store, and even sent him a picture of it so he would see exactly how pretty it was! I had a feeling he might have picked up on the hint, but he then started asking me about how I felt about pearls and my dream was crushed. I got over it and started looking for my own Something Blue with no luck.

Fast-forward to the present: Last night I went to pick M up at the airport. He had been gone for 4 whole days and it was the longest we had been apart, ever. It's safe to say I was missing him hard core! We spent about an hour looking through the pictures that he took with his camera and phone and laughed at some of the silly happenings of his friends and the Groom to be, that's a post all in itself I'm sure! After we had gone through all the photos, M let me know that he got me a small present. As I closed my eyes I pictured Vegas t-shirts, statuettes of the Eiffel Tower casino, and all the cheesy presents you get when your loved one travels.

I opened them and saw this lovely thing staring back at me in a pretty lil Saks box:

I gasped, I squealed, I was surprised! He just couldn't hold it in! My eyes got as big as saucers and I immediately put it on! I have a bad habit of wanting to wear my wedding band around so he knew this would be no different! Apparently he walked all the way down to Saks on his last day there and even inspired one of the guys on the trip to propose to his current gf! But he has tucked it away in a hiding spot I know nothing about and it will come back to me in 2 months exactly, on our wedding day as a combination of my Something Blue and his gift to me!

I think I was more excited about this than ANY of my shower presents and it might rank right up there with how much I love my dress! Did any of you receive a present that was supposed to be a secret? Also what are you guys wanting for your Something Blue?

Blog Fun!

2009-06-19T09:57:00.000-05:00

So one of the most fun things about blogging is getting tagged to do all the cool surveys and getting bloggy awards! And while I was MIA I had a few...so I will do them now!!

On My Way to Being a Healthy Bride! has tagged me to share my "5 Things I Love About Summer". I love summer and love her blog! I'm always inspired by people who want to eat better and are committed to doing what it takes! So here goes:

1. Vacations! Usually we head to the beach every year but this year we get to go somewhere other than the FL coast... we get to go to Hawaii!! Who wouldn't be excited about that??

2. Traffic... weird to say, I know, but traffic here in Nashville is always lighter when school is out and it means that I can sleep later and get to work at the same time...SWEET!

3. Warm Weather!! I despise the cold! 70 degrees is chilly to me and I love it when you walk outside and there is a warm breeze blowing. Cute clothes come out and there is no need for bulky, nasty sweaters...Hallelujah!

4. Daylight stays longer! It's purely psychological but if feels like I have more of a life when the sun goes down later. I can just do so many more activities!! :)

5. Wearing Flip-flops... Like I said earlier, I hate the cold, I hate being cold. So you think my feetsies like to be chilly in the winter...oh no! But they get tired of being cooped up in shoes all the time so when summer hits, I bring out the flip flops! I'm one of those ppl who has the same thing in many colors and these are no exception, but Rainbows happen to be my flippy floppy of choice! Yay summer!!

I actually went to the Rainbow Factory in San Clemente to get mine!

Army Brat Bride was so kind enough to give me the One Lovely Blog Award which I am pumped to receive! She has the cutest ideas and I love her style. My favorite was her recent "Dear John" letter...check it out! It's not what you think!

So now I have to tag 6 people who I think have Lovely Blogs! If you've already received it forgive me, I just couldnt search through everybody's awards!!

1. The Answer is You

2. New Beginnings

3. On My Way to Being a Heathly Bride!

4. Sarah Elizabeth

5. Think Happy Thoughts

6. august15bride

It's gonna be a long weekend ladies! M and some friends are in Las Vegas until Sunday for Mr. H's Bachelor Party from Think Happy Thoughts. They are already having a great time but it's strange not having him around! Even Bentley doesn't quite know what to do!! Hopefully M will take some pictures that I can share with you guys when they get back! Ta Ta!

Love me some Trader Joe's!

2009-06-18T14:00:00.002-05:00

Trader Joe's has to be my favorite place on the planet! I first discovered it in California while visiting my aunt and fell in love with a local wine there called Charles Shaw also called "Two Buck Chuck". I thought my dreams of having good ole Chuck make an appearance at my wedding was too far-fetched, how would I get my friend from California to Tennessee? Luckily Trader Joe's has since branched out and has made it's way to the South...could Chuck now make an appearance???

Absolutely and I was willing to break the law for it (I think)! This weekend while attending our dear friends shower in ATL we stopped by Trader Joe's and hoped for the best. We saw exactly what we wanted and ended up buying 9 cases of wine: 4 of White Zinfindel, 3 of Merlot and, 2 of Chardonnay. The cashiers question puzzled me but I answered it without thinking. He said "Now you won't be carrying this over the state line will you?" and I quickly said "Oh...no, we have a wedding tonight". WHAT A COMPLETE LIE! I have no idea why I couldn't take it over the state line but just the way he asked the question, I knew I had to say no! So we carried 9 cases from GA to TN and I still don't know if that was bad or not. We even bought a few extra so we will be enjoying Chuck for quite some time!

So while I may or may not have broken the law, we now have all the wine for our wedding! Have any of you had "Two Buck Chuck" and plan to serve it at your wedding?

2 Months to Go!

2009-06-17T13:15:00.004-05:00

Alright guys it's time to get my butt in gear! I recently spent the second half of my weekend with some great friends who are also getting married (see Think Happy Thoughts) in ATL and realized something. I have let living with M ruin my eating habits! I had to be near forced into a bathing suit and now I super regret it. I think the pictures taken finally made me realize I HAVE to start eating better and get back in my workout routine. But since it's Back to School season at Dell I'm pretty busy and my days keep getting shorter and shorter.

Enter: The 30 Day Shred!

Yes I caved in and bought it. And I want to thank the blogland for introducing me to it! I did my first workout last night and it KICKED MY BUTT! M laughed at me for quite a while but I didn't care. It felt good being active again and I would recommend it to anyone. She's a toughie but I can already feel the burn! My legs, chest and abs hurt already today, which is great! Jillian and I are gonna be great friends...I can already tell. Let's see how much I can "shred" before my Bachelorette Party in less than 30 days!! Woo freaking hoo! Anybody have any luck shredding out there?

I'm still alive!!

2009-06-16T20:09:00.012-05:00

Wow, so I'm sure most of you think that I up and abandoned this pretty little blog! Luckily I did not... and I'm back with lots of stuff to say! Lets start with the fact that I have 67 DAYS until we get hitched!! And is it bad to say we still don't have musicians to play at our ceremony?? Ehh little things, little things...haha!

But we do have one big thing scratched off that To Do List, the invitations!

Here they are all done and ready to be sent to family and friends! We had a nice little assembly line going on. M took the RSVP envelopes, attached the stamp and put the return address label on them. My job was to stuff those pretty little envelopes and write all our loved ones names on them... and then they were handed back to M where he sealed those bad boys. I can't believe he licked 116 envelopes! What a trooper!

I guess because I didn't really do these DIY, I feel they didn't take as much time as I thought they would! I split them up and said we would do 25 per night and they were done in less than a week! Definitely a good idea so you don't overwhelm yourself. I wouldn't have done it any other way... and having M to help was wonderful! Now for the daunting task:

Thank you notes! We had our first shower this weekend and we racked up! I did my best not to stalk my registry but I couldn't help myself! But there were still some surprises in store for us at our beach themed "Poolside Dinner"! We got both of our bathroom sets (YAY!), lots of towels, a set of knives, and one of our GORGEOUS platters! I'm super pumped!! M even got some gift cards to Home Depot. All much needed stuff and I can't help but thank all the ladies who helped put the shower together. I didn't take any pictures of the set up but I do have some pictures of us opening presents and the invitation!

How cute are these? One of the hostesses made this herself! How sweet!

I think maybe you can tell I was excited about our toothbrush holder! Well that's all for today folks! I promise the next post won't take so long to get up!! Thanks for still reading :)

There's No Place Like Home...Our Home :)

2009-05-15T11:45:00.002-05:00

Well I mentioned yesterday that we were moving into a smaller apartment so that we could save money for a house. And I tell you, the road to here has been nothing but turbulent. As everyone knows it's a buyer's market. The gov't is throwing money at you ($8000 to be exact...details here) to buy a home and we are bound and determined to take advantage of that. But not only is there an abundance of homes out there...there are also an abundance of workers with no jobs...and as most of you know M is one of those lucky folks who got laid off a few months ago. Luckily he has found a new position in which he started this week, but little did I know ANY lapse in employment does not look so hot when looking for a home loan.

Fortunately my income alone should qualify us for exactly what we want but it's been a hard decision for me (and M) knowing that his name will not be on our home loan papers. It's a sobering and weird feeling when you are about to enter into the bonds of marriage but your home will not be bonded in the same way. Well enough about the logistics of the process let me show you the bad boy we have our eyes on..

Precious, yes?? It's a Centex home built just for us and should be ready to move in by October/November. Now this isn't quite the color we chose for the brick or the shutters but it gives you an idea about the style of what we are looking at. Is anybody else thinking of taking advantage of this economy/ govt moola to buy their first home??

Busy, busy, busy!

2009-05-14T13:23:00.015-05:00

So much has gone on since my last posts and I've been so busy I haven't really been able to post about it! Let's start with the fun stuff:

My dress came in! It actually came in the same weekend as my party and all my family and friends got to see lil ole ME in MY OWN lil dress! I was pumped!!! And my irrational fears were pushed to the side...the dress fit like a glove! Now I just have to worry about staying this size...lol...it's always something with me!! My fam took tons of pics that I would love to share but a certain person who cannot view said dress tends to peek on the blog every once in a while. I will be honest though...I uploaded the pics at work...and look at them...often... Let's hope I don't get fired! Haha

Also the "Engagement Party" was a massive success! A ton of people showed up and I felt like it came and passed in a milli-second. Some friends of ours that got married in a gorgeous beach ceremony last year told me that's pretty much how the reception is as well. I'm just not sure I'm ready for a wham bam, thank you ma'am type reception!!! I want to be able to remember this thing I'm paying thousands of dollars for!! But it felt so funny, talking to people I had NO IDEA thier names (but I was sure pretending I did) and hugging people I wasn't even sure I'd met before. I'm sure some people thought I was nuts! The fun thing is now remembering these people's names now when I see them in Kroger :) haha But it was a fun night...it didn't rain and my family and closest friends were surrounding me. I would say it was a success if just for that! I do have lots of candid shots to share...yay!

My bridesmaid from New Beginnings, Me, one of my MOH's and another bridesmaid

This one just added Caitlin from Think Happy Thoughts...she will be my Proxy :)

Cute boys!! Mr New Beginnings, M, and Mr H (from Think Happy Thoughts)

Also last weekend was Steeplechase here in Nashville...what is Steeplechase you ask?? It's Nashville's answer to the Kentucky Derby! It's where the to-do's around here dress up in our cute dresses, heels, and hats and head out to watch some horses run around a track! This was my 3rd year at Steeplechase and admittedly, my first year to actually see a horse! It was a year full of firsts actually! Every year it rains the day before Steeplechase but when the day breaks, the sun is always shining. NOT THIS YEAR!!! It was a muddy mess! It rained the whole night before and the whole morning of! When we went to drive into our tailgate spot, it was so bad...they wouldn't even let us drive onto the field. So we had to haul tents, coolers, food, and chairs all in the mud and muck. But it was a blast! We had to ditch the shoes and pretentiousness and let the mud ride up to our calves!! We saw some hilarious falls due to too much drinking + slippery conditions! Unfortunately I only took pictures of us minus the mess but the memories will last me a lifetime!

M and I waiting for the tailgate stuff to get there!

A gorgeous group of friends! :)

Us again...my hat was quite floppy after it got wet :(

Some girlfriends from Nashville

And my fav pic of ALL TIME!! My bridesmaid's hat was also quite floppy!! haha Good times, good times :)

And the not-so-fun stuff:

We are still not done moving! Oh my goodness...we were supposed to be moved in on May 4th but with all the crazy stuff we have been doing we have had no time to move! We decided to downgrade to a smaller apartment so we could save money to add to our downpayment for a house. We are currently in this massive 2 bdrm 2 bath apartment that is really just more than we ever needed so we figured why not just save a little cash by moving into a smaller apt. Problem is...I have waaaaaaay too much crap! And it's taking decades to move it. Hopefully we can get it all moved out by Sunday but we have a shower to go to Saturday for some friends of M's that are getting married so who knows! Ahhhh wish me luck.

Hey Pretty...

2009-05-06T20:33:00.005-05:00

Oh my word...I think I'm in love! If these bad boys weren't in the hundreds of dollars these Christian Louboutins would be gracing my feet on wedding day!

Source: http://jmalahy.bigfolioblog.com/

Seriously...how precious is that picture?! Now I have been searching all day for something similar to don my feet and I'm coming up empty handed! Anybody have anything close? I'll take any and ALL suggestions! How many of you chicas are wearing a shoe in a color other than white??

Grrrreeeaaaat...

2009-05-01T11:32:00.003-05:00

It's raining, it's pouring...you know the rest! Boo on the rain... Of course it's sunshine and rainbows every single weekend in April and this weekend looks like nothing but rain in the forcast. Whatever happened to April Showers bring May flowers??? And usually I wouldn't mind but it's the weekend of our "Engagement Party" and we have a weekend full of festivities planned including golf for the boys, seeing my dress, laying out, and of course the party out by the pool! I guess if the stubborn rain comes we'll just all hang out in the house but it's just such a bummer!

Rain, rain go away!! I guess I'd rather have rain now than on my wedding day! ;) Anyways I'll be back on Sunday with plenty of pictures of our rainless (hopefully) "Engagement Party"!

It's been awhile...

2009-04-28T21:32:00.002-05:00

Wow, I just realized that I haven't posted in 10 days! I'm a bad blogger!! I have been SO busy lately! This weekend just about everybody I know is coming in town for an "Engagement Party" for M and I. That's in quotations because it's really not an engagement party because it's been for-ev-er since we got engaged. We really just wanted a reason to invite everybody over to celebrate the upcoming nuptials before crunch time hit! So we have been cleaning and getting everything in order for all the company this weekend...I'm so excited to see all my family and friends!! Its been since Thanksgiving since I've seen my fam so this will be a great time...yay!!

And on top of that we are supposed to be moving into a new apartment this weekend...so on top of cleaning for all our guests we are up to our ears in boxes and bubble wrap! So needless to say blogging is been on the back of my mind this week, sadly. But I promise after this week I'll be back and with previews of our favors and other fun stuff. :) Ta Ta for now!

Fun & Sun!

2009-04-18T12:36:00.012-05:00

My Birthday came with great gifts...not only for regular life, but for our honeymoon too! Victoria's Secret was the gift of choice this year and I picked up these super sweet buys:

I love them both! Sad thing is I'm so tall that I won't be able to wear heels with the dress...it hangs just long enough to wear a cute pair of nice flip flops...

So I'm excited to announce that we finally booked our honeymoon destination! And for those of you who have seen "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" you will find this place a little familar! We are staying at......

http://www.turtlebayresort.com/

I'm so excited!! I've never been to Hawaii before (M has) and we are spending 7 whole days there! So not to get bored we are splitting our time b/t Turtle Bay & the Hilton Hawaiian Village so we get the best of both worlds: calm & serene and then busy & touristy. We are even staying in the same kind of room that Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell's character) and Russel Brand stay in in the movie...I can't wait to wake up to the sound of the waves right on our doorstep! We are going to do couples seaside massages and will definitely be enjoying a Luau! I honestly wanna pack my little bags and leave tomorrow! I'll leave you with some pictures of the gorgeous resort!

Waking up to that will be amazing! Where are you (or for those who haven't yet taken the plunge 'where will you be') going for your honeymoon?

Too cute not to share!

2009-04-14T16:51:00.010-05:00

So this is the email that I received from my sweetie yesterday with the message underneath of:

"It even looks good in Wal-Mart. :)"

Let me preface this post saying that we are not yet married so he SHOULD NOT be wearing his ring out in public! So if you are a frequent reader you may know that M and I had already purchased his wedding band and everything was all gravy... until the other night we decided to be silly and wear our rings around the apartment. I'm gonna go ahead and let you know that I'm OBSESSED with my wedding band and I'm constantly begging M to let me try it on and wear it around and this night he obliged ;). So there we were sitting and wearing our rings and M was telling a story (and using his hands of course) and his ring FLEW OFF HIS HAND! So obviously it was a little too big!

Well yesterday he went to get his new one and I guess the temptation was just too great not to pretend for a little bit! When I got home last night he told me he wore it to Walmart and Dick's Sporting Goods! What a little heifer! He would KILL me if I wore mine around, he didn't even tell me it was in the apartment until 2 weeks ago! I guess I can't be too mad because it may just be the cutest thing I've ever witnessed!

What has your guy done recently that has made you wanna STRANGLE him but it was too cute to?? (hey we have to celebrate our men sometiemes!!)

My new BIGGEST FEAR!

2009-04-10T14:38:00.006-05:00

So I'm deathly afraid of bugs. They totally creep me out...crickets, grasshoppers and roaches to be most specific.

But I think I've found something that scares me EVEN MORE than creepy crawlers...

NOT FITTING INTO MY DRESS!!

I keep reading all these posts of my fellow bloggers saying they have gotten that glorious call that thier dresses have come in. And while I'm sure that's an amazing feeling and all...I just can't get the anxiety out of my head! How embarassing is it going to be if I go in all exicted to try on my dress and the dagg-um thing doesn't fit!

Now I'm sure this won't happen...I'm exactly the same size (if not smaller) than I was when I tried on the dress but I am notorious for irrational fears! And when it comes to my big day, I'm sure more will come! I just can't quit thinking about it! What if they ordered the wrong size and I have to fit into this beautiful thing that is waaaay too small? What if they decided my size based on a sample that was super stretched out?? Once again...they measured me so I'm sure my size is accurate...like I said...irrational... But it's a thought that keeps creeping into my head at all hours of the day and night!

Did any of you guys have wedding dress disasters or was it all roses when you went to try on your dress?

April Babies!

2009-04-07T14:41:00.002-05:00

Sooo...today is my Birthday! Yay! I'm a quarter of a century old and loving every minute of it! I have gotten alot of super sweet texts and Facebook messages from far and wide since all of my friends and family live at least 2 1/2 hours away...but sadly it's just not the same as when you ditched all your classes and started drinking at noon on your Day of Birth. I can even tell you between my foursome we had Birthday Weeks...you are not a person that just deserves a celebratory 'DAY' ....you are amazing enough to need a whole freaking week. I have recordings of me telling random people and screaming into cell phones "It's my F---ing Birthday!" and I don't drop bombs often at all haha! But it seems as you get older...birthdays aren't really days you celebrate with the greatest of ease. And today seems to be one of those days... According to M, he's been planning a Mexican Birthday Fiesta for me for the past week that looks as if it's gonna go south of the border real quick. The poor little thing as well most of our friends are all catching the nasty stomach bug that's been going around here like the plague. He swears he feels better but I know he secretly still feels like poo and doesn't want to bail on dinner! For me, I don't care if my Birthday is celebrated with 40 or 4, in my home or at Dos Margaritas... as long as I'm surrounded by at least ONE person that I love...I'm satisfied!

Anybody else feel like birthdays are getting harder and harder to celebrate?

An unexpected package :)

2009-04-03T15:07:00.004-05:00

I got a great email from M at home today saying that we got a surprise package in the mail today...OUR INVITATIONS!!! I'm super pumped! I'm a little sad that he opened them without me but it just shows me that he is just as excited as I am. I, of course, drilled him with questions on how they looked, what they felt like...the whole nine yards. You see we ordered ours sight unseen from a little company in San Fran called Hello Lucky and I always get a little nervous ordering anything online but according to him they are amazing!! Now we have 2 whole months to get them addressed so I don't feel rushed at the last minute (which I will probably do anyways haha). Check out the website if you are still looking for invites, they have great customer service and according to M have put out a great looking invite! Well I'm at work so gotta make it short and sweet, I was just too excited not to share!

Update:

So here is a picture of what came in our box! We have the invitation, the RSVP card, the RSVP envelope, the label for the RSVP envelope, and the outer invitation envelope but... there was no inner envelope. Apparently this is common for Hello Lucky. Am I going to be committing an invitation sin by not having an inner envelope?? What do you guys think??? Help!!

It's Bentley's Birthday!

2009-04-02T10:11:00.016-05:00

Today our sweet little Yorkie is 1 year old!!! How time flies...it seems like yesterday that we went to go pick him up and it was love at first sight. We both knew that he was our new puppy! And the cool thing is that our Birthdays are 5 days apart...we are both April babies! So since I haven't done a post on him yet, I figured I'd post some pics of when we first got him all the way up to the lil man he is today...a whole year old! Be warned: He's basically our child :)

The day we got him June 7th, 2008

Mr. Bentley playing- he was a little guy

He was so small! And loved sleeping in my Vera Bradley!

He is definitely a University of Tennesee Fan!

(and you can see his face was starting to turn silver)

Bentley and M Christmas morning

And my all time favorite video...it's super cheesy but I love it!

And I wouldn't trade him for the world! He funny, silly, spoiled, and sweet- all rolled into one!

So Happy Birthday Bentley! I can't wait until you are 2!

Great find!

2009-03-26T22:07:00.005-05:00

I've got some great news for those of you with a champagne taste on a beer budget and have yet to purchase your dress yet!! As I was surfing along Priscilla of Boston's website (I like to peek at my dress every once in a while ;) ) I got this reallly cool little pop up! Apparently a new line named Jewel will be released in the next month at a much lower price tag than the other Priscilla of Boston lines. I did some research and found this article on brides.com that I figured I'd share with you all! While the prices aren't quite on the beer budget level they are about half of what you would normally expect from Priscilla! Hope you find your future dress!!

A new "Jewel" in the crown

In this gloomy economy, it's nice to look to fashion for a moment of respite and find a new line that is concerned with delivering elegance at more affordable prices. We are not in a frou frou moment, and this new collection dubbed "Jewel," debuting next month from the Priscilla of Boston bridal group, gets it completely right. Retailing from $1650 to $2950, it marries clean traditional silhouettes with exquisite beading and pleating, for an overall effect of restrained glamour. The drama is in the details here.

What's more, 11 of the 15 gowns will be available in Priscilla of Boston stores as early as April 11, so there's no waiting three or four months to see these gowns. Yesterday, I had a chance to meet Kelly Faetanini, the effervescent 24-year-old designer of the new line, who walked me through the collection so I could give Brides.com readers a preview in advance of the formal presentation during New York Bridal Market in April.

Faetanini drew much of the inspiration for the collection from her love of ballet. And some common ballet themes run throughout the collection—interesting pleating, criss-crossing like the ribbons from ballet slippers, beading at the waistline that you might find in ballet costumes. "Ballet is feminine and romantic," she says, "And that is what this collection is about."

She used soft fabrics but gave them a formal structure that goes a long way to giving the classic, traditional bride options with new details. She researched ballet costumes from the 1920's onward, and even found inspiration from vintage jewelry—which you can see in the shape of the beadwork. Many of the gowns incorporate inverted pleats—and pockets—that are worked in a flattering way.

"I wanted to play with proportion a lot and lines to emphasize great areas on the body," she says, "A curve of the pleat can somehow shrink the body at the waist."

All except one of the gowns are strapless. And Faetanini gave a lot of attention to the necklines. "A lot of necklines from ballet have that very, very sensual deep V," she says.

There are some wonderful options for brides in this collection. For me, one of the most interesting incorporated netting over the skirt. It reminded me of the best of the dresses from the 1950's, but updated in a thoroughly modern way for today. It's a gown that would be great for twirling on the dance floor.

In the end, Faetanini wanted the dresses to have a glamourous and youthful feeling, which because of the fabric and the structure and the embellishments, they do.

Check back the first week of April when Brides.com will show you the full runway presentation.

Our Save the Dates!

2009-03-18T23:33:00.005-05:00

I may be one of the few bloggers that does not enjoy DIYing...I don't have much time or much patience. I could barely stand handwriting the addresses on the more than 100 Save the Dates we sent out a few weeks ago. Since most of our guests should have their Save the Dates by now I figured this would be a great way to share them with all of you! We originally wanted to use pictures from our Engagement Session but we decided to do that in the spring instead of the fall so that left us taking our own pictures. Like the little procrastinators we are, we waited until the last day possible to take them so excuse the low photo quality!

I've even considered carrying this theme on to the wedding...how awesome would it be to have a photo booth??

M and I recently watched a marathon of Platinum Weddings on the We Channel and there was a cute wedding that used a photo booth and had their guests attach the pics they took to a scrapbook with notes on it. Now...I really want to do that! Where on earth I'm gonna find another $1200 in my budget for that, who knows...but I'm sure gonna try! Anybody else thinking of adding anything random such as a photo booth in your wedding?

Kreativ Blog Award

2009-03-18T21:11:00.004-05:00

So my great friend at Think Happy Thoughts awarded me with the Kreativ Blog Award! Thanks darling!! (I'm waiting for an award from a person that doesn't actually know me haha, but I'm SUPER EXCITED just the same!)

Rules are:

List 7 things that you love, and then pass the award on to 7 bloggers that you love! Be sure to tag them and let them know that they have won. You can copy the picture of the award and paste it on your sideboard letting the whole world know...you are Kreativ!

~7 things I L-O-V-E

1. Of course, my future family unit (hubby-to-be & Bentley, our pup)

2. My family & friends :)

3. PINK- it's in my wedding, most of my clothes are pink, and I was a Phi Mu...it's a given, I may as well bleed pink!

4. Strawberry flavored things- Starbursts, frosted mini wheats, cupcakes, jello...I think it may stem from the whole liking pink thing

5. My new iPhone and it's plethora of Apps

6. Wedding Blogs- I could waste hours reading them...

7. This may be super-materialistic but...my e-ring! M designed it himself and had it custom made just for me...sometimes I just stare at it and can hardly believe it's mine! I get giddy thinking about the day he will put it's matching friend on my finger and we become husband and wife!!

Now I'm Tagging:

The Bona Fide Preppy Bride

New Beginnings

Have fun girls! It took me longer than I thought it would!

Pre-marital Counseling- Session 1

2009-03-12T13:36:00.004-05:00

M and I made the decision that we really wanted to do pre-marital counseling. Some people may be wondering why on earth we would want to put ourselves through that...and my answer has to be why not!? Almost every person on my side of the family has been divorced and not that it's a bad thing, it's just something I have no plans in doing. Since this will be my one and only marriage I want it to be the most healthy and strong thing out there. I want us to grow together and talk about things that we may be uncomfortable talking about otherwise.

And we hit the ground running in our very first session! The pastor in M's church most happly agreed to do our counseling and our wedding for no cost! How awesome! We started out talking about why we wanted to get married, what first attracted us to the other, and what we wanted to work on "relationally" (I wasn't sure if that was a word but I went with it). It was quite the conversation. I found out that we both feel like we can't live without each other and he was first attracted to my smile! ***insert awwwwww here*** But it's not all gonna be all roses. We aren't perfect humans and I'm counting on us having some conflicts, I know it's going to help us grow together. For instance I'm an only child and I'm used to having things my way...my money is my money...I'm not going to like to share or have to tell someone when I buy my Seven's. M is a little competitive and can get a little worked up about small things like sports, if something on his computer doesn't work, etc. So once again we aren't perfect, and I don't expect us to become perfect.

But I know this will give us a way to talk about money, kids, family, and life altogether with an impartial ear. I figured a great way to remember these sessions would be to talk about them here...anybody else deciding to do pre-marital counseling or are we the only crazy ones?!

Long time, No post...

2009-03-12T12:48:00.004-05:00

Yes, I know, I've been gone for a while. And I'm not making excuses but...here goes. So some of you know that M and I met when we both started working at Dell Computers. As much as I owe Dell for bringing us together, it's not the most life friendly place to work. You work on weekends and have random schedules. So since I started this blog, I worked the 8-5 schedule and M worked the 12-9...and that gave me 3 glorious hours where I could play on wedding blogs and contribute to my own without M hogging all my attention. Well with March started a new schedule for M...the same as mine... ***cue dramatic music here*** Since then we have been cooking dinner together, shopping together, and watching all our shows at their real time instead of at 9 when he got off of work. We've been going to bed early like old folks and it's been GREAT...but that has left my poor little blog lonley and unwritten.

Well it looks as if my blog will get even lonlier. Yesterday Dell had a mass layoff in M's side of the business and unfortunately he was one of them. It was a blessing in disquise because he had really run his course at Dell and was growing to not enjoy it anymore but it still sucks him not having a job. That's where my poor blog is going to come in. With him now having ENDLESS time at home with nothing to do, he will really want to play when I get home! I guess I will have to have dedicated blogging time so I can keep writing about all the wedding to do's. In case you were wondering, yes he did get a severance package so we are all ok on the money front. And since he was looking for another job anyways, he actually had an interview this morning! I know we aren't the only people in this postion so I wanted to share a little article I found on MSN Money website that we found helpful:

A survival guide for the unemployed:
If you've just lost your job, the decisions you make in the coming days and weeks may be critical to your financial survival.
How you organize your time, corral your resources and handle your money will help determine whether this job loss is a temporary setback or a potentially life-changing disaster. But your most important task will be managing yourself, said career coach Nancy Collamer. "It's OK to catch your breath and lick your wounds," said Collamer, the publisher of the Jobs and Moms Web site and author of the e-book "The Layoff Survival Guide." "Take a week, two weeks if you need it" -- but then get going.

1. Get your head on straight. Keeping your spirits up, your energy level high and "a realistic sense of optimism" will be essential skills in helping you navigate the road ahead, Collamer said.

2. Schedule your job search. Get up early, take a shower, put on nice clothes and schedule what you'll do for the day.
"Even if you don't have appointments, you can take some time on Sunday night or Friday afternoon or whenever it works for you to schedule out your week," said Collamer, whose husband's layoff in 2001 prompted her to write the unemployment guide. "You might decide that from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. you'll research new companies on the Internet and from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. you'll go to the library and check out three books on writing résumés to see what you can do to improve yours."

3. Let people know how to find you. Your business and professional contacts may have only your work e-mail address and telephone number. As soon as possible, send a short e-mail to all of your contacts letting them know your personal e-mail and phone number. Mention the change in your job status (Collamer recommends something like, "Because of a staff reduction, my last day at XYZ Industries was Oct. 29."). You can follow up later with more-personal notes to key contacts to let them know you're looking for work.

4. Stay covered. If you had health insurance through your job, you should be able to purchase continued coverage under COBRA rules, but that can be an expensive way to go. Fortunately, you usually have 60 days to sign up under COBRA, and the coverage is retroactive, so you don't have to decide right away. If you get another job quickly, you may not need the coverage. If you don't, you may find that a high-deductible individual policy is a better deal.

5. Apply for unemployment benefits. If you think this is a no-brainer, it's only because you haven't seen the e-mails I get from readers. Some worry that applying for unemployment will affect their credit (it won't) or that jobless benefits are some kind of welfare (they're not; your employer paid into the system in your behalf).
The earlier you apply, the earlier you'll get your first check. Most states have a two- or three-week waiting period based on when you file, not when you lost your job. Unemployment benefits typically last for 26 weeks, although during periods when the state jobless rate is high, those benefits may be extended for an additional 13 to 20 weeks.
The amount you get won't replace your old paychecks -- far from it. The national average unemployment check is about $270 a week, and the maximum you can receive depends on your state. Contact your state's employment office for details on how to apply and how much you're likely to get. Unemployment benefits are typically available only to workers who lost their jobs through no fault of their own. You generally can't get benefits if you were fired for cause or voluntarily quit your job.

6.Track your spending. You no longer have the luxury of not knowing where your money is going. Keep track of every cent, at least for now. You can do so in a variety of ways: with a notebook and pencil you carry with you everywhere; with personal-finance software such as Money or Quicken; or with one of the online money-tracking sites such as Wesabe, Mint, Geezeo or Quicken Online.

7. Get your priorities straight. List your bills and other spending in order of importance. The items at the bottom of the list should be pretty easy to trim. You also should find savings by cutting back on big-ticket items such as groceries, dining out, utilities and transportation.
You should have another list: the "If Things Really Get Bad" list. Tops should be holding on to the roof over your head (the mortgage or rent), keeping the lights on (utilities) and ensuring you have transportation to get to job interviews (car payments and insurance). At the bottom should be your unsecured debts -- credit cards, student loans and other personal debt that paid for stuff that can't be repossessed.

8. Don't tap your retirement funds if you can avoid it. It can be tempting to raid these pots of money, but the financial repercussions are so serious that you should avoid such withdrawals if at all possible.
Not only will you lose one-third to one-half of the withdrawal to taxes and penalties, but you lose forever the tax-deferred returns you could have earned. A $10,000 withdrawal now from your individual retirement account or 401(k) means $109,000 less for your retirement, assuming the money would grow at an average 8% annual rate for 30 years.
It's an especially bad idea to use retirement money to pay credit card bills. In a worst-case scenario, your credit card debt can be wiped out in bankruptcy court, while your retirement funds would be protected from creditors.

10 signs a layoff might be imminent
~A hiring freeze is implemented.
~Salary increases, performance reviews, training sessions and promotions are deferred.
~Rules regarding travel, especially "non-essential" travel, are made more restrictive.
~Corporate earnings have been flat or declining.
~The expense reimbursement process requires more approvals and oversight.
~The whole human-resources department is burning the midnight oil.
~Top brass is spending an inordinate amount of time in closed-door meetings.
~Key executives (and their assistants) are making a lot of confidential phone calls.
~A merger has recently taken place resulting in duplication of positions.
~The rumor mill is in overdrive.

Source: "The Layoff Survival Guide" by Nancy Collamer

***The full article can be found at http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/LearnToBudget/ASurvivalGuideForTheUnemployed.aspx

To See or Not to See...

2009-02-24T20:17:00.013-06:00

To see or not to see...that is the question for so many brides! Nowadays with brides having so many decisions, figuring out whether or not they want to see thier groom before the ceremony is usually the last thing on theirs minds. But I definitely think the decision should be weighed very heavily between you and your husband-to-be. There are many pros and cons to both decisions:

The great thing about not seeing your groom beforehand is the anticipation you will have to see him! The moment you see each other as you are being escorted down the aisle will be your first glance at each other on your big day. Tears, anxiousness, and looks of joy and excitement will surely be present and what a photo that will be! You'll also know that you have been a part of a time honored tradition which many many brides before you have been a part of...how awesome is that?!

1st photo is a friend, Sharon Wilber via Facebook, 2nd photo is byshea.com (my photographer!)

But then what about just seeing him?? I mean seriously who cares about tradition! I kid, I kid...but think about it. If you see your man before the ceremony you can get one of those awesome shots of your first look at each other. Its a great, sincere moment that is shared between just the two of you. You also have time to get all those family and wedding party shots in before your ceremony so you can book it your reception! And what's a wedding without being able to spend as much time as you can celebrating your marriage with family and friends!?

Both photos are from byshea.com

I think it's obvious as to which is my favorite! ;) I personally know that seeing M before the ceremony will calm me and assure me that all is right in the world. I'll look at him and know that it won't matter if everything isn't just perfect. And I'm sure some really precious photo will come of it. I will however have a pretty good mix of both here. I plan on taking a hiatus from him about 3 days before the wedding so that moment on our wedding day will be every bit of sweet it can be and there is so much anticipation that we can't stand it.

The tough thing will be convincing M this is a good idea. We spend just about every waking moment together (we live together, work together, and everything in between) and he just about refuses to do much of anything without me. When we are separated we text like teenagers and annoy everybody around us. And I'm not really sure where we will stay if we separate so I have to hash all that out as well.

What do you guys think, to see or not to see?

Going to the Chapel!

2009-02-23T20:34:00.019-06:00

Since I didn't grow up here in Nashville, I'm not too familar with the venues around here. I don't belong to a church or frequent any chapel so I figured finding a ceremony location would prove to be difficult. That's where M comes in! He has been to multiple weddings around here and his favorite location by far was the Wightman Chapel at Scarritt Bennett on Vanderbilt's Campus! This has been his one and only request so I figured I would at least go look at it. Well I'm sure glad I did! Wightman Chapel is elegant and simple, breathtaking and serene, and oh so classic. I was in love :) All it took was booking the place. Being that it is so beautiful, it books up quite quickly...by the time I had called (a WHOLE week after I got engaged in August) there were only 3 dates open in 2009! One was in January, one was in Feburary (both too soon) and the last was Nov 7th. It was a lot longer than I wanted to be engaged for and I wasn't really excited about the weather but it was important to M, so it was important to me. I asked them to put a "7 day courtesy hold" on November 7th and called everybody I knew to ask what they thought about November.

I had come to peace with having a cold wedding and decided on the 7th day to book the place, just like the procrastinator I am. Definitely good timing on my part...right before I was about to fork over the moola, I asked ONE LAST TIME if they had any more dates in 2009. She put me on hold and came back with a "Why yes, we have August 22nd available now". It was all I could do to contain myself! I called no one, I thought about nothing, I gave her the credit card number with NO hesistation. And with that we had two big decisions made in one, our ceremony location and our date! If only the rest could be that easy! Now I will share with you all where we will be saying our I do's!

I cannot wait! The reception locale: COMING SOON!

Bride vs. Groom

2009-02-15T11:06:00.008-06:00

So yesterday was Valentine's Day. Valentine's Day is not a real holiday. It is no one's birthday nor day of significance for any country. It was a holiday created to get people to buy things, pretty things like flowers and candy and teddy bears holding hearts...and I LOVE EVERY BIT OF IT! :) The colors pink and red are everywhere and it pretty much forces everybody to bake something, I myself made cupcakes! A real shocker, yes. I didn't burn them or under cook them, I'm so proud. Anyways M and I planned to go to eat dinner at Carrabas and then see Confessions of a Shopaholic. We figured we'd start to go eat at around 5pm (we figured there would be a long wait) then catch the movie at 7:50pm. We did call ahead seating and arrived at 5. As we were walking in we heard it was a 2 hour wait! We gave our name at the front desk and thank the lord we did call ahead...the waitress told us we had a 20 minute wait. Woo hoo! We settled ourselves at the bar and before we could finish one drink we were being seated. We enjoyed a wonderful carb-enriched dinner and were out by 6:30pm.

That left us with a ton of time and not so much to do. So we headed over Indian Lake which is this outdoor mall where the theater is located. There's a Victoria's Secret and some other real fun stores. So we did all the shopping we could do so we decided to stop in on Barnes & Nobles. As we were casually walking down the aisles we ran into this book:

And the fun began! We spent about 45 minutes asking each other the questions. Questions like "What is one food your bride cannot live without?" and "If your groom could be any superhero, who would he be?". It was hilarious! We talked and laughed and when it was time for our movie we just had to buy it! Sure Confessions was cute and it was funny, but I couldn't wait to get home for us to finish our game!

Wedding Planners

2009-02-11T19:08:00.002-06:00

I could never be a wedding planner. It sounds fun, it sounds glamorous, it sounds easy...but being right here in the middle of it, I can tell you it's not! I can barely handle all that has to do with my wedding much less handle multiple brides all wanting different things at different times. God bless these wedding planners, I need me one of those :)

I am in the process of planning what I thought was a pretty simple wedding, nothing too fancy. I want the closest thing to a party atmosphere I can get, nothing too wedding-y. Yet I feel myself falling into the trap of stress. Stress from the fact that no matter how "simple" I want my wedding to be, it's still my WEDDING. The one and only wedding I'm ever going to have! And I also have this need to be perfect. Perfect dress, perfect place. That also means perfect address labels. It sounds minuscule right... So why do I find myself stressing over the smallest things that have to do with my wedding? Especially when I feel like there is so much more to do that is so much bigger.

Let's see what I've got left to do:

1. Find Ceremony Musicians

2. Pick out Bridesmaid Dresses

3. Order Wedding Invitations

4. Pick out our Officiant

5. Order Favors

6. Book Transportation

7. Pick out Menu

8. Price out Liquor

9. Pick out the boy's tuxes

10. Decide vision of reception

I'm sure there is more but I feel like I've got the important stuff pretty much nailed down. We have the photographer, florist, ceremony venue, reception venue, caterer, DJ, and all our rings (we only had M's to get!). So I guess all that's left to stress, I mean, think about IS the small stuff. So I guess I just get to keep on keeping on... and hope this doesn't end up being me.

Woo Hoo...my first tagging!

2009-02-09T20:59:00.002-06:00

So my good ole buddy ole pal Caitlin at Think Happy Thoughts tagged me for this cool little activity and I'm all about activities! We don't seem to know the name of this little game but it seems fun enough so...here I go!

Here are the rules to the game:
Step 1: respond and rework -- answer the questions on your own blog, replace one question that you dislike with a question of your own invention, add one more question of your own.
Step 2: tag - eight other un-tagged people.

1) What are you wearing right now? stupid work clothes...a grey short sleeved top (yes in Feb, it's 65 degrees over here!) and jeans
2) What is the last think you read/are currently reading? Does theknot.com count?
3) Do you nap a lot? Notsomuch...I do sleep in ridiculously late whenever I can though!
4) What is your biggest pet peeve? I HATE it when ppl ride slow in the left lane...it's soooo rude to your fellow drivers!
5) What is your current obsession/addiction? All things wedding. I work all day on a computer and as soon as I get home I'm right back on the thing looking for cute ideas!
6) What did you want to be when you grew up when you were a kid? oh lord... a vet, an actress, a singer, a dancer... I still would love to be the last few but I gave up on the vet thing when I realized that I would have to give the poor little things shots and surgery and stuff :(
7) If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? I really don't enjoy cooking but I love to eat...I wish I had the know how and tolerance to enjoy cooking...
8) What was the last item you bought? Stamps for our Save the Dates
9) What is your most challenging goal? Getting my lazy a$$ to work out!
10) If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished, anywhere in the world, where would it be? a warm spot in California
11) Favorite vacation spot? California could qualify for this one too...I love San Fran, LA, Napa Valley, and ppl have told me that I visit San Diego, I just may never come back...

12) Say something about the person who tagged you. Caitlin is the cutest, funniest chick (or HEEEEN) I know! I'm super glad her fiance is my fiance's best friend and we got to meet :) She's also my bridal proxy so she gets to "marry" my man before I do!!

13) Name one thing you cannot resist no matter how bad it is for you? Anything cheese...cheese cubes, cheese dip, cheese strings, cheese nips, shredded cheese...oh the list goes on and on.
14) You are on the Oregon Trail, how are things going? My ox just drowned crossing the river :(
15) If you woke up tomorrow and were a boy, what is the first thing you would do and why? Um...great question... get out of bed?
16) Name one thing you cannot live without. love
17) Has a celebrity's haircut ever influenced your own hairstyle? Not really...but I sure would love to have LC's hair...
18) What is your most embarrassing moment? I honestly can't think of one right now...probably that I thought I needed a passport to go to Hawaii... that's pretty embarrassing...
19) What brought you to blogland? I wanted to be able to put all my ideas on "paper" without writing stuff down... I tried a website and that didn't work... I tried putting everything on Microsoft OneNote but that was too hard to share! So here I am!
20) What is your pet’s name, and why did you name them that? We have a yorkie named Bentley and we named him that b/c M wanted either Kobe or Bentley... and Bentley was cuter :)
21) Do you believe in love at first sight? Why or why not? Love, no...lust, yes! I honestly believe you have to get to know the full package before you can love someone. There is so much more than looks when you are thinking of spending the rest of your life with someone...but hey looks don't hurt! ;)

So I'm super new at this game so I don't have too many too tag... So I'll just tag the only follower of my blog that hasn't done it:

Stephie at New Beginnings

Get it girl...it's pretty fun!

Here Come the Bridesmaids!

2009-02-07T17:55:00.009-06:00

Alright so this is where indecision hits. Throughout this whole planning process I have been very uncharacteriscally sure of just about everything I wanted. I knew my dress the second I put it on, I knew I HAD to have a downtown Nashville venue, I picked out my color scheme and never waivered. But this whole bridesmaid dress thing has really got me. Like every bride I want my girls to wear something cute, something that is not just gonna sit in their closet. Turns out that is much harder than you would think! So I am going to share with you some of my ideas and maybe you can help me weigh the options...

Alred Angelo Style 6559 $172

I really like this little guy. It's a little long but you can always hem it up. It's also a little expensive, I'd like to get the price down for the girls if I can.

Alfred Angelo Style 7002 $115

I like this one a lot! It's not too expensive, it looks fashionable and I could see myself wearing it again. I am a little worried because some of my girls are little well endowed, we'll just have to see it on them. Hopefully it's just as cute in person!

WToo Style 512 $194

I'm just kinda fond of this dress. It's real expensive and probably isn't anything I'd wear again. I do like the style for a bridesmaid dress though. Not too trendy but just trendy enough. Hmm...

WToo Style 548 $184

Yet another cute WToo Bridesmaids Dress. This one is a little different than the others. It has a sash that I can break up the pink color with, it has a cute little pleat in the front of it, and looks flattering from here. It's definitely a possibility, but I still wish it was a little less expensive!

WToo Style 582 $186

Now this is a bridesmaid dress. It's super plain and probably would look good on anybody (looks like the top has support and the waist can be hidden, always great things in a BM dress!) Once again for this kind of simplicity the cost shouldn't be almost two hundred bucks! This will be a good one to fall back on if necessary.

Mori Lee Style 457 $108

Alright so here is the stuff in the price range I want to see! But it's way too long and I'm not sure it's in the color that I want (to magenta/reddish). It could be hemmed to be a little shorter so I guess it has some potential. Once again, we'll have to see how these things look on the girls.

Source for all pictures: www.bestbridalprices.com

So there are my ideas so far! I think the comment thingy on my page is busted so email me what you think! Or show me how to fix the comment thingy...I'm still pretty new at this!

Who loves Victoria's Secret??

2009-02-04T15:03:00.003-06:00

Well now you can win some! Another blogger is having her first giveaway ever and I would love to spread the news!

One lucky reader will get their choice of either the Bachelorette (black) or the Bride (white) cheeky panties!

All you have to do is go to her blog With This Ring... at http://withthisringwedding.blogspot.com/ and follow her directions!

Happy Posting!

Pink and Orange and Green, OH MY!

2009-02-03T21:09:00.015-06:00

For those that know me I'm sure it comes to no surprise that we have chosen pink, orange, and a splash of green for our colors. This choice didn't come hard, it was actually very easy. You see I'm obsessed with pink. Just about everything I own can be found in some variation of pink so I knew that it wouldn't be my special day without it. Color #1: DOWN.

Also M is a HUGE FAN of the University of Tennessee. He graduated from UT and has an immense amount of school spirit!! If UT is playing in any sport, you better believe we are watching it. Football, basketball (men's and women's), baseball...I'm pretty sure if they had a hockey team, we'd be watching it. And boy do they love their orange! While my love for pink comes in just about every shade (except for that really pale pink that tends to look dingy and old-ladyish) M's love for orange comes in ONE SHADE: UT orange. It's hard to describe but isn't hard to miss. It's bright, it's loud, it's fun, and if you are a Mississippi State Bulldog like myself, it's quite annoying! Luckily I am more in love with M than I am pink and the two colors just happen to embody everything we want in a reception: a fun trendy atmosphere that SCREAMS happiness! COLOR #2: DOWN

Color #3 wasn't a long drawn out decision. I made a collage of cute things I found in magazines and online and put them in a book. We met with a couple of florists and they all brought to my attention that in just about everyone of the photos, there was a bright green accent. They also didn't want me to be too matchy matchy, which I have a tendency to do! So....COLOR #3: DOWN!

Yay the fun stuff! I get to decorate and make things all cute. I'm thinking lots of roses and orchids and something really cool called blupereum. I'm super excited that decor is one less thing I have to worry about.

Now on to bridesmaids dresses!

We went to Jared!

2009-02-01T11:47:00.012-06:00

So you think with all we have left to do, Saturdays would be jam packed with activities. Meeting florists, caterers, shopping for bridesmaids dresses and such. Well if you know either M or I you know we are massive procrastinators! The first half of the day was dedicated soley to our new obsession: watching House seasons. We are currently on Season 3, disc 2 and loving every minute of it! Netflix is like crack... we find ourselves checking the mail a couple times a day waiting for the next round of discs to come in. Worth every penny of the $10 bucks a month we pay for it. And now I'm rambling..haha...back to the point.

Well we decided to get our lazy selves out of the house and go ahead and get M's wedding band. Which was a daunting task because I think that every person that was in the place was looking at wedding bands! So we waited patiently until it was our turn. Luckily this was supposed to be a quick trip, we had already picked out what he wanted a few months before. Little did I know, our trip would not be so fast. So we give them the card they gave us last time with the sku number on it...and they couldn't find it! So we looked around and around and tried on and tried on. Finally he picked out a ring that we thought was what he picked out before and we bought it...easy huh? Not so much. This is what we bought:

And this is what he picked out MONTHS ago:

So now we are trying to decide...which to keep?? We have 30 days to figure it out...any advice??

Welcome!

2009-01-29T23:01:00.005-06:00

Hello all! I am open for business on my first blog posting EVER! As I contemplate how I want to start this whole "blog thing", I can't help but think of my eighth grade english class. Everytime we had a substitute we got to spend the whole period writing in "stream of conscientiousness". Basically this is where you just wrote exactly what thoughts came into your head. There was no filter, no censor, no grammar. As an eighth grader, being able to swear on paper and never get in trouble for it was aaamazing! While I know that will not be the case here, the same excitement comes over me again. I can't wait to share all of my wedding day experiences with you guys...the ups and downs, the excitement and tears, and everything in between. So without any furthur hesistation... here we go!