Bye Bye 2008

Happy New Year's Eve everyone!

I thought that I would commemorate the occasion with the top ten things I am looking forward to in 2009:

1. Getting Married! Woo!
2. Graduating with my M.Ed.
3. Passing comprehensive exams - I have to in order to graduate, and it will relieve me from a lot of studying and stress so that I can get back to the fun of wedding planning (Yay!)
   
4. The fiance graduating from Supply Corps School
   
5. The births of so many friends' children (Baby Rolland and Babies Mazzio, to name a few)
   
6. Engagement Pictures
7. Moving somewhere new! We have no idea where we are going until April. Gotta love the Navy right?
8. A real, salaried j-o-b. 
9. Decorating new dwelling place
10. First married holidays

I will conclude with the "White Christmas"picture that I meant to post of Lake Wissota covered in snow...as I am sure that it still looks just like this

I am also looking forward to this being all green and lovely again before July :)

What are you all most excited for in 2009?

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Let them eat cake

We are back in good old Georgia today, which means the return of consistent internet! Yay!!!

One of the items on the to-do list that we accomplished while in Wisconsin was ordering our cake. As I previously mentioned, I LOVE CAKE.

Originally, we were planning to go with a Buttercream Bakery cake, but when I went in to visit, I was not really impressed. The "Eau Claire Branch" of this local chain bakery was basically a desk and couple of tables in a place called Cranberry Cottage.

The women knew a bit about craft and home goods, but not really about cake. Basically, you ordered whatever you wanted and it would be made at the main branch in Minnesota and shipped over the day of your wedding.

Not exactly the personal touch that we were expecting.

Luckily, one of my grandmother's good friends has owned and operated Connie's Cakeory for the last 30 years or so. We met with her and were thrilled with how amazingly nice and talented she is - not to mention cost effective.

We were able to sort of pull a whole bunch of cakes together, and this is the closest rendering that PowerPoint and I could come up with:

Clean, simple, lovely. In my opinion, of course. There will be little dots of icing at all of the diamond pattern intersections, and the dots on the round layers will be smaller, more concentrated close to the ribbon and then sort of spreading out. Yay!

Onto the flavors. The top tier is a weird combo, but fits us well. One layer will be Red Velvet (for me) and the other will be Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup (for the hubby). That way from our piece we cut, we can feed each other from the respective layer that we like.

Beyond the cake itself, Connie is preparing sheet cakes in all of the flavors to be cut and ready to go from the back for everyone...so there will be no delay. How fab is that? The very second we cut and feed each other cake, the wait staff will start bringing out cake for everyone and then on to the dancing!

The rest of the cake is right now Lemon Swirl and Raspberry Swirl...but we can change it up until a week before the wedding at will. Awesome. We can also change the design up until a week before the wedding.

I love all of these personal connections! (My aunt is also helping us out with the florist...more on that later)

The one thing I am undecided about is flowers on the cake. We have a Lenox topper that Connie is making sure looks amazing on top of the cake, so I do not know if flowers would be too much.

What do you all think? Do you prefer clean and simple, or ornamental and adorned?

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A white Christmas

and I don't even have to dream about it!

It has been blizzard conditions up here in Wisconsin, which makes for super fun wedding planning...ha.

I was planning on having a beautiful picture of Lake Wissota Golf all covered in snow for you on this post, but as my parent's computer is from the age before SM cards, and their USB ports are so old they aren't compatible with flash drives {for some reason my computer won't connect to the internet, but tomorrow morning my dad may be getting a present to fix all of this, shhhhh!} ...you will have to use your imagination.

Beautiful though, I promise.

We have checked a few things off the list and I cannot wait to tell you all about them...highlights inlude both Mom and Austin seeing and LOVING the venue, picking out tuxes for guys and dads, making pro and con lists of two photographers...and still not deciding, designing our cake {!}, and of, course, my dress! woo!

Happy Holidays to all of you! I hope you are all able to spend time with those you love during this lovely and magical season <3

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Still to do.

We still have plenty to do durning this visit, like:

• Meeting with photographers
• Seeing Lake Wissota
• Making menu selections
• Cake...and all that that encompasses
• TUXES. I totally forgot about these before yesterday. Whoops.
• DJ/Band/some sort of music to get our groove on
• Church/considering having an outdoor wedding at the golfcourse.

I know. A new development.

What do you guys think, indoor or outdoor wedding? Pro and Con list?

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I found her

Yesterday, in this whirlwind of wedding planning, family time, and studying for comprehensive exams (ugh, don't ask...) that is my "vacation" this year, my mother, sister and I went wedding dress shopping.

And we found her. The one.

And her name is Zarah.

Pictures of ME in the dress to come, when a nosy fiance isn't sneaking around trying to ruin the surprise because he is finally burnt out on Rock Band.

YAY!

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Kids are cute

and this song is about engagement rings, so it's totally appropriate that I post these, right?

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The Dark Ages

Please excuse the lack of posting as of late...our internet is temporarily out of service!

In between this and the big drive to Wisconsin Thursday morning who knows when I will be back to regular blogging, but I promise mucho updates after my last exam tomorrow...even if I have to scramble to a crowded coffee shop or Panera to do it!

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I love cake.

Truly, I do.

The fiance on the other hand? He doesn't like baked goods! WHO doesn't like baked goods??

So, when the other day he actually said that these cakes looked good, I was impressed enough to schedule an appointment while we are in Wisconsin for the holidays.

Meet Buttercream.

The ONLY downside is that they don't list Red Velvet {my fave} as a flavor, but I am hoping that they will say, "Sure, we can whip that up for you!" though I am not sure that I trust a northern bakery to get it right.

No offense.

Since I am not a fan of fruit in cake, the rest of the flavors seem a little 'normal' for me, though I just recently had an excellent Funfetti wedding cake so I guess 'normal' can be fun too. Classic even.

What is the best cake that you have ever had?

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Fab Friends: Michelle and Nick

It is that time folks...another Fab Friend Friday!

Allow me to introduce you to my friends Michelle and Nick

Nick and Michelle are our friends from college and were married in July of 2006 in Virginia Beach. They had a church wedding and then a reception at the Cavalier Golf and Yacht Club.

We spent the morning getting ready and relaxing, before helping Michelle to get beautiful

Michelle is a crafter and makes beautiful cards and invitations in her spare time, and picked a vibrant color palette for the day; dark turquoises, oranges and purples

They saw each other before the ceremony, not only in order to take some lovely pictures, but also so that they could greet their guests as they arrived. Here is the lovely bride waiting to be revealed to her groom

and one of my favorite photographs of the day, the bride getting ready to walk down the aisle. I don't think there is any moment quite like that one at a wedding ceremony, whether you see each other ahead of time or not

After the ceremony we headed to the Yacht Club docks to take group photographs...you know how I love a dock photo.

Michelle and all the men, except her husband - scandalous.

Found him!

Michelle was kind enough to send along this picture as well, which we were unaware that the photographer had snapped

{hey, they look familiar...}

Then we all headed inside for a fabulous party!

An emotional sorority moment

and they were so cool that they had a getaway boat
{an idea we may very well steal...so thanks for thinking of it}

What a fun time!

Nick and Michelle have since bought a house, a dog, and had a beautiful little girl named Blair Ann. We always love to stop over and spend time with their family when we get back to Virginia. Thanks for letting me feature your special day lovies :)

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and the indecisiveness sets in...

There may be a new photographer in the works.

Check out the Jeff Thompson website. His style is fabulous, no?

{I would post pictures here, but do not yet have permission from him, so...explore at will}

He is a little more expensive, but also gives all photos, and has online proofing. {not to mention a killer sense of humor}

We are, of course, not going to book either of them until we meet with both in person...

but, is this normal? Did you all make any changes on something you thought you were confident in?

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Good News!

{is it wrong that now the Wicked soundtrack is running through my head??}

I have scheduled a dress shopping excursion at Bella Bridal Boutique in Woodbury, MN for one of the appointments over the holidays, and they have both of the Sophia Tolli dresses I liked.

If I decide to go with a dress like Zarah then these will both be necessary for the reception

 

{via Weddingbee Pro, Oh My Deer!} 

  

{via Our Labor of Love} 

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Ladies, get excited

for a shot like this one:

 

{via SMP} 

I am so glad that we have a dock at our reception site!  That is all.

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"To do, to do, before I say I do"

A lovely friend gave me the cutest notepad with that saying printed on it for wedding planning purposes...and I am using it.

Last night we realized we are almost at 7 months to our wedding - yikes!

The trip to Wisconsin for Christmas is going to be a whirlwind of family and holidays along with as much wedding planning as we can fit in over a week and a couple of days.

On the list:

• Revisiting Lake Wissota...Austin hasn't seen it.
• Working out a tasting for reception food
  
• Booking a church {it would be important to actually get married at our wedding...}
• Finding a Rehearsal Dinner location
• Talking to hotels
• Meeting with photographer and hopefully booking her
• Finding a cake
• Meeting with multiple florists and booking one
• Dress Shopping!
• Booking a DJ, and talking to little brother about band possibilities 

I feel that there will be more things that come out, but this list is already looking ambitious.

Time to get an itinerary going!

Anyone else that had a crunched time frame to do these things? What have you found that are important to get done first?

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Just a Little Spray

As I have previously mentioned, I adore these initial letters

{via Martha}

Now, other brides have done DIY moss covered letters, such as Mrs. Lemon of Weddingbee fame:

{these lovelies are via SMP}

And still other brides have done DIY flower covered letters, such as Mrs. Ladybug, again from Weddingbee fame:

{actually Mrs. Ladybug's creations}

While I loved each of these ideas, I was not in love with moss for our setting {and I assumed that our dog would probably eat the moss before I could get it glued on letters} and I couldn't reconcile myself to what color flowers to go with...I decided to go easy.

Today I made these little $5 lovelies thanks to Hobby Lobby and a bottle of Krylon Copper Spray Paint:

{via me}

They took about 10 minutes max.

Simplicity at it's best!

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Trendsetting...

While relaxing and watching television this evening, I clicked over to the Knot...you know, just perusing.

When what to my wondering eyes should appear...than an article proclaiming that "Navy is the New 'Something Blue' "

Who knew? Me. That's who :)
{and you know a million other brides using Navy blue out there...}

Check out some finds from this article about Navy accessories:

Shoes from the Crew

{though I am still lusting after the Kate Spade lovelies, I fear they are going to break my heart}

A sapphire bracelet

{a nice touch that I hadn't thought of, to be honest}

A lovely clutch from Lauren Merkin

And of course, Navy blue lingerie...a necessity for every true Navy bride

Now, I know a friend who-shall-not-be-named incorporated a bright orange teddy, of all things, since her husband is a HUGE Clemson fan, but...

How did you all incorporate accent colors into your accessories?

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Save the Dates!

Now that our Save the Dates have been made and sent out, it is time for the big reveal!

There are so many beautiful ideas for Save the Dates out there, but we decided to pull from some of our favorites to make this postcard design...drumroll please...

Front

There is a washed out map of Wisconsin in the background, which I made sure had Lake Wissota visible, and then both of our names and the date.

Back

Simple, and to the point, you will notice from my previous post that we had to change up the design on the back by lightening the bracket color and removing extra text, as well as shrinking things up from the bottom to fit within the Postal Services guidelines for post cards. Make sure if you decide to do postcards you are within the parameters!

Here are some real life photos from stamping and addressing...it killed me to make them fuzzy, but someone is very particular about the revelation of full names online and all that, so this is the best I could do!

The cost breakdown is as follows:

250 Custom Design Uploaded Postcards from Vista Print,

Color Printed on both sides, with standard shipping:

$55.10 (about 22 cents per card)

125 Postcard Stamps:

$33.75 (27 cents each)

Total: $88.85

Total for each Save the Date sent: about 49 cents each

This is a pretty budget conscious way to send a ton of Save the Dates!

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Fab Friends: Jessica and Adam

You know these Fab Friend photos will be g-o-r-g-e-o-u-s, because this friend was, believe it or not, in the top ten of the Miss Virginia Pageant before getting married in the Summer of 2005!

Allow me to introduce you to Jessica and Adam:

Jessica and Adam had a beautiful wedding in Virginia Beach/Chesapeake Virginia. Look at these pictures of the bride getting ready

{if the young lady holding the mirror in the middle picture looks familiar, it is because she is actually the bride from this previous fab friends post! I told you we were close :) }

The wedding took place at Atlantic Shores Baptist Church in Virginia Beach, where the couple first met, and where after a stint in Charlottesville, Virginia and Peabody, Massachussets, Adam has now returned to be a Youth Minister! As soon as the doors swung open to reveal Jess, every woman in the church burst into tears...including me, which is saying something!

After the wedding, the bridal party and newlyweds snuck over to Regent University to snap some more beautiful photos...

{Part of the "Bridal Army"...Jess and Adam had 16 'adult attendants, and 9 children attendants! Here are some of the kids playing around, minus the flower girls from the getting ready photo above...}

{aren't they cute???}

While the bridal party was taking photographs, the rest of us guests headed to the Chesapeake Conference Center to enjoy a fabulous cocktail hour.

The bride and groom entered and had their first dance to "Making Memories of Us" by Keith Urban, which again had almost every woman in the room in tears...{it was a very emotional day}

and if THAT didn't have everyone in tears, when Jessica's little sister Anna, her MOH, made her toast, that certainly got the rest of us. She intertwined her speech with singing the Shania Twain song "Forever and For Always", which was not only original and brave for such a young MOH, but brought down the house.

One of my favorite parts of Jessica and Adam's wedding, however, was that they took the time to honor the Jewish part of Jessica's heritage. Who doesn't want a picture like this one?

They definitely threw an amazing celebration:

And as alway we made sure to get one awesome friend shot in before their exit:

{$10 to anyone that can help me discover a spray tan that can help me from glowing like I am in this photograph for my own wedding...I am almost translucent!}

And the evening ended with the bride and groom exiting to a secret location, secret to everyone besides the groom and his father that is, to keep well meaning and hilarious friends from sending them large orders of pizzas and other obnoxious distractions

They had such a beautiful celebration to start such a beautiful life together. They just celebrated their three year anniversary this summer and live thier lives in such a gracious model of love and support for one another...even across college rivalry lines (as Jess went to and is a fan of UVA and Adam is a die hard Hokie...they are even able to attend games together, a feat which not many such couples can claim).

Thanks for letting me share your pictures guys!

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