Bridal today, rain or shine!

I've considered myself lucky to not have to worry about rain on my wedding day, since we are doing our ceremony and reception indoors.  Well now that my bridal is scheduled for 5:00 pm with a 40% chance of rain, I'm getting anxious about the weather.  My photographer and I are looking for back-up locations (can't do Prestonwood because of a wedding today). Time is set for 5:00 so we can't do earlier. Any ideas?  Here is an iPhone shot of my bridal bouquet, courtesy of Cydney and The English Garden.  I love it!

Wow

We are in the midst of finalizing the details for our wedding that is now only 39 days away.  Wow.  This time has flown by, and its speeding up it seems. I imagine these next weeks will be a whirlwind. It doesn't help that I have been working tons of overtime (thankfully at time and a half) and being blessed with lots of activities throughout the week to keep us busy. 

So far, we've heard back from about a third of our group, with 81 yeses and 11 nos. Jake and I have vowed to tell the other if we've already checked the mail. It's cute, he calls me and reads off each response card and tells me what people want, little notes written, etc.  I'll leave you with a fun picture from our April 11 engagement shoot, courtesy of April Sirit, Evoke Photography.

Engagement Pics, Blogged!

Wow so many updates to announce!  I don't have much time but I will share that we've been blogged! Please visit the website of the lovely April Sirit for our post here. I'll post as soon as we get the files.

Wow

In less than 9 weeks we will be husband and wife.  Although it doesn't feel like it, we've actually made a lot of progress in the wedding plans lately.  Here's an update at 62 days away.
- Jake got our wedding bands on Friday
- We finalized Groomsmen attire
- We had our engagement pictures taken last weekend
- Our invitation addressing is almost complete

I have my first shower next weekend - I'm very excited and looking forward to it!  I am working on some random wedding tasks while Jake is catching up on sleep on this beautiful Sunday.  He got up with Tucker and let me sleep in :)

This week I'm hoping to order candy, sparklers and matches, as well as finalize our linen rental with CE.

87 days

A long time ago, a guy named Jake proposed to me. We had probably 435 days in our engagement. Now we are down to 87.  Wow.  I am so happy it is almost here! We have a lot to do, but we are getting things checked off the list.  I am also happy to say that I have some updates :)
- We met with Cydney from The English Garden to get a better idea of our vision.  It was a productive meeting, Jake even came along.  He is a very good sport and actually shows a lot of interest in the planning.  Of course, it is his party too so its nice to share the load.
- We worked on our vows and readings for the ceremony this past weekend.  It is all becoming real!
- My friend and sorority sister Sara is addressing our invitations, she picked them up last weekend - these should go out mid-April. I loved her font options - I will definitely post some samples when I get the chance

Hope you guys are all enjoying this beautiful weather! I have lots of gardening to do

Florist, Honeymoon and Invitations!

I am so excited to finally annouce that we have decided to use The English Garden for our florals and wedding day decor.  Cydney was so amazing at the initial consultation and her proposals were very detailed that we couldn't have asked for more. We are thrilled to work with her for the big day as she has truly captured our vision and will work within our budget to make our day everything it can be :)

We have also booked our Honeymoon for the Riviera Maya, Mexico.  I love having a tropical vacation to look forward to and an excuse to shop for anything honeymoon-related.

Our invitation order is going in today and we expect a proof in the next couple of days.  Assuming everythings fits on our Response and Accommodations cards, we should be in business! 

Its crazy to think we have only 3 fulls months left before the big day. Its definitely crunch time now!

Happy Early Birthday to Jake, plus a flower update!

Jake's birthday is Tuesday. Have I gotten him anything for his birthday? No.  Do I have a lot of "ideas" well, yes.  Luckily I have Monday off so I should have plenty of time to play birthday fairy.  Happy early birthday Jake!!

Florist meetings are in full effect. At this point, the frontrunner is Cydney with The English Garden, but I have one last meeting and I haven't received any written propsals at this point.  During our meeting, Cydney got up a couple of times with creative ideas, grabbing flowers from her fridge to illustrate.  She also seems to be very flexible working within my budget, and will incorporate what glassware/containers/materials I have in order to help derease costs.  Speaking of this, I need to get her some photos and lists of what I have already!  She's even helped me come up with a more official color scheme based on the color of the bridesmaid dresses.  Jewel Tones!

Photo credits in order of appearance:

Photo from the My Bouquet Floral Design Blog's, Jewel tone Purple post

David's Bridal Style 83312 in Sangria

Time...

Why don't I ever believe someone who says that time will fly by? Or why don't I take them seriously? I'm amazed at how quickly life has been going lately, but luckily we have a lot to be thankful for so its times like these that I try to slow down.

January is an incredibly busy, yet PRODUCTIVE month for us. I've found that since I can't get away with as much wedding "research" at work anymore, that it has to be done at home. 

Here are my goals for the next few weeks (in no particular order in hindsight)
1. Book florist by second week of February
2. Order bridesmaids dresses by end of January (this means shop with Sarah/Jamie if necessary?)
3. Complete honeymoon research by end of February, booking if necessary
4. Finalize menu by second week of February, have invitation order placed in the next week
5. Begin super secret wedding gift project for Jake :)

I'll leave you with a picture from our mini-engagement shoot at the fair with Evoke in October

Under 200 Days!

Since my last post we've come to the conclusion that Costa Rica will no longer be on our list for possible Honeymoon locations.  We do want to go to Costa Rica one day, but we've realized that we do not have enough time to see all of the things that we want to see in such a diverse country, and we'd have to move around a lot, which would not be the relaxing trip that we want. 
So now we are targeting Caribbean locations with beautiful beaches and good dive locations nearby.  I haven't done a dive in some time, but since Jake has his advanced certification I'm totally comfortable diving with him.
Also, we are now under 200 days to the big day - 196 from today.  Its been a busy time - we had two engagement parties, Thanksgiving, and now we are coming up on the holiday season.  I have a huge project at work going on, so I've had to put wedding planning and also blogging to the side.
I do have a picture to share from our mini-engagment session at the State Fair with our photographer, April Sirit of Evoke Photography. We had an awesome time at this shoot and look forward to our full session in the spring.

Costa Rica

(Image from TripAdvisor)

My workload today is pretty much non-existant (knock on wood) so I'm doing some research on our potential Honeymoon destination today!  I'll post any must-sees or dos for us if I come across any :)

Good Intentions

I had very good intentions of doing some solid Honeymoon research over the weekend.  I did find some helpful articles and reviews that talked about what to see/do in Costa Rica, but I wasn't sold on any particular resort or area.  I did get a little side-tracked before the research began as Jake and I sat down to finalize our budget and look at our guest list again, which led to research on bulk florals, etc, so I digress.

I started a list of what we wanted to actually do on the Honeymoon (if we went to Costa Rica) and this is the list that I have so far (literally):
Costa Rica - zipline

I know that I can add to that from what we've discussed already - horseback riding, possibly scuba diving, touring local volcanoes, hitting up a spa, and I'd love to spend some time on a beach, weather permitting.  Costa Rica's "rainy" season starts in April/May, so we would expect some wet weather if we go in June, but I've read very different extremes on how rainy it actually can get during that time.  It shall be an adventure though!

Friday the 13th

Since we got engaged in February on Friday the 13th, I will always feel like every Friday the 13th is special.  It has been a whole 9 months since we got engaged.  According to my wedding tracker, we only have 7 months and 6 days to go!  This means that we have since passed the halfway mark in the wedding planning process, and I feel like there is still a lot to do - probably because there is.

Today, I called Olga to schedule my appointment to drop off my wedding dress, so I can check that off the list!  I'll be dropping it off mid-January to be pinned and cut before my first fitting.

Here is a list of the other things that need to be done in the grand scheme of things for our wedding:

• Bridal Party Attire
• Florist
• Save the Dates
• Wedding Website
• Vows/Ceremony
• Invitations (which we can't order until after our tasting) - note to self, need to schedule tasting!
• Honeymoon

In the meantime, Jake and I have some Thank You notes to write for gifts that we received at our Engagement party last weekend.  We also hope to do some research for the Honeymoon this weekend :)

My Lazy Boy

Here is an "action shot" from our walk during my lunch break today.  As you can see below, Tucker was not interested in walking!  I do love it when he lays like this though :)

My Dog is Fratacular

At the State Fair a few weeks ago, I bought Tucker an NC State Block S collar from the Unleashed booth.  Since Jake and I are State alums, we thought it was only proper for him to represent our Alma Mater.  When I was talking with JP, Unleashed's owner, I mentioned that we were having trouble with Tucker pulling on his walks.  He recommended that we come in to get him a harness, so we did just that.  Unleashed on Lake Boone Trail is an awesome dog store that has tons of dog-friendly treats, food, collars, leashes, and of course, toys among other dog-related items.  If you are in the Raleigh area, I highly recommend them!  And treat your dog to a trip to Unleashed - Tucker loved it as he got lots of treats during the harness-fitting process.

So back to the harness.  Of course we had to get a manly harness for our son, since he is such a handsome boy after all.  So no pinks, purples or anything like that.  The best option that they had in Tucker's size at the time was a pattern called "Bone Hunter" in camouflage fashion.  Here's a picture of Tucker sporting his new look as he stopped to check out the ducks on one of our lunch walks this week. 

I think he looks mighty fratastic, don't you?  Camo and a Block S collar would make any NC State frat boy proud.  And the harness has been one of our best dog-purchases to date.  Tucker rarely pulls and I feel much more in control on our walks.  I'm very grateful especially since Tucker hit 78 pounds this week and at 10 months, has a lot more growing to do!

Home-grown Rose

I was out on our balcony Tuesday night and realized that my Climbing Rose had a new bloom!  This will probably be the last rose of the season, but it was too beautiful to leave outside.  It's still lovely sitting on our kitchen table.  This is just an iPhone shot, but I love it!

Kiva: Loans that Change Lives

I'm taking a break from Wedding Related posts today to tell you about Kiva.  In a nutshell, Kiva is a micro-financing website that connects lenders, such as myself, to hundreds of Entrepreneurs worldwide who are trying to become more economically self-sufficient.  The loans start at $25 a piece - lenders come together to collect enough for an Entrepreneur's loan.  Then over the course of a few months to a year, the Entrepreneur will pay back the loan.  You are able to search different regions, genders, and types of business before you make the loan.  I've contributed to a Fish Seller in Azerbaijan and a Poultry farmer in Vietnam, for example.  Once the loan is paid back, you are able to re-lend it to other needy individuals or groups.

Most of the businesses will keep track of their progress and keep lenders updated through journal entries.  Its very fulfilling to know that just a small loan from one person can combine with loans from others to help get a small business off the ground.  Kiva makes it very easy to make a difference when you are physically worlds away.  I encourage you to check out their website and learn more about the Kiva story. Visit http://www.kiva.org/ today!

Real Wedding Find on Green Wedding Shoes

Green Wedding Shoes is one of my favorite Wedding blogs for inspiration.  Now that I have more time to actually read wedding blogs again, I had to share a Wedding that I found inspiring.  Please check out Megan + Simon's Backyard Wedding on Green Wedding Shoes.  It has color, it has style, it has succulents!  I also LOVE the bouquet shown below.

(Photo credit: JAC Photographers)

Going for a R-I-D-E

One of Tucker's favorite things is going for a ride.  Until Jake and I are completely, 100% ready to put him in the car, we cannot say the "R" word.  If he hears it, he will bark until you just have to get in the car, forgetting whatever else it was that you were supposed to do before you left or bring with you.  So here is a recent picture of Tucker on a ride, nose out the window, taking the world in as every Chocolate Lab should. :)

A New Look

I have another confession: I was never really in love with my Blog template.  But luckily, I found one that I feel suits me and the blog, its Rounders 4 by Douglas Bowman.  Wherever you are, thank you Douglas!

Back to Blogging!

I know I've fallen behind on blogging, okay?  The first step is acceptance - no denial here.  Its very clear that I have been slacking off when Jake has asked me 2 or 3 times since my last post if I've updated my blog at all.  The answer now will be, YES!  October always has been an incredibly busy month for my family, so I can put some of the blame there.  Work also has been extremely busy - I've been working overtime every week which is nice when the paycheck rolls around but long days are not my favorite (are they anyone's?). 

We have our first wedding-related event coming up the first weekend in November, our Engagement Party!  Mom and I still have a lot of work to do to prepare, but we are both looking forward to it.  I don't have any real updates in terms of wedding planning, except that Mom's friends have called dibs on my Bridal Luncheon.  Oh and Jake and I took some fabulous engagement pictures at the State Fair last week!  We had a lot of fun with April and Emily, her lighting assistant.  I expect to have proofs sometime around December and I'll be sure to share once I do!