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.