Quick update!

The month of December has FLOWN by! Hasn't it?  With all 4 Reilly kids' birthdays, Christmas, and a busy month a work, that whole wedding thing has taken a back seat ;)  But we have hit some other major milestones (er..at least they are to us!).

• ALL THE SAVE THE DATES ARE MAILED.  Man, we had been like 95% done for.eve.r.  But now I can say, it, we're DONE.
• Adam started looking at suits for the dudes! I'm actually really excited about how cute these guys will look :)
• We have a design for the CAKE and I didn't think I'd be this excited about the cake, but I am. And, it'll taste as good as it looks. Amen.
• We met again with our amazing, sweet, super organized & creative day-of-coordinator!  We got some GREAT ideas for the wedding! And she helped calm our nerves about all that we have left to do (thanks Kate!)

Things still outstanding (...well at least the BIG stuff): wedding invites (but we're soooo close!), the get-away car (another post on that coming up), signs for the wedding (menus, placecards, etc.), my hair & make-up (remember my wedding nightmares? haha, let's hope they don't come true!), and the honeymoon!  Luckily the honey has been doing TONS and TONS of research and we've been able to at least scratch a few places off our list (our #1 had been Thailand, but May is the beginning of the rainy season...BUMMER.  Adam's sister spent a few weeks in Thailand last year and it sounds absolutely amazing).  Now we're focusing on Hawaii, and still some of the islands in the Caribbean.

This Christmas season has me so thankful for our close family & friends! Everyone is being so supportive during this planning process - thank you all for helping us keep the stress level to a minimum!  I'm sure 2011 will bring along even more to-do's! ;)

And a HUGE shout out to all my dear friends who have gotten engaged & married recently - love is in the AIR.

Wedding Nightmares

I've read about them, and now I've started having my OWN...wedding nightmares(!!!).  I've only had a few, but they all include:

• Everything running extremely behind schedule
• Adam hanging out with me WHILE I'm getting ready (we're going to stay traditional and have the first time we see each other be walking down the aisle!)
• Having no one to help with my hair & make-up
• Not having the right shoes...or any to wear (thankfully, that won't happen...just got my wedding shoes, yes!)

My mom and Meredith assure me they won't let any of the above actually happen, but still! It's consuming my thoughts, eeeka!

Besides wedding nightmares, we've done some other things for the big day!  The Saturday after Thanksgiving we went back to KFV, did some wine tasting, and chose the wines to be served at the wedding!  'Twas a very fun task, and I think our guests will be happy with the vinos we've selected.  With the holidays coming up, and the countdown to 2011 quickly approaching, we are trying very hard to make sure we've got everything covered!  I see many very busy weekends in our future... ;)

Happy Holidays!

...Creeping In...

We're creeping in on the 6 month countdown!

But I'm feeling pretty good about our progress!  We've addressed ~80% of the save-the-dates (which turned out ahhh-mazing!!), our wedsite is ready for launch (minus a few more pics Adam and I need to scan in), we've narrowed in our invitations (thanks to this lovely store), and we're in the midst of finding wedding cake designs!  We all know that from Nov 1 - Jan 1, time basically fast forwards and flies by more quickly than any of time of the year.  PLUS, we've got all 4 Reilly kids bday's, plus the holidays, plus trips to Atlanta, West Palm, Richmond, and of course Charlottesville.  The weekend of Dec 4th we have our big tasting with our caterer and our first visit to Festive Fare (it's where we will rent all of our "stuff" from - linens, cups, plates, decor, etc!).

The first of the save-the-dates are being mailed yesterday/today/tomorrow (I left them at my parents, haha, and I'm not sure when my mom will get to the post office!), I can't wait for people to get them!!

Under 200!!

MOH Mere just alerted me that we've hit another big milestone...WE'RE LESS THAN 200 DAYS TIL MAY 7, 2011!!! We're actually at 196 days, but I was too busy being excited about winning the calligraphy prize on Monday to realize that we were 200 days out ;)

HIP HIP HOORAY!

I Love Social Media

Most people who know me, know I love social media.  Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, you name it, I'll try it!  In my 1.5 yrs on twitter, I've actually had some pretty good luck with winning prizes.  Some things are small, like free lip gloss from Washington Post Fashion; or slightly bigger, like tickets to opening night of a play OR ski boots from a rad company out west.  But my friends?  Today I just won something SUPER awesome for the big day.... 75 addressed envelopes from the Left Handed Calligrapher!!!  I've had my eyes on her stuff for a while, and last week she paired with The Wedding Chicks for a 5 day giveaway.  I entered every way I could, and JUST found out I won (!).  Not only will this help keep the cost of our invites down, but it guarantees that our invites will look amazing.

Nicole Black (the gal behind LHC) has some other awesome products that utilize her aaamazing handwriting.  I'd love the custom address-stamp and Christmas ornament!

Find her online, on twitter, and on facebook!  Maybe you can win next? :)

Take THAT To-Do List!

Oh me oh my! Adam and I were busy this weekend, literally driving all over the greater Commonwealth of VA to get things done for the BIG day. Want a little break down?

1. We met with our priest!  And we like him a lot!  We had originally thought we would be doing our pre-marital "counseling" (I hate calling it counseling because it's not like our relationship is in jeopardy...but I do like the idea of fixing something before it happens, so this is like taking your marriage-vitamins!), BUT he said he's not a licensed therapist, so why would he do it (touche, Reverend Jim, touche).  So, while our chat with him went well (and we'll plan on meeting with him a few more times before the wedding) we're now on the prowl for a couples/family counselor in the DC area.

2. We met our potential baker!  Y'all, we just loved Jenny from Paradox Pastry! She's a firey lil lady who knows how to make some delicious cakes.  Adam and I had zero clue about what we wanted our cake to look like (and to be honest we're still looking for inspiration), but I have a feeling Jenny will be a source of great ideas and of course yummy cake :)  Oh! And her bakery is called "Paradox Pastry" because she is also a personal trainer. @#$% what?! It's insane. Flavors we greatly enjoyed: Almond cake with chocolate ganache, and red velvet.

3. WE ORDERED THE SAVE-THE-DATES!!!!!!!! Wait, WHAT? Yup, we did! I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off our back!  This whole time I was nervous we would just pick something because it as getting down to the wire (we're on the cusp of the 6-7 month sendout), but you know what? WE LOVE THEM.  I'll post a pic of the picture we used, soon.  But hey, I want them to be a surprise for our guests :)

4. We have totally jacked up our website.  It's awesome. We are sort of obsessed with it and can't wait for our save-the-dates to go out so everyone can love up on it!

Phew. I'm exhausted just from recapping it all!  Our weekend also included wine tasting, bbq'ing, time with the fam, and football (way to go 'Skins!).  Next weekend: invitations (yup, already!).  Before that though, I FINALLY get to see b'maid MARIAH! Who I haven't seen since January, which is way too long. I'm so excited :)

STDs (not those...!)

My friends...I think we're almost there(!).  Adam and I are down to our two FAVORITE layouts for our STDs (ahem...save-the-dates).  They are both postcards (I love how you can fit so much information on the backside of the postcard), and they both feature the same picture (taken of us during our weekend in Greenwich, CT).  However, one is vertical and black & white, and the other is horizontal and in color.  And gosh almighty it is hard to choose!  In the end, though, I know we're going to be verrry happy :)  Added plus - these puppies don't look like they'll cost a fortune to produce & send!

I am also happy to announce we have a meeting with a cake baker!! If you'll remember, that was one of our BIG things to accomplish this fall.  Much like when we met with the florist, I have no "vision" of what I want for our wedding cake.  I am crossing my fingers our consult will end with us having a much clearer picture of what we want!  Our first consult is with Paradox Pastry, which is just off of 29 South (har har har).

AND, we're making headway with our engagement pictures!...sort of.  There is an awesome photographer in DC who I've actually been able to "work with" (i.e. he has taken my pic) a few times.  But, now Adam and I need to decide whether we want to spend the money on an engagement session OR take the money and buy our own nice camera (something Adam has been wanting to do for a long time!).  If we bought our own camera, we'd have to find a friend or family member to take the pics for us (which could be fun!).

Lots of progress, but as always, lots still left to do... 214 days!! :)

Another inspiring wedding!

I often check out Style Me Pretty (let's be honest, I pretty much stalk it on Facebook, Twitter, and their website!), and one of the most recent weddings they highlighted has a few elements I ADORE.

First - the color of the flowers.  The bride has a colorful bouquet and the b'maids have white bouquets. That's exactly the look we're going for!  Since it'll be spring, and the ladies will be in a bright color, we thought it would look really pretty for them to hold white flowers (we're thinking tulips since they'll be in season!).  On the flip side, I liked the idea of me holding a bouquet with some color to it - but honestly, at first I was really hesitant...I've really only seen brides carry white bouquets!  But, the more I think about it (and now with some awesome inspiration pics!), I know it'll be beautiful.  Humm....could it count as my something blue?

Second - I love their "WELCOME" sign at the reception!!  That would be the most PERFECT thing to put on the doors as people walk into our venue.  Plus, printing out 7 pictures and hanging them on twine is not going to put too much of a damper on our budget (score!).  Might have to use that idea ;)

Wedding day in Annapolis

Adam and I went to a fabulous wedding in Annapolis the other weekend!  It was one of Adam's friends from high school and who graduated from the Naval Academy (Beat Army!) and his bride-to-be is from Annapolis, so it was the perfect wedding location.  We stayed at the Irish themed O'Callaghan Hotel (the only thing Irish about it was the lady at the reception desk with an Irish accent!) which was within walking distance to the church!  They had a beautiful ceremony, and this being my first Marine wedding, we were able to witness the "sword tunnel" - the newly wed couple passes through the swords, but before passing they have to kiss ;)  Once they make it through the last pair of swords, one of the Marines slaps the bride on the tush and proclaims "Welcome To The Marine Corps!" I LOVED IT :)

The reception was at the Chesepeake Bay Foundation - SUCH a fitting location for Annapolis.  It was right on the water, with a dock, beach, and amazing views.  The dancing & bar were outside under a tent, and the dinner & cake were inside.  Crab cakes, mini grilled cheeses, shrimp cocktail, and mushroom-cheese tarts were passed around while we enjoyed the open bar during cocktail hour.  They had this great 2-man band who played very appropriate songs (Jimmy Buffett and Beach Boys during cocktails, and then other fun wedding songs once the party started!).  The Marine men got up at one point and sang songs from the ship (hilarious, I wish I had taken a video!). 

We finished the night off with a round at Pussers and then some live music at Middleton Tavern.  The bride & groom got a beer with us at Pussers, but went to bed shortly after (they had a 7am flight out of Dulles...AHHH!).  (Adam and I are still debating about going out after our reception - half of me wants to continue the celebrations with everyone on the corner, but the other half of me wants to just start my new life with the hubs right away!! We'll make that decision closer to the big day :) ) We walked around the harbor on Sunday morning, had a great brunch at Kitchen (we couldn't get into Chick & Ruths!), and "oooh & awed" at all the massive boats yachts!

This weekend we're going back to Atlanta for Adam's cousin's wedding (can't wait!!).  Todd (Adam's cousin) and Leah are such a FUN FUN couple.  I'm sure it'll be a blog-worthy wedding :)

Lonely Wedding Blog

Do you see the last time I posted? AUGUST 23!!!  That is a true testament to the fact that Adam and I have, well, taken a break from wedding planning.  I know I've mentioned that in previous posts, but tonight we're going to turn that around!  We have a "8-month Countdown" meeting tonight at my parents' house to discuss what needs to be done!

I am happy to report, one thing we have accomplished is the flower girl dress :) Oh my goshhh - I'm afraid she might steal the show!  My cousin, Naomi ("Omi"), is our flower girl and she is just the cutest little thing EVER.  We were recently with my dad's side of the family for a long weekend, and while we go every summer,  this trip was particularly important because Adam met the my extended family on my dad's side!  It was a great weekend, and we had a LOT of fun playing dress-up with Omi :)  My mom got her the CUTEST dress - it's lilac with a grosgrain ribbon the exact same color as the b'maids dresses.  She's going to look adorable.  The dress also has a lot of twirl-ability, so I have a feeling she'll be one of the most popular dance partners of the night!

Real Wedding Inspiration

Like most newly engaged gals, I've been surfing the old worldwide-web for wedding inspirations (here, here, here, and here), but many of the "real weddings" being featured are more "Anthropologie" and less "J Crew."  And let's just say, Adam & I are more J Crew than Anthro (nothing against Anthro, I have pleanty-o-things from there! I'm just a bit more preppy at heart).  And when all of the real weddings being featured aren't really the type of wedding-look we're going for, it makes "feeling inspired" a little tricky!

That all ended when a sorority sister of mine was featured in Martha Stewart Weddings this summer.  Devon was a 4th year when I was a first year, so we didn't really know each other, but she was a gal I always remembered.  Sweet, beautiful, down to earth, and pretty preppy!  Last September, Devon and her husband, Dan, just had the most BEAUTIFUL wedding in Charlottesville!  There are so many things from this wedding that inspire me I'm not sure where I begin. 

First, I love her theme.  She carried it out the entire way through.  This is really pushing me to come up with our "theme" and make sure it's consistent from the Save-the-dates to the final day!  Second, I loved how they used the indoor/outdoor space at their reception.  I hope we can do the same!  And she had YARD GAMES - which is exactly what we're planning to do :)  Third, so much of what she did was original (at least to me!).  The calendar with birthdays, the "happily ever after" cards, and the whiskey & cigar tent - loved it!  One thing we're still trying to figure out is how we want to set up our "guest book."  I can tell ya it won't be a book with just people's signatures :)  Finally, everything looked crisp and clean. Nothing was too overdone, nothing was too over the top, and everything was in its place.  Sometimes these "Anthro" weddings have so much going on, it's hard to tell what they all mean! I think Devon and Dan were able to get their message across without too much confusion: we love each other, we're getting married, please help us celebrate & have a good time!

Check out Devon & Dan's highlight here in Martha Stewart Weddings.  Enjoy!

Our Summer Whirlwind

My two weeks in Greece were absolutely blissful!  It was a great time to relax, recharge, and think about all that has happened (and will happen!) this year.  I guess you could call it "soul searching," as I was also able to reflect on some of the this summer's "milestones."  This summer has been a whirlwind - starting with our engagement party, family trips, selling my car, and now, another huge step - starting a new job!!  When Adam and I first got engaged, I decided to put my job search on the shelf.  I thought I would be CRAZY for planning a wedding AND getting adjusted to a new job all in one year!  However, an opportunity arose that I just couldn't pass up!  The timing was just right, and taking this job seemed like the exact right thing to do. I will have a solid 8 months in my new position before the wedding.  Honestly, it feels like getting a new job was the last piece to my frantic-summer-puzzle!  And now that I've completed my job search, I can get back to the wedding :)

I'll admit - we've all but taken the summer off!  Theknot.com tells me I've completed 99% of the things I needed to do 12-9months before the wedding (yippie!).  But we're creeping up on 8 months... which brings with it A LOT!  My original goal was to have our STD's out by Labor Day (ehh...maybe that'll happen?).  But seeing that we haven't finalized the guest list (well not entirely!), asked all the wedding party (...crickets...), finalized our colors (we're SO close!), taken engagement pics, we've got a few obstacles in our way :)  We know what needs to be done, and I'm really excited about all the planning we have left to do and I'm trying to savor every moment of our engagement!

Asking the wedding party!

I'm due to write an entire post on how I asked m'ladies to be b'maids (I tired to be cute & creative!), but Adam has...well...taken an interesting approach.  We have been engaged for FOUR MONTHS (...woah...), and he is still getting around to asking his dudes!  Adam, c'mon!!  He's making his dudes sweat it out BIG TIME.  I am happy to say he's asked most of his g'men (including my bros!), but he has a few more to ask...!  So if you see him, give him a little nudge ;)

Travel sans the hubs-to-be

This weekend, my sister and I will be embarking on a most awesome adventure - WE'RE GOING TO GREECE (!!).  It's a trip we've been planning since we were in elementary school (no joke) with our best friend (and one of my b'maids).  She's Greek and has been to Greece pretty much every-other summer since we've known her.  Since we were 8 years old, we said "we'll go to Greece after high school graduation!" and that didn't work... then we tried after college graduation!... And that didn't work!  So finally, after our dear Greek friend graduated from Law School (she's taking the bar exam right now...GOOD LUCK!!), we're taking the trip we've been planning for almost 2 decades :)

What's funny for me now is that I'm engaged, and it feels a little weird to be going somewhere without Adam! Sure, we've traveled a bunch of time without the other (family trips, work trip, boy/girl trips, etc.), but now is there some sort of expectation what we should ALWAYS travel together (I think most of the Real Housewives of OC would say YES, but should they really by our role models? hahaha)?  I'm in the boat that taking trips separate from each other is actually a GOOD thing!  As much as I will want him in Greece with me and I'll miss him a lot (we were thinking of Greece as a h'moon destination!), I think having some time apart will be just fine & dandy :)  Actually, he's got a boys trip already lined up for a few days while I'm gone!

Also: I'm due to post pics from this month's Wild & Wonderful West Virginia wedding, this weekend's Cville Wedding (wahoowa!!), and of course, GREECE :)

Til then...I'll be sitting on the Greek beaches drinkin ouzo ;)

We've been "featured!"

Hello!  I am so excited right now!  Our AWESOME wedding planner & day of coordinator, Kate Fitzgerald, recently launched her company's website and blog!  And she was gracious enough to do a little feature and US!  Here's the link - we're so excited to work with you, Kate!

Oh weddings :)

We just came back from a truly unbelievable weekend in Snowshoe, WV. One of my best friends (and b'maids!) got married to one of Adam's fraternity brothers (another one of our great friends).  The festivities started on Thursday and lasted until Sunday - and all I can say is WOW.  They were surrounded by such happy, loving, supportive people who were SO excited about their nuptials!  I can't wait to post my pics and share some stories from this epic weekend!

During the weekend I also attended my FIRST rehearsal dinner!  The groom's family really set the bar high!  They had a delish cheese board with berries and sausage, a blue grass band (so appropriate for West Virginia), a really cool motif of the couple (it was one of their fav pics made up of much smaller pics...I'll try to find an example!), and the dinner was accompanied by heartfelt toasts from the two fathers and the MOH & Best Man.  Following the rehearsal dinner we met up with everyone else at one of the mountain top bars for more fun & festivities!

Ah - so many great ideas!!!  It was SUCH a great weekend!  Can't wait to post more.

PS - we're under the 300-day mark until May 7 (!!!!)

Back from Vacation!

Oh man!  A week(+) of vacation is never enough, is it?  It's always the 5th or 6th day of vacation when you really start to r e l a x :)  But we had a great time!

First - the girls weekend at the Greenbrier was a success, and I think the bride-to-be was thrilled with how the weekend went!  We stayed in a beautiful cottage, had great weather, and tons of time to catch up and have fun. 

Our family's week at the beach was full of bocce, corn-hole, happy-hours on the beach, World Cup viewings, and lots of yummy food!  The fact that the next time we'll all be at the beach together, I'll be a MRS was brought up a time or two as well :)  My twin cousins will also have graduated from high school AND know where they are going to college this time next year!  A lot to look forward to!

As far as OUR wedding plans go, we have nothing new to report!  The next BIG thing on our to-do list are the Save-The-Dates.  There are so many awesome designs to chose from, it's going to be hard!  OH- and we're almost done our wedding "wedsite"!!  The last piece of the puzzle is making sure all the groomsmen know that they are in the wedding (ahem, cough, Adam, cough).

I hope you had a wonderful Fourth of July and that you're surviving this heat wave! More posts SOON!

Happiness is...

...the fact that in less than 24 hours I'll be reunited with dear friends to celebrate for a bachlorette weekend!  Indeed, one of my b'maids is getting hitched this July, and we're headed to The Greenbrier for some relaxation, games of black jack at the casino, and much more for the bride-to-be!  Her gracious MOH has a cottage at The Greenbrier and is hosting us for the weekend.  I used to go to The Greenbrier when we were younger (my mom's lawfirm would host retreats there) and I remember it being sooo gorgeous!! Can't wait!

AND, happiness is the fact that I'll be driving straight from the bachlorette party to THE BEACH!!  It is one of my most favorite times of the year!  Our family and my mom's sisters' families all crammed into one house.  Days full of reading good books, drinking cold drinks, bocce, crabbing, and just plain old fun.  It's funny, right after Adam and I got engaged, this week at the beach was one of the things I was looking forward to most!  Not that I imagine we'll be doing a lot of wedding planning at the beach, but just that it'll be us with our extended family, having fun!  Hopefully just like we'll be doing on May 7 ;)

Before I forget! I need to post soon about our recent weekend trip to Charlottesville!  My mom and I met with almost all of our vendors, and OH MY GOSH.  They all blew me away.  I've said it once, I'll say it 1 million more times - they are all so nice and put out the best vibes!  It is making this whole "planning a wedding" thing much less stressful :)

New Fav Song

One last post for today!

Adam and I were in Atlanta this weekend for one of his high school friends' weddings (I am going to dedicate another post to that! It was our first wedding as an engaged couple, and we learned A LOT).  While we were down there I heard this awesome song, "Love Somebody," by Schuyler Fisk who is now living and singing/songwriting in Charlottesville!!

Love local artists who sing about love :)  Could be a potential song for our wedding day!

The McLean Engagement Party! (part 2)

Now for a post about the timeline of events leading up to the engagement party (which, even though it was almost two weeks ago, I still can't stop thinking about! Gosh it was fun).

10:45:  Mere and I arrive in McLean with Starbucks and our game-faces on, it's time to be put to work!
11:45:  My two aunts from Richmond arrive with food, coolers, and more helping hands, YAY!
1:15:    We take a lunch break and meet Adam and his momma (who is in town for the party) in town for a quick bite and we end up bringing them back to the house with us to help.  Seriously, we needed all the help we could get!
2-5pm: we are running and scurrying around outside & inside prepping, scrubbing, chopping, etc! Oh, and did I mention it was about 100 degrees outside and full humidity? Yep, welcome to a DC summer!  Luckily we had the A/C cranked up inside and lots of cold drinks to look forward to.  At this point we had enlisted the help of all my cousins, brothers, 1 neighbor (she was going to be our waitress for the night), and our roommate!  It was literally "all hands on deck."
6pm: party starts!  By the time we had our first margarita our nerves had calmed :)  I have no idea how we would have done it without everyone's help!

 Just some of the gorgeous & thoughtful decor my mom did :)

The party went by in a blur (albeit a happy, happy blur!), but I think Adam and I were able to speak with each and every one of the guests.  The outpouring of love, support, and well wishes from our friends and family was truly unbelievable!  And what I loved best was that our 20-something friends, my family, and our parents' friends got along SO WELL.  Everyone dealt with the sweltering heat without one complaint.  And the big hit of the night was when Auntie UVA brought out PATRON shots!!  My mom, and Adam's mom took some, too!  Too fun :)

Sweet sorority sisters who came to celebrate!

Wasn't kidding about that Patron!

Cheers!!

I think we're going to have our Atlanta engagement party this fall, and I'm already looking forward to round two.  If our McLean engagement party was any indication of what the wedding is going to be like, than I can't wait until May 7, 2011 :)

Uh-oh

I somehow changed the background to my blog! I didn't mean for that to happen...but now it kind of matches my twitter page...hum...anyone have any good suggestions at getting it back to normal? :)

The McLean Engagement Party! (part 1)

I can't wait to share all the details from this crazy, amazing, wonderful, hectic, perfect weekend!  It was hot has as heck and we were all sweaty, but it (a) didn't rain, and (b) after the first margarita I don't think people really cared how hot it was!

Here are a few pictures from the weekend! I'll be back with more details soon!

before the guests arrived

me with some of the cousins (and bro!) in attendance 

 great surprise from my aunt: Patron Shots!

some of our great friends who made it for the party, thanks everyone!!

My parents put on one of the best parties I'd ever been to (and I'm not just saying that because they are my parents! It really and truly surpassed all of my expectations!)!  Thank you Mom & Dad for EVERYTHING.  And to everyone else who helped out, you rock! Thank you x 1,000!  

All photos are Mere's

Engagement Party Plans!

Howdy!

I survived Memorial Day weekend without any tan-lines (see previous post), so +1 for me :)  And it is a good thing because this weekend my mom & dad are hosting our Engagement Party!  It has been so fun planning it with them over the last few weeks, so excited that it is finally here!  They have been busy beautifying the house (it looks great), ordering food & drinks, and gathering RSVP's.  We're serving Margaritas & Fajitas and looking forward to celebrating with everyone!  I still haven't seen all of our family and family-friends yet!

We made other big "moves" over the long weekend, including the BAND (yesssssss).  Sadly we didn't get a chance to view them live (I know, serious wedding faux pas), but I completely trust the booking-agent (I worked with him when I was social chair for my sorority!), and he said the band will have us all on the dance floor all night!  That's all we want.

Also, two of my dear friends got married this weekend!  While we weren't at the wedding I've seen some pics and omgosh.  Too precious for words.  They make the cutest, happiest couple, and I wish them nothing but happiness!

AND, one of my b'maids celebrated her 1-year anniversary with her hubby!! How has 1 year gone by already?!  Here's to 101 more years :)

(don't they look like models?! I stole this from her facebook, shhh)

Happy Monday Tuesday!!

SPF 55

Happy (almost) Memorial Day!! The official kick-off to a much deserved summer of warm weather & hopefully lots of sunshine :)

Starting this weekend, I will be spending most weekends between now & September poolside (and most likely) bridal-magazine in hand.  And this got me thinking about bathing suits (I always like starting off the summer with 1 or 2 cute new suits!)...and then I started thinking about being tan...and then...BATHING SUIT TAN LINES.  I get tan (thanks, Dad!), but I'm not so good about being evenly tan, which means I get bathing suit tan lines bad.  Like, I still have my tan lines from LAST SUMMER (ok ok, and from Puerto Rico).  So I think I need to strategically plan my bikini buying for the next 12 months, because I'm pretty positive I'll be wearing a strapless white dress next May, and bathing suit tan lines are not invited to the wedding!

Another challenge I have, is that even though I get super dark, I still burn.  And my burns then turn into realllllly dark tans.  Again, not lookin' good for my tan lines. ARGH!

So here's my summer strategy: 

(source)

• SPF 30 for arms, legs, torso (ALL summer), and SPF 55 for my face + hat

• Bandeau bikini's non-stop (or at least, a majority of the time! How cute is this one on sale at Jcrew?)

And other than that, just try not to get toooo many tan lines!  I hope you have a great holiday weekend!!

[the top pic was taken at Pawley's Island last summer, one of my happy places!]

Navigating ETSY

By now I feel like most people have figured out what Etsy is: a really awesome site full of really awesome homemade things made by really awesome people.  The tricky part (at least for me!) is that I get to Etsy and have no idea where to start, because really, the possibilities are endless!  Through some of the other blogs & wedding sites I follow, I KNOW fellow brides-to-be have used Etsy for everything from Save The Dates and table signs to flower girl dress and bridal head pieces!  They even have a section on the site dedicated to all things Wedding!  But where to start?

One idea I am grooving right now is buying a "listing" (I think this means rights to a design, help any law school friends?!) for a STD (save the date abbrev.) or custom thank you notes.  Some people out there have been blessed with the freaking coolest handwriting! 

We'll see what I end up using from Etsy, but I'd be a fool not to spend time searching through all of the possibilities! 

Photographers

One thing I know for sure - the world does not have a shortage of awesome photographers! Wow. Just WOW.  The styles!  The different options!  Do we want an engagement shoot ("e-shoot")?  Do we want a photobooth (we're thinking yes)?  How many hours? Do we even know what style we want? Omgosh.

Here are the photographers I am currently crushing on.  Their styles are all so different (...or at least I think they are?), and they all have different pricing/packages/offerings.  THIS.IS.GOING.TO.BE.DIFFICULT.  At the end of all this, it'll be the photos we keep going back to to remember the day! So we don't want to mess this up :)

• Patricia Lyons: She is a master and I am literally drooling over her stuff. We've already contacted, and I'm not sure she's in our budget (crying real tears).
• Jack Looney: A Charlottesville boy!  His stuff rocks.  He comes highly recommended from a few of our friends, so we know he's a gem to work with. 
• Dominique Attaway:  I really like this lady!  She's French, likes cowboy boots, and lives in Cville!  She actually does some work with Jack Looney (fun!), and has won some local Cville photography awards.
• Michelle Lindsey:  She came recommended from another photographer we chatted with.  She looks like she could be one of our friends :) I really like her style!

...and many many more!

I love that each of these photographers has their own blog/sites!  I have spent hours on them.  Pouring through other people's wedding albums (that's not creepy, right?! I'm considering it homework...and inspiration!)  They all seem so wonderful, it really will be hard to choose someone.  But, amiright in thinking we can't go wrong with any of these choices? :)


Photo from Patricia Lyons and it is from a totally swoon worthy wedding
*don't you dare hire one of these guys for your wedding next year if it is on May 7, 2011 ;) We'll pick ours soon, promise!

Progress!

After our great meeting this weekend between the two sets of parents, I felt like we had a lot left to do and plan.  But Adam and I (with some super help from my mom, sis, and one of our BM's) made some some progress today!

First - we have our rehearsal dinner location!!! It has a special place in our hearts, it's on the University's Lawn, and super convenient for all of our guests.  I've been to a few receptions and cocktail parties here before and it works out perfectly! Weeee! So excited!

Second - we've started our band search and reached out to booking agents!  I know this doesn't seem like that big of a deal, but it feels good to get that ball rolling.

Third - I think we've found places for all of our families to stay for the wedding weekend.  Now, nothing is set in stone, but this was something that had been nagging all of us! 

Phew.  Do you feel more accomplished now, too? :)

Planning The Rehearsal Dinner: Part 1

This weekend, my FFIL and FMIL were in town on their way back from a long weekend on the Jersey Shore.  They made a pit-stop in the DC area so that our two families could get together to discuss the progress of the BIG DAY.  Our major topic of discussion: the rehearsal dinner.

It's pretty tricky planning for a rehearsal dinner when we've never been to one (!).  What do we want to include? What do we NOT want to include?  Should it be a sit down, formal dinner? Should everyone be able to make a toast if they want to?  Do we want music and dancing? AHHH!  Mere has been to 2 R-Dinners, and she said both were totally different.  One was massive (100+ people!), and all of them said something about the couple.  The other was much smaller and more intimate, and only the "designated" people gave toasts (side note to me: find out who said-designated people are!!).

I need to do some serious soul-searching (ok, I guess it's not really soul-searching) to figure out what I we want our R-Dinner to be like!  We do have an idea of where we'd like it to be held...that's a start, right?! ;)

One more for today...

Here are a few pics from Puerto Rico (hint! It's where we got engaged :) ), and from our "unofficial engagement party" Mere put together! Hearts and stars!

Where do I even begin?!

It has been a whirlwind of an engagement thus far! It has been exactly 47 days (whoa, already?!), and we have several things already accomplished:

• Date! (5/7/11!)
• Reception Venue
• Bridal Party (although not all of the party have  been officially asked yet!)
• Bridesmaid dresses (and potentially one color we'll be using, yay!)
• Hotel blocks
• Transportation to & from reception
• Caterer (99% certain on this one!)
• Ceremony (99% certain on this one!)

Things in progress:

• Short list of bands
• Where the heck me + Family will stay
• "Get Away" car
• Short list of photographers
• "THE" Dress shopping
• Wedding Website
• Rehearsal Dinner location

Wow, I'm not sure if writing it down makes me feel really accomplished, or really behind!

Mere (and MOH), and my mom have been PRICELESS. Actually, you'd think my mom was born ready for this gig :)

In the next few posts I'll write about the proposal (it was pretty darn cute), our unofficial engagement party (thanks Mere!), how we chose the venue, our ceremony crisis, our Foxfield Get Together, bridesmaid dress shopping, how I asked the b'maids, and much more!

Stick around! I hope you'll like it :)

Negative 1 Year Anniversary!

In exactly one year from now I'll be walking down the aisle to become a MRS. (!!!!!)

So excited! So much to do! So much to blog & share!!

365 days from now...ahhh! :)