Some of my favorite shots

One of my bridesmaids just asked me - "HOW are you going to choose which pictures to include in your wedding album?" And she is totally right!  Jack Looney gave us over 1200 pictures, I posted about 300 on facebook, but there were hundreds more I adore!  Maybe our wedding album will have multiple volumes?  Anyone know where I can find an XL Photobook? :)

Here are a few more of my favorite shots from the BIG day:

(Photobooth!)

What I love about the way Jack shot these pictures is that he was able to capture SO MUCH emotion!  Sure Adam and I took some "staged" pictures (like the one of us along the fence) but so many of the ones I adore are the candid ones that really seem to grasp all the amazing things we were feeling throughout the day! There are tons of other pictures I could post here - especially of the photo booth!  If you are contemplating having one at your wedding (or even a party) DO IT!  They are a blast to look through :)

*all of the above photos were snapped by Jack Looney Photography! 

EEEP!

long lost blog!!  i have not been able to access the editing tool and have been wanting so badly to update this!

wow. we have done so much.  we have everything printed.  we have packaging for s'mores.  we have our readings.  we have our table names.  we have small details. signage. a guest book.  a PLAN!  the count down isn't months or weeks, it is days!  our rehearsal dinner is on the 10 day forecast (which means our wedding day is on the 10 day forecast tomorrow, holy schmoly!).

people will arrive in c'ville next thursday (cinco de mayo!) and we don't have a lot planned for that day except organizing ourselves, putting together the hotel bags, and dinner!  friday starts the wedding-official-fun! bridal luncheon, boys' golf outing, rehearsal, dinner, welcome cocktails, etc!

it's so soon! and I just can't believe it! i am going to try to update this with more behind-the-scenes... but this little BTB is bizzzzy!

Fancy Plates

I am so looking forward to this upcoming weekend (yes, it is only Monday!).  My "entertainment" themed wedding shower is Saturday night (hosted by 3 of my momma's friends), and during the day Saturday we're taking engagement pictures with one of our friends!  She is building her photography-portfolio and needs to take shots of couples- so we happily agreed to help her out ;)  And the weather seems to be cooperating! 60s & 70s by the end of the week, yeehaw!  And Sunday is going to be a whirlwind trip of wedding to-do's in C'ville... but that's for a future post :)

But let me get back on topic!  The topic of fancy plates (aka China!).  Adam and I went back & forth on whether or not we wanted to register for china.  My mom breaks out her china for big dinners (parties, birthdays, holidays), and I love hers (gold rimmed with fruit on it).  Adam's parents have a few sets of china, so they were on-board with us registering for it, too!  So off we went to Bloomingdale's (who has one of the best registry systems, if you ask me)...and there we spent the next three hours....

Yep. Talk about indecisive.  The first pattern we chose is so hideous I'm not even going to describe it.  I'm not even sure how we talked ourselves into it?!  Gag.  We were totally lost!  Luckily my mom was able to meet us up at the store and gently guided us to some patterns that weren't so hard on the eyes.  We ended up combining 2 patterns - one is blue & white and the other is gold & white.  I think they will be super versatile, and both of our moms signed off on the patterns :)

One tradition I've heard about recently is doing china Sundays.  I think it would be so fun to have an immediate excuse to use our nice dishes!  Not sure we'll do this every week, but perhaps once a month is a good goal? :)

Oh! And some of the RSVPs are coming in!! So fun to get them and see the sweet/funny/loving things people have written on them.  

Wedding Crasher

Confession: this weekend Adam, Meredith, and I snuck into the Fairfax Bar Association's (black tie) Gala (so, not technically "wedding" crashing, but close enough).  But we had a good reason to be there!  10 Spot, our wedding band, was playing!

See, Adam and I went about this whole "choosing  wedding band" somewhat unconventionally.  When I was the social chair for Pi Phi, I worked closely with Sam Hill Entertainment (the booking dudes for bands in C'ville).  So I figured I'd use them again for this big event! And to my pleasant surprise, my contact from my Pi Phi days responded back to me! He said he saw my name pop up on the request list - sweet!  He immediately sent us a list of bands that fit our qualifications (we wanted a band that would keep people dancing, but definitely had to keep budget in mind).  In the end, we got the "best band bang for our buck" and just went for it... without hearing them live!  I know, that's pretty much a wedding-planning-sin.  But, we were working under tight time restrictions (i.e. they were booking up FAST) and I totally trusted Andrew (my guy at Sam Hill).

So when we heard that 10 Spot was going to be in our area for a gig, we knew we had to check them out!  And thank GOODNESS we trusted Andrew's advice - this band was rockin'.  People didn't leave the dance floor! They played crowd favorites! They sounded awesome! Oh, I just can't wait!  I knew they would be great, but it was a huge sigh of relief to know that they'll sound good live.

We only stayed for 5 or 6 songs.  I think I was blushing the entire time we were there.  We weren't doing anything wrong (Andrew told the band we'd come), but of course, the hundreds of lawyers + spouses had NO CLUE who these kids were, clearly NOT in black tie (Mere & I had casual dresses on, but kept our coats on the entire time! Adam had on khakis & a blazer).  Ah oh well :)

60 days!

Playing Catch Up

This is getting REAL.

We're under 80 days (!) and have been able to keep the productivity in full-gear.  Besides all of the small details we've done over the last few weeks (ordered our sparklers for the send-off, scheduled hair appointments, looked into flower girl baskets and moss letters), I had one HUGE detail to check off my list...MY FIRST DRESS FITTING.

We went this past Saturday, which worked out well because Adam was out of town (yep, I totally lied when I said he wasn't going to be doing any more international traveling before the wedding! Whoops!).  So Mere, my mom, and I made a day of it - dress fitting, a yummy lunch, and some wedding-related errands!  The fitting was not only AMAZING (y'all, I love my dress!), but it took a lot longer than we had anticipated.  I was able to try it on with all of my accessories so we really got the entire-package-look :) I go back at the end of March for my next fitting, and then once more before the big day!

We're headed to FLORIDA tomorrow for a wedding weekend - one of Adam's buds from high school is getting hitched.  I can't wait to wear flip-flops, drink a cold drink, and sit by the pool.  The weather is looking niiiice.  Of course, I'll have to stick to strapless bathing suits (if you remember me posting about my tan lines from this ancient post!).

Enjoy the warmer temps!!

100.

In exactly 100 Days I'll be getting ready to walk that aisle and become Adam's wife (!!!!).

Crazy how fast these last few months have gone by, but I knew they would.  And now the real work fun starts :)  We had an insanely productive weekend in Charlottesville (Mere, my momma, Mrs. Matthews, and Kate joined Adam & I for the weekend) - we crossed off lots from our "to-do" list, got great ideas, ate TONS of yummy food, and just got to spend a lot of great time together.

My mom and Mere have all the pictures of the weekend (in all the hustle & bustle of getting ready I completely forgot my camera) but we did document the trip!  It was so great tasting all the food we'll be serving at the reception (y'all better come HUNGRY!), choosing our linens/serving plates/etc (I'm so excited about the final product), and - one of the highlights - meeting with the organist to choose the songs for our ceremony (and on May 7th there will be 100% chance of bride-tears, seriously, no way around it! I started tearing up just hearing the song I'm going to walk out to with my dad).  Sheesh.

With just 100 days to go (well, the weekend actually kicks off in 98 days!), we're trying to cross off as many small tasks that we can get done NOW instead of later.  I've been spending time researching decorations, DIY projects, etc. I can now picture the ENTIRE weekend and it is going to be a dream come true - we just have to get it all done :)

We're off for a weekend of skiing with our family!  We're actually heading to a place we were this summer for my friend & b'maid, Nancy's wedding! Yay!

P is for PRODUCTIVE

Man alive - this whole wedding thing really is starting to come together!!  Adam was out of town for a week with business (hopefully his last international trip before the big day!), so I found myself with some free time on my hands... luckily I used it wisely (instead of just watching The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills).  We conquered a lot!

• I have my rehearsal dinner dress!  It seems funny that I've had my wedding dress for months and haven't really given that much thought to what I'll wear the rest of the weekend.  BUT, did I hit the jackpot a Neiman Marcus :)  The morning we went shopping, I had brunch with a few girlfriends and told them, honestly, I didn't think I was going to buy anything - I didn't know what I wanted!  But when I saw the dress, it hit my like a ton of bricks! I am SO excited about it... but I am not going to post it here :) 
• WEDDING INVITATIONS ARE ORDERED!! Holy-weight-off-my-shoulders.  We aren't really "paper" people, so we had no clue what we wanted these to end up looking like.  We ended up ordering something very "Blair & Adam" that is still simple, modern, and classic.  We also ordered some of our other "wedding stationery" (escort cards, out of town bag labels, etc.) - I love progress!
• The ultimate wedding-vendor meet-up takes place in 4 days - yeehaw!  Both of our moms will be with us as we do our tastings, meet with wedding planner, all of our venues, and more.  Plus, I love a good excuse to head down to Charlottesville ;)
• The smaller stuff: Mere & I went to Michaels to get our craft-on.  I get great ideas from blogs, but really needed to see what was available to us from the stores in our area. There are some things I am not going to make (like monogrammed moss letters), but others I'll definitely tackle (like the rustic wooden "Wedding" sign I'd love to have outside of King Family Vineyards).  For these DIY projects - the earlier you start the better!

The entire day/weekend is really starting to take shape, and I can totally "picture" it now :)  OH, and we're creeping up on 100 days... AHHH!!! :)

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 :)

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 :)

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!

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!