Back as a MRS!!

As you can tell, it's been a little busy lately and this blog got the short end of the stick!  I'm back now from the pre-wedding craziness, the wedding itself (which was ahhh-mazing!!!), and our splendid honeymoon in Costa Rica!!  I want to recap all of them, but first here are a few sneak peeks from our wedding photographer:

Jack Looney's Blog: http://jacklooney.com/blog/?p=2641

Erin McDermott White (the creative chick who made our b'maids earrings!): http://erinmcdermott.com/bridal-jewelry/blair-adam-at-king-family-vineyards

it was seriously the BEST BEST time! starting the moment we left work on Wednesday May 4th, all the way through the honeymoon.  We felt so much love and support and EXCITEMENT from everyone!  Sure a few things went wrong, and there were definitely some nerves before we walked down the aisle, but at the end of the day we were married!!  And we couldn't be happier! :)

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!

So much to catch up on!

This will serve a place holder for the MANY posts I am due to write!  Which will include:

• Bachelorette Party!!  Affectionately dubbed the #BBBB (Blair's Bachelorette Beach Bash). It is safe to say my girls spoiled me rotten!
• Engagement pictures: a good friend took them for us in & around Georgetown on a mild mid-March Saturday.  We got some great shots and now feel more comfortable in front of the camera!  I have trouble uploading pics to Blogger at work, but I'll post a few to Facebook :)
• Bridal Shower: oh boy...what a fun night!  It was "entertainment" themed and we had the best time.  There were so many small touches (Blair & Adam M&M's, napkins, cookies, etc) and the food was outstanding!  We had a ball.
• Whirlwind trip to C'ville: we have another coming up this weekend (hair-trial!), but the one we did in March covered big topics - wedding ceremony, finalizing the cake, tasting the white wines!

I can't believe we are about to hit the 1 month mark!  Which also falls on our 6 year anniversary (dang!).  Not sure we'll be doing any celebrating together, though.  For Adam leaves with his buds for his BACHELOR party. Charleston, SC - you've been warned.

Updates with pictures are next...promise!

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!

Bridal-plasty

I think most brides-to-be think about self-improvement at some point during their engagement. Whether they want to tone up, lose some lbs, clear up their skin, or the like.  Some, like the contestants on E!'s "Bridalplasty" go so far as to make some major changes. As for me, it's a bit of a combo! Let me explain...

I am making a sort-of major change. I got Invisalign! I had always wanted to straighten my teeth (which got a little "crowded" when my wisdom teeth came in), and one of our daily-deals websites had an offer for Invisalign I couldn't refuse (and it was through our family's orthodontist, too!).  I'm currently on tray 5 of 13, and my teeth are noticeably straighter. I haven't had any side effects (i.e. no lisp while talking with them in), and I am now totally used to wearing them.  I'll be on tray 9 or 10 come wedding day, so definitely more than half-way there! So happy I did this.

I've started to get once-monthly manicures.  I see such a difference in my nails when they are healthy, and I am always excited to make an excuse to pamper myself :)  This is also a relatively inexpensive "maintenance" as mani's are about $10.

Gym & diet - I wouldn't say I'm on a "diet," but I am now (...with 9 weeks to go!!!) super conscious about what I'm eating/drinking.  I'm limiting my weekday alcohol intake (bye-bye glass of wine..or 2...after work), increasing my veggies, and watching my sweet-tooth. Again, not looking to lose weight, more just about keeping healthy!  I've also tried to incorporate more running into my work-outs, as I feel like that gives me the best results.  My arms & back will be the most "exposed" (spoiler alert Adam - my dress isn't a mid-driff or see-through corset! Sorry!), so I am trying to keep up with my Body Pump classes, push-ups, etc..

Skin and makeup - my skin loves to play tricks on me.  One day it'll be cool, calm, and clear.  The next? A disaster!  I've heard from other brides that they tried to wear less make up in the days and weeks leading up to their weddings to allow their faces to "breathe." As long as I don't have major puffy eyes or a big old zit to cover-up, I think I might try this tactic, too!

Anyone else have good pre-wedding trips as far as health & beauty go? :)

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!!