i was so excited to get my wedding pictures back from our photographer, shelley, a few weeks back. unfortunately, though, i have also been swaaaaaamped with work and haven't even had a chance to really look through them and/or post them here or on facebook. things at work haven't slowed down a single bit, but i did make time tonight to really look at them and i just had to share a couple of my favorites from before the ceremony...enjoy! :) **disclaimer: i have sooo many more favorites, i just can't show them all because i'm using some for some gifts for friends and family. i'll post more soon!
our "first look." lol.
this just cracks me up. christi, the girl with the disgusted look on her face, is michael's sister and couldn't bear giving him a kiss. haha.
"cheers" with our best friends.
he's stupid good-looking. i am waaaaay too lucky. ;)
with my sister.
best looking bridal party. ever.
our rings :)
my bouquet (which was perfect and rustic and gorgeous). the tie around it is my mimi's (my dad's mom) garter that she wore when she married my papa 65 years ago. such a sweet "something blue" for my big day.
of the best day of my life. i know, so cliche, but sometimes, just because something is trite, doesn't make it any less true. in short, everything was perfect, and michael and i were surrounded by the ones we love and we celebrated, and laughed, and danced, and had the happiest of times. more coming soon, but until then....
i really can't explain why or how i'm feeling so calm right now. wedding weekend is upon me and i am feeling pretty great. of course, i've had a few meltdowns hiccups over the last 24 hours, but over all, i've been pretty good. in all honesty, i'm really hoping i haven't just been internalizing all of the typical wedding stress causing a faux-calm, only to have a total breakdown at a really crucial moment. fingers crossed that doesn't go down! my anxiety level (which has been known to totally max out) has been hovering somewhere between nonexistent and barely there, which likely because of this guy...
truth is, until about two or three weeks ago, the fact that we're getting married really hadn't sunken in. i still felt like i was planning some event that was in the far distant future or for some other person or something. weird, i know. over the last couple of weeks, though, reality has started to set in, and i couldn't be happier. i love a man who is compassionate, loving and understanding; someone who puts me in my place when i need it (which, lets be serious...that happens more often than not), and challenges me to be the best person i can possibly be. he also drives me absolutely insane. i think the funniest part of all of this, is that he thinks he's the lucky one.
HO-LY crap, y'all! we're officially 40 days out from our wedding. seriously, WHERE did the time go?? luckily, i feel like i'm pretty on top of everything on my checklist...venues-check! bridesmaid dresses-check! table linens-check! centerpieces-half check! groom-check! and that last one--the groom--is the most important part. i think that sometimes, brides get so caught up in all the little details, they totally neglect the most important part of the big day, the person they're promising to spend their life with. now, i know i'm not perfect (i know, shocker!) but i do know that i constantly try to give michael love and attention whenever i can. i want to make sure that he knows that he is the one that is most important to me; not some silly centerpiece or catering decision. so, bridezillas ladies, let's take some time to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. contrary to popular belief, the apocalypse will not begin if every little detail on your wedding day is not perfect. that's life, honey! now that i'm off of my little soap box (you think i've been dealing with enough brides lately, or what? lol), i can catch you up on what's been going on in my life. here's the stats: 2: the number of attempts at bridal portraits i had to do. i truly have the worst luck with weather. my amazing photographer, shelley (you can find more about her here), was able to meet with me yesterday when the weather finally decided to cooperate. i can't wait to see the photos! she always does an awesome job. 13: the number of days until my bridal shower! amy, my oldest, sweetest, best friend, and her cute mom, nancy, are throwing me a bridal shower in dallas on feb. 17. they are such dolls! i'm so excited to get to have my close friends and family together to celebrate me and mikey-poo getting married! (the gifts won't be half bad, either. ;) ) but seriously, i am so so blessed to have a friend like amy. it's few, and far between, when you find a friend who you not only remain friends with, but manage to not screw each other over at some point during that friendship. love her! 19: the number, so far, of wedding related events we have booked at rooftop. eeeeeek! i'm so excited, i could just die! seriously, i am so grateful for the positive response that the venue has received so far. it's just amazing! 55: the number of "yes" RSVPs we've received! yippie! and to everyone reading this who has not RSVPd...you BETTER! 32,165,498,413: the number of times i've listened to this song in the past week. can't. get. enough! (and yes, erica, i'm aware that i'm on a total mackelmore band wagon because this is the only song i know by him. sue me. lol.)
we booked our honeymoon to isla mujeres palace today! we'll leave the day after the wedding and get to spend 5 days in complete relaxation and paradise! i can't wait to celebrate mine and michael's marriage with my love!
you guys! i don't even know where to start! as some of you know--and you may have to think reeeeeeeeaaaaaal hard since it's been a lifetime since i've been a "good blogger"-- mikey-poo and i went and got our engagement pictures done a couple of weeks ago. our amazing photographer, shelley walker, met with us on a day that was a) fighting off rain, b) colder than a usual september day, and c) coincidentally had perfect lighting (thanks to the almost-rain). shelley went to high school with michael and me (she is two years older than us) and has done several wedding/bridal/engagement shoots for my friends. long story short--she. is. awesome! mike was a champ and we seemed to get the shoot done pretty quickly. we were out at shelley's aunt and uncle's house where they have the most gorgeous land. there was an old barn, tractor, small pond, hay bales and more...basically everything to make a perfect rustic-type photo shoot a success! here's a couple of my personal favorites (complete with super-sappy-but-totally-true love quotes that i can't get enough of)! :)
on the way to the shoot. mike was clearly pumped about it. lol.
"he's more myself than i am. whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same." -emily bronte
"anyone can be passionate, but it takes real lovers to be silly." -rose franken
"in all the world, there is no heart for me like yours. in all the world, there is no love for you like mine." -maya angelou
shelley- thank you so much for doing such an amazing job on our photos! you are wonderful and they turned out perfect!!
good news, everyone. i reached a milestone in my wedding planning this weekend. i found THE dress! :)
saturday afternoon, my mom, sister, amy, and michael's sister, christi, loaded up and headed out to find my wedding dress. i had looked online at david's bridal and found several dresses that i knew i wanted to try on, so we went there first. amy said it best when i gave her "the plan." "it's really big, so it will give you a lot of options. and if we get there and it's too overwhelming, we'll bounce and go somewhere else."
we arrived at david's bridal, checked in, and let the madness ensue. alicia, our trusty consultant, did an awesome job. she was so helpful and way on top of her game. she knew those dresses! after trying on several (read: TONS) of dresses, christi and amy started looking around to dresses they thought i'd like. christi ended up finding the winner!
of course, i won't post a photo of the actual dress, but i can tell you this...it's lovely. it's vintage looking and classic and wonderful. :)
here's a sneak peak of some other ones that were front-runners but ended up not making the cut.
i had to crop my head out of this one...i had one
gnarly facial expression going on. lol.
also, fear not. my work-out regimen begins today! fyi: "work-out regimen" is simply my way of saying "stop-eating-like-a-little-piggy-and-try-and-get-some-kind-of-physical-activity-in-each-day." people are only going to believe that my armpit fat is an extension of my overly-humongous boobs for so long. and i can't do the "hand on my hip" pose in every picture on my wedding day. in short, it's gotta go!
hope you all have the happiest week! and wish me luck on this torturous new adventure to work out more. y'all know how i feel about working out. womp!
well, i'm officially overwhelmed with wedding stuff and literally haven't planned a thing. neat.
at the rate i'm going, this will be me on march 16.
for those who know me, you know i'm pretty organized, especially when it comes to events. well right now, my brain feels like scrambled eggs. invitations, budget, food, dress, bridesmaids, hotel accommodations, blah blah blah. my mom's so sweet (and probably reading this) and is offering to help me with whatever i need, but to be perfectly honest, i don't even know where to begin. i thought i wanted navy to be the main color, but maybe not? maybe i like the ever-popular dusk-rose-tan combination better? no, no...navy is definitely the way to go...right?
and bridesmaid dresses. all the same? different? well if they're different, do they need to have the same fabric? if they don't will it look tacky in pictures? i mean, these pictures are forever, right? i mean, i don't really know why i'm worried about it...show me ONE person over the age of 50 that looks back at their wedding photos and actually thinks they look like a rock star. okay, maybe this is only a fair assumption of weddings pre-2000. (the 80's were especially cruel, weren't they?)
oh god, and don't even get me started on the music. i'm not traditional. i like rock music. so what if i want to rock out to incubus (an acoustic-piano version, of course) as i walk down the isle? sue me. but butterfly waltz IS a classic, and so beautiful. maybe i'll just stick with that. wait a sec--isn't that what bella did in the most recent twilight? yikes! don't think i want to follow in those steps...i mean, what if it's a bad omen and i end up being turned into a vampire. i'm kidding, but seriously, can i (or anyone else) take my marriage seriously if i included items as cliche as a tween-movie phenomena?
oh forget it. i'll just have michael do this during the ceremony...
juuuuust kidding! although i'm pretty sure our friends and families would get a kick out of it...especially the dancing. lol.
anyway, i'm just griping and being dramatic and ridiculous and negative. it'll pass and i'll get my crap together. don't worry! ;)
so we have an official wedding ceremony venue! i'm beyond excited!! it was kind of hard to nail down a venue because we needed it to meet the following requirements:
1. location near our reception venue in downtown plano. 2. ability to have our own person marry us and not some stranger (at most of the churches we looked at, they required you to use their minister...totally fine, but we already have someone lined up to do the ceremony. and besides, getting married in a church where you aren't a member by someone who is a total stranger is kind of creepy to me.) 3. not nasty-expensive. 4. availability in march. (why we are stuck on march is beyond me, but oh well.) 5. allows wedding ceremonies only. i was so surprised by how many places told me that they didn't allow ceremonies only. weird. i guess they don't like making money that much.
soooooo, ladies and gents, i am happy to announce that we will be married at the courtyard theatre in downtown plano on march 16, 2012. (yes, that means you will get to celebrate st. patty's day with us. thank us later.)
the courtyard theatre is a historic building in downtown plano and is really gorgeous. it's recently been remodeled and has a very intimate setting. it's a very unique place for a wedding ceremony, but i think it will be so cool! (and as many of you know, michael is quite the thespian, so he's obviously pumped to get married in a theatre. lol)
saturday, michael and i, along with several of our close friends from high school, got to attend our friends--justin and ashley's--wedding. for those of you who don't know, justin, michael and i, all grew up together. as a matter of fact, justin and michael have been friends ever since they were born, as their dads were both state troopers and partners. fast forward to college when justin met ashley. they began dating and were pretty much inseparable after that. that's how i met and got to know her, and we've become better friends since michael and i started dating again. she is the sweetest person, so i can totally see how justin fell for her. she also has impeccable taste when it comes to event decor.
it was the most beautiful wedding. i spoke to ashley about a week or so before the big day and asked how it was going (aka: have you got totally nuts yet?). the one thing she told me that stuck out was 'well, let's see if my pinterest dreams come true.' i can totally relate because i have been getting pretty pin happy here lately.
well, ashley, i don't know if your pinterest dreams came true, but mine did. the wedding was the sweetest, most adorable, thing. every last detail was very rustic and vintage and wonderful and romantic and just lovely. unfortunately, i was having too good of a time and totally spaced on taking pictures of all the decor. what's wrong with me?!
they had the coolest thing at their reception, too! i've been to many parties/wedding receptions/events where there's a photo booth. justin and ashley had a photo booth by flip pics that created a flip book for you! you got in front of the camera (with whatever props you'd like) and it recorded you for 7 seconds. then, it immediately printed out all the stills and the staff working the booth would staple them together into a book. their website explains it best..."think back to the days when you began doodling on the side of your notebook. one page of a ball bouncing...the next of the ball slightly lower on the page...then hitting the ground...the next page bouncing a little higher. this went on for a while until you flipped the pages back and watched the ball bounce up and down via animation." it was the coolest party favor i've seen. well done, justin and ashley!
it was so good catching up with several friends i hadn't seen in so long, and getting to celebrate with justin and ashley. me and michael even hit the dance floor a few times. let me just tell you, there is absolutely nothing better than a man who can dance...and the real kind of dancing. the kind where you get to hold each other and your feet barely touch the ground and it makes you feel like you're the only people in the room...not that crap where the guy just holds on to a girl's hips while she grinds her ass on their crotch. womp!
anyway, here's a couple of highlights from our night on saturday. we had a blast!
in having some slight issues finding a ceremony venue in/near plano that is within our budget, michael and i are having to move our date...again. this makes the third time. hopefully (see i'm trying to be positive!) this third time will be the charm and it will stick!
i plan events for a living and love, and i mean loooove, it...just not really when it comes to doing it for myself.
anyway, i'm just a little pants-shittingly stressed anxious about getting the major things set up. i'm sure once they are out of the way, it will be fine. RIGHT?!?!
i need something soothing...maybe some ice cream?? ugh. too bad i have to go to the watch in the morning. womp! looks like some jams will have to do. this song is quite fitting...so what? i want to get the major stuff out of the way and if i don't do it soon, i'm going to scream! does that make me crazy?
tomorrow's wednesday, lovelies...half way there! cheers!
so as i sit and enjoy my dinner corny dog, i'm catching up on some pinterest. everyone who's anyone knows that pinterest is the go-to site for, well, anything. i, myself, have been trying to narrow the scope of how i want to decorate for the wedding (302 days and counting). in doing so, i've realized that i really want our wedding to look, feel, and be like me and mike...simple, casual and fun. therefore, i've decided on a spring-y, rustic theme...wildflowers, nature-influence, candles, etc. more importantly, i want our friends and family to walk away thinking, "that was so much fun!" here's some things that i'm particularly drawn to right now...oh! and you can follow my pinterest here.
we won't have table numbers, but my goodness i LOVE those old books! perhaps covered in newspaper?
how wonderful are these?? outdoors-y, and sooooo romantic!
love these grey dresses! casual and so fun! i wonder if they (or something like them) come in navy?
my dream flowers! still haven't decided how i feel about mason jars. yes, they're adorable and definitely rustic, but a tad-bit overdone, wouldn't you say?
love this crudely mad crate!
i obviously am obsessed with centerpieces right now. haha. literally 80% of my attention automatically goes to centerpieces/flowers. is that normal??
i bought the newest john mayer album this morning. i've only listened to a couple of tracks, but so far, i'm liking what i hear! hahaha. i seriously just laughed out loud at myself because i'm SUCH a record exec. wannabe..."album?"..."track?"...who talks like that (mainly "track" is what gets me).
anyway, it's definitely a different sound...more mumford-and-sons-ish. once i listen to the whole thing and form a real opinion (i'm sure that will be tough), i will post a review. in the meantime, let's enjoy one of my personal favorites...
i will officially become mrs. michael lee on march 23, 2013! eek! we originally wanted to do march 30 (no particular reason, just picked it out), but then realized that that's easter weekend. we know a lot of our friends and family will have to travel to come to our wedding and that they also would probably like to be able to be at their home church for easter sunday, so we opted to move it up one weekend.
i'm so stoked!!
i get to spend the rest of my life with this guy...
look at that face! he's adorable!
how could i not be totally pumped?!
in other news...our lease is up on our apartment at the beginning of august and if we choose not to renew at our current complex, we have to let them know 60 days in advance (june 2). we're looking into our options, but so far, i haven't really had anything turn up. we'd LOVE to get into a house, but i haven't really found any decent rent houses just yet. any ideas, anyone?? worst case scenario, we can stay where we are, but i know it'd be amazing if we could get a little more space. (disclaimer: we love the neighborhood that we live in now. it's quaint, within walking distance to both of our jobs, and close to 75 and george bush. however, from what we've been told, the management likes to bump the rent up ridiculously when tenants renew. awesome. i guess we'll see what happens...)
lastly, incubus is coming back to town in september and i want to go soooooooo bad! michael, my sister, becca, her boyfriend, nik, and i went when they were in town last september and it was soooo fun!! they're my favorite band, hands down, and i'd love to see them again! here's some shots from that weekend!
nik and my sis.
ps. this photo was taken about 37 seconds before nik convinced michael to be a hippy and take his shirt off for the concert. needless to say, fun was had by all.
and since incubus has come up, i leave you with one of my favorite songs, "love hurts."
