A Year From Today...

WE WILL BE ENJOYING OUR WEDDING DAY :) By this time next year our vows will be said, our cake will be cut and we will have spent one amazing evening with family and friends! I hope the day won't go by too fast!

Tomorrow my mom and I are taking a ride up to Myserville to check out some near by hotels, see what the fall foliage looks like, and possibly eat lunch at the place Mrs. Wheeler is thinking about having our rehearsal lunch/dinner at!  I just came across the cutest way to have our family and friends sign a "guess book" but instead it is a tree that we can hang in our house one day.  I really like the one with orange leaves :) Check out some examples I found online:

 lovliday.storenvy.com

 simplydivineevents.blogspot.com

  simplydivineevents.blogspot.com

 This month I have set some goals to keep me on track and to take my mind off school because I have been spending a lot more time at school this year than I did last school year! This month I am hoping to make appointments to pick out flowers for bouquets, go cake tasting (something I am looking forward), and get our save the dates out. Our save the dates should be coming in about two weeks.  I still need to get cracking on getting those address! We will see if I can get all of my goals accomplished this month.

Happy Birthday Will!

Today was Will's 24th birthday! This morning I was telling him how crazy it is going to be on his next birthday when we will be 5 days away from our big wedding day! Even though it was his birthday today we finally started to play with our engagement photos. First, we decided that we are going to turn them into a photo album so I spent 2 hours putting together an album on costco.com while he watched football with my Dad.  Then I decided we really needed to get our save the dates done so I started playing around on this website called wedding paper divas.  We found this save the date with a little calendar on it but then it bothered me because the photos were not symmetrical and I thought the calendar made it a little bit cluttered.  When I was just about to give up on playing with save the dates for the day I came across this one on the website that I feel in love with.  I spent 5 minutes inserting our photos and changing the date and that was that.  We bought them and they are going to be on their way in a few weeks!  Check out the proof, I even got to add the cute little picture of my shoes :) Now it is time to start collecting every ones address...I have been dreading this part of the process.

www.weddingpaperdivas.com

Wedding Expo

Today I went to the bridal expo at George Mason University with my Mom, Joey, and Pam.  We had a great time together people watching and tasting cakes!  We found a great cake place in Reston and a great place that makes wedding dress cookies for my bridal shower.  The best part was that Joey found an amazing harpist at the expo.  Since I am not the one with a music ear in the family my brother has been put in charge of all ceremony music.  While we were there he found this great girl and as I listened to her playing a few of her samples I decided Joey was right and a harpist would be a nice touch to our ceremony.  I think it is a great idea because with an outdoor wedding we aren't able to have a piano/organ.  Also, Joey's friend Stephanie is going to sing during the ceremony so the harp will be a good accompaniment with Stephanie's great voice.

 Waiting for the fashion show to begin

I've decided we are going to go with a plain cake with the ribbon around each tier. 

It keeps it classy and simple...a theme that is starting to unfold.

More Engagement Pictures :)

Our wonderful photographer Jessica Schmitt has put some of our pictures on her blog, please feel free to check them out at Jessica Schmitt Photography. Leave us a comment on our blog and let us know which one is your favorite! We would love to hear your opinion.  I must add that when I first saw them I was running around the house and jumping with excitement, I had my mom and Joey laughing so hard they were almost crying because I was being so ridiculous.  Our favorite comment was when Will tuned in and said he looked like Huck Finn because we decided to roll up our jeans when we went into the fountain to take pictures. :) We are a little silly sometimes.  Hope you enjoy our photos!

Sneak Peak

Yesterday our photo session was perfect! The sky was a beautiful blue and we had a nice breeze too.  We took a ton of fun pictures at the Jefferson and we had a little fun when we went to the Roosevelt because we got into one of the fountain. We even got a beautiful sunset picture on our way back to the car. We had a great time with our photographer and her husband!  Thankfully we took our pictures yesterday because our back up date was today but with the 5.9 earthquake today they closed most of the monuments in D.C. along with the bridges into/out of D.C.  It would have been a nightmare if we were planning to go today.  Our photographer sent us a little sneak peak today. Hope you enjoy!

Jessica Schmitt Photography 

Jessica's husband took pictures of her taking pictures of us for her website :)

Engagement Shoot Today!

Will and I are taking our engagement photos today!  It has been a long month of picking out just the right outfit for the shoot but with the help of my brother I was able to find my dress at White House Black Market. I am excited about my cute shoes too!  The plan is to take our photos at the Thomas Jefferson Memorial and then head over to the Roosevelt Memorial to take some pictures by the waterfalls there.  Hopefully everything goes as planned.  Our photographer recommended using some props so Will and I went to Michael's this morning and bought a cute little chalk board to write messages on.  Here is a example of using a chalk board.

stylemepretty.com

On another note Will's Tungsten ring came in and we didn't like it.  It doesn't look like it did in the photo.  We wanted a brushed finish ring but the ring that came has a shinny polish finish.  Today we went to a jewelry store and found something closer to what he wants and ordered it.  Hopefully this time when we see the new ring it will be more what we were expecting.  Now we just have to return the old one.  We are still looking for a ring to match my engagement band exactly.  

Stay tuned for an update after our photos today!!!! :) Keeping my fingers crossed the sky stays bright blue!

(p.s. it's my last week of freedom/summer before I go back to school next week. I am secretly excited to get back to my classroom, I have lots of new plans for my room this year!)

August = Productivity!

This month has been a productive month so far and it's not even over! With 2 weeks left until I am back at school working to get my classroom all set up I have been busy getting some wedding planning done. So far this month:

1. Research photographers
2. Meet with 3 photographers
3. Pick photographer and sign contract
4. Engagement shoot (to be done August 22nd or 23rd!)
5. Officially ask bridesmaids to be apart of the wedding
6. Bridesmaids order dresses and shoes
7. Start wedding website (to be released after engagement photos are added to it)
8. Look at wedding rings and order Will's
9. Begin to research DJs


I love checking things off the list! The biggest accomplishment was choosing our photographer! We are really excited to begin working with her and we are excited to say that she inspired us to have a "photo guest corner" where our guest can take pictures and download them at home after the wedding.  It is not like a regular photo booth where you go inside of a booth to take pictures.  Instead it is an area at the reception with props, frames, white boards and a 2nd photographer to take your picture.  We are excited about this because it is something we hadn't considered before.  It is going to be a lot of fun :) Check out this awesome photo booth!

After my wonderful bridesmaids ordered their dress this month so I could check it off the list and not have to worry about the dresses being discontinued, I took them for some wine tasting and we had a great time :)

Sharing some Sangria at Paradise Springs Winery in Clifton, VA 

Bridesmaids and their wine glasses I made :)

And last but not least, Will's wedding band has been ordered and is on its way! Here is the band he picked

www.tungstenworld.com

More updates to be added after we taking our engagement photos next week :)