Butterflies...

It's taken two days, but I think I'm almost recovered from the emotions and excitement of the weekend!

First of all - THANK YOU to all of the family and friends who came out to celebrate at my shower on Saturday.  I hope you had a great time. :)  More on this later...

I got into town late Thursday, but some things don't change.  Dad greeted me on the porch with a beer.  After that one - I went inside with mom to bake til' the wee hours.

Friday... oh Friday.  Mom and I picked up Auntie Lisa after 10 and we were off to Sandra's for my dress fitting.  I haven't see the dress in "real life" (only the pics) for 6 months, so I was honestly a little freaked out when I walked into the room and it wasn't my dress.  Thankfully, they just hadn't moved the previous dress OUT of there yet.  Phew!  Any morsel of stress vanished when I put on MY very own wedding dress. Ya know that feeling when you're about to cry? That was me for the 45 minutes in the dress.  Since mom had already seen it, Aunt Lisa was going to be the best judge, and probably paid the best compliment when she said it was "so me".  That's all one can ask for on the most important day of her life. We go back in 10 days for my second fitting! Can't believe how fast everything is happening now!

As you know from the last post, Mom was pretty excited to be surprising me with lunch after the fitting.  I'm kinda surprised she kept it a secret for so long. I couldn't have every guessed what she had in store!  She took us to "High Tea" at Jessica's Tea Room.  How completely "me", eh?! Each course (of the 5) was better than the next... how pretty was my tea kettle? It was a fantastic afternoon with even more fantastic company.

Friday evening, Kyle came over with Denver. And if you can't tell from Facebook, I am one doting Aunt.  We had some darn attractive dogs growing up, but that Denver has the prettiest face. (Just don't lean over her head when she's playing... my jaw STILL hurts!)

Later Friday, we visited Aunt Lisa's where the VA Beach had (finally) made it safely to PA. Was a nice visit with the Kubik/Notareschi's (I spelled that right without even looking, FYI!), Wargo/Clark's and Recker/Rapp's.

Saturday... Shower Day! I didn't think I'd be so emotional leading up to it, but I was.  For those who know me well, I'm not all too comfortable with being the center of attention. (I know, I better get over that before October!). But once I was there and greeted by Amanda and the family there setting up, I felt much better.  It's a strange thing... between my family and friends I've been to countless showers - but nothing compares to your own. I can't thank my Mom and Amanda enough for doing the shower planning.  There really wasn't a detail they didn't think of. From centerpieces to cheesy potatoes(!), they did it all. To Aunt Lisa, Jenna, Aunt Terri, Devon, Amy & Bailey and my in-laws to be... what beautiful, creative baskets! We all know I'm not a "game girl" when it comes to bridal showers... I loved the idea of the basket raffles at my cousin Jenna's shower. Aunt Lisa was such a big help in organizing this.  Yes, all the gifts were amazing and thoughtful, but in addition to that, it really meant the world to see everyone in one place.  Thank you just doesn't seem like enough to say to everyone who came out to celebrate.   I hope you had just as much fun as I did (ok, ok. Maybe not QUITE as much), and we can't wait to see you all at the wedding!  About the gifts... I'm still a little freaked out that both my MOM and my future MIL got me the same "Something Old" (BOTH Mike and my "home from the hospital" bonnets)... Whoa!

Girls. Night. Out. <3
We were possibly the quietest "bachelorette party" ever, but it was a great evening with bridal party and friends.  I honestly can't imagine my life without each and every one of you. Thank you so much for traveling from far and wide to celebrate with me.

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I honestly had forgotten about my long-loved favorite quote until I was reminded by Kiera this weekend.

“Some people are settling down, some people are settling and some people refuse to settle for anything less than butterflies.” 

As Kiera pointed out... and happy to say, I found my butterfly. Happy and proud of myself that I didn't settle for anything less, because this love is definitely worth the wait.

Just. Got. Real.

All the planning, all the lists and still, sometimes this all feels like going thru the motions for someone else.  But last week, when Mike brought home our Marriage License from the court house... I couldn't help but get a little emotional.  OUR names are on it! :)  And last night, we went ring shopping. Mine is done... Mike is between two options and couldn't decide right away... he'll get that order in soon though.  And I think that takes care of all of the "must haves"!

So, I have "TimeHop" on my phone...which grabs anything I posted on social media that day in the past.  A couple weeks ago, I read one from last year and it's funny how things have changed both so much and so little in the past year.

"With all the craziness (& stress) of the move, it's easy to lose some perspective. But the honest to God truth is, I simply cannot stop smiling... So excited for this new chapter to begin. :)"

Replace "move" with "wedding", and same can be said.
I'm a little on edge, that's no secret.  But I am SO excited for this wedding. So excited to see all of these fun details come to life.  So excited to see everyone we love in one place!

It can't go unsaid, I have some of the best support in the world.  My mom... OMG, I don't know what I'd do without her.  She has talked me off the ledge too many times to count.  And sometimes just lets me yell at her for no apparent reason.

Of course we're excited, it's our wedding.  And of course our immediate families are excited - they've waited awhile for this day too.  But for those outside of those circles who have paid particular interest, I can not express how good that makes us feel. I LOVE to hear about people's excitement and support.  Hearing how people react to a wedding and all of its details is a is certainly an eye-opening experience.

This Friday/Saturday contains some events I've been waiting my entire life to have...

Friday - Mom, Aunt Lisa and I are heading to Sandra's for my first dress fitting. I can hardly wait to put that dress on again.  And with those two, I'm certain we'll share some (happy) tears.  Mom is taking us to lunch afterward... and she won't say where.  So, I'm a little intrigued. ;)

Saturday - My shower!  I know about it, yes.  But I can't wait to see what Amanda and Co. have cooked up. :)  So happy that all my bridesmaids are going to make it in for the festivities. From PA, VA, CA... will be nice to see everyone together (and meet!)

Saturday NIGHT - Girls Night Out! Bridesmaids and friends out for dinner, dessert and drinks.  Happy to say Kiera, Colleen and Andrea will all make it to the shower AND the night out.  So happy they're making the trip... will be great to celebrate with my favorite girls!

Invitations are all written out and assembled.  Can't wait to get them in the mail next week! :)

Double Digits!

I know... I am WAY overdue on an entry here.  So much has gone on in the last few months, both wonderful and stressful, I was in a much-needed power through mode! ;)

It's hard to believe that we're now into the "double digit" portion of the countdown.  I mean, WHERE did the time go?

Two weeks ago we had our (highly anticipated ;) planning session with Lauren at Morningside. It's so gratifying to hear her ask a question and us almost always have an answer. On the other hand, there is still SO much to do and put together in the next 94 days.

My dress fitting, bridal shower and bachelorette party are all next month (and the same weekend none-the-less). So excited for all of it.  Amanda did a fantastic job on the shower/bach party invites. And I FINALLY ordered my bridal jewelry to have in time to wear at the fitting!

SO much else is going on, it's hard to keep track at this point.  Our guest room is officially "wedding storage" for all the DIY items. And slowly (to me) but surely, all the pieces are fitting nicely together.

Three more weekends until those wedding events, and it's time to use weekend time wisely. ;) These next two should be uber-productive.

Weekend #3 is saved for Mike's Birthday weekend, which I believe will include our annual trip to the MC Fair. We're such kids, but the fair holds such special meaning.  We were on the Tilt-a-Whirl two years ago when I knew I loved this man (insert Awwwww's here). I love this tradition.

How is it March Already?

February, as always, FLEW by.  Before we know it - we'll be only SEVEN months out.  Craziness.

For those who have offered to help and I haven't given you anything to do, please don't be offended. I've been planning this wedding in my head for months and I'm really just making it up as I go along.  Besides, this  beginning stuff has been fun to do with Mike, while his schedule still allows.  Don't worry - you'll be contacted when the DIY stuff needs to be done (probably over the summer) and Mike's schedule simply won't allow him to help me put centerpieces together.  ;)

As of yesterday, 2 out of my 3 (adult) bridesmaids have tried on the dress and LOVE it.  Which is a huge relief to hear that they're happy too.  After Saturday, I'm hoping we're 3 for 3 and those will be ordered!  At that point, all dresses - Bridesmaid, Jr. Bridesmaid, Flower Girl, MOB, MOG... will be DONE.

After some thought (and change of plans on my part), Mike and I decided to have a joint Bachelor/Bachelorette weekend to include a day at Kings Dominion!  I had initially thought that the girls and I could just go out the night of my shower in August.  But the more I thought about it and talked to Mike about this new idea, a weekend based around one of our favorite places was so much more "us" than anything else we could come up with. And what a perfect way for everyone to get to know each other before all the other wedding events!  We've received some great feedback from our invite so far, and we can't wait to spend the weekend with some of our favorite people.

My current list includes the ongoing task of getting all addresses together, designing the invitation, and of course - researching everything under the sun. Whatever am I going to do with my time come October 26th?!