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.

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.

Said YES to the Dress!

Wedding Gown.... CHECK!

Saturday's shopping trip was quite the success story.

Mom and I started the day at Bridal's by Sandra for our 11:30am appointment.  My consultant, Alicia, took us back into our room to get a feel of me, our wedding and what I was looking for in my dress.  And yes, I totally felt like I was on my newest NetFlix obsession, "Say Yes to the Dress".  She disappeared for a while and came back with several dresses to try on.

The first dress was amazing, and had everything that I mentioned to her. Different than anything I had previously visualized, but that is the benefit of the fresh eyes and ears of the consultant!  I tried on about 6 other dresses.  The last one was gorgeous... "if".  We made a few modifications to it, and I thought this could be it.  I didn't feel comfortable in that decision enough to cancel my second appointment elsewhere, later in the day, but I asked to put on #1 again.  Mom gasped when seeing it again and I could feel tears starting to form.  This was the one, I just knew it.  After the typical sales lines "Ooooo.... that could be tough to get for October" and then the "Great News! It'll be in August 1st... if you order it today", I knew deep down I was going to be ordering this dress and cancelling that second appointment.  And I did just that. :)  ONLY "bad" thing is, I don't think the shoes I originally picked out (and bought) will work.  Oh the horror, Dana needs to go shoe shopping again!  LOL.

On the way home, we still stopped at David's, since mom wanted to try on a dress I found for her online.  We waited just a few minutes for our walk-in appointment (time spent browsing the Mother of the Bride section anyway...). Then we got to switch places and SHE tried on a few dresses (including my original pick).  Success there too! We walked outta there less than an hour later and her MOB dress ordered.

While visiting with multiple family members this weekend, I was pleasantly aware of how many answers I had to their questions about the planning progress. Either got to say "already booked" or had some sort of idea or link saved to what I was going to do.  I guess I really am on top of things!

All in all, quite the productive weekend!

Hard Rock, Rivera Maya

On another (exciting!) note, Mike called and booked our honeymoon on Friday!  With many many thanks to my future in-laws for letting us use some of their timeshare points towards our room, we're headed to Heaven at the Hard Rock Hotel Rivera Maya for 7 days of All-Inclusive bliss.

This weekend coming up, in additional to Valentine's Day on Friday, we have a tasting/vendor event at our reception venue!  Since we'll be in the area, scouting rehearsal dinner venues and booking a block of rooms at a couple hotels is also on the itinerary.

Moving right along...

Last night, we met with and hired our photographer!  WooHoo!
We especially excited because she has done several weddings at Morningside already, so her team already knows the best places for the best shots. Such great piece of mind.

I have to admit, although I know I was overwhelmed in my "research" phase with all of the information I was gathering, it has really helped me when meeting with vendors.  I don't feel like they're just telling me things I want to hear and I feel like I'm actually PART of the conversation, rather than just a lot of "uh-huhs" for what they'll do.

This weekend is my dress shopping weekend in PA with my mom... and I am SO very excited.  Of course they're calling for snow. Come on Mother Nature, work with me here! :)  I have a good amount of specific dresses that I want to try on, but I'm actually looking forward to letting them pick something for me to try on!  Hoping traveling is a breeze and to come back home to MD having a dress ordered!

Mike's work schedule will get crazy in the matter of a few short months, so we are trying to get as many things checked off the list before April. After that, I'll be turning into a DIY Queen!

Until then, we have some pretty fabulous weekends ahead...

Tonight... honeymoon discussion!