Belk Registry Party

I had mad cravings for Panera this weekend.  I'm not sure if it was the snow or my intense need for tomato soup and asiago sourdough but either way we needed to fix that pronto.  We went to the  mall on Sunday because 1.  there is a Panera 2. I needed to get a gift for a friend and 3. because Belk department store was hosting another engagement registry event.  I went to one last fall with my mom and we had such a good time this was an opportunity for R to join in.  

 I would recommend any engaged girl in the south register for wedding gifts at belk - the customer service is great and they place a lot of emphasis on the individuality of each couple.  This event featured a "passport" and each couple had to meet with each vendor before turning it in for the chance at a big prize.  We enjoyed demos from Nespresso, Mikasa, Villroy and Bock, Cuisinart, Clinique, Carol Lee, and several local dessert shops, caterers, and florists.  They also had a DJ playing and some delicious snacks available.  

 This was our take home bag - there were several pamphlets for each vendor and a gift card for belk.

 They gave out a great groom's gift.  R received a new tie, cologne sample, black moleskin notebook and a tear away note pad.

 I received a couple of bridal magazines, perfume sample, makeup bag, heart shape cookie cutter, and ink pen.

I won a prize at the raffle!  We didn't stay at the event long so we ventured around the mall afterward and they called me to let me know I had a prize waiting for me.  This is a tall vase courtesy of Mikasa - I love it!  I plan to fill it with lemons and use it as my dining table centerpiece.

R and I registered a while back but we enjoyed visiting our china pattern.  We received a belk gift card as one of our shower gifts and we were able to think about what we wanted to use it for.  After our mall trip we went to our FINAL meeting with the preacher to review our wedding ceremony.  I'm so glad we can send our program to the printer and reading our final ceremony layout with our names in the vows made this whole process very real and very exciting.  

Bridal Shower Luncheon

My matron of honor Katie hosted a beautiful bridal shower luncheon at her mother's home  on February 3.  I wanted to share a few photos from that special day!  Unlike the large shower my aunt hosted (family and our church community), Katie's shindig was intimate with close friends and immediate family.

She had this adorable wedding cake decoration in the middle of the dining table.

A gift showcasing the invitation that Katie created for the event.

Colander full of spring flowers.

Of course she had water and tea....and the most amazing orange margarita.  I had 2 or maybe 3 of them and rocked a slight head buzz!

Decoration in the front yard.

Bunny in a bow and mason jars with grosgrain ribbon.  She also had a couple of large Ball jars full of pink roses around the house.

My sweet hostess!

Chef Beau was our shower entertainment.  He is a friend of Katie's and she asked him to come prepare our lunch.  He set a beautiful display of appetizers - cheese, crostini, almonds, olives, and fruit.  

We watched him prepare our lunch - salmon and green beans with a roasted red pepper sauce garnished with pesto oil.  He also made some amazing crab stuffed mushrooms.  Katie didn't take a photo of the 2 tier cake she made for the shower but it had the most amazing cream cheese and she wrapped a pretty ribbon around the base with my monogram.

Mom and I enjoying the chef's presentation.

We met in the den for cake and gifts.

My mother in law made this plate for us featuring our new monogram.  We have it displayed in our kitchen now.

We stopped for some chatting in the middle of gift opening - I wanted to showcase the mimosa / margarita combination that I enjoyed so much.

More gifts.

Gift display and my throne of tulle.

My take home goodies!  Katie had each guest fill out a recipe card and gave me a box to keep all my new recipes in (monogrammed of course).  She also wrapped these heart shaped measuring spoons as the guests shower gift.  She gave me the little dress die-cuts from the shower for my scrapbook- I may also repurpose them for the bridal luncheon since she worked so hard on them.

Didn't she do an amazing job!

Snow Day 2013

Yesterday was beautiful.  I wore a short sleeve thin knit top with NO jacket.  So today it was surprising to wake up to this:

 Fancy picture.  R and I went shopping last night and purchased new iphones for our anniversary.  We also had a delicious sushi dinner.

 The front of our townhome this morning.  It was still snowing large flakes of fluffy snow.

 Our bridge leading out to the street.

 Of course I had to make snow cream.  A little powdered sugar, almond milk, and vanilla extract.  We both love a drizzle of chocolate syrup.

Extended arm photo with snow in the background (and in my hair).  We went for a short drive in the early afternoon with the intention of going to visit a good friend but when we saw the slush on the roads we decided it was best not to chance it.  We are hoping to attend an registry party tomorrow but we are going to wait and see what the weather conditions are.

Wedding Update, only 37 more days...

My photographer packaged my portraits up in this beautiful box and burlap ribbon.  My mom helped me frame it tonight.  All I can say is wow, I picked the right photographer!

• All of my wedding thank you notes have been sent.
• I plan on posting pictures from my last bridal shower in the next few days.
• My hair looks terrible, it's too long and my layers are crazy.  I can't wait for my pre-wedding color and trim, my appointment is March 5. I'm trying to condition and minimize heat styling (without looking like Cousin It).
• Our crafty projects are done.  I was going to do more but I think I need to stop before it gets tacky.
• Linen order has been placed.
• We purchased our wine :-D
• Our RSVPs are still trickling in.
• I verified our hotel reservations and my wedding hair styling appointment.
• We reviewed and approved the layout for our tables at the reception.

These are the items I have left this month:

• Order R's Grooms gift (holy smokes I need to do this - like I'm hoping to get it done before I go to sleep tonight)
• Final meeting with the preacher - Sunday
• Order the ceremony programs (I can't do this until we've met with the preacher)
• alterations for my rehearsal dinner dress and the grooms suit
• Complete R's outfit for the rehearsal dinner
• Finish buying our mason jars for the reception (I need 2-3 more boxes)
• Print a welcome sign and a sparkler sign
• Purchase the beer for our reception
• vendor payment deadlines start on February 23 so I need to get on top of that Monday
• AND my bachelorette party which has been a topic of much debate, it's still a mystery but I'm looking forward to it!

My list is shrinking and it feels so good!

Wedding Skincare

Current Skincare by carolinabelle84 featuring murad

Door for our escort cards...

My aunt gave us this door from an old store from the 1940s that is on her property.  It was in great condition and only needed a little dusting.  I love the rusty door knob!

 We wanted to change it up for the wedding so we purchased paint in antique white from Lowes and used a product designed to make the paint crackle.  R and I were surprised to see it start to crack almost immediately.

 This was fresh paint and I barely snapped a photo after R finished painting it.

 And the finished product!  I love it so much that I'm planning to use this crackled paint on my dressing mirror.  We plan to string twine across the door to hold our escort cards and hang a welcome sign on the door knob.  R was skeptical at first but now he loves it!

New Name

It's official y'all!  I finally purchased my domain name and it inspired me to change my blog title.  Oh my...the things you think of after a couple of glasses of merlot.

I'm hoping after the wedding I can make it "mine" and get a graphic designer involved.

Wedding Update....47 days to go

Since I last updated my blog the invitations have gone out as well as round one of the thank you notes and the bridal luncheon invitations.

My future mother in law is distributing menus so everyone can select their rehearsal dinner meal.  R and I have worked on several crafty projects for the reception decor and I have worked on my coordinators notebook (timelines, decorations guide, layouts, contact lists, etc).  I also purchased the favors for my bridal luncheon and we have started redecorating using the goodies we were "showered" with!

Oh and this past weekend has been wedding packed!

On Saturday we met my family and coordinator for a walk through our ceremony / reception space.  I timed my "walk" down the aisle and reviewed decor set up and the owner's policies.  We were also given access to an online layout of the property where we can do a mock set up for the caterer to know where the tables should go.  It's an awesome tool!

I also received my bridal portrait!  And my fantastic photographer gifted me with not one but TWO free portraits because she wanted me and my mom to have the one I picked plus the one that she loved the most.    At 16x20  it's a whole lotta me between the three portraits.

I viewed and approved our custom cake topper from an Etsy seller MilkTeabyBthanari (more details in a later post).  It's amazing and as of right now it is in transit and I visit it via tracking number daily.

We went to a wine shop in the afternoon and purchased several bottles to sample so we can choose our wedding wine...definitely a fun task!  AND I think we have made our decision!

I purchased a bridal shower dress at the last minute!  I have shopped for weeks with noluckwhatsoever.  But  I found it in the eleventh hour and it's beautiful - a big snug in the hips but at least it doesn't need serious alterations which is better than most of the dresses I found.  While we were shopping R lucked up and found the best bowtie ever for our rehearsal dinner and I tried on a potential new lipstick for my wedding color...YSL #9.

Today my MOH hosted a bridal shower in my honor at her mother's home.  Oh. My. Word.  It was amazing.  More details in another post!

Oh yes....and it's SUPERBOWL SUNDAY!  My father passed away years ago and he was a 49ers fan.  For that reason alone I will be pulling for them to win.  R ordered Buffalo Wild Wings for us to enjoy during the game and I purchased a special snack for Baby to enjoy at half time.

We still have several tasks to complete.  The big ones for February:

• Finish our escort card display
• Meet with the DJ
• Final meeting with pastor to review our ceremony program 
• Pay the balance for our vendors and find out their time of arrival
• Alterations for brides rehearsal dinner dress, mother of the bride dress, and grooms suit
• Finish shower thank you notes
• Bachelorette Weekend :-)
• R's rehearsal dinner outfit
• Purchase alcohol for the reception
• Place order for reception linens
• Purchase the groom's gift
• Have the ceremony programs printed

I'm fully expecting small tasks to pop up but I'm hoping I can finished everything on this list in the next 25 days.