Check it off the list!

Strike venue off the list!  We have a wedding chapel and a wedding date! 

On June 15,2013, at 11:30 am, I will walk down the aisle to marry Will! 
We are getting married at Northeast Wedding Chapel!  

Next up is looking for a photographer, and trying to sort through all the "great photographers" that everyone recommends. 

I've also been looking at first dance songs and father/daughter songs.  I'm crying just listening to them...the next 12 months are going to be a lot of tears!

To recap, I have:
A fiance
A dress/veil
4 amazing bridesmaids
A beautiful wedding chapel!

The Big 3-0!

I was nervous, I mean REALLY nervous for this birthday!  I'm not sure if I thought I would suddenly wake up with gray hair and wrinkles or what, but I was dreading turning 30! 

When I got to school, several people wished me a happy birthday, before I even got to my office.  Once I turned the hall to my office I knew why!

I had to sneak CC into the pics...she's just too cute! 
Anyway, the office staff at Lone Star decorated my office, had a cake, and even sang happy birthday to me!  I work with AMAZING people!!!

Throughout the day, I got tons of calls, texts, fb messages, etc from the awesome people in my life!  I hope I got a chance to thank each and every one of them!!!

When I got home, there were packages and cards just begging to be opened!  Then Will took me out to a fabulous dinner at Reunion Tower in Dallas, and we had dinner and got to "spin around the city"! Dinner was good, but dessert was AMAZING!  Chocolate souffle with cream fresh, chocolate ice cream, and warm chocolate syrup!  It was TOTALLY worth the calories!

Will ordered the painting on the top for me.  We had seen the artist at her booth at Southlake Art in the Square and I mentioned that I liked it, so he contacted her and had this one done especially for me!  She even signed the back of it! He also gave me the beautiful red roses!  My mom and Wayne gave me the print on the bottom right...they have a few prints by the same artist hanging in their house.  I also got a new Vera Bradley computer bag for work, a super cute summer scarf and lots and lots of love for my birthday! 

I guess 30 isn't so bad after all!

Ziplining!

For Will's birthday last year, he told me he wanted to go ziplining.  We didn't go last year, so this year, I bought a Ziplining Tour down in wine country!  With everything going on (wedding plans taking a turn, my parents moving to Seattle, stress at work for both of us), it was great to leave town for a couple of days, just to two of us. 

Saturday morning, we woke up, threw bags in the car and headed south!  Our tour was scheduled for 12:30, but we arrived early and other people arrived late, so they swapped us out!  We geared up, met our tour guides, had a quick lesson in ziplining and then we were off in the trees! 

We had an awesome day and Will was so excited about his late birthday weekend!



After our adventure in the tree tops, we hit Stonehouse Winery.  We had been there before and went back for a tasting and a delicious glass of wine!  Then we headed to Horseshoe Bay for our night at the Marriott Resort!  I was quite excited about our reservation because rooms are normally anywhere from $300-$700 a night and I got it on expedia for $130!  The resort was completely booked that weekend and we ended up getting upgraded to a villa that normally runs for over $700/night on the weekends!  Thank you expedia.com!

We had a great dinner over looking the lake!  I even got carded when I ordered my drink!  The waiter told Will, "Sorry dude, she looks really young!" Ha!

The resort was beautiful!  It had several pools, extensive grounds with all kinds of activities ( clay, grass, and cement tennis courts, putting greens, walking paths, bikes to rent, etc).  Like any Marriott resort, it was exquisite!  We very much enjoyed our stay!  Plus, his parents drove up from Austin to have brunch with us Sunday morning!



Overwhelmed

I've been totally overwhelmed this week.  Between work, social events, future in-laws coming into town, and seeing 2 wedding venues, this has been a rough week.  Everyone keeps talking about the end of the school year, but my next two weeks are going to be rough.  I have lots of meetings and still some to schedule.  Plus, we haven't gotten our placements for next school year, so I don't know if I'm staying where I am or if I'm moving! 

Too many changes happening too fast...I'm not keeping up well...

Update on wedding planning:
Still haven't found a place yet...still don't have a date yet...still only have a dress and a fiancee...

What was your...

Former brides, what was your:
Something old?
Something new? (dont' say dress/shoes)
Something borrowed?
Something blue? (is this just to rhyme?)

I have an idea for something blue, but what did you do?
Anything you did at your wedding or have seen at weddings that you thought was just amazing? 

Square One

Wedding planning is back at square one. 
After some long, hard nights (and lots of tears), Will and I have decided to not get married in the church.  The annulment process is going to take too many months and neither of us want to wait that long.  I know people are going to judge us for this, but those people can just not come to the wedding! I'm not going to publicize the gory details of the past two weeks, but let's just say I've been crying more than I've not been. 

I have officially started my search for a wedding venue!  My mom and I have found some great things on-line and now I get to go visit them in person!  My first appointment is on Thursday at a place called Piazzia in the Villiage (when I first saw the name on-line, I read "pizza" and checked my search to make sure I typed in the right thing!).  Thursday at 4, Greer and I (and of course O) will go and probably ask none of the right questions, but I bet we have fun!

I am taking suggestions of questions to ask, things to do, ways to keep calm and how not to make this a ten million dollar event! 

Things I have:
A beautiful wedding dress and veil
4 amazing bridesmaids
A very patient groom who lets me freak out on an almost daily basis and just nods and smiles at me a lot

Things I need:
shoes and jewelery
A venue
An officiant
A reception place
Food/beverages
Flowers
A cake
A registery
Decorations
Bridesmaids dresses
A rehersal dinner spot
Invitations
Save the dates
Engagement pictures
And I'm sure a ton of other things that I haven't thought of yet.
HELP!