The Groom!

See that handsome guy there blowing me a kiss? That's my husband to be Tim! He recently got promoted and transfered to Atlanta, Ga. Soon after getting promoted he asked me to marry him! God could not have given me a more perfect (soon to be) husband. He makes me more happy than I can say. He has a great since of humor, sits through movies that he can't stand because he knows I really want to see them, he treats me with respect, he's a man of God, and I know he's going to be a GREAT dad. Those are just a few reasons why I love him so much.

 It was really hard for me when he moved, first to Columbus, then to Charlotte. Although he's moved away again at least I'm going with him (after we're married)! It's still tough being so far away from him but at least I have our wedding to plan and about 6 1/2 more months until I'm in Atlanta with him.

I love you Tim! Thank you for treating me right, for making me smile, and helping me to always grow as a person, as well as in my relationship with God, and for choosing ME!!!!

The Venue

Tim and I decided very soon after we were engaged where we were going to get married and have our reception.... Crystal Gardens! It's in Howell, MI and it is beautiful. The reception hall is perfect for what we want. We're keeping our wedding as classy and elegant as possible and Crystal Garden meets those desires. The reception hall is smaller but has plenty of breathing room. It'll be perfect for keeping an intimate atmosphere. Here's a small (small) peek at the reception hall.

Though Crystal Gardens hasn't built their chapel yet we're not worried about what it will look like. Everything about Crystal Gardens is beautiful so we're positive their chapel will be as well.

A few weeks ago my bridesmaids went with me to look at the venue again. They seemed to fall in love with it as much as I had. It was a lot of fun!

 

The Proposal

When Tim and I first began dating we spent a lot of time in downtown Birmingham. We would get a coffee at Starbucks, walk back to "our" bench in a somewhat quieter part of town, and talk for some time. However our trips to Birmingham seemed to come to an end, Tim got a job first in Columbus, then in Charlotte.

On Friday, October 15th of this year I woke up at 3:00 am extremely sick. I won't go into all the details but I'll just say it was NOT good at all. I was sick all day, as well as in the evening. Saturday (October 16th) I woke up feeling a bit better. I still did not have too much of an appetite or energy. But I was at least able to walk around without "getting sick."

Tim had been texting me all day saying things like "I really miss you." He then asked if I would like to go out to dinner that night. Shocked that he would even ask that after my being so sick I said "No, I barely have energy to get out of bed, let alone do my hair and make up." But after he prodded me a little more I gave in. I figured I might as well use whatever I time I had with him since he would be moving to Atlanta soon.  

After I agreed he said "Ok I made reservations in Birmingham."
I thought that kind of strange because it had been so long since we had gone. He also told me to dress up a little bit because it was a nicer restaurant.

I began to be a little suspicious what with all the texts that said he missed me, the reservation in Birmingham etc. But I tried to stop myself as much as possible to not get my hopes up because I do that way too often.
However, when he came to pick me up I could not help taking small glances at his pockets to see if there was a bulge from a ring box.
I didn't see one and used that to help myself to stop getting my hopes up.

To my annoyance all he talked about on the drive down was how excited he was about his promotion in Atlanta, how he couldnt wait to move etc. Obviously I was happy for him, but I had cried several times already in the past couple weeks because of his leaving. 
So here I am just trying to enjoy the evening for what it is (a nice evening spent together before he moved), trying not to think about his leaving, and all he's talking about is the move.

We went to dinner at Forte, and to my excitement they had lamb. :-) It was sooo good!! When we were walking out Tim asked me if I wanted to go sit at "our" bench. I agreed, we made our way to the bench, as I'm turning around to sit down he was getting down on one knee and proposed. It was sooo sweet and obviously the happiest moment of my life.

I told him afterwards that of all the ways he could have proposed this was the number 1 way I wanted him to do it. It was perfect.

I'm so happy, I can't wait to marry him!!!

Maid of Honor

See that pretty girl there on the right? That's my best friend and maid of honor Crystal Barancik. I met her through my fiances best friend Jeremy. She has been such a great friend to me I can't even tell you! The decision to make her my maid of honor was a piece of cake! I'm only 3 weeks into wedding planning and she's already been a huge help! She's even helping me design the wedding invitations.
I feel so blessed to have her as a friend. So here's to you Crystal! Thanks for being a great friend!

At the dress shop!

Dress Shopping!

Last saturday I went wedding dress shopping with my mom, mother in law to be, my maid of honor Crystal, my good old friend Mary, my sister Hannah and my friend Ashley. I was only allowed to choose 5 dresses at the 1st appointment I had (at fantastic finds) which kind of sucked, but my consultant was extremely nice and helpful.

I LOVED the first dress I tried on but decided to go to another appointment I had made at Pierres bridal just to make sure I tried on a variety of dresses, and to be sure I got the whole experience. The experience I had at Pierres bridal was nothing like Fantastic Finds. The consultant who helped me was extremely rude, all the dresses looked and felt cheap, they were all wrinkled, some were even torn.

I decided that the first dress I tried on at Fantastic Finds was THE dress. So we headed back to FF so I could try the dress on once more. As soon as I put the dress back on I officially made my decision.

(this is not the dress I chose fyi)

I can't wait until it gets in!!!
*Photos by Crystal