The Flowergirl!

(All rights reserved by Relish Studios)

See that adorable little girl right there? She was my flower girl at my wedding. When I first began my wedding planning and deciding on who I wanted to have in my wedding I didn't have to think about who would be my flower girl. I already knew and had known even before I became engaged. It would be Alex. 

When I was 18 I began working at a Montessori school. Alex was just a toddler of two and was one of the main children I cared for. It was an amazing experience watching her grow up. You're not supposed to have favorites when caring for kids but... I couldn't help it. She was a favorite from the beginning. She had such a big heart, was kind to everyone around her, looked after others (well tried to, being 2-4 it can be quite difficult), could always make you laugh, she just had a big outgoing personality. 

When she was three she said four words that made my heart melt, it was one of those reminders of why I cared for children. She said, "You're my best friend." And so from then on we were "Best Friends." Even when I had to have her take a time out she would tell me afterwards "It's okay, we're still best friends." 

There was another time when she had woken up early from nap so I went to sit beside her to talk (this happened quite often). I had a pretty bad head ache at the time and she could tell something was bothering me. So she asked me, "What's wrong?" After telling her she said "I'll pray for you." And she did, right then and there. See what I mean about a big heart and caring about others? 

When it was time for her to move on to the "big kid class" it was hard for me. I didn't want to give her up, I loved her as if she was my own. But at least I would still get to see her everyday. She still always had a hug for me everyday and we were still Best Friends. 

                                     

So if it isn't obvious already the reason I chose her was she was one of the first children I began caring for at such a young age, and cared about her as if she were my own, she had the perfect personality, and of course she is so cute! I had no doubt in my mind she would do an amazing job and so she did...        

Thank You Alex for being the perfect Flower Girl! You made the day even more special! I miss you! xoxoxo

 

Not Just Accessories

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Instead of having just any old accessories that I could have bought at Davids Bridal or some other Bridal shop all of my accessories had some sort of meaning. 

See the pearl necklace I'm wearing? That was the necklace that Tim's grandmother wore on her wedding day. 

The ring on my pinky? Tim's dad gave it to his mom on their wedding day. 

It meant so much to me to have both the necklace and the ring. 

The bracelet wasn't a gift from anyone but it still meant something to me. I made it! 

I took my bridesmaids to a store called Beadin Mon. It's a great little shop where you can design your own jewelry and have it made, they also have great prices. So my idea was to let each of my bridesmaids design their own jewelry, that way it would be something that they would obviously love and want to wear/use again and it would be meaningful. And as a little surprise I made my flowergirl a necklace. 

I also thought it would be a cute idea to have shirts for the wedding day while we were getting ready so I picked up the supplies and my Matron of Honor , Crystal made them (she's better at that kind of stuff than me). Mine as you can obviously see says bride, Crystals says Matron of Honor, and then of course on the two other girls it said bridesmaids. I think they enjoyed the gifts I picked out. 

Last but not least my shoes!

Because everything about the wedding was all about simple and elegant I wanted to do something just a little more different and fun with my shoes. So, I found these at Bakers! They were exactly what I was looking for, they were my cinderella shoes but also with a little bit of fun! 

My bridesmaids also bought their shoes at Bakers and they too fit in perfectly! 

The Dress!

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It was just two weeks after I had gotten engaged to the most amazing man ever. We had set the date and found our wedding venue. And now I needed to find THE dress. Our wedding day was set for July 9th so I knew I needed to find a dress and soon. 

I had somewhat of an idea of what I wanted. Everything about the wedding I wanted to be simple and elegant. I didn't want the big pouffy ball gown, or anything with a lot of beading, or lace. 

So me and my ladies pile into a van that my bridesmaid Ashlee borrowed from her mom, and were on our way to Fantastic Finds in Lansing Mi. Fantastic Finds is actually an old victorian house that they use.  They have a HUGE selection of dresses and awesome prices! You also get your own room to try on the dresses which makes for a more personal, intimate experience, and makes you feel even more comfortable. The staff was amazing too! My salesperson (Amanda) was so much help, and really friendly. 

As we picked out dresses Amanda took them upstairs to my room. After we were done selecting dresses she took me to my room and asked me which dress I'd like to try on first. She brought it in and helped me into it. At first it took me a minute to really think anything because I was having one of those "OMG I'm really getting married to Tim!!" moments, but of course in a good way. But after I was able to get my head together I was extremely happy with it! I did not want to get out of it! I still wanted to try on the others just to make sure but those all came off fairly quickly. 

Even though I still loved the first dress I tried on I wanted to go to the second Bridal salon we had on the list just to make sure I got the whole experience and could make sure I wouldn't regret anything in the future. Well the second place we went to was Letts and boy did it make me appreciate Fantastic Finds all the more. The staff was rude from the very beginning and weren't much help. The dresses were not very good quality, and most if not all were extremely wrinkled and had lots of tears. 

After spending what I'm sure was probably only 20 min at Letts I called Amanda to see if she could squeeze me in so I could try the dress on one more time and purchase it. As busy as she was she made time for me. 

So back to FF we went and back into THE dress I went!

(all rights reserved by Relish Studios)

It was exactly what I was looking for. Simple & Elegant. 

(all rights reserved by Relish Studios)

The Honeymoon

After 14 long years I finally made it back to Hawaii. One of my favorite moments I had was being able to finally put my feet in the clean white sand. This was at one of my favorite beaches, Kailua Beach.

What made my visit even better though was the fact that it was my honeymoon. I loved being able to share my old home with my husband, visiting all the old familiar places.

This was at Pali lookout.  In 1795 King Kamehameha defeated Oahu armies by driving them over the cliffside. Its obviously a beautiful site, but what makes it even more fun is how windy it is!

It was tough fitting everything we wanted to do but we did get to do a lot of things. I had always wanted to swim with dolphins and this was a great opportunity so we did and it was AWESOME. We also went to Hanauma Bay.

Hanauma Bay is a huge coral reef where you can snorkel. While snorkeling among dozens of different kinds of fish ranging from teenie-tiny to massive (and of course hundreds of different colors) I also saw a sea snake and a sea turtle. It was an amazing experience. If given the choice I would devote an entire day to snorkeling here.

We made sure to make time for a stop at the USS Memorial in at Pearl Harbor. Unfortunately  I didn't have camera battery left to use at the Arizona Memorial because Tim took so many pictures at the museum beforehand. lol.
One thing that disappointed me at the Arizona memorial was the amount of people that were talking (loudly), and taking pictures of them smiling if front of the sunken ship. Don't get me wrong, I completely think it's ok to to take pictures of the Arizona, I think its a good way to remind people about what happened. However, SMILING in front a place were over a thousand men were trapped and killed for a picture is completely disrespectful.

Another fun thing we did was parasailing. It was definitely an experience worth having. Being 800 Ft in the air above water, and mountains in front of you is an incredible view.

Well thats a few things we did on our wonderful honeymoon. It was definitely something I will never forget.

Time well spent

After 3 excruciating long months without Tim, he made it home for one last visit before the wedding. It was  time well spent. As soon as I pulled up outside the airport and let him know I was waiting outside I looked anxiously around trying to spot him. It was probably less than a minute before he came outside but to me it felt like hours. When I spotted him my stomach leaped into my chest. As soon as he wrapped his arms around me I did not want to let go. But obviously, I had to.

So into the car we got, and on our way to the jewelry factory to pick out our wedding bands.  Tim wanted a very simple band which I was okay with, however the type he was interested in was a bit more plain than I liked. I asked him to try on the one I really liked and it turned out he really liked it as well. :-) So luckily its something that both of us are happy with. Mine was easy to pick out, it's just a simple band with diamonds around it to match my engagement ring.

After getting our wedding bands we went to his parents house to hang out. Having a seat on the couch I settled into Tim's arms and fell asleep within 10 min. I had been up really late the night before walking for Relay for Life so I was pretty tired. As it turned out he was pretty tired too because he fell asleep as well. 

After our little cat nap we went to J. Alexanders for dinner with his parents. Most of the conversation revolved around the wedding of course but that was okay with me. :-) After a delicious dinner Tim and I went to a movie. It felt so good to be able to go out on a date with him again. 

On sunday we had an engagement shoot with the amazing photographers from Relish Studios. It was a blast and I definitely enjoyed all the cuddle time I got with Tim. There were lots of smiles and laughter all around. Here's just one of the beautiful photos they took... 

   

To see more amazing photos they took go here. 

The weekend of course went by way too fast but it was not wasted one bit. And soon, I won't have to go months or weeks without seeing him.

Only 9 more days until I am his wife!

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