A little bit of this, a little bit of that...

I have LOTS of random news to update you on, so here goes!

First off, I celebrated my 22nd birthday last Thursday, the 18th! Collin came in the night before (actually, I picked him up at around midnight), so I got my perfect birthday present :) We went out to dinner with my parents that night at a new Mexican restaurant in Cool Springs called Chuy's, which was pretty good! Of course we had cake and all that good stuff, too, plus my parents forced us to sit through old home videos ;) It was a fun night! I'm a very blessed girl.

I got lots of great stuff this year, but one of the coolest birthday presents I got was a homemade necklace from my very own sister-to-be (and bridesmaid and dress-maker) Caitlin! It's so pretty and thoughtful! I think I might be marrying into a pretty decent family ;) Here's a pic of the necklace (I can't get it to turn right-side up...):

On Saturday, Collin and I had a birthday/engagement dinner at Firefly in Green Hills before my sorority's semi-formal. A bunch of my friends came, and it was so much fun! I definitely recommend Firefly... Delicious!

Collin and I also celebrated Valentines Day during his visit, and it was wonderful! I have such an amazing fiance. I hope he doesn't mind if I brag on him a little, but he did some awesome stuff for Valentines!! For presents, he unwrapped a bunch of Hershey's kisses, took out the paper slips, and rewrapped them all with slips he printed off saying all the things he loves about me (see below for an example) :) He also made me a mixed CD with a bunch of songs that remind him of me, and he even recorded his own track wishing me a Happy Valentines Day! The last thing he did, which was the best of all, I'll keep secret since I think he would be concerned about preserving his masculinity, haha. Just know that it was very thoughtful and romantic, and he's pretty much the best guy ever!

In wedding news, I think we have our photographers narrowed down to three:

1) Laurie Carpenter - http://www.lauriecarpenter.com

2) Keoni K - http://keonikphotography.com

3) Matt Andrews - http://nashvilleweddingphotography.com

Each photographer is pretty unique, but I like them all for different reasons... Laurie is more traditional, Keoni is definitely more eclectic, and Matt is a combination of both. My mom and I have already met with Laurie, and Collin and I met with both Keoni and Matt while he was here over the weekend. We liked them both, so I set up additional appointments with both of them so my mom could meet them. Our meeting with Keoni is tomorrow, and our meeting with Matt is next Friday, but he's holding our date for now. I'm excited to see how these meetings go, since my last meetings with them were pretty brief (they were both on Friday, and we had 2 other wedding appointments that day!) So, I'll keep you posted!

As for the rest, Collin and I had a marathon of wedding appointments Friday, as I said, so in addition to meeting with the photographers we also tried cakes (yum!) and met with Jennifer at Old Natchez. I think we may try to sample some food at Old Natchez when Collin is back in town in a couple weeks with his family! I'm currently awaiting some Save-the-Date samples from a company called Designs in Paper (http://designsinpaper.com/). I was referred to them by a sorority sister as well as by Jennifer. I also have a pretty good idea of the dress I want based on the lovely sketches Caitlin drew for me, and I have an appointment with a seamstress at b. Hughes Bridal on Thursday.

Everything is moving right along! Keep an eye out for more updates, because soon they will probably start pouring in!!

Thanks again for all your support! :)

Here's a few more pics from Collin's visit:

C & A

P.S. I forgot to mention that I've been nominated for Belmont Homecoming Queen haha! The game is this Saturday, so wish me luck! ;) But really it's an honor just to be on Homecoming Court. Definitely didn't see this one coming!!

In Honor of Doppleganger Week (a little late)

It's everyone's favorite time of year on Facebook... No, not Valentines Day - DOPPLEGANGER WEEK! Haha. For those of you who don't know what that is, it is when everyone posts a photo of their "celebrity look-a-like" as their profile pictures on Facebook. Doppleganger Week actually ended a couple weeks ago, but I made a recent discovery that brought it back to memory...

Apparently I am marrying Justin Morneau of the Minnesota Twins.

Collin and Justin are IDENTICAL. It's a little creepy! Collin is more handsome, of course, but beyond that, they look like they could be brothers!

Weird, huh? I also think Collin looks like these two guys (Dana Carvey and Bradley Cooper), but I'm not sure if he agrees...

As for me, I have many dopplegangers, none of whom look a whole lot like me haha. I've been told before that I look like Pam from the Office (aka Jenna Fischer), which I can kinda see, but Collin seems to think I resemble Kristen Bell, which I don't really see at all... But hey, I'll take it! Here are my "dopplegangers" and me:

Thoughts?? Who is your doppleganger? :)

No wedding updates for now; this is just for fun!

Have a blessed day!

C & A

DJ? Check! (well, almost)

Many thanks to Chelsea Smith (a bridesmaid's sister) for recommending an awesome DJ: Mad Dog! It's a DJ company run by a guy who is older, has been in the business for 35 years, and only advertises by word-of-mouth. He is also very affordable and really seems to know his stuff. Talked my head off on the phone, but a nice guy nonetheless. :) He went ahead and reserved our date for us! So now we just have to get the contract to officially book him. Yay!

We're in the midst of photographer hunting, which is turning out to be a more arduous task than expected... There must literally be THOUSANDS of professional photographers in Nashville, most of whom are wedding photographers. Collin and I have a pretty specific vision of what we are looking for: fairly modern with some traditional elements, cool lighting/color effects, customized photos, some off-site photos, and lots of editing. We will be meeting with several soon, and hopefully a decision will be made before long. If you have any suggestions, please comment!!!

I'm also looking for Save the Dates, so I definitely need recommendations there!

Thanks everyone for your continued support! Stay posted! :)

C & A

Happy Valentines Day!!

Happy Valentines Day from Collin and Amanda!!! We wish you lots of love and happiness :)

Collin sent me two dozen roses on Friday, so even though he can't be here ON Valentines Day, he did a great job making sure I was taken care of. :) He's the best! We had a "Skype date" tonight, but we will actually go out and celebrate next Friday when he is in town. Thursday is my birthday as well (which he will also be here for), so next week will be full of celebrations!!

Quick update: My mom and I met with our first photographer on Friday, and we were very impressed. Her name is Laurie Carpenter, and she has been an independent wedding photographer for 7 years. She is personable, flexible, and takes great photos. Here is her website: http://www.lauriecarpenter.com/index2.php

Also, I got some awesome dress sketches from Caitlin, so we're getting that started! :)

Enjoy V-Day!! Spread some love!

C & A

Bridal Party? Check! Website? Check!

Collin and I finally have our bridal party! :) It's a big one: 14 people, plus us. We're going to need a hummer limo for sure. Haha!

Here they are...

My attendants:

Krystal Long, Maid of Honor

Erin McLendon, Bridesmaid

Gabby Swab, Bridesmaid

Amber Slifer, Bridesmaid

Caitlin Courneya, Bridesmaid

Rachel Gebhard, Bridesmaid

Sheerah Gebhard, Junior Bridesmaid

Collin's attendants:

Jared Gebhard, Best Man

Grason Gebhard, Groomsman

Rick Cassada, Groomsman

Jon Beulke, Groomsman

Dan Lundquist, Groomsman

Tyler Turner, Groomsman

Skyler Gebhard, Junior Groomsman

Ushers are still TBD, but Collin has a few ideas. :) I'm so excited that his entire family will be in our wedding party. I love his family, and I want them to be very involved since they are going to be my family, too! I'm really happy with our attendants, and I'm honored to have his three sisters as bridesmaids in addition to my friends. I don't have any real sisters of my own, which is one thing I always regretted since I would never get the chance to have a sister as a bridesmaid. So, I feel extremely blessed to be inheriting three! Plus the rest are my sorority sisters, so now I have a bridal party full of sisters! Haha, pretty ironic. :)

Also, I have created our "official" wedding website on the Knot, so check out the link below! This will be your source for all wedding info (ie: directions, registries, etc.). You may recognize a couple of the stories in there if you've been following the blog. :) I will update the site as we progress; it's a little sparse right now. But enjoy!

http://www.theknot.com/ourwedding/AmandaDanley&CollinGebhard

Keep posted!

C & A

Polterabend?

Last night I randomly brainstormed a bunch of wedding ideas - favors, bridesmaid gifts, gifts for Collin, decorations, etc. - and I actually came up with a lot of ideas I really liked, but most of them have to stay secret for now. ;) I'm very excited about all of them, though! I really want our wedding to be memorable for everyone.

One idea I can share, though, is a tradition I found online for the eve of the wedding day. It's a German tradition, which is appropriate since both Collin and I are of German descent (especially Collin - his last name is Gebhard, for goodness' sake!). I definitely wanted to incorporate some traditions that would be unique yet fitting for us, so I looked up German wedding traditions and came across this one. It's called Polterabend, and it's where on the eve of our wedding, our close friends and family members come over (most likely to my parents' house) to celebrate and watch while Collin and I break a bunch of dishes... Which we then have to clean up. Haha. It's cool, though, because it signifies the last thing that will ever be broken in our household as well as us working together and resolving things. I think it's neat... We'll see if my parents think so...

For more updates...

- The work on the dress is just beginning! I talked to Caitlin today, and she is working on sketches. Yay! I can't wait to see how this all turns out. :) Haven't been to any more shops (snowed in!), but perhaps next weekend. I think I've got a pretty good idea now of what I want, though, so I may not have to do much more looking.

- We should have a decision on the photographer/videographer soon, hopefully! My mom and dad are narrowing down our options, and Collin and I will help make the final decision.

- Still researching DJs... One has come highly recommended by a bridesmaid's sister, and I'm trying to get more info on him. He is well within our budget, which is of course appealing.

- I've narrowed down my cake ideas to two, and I've narrowed down the bakers to two as well. Next step for this is tasting! :) I might try several bakers just to taste their cakes... Haha.

- I've been doing a lot of research on table decorations, and I have lots of great ideas... But I'm still open to suggestions, by all means, so if you're good with designing on a budget, please comment with ideas!!

- Invitations will probably be by David's Bridal since they are the most affordable and have some really nice options. But I really love the work of this girl: http://jesslehry.wordpress.com/. Definitely need suggestions for Save the Dates, though, and I would prefer to do magnets for those.

In other news, Collin's parents and a couple of his siblings will officially be coming down here in March! They will meet my parents for the first time. :) And maybe we'll get the rehearsal dinner squared away!

I think that's about it! I would appreciate any feedback or ideas you have, so feel free to comment. Thanks!

I'll keep you posted as we mark stuff off of our checklist! ;)

C & A