Good News, Bad News...

Ok, so A LOT has been happening lately as you can imagine. I don't have time to go into details about everything, but here's a quick recap:

Good News: I got a job!!! :)
Bad News: It's in retail. But it's at Victoria's Secret, so I could definitely do worse. Plus, it will be nice to come home smelling like flowery perfume as opposed to meatballs.

Good News: I had my bridal shower and bachelorette party this past weekend! They were both really fun, and I had an awesome turnout at the bachelorette.
Bad News: The shower was at a really inconvenient time (partly my fault, but mostly outside of my control), so the turnout was not as good as I had hoped. But we still had a great time, and I got lots of great stuff at both events. :)

Good News: My dress came in!!!!!!!!! It is BEAUTIFUL, and so is the veil - both of which Caitlin made, and she did a fabulous job; I can't stop staring at my pretty dress. :)
Bad News: If you could call it "bad news," I still need to get the dress altered some more by Edith, my Nashville seamstress. I wasn't satisfied with the shape of the dress before and didn't speak up about it (dumb, I know), so now I'll just have a couple days to get it right before my bridal portraits. Let's hope Edith and I can make it happen!

Good News: Collin and I are all set for our honeymoon - we booked a private transfer and made all our dinner reservations at the hotel. :)
Bad News: I lost my passport. Like, seriously lost it. I've searched my entire house and storage unit, and Collin searched through my car and all my stuff in CT. The thing has literally disappeared. So, I'm a little stressed about it, to say the least. I'm trying to find a way to expedite a new passport, but it's not going to be easy (or cheap). Wish me luck, please...

In OTHER news, I finally figured out the programs! I came up with a design myself (thank you very much) and have done a couple test prints already at Kinko's, so now it's time to print them! Other recent accomplishments include: assembling favor boxes (with some help!), finishing the seating chart, (almost) finishing the escort cards, and wrapping up my vendor meetings. I've still got a lot coming up this weekend - dress alteration / final fitting, wedding hair trial, makeup consultation, more crafts, etc...

With this passport dilemma now, on top of other drama that I don't care to expand upon, I'm really feeling stressed. Please keep me in your prayers... I'm trying as hard as I can to keep a positive attitude, but it's getting tougher as more and more things keep piling on (not all of which are wedding-related). BUT, the good news is that Collin and I are getting married in TEN DAYS!!!! And that's the best news of all! :)

Love,

C & A

20 Days!

We are really getting close now. The wedding is less than 3 weeks away!! How crazy is that?? Thankfully, I'm also getting a lot done. Here's what we've been up to:

• I FINALLY bought my shoes!
• I also bought my jewelry :)
• I've narrowed my hairstyles down to two possibilities
• We're making progress on the escort cards
• Table cards and bridesmaid gifts are in!
• Favors/containers are being shipped
• Mom is working on welcome bags
• I'm filling up my schedule with appointments right before the wedding

Next up on the agenda:

• Programs
• Seating chart
• Makeup
• Setting more pre-wedding appointments

Also, plans are under way for my bridal shower and bachelorette party, both of which are next weekend! I'm very excited for both. :)

That's all for now! I'm still not feeling as much stress as I feel like I should, and I hope that doesn't change anytime soon...

So excited!!

Love,

C & A

Wedding Stationary :)

As promised, here are a few pictures of our invitation set, which was designed by Collin's sister, Caitlin. I got the amazing cardstock and envelopes from Paper and More, and I had everything printed and cut at FedEx Office. Though it was definitely more work to make the invitations ourselves, I couldn't be happier with the final product. Plus, it was half the cost of professional stationary! I would definitely recommend it to any bride.

Here are some more pics of two other invitations - my MN bridal shower invitation (also designed by Caitlin) and my online wedding invitation to my sorority sisters (designed by the talented Kirstin):

As for the rest of the wedding stationary, escort cards and table cards are in the works, and programs are next on the agenda. I'm going to forego the menu card for what will hopefully be a cute (cheap) alternative - a menu board! At least that's my plan... I'm having the table cards made, but I'm working on the escort cards myself. My crafting skills are somewhat limited, but I'm actually impressing myself with how they're turning out. They look really good!

Still need shoes, though.

26 days!

Love,

C & A

Major Update! Part 2 - Travels

To start off the busy month of June, I took a two-week trip to Minnesota and Connecticut, and Collin and I finally got to take our first flight TOGETHER! We met each other at the airport in Chicago, then flew together from Chicago to MN, and later from MN to CT. It was so wonderful!! The entire trip was awesome, though, especially being back in MN.

So we went to Minnesota for several reasons...

1. to visit Collin's family
2. to meet family members I hadn't met yet
3. for his brother Grason's graduation
4. for my first bridal shower and mini bachelorette party :)

We had a blast! Of course, hanging out with Collin's family is always a memorable experience haha, but I mean that in the best way possible. :) I've never been part of a large family, though I always dreamed of being in one, so I feel incredibly blessed to be joining one now, and even more blessed that they already accept and love me as their own. I'm one lucky in-law! Plus, I have the best of both worlds now - my small, tight-knit southern family, and my huge, boisterous northern family. :)

I loved staying at his family's house in rural Dennison, even though there were eleven of us sharing one bathroom and not enough beds haha. We grilled steaks, drank smoothies, played with puppies, jumped on the trampoline, played rook for hours (world championship!), had a dance party while doing the dishes, and just had a fantastic time overall. All the "kids" were there at the same time - which doesn't normally happen, since Collin lives in CT and Caitlin/Chris live in L.A. - so it was a very special and unique occasion. Plus, I got to be in the family photos, which means I've finally made it! :)

For wedding-related events, I had my first bachelorette party and my first bridal shower, both of which were amazing! The shower was Tiffany-themed (appropriately) and had beautiful decor, thanks to Caitlin! I met a lot of women, played some games, and got a TON of Target gift cards! :) I also got a pair of beautiful Tiffany wine glasses, a recipe holder book with a stack of family recipes, and some great kitchen utensils! My favorite part of the shower, though, was when Collin's mom and sisters surprised me with charms to add to the bracelet they got me for graduation. They each picked out their own charm for me and explained its significance. I got a Star of David from Sheerah (for Collin's parents' relationship), a dice from Caitlin (for Vegas!), a heart from Rachel (for the many meanings of love), and a #1 from Camille (for the unity of Collin and me as well as putting God first in our marriage). It was so unexpected, and so thoughtful. I absolutely love my charms!

As for my bachelorette, Caitlin planned it on the same night as Collin's bachelor party. We started the night in uptown Minneapolis at Chino Latino's - a trendy restaurant/bar with amazing drinks (I had a key lime martini!) and delicious desserts. We ended up going downtown after that, and we kept running into the guys! I saw Rick at least three times that night, and I even saw Collin at one point... Oops! Guess we crashed each other's parties haha. We all had a great time, though. Such a fun night!

After a week in MN, Collin and I flew back to CT for another week. He had to go back to work, so I spent most of my time searching for apartments and turning in applications.... LOTS of applications. At that time, I still thought I would be moving at the end of the month. But since it is now July 8th and I'm still in Tennessee, that plan obviously didn't work out... I'll cover that in the next post, though, so stay tuned! ;)

Here are some pictures from my trip:

Love,

C & A