The in-laws' visit! [warning: lots of photos!]

Collin and his family came into town this past weekend, and we got a lot accomplished! His parents and siblings stayed at my parents' house. Collin and I also slept over there Friday night, and it was a little packed... We had an amazing time, though. On Friday my parents and I showed the Gebhards the church, and we checked out two potential venues for the rehearsal dinner. The one Collin's mom decided to go with is a nearby neighborhood clubhouse. Here are some pictures of the exterior and interior:

We also went out to dinner Friday night at Carrabba's to celebrate Collin's and my engagement. :) We called ahead but still had to wait a long time for a table... So we did a little shopping at TJ Maxx to pass the time, haha. Here are some pics from dinner:

After dinner, I got to look through photo albums of Collin growing up. I must say, he was a really cute kid! I definitely would have had a crush on him when I was little, even if he was way older than me. ;)

Collin and I also opened our first wedding presents! His parents got us pots and pans, a tea cup and saucer they received as a wedding present, and my very first cookbook! :) They also gave us these beautiful embroidered pillowcases that say 'Mr' and 'Mrs' and were made by Collin's grandmother while she was alive. She made them for all the grandchildren as wedding presents, which is a lot of pillowcases! They are so special to me because Collin loved her so much. I wish I could have met her, but I feel very lucky to have something made by her. I'm marrying into an amazing family! Here are a couple pics of the presents:

Saturday was a very relaxing day. My parents and I showed the Gebhards Old Natchez (our reception site) as well as downtown Franklin. Then we all had some of my mom's homemade soup for dinner and played Wii and Rook for the rest of the night. It was my first time playing Rook, so I had to get a long tutorial, but I think it was the most fun we had all weekend. :) Here's some pics from Saturday (the boys were sleepy):

It was a wonderful visit, and an awesome end to an otherwise dull Spring Break. It was unusually hard to say good-bye to Collin this time, but the good news is we have already booked his flight for April! He will be here April 9-12, and we will be taking our engagement photos on the 10th! Yay! :) I already can't wait to see him again, and I'm definitely looking forward to my MN visit in June! I just have to graduate first... Yikes! Pray that I'll my finish my thesis on time!!

Love,

C & A

Photographer? CHECK!

Exciting news! We have booked a photographer :)

And it is... Matt Andrews!

Here is his website again: http://nashvilleweddingphotography.com.

I'm SO happy we went with Matt! We had some great options, but he was my favorite by far, and he ended up being Collin's favorite, too. I just felt comfortable with him from the start, and I absolutely loved his photos. I think he's got exactly what we're looking for and for such a great value. He met with my mom and me last Friday (at one of my favorite places - Sweet CeCe's!), and after he answered all her questions, we sealed the deal! :) Yay!!

Now our next step is to schedule engagement photos! Those will be sometime in April, amidst all the craziness of turning in/presenting my thesis and preparing for my FINAL final exams!

But first: Collin and his family will be here THIS WEEK! It's my Spring Break, which I will be spending writing my thesis and cleaning my apartment (no beach this year... boo), but thankfully it will end on a high note :) I am SO excited about his family getting to meet mine, and I definitely look forward to seeing them again. They are going to be staying at my parents' house, so it will be a full house with Sheerah and Skyler also coming along! Skyler is beside himself with excitement to meet Molly, and I think they will get along perfectly ;) Sheerah will be staying in my room, which is funny because my room hasn't been "fixed up" since we renovated it, what, ten years ago?? I was looking through it the other day and found my old headgear (embarrassingly enough) that I had apparently thrown across the room one night after getting frustrated (headgear hurts! But don't worry, I only wore it at night...) We will go out one night for an engagement dinner, then spend time searching out rehearsal dinner venues.

Also, I will be making a trip back to Minnesota in early June for Collin's brother's high school graduation (Grason, to clarify). I love Minnesota, so I can't wait to go back!! Plus I'm sure there will be some pre-wedding festivities :)

In other news, I'm currently getting in samples for save the dates and invitations. So far I've heard back from the following companies:

- Designs in Paper: http://www.designsinpaper.com

- Brocade Designs: http://www.brocadenashville.com

So here's to hoping I have a super-productive week and a blessed visit with the Gebhards. This semester is ALMOST OVER! Can't wait to graduate and get married!! :)

Love,

C & A