Ok, ok, the rest of the men!

My mother has put in a request for me to finally finishing blogging about the men in my wedding party. I didn't want them to think that I left them out. This post is therefor dedicated to... THE BROS!

There are three brothers in our wedding. Although I only grew up with one, I have gained two more in the past few years as I've been invited into the Davis family. My brother is also gaining a brother in Kyle, so we can pretty much assume all hell may just break loose here in the future at family function.

First, we'll start with the eldest of the brothers, Brett. Brett has been absolutely amazing during this wedding planning time. He has a great job working as a liquor distributor, actually I think he is now a representative for a specific brand within the company, but anyway, he has been our go-to man for advice on drinks and for gathering up resources for our open bar. Brett is also dad to the nephews, so he is incredibly valuable in keeping them in line as ring-bearer and usher. We are grateful in many ways!

With Brett

Next is Casey, Kyle's best man due to the fact that Kyle was the only family member at Casey's wedding in the Seychelles, so he wanted to "return the favor". These two grew up living in the same room for many years, attended the University of Arizona together, swam in many meets on many early mornings, and have more recently traveled together throughout Europe. Although I only had the opportunity to meet Casey twice during the first four years of our relationship, as he was living in Iraq, Djabouti, Kuwait, or Thailand, I am glad that he decided to domesticate himself in the U.S. for a few years so we would be able to hang out more often!

Casey and Karen's Wedding in the Seychelles

Me and my bro in Denver

Finally is my own brother, Brian. Why Kyle ever agreed to allow him in the wedding is beyond me! :) (Just kidding, Brian, but I know that this could spell trouble). Kyle has adopted my brother as his partner in Jack Daniels consumption. Although this angers me at times due to the resulting behaviors, I am glad to see that Brian and Kyle get along as well as they do. It just reminds me sometimes of when my brother used to steal away my high school boyfriend to play video games for hours on end. 

The More Men the Merrier!

Inappropriate for a bride-to-be to say?

Well, today we showcase Kyle's oldest friend in the wedding party, Dave. If the world were to end tomorrow, I think Kyle would rather spend it with Dave than me. Not only have Kyle and Dave been in each other's lives for years, but Dave is absolutely one of the nicest men I have ever met. He has a great attitude, takes care of Kyle (and his family), and is really skilled and creative when it comes to working on household projects. (What other incredibly nice things can I say about him so that he'll help us redo the master bathroom after we finish with this whole wedding project?!)

Dave and Kyle swam together when they were kids, went through freshmen year of college as roommates at the University of Arizona, and have stayed in touch even after marriage and children. (Obviously not ours, yet). Dave's wife Jo is an incredibly talented designer, so I seek inspiration from their house. Dave's daughter Marin is one of the cutest kids on this planet, who totally inherited her dad's quirky energy.

We are so luck that Dave agreed to be a part of the wedding party and I am just glad that someone responsible will help Kyle to arrive to our ceremony on time!

At Dave's wedding with mutual good childhood friend, Patrick

Losing teeth at a meet

So sweet! 

Meet more of the boys!

I know that I started to blog awhile back about the men in our wedding party. I have been a bit distracted by other exciting moments, but don't want to completely ignore the other half of the wedding party!

A little bit of background first: Kyle had a really, really hard time deciding on his groomsmen. He was torn between a group of childhood friends, his family and soon-to-be-family, his current close friends who he spends most of his time with, and a plethora of other important guys. It must suck to have so many friends...

Having these two groomsmen, Jared and Jon, in the wedding just feels natural. These two crazy kooks have somehow managed to keep Kyle out of trouble (for the most part) while at the same time being negative influences (at times). From the casino, to Teakwoods, to hikes and camping, these two seem to be not just Kyle's buddies, but our buddies as a couple. I never know what will happen when the three guys get together, or when we go over to Jared and his wife Bev's house for game night, or when Jon and his wife Lindsay have us over for a pool day. What I can say is that the nights with these two always end in laughs, and even with children they've still allowed us to be a part of their lives! (Kyle, sometimes, does not behave the best in front of impressionable young ones!)

So glad to celebrate our wedding with you two, like we got to be there on your special days.

Jon and Kyle at Jon's wedding

Erica and Jared

Ummm... Jon's typical face.

At Jared's Wedding

Kyle and Jared

Mmmmm... chocolate...

Awhile back I mentioned that we finally picked out a tux, and that it was the easiest wedding decision we've made so far. Well, that is true if you don't consider the back story!

First, I would like to declare victory in this matter. When I first imagined my fall wedding, this included every fall color.  When thinking about tuxedos, black, gray, or white do not fit into my vision! So, the logical solution was chocolate brown tuxedos, which I have seen a lot more of in the recent bridal photo spreads.

Now, convincing everyone else was a little tricky. Kyle loves brown and all earth tones, so I didn't have to push him very hard. He was mostly concerned that he would match the brown table cloths and blend in with the room too much (the man has absolutely no ego whatsoever.) Some of the people that I mentioned brown tuxes to immediately reacted with "Ew" or "Poopie". But this is not the brown of the seventies, not khaki or linen brown, but deep, dark, yummy chocolate. It is so dark that it is hard to say definitively that it is brown unless you look at it directly next to black. I am so excited that it was a good looking tuxedo, and that it will complement the deep red and burnt orange of the bridesmaids. (Spoiler alert?)

Another major decision done, and one step closer to attaining my vision.

Not my groom, but a nice look, right?

The other men in my life!

A wedding isn't complete without its groomsmen, and being that I've neglected that half of our wedding party up until this point, after having introduced you to all my girls, I think I need to give some credit to the men who will assure (right, guys?) that Kyle makes it down the aisle in one piece <sober>!

Since there is no way I am going to get Kyle to sit down and write some guest entries, I get to give you my point of view behind our "best men". Today's entry is for our youngest male helpers: Kyle's nephews Keiren and Aidan.

Keiren already had the important role of being ring bearer in aunt Shannon's wedding, but we knew we had a perfect job for him at our wedding- our usher! He will look like a million bucks in his tux walking "all the pretty ladies" to their seats. He will also get to give out programs!

This is a hilarious picture of Keiren pushing Kyle!

Teaching the Wildcat symbol for the U of A

Keiren Ring Bearer

Aidan was just a little tyke when his aunt Shannon got married, so it is his turn to play the role of ring bearer. We hope that he will introduce me as I walk down the aisle, and help to assure the flower girls get down the aisle as well (there are some doubts).

Aidan skiing in Colorado!

Boating in Arizona with Captain Uncle Kyle

Seashell boy Aidan

We always enjoy when we get to see these young men, as they live close by. They really seem to enjoy their uncle Kyle, for his wisdom in video games, his endless energy, and perhaps even their nicknames. (Midget, for one). We are glad to have them be a part of our wedding!

Playing with their new birthday toys

Uncle Kyle can fix it!

Video games on the phone

Watching some cartoons

Last Christmas when we got them Skylander

4 Months 'til the Big Day!

The time has honestly flown by this past 11 months! I cannot imagine people who can plan their entire weddings in the time span we have left, as I am still completely overwhelmed by what is to be done and feel like absolutely nothing has been crossed off the list as of yet. (I know that isn't exactly true, as the previous 100 or so posts can prove... but it still feels like the "to-do" list is much longer than the "done" list).

Our newest journey towards marriage, as I introduced last week in Wednesday's wish, is the hardest one yet. One would think that courtship, dating, and the road to engagement, added to wedding planning, would put the most stress on the relationship. I challenge that claim. Have you ever tried training with your fiance? This new fitness journey has proven to be an obstacle that Kyle and I will need to work through with more patience and understanding than I've been naturally blessed with. I am not against getting fit and healthy, or even paying someone to help, but an entirely new challenge is posed when the level of competition is present. I am not a competitive person by nature, nor do I do well when others dictate decisions such as what to eat for breakfast for me, so my natural defense mechanism has proven to be getting angry that I have to sacrifice so much time, deliciousness, and relaxed muscles in lieu of eating proteins all day, scheduling my days around working out instead of work, and feeling sore on a pretty consistent basis. However, in the moment while I am at the gym, I feel pretty great, and after eating a solid healthy meal, I still feel satisfied. I just have to get past the initial shock of saying goodbye to cookies or pasta.

On the positive side, Kyle and I kicked off this fitness journey with a literal journey this past weekend. Our weekend consisted of somewhere between 21 and 29 miles of hiking the back country of Arizona in Aravaipa Canyon. A 5 mile hike in with at least 25 pounds on my back in record time, headlamp assistance needed, was the Friday night cardio kickoff. Saturday we ventured down Hell's Hole Canyon and added another 10 miles or so to our total for the weekend. Sunday was the reverse of the Friday night hike in. This is the 3rd time I've done this hiking trip with Kyle, and I really have enjoyed the tradition, sore muscles, blisters and all! We were joined by some good friends and groomsmen. Thank you for REI for supplying our gear (and future registry) and the military for the MREs! Here are pictures to commemorate the weekend, our last 11 months of engagement, and to kick off the final push (to use a mountain climbing term) towards our wedding day .

Right before we hiked out of the canyon- a little dirty but in great shape!

Sun setting on the river and canyon walls

A waterfall at the end of a canyon hike

Lunch Break! Representing the Alma Maters!

Photo courtesy of Jared Ross- Groomsman

Hiking through the river with the lush green landscape

The walls of Hell's Hole Canyon- so appropriate for my literary passion

Confession: Groom Frustrations!

If I weren't so excited to get our wedding over with, I'd probably kill my groom some days. Ironically, one of the reasons I am marrying him is his spontaneity, and how it complements my tendency to over-plan. Yet, something just screams "get this wedding planning over with already" and I cannot even seem to schedule in time for sitting down to do some wedding planning with him. I am not talking about wedding planning that includes finding vendors and sending checks. I am talking about wedding planning that involves thinking about our relationship and how we can capture that during our special day. These details are what will make our ceremony and reception memorable, unique, and exciting! However, I feel lately like they are all my details, my ideas, and my view of our relationship, and that I don't have any input from Kyle. My biggest fear is that we'll arrive at our wedding and he'll feel a complete disappointment in how it turned out. But then again, who else will he have to blame but himself. I don't think he is avoiding planning because he is tentative about the wedding itself, but instead I think he is just being a guy here (I hope I am right, please reassure me!) and procrastinating the emotional conversations that may ensue.

AND HE STILL HASN'T OFFICIALLY TOLD HIS GROOMSMEN!

Ah men, can't live with them or without them, but in the case of a wedding, I have to figure out a way to bribe him to stop procrastinating (worse than I do) and get this show rolling. I really don't want to spend my summer trying to catch up!

This is my frustrated face...

Wishes do come true!

Well, my biggest wish as of late was for Kyle to help out with our wedding planning by getting some addresses together for me, then deciding on his groomsmen. Love you honey, but really, procrastination does not work so well when we have to send SAVE THE DATES. The date will be passed by the time you get a hold of that long lost high school buddy to get his latest nomadic address.

Good news, that wish has come true! I think Kyle is feeling bad for me as I've been under the weather for the past week.

Even though I now have addresses and groomsmen, it will still probably be awhile before all have been sent and notified, but I am going to count my blessings today, not just my wishes!

Via Pinterest