2 months left 'til the love!

Oh my word! In EXACTLY 2 months I am getting married to my very best friend in the world! SO MUCH LEFT TO DO!

Kyle, thank you for being awesome as I transitioned back into working these past two weeks, even though I know I made it hard for you to be awesome with all my breakdowns, and thank you for our date night last night to celebrate that we've already come so far!

Cheers! (It was cheat night, so no judging!)

I drank the beer, Kyle the Manhattan!  YUM

Got our first RSVPs!

They're here!

You know that this wedding is actually happening when people start to tell you that they are COMING to your wedding! I guess we can't go back now! How exciting to get all this "real" mail for the next month! I am thankful for those of you who recommended that we had RSVPs sent to our house so we could get excited about them every day!

Since the invites have officially gone out, here is a peak at how they turned out!

Invitations!

 

 

 

We used different colored leaves for the invitations, so there are many varieties!

Check out this totally unique RSVP from my brother:

Thanks, bro!

Wedding Review!

Unless any of you are planning on a quick engagement, I think that we have officially attended our LAST wedding as two separate last names! That makes it #24 out of 7 years. We are really touched that we had so many friends and family who wanted us to help celebrate, and hope that they are all excited to be a part of our day.

This past wedding celebrated my college friend Sarah, who really became my friend after college, but the sorority started it all! Sarah is part of our ski gang, always reliable for hitting up the slopes and going down any run with you. She married Jason in Wyoming, the first time I've ever been there, and here are some of my favorite details from the wedding:

J Crew bridesmaid dresses and cowboy boots!

When they left up the aisle, the sign said "Just hitched"

My friend/bridesmaid Jenna's son Arthur and the cute (and delicious) program!

Love this dress for her! So elegant!

This location was just gorgeous! The rain even held off just long enough for the ceremony!

Check out Kyle's Western digs! And can you start to see the difference in our size?!

The place cards and menus- Baby's Breath centerpieces were also aisle decorations.

Gift table with cute banner, and nice card box!

Candy bar!

So many delicious cupcakes, so little room on the diet for sweets :(

I absolutely LOVE this cake. It is just perfect.

Me with Sarah

All the Delta Gamma ladies! We are a cute bunch.

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?

When it gets hard

I recently read a post on WeddingBee.com about how to convey sensitive information about your wedding. I was intrigued, but as I read over the "sensitive information", I couldn't help but feel a little jilted. The "sensitive info" included registry information, or asking for no kids at the wedding, but what about the MORE sensitive information.

Hoping that I don't offend anyone here, but I was hoping for advice on the REAL issues that I've encountered, not just the etiquette from the Southern handbook on proper wedding invitations. I want advice on how to convince your groomsmen that paying $150 to rent a chocolate brown tux is totally worth it. I want advice on how to politely ask bridesmaids to have an updo for wedding pictures so neither wind nor rain can tarnish them. How about not offending family members, who have a much more conservative attitude than your friends, when your pictures include obscene gestures. I need advice on keeping Jack Daniels away from Kyle, and my brother, for 24 hours surrounding the wedding. Someone please tell me what to pack for a surprise honeymoon, what a good mother-son dance song is, and how in the world we can fit all we need to do on the day of the wedding in 8 hours!

I have felt this cycle of love/hate for wedding planning throughout the entire course of our engagement, but recently the hate has been growing with the stress of going back to work, the disappointment that I cannot do it all, and the financial woes of clearing the bank account with down payments and supply purchases. I hope that I can continue to write to help alleviate this anxiety, and to keep an eye on the final goal.

My advice: learn from your friends and what they went through for their weddings, don't expect it to all be fun, and when it gets to be too much, take a break from the wedding and focus on each other! I hope I can find time and money to fit that into our schedule!

Sometimes I just want to escape from it all...

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

Happy 4th of July!

Nothing says "my wedding is coming in less than 3 months" like a 4th of July full of all-American fun and food. And by all-American I mean the classics for a 4th feast: Zumba, turkey and avocado salad, vodka tonics, and yard/house work! But, at least we got cooler weather here in Phoenix, only in the 70s right now, cloudy, and raining throughout the day!

Hope your 4th was festive and safe. This is one of my all-time favorite holidays!

Our rainy backyard barbecue!

This is what dedication looks like

How to Survive Arizona Summers

Our wonderful engagement anniversary celebration took place on a 112 degree day! We tried to beat the heat by hanging out in the pool at the Arizona Biltmore Resort! Our celebration started with poolside "skinny cocktails" (vodka press) and an Arizona sunset. We then went out for the healthiest dinner we could at True Food, where we barely cheated on our diets! The night ended with a fountain-side drink at the Wright Bar and a discussion recapping the highlights of the past year. The following day was reserved for pool time.

The Biltmore's Paradise Pool

A gift for Kyle!

Nightcap!

Celebrate!

We also decided to have an encore of our celebration trip to San Diego that we took the weekend after our engagement last summer. This trip included my first time kayaking in the ocean, and I got to see sharks and rays as well as the hoards of people who flocked to the beach for the weekend.

San Diego Kayaking!

La Jolla Shores, CA

I'd say we know how to celebrate!