Are Facebook and Match.com the same thing?

369 days ago I received this message in my Facebook Inbox:

Allen Estes August 14, 2009 at 3:26pm Just looking for someone. What elem. School did you go to if you don't mind me asking

That's right.  After fifteen years of living our separate lives in the same city ten miles from each other, Allen found me on Facebook. 

It's funny how things turn out.  I would have never guessed this outcome fifteen years ago, but I'm happy it's happening this way! 

Bridesmaid/Bride in Training

I know it's only been 12 hours since the end of my dear friend Dana's wedding reception, but I wanted to blog about it while it's still vivid in my memory.

Yesterday, August 7, 2010, I had the honor of being a bridesmaid in the wedding of a college friend.  This was the first wedding I've been a part of since being engaged, so I knew I'd be paying close attention to how Dana did things and to the things that most guests's eyes look past, the details.

I want to start by saying this was one of the best wedding experiences I've ever had in my life.  Throughout the last year, Dana has been the three C's that most brides never are - calm, cool, and collected.  This was probably the number one reason this past weekend was a blast.  From day one, Dana was such an easy bride to work with.  She let us pick out our own dresses (within limits - black taffeta from J.Crew), only requested our presence at one shower, reveled in having a laid back bachelorette party, and let us do our hair however we pleased.  This made my experience as a bridesmaid so enjoyable!

Now, to recap the day of the wedding and the details.  We arrived at the salon at 9:00 A.M.  Mind you, this is a salon none of us had been to before.  Dana and her fabulous MOH and sister Tara had to re-schedule our appointments and location to this salon because of a somewhat disastrous bridal portrait hair experience.  Word of advice, do not go to Salon del Sol on Parham road!  For the most part, we were happy with our hair, minus a couple of re-do's that were done.  Dana did have a mild moment of "oh sh!t" with her hair, but it was quickly overcome and turned out beautiful!

Afterward we headed to a local Mexican restaurant that I swear had the best margaritas I've ever had!  In true fashion, Dana insisted that she pay for the lunch and even backed up her insistence with the fact that she had "documentation" of her wanting to pay in an e-mail previously sent to the bridesmaids.  Too cute.  We had a blast just relaxing, eating Mexican, and sipping margaritas.  As a surprise, the wait staff brought out chocolate flan and sang "Happy Wedding Day" to the tune of "Happy Birthday".  It was precious, and made her feel really special.

From lunch we headed to the venue, the Country Club of Petersburg, but not without a quick pitstop at Martin's for two bottles of champagne.  We got dressed, did our makeup, and watched Dana in her preparation.  We all cried when we saw the finished product.  She was truly stunning!

After getting ready, Jeremy (Dana's new husband) and Dana did a "first look".  I wish I had pictures to show you off this.  Before going to see Jeremy, Dana was slightly on edge.  When she came back, I could simply see a calm in her facial expression and the way she was carrying herself.  She told me that she completely recommends it to anyone, rather than waiting to see your husband at the end of the aisle.  They were able to sneak away and spend a few moments together without anyone else.

Soon after the first look it was time for us to get ready to start the ceremony.  We lined up, walked down the aisle, and at this point I was fine, no tears.  The minute the MOH walked down the aisle with tears streaming down her face, I couldn't contain it.  Thank goodness for the tissues in my pocket!  And then Dana was walked down the aisle by both of her parents, one on each arm.  And again, the waterworks.  The ceremony was the perfect length, and was extremely touching.  The best part, when Dana was saying her vows and you could hear the emotion in her voice and the tears coming through her words.  Simply beautiful!

It was time for the reception!  The main ballroom was gorgeous, with black chair covers and pink chair ties surrounding tables with white linens and gorgeous flower arrangements of pinks, greens, peaches, and oranges.  They had a band, which was great!  The food was outstanding, heavy hors-d'oeuvres in stations.  Most notably the dips, stuffed mushrooms, pasta station, and caprese skewers were amazing!  The stations also allowed for good movement throughout the venue, and there always seemed to be something unique going on in each room.  We took advantage of the outdoor patio, sitting around tables, reminiscing about college and catching up with old friends.  The dance floor was continuously going with the tunes of the band blaring.  One of my fondest memories of the evening was on the dance floor when the groom sang "Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy" to the bride.  The crowd was wild! 

At the end of the night, we sent the couple off with a sparkler exit at the entrance of the of the country club.  It was a beautiful exit!  But guess what?  It was staged, they faked us out!  They came back in for I'd like to refer to as a wedding encore.  More dancing and mingling occured, while mini cheeseburger sliders and hotdogs were passed around.  So much fun!


A note to the bride and groom:  Dana and Jeremy, thank you for allowing me to be a part of your wedding festivities.  It was an honor, and I am so thrilled for the both of you.  The love you two have for one another is so blatant, and I hope it stays that way for the rest of your lives.  Best wishes to you both!

My bridesmaids bring all the boys to the yard

So, things have slightly changed since I last posted.  We've decided that the dark blues, purples, and reds don't really match the summery wedding we're throwing.  So, the color palette is now green, yellow, and orange to match a citrus-infused reception. 

With that said, I went shopping with all six of my beautiful bridesmaids last Thursday, and their dresses have been purchased!  Before venturing to Alfred Angelo, I had perused their website for dresses that I thought were cute, fun, and would be flattering on all of them.  Upon arrival, we met with Stephanie (who was sweet as pie) and showed her some dresses in the catalogue that we liked.  We picked out several styles, and Stephanie picked out similar styles she thought would look good as well. 

Then the trying on part came.  I must say, I think they looked pretty darn cute in all of them!

Bridesmaid LLB and Bridesmaid K shown below in what was the second option.  Bridesmaid R shown in a lovely brown chiffon dress, but we decided to stick with a silk/satin material.

As cute as those dresses were, we went with the original style that we chose, and it came in the color we wanted, Shamrock!

Bridsmaids LLB, R, and K in their absolutely sexy yet classy bridesmaid dresses!  Not shown below are Bridesmaids D, LEB, and C, who looked equally sexy and classy in their dresses as well!

 After everyone being individually sized and registered, it was time to check out.  Little did we know, we'd be read our "dress buying miranda rights".  No lie!  All of the bridesmaids were asked to gather around the check out counter where the manager read them their buyer's contract.  It was slightly intense and even more annoying.  We all decided we needed some sangria afterward, so we headed to Bertucci's. 

Bridesmaids R, K, LEB, C, D, and me!  

This was my favorite part of the night.  Three pitchers of sangria were consumed, along with lots of yummy Italian food!  These are the moments I'm most looking forward to during the wedding planning process.  Spending timem with my best friends, making the most of the next year! 

A special "thank you" to all of them.  They have been and continue to be the most supportive friends I could ask for, and I'm so thankful for them! 

Bridesmaid Dress Shopping: Entry 1

So, I finally sent out an e-mail to my gorgeous wedding party with a spreadsheet of their contact information and a proposition of when our first bridesmaid dress shopping extravaganza will be.  For now, we're looking at July 15th to meet for a quick bite to eat and then start the search for what will hopefully be the perfect bridesmaid dress.  One of my bridesmaid's has taken this challenge on, as she is quite the fashionista.  She has chosen several dresses from both David's Bridal and Alfred Angelo that I think will be flattering on the entire group (as if anything could possibly look bad on them, right?!?!).  What has not yet been chosen are the colors of the dresses.  I love the idea of having several colors that they can choose from, maybe three colors so there are two of every color or two colors so there are three of each color, somewhat of this inspiration. 

I'm excited about the first event with my bridesmaids, and can't wait to see what dresses they pick out! 

To my brides, brides-to-be, and friends who've been bridesmaids, how were your "bridesmaid dress shopping" experiences?  Did you include any original and unique ideas into your bridal party attire? 

One year mark = one year meltdown?

I woke up this morning with a grin on my face from ear to ear, know why?  Because in exactly one year I'm marrying the man I fell in love with in the first grade.  That's right. I fell in love with the man I'm marrying when we were six!  (I'll have to scan and post our elementary school class pictures, they are too funny!)  Anywho, I digress.

The real point of this post (in addition to announcing our one year mark) is to see how many of my fellow brides-to-be, and those wiser ones who are already married, have had the one year meltdown.  I haven't had my meltdown yet, but I definitely feel a greater sense of pressure and need to get my butt in gear! 

So, I pose the question, did you have a one year mark meltdown? 

We're off to celebrate with dinner and drinks!  Adios! 

And so it begins....on April 18, 2009

On a crisp April night under the romantic lights of a Wawa parking lot, my future husband asked me to marry him.  We enjoyed the blissful "we just got engaged" period for about 36 hours before I started to plan for a day I've been waiting on for quite some time.....OUR WEDDING!  The first couple of weeks started with generic planning, talking about budget, looking up venues, and looking at wedding magazines and websites for countless hours. And of course, creating our very preliminary Wedding Channel wedding website.  

Fast forward almost two months and the venue is booked, the dress is purchased, and a photographer and caterer have been selected (I think).  I still have a long ways to go, but I think I've made some decent progress.  My biggest feat yet is tackling the organization of such an event.  I need to make folders for each vendor with all e-mails and contracts.  I also need to come up with a firm "To Do" list so I can see what I've accomplished and what's left to be tackled.  At this point, next on the agenda is the selection of a bridesmaid dress and in return selection of the wedding colors.  I thought this would be simple.  I wanted a midnight blue for the bridesmaid dresses and for them to have reds and purples in their flowers/accessories (this was my inspiration).  This whole idea came before purchasing my wedding gown, which is ivory.  I learned in the bridal store that navy did not look so good with ivory, so my color palette may have to change.  Luckily, this is a flexible point for me.  

I plan on taking the weekend ahead to get my organization (or lack thereof) under control and put some plans in place.  We'll see how it goes!  

How have you organized your wedding plans?  What have you found to be the most effective points of planning?