Discovery Street Featured on August and After

I was stoked to find out that my fellow blogger friend Cori of August and After featured one of my blog entries on her blog!  Her wedding and blog has inspired me in so many ways--and is the very reason why we chose our reception location, The Foxboro Ranch Estates.  Thanks Cori!  I'm sure I'll be asking you a million questions as our wedding day approaches!

Shoes

I brought my dress to my seamstress the other day and she asked, "What kind of shoes are you wearing?"  I had absolutely no idea.  Planning shoes for a winter wedding is tricky!  I know I'll be taking a few photos outdoors, so do I bring galoshes just for those photos and where pretty heels inside?  Or do I wear a really cool pair of boots?  I've spent a good part of my life growing up in Texas, I could wear some cool cowgirl boots right?  Or would that look silly?  I was debating on flats vs. heels and the seamstress convinced me to wear heels.  I pray, pray, pray I don't trip over my dress and fall down the stairs.  I'm a klutz...I've updated my Facebook status on numerous occasions in the past 6 months saying, "Just fell down the stairs...again!"  My tailbone actually still hurts from my last spill.

Here is some inspiration so far....anyone have some great shoe tips/advice/suggestions?

From Style Me Pretty

I love these...they go with my colors!

From One Love Photo

I think  these are so fun!

From Style Me Pretty

Cobalt Blue

I think I want to incorporate cobalt blue into the centerpieces.  I'm not sure if I want it to be the drinking glasses, the candle holders, the vases, the flowers or a mixture.  I just really love the look.

From The Knot

From The Knot

From Style Me Pretty

From Style Me Pretty

Discover This! The Challenged Athletes Foundation

This isn't about wedding stuff, but I had to share about where I was last week.  I was on the road volunteering with the Challenged Athletes Foundation's main fund raising event--the Qualcomm Million Dollar Challenge.  Please check out this organization and what they do for athletes who have lost their limbs.  It is truly an inspiration to see men and women bike 620 miles in 7 days...especially when they have no legs.  It started in San Francisco and had stops along the California coast to Pismo beach, Santa Barbara, San Louis Obispo, Marina Del Rey, Newport Beach and finally San Diego.  A shout out to all the amazing and inspirational people I met throughout the week--you were phenomenal!  

A pic with Christian Vande Velde--he placed 8th in the 2009 Tour De France

Missing Andy

My flight left at 7:50pm Friday night.  I'm in California volunteering for a great cause--The Challenged Athletes Foundation is doing a bike ride called the Million Dollar Challenge that goes from San Francisco to San Diego and I'm part of the crew to help out with the ride.  I was looking forward to the trip for numerous reasons; plus the ride ends in San Diego where a lot of my girlfriends live and I can share the excitement of my engagement.  Nine days away from Andy...the longest we will have gone without seeing each other.  It's 10:06 on Saturday night and I'm missing my sweet love...really, really missing him. 

How I love this man...

The Proposal

We're engaged!!!  What a surprise!  Now I know you're thinking, "How could this be a surprise?"  Well, I was under the impression that Andy wanted to meet my parents in person to ask for their blessing (which wouldn't happen until Thanksgiving weekend).  So I knew an engagement was coming, I just thought it would be further down the road.  But alas, there is a ring on my finger, phone calls have been made, Facebook status has been updated, and finally....here is the story:

On Sunday, October 11, 2009, (yes, yesterday!) we made plans to drive down to Riffe Lake...a place we fell in love with on a recent trip.  These are some pictures from our previous trip; I think you can see why we love this spot so much.

I suggested we take pictures along the drive since we are planning on making our own invitations and needed some fun shots.  My inspiration came from a DIY picture idea found on Cori's blog, August and After.  I thought it would be fun if we brought a few changes of clothes and Andy suggested we also do a "Benny and Joon" type shot.  I couldn't quite get the image in my head so he had me imagine those old black and white Hallmark cards with the little boy who is giving a rose to a little girl.  Aha!  I finally got the image in my head and we went over to Goodwill to find "costumes."

Our bags were packed into Gwendolyn (the VW Bus) and we were off!  There were so many beautiful places to stop and pull over....we took over 100 pictures and I would love to show them all, but we have to leave some surprises!

A candid shot of Andy...I adore this picture!

Then we were off to our next locale.  This is where we found the perfect spot to dress up in our costumes...the pictures were sooooooo adorable I wish I could show you.  Ok...well, maybe just one!

Ok...here are some different shots.

And our next location...

And yet another place...

This was so much fun.  We had an amazing time and what a great memory that our engagement day was documented along the way.  We finally finished the drive and made it to the Lake at around 5:30pm.  It was empty...just Andy and I.  We parked Gwenny and took a long walk.  What an amazing day it had been, and I had no idea just how much more amazing it was about to get!  When we got back Andy started making dinner.  (Which I will blog about on my food blog!) I watched him as he cooked...I couldn't take my eyes off of him.  I distinctly remember praising God for bringing him into my life and truly feeling like to most loved and adored woman in the world.  "Oh, how I love that man" I said aloud.

He brought candles to add a little ambiance...I am telling you, candlelight dinner in a VW bus with mountains and water on all sides of you, and a hot man whispering sweet things to you...I'll take that over a 5 star restaurant any day!

After dinner I told Andy that this had been our best date ever.  I just loved every second of it, and it had ended perfectly.  (Little did I know it wasn't over!)  He started cleaning up and putting stuff away when he asked me if I could help him pull something out of the back of the bus.  "Sure," I replied.  By this time it was dark and when I went over to the back of the bus he turned me around only to drop the ring box.  Fortunately I had no idea what he had just dropped because I was completely oblivious to what was going on and it was dark.  He grabbed my hands and said, "So, I talked with your Dad...."  My response?  An ever so sweet "Shut up!"  It hit me at that moment what was going on and tears started to well up in my eyes.  I'm sure he said something utterly beautiful and poetic after that, but I just starting shaking and crying and only remember the words that came out of his mouth once he got down on one knee.  "Will you marry me?"

Discovery: Value Village

The most challenging thing for me living in Seattle is dealing with the cold weather.  The rain I can deal with, but cold, lets just say that anyone who has spent a winter with me knows that on my top 10 list of things I hate, being cold would rank in the top 3.  The sad part is most of my winters have been spent in Hawaii, Texas and Southern California.  Cold for me is below 70.  People at work laugh when they walk by my office because my coat never comes off, I keep a wool scarf at my desk, there is always a hot cup of coffee or tea with me, and yet I'm still always freezing.

So why am I getting married in Flagstaff in February where there is bound to be tons of snow?  Believe me, it's completely logistical!

In the mean time, I took a trip to Value Village today and was pleasantly surprised at the selection of items!  I'm pretty sure this place is a chain but limited to the Seattle area.  It's just like Goodwill, but better!  I needed to stock up on some winter weather clothes and found a great selection of sweaters and a pair of jeans that Nordstoms sells for about $74.00 for only $6.99 (and they look brand new!)  I perused the glassware section too for centerpiece ideas--they had a ton of stuff!  Thrift stores are such a great way to go for wedding stuff and everything else!

Winter Wedding Ideas

Remember in my earlier post when I said there is not really much online about winter weddings?  Well, not much has changed. I have been scouring the internet for ideas...there aren't many, but thanks to the many wedding blogs I've managed to get a few ideas! I've vacillated back and forth with wanting a "cool" winter theme and a "warm" winter theme.  Because of the location of the venue (I'll post about that soon!), I've decided the warm theme is better suited to the actual building.  Plus...I don't think I want any more "cool" than the Flagstaff winter will provide!  With that in mind, I'm trying to think of the types and colors of flowers to use as well as centerpiece and decoration ideas.  Here are some decor ideas I've liked so far.

I like the look of candles and votives on mirrors; the lace adds a nice vintage touch.          

From Wedding Paper Divas

I love the brown branches...I would really like to incorporate branches into the decor.

From The Bump

This DIY centerpiece is one of my all time favorites!

From August and After

I'm hoping to incorporate a few of my favorite ideas into something beautiful but simple (and affordable)!
 

Dress Shopping: Day 2

OMG!!!  I bought my dress!! Woohoooooooooo!  Ok...now I'll calm down and tell you about it.  On a whim I decided to visit a bridal shop on Sunday.  I was starting to feel anxious about having to find something off the rack because it’s pretty much too late to order a dress without having to pay rush shipping fees.  I drove to Bothell to visit a Princess Bride.  I wasn’t sure what to expect because the reviews on this place were pretty mixed.  Half warned against even stepping foot into this boutique, and the other half were wonderful reviews.  I wanted to visit this place because it is one of only a couple of boutiques that had my “dream” dress--the one I saw in a magazine that I just drooled over but new I would never be able to afford.  I just wanted to try it on and part of me hoped I would hate it once I saw it on myself so I could just get it out of my mind.  Unfortunately, I loved it.  I coveted it.  I wanted to marry it.  It fit like it was made for me.  Ugh!  

My consultant suggested every option possible to get me to buy this dress.  I was irritated at how she listed every possible family member to ask to contribute to the costs of this dress and then kept hinting to put it on my credit card.  I was very clear about my budget.  I tried to ignore her rudeness towards my little budget, and just kept on trying different dresses.  We finally got to the last one after not liking any of the others I tried after my dream dress.  At this point I was irritated, sweating, and just wanted to get out of there...but BAM!  This was it!  It fit great and was 1/2 off!  Not only that, my consultant suggested a few ways to alter the dress to make it look very similar to my dream dress (it was her only redeeming quality).  So after only a weekend of dress shopping, I have dress in hand and a huge smile on my face.  Next task...find a brilliant seamstress.  

Dress Shopping: Day 1

I woke up excited and a little anxious about looking for my wedding dress today.  My first appointment was at 11:30 am at Belltown Bride in Seattle (which I highly recommend, the owner Melissa and my consultant Lia were top notch).  I arrived before my friends did, and chatted with Lia about what I was looking for. It was my very first time looking for a wedding dress and as I walked into the gallery surrounded by white, taffeta, beads and lace, I started crying.  What the heck?  Why am I crying?!  I was so overwhelmed that this was really happening; that I was finally getting married...me...the girl who's always the bridesmaid.  Not only am I getting married, but getting married to the most amazing, wonderful, loving, manly man in the world.  After getting over my utter embarrassment for breaking down 3 minutes after walking in, I was ready to try on dresses.  After numerous changes, there was one dress I fell in love with and it was in my budget!  Omg...could I really have found my dress after the first stop?  I had another appointment at 3:30, so I put a hold deposit on the dress because I couldn't convince myself that dress shopping was that easy!  After today I realized how emotional and not easy the decision is.  Wouldn't you know it?  I arrived to my 3:30 appointment at I Do Bridal and tried on a dress that I loved even more!  However, this dress was not in my budget.  And apparently you're supposed order wedding dresses about 4-6 months before your wedding.  Not only was this dress over budget, I would have to pay a rush shipping fee on top of the price of the dress and alterations.  Ugh.  I spent the next 5 hours at home researching dresses again and different boutiques I guess I'm not done dress shopping!  Here are some pics of my day though!

Research, Research, Research!

In the short amount of time I've spent researching wedding stuff, I've come to two conclusions. The first, not many people get married in the winter. The second, not many people get married in Flagstaff, AZ. Because I currently live in Seattle and have just over 4 months to plan, researching online is my only option right now and I'm finding it difficult. When I Google "winter wedding" most of the information is outdated or revolves around the winter months of November and December. I'm getting married February 20th in the mountains. So there will definitely be snow, but it is beyond the typical holiday themed weddings and I'm definitely not into the "heart" theme after Valentine's day. Thank goodness for blogs! I have found one blog in particular that has been my inspiration and how I came across the venue where I will be having my reception (and possibly the ceremony...decisions, decisions!) Do check out this blog, it's just gorgeous! In the mean time, I will be relentlessly searching through blogs trying to find more inspiration. So far I have colors down--chocolate brown and navy! I really love the look of bridesmaids wearing different dresses.  After spending hundreds of dollars on bridesmaid dresses that I never wore again, I feel really convicted that my girls pick out something they like and will wear more than once!   I love how these dresses look!

Via InStyle Weddings

Via theknot.com

I just adore how this looks...just in navy!

Via theknot.com

My girls are going to look so amazing!  I can't wait!