Party hardy...

"Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year."

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

The wedding from this past weekend was super fun. Pretty fancy, but lots of unique, personalized touches that kept it down to earth. (Plus, I happen to know that the bride and her family did a lot of it themselves!)

One of the highlights however was a photobooth. You've got to click on that one to see us up close!

And, my other favorite touch was a cupcake favor decoration station. I think you were supposed to take them home with you because they were in these cute little plastic containers. But, sssshhhh... I ate two instead of wedding cake.

Freshman friends...

"You can always tell a real friend:  when you've made a fool of yourself he doesn't feel you've done a permanent job."

-Laurence J. Peter

 

As you may or may not know, Rob was a RA in the freshman dorms all the way through college. On one hand it gave him a chance to delay maturity... on the other, he made some wonderful friends and built an extraordinary community. No place is more social than a freshman dorm. Believe me, I know... I basically served as the "freshman mom."

Over the last couple of weekends, we had the privilege to attend some weddings of Rob's old residents. Our little babies are growing up. Tear. But what's so neat is that in both cases, the group of guys that they were randomly selected to live with for a year became friends for life. What a special bond--and one that I'm proud to be a part of.

Over drinks, dancing, and wedding cake we reminisced about the days in the dorm (including some that we didn't know about at the time) and caught up on the many adventures since then (it's amazing how well each of them is doing).

Rob's first group of residents from Spring 2004:

Rob's last group of residents from the 2006-07 school year:

Weekend recap...

"Dancing faces you towards Heaven, whichever direction you turn."
-Terri Guillemets

Although spending the last weekend of my Spring Break with my in-laws was not my first choice activity, we ended up having a really good time. It started out by meeting one of our best friend's Mike in his hometown near Columbus. He showed us around town, stopping at Jeni's Ice Cream for a crazy combination of flavors (I had "Violets and Meringue" with "Brown Butter Almond Brittle"!) and NorthStar Cafe' at Easton TownCenter (I had black beans and rice!).

 

Then we headed up to Toledo for the wedding. The boys had spent the morning golfing in the mud, while the girls went shopping. I had a new dress from Old Navy, complete with a pretty new necklace and new grown-up shoes.  

Rob's side of the family gathered around one table, and had a great time catching up with one another. I had the best time talking with Rob's great-aunts--I had only met them once before.

 

 

We celebrated, we ate, we drank, we danced, we laughed, we photographed, we had fun. And, then we went to bed!

 

All wrapped up...

"The manner of giving is worth more than the gift."

-Pierre Corneille

 

The wedding we're going to this weekend is for Rob's cousin. Although he and his cousin are close in age, they've never been close in distance, and therefore, haven't been close personally either. I've been with Rob for eight and a half years, and I've only met this cousin once. And, unfortunately, the couple's wedding registries were a bit lacking.

I was left scratching my head with what gift to give. While Rob was ok with just giving a Visa giftcard, I wanted to add a little more pizazz. And, without spending an arm and a leg... I mean, we're already traveling up there.

I'm pretty pleased with what I came up with (thanks Mom for the inspiration!). And, when I saw this tutorial on Jordan Ferney's Oh Happy Day blog, I thought a bright paper poppy would make such a cute package topper.

The best gift

“The greatest gift is a portion of thyself.”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

My favorite wedding gift to give is the gift of invitations. Having been a budget bride, I know that one less wedding expense is just as lovely as a placesetting of silverware. Sure, it's a little bit selfish on my part--I love any excuse to design invitations. But in most cases, it's a great weight lifted off the shoulders of an already-stressed bride.

After brainstorming with K last weekend about all things wedding, including invitations, I knew that she was overwhelmed with all of the design involved. [Btw, she's a doctor, not an artist.] Yesterday I sent her this to calm her nerves!
Needless to say, she and B were thrilled! Wedding invitations, coming right up.

Sweet love of mine

“Love planted a rose, and the world turned sweet.”
-Katharine Lee Bates

One year ago, on October 6th, Rob and I were married in front of our friends and family on the campus of our alma mater. The weather was beautiful, and it was wonderful to have everybody that we love, together in one place. The day went off without any major hitch, and the next day, I proceeded to wave goodbye to my new husband as he drove away for a 3-week long training session for work.

A little deja vu this year, as Rob left Monday for another leadership workshop. This time it was only two days though, so the first thing Rob said to me last night when he arrived home was, “Can we eat our cake now?”

Here’s our beautiful wedding cake from 10/06/07...
And here it was last night--our anniversary dinner (I simply couldn't resist the celebratory candle!)...

Photo Centerpieces FOR SALE

FOR SALE!! Photo centerpieces similar to those created by Martha Stewart

There are a total of 99 frames—that makes 33 sets. I used 3 sets per table, so do the math, and that means 11 tables.

AVAILABLE FOR $50!!!!
We printed photos from our childhood on vellum paper, and set a battery-powered tealight in the center of each set.
Most of the frames are brown, with just a few gold ones mixed in.
There is glass or plastic in almost all of the frames, but keep in mind that the backs of the frames have been discarded to let the light shine through!
It will not be cheap to ship, so I’m hoping for a local sale (Atlanta Metro area or even the Northwest Louisiana area)!! If you’re not local and still interested, let me know and perhaps we can work out the shipping costs!

Email me!

Thanks!!

A picture's worth a thousand words

“A true photograph need not be explained, nor can it be contained in words.”
-Ansel Adams

Rob and I were married last October, just over 7 months ago. That evening our photographer posted just a couple of photos from the day on his blog. Then over the next week, it was so exciting to see the photos that our guests had uploaded on our Flickr account. And then a couple weeks later we received the digital proofs from the photographer. More than 800 photos to pour over, and over, and over. Then right after Christmas, we ordered photos to print. Our 16x20 canvas portrait is just gorgeous—can’t wait to redecorate our bedroom with that bright blue.

And today… Today I’m bringing home the biggest baby of them all. Our wedding album. It’s been a long road of designing, editing, and then waiting for the album to ship from New Zealand. And today… Today it’s coming home with me. I haven’t told Rob that it’s ready, he’ll be super surprised when he sees it on the coffee table—he’s probably forgotten that it’s even coming. And my mom comes through town tonight, so I know that she’ll be excited to see it in person.

So all of you who won’t be sitting in my living room anytime soon, here’s the electronic version of the layouts—obviously not nearly as much fun as holding the real thing in your lap—but it’s the best I can do.

WeddingAlbum - Upload a doc

Read this doc on Scribd: WeddingAlbum

PS: It’s Nurses Appreciation Week and a special hoorah goes out to Ashley, my favorite nurse-in-training! Been thinking about you, should probably sit down and write you an email, or even better pull out my calendar and figure out when we can visit you this summer!

Wedding whirlwind

“Maybe love is like luck. You have to go all the way to find it."
-Robert Mitchum

Once again it was wedding weekend in our family. All of the “kids” in Rob’s and my immediate families will be married off in less than10 months. This time it was his sister’s turn. As a bridesmaid and Stephanie’s right-hand “woman,” I went down on Thursday to help plan, organize, and execute the event. We ran around town all day, picking up tuxes, getting the marriage certificate, getting hair cuts, picking up wedding party gifts, etc. Stephanie’s nerves were strung a bit tight, but I was there every step of the way to remind her to breathe.

Let’s just say, compared to mine, this wedding was a horse of a different color. As crazy and chaotic as it seemed like it was going, in the end, everything was just right for them.

Stephanie looked absolutely beautiful, and Dan spit out his chewing tobacco and put down his beer just long enough to say, “I do.” Guests and the wedding party had to walk between a pen of barking hunting dogs and a pen of pigs to get to the ceremony because the event was staged at “the shack” which Dan’s father built behind their house, where all of the family gatherings occur. One of the bridesmaid’s dresses was ordered 7 sizes too big, but a very helpful alterations lady basically rebuilt the dress. Everything was a little bit chaotic—no one knew exactly what to do, but the weather couldn’t have been any better—70 degrees, just little bit of wind, and not a cloud in the sky. The ceremony started a half hour late, but the seats were filled with their friends and family. Stephanie had made the bouquets and boutonnieres herself, and no one could tell they weren’t real. Their son, Chase, stood still long enough for a five-minute ceremony, but refused to stand for the family portraits. Stephanie rode back to the house on a golf cart to change her shoes before the reception, and the groom and his boys quickly changed out of their tuxedos with tails and into more comfortable jeans and a t-shirt. The bride and groom cut the top layer of the cake, but they forgot to announce it anyway. There was a iced tea fountain and just enough barbecue to fill everyone’s tummies.

The after-party was held an hour and a half after the reception in the backyard of Steph and Dan’s trailer. Many of the guests went home to change before heading back for the party. An tiny dance floor was laid down in the dirt, but the kids danced on it all night long. The dj played mostly old slow country songs, however there were a few newer hits and a couple of dancing songs mixed in. The out-of -towners and the teenagers hung out around one fire barrel, while the local folk hung out around the other. The out-of-towners filled their glasses with champagne and mixed drinks, while the local folk were never far from a can of Natty Light. A “nice” port-a-potty was set up on site to handle those kinds of emergencies; however, there wasn’t a light nearby, so most people ended up going inside anyway. Stephanie and Dan (and occasionally Chase) danced to several slow songs throughout the night. It got a little bit chilly as the sun went down, but Rob’s tuxedo jacket kept me warm. Apparently after we left, the police showed up with a warning about the noise level. But when they returned at 12 am, the music had been cut off, and most of the guests had already walked back down the street to their homes.

A few pics from the big day.
My nephew, Chase, the ringbearer. Note the rifle in hand.
My handsome husband and his sister, the bride.

The whole clan. My in-laws.

The bridesmaids. The three of us in front had a blast all weekend.

The bride and groom on the front porch of "the shack."

Steph as she rides back to the house for flip flops.

Birdseed toss. Good-bye and good luck!

The happy couple on the dance floor.

Rob and I at the afterparty.

Rob tearing up the dance floor. The boy's an extrovert, but the cup in hand doesn't hurt.

I love Steph like a sister. I really do. I hope that they both find true happiness together.