Engagement Pictures and Save the Dates

You would think scheduling your engagement pictures for October would be safe weather wise.  Boy was I wrong.  Picture this: hair done, nails done, spray tan, locations scouted, props gathered and then RAIN.  We were all set to go and then it rained, I mean really rained, all. weekend. long.  Luckily, a few weekends later we had perfect weather.  We had so much fun doing our pictures.  We have a fabulous photographer and the three of us had a blast going all over town.  We chose a really pretty brick alley near our house, a gorgeous park, and a striking bridge for our locations.  I also made a save the date frame via pinterest that Jeremy was holding in almost every picture.  It was so funny!  I am so thankful for such a silly, fun loving fiance! I also designed and ordered our save the date cards today.  Another thing to check off the list!  Woo Woo!  A few of my engagement photos...enjoy! :)

Picking a Color Scheme

Let's talk color scheme. I've been going back and forth about this.  Originally I wanted to do navy bridesmaids dresses.  Then when my sister and I went to look around, I fell in love with this royal purple chiffon dress.  After finding my dress, I am back to navy.  Like I've said before, it's funny how the wedding gown can change the entire tone of the wedding.  Because my dress is satin and more formal, I've decided that the purple chiffon dress is out.  It just doesn't go together.  Now I am back to my original plan and I'm excited to have made yet another decision.  For a girl who HATES making decisions, I'm making an awful lot these days.  I've decided that we will do navy for the ladies and gray for the gentleman.  We will also have pops of brighter colors in the flowers and other details.  Now here is the next dilemma I face...what other colors do I want to accent with!? Of course I have yet again turned to Pinterest for help with this one!                    

loving coral

         

these flowers are amazing

                 

So many great ideas and color schemes!  I have also been perusing bridesmaids dresses online.  I've found some that I really like but I think it's time to plan a bridesmaid shopping day so that they can help me.  After all, they have to wear it!! :)  

minus the colorful sash

If anyone is interested in aiding me with all of this decision making, I'm currently accepting applications! ;)  Until next time!

saying yes to the dress

I have got to be the world's worst blogger.  When I jumped on the blogging bandwagon, I was completely motivated to document ever single little detail about wedding planning.  Well people, life happened.  I realized that juggling wedding planning, a full time job that extends the hours of 9 to 5, and writing a blog proved to be quite challenging.  On the other hand, what's life without a little bit of challenge!?  Over the weekend, I was talking to a friend of my sisters about blogging.  She is extremely creative and artsy fartsy and I am thinking she would write exactly the type of blog I love to read.  While I was encouraging her to be a risk taker and just go for it, I realized that I hadn't posted in two months.  All of this talk got me to thinking about why I started this blog in the first place and [somewhat] restored my motivation.  Even if only a few of my closest friends read this, at least I am using it as a creative outlet to document this wonderful part of my life.  As I am constantly reminded, it's going to come and go before I know it. Side note:  In my defense, there are a ton of lulls in wedding planning but I also remembered that I was going to blog about wedding planning and "all the things in between", so I excuses are not acceptable! :)  

Moving on...I said yes to the dress! I found the gown! ...and apparently I watch too many wedding dress shows.  I have got to say, this experience was more work and stress than fun and I am so relieved that it is over.  I went to three different stores, tried on over 30 dresses, and had three completely different experiences.  The first two are not even worth mentioning, so let's recap the appointment in which I found "the dress".  After visiting two stores in Indy, I decided that it was time to look out of state.  There is a great bridal boutique in Dublin, Ohio (Wendy's Bridal) and this is where I had a fabulous experience. 

By appointment #3, I knew exactly what I wanted [or so I thought] from the neckline, to the fabric, to the details on the bodice...I was a pro!  As we were pulling the first 5 dresses or in Mavis' mind the  first 10 (love you mom), I was pulling different variations of the same. exact. style.  The style that I thought I must have, the style that I refused to stray away from...until one little number caught my eye.  I loved EVERYTHING about this dress, besides the fact that it was nothing like what I thought I wanted.  My mom convinced me to pull it and with a quick roll of my eyes, I added it to the rack.  

The first dress I tried on "was the one".  It was exactly what I had envisioned but because it was the first one of the day, I wasn't ready to say that three letter word quite yet.  We tried on a few others that were similar but then just for fun we tried on that one that didn't quite fit my vision.  All I have to say ladies is that mother truly does know best.  I put on that dress that was out of my comfort zone and I instantly fell in love.  For the first time I had truly felt like a bride.  I am a very emotional person, I cry at movies, the occasional commercial, notes from my students, ANYTHING but throughout this experience I learned that I do not cry over material items.  Even though this dress didn't bring tears to my eyes, it made me feel something I had yet to feel and it made this whole thing real.  I am really getting married!!  I completely expected to have an emotional, ugly crying, bridal moment but I will definitely settle for simply feeling like a bride.  Needless to say, what they say is true-you will most likely end up with something you never thought you would and you will truly know when you find "the dress". 

 This dress is so far from what I thought I wanted, it even changed the tone of my wedding.  I had envisioned rustic/country chic and now because of this dress the tone is a little more formal.  This dress is timeless and classic and I am so excited that this part of wedding planning is OVER.  Big props to Mavis for sticking by my side through all of this.  I am so incredibly lucky to have a mom like her and the relationship that we have.  Until next time...

Planning Update

Whoa it has been a hot minute since my last post! I thought I would be better at this whole blogging thing when school was out but ironically, I feel like I have less free time now than during the school year. ANYHOOO, I have also been slacking on my wedding planning but we do have a few of the "big things" booked.  We are getting married on June 21, 2014 aka summer solstice and longest day of the year. Woo Woo! Our ceremony will take place at St. Luke's United Methodist Church here in Indianapolis. This church is gorgeous and I am very happy with our decision.
                        
Our reception will take place at the Marriott North.  After looking at many venues, we decided to go with the Marriott and I am so excited to be working alongside one of my sister's college friends.  I know she is going to be great to work with and she has been so helpful already!  You are the best Biz!! :)

Finally, and this was a no brainer, we have selected our photographer!  We will be using Ms. Jamie Lee, another friend of Aly's.  We are so lucky that she has such awesome and talented friends!!  Jamie took pictures of Aly and I for a Christmas gift for our mom and she did a fab job.  I am so excited to have her do both our engagement and wedding pictures. Check out her work and "like" her Facebook Page!! :) Here are a few that we gave to our momma for Christmas!

     

There is still much to be done but I feel a little more relaxed now that we have some of this stuff and a date locked up.  364 days to go, not that I am counting or anything! ;)

Another class moves on

Another year has come and gone! This year was "the year of change"...new classroom, new grade level, new teammates, new teacher evals, and 3 (yes 3) principals! That is a whole lotta change for a girl that doesn't always handle change the best. To say that this year was challenging would be an understatement. Instead of focusing on all the challenges, I prefer to reflect on the positive. I had an amazing group of kids this year who taught me more than they will ever know. I don't know how I got so lucky but this was truly one of my best classes in my 5 years of teaching. They were so sweet and willing to embrace both change and challenge and for that, they will always hold a special place in my heart. That and the fact that they were my first class of third graders. I must say, I was a little skeptical about teaching third grade but I absolutely love it. They are still young enough to be sweet to their teachers but old enough to work independently when necessary (welllllll most days!). The last day of school is always bittersweet but this year was especially emotional and I think that is because I had to say goodbye to a great group of kiddos.

So cute.

Makes it all worth it!

In other news, this little cutie is happy to have her momma home for the summer!!

It's official!

We set a date! We will be getting married on June 21, 2014.  You do not understand how relieved I am to have our reception venue picked out and our date set.  I've had so much anxiety and stress lately that it's been keeping me up at night.  As soon as we set a date, it subsided for the most part...imagine that!  After spending countless hours doing online research and devoting an entire day to taking tours, we've decided to hold our wedding reception at the Marriott North.  I'm so excited because our wedding coordinator is a close friend of Aly's (sis aka maid of honor), how awesome is that!?  Not to mention our photographer is also a friend of hers. Aly also also went to school for this kinda stuff as well, so hopefully with all of these things combined, my stress will simmer down a bit!  I also know that once school is out I will be able to devote more time to planning which will be awesome.

  11 days!  

Finally, let me introduce you to my new best friend-courtesy of my amazing co-worker!  This thing has e1erything I need to help me plan and keep me organized...LOVE IT!

Thanks Amy! :)

Engagement Beach Party

Whoa! I've been a busy busy girl! A few weeks in and I'm already neglecting my blog...yikes! A few weeks ago one of my best friends (Miss Jenn Rae) hosted our engagement party.  It was a blast!  Everything was pretty hush hush and I basically only knew when to show up but she went all out!  There were some fun surprises! First of all, my parents came which was awesome! My mom may or may not have accidentally let that one slip. ;) When we were walking down to her house (so lucky that we are neighbs), we didn't know who or what to expect.  We walked into a BEACH THEMED PARTY which was perfect since we got engaged on the beach. Her creativity never ceases to amaze me.  She is the ultimate party planner and we had so much fun spending time with friends and family.  I will wrap up the post with pictures because that's the best way to summarize our wonderful night!

  

Will You Marry Me? Centerpiece

How cute are these?!

           

My Bridesmaids and I minus One
Sarah, Jess, Aly, Jenn, Jourdan, Traci, Meghan
We missed you Jes(s) !

   

How I asked them! Thanks Pinterest!!

How awesome are these shirts!?

We are so young!

                                   

Geriatrics ;)

                                     

The hostess!  Thanks for a great night!!

The Engagement Story

What good would a blog about my journey from Miss to Mrs. be without my engagement story??  I gotta tell you, mine is a fun one for so many reasons!  For starters, we got engaged on April Fool's Day!  Anyone who knows me knows that I don't like surprises and pranks.  I even specifically asked Jeremy NOT to fake propose to me on April Fool's Day because it seemed like something he would do!  In his defense, I guess he did technically listen to my sweet little request. :] 

Anyhoooo, we were on our first SpRiNg BrEaK VaCaY in Orlando but we decided to drive to Clearwater Beach for the day. On the way down there and days before, he kept throwing in little comments here and there about how he was going to propose with a ring pop, etc. etc.  It turns out that telling someone that you are going to propose is the best way to actually throw them off (at least for me)!  I was completely surprised when he got down to "play in the sand", wrote it out, got down on one knee, and popped the question.  It was an unforgettable moment that left me both incredibly happy and stunned and I will cherish it forever.

So there you go!  That's our story and for me, it couldn't have been more perfect or more "us".  What would an engagement story be without some pics!?  Enjoy!

 The Date

                               "Will you marry me?"                         The Ring

Me and the Love of my Life ;)

...and so it begins!

Welcome, welcome, welcome! I can't believe I am finally doing this.  I love blogs.  All types: beauty, cooking, teaching, RANDOM...I love it all!  I've thought about starting a blog for sometime now but I just didn't know how to go about it, what I should write about, etc. etc.  For the longest time I thought about doing a blog dedicated to all things teaching but then I realized I have way more to share than just random classroom stuff.  Then I thought about writing a blog about hair and make up. I am a self proclaimed make up artist that has had no formal training and I love all things beauty related.  Then I thought, well maybe it would be fun to write about this new journey I am embarking on: WEDDING PLANNING.  My final thought was, why don't I write a blog about all of the above, thus "From Miss to Mrs." was born.  Please join me on my journey from Miss to Mrs. and all the crazy/random things that happen in between.