so... kendal is my little sister and my maid of honor #1, aka MOH#1 (pronounced "moe one"). she is, quite possibly, the funniest person i know. she has been cracking me up lately, because every time i talk to her, she has a new "nightmare" to tell me about regarding my wedding day. the recurring nightmare she has been having is that she tells me, and everyone else, all day long that we have to start getting ready! she keeps dreaming that, with two hours to go until the wedding, we still aren't ready and she is flipping out and trying to get everyone to get ready and i keep telling her we have plenty of time and all she can see is the clock dwindling down to "go time" but nobody will listen to her... let me reiterate...
kendal. is. hilarious.
let me tell you why...
the weekend after tyler and i got engaged, i bought a three-ring wedding planning notebook/binder as well as emily post's wedding etiquette. i have studied the art of wedding planning until i have become a self-proclaimed expert. i have, on more than one occasion, been referred to as "the most organized bride" that people have ever seen. coming from popular wedding vendors, that's pretty intense. i think it's just in my nature. when i want something, i go after it full force and i will get it. i want a beautiful wedding... and i will have it. hey... i wanted a hot husband. that is checked off the list! don't doubt me. i make things happen. mwahahahahaha! anyways...
all that being said, kendal's "nightmares" are beyond hilarious. i'm ahead on every timeline that i've seen regarding wedding planning. but there is a method to my madness... once may hits, i will be concerned with my final exams, moving home, graduating, and studying for the bar exam something fierce! therefore, my wedding planning time is really being cut by three months (from beginning of may to the end of july), so i'm trying to stay ahead of the game and get the big planning out of the way now before it's too late and all the good vendors are gone.
i refuse to be a bridezilla. preparation and organization is key! and if kendal's dreams are any indication, i won't have to be a bridezilla! she'll do it for me! lol ;-)
seriously though... thank God for kendal. she reminds me sometimes that, at the end of the day, we're planning a celebration, and we're supposed to have fun - at the wedding AND during the planning. she's gone through a lot in the past year, especially starting high school! i've seen her grow so much, and i constantly have to remind myself that she's only 14 (and a half!) i should start leasing kendal out to stressed out brides. every bride needs a MOH like kendal. she always listens to my rants, helps me pick out dresses and linens, and, most importantly, tells me when i'm being particularly insane. :) i love my little "stister," and i can't imagine anybody else standing beside me on my wedding day.
fin.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Friday, October 29, 2010
speechless.
i'm rarely at a loss for words. one moment where i truly could not speak was when tyler proposed. the full story of our proposal is on our wedding website, but i figured i would put it on here as well. great stories should be told and told again. so here it is... our proposal story...
When: June 30, 2010
Tyler and I had just eaten dinner with my family, and he told me that he needed to go to Wal-Mart to pick up some things and he wanted me to come with him. I was wearing gray yoga pants and his old McCallie hoodie, and I thought it was odd when he asked me if I wanted to change but I just said no and got in his truck. When in the truck, I noticed that he wasn't driving towards Wal-Mart, so I asked him where he was going and he said that he just wanted to get out of the house and go on a drive to spend some time together. Then, he said that he had a full tank of gas so "Why not?" I then told him that was weird, because he NEVER wants to waste gas, but I just went along with it. He got on the interstate and eventually took an exit towards downtown Chattanooga. I asked him again, "Where are we going?" His father is a contractor and had been doing a project at UTC, and Tyler said he wanted to go check it out. When we arrived at UTC, Tyler parked his truck on UTC's campus at the library. He said he thought it would be nice to go for a walk, because we're always talking about how we want to go on a walk together but we never do. Our walk led us to the courtyard next to Patten Chapel, where we had discussed that we wanted to get married. I was thinking, "Oh, he's about to propose!" but then... His phone rang... It was his mother! I thought to myself, "Surely if he was going to propose, she should know about it and wouldn't call!" I sat on a bench and waited for Tyler to finish his phone call. He walked to the other side of the garden and, little did I know, his mother had no clue - she thought he would propose on the 4th of July. He told her that he had to go because he was about to propose and she was trying to convince him to wait! (lol) Tyler got off the phone and walked towards me. I told Tyler to sit down with me, but, instead, he bent down and kissed me. I again asked him to sit, and, much to my surprise, he started to get down on one knee and he said, "I'd rather get down on one knee and ask you to spend the rest of your life with me." We both cried and then he said, "Will you marry me?" I then saw the most gorgeous engagement ring in his hand. I was crying so hard that I couldn't even speak, so, instead, I let out a muffled "Uh huh!"
I knew he was planning on proposing, but I was completely caught off guard when he did it. It was such a beautiful moment for the two of us. He said that he wanted to ask me there, because it was where we met and it is where we would be married. And then... The wedding planning began!
fin.
When: June 30, 2010
Tyler and I had just eaten dinner with my family, and he told me that he needed to go to Wal-Mart to pick up some things and he wanted me to come with him. I was wearing gray yoga pants and his old McCallie hoodie, and I thought it was odd when he asked me if I wanted to change but I just said no and got in his truck. When in the truck, I noticed that he wasn't driving towards Wal-Mart, so I asked him where he was going and he said that he just wanted to get out of the house and go on a drive to spend some time together. Then, he said that he had a full tank of gas so "Why not?" I then told him that was weird, because he NEVER wants to waste gas, but I just went along with it. He got on the interstate and eventually took an exit towards downtown Chattanooga. I asked him again, "Where are we going?" His father is a contractor and had been doing a project at UTC, and Tyler said he wanted to go check it out. When we arrived at UTC, Tyler parked his truck on UTC's campus at the library. He said he thought it would be nice to go for a walk, because we're always talking about how we want to go on a walk together but we never do. Our walk led us to the courtyard next to Patten Chapel, where we had discussed that we wanted to get married. I was thinking, "Oh, he's about to propose!" but then... His phone rang... It was his mother! I thought to myself, "Surely if he was going to propose, she should know about it and wouldn't call!" I sat on a bench and waited for Tyler to finish his phone call. He walked to the other side of the garden and, little did I know, his mother had no clue - she thought he would propose on the 4th of July. He told her that he had to go because he was about to propose and she was trying to convince him to wait! (lol) Tyler got off the phone and walked towards me. I told Tyler to sit down with me, but, instead, he bent down and kissed me. I again asked him to sit, and, much to my surprise, he started to get down on one knee and he said, "I'd rather get down on one knee and ask you to spend the rest of your life with me." We both cried and then he said, "Will you marry me?" I then saw the most gorgeous engagement ring in his hand. I was crying so hard that I couldn't even speak, so, instead, I let out a muffled "Uh huh!"
I knew he was planning on proposing, but I was completely caught off guard when he did it. It was such a beautiful moment for the two of us. He said that he wanted to ask me there, because it was where we met and it is where we would be married. And then... The wedding planning began!
fin.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
location, location, location
tyler and i agreed from the very beginning about our venue... there was no other place that we would be married other than patten chapel on the campus of the university of tennessee at chattanooga. the reasons we so desperately wanted to get married in this beautiful gothic style chapel were because:
1) we met at utc. we have so many wonderful memories on the utc campus, and it just seems so perfect to get married on the same campus where we met.
2) tyler's parents were married in this same chapel. his mother chose patten chapel, because, at the time, patten chapel had the longest center aisle in chattanooga. (yes, my MIL is fabulous, and i love how she thinks!) i'm not sure if patten chapel can still claim that it has the longest center aisle in the city, but, in my opinion, it's still the most beautiful chapel in town.
3) tyler actually proposed to me right outside the chapel in the shakespeare courtyard.
the only problem with patten chapel is that there isn't a place on campus for us to hold a reception! so, we had to do some searching to find the perfect reception location.
in searching for a reception venue, i wanted to find a place that transitioned well from patten chapel's decor. i also wanted to find a place that was affordable but beautiful.
with some help from tyler's fabulous aunt caroline, we found the perfect reception venue at the fairyland club on lookout mountain. fairyland club is truly made for a fairy tale wedding. the views, the decor, and the staff are all AMAZING! tammy is the event planner there, and she takes the stress out of planning. i completely trust the staff at fairyland club, and i know they are going to make our reception gorgeous. i'm looking forward to our food tasting! (and so is tyler!)
i think the venues we picked are absolutely perfect for the feeling and style we are going for, which i'll explain in more detail later. :) once the venues were chosen, i could actually picture walking down the aisle to my handsome groom and our first dance together as husband and wife. and i haven't stopped daydreaming about it yet! i can't wait to fill patten chapel and fairyland club with our family and friends as we become mr. and mrs.!
so, in case you were keeping track, so far we've chosen:
the man.
the date.
the venues.
we have so far to go! what a lovely journey this has been and will be...
fin.
1) we met at utc. we have so many wonderful memories on the utc campus, and it just seems so perfect to get married on the same campus where we met.
2) tyler's parents were married in this same chapel. his mother chose patten chapel, because, at the time, patten chapel had the longest center aisle in chattanooga. (yes, my MIL is fabulous, and i love how she thinks!) i'm not sure if patten chapel can still claim that it has the longest center aisle in the city, but, in my opinion, it's still the most beautiful chapel in town.
3) tyler actually proposed to me right outside the chapel in the shakespeare courtyard.
the only problem with patten chapel is that there isn't a place on campus for us to hold a reception! so, we had to do some searching to find the perfect reception location.
in searching for a reception venue, i wanted to find a place that transitioned well from patten chapel's decor. i also wanted to find a place that was affordable but beautiful.
with some help from tyler's fabulous aunt caroline, we found the perfect reception venue at the fairyland club on lookout mountain. fairyland club is truly made for a fairy tale wedding. the views, the decor, and the staff are all AMAZING! tammy is the event planner there, and she takes the stress out of planning. i completely trust the staff at fairyland club, and i know they are going to make our reception gorgeous. i'm looking forward to our food tasting! (and so is tyler!)
i think the venues we picked are absolutely perfect for the feeling and style we are going for, which i'll explain in more detail later. :) once the venues were chosen, i could actually picture walking down the aisle to my handsome groom and our first dance together as husband and wife. and i haven't stopped daydreaming about it yet! i can't wait to fill patten chapel and fairyland club with our family and friends as we become mr. and mrs.!
so, in case you were keeping track, so far we've chosen:
the man.
the date.
the venues.
we have so far to go! what a lovely journey this has been and will be...
fin.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
i'm late! i'm late! for a very important DATE!
one of the first questions that EVERYONE asks when they find out that you are engaged is "when's the big day?"
to be honest... tyler and i had the date figured out before i had a ring on my finger. we had talked about getting married and about how it would work with our conflicting school schedules and whatnot. we both knew that our parents would be... let's see how to put it... less than thrilled if we got married before either of us graduated. i am set to graduate in may 2011 and tyler is set to graduate in either august or december 2011. it would make perfect sense for us to get married after i graduate since i'll be back home with that lawyer money, right? WRONG!
first of all, after i graduate, i have the dreaded bar exam to complete. therefore, i'll still be living in the poverty of being a student. if tyler had to live with me through studying for the bar, he might seek an annulment, so that was out of the question.
second of all, tyler has a fascination with the number 11. it was his number when he played sports in school, and he made one request - that our wedding date have an 11 in it. and no, being married in 2011 was not sufficient.
third, i had the month picked before i had the man picked out. i just know, in my heart, that i am meant to be an october bride. don't ask me why - it's just a fact of life.
knowing all three of these things, i was on the hunt for october 11 - which would be awesome since that is tyler's parents' anniversary. (ya see... tyler's dad had the same request for an 11 to be in the wedding date... like father, like son.) however, 10/11/11 is a tuesday. tyler pushed for 11/11/11, which is on a friday, but that severely conflicted with me being an october bride. he gets my quirks, and he accomodates them... so, 11/11/11 is out.
i was somewhat willing to give up my dream of being an october bride if we could get married on september 3, which was my parents' anniversary. however, dealing with the complications of a holiday weekend wedding (labor day), we realized it was out of the question.
finally, we came to our first couple compromise... 10 + 1 = 11.
10/1/11 it is!!! it fulfills my dream of being an october bride. it fulfills tyler's wish of having an eleven (after my persuasive powers won him over on the 10+1=11 thing). and it's right in-between my parents' anniversary of september 3 and his parents of october 11. plus, it just has a nice ring to it. :)
so, that's the date... save it. :)
fin.
to be honest... tyler and i had the date figured out before i had a ring on my finger. we had talked about getting married and about how it would work with our conflicting school schedules and whatnot. we both knew that our parents would be... let's see how to put it... less than thrilled if we got married before either of us graduated. i am set to graduate in may 2011 and tyler is set to graduate in either august or december 2011. it would make perfect sense for us to get married after i graduate since i'll be back home with that lawyer money, right? WRONG!
first of all, after i graduate, i have the dreaded bar exam to complete. therefore, i'll still be living in the poverty of being a student. if tyler had to live with me through studying for the bar, he might seek an annulment, so that was out of the question.
second of all, tyler has a fascination with the number 11. it was his number when he played sports in school, and he made one request - that our wedding date have an 11 in it. and no, being married in 2011 was not sufficient.
third, i had the month picked before i had the man picked out. i just know, in my heart, that i am meant to be an october bride. don't ask me why - it's just a fact of life.
knowing all three of these things, i was on the hunt for october 11 - which would be awesome since that is tyler's parents' anniversary. (ya see... tyler's dad had the same request for an 11 to be in the wedding date... like father, like son.) however, 10/11/11 is a tuesday. tyler pushed for 11/11/11, which is on a friday, but that severely conflicted with me being an october bride. he gets my quirks, and he accomodates them... so, 11/11/11 is out.
i was somewhat willing to give up my dream of being an october bride if we could get married on september 3, which was my parents' anniversary. however, dealing with the complications of a holiday weekend wedding (labor day), we realized it was out of the question.
finally, we came to our first couple compromise... 10 + 1 = 11.
10/1/11 it is!!! it fulfills my dream of being an october bride. it fulfills tyler's wish of having an eleven (after my persuasive powers won him over on the 10+1=11 thing). and it's right in-between my parents' anniversary of september 3 and his parents of october 11. plus, it just has a nice ring to it. :)
so, that's the date... save it. :)
fin.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
and it begins...
it began about four years ago when i met a college freshman with floppy hair and a cute smile. if i had known then what i know now... i would have surely ruined a beautiful thing.
some people say that when you meet the right person, "you just know". that was NOT the case for us. it took a long time for us to see what was before us. we had our first "date" in october 2009. there was a spark. something unexplainable happened. friendship grew to like and like grew to love. it was electric. it was magic. it was REAL.
eight months later, in june 2010, he asked me to be his wife. since then, we've been planning the most important day of our lives.
this blog will chronicle our planning, a bit at a time, and some of the tid-bits will be saved until after the wedding. i can't give it all away before!!
until next time...
fin.
some people say that when you meet the right person, "you just know". that was NOT the case for us. it took a long time for us to see what was before us. we had our first "date" in october 2009. there was a spark. something unexplainable happened. friendship grew to like and like grew to love. it was electric. it was magic. it was REAL.
eight months later, in june 2010, he asked me to be his wife. since then, we've been planning the most important day of our lives.
this blog will chronicle our planning, a bit at a time, and some of the tid-bits will be saved until after the wedding. i can't give it all away before!!
until next time...
fin.
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