break stuff

so... tyler and i were talking about different aspects of our ceremony, and i realized... i want a jewish wedding. the only problem is that is that we are definitely not jewish. (nothing against jewish people. Jesus was a jew, after all.) they get to have a chuppah, yell "mazel tov", break glasses, the hora dance, and do the "lift the bride and groom up in chairs" dance. i mean, what's not to love?

so, tyler and i continued to talk about it, and we gave up on the chuppah and the chair dance, but we realized... we still really wanted to break stuff and yell! and as much as we want those things, we aren't ready to give up Jesus to make them happen. so maybe we'll just start a new tradition by breaking some stuff and yelling "hallelujah" at our reception instead. with us, ANYTHING can happen. stay tuned.

fin.

saving up for a moon made of honey

i've been waiting a LONG TIME for this post so i could talk about our plans for our HONEYMOON!!!

when the wedding planning first started, i told tyler to make all the honeymoon plans and to not tell me a thing until the morning we left for the honeymoon. the only problems with this plan were: 1) tyler loves me so much and he was terrified that i wouldn't like what he chose and he wanted my approval, 2) i can't stand waiting on a surprise - especially over a year, and 3) i'm obsessed... but we already knew that.

so, the things we knew we wanted were all inclusive, a short flight to get there, somewhere out of the country (so we can get our first passport stamps at the same time!), somewhere tropical, and somewhere neither of us have been before. so... tyler had mentioned that he wanted to go to st. lucia, and i said i wanted to go to turks and caicos. so imagine my surprise when he broke down and told me what he had been planning - a trip to ANTIGUA! woohoo! that sounds awesome! EXCEPT... we started looking at the flights... they weren't exactly convenient for us and if we had gone there, we would have spent the first and last days of our honeymoon in a plane. no bueno. sooooo we went back to the drawing boards.

i spent HOURS (and no, i am not exaggerating when i say hours) pouring over travel sites looking at all sorts of tropical destinations. i finally decided that i had done enough research, and we contacted stephen trail at travel by trail to do some research for us! we told him we were interested in antigua, st. lucia, jamaica (even though tyler really didn't want to do jamaica), and possibly costa rica. well, me being the way i am (i.e. obsessive), i couldn't give up my own honeymoon search, so i kept looking. after all, i needed something to do during study breaks besides blogging. so i stumbled across a little gem in the caribbean. i wasn't sure at first, because i was worried it may be too common or too touristy but the more research i did, the more it kept dawning on me that i had found the perfect honeymoon location. i showed it to tyler, and it was instant for him as well. so, we made our reservation and are ready to go to...

NASSAU, BAHAMAS!

we're going to be staying at the Sandals Royal Bahamian in Nassau! we are so excited to begin our married life in such a beautiful location with everything included! it has everything we wanted, and i think i've looked at all the 2000+ pictures on tripadvisor as well as read 100s of reviews. i was kind of weary of doing a sandals vacation, because they tend to get bad ratings pretty often, but this resort is rated #1 in nassau on tripadvisor and i think it's darned near perfect. i hope i feel that way when we leave there in october, and i have a pretty good feeling i will!

i can't wait to enjoy a couples massage at the spa and a private dinner on the beach! and i've heard the photographers at sandals take amazing photos, so i will be sure to share them as soon as we get back. and i will, of course, document the food... which was a big deal to me when it came to choosing a honeymoon location. i've lost a good amount of weight so far preparing for the wedding, but i will always be a fat girl on the inside. but for now, i will daydream of the following images...

chocolate buffet? YES PLEASE!

 i'm slightly obsessed with this chocolate buffet!

i'm going to be RIGHT THERE!

is this real life???

the view from one of the "not high end" restaurants... yeah...

 big loungers with unlit fire pits suitable for day time cuddling.

fire pits ablaze scattered throughout the resort for night time cuddling :)

and, just as a side note, the only "professional" picture from the ones above is the very last one. the rest were taken from people staying at the resort. which means that there was no editing there and that is REALLY how blue the water is and how white the sand is and how lush the gardens are and how amazing it is going to be to share an outdoor sofa lounger and a tiki hut for a day with my HUSBAND!

if i were to say "I'M SO EXCITED" over and over again from right now until the day we leave, it STILL wouldn't show how excited i actually am! and after this year, the vacation will be much needed.

ok... i'm done "bragging" now. but i hope it doesn't come off as bragging. i'm just REALLY that excited!!! and i'm so glad to finally share it with my loyal blog readers!

164 days till we board a plane to paradise!!!

fin.

we. bleed. orange.

just wanted to let my family and friends know, in case you were curious... i, like many of you, am a die hard TENNESSEE VOLS fan! tyler is also a vols fan. i mean... come on... i wouldn't marry someone who also wasn't a vols fan. (i don't think my mom would ever approve.) so when we started making plans, we made sure to schedule our wedding on an off weekend. why? because we're true fans. that's why. BUT dooley is riding the boys hard this year and has scheduled them to play buffalo university the day of our wedding. who is buffalo university? some little college in new york. but, honestly, who cares? we're gonna spank them. but, just so you're aware, if the time of the game is during the reception, the dj will keep us posted on the score. i haven't informed the dj of this, but it's my day and he said that since it's my day, what i say goes. so, there you have it. and if you aren't a vols fan, first of all, may God bless your soul, and second, you have full permission to skip the reception, because at some point, we WILL play "rocky top". it may be a touch redneck or perhaps cliche, but that's just how we roll. and if you don't like it - tough.

just thought i would give you all fair warning/reassurance a few months in advance.

also (shameless registry plug) - we graciously accept any vols themed gifts. in fact, we're registered for lots of vols stuff at both belk and bed bath and beyond, so feel free if so inclined. not that we're begging for gifts or anything, but we wouldn't mind getting a few... and we've registered for several of them... just saying...

fin.

what's in a name?

so, i just found out that my wedding dress designer makes a style named "tyler". and the style is quite pretty. i thought i missed the boat entirely while i was eyeing the gorgeous creation, and then i looked at a picture of me in my dress... and i fell in love with it all over again. (after all... one tyler is probably enough.)

i can't wait to wear my dress!!! and i've lost 11 pounds, so i can try it on! but i won't do any actual fittings until at least 15 more pounds are gone. i have visited fancy a few times now, but i have yet to put her on. i'm terrified of that moment when i get in the dress, and it doesn't zip. my brain knows that won't happen, but my heart couldn't possibly take it if my brain is wrong. so, i'm waiting it out a bit longer.

anyways... i still wish that the style name of my dress was "tyler"... that would be wicked cool.

fin.

tell me, what's your flavor?

alright. let's make this interactive. i'm flipping out about cake flavors. yes, cake flavors. don't judge me.

anyways. i'm going to list some options... some i'm actually considering and some i'm not. (i can't give it away!!) tell me which one sounds best, which sounds worst, and any other opinions you wanna throw at me. all icing will be buttercream.

red velvet.
chocolate fudge.
vanilla sponge.
vanilla and chocolate marble sponge.
lemon.
lemon with raspberry gel filling.
lemon poppy seed.
strawberry.
orange.
key lime.
caramel.
caramel pecan.
fruitcake.
almond with lemon cream filling.
almond with strawberry cream filling.
almond with strawberry gel filling.
almond with raspberry cream filling.
almond with raspberry gel filling.
spice.

i'm open to suggestions if you have another one to add, BUT if any of you mentions carrot cake, i might actually never speak to you again. because that is GA-ROSS!

fin.

a stumper.

as anyone who reads this blog, my facebook, or talks to me on a regular basis knows... i love my fiance. in the midst of about a million DIY projects i have going on for the big day, i asked tyler to do one for me. i figured he wouldn't even get around it until september, or maybe august if i was lucky. well, he started on it today! a full 5 1/2 months before the wedding! he understands my paranoia and is hard at work to keep me somewhat sane.

i have yet to share any real wedding details on this blog, because i'm trying to keep things as secretive as possible. but i am so proud of him that i am showing the beginnings of his project. also, i think that it might "stump" some people. :)

and from this.... magic will be made :)

171 days!

fin.