6 months

183 days. 4,374 hours. 262,440 minutes.

Time sure flies when you’re having fun (planning a wedding).

I started to write about all the exciting things happening in my life…

• the wedding
• buying our first house
• Oliver turning 1
• us expecting a new niece or nephew
• picking out the name for our next newest member, another cat (hehe)
• getting to see our favorite cousins ever soon (and getting to spend some time in SC)

I sometimes get some consumed in work or our daily routine that I let the excitement pass right by me. I feel like occasionally I need to take the time to let it soak in. So for the time that it takes me to write this post, I am going to let myself appreciate all of the good things going on in my life.

1. The wedding really is going to be here before I know it. And although I am sure people will take this wrong, it kind of makes me sad. Alex and I (and the rest of the family and friends) put so much time into planning this day to make it perfect for us. It is sad to think that it will be here and pass before we know it. So again, a better reason to not let a day pass without being grateful for all that is associated with the planning process. Then of course though, I get stuck with Alex for good 🙂

2. Our house! This has been an up and down experience. One minute we are up and overly excited and then the next we are compromising on all the things found on the inspection. It is honestly exhausting. As excited as I am to get the house, I am just ready to get the house. I hate the inbetween feeling. At any minute I feel like it could fall through. It’s the comprising that’s the most stressful. Lets pray everything goes well!

3. Oliver 🙂 he’s the most precious little 1 year old in the world. I feel like the luckiest aunt to be able to live with him during his first year and experience all of his “firsts” with him. He is so loving and makes my day that much brighter. Although living in a house with 6 people (5 being adults) can be overwhelming at times, I wouldn’t trade those moments for anything. I know I am going to be slightly depressed not being able to see him everyday and kiss him goodnight. We will just have to have lots of visits though.

4. Elizabeth and Andrew are giving us yet another niece or nephew this May! We could not be more excited to bring our total up to 4. These little kids really do steal our hearts and the more the merrier. We just cannot wait to meet the baby.

5. Yes, we are crazy cat people and we are already planning on yet another cat. We will wait a little bit after getting our house, but that hasn’t stopped us from brainstorming names. Do not judge.

6. My cousin, Brooke, recently got married! She is having her reception later in April and we are so, so excited to be able to go and celebrate this special occasion with her and the rest of the family. Brooke and her sister, Megan, practically are like sisters to us. The four of us (Kylie included) were born all within about two years of each other and my mom frequently had the task of handling all of us at once. I am always looking forward to the next time I get to see them and hate not being able to see each other whenever we would like.

And there’s that. An update on my life and all the exciting things that are going on. 2013 really is a fantastic year so far and I have no doubt that it will be one to remember.

Sweating for the wedding

I have never been one to enjoy working out. This ultimately resulted in me never working out. I would say the last time I actually had a “work out” would be in high school. This isn’t to say I do not enjoy being active though. So I have found ways to keep myself entertained while trying to get my body into wedding shape! First, climbing. Alex and I have been rock climbing on and off for years now. I want to emphasize on and off because it has been months since we have gone. Thankfully, Kylie got us passes for Christmas so we will have an excuse to go starting this weekend! Second, yoga. I had never attended a true yoga class until this past week, but I really do enjoy doing yoga at home. I have my mat, ball, strap, and videos and I just hang out in the living room for an hour or so and get some work done! This class on the other hand, I am NOT use to standing on my head. I am giving it another try tonight though (wish me luck). Third, Zumba! I am going to be going to my third Zumba class tomorrow and I really enjoy it. This is unlike me because I often don’t truly enjoy the exercise I am doing. It is fun and brings an energy to working out that I like. Forth, running. I signed up for my first 5k. In September I will be doing Color Me Rad! I could not be more excited. I actually just picked out my first pair of running shoes last night. These are all my attempts to not only choose a healthy lifestyle and remain active, but to get in shape for the wedding aka the honeymoon. I love that I am actually excited to do these things. I think this is truly what makes the difference. Before I would dread to go on a run/walk or hate doing any crunches or attempting to do any push ups (yes, attempting). All of the things I have listed make me excited to get into shape though. Thankfully, the Athletic Club is close by and only $5 a class. It gives me a chance to try out different classes and see what fits me best. For example, the cycling class kicked my ass. Literally, I had bruises. But then I realized that I liked Zumba and the resistance class I attended. I may even try kickboxing! We will see…

Until then, please wish me luck in continuing to do all of these work outs. I just need to get into a habit of doing them and then they will become second nature!

7+

With 7+ months to go until the big day, we are knocking things out left and right. These past couple of weeks have been huge for us. We recently got the 74 save the dates out and I could not be more excited to get those out to everyone. I am working on a list for the Park to actually waive some fees for guests that will just be attending the wedding/reception and not staying the night in the park. We have our food deposit down and have worked with Big Woods Brewery Company to get a menu planned out for the rehearsal dinner. It is all coming along so well.

When it comes to Kenlie, our flower girl, we have her dress picked out, finished making her flower girl basket last night, and lastly made her an adorable little headband to go with it! Here is a sneak peak…

Two small things we completed were my garters. I wanted to make two, one for Alex to throw and another for me to keep. They both are complete and definitely go along with our vintage theme.

Lastly, and what I am most excited about, we finished the boutonnieres! All 16 are done and put up until the big day. My mom deserves a HUGE shout out. If it was not for her and Kylie, it would be impossible for us to do this “do it ourselves” wedding. Alex could not get over how fast mom could get the boutonnieres done. And next thing we knew, Kylie was making her first boutonnieres ever! Next, we will tackle the corsages and the bouquets. I could not be more excited to do these crafts, save money, and most importantly, have them done months before the wedding. 

Nothing makes me more excited than to keep marking things off the to do list! 222 ❤

 

House shopping.

Houses are starting to consume my life. In my spare time, I am looking at houses. This could be online or in person. Or drive bys, which is becoming more popular for us. Alex and I are house shopping. We have been since October but I would say in the past 3 months we have been pretty serious about it. We have found many we like and a few we love. At the moment we are very focused on one and lets keep our fingers crossed that this could be “the one”.

I either hear that we should take 3 years to find a house or pick one within a month. We have decided to go at our own pace though and ignore others advise (when it comes to this). We know the houses we like. Alex knows my style and I know his. It works very well that they are similar and we are looking for the same things in a house. The worst part of this though, we are both so indecisive. At times we have loved condos downtown Indy to a house that is out in the middle of no where. But this is just us. It may not make sense- but it makes sense to us.

We often are taking my dad so he can give us his “expert” advise. Having redone a house of his own and helped with many, many other projects with friends, I know that he knows what he is talking about. A lot more so than Alex and I. I want this house to be an investment. A smart decision. I need to know when problems are fixable or when they are just plain scary. To me, it all seems overwhelming. But that’s expected.

I will keep updating our house shopping along the way, but what I am even more excited to post about is WHEN we get a house, all of the renovations. Some may be small, but all may be worth mentioning! Stay tuned.

Booked, booked, & booked

Although at times I feel like the wedding is the last thing on my to do list, Alex and I are continuously knocking things out. We can now officially say we have everything booked when it comes to the ceremony and the reception! We could not book the locations until exactly one year out so last week was a busy time for us being sure we got everything booked and jumping over some hurdles.

Overall I feel at ease, I have the dress and locations. Hell we could get married without anything else if we had to. So I am letting the positive energy help me when it comes to the small details that sooner or later I’m going to have to pin down.

Still on our to do list for the next couple of months…

• Have the save the dates printed
• Finalize the guest list just one more time (:))
• Go bridesmaid dress shopping
• Finalize the rehearsal dinner plans
• Finish registering
• Book honeymoon
• Design maps for the guests
• Put together the favors
• Decide on the side dishes for the reception (Alex already picked out the meat options without any difficulty)
• Take Alex to get fitted for his tux
• Decide on unity object – – this is one I need help with readers. The ceremony will be outside so I was leaning against the traditional unity candle. I have also seen the sand done, but was wanting different ideas. I want to use this as a way for the mothers to be included in the ceremony mostly. The entire wedding is about mine and Alex’s unity, but without our mothers, we would not be the people we are today or where we are today. PLEASE give your input/ideas. It would be greatly appreciated.

I will pretend this is it for right now. It is all manageable when there are small lists, so you will continuously see me making small to do lists until next October.

Three hundred and sixty-one days, 361 days! That is so crazy.

 

Then there were 4…

I officially have all of my bridesmaids! I asked them all and fortunately, they all said yes. I cannot begin to explain how excited I am that they are all both willing and anxious to be a part of our day. It means so much to me to have all of my close friends included in not only the bridal party, but in the entire planning process. One is being my side kick and doing all the coordinating while another is going to video tape the ceremony while yet another is going to read for us. It is going to be amazing thanks to all of the people who will be a part of it.

I didn’t want to ask my bridal party the conventional way, so I thought to make a craft to ask each of them. Of course the cupcake was for Kylie (MOH) but the rest all received these in the mail over the past week.

They all turned out so great. A big thanks to my sister and mom for all of their hard work as well. Although I consider myself crafty, they are beyond crafty. They really help this process be fun instead of stressful. We just sat down last Sunday and did the dolls when I did the card actually a few weeks ago.

Now that I have my girls the fun can really begin!

Getting a little karied away

I may not have asked my bridesmaids yet, BUT their gifts are on their way. To me…

I already bought the gifts I am going to give them for being a part of my big day. I even have one picked out for each specific one, so lets hope they say yes! This was something I was very excited to do because they all mean so much to me and I want them each to know that and me treat them for all of their hard work. Little things can be collected along the way, but I knew what I wanted to get them for their main gifts, so I went ahead and ordered them!

We also have yet ANOTHER ring bearer. Little Oliver, with Kylie’s help, has agreed to be our mini ring bearer. Kylie came home over the weekend to find Oliver had a new onesie on. One with a bow tie that said “ring bearer”. We are so excited to have all of our nephews and niece in the wedding.

Now that I have my dress (!) I can start looking for shoes, accessories, AND Kenlie’s flower girl dress. These are things I will do on occasion just to get some ideas. Also, the bridesmaid dresses! I have been looking online but none are striking my fancy.

Obviously I am getting a little excited, but I have a do list for each month for the next couple of months so I do not overwhelm myself, and Alex. Instead I will be sure to be organized, but not over do it. I have to be sure to slow myself down. But because I can admit to this, I feel like that’s a good sign.

*The biggest wedding task we accomplished this weekend… booking a photographer! I am so, so excited for our photographer. He was my #1 pick and he has agreed to be a part of our big day. I am beyond thrilled and cannot wait to work with him.

So far, so good!