Dress Hunting and Venue Confirmation...

So for the past few months/year, I've had an inkling that Kevin was the one for me. Maybe it was the way he made me all my favorite foods. Maybe it was the countless hours we'd spend just simply laughing (at ourselves, at others, whatever). Or maybe it was the fact that in the couple decades of my life, I had never been happier. Regardless the reason, I had the thought of spending the rest of my life with Kevin for a long time. So, naturally as any girl would, I had been slowly thinking of bits and pieces of the wedding for some time as well. (This is what I previously referred to as "the crazy"...)

ANYWHO, one of the main things I had always gone back to was the dress. I'm not about spending an arm and a leg on a dress I will literally wear for, what, 6 hours? If that? But scanning through David's Bridal's website, I had always gone back to this one dress that was just so unique. After a few months, I found it in the 'Sale' section of the website and a few months later, it was in the 'Outlet' section. My main thought in life is "If it's meant to be, it will be" so I figured when the time came, if I was supposed to wear this dress, I would.

So come to find out, there's only 3 in the entire New England area. One, my size and another two that are a few sizes off. So Sunday, my best friend and Maid of Honor Sammy and I trekked an hour and a half down to North Dartmouth to try on this dress. Well, after waiting a good 45 minutes or so for our "personal consultant" we had picked through about 10 dresses. Then she came around (Rosa!) and got us to our room and set up all the dresses. Then came the realization that the dresses were all cut too small and I couldn't fit into my regular size. (Note: I am TOTALLY sticking to this story and not the option that, hey, I might have packed on a few winter pounds. So, bear with me.) So then Rosa went out and brought back a few dresses that were as close to the ones that I had originally picked out in the sizes I needed. I tried on the DREAM dress... and just fell in love. I feel I can rightfully say I looked better in it than the model on the website, PLUS the price tag made it just even more beautiful! Tried on a few others, both Sammy & I hmmed and hawwed about them.. Not being too convinced. Then Rosa brought one that I would have never picked out for myself. Again, Kevin might read this, so I can't get into details (but I can email pictures if anyone asks!!) but the dress was STUNNING. So unique and so beautiful and so classy.

I tried both that one and the other "dream" dress on a few more times and came to the understanding that this is just the beginning. I have 14 months to figure out what I want to wear that day, and standing in front of a mirror 3 weeks after I'm engaged definitely helps me get an idea of what I like but shouldn't push me to make a decision right then. So I have a few ideas, but I really want to stumble upon that jaw-dropping, beauty that when I try it on, I'll "just know".

In other worlds, Kevin and I are THISSSSS close to booking a date and venue!! A few weeks back we looked at some waterfront houses in Newport, RI and in Plymouth, MA. We found this amazing place called the Tamarack Lake Estate (google it!) and just had the most awesome envisions of having our ceremony and party here. So we've been talking with the property owner and have worked out a pretty good deal of renting this place for a week, then some other properties for our families for the weekend. Hopefully within the next week or so, we'll finalize our plans and have a date set!

That's all I have for now... Off to go see John Mayer with Kev :)

Engagement Session

So last Saturday, our buddy Lisa came by to do the engagement shots. We were planning on an overcast day so we could do black and whites, but it ended up being sunny and more spring-like than winter-ish. Rereading that, it almost sounds negative... totally not what I'm going for here. Instead of freezing our butts off (most of our scenery ideas were outdoors) we ended up with a chilly breeze, but gorgeous sunshine that made for some beautiful pictures! Lisa did some wonderful pro-makeup on me, which scared me, but I dealt with it - and I'm glad I did because you can't even tell I had 3 inches of eyeliner on in the pictures. :)

Anyone who knows Kev and I knows we're a bit goofy, not your average pair. So we figured our photos should definitely hold true to that! We started off with matching "superhero" tee-shirts on in our living room. We were unsure of posing and what not so there's a lot of awkward shots of us play-fighting and staring blankly at the camera. We then started getting the hang of it and had some cool standing shots that focused on the ring and then us hugging. We then hopped on the couch and just started being us (snuggling, goofing off) and Lisa got some really adorable pictures there too. I really love that we have some pro shots in the areas where we spend the most time.. our couch, sadly enough.

We then hopped in Lisa's pimped out SUV (of which Kevin might/might not have begun playing with the DVD set-up in the back) and drove down to the Waltham train stop. Lisa grabbed some really cool shots of us along the waiting area, as well as walking down the tracks. It's weird being in public (especially Waltham) with someone taking tons of pictures of you and telling you how to stand/hold your hand with people staring at you from their bus stop. We also almost had a run-in with a crazy man pushing a shopping cart, but that's another story.

We took some more pictures around the Waltham Center area and then drove over to the Old North Bridge in Concord. Because of the weather, it was more muddy than snowy around and made for some cool water shots. For being a Saturday in February, the place was pretty busy with a decent amount of foot traffic and people walking their dogs. By this time we had almost 500 pictures, I think? Again, cool pictures all around. My jacket fell in the mud. I got chilly, Kev gave me his sweater. Pretty uneventful.

But, we came out of the day with (after the blurry and crazy shots were taken out) 587 pictures to go through!! They were mostly loaded by Saturday night, and I applaud Kevin for his patience in dealing with me going "wait no, what about this one? which one do you like better? wait, go back 3 shots" for most of Saturday night and Sunday morning. We noted everything and what we wanted fixed, and sent over a grand list of 60-something shots for Lisa! I think you're only supposed to pick 5? I'm not even sure. But Lisa's a trooper and hasn't complained yet. WE LOVE YOU LISA!! Andddd owe you a meal! :)

Anywho, that was our engagement session. When we have the edits, I'll throw them up here for all to see!

Engagement Preview

So after a very successful day out and about with our talented photographer, Lisa, we are happy to report that we LOVE the way the pictures turned out!! Here's a quick peek at one of the ones we took around the train station in Waltham. We got some great ones in our apartment, some around Waltham center, and some at a beautiful old bridge in Concord. As for now though, I am thoroughly tired and awaiting some amazing cheese pizza. I'll post tomorrow more about the pictures, as well as the adventures Sammy & I had at David's Bridal. (No, nothing was bought.. yet!)

Picture Perfect

This weekend we're getting our engagement pictures taken and I'm pretty happy. Getting a hair cut/minor trim tonight and maybe going out after to buy an outfit for the photos with one of my future sister-in-laws. Since day 1, we've been planning on a spring or summer wedding so I've been thinking of having these neat, outdoor engagement pics done that show the winter atmosphere that embodies the beginning of our engagement. Just yesterday, the Greater Boston area got showered with a good 5 or 6 inches of snow. Driving home from work in my yellow buggy yesterday was definitely slow and cautious, but I love having the world around me be so mellow and white and untouched. Hopefully there will still be a good amount of snow outside this weekend so we can capture some good seasonal shots.

My photographer for this and the wedding will be my talented buddy Lisa of Behind The Glass Photography. She's so happy and easy going and SUPER creative and artsy (without being annoying about it). I'm really excited for what we'll come out of this weekend with! She's suggested a few parks and bridges in Concord and Lexington, and I know I want a few down the path next to the Charles on our home street in Waltham. Kev and I were also thinking of doing some goofy shots in our apartment, since that's where he proposed. I'm planning on using something from this weekends shoot in our save the dates (which we are modeling after these found at WeddingChicks.com). I love the idea of the simple calendar and soft-looking lovey picture of us. But I also would like to make our own postcards and save on buying additional envelopes... We'll see how this idea progresses!

On a side note, I have a date with my Maid of Honor/Best Friend Sammy this Sunday to go visit the ONE David's Bridal in New England that has my dress. It's not a crazy huge, expensive dress but one that I've looking at for the past couple years. I think it's beautiful and simple and I won't feel uncomfortable wearing it, thinking I could have just paid off part of my student loans.

I'd put a picture up on here, but the fiance might check in and I don't want to ruin that little surprise... so INSTEAD I'll post a picture of the shoes I'd like to wear! I think these are just adorable and would look so cute poking out from under a wedding dress!

Back when I started thinking about weddings and bridesmaids and colors, I was set on having each girl wear their own version of a little black dress and then have each one wear their own set of funky, gemstone-colored peep toed heels. It was kind of a play of Carrie's individual bridesmaids dresses in S&TC movie. But since then, I've moved onto more rustic, woodsy color ideas based on deep browns and light pastels.

Anywho, that's it for me for now. Go check out Lisa's Behind the Glass site!! :)

In the beginning..

..there was a girl. A girl who had grown tired of games and drama and vacated her college life for an adventurous one on the West Coast. She fell in love with the air, the sunrises, the smiles, and the greenery of San Francisco. She believed, truly, that she would never be surrounded by so much beauty again in her life. One Friday, just like any other day, the girl waited for a train and then a bus, and then behind a counter for the day to start. Then there was a boy. This boy walked into the store and the girl's life that afternoon with a smile that she soon would not be able to live without. The two spent the afternoon together, strolling through the city, visiting museums, watching tourists and getting to know each other's laugh very well. Two days later, he went home to Boston. The girl knew something had changed in her. Over the next few months the2,699 miles between them became less and less, until the day she packed her bags and got on a plane. She walked off the plane and into his arms, and is convinced that the world has never been so beautiful as it is for her now.

The day my life changed and I met Kevin will 2 years ago next month. 19 days ago, he asked me to marry him, and I more or less consider myself to be the happiest person this side of the equator. Well, okay, both sides. :)

I have decided to jump on the pre-wedding bandwagon of bridal bloggers. The past few weeks of being engaged have gotten me so excited about a wedding that I've honestly begun/continued to plan a majority of everything. From what I hear though, it's not just me. As I told Kev later on the night he proposed, I was excited about being engaged but also excited I didn't have to hide the "crazy" (which is what I called my wedding research I've been doing for the past couple months since we started talking about marriage.). I've been drawing a lot of influence lately from other blogs like abackyardwedding, stylemepretty, offbeatbride, and $2000wedding so I am more or less hoping to maybe share some ideas, get some feedback and keep friends/family in the loop.

I am lucky to have already gained a lot of ground in forming ideas and potential planning for the wedding with the help of my fiance. As of today, this is our current progress:

• A "we-REALLY-REALLY-want-this!" venue picked out. Figuring out if it is doable will be another thing.
• An idea of how we want the overall wedding feel to be.
• Basic outline of a budget, what we're willing to do without, and what we will not give up.
• Our wedding party, who have all happily accepted. :)
• A plan on how to focus and keep this OUR day.

Hopefully, it will all be gravy from here on. I doubt it, but I can hope!!

Here's to an exciting 12-16 month period of planning, projects and preparation!!