Dress Shopping =]

This last weekend I went dress shopping for the first time!! I went up to Chicago on Friday night to stay with my S and BH at school. BW was there too and we made appointments to go shopping on Saturday. We went to David's Bridal and Eva's Bridal on Harlem Ave.

David's Bridal wasn't bad. I wasn't really expecting to find a dress there anyways, because everything I saw online and liked was from different designers. My consultant did a nice job though picking dresses for me to try on. They also provided you with the slip and bra for trying on the dress which was really nice. I can cross them off the list though of places to go to again because nothing came even close to my liking it. I did have the girls try on a few dresses though. I'm not really sure what I want. I can't seem to find my green color, so I'm not sure what I'm going to do as an alternative. This is the closest green DB had. So I tried black as another option.

I liked the style of these dresses and was interested in the black as a plan B. They're in different colors only because thats what was available at the time in their sizes.

I also thought I wanted a short knee length dress since it's in the summer/May, but now I'm thinking I might need a fancier long length dress.

Eva's Bridal was very nice. They're huge and I got to look through all the dresses and pick out what I wanted to try on. They carried Maggie Sottero dresses, who I had fallen in love with while looking at dresses online. I tried on a bunch of dresses and I think I fell in love! I'm going back this coming weekend with my mom to show her the dress and just to try on a couple more to make sure it's the one I want. BW found her dress there that day and put a deposit on it. It's a really pretty Alfred Angelo dress.

Flowers

Green Spider Mum

(This is the color I want my dresses to be)

Green Chrysanthemum or Button Pom

Green Zinnia

Green Roses

Mini Green HydrangeasI love the looks of this bouquet. This will be mine if I want it to be all green, I haven't decided yet. I like the picture below too. It will definitely be the girls' flowers, just in a smaller version of my own if that's what I do.

I'm thinking about doing something like this with mine. It will not have the daisies or the lilies but I like the overall feel of it.  I will go with roses, ranunculuses, peonies, and other big white fluffy flowers.

I love these little pomanders, or "kissing balls." I think they would make adorable decorations. I've also seen pictures of bridesmaids carrying a bouquet like this. They also look cute hanging off the end of pews:

Candy Buffet

I absolutely love the idea of having a candy buffet at my reception! I think it is adorable and adds a playful element to it all. I'm thinking of doing something in all greens to match my colors, but we'll see. That would kind of limit it to all green apple and lime candies and that's a little boring. A lot of people are doing this instead of a traditional favor. I'm thinking this would just be a fun extra, but still do a favor.

Here's the sign I'm going to put in a frame out on the table. "Love is Sweet, Help yourself to a tasty candy treat."



I've seen many people use cute take out boxes for the candy, as well as decorated paper bags and boxes.

The possibilities seem pretty endless with this, and I really think it's something the guests would enjoy.

My Bridesmaids

I have the greatest friends. Really that's all there is to it. And everyone knows you have to have your best friends there for you on your wedding day. Asking these girls to be in my wedding party was a no brainer for me. In fact, after getting engaged and calling everyone to tell them the good news, I blurted out to each of them that they just had to be my bridesmaid.
So, let me introduce to you the ladies that will be standing up for me at my wedding.

MAID OF HONOR "S"

S and I in Chicago this May...can't you tell how much she loves me?!!

S is my sister. Has been my whole life. Well her whole life anyways. She is 2 years younger than me and goes to school in Chicago. Growing up my mom always told me "You better start getting along with your sister, she is the only one you have!" We were the kind of sisters who fought, CONSTANTLY. Usually it was about silly stuff like her taking my clothes without asking, or simply the fact that she bugged me often. But now that we've both moved away to school we get along great! Imagine that =]

Bridesmaid "BH"

BH and I celebrating "Unofficial" at U of I 2 years ago

BH has been my best friend for pretty much my whole life. I met her the day she was born, although I don't really remember since I was only 4 months old. Her parents introduced my parents and they live right down the road from us. They're great family friends, emphasis on the family part. So needless to say, she has been a huge part of my entire life. (An interesting side note: BH and S are roommates in Chicago. I always find it funny because BH is "my friend" and BH's sister is S's friend)

Bridesmaid "BW"

BW and I camping in Wisconsin in 2006.

BH lives in Wisconsin and got engaged the same day I did!! Her and her Mr. are getting married a month after me (yay!). There are pictures of us in diapers together, that's how long I've known this girl. BH is also a cousin. But she's not mine. BH and BW are cousins. You see we have kind of adopted BHs entire 50+ extended family. (They're all coming to the wedding too!!)

Bridesmaid "A"

A and I in my dormroom my Freshman year.

A and I met my sophomore year of highschool when she transferred in as a freshman and joined the soccer team. It took only a matter of weeks for us to become inseparable. I hardly ever get to see A anymore because she goes to school in Iowa and is super busy!!! But when we do manage to catch up it's like we haven't missed a beat.

Bridesmaid "K"

K and I going to the Superfriends Wedding in November.

K and I went to the same highschool too, but didn't really become friends until the summer after I graduated. And by becoming friends, I really mean we became family. She has always been more like a sister than a friend. We fight sometimes, but always get over it and move on! I credit my freshman year of college survival to her very regular visits on the weekends.

These girls have all played such major roles in my life and I couldn't imagine them not being there for the biggest day so far!

Our Engagement

The Date

4/4/2009

How He Popped The Question
We had been talking about the future and our plans for awhile leading up to this. We both figured that we would know when it was right, even if it was all happening pretty quickly. For the month leading up to this we had been talking about getting engaged and when we would like to get married, and we both knew it was going to happen, it was just a matter of when. We even went as far as looking at rings one time in the mall. But we both decided he should use his Great-Grandma's 80+ year old ring his Grandma had given him. He was going to be in MN for a week figuring out housing and I was flying up to meet him for the weekend and then driving home with him. I hinted that it would be the perfect time to pop the question =] (it didn't take much convincing on my part to get him to agree) I even knew the day that he took my dad to lunch to ask his permission. So I knew, or hoped anyways, that it would be happening, I just didn't know how or exactly when.

I got into Minnesota on a Thursday night and we spent the weekend looking at places to live and figuring out work situations. It wasn't until we were driving home Saturday afternoon that it happened. He pulled off the highway and I figured he was going to a gas station or stopping for food. Then he proceeded to keep driving and nearly get us lost while looking for a little side road he had been to before. He finally found the road that led down to the St. Croix River beach.

He told me this river was significant because it is the borderline between WI (where I spent a lot of time growing up) and MN (where he spent many vacations). By this point I had a pretty good idea of what was happening. So we got out of the truck on a cold windy day and we walked down onto the beach. We were standing in the sand staring out at the water wishing it was warmer out =] Then he got down on one knee and proceeded to tell me many things, most of which I don't remember because I was so excited =] He finished with how much he loved me and how he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me, and then asked me to marry him. It only took me about a half a second to say yes!

The ring in this picture belonged to Mr. T's Great-Grandma. His grandma found it on her mother's nursing home floor after her fingers got too small and it fell off. She gave it to Mr. T. because he is the oldest grandson. It's over 80 years old! I think it is absolutely gorgeous, and it is even more special to me because it was passed down to him. It has the wedding band welded to it now.

How Mr. T and I Met

My Version of How We Met
I saw Mr. T for the first time at a mutual friend's house in November of 2008. I had to ask who he was after he left because I had never seen him before.
Side Note* He likes to say that these are HIS friends, but really I was friends with them before I ever met him. I reconnected with an old friend whose fiance is the same age as Mr. T. I started hanging out with all these guys AKA "The Superfriends." They took me in and things were great for about 5 months. During all of this time I never once saw or heard of Mr. T. (You see he had a girlfriend and lived in another town at the time and didn't come around ever). Then one night he finally came back around, and I'd like to think he kept coming around because we started dating. So you see, they are just as much my friends! *End Side Note*
Then a week later we were both at the same wedding for friends of ours and shared a couple dances. The following weekend was the Superfriends Thanksgiving Dinner and I made him be my beer pong partner for the night and we started hitting it off from there. At the end of the night he gave me his number because his phone was dead and couldn't get mine. The next day we both showed up at a friends house to watch a movie and afterwards he told me to call him. I texted him my number (in case he wanted it) and planned on calling him the next day after work, but he beat me to it! We went out for ice cream and drove around talking and we've been pretty inseperable ever since then.

Mr. T's Version of How We Met
I don't remember the very first time I saw Miss T, but I do remember the first time I wanted to know more about her. She always seemed to be where ever I went, but she fit in so well with my friends that maybe it just seemed like she was there all the time. We eventually started talking at our friends wedding. The next week we really got down to the important stuff. We were at a friends party and she kept stealing my hat. I resisted her flirtation for as long as I could. But eventually my interest in her won over my will to stay single because of my career change. I told her that I wanted to move to Minnesota, coach college football, fish a lot, hunt when I could, and raise a family. She said, "that sounds good." I had never met anyone that thought my plan was a good idea before. The more we talked the more we agreed on, and eventually she agreed to marry me.

Happily After All

"Happily After All"

And no it isn't a typo. I know the normal fairy tale saying goes something along the lines of "....and they lived happily ever after." But I've always like "Happily after all" much better.

Fairytales are nice and all, but they're not realistic, nor does anyone actually get to live one, as perfect as life may be at times. That's why I favor "happily after all."

I read a book one time when I was in grade school called "Happily After All" and it was all about getting to a point in your life when you're finally happy, after all the crap that has happened to you in life.

That's really where I'm at in my life right now. I finally found the man I'm supposed to be with, that I'm going to marry and spend the rest of my life with. I'm happy now, after all the crappy boys I've dated and had to deal with. I'm finally happy with my family and get along with my parents and sister after all the fighting and bickering we did while I was growing up. After all the school I've put up with, and having to live here away from my friends and family, I'm happy that I'm almost done.

Getting the idea?? I'm living happily after all =]

My First Blog Ever!

I just set up my first blog ever. I never even knew what a blog was really a year ago, and now here I am with my own. I highly doubt I'll even pass along this information to family and friends (unless I start getting good!!).

I keep coming across all these different wedding blogs whenever I google something I'm looking for. It seems like a neat place to keep all my ideas at.

I suppose in the off chance that I actually attract some readers, I should probably tell a little about myself.

Right now I'm finishing my last semester at the University of Illinois. I've been majoring in Animal Sciences and just completed an AWESOME internship at the Animal Humane Society in St. Paul.

My life is extremely exciting right now and I don't think I've ever been happier. I got engaged on April 4th to Mr. T. He really is the love of my life and I can't wait to start our future together =] So right now I'm doing all the fun stuff planning for my wedding!!

I'm incredibly crafty (and pretty good if I do say so myself, ha!), so I'm planning on doing as many things as possible for my wedding myself. I'm going to try and do all the invitations, save the dates, favors, decorations, etc etc etc! I figure if I have a year to do things, I might as well take the time and do them myself. This way I'm saving money and doing something I love.

Blogging will probably become another outlet for me to express the boredom I constantly experience while stuck down here at school. So expect daily, if not bi-daily posts from yours truly!

Stay tuned, I'm sure it will be an interesting ride!