This is where...

my blog becomes an outlet for me to gush over all things wedding. Is that cool? Seeing that I'm getting married in exactly 212 days has got me thinking about it 24/7.

This is the day we dream about our entire lives. As little girls we fantasize about every intriciate detail of our perfect wedding day- the day we truly get to feel as through we're a princess and start the beginning of forever with the man we love and who loves us wholly.

Marriage is a funny thing. It's one of the biggest, most important decisions you will ever make- the thought of finding that special person you will spend the rest of your life with is amazing and knowing full and well that it's "right" couldn't feel more amazing.

I am still on cloud nine with the way everything is going. I'm trying not to become too overwhelmed with details and planning because it is A LOT and can become increasingly overwhelming in no time.

So, my handy dandy wedding planning book came in the mail just last week and I've orchestrated a wedding checklist from it to help me stay on track. We'll see if it actually helps.

I've already mentioned that we booked our church and reception venues! That is a huge relief. Now the daunting task of forming the guest list is before me. Here are a few photos of the church and reception venue...

I'm so excited about our reception venue. It's absolutely amazing. It's a recreation of picturesque downtown Pensacola in the 1900's and couldn't be more perfect for our theme and style. Ben and I adore it and I have so many wonderful ideas that I can't wait to see in reality! The awesome thing about this venue is it really doesn't require a ton of decorating other than centerpieces, guest table, food tables etc. Take a look... That's all for now. I assure you there will be a lot more wedding updates for those interested :) Stay tuned. xo

Crazy.

I'll be doing this for real in just a few months!

Wedding on the brain.

I got engaged just a week ago and life has been a whirlwind ever since. A great whirlwind, at that.

I couldn't be more excited to plan the most important day of mine and Ben's life together! I am elated and I still don't think my feet have hit the ground quite yet since all of this happened.

We signed the contract for our reception venue last week (pictured above- bottom left) and it couldn't be more perfect and charming. I completed our wedding site that you can view here. We're going to check out a potential church this weekend for our ceremony. It's actually the church that my grandmother grew up attending, so it has special significance. Things are officially rolling!

SO much to think about and do and the thoughts can be completely overwhelming. I don't want to lose sight of what this is all about and get caught up in all of the little details that I forget to enjoy and truly savor these next few precious months. So I think the key is to just relax and enjoy every little bit of planning.

Oh and we set a date! October 28. 2011 shall be an incredible day. We are so excited!

Thank you so much everyone for the congratulatory wishes! They truly mean so much!

Yesterday was the best day of my life (to date, anyway)

It was my 24th birthday yesterday and my incredible boyfriend took me on the most AMAZING picnic EVER. He took me to the park where we had one of our very first dates so many years ago when we were much younger (teens) and also the park we have visited many times before. It's a beautiful park in the the historic district of downtown Pensacola overlooking the water. One of my favorite places in our city. The weather was PHENOMINAL. It could not have been more perfect in anyway. The sun was shining and the light breeze and 70 degree temperatures were impeccable.

Ben spread out a blanket and got the most delicious food from a quaint deli in Pensacola.

We sat and ate, talked about how gorgeous and perfect the day was and just enjoyed each other's company. It was just such a sweet, special moment and I was thoroughly enjoying every single second.

Lo and behold, he begins talking about memories we've had in that park (some, awkward but most, amazing- we were laughing about it mostly) and he then goes to pull something out of his jacket pocket and continues talking about how he's always known that he wanted to spend his life with me and then he ASKED ME TO MARRY HIM!

I was speechless to say the least- tears immediately surfaced and through my clouded vision I looked down at the most perfect, flawless, gorgeous , breathtakingly beautiful ring I have EVER seen in my entire life (and I AM NOT joking)...

He then went to his car and got "THE JOURNAL". Rewind to when I was 17 years old- Ben gave me a red leather journal when he first started showing interest in me. He knew I loved to write and he knew I loved red. He wrote a sweet little note inside of it and it was the first gift he ever gave me. I actually never wrote in it. I just kept all of our things within it- pictures, letters etc. When Ben and I got back together in 2009, I made that journal into "Our Story"- I started from the very beginning of the day that we met, through the heartbreak of our seperation, in between when we were apart all the way up to our reuniting in October of 2009, including pictures, letters, memories and conversations we had that I printed and kept. I also included scraps from dates we had been on and so on and so forth. I worked on it while he was gone on tour last summer and gave it to him when he returned home. The journal still had many empty pages and so he took the time to write in it almost every day from when I gave it to him! He documented our holidays together, times we were apart, special times and dates and just the sweetest, most romantic things you could ever imagine. He wrote in it the night before he proposed and it was the most beautiful thing I have ever read.



I read the second half of the journal in it's entirety and continued to bawl my eyes out. I was absolutely overwhelmed in every sense of the word and could not stop feeling like I was in the most amazing dream I had ever had.



A couple had watched us from a bench the entire time and came over to congratulate us. It was so sweet.



I did manage to snap a picture (believe it or not). Kinda nice you can't see my red eyes and runny makeup through my sunglasses. I assure you, it's there.

And the ring again...

It's perfect.



He's perfect.



We're perfect together.



WE'RE GETTING MARRIED IN OCTOBER! I am elated. I couldn't be more happy or sure about anything! The plans are already rolling! I can't wait to marry the love of my life.

Homemade spring.

Well, the beauty of spring has officially made it's debut! Flowers and trees are blooming all around here in pretty Pensacola. See?

I love it. My sinuses, however, do not.

To celebrate, I crafted this masterpiece (actually, I didn't even have a hint of spring on my mind when I made this but it sounds good, so yeah).

Photo frame- .49 cents

Floral Fabric- .79 cents

Polaroid of the love of my life and I- Free!

I quite like it and it goes nicely with my excessive frame collection and display pictured below...

Hope you're all well!