Something About a Truck

Monday I went to Howe to spend some time with my sweet Mammaw and Pappaw.  I walked into their barn (yes, they live in a big red barn!) and was welcomed by the message pictured above - it's the little things that make my heart smile and remind me how blessed I am to have such sweet, caring and loving grandparents.  I love them so much and cherish every visit, every hug and every laugh!  I was so happy to see them and excited to show them the slideshow I made from our engagement party pictures taken by Allison Davis.  As we were watching together, Pappaw commented on how cool the slideshow was and how it was better than an actual album.  He was so right!  It's amazing how advanced technology changes the way we will remember.  After the slideshow, mom, Mammaw, Pappaw and I sat with each other and talked about how "crazy special" our family was.

Here's the slideshow:

Look what I got in the mail this week!:

Love the stamp!

Matt and I are thrilled to have a family celebration!  And we are so thankful that dad and Shawna are putting so much time and thought into a party for us!  We are looking forward to this so much because we don't want the day of the wedding to be the first time some of our family members meet.  This "I do" BBQ will be the perfect time for everyone to meet, get to know each other and, of course, eat.  It's going to be so much fun!  When dad joined me for lunch this week, we talked all about the upcoming party; but he was sure not to go into any detail as they want us to be surprised!  Dad and I looked through his playlist so I could approve songs for the party - you can't go wrong with a little chicken fried, picture perfect memories, and a red sundress ;)  Name those songs!

Love you dad!

Dancing in September {wedding DIY, Dallas makeup artist}

My other project I did using the engagement party pictures was finally delivered this week!

"You should get married more often" - Rob

If you can't tell, I love pictures.  I just love how a photo captures sweet moments shared between two best friends, a husband and a wife, a mother and a daughter, a son and a father, a big sister and a little sister.  Pictures capture moments that mean so much and document memories that last a lifetime.  I am so excited to send our family and friends a postcard (that I designed!) that has a sweet moment captured by a photograph, a memory that will last forever.  Thank you for being there that day to celebrate and make special memories with us!

Matt and I had a busy wedding-planning-day last Friday.  Like I mentioned, I am looking for a hairstylist. So that afternoon, I met with Anita of Elan Makeup Studio.  She was great and is actually getting married in a couple weeks; so we had fun conversations about wedding planning.  Anita did a makeup trial run since I am planning on having my makeup done for our engagement pictures (scheduled for October).  She did a really good job and didn't stray from my very very particular requests.  Anita switched gears to my hair for the wedding day.  I liked it, but I definitely want to have another appointment with another artist to compare it to.  So my next trial run appointment is scheduled for Sep. 28 with Courtney at Chi Ro Makeup.  In the meantime, I could get used to all this pampering...

We had a special event to attend later that night (luckily my hair and makeup didn't just go to waste!)  I won't tell you where we went, but I will tell you that we had a blast and that our hearts were ringing in the key that our souls were singing.  ;)

Makeup by Anita

I had to take this week off of any major wedding planning due to my extreme allergies (you know it's bad when you have to cancel a wedding-to-do appointment).  If I can manage to not sneeze a zillion times next week, mom and I plan to check out the Ritz to see if it's a good place for my girls and I to get ready the day of the wedding.  We also plan to start looking at some cool spots to have our engagement pictures taken.  We have one site already agreed upon and Matt can't wait.  No seriously, he can't wait!  You'll see why soon enough, and you'll be so jealous ;)  We just need one more area that gives off a more urban and romantic vibe.  Got any great ideas?  Also, in your opinion, what type/print/color of clothing photographs the best?  I'll need some suggestions since next week the search begins for a couple of great outfits for our engagement shoot.

This weekend we will be in Austin celebrating Jenna and Josh!  Happy wedding weekend friends!  xoxo

  

Cake[less] Tasting {Dallas bakery, wedding DIY}

Last week, mom came down to join Matt and I for our first cake tasting appointment with Frosted Art.  (Mom tasted the cake since I couldn't.  I just tried the icing - "cake[less] tasting" - it was pretty much torture.)  I immediately fell in love with the place just because the building was painted pink!  We met with Melissa, who was super sweet, and spent some time looking through pictures of their cake creations.  Then we started brainstorming and designing my cake.  I'm really excited about my cake because mom and I designed it (we should be in the cake designing business as well as the wedding planning business...)!  My cake is going to be gorgeous, but I have some "homework" to do for it to be complete.  (Frosted Art even offered to make me a separate, smaller, flour-less cake for our wedding day!  Yay, cake for me!)  After designing the bride's cake, we switched gears to the groom's cake.  And you won't believe it, but I let Matt design his own cake!  (I tried, really hard, to keep my input to a minimum...)  I'm so proud of him for designing his cake [and for showing up for the appointment]!  It reflects who he is and what he loves.

Of course, Matt liked the cake that looked like a gun.

Matt isn't paying attention to Melissa, at all...

As soon as we finished designing our cakes, we finally got to taste all the different flavors.  This caught Matt's attention:

So excited!

Loving all that icing...

Thanks for tasting the cake for me, Mom!

[I was planning on scheduling another cake tasting with Dallas Affaires Cake Co.  Let's see if you would hire a wedding vendor if they ran their business like this:  I first called Dallas Affaires on Aug. 28 and left a voicemail.  I expected to hear back from them the next day, but never did so I sent an email explaining that I called and left a voicemail and that I am looking for a bakery for my wedding day.  I received an email back on Sep. 5 asking me to call the next day to schedule and appointment.  As requested, I called the next day and had to leave a message for Margaret.  I didn't get a call back that day, the next day or the next or the next or the next...  So I emailed them, again, letting them know that I left a message and haven't heard back from anyone.  I finally received an email from Margaret on Sep. 12 letting me know that she is out of town but to call the next day and ask for Cassandra so she can get me scheduled.  Again, as requested, I called the following day and asked for Cassandra.  Unfortunately, she was on another call and the receptionist took a message and said she would call me as soon as she got off the phone.......................  I still haven't received that call.  Seriously, this is some of the worst customer service I've experienced.   I am, without hesitation, dismissing their services and will, without hesitation, hire Frosted Art to be my wedding day bakery.  I guess Dallas Affaires Cake Co. doesn't want any more business.]   

So, anyway, back to the fun part...  After our appointment with Frosted Art, Matt headed back to work and mom and I continued our wedding-to-do list for the day.  As aforementioned, I am looking for a place for my girls and I to get ready the day of the wedding, so mom and I went to our next appointment at the W Hotel to view their suites and small event spaces.  Mom and I left that appointment very disappointed.  On to the next...  The Ritz!

Here's some great news!:  We went to Stanley Korshak after our appointment at the W Hotel to put down the deposit for my dress and to see if Haley's veil would match...  It's a match!

I've been anxiously, not patiently, waiting for my project to arrive.  It finally came!  I made a book from the pictures Allison Davis took from our engagement party and am giving each of our hosts a copy as a gift.  I am so excited for them to have a book full of beautiful pictures displaying their love and hard work!  Here's a few pictures of the book :) 

Now I'm just [impatiently] waiting on one more project I did using our pictures from our engagement party.  Some of you will be lucky enough to experience it first hand ;)

Detail Shots {Dallas engagement party @ Times Ten Cellars}

Here are some of my favorite detail shots from our engagement party!:

 

What are your favorites?

Our hosts did an amazing job - thank you so much!  And thank you, Allison, for capturing all the special details of our night and all our hosts' hard work!

Something Borrowed

After posting my need for a makeup artist, I got the sweetest message from my cousin, Christa.  She offered to do my makeup for me on my big day!  (In her message to me last week, she revealed that her love for makeup may have started when I did HER makeup for a middle school dance!)  I had no idea she recently became a MAC artist - how lucky am I?!  So excited to have my sweet cousin be a [very important] part of our day in May!  I am so thankful for such talented family members (you'll see later what another cousin/bridesmaid is doing for me for my wedding day)!  Oh and since Christa lives in California, that just gives me an even better excuse to go visit since she will need to do a couple/few/several trial runs (depending on how many times I want to go to Cali, hehe).

So now all I need to find is the perfect hair stylist.  I emailed Courtney with Chi Ro Makeup & Hair after my photographer, Allison Davis, called me last week after she read my blog (doing this blog was a great idea btw) to recommend her.  (Allison actually used Courtney for her wedding day!)  Courtney is a "celebrity stylist" so I have high expectations.  I've been in contact with Chrio and just need to schedule a trial run!  Matt and I are having our engagement pictures done in October so I think I'll have Courtney do my makeup for that photo shoot (since Christa is in California).  Not sure when I'll schedule a trial run for my hair...I need an event to attend so I don't waste a perfectly good hair do.  A trial run will need to be soon though, so I know if I should book her or move on.

Mom is coming down on Wednesday to join Matt and me for a super busy day of wedding appointments:  12:00 cake tasting at Frosted Art, 1:30 suite viewing at the W Hotel, and a 2:30 appointment at Stanley Korshak (to obviously try it on again and put down the deposit!  Poor Matt, he won't be joining us for this appointment.)  I will be bringing my sister's wedding veil to my dress appointment to see if it will match my dress - something borrowed!  Wearing my sister's veil on my wedding day would be so special and so sentimental.  I hope it matches!

I finally got the engagement party DVD from Allison last week!  Since Matt was dove hunting all weekend, I had plenty of time to work on that project I mentioned in a previous post.  I spent Saturday evening working on it; and now I'll be checking my mailbox twice a day again waiting for the finished product.  Can't wait!  Here's a sneak peak (more pics to come on a later post) of some of Allison's work from our engagement party:

My beautiful bridesmaids (minus Libby)

Thanks to our amazing hosts for an amazing celebration!

September wedding to do list:

-Put down a deposit for the dress, our videographer and reception entertainment
-Decide on the bridesmaid dresses and accessories (I have a dress for my girls in mind!); place an order
-Book a baker, choose wedding and grooms cake design (I've got some ideas!)
-Schedule an engagement photo shoot (planned for the middle of October)
-Set aside a block of hotel rooms for out-of-town guests (we won't have many out-of-towners)

Wow, I cannot believe the summer is unofficially over.  It really flew by, probably because I'm having so much fun being engaged :)

8 months to go!