these are the days of our lives

Helloooo clusterfuck of a life! Everyone told me you'd be creeping up on me around this time, but I actually believed there was a chance of me keeping you at bay. Giant fail. I haven't resorted to freaking out, in fact, based on the technical definition, I'm not even stressed. Yet. My to-do list is growing rapidly and I'm just...well, I'm laughing. And very, very happy.

Could you imagine a better event to have a to-do list for? And can you imagine me trying to keep still at work for 8+ hours a day if I wasn't swamped? I'd be like a 5 year old the day before a trip to Disney World, a college kid sitting through class on a Friday...you get the point. Really, really impatient.

J and I keep joking that we may not have friends once we're finally married for all of the invites to things we've had to turn down. As I write this I am thinking about the first 'Canes game of the season that we were supposed to attend with some friends on my softball team...instead, we're gluing, hole-punching and ribbon tying our way through 120 ceremony programs and hopefully getting some shagging practice in (the dance, sickos). Martha Stewart Weddings has been a godsend in the world of seating charts - you really can't beat their planning tools. Check 'em out if seating 175 guests seems like a daunting task...it makes it sort of fun!

With the wedding just 2 weeks away, I've found it much more difficult to keep up with the wedding blogs I have stalked for the last 11 months. The inspiration I am getting is impossible for me to execute with the amount of time I have left while maintaining my employment status and not driving my fiance completely insane. I still marvel at the creativity of some of the brides out there - and since I'm one of the first to go, I look forward to helping my close friends plan their weddings one day because I am a wealth of ideas that would be so fun to execute on someone else's budget! What are some things you did in the 11th hour to add some flair to your big day?

One blog that I haven't skipped a beat on is The Broke Ass Bride's Wedding in a Week Giveaway - invites, a wedding gown, flowers, customized card boxes... She's got sass and flair and a whole lot of goodies to give away - check it out!

The wedding photography hasn't gotten old whatsoever. Some eye candy for your Friday...

Image from Pat Dy Photography

Images by Jessica Johnston Photography

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

gotta do your own thing your way

So the Chicago trip was canceled. Also, VH1 didn't air a new episode of Real & Chance 2 this week for my trash-tv lunch crew to watch today, my favorite Mexican restaurant in my hometown (and also the location of my bridesmaid luncheon...) burned down last night and it's proving to be impossible to get the cat smell out of my guest bathroom. Cue the tiny violins.

I'm going to delay getting into my trashy reality tv obsession for now - but just know I'm human and we all have weaknesses. Weaknesses that sometimes involve knowing all the words to the 'Kendra' theme song.

My bridesmaid luncheon will simply have to move to another locale - thank god this particular Mexican restaurant has spread it's seed all over the Peninsula and has other locations to choose from. While the location that burned down is/was most definitely my favorite, I was fortunate to make one last trip on Labor Day with one of my beautiful bridesmaids and dashingly handsome fiance where I proceeded to eat enough chips, salsa and the infamous 'white sauce' to feed a small village. Thankfully, Jason loves me despite my propensity to eat my body weight in tortilla chips. Most importantly, the margarita-infused wedding weekend kickoff plans will not have to be revised!

I'm still combing the internet for great wedding photography and TTD pics. Lately, Jason Lanier has really caught my attention.

The middle picture reminds me of my childhood pool-filled summer days trying to mimic Ariel from 'The Little Mermaid' as she leaps from the water onto the rock, mid-song, and nails the perfect hair flip. But in a wedding dress.

Is the third picture even real?! It looks like a painting. Such talent.

I've decided to postpone my own TTD session till next summer for numerous reasons. For starters, I want to play in water. Since I'm a wuss in the cold, that just does NOT sound like fun until the summer time. But primarily, my mom is probably going to lose her shit when she finds out and I'm hoping 8 months or so after the wedding may have given her some time to forget about the dress she spent hundreds of dollars on. Not likely, but we'll keep our fingers crossed.

On the photography train, I wish I would have thought to register at Etsy. For 98798754 reasons, but I'm totally digging the photography at bomobob's shop. I can already see this as a nice touch in our guest bathroom:
I'm a rational gal' though, and 'Project Home Decor' won't kickoff till I'm a Mrs. and 'Project Get Married' is a wrap.

It just took my breath away when I confirmed the countdown...but only 38 days to go!

contagious happiness

I had THE email I was waiting for in my inbox this morning - my bridal session proofs were ready to look at! Stephanie really outdid herself, yet again. I can't even begin to tell you how much fun the morning was. My mom and sister came with me to City Center in Newport News and I got to play in my beautiful dress and sassy heels for 2 whole hours. I'm so jealous of models who get paid to do what I graciously paid Stephanie to do for me. I can not adequately describe how it feels to wear a wedding dress, your wedding dress. Suffice it to say that it would absolutely make a list of the top 10 things that make me incredibly happy.

I'm trying this new thing where I don't blab every detail of the wedding to everyone. That's a bold faced lie. I'm actually only trying to not show the dress to everyone. Except for my bridesmaids, immediate family, and co-workers...so, I guess just not to the majority of the people receiving invitations. If you've met me, you know it's really really difficult for me to keep a secret. I want to share more pics from the session, but I'm going to only show two not so revealing ones. Check out Stephanie's blog for more of her awesome work!



On a side note, I'm dying to catch 500 Days of Summer! Zoey Deschanel is adorable and quirky and the soundtrack is really good, too. Has anyone seen it yet?

I Can't Help It...It's What I'm Into...

I realize that I blog a lot about weddings...but here's the thing, I'm getting married in 4 months (127 days to be exact, not that I'm counting...) so I can't exactly fault myself that my current fascination (obsession?) is all the awesome ways couples are infusing creativity into their big day. I started blogging in an effort to try to make myself be more creative, however, I'm finding that my waves of creative ideas come at inconvenient times when it's not possible to document them - when I'm on runs or at the gym, when I'm sitting in a training session at work, driving in my car - and by the time I'm in front of the computer and able to post, the ideas are gone - or they don't seem quite as good as they did before. I have great admiration for people who's livelihoods depend on their ability to churn out creativity on a daily basis.

What I haven't dissapointed myself on is the ability to find other people's creativity and share it with my small audience. Getting back to my wedding fascination, I more specifically have found myself being drawn to the inspiring things photographers and videographers are producing. I mentioned in an earlier post my desire to do a trash the dress session. I found another incredible shot of a TTD session...

How much fun are they having? I mean really, her smile is priceless.

And then there's this video from Still Motion Photo + Cinema. They create videos of TTD sessions that really capture the playfulness of these types of photo shoots.

Frances + James TTD - Times Square + Coney Island from StillMotion on Vimeo.

I have one final "props" to dish out to The Broke-Ass Bride. Another couple that looks like a blast to hang out with, their pictures were out of this world amazing!Here are a few of my favorites:



And I definitely cannot forget to include the video they put together...check out The Fresh Hubby of LA...

Fresh Hubby of LA from Digital Princess Productions on Vimeo.

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To end on another happy note, it's *Friday* and in a few short hours I'm heading up to Richmond to have a girls weekend with some of my very best friends. I'm even having my first bridal shower tomorrow! I'm too excited for words. Happy weekend!

Holiday Weekend

Today I am happy about everything! I have 4 glorious days of vacation ahead of me that I'm spending at Lake Gaston with Jason and some of my very best friends. I got into work at 7am (say whaaat?!) and have been viciously attacking my 20 deep to-do list (only down to 6 tasks left! uh-oh!). Keane is serenading me through my headphones and I'm loving it. I found more fabulous pictures taken by Pat Dy that made my heart smile. I might spend a little too much time stalking his site and gawking at all the incredible moments he captures. This one was my favorite today:


So it's time to wrap up the day, go spend some time with Janay (my little sister through the Big Brothers Big Sisters program) and head to the lake to jump off 2 story docks, cook out, and spend unforgettable moments with unforgettable people.

It was just another night
with the sun set
and the moon rise not so far behind
to give us just enough light
to lay down underneath the stars
listen to all the translations
of the stories across the sky
we drew our own constellations.
-Jack Johnson

Have a great weekend!

Trash the Dress?

What are your thoughts on trash the dress sessions?! I have one opinion...I want one! I want to get all messy in my dress and take hot, steamy pictures with Jason in his suit - the kind you can't take in the 45 minutes between the ceremony and the reception with your entire family and wedding party around. I want to put on some bright colored pumps and a hot pair of sunglasses, vamp up the make-up and just have fun with it! Here are some of my favorite TTD pics. Enjoy!






And check this out...


...further proof that Stephanie really knows her stuff! Can't wait for post-wedding photo sesh fun!