Bittersweet

I can't say enough how excited I am to get married. Michael is better to me than I ever imagined anyone would or could be. It's mind-blowing to me that this is the person I get to spend the rest of my life with, and I can't wait to marry him and build a home and a life together. Our wedding will be the first and most special day of our new life, and I'm so thrilled to share it with all of our family and friends. Well, almost...

Ty and Lisa, who are South African, are our closest friends, and we asked them right away to be our best man and maid of honor. But, as luck (or rather, un-luck) would have it, they were forced to leave the country back in March due to some issues with their visa. I never dreamed when they left that they wouldn't be able to come back in time for our wedding. But legally, they can't yet.

This is a very bittersweet time for Michael and I. While we are super excited to have the simple & meaningful wedding that we've dreamed of, it's heart breaking to not get to share it with the two people who have been there for us from the beginning. It's hard and it hurts.

Ty and Lisa- we love you, we miss you, and we look forward to seeing you again. It won't be the same without you.

dreamy bedrooms...

puppies!

Lately Michael and I have been talking about getting a dog, down the road, after we've been married for a little while. My brother calls it our "Junior Baby", which I think is perfect. I plan on staying at home and a little companion would be lovely while Michael is away at work. We don't want a big dog- they're way too much trouble- I hate the shedding, the smell, and the barking. So we're definitely looking at a little dog. Pugs, French Bull Dogs, and Miniature Bull Terriers, to be exact. Aren't they SO cute?!!

wedding bands & engagement photos

We got our engagement photos done back in January, but I just had to post a few of them again here. Thanks to Rosemary Ragusa, our photographer- she did a BEAUTIFUL job! She's also doing the photos for our wedding, which I am really looking forward to...

Starbucks Lust

This is my fat kid post. I am obsessed with Starbucks right now, and all of the reasons are a little embarrassing. I've been cutting down on sugar lately, but for a nice treat, there's Starbucks. And you don't have to just limit your sweet-tooth to coffee...there's pastries and ice cream too! See, what'd I say? Fat kid.

My only non-chubby reason for loving Starbucks right now is their 40th anniversary mug, which I find absolutely adorable. I want one!

there's always more...

First let me say that I try really hard not to write about my wedding every single day. If you know me at all, you know that I've been excited about planning this day since I was about 12 years old. Some girls are wedding girls, and some girls are not. I happen to be one, and I'm a proud one at that. With our wedding only four months from tomorrow, things are really starting to come together...here's a little peek at some more of what's been inspiring our big day...

While our cake is only going to be two tiers, it can be expected to look a little like this:

 

I love these old-fashioned candy sticks for favors. Perfect for adding to the decor, keeping with the theme, and carrying home as a sweet treat!

 

 BALLOONS! That's all I'm saying.

These gorgeous circus-themed invitations inspired our own, which we'll be sending out next month...

 More adorable bunting, because I can't convey how cute it's gonna be...

And finally, a tiny glimpse at what influenced me to design my own dress instead of buying one off the rack:

baby, baby

I LOVE this nursery! Just because I don't want to have babies for a few more years doesn't mean a girl can't dream.

5 loves

This is a gorgeous album, one of the best I've ever heard. Adele's voice is pure heaven and I cannot stop listening to it. I've got my fingers crossed that we might use her exquisite cover of Lovesong in our wedding...

I'm really loving the sushi from Ichiban, a new Japanese restaurant in Florence. Michael and I went there on Sunday and I am already craving it again. The price is very affordable- we were both stuffed for less than $25. We're making plans to go there again soon!

Speaking of Michael, we're going through a pre-marital counseling class with our friends Terry & DeeAnn, a couple from our church who've been married for 35 years. We love them! They have us reading a great book about communication, called "Now You're Speaking My Language". It was written by Gary Chapman, who also wrote the popular book, "The Five Love Languages". We're having a great time meeting with Terry & DeeAnn, going through the book, and doing the homework. It's really preparing us for marriage in a lot of ways...

I'm also reading another book, called "Reaching for the Invisible God", which is BRILLIANT, not to mention life-changing. Philip Yancey is a beautiful writer whose books tend to be on the vulnerable side...something I really gravitate toward. For anyone who has struggles making sense of what it means to believe in an invisible God, I strongly recommend this.

Finally, this is the decor inspiration for our wedding! We have a little bit of a circus theme, which I know is unconventional and maybe even a little weird, but Michael and I both really love it. These will be incorporated in both the ceremony and reception decorations.

livin' on a prayer

I've devoted the last couple of days to wedding planning- specifically, the budget, or as I like to call it, the black devil looming over us all. I'm okay with being young, broke, and in love, I really am. But love doesn't pay the bills, and weddings- no matter how simple- are never cheap.

Michael and I are lucky enough to be getting help from our families, which is the only thing that makes our wedding even possible. Without their help, we'd be heading to the courthouse...which, at this point, kinda sounds like a good idea. But I'm not getting married without my beautiful dream dress and that fabulous cake...so we might as well go through with the rest of it.

Don't get me wrong, I'm still excited about all the little details...like the gorgeous dresses that are being made for my bridesmaids. (We're getting them in Corona Blue, Peacock Blue, and Plum) And the one I've designed with a friend of mine, who's been making wedding dresses for 25 years. I would post pictures here, but I want my groom to be wholly surprised come wedding day. But I can say that this dress is gonna turn some heads, for sure. And it's me. It's SO me. :)

At the end of the day, this budget stuff really doesn't matter. All that matters is that we finally get to be married, have a party, and celebrate with the people who love us the most. And all of that makes all of this worth it.

twenty-nine

 My birthday was yesterday, and I am now twenty-nine years old. I am totally not prepared for this. Didn't I just turn 19? I could swear that I did. I was in college at the time- Portland Bible College, and I went for dinner with a huge group of friends at the Old Spaghetti Factory. Somebody brought me flowers. It doesn't seem like ten years could go by so fast, but I guess they did. I digress.

Yesterday was wonderful; Michael and I went to Eugene (where we plan on moving a year or two after we get married) and went shopping. He bought me little gifts as we went along, which he somehow managed to keep hidden from me the whole time. Not to sound greedy or anything, but I just have to say that I am very fortunate that I found someone who loves giving gifts. Unlike myself, Michael is extremely thorough in everything he does, and buying presents is no exception.

This year he also gave me a) a card which b) he wrote in. When I opened the card, I joked that my birthday wish had come true, but I wasn't really kidding. As much as I love presents (and really, who doesn't?) I love expressions of gratitude, affirmation, and love even more. You might say that this makes me needy, and I would not argue with that. I need all that stuff to feel loved, so it means a lot to me when my significant other reaches outside of his comfort zone and opens up in a way that I know is difficult for him. Don't get me wrong- Michael is verbally very encouraging and complimentary all the time. But he hates writing with a passion, so getting that card from him was the best gift I could have received :)

After our big trip to Eugene, we came home to have dinner with my parents, Aunt and Uncle, Grandma, and our friends Ty and Lisa (along with their two precious kids). My Mom set up an awesome taco bar, and then we all had the most amazing cupcakes ever! She has severe food allergies and can't eat (among other things) dairy, soy, or gluten. Freakin' nightmare, is what it is. But we had special red velvet cupcakes and coconut cupcakes and even the frosting was allergy-free. Her recipes came from a book, but still. How they tasted so good, I will never know...

After dessert, I opened presents. My family is so sweet and so generous, and I am truly blessed by everything they gave me.

After I opened gifts, we all played a great game called "Farkle", which is a dice game. I even won! The whole day, from start to finish, was absolutely wonderful. I am so blessed to have such a great family, generous friends, and a loving, caring partner.

cake and pictures

Michael and I had the greatest day on Wednesday. We met with our cake designer Q (yes, that's her real name) at Sweet Life. Our plan is to have a two-tiered cake for the wedding party, with two or three sheet cakes for feeding our guests. The flavors we're leaning towards are coconut cake with strawberry mousse or a lemon poppyseed cake with white chocolate ginger mousse. There will also be one or two other flavors on our sheet cakes, but we haven't decided anything yet.

Our inspiration is this topsy-turvy cake.

Some other fun cakes we like are these:

  

After our cake tasting, we went to Portland and had our engagement pictures taken by Rosemary Ragusa. My brother works for her, and it was fun having him at our photo shoot. We went to the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden, and it was gorgeous and sunny out- a perfect day for taking pictures. Our photos should be ready in a couple of weeks, and I'm really excited to see them.