Craigslist is da bomb

So... I posted an ad on Craigslist this weekend looking for large amounts of Mason jars.

Tonight I met a man in a Panera parking lot and drove away with 93 Mason jars for 25 bucks! Upside... saved a ton of money on jars and I have a headstart on wedding decor! Woot! Downside... there are literally 93 Mason jars in boxes in the backseat of my tiny Mazda. What the heck do I DO with them?!?! I'm not so sure my roommates will be thrilled if I stack them in our living room, plus lugging them all to my upstairs apartment (in the rain mind you!) sounds like a job for a different day. So... I guess until I can get to it tomorrow night, I will be riding around town looking like a bag lady who collects canning jars. Awesome.


Also... just realized, that was my official first wedding purchase! Yay, someone take a picture and put it in a scrapbook.

A Fall Afternoon

We took some of our own Engagement Photos this past Sunday, many thanks to our Maid of Honor, Sarah for helping us!

This one makes me happy...

Wedding Nightmares

In the past week I have had 3 nights of scary dreams involving my wedding. I remember having similar dreams before graduating college… you know the ones where you sign up for a class but forget to go to it, only to realize on graduation day that you skipped an entire class that last semester and now you can’t graduate! That dream haunted me for a while… even after college was over. In fact, just writing about it gives me the shivers…

But the wedding dreams are terrible. I had a dream that I forgot to buy a dress, and on my wedding day I was so upset that I forgot about the dress, I cancelled the wedding. Ew. I thought this wedding stuff was supposed to be fluffy and happy… not stressful and scary!

At least I’m not having any crazy dreams where AJR turns into a hairy monster with fangs once he is a husband or something like that. Oh no… hopefully my brain isn’t getting any ideas…

Sugar Magnolia... Blossoms Blooming...

(I am now humming the Grateful Dead song...)

My aunt had a brilliant idea today when we were emailing back and forth about possible reception sites, what those sites would look like with different decorations, and what kind of flowers I would want, etc.

So far, the flowers are the one thing I just really want to put at the bottom of the list. I love flowers, but I feel like I never even remember what the flowers looked like when I'm at a wedding, and they are so gosh darn expensive (which apparently is a big theme for wedding related items) - plus they die the next day, so sad.

I told my aunt that I really just want an outdoor setting (lots of green grass nearby and hopefully set on the water with a nice view) so floral arrangements would be pretty unnecessary. I am also tunneling all my hopes into the mason jar idea, so flowers are just not a priority! 

She suggested magnolia blossoms among the mason jars with the candles and I am in love with the thought. Yet another classy Southern idea!

I love their blooms... so pretty and simple. I also think adding green hydrangeas to an arrangement would be very pretty! (Classic Bride suggested the flower girl carrying a magnolia blossom... oh, how sweet!)

Pictures above from: www.greenvilledailyphoto.com/index.php/2007/05/ and http://classicbride.blogspot.com/2009_02_01_archive.html

The Ring

Alright, so I finally found my battery charger (who knew one could accidently place camera equipment in the bathroom closet right next to the basket of shampoo and extra razor heads? oops.) which means I finally decided to take some pictures of my ring.

I couldn't help but feel really odd about it. Where do I take a picture of it at? Is this totally weird that I am about to showcase jewelry on a blog? Whatever. I decided other people find it necessary so I can only feel bad about it for a minute. (Or two.) I've also decided that pictures NEVER do justice. They are always deceiving! (I'm sorry photography, I didn't mean it.. I love you. But really, you never accurately depict anything! Whether it's for better or worse!) <-- Yes, totally lame marriage pun.

So yeah... I think like all things, seeing in person is just much much better than a photo posted online.
However, I am again in awe of the beauty of the ring. AJR- you are amazing. Seriously... where do they make men like you? I think people will be asking me how to get one of their own soon!

So... I am obsessed with pave. Which is what it's called when the stones are set very close together (in this case, around a bigger stone). I think it is very vintage and unique. The center stone happens to be my mom's old stone from her first engagement ring. Family heirloom! (I think I found my "something old" yay!)

AJR wanted to have twists in the side of the band... that was his idea and what he really envisioned before going in to have it made. I think it is so beautiful. (Plus I just love that he felt so strongly about a specific idea for me :)

 

So, yep. There it be. I love it. I love it. I love it!

(now do not judge me for posting pictures of my ring online. i'm still having insecurity about the issue. the end.)

10.03.09 Officially Official

So even though this is 10 days late (ahhh how have I neglected thee blog in such ways? my sincerest apologies!) I am happy to announce that AJR and I are officially ENGAGED! I think it took me this long to write it because I have had to use my hands to help mold my face back to a normal expression due to the excessive smiling.

 This past week and a half has been crazy with all the phone calls, Facebook messages, texts, etc. I have felt so popular lately! I am still trying to get back to people who have been trying to get in touch with me (one person at a time! or else I shall explode) but it has been overwhelmingly amazing to have so many people be happy for us. If you are one of them reading this, thank you! <3

 You’re probably thinking “okay okay, enough jibber jabber… where’s the picture of the ring?!?!”. Unfortunately I have misplaced my camera battery charger (eek) but as SOON as I uncover it (most likely in one of my travel bags from driving all over the state of Virginia every weekend) you will get to feast your eyes on my beautiful engagement ring. I can tell you this… he done good.

 As for the proposal… it couldn’t have been more us. Awkward, funny, and adorable are my choices of words to describe the event. No airplanes flew above with banners proclaiming AJR’s love for me, there weren’t fireworks, people risking their lives, or even flowers. Whew. I am not exactly the typical romantic, so I am pretty thankful that it was simple and (semi) private.

 AJR actually only had the ring maybe all of 20 minutes before he couldn’t stand it anymore (he tells people “It was burning a hole in my pocket!”) and while waiting outside in a random neighborhood in Arlington (killing time before picking up a friend to go to a party) he suddenly started speaking in a language I couldn’t understand (the nervousness prevented him from forming a complete sentence ;) and dropped to one knee on the sidewalk. I must admit, at first I wasn’t sure what he was doing. In fact, I worried that something was wrong. Then it hit me and I was so overjoyed that I may have said yes before he even popped the official question. This part of the story will remain a mystery as our excitement prohibited our memory and normal functioning cognitive skills from working… but the important thing is that he was on one knee, he asked, I said yes, and I can’t WAIT to marry him!!! (no matter what order it all occurred) That night was a lot of fun… we arrived at the party and were able to share our news immediately with all of our closest friends. Couldn’t have been more perfect. (siigghhh)

 Since then AJR and I have begun some actual wedding plans… and are vigorously trying to nail down a date (crossing my fingers for May 15th 2010). We visited a reception site and have almost finished our guest list. My aunt is planning an engagement party for November and I am even looking at dresses tonight! I have to admit I am a little nervous to try on a real life wedding dress for the first time. It’s a bit emotional… but I am so thrilled!

Why do I love this cake stand so much?

(Found it on Once Wed)