'I Do' - Wedding Day Details

I am really looking forward to our Florida trip- it is going to be so much fun....but i am most excited about Wednesday, August 10th- Our Wedding Day!

Candace from Key Dreams Weddings is really the one to thank for all of the work she has put in to planning our wedding day. We knew that when we decided to have a destination wedding that we would need someone we could trust to help make this event possible.  She is definitely the person for the job- she is taking care of pretty much everything that is wedding day related.  She is even going to be our officiant :)

Here are the details that we currently have for our big day:

Location- On the beach at the house we rented

Officiant- Candace from Keys Dream Weddings

Music- Steel Drum :) Listen to a sample of what it will sound like here!

Bouquet- Not set in stone yet but will probably look something like this!

Hair and Makeup- I'm going to go with something like this!

We will be having Shannon come to the house we are staying in to do our hair and makeup!

Cake- Not set in stone yet but will probably look something like this or this! (instead of the pink- it will be blue and green)

Attire- I will be wearing an ivory dress that i purchased a few weeks ago- pictures will be shown after the wedding ;).  Chris will be wearing khaki linen pants with a white linen shirt.  We will both probably be barefoot. :)

Food- We will have a private chef come to the house to prepare food while we are getting married.  The spread will include fresh fruit with key lime dipping sauce, seared ahi tuna, beef tenderloin, etc.  Yummy!

I cannot wait- were are almost in the 100 day countdown!

Stay tuned for reception details!

'I Do'- A Week in Paradise

When Chris and I got engaged we knew immediately that we did not want a traditional wedding. Most of my friends have had traditional weddings, and as lovely as they all were, i knew i did not want to plan one for myself. Once we decided we didn't want a traditional wedding the next big decision to make was picking a place! As much as we would have loved to go to Hawaii or Jamaica- we knew realistically that was not in the budget. I remember one day Chris and I were talking about possible places to go to get married and it was like a lightbuld went off- i thought back to the family vacation we had taken earlier in the year. In March (2010)- we took a long weekend trip to Florida- making stops in Islamorada and Key Largo. Both places were amazing- it was like we were in a tropical paradise. We had such a great trip- and definnitely made a pact with my family that we would definitely return in the future! We knew that we wanted to have our wedding in Key Largo- we just had to convince our families! :)

Both families took well to the idea - I think they are all excited that they get to come! We set the date and told our families that they should have their bags packed and ready to board a plane in August!

We are making a vacation out of this- everyone will be spending an entire week in KL. We will arrive in Florida August 6th and leave August 13th (the 1 year anniversary of our engagement).

We have a lot of fun things planned during the week that we will be there- below are details we have already planned, if more gets added i will be sure to update!

Day 1- August 6th

Our flight leaves RDU at 9:50 am. Fifteen of the seventeen people that are coming will be on the same flight- good times are ahead :)! We will arrive in Ft. Lauterdale before 12 noon- Lora and Matt will be meeting us there. We will be renting vehicles and then making the almost 2 hour drive to the Keys.

Day 2- August 7th

We will probably take it easy this day- im sure some cocktails will be sipped by the pool at the house. :)

Day 3- August 8th

Most of the boys will be heading out bright and early for a fishing trip. We have 2-3 chartered boats for the boys to jump on and fish their hearts out for the day- here is to hoping they catch something! While the boys are on the water the girls will be at the salon getting pedicures!

Day 4- August 9th

My aunt is throwing me a luncheon this day- all of the girls will get together for lunch. The boys are going to all get together for a 'grooms' luncheon at a seperate restaurant :)

The wedding planner that we hired will be over at the house that afternoon to go through wedding day details - we will have a quick run through of the ceremony. We will also have a 'rehearsal' dinner that night- currently the location is TBD.

Day 5- August 10th

Wedding Day!!!! - More details in another post!

Day 6- August 11th

Chris and I will officially be on our honeymoon! :)- Details in another post!

The rest of the family will probably be sunbathing at the house and/or fishing!

Day 7- August 12th

More honeymooning for Chris and I!

And more relaxing for the rest of the crew!

Day 8-August 13th

Time to go home- Chris and I will be meeting up with the everyone this day to make the trek back to North Carolina.....dont worry the honeymoom/celebrations are not over yet! :)

Stay tuned for wedding day and honeymoon details.....

'I Do' - Key Largo style :)

I wanted a place to add information about my upcoming wedding so that i could look back at some point and see all of the hard work and fun that went into planning such a special day. I want to give credit where credit is due- none of these plans would have been made had it not been for my wonderful mother. She has really planned most of the wedding- and I've added my '2-cents' in here and there! :)

I will do separate posts for all of the details- first up:

Location...

Below are pictures of the house we have rented and the actual location of the 'I Do's' :

(View of the house from the water)

(I will be getting married somewhere amongst the palm trees on the beach)

(View of the pool from the house)

(View of the pool/beach)

The Collins family will stay at a separate house near by- this is the main house that will act as the central location for everyone.

I cannot wait to get there in August- these pictures are heaven!

Click here to see more pictures of 'Sunset Elegance'

Stay tuned for details about the ceremony!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to the sweetest dog I know- Beazley!

(His birthday was actually April 15- i am a few days late!)

We celebrated by spending friday night hanging on the couch- he got extra belly rubs, tons of kisses, and a few extra treats! He is very loved!

Meet the family!

Both Chris and I are huge animal lovers- when we started dating I was excited to learn that he had a dog too. I couldn't wait to get our dogs together- and as Chris and I developed our relationship, so did the dogs. They have become such great buddys - they're truly 'two peas in a pod'! So without further ado....

Beazley Vestal

Beazley is a mut that I adopted from the Animal Protection Society of Orange County almost 3 years ago. He was brought to the shelter when he was just 5 days old- he and his brother were found on the side of the road. He lived in the shelter for the first 3-4 months of his life. When I first bought my home in Greensboro I knew that I wanted to get a dog of my own right away- I felt like that would make my home complete. One sunday while 'visiting' the shelter to see what dogs were available for adoption- Beazley (named Rerun at the time) caught my eye. I just knew at that moment that I had to help this sweet dog. I signed the papers on the spot and Beazley and I never looked back!

Beazley is the most gentle dog i know- he is definitely a 'mommas boy'. By far his favorite thing to do is sleep. Most often you will catch Beazley snoozing in the back bedroom while everyone else is hanging out in the living room. He is the first one to jump in the bed at night and the last one to get up in the morning. From what I can tell Beazley is both Hound and Lab. He has the 'howel' of a beagle or hound and the coat of a Lab. I belive he also has some Greyhound in him - by the way he runs and sits. He loves to hang with his brother, go for walks, rides, and snuggle with his mom!

Current Stats-

Age- 3

Weight- 54lbs

Birthday- April 15, 2008

Dutch Collins

Dutch is a Pit Bull that Chris adopted a little over 7 years ago. A man was selling Pit Bull puppies on the side of the road in Greensboro. Chris was interested in getting a puppy so he stopped by- Dutch was by far the most active puppy in the group. Chris knew as soon as he saw Dutch that he would be a good addition to his home- they have been best buds ever since.

Dutch is still the most active 'puppy' i know. He has so much energy all the time. By far his favorite thing to do is go for walks outside and eat. He loves to play catch with his dad too. Most often you will find Dutch wherever Chris is- he is never far from his side. He has a big bark but is really very gentle, he sounds much scarier than he is. He loves to play with his brother, chew his kong, check his bowl for food and snuggle with his dad!

Current Stats-

Age- 7

Weight- 56lbs

Birthday- February 21, 2004

Welcome...

Welcome to my blog! I have been reading blogs for about a year now, but am new to having my own.

My purpose for this blog is to document plans for my upcoming wedding as well as try to capture tidbits of this crazy thing called life!