Lists

Earlier this week I decided to type up a wedding "to-do" list. It turned out to be 2.5 Microsoft Office pages long. How did that happen? How can we have THAT much stuff to do when we're 42 days away from the big day? I don't know either.

I am truly enjoying every moment of this planning, but I'm gonna keep it real for a second... Planning a wedding is stressful! They don't tell you that when everyone is all rainbows and puppies and say things like, "OMG-you're-engaged-what's-the-date-did-you-get-your-dress!" With that said, I have to admit that I wish time would slow down. Not because there's still a bunch left to do, but because I am trying to take in every second of what's happening right now.

When I think about the church doors opening, my dad standing next to me and I see Adam for the first time, I get butterflies. BIG butterflies. Like I said, I'm enjoying this process. So, Time... Can you slow down? Please and thank you.

My Microsoft List is basically a more detailed version of this list:

• Church
• Venue
• Food and Drink Options -Meeting is set up for August 20th!
• Photographer/Videographer
• My Dress
• Bridesmaid Dresses
• Tuxedos - Picked out and the men just need to get fitted
• Band/DJ
• Transportation
• Hotels - I decided not to post intimate details on this website about the wedding. You know, for safety reasons.
• Rehearsal Dinner Location
• Florist
• Cake/Desserts
• Invitations - Thanks to our wonderful friends, they are being custom made for us! They've officially been sent out and we've received responses back already!
• Marriage License - We'll be doing this after our Pre-Cana. Did you know you get a discount if you've completed a marriage prep course? I'll take it!
• Honeymoon - We're still deciding... Someone help us... we're struggling!

It's really the little things now: Sending the band our play/do not play list, scheduling flower pick-up, confirming appointments, dress fittings, seating chart, etc.

I love lists. They make me happy. And I love you. You make me happy because you're here, reading our blog! :)

With 7 weeks to go...

...it was time to put the invitations in the mail!

A HUGE, over-the-top, give you a big, fat kiss on the lips, THANK YOU to Melanie and Jeff (who just got married yesterday) for making my vision come to life! And not only did they create our invitations with their own two four hands, but they finished them just FIVE days before their own wedding. I owe them my soul. No, really, I do.

I'd give you a little preview of what's to come, but you're just going to have to wait. So, go check your mail! Oh, it's Sunday... Darn! Go check tomorrow! :)

Surprise!

Last weekend Adam and I went to Jacksonville for what I thought was a mini-getaway for he and I. Boy, was I wrong! He told me that he got a bed-and-breakfast for us in St. Augustine and that we would head down there around noon on Saturday because he planned a brunch for us. I was only told one thing: to wear a "nice dress." If you know me at all, you know that I'm a planner. I like to know what is happening, at what time and how it will all work. I need to be in control of the situation. Adam is so far from being a planner that it's actually funny. When he wouldn't tell ONE thing about the weekend, I slightly stressed. And in the midst of wedding planning? What was he thinking?! I learned something about myself that weekend: I need to let go. Let go of things that are out of my control. Let go even when things are in my control. Learn to trust that everything will always work out perfectly -- just the way it's supposed to.

Turns out, our little "getaway" was my surprise bridal shower. And... man, oh man, was I surprised!

(Thank you to Mary and Tom for snapping such awesome pictures!)

I am so humbled to be surrounded by such fantastic women in my life. How did I get so lucky? And I'm gaining even more wonderful women by marrying into such an amazing family! Thank you to everyone that contributed to that wonderful day, both near and far!

I highly recommend!

Yum! Isn't all this food making you hungry?

The best raspberry champagne I have ever had!

I love my flower girl!

Adam's mom passed down their family Bible to us. The most heartfelt gift I have ever received!

That afternoon went by so fast and I feel like I didn't even get to talk to everyone that was there! Now I understand why they say your wedding will go with a blink of an eye. Thank you again for everyone who was a part of this wonderful day! A big thank you to my bridal party, my mom, future MIL and Aunt Marina!

XO!

Time Flies When You're Having Fun!

Two weeks ago today, I was sailing away... Where does the time go? We booked that cruise back in March and it's already over!

The future Mrs. Crass and the future Mrs. Johnson!

I'm so thankful to have this wonderful group of girls in my life.  Such a wonderful mix of my family, new friends and old friends! Putting 14 girls together on one cruise ship for four days could get ugly, but not with this group. I have never laughed so hard, or that much, in such a short amount of time. Two weeks later and I still laugh when I think about those four days.

Thank you, ladies, for being you. Thank you for sharing in this exciting time in my life. Thank you for the incredible laughs (and the few cries). Thank you for dancing with me until four in the morning. Thank you for the advice you gave. Thank you for taking care of me when the seas got rough. ;) Thank you for all of the thoughtful things you did. Seriously, THANK YOU for EVERYTHING! I love you all!

Hair and Makeup

If you're a man reading this post, you might as well hit that little X in the top right corner (or red circle on the top left corner if you're a Mac). I'm a PC, though, so I would hit the said X. I digress...

My hair and make-up trial for the wedding was a couple of weeks ago and oh, was it fun! We brought wine and snacks and closed down the salon! Three and a half hours later, I was wedding ready...

Did you honestly think I would post the picture?! I. Don't. Think. So.  Before I left, my hair was taken down and the bajillions (yes, that's a word) of bobby pins were left at the salon. It was such a good time, though. I could get used to someone doing my hair and make-up every day. Ladies? Are you with me?

Other than feeling glamourous, it was so wonderful spending time with the people I love! Unfortunately, that's the only blog-friendly picture I have.

As always, thank you for reading!



Bon Voyage!

Remember a few months ago when I talked about our bachelor and bachelorette parties? Well, it's that time! Sort of..

Adam's bachelor party was pushed back a couple of months. We have/had quite a few friends get married this year, so dates have been tossed around a bit. His party will be closer to the wedding... and I'll definitely be back to share the goods about that trip!

...But on Thursday afternoon...

 ...I'll be sailing away with 14 fabulous women! My very good friend, Melanie, is getting married in October, so we decided to combine our bachelorette parties. Four full days of sun and cocktails with most of our favorite ladies! I say most because a few were unable to come. :( You will be there with us in spirit and we'll be sure to celebrate when we return, too! That's one thing I love about my group of friends... they sure know how to party!

The cruise takes us to Atlantis, which I'm really excited about!

But they won't be getting me on this...

Has anyone ever been there? I hear it's pretty nice.. and has good shopping! Sounds good to me! :)

I'm off to go finish packing. I fly to Jacksonville in the morning and have my trial hair appointment tomorrow night. I'm going with about 20 different pictures that I like... It should be fun! :)

Hope everyone is having a happy Monday!

Back in the saddle...

Hellloooo...

I fell off the wagon. Hard. So hard, I broke my toe. No, really, I did break it. That’s a whole different blog post, though.

Anyway, a dear friend of ours said to me, “I think you bit off more than you can chew with that blog, Lauren.” But I like to think of it as the wedding planning kind of came to a halt, which in turn, made the writing come to a halt. Maybe?

Either way, I'm back! We’re three months and ten days away from being husband and wife! Can you believe it? We surely can’t! Everything is really starting to come together, too. Let’s look at that list I started with about eight months ago, shall we?

• Church
• Venue
• Food and Drink Options -Meeting is set up for August 20th!
• Photographer/Videographer
• My Dress
• Bridesmaid Dresses
• Tuxedos - Picked out and the men just need to get fitted
• Band/DJ
• Transportation
• Hotels - More info to come!
• Rehearsal Dinner Location
• Florist
• Cake/Desserts
• Invitations - Thanks to our wonderful friends, they are being custom made for us!
• Marriage License
• Honeymoon - We're still deciding...

Not bad, right? I have to admit that I totally understand why people hire wedding planners now. There are just so many little details that you don’t think of. Then when the issue pops up you’re thinking, “duh, why didn’t I think of this sooner?” Oh yeah, that’s right… I’ve never done this before. Thank goodness for help from awesome family and friends!

With the wedding approaching so fast, we’ve been frequent visitors to Jacksonville. In fact, we just got back from a quick trip for the weekend. We left Atlanta around noon on Friday to get to Jax early for our friend Mandy’s graduation party. (Congratulations!!) However, when we walked in the door, we were greeted with more great news... My best friend is engaged! Holy cow! I think I cried as much as I did when Adam and I got engaged. We couldn’t be happier for the two of them! Double congratulations, Mandy and Brady! We love you both so much!

Saturday was spent meeting with our priest, Father John (who is just so wonderful) and attending a natural family planning class (don’t knock it ‘til you learn about it). The day went pretty fast, but it always does when we're only there for a short visit.  

So now I should be back with more frequent updates. And I do apologize for being too lazy busy to blog. These past few months have been crazy for us. Remember that adorable cottage we moved into? Yeah, it turned out to be a bug-infested hot house. Haha. I can laugh now, but for a long time, let’s just say I wasn’t laughing. Our landlord was a jerk and wouldn’t pay for pest control. Everything that we did to fix/prevent the problem just didn’t work, so we vacated pretty quickly. Breaking a lease isn’t fun, but moving into a new, clean place is! We’re finally settled in and are fully focused on the wedding now. Thank goodness!

Adam just turned on Jersey Shore. Let me just make it clear that I have never watched ONE episode. I am in shock at what I’m seeing. I can’t stop shaking my head and it’s completely taking my mind off of what I’m writing. So ‘til next time ladies and gents… And do me a favor, go watch something with a little more substance. Or read a book. Please? I'm definitely going to!

P.S. Hey, Brad! :)