Southern Bridal Expo

So this was one of the most eventful weekends so far in my wedding adventures.  On Saturday I met with my MOH and went shopping for my bridesmaids dress.  I think I found it:

 After Six 6609

 The color is Pantone Honeysuckle

And for the guys we are thinking of doing bowties in the paisley print shown from Jos A Bank.

We went out for Sushi and had too many drinks afterwards.  My best friend and her husband are natural entertainers and I enjoyed my evening.  The next morning I met with a potential photographer and absolutely LOVED her.  Stephanie B. Kingston, owner of Kingston Photography is going to be my wedding photographer!!!!  We decided at the meeting that I should do Bridal Portraits in the fall since I didn't get to be a fall bride.  Sunday was also the Southern Bridal Expo in Raleigh and my MOH and fiancee attended with me.  I had the BEST time!  I met so many vendors. 

R and I at the "Classy Transportation" booth.

 Best Friend and I having too much fun with the props for the Shutterbooth.  Doesn't her afro look so natural!

Our next trip to the Triangle is in a few weeks and we have a few more vendor meetings set up so I'll be sure to report back as we move forward with planning.  A good friend of mine gave me a planning book from Barnes and Noble, the Gartner Wedding Planner and I highly suggest it.

 And my shoes came in !!!!  I haven't tried these on with my dress yet but I purchased the Lulu Townsend Valissa sling-back in fuschia and ivory.  I'm not sure which ones I'll want to wear.  But they look adorable and the heel is low enough for dancing.

Hmmm...I wonder how everyone else feels about the new blogger layout.   I don't hate it but I'm certainly not as familiar with it.

When, Where, and a Dress

So in my last post I mentioned we have a venue for our wedding... well we also now have an official date!  Originally I was hoping to be a fall 2012 bride but it really was too much too soon.  Within two weeks we were already overwhelmed and felt like we were "behind" on everything.  I wasn't happy that we had to change it but now I think it is the best decision we have made and we've started enjoying the planning process.  We are still getting married at Shady Wagon Farm in New Hill, North Carolina on...
(drum roll please)

March 23, 2013!  One year from the day he proposed to me.  I'm still sad that the proposal was so shocking that I can't remember everything he said but I think setting our date on March 23rd is a sweet way to acknowledge our engagement.

Oh, and I found my dress.  The third dress I tried on at my first bridal shop.  I'll admit that I already knew what I was looking for.  I love dresses and I know what necklines and shapes look best on me.  Mom and I didn't quite agree, her favorite dress was similar to my junior prom dress in shape and although it was beautiful on me, it just wasn't my style.  She also purchased my headpiece and I found shoes online that I love!  R reads my blog so I can't post any pictures of my wedding day outfit but I can tell you that it's perfect for me!

The Southern Bridal Expo is scheduled for this weekend.  R and I are meeting up with my best friend (and MOH) to check out the vendors and maybe get a few ideas.  We are also going to visit a few bridal shops to look at bridesmaid dresses.  I'm looking for something pink, maybe in a flowy chiffon fabric.  My MOH went last weekend and tried on several dresses so I could get an idea of whats available and one of them was adorable.  I can definitely imagine it alongside my dress.

I don't have anymore wedding updates.  I purchased more Ole Henrikson serum and night cream for my birthday - I love this stuff!  I will also be experimenting with hair masques in the next few months and I'll be sure to post some reviews.  I need a trim so I was going to talk with my stylist about a good hair regimen so it'll be healthy and shiny next Spring. I've been in such a rut using the same products and I can't wait to purchase a few new ones to test out!

Birthday Weekend(s)

Since R put this ring on my finger life has gone from 0 to 60 mph!  We are spending so much quality time with friends and family (and we both celebrated birthdays last week!)  My birthday weekend was weekend before last - we went bowling with friends on Friday, shopped wedding venues on Saturday along with a YUMMY dinner at the melting pot, and had a big family engagement /  birthday party with my family on Sunday. 

This past weekend we celebrated with R's family.  Friday evening we had a delicious steak meal cooked at home and Saturday spent time with friends on the golf course.  On Easter we enjoyed a great meal with R's family.   

On an exciting note we have a wedding venue!  I'm sending in the deposit this week and we are so thrilled to become man and wife here:

Brief Engagement update

So we've been engaged nearly a week and I'm getting overwhelmed with all the questions.  We have started the wedding planning fun.  We have asked our wedding party and have two appointments set up this weekend to look at venues.  We will be attending a bridal expo in April and will hopefully meet a lot of area vendors.  R had no idea of the costs of the different elements of a wedding so I've been doing some research for us to be able to plan our budget efficiently.  I can't wait to share our progress on our blog.

I wanted to share a couple of photos from a trip we took a couple weekends ago to Ocracoke Island on the Outer Banks.  We were there for a friend's weddings and enjoyed 4 days relaxing on the island. 

 Our ferry!

 The banks as the ferry pulled in the the bay.

Ocracoke Lighthouse in the distance.

Bathroom at Howards...I thought the Adirondack chair in the corner was a fun touch...that and they have a great selection of beers and I'd worked my way through the list at the point where bathroom pictures seemed like a good idea. 

I have so many more pictures including a great one of R and I standing at the lighthouse.  Those photos are on his camera but I will post them as soon as I learn how to get my precious pictures off his fancy camera.

Our Engagement

I'm engaged! 


R proposed on March 23rd (sorry y'all but family needed to find out first!)  We were having a glass of wine on our back porch before starting preparation for a casual barbequed dinner and suddenly he was down on one knee holding a ring in front of me!  I couldn't have been more surprised.  After a trip to a friend's house and many many phone calls we skipped the cooking all together and celebrated our engagement over sushi.  I was in shock so I can't remember all the sweet things he said but I'll never forget the way he looked at me when he asked me to marry him.  He chose a round solitaire for my ring...it looks beautiful and I love the sparkle!   The only picture I have of the ring is on my phone and isn't the best quality but I wanted to share it with my blog friends!

New Ulta Finds

I've been in a funk lately and I was hoping some new products would give some "oomph" to my routine.

 Essie Luxe Effects in Shine of the Times is a really neat polish.  I should preface this by saying I dislike glitter polish.  I usually buy opaque creamy shades.  This gem layered over any nail polish will give it a totally different look without the chunky glitter feel.  The tiny thin flecks of foil give the polish a wet look - I'm wearing it now actually over Essie Big Spender on the ring fingers only to try it out.  I can't wait to layer this over Essie Mint Candy Apple on our upcoming beach weekend.

 Butter London Wallis.  This is not a pretty shade in the bottle.  In fact, when I picked it up at Ulta - R made a very unsure face. I dislike glitter (see above) and I also dislike iridescent shades of polish normally.  This polish is a little of both...a very olive polish with fine gold sparkle.  It is probably the most unusual polish in my collection and I love it!

 Xen Tan Mousse Intense Weekly Self Tan.  Sally Beauty Supply no longer sells my beloved Tanwise Mousse so I had to find a substitute.  This product retails for $29...quite a bit more than my previous self tanner.  I've used this a couple of times and it is fairly foolproof, I use a pair of reuseable latex gloves from Sally to apply it and the product has a green tint so you can see where you apply it.  The scent is faintly vanilla and it dries quickly.  I didn't notice any bronzer deposit on my sheets or pajamas and the resulting color is a nice medium tan that lasts about 4 days.

I've picked up this Goody Modern Updo hair pin several times in Target, Ulta, Walmart, etc but couldn't convince myself to buy it.  I just didn't see how it could possibly work.  Last Friday I finally bought it and I can't believe how secure my hair twist is without hundreds of bobbi pins.  There are instructions on the box but I highly suggest searching youtube for a good tutorial (there are several).  I can use this from the side and from underneath my hair twist to create 2 different looks.  I have medium-thick hair and the longest layer falls at the top of my bra strap...this works for me.  One word of caution, don't pull the hair too tight at the base of the head when you insert the pin and twist it - this prevents the hairstyle from hurting your scalp.  I had to play with it several times to figure out the best way to use it and now it will probably by my "go-to" for bad hair days - I can make this look cute and professional in less than 10 minutes.

February Craziness and My Lack of Blogging

I fail at blogging...I'm new at pinterest...and I've been slightly more productive with twitter.  The month of February was a fast one for us.  R and I hosted a super bowl party, we celebrated our anniversary, he made a delicious Valentine dinner for us and I went out of town for a dear friend's bachelorette party.  It was a crazy month!  I have a few more photos but we have been taking a lot of pictures with the camera R received for Christmas and I haven't uploaded any of those photos.  Honestly we are both still learning how to use it.  Here are a few from the month that I had on my phone.

 R found this pretty flower tucked in a bush in our backyard on Super Bowl Sunday.

 Presents on the table for Valentine's Day / Anniversary.

 R woke me up one morning with a peppermint mocha and paper.  Such a sweet surprise!

 A special meal!

 My Valentine's Day flowers.

St Germain and Champage cocktail.

Dueling piano bar with a few lovely ladies on bachelorette weekend.