Three weeks and six days after our photo shoot, we got our engagement pictures back! Meaning that clearly I’m going to have to overload you with lovely photos in this post.
All images via Niki Marie Photography.
Looking back on my favorite pictures of the photo shoot, I’m pretty sure I’m laughing in over half of them. It’s real laughter—I promise!
Larisha is selling a set of three ivory antiqued birdcages. She is asking $65.
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Double digits, hive. When did this happen!? OK, I mean, I know when this happened (with the use of a calculator, obviously, because I’m horrible at math), but I can’t believe that we’re already in the double digits and going down quickly!
So much is going on, it’s unreal to think of just how little time there is between now and our big day. And that time is going to fly by because I’m going to be super busy! On the personal side, I got to see one of my favorites, Ed Sheeran, in concert last weekend and I’m taking a five-day trip to Napa/San Fransisco for work. Then, wedding-wise, I still have several small things to check off my to-do list (like shopping for a dress for Momma Otter) and other wedding-related events like my bachelorette party and wedding shower coming up. It will be here before we know it.
But, like I said, I have a hodgepodge of things to catch you guys up on—so here’s the good news! We’ve got our cake and cupcake situation figured out: we’ve officially booked Holy Cow Cupcakes for the wedding! I did a little taste test, and oh man—no wonder they’re named Holy Cow. 
Here’s the cake inspiration:
So I probably should have posted about our registry a long time ago—we put together the various registries wayyy back in September, about a month after we sent the save the dates. But we’ve had to do some major updates to the registry since mailing out the invitations last week. Now the registry was a bit of a challenge for us. See, FH and I have been living together for three years now, so we pretty much have most household items that we need. But even though we already have most things that people typically add to registries, we still wanted to partake in some scanning goodness.
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KitchenAid Martha Stewart Blue Collection / Image via Squidoo.com
We ultimately decided to register at three places—Macy’s, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Amazon. As a fourth option, FH was also adamant about adding in a charity registry, so we opted to support a charity that helps with various relief efforts in Haiti (particularly after the devastating earthquake three years ago). The charity we chose is Partners in Health—we heard about them through our favorite band Arcade Fire who has partnered with them for many years now. I know adding a charity to a registry isn’t necessarily for everyone, but again, since we don’t really need much, it seemed like a good option.
Mtobe is sharing this romantic photo from her engagement session.
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Our arrival at the venue was met with a cloud, (that passed over as quickly, but caused me a tiny panic attack for about 20 minutes) and these lovely scenes:
My custom designed shoes arrived in Chicago early last week and frankly, the welcome party is still raging on…I kid of course, but they are gorgeous. They might not be the wedding shoe for everyone, but to me they are beautiful and perfect for an adult princess or a Cinderella wannabe (as opposed to a small child). And most importantly, they fit. (phew.)
I used the Etsy shop Design Your Pedestal and I can’t speak more highly of its owner, Kate. Not only did she work with me to help create my dream shoes, but she also extended her Black Friday discount so I didn’t have to rush any decisions. And it was HER idea to incorporate our family tartan. 
My initial thought was to have her make square brooches out of our family tartan to used as shoe clips, but she wasn’t happy with how they turned out, so sent me another idea where the fabric was made into a ruffle and highlighted with a sparkly brooch. Well, I loved it.
And with that I’ll leave you with some photos. The pictures don’t do really do the shoes justice, but I can’t bear to keep them a secret! And it only makes sense to share them since you’ve all been on this shoe journey with me from the beginning! Enjoy…
We were really impressed with the Piazza’s Groom’s Suite when we were searching for venues. It’s a nice space for the guys, right off of the chapel and courtyard area, and they have some fun amenities for the guys including a TV and Xbox with games. Unfortunately, Mr. C didn’t get to enjoy those things as much as he would’ve liked because after he got dressed, he headed off to a first look with me! But the Groomsmen hung around in there for a few minutes, and I’m hoping they were able to make the most of their time.
After the photographers and videographers got their shots of me putting on my dress, they all headed over to check out my future hubby while he was getting ready.
Groomsman Tom kindly invited them in…
I was so happy to see at least a few pictures of Mr. C enjoying the food and drinks that had been placed in the suite. Before the wedding, he had chosen ballpark pretzels as a snack to be waiting on them in the suite—seriously, could the guys’ version of a wedding day be any more different from the girls’? There’s no way you could’ve talked us into eating anything with dripping condiments. The guys also enjoyed some champagne and a few Shiner Bocks (there’s nothing finer!) before they had to step into their suits.
Hive, I’ve been struggling the past few weeks with this wedding planning stuff. As we inch closer and closer to the wedding day (we’re 45 days out now), I’m starting to feel suffocated by all of the wedding-related things we still have to do. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this before, but I’m like the world’s worst procrastinator. That being said, a word to the wise: procrastinating might work well enough in college, but it doesn’t work too well with wedding planning. Fellow procrastinators, please heed my warning.
How bad have I procrastinated, you ask? Well, I just booked our cake baker YESTERDAY. I still haven’t booked a florist. We haven’t ordered table linens or dinnerware yet. We’ve yet to make rehearsal or rehearsal dinner plans. And the unfinished ruby slipper sitting on the bookshelf in my living room is about as fun as having a sty in my eye. We’re supposed to meet with our officiant sometime in February to plan out the ceremony details, but we haven’t even finalized the day we’re meeting yet. I have something like fifteen DIY projects still on my wedding to-do list. And to top it all off, I start a new (full-time!) job on Tuesday, which is the day after my mom gets home from the hospital after having surgery to get a pesky kidney stone removed.
And while we’re at it, Mr. A and I are in the process of setting up house in an apartment, and we’ve been busy buying furniture and planning out all of the lovely things that come with that, like setting up utilities and finding an internet provider, etc. I wish so badly that I’d taken care of more of this wedding planning stuff when I didn’t have so many other things on my plate, especially since we’ve been engaged for almost 18 months. I keep mentally kicking myself for all of those wasted days this past summer when I had an ample amount of free time to do all of the little DIY projects I’ve been planning. Now that we’re down to the wire, I’m seriously feeling like I need to cut out a bunch of the little details I’d planned on doing just for the sake of keeping my sanity.
Hey, hive! Monday marked our one year anniversary, and we celebrated the same way as we did on our wedding day: at Bouchon Bistro. After dinner, we made it a point to take photos in front of the sign, like we do each time. Here’s one version of this year’s shot:
Surprise! At the same time that we are transitioning out of being newlyweds, we are beginning the process of becoming parents. Our son is due in a little over four weeks. We couldn’t be more excited to meet him. (Seriously. Let’s get this baby out.)
Overall, this has been a year of growth for us—as individuals, as a couple, as a family. We adopted Tina, our second greyhound; we traveled both domestically (NYC, Chicago, Milwaukee, Vegas) and internationally (Playa del Carmen and Cozumel, Sydney and Melbourne); we bought two new-to-us used cars; we earned job promotions and raises; and we made new friends and spent more time with family. We celebrated the ups, as well as worked through the downs, together. We worked together as a team.
Our wedding day marked a new starting point in our lives, just like our first date did or our son’s birth will soon do. Our wedding day was a meaningful day—but so, to some extent, is every day that we are lucky enough to have together. After all, it’s what you do every day that makes a marriage, that makes it thrive. Remember to hold hands, to go on dates, to talk, to give time and space, to say thanks, to respect one another.
