Wedding on the Bay

On the road again... On the road again... In the air again...

Last Thursday I hopped on a plane and headed to Norfolk, Va and then hopped in a car and headed up the Eastern Shore of Virginia where one of my best friends, Alison, was getting married.  Jeff hopped in a car back in Morgntown with another friend of ours, and headed South for the wedding.

I arrived on the Shore very late Thursday evening, despite the nor 'easter that was blowing through as I was traveling.  Luckily my dear friend Alison is an amazing driver and got us through the nasty conditions.  The next morning, we got up early and headed to the reception site and began setting up the room for the festivities.  I had a blast spending time with Alison, and her mom and sister.  We got the room set up in no time and then Alison dropped me off at my hotel where I met up with Kristin - another bridesmaid and one of my friends since 1st grade.

Kristin and I were able to squeeze in a quick game of rummy before getting ready for the Rehearsal Dinner.  Alison picked us up and off we went to a very delicious dinner at the church.  After dinner we moved everyone into the church and began learning what we needed to do the day of the wedding!  The rehearsal went well and we headed north to meet up with our boys for bowling with the bridal party and all of Alison and Michael's friends!  We had a blast!  I was so excited to finally see Jeff!  I realize every day how much I miss being away from him, but when we are reunited I realize even more how much I miss him - especially at the end of a weekend together!

We all headed back to the hotel - thanks to Mike for driving down and bringing Jeff along!  (Mike is Kristin's boyfriend.)  The next morning, Kristin and I got up early and Alison picked us up and we headed out to get our hair done.  While we were there, we finished up a few small wedding details.  Everyone's hair looked beautiful!!!  We had lots of good laughs! :)  The hair dressers thought Kristin and I were sisters!!!  We both explained that if we were sisters, one of us wouldn't have survived this long... haha! :)

After hair, it was off to the reception site to add a few finishing touches and then to Alison's parents house to get ready for the big day!  We had very yummy BBQ ribs for lunch that Papa DeMoss made for us!  Then we hurried into our gowns, put on our make up and helped the bride into her beautiful dress.  The photographer was there before we knew it!  After some photos at the house, we jumped in the cars (Alison, her sister and I jumped in the convertible) and headed down the road to the church!  We arrived safely at the church and ran into the room so no one would see Alison.  After hiding out for what seemed like forever, the moment we all had waited for was before us.  As I waited in my spot at the front of the church with the other bridesmaids, it was hard for me to fight back the happy tears as I watched Alison, the first of our friends, walk down the aisle, ready to take her first step into the future.

The service was beautiful and the bride and groom were full of smiles!  After a few pictures at the church, the bridal party headed to a field for some fun photos!  We were all full of laughter.  Alison and Michael jumped on a boat on the Bay and headed to the reception via the boat.  The rest of us met her at the dock and then jumped on a "limo golf cart" and headed to the reception.  The food was amazing, the view was amazing, the people were fun and the bride and groom were nothing but smiles.  When the evening was over, we all headed back to the hotel where Kristin, Jeff, Mike, Tommy (a friend of ours from high school) and I stayed up playing cards well into the night.  We had a blast.

The next morning it was time to say our goodbyes as Mike, Kristin and Jeff dropped me off at Alison's parents house so her mom could take me to the airport.  It was so hard to fight away my tears.  I know I shouldn't cry, but I just hate telling Jeff goodbye - even though I know I will get to see him soon.

We had a wonderful weekend together and we began planning our "all things wedding weekend."  After mid-terms are over, Jeff will be in Charlotte for a few days, and we plan to spend the weekend doing "all things wedding" and just relaxing and enjoying each other's company.  I can't wait!!

Here are some photos from the wedding weekend...

The beautiful bay 

(which was behind the building the reception was in)

Jeff and I love to match when we are at special events... :)

Isn't he just adorable??  <3

The newlyweds! 

The three amigos...

 Close up of the 3 amigos...

Miss seeing you girls every day!

 Kristin & I with the newlyweds!

Bachelorette Party & Wedding Shower Weekend Extravaganza!

This past Friday I jumped in my car again and headed North. This time, it wasn't a football game even though the Mountaineers played at home. Nope, this time I had to head even farther North than usual. As you probably know, my Big, Julie Klein, won a free wedding in Hilton Head, SC this November! I am soooooooo excited for her and Dave because they really deserved this! Thanks to all of you who voted for them to help give them such an amazing opportunity!

Here are some pictures from the beautiful drive home.  The leaves were already starting to change...

This past weekend was Julie's wedding shower at Franco's Trattoria in Pittsburgh. It was absolutely amazing and she got tons of wonderful things. The food was very delicious! The cupcakes were made by the maid of honor's aunt and were absolutely amazing! I had a coconut topped cupcake that was key lime! Delicious!! Here are some photos of the shower:

After the shower was over, all the bridesmaids jumped in our cars and headed to a hotel on the south side of PGH where we started getting ready for Julie's Bachelorette party - PGH style! We all got dressed up, did each other's hair and make up, had a few drinks to get the party started... super fun time with the other bridesmaids! Then we headed a few blocks down the street to the Hofbräuhaus. The place was a German bar that was celebrating Octoberfest! It was PACKED!!!! We headed through the restaurant and went outside to the back side of the restaurant where we had yummy pretzels and cheese fries! I have never seen such large beer steins in my entire life!  Check out the pictures to see what I mean...

After hanging outside for awhile, we noticed the inside crowd was starting to thin out making room for some of us who were outside.  We headed in and I have never seen such a thing in my life.  The room was like a large dining hall, filled with GIANT tables and GIANT benches for seating.  People were standing on the benches singing, dancing and waving around their beer steins to the tunes of the German band that was playing all night.  Just like everyone else, we all jumped up on the tables and started singing and dancing (of course WE wouldn't  be swinging around beer steins - would we? hehe)  We had such an awesome time celebrating Julie's upcoming wedding!  The band even sang her a song - "Sweet Julie Klein" to the tune of "Sweet Caroline" !!!! It was awesome!!  Here are some photos from the evening...

AOII love

 Shot Skis!!!

 Love you Big!!!!!

 I found an Elmo!!! I was so excited! :)

 Singing Sweet Julie Klein! :)

Birthday Celebrations!

Birthdays come but once a year.  I typically don't really celebrate a lot for my birthday, because to me, it is just another day.  But for some reason, I was super excited about my birthday this year and made plans to celebrate.  Celebrations began on Monday when I bought myself a lift-top coffee table as a birthday present to myself (my grandparents and parents gave me birthday money to use towards the table - thanks!)  I will try to get a picture of it soon to share!

Thursday I was so excited and surprised when I got a package in the mail from Jeff's mom and dad!  I wasn't expecting such a sweet surprise!  Inside the package, among other things, was a tote bag from Aerie - one of my favorite places!  I have used the bag almost every day since then!! :) (see below for pictures...)  I continued to celebrate on Thursday with some friends from school and my roommate by having some yummy dinner and a few drinks at Tavern on the Tracks behind my apartment while I eagerly awaited Veronica's arrival.  Sure enough, Veronica arrived and we spent the next few hours catching up.  I was so excited that she came to visit!

Friday morning - my actual birthday - Veronica and I got up super early and took showers and headed to my Aunt and Uncle's house so we could go on a furniture shopping adventure with them.  On our way there, we decided we needed breakfast, so I stopped at Chick-fil-A.  V had no idea they had breakfast there, but was thrilled with the choice after she ate her food.  :)  We were on a search for a children's bookshelf and a new living room set.  We went to what has to be the largest furniture mall in the world.  V and I were so amazed!  We were worn out after walking around the place!  We got a nice laugh about one of the furniture brands.  We enjoyed this brand so much that we took a picture and sent it to Lindsay for her enjoyment!  Here is what we were laughing at - really mature, I know...

Once we finished shopping around, we headed to grab some lunch at a delicious pizzeria near my Aunt and Uncle's house.  The pizza was delicious!!  We then picked up Rachel from car-pool which was quite entertaining for V and I.  We didn't stop there!  We headed to the mall to find an outfit for the evening's celebrations and to the grocery store for some appetizers.

Around 7:30 that evening, as I was eagerly awaiting Jeff's arrival, several of my law school buddies came over for appetizers and beverages to get the celebrations started.  Haley and Kristine surprised me with an awesome new wine bottle rack and some really awesome sticky notes!  (see below for pictures)  Before I knew it, Jeff had arrived!  I literally ran out the door to meet him in the parking garage!  It hadn't been too terribly long since I had last gotten to see him, but it felt like forever since we had seen each other!  I can't tell you how excited I was to see him!  As I was helping him unload his things from his car, he handed me a gift bag from my mom.  Inside was a cake baking pan in the shape of the WVU logo!  I was so excited because I had been looking at one just like it recently and was thinking of all the fun I could have with the pan!  Stay tuned and maybe I will find some time in the near future to make something yummy in the new pan!  As if that surprise wasn't enough, Jeff handed me a gift bag.  I was really unsure about what this was and who it was from and I think he could tell that from my face because he said, "It's from me - Happy Birthday Baby!"  I was so surprised because I had told him that all I wanted for my birthday was to spend time with him - him coming to see me was more than enough of a gift for me!  I was ready to open it right there, but he said I had to wait until we got upstairs.  We headed back upstairs to my apartment, where everyone was having a great time!  I was finally able to introduce Jeff to my wonderful friends Kristine and Haley - as well as some of my other law school friends that he had never met before.  Jeff got ready and we all headed to Tavern on the Tracks (yes the same place I was at the night before - it really is amazing food and atmosphere) for a birthday dinner!  More people met us there for dinner and we had about 15 people all together!  We had a blast watching the WVU game against Marshall (even though it was a nail biter)!  Even the non-WVU fans joined us in cheering on the Mountaineers!  Luckily, the Mounties pulled through and won the game!

After we all enjoyed a wonderful meal, we headed uptown to another Buffalo Bills bar - Town Tavern.  I think I forgot to mention that Tavern on the Tracks is a Buffalo Bills bar and is located right behind my apartment - coincidence? I think not! :)  Anyways, we hung out uptown and met up with some other friends for the remainder of the evening before heading back home early Saturday morning!  We had such a great time with everyone!

On Saturday, Jeff, V and I spent the day lounging around, being lazy and watching football.  Jeff and V got to experience Jersey Mike's sub shop for the first time for lunch too!  That evening, we continued watching football at Haley's house for the Alabama game.  She is an awesome football watch party host - we arrived and were greeted with TONS of food!  My friend Amanda made an AMAZING queso dip that Jeff is begging me to get the recipe for so I can try to make it for him.  We also had amazing spinach dip, fruit salad, pizza and cookies!  We had a great time relaxing, watching football and hanging out with some friends.

Sunday morning, V got up early, put on her Army uniform, and headed off to her two week long training.  Before I let her leave, I insisted that we have breakfast at Einstein's bagels across the street.  I am almost positive V was super happy she stayed for breakfast! :)  It is one of Jeff and I's favorite bagel places!  I soon realized that my birthday weekend was coming to an end as everyone began saying their goodbyes.  I got to spend a little more time with Jeff after V left before he too had to go home.  I truly cherish every moment I get to spend with him because every moment counts and we aren't always sure when we will get to see each other again.

Here are some photos from the weekend:

Soon to be Mr. & Mrs.

Ladies & Martin

My New York girl... Shannon

Chip being really awesome...

Ladies!

Birthday cupcake - well, what was left... Thanks to my awesome roomie 

for making cupcakes for the special day!  They were delicious!

Fun wine rack that makes the bottles look like a bouquet - thanks Haley & Kristine!!

WVU cake pan from my mom! :)

Cards from everyone! :)

The bracelet was not a birthday gift... but the blue and gold beads were!  Thanks to my wonderful fiancé I can now show my WVU spirit on my Pandora bracelet!

3 layer dip for munching on during the lazy football watching day...

The awesome dip maker!

Jeff & I made some barbecued ham - thanks to Jeff's mom for the recipe!

Yummy barbecued ham sandwich!

Wedding Planning Update!

I have answered the question a million times - "So how are wedding plans going?"  And to be honest, I'm never quite sure how to answer the question because there are days that I feel like I have a TON of planning done, and there are other days that I am positive it will all never get accomplished!  But I am here to report that today is a good day - a day of feeling like we have accomplished a lot!  So for those of you dying to know, read on to find out what we have accomplished in our wedding planning journey thus far!

1. Church - we have secured the church (St. Francis de Sales) for our date, after changing the date a million times, and after having our name on three dates at one point . . . we have also had our initial meeting with the priest, where he filled out the paperwork to be sent to the diocese where the church will state they will be recognizing our marriage . . . the priest also gave us a book of different scripture readings and other things that go along with the ceremony to get us thinking.  We certainly have a bit of time to make the decisions about who the readers will be and what readings they will be doing, but at least we have a church to get married in - right? :)

2.  Reception Venue - we have secured a location for all of our friends and family to gather together in celebration of our wedding.  We searched all over Morgantown and the surrounding areas before choosing our location.  We will be having our reception at the Knights of Columbus in Morgantown.  The catering company (The Ritz Touch) is amazing and provides excellent service to Jeff and I throughout the entire planning process.  We have already called them at least a dozen times with questions that they have been so kind to answer almost immediately!  The room is gorgeous and the staff that sets up are amazing and have a great eye for detail.  We will be meeting with them in January to discuss the set up of the room, the food, the decorations, centerpieces, etc. so stayed tuned for an update on that! :)

3.  Photographer - This seemed to take forever, when in reality it took us two weeks - two very, very long weeks of meeting with a different photographer every night.  We had meetings that stretched from Clarksburg all the way into Pittsburgh.  I don't even want to think about the miles we drove in those two weeks meeting with everyone, searching for the perfect photographer.  As we neared the end of the second week of searching, I was convinced that the perfect photographer even existed.  One of our last meetings was with a gentleman that my big, Julie, suggested that we check out.  While his prices seemed a little high at first glance when compared to others we had met with, we decided to meet with him anyways.  Boy, was I glad that we did!  We met Paul Meyer at Panera in Washington, PA on a Thursday evening.  I wasn't really sure at first if this was 'the one.'  After 15 minutes - maybe even 5 minutes - of chatting with Paul, I was sure I found my perfect photographer.  He spent a great deal of time explaining every single detail of his packages, his work, etc to us and was personable, professional and funny all at the same time!  His work was amazing!!!  I knew Jeff would be sold when Paul handed Jeff a large wedding album with a clear glass like cover with a metal piece underneath that had a photo of the couple.  Now, this may not seem that exciting, but to Jeff, this was the most amazing thing - the album was LARGER than a large atlas.  I cannot describe the album and provide sufficient detail... but if Jeff has his way, after our wedding, you are all invited to our house (wherever that may be) to look at our GIGANTIC wedding album.  Jeff's eyes lit up and a huge smiled came across his face.  We left the meeting with Paul, got in the car and Jeff said, "Well...?"  and I explained I wanted his reaction before I provided mine.  I really wasn't sure what to think because of the tone of his voice at first.  Jeff explained, "well, he seems a little pricey, BUT, I LOVE HIM and I would LOVE him as our photographer!"  I was overcome with joy!  We decided to celebrate with some Rita's frozen custards!  It was delicious!  We headed home, and decided to "sleep on it" before making our final decision.  As Jeff loves to do, we put all of the photographer information into a spreadsheet to begin comparing the packages offered by everyone and the personalities - after all, these people will be in our faces all day long!  We had one final meeting with another photographer as a follow up to our initial meeting with them because they were second in line to Paul. At the end of that meeting, as we got into the car, Jeff and I almost at the same time said, Paul is our guy!  So the next day we mailed our deposit and contract off to Paul at Paul Meyer Photography  and within a few days we received a lovely note back from Paul explaining he was looking forward to meeting us and also included a gift certificate to Starbucks!  How lovely?  I know that was a long explanation for a photographer update, but I just had to tell everyone how excited we are to have Paul!

4.  DJ - this has been the 'flavor of the week' lately... Jeff took charge of looking for a DJ... and while it may not seem like a big deal, it almost seems like the success of the reception is somewhat on the shoulders of the DJ so we wanted to make sure we had a good one picked out.  We had our options narrowed down, then a friend of mine told me he could do the job - I was super excited.  Unfortunately, after two weeks of emails back and forth, I learned that he had over booked and was no longer able to be our DJ.  So, through tears of sadness and frustration, I called Jeff, who as always, managed to calm me down, and make it seem like no big deal.  I might also note that when I found out, I was having a bad day already so this was the cherry on my ice cream that day.  Anyways, Jeff has been holding onto a contract from our top choice of DJs (before the overbooked one came along) and called the gentleman.  Luckily, he was still available, so we sent in the deposit and contract and have secured our DJ!  Now all that is left on this subject is to select the songs for various dances, make a do-not play list, and figure out the order of our reception.  I think this is going to be a larger task than we think... we shall see!

5.  Wedding Dress - I think I updated everyone on the dress, but I was able to find a dress that I am absolutely in love with.  Not at all what I thought I would pick out.  I wont be having any fittings for awhile, so for now, the dress is sitting in storage in a safe place at my parent's house.  No questions on what the dress looks like please... it is a secret for the big day! :)

6.  Colors - Within the past few days, I have finally decided on colors.  I have been going back and forth between a million different options, narrowed it down to two, gone back to a million, selected one, slept on it and then decided against it.  I talked to Lindsay, the Maid of Honor, about flower options because she used to work at a floral shop.  I know this might sound crazy, but I was just concerned about what flower options I would have with each of the color schemes.  It turns out that the one I have selected many times, and then pulled away from, is going to be the best option for floral choices for the time of year that our wedding is in.  I'm not really sure why I have been so unable to nail down the colors, but I guess it's the crazy perfectionist in me that wants to make sure I can get EVERYTHING to match and that I can find things in my colors.  So without any further delay... our color scheme (if you haven't figured it out already) is . . .

Black
White
Grey
Yellow


Here are some color pallets that inspired us to select our colors:

As for the wedding party attire - no clue yet... as for anything else really... no clue yet!  But things take time and it will all get done... eventually! :)  We have a nice little to do list for the next few weeks to get some things knocked out - hopefully nothing gets in the way of my motivational train! :)  If you have any inspiration for us, be sure to leave us a comment! :)