13 1/2 days countdown ON!

I can't believe we are here now. A little under 2 weeks left and I am feeling a little bit of pressure. We have just about EVERYTHING done but there are these few small yet huge things we have left to get. Plus, try and get ready for the honeymoon. We need luggage for one but we also need to get somethings together since we will be traveling outside of the country. I am just starting to feel it a little more than I have this whole wedding planning process. It's been 14 months since we got engaged and while I know that's a long time but it really feels like it flew by. I am getting really excited and nervous about the actual day and everything coming together but I am confident that it will turn out wonderfully. I have total confidence in everyone involved so I am going to take a minute to send a couple of shout outs to be awesome vendors we have had the pleasure of working with.
First of all our wedding planner, Angela Proffitt has been our life saver (http://www.elegantweddingsbyangela.com/). We haven't even made it to the day yet and she has already been worth every penny. I don't know what we would have done without her. Also, Mr. Stilts and I have met one of the coolest and talented photographers who we are SO pumped is taking the pictures for the wedding and one of our engagement sessions. Emily (http://www.emilytphotography.com/) is really laid back and totally cool and easy to work with. We also had my incredibly talented best friend, Anna (aka Mrs. Ski http://www.theskistory.blogspot.com/) who took some fabulous engagement pictures of us as well and it was so nice of her to take some time out of her day to spend with us. She is such a wonderful person who I love to pieces!! You can check out her website (http://www.ajstoryphotography.blogspot.com/). I know, I know this post is FULL of these links but I really wanted to get the word out there. I am going to be finishing out these two weeks giving the word out. We have really done so much already that I feel good about these next two weeks but I know that the day of is going to be hectic. More hectic than I have ever known before. I went and picked out the guest book yesterday and got the ribbon for the bridesmaid bouquets and all I have to do now is send it to the florist and I have to also take the ribbon for the cake to Gaylord this week.
I have another dress fitting this Tuesday (at http://www.facciobridal.com/) and I am hopeful that everything will be ok. Hopefully once I have this one, we will only have the one last one the week of the wedding. I really love my dress and I am only hoping that I am happy with myself in it. I have had a few reservations about how I look in it. NO fault at all to the bridal shop I am just really critical of myself. I am confident that once we have everything put together, the dress, the hair and the make up. I am so excited about seeing it all come together.
Now as we come to an end of this amazing and crazy journey we have, like I said, just a few more things to find/get. Artificial wheat grass for the escort cards to sit in and a signature board to go around the 11x14 engagment picture we have. I am crossing my fingers that we can find everything we need. UGH! So frustrating!!
Anyway, back to post again soon, I am going to kick it in high gear now that we only have TWO MORE WEEKS!! :-)

29 days!!!!

So, we are coming down to the wire. 29 days and counting down. I can't believe that in a month Mr. Stilts and I will be taking our vows as husband and wife. I have gotten a lot done lately. This week Mr. Stilts and I purchased our wedding bands (and they are gorgeous by the way)and we have already picked them up and put them in a safe place. Next I went to the church and met with the wedding person there. She is the sweetest women I have ever met! Her and her husband were so great to us and were really open to any ideas or suggestions we had. My wonderful Mom went with me and she helped keep track of everything we discussed by taking notes. We got to see the brides room and the groom's room as well as talking and finalizing how we want to have the alter set up and the unity candle. So, I am feeling really good about getting that done and I know they are going to do everything they can to make us happy.
I had my hair trial this week also and I LOVE IT. My hair stylist, Ashlie at Aqua Bella, did such an amazing job and I can't wait to see it all come together with my make up and the dress. I am getting so excited and anxious about the day. I know it's going to be wonderful and it's going to be a day I am going to remember forever. Hopefully Mr. Stilts will remember the date on our anniversary. HA HA
I have also been having dress fittings every couple of weeks and slowly my dress is becoming more and more fitted to me. I can't wait to see the finished product and see it on me. The seamstress told me that her goal is to make this dress "fit me like a glove" and that I was the only woman in Nashville who has purchased this dress. So neat. I really, REALLY love my dress. I have all the accessories which I never thought I would decide on and I am going with some beautiful earrings and a really pretty silk flower in my hair. I tried on a necklace too just to see how they would look together with the earrings and it just felt like too much so no necklace for me! I think it will be fine without it. There is plenty of other stuff to look at on the dress and on me!
So my bachelorette party is next weekend and I AM SO EXCITED!! Not all my bridesmaids could come but I have a few others who are coming and I think it's going to be so much fun. We have about 6 or 7 girls going and we are going to a cabin in Center Hill lake for the weekend. Just my close friends and lots of good times!! My sister has planned the whole thing and she is such a good planner!! All of my bridesmaids have told me how wonderful she has been putting this together and planning everything. She has been so wonderful and I honestly don't know what I would do without her. Our invitations are the most beautiful things I have ever seen and I know I couldn't have designed something better if I had tried. I mean, don't get me wrong, my sister get me in the loop during the whole design process but it was her creative eye that made it all happen. We have had so many people tell us how great they look and all I can say is, "I know, they are AWESOME". :-)
So, as the days tick down there is more and more stuff being added to our "to do" list but we will get it all done and I am feeling good that everything will come together and our day will be the most wonderful day I have ever had. I sure know this, I am so happy to be 29 days away from being Mrs. Stilts.

Things are a movin' and a shakin' now!

It's amazing how fast time is going by now. I mean, it's been going by quickly but for some reason, time has kicked it into high gear. We are almost close enough to say we are getting married next month! Nuts. I can't believe I am so close to this big day that I have thought about for so long and that I am so close to finally being Mrs. Stilts. It feels weird saying it too. I am sad about saying good bye to my maiden name but I plan on keeping it and dropping my middle name. Sorry, "Samantha" it's been nice having you a part of my name but as we've grown we have run out of room for ya!
So Monday night I had my first actual "fitting" appointment at the bridal salon (shout out again to Faccio- you guys are AWESOME!!) I met with the alterations woman and first of all, she rocks. Anyone that calls me gorgeous repeatedly, I am a huge fan of. My dress still fits me really well considering we just got through with the holidays. I can't believe I haven't gained weight! I mean, I'm pumped about it but I was a little nervous that it would be a little snug. My alterations woman, Faye, told me that it was the "nature of the beast" and that I would definitely lose more weight before the wedding. Mostly because of the high stress I will be in the closer we get. Nice. I mean, I'm on board with losing weight but the stress part, not so much. I am feeling pretty good at this point except I know I will feel better once the invitation are out. We still have some time before we send them out but I know once they go out, there's no going back (HA HA) and we can actually start working on the seating charts and all that jazz.
Last night Mr. Stilts, my Mom and I had our tasting. It went really well. Our florist made a mock up of what our tables will look like and we were really impressed. I feel like I am being way too happy with everything! I know that sounds crazy but people keep talking about how I can make changes and blah blah blah but so far I have really liked everything and I honestly don't know what I would change. So I guess that's good but since people keep telling me I can change things, I feel like I should change something. Anyway, the tasting went really well. We thought the food was delicious and looked gorgeous and I feel like they are going to capture my "vision" for the cake perfectly. Mr. Stilts is going for a grooms cake shaped like the "Power T" from the University of Tennessee Vols. Shocking. My cake is going to be four tiers with white buttercream cake with a strawberry creme filing (it was AWESOME AND DELICIOUS) with a white chocolate buttercream icing decorated with fresh flowers and a blue ribbon on every layer. I can't wait to see what it looks like completed mostly because I haven't seen the cake I want, I just took parts of multiple cakes that I liked and made it my own. Mr. Stilts' is going to be white cake with a "UT ORANGE" icing. Nice.
So, I have my make up trial and some of the bridesmaids are getting fitted for their dresses this weekend so it will be a busy weekend but a fun one. I am excited about all the fun things coming up and I am getting nervous that I am going to get stressed out. I know that sounds funny but I am REALLY trying to just sit back and enjoy this whole process because I know I will only get it once.
I am going to try and post more and more often the closer we get (I know, that sounds possible) because I really want to be able to look back later on and reminisce about this period of my life as the future Mrs. Stilts.

66 DAYS AND COUNTING!!

I can't believe that it's getting so close! Now I am seeing what it's really like to be a bride-to-be! I feel like every weekend is spent going somewhere or doing something that it wedding related. It's a lot but I am loving every second! This is the only time in my life I will get to do this stuff so I am trying to relish every moment because I know soon, it will all be over. I can't believe how fast 2009 went by. Mr. Stilts and I have been engaged for over a year and it still feels like he only proposed last week. As far as progress goes, we went to Men's Warehouse the other day and picked out the tuxes. I was so excited that we were able to find almost exact matches to both the matron of honor's dress and the bridesmaids dresses. Mr. Stilts' Dad AKA the best man will be in a black tux with a royal blue vest and tie and the rest of the groomsmen will have an ocean blue vest and tie. I can't believe we were able to find such close matches! As far as my Dad and Step Father, they will have ivory vests and ties and Mr. Stilts himself will be in all black. Once we finished at the tux shop we went to the jeweler and Mr. Stilts picked out his wedding band. It's simple and beautiful. I plan on going to purchase it probably next month. I am going to need enough time to have something engraved on it.
In the upcoming weekends I have quite a bit of things coming up. First, I have my first dress fitting on Monday and then Tuesday is our tasting at the reception location. I am really excited because at this tasting our florist is going to do a mock up of what our tables are going to look like. I am SO excited about seeing what they are going to look like on our wedding day! Plus, it will be an opportunity for us to make any changes. I am also going to be going with some of my bridesmaids for their fittings next weekend and the weekend after that. Then Sunday, the 25th I have my make up trial for the wedding. Seriously- SO MUCH STUFF! It's all fun stuff though!!
Oh and Mr. Stilts and I met with our minister who is going to marry us and have started our counseling. It was nice to be able to go over how we want the ceremony to go and we are so confident that it's going to be so wonderful. We both really love that the person who is going to marry us is someone who knows us well and loves us.
There are so many exciting things going on right now and I know it's just going to get more hectic and more fun! I might be coming back in a few days or weeks totally going against everything I have said about it being fun but right now I am going to live it up and enjoy it while I can! I know I am going to look back on this and wish time had gone by slower and I know I am really looking forward to starting this new chapter in our lives. Being a friend, a companion, a wife and eventually a mother. Life is good.

Happy New Year!! Now let's get to work

I know it has been a LONG time once again since I have posted but this time I really do have a good excuse. The HOLIDAYS. And a crazy one it has been, as usual. Now that they are over, it's time to really get moving when it comes to wedding activities. First, the bridesmaid dresses are in so we have to get my ladies fitted so we can check that off our list. My sister, while she was in town got fitted for hers and so we can check her off the list. They look fantastic and I can't wait to see all my girls in them. I am attaching the picture of my sister wearing hers (as the Matron of Honor) and then the the other dress that the rest of the bridesmaids will wear:

Imagine them without the straps. I think they turned out even more beautiful than I imagined. Mr. Stilts and I are also in the process of getting some of our vendors paid off so we won't have a ton of money to pay put all at once. We are also working on the music for our ceremony and reception. Plus, we have to work on sending out the invites. I am going to be working with my sister on these and if they are anything close to our save the dates- then they are going to equal AWESOME.

Also, we have to get a groomsmen to get measured for their tuxes. I can't wait to see Mr. Stilts in his tux! He is going to look so handsome! I keep thinking about all the things that we have to start doing now that 2010 has come. I can't believe it's going to be here in 76 days!! That is so nuts to me. I feel like we went from over a year to now in NO time. I have to start getting fitted for my dress, we have to work on the invitations, the seating charts, etc. Geez!! My head is spinning JUST a little bit. I am starting to get a little nervous and anxious but at the same time SO excited. I am ready for March 20 to be here but again we have so much left to do maybe not so much ready for the actual day.

I will be posting much more as we start this journey towards the end of the "wedding planning" part of my life and I am so ready for the next part in our lives..as Mr and MRS Stilts. :-)

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

So today is Thanksgiving AKA "blow your wedding diet day". But I say a big fat OH WELL to that because it is the one day of the year which I "try" to not think one second about how many calories something has in it or how big my portion SHOULD be. I can go back to obsessing over all of that tomorrow. Today is my day off and I LOVED it. Usually Mr. Stilts and I have three Thanksgiving feasts to go to- My Mom's house, his parent's house and then my Dad's house. Usually by the end of the day, we are both stupid from our food comas and completely worn out. This year my Dad and my step-mom went to New York to visit one of my step sisters and her husband. So, while it was really sad to spend the first Thanksgiving ever in my 28 years of life without my Father, it was definitely less hectic and most importantly- LESS FOOD. All in all it was a good day, I enjoyed helping my Mom prepare Thanksgiving dinner and spending time with my family and with Mr. Stilts' family. We always have such a great time.
So as far as wedding planning goes, we have done a few things. First, I talked with the MAC make up guy who is going to be doing my make up as well as my Mom's and Sisters. We decided that sometime in January, once he gets his schedule, we are going to set up my make up trial to see just how gorgeous he can make me on our wedding day. I mean, I know it won't take much..... ;-)
As I mentioned in my last post, my super awesome and extremely talented best friend, Mrs. Ski and her "assistant" husband (HA HA) came down a couple of weeks ago and she took some more engagement pictures of Mr. Stilts and I. We went to a local park by our house and she got some FANTASTIC shots. It was really nice to be able to hang out and to get some incredible pictures taken. I think since it was so informal, Mr. Stilts and I were just relaxed the whole time and basically just had a lot of fun. Now I just can't wait to see them (both the pictures and Mr. & Mrs. Ski)

That is one thing about Mrs. Ski and I. We have been good friends for such a long time and have gone through a lot of things together. Things no one else could ever understand. I feel like friends like that should be cherished and I appreciate knowing that while she is now living semi far away (boo), she is always just a phone call away. Friends like her don't come around very often and coming from a girl (me) who was never good at making friends with other girls, I truly feel blessed to have her in my life. I love my Mimi!!!

Mr. Stilts and I had our very first wedding shower last weekend. Some of our best friend's parents threw it for us at their house. We had a really fantastic turn out and got to hang out with some of great friends and family. Also, we were fortunate enough to get some awesome things that we had registered for. I am new to this whole thing with registering and it's kind of weird to think, "I really like that" and then BAM! Someone buys it for you. It's fun. :-)
Mr. Stilts and I are doing some redecorating and it's fun to see the vision for which we want in our house coming true. I have never been much of a decorating kind of person but I must say that I am totally getting into it now. I mean, like I am laying in bed thinking about which towels would match the shower curtain and the types of clothes hamper I want for our bedroom. Random yet totally cool. So we had a great shower and I thought it was fun for us to have a shower that was for the both of us since I know there are some other showers being planned for just me. I know that "bridal showers" are typically only for the brides but it's nice to be able to share that with Mr. Stilts. But I'm over it and ready for the rest to be all about ME. HA HA HA HA. I can't even write that without laughing.
So more blogging to come as we hit the 4 month mark around Christmas. Nuts. I also can't believe that it's almost been a year since Mr. Stilts proposed. I can't believe it's been a year and that in a little under 5 months from now, I will be his wife. I'm so excited about what the future holds.

Still slacking...

So, I told myself that I would make it a point to be better about posting more often. Wow-I have done such a crappy job at that! Things have been moving along quite nicely though as far as the wedding goes. We got out our Save the Dates and so now it's really OFFICIAL! My sister did a beautiful job on them and I am still so grateful that she is doing them for us. The design is gorgeous and I cant wait to see how the invites and everything turn out. Also we are having our first wedding shower on November 21. The parents of one of our groomsmen are throwing it for us. So, since we hadn't registered anywhere yet, we had to run out and get that process started. We registered at Bed, Bath and Beyond and have added a bunch of awesome things. I am really excited and grateful that they are throwing this for us. I am still getting used to being the center of attention. It's all kind of weird to have a party thrown for you but it's so nice! We ALSO, (and this one is a biggie) FINALLY figured out and booked our honeymoon! We are going to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic and staying at the Majestic Colonial Punta Cana resort. We are going the Monday after our wedding and staying for 7 whole nights. I am SO thrilled and can't wait to go. It's an all inclusive resort and we have an ocean front suite with a jacuzzi on the balcony! Here's a picture of our balcony-






How AWESOME is that?!?!?!?!? So excited! Plus, Mr. Stilts was the one who actually found the place and when we asked our travel agent, she told us how beautiful Punta Cana is so we were sold. We got a great deal and I honestly can't wait to go and just RELAX in the beautiful sun! I have been wanting to go back to the beach just because I used to go every year and I haven't been in about 5 years. I can't wait to smell the air down there. I LOVE the smell of the beach. Plus, it will be so nice to be able to get away for a whole week with Mr. Stilts just the two of us.


So, things have started moving right along as we hit the 5 month mark. I am a lot of nervous, anxious and excited all at the same time. There are so many emotions that I have running through me and I know it's just going to get worse the closer we get. I can't believe we have already almost at 5 months away! This year has just flown by. Way faster than I am comfortable with. :-) At least Mr. Stilts and I aren't procrastinators.


We had our engagement pictures done by our fabulous photographer on October 25. They turned out great and I will post some of those once I get them. I can post this one for now that I L-O-V-E! YAY EMILY!!! :-)




I can't wait to get them all back. There are some really awesome ones! Plus, my best friend, (as some of you know as Mrs. Ski) is going to be taking some pictures of us too this weekend. She is starting to branch out on her own as a photographer so she is doing some shots of us for her website and for our pleasure! :-) I am SO happy that not only do we get to hang out but I also get my picture taken by the one person that made me LOVE it! I used to hate myself in pictures but Mrs. Ski made me a believer that I too, can take a pretty picture. These are going to be very informal and A LOT of fun! We have already brainstormed on some awesome ideas. So, in closing, things are going right along at a good pace I feel. In 5 months from now, I might be pulling my hair out but when it comes down to it, I couldn't be happier.
What an exciting, awesome, nerve wrecking, anxiety-ridden time in my life. I wouldn't want it any other way. :-)