Today is the First Day of the Rest of our Lives

12.19.12 The Journey Begins

Chris and I had plans to hang out after work on a random Wednesday before Christmas. Our plans were to exchange presents on that Friday so I brought his gift over to put under the tree. I walk over to the Christmas tree and there's a Christmas gift bag there. That's new I thought. Chris told me to go ahead and open my present. I was caught off guard because our whole plan was to exchange gifts that Friday. I got down on the ground (cause I'm so lady like) to open the bag and I pull out a photo book. On the front I read, "Today is the first day of the rest of our lives." I turn around to say aww and thank you to Chris and he's down on one knee with the ring. I start shaking and crying (something I didn't think I would do). He tells some of sweetest things I've ever heard and then asks me to marry him. I smile now thinking about that night. We called family and friends to share the big news, and my mom stopped by to see the ring. My friend Holly also stopped by that night to give us congrats! Chris also cooked me lobster ravioli for dinner that night. Seriously the best night of my life! I'm so lucky to get to spend the rest of my life with him.

01.04.13 Set the Date

I wanted to just enjoy the holidays before setting a wedding date. Chris had only one request and it was not to get married during football season. I on the other hand did not want to get married in the heat of the summer. After looking over both the Ole Miss and LSU schedule- I saw it! Ole Miss and LSU shared an off weekend. I had dinner with Mom and Grandmother at Boiling Point in Southaven and brought up the date. Mom thought it was great. I’d mentioned the date to Chris earlier in the day and he seemed to be on board. In my excitement I text his Mom and sister to tell them I had a tentative wedding date picked out. Oops. They both started calling Chris’ phone asking a million questions while he was in the middle of taking a nap. He wasn't too happy with me, ha. He got over it! And everyone was on board with November 2^nd 2013!

01.10.13 First Glimpse

Mom and I attended an open house at Barefoot Bride. My friend Elizabeth recently found her dress there. It was fun to talk to different vendors and look at dresses, but I was definitely not ready to do more than that!

01.10.13 I Got the Guy now I need my Girls

I knew I wanted to do something different for my girls when I asked them to be my bridesmaids. I designed my own card and mailed it to each of them.

1.20.13 The Bridal Show

Mom and I checked out a bridal show at Whispering Woods in Olive Branch. We took pics in a photo booth there, although I ended up going with a different company than what as at the show. We tasted food from “Me and My Tea Room” (who would become our caterer). I also got my hair professionally styled by some fab ladies. I didn't ask for the Romy, but that's what I got.

Don’t you know I was just thrilled to walk around the rest of the show with the above hair do. We checked out Tunica RiverPark Museum’s booth where the lady commented on my hair. I said, “isn’t it horrible.” She laughed and said, “Well I didn’t want to say anything.” We really liked what TRPM had to offer, but needed to check it out for ourselves.

The bridal show was really fun and really cheesy.

02.02.13 The Reception 

After looking over Tunica RiverPark Museum’s website, I decided I wanted to check it out in person for the reception venue. Chris and I picked up Mom, and my daddy met us out there. We met with Rita the coordinator for events. It seemed perfect for our reception. There are glass windows that give a great view to the Mississippi River. I almost decided to have the wedding there too! Dad took us all out for lunch afterwards. The next week we put a contract on the reception venue and it was ours!

02.08.13 Photo Booth

After attending a wedding with a photo booth I knew wanted one for my reception. I hooked up with HotShots Photobooth and got a contract.

02.27.13 Say Cheese

I didn’t really know where to start or look for a wedding photographer, but I did not I didn’t want to spend a crazy amount of money on it. I just needed someone who could make my vision come to life and give me exactly what I wanted. Not too hard, huh? My hair stylist happened to recommend Kelly Ginn to me. I checked out her website and loved her work especially for being an up and coming photographer. Chris and I met Kelly and her husband John at the Barnes and Nobles by Wolfchase. I fell in love with their easy going personalities. Chris and I knew after that meeting that she was the one!

03.07.13 Nom Nom Nom

Mom, Chris, and I went to a food tasting for Me and My Tea Room at Chimes and Occasions in midtown. I knew their food was delish since Kerri used them at her reception and Mom and I sampled some things at a bridal show too. Mom actually had already paid the $50 deposit to reserve our wedding date. We tried everything! But I think our fav was the Praline Bacon. We tried narrowing down what we would want. Chris said everything was good!

04.07.13 Yes to the Dress

I was nervous about trying on dresses. I didn’t think I would find anything that would flatter my figure. I mean I haven’t bought anything in white in years! I made two appointments to try on dresses. One appointment was at Barefoot Bride and then the other one a couple of weeks later at Low’s. I just wanted to go me and Momma to Barefoot Bride just in case I had a meltdown while trying on dresses. Some of my girls were invited to go with us later to Low’s. Well that wouldn’t be necessary. Imagine my shock and surprise that I found the one! I believe it was the 3^rd dress I tried on. I about fell in love with the first one, just because it fit me. But the dress we would buy was perfect! 

04.21.13 Engagement Pics

Chris and I just knew we would be so awkward in our engagement pictures. We tried to practice our smiles but we just looked plain ol’ goofy. I ordered Chris and I LSU and Ole Miss Jerseys to wear for some of the pictures. I wanted to include these on our “Save the Dates”.  I had a minor dress emergency when we were getting ready.  Somehow the dress I was planning to wear had a bunch of spots on it after I pulled it out of the dryer from de-wrinkling. Luckily I had a backup dress that looked perfect. Chris and I met Kelly and her hubs downtown on Main Street by Ernestine and Hazel’s. We took pictures in that area and then changed to take our Jersey pics by the river while the sun was setting. Chris was a good sport especially since we took a lot of forehead together pics and kissy pics. 

05.01.13 The Proofs

I got a text from Kelly that she had posted our engagement pics on her blog. I was at Chris’ house for lunch when I got to view them. He was coming home from work too for lunch. Bless his heart. He walked in and I was crying. In regular dramatic girl fashion I wasn't happy with the way I looked in some of the pics. He told me I was beautiful and that the pics were great. Yeah, he’s a keeper isn't he?

05.04.13 My Girls

When it came to dresses for my girls I knew I wanted it to be flattering and not cost an arm and a leg. I had one dress in mind, but the fabric was not flattering. I met Erica, Cassie, and Mandy at David’s Bridal to see what they had to offer. After the girls tried on several different dresses we found the perfect bridesmaid dresses for my wedding.

05.15.13 Gift Me

Officially started a registry- Dillard’s, Bed, Bath, and Beyond, and Target

05.23.13 Save the Date

The Save the Dates are in the mail. I designed and ordered them from Vistaprint. I know I drove everyone crazy with what looked good and what didn’t. In the end I was really pleased with the outcome.