4 months and counting

So today being the 31st of March, we are officially 4 months away from D-Day! D standing for I Do, of course! And we are surprisingly still making progress! As of this morning I am completely done designing our programs. And I love them! Now all I need is the perfect paper to print them on, then the fun-fan-making project begins! Bridesmaids - thank you in advance for your help on this one...

I'm also almost totally done addressing the invites. I did this a little TOO early apparently, as some of our friends got engaged and married after I already addressed theirs! Congrats again Kirt and Steph, but now I've got to address a new one to you! Nobody else get married or move, OK?! Just kidding...

Last night Pat and I sat together and picked out all the music for the ceremony (which helped my completion of the program today). I must say I was absolutely dreading this task. But it was actually a blast! Get excited, it's going to be a fun ceremony!

Oh, and our guest book arrived! I ordered it from an adorable shop -- www.natalieasis.etsy.com. She has some amazing handmade things!

I also have a custom hairpiece coming to me from another etsy shop -- www.smittenxoxo.etsy.com. I won it in a contest on non other then Etsy's wedding blog!

And in the spirit of all of my favorite blogs... I have created my first collage of things that are inspiring me right now.

The vintage pails are in an etsy shop (www.bluebonnetfields.etsy.com) and the other photos are from my new favorite internet place (www.emersonmade.com). Thanks to Melissa, my wonderful photographer, who sent me the site. I absolutely love everything on it and I want to buy it all! I'm kinda using these things as inspiration for our engagement shoot in May! Think rustic, and BIG flowers! I absolutely can not wait!

how could i forget?!

I can't believe I didn't mention this in my last post...

J.Crew did it again. After assuring me they wouldn't be discontinuing anymore of the dresses my bridesmaids were going to be ordering, they definitely did. Emily went to order her dress only to find it was no longer available. Luckily it didn't disappear immediately, and even though her size is no longer available, she was able to order it in a size bigger. She will have it altered by J.Crew, which I have secured for her for free! It's the least they can do for us since they have made this process ridiculously difficult. I will say that after my second letter they did call me immediately (and on a Sunday at that) and went above and beyond to make sure I was satisfied. And I'm now working with someone at their headquarters who is handling absolutely everything for me. So it should be smooth sailing from here on out... Keep your fingers crossed!

happy birthday fiance!

Patrick turned 26 on Friday, and to celebrate we took a long weekend and went to St. Louis to visit our friend, and Pat's best man, Larry. Pat and Larry both went to school in St. Louis and Larry still lives there, so we had a free place to stay (thanks Larry!). The boys took me sightseeing since it was my first time out there, and we went downtown and saw the arch, the ever-rising Mississippi and toured the Anheuser-Busch Brewery. We also got to visit some casinos (or "the boat" as they say). We also drove through Forest Park (3rd largest city park in the country) and we were going to go to the zoo but the weather wasn't that great. I also apparently got inducted into true St. Louis life. I had toasted raviolis, a St. Louis delicacy (and delicious), and played some game where you had to guess if the Anheuser-Busch eagle would be flying or not flying (it rotates between the two) when you drove by it on the highway. I don't know if this is a game that they made up or if other people actually play it too... All in all we had a great trip, Pat had a blast in his "stomping ground" and visiting with an old friend.

Wedding-wise: I'm still working on addressing invites, and we're getting closer to picking a honeymoon spot! Also, I think I've finally finished registering for gifts, and have fully updated our website. We have the rehearsal scheduled, and more importantly I've already picked out my outfit for it! Now we've just got to find someone to marry us (I've really dropped the ball on this one) and finish ordering little things like favors and vases etc. We keep getting closer... only 4 months and change to go... And still SO much to do!

Patrick and me in front of the Arch

View of the Arch while driving into downtown

The Arch

Pat and Larry with the Mississippi flooding the sidewalk behind them

world's worst blogger

So recently I've been spending all my time staring at other people's blogs (that are WAY better then mine!) and I haven't spent anytime on my own! Check out these blogs and see why I've been so distracted:

http://www.etsywedding.blogspot.com/

http://www.snippetandink.com/

http://www.ruffledblog.com/

http://www.greenweddingshoes.com/

http://www.oncewed.com/

http://www.100layercake.com/

See a pattern here? Yes, they are ALL wedding blogs. And YES they are all so equally fabulous in their own wonderfully unique way! Thanks Carly for getting me HOOKED! I now feel incredibly inadequate in my blogging AND my wedding planning skills.

On the wedding note... Our invitations have arrived (they came in in just a week! SUPER fast right?) So I've spent a little time each day addressing them. First I had to research how to properly address them, since I didn't really care with the save the dates. I also had to google "how to properly assemble a wedding invitation". Think I got my answer? Well I got more then I bargained for. Get this, there are VIDEOS on how to do it. Apparently you needa degree or something... Whatever, I'm winging it.

I'm going to try and figure out how to make a collage (like my favorite bloggers do) and make one at least once a week on things that are inspiring me at the moment. Basically just things I like... Not that anyone else cares! Hah!

On a completely unrelated note... guess what?! It was 70 degrees here today! And it's gonna be over 65 degrees ALL WEEK LONG! Who's excited?! This girl! I spent all afternoon outside with the boys and my awesome neighbors. And Patrick and I got to take the dogs on a very long, very deserved walk through the community and the woods. I can't wait to do it all again tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day, and... you get the point! Yay Spring is here!

I will leave you with a picture of Winston, completely content, and in all his drooly glory! And just a funny one from after a walk... and one of my new hair! Respectively...