Bikinis & Bosses

When Blake & I return from our honeymoon on the Saturday following our wedding, we will then head from the Atlanta airport to Pawley's Island for my law firm's retreat. While I wish it was a week later just to give us a chance to do laundry, see Thatcher, etc., I'm so thankful that Blake & I will be married (meaning he gets to go with me). Years ago I really wanted to visit Pawley's, but accommodations on the island are very pricey for a single since there are only two hotels; it seems most people rent homes. The retreat is only a few days, and I think we'll return home on my birthday.

So it's occurred to me that I'll likely be in swimwear on the beach with my bosses. I don't know why exactly but that's just weird to me. I only own bikinis, and while they're not unusually skimpy I think I might feel weird wearing them around my employers (two men). Would you guys? I'm thinking it may be time for me to buy a tankini.

On a semi-related note, do you guys find some of the Victoria Secret swimsuit ads to be as ridiculous as I do? It makes it more difficult for me to discern if I like the bikini or not when the model is starting to pull her bikini bottom off, straddling the sand, or otherwise lewdly posed. Maybe I need to shop at Target instead :)

And on that note, happy Friday!!

p.s. I'm thankful for my sweet friends who are throwing Blake & me our first shower tomorrow...and later in the day my lingerie shower.

Wedding Planning....

Reception Centerpieces: After spending hours clicking through images of floral centerpieces and feeling stressed about having to make decisions about something that really isn't that important to me, I've decided to go with my original idea for centerpieces: cupcakes (probably on cake stands) and maybe my favorite appetizer at the restaurant where we've having our brunch reception (homemade sweet potato chips with an oddly yummy blue cheese fondue).

My bouquet: SO now the only flower decision I have to make is for my bouquet. I'd love your ideas. White calla lilies are simple & pretty, but since I'm not having attendants (and their dresses to brighten things up) I wonder if I need to have a flower with more color. I also like flowers tightly smushed together and pink....Any thoughts? Links? Suggestions? I guess I need to have a boutonniere for him too? I'm hoping to find photographs of what I like and then take that to a florist.

Dress: It's here! I'm not in love with it, but given that I didn't want to spend much money or time my options were limited. So I bought a dress at David's Bridal for $250 plus tax. David's isn't a pleasant shopping experience (no one will help you get in & out of dresses; the dressing rooms are small; and it sort of gives me that same overwhelming feeling that Walmart does on a Saturday), BUT you can try on dresses in your size (unlike boutiques that seem to only carry a size 10) and the dresses are very cheap compared to most stores. Here's a shot of me in the sample of the dress I bought. The back of the dress isn't so cute, so Blake's mom is adding buttons. AND I need no alterations! That's saves me $100s! The store said I need to wear a slip under the dress to make it go out more, but I'm not sure I want it to poof out any more. Thoughts?

Can you tell how poor I am at making decisions? My mother has picked out a veil she really likes, but I haven't brought myself to spend $80 (even if it is my mom's money:) on tulle with ribbon on the edges! I think that when you add the word bride or wedding to something, retailers take it as an opportunity to mark things up even more than usual. It's such a racket.

We've spent the last 10 days moving most of Blake's stuff into my place (no small feat, esp. since I have ONE closet), and while moving is no fun, it's been such a reminder of how well we work together and how incredibly blessed I am to have met someone I'd want to share all of this with. He's sweet to stay at his dad's house the next 47 days, so we can put what he would have paid in rent/utilities toward our honeymoon expense. And now I get to sleep in his nice king size pillow
top mattress.

p.s. I'm thankful for Thatcher...he's snoozing beside me on the sofa and so good at cuddling.

Only Two More Months!

Thank you guys for your sweet comments and encouragement. I am grateful for all of the kindness I've experienced since Blake proposed. It makes this time extra fun.

It's been a very busy last two weeks as we've set a date (June 12th) and chosen and booked: a ceremony location (our church which is two blocks from our lofts), reception location (also two blocks away), and honeymoon location (Dominican Republic). So all of the big stuff is settled, and I am making a dress decision on Saturday. I'm not in love with any of the ones I've tried on, but the dress part isn't very important to me and I'm not really willing to spend much time or money on it...so we'll see.

I also have a trial coming up in two weeks, so needless to say I feel a bit overwhelmed at times. I'm really excited about being married, and I think we'll both be glad when this planning stage is over. Blake has almost finished designing our invitations, and he even registered for our dishes at a local store one afternoon.

We're having a small wedding--just family and very close friends, so that's made all of the planning easier, although it's made the guest list very challenging. Finding a reception venue that can accommodate a lot of people and that isn't prohibitively expensive at this "late" date is challenging (a few people have asked if I'm pregnant...and the answer is a resounding "no"), plus we both want a smaller, modest wedding. I doubt we'll hire a florist, and the jury is out on photographers. So many photographers will not let you have your digital prints or have wedding packages beginning at $2500; I'm just not willing to spend that kind of money. We're not having any attendants--just a flower girl. We're doing our best to keep it simple and focused on what is important to us--having a worship ceremony to celebrate Christ and our covenant of marriage and being with those that we love and who will help encourage and hold us accountable in the future (and when we're mad at each other :)

Just 65 more days until Blake & I are relaxing on the beach at an amazing resort....and on that note, happy Friday and happy weekend!

p.s. I'm thankful for this beautiful, sunshine-filled day and the weekend ahead.