california, here we come!

we are leaving tomorrow to head to sunny california to visit geoff's best man and his beautiful girlfriend. we are so excited! we are taking a loooong weekend and enjoying the 4th of july on a boat in the pacific ;)

this comes at a perfect time for us...and will give my head a mini-break from planning! :)

tootles!

image from here

bridesmaid gifts...

...are so hard to pick out!

i have tossed around SO many ideas, and i still can't decide. i want it to be something memorable, so when they look at/use it, they will remember our wedding. i've thought about makeup bags, jewelry boxes, watches, jewelry, silver revere bowls, etc., and i just can't find/decide on the right idea.

so. what are YOU doing/did you do for your beloved girls?

HELP!

santa claus?

so. i'm making a list. and you know...checking it twice.

it's the only way i can keep track of everything. throughout the last 13 months, i must have had 5,000 ideas about our wedding. it's time to narrow the list down to a reasonable, practical amount of tasks.

now i know how the OTHER big guy must feel.

image from here

our e-session is on the calendar!

i finally scheduled an e-session with our photographer, jen. i am so excited! we are booked for sunday, july 19th. we are taking them in east lansing, on the beloved MSU campus where we met so many years ago (7, to be exact!). we have so many memories there throughout the years and the thought of going back to shoot some pics of us is so exciting!

here are some places around campus that i think are must-have shots:
1) this is where we first met. good ol' holmes hall!
image from here
2) spartan stadium, where we were season ticket holders together during school and then for the past 2 years as well:
image from here
3) the main library, where we studied together:
image from here

then there's the botanical garden, beaumont tower, and red cedar bridge as well. i am so thrilled that we planned this. now, i just have to figure out what to wear.

sweet olivia

this post is dedicated to my cousin, olivia.

the other day i jokingly asked her if she wanted to be my DOC for our wedding. she said yes, seemed really thrilled about it, and i have since "hired" her.

i have a newfound feeling of calmness. i'll be going through everything with her (hour by hour) before the wedding so she is on the same page as me...and i have such relief knowing that someone else will know 100% of what is going on.

besides, who else was going to hang up our paper pew wreaths? (my grandma sure wants to know!)

here is a picture of olivia and her handsome fiance, dan:

how cute are they? image from peter pawinski

thanks olivia...i owe you big time!

fooooood

i'm always thinking about it. so why not blog about it?

i've always wanted to have some type of buffet or brunch brought into the hotel room for the morning of. it's going to be me, my mom, my 5 girls, 1 photog, 1 videog, 2 hair stylists, and 1 make-up artist. that's a lot of people! plus, i've been trying this try-not-to-eat-so-much-because-you're-a-bride-thing, and it's not working. i am going to want to eat (a lot) in the morning before our festivities begin.

so. what do you think is the bests type of food to serve? a small breakfast and small lunch? or a brunch brought in somewhere in the middle? these are definitely going to be on and in hand:

from here

what are you providing for yourself and your hungry loved ones?

POLL

are you doing...

1. the BP dance,
2. the garter toss, and/or
3. the bouquet toss?

i think they are super cliche. BUT i know everyone loves them and the rituals totally scream "WEDDING!" so...i want your advice! what are you doing?

dear diary,

i'm ready for this dreadful class to be over. i'm done with group projects - i hate them. please give me my summer back so i can enjoy some time with my handsome fiance and my friends!

xo,
mandy

oh, and p.s. my wedding is coming up in 96 days!

rehearsal...check!

i finally did something. i booked our rehearsal dinner!

we will be dining on the delicious italian cuisine from antonio's in the park, located in GPP. they have awesome food, and the whole back room will be ours! brian was fabulous to work with, and actually gave us pointers so that we don't get overcharged...i am so excited!
this is obviously the outside...

and here is the back room that will be just for us...it is so charming at night with candles on each table.

images from here
(sorry they have jagged borders...i can't fix it!)

100!

1 0 0 days left!

i can't believe there are only 100 days left until our big day! they say once you get into double digits, the time just flies! wow...i can't believe it!

image from here

so cute!

so by now, those of you that know me, know that i am obsessed with our videographer team that is captured productions. they have been so great to work with thus far, and let's face it...their work is amazing. i don't even KNOW the couples that got married whose weddings they filmed, but i always tear up watching the videos on their blog. it's because aaron and renee have a way of capturing the most important moments (probably how they named their company!)...anyway, head on over to check out the cutest 7-year-old birthday video. they create videos for each of their children for their birthdays...what a *great* keepsake.

image from here

weekly plans

as you might know, i'm a registered nurse. every week, my schedule is different. granted, i work 3 12-hour shifts a week, giving me 4 days off during the week, and it is nice. BUT it also means that my 'beginning' of the week sometimes is actually the middle of the regular week. i worked the last couple of days, so today is like my beginning.

ANYWAY, here are my (WR and NWR) plans for the rest of the week:
1) go to jo-ann's and pick out ribbon and flower petals for birdcage. you liked that idea, right?
2) STOP looking at jewelry. can that be a plan?
3) take pics of a million candy jars i bought a long time ago and post for sale here and on the detroit knottie board (since i am not doing the popular candy buffet anymore)
4) finish up my 3rd paper for school
5) meet with my group on friday to finish projects #4 and #5!
6) look into our natural family planning class, as required by the church
7) finalize & book rehearsal dinner venue
8) BOOK THE BOOK! seriously, i was been meaning to do this forevvvvver ago!



image from here

what are your plans for the rest of the week?