I blame too much TLC for my current dress decision dilemma (try saying that 3 times fast.....OK, that's actually not difficult to do at all). One of my favorite shows to watch is Say Yes to the Dress. If you've seen the show at all, you know what I'm talking about. They follow 4 or 5 women at a high-end bridal salon called Kleinfeld's in New York. You sit in your living room and try to tell the girl on the TV to pick the second dress; it's figure flattering and within her budget. But she will inevitably pick the fourth dress (a sparkly princess gown that's $3,000 over her budget).
So, when I began my own dress search I imagined the same experience: try on 5 or 6 dresses, try on "the dress", everyone starts to cry, purchase and leave. Not what happened. I took my Mom, brothers Ryan and Clint, and sister-in-law Kelly with me. We have been to 3 bridal salons. Tried on more than 30 dresses. Progress? More confused than when I started :( The number of styles, designers, colors, fabrics is mind-boggling!
The dress I have in mind is form fitting to the hips and then flares out. Something without a lot of beading or lace. A more modern look, perhaps. Ultimately, a fun dress that looks like "me" and won't break the bank. I go back out on the hunt on Friday with Mom and Dad. I know my dress is out there! Dress, if you can hear me right now, please jump off the hanger and onto my body so I can wear you on my wedding day. Thank you in advance,
Love, a dress-less bride
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Location x 3, part deux
So clearly we are looking at more than one venue, right? Let me present....An Enchanting Evening. I know the name is a little cheese ball-esque, but once you get past that, it is a beautiful ceremony and reception site! It's located 20 miles west of Little Rock, but it feels like it's out in the boonies. This huge stone and log "cabin" was built by a retired couple and faces Mt. Pinnacle and Lake Maumelle. This is the ceremony site....
pretty huh? We loved it! This was actually the first place we looked at. Here is another picture from the opposite view.
Unfortunately, one of the concerns with an outdoor wedding... what to do if the skies open up and pour on us? I guess that's just the risk you take with having an outdoor wedding. They do have a possible indoor ceremony site, but I don't think they can do an indoor reception. PLUS, we wanted this place because of the outdoor setting. Decisions, decisions! Do you like it?
pretty huh? We loved it! This was actually the first place we looked at. Here is another picture from the opposite view.
Unfortunately, one of the concerns with an outdoor wedding... what to do if the skies open up and pour on us? I guess that's just the risk you take with having an outdoor wedding. They do have a possible indoor ceremony site, but I don't think they can do an indoor reception. PLUS, we wanted this place because of the outdoor setting. Decisions, decisions! Do you like it?
Friday, December 17, 2010
Location, Location, Location
Yesterday Andy and I went to look at our second wedding venue! If I could choose one 5 letter word to describe it, it would have to be "gorge" (ous). So what if gorge is more commonly used to refer to a steep and narrow canyon? I like to use it to describe beautiful wedding sites :) This place has everything we're looking for in both a ceremony and reception venue; it's pretty amazing, not gonna lie. BUT there are some drawbacks (you knew there had to be). First, there is no sure-fire way to know if it's going to rain or not (outdoor reception, people). Second, it's a little bit pricier than the first place we looked at. And third, we don't even know if the reception place is available on our date! Those are some pretty big butts! (see what I did there? It's punny!)
It's kind of stunning, don't you think? The reception site is also at GWG, but since we're not sure if we can have it, I'm not going to talk about it. It will just get my hopes up!
** DISCLAIMER: This is NOT our final decision. Just an option. However, feel free to tell us how you feel about it in a comment below :) **
For all of you blog stalkers out there (aka Mom and Dad), go check out the place for yourself! It's in a beautiful area called Garvan Woodland Gardens in Hot Springs, AR. Oh, wait...You didn't know that we were having an Arkansas wedding? SURPRISE!!! Check out the chapel....
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| Anthony Chapel at Garvan Woodland Gardens |
** DISCLAIMER: This is NOT our final decision. Just an option. However, feel free to tell us how you feel about it in a comment below :) **
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
The Proposal
This is Andy.
Not Becca.
Gather 'round kids: it's story time.
The preamble: The marriage proposal is one of those rites of passage that has always been a little daunting to me. At times my mind raced, "What if she thinks my proposal is totally lame? What if she hates the ring? What if something goes wrong: all h-e-double-hockey-sticks breaks loose and the engagement night lives on in infamy?" To be honest, most of those concerns began to fall to the wayside as I started to really consider what it was that I was planning. Asking someone if she wants to spend the rest of her life with me is an event of greater importance than any matter of preparation and production. Had the day been awful, had the dinner been a disaster, had the weather been unbearably cold and windy (it was); in spite of those things I knew I was still going to confirm a promise to devote my life to the one woman that I love. (pause to bask in the sentiment)
The proposal: I wanted our three-year anniversary date to be a day full of enjoying each other's company. We live in separate cities and so the lazy-day date isn't usually an option for us. Becca came to Little Rock sometime in the late morning on Saturday and we went and grabbed some lunch. Five Guys Burgers and Fries. Romantic, right? I tried my best to play the day off as something that the two of us planned together. I asked her if there was anything that she really wanted to do on our big date since she had been so bogged down with school that she hadn't had a whole lot of time to enjoy the finer things in life: like the new Harry Potter. Indeed we did catch an early showing of Hermione Granger 7 Part 1: what Becca claims to be her favorite part of the day. (pout) After the movie, we got gussied up for our dinner reservation at Little Rock's, A Brave New Restaurant. Clever name. Thus began stealth mode as I now had to conceal the ring in my jacket pocket while also concealing my immense excitement/childish nervousness. Dinner was a success and we proceeded to head into downtown Little Rock for a nice stroll. Never mind the Marry Poppins gale force winds and the sub-comfortable temperatures. We grabbed some coffee and made our way down to the River Market area. My original idea was to take her up to Junction Bridge - a pedestrian bridge that crosses from Little Rock into North Little Rock - to enjoy the skyline view but the wind tunnel that was forming over the river at the time proved to be a little more than we cared to endure. We did, however, mosey/shiver our way down to the amphitheater and onto a lone bench in the middle of the stage facing the river. This spot held a certain amount of sentimental value as we had been on a (much warmer) walk there once before when we first started dating. We sat and enjoyed the coffee and company as we talked a little bit about what a nice day we had spent together. I decided that I couldn't keep up the charade any longer so I got off the bench, onto one knee, told her that I couldn't stand the thought of not spending the rest of my life with her and asked her to marry me. Her expression went from one of confusion (as I along with her entire family had been misleading her for a couple of weeks with regard to the true purpose of our date) to one of uncontainable joy. We hugged it out, gushed a little bit about being engaged and then got the heck out of the cold.
The end.
Not Becca.
Gather 'round kids: it's story time.
The preamble: The marriage proposal is one of those rites of passage that has always been a little daunting to me. At times my mind raced, "What if she thinks my proposal is totally lame? What if she hates the ring? What if something goes wrong: all h-e-double-hockey-sticks breaks loose and the engagement night lives on in infamy?" To be honest, most of those concerns began to fall to the wayside as I started to really consider what it was that I was planning. Asking someone if she wants to spend the rest of her life with me is an event of greater importance than any matter of preparation and production. Had the day been awful, had the dinner been a disaster, had the weather been unbearably cold and windy (it was); in spite of those things I knew I was still going to confirm a promise to devote my life to the one woman that I love. (pause to bask in the sentiment)
The proposal: I wanted our three-year anniversary date to be a day full of enjoying each other's company. We live in separate cities and so the lazy-day date isn't usually an option for us. Becca came to Little Rock sometime in the late morning on Saturday and we went and grabbed some lunch. Five Guys Burgers and Fries. Romantic, right? I tried my best to play the day off as something that the two of us planned together. I asked her if there was anything that she really wanted to do on our big date since she had been so bogged down with school that she hadn't had a whole lot of time to enjoy the finer things in life: like the new Harry Potter. Indeed we did catch an early showing of Hermione Granger 7 Part 1: what Becca claims to be her favorite part of the day. (pout) After the movie, we got gussied up for our dinner reservation at Little Rock's, A Brave New Restaurant. Clever name. Thus began stealth mode as I now had to conceal the ring in my jacket pocket while also concealing my immense excitement/childish nervousness. Dinner was a success and we proceeded to head into downtown Little Rock for a nice stroll. Never mind the Marry Poppins gale force winds and the sub-comfortable temperatures. We grabbed some coffee and made our way down to the River Market area. My original idea was to take her up to Junction Bridge - a pedestrian bridge that crosses from Little Rock into North Little Rock - to enjoy the skyline view but the wind tunnel that was forming over the river at the time proved to be a little more than we cared to endure. We did, however, mosey/shiver our way down to the amphitheater and onto a lone bench in the middle of the stage facing the river. This spot held a certain amount of sentimental value as we had been on a (much warmer) walk there once before when we first started dating. We sat and enjoyed the coffee and company as we talked a little bit about what a nice day we had spent together. I decided that I couldn't keep up the charade any longer so I got off the bench, onto one knee, told her that I couldn't stand the thought of not spending the rest of my life with her and asked her to marry me. Her expression went from one of confusion (as I along with her entire family had been misleading her for a couple of weeks with regard to the true purpose of our date) to one of uncontainable joy. We hugged it out, gushed a little bit about being engaged and then got the heck out of the cold.
The end.
Here We Go...
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages (except the screaming, smelly babies. And the terrible two-year-olds): I am so very VERY excited to announce to you all that Andy and Becca are getting married! You can come here for all of the wedding "low-down". I have decided that a blog is the perfect outlet for me to pour all of my wedding ideas into because 1) The internet won't get annoyed with constant wedding talk, and 2) Our friends and family can be as informed (or uninformed) as they so choose. With that being said, let the planning....BEGIN!
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