Wednesday, March 28, 2018

Our Wedding: List Number One

Today I'm sharing a bit of wedding organization with you guys! We really hit the ground running since we are planning a wedding in eight months- we have less then seven months to go so I thought I would share how I'm organizing all my planning.

I decided to make three lists to split up my wedding tasks. The first list I am planning to complete before May, the second must be completed by the end of August and the third is the final list to be completed by our wedding day.  Today I want to share what was on list number one and what we've already completed, I will be sharing my next two lists in the upcoming months as well- don't worry I'm taking you along for every step of this journey!

Wedding To Do List #1

  • Go to bridal expo  We really enjoyed this! It gave us quite a few ideas and we got a ton of free stuff! To see our day at the wedding expo you can check that out here.
  • make bridesmaid proposal gifts and give them out  You can see my bridesmaid proposals here!
  • meet and hire photographer We hired Carissa from Ella Grace Photography and are THRILLED with our decision- she is fantastic!
  • meet with Peggy at The Rotunda We met up with Peggy one Saturday to view the inside. She was great and gave us some great insight on using the floor plan!
  • make appointment at Davids Bridal I made an appointment for April 14th and I can't wait to spend quality time with Rachel and my mom trying on dresses
  • engagement shoot We had the best time working with Carissa even though it was freezing on this day!
  • insure ring this was super easy to do- I signed up through Jewelers Mutual and it was much cheaper then I thought and certainly gives me peace of mind!
  • get ring resized again, super easy to do and I was just putting it off because I didn't want to give up my ring. I went to Simply Majestic and had a great experience- it was done so quickly!
  • create wedding website I just used the free website TheKnot does and have started to put our information on there
  • book Kayla for hair- I briefly spoke to her about this but want to make sure she is completely booked for my day! I actually will see her later today and plan on checking with her then
  • book Laura for makeup I checked with Laura and we will be setting up my trial soon!
  • book hotel for wedding night- Tim is currently working on this!
  • block hotel rooms for guests done! The credit for this goes all to Tim- he has been dealing with the hotels which has been so helpful!
  • book caterer Once again, the credit for this goes to Tim! I did put the deposit down for this and went with Tim to drop off the contract- so it was a team effort!
  • order save the dates and get them mailed out- We are waiting for our pictures to come back and then this will get checked off- hopefully in the next couple of weeks!
  • book videographer My brothers best friend will be our videographer for our wedding day! I'm happy to have someone we trust and know well to do this important task! 
  • book DJ Another point for Tim- he's the one who contacted Dr Graeme and booked him. 
  • register for gifts we have three registries going right now and although we will be revisiting them in the future to add I'm sure I'm counting this as done!
We've had a very busy first month planning and have almost this entire list crossed off! In a few weeks I'll share list number 2 as I start to work on that next!

What were the most important things on your wedding to do list?

Have a great day everybody!

Monday, March 26, 2018

Life Lately: Hiking, Ring Sizing and Birthday Celebrations

Happy Monday everyone! 

We were super busy this weekend- it all started with hiking adventures after work on Thursday and Friday.


On Thursday we headed to the gym but once we were in the parking lot it was clear that it was packed. Not wanting to have to fight for weights we decided to go for a hike at nearby Goddard Park instead!


It was a little chilly but we had a gorgeous walk along the water and it was nice to spend some time chatting with my favorite guy.

On Friday we decided to not even try the gym and go for a hike since it was so beautiful out.


Our first hike was to explore the Davis Memorial Wildlife Refuge which was a short hike and only took us about 15 minutes so Tim suggested we head to Rome Point- a trail that leads to the beach and I was in!



What a cool shell right? We never find anything like that around Rhode Island. It was so cool how the whole beach was covered in shells. 




There were so many little trails along the way and so much so see. It's definitely a trail you could go back to and do different every time. I called it a choose your own adventure trail.





We also found this old car in the woods. It was so random but a cool discovery.

On Saturday morning we headed to Stonington CT to get my ring resized. I had planned on sending it back to James Allen but didn't like the idea of being away from my ring for two weeks. My friend Kirstin's older sister Jen works at Simply Majestic in Stonington and she said they could do it same day for me!


My hand was so lonely without my ring but within and hour and a half I had it back on my hand.


And it was super clean and shiny!

On Saturday night we had plans to brewery hop for Derek's birthday so we headed up to Foolproof in Pawtucket, RI where I ran into Jess who I haven't seen in forever!


It was so funny to bump into her so randomly but it was great to see her!


Derek got a t-shirt from Ally's sister with Drake on it. It was hilarious and he continued to wear it the rest of the night!

Next we headed to Long Live in Providence which I didn't take any pictures of but we mostly hung outside while we were there.

Finally we drove into Downtown Providence to go to Trinity Brewhouse for our 7pm dinner reservation! It was such a fun time hanging out with everyone.



The pulled pork sandwich was delicious! After spending time talking with everyone, eating dinner and having a couple of drinks we decided to head closer to home. 

We stopped at The Safehouse in East Greenwich and hung out awhile longer before eventually heading home.

On Sunday we had a special birthday party to attend.


Callan turned 7 this month and we celebrated with a bowling party!


I was having a good bowling day!


Callan got really good at bowling and ended up getting his first strike!







We had three lanes and our group had a ton of fun as well bowled, chatted and ate.


Callan was wiped out by the end of the party!


We had a great time and were ready to have a restful ending to our weekend by hanging out couch together. 

How was your weekend?!

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Life Lately: Engagement Shoot, St Patricks Day, Hanging With Babies

Happy Wednesday!

Today I'm sharing what I've been up to lately- this past weekend was a busy one for us. The weekends seem to be filling up quickly and the weeks have been flying by (except when I'm at work of course)

On Saturday Tim had to run and get a haircut so I did a few errands. We had engagement pictures planned for Sunday so I needed to get underwear that wouldn't show up under my white dress and buy a football to write on.


When I got home I made this save the date football (Tim did the heart because I'm hopeless at making them even). I think it turned out great- not perfect- but neither of us is perfect and our handwriting certainly isn't so why stencil it when we can make it look perfect.


I also painted my nails with an Essie gel polish that I picked up so my hand would be ready to show off that gorgeous ring Tim gave me!


On Saturday evening we headed off to Harborside in East Greenwich to meet up with Derek, Ally and Ally's sister Krystal and her husband Woody. We had a great time with them and all their friends that met up with us. We had a couple of drinks and then headed to Krystal and Woody's apartment to hang out and play some games. On the way there Tim asked Derek to be his best man and I asked Ally to be my bridesmaid- and they both said yes!

We played some games- Adult Questions and Cards Against Humanity and had a great time!

The next morning we were up bright and early to head to Newport for our engagement shoot...


We did two different outfits- one in our football jerseys and another where Tim is wearing the shirt you see in the above picture and I'm wearing a white dress. Once I get the images back I will share them with you but for now the above picture is all I have! This was in between taking pictures at different locations. We were FREEZING in the 21 degree weather. The wind was blowing around like crazy and my hands were painful from using hand warmers on them.


After a very cold morning we headed to Phils in Wakefield for a delicious breakfast! It was so nice to drink some hot coffee and warm up our bodies.

We stopped by to see Tim's brother and nephews for a bit and had a great time chatting with Dan. We also were able to ask Kason and Callan if they would like to be our ring bearers and they said yes! Callan's mom also told me that he's been talking about the wedding since and is super excited- so cute :)


We headed to Brittni and Stephen's house next to get in a little cuddle time with baby Parker!


And a little play time with Emma! She is such a ham and kept us laughing as she spoke to us in her sweet little voice and loved on her baby sister.




And played in laundry baskets- because what is more fun then that?


And she's still obsessed with Tim!

We had a great weekend and I was bummed to go back to work on Monday- but we have another full weekend coming up- which I of course will be sharing with you guys!

Monday, March 19, 2018

Our Wedding: Bridesmaid Proposals

Now that I've officially asked all my bridesmaids to be in the wedding I can share all the details of my bridesmaid proposals with you! 

Since the theme of our wedding is the beach I really wanted to incorporate something beachy during my bridesmaid proposals but I wasn't sure what. Between Pinterest and Etsy there are a million ideas out there and honestly it can be quite overwhelming. I knew I didn't want to spend a ton of money because I'd prefer to spend more later on the gifts I give them at the rehearsal dinner then upfront on a proposal. I also liked the idea of getting crafty and making something.

I came across an Etsy shop that sold messages in a bottle and thought that it was a great idea and would be easy to do myself- so I immediately headed to Michaels to pick up some supplies.


I picked up 7 bottles with corks, a book of parchment paper, two bottles of sand (I only ended up using part of one-but have plans for other crafts where I will use it all!), a metallic marker, and twine (which I ended up not using).


Sorry these pictures are sideways- that's pure laziness on my part- I'm the worst blogger.  I filled each bottle with a little bit of sand and then (in my nicest handwriting) wrote notes to my Matron of Honor and each of my Bridesmaids. I also had purchased cards off of Etsy before deciding on doing the message in the bottle- so I kind of asked them twice- but it turned out fine!

So who did I ask? Well I'll tell you!


My matron of honor will be my best friend Rachel! She said yes when I surprised her at work with her card and message in a bottle. If you've been reading for awhile you might remember that I was her maid of honor a few years back!

My other best friend Brittni said yes to being a bridesmaid (and our officiant- she is doing double duty!) when I left her gift on her desk at work! Well actually she asked me what day we were getting married because she was real busy.... but in Brittni's sense of humor that was a yes!

Kristin and I have been friends since my freshman year of high school. She and I danced together for four years in high school and then kept in contact for all these years- we still have dinner together quite often and I'm so excited for her to be a part of our day!


Megan and I became friends through dance company at URI and immediately realized we were freakishly similar! I call her my twin because we both like the same things and have so much in common. We were also roommates our senior year of college! We've stayed friends through all these years and she will traveling all the way from San Diego for our wedding!

Laura and I became friends my junior year of called through URI Dance Company and then became roommates my senior year! We had the best time living together and have continued our friendship since. We bonded over our love of dance and had many great nights in college!


Brittany is Tim's sister so I have known her since the first month of our relationship. Tim and I wanted to make sure all of our siblings got included in our special day and I'm so excited to now have a sister since I've never had one before!

Last but not least is Ally! She is Tim's cousins girlfriend and we've become friends through them. The four of us hang out quite often and over the last couple of years have had lots of fun times! Her boyfriend Derek will be Tim's best man and I'm so excited to have both of them be a part of our day!



Those are the seven ladies who will be included in my wedding party and I'm so excited to have each and every one of them there! :)

Wednesday, March 14, 2018

Our Wedding: Planning Updates

We're halfway through the week- woohoo! Today we are chatting about wedding planning! Tim and I have gotten a fair amount done with such a short time frame. I'm proud of what we've accomplished so far! The last thing I shared was our venue search where we decided on the Newport Rotunda at Eastons Beach.

Let's pick up where we left off shall we?

We attended a Bridal Expo at Mohegan Sun on Sunday February 25th which was a great way to see what wanted and didn't want for our wedding. Since we already picked our venue we didn't visit any of those booths but were able to check out DJs, photo booths, caterers, etc.


I love the color of these napkins! We collected tons of brochures and free items and then grabbed lunch at Bobbys Burger Bar before heading home.


Cheese fries are always delicious!

We collected quite a bit of stuff to go through...





We took a ton of information on honeymoons as well which we don't yet have planned. Although the event was rather overwhelming we had a great time checking everything out!


I purchased a wedding planning binder! So far it seems super helpful and I'm glad I bought it- you can buy one too right on Amazon. I've come across another bride who had the same binder and she couldn't stop raving about it either!


My Papa and his girlfriend Vivian sent us these beautiful flowers for our engagement! It was such a sweet surprise!


On Saturday March 3rd we had a meeting with a potential photographer in Newport and also planned on meeting with Peggy at the Rotunda to officially view the inside of our venue. We had already put down a deposit because we loved it but walking around the inside just made even more excited about our day!


In case the inflatables are confusing you- in the winter they have something called "Beach Bounce" here. They will be finishing up and redoing the floors and painting the walls before wedding season begins!


I love that there are windows around the entire room and that the view is gorgeous! I love how light the room is and how we can bring in any decor because it's so plain. I hate dark spaces and knew that I wanted a room with white (or light walls) so this is absolutely perfect.


And the starfish accents? Perfect!


Our potential photographer gave us this magazine to look through with some of her pictures inside during our meeting. Thoughout the course of our meeting I became completely sold on having her. I was 99% sure going in that we were going to pick her but when we heard that she got married at our venue and has done a ton of weddings there I was sold! Plus her personality is just the best- she seems like just the right amount of laid back. So we will be using Ella Grace Photography for our wedding- contract is signed! (And our engagement session is scheduled for this weekend!)


On Sunday March 4th we headed to Crate and Barrel to start our registry. This was mostly due to the fact that they give you a free gift when you register. You guys know I'm all about the freebies!

We picked out a ton of nice things and then stopped at Avvio for lunch.




It was pretty good!


All about that ring life!


The free gift Crate and Barrel gives you when you register is a pair of their stemless wine glasses. We didn't have any wine glasses so we will certainly use them for our non-wine drinks!


Last Saturday March 10th we headed off to turn in our caterer contract! I had put Tim in charge of choosing a caterer and he did an amazing job! We decided to go with Blackstone Catering who has done a ton of events at our venue. The woman we are working with, Shannon has been nothing short of amazing and we are sure we made the right choice!


Plus they have a huge fork outside their office. While we were there we scheduled our tasting for the end of April!

I will keep the updates coming as we do more wedding things! I have a feeling that with only 223 days to go we will being doing wedding stuff pretty much every weekend for awhile :)