Engagement pictures

I have been looking forward to today for a very long time! Today, we had our engagement session with Lori and Neville from Stringer Photography (www.stringerphotography.net) They are seriously the best photographers that I have ever met. Photography was probably the most important aspect of the wedding day for me and I was extremely particular in who we chose since I minored in Photography in college. I loved Lori and Neville's approach and they seemed to have such a good eye! After about 2 hours of meeting with them...they convinced us to get engagement photos.
We decided to do the photos on the grounds of Cairnwood. Cairnwood shares the property with the Bryn Athyn Cathedral and the Glencairn Museum. Doug and I have visited the grounds previously and loved the Cathedral.
Doug is not much of a picture person and so he was a little hesitant about today. Lori and Neville instantly made us feel relaxed and at ease with them. There was a little bit of awkwardness in the beginning, but then we just did our thing and fell right into it. The cool thing about their style is that they document your time together as opposed to a "sit and pose" session. They told us to try and forget that they were there with us and to just act as if we were on a date. We both had so much fun and goofed off the entire time! We could not believe the time had gone so fast!
They actually posted our pictures on their website. We are under Galleries, Engagement Moments, Gallery II. You can also view all of the proofs from our session. Go to Menu and click View Event. There will be an option on the right to click view online proofs. Our password is Engagement.
We are really happy with the pictures so far and can't wait to see the rest!!!

THE DRESS!!!

Today, I took a personal day to go dress shopping with Mom and Ashley. I was so excited and had the ENTIRE day planned, from start to finish.
We had the first appointment at Country Bride and I cannot even begin to express how ECSTATIC I was that this day was finally here! The lady that helped us out, Mary, was so nice! She had me fill out a profile that included my wedding day and the bridal party. Then, we all walked around the store and browsed their gown selection. Anything that we saw that looked appealing, we set aside to be tried on. After the hook was just about bent from all of the gowns weighing it down...I headed off to the fitting rooms for the adventure of my life. Of course, Mary was right behind me. We started with her handing me a HUGE "slip" and telling me to put it on and take everything else off. After I maneuvered my way into this "slip" I was ready to put on the first wedding dress. When I tell you that this was a process...it is an understatement! You don't "put on" these dresses...you DIVE into them! Some of these dresses were SO big...I didn't know how I would even be able to move. THANK GOD for Mary! Clearly, she knew what she was doing. The first dress was a definite NO. I was shocked too, because I always thought I would fall in love with an all-lace, white dress. Not so much. It just didn't do it for anyone. I went through this for about 30 more minutes (which means I only tried on about 3 dresses) before I found one I liked. When I came out, my Mom had a huge smile on her face. I loved how it looked...but I wasn't completely sold. So...back into the small room I went, Mary right behind me, to dive in and out of several more dresses. The very last dress I had hanging on the hook was not very promising, in my opinion. But, I was having so much fun...I didn't want it to end. So, I tried on this dress too. This dress was A LOT of dress! Somehow, I managed to get myself out to the mirrors and when I looked at myself in this dress...I knew it was "the dress." It was perfect for how I had envisioned the day and I felt like a bride. It is a champagne dress with a very understated sweetheart neckline. The top is embroidered with pearls and crystals and the bottom is plain satin. The back of the dress is bustled up in several different sections and it has a cathedral-length train. It was just absolutely amazing and I did not want to take it off!
It's going to take 6 months to be ordered/made so I won't get to see it again until September.
How crazy that I now have my wedding dress!!! I can't believe things are finally starting to be solidified!

The location!

Tonight, Doug and I went to see Cairnwood Mansion. I came across this location during my many hours of wedding reception research and fell in love with it the second I saw it. Every Wednesday night, they have an open house. I had chills the second we walked into the mansion. It was so unbelievably gorgeous!!! As soon as you walk in, you are in the Great Hall. The entire site was decorated for Christmas and there was a HUGE Christmas tree in the corner of the great hall. We toured the entire mansion with Shannon, the sales rep, and then also met a few vendors. Basically, you pay a flat fee to rent the mansion (plus a hefty security deposit so nothing is ruined) and then you hire a caterer to supply the food. The nice thing about this is that it allows you to shop around until you find the perfect caterer instead of being "stuck" with whatever chef the location uses. We met with a few caterers and got some ideas on what we liked and what we definitely did not like. I think we both knew right away that Cairnwood was the location for us! It was unlike any other venue I had ever seen. I like that our guests will have the option to walk around and be in several different rooms during our reception. They will not be confined to just one room. When we book the mansion, we are booking the ENTIRE mansion. So...all of our guests are able to utilize every room. This is appealing, especially considering the diversity of the guests attending.
We ended up booking the mansion tonight. As we were walking out the doors towards our car...it was such a surreal feeling. We kept thinking that in less than a year...our wedding will be held at this very place.
My heart would not stop fluttering.
I have a feeling that will be happening quite often over these next several months!

At the beginning...

Since December, my life has been a whirl-wind. So much has been going on and so I decided to start a blog to stay in touch with everyone throughout the next several months of wedding planning. My intention is to use this to document the best and worst and hopefully keep it going beyond December.
So, where to start...? I guess it would make sense to start at the beginning...
Doug and I have been dating since November 25, 2000. I know this seems like a very long time...but keep in mind how young we both were when we started dating! We met right out of HS while working at Applebees. I can still remember the first time I ever saw Doug. I was standing at the front of the restaurant getting ready for the restaurant to open and Doug came in for an interview. He sat down at a table and thought it would be okay to start "taping" on the table to the music that was playing. Well...the small taping turned into a full-fledged drumming session. I could not believe it and thought he was seriously the weirdest kid I had ever seen. Oddly enough...he got hired. As I got to know Doug, I could not believe the connection that we shared. It was as if we had known one another for years! I know everyone says that and it sounds so cliche...but it's true. Our conversations flowed and there was never any awkwardness that you would have when getting to know someone new. We went on our first date shortly after meeting, and after a lot of persistence on Doug's end (and a lot of "laying it on thick") we started dating exclusively.
Fast forward a few years, through college...
It is December 9, 2006 and it is strangely warm for winter. I just finished teaching all of my adorable little students at the Y and decided that Doug and I should meet up for lunch. We grabbed a quick lunch and then decided to take a drive since it was so nice out. There is a park in our area called Peace Valley Park. I have gone there since I was a little girl and it is one of my all time favorite spots. Doug and I go there quite often when it is nice out. So, it did not surprise me when Doug started driving towards Peace Valley Park. We got there and both decided to take a walk. It was so incredibly gorgeous and we walked out onto one of the docks. We were just talking and enjoying the views and all of the sudden Doug pulled a card out of his pocket and handed it to me. I was completely caught off guard and asked him what the card was for. He told me that since my previous week was rough...he wanted to get me a card. Now, you have to know...I absolutely LOVE cards! In my opinion, I would rather have a card than a gift any day (well, unless it is a piece of Tiffany's jewelry, of course). So, I was enthralled when I saw that he had taken the time to pick me out a card. When I opened the card, the front of it talked about how exciting it is to be engaged. Now, understand, Doug and I have been together 6 years at this point. I had graduated college and was more than ready to take the next step in my life...getting engaged. As you can imagine...I was just slightly confused as to why I was receiving a card like this. When I opened the card, it read "Congratulations on your engagement." When I looked up at Doug, he had tears in his eyes and he was getting down on one knee. I wish I could tell you all of the thought out, well planned and rehearsed words that followed this...but I can't. I honestly can't even remember one sentence that he said other than "Will you marry me?"
Of course, I said yes, and here we are today!