Graduation

I know it's better late than never but I graduated on Saturday, December 10th, 2011. I am so excited to finally be done with my master's degree and school in general!!! Here are a few pics of my graduation ceremony. Thank you to all my family that spent the day with me and everyone that sent cards and called me. With all the wedding preparations it was nice to take a day to celebrate graduating and have a delicious dinner at Pappadeaux :).

Me & Michael

Michael, Me, Katy & Kyle

Mom, Me & Dad

Me & Katy

Walking the stage

Bachelorette Party :)

My Bachelorette party was on Saturday but I haven't felt human until now (Monday night). Katy, My sister and MOH, threw an awesome party. She had me go over to her apartment to get ready and had fruity drinks ready for me when I got there. We drank and sang along to an awesome 90's playlist while we got ready and were altogether very embarrassing. Everyone met at the Forum (shopping center) to get onto the party bus Katy rented for the evening and I was shocked when we pulled up and there were two half naked guys waiting for us outside the bus!!! One was handing out boas and the other was handing out shot glass necklaces and whistles. We all posed for a group picture before we left.

We started the night at a place called Dick's Last Resort. For those of you not familiar with the concept of this particular establishment it is a little different. Their main goal in life is to provide terrible service, insult you, make crude jokes and generally piss you off. Which made it the perfect destination for our drunken troupe. Our waiter, who we dubbed "Big Sexy", was awesome. He kept our drinks full, danced with us and made terrible dirty jokes and was overall awesome.

Our next and final stop was a country & western bar called Midnight Rodeo. The dance floor was in the shape of a giant circle and had a bar in the middle. After a few times out on the dance floor I realized that I was a little too intoxicated for the twirling involved with two-stepping. We danced, drank and laughed the night away until our dutiful DD's came to get us.

There are several parts of the story I have left out intentionally that are better explained with pictures and some I think all of us would like to keep to ourselves. I speak for everyone when I say we had an amazing night and I think we're all just a little bit closer now :).

18 DAYS!!!

I just got back from a very relaxing visit to see Michael in Florida over Thanksgiving break. I was able to skip the one class I had last week and we got to spend 10 whole days together :). We drove up to see Michael's family in Savannah and spent Thanksgiving with them and got to see our friends Brandie and Kyle, who we haven't seen in over a year. It was so nice to get away from the chaos that has been the past few months of wedding planning and school... well, we almost got away. Michael and I did sit down and finally hashed out what our first dance song is going to be and he chose the song that we will exit the ceremony to (hint: he spent a while listening to the theme music from several action movies). It actually sounds kinda perfect :). Overall we have all the major songs picked out.

I came back into town today and had my first final tonight. I have one more take-home final due Thursday and a group presentation due Wednesday and then I am done. Thank God!! Graduation is on the 10th of December and I will be sure to post pics.

Since we're on the subject of pictures, my bachelorette party is on December 3rd and I am sure there will be many embarrassing pictures to choose from. In the interest of being a good sport I will go through them and post any with a PG rating or less. I should warn you that my sister, Kaitlyn, is planning this party so there may not be any pics that make the cut. She already picked out my uber-scandalous that consists of a leather mini skirt and a sequined top and high heels... I was told I couldn't wear a jacket and that if I got cold I "wasn't drinking enough". This ought to be interesting. Michael's bachelor party is the same night in Richmond Hill and I will let you know how he does as well.

After this week I'm going to be in super planning mode for the wedding! I am so excited for the big day! I'll update as more details get finalized.

What song should I walk down the aisle to?

I am having a REALLY hard time deciding what music to play for key moments of the wedding. My Dad requested "I loved her first" by Heartland for our Father-Daughter dance and I want to play "Another one bites the dust" by Queen for the garter toss but I need help with the rest. Here are a few of the songs I am considering for the processional and/or my entrance, please let me know what you think and feel free to suggest any other songs as well. Thanks!!!

All this wedding and no Priest...

I have been dealing with a very interesting problem... I haven't been able to find anyone to marry us!!! I come from a VERY Catholic family and Michael's family is Baptist so we discussed which church we would get married in and he graciously agreed to get married in the Catholic church. This turned out to be easier said than done. I called every church in the downtown San Antonio area and NONE of them were available. They either wouldn't do a wedding ceremony during Advent (Christmas season), or they wouldn't marry a couple outside their parish, or they were booked... for the next year! I was beginning to freak out a little. We discussed our other options and decided to find a Justice of the Peace to perform our ceremony.

If only that was the end of the story. I began asking several of my professors, many of whom have been in the public administration field for many years, which Judges they would recommend. The last thing I wanted was someone who would go off on a long and bitter diatribe about marriage or worse...tell jokes. I thought I was in luck when my ethics professor, who is also an attorney, told me about this phenomenal Judge who had done his nephew's wedding. I got his number and was given the run around by his office for several weeks before I finally gave up and began the search again.

It was only after I found Judge Monica Lisa Caballero that the other Judge finally called me back....well, his assistant called me back. I told him I would be happy to schedule a meeting to discuss how we wanted the ceremony to go and was told "he doesn't do that". Well silly me for thinking I should have a say in MY wedding ceremony.

Thankfully we already had an appointment with Judge Caballero while Michael was visiting and I was so thrilled to find out that she was incredibly down to earth and completely understood our predicament. She is willing to work in as many traditions into the ceremony as we'd like and she even had a few really great suggestions for us.

Finally figuring this out has been a HUGE relief. I was beginning to think we were just going to be throwing a really great party :)

Bridal Shower

My bridal shower was on October 15th and it was a great success! I owe a HUGE thank you to Katy, my Mom and Nina for putting together an amazing shower.

There was a slight hiccup in the bridal shower plans when it was announced that comprehensive exams (comps) were going to be on the same day. St. Mary's University MPA program does not have a thesis, instead they have comprehensive exams that are meant to test your knowledge of the ENTIRE degree curriculum before you graduate. Comps were emailed out at 1:00pm on Friday, October 14th and we had until Saturday, October 15th at 6:00pm to send back our answers. The schedule for this was announced after Katy sent out the invitations and I reassured her that I would make it work. Somehow I pulled it off and was able to stay up most of the night before the shower and get the test done.

I was worried about being too tired to have fun at the shower but as soon as I got to the Stillwell house, where the shower was held, I got my second wind and had a great time.

The Stillwell House on Fort Sam Houston

I was greeted by this amazing food as soon as I walked in the door that Mom and Nina spent the whole night before cooking for me. They made sure to get all my favorites. :)

I'm not sure who's idea it was to have a cupcake tree but I'm pretty sure it was one of my favorite parts of the day, especially the chocolate & peanut butter one.

My Aunt Laurie also made me some of the coolest elephant shaped cupcakes I've ever seen. I will try and find a picture of them and post it. They were so creative and I thought it was really sweet of her to make my favorite animal into cupcakes for me.

Of course the majority of the bridal shower was spent opening presents, which I LOVE to do, and I got some amazing gifts. I got a lot of really cute things for my future kitchen that I can't wait to use. I have got to learn how to cook so I don't put it all to shame. :) There were a few "scandalous" gifts but, in the interest of keeping the blog G-rated, I'll spare you the details. Let's just say they came from a the people I would least expect (Gran & Aunt Christi) and they made me blush so bad it took everyone several minutes to stop laughing at me.

My junior bridesmaids were amazing about helping me get through all the gifts and they made sure all the wrappings were picked up and handed me gifts and really kept things rolling. Kaitlyn almost couldn't keep up with writing everything down, they were moving so fast.

Ava, my flower girl, was in charge of getting my bows off my gifts and putting them together for my "rehearsal bouquet". Did you know that the superstition is that how ever many bows you break when putting that thing together is supposed to be how many kids you'll have? Yeah, neither did I. I broke four. I still haven't figured out how to tell Michael.

The party wrapped up with Kaitlyn leading us in a few bridal shower games. Her bridal charades was a huge hit, especially when she acted out diving to catch the bouquet. She worked so hard on the shower and I am so proud of her for pulling everything together. She really made it everything I hoped it would be.

Katy. Me & Ava

Me & Gran

Me & Grandma

Me & Katy

Just Me :)

Engagement Photo Session

Here are a few of our engagement photos from our session with Lahra Bryant on October 2, 2011.

80 Days!

I know it has been forever since I have updated the blog and there is so much to say so I will just get right into it. We found Kellie, and her company Vanity Room to do hair and makeup for my sister and me for the wedding. I was able to schedule my trial run for today and was completely in love with everything she did. I actually stopped noticing the fake eyelashes after a few minutes and the makeup lasted for the rest of the day, despite 100 degree heat.

The picture is of the hairstyle I didn't choose so don't get excited :). I am trying to walk a fine line between filling people in with wedding details and giving away too much of the surprise.

We were also able to decide on the flower arrangements for the centerpieces. We went to a flower wholesaler in downtown San Antonio and bought every kind of purple flower they had that would be available in December and brought them home to figure out how the centerpieces were going to look. Nina and Mom spent a few hours doing the work while I offered suggestions and pretty soon we had a beautiful centerpiece worked out. The picture really doesn't do it justice. I am so happy with the way this is all turning out.
P.S. Ignore the blue plastic table cloth, I was trying to save Mom's table from scratches.

Finally, My something old, something borrowed and something blue are taken care of all in one! My Grandma started the tradition of wearing her aunt's glass bead necklace to get married in 50 years ago when she married my Papa and my Mom wore it 26 years ago when she married my Dad. Grandma was nice enough to have the necklace restrung and the clasp replaced and we added two blue beads for the "something blue". I am so proud to carry on the tradition and I love how it looks with my dress.

Ok, that's all for now but I will be sure to post more soon. Things are coming together so well and I am getting so excited as the big day gets closer!

Vendors are All Lined Up :)

This post is not only for those of you who are interested in our wedding details but also for those of you who may be planning a wedding in San Antonio as well. I have spent several weeks researching and talking with these vendors and I am very happy to say that it looks like they are all lining up nicely.

Photographer: Lahra Bryant

Wedding Cake: Seventh Heaven Cakes

DJ: Masquerade DJ Service

I have yet to find a florist but I will post it as soon as I do.

My friend Jordynn's mother, Lisa, is starting up a wedding planning business called Storybook Endings with her friend Jonett and has asked if she can do a candy bar for us. I was thrilled, of course, that she was willing to do it because I honestly don't know where I would have found the time and I was really hoping to have it as wedding favors for our guests. The picture below is a candy bar she did for a baby shower and I thought it was adorable.

I also wanted to include a picture of the champagne flutes I found for Michael and me and our cake knives that I found at this amazing boutique called Sisters. They are PERFECT for the wedding! Thank you Grandma for the early wedding gift :).

Junior Bridesmaids & Flower Girl

I got a text today from my Aunt Christi telling me that my cousins Taryn, Brooke and Ava have ordered their dresses. This is exciting news for two reasons; 1) Everything is slowly coming together for the wedding, and 2) They sent me this awesome picture of the girls trying on tiaras at the store. I love this picture and just had to share!

A Few Details...

Wedding planning is kicking into high gear now! I just got back from my visit with Michael in New Hampshire where we took some time to relax and just hang out together. I returned to a VERY long "to do" list and I have already started checking things off.
Mom found a great broach for the junior bridesmaid's dresses in a "Premier Designs" catalog. The girl's dresses are adorable but are a little plain so I wanted to add some sparkle and I think these will do the trick :).

We also found our photographer, Lahra Bryant. She is super sweet and has been very accommodating with our tight schedule. She was able to provide us with a great standard shot list of both formal pictures and key moments throughout the ceremony and reception and was open to any and all suggestions or additions. We are going to schedule a meeting with her soon to go over the details and hopefully do a walk through of the hotel before my bridal portraits. Michael and I are still undecided on engagement pictures since it will be a logistical nightmare with us being so far apart and we already have several professional pictures of us taken a couple of years ago.
I know these seem like small details but I am trying to keep this blog as updated as possible so I don't forget to mention anything. Thanks for checking it out!

Bridesmaid's Dresses & Registries

It's been a while since I have updated the blog but the last few papers due for my Summer classes were pretty tough. Somewhere along the way we found time to get Kaitlyn her dress and I picked out some really cute dresses for my junior bridesmaids (Taryn & Brooke) and flower girl (Ava). I don't want to give too much away so the picture included is of a dress in the same color and length as Kaitlyn's dress but is not the dress we picked out for her.
The same day we got Katy's dress I found out my dress was in :). When we got to the store I was able to try it on again and see it alongside Katy's and I was reminded again of how much I love it. After I ordered the dress I began having second thoughts about the style since it was a lot fancier than I was going to go for but seeing it again made me remember why I loved it so much.

When I got dress home and showed it to my Dad and Papa they were as happy with it as I was, it even got a few tears.
This week I am in New Hampshire visiting Michael and we have a ton to get done. Today we went to register at Bed, Bath & Beyond and Target and it wasn't as easy as i thought it would be. Trying to decorate a house we don't have yet is close to impossible so we stuck to kitchen items and ended up with two pretty hefty registries. I was pretty proud of Michael for making it all afternoon without complaining :). We still have to get Michael's ring and Tux while I'm up here and a ton more to do when I get home so wish us luck!

We have a NEW Wedding Date!

So there has been a little hitch in our plans, pardon the pun :). I signed the contract for La Mansion on the 5th of July and on Friday, July 14th, I finally received an estimate for the group rate and room availability at the hotel. She started by letting me know that there were no rooms available on the night of the December 9th because of a breast cancer awareness convention that had every hotel in the city booked all that week. Then She told me that the group rate for the night of the 10th was going to be $299....PER ROOM! I was livid, to say the least, since she told me when I signed the contract that I could have at least 10 rooms and add more as needed for the nights of the 9th and the 10th.

I couldn't get in touch with her on Friday and she wasn't in the office all weekend so Michael and I went by there today before he left so I could show him everything and talk with her in person. She was extremely apologetic but let me know that she had called around and every hotel in the city was booked for that week and they weren't willing to release any rooms. I had mentioned getting married on the 17th of December in an earlier conversation and she asked if that was still an option. I talked it over with Michael and we really didn't see any way around it or any real issues with that date so we decided to move the wedding.

In the end it made the most sense because the new group rate for the rooms at La Mansion is $150 for that weekend, a drastic price difference. I will also be able to walk at my graduation from St.Mary's, which will make my parents very happy.

I will let everyone know who to call and what name to give for the group rates as soon as I sign the new contracts. I also plan on negotiating a group rate at one of the hotels close by for those who would like to stay close to the ceremony but would like to be a bit more economical and I will get that info out as soon as possible as well.

Sorry for all the confusion, thank God this happened early enough for us to figure out a way around it.

Bridal Survival Kit

My sister and Maid of Honor (MOH) Kaitlyn created her version of the "bridal survival kit" and surprised me with it. She re-used a super cute Hannah Montana bag and added the clippings to personalize it. Inside the bag there is; A brush, travel size hair spray, deodorant, wisp mini-brushes, a lint roller, sewing kit, mouthwash, and Advil. Basically everything I could possibly need the day of the wedding to keep me going in case of emergency. This is honestly the cutest/ most practical gift she could have given me and I will definitely get a lot of use out of it. :)

Dress Shopping!!

Today I went out in search of a wedding dress...and FOUND ONE!! With the help of Mom, Katy (MOH), Grandma, Jordynn and Nina I was able to find the perfect dress. I printed out several pictures of what I was looking for before we left and when we arrived at our first stop, Mayfair Bridal, I found the dress I fell in love with online. I tried it on first and I was giddy when it looked amazing on me. I knew I had to try on several more for the viewing party to be satisfied so I had a wide selection of about 10-12 dresses to try on as well. They of course all fell in love with dress #2 and we went to lunch with the group split 50/50 on which dress they preferred.

After a delicious lunch at the cheesecake factory :) we were off to Alfred Angelo Bridal for our next appointment. Nina and Jordynn took off in one direction while Katy and Mom went in another and Grandma and I went to find our consultant, Carmel. After we all gathered our picks I went into the dressing room. I was sure that I wouldn't find anything I loved as much as that first dress and reluctantly proceeded to try on the new ones. As we pulled the 3rd dress out of the bag I was skeptical about the beading and shape of the dress since it was nothing like what I was looking at online. As soon as Carmel zipped up the back I was astonished at how well the dress not only fit my shape but how comfortable and elegant I felt in it. There was no mirror in the dressing room so I had no idea what it looked like when I walked out around the corner but when everyone gasped in unison I knew this one had to be good. I climbed up on the little pedestal and couldn't believe how perfect it was. I started crying right there and as Mom came up behind me I realized she was doing the same. Carmel put the veil in my hair and that was it, I had found my dress.

I ordered it today and it should be ready in September in plenty of time for alterations. I hope you all love it as much as I do. :)

We have a wedding date!!

Mom and I went to La Mansion this morning to go over the last few questions we had and to iron out some details with the wedding coordinator (Jessica). I knew that the price had to come below a certain number in order for us to be able to afford it but I couldn't help but get my hopes up. Jessica was able to work with us since we will be having the rehearsal dinner, ceremony, cocktail hour and the reception at the hotel as well as signing an additional contract for at least 10 rooms and adding many more as family and friends RSVP.

We signed a contract for our wedding on December 10, 2011!!! I called Michael right away and he was just as excited as I am. I made an appointment to take him by the hotel when he visits for my birthday so he can walk through the space and we can discuss the menu and future appointments. I can breathe a little sigh of relief now that the first hurdle has been cleared.... now on to the dress! :)

Kirsten

Appointments....

As you can probably tell Michael did some work on getting the blog going and it took him a few days to post what I wrote on Thursday of last week. Our appointments were on Friday and they included; the Westin, La Mansion, The Marriott riverwalk, The Hyatt Regency and the J.W. Marriott. Mom and I started early, our first appointment was at 8:30, at the Westin and we were on the go all day after that.
My only complaint for the day was that the woman at the Marriott Riverwalk treated us like we were the Clampetts. She obviously thought we had no business being there and wasn't very subtle with her snide comments about money. Its unfortunate since they were my first choice when I started planning.
I tried to explain to every person we talked to that my vision for the wedding is "classy Texas". My colors are purple and green and I want the feel to be unpretentious while still being elegant. The theme really came about because I felt like we needed to acknowledge the wedding's location and make the decor fit the surroundings, and the hotel I chose could not be more perfect for this.
I fell in love with La Mansion the second we walked in. The historic building, decor and friendly staff had me jumping up and down with excitement and when Jessica (wedding coordinator) showed me the courtyard where we would have the ceremony I was completely blown away. They can do everything from the rehearsal dinner to the reception and we are in the process of negotiating a group rate for our guests. It is going to be beautiful!!
I like the idea of having the wedding on the riverwalk since about 80% of our guests will be coming from out of town. There are endless things to do within walking distance (including the Alamo) and a ton of restaurants for EVERY taste.
Mom and I are planning on going to sign a contract tomorrow morning and then we are off to the wedding dress shops this weekend.

Kirsten

Searching for a Wedding Venue

After having been engaged for about a week and a half I am already beginning to panic. I have called all over town and have several appointments booked for tomorrow to look at hotels for the reception that will also be able to accommodate our many out of town guests.
So far finding a church has been an absolute nightmare. I have called almost every church in the downtown San Antonio area and most of them laughed out loud when I told them we were trying to get married in December.
Michael has been awesome so far. When I called him to tell him that we might not be married in a church all he asked was, "are you still planning on being there?", when I said "of course!" he said, "as long as you're there I'm all set". I'm so lucky to be marrying my best friend and the greatest guy ever.
I will know more after tomorrow's appointments and I will try to keep up with posting on the blog to keep everyone informed of whats going on with the wedding.

Kirsten