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!