Bachelorette No More

So I just realized I completely skipped over the Bachelorette Party and went right from the salon to the rehearsal dinner to the wedding. I was so excited to get to those wedding pictures up here that I just got ahead of myself :)

She’s not a bachelorette anymore, nope, she’s an old married woman, two days away from being twenty-three. HAH!! But the bachelorette party was one last big giant sleepover with the bridal party… Thankfully I have NO pictures of any one of us in our skivvies, but here are some pictures from before we went to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner… Melanie met us there and I have no pictures from the restaurant or from the hotel afterwards :( But she was there…. I’m just bummed we don’t have a real group shot…

L-R: Sarah, Sarah, Me, Kayla, Brittany & Erin. Sarah Z is a photographer and a friend of Kay’s from college. You can check out her Photography and her Blog!! Brittany and Erin are Kayla’s sisters-in-law from SC and TX – LOVE THEM!! Erin blogs too and you can check her out here :)

I love this picture of me and my sisters. Sarah’s looking a little like Casper but what’cha gonna do??? Gosh, she’s growing up so fast :(

But it was definitely an amazing girls night!! Somebody please cue Beyonce and some Single Ladies… I’ll bring the black leotards :)

My Best Friend's Wedding

Here are a few of my favorites… it was such a beautiful wedding and an amazingly fun reception. Highlight of this year for our family for sure :)

I was waiting for people to e-mail/facebook their pictures so I’d have more to choose from, but these will be good for now. Once the photographer edits hers, I’ll post a link to her blog. I can’t wait to see them because she was such a fabulous photographer!! Hope this wedding bliss brightened your Monday!!

Last Friday Night

we got kicked out of the bar, so we hit the boulevard, went streaking in the park, skinny dipping after dark, and hung out with Rebecca Black.

Just kidding. Obv.

Actually we all took off work and decorated the church for the ceremony and then had the rehearsal and the rehearsal dinner… Kayla and Bucky looked adorable in their white :)

She was so excited about the sash her sister-in-law gave her!!

Bucky, Adam, and I strung and situation the curtains at the back of the church.

The final product!!

Mel, Sarah, Brittany, two flower girls, Erin, Sarah, Me, Kay and the Pastor :)

Adam and I!!

The four girls…

The USC grooms cake – GO GAMECOCKS!!

I love my sister :)

 

We had ribs and pulled pork for dinner – it was SO good. And of course southern sweet tea :) Other members of the bridal party shared after dinner and it was so neat to see how everyone had a really unique connection to Kay and Bucky and involvement in their relationship. The two fathers also shared at the end. My dad had me bawling!!

That night we all came home and got into bed by 11:00. I was then up at 3:30am because I was so excited/nervous!! The wedding was perfect. I can’t wait to post about it!
Wedding pictures will be coming soon!!

The Best Weekend Ever…

Here’s a little sneak peak of my fabulous, amazing, incredible, surreal 4th of  July Weekend!! Android camera style. I promise legit pictures are coming soon but I love looking back at the moments I choose to capture on my phone :) Plus it’s a little tease of the best weekend of my summer and possibly this whole year of my life… no joke!!

1. Breakfast with the Bride @ Emma’s – our favorite diner!
2. The little black dress I found in my hamper, that came from Kayla who got it from one of the other bridesmaids, Erin… I love hand-me-downs that fit!!
3. I am a slave to the Cheesecake Factory. End of story.
4. The glowing/blushing Bride-To-Be!!!
5. THE.CAR.WASH. (Cue the scary duh duh duh music) I hate the car wash. Just as much as Kayla hates tanning booths. I feel like something really bad is going to happen to me while I’m in there. And I didn’t put my car in neutral so the 20-something year old guy working it knew I was scared and laughed at me. And then my dad called me because he was right behind me and laughed at “how scary the tunnel is”.
My husband will have to get the cars washed for me. I just don’t like them.
6. The Bride and Groom at the rehearsal :)
7. Kayla’s hair, pre-veil – so gorgeous!
8. Mr. & Mrs. at their sweetheart table. Didn’t my sister look absolutely stunning?!?!
9. Marky Mark walking on Main Street in Manayunk… dinner at the Manayunk Brewery with Mark and his family = !!!!! Once again the Brewery lived up to my high standards and memories. The sushi was la-dish. And the boy looked pretty fresh in his post-wedding attire and Oakley's.
10. The Manayunk Sunset
11. Philadelphia. I love my city.
12. Swimming, grocery shopping, grilling, and Rita’s aka the Perfect 4th!!

And an honorary 13. Obv. there isn’t a picture for this but as I drove home on the turnpike I saw fireworks the whole way. It was so neat that I got a 45 minute long firework show. And when I got off the turnpike the first thing I smelled was campfire. Yes I love Philadelphia. I love fireworks. I love campfires and s’mores. I love freedom.
I love America. And I LOVED this weekend :)

I hope you all had a great holiday weekend as well!!
What did you do to celebrate Independence Day?

Classy & Fabulous

On Thursday Kay, Sar, Mom and I all met at the salon for manicures and pedicures… French tips all around :) Except for Sar-Bear’s bright blue toes – she’s rockin’ it!!

My Dad took a half day and strolled into the salon to surprise us – he took the group shot!! The fumes and lack of men, however, caused a swift exit… He said “he needed to get lunch"… riiight ;)

This was Sarah’s first pedicure ever – and she loved it!! Such a young lady :)

The girls…. Kay and I obviously didn’t get the silly picture memo :) Kathy Beth Terry would fit right in with Sarah…

There she is :) The Beautiful, Blushing, Bride!! Proudly wearing her BRIDE T-shirt!!

She tweeted this before we went into the salon :

i've heard it said that girls should be classy and fabulous; newly polished nails ensures both are achieved. to the nail salon we go!

So here’s to being classy and fabulous :)

Eight Months ago from today…

Bucky proposed to Kayla in Starbucks, while she was working, and everyone in the whole store started clapping!! And seven months later here we are – it’s wedding weekend!!

The whole family is running around like chickens with our heads cut off- to the church, to the house, to the salon, to the church – pack the car, pack the suitcase, don’t forget your makeup and deodorant(little black dress – or navy in our case – approved) and your dress and your shoes :) Yes. It’s “a flutter of activity’ as my father so appropriately described it at dinner last night :)

In honor of the impending nuptials I made a little wedding/lovesong playlist – hope you enjoy!!

By Saturday night it’ll all be over :( but I’ll be sure to post lots of pictures in the next week from our Best. Week. Ever.

Happy Wedding Weekend :)

The Longest Day of the Year

On Tuesday Kay, Bucky, Mark and I all went out for ice cream and it was boss for the following reasons:

1. It was the first day of summer so ice cream was obviously a necessity.

2. It was the longest day of the year and so it seemed appropriate to be enjoying the extra sunlight.

3. Kay and Bucky have never been to Freddy Hill together on a date.

4. It was the last time we will double date while Kay and Bucky are still dating – OMG!!!

5. Mark and I debuted our pre-marital counseling business. And. We. Rock. No really. We’re awesome. We have so much knowledge and experience, ya know?
We charge $50 a session ;)

Our most valuable piece of advice came from the more eloquent of our duo:
“Never go to bed with your socks on.” You heard it here first, folks. Just remember that. Marriage + Bedtime = No Socks

 

They taught us a few things too… a week before your wedding you will cry about a lot of things… and by they I mean Kayla… and by a lot of things I mean everything

1. Your whole body hurts because your sneakers don’t support you and you don’t have money right now for new ones because you’re getting married. Cue the tears.

2. There are a zillion last minute details to attend to and when simple things like the seating arrangement and DJ act up, you will cry.

3. You will also cry because you’re extremely emotional about all of the firsts and all of the lasts.

4. None of your clothes will fit. Why? Because you’re getting married. And you’ve been up in the gym working on your fitness. And while you’re rockin’ the new bikini bod you have nothing to wear. And you will melt down in front of your closet.

 

I really hope you were all enlightened as greatly as we were :)

ps. Mark and I look like babies. I guess summer makes ya young ?!

Pots, Pans, and Plates – OH MY!!

 

My sister’s bridal shower was a month ago! Holy Canoli – where does time go!?

Between work and life I’ve been crazy busy and now with only 10 days left until the wedding it’s only getting busier!! I think the last time I blogged about the shower was in April - the invitations my mother made were beautiful!! She did an amazing job coordinating the shower too! 

Keeping the surprise was really tricky for us because Kay still lives here at home. My mom was constantly hiding stuff in her closet and in the basement! It was crazy! She was convinced that Kayla had figured out when the shower was, but she was totally surprised! She thought it was going to be a few weeks later due to one of her future-sisters-in-law coming to town… When she walked in she was completely stunned!

She thought she was just showing her fiancé and his mom around our church… little did she know we were all waiting in the dark!! And wait we did… they couldn’t get her downstairs and we waited with the lights off for 15 minutes!!

She was surrounded by white and purple – gotta love Bed, Bath & Beyond free gift wrap!!

Congratulations Jeremiah & Kayla!!

These were the favors – little boxes in the shape of a slice of cake filled with candy – these were SUCH a pain in the rear end. If you’re throwing a shower don’t choose these… we had to glue them together and no matter how many times we glued them, they kept on popping open!!

 
I love these ladies!!!

When it was all over we loaded up three cars in the pouring rain and delivered it all to their apartment!! It was such a nice afternoon with friends and family!!

Two Month Countdown

Well ladies and gents – we’re gettin’ mighty mighty close. In exactly two months I will be in the Bride Room at church finishing up my makeup, helping Kayla with any last minute details, and trying not to go to the bathroom seventy-three times JUST because I’m excitingly anticipating the hour ahead… (anybody else feel like a pregnant woman when they’re nerves are acting up??)

I’ve never been in a wedding before so I’m really really excited :) The one thing I’m not exactly looking forward to is my walk down the isle. Do I stare straight ahead? Do I smile at people I know? Ahh decisions decisions. And what if in typical-me-fashion I’m already an emotional mess and I have happy tears sliding all down my cheeks? That’ll be super attractive :) But I guess whatever happens happens – I think I’ll smile at people I know.
It seems only natural to do that…

Kayla decided on the colors of the wedding  (Navy with a springy-sage accent) but didn’t ever find a bridesmaids dress that she loved. Then she found this picture online and was so upset that she couldn’t find where the dress was from. Thankfully, her fiance’s mom and her best friend are both seamstresses and they offered to make our dresses!!
This picture is from my old phone and isn’t very clear but the element of surprise is better anyways, and once the wedding pictures are up here you’ll be able to get the full effect…

Kayla decided to for-go the sash but we have a ruffle along the neck line and it turned out so pretty!! I was the test-dress, so mine needed a lot of altering, but now our fabulous seamstresses understand the pattern and the other dresses are being made as we speak :)

Now that we have the dress figured out we’re moving onto shoes. If anybody has a suggestion for a bridal party including an 8 month pregnant bridesmaid, an eleven year old bridesmaid, and a bridesmaid with a bad back – let me know ;) We’ve gone back and forth between heels, flats, or a mixture of both.  Ultimately, it’s Kay’s decision so I hope she can find something she’s happy with!

I can’t believe we’re only two months out… I’m getting so excited :)
Any Maid-of-Honor tips I should keep in mind as I get closer??

Are you getting up at 4am tomorrow?

Well if you’re living on the East coast/Eastern Standard Time you should be! If you live in California you might just be staying up all night!! And if you have no idea what I’m talking about – yah crazy. And you might live under a rock. No offense. Seriously. But over the pond here in America we’re pretty much obsessed with everything about British royalty. So if you don’t know that Prince William and Kate Middleton are getting married tomorrow… we’ll you’re a little oblivious ;)

But it’s not too late… you still have a few hours to get all ready for the big event!!
And there are like 20 channels running Royal Wedding programs as we speak, or type/read, so don’t get too stressed.

I’ve come to realize that I’m pretty much obsessed with Kate Middleton. And I’m ok with that :) She’s gorgeous. She’s classy. She’s a commoner. She’s flawless. And she’s living a modern day fairy tale. Someone at my mom’s work made this fake invitation for me… I got a kick out of it!! And people all over the country are having viewing parties with their friends and relatives… but I’m still sick so I’ll probably be watching alone… not quite as cool – but I’m not gonna miss this ‘cause of darn strep throat!!

I think all the speculation over Kate’s dress is pointless. We’re all gonna see it in a few hours anyways!! But I LOVE the fact that this wedding is couture and the guests will be showing up in hats… I wish that was cool over here :)

 

Hope you’re planning to watch with friends and some tea… and possibly a British accent. That’s one thing I’ll definitely be using – the fabulous British accent :)
Happy wedding watching!!