My aunts on my moms side hosted a beautiful shower. It was so amazing to be surrounded by close friends and family.
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Wedding shower!
We were back in Detroit last weekend for my wedding shower and finalizing some wedding details. It is the last time we are going home before the wedding so we were extremely busy!!
My aunts on my moms side hosted a beautiful shower. It was so amazing to be surrounded by close friends and family.
My aunts on my moms side hosted a beautiful shower. It was so amazing to be surrounded by close friends and family.
Friday, April 12, 2013
April Wedding Update #1
The month of April is insane! We're so busy with travel and wedding planning. We were in Charlotte last weekend for our friends wedding and this weekend we will be in Denver... we're so excited to spend a weekend home!
I fly out to Portland next Tuesday to attend a business conference for the week. Unfortunately they gave us 6 weeks notice and we already had Friday as a vacation day and meetings with vendors lined up in Detroit. I also have my shower on Saturday. Then I fly back to Denver for 12 hours and go to Memphis for the week to attend a conference. Quite the month!
We are hoping to knock out a lot of items on the checklist while we are in Detroit next weekend, but there have been a few developments. Most importantly, my dress came in!! We're going to a family friend who does alterations out of her house. It sounds like I will go next week to do the initial fitting and I can go again when we get in town the week before the wedding. So excited!
Since we made our own save the dates, we decided we could tackle the task of making our own invites. It seems a bit frightening to design, print and assemble 100 invitations, but I can't find any invitations that I 'love' and this will be almost half the price. Not bad!
We have ideas of what we're going to do but below is a rough example of an invitation I found as inspiration. We're moving in June, around the time we should be making these invites, so it could be interesting....
I fly out to Portland next Tuesday to attend a business conference for the week. Unfortunately they gave us 6 weeks notice and we already had Friday as a vacation day and meetings with vendors lined up in Detroit. I also have my shower on Saturday. Then I fly back to Denver for 12 hours and go to Memphis for the week to attend a conference. Quite the month!
We are hoping to knock out a lot of items on the checklist while we are in Detroit next weekend, but there have been a few developments. Most importantly, my dress came in!! We're going to a family friend who does alterations out of her house. It sounds like I will go next week to do the initial fitting and I can go again when we get in town the week before the wedding. So excited!
Since we made our own save the dates, we decided we could tackle the task of making our own invites. It seems a bit frightening to design, print and assemble 100 invitations, but I can't find any invitations that I 'love' and this will be almost half the price. Not bad!
We have ideas of what we're going to do but below is a rough example of an invitation I found as inspiration. We're moving in June, around the time we should be making these invites, so it could be interesting....
We decided on flowers! We're going to see some of the arrangements in person next week when we're in Detroit, I'm pretty excited about that.
While coming up with flowers for the wedding, we started throwing in green accents and realized we just made a green and navy themed wedding! I think they are two classic looks and it goes with the water theme of the venue.
That's it for now. This weekend includes Matt watching the masters and I'm going to do some shopping :) Hopefully we don't get more snow next week like the forecast says - I'm over it!
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Charlotte Wedding Weekend
Last weekend we went to Charlotte for our friends wedding. Matt was a groomsmen in the wedding. We have known Sara and John as long as we have been dating. Matt and I met in January 2007 and Sara and John met while studying abroad at Miami's campus in Luxembourg in fall 2007.
One of my favorite memories with them was Valentines Day 2009. The theta chi guys that lived in Morning Wood (each house had a name in college that everybody referred to it as) decided to cook dinner for all their girlfriends. I think there were 4 couples and the guys made bruschetta, pasta carbonara and had 14 bottles of wine. Yes, 14 bottles of wine for 8 people. This was college. John, Sara, Matt and I ended up staying up very late consuming all of the wine once the rest of the couples left.
Anyway, we flew to Charlotte on a 6am flight through O'hare. Matt had the rehearsal shortly after we landed so I hung out at the hotel and took my time getting ready for the rehearsal dinner. We met the whole group at the Carolina Ale House for drinks beforehand. Dinner was at Bentleys on 27 which was on the 27th floor of one of the skyscrapers downtown. It was so nice that everything was within a few blocks of the hotel. It was a beautiful view of the city!
The next day Matt had some groomsmen events so I met up with my uncle who lives in Charlotte. We got a late lunch and then I headed back to the hotel to get ready for the wedding. Matt had to be there before the guests so I met his friends in the hotel bar and had a quick whiskey shot (can you tell it was the first college wedding of our group of friends...) and took a cab to the venue. The ceremony was outside at the venue and was done by Sara's little brother. He recently got ordained and he did an amazing job! Best ceremony ever! It was so sweet to have a family member be part of it.
Dinner was delicious! Can't turn down some fillet! The rest of the night was full of dancing and followed by a Irish bar and late night pita pit.
It was such a fun wedding!! But I need to remember I'm not in college anymore... Three days later I'm still feeling tired and a bit hungover. Is that possible?!
Next months wedding is my brother in NYC!
One of my favorite memories with them was Valentines Day 2009. The theta chi guys that lived in Morning Wood (each house had a name in college that everybody referred to it as) decided to cook dinner for all their girlfriends. I think there were 4 couples and the guys made bruschetta, pasta carbonara and had 14 bottles of wine. Yes, 14 bottles of wine for 8 people. This was college. John, Sara, Matt and I ended up staying up very late consuming all of the wine once the rest of the couples left.
Anyway, we flew to Charlotte on a 6am flight through O'hare. Matt had the rehearsal shortly after we landed so I hung out at the hotel and took my time getting ready for the rehearsal dinner. We met the whole group at the Carolina Ale House for drinks beforehand. Dinner was at Bentleys on 27 which was on the 27th floor of one of the skyscrapers downtown. It was so nice that everything was within a few blocks of the hotel. It was a beautiful view of the city!
The next day Matt had some groomsmen events so I met up with my uncle who lives in Charlotte. We got a late lunch and then I headed back to the hotel to get ready for the wedding. Matt had to be there before the guests so I met his friends in the hotel bar and had a quick whiskey shot (can you tell it was the first college wedding of our group of friends...) and took a cab to the venue. The ceremony was outside at the venue and was done by Sara's little brother. He recently got ordained and he did an amazing job! Best ceremony ever! It was so sweet to have a family member be part of it.
Dinner was delicious! Can't turn down some fillet! The rest of the night was full of dancing and followed by a Irish bar and late night pita pit.
It was such a fun wedding!! But I need to remember I'm not in college anymore... Three days later I'm still feeling tired and a bit hungover. Is that possible?!
Next months wedding is my brother in NYC!
Alicia, Sara and me - the 3 theta chi weddings this year
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
March Wedding Update
We have covered quite a bit more on the wedding planning since I last checked in a month ago!
We're still trying to find a florist but I think we're pretty confident with one. We met with two in person when we were in Detroit last month and we had a morning conference call with another florist. Thankfully most vendors are willing to call us right when they open (eastern time) which is before we go to work (mountain time). That makes it so much easier for Matt and I to both sit down and hear what the vendors have to say.
We have the rehearsal dinner taken care of which is actually in the same building as one of the hotels. It's the restaurant Matt and I went to when we first starting dating. As in that was our first date. We had been to dinners / dates together before but once I got back from spending the semester in Austria, Matt came to Detroit and we went out to a nice Italian dinner that night. We love that the rehearsal dinner venue has a special meaning to us!
I'm still trying to figure out hair, but I've been in contact with a few salons so that is also a work in progress. Same with transportation. Which is a pain to guess how many people will be coming to the wedding and then how many will be using the transportation!
Wedding seasons starts in 2 weeks for us when we head to Charlotte for our friends wedding. The next 8 months are going to be pretty insane. Thinking about my schedule makes my head hurt!
April - SLC for work; Charlotte for wedding; Portland for work; Detroit for the weekend; Memphis for work
May - Omaha for work; NYC for wedding
June - Miami Beach for Bachelorette party (mine!); Cincinnati for wedding
July - Wisconsin for wedding
Then it's done to the last few weeks before our wedding!!
We're still trying to find a florist but I think we're pretty confident with one. We met with two in person when we were in Detroit last month and we had a morning conference call with another florist. Thankfully most vendors are willing to call us right when they open (eastern time) which is before we go to work (mountain time). That makes it so much easier for Matt and I to both sit down and hear what the vendors have to say.
We have the rehearsal dinner taken care of which is actually in the same building as one of the hotels. It's the restaurant Matt and I went to when we first starting dating. As in that was our first date. We had been to dinners / dates together before but once I got back from spending the semester in Austria, Matt came to Detroit and we went out to a nice Italian dinner that night. We love that the rehearsal dinner venue has a special meaning to us!
I'm still trying to figure out hair, but I've been in contact with a few salons so that is also a work in progress. Same with transportation. Which is a pain to guess how many people will be coming to the wedding and then how many will be using the transportation!
Wedding seasons starts in 2 weeks for us when we head to Charlotte for our friends wedding. The next 8 months are going to be pretty insane. Thinking about my schedule makes my head hurt!
April - SLC for work; Charlotte for wedding; Portland for work; Detroit for the weekend; Memphis for work
May - Omaha for work; NYC for wedding
June - Miami Beach for Bachelorette party (mine!); Cincinnati for wedding
July - Wisconsin for wedding
Then it's done to the last few weeks before our wedding!!
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Spring in Salt Lake City
I've been in Salt Lake City since yesterday morning for work. I just love this city! The views are unbelievable - we are only 30 minutes or so from Park City and the ski resorts. So tempting to go skiing!
I went to whole foods for dinner last night (can't believe I'm turning into that person) and had my first San Pellegrino lemon flavor. It was the best! I love sparkling water and adding lemon to it made it is much better!
Tomorrow the high is almost 70 in Denver and Salt Lake... I'm so over winter and ready for spring!
I went to whole foods for dinner last night (can't believe I'm turning into that person) and had my first San Pellegrino lemon flavor. It was the best! I love sparkling water and adding lemon to it made it is much better!
Tomorrow the high is almost 70 in Denver and Salt Lake... I'm so over winter and ready for spring!
Sunday, March 3, 2013
3 time zones
The past three weeks have been crazy busy! I was in Chicago for bridesmaids dress shopping three weekends ago then I flew to Omaha for work. We drove to Cedar Rapids for the day while we were there to tour an internal paper mill which was seriously fascinating! It doesn't sound very exciting but I loved learning how recyclables turn into a brown cardboard box. So nerdy.
Then I went to Detroit for a 6 days. Eric and Orchid had their engagement party thrown by my aunts. It was so cute! They did such a great job. They had a bunch of appetizers from our favorite Lebanese restaurant in the area. Middle eastern food is my favorite!
We were delayed getting out of Detroit because Denver was getting a bunch of snow. We stayed home an extra night and ended up arriving 15 hours after we ere scheduled too.
The day after we arrived back in Denver I flew to Phoenix for work! I was completely exhausted but I loved the 75 degree weather and sunshine!
This weekend Matt's high school friend was in town so we went to Winter Park yesterday. I love that we can wake up at home and be skiing 2 hours later. Still seems crazy :)
It has been a crazy 3 weeks but it was so nice to see my family and friends!
Then I went to Detroit for a 6 days. Eric and Orchid had their engagement party thrown by my aunts. It was so cute! They did such a great job. They had a bunch of appetizers from our favorite Lebanese restaurant in the area. Middle eastern food is my favorite!
We were delayed getting out of Detroit because Denver was getting a bunch of snow. We stayed home an extra night and ended up arriving 15 hours after we ere scheduled too.
The day after we arrived back in Denver I flew to Phoenix for work! I was completely exhausted but I loved the 75 degree weather and sunshine!
This weekend Matt's high school friend was in town so we went to Winter Park yesterday. I love that we can wake up at home and be skiing 2 hours later. Still seems crazy :)
It has been a crazy 3 weeks but it was so nice to see my family and friends!
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Bridesmaids Dresses
I went to Chicago last weekend (United fixed their glitch, I was a nobody in Zone 5 :( ) to do some bridesmaids dress shopping and see some of my favorite people! Alyssa and Shelby live in Chicago and two of the stores I've wanted to go to are located there so it seemed like the perfect place to do the shopping. Whitney flew in from Columbus and unfortunately Lindsay's flight was cancelled due to the winter storm Nemo (over 2 feet of snow in the NE - Yikes!).
I got in Friday night and met Whitney at Rock Bottom for a drink. I can never go straight to bed after traveling! We stayed at the Courtyard River North which was a great location! I just searched for Marriott hotels that we could get a discount at and this one popped up - it couldn't have worked out better!
Saturday morning Shelby had the 3 of us over for brunch and mimosas at her apartment in River North. She lives a few blocks from Michigan Ave and the stores we were going to so it was a good meeting place. It was decorated so cute!
Whitney and I decided to continue shopping down Michigan Ave after lunch. Neither of us had been shopping on the tourist filled street in years - we usually avoid it. Patagonia was having a sale so I picked up a wine colored fleece for 40% off. I also found a necklace to wear with my LBD next weekend for Eric and Orchid's engagement party in Michigan. Such a steal from Francesca's!
We went to Quartino for dinner that night (which was conveniently 4 blocks from the hotel, although we planned dinner way before accommodations were booked!). This must be the place to be on Saturday nights! There were so many people when we walked in - thankfully we made reservations. Whitney and I immediately felt like we were in Marcella's (a Michael Cameron restaurant in Columbus). The menus, plates, kitchen, tables, i.e everything looked the exact same. We knew it was strange when we went to the bathroom and saw they had the same exact bathtub style sinks and powdered soap - who else has powdered soap? We asked the staff and they said Marcella's came in and took pictures of Quartino to base Marcella's off of! Sad to hear Marcella's was the original, although I still love it.
Successful weekend in Chicago, amazing to be with some of my closest friends (sad we missed Linds) and checked something else off the wedding checklist!
I got in Friday night and met Whitney at Rock Bottom for a drink. I can never go straight to bed after traveling! We stayed at the Courtyard River North which was a great location! I just searched for Marriott hotels that we could get a discount at and this one popped up - it couldn't have worked out better!
Saturday morning Shelby had the 3 of us over for brunch and mimosas at her apartment in River North. She lives a few blocks from Michigan Ave and the stores we were going to so it was a good meeting place. It was decorated so cute!
We went to J.Crew for our first appointment and I knew I would like the dresses. I've seen them in person at other weddings and I have always liked the silk chiffon styles I see online. Since they only have 8 styles in silk chiffon, the three girls rotated trying those styles on.
We left the store an hour later with our eyes set on the v-neck short Louisa dress and the long Arabella dress.
Our next appointment was at Bella Bridesmaid (they have stores all over the US but each one is owned individually and the designers they carry at each location vary). Whitney and Alyssa had been here before for bridesmaids shopping so they knew the drill. We ended up finding the final dress here! It's a long, navy, silk chiffon strapless gown by Love Lane. They only had it in green in the store - which was beautiful on all the girls as well! We need to get all the dresses ordered by the beginning of March to guarantee a July delivery. Seems a bit crazy to me!
Whitney and I decided to continue shopping down Michigan Ave after lunch. Neither of us had been shopping on the tourist filled street in years - we usually avoid it. Patagonia was having a sale so I picked up a wine colored fleece for 40% off. I also found a necklace to wear with my LBD next weekend for Eric and Orchid's engagement party in Michigan. Such a steal from Francesca's!
We went to Quartino for dinner that night (which was conveniently 4 blocks from the hotel, although we planned dinner way before accommodations were booked!). This must be the place to be on Saturday nights! There were so many people when we walked in - thankfully we made reservations. Whitney and I immediately felt like we were in Marcella's (a Michael Cameron restaurant in Columbus). The menus, plates, kitchen, tables, i.e everything looked the exact same. We knew it was strange when we went to the bathroom and saw they had the same exact bathtub style sinks and powdered soap - who else has powdered soap? We asked the staff and they said Marcella's came in and took pictures of Quartino to base Marcella's off of! Sad to hear Marcella's was the original, although I still love it.
Successful weekend in Chicago, amazing to be with some of my closest friends (sad we missed Linds) and checked something else off the wedding checklist!
