A Goal for June

It's a well-known fact that many brides have a goal of losing weight before their wedding.  It is so common, in fact, that each of my bridal magazines & blogs have a multitude of articles dedicated to the subject.  The purpose of today's blog entry, however, is not to express my own bridal goals over the next 6 months of planning.  Instead, I would like to show my support for my dearest dad, who has a goal of his own.

Perhaps inspired by this man? ...

My dad has set a goal to lose 25 pounds before he walks me down the aisle at my June wedding.  Lucky him - he has a wife as a personal trainer (complete with a gym), and actually, is already taking advantage of this perk by taking part in her sweafest workout tonight.  And to do my own part in helping out ... I thought I would take a tip from that personal trainer mom of mine and provide my dad some accountability by writing his goal on my blog.   

It must be said, however, that I am beyond excited (and lucky!) to walk down the aisle with my dad ... someone who I have always looked up to and who has always been there for me no matter what.  Dad - Eat as many Chick-fil-A sandwiches/bowls of Breyer's ice cream that you want. :)

Love, Your Boots #1

PS - Sorry about the comparison to Bill Clinton, this is the first and last time I will do such a thing ... but I couldn't resist. 



DIY Sunday

Thanks to my mother and her creative mind .... there will be no shortage of details at my June garden wedding.  And with less than six months now until the big day, it is critical that we get busy on the many DIY projects that will add to the attention to detail that we are striving to achieve.

So ... today, Mr. BB & I enlisted the help of my grandmother & cousins to create our DIY water bottles.  Since we are having a June outdoor wedding, water (in addition to other beverages) will obviously play an important factor.  However, the Aquafina label didn't seem to evoke the vintage, romantic feeling that the rest of our wedding does.  What to do?  Create your own!  Here is one of the water bottles that will be served to the guests at our wedding, followed by our hard workers:

The whole crew - & my Papa as the photographer!

If nothing else, the water bottles will be the perfect hydration for our guests (since it will be a beautiful, warm, rain-free day, right?!).  Thank you to the crew for being so quick & efficient, and of course, to my mom for the idea!  Round two next weekend - to finish them off?!

Missing my Maid of Honor ...

It is no secret that I am the emotional one in the family.  My sister, although seven years my junior, has always showed an ability to "keep it together" and it is this endearing quality (and others) that, at times, makes me question who is the older one.

However, this week proves our difference in age as Lexie has been busy preparing for her return to college, an experience that I concluded 6 years ago. (I must, although, point out that when we moved her into her dorm last year I was asked twice in which dorm I was moving into myself).  Just as I did years ago, Lexie has been shopping for warm coats & decorations for her room, my Dad has taken her on the trip to Sam's Club for extra groceries, and somehow, I am sure that my grandfather is already baking cookies to send to her.  My mom's role in the process?  Even though she is trying to hide it, I know (like me) she is already emotional and is getting ready to hide in her room tomorrow so she doesn't have to see her before she leaves ...

We will miss you, Lex, but are so proud of you and how much you have grown over the past few months.  Enjoy this well deserved semester ... and don't forget about us (and your MOH duties!) back here in Virginia Beach.  We love you.

Officially Registered

It's official - Mr. BB & I are registered at Bed, Bath & Beyond, Target, & Williams-Sonoma.  Similar to the wedding planning process, registering has been fun & overwhelming at the same time.  The adventure began last June with the two of us at Bed, Bath, & Beyond before our engagement party.  We obviously didn't know what we were getting into, as the trip culminated in a slight disagreement over what knife set to get.  Our rather cheerful registry consultant stopped in to check on "us lovebirds" just as Mr. BB (who she referred to as an overscanner) was attempting to scan the most expensive knife set and I was (kindly) expressing my desire for another brand.

Needless to say - the next registering experience my FI decided to sit out of.  This time, it was my mom and sister who joined me in the quest for new, quality items to replace the collection of hand-me-downs/Walmart deals that we currently have.  Here we are are at Target (with the official scanner!) ...

I truly am a expert at the scanner now! 

The registering process continued today with my last stop at Williams-Sonoma.  My good friend/bridesmaid/domestic diva Sara (a newlywed herself!) agreed to attend this trip ... and Sara is definitely not scared to scan!  Before this afternoon, I was not aware that so many kitchen items even exhisted.  Is one pan really worth $300.00?  I could get a really nice pair of shoes for that amount of money and be content eating a Smart Ones Mac & Cheese for dinner.  And if I do get that melon-baller or garlic press off my list, will I be able to figure out how to use it?!  (Sara ... looks like you will be coming over to help with this too!)

Another check off the list, and another reason why I have come to understand how this wedding planning process aids in becoming a real adult in the real world.

Wedding Rooms

Mr. BB & I are lucky enough to live in a house with two extra bedrooms besides our own.  One (formerly his brothers) serves as his office.  And although I believe I made a rather strong argument for the second spare bedroom to be an extension to my closet (a girl's dream, right?!) ... instead, it is used as our guest bedroom/bedroom for my brother when he stays at our house.  However, at the moment, both rooms have become wedding rooms.

What is a wedding room?  I like to define it as a room that houses the ever increasing amount of supplies that will be used for our June wedding.  And while these supplies started (approximately 12 months ago) in the corner of one of the rooms, the amount of wedding inventory has slowly expanded ever since ...


Exhibit A:  Mr. BB's former office; which is pretty much halfway covered in             everything from chalkboards to the cowboy hats for our rehearsal dinner!

Exhibit B:  Our guest room, which is lined with the baskets that will serve as our centerpieces & the hot pink bride bag that holds some of my favorite wedding magazines.

Exhibit C:  The other corner of the guest room, which holds sparklers for our exit, some of our beverage servers, and boxes that contain matches, postcards, esc.



Although I try to make Mr. BB feel better about the wedding rooms (and wedding!) that are taking over his life, realistically, I know that the amount of space being taken up by wedding inventory is only going to increase over the next 6 months.  The positive aspect of our wedding rooms?  They serve as a constant reminder of our June wedding and therefore make it impossible to forget all that we have to do! :)

Back to Reality ...

It's always a reality check the first day back after a break.  For several reasons ... even though I seldom take advantage of sleeping in past 8:30, it is so much nicer going to sleep at night without the fear of a ringing alarm waking you up at 5.  And, as much as I love my sweet, lovely students (who, by the way, were in a state of shock upon the return from break) - a day without "Ms. Wright" being called out throughout it is always pleasant.  Lastly, with the extra time I was able to have with a week and a half off work ... I was able to check off most of the to-do list I made before my holiday break.  Here was the list (in red!):

1.  Finish DIY cones that we started at my bridesmaid dinner, and then restarted on one Sunday afternoon. - OK, so even though this happens to be the first item on the list, I must be truthful and admit that this is the one task that I did not get to.  Those cones are going to be the death of the Burgundy Bride ... they are hanging over my head and for whatever reason, the thought of continuing to work on them is intimidating and thus, I have not been able to.  Hey ... at least I am being honest.
2.  Organize & update wedding binder. (That has gotten extremely messy lately ... )  The Burgundy Bride has a new, beautifully organized green wedding binder.  With the ever increasing number of documents to be placed in the binder, I had to upgrade to a 1 1/2 inch in order to prevent the previous binder from breaking in half.  We can all only hope there is not a need for a 3 inch binder in the upcoming 6 months of planning ...
3.  Meet with day-of-wedding-planner to ................. (I am sure there is a lot that we have to talk about.)  Yes - Panera was the spot for the rather long, yet completely effective, meeting with myself, my mother, and cousin/day-of-wedding-planner in attendance.  LOTS was discussed, and I left feeling excited (for the day that is finally starting to feel real) and just a little bit overwhelmed.
4.  Schedule dates for pre-wedding events.  Dates are set, including bridal showers, bridesmaid luncheon, esc.!  Yet another check off the list that is super exciting!  I can't wait to celebrate with my nine beautiful bridesmaids before the big day! 
5.  Begin the rather daunting task of creating the invitation.  Thanks to the sudden blizzard in Virginia Beach ... my friend/bridesmaid/graphic design genius has completed the first part of the invitation!  And Mr. BB even attended the meeting to see the final result!  We LOVE it and can't wait to share it!

So, with the exception of those infamous cones, I was able to check off four out of the five items on my list.  Not too shabby, if I do say so myself.  Now only 1,247,902 items to go!

2011 Resolution

The Burgundy Bride is laying in bed with a slight headache & thoughts of what happened to her gold blazer after a night of festivities to bring in the new year.  2010 definitely turned out to be a memorable year - and as a result of one magical February evening, 2011 will surely be just the same.  So like most others, as I reflect on the past year and look forward to the one upcoming, I can't help but think of a New Year's resolution of my own.  Cheesy, I know, and quite typical ... but I normally am and don't expect that to change in 2011.

So what is my resolution?  If the last 10 - 12 months of planning have been any indication, the next 6 are going to be crazy, hectic, stressful, overwhelming, and of course, exciting.  There will be times that it doesn't seem worth it and my patience runs thin.  But my resolution for 2011 is to savor each moment & to appreciate all of the things that so many special people in my life are doing to make my day perfect.  I am beyond lucky and want to make sure that those around me know that I realize how fortunate I am.

This is one resolution I plan to keep - so starting today, 1-11-2011, thank you to those who made 2010 so unforgettable and who I look forward to making many memories with in 2011.  Happy New Year!