My Dude

The hardest part about blogging is having writers block. Anyone who knows me well will testify that if there is one thing i know a lot about it's talking; but writing is so different. Well today I didn't know what I wanted to write about and when this is the case I can always write about my family or friends. I realized I never did post on the bridal party and knew that after spending part of the day with me maid of honor that she needed to be the focus of this post; so today will be all about Amanda Maybeth Brown!

Please excuse this mushy post.

Amanda is my maid of honor. We have been best friends since our sophomore year of high school and I honestly don't know what I would do without her. I transferred to Byrd my sophomore year and Amanda and I became quick friends.  She is someone I instantly clicked with and it felt like we had been friends forever.  Our friendship continued to grow throughout high school and she was therefor me when I needed her most.

At the Revel listening to Benjy Davis

After Senior year Amanda went to LSU in Baton Rouge and I went to Louisiana Tech in Ruston (4 hours away from each other) but our friendship continued to grow.  I feel this is the time our friendship really grew the strongest because we still remained so close even though we were not living 10 minutes away from one another; this is when the friendship actually took work.

The first time Amanda came to visit Ruston our freshman year of College I tired to warn Andrew about the kind of relationship we have because it is pretty unique; it didn't work. Andrew thought we were the strangest individuals on the planet earth.  He has  now grown to understand that when we are together no one else exist and we do not care what anyone else thinks of us.  He loves Amanda (thank goodness) and knows he can turn to her in any kind of dilemma, especially the gift kind. I am so thankful they get along so well and she approved of Andrew!

After an LSU Game

I can't wait to spend the next year planning this wedding with dude (a nickname i gave her in high school that just stuck). She is my best friend, one of the first people I call with good or bad news and the best support system a girl could ever ask for.

The text I sent her the moment I got engaged! What a toot lying to me!

From the engagement night

I know she is going to make so much fun of me for this post later but I don't even care. She does not give herself enough credit for what a great person she really is and she means so much to me. I can't imagine my life without her and know we will be friends the rest of our lives no matter the distance.  I am honored to have her stand with me at my wedding and call her my best friend.  I love you Dude and I don't know what I would do without you!

xoxo
am

Busy Bees....

Im sorry I have been absent from the blog for so long. I always feel so guilty about not writing. Andrew and my Mom laugh at me because they think its silly I have added something else to my plate to feel guilty about but what can I say...it’s what I do best.  Anyway...I hate excuses but we have been very busy the last month in Rusvegas. So here is a little recap.

Fist we had graduation. 

All my loved ones were there to celebrate and it was very fun! We partied the night away at Portico, our favorite place, and I could have not asked for a more perfect night.  The thing about graduation is I decided to move the Thursday before.  I have been looking for a bigger place for a while now and everything finally fell into place and I found the most perfect house. Therefore the week after graduation was spent packing boxes and moving to the new house :). If moving one person isn't a chore in itself Andrew was also trying to move on the first into his new apartment.  It was a crazy few weeks but I am finally almost completely settled and it feels amazing!

Wedding planning has kinda taken a backseat to all of the upheaval in out lives recently but this time has been so exciting.  It just shows us to let go and let God because as soon as I stopped worrying about where I was going to live I found a house now if I can just stop thinking about finding a job.

I hope everyone is having a great summer so far. 

xoxo

the engaged couple

the beginning of the end....

Hi everyone I am back from my blogging absence.  We had a great time at formal although it was very bitter sweet since it was our last one!  After we got home and dropped everyone off Andrew and I were talking about how much fun we had and it hit us; we have never been with anyone else. I never once had to worry about formal season because I knew I would always have a date; Andrew was my constant.  I am so lucky to have met him freshman year and have been so blessed to have him in my life throughout my college experience. Today was my last day of student teaching and Andrews last Sigma Nu function as an active member therefore I am feeling very sentimental about all the changes that are about to take place.  Im moving (will explain in a later post), graduating, interviewing for jobs and growing up.  These past four years have flown by but I have to say I’m more excited about the journey I am going to embark on with my best friend in a little less than a year.  

My college chapter is closing but I know the next chapter will be very exciting.

Xoxo

Amber

                                 Boy have we changed...

excuse the absence

Hey everyone! I will be absent from the blog until early next week. The quarter is coming to an end therefore I have a ton of assignments and student teaching that I need to wrap up. We also leave for formal on Thursday and planning for a trip is always time consuming. I apologize now for not blogging this week.


xoxo
the engaged couple

THE BAND!!!

Right after we got engaged booking a band was at the top of our list…Music is extremely important to both of us because we feel that it really sets the mood for the reception. We want a party where everyone is on their feet so we knew a great band was a must! As soon as we started listening to the Glenn Rainey Band we felt they could be a great fit but wanted to see them live first.

A few weekends ago we were given the opportunity to go over to Natchitoches and listen to them live and in the first 10 minutes we knew this was our band!  They are a very talented group with a soulful sound; everyone will be on their feet for sure. 

Another positive that I have found Glenn Rainey offers is playing the ceremony music as well. They are the only band I spoke with that offered this and I feel this sets them a world apart not to mention his ceremony music is BEAUTIFUL!! Instead of having to book two different people they can do it all.  

I cannot say enough positives things about the band thus far.  We have been talking to them for about two months now and they have kept open communication throughout the entire process. After they gave us a quote they continue to email and touch base just to check in, assure I had no more questions, or let me know any shows that they had coming up.  I loved that they never forgot and they gave me the feeling that they would make sure to make our night very special.  When we arrived in Natchitoches and introduced ourselves they knew exactly who we were and could not have been friendlier!

Please go to their website http://glennraineymusic.wordpress.com/ and check them out.  

NOW CLICK ON THE LINK AND LISTEN TO THEIR STUFF!! 

Xoxo,

The engaged couple

Bridesmaids Boxes

When it came to choosing the wedding party I knew I only wanted the most important people in my life standing with me; the people I knew I would stay in touch with and remain friends with  for the rest of my life. I am so fortunate to have a lot of friends but there are a handful of people I call with good new or bad and have played a vital role in helping me become the person I am today.  I also wanted my bridesmaids to be very involved with the wedding planning process and there with me every step of the way. 

Since my bridesmaids are so important to me I wanted to ask them in a very special way and from the very beginning I knew I wanted to compile alot of little things to make something very special and here is how it all turned out (forgive the pictures please because they aren’t the best)...

I made/bought all the things I needed, them put them in a box, and wrapped them in the wedding colors.

           

When they opened the box the first thing they saw was and handmade card.

     It read, “Through the in’s and the out’s and the thick and the thin, no matter what's happened there you have been.  You smile when I need it and listen when I grieve, you hug me when I cry and blow boogers on your sleeve. I treasure your friendship more than diamonds or gold and I promise I will even when were saggy and old.  So please stand by my side when I say “I DO,” for I wouldn’t be me without a friend like you!”  I then wrote in each card about how much I loved them and what an impact they have had on my life. I cried when I wrote each card and everyone cried when they read them so they were a big success.

After they read the card they could open the rest of the box which included a framed picture of us, a note about the bridesmaid dresses with a swatch of fabric so they could see the color, personalized stationary with the monogram we are hoping to use at the wedding, a CD with music that reminds me of them, and a bridesmaid survival kit and my two matrons of honor got crosses in their box.

       The survival kit had  a tag on it that gave explanation about all of the contents. The tag read, “ This survival kid was made just to say, I’m thrilled you’re beside me on my wedding day! There’e chocolate to give you that sugar high,, and a a packet of tissues incase you should cry. Theres lip gloss to help you care for your smile and a incase a nail should break, I’ve included a file. There’s bobby pins and hair spray to keep every strand in place and pony tail holders if you just get tired of your hair being in your face. There is SHOUT if you should sill on your beautiful dress and breath-mints to help keep your breath minty fresh. There’s Tylenol and Tums if it’s ill that you feel, And band-aids to help you tackle your high heals.  Ive put everything in this handy pack, So you know this bride has got your back!  This kit was created so that you can see, just how much you mean to this bride-to-be!

       So thats everything that I included in the Bridesmaid Boxes. I was very please with how everything turned out and the girls loved them.  I will never be able to express how much I love each and every one of my bridesmaids but it’s a start.

xoxo,

Amber

Houston Trip

          I am finally getting around to posting about my trip to Houston. I think it was one of the funniest and exciting times I’ve had since I started planning the wedding.  After getting engaged I knew I wanted to go stay at my Aunt Harriett’s house and try on dress at Brick House Bridal. Amanda, one of my matrons of honors got her wedding dress there when she got married in 2005.  And my other matron of honor, Rachel got some of her accessories there. I remember going with Amanda and what a fun experience it was therefore I knew it was something I wanted to do.  After looking through magazines and pulling dresses I liked I found one commonality – they were all carried at Brick House which reaffirmed my feeling that it was a MUST in the search for the dress.  

We planned a weekend that would work for everyone and off we went.  It was a house full of girls: Amanda Lawless, Rachel, Amanda Brown, Aunt Harriett, Aunt Pauline, Granny, Mom, and Me. I knew that this was the weekend I wanted to ask “the girls” and Amanda to be in the wedding; They are three of the most important women in my life and I can’t imagine my life without them. I was so excited to finally get to spill the beans and not have to keep it a secret anymore so I planned the bridesmaid boxes, put them together, wrapped them, and hid them as soon as we got in before anyone could see them. I knew I would have to give them to everyone that first night or I would explode with excitement; as soon as dinner was over I gave out the boxes, we cried, and everyone said YES!

That night we tried on the bridesmaid dress and talked wedding. Rachel just got married in May so the wedding planning is fresh on her mind! We all tried to go to bed pretty early because the next day was going to be dress trying day but Amanda and I were just too excited and ended up staying up till 2am talking and looking up everything online! The next day we all went to Brick House to try on a TON of dresses.  It was so fun to have everyone there and get all the different opinions! I love these ladies and knew they would be HONEST!!

The weekend flew by and it was so much fun! I'm ready for the summer so we can all go back and lay out by the pool! Love you all!

Xoxo

The engaged couple