Our crazy Labor Day Weekend was such a great success! Everything turned out so great and the weekend was fantastic!

It started off at the bridal shop, where I got to try on wedding gowns for the very first time! It was such a crazy feeling to see myself in them! It really made this chapter in my life feel so real!

I invited all my bridesmaids to experience this special moment with me, but only Lauren Shulman & Schmucker, Loreyn and Christie could make it. They brought champagne and we had a celebration right there in the shop!

Immediately after the dress fitting, the girls and I headed to Quiet Waters Park in Deerfield Beach to celebrate Jordan's birthday. It was so hot, but Nicole brought tons of delicious foods prepared by her mother, who owns an Italian restaurant with her father! :) 

Saturday was definitely an eventful one! Brett and I headed straight to the Marriott after the party, where we met with his parents and my parents already preparing for the engagement party the next day! We all hung out together and got some dinner at Johnny Longboats, a cute little restaurant on the strip near Singer Island Beach!

The food was great, and I was still trying to be healthy for our photos we were taking in the morning! I got grilled fish with a house salad and grilled veggies! Mmm....I couldn't wait for the party so I could eat some carbs!


Sunday morning, Brett and I woke up super early to get ready to take our Engagement photos! I was super excited about this, but also a little nervous! It was scorching hot out! We had to dab ourselves with towels every 15 seconds so we didn't look sweaty in all the photos! They came out amazing, though! I am so thankful that it was so sunny and beautiful out, even though I melted, because the colors look fantastic! (We finally got copies of them! Check out a sneak peak of some of our favs here!) 


That evening it was time for our engagement party! It was so much fun! Everyone said they had such a great time! We played "The Newlywed Game" even though we aren't married yet, but it was still fun! Paul made a cute DVD of our favorite pictures that he had taken that day and played it for everyone to see, which was a real hit! Take a look at some of the festivities! 

The party was such a success! My mom, with Debi's help of course, did a great job with everything! We had tons of food left over, which served as our breakfast and lunch the next two days!

I had nothing planned for Monday, so I was really excited to just relax! My Mom and Dad and Brett and I headed down to the pool in the morning to hang out and get some sun. Brett and I stopped off at the bar first to get a delicious frozen beverage, we like to call Lava Flows, also known as a Miami Vice. 

Of course, the one day we had to relax by the pool, it started to thunderstorm at around 4:00pm! We decided to head up and relax before heading to an early dinner at Max & Eddie's, an Italian restaurant that has been near the resort since we started going there! We indulged in two large pizzas loaded with delicious meats! Yumm!

Tuesday was our last day down in South Florida, and we had scheduled our first tour of a possible venue to have our wedding. We headed down to Hollywood, Florida to visit the Westin Diplomat Resort! Check out what we found on my wedding planning page! Click here!

Friday is finally here! I feel like I have been waiting for this day to come for months! I started off the morning strong with my usual spin class, and a little extra weight training. I was pretty hungry when I got home, so I decided to make a miniature egg white, canadian bacon, and cheese omlete, which hit the spot as I gobbled it down in 5 bites!

I get to leave work early today at 1:30pm for the holiday weekend, and Brett and I are heading straight down to West Palm Beach for the long weekend! We have a jam-packed weekend ahead of us, and the plans are as follows:

Saturday:
·         At 10 am in the morning I have my first dress fitting! I am bringing some of my bridesmaids, and my mother of course, so it should be quite an exciting event!
·         Straight from the dress fitting, I will be heading down to Fort Lauderdale with the girls to celebrate Nicole’s boyfriend, Jordan’s birthday! She rented a picnic area for us at a park that has zip line wakeboarding! We are all going to grill, drink beer, wakeboard, and celebrate the day there, so that should be fun!
·         While I am at the fitting, Brett will be golfing with Paul in Fort Lauderdale, and will meet us at the park afterwards.
·         Saturday night, after Brett’s parents arrive at the Marriott, we will be meeting up with them that evening for dinner.

Sunday:
·         Bright and early in the morning, Paul is coming up to take our engagement photos! I am so excited!
·         After the photos, we will probably head back to the hotel to set up for the engagement party that my parents are throwing us! Should be a great time with so many people! The party starts at 5pm.
·         Sunday evening will consist of drinking wine, gossiping with guests, and maybe even a little hot tube time after sunset! J

Monday:
·        A day of relaxing...hopefully, and maybe a nice early morning run on the beach!

Tuesday:
·        At 10am in the morning, we have our first wedding site visit at the Westin Diplomat in Hollywood, Florida! My mom and Dad are coming with us, it should be a treat! I am excited to see what it is like!
·        Afterwards, we are heading back to Orlando! Phew! What a weekend!

So far, I have been engaged for only 1 week and four days, and I have not stopped thinking about wedding planning! I swear I have had some kind of wedding related dream every night since Friday, July 30th! It crazy...but fun! So my parents are throwing Brett and I an engagement party at the Marriott Ocean Point on Singer Island, over Labor Day weekend, and I just got word that Brett's parents are going to be joining us! We were unsure if they were going to be able to make the trip down there, but we just got word that they are spending the weekend in their very own, ocean front, suite! I am so thrilled that they are coming and even more exciting for all my friends and some family, to meet them! This will be a great way for both Brett and I's parents to get closer and become one family!

Brett and I got this in the mail and it was so exciting! Our very first engagement card! It was from Brett's parents, and my future in-laws! So fun!

After work, I hit up the gym where I worked my little tush off! I ran 3.5 miles, which was on my 15k training plan, before heading upstairs to take a Powerflex class. The instructor really pushed us and my arms and legs felt like jello afterwards! (Which is a good thing in the long run.) I came home to the fiance' (I love saying that now!) cooking a cuban-inspired pork dish, which was simmering on the stove. It smelled delicious, and I was starving and ready to eat! Brett served the dish over some brown rice, and it hit the spot!

I just started noticing in the grocery store, that drinks like Vitamin Water and Powerade are making 0 calorie drinks. I decided to try a powerade, lemon-lime flavor, with dinner. I snagged it on sale at Publix and it really tastes great! It taste just like normal powerade but without the calories! So refreshing! Ok, I am off to watch Shutter Island. We ordered it from Netflix and are excited to watch!

So, it has been a while since I have posted, but since such a big occasion just happened I thought I would share. I got engaged this past weekend! Brett took me out to dinner on Friday night to Seasons 52, hint hint, and asked me to marry him! It was so unexpected! I knew he was thinking about it because we were talking about it and went ring shopping at the mall to get ideas. He said he couldn't wait any longer and had to do it! We sat in the restaurant for about 2 and a half hours before even ordering our food because we were so excited, talking about planning and calling EVERYONE we knew! He did say that for the next year of our lives, all we will be doing is planing our wedding! So far it has only been 5 days and it is all I can think about! It's so exciting!

The weekend was very eventful. After the proposal, it flew by! My good friend Nicole and her boyfriend came up to Orlando to run some errands (Jordan lives in Daytona) and we all decided to get together at my friends, Jessica and Michael's place for a BBQ and a mini engagement party. We got all types of apps like hummus and pita chips, chips and guacamole and spinach dip, and watermelon. Yumm! Then Michael cooked up this fantastic chicken, tomato, onion dish on the grill with roasted potatoes. It was so delicious, I was so stuffed! But the party wasn't over yet! They got Brett and I a gorgeous cake from Whole Foods, with raspberry filling! It was so delicious!!