Today was such a different morning for a Floridian! When I got into my car, it was covered in frost! It took 5 minutes for me just to defrost all the windows!  Isicles on my window! I swear it must have snowed last night because every patch of grass I drove by on my way to work looked white! I almost pulled over three times just to take a picture of it! I did snap this one at a stop light though, but it's not even the best shot! Pretty crazy! Work was pretty slow today since everyone is still on vacation through the new year, so I spent the majority of the day looking at wedding flowers! Here are my favorite ideas
I totally did not expect to find my dress so soon, but when my mom and I saw it, we just knew that it was the perfect one! We had an appointment at Alfred Angelo, to try on their dresses, and it wasn't until the 4th one that we went, "Wow!" It is totally different than what I had invisioned, but it is perfect!!
You know you picked the right dress when you leave the store and can't wait to try it on again! Makes me want to get married tomorrow!
Anyways, I am not going to post a picture of the dress, because you know who might see this post, but I will post the picture of the runner up! This is the dress that didn't make it home: My mom and I did great at the store and got earings, a gorgeous vail with swavorski crystals, and a headpiece!
They said that it could take up to 3 months to get the dress in after it is ordered. Which is good i guess, since I ordered it 9 months in advance!
One more item on the to-do-list marked off!
We did it! Our wedding date is final and we have chosen the perfect venue! It is the South Seas Island Resort in Captiva, Florida. I can't wait to start planning, and coming up with ideas for the wedding! I feel like my brain is bursting with ideas and I can't wait to go into wedding planing mode! I know we have a year, since the wedding is on October 9th, 2011, but I know it will fly by so fast!
We loved this property because of the Kings Crown Lawn! It was exactly what Brett and I wanted and we thought it was the best location. It has the view of the ocean and beautiful palm trees, without the sand!  Kind of a small picture! You can check out the property at SouthSeas.com. It really is beautiful! Now that we have finally decided on the perfect location, all the litte details fall into place. The next step is to finalze the contract, and work with the caterer on menus and other details. I think I am jumping the gun on this one, but I am already researching florists and design companies to help me with decor! So Fun!
This past weekend Brett and I made our trip to the west coast of Florida, to find the perfect wedding venue! It was a crazy and hectic schedule but we made it! This was our schedule of events for the weekend:
Friday:
- I worked a half day, until 12:30pm
- Brett picked me up right from work and we headed to his parents house to drop off the Win.
- Our first appointment was at 2:30pm and it was at the Sandpearl Resort in Clearwater.
- Right after that at 4pm, we had another site at the Tradewinds Resort in St. Pete Beach
- Met up with Brett's Parents, and cousins, at Ozona Blue, a great restaurant on the Marina
 Lobby at the Sandpearl  Ozona Blue!  Nathan is about to eat a lemon!  Uh oh! He ate it! Sour face! Saturday:
- Woke up early to head down to Naples, FL
- 10am first appointment at the Ritz Carlton
- Lunch Break
- 12:30pm our next appointment at La Playa Resort
- 4pm last appointment of the day at the Naples Beach and Golf Resort
- Check into our hotel room at Holiday Inn :)
- Dinner at Carrabba's
 Our First Stop  Wedding wet up at the Ritz.  Happy Hour lunch break at Applebee's  Trying to Kill time at lunch, playing the I Love You Because Game!  Lobby at the La Playa Resort  Example wedding setup at La Playa! So beautiful!  Shh...we took a break at McDonald's for a 3pm snack!  A very fancy McDonalds I should say!  Wedding setup at the Naples Golf and Beach Resort  At dinner they had pitchers of wine! Score! Sunday:
- Headed out early to our first appointment at the Sundial Resort in Sannibel at 10am (Which I didn't tke pictures of, becuase you do not want to see it! bleh!)
- Our last appintment of the day was at the South Seas Resort in Captiva at 12:30pm (We think this is the one! So you don't get to see it either! hehe Not yet anyways!)
- Made our way back to Tampa, to watch football at the Brick House restaurant with our friends Loreyn and Thomas
The restaurant was so cool! It had a huge patio with tons of flat screen TV's and played every football game! Inside, they even had couches set up with TV'S in front of them like you are sitting in your own living room! So Cool! and the food was amazing! I got a chicken parm sub with a side cesar salad!
 My Delicious Chicken Parm sub at Brick House! Monday:
- We had one more site visit at the Sheraton Sand Key at 10am and Brett's parents came with us! It wasn't a very fun visit though, and only took us about 10 minutes to know it wasn't the right place.
- Finally done! We headed to Pickles Plus, which is a really great deli over looking the Gulf!
It was cool because right outside our window there was "Crew Parking" for the movie they are filming there call Dolphin Tale, or something like that. I guess it is a Disney movie with Morgan Freeman and Ashley Judd! We tried to sneak a peak at their trailers, but couldn't find them! :)
After lunch we heading back to Orlando, where I had a dentist appointment. Bleh! Then it is back to work!
 Our View from the deli.  My tuna melt!  Crew Parking! So that was our weekend! It was action packed!
After touring 8 venues, Brett and I think we found the perfect place for our wedding! We really loved the feeling of the South Seas Resort in Captiva. It had everything we loved! The green grass, a great beach Luau area, beautiful rooms, and so many activities for our guests, and for us! I really think it is going to be a fantastic venue!
There are so many things to go over still, and we need to work out some details and budgeting! I am so exited to start planning the colors and just everything! But that will definitely com e a little later, and I will let you know my ideas! I have to many!
As for the rest of the week, I am trying to get back into the groove of things. Work was pretty hectic today, and I have lots of things to do before bed! Plus Brett is making me chicken parm tonight! Yum!
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! :)  Lauren, Me Lauren, and Loryen! The L's!  Putting a fake pirate tattoo on Lauren!  Me and the Hunny!  All the girls! Who happen to all be my Bridesmaids also! 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 Delicious Spread!  So cute! A Personalized Cake!  The Bridesmaids minus Nicole!  My Cousin Stacy!  More of my favorite girls!  The whole happy family!  Everyone watching Paul's DVD!  Dessert Time!  The Newlywed Game! So Funny! 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.  Lava Flows! With a crazy glare! 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!  Taking pics before heading to dinner!  The boys!  Reaching for a slice before I can snap a pic! 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!  The future In-laws. At the airport about to leave for Ireland! Cocktails in hand!
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!  After the proposal. Outside of Seasons 52. 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!!  Cutting the Cake!
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