Keep A Close Eye

There's a lot on the way!!

I have to apologize for my apparent 2 (yikes!) weeks off blogging. Like I mentioned, even though I wasn't blogging, I was wedding planning. I also got sick, which may sound like an excuse, but it really was a major blower. I haven't been sick in ages and it was horrible!

What's on the horizon?

I'm back in my routine though! Back to work, back to the gym, and oh yes, definitely back to blogging! I have so much in store for you guys too! Everything from a complete review of area cateres and how-to (my advice) for choosing yours, deets on our fabulous planner, wedding dress shopping (Holy cow! I could write for days about that fiasco!), and a DIY fail. Yes, fail. No worries though! I'm totally not letting it get me down. It has to do with our Save the Dates and I must say, I'm actually proud of myself for tackling this project so early on. If I was a few weeks from sending these puppies out I'd be in big trouble! However, because of my persistance in the matter, I think I diverted what could have been a catastrophe! Anyway! I am sorry to yet again promise more and run off, but I do promise more!!

In the meantime, are you not totally inspired by these images I found over at My Black Book? Goldmine!! All very inspiring to our ever-evolving (and shaping up quite nicely, I must say) wedding!

Happy Monday!

We're on the hunt for dishes and lovely tea cups such as these.

They are so hard to find in bulk!

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LOVING this Easter deco.

We could do any of this stuff, especially since our big day is the weekend after!

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Perfect for a Spring garden or wedding!

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Under the Weather

So I know I promised a lot of meaty posts about all the wedding-related things I'm getting done with my time off, and I'm sorry that I haven't lived up to that promise. I've been sick.

I don't remember the last time I had a cold, complete with a sore throat (the kind where it hurts to swallow), so you'll have to excuse my lack of enthusasim to blog, or do anything really. Since Monday, I've been pretty out of it. I'm trying to rest a lot so that I'm well for work on Monday. You'd think I'd use this free time to gather up wedding inspiration, but I'm not.

We did go to a tasting last night and yes, big news:  we have decided on our caterer!! The food and service was hands down the best we've discovered yet and there's really no doubt in our minds we've found the company we want to work with. I'm going to try to work on my big vendor review - caterers post this weekend, and share everything soon..

In the meantime, here's some lovely inspiring images from the blogsphere.

Totally into butterfly designs right now...

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What bride wouldn't want to walk down this aisle?

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Check out this bride's shoes. So unique and cute.

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Awesome wedding cookies... I might be biased cause they are our colors.

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Hoping to feel better and blog more soon...

Have a great weekend!

Busy, Busy & Balloons

Hello lovelies and happy Friday!

Oops. It's Thursday, but I'm off tomorrow so it's MY Friday! Woot woot!

I am sorry I have been M.I.A. lately.

There are SLEW of things going on at work and also with the wedding.

I will update all of you as soon as possible. Just know that even though I'm not blogging, I am working hard to make big wedding-related decisions this weekend. Tonight we're going to a tasting (we've narrowed our search down to three caterers), and tomorrow and Saturday I'll be wedding dress shopping!

I have a lot to share, but unfortunately there has been a "situation" with my job that has required my full attention. Can I ask that you please keep me in your prayers? I'm making a BIG transition. 

Oh... and I know a lot of people think balloons at weddings are lame, but personally, I love the idea.

What are your thoughts? 

These are our colors!

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Thank you!

I just want to take a second to thank everyone for such loving words of encouragement...

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Today was one of those days. I woke up in a funk with a lot of crap on my mind, both wedding (well, marriage) related and other. I didn't feel like working, but I didn't have a choice. And I didn't feel like blogging, but luckily I posted a few things last night, including "Insecurities."

My mood didn't much improve when I got to work, but as the day went on and I recieved your comments, my spirits were lifted! It was one of those things I couldn't ignore -- you know when you're in a bad mood and you refuse to acknowledge anything good? Well, despite wanting to feel bad, I couldn't help but feel good about the love and support you showed.

It was so refreshing to hear such positive feedback and knowing it was from awesome women (I know you're awesome because I read your blogs, and your blogs are awesome), really made me feel better! When you've got so much going on in terms of planning a wedding and a marriage, it's really nice to know you're not alone. It's nice to know others have been there, want to share their experiences, and lend a shoulder.

So without making this way too sappy, I just want to thank you all for your kiind words of encouragement. I was truly encouraged. Thanks to you, I had a lot of confidence today. I thought of our wedding the way it should be thought of - as something that is for us, not for anyone else, and there is no right or wrong. Even though that should be obvious, it gets down played, like many of you pointed out, when you're looking at pictures of seriously fabulous weddings everyday.

Anywho, thank you again for all your comments about our venue, style, and ideas. You all are truly a blessing and I cannot image how a bride that doesn't blog gets through it.

Much love!!

XOXO

Insecurities

I've been feeling very insecure about things lately.

As soon as I hear about another wedding, venue, or DIY project, I start to feel unprepared for our big day. I start to question whether Oxon Hill is really a nice venue and whether I've chosen the right DIY projects to tackle...

I know. I know. What's my problem? This is our day to create any kind of party we want, anywhere we want (considering our budget of course), so why should it matter what others think and what others do? Well, it just does. You don't want to do a crap job. Come on, we all care. Probably a little too much.

I just get cold feet about the decisions we've made and it sucks. Miss Sloth mentioned this earlier in the week. Having a long engagement gives you more of an opportunity to second guess yourself, and third, and fourth second guess yourself. Ugh. I honestly wish I wasn't like that, but I feel like I can't help myself. I wish I felt more assured in our decisions. I can't stand being such a fickle bride.

Here's the thing:  a friend tells me her friend picked their venue and it's a resort. Immediately, I start to wonder if our venue is as nice. This is before I even know what the name of this resort is! Nevertheless, I start to wonder why we didn't pick a resort. Should we have picked a resort?

I run and look up the resort, just to find it's rated 4.5 stars on Wedding Wire. What do I do next? In a complete panic (unforeseen to others of course), I promptly check the ratings for Oxon Hill.

Please, please God!

Let it be 4.5 stars or more!

Whew.

We're 4.5 stars...

I think it goes without saying we all feel insecure sometimes, so our wedding is not going to be any different. We're going to see and hear about other brides and weddings, and sometimes feel a little envy or doubt. It's normal. I know it is, but it still sucks.

Do you feel insecure about your wedding?

What makes you feel that way?

How do you get past it?

Onto more happier notes soon!

25 Random Facts + I Got An Award! Woo!

I love my blogger buddies...

One of my favorite blogs (ever), Beer Budget Bride's Musings just did a really cool post titled "25 Random Facts," and I got a huge kick out of it! It's fun to learn a little something about the people writing our favorite blogs. It's not like we ever get to see them or talk to them directly so seeing their picture and reading about them is pretty cool, if you ask me.

1. In college, I smoked a pack of cigarettes a day. Awful, I know.

2. I'm a workout whore. I love running and lifting weights, and I go to personal training twice a week.

3. My fiance is my height. No, that's a lie. He's probably a little shorter than me. Truth is, I love him anyway and think he's perfect!

4. I secretly (really, really) wish I was one of those go-against-the-grain artsy types of chicks with lots of tatoos and a rebel attitude.

5. I listen to country music and used to go line dancing with my mom.

6. I had actually never, ever thought about what kind of wedding I wanted until my fiance told me to start thinking about it, which was a little over a year ago.

7. Okay this is really gross, but I love you so much I'm going to tell you anyway - sometimes I pick my nose! Bahaha! Seriously it's way faster and more effective than going for a tissue. Sorry. Yeah, I might go back and erase this one.

8. On a more serious note, I really want to write a novel. A best-selling novel. I feel like I'm supposed to write a book, but maybe that's wishful thinking.

9. I also really want my book to turn into a movie (wishful thinking, huh?). It could happen, right? One of my favorite books, Eat, Pray, Love is going to be on big screens soon.

10. I love my yorkshire terrier, Rocky, but I don't walk him often enough or give him treats, play with him, or rub his belly as much as I should.

11. My grandmother nicknamed me motormouth when I was young and it's seriously so true. I could talk for hhhooouurrrsss.

12. I'm really frustrated with our wedding plans. I hate to say that because I sound like such a sad, sulky bride, but I have so many ideas and yet I'm not doing anything. I have this fear it's going to be a really lame wedding :(

13. When I was a little girl my dream was to travel the world. I'm 25 and yet to leave Virginia. I've done some traveling around the States, but I've never left the country. I think I'll DIE if I don't get moving soon.

14.  I'm one of those people that writes a to do list all the time and there's never enough hours in the day to get everything done.

15. My mom lives in a little cottage in the country and I love it there. I wish I could live with her.

16. My hair has been all sorts of colors and styles. In all of the photos of Aaron and I over the years, I look like a different person! Here's a picture from when my hair was short and blonde. I can't wait for the PWC (post wedding chop!)

17. I'm a die-hard fan of the music artists Kelly Clarkson and Pink.

18. Even though we're spending nearly $20,000 (don't shoot me, please) on our wedding, I definitely have a hard time justifying it. All the brokeass brides are right. It's only one day.

19. My parents are split and even though it's been a tough thing to deal with, I wouldn't trade my two little step sisters for anything in the world. They are the cutest children EVER.

20. It's really hard for me to sit still and do nothing, but I absolutely love to watch movies with my fiance.

21. My favorite television programs are 48 Hours Mystery and Snapped.

22. My weight watchers screenname was addictedtogreasensugar, and I've always thought that was so perfectly fitting.

23. Most of my friends don't read my blog, but I love them anyway.

24. My wedding ring is perfect. My fiance has immaculate taste.

25. I want to run a marathon.

Hopefully you've enjoyed that little peak into my life the same I enjoyed learning more about the Beer Budget Bride! I'm sooo totally overwhelmed and excited to share that she's given me a cool new award below:

She seriously made my day with this!!!!

I am so thankful for her following and all her (and yours) awesome comments!! I'm glad that there's a few people that enjoy reading Olive Weddings, since it is my little pride and joy!! It's amazing that more people I don't know read this blog than folks I do know, like friends and family. I think it just goes to show the blogging (and especially the wedding blog) community is really there for each other.

*tear*

I'm so glad to be a part of it all! Thank you, Dancy!!!

Please note that this award was created by JEM at Aquabride and the she says: the only rule is now you pass it on. It doesn't matter to how many people.

Therefore, I'm going to pass it onto my co-worker and blogger friend, Mark over at Running With Blue Sponge. He has some really awesome Random Facts. He went so far as to do installment posts, with an extra (false) fact, which readers had to guess!

I also would like to award D. Marie at The World Around Her for being such an awesome blogger pal! I see her on all of the bride-to-be blogs leaving her two cents! She must know how much we all love comments. She just posted her own 25 Random Facts, be sure to check em out! One of which is that she just finished reading Elizabeth Gilbert's latest book - I'm dying to know how it was!!

Thanks again, Dancy!

My Honey Is Sweet

I love spending time with Aaron's family...

Like many other Saturday mornings I've spent in Williamsburg, Aaron, his family, and me started off with a lovely breakfast. It's sort of a tradition of theirs to have breakfast together (there are four of them, Aaron, his mom, dad, and sister), and I have really come to enjoy it.

I never did anything like this with my family. We always ate our meals in front of the TV and it was rare if all of us sat around and talked. Aaron's family, on the other hand, always spends this time together, catching up, and sharing about different things.

I know a lot of people don't enjoy their in-laws, so I consider myself lucky. They are so supportive of each other and it's really refreshing. I really enjoy watching them interact, and talking with them, I feel so comfortable and at peace. I care a lot about Aaron's family, they are truly unique, and I realize this more and more. I found myself truly enjoying them this weekend and it might sound cheesy, but being around them I feel at home. It feels like they are my family too.

His extended family is great too...

Sunday morning we didn't have breakfast, but we went to church and then to Aaron's grandmother's house, which is another family tradition. I absolutely love Aaron's grandparents! They are so sweet and always so glad to see me (to see us, I should say). A few of Aaron's distant relatives were in town so I met a bunch of family I had never met before, and everyone was really nice!! During all the visiting, I really felt blessed to be marrying into such a wonderful family.

It would be enough that Aaron's sister, Amber and I are really close or that his parents liked me, but it's so much more than that. Aaron's family has been so supportive of us and welcoming of me. There's a lot of love in his hometown and I told him this weekend that I really loved it down there. I feel like we spend more time with his family than we do mine (to a certain extent), but I really don't mind. I enjoy being with his people and I really, really look forward to more occasions like we had this past weekend.

And I love when it's just Aaron and I too...

If you think we did the family thing the entire weekend, guess again. I told you Friday that our anniversary is the fourth of July and Aaron, being the sweet guy that he is was sure to set aside some alone time this weekend to relish in our 4 (or is it 5?) years together. He really out did himself too! Last year we had an awesome view of the fireworks on Duke of Gloster street in the heart of Colonial Williamsburg and I had no idea how he would top that this year, but he did!!

He took me to this wonderful bistro that is located in heart of Colonial Williamsburg. The food was amazing, but what made it so special was that we had an amazing view of the fireworks - unobstructed - from our table, and boy, was it romantic!!! The resturant dimmed the lights when the fireworks started and I couldn't believe our view!! I was really excited and I felt so touched. I felt so lucky that Aaron went out of his way (and not because I told him too because I didn't mention anything about our anniversary and plans for the fireworks) to set this all up.

He even timed our reservation so that we were finishing up eating when the fireworks started! He's soo good!!!

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We picked up an ice cream cone from baskin robins afterward and let me tell ya, I was in heaven!! I had fallen in love with Aaron all over again and I just couldn't resist sharing our special time with you. Of course we did a few other fun things this weekend, but our anniversary dinner and view of fireworks stole the show.

What did you do for the fourth?

Does your guy do awesome and romantic things to commorate when you met? Share them!!

Our Anniversary

Happy Fourth of July folks!!

It was about 5 years ago this time when sparks flew between Aaron and I! It all began on a road trip that my brother and I took from Richmond, which is where I was living, to Virginia Beach. Aaron decided to join us at the very last minute and at the time, I hardly knew him. Needless to say, he did everything in his power to impress me and I was smitten with his charm! 

We're going to Williamsburg for fun at the amusement parks, quality time with family, and hopefully a good fireworks show. We hope you have an amazing holiday! Do something for us and remind your significant other of the time when you first had feelings for each other!

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Off to the boonies

I'm headed to the Shenandoah Valley this weekend to spend some quality time with my mom. She lives in a little cabin in the woods and I'm really excited to get away from city life for a little bit. Especially with views like around every corner...

I'm taking my camera, my laptop, and my wedding planner...

I hope to get a lot done, but I also want to relax quite a bit too. Unfortunately, I won't have internet access (ahh, I'm freaking out a little) so I will miss all of your lovely blog posts over the holiday. I'll be back in full swing Monday evening. Probably with pictures like these, which I took last weekend on our trip to Charolettesville, VA at Thomas Jefferson's Montecillo...

Going anywhere special this weekend or sometime soon?

Do you love country places with mountain views and lots of pretty flowers?

Sneak Peek: Engagement Invites DIY Style

Happy Friday...

Who is happy the weekend is finally here? I am!

We're hitting the road to Charolettesville tonight and I'm excited! We're going to an alumni event at Aaron's alma mater and meeting up with a good, good friend of mine from college. Woo hoo.

We'll be back on Sunday and attending a tasting hosted by Marco Polo Caterering. Yum! I'll have plenty of details on all of that next week, as well as some pictures of our engagement party invitations (woo hoo)!

Here's a sneak peek...

Have a wonderful, wonderful weekend!

And... We're Back!

Please Pardon My Absence...

I haven't been motivated to blog for a number of reasons (I've been busy at work, transitions at home, etc), but mostly because I was really tired of the way this blog looked. Cute as it may have been to many of you, after seven months of the same template, I felt I needed a change. I'm the type of girl that rearranges her room every few months (sometimes weeks)... so a makeover was overdue. I wanted something fresh, new, and with three columns. Hence, the new look. What do you think?

As for the wedding plans, they are well underway! We're in the midst of finalizing engagement party details and I also took a trip over to our venue (Oxon Hill Manor) on April 9th, exactly one year and one day until our actual wedding! Everything is moving at an excellent pace and I couldn't be happier. Our venue is absolutely stunning and I have a lot to share about my visit (and new-found love for Oxon Hill in the spring)! Not to mention a few new photos!

Busy, Busy, Busy...

We've been marking things off our massive to do list and discussing the must haves (and don't needs). While we've narrowed down and decided on things like our website, our venue, and photographer, we're still in the midst of making many, many decisions on other things like our invitations, videographer, and ceremony setup, which I hope you'll help with!

When I'm Not Wedding Planning...

I'm running! I haven't shared much about my love for running on the blog, but I'm hoping that will change! Running is my favorite thing to do (besides read wedding blogs) and I just completed my first 10 mile race! On April 11th, I participated in the Cherry Blossom 10-miler in Washington, DC, and it was exhilirating! I just started running about 2 years ago and now I can't imagine life without my iPod and asic sneakers!

My New Best Friend...

Is a laptop!! Whether it was because he noticed I wasn't blogging as often or saw how frustrated I saw with  my old pc, my man surprised me with a new latptop this past weekend!! I love it, love it, love it, love it!!! I'm still in shock, but happy as ever to have a brand new place to do all my blogging and wedding planning on! It's a Toshiba and it's just perfect! Her and I are becoming fast friends...

I promise to be better and blog often. Thanks for stopping by!

Easter Inspires Me

It's a good thing... spring that is...

I'm sorry that I haven't been posting a lot lately. Work has been really, really busy and I swear it's true, that's not just an excuse. Things should be slowing down this weekend, just in time for Easter, and one year mark until our big day. I'm so excited.

I've been really intrigued lately by all of the Easter and spring decorations on the blogs and in magazines. It just makes me so happy that we've decided to push the date back (from fall 2010) and get married this time next year. It's just such a lovely time of year!

I'm also happy that I'm not faced with sending out our Save the Dates yet! I've been working on Engagement Party Invitations (more on that later) and it's a lot of work! It's another reason I've been M.I.A... I suppose all the labor is good practice for when it's time to send out our wedding invitations. Although I imagine I'll probably be twice as picky and twice as nervous...

So here's a bit of inspiration I picked up online of things that excite me about a spring and having my wedding the weekend after Easter. If you have Easter and/or spring wedding ideas, please share the wealth. I can't get enough!

Thanks for stopping by!

 {Country Living}

{Hostess Blog}

{Porter House Designs}

  {Martha Stewart}

{Unknown}

 

 {Weddingbee}

  {Readers Digest}

Happy Weekend

I know I've been promising a bunch of meaty posts lately...

And I swear I'm good for them. I said this last Friday and I'm going to say it again. There's quite a bit going on between changing the wedding date and work. I hope you readers understand! The warm weather isn't helping either. I desperately want to spend time outdoors, rather than inside blogging! You know what that means: I need a new laptop. The one I have is centuries old and I can't stand to wait for it to boot (yes, it's one of thosethat takes 10 years to start up).

Along with the changing seasons, you'll see some changes here as well. 

To name a few, there's a new layout on the way, better navigation, and I'm nixing the New Approach. More on all of that later. For now, here are some pictures to make your heart melt (at least they do mine)! 

This is one of the first flowers that Aaron ever gave me back in 2005!

I took a dozen pictures of it, because I couldn't believe how beautifully it bloomed. A close friend of mine at the time told me her mom always said, "If a man gives you a rose and it blooms beautifully, that means he really loves you!" Turns out my friend's mom was right because 5 years later, the fella that gave me this rose got down on one knee and asked me to spend my life with him..

Ahh... Isn't this the stuff weddings are all about?

Thanks for stopping through!

St. Patrick's Day = Green Wedding Inspiration

Happy St. Patty's Day!

This is a great time of year for a girl that loves green. Everyone is wearing it and all of the bloggers are pulling green wedding inspiration! I can't get enough! I wish everyday was filled with such an appreciation for my favorite color. I'm always on the hunt for anything green wedding, and today, there's plenty to go around! So in celebration of that wonderful color, the one color of our wedding palette I've never questioned, and that will never change... some fun green weddings stuff!!

{Martha Stewart via Ritzy Bee Blog}

{Q Weddings Photography via Style Me Pretty}

{Photo credit: Project Wedding}

{Invitations by Capture Moments By Amy}

{Photo credit: Rebekah Westover via Kelly Oshiro Events}

{Photo credit: The Knot}

{Photo credit: Petalena}

{Photo credit: Flickr Member Naoko via The Kitchn}

Are you a fan of the color green?

Was anything green at your wedding?