Falling For Nashville...

If you know me, then you probably know how much I adore Fall! It is my favorite time of the year for more then one reason. I love the colors that surround me and the scents in the air. I love that it's still warm outside yet not hot or cold. I LOVE football! I love that we cover up our bodies in jeans, sweaters and scarfs. And I'm obsessed with anything pumpkin flavored...pumpkin icecream from Brusters, pumpkin blizzards from Dairy Queen, pumpkin cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory, my Aunt Sharon's should-be famous pumpkin roll recipe...I can go on and on!! (obviously this isn't the best time to be less then 5 months away from your wedding!)

Anyhow, when Patrick and I talk about the future and where we will one day live I always tell him I absolutely cannot sacrifice Fall. I've told him I will relocate for him but the place we move to absolutely has to have a Fall season. After being in Nashville this weekend I feel like we could have a home and start a family there! :-)

I got to visit before and I had fun, but it was a rushed visit. This time we had all day Saturday to explore and have fun together. I loved what I saw, and most importantly, I loved what I felt. :-)

While Patrick was at his morning run through practice, I got ready for the day and spent some time on his deck reading. It was so relaxing and wonderful. Moments like these are glorious! Nothing spectacular, just a perfect time. When he got back we ended up heading out to grab a bite to eat. I was surprised when he told ME to drive! So I drove down the road as he directed and we got some sandwiches at "Penn Station Sub Shop"...delicious! I should add we later ate at a place called "San Antonio Taco Company"...not so good! Patrick was of course drawn to it as he's from San Antonio. I told him everything is better in Pennsylvania and he rebutted by saying "Texas can't be copied" - HAHAHA! It's a fun little rivalry we have :-)

We spent most of the afternoon at a place called "Centennial Park". It was really close to the Vanderbilt University campus. It was so pretty inside the park with the leaves all changing colors :-) We even saw two weddings...how ironic!

After a nice stroll around the park we landed ourselves on one of the many unique swings in the park.

It was here that we captured what could be my favorite photo of us thus far...

Every picture has some sort of story and I love the story behind this one...So Patrick is infamous for giving me bunny ears in pictures. I usually have no clue but am slowly but surely catching on. Because he's so tall I can never get him back. Well since we were sitting I knew for once I could get him back! So I put up the ears and because we were on a rocker he felt my hand bump his head...right when he snapped the picture! He knew and I knew that he knew and as a result we got one of my favorite pictures ever! I think I love it so much because it's just one of our typical moments! When we're together and even when we're apart we are always laughing at some inside joke - finally it was captured! I also love that the moment looks as good as it felt :-)

Shortly after this Patrick came up with a good idea...We've been talking a lot about the future and what's in store for us. I know that if there isn't a lockout in the NFL this year that we will most likely be relocating come June or July. It's a bit scary for me but I am all in and willing. I've worked hard to build my career and I love what I do so it's sad to realize that I may not be able to continue what I do now as we will most likely live 8 months out of the year in one location (wherever he's playing - hopefully Tennessee!) and 4 months back in Pittsburgh. Given that scenario it will be tough to find someone to hire me in a full-time position. I'm passionate about working and have since I was 14 so I don't intend on not working just because of the situation! So lately I've been trying to brainstorm ideas of things I could do. Patrick suggested that maybe starting a photography business could be good for me - as I could do this anywhere! I loved the idea and quickly got to work directing my man on where to go and what to do. I didn't take the pictures per say - I mean Patrick's arm is a lot longer then mine - which helps! But I did come up with the ideas! Check em out!

We had so much fun! Now here are some idea's my love brainstormed...He may have a knack for photography as well!

After out little photoshoot we grabbed dinner and I dropped Patrick off at the team hotel. From there I drove his car "Baby" back to his apartment...it was scary to say the least! If I ever did anything to Baby...well I don't want to find out what would happen!!! But I got her back safe and sound - and went nowhere the rest of the night! LOL!

Sunday morning I picked Patrick up at the hotel and he then drove us to the game. The Titans played the Eagles and won 37-19! The first half was pretty uneventful but the second half was like watching a whole different team! They played great and secured their 5th win giving them a 5-2 record.

I really need to make some friends of other significant others of teammates! I'm a big loner when there! I sat all by myself...I'm sure it will come eventually, and I look forward to it!

After the game and dinner Patrick and I got a little bit of wedding stuff done. We got our church papers signed and we started selecting some music to be played at the wedding. We started trying to pick out our first dance song...lol! Let's just say Patrick picked out a legit pick with Michael Buble's song "Feeling Good"...but try dancing to it!!! We were laughing so hard as we tried to get on beat...which was impossible! Needless to say I think we better hit the drawing board again lol. We'll find it I'm sure, but just haven't yet.

Other wedding news...My dieting has been strong! So far I'm down 7 pounds in 5 weeks :-) Also, some of the components of my centerpieces are in! Good stuff! So I'm moving right along.

This week I have another appointment with a florist. Next weekend Patrick will be in and we will be doing lots of fun stuff like registering, sampling our menu and cake, meeting with our priest and engagement photos :-) I can't wait to see him!!! You'll hear all about it so stop back again soon!

Cha-Cha-Cha-Changes!

Oh have I fallen behind! I missed last week's blog which I had already named "Yard Sale For My Wedding Veil" - haha! Basically I had shared with ya'll that I was getting rid of tons of stuff to make room for my fiance...well in the process I made $142.00 - Yeah! Plus I had sold $205 worth of stuff on Craigslist! I still have about $400 worth left to sell - so hopefully I get some hits here! I also learned how to do E-Bay and plan to sell some of my more expensive stuff (Coach bag and wallets, Kate Spade bag and wallet, Sherry Hill and Joviani pageant gowns - I've got a lot of good stuff that has to go!) So hopefully I can up the cashflow in - which would help furnish our home a little more personally and help with the wedding :-)

Last week I got a ton done! I found my Bridesmaid gifts and started purchasing them. Three down - five to go! I shall not tell what it is but let's just say I really hope I have some extra money when all is said and done so I can treat myself to the same gift :-) I kinda sorta love what I'm buying them and would really like to own it as well! Okay enough on that subject!!!

Another topic that I can't speak too much on but have nailed down is my centerpieces!!! I will not tell what they are but I can say this much...I've never been to a wedding with anything like it! I think it's pretty unique and I'm super excited for it! It's a bit more practical then flowers -- which my husband-to-be appreciates - haha!

We also booked our photographer last week!! Milla C Photography will do our pictures and I am thrilled! Milla actually shoots with her husband Brad so we will have two photographers with two different styles capturing our wedding! Milla and Brad do GREAT work and are super sweet on top of it! One of the things that I love about them is that they capture the moments you'd miss if you blinked. Nothing is fake or posed - it's all real moments - this is EXACTLY what I was looking for! Check out their website...

http://www.millacphotography.com/index.html#/wedding-photography/

Milla also blogs her weddings which I find ultra-cool as I'm a blogger :-)

So enough on last week - let's jump right into the "Cha-Cha-Cha-Changes" of this week! BIG NEWS!!! Patrick and I actually decided to change our church...very bold I know! But it's all for the best we feel. See originally we were getting married at my childhood church, St. Cyril of Alexandria, at 2:30 PM with the reception starting at 5:30 PM. When I first told Patrick about it I don't think it registered to him that there would be a 2 hour gap between the ceremony and reception that guests would have to fend for themselves with. When he didn't say anything I thought I had the green light. Well it all sank in this week and I got a big giant red light! I totally got where Patrick was coming from with not liking the idea of our guests having to wait around for us so my mom and I started to brainstorm. We came up with St. Paul's Cathedral! The Cathedral is actually located within walking distance of our venue and the hotel that we blocked rooms at - so it is now super convenient for all of our guests! To make matters even sweeter...the ceremony with be at 4:00 PM - so now our ceremony and reception will be seamless! 

The Cathedral isn't the easiest of places to get for a wedding. It is the mother church of the Diocese of Pittsburgh and is lead by Bishop David Zubik. In addition, it's breathtakingly beautiful so it is highly sought after! It took A LOT of prayers to land it and I am so thankful for all who came together and prayed for it for me :-) God heard us and I know deep down this is His plan and what He wanted all along :-) I now invite you to take in it's beauty!!!

I just feel so blessed to be able to come before God and take Patrick to be my husband in this historic and holy place!

Other developments this week...I found my invitations, scheduled our engagement photos (November 6th), finally picked out a color to accompany my grey (pale pink), started our "wedsite" and found the place where my Bridal Shower will take place (Donatos!! Thanks for the recommendation Jordy!). I hope I continue moving this way!!! Patrick has also been on the ball! He finally found our Honeymoon destination -- we think! I'll share all those details when we for sure book at this resort :-) It's beautiful and I can hardly wait to go there as "Maggie Bailey" :-)

Have a GREAT week! Look forward to the next post as it's going to be jam packed with lots of fun stuff :-) Until then!

Back On Track

Week #3 of wedding planning found me "back on track". I feel like I found my calm again after the difficult, trying and mentally draining week #2.

Monday morning I was surprised when I got a call from Patrick. We will usually just send a good morning text to each other. He was so sweet when he told me he woke up thinking about me and just had to tell me for himself. I'm one of those people who is all about the little things in life and that right there was so simple and little but meant the world to me! It really set the tone for the week!

Topics that seemed problematic last week got resolved this week -- Bridesmaid dresses are selected (not the ones I thought they would be!) and I found our means of transportation :-) Plus we got to dive into some fun stuff like Honeymoon planning ;-)

Bridesmaids dresses...I will share a picture since Erin requested it! Plus my sister already posted it on Facebook so they really are no longer a secret lol. I will say this...the picture doesn't do them justice! They are much prettier in person. I love that they don't look like your typical bridesmaid dress. They are very chic! They were designed by Bari Jay and will be in this same exact color which is called "Shadow".

 

They aren't exactly what I envisioned but I do really like them. I will say this, of the what seems like hundreds of dresses my girls tried on for me, no other dress was as flattering as this one! Not one of my bridesmaids will look bad in this dress, it looked so nice on all them! Which ultimately is the most important thing :-)

Patrick wasn't crazy about them at first as he thought the "half-shoulder" was "weird" but he later said he didn't think it was so much the dress as it was the girl in the dress. He made me laugh when he said she looked like an alien and her arm looks disconnected from her body - haha! Who knew Patrick would pay so much attention to detail?! LOL!

My sister Kristy and other bridesmaid Jordy picked out the dress and I told all the girls, the only way we can get this dress is if ya'll pase like this in at least one picture - haha. I told them to start practicing!!

Transportation...I found us a trolley! I thought Molly's Trolley's was the only company to provide them in Pittsburgh, but indeed they are not! Thanks to my bridesmaid Colleen for informing me to check out Lenzner Transportation! We will be booking this baby tomorrow :-)

We are also booking our DJ tomorrow...DJ Bill Bara. He is a young DJ who I feel confident will keep the party going and always have guests on the dance floor! He DJ's at some of the hottest spots in Pittsburgh which is good to know, but I did make sure that he knows the difference between a wedding and a club. He does - which is excellent! Once we are signed with him we will have a personal website which will give guests access to requesting songs they want played at the wedding...but we ultimately will have the final say...pretty cool!

Patrick and I booked our room at the "Inn on Negley" for our first night together as man and wife! This beautiful Inn is located in Shadyside -- just a few minutes away from our reception site in Oakland. We will be staying in the Braeburn Suite...check it out!!

Ahh! Can't wait! We also started talking Honeymoon :-) We decided that my dream of Tahiti is out. It's SO far away and we both agreed that we don't want to have to spend multiple days of our Honeymoon on an airplane. So we are discussing Riviera Maya, Bahamas, Jamaica and Belize. Riviera Maya seems to be winning the race...with the all inclusive, adult only resort "El Dorado Casitas Royale" my personal favorite!

http://www.eldoradosparesorts.com/hotels/el_dorado_casitas/

Look at the rooms that have their own personal swimming pools - even on the balcony!!! Love it! It almost reminds me of Tahiti with all the straw tops! Has anyone ever been here or know of anyone who has been here? I'd love to hear personal stories about this place!!

We haven't decided on this place yet - just as of right now it's my favorite. I told Patrick to make the choice. I'm already making so many of the decisions regarding the wedding. He needs to have a say in something and this seems to be the one area he was up for planning - haha.

Also, YAY me for losing 4 pounds in my first week at Weight Watchers!!!

Something fun that happened this weekend was the Engagement Luncheon that my friend and bridesmaid, Valerie, threw for me! It was just beautiful and so thoughtful of her to do! Some of my closest friends from high school were there along with my sisters and mother's sisters. I truly thought it was just going to be a get-together to see my bling and talk about my engagement. Much to my surprise it was more like a mini-shower with tons of gifts! Everyone did WAY to much! It was so thoughtful though and I'm so appreciative. My mom bought us this beautiful family tree frame that I recently purchased for my friend Kate for her wedding. I had wanted to keep it for myself so badly so it was such a nice surprise!

Another fun gift...His and Her's towels from my M.O.H. Katie

And as if throwing the party wasn't enough Valerie provided me with the most unique and entertaining gift...480 marbles! Haha! There is meaning behind this...As probably many of you know, Patrick and I both made the decision to save ourselves for marriage long before we ever knew each other. This moral life-decision is the sole reasoning behind why we were even set-up to meet each other! Well Patrick once said that when we are married should make sure to always keep that aspect of our relationship a priority since we have waited so long to get there. We've been told that couples often taper off in their love life after year one...so to make sure this doesn't happen to us Patrick came up with a great idea...we agreed to put a marble in a vase for every time we make love. Then for year two we will make sure to recycle all of those marbles to make sure we are keeping up - haha! Kinda unique right?! The expectations are obviously pretty high with 480 marbles!!!

That I'm sure would have been Patrick's favorite gift of the afternoon - haha! Although he couldn't be there to take in the afternoon for himself he still made an appearance from afar...Thank you for the beautiful flowers Love!

My family and friends know me so well...check out the Tiffany and Co. inspired touches :-) LOVE it!

Throughout the party I think I may have checked another thing off my To-Do list...My cake! I haven't even started to think about a cake...that is until I tasted the cake Valerie's mothers baker made for the party. I'm not a cake person, I'd rather have a good cookie or some ice cream but once I tasted this cake I think I became a cake person!!! It was the most delicious cake I have ever had in my entire life!!! The cake was so moist and fresh and the icing was a perfect butter cream, and the chocolate lover in me loved the sweet white chocolate shavings!! I hope she will say yes to making our cake!!!

A HUGE thank you goes out to Valerie for planning the afternoon and making it possible! And also to my bridesmaids for helping as well :-)

What an amazing time! Thank you to everyone who came out for it! It wouldn't have been the same without you!

Here's hoping Week #4 is as good as this last one :-) Stay tuned as plenty more wedding plans are to come!!! Until then...