Cute Ideas

This weekend I was at our mountain cabin with my mom. We stopped at a local home decor shop and found some super cute cocktail napkins with blueberries on them. We bought 160. We also bought a single LED battery powered tea light after the shop owner suggest we make luminaries and hang them from the apple orchard trees. They're very cute!

Churches, Caterers and Future In-Laws

We have a ceremony site, several quotes from caterers and a couple of visits with the future in-laws under our collective belts. AND perhaps the most exciting, at least for me, is an impending move to good old Pensacola, Florida. Not my dream location, but at this point I'd go anywhere to be with S.

The ceremony will be held on September 5, 2009 at 3:30PM at the Yarmouth Meeting House. Here is a photo of the ceremony site: The reception will follow in my parents' yard in Freeport. From 5-6:30ish we will host a cocktail hour in the front yard with several passed hors d'oeuvres and a few stationary items. We will then proceed to the tented area where several grilling stations will be set-up. Salads will be passed and while our guests enjoy their salads the servers will call individual tables to the grilling stations to be served various meats and veggies.

I spent two three-day weekends at the future in-laws' weekend 'Bay house in Maryland. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Future brothers and brothers' girlfriends were great company. I look forward to many more summer weekends at their beautiful home. And I look forward to more fun-filled weekends catching our own dinner fresh from the bay!

Bridesmaids & Favors

I made wedding planning progress this weekend, despite my growing fear of rainy days. I asked my longest friend, A, to be my maid of honor. She pointed out that I'm the old maid and that she will be my matron of honor. I also asked a good friend from law school, C, to be a bridesmaid. Only two more friends to ask...So far the four women I've asked have said yes; hopefully the yes-trend will continue!

On Saturday I visited the engagement site again for the first time. I tried to remember which tree was behind S when he asked so I could approximate the exact spot. I think I found it. Then I walked the property with M wagging behind me to see how various views of the house and fields look from various vantage points. I think I figured out the "flow" of foot traffic.

Sunday C and I visited Stonewall Kitchens where I picked out our favors - mini jars of Maine blueberry jam! I'll incorporate them as part of the table-setting decorations. I'm also quite sure that we'll have a large tent with navy paper lanterns and strings of white LED lights. We can also use strands of lights to create walk-ways throughout the property and to light up trees around the tent. I like the idea of hanging seating cards from navy ribbons tied to a tree near the entrace to the tent.

I think we're back to a Saturday wedding with a relaxing post-wedding brunch on Sunday with planned hangover-nursing events like lounging around the pool. And, of course, a scheduled evening at the bar where S and I met...multiple times.

We're Engaged

I intended to start this blog during the "waiting months." Those are the months and months when I waited and wondered if he would ever ask me to marry him. Sure, I asked him several times, but each time his response was, "Stooooop! You can't ask me that!" So, I waited. Last week, the waiting finally, finally, finally ended. He proposed to me in a style very much his own - nothing cheesy, but just romantic enough to make an impression. I adore him.

So the story goes...

He flew to Maine from Florida for my belated-birthday weekend. The morning after he arrived we went for a walk around the woods "loop" behind my parents's house. The walk was nice, we held hands a little bit, teased each other a little bit and remarked at the surprising number of lady slippers. Near the end of the loop, just before the pond, he put his arm around me, turned me towards him, got down on one knee and started, "all right ...." The rest is all a blur. But, I did manage to eeek out a "yes" in my surprise and excitement.