Breathing After the Rush

Christmas, and Birthdays, and Showers, Oh My!

Christmas was filled with the hustle and bustle of, well, Christmas. Which was followed by my birthday. Which was then followed by my sister's baby shower. During all of that I was busy working on booking wedding things: photographer, florist, DJ, buying my dress, picking colors and flowers, buying Matt's ring, an purchasing some of the little things needed (at super great deals). My amazing florist (and family friend) took myself and another friend (who is getting married in March) down to LA to shop in the fabric, flower, and jewelry marts. What a day! We got a ton done and I learned a lot.  Here are a few of the things I picked up:

Flower Girl Basket for Keira

 Ring Bearer Pillow for Ben 

Garter Belt

Here are some of the flowers we looked at:

Our photographer is going to be be Anna Joy Photography which Matt and I are really excited about. Anna has a great eye, is super easy and fun to be around, and we are really looking forward to having her be a big part of our day. Anna's website is: http://www.annajoyphoto.com/main.html

Our DJ is going to be Kyle Taylor. He is someone I went to high school with and who now has a very successful business in the area. He is always booked well in advance and we are so excited to have him helping to keep the flow of the wedding and setting the mood. Kyle's website is: http://www.djkyletaylor.com/

Sandy Fuller is a close family friend who is going to be doing our flowers. She is an amazing lady who is full of so many talents. I am so blessed to have her creative eyes and hands making our centerpieces, bouquets, and more!

This month I am going to be looking at invitations, desserts, places to live after we move, jobs, and bridesmaid dresses. Somewhere in between I plan on remembering to breathe and enjoy the moments!

My First Bridal Show

I work with a guy who also owns his own business and works in the wedding industry. This morning he came by my desk and told me about a bridal show going on in town that he was working. My mom and I decided to go, so he put our names on the list, we showed up (paid no door charge- hooray!), and had a great time! I received a ton of information, ideas, business cards, and even some gifts! There was a fashion show, snacks, music, and lots of fun. I can't wait to go to more!

It's Here! It's Here!

Matt's grandmother passed away several years ago and very recently his grandfather passed away. I never met either but I have heard many stories that bring laughter and memories. I traveled with Matt and his family to Virginia for the funeral right before Thanksgiving and during that week the family had the opportunity to go through Grandmommy and Granddaddy's house and collect a few special things each. As I was following along something caught my eye- in the corner, in a cupboard surrounded by other objects, were 12 blue glass goblets. Now if you know me, you know I LOVE sweet tea, and when I saw these glasses I saw Matt and I entertaining after we're married and offering our friends sweet tea in these blue glass goblets. Silly, I know. But I have dreamed of doing that for years and I suddenly couldn't imagine anything better than making that dream come true with a piece of Matt's family history. As I wandered I also found a gorgeous lead crystal bowl and silver platter. Matt and I ended up tucking the pices into the trunk of our rental car, taking them to a nearby UPS store, and shipping them to myself in Ventura to store till after the wedding. Soooooo after a week of waiting, today my UPS package arrived!!! I am so excited to have these pieces of history to put in our home as we start our marriage. To use with friends and family, to remind us of Matt's grandparents, and pass on to our family. So please, come and visit after we're married and I'll be sure to make you some sweet tea!


The UPS man came by!

Looks like everything came safe and sound...

Lead crystal bowl:

Silver platter:

Blue Glass Goblets:

We Have A Venue!!!

Finding a venue was MUCH more stressful than I anticipated. I think I envisioned visiting beautiful places and leisurely strolling around them with family and friends, while picturing myself at each one for what will be one of the most important days on my life. Only that's not how it happened. First, it was cold. As in, I was wearing sweaters, a pea coat, two paris of socks, and Uggs (and I was tempted to put on long underwear under my jeans). Not only was it cold outside, but each venue was freezing as well because, understandably, they don't heat a space when there is no event taking place in it. So we shuffled through chilly buildings, gardens, and lawns all day Saturday. Thankfully I had wonderful company with Matt, my parents, and his parents. It was so nice to compare our thoughts over a warm lunch afterwards! We were so surprised though at the increase in costs since my sister got married five years ago. I have AMAZING parents though and so with lots of talking and number crunching and a little negotiating, we finally settled on a venue and a date. Hooray!!!

Matt and I will be getting married June 4, 2011 in a morning ceremony at Calamigos, a venue tucked into the canyons of Malibu. It is a garden setting with a reception hall attached to it and, as Matt says, it "feels like a hug." Hugs, of course, are one of my favorite things! This is the venue my sister and brother-in-law were married in 2005 and I hope my marriage is as blessed as theirs has been. I am so blessed too that my sister wants to share this place with me. What a fun connection and memory we will have!

I am attaching a few photos we took on the day of the tour as we wandered around. Of course, everything will be decorated differently on our day but it will give you an idea of what's to come. We can't wait!!!

You can't see it in this picture, but there is a waterfall that goes over the row of windows in the back. So beautiful!

Wedding Party

Picking a wedding party was tougher than I thought! Not because I don't have amazing friends, but because it's so hard to choose between them all. I thought long and hard about the length of these friendships, the personalities of these friends, and what my needs will be during this process. Here is what I know: I am a stressball, emotional basketcase of a girl. I plan, plan, plan but that also means I freak out, get wound up, and doubt myself. I knew I needed a team who knew me well, would keep me grounded, and would keep me laughing. So after picking my team of besty-bridesmaids, I (of course) planned on how to ask them all! I ended up finding old pictures of us each and creating them into cards. I wanted to do something I felt was personal and memorable for them, should they want to hold on to it for a keepsake. They all said yes and I can't wait to start this process with this wonderful group of lifelong friends! So here is the lady line up for future Team Scott.

Matron of Honor:
Melissa- My sister and biggest support. My best friend.

Bridesmaids (in no specific order):
Bianca Cahill Fuller- I have known Bianca since she was a little girl and she is like my little sister.

Danielle Siebenaler- My future cousin-in-law, current co-worker, and person who is most likely to make me pee my pants from laughing so hard.

Kristina Pettit- Friends since 2nd grade, my childhood best friend, and a best friend I know will always be a part of my life.

Jennifer Ashley Scott- Matt's little sister and my new partner in crime. I have a feeling we are going to have a lot of fun in the future. Especially doing girly things and being neighbors once I move.

Flower Girl:
Kiera Fryer- Danielle's adorable little girl

Ring Bearer:
Ben Stone- my little sweetie-pie nephew

This is just the beginning! I can't wait for the rest!

P.S. I am not sure the status on Matt's men so that will come later.

Future Team Scott

As a little girl, and even as a much older girl, I dreamed of planning my wedding. I dreamed of who he would be, how we would meet, how we would fall in love, how he would propose, every little detail of our wedding I would plan, and every possibility for our future. I am so excited that I am finally here!

Matt and I met in the fall of our second year of college at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, California. I had been on crutches and very hesitant to spend much time ouside of my apartment due to the endless hills to manuever and my inability to drive with a cast on my right foot. Finally the cast came off, a walking boot was put on, and I accepted an invitation to meet up with a group of friends from class. That's the night I met Matt. Well, technically. Neither of us really remembers meeting each other that night due to our other interests and activities but we do remember seeing each other the second time we "met." That started a friendship, a tutoring routine for my statistics class, and numerous more activities with our friends. We dated for several years before taking space apart for several more years. Today, we find those years apart were so valuable for maturing, growth, and focus for each of us. While dating, I had always teased Matt that he should "keep me" because I was, of course, such an amazing catch! Well, after our time apart it would seem he still agreed and he pursued a relationship with me again. After dating again for a year, Matt showed up on my doorstep on Halloween, dressed up as the Cat in the Hat, got on one knee, and proposed to me. I said, "YES!!! "

So here I am- Planning a wedding. Somedays I never thought this dream would come true. Already, time is flying by and decisions are needing to be made. Part of this wedding planning will include where we will move to in the Bay area (since that is where Matt's job is) and what job I will find. So many of our family and friends live far away, or will be far away after I move north, so I wanted this blog to be a way to stay connected. Please join us as we plan our wedding and move forward to our future as "Team Scott" (as Matt calls us)!

Love,
Staci (& Matt)