Congratulations are in order...

My sister is engaged! Congrats to Lauren & Dave.

She'll be my maid of honor and she just asked me to be hers <3

Lauren, all the happiness and love in the world is what I wish for you. I'm so happy to be able to share the "engaged" part of our lives now, even if only for two months longer. And don't you worry, I'll let you know how wonderful married life is once I get there. You can always count on me for advice :)

So here's to Dave & Lauren and a lifetime of joy and marital bliss. Love to you both!

The 2 Month Lull

I've never really felt overwhelmed by any of this wedding planning stuff (future Stephanie, please read this one week before wedding and remember to breeeeathe), and right now is no exception.

Actually, the only thing we've been working on over the past month, wedding-related, are invitations. And by "we" I mostly mean my brother Matt. We emailed each other back and forth for a few weeks, discussing what the pieces of the invite should look like, breaking down the invite text word-by-word, making final edits on the designs, making final, final, final edits on the designs, quadruple checking everything (we almost spelled "afternoon" like this... "afteroon" ... oops!). And at the end of a few weeks, we had this amazing invitation ready to be sent off to the copiers.

As the invites were being printed, I spent a few hours with coworker and friend Kate (who also helped me find my wedding gown!) addressing the envelopes on a Saturday. When the invites arrived, I ran around town trying to find the perfect stamps for the envelopes and the RSVPs. Then, I stuffed, stamped, and sealed all the envelopes, and then they were off! We've even gotten a few RSVPs back and I didn't even send them a week ago. How great!

So, that was the invitation-sending process, and like I said, that's all we've done for the wedding lately. We've gotten to this "2 month lull" as I like to call it. We're 2 months out from the wedding and there's not much left we can do until we get a little closer (e.g. seating cards, arranging centerpieces, purchasing decorations, etc.). And that's why you haven't heard from me much lately... because I don't have too much to say.

Oh, 'cept I should probably show you the ADORABLE bikini I bought for the honeymoon. This bride has lost 15 pounds since she started her weight loss journey, so she figured she needed to buy a new suit to show off her new curves to her new hubbie :) I leave you with a preview...

Sneak Peek

At the reception, we're going to have a slideshow playing composed of pictures of John and me. Some will be pictures of little Johnny, some of little Stephie. Some of us as awkward teens, some of us at graduations, and some of us throughout our relationship and engagement.

My future mother-in-law had the task of collecting pictures of little Johnny (as well as other pics of grandparents, siblings, etc on his side for other uses at the wedding). I recently took a peek at the pictures she put together and love EVERY one of them. How could I not love diving into a part of John I didn't get to see?

So, here's a sneak peek of the slideshow, just for you. Some of my favorite little Johnny pictures...

John giving nose kisses to his mom.

He didn't want little Eric to get all the attention, so he hammed it up for the camera.

Weeee! Down the slide!

He still looks the same. So precious. 

Trying to handle being a big bro. Kathleen is not cooperating. 

Cheesin'!

If our kids look as cute as he did, we're gonna have some precious kiddos. Thanks for the pics, soon-to-be Mom-in-law :)

Recent Purchases Have Arrived!

Luggage tags... check! They're perfect.

Bridesmaids gifts... check! Girls, you're going to LOVE them.

Napkins... check... them out :)

 

They're not exactly the right colors, but they'll do. Don't you love the monogrammedness?

Groomsmens' socks... check! And check them out...

They look so cozy and fun. Better prepare the photographer/my brother to take a sweet sock shot of all the boys.

Keys for escort cards... check! They look SO awesome. Can you tell they're wooden?

Other recent purchases include John's belt and shoes and my earrings. He still needs a nice white dress shirt  and I'm on the hunt for some shoes for the reception. After we purchase those two little pieces, our wedding day attire should be all set. John's mom offered me the opportunity to wear her mother's bracelet on the big day. It'll be my something blue, as it's made of sapphires and diamonds. Perfect! I feel honored to wear it :)

Currently, I'm working with my brother to complete the invitations. They should be ordered and on their way to our guests' homes in the next two-ish weeks. All I can say is... they look AMAZING. He's worked so hard on them for us, and it definitely shows. Pictures will be posted after guests have received them... don't want to ruin the surprise.

Also, I forgot to mention that the rehearsal dinner venue has been booked! John's parents (with the help of a few suggestions from my parents) picked out the restaurant 1149 for the event. If you're a Rhode Islander, you know this place is a delicious and hip spot in the middle of the state, and you're aware of how awesome it'll be for a rehearsal dinner. We're very excited about their choice.

Other than that, everything is basically at a lull right now. We're working on getting more paperwork for the church and soon we'll be putting together readings and music for the mass. We'll also start working on getting music together for the reception, pick up some more decorations for the reception, design different paper goodies for the wedding day, and other random things that make the big day go 'round. I know I say this often, but I'm pretty shocked at how quickly time is flying and how nicely (slash easily) the details are coming together. Call me lucky, I guess... or maybe just lucky-in-love. Aww shucks! 74 days to go!