March 31, 2011

Beautiful Bouquets

I'm indecisive when it comes to the flowers for the wedding. I have many ideas but as I research bouquets I keep finding things I like. I love all kinds of flowers and there are so many options!! What am I going to do?

Enjoy the bouquets (see below) ! They go very nicely with our wedding theme.


March 30, 2011

Will and Kate, why wait?

I read an article a week ago, regarding Will and Kate's short engagement. I related to the article completely, since we are having a short engagement. Why wait? If you're happy, you're happy!


The whole world is ready to see the Royal wedding!! I think Kate Middleton is stunning and Price William has always been handsome. I'm curious to see Kate's dress!! I love her sense of style especially her hats. Do you think she will wear a hat on her wedding day??


March 29, 2011

Happy Birthday Momma!

Today, March 30th is my Momma's birthday!

She is deserving of a lovely birthday and I wish her many many more! Love you!








Our Wedding Venue


My father jokingly has been saying that the venue for the wedding needs to be Madison Square Garden with the amount of people I know. Since, Madison Square Garden was booked for concerts we decided to go to Plan B and have a smaller wedding.

Welcome to The Matthews House in Cary, NC

I have to thank my parents and siblings for the countless hours spent searching for the perfect location. They knew I wanted a place that would showcase the "Southern" charm of North Carolina as well as creating an intimate environment for our guests. This place is stunning on the inside and outside and will be our house for the day.

March 28, 2011

Did someone say Bojangles?


Everyone keeps asking me if the rehearsal dinner will be at Bojangles. I'm sorry to disappoint but we won't be having it there. We will however, be utilizing Bojangles catering services for the wedding dinner. And if you believe that, I have some ocean front property here in Arizona to sell you! Honestly though, it's my favorite place to eat back home and has the best biscuits ever!! I do recommend it to my out of town guests for a quick bite for some "unhealthy" food. My typical order is the Cajun biscuits combo! YUM...

March 27, 2011

Introducing the Wedding party attire



I have decided on Alfred Sung as the designer for the dresses, specifically, style D499 in the color mango. I have seen this color in person and is it's stunning. The dress retailed at $225 and seemed a little steep in price. My maid of honor came to the rescue by contacting the Dessy Group directly and she was able to secure the price at $130 plus $15 for shipping. $145, sounds pretty good to me.

This weekend, I got to see the dress color in person at a boutique in Tempe. There was a bride and bridal party there as well. Her orginal colors were red but after seeing this dress they changed the wedding color to yellow. I think I'm starting a trend.







As I posted before, I wanted a classy look with
a bow-tie for the groomsmen. Ryan and I paid a visit to our local suit shop and secured the looks of the men. The groomsmen will be wearing this classic attire. Ryan will be wearing the same thing
but with a white bow.

My groom is going to look SHARP minus the jeans!

Meet the Groomsmen

Guest Blogger: Ryan Blair

Best Man-Tom Blair
Relation to groom-Brother

Zodiac sign-Pisces

Age-31

Personal info-Tom has enjoyed
playing guitar for 17 years and can
play just about any genre of music. He has also been known to read books of all kinds for hours on end, daily. We have shared many experiences together and both enjoy contemplating the universe over a singapore sling and some good jazz music. He has exposed me to interesting writers such as Carl Sagan, Aldous Huxley, Kurt Vonnegut, Joseph Campbell and many many many others. I can definitely say my IQ would be much lower if Tom was never born. Tom is an insanely intelligent guy and I enjoy picking his brain, as well as learning new facts. He is a walking dictionary and should be a college professor.






Groomsman-Brent Stanphill

Relation to groom-Friend

Zodiac sign-Cancer

Age-37

Personal info-Brent is Dawn Stanphill's husband, and the father of two beautiful girls, Ocean and Rayne. Brent has been my best friend for nearly 8 years and introduced me to Bridgette in 2009.





Groomsman-Jason Dean

Relation to groom-Friend and neighbor

Zodiac sign-Libra

Age-26

Personal info-Jason has been an excellent friend and neighbor for nearly 6 years. He is April
Dean's husband and a father to his son Jackson.





Groomsman-Brandon Hawley

Relation to groom-Step Brother

Zodiac sign-Virgo

Age-31

Personal info-Brandon has been my step brother for nearly 4 years. He is Allison Hawley's husband and a brand new father to his daughter Charlotte. Brandon has a very inquisitive mind and will likely pursue rocket science in this lifetime.








Groomsman-Corey Hawley

Relation to groom-Step Brother

Zodiac sign-Pisces

Age-29

Personal info-Corey has been my step brother for nearly 4 years. He was recently married (October 2010) to Collyn Brosseit. Corey is very outgoing and brings life to all situations and events.


Groomsman-Jason Walker

Relation to groom-Bride's brother

Zodiac sign-Virgo

Age-25

Personal info-Jason is Bridgette's younger brother. He enjoys working with graphic design and specializes in video game production. I have had the opportunity to see some of his work and it is impressive to say the least, very talented in the field he works in.


Groomsman-Gabe Villa

Relation to groom-Friend and Bridgette's cousin

Zodiac sign-Virgo

Age-19

Personal info-Gabe is a dancing machine and an all around great guy. He has a girl friend (Yuka) who lives in Japan and he enjoys learning about the Asian culture.







Groomsman-Adrian Guzman

Relation to groom-Friend and Bridgette's cousin

Zodiac sign-Taurus

Age-22

Personal info-Adrian lives in Tucson, AZ and is a Wild Cats fan. He is a talented musician and a very outgoing and fun guy. If you ever have the opportunity to share a couple adult beverages with Adrian, be prepared for good times.










Groomsman-Brandon Ibarra

Relation to groom-Friend and Bridgette's cousin

Zodiac sign-Aquarius

Age-26

Personal info-Brandon was the first of Bridgette's cousins I met. He is a huge sports fan, ASU and Phoenix Suns specifically. Brandon is a comedian at heart and is always making people laugh. I personally enjoy his line of "low budget" comparisons, I'm Forrest Gump......."low budget".


Groomsman-Oscar Ibarra

Relation to groom-Friend and Bridgette's cousin

Zodiac sign-Gemini

Age-27

Personal info-Oscar is Bianca Ibarra's husband, and is a sports fan like his brother Brandon. If I accused Oscar of being shy I'd be lying, he's very outgoing and brings life to the party. Oscar's motto: It's not Ryan, it's Ryan!!!



Happy Anniversary to my lovely parents!


My parents have been an excellent example of what a wonderful marriage is, and I wish them many more happy years together. I love this photo below because my parents look so classy. Don't you love my dad's bow tie?



March 26, 2011

Meet the Bridesmaids

These are the lovely ladies that will be standing next to me on the most important day of my life. They are my best friends and they make up the woman I am today.

Suzette (Maid of Honor)
She's my sister & best friend. I have known her since the day she was born, 23 years ago. We are often mistaken as twins, even though we were born five years apart. She's insanely talented in so many areas such as fashion design, painting, and a graduate of UNC- Chapel Hill. She is beautiful on the inside as well as the outside. The man who ends up with her in life will be a lucky fellow! She understands me better than anyone and I am so blessed to have her in my life. I can't imagine my life without her and love her dearly.



Bridesmaids

Kimber Lee
I have known Kimber Lee since 1st grade a little more than 22 years ago! She has always been my "Southern Belle" friend. Growing up together we looked like complete opposites with her beautiful long blonde hair; I had out of control curly hair! Despite our opposite looks, we have formed a beautiful friendship. We have many childhood memories, playing in her doll house in the back of her parents house and attending family birthday parties. The last time we attended the same school was in 3rd grade and have continued to always stay in contact throughout the years. Kimber Lee has visited with me in Arizona about 3 times since I moved here from NC. She is a graduate of Oglethorpe University. Also, I'm probably one of her only friends that calls her "Kimber Lee" she now goes by " Kimber".



Gabrielle
Gabby is my cousin and I have known her since the day she was born about 19 years ago. She has always been a special part of my life and since moving to Arizona we have become very close. We always have a great time filled with love, laughter, great jokes, and hugs! She once told me she looked up to me which meant the world to me. She is a talented singer and currently a freshman in college. Gabby is known for her sense of humor and can make anyone laugh.


Kelly
I have known Kelly since 7th grade (about 17 years ago). She was the new girl that had just moved to town. She was very quiet and shy. Since then she has come out of her shell. She's always the life of the party. We share many memories of our teenage years as well as college. We attended the same university and she is also a graduate of UNC-Charlotte. We share a love for purses and coffee. I also got the pleasure of being in her wedding and helped in the planning process. Kelly came to visit back in October to celebrate our birthdays! What a treat!




Maya
I met Maya in 10th grade about 14 years ago. I had just moved to Raleigh, NC and was the new girl in school. We had a Math class together and she befriended me. Little did I know this friendship would bring me so much joy. She has always been the friend that I can count on for anything especially a good laugh. We have so many great memories of our youth and love to reflect on our silliness. Maya came to Arizona last January for her birthday. We had so much fun! She is always thinking of me even all the way in Arizona. She is a graduate of UNC- Pembroke and currently working for UNC-Chapel Hill.




Danielle
I also met Danielle in 10th grade about 14 years ago. We became friends quickly as well. Danielle and I share the love of music & dancing. You'll always see us dancing at parties. We are both fans of Mariah Carey, especially her ballads. Danielle is a talented opera singer and a graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill. When I come to visit we always find time to dine at our favorite vegetarian friendly restaurant, Irregardless cafe.



Crystal
I met Crystal at Peace Presbyterian church, 14 years ago. Maya had invited me to visit her church and meet all her friends. Our church group later renamed ourself as the "Cary Crew." We all enjoyed spending our weekends together listening to N'Sync and eating Bojangles. Crystal is an avid reader and introduced me to the joy of reading. She attended East Carolina University where she met her husband. She is now a mother of two beautiful girls. Her husband Kaleo & Crystal paid me a visit here in Arizona back in August. Ryan and I enjoyed spending the day with them in the HOT HOT HOT Arizona sun.



Carey
I also met Carey at Peace Presbyterian church, 14 years ago. She is also a part of the "Cary Crew." She has always been a great friend and we also share many memories. Despite me moving across the country she has always kept in touch. I had the pleasure of being a part of her winter wedding in December 2008. She is a graduate of Meredith College.



Jeannie
I met Jeannie about 8 years ago at Wake Tech. Ironically, we were both studying nursing. Since then she has graduated from NCState and is an engineer at IBM. She is probably one of the sweetest people I have known and has such a big heart. She is also to blame for introducing me to "white chocolate mochas" from Starbucks. If I have conned you into drinking one of these drinks please don't blame me. It's Jeannie's fault! :) Yummy calories! I also had the pleasure of being a part of her wedding back in February 2010.



Nicole
I have known Nicole for almost 2 years. She is Ryan's sister and an amazing person as well. She is always smiling and full of life. She has always welcomed me into her life and I look forward to our future together as sisters.