It blows my mind that Tony and I have already been engaged for 6 months, and that in less than 6 months we will be married. We have shared so much, grown so much, and done so much in the past 6 months, and I can’t wait to see how that continues in the 6 months to come…and for the rest of our lives! I love hearing from those of you who are following our journey through my monthly “We’re Engaged” blog posts, and your support and excitement mean so much to us as we prepare for our wedding and our life together. If you want to catch up on any of the posts, you can click on the links to find them:
Month #1: HERE
Month #2: HERE
Month #3: HERE
Month #4: HERE
Month #5: HERE
During Month #6 of being engaged, we have….
–Celebrated my mom’s birthday with a trip to their mountain house and dinner (again!) at our current favorite restaurant, Frog’s Leap Public House in Waynesville NC. You may recognize these birthday candles from Tony’s birthday in September. Hard to believe he and mom are the same age. 😉
–Celebrated our first big holiday together as a couple and figured out how to “rotate” time between our families! We want to stay on the same schedule as Tony’s sister, Rusty, and Landon, so we had Thanksgiving Day lunch and hanging out at Tony’s dad and Celeste’s house, Sunday dinner hosted at our house with Tony’s mom and Steve and grandparents, and Asian stir-fry the next week with my parents. (What? They didn’t serve pad thai at the first Thanksgiving??)
Me and Tony on Thanksgiving Day
Tony at the kids’ table at our house; all the ladies–Me, Tony’s Gram, Jennie (Tony’s sis), and Mom B
–Went to Cirque du Soleil at the BiLo Center. Cirque completely amazes me–I love it!
–I wore Gamecocks attire for the first time, as we watched the USC-Clemson game at home over my homemade chili. To all my Clemson friends, you may want to scroll quickly past the next photo. 😉
–Confirmed our reservation for our Wedding Rehearsal Dinner….a laid-back Pig Pickin’ on the porch of Apple Hill Farms, where the reception will be the next day. We are excited that all of our wedding guests will be invited to attend all of our functions throughout the Wedding Weekend…welcome reception at my parents’ mountain house, tubing down the Tuckaseegee River, the Pig Pickin’, the wedding, and brunch the morning after. We really want our Wedding Weekend to be a time to relax, have fun and celebrate with our closest friends and family!
–Picked out lots of my Grandmother’s crystal pieces to use at the wedding. She had quite the collection of unique pieces, and she used them at almost every meal…even if it was just to serve sliced tomatoes or pickles, they were presented with some sparkle.
–Picked out my bridesmaids’ dresses!! I had a fun afternoon shopping for bridesmaids dresses with my friend Robyn and future Sister-in-Law Jennie. Jennie was our model, and she must’ve tried on 25 dresses–what a trooper! It was fun hanging out with these girls doing “wedding stuff.”
None of these is the actual dress, but the color on the right IS the real dress color!
–Went to the Greer Christmas Parade with our friends (and match-makers, and bridesmaid/groomsman/flower girl package) The Lees. This is our 2nd year watching the parade with them, and it’s pretty funny to think how “new” our relationship was last year when we went! The Greer parade is the perfect small-town Christmas parade….tons of beauty queens, tractors, high school marching bands and PeeWee football teams, and this year the added bonus of a Waffle House employee smoking a cigarette on the back of their float. Awesome.
–Picked out Ella Jane’s flower girl dress! It is SO CUTE, and her constant comment is that “it comes down all the way to my toes!”
–Celebrated Christmas early at The Lees’ annual Christmas extravaganza and Tony’s work party. (But we still haven’t decorated the house. Ugh!)
–Started our Wedding Registry! It was really fun choosing our plates, silverware, cookware, and all those goodies! Since food and entertaining are super important to both of us, this was something that we both enjoyed. As much as Tony loved finding the perfect KitchenAid Mixer, however, there is no doubt that using the electronic scanner was his favorite part! Check us out at Macy’s and Bed Bath & Beyond if you want to see the goodies!
Tony scanning…
Our Kate Spade flatware (chosen largely because the knife stands up on the blade!), and my grandmother’s china, which will be our “fine china.”
–Picked out my mom’s Mother of the Bride dress! Her childhood BFF Wanda came with us, and WE knew her dress was “the one” when mom teared up and refused to take the dress off…even if Miss Indecision weighed out all of her options until she was positive. She looks beautiful and so happy in it!
So many options! One of these is her dress…
Me, mom, and Wanda after the big decision was made!
–Booked a surprise for our Cocktail Hour at the wedding. I can’t wait to reveal the surprise…it’s going to be perfect for our location and the feel of our wedding!!
–Tony catered a 5-course private dinner at a home on Caesar’s Head mountain. I helped (mostly by washing dishes…although I did serve a few plates LOL), and it was amazing to watch him plan his menu, prepare for everything, and finally wow the guests on the night of the event. He is so talented!!
–Tony somehow decided to grow out his beard. He claims it will grow until May, and then he’ll cut it back to normal before the wedding. This thing has gotten huge; I don’t know if The Big Beard (as I have named it) will fit through a door by May! We spend much time talking about handlebar mustaches, mountain-man beards, hiding squirrels and my chapstick inside, and “fluffing” it out. I don’t have a photo of him with The Big Beard, but this is who he looks like: (I’m such a lucky girl!)
As we enter Month #7, we are excited to celebrate our “Engaged Christmas” and New Year’s. We love you all! Thank you for being a part of our lives and our journey. We wish you holidays filled with laughter and love.
Love,
Amy + Tony
