We’re Engaged! Month #3

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Wow–it’s already the 16th of the month again?? Here we are, 3 months of Amy + Tony, Engaged Couple. 🙂 This month has been filled with fun family times, more wedding planning, and “real-life”–this is my crazy-busy time at work, and I always flip out from August through mid-September. (Sorry babe. 🙁 ) To his credit, Tony has this calming, understanding presence that makes me feel ok even when I don’t feel like I’m doing a good job with the whole “balance” thing. One of the bazillion reasons I love him so much!

Here’s what we’ve been up to in Month 3…

–We celebrated Tony’s grandparents’ 60th wedding anniversary with a weekend at Lake Keowee and family photos. We joked that if he’s gonna change his mind, he’d better do it before I’m included in the family pics. LOL! I am so fortunate to be getting a wonderful family of in-laws who love me like I’m theirs.

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–We went river tubing twice, once just the two of us on a fun little float down the river, and once with several other couples + our coolers. 😉

–I updated my mom on wedding plans over a Mother-Daughter Pedicure Date.

–We spent the weekend in the mountains with my family to celebrate my dad’s birthday and do more wedding planning. We enjoyed a drive up the Blue Ridge Parkway, a visit to Barber’s Orchards for apple fritters, and dinner at the awesome Frog’s Leap Public House in Waynesville, NC. Seriously amazing atmosphere and food–try it!!

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–We met with another potential caterer and a couple of potential florists. Still making decisions!!

–We spent some lazy days at home, sleeping super-late, shopping for domestic things (new dishwasher, planning a kitchen renovation), and doing yardwork. If I’m being honest, Tony has been doing yardwork and I’ve been marveling at the growing pile of brush and limbs on our curb.

–We dreamed of a lake house, and looked at a few.

–We selected a “wedding cinematographer” for our wedding. We are excited to announce that Jeff Bradt Video will be documenting our wedding day! You can see some of his work HERE, but be warned that you may need a tissue! We love so many thing about Jeff’s work–the movie-like qualities, the details, the way he tells our story out of sequence but it still makes sense, how moving and real it is. We are SO excited to have this treasure from our wedding day!

–We had a lazy Sunday lunch at The Cafe’ at William’s Hardware in Travelers Rest, dozed on a blanket at Furman University, and used a giftcard from Tony’s cousin to buy a mix-and-match selection of Autumn beers for our own Oktoberfest beer tasting. (I loved the Shock Top Pumpkin Wheat.)

–I tried to learn about Fantasy Football. Really, I’m trying!

–I made an appointment to try on wedding dresses next week! Stay tuned for a report in Month #4!

–My mom, Tony, and I went to the Greenville Wedding Festivals!! (Dad met us later for dinner.) As a photographer, I’ve worked these shows several times as a vendor, but it was really exciting and a bit of a rite of passage to go as a bride! I got to have my “I’m the BRIDE!” sticker, and my mom was proud of her “Mother of the Bride” sticker. Tony was such a trooper and came to the festival on his only night off work, and I think he was super-stoked to have his “GROOM” tuxedo sticker. 😉 I’m a lucky girl that he will do things like this with me and that he is so involved in our wedding planning. So far, he has been to every single wedding meeting with me and shares his opinions on wedding ideas. I love that our wedding is really going to be about US…it isn’t just my day, it is OUR day, and that makes me smile.

(No, we did not intend to match. 🙂 )
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We ran into Tony’s brother and his fiancee’, who just got engaged 3 weeks ago! This is a big year for their family! (Photobooth pics compliments of SocialLight.) Not sure why I didn’t get into the nautical theme here, but I do think I get the prize for most props!
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We owe a huge THANK YOU to all of our family and friends who give us so much support and encouragement. I know it’s cliche’, but you have all helped us become the people we are…people who aren’t perfect but who are perfect for each other. Thank you for all of the sweet comments on our blog posts and for sharing our excitement. We love you!
–Amy + Tony

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We’re Engaged! Month #2 (and 2 Days)

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Mine and Tony’s wedding is a little over 9 months away, and we’re staying busy planning the wedding, loving each other, and living our lives. If you missed the happenings of Month 1, you can read it HERE. Now, Month 2…

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Whoa, Month 2 of our engagement was buuuuuuuuuuusy! So busy, in fact, that I missed getting to blog on the correct date, August 16. So here we are, Tony + Amy engaged for two months and 2 days. Here’s what we’ve been up to in Month 2:

~Attended Tony’s baby nephew’s baptism

~Received a special heirloom gift that Tony’s Oma and Opa (great-grandparents) brought back from a Mediterranean cruise many, many years ago.

~Combined our homes! Now, if we can just unpack all of these boxes… 😉

~Had a huge yardsale to start our “Honeymoon Fund.” I got a little addicted to it…..the cleaning out, the bargaining, the people who showed up in their Bud Light pajamas.

~Went on our first plane flight together and our first big trip together. We were happy–but not surprised–to find that we travel great together. We ate and ate and ate our way through Washington DC. We’re both huge fans of “small plates” and shared food, and we ate LOTS of it at some amazing restaurants. (One tapas place suggested that we order 4-5 small plates to share. I think we had 11.) I tried the Best.Sangria.Ever. at Jaleo.

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~Tony assisted me on two photo sessions! He’s an awesome helper, and I loved that he wanted to see what I do.

~Celebrated 3 birthdays with Tony’s family, helped out my parents when my dad had outpatient surgery, and visited with my special aunt, uncle, and cousins in Charlotte. We are so blessed to love each other’s families and to have families who nurture our relationship.

~Relaxed with friends on an overnight mountain trip to Caesar’s Head. Rode Segways. (Harder than it looks!)

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~Commented in a blog contest on Scarlett & Stephen’s website, and we won free Save the Date cards from Just Invite Me in Chicago! Woohoo!

~Talked and talked about Our Wedding. Got excited, all over again! Put together design boards and began to see a really clear vision for the look, feel, taste, and even the smell of our big day!

~Talked about preparing not only for our wedding, but also for our marriage. Googled “questions to ask before you get married.” Asked and answered lots of them. This site was our favorite.

~Changed our wedding colors. Three times. In one weekend.

~Met with Potential Caterer #1, who totally got our vision and excitedly brainstormed with us…..after seeing my “A + T Wedding Food” design board. Yay for visual aids!

~Met with Potential Florist #1, who gave us some great ideas (yay!) and who told me that basically none of the flowers I want will be available in late May (boo!).

~Confirmed that our wedding reception will be at Apple Hill Farms!! We are IN LOVE with this place and can’t wait to celebrate with our friends and family here! It is seriously so perfect for me and Tony and for the way we want our guests (and us!!) to feel on our wedding day.

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~Scheduled our Engagement Portraits. Yay!!! Super excited to be on the other side of the camera with my sweet Mr. Keely!

~Became hooked on Swamp People. I’m not really sure why we like it, but we do.

Apparently, one thing we didn’t do much of in Month 2 was take pictures! Except for our DC trip, I don’t have many photos of the two of us. Here’s a couple more at the Gaylord National…one with the ultimate “photo bomb” in the background….

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Thank you so much for all of your love and support! We have amazing friends and family, and I don’t know if we can ever express how much we appreciate you celebrating with us.
Love,
Amy + Tony

We’re Engaged! Month #1

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Today marks one full month of me and Tony being engaged! On June 16, I got up from our picnic blanket at the Rock Quarry to get something out of my bag, and when I turned around, I found Tony on one knee, holding my ring with the biggest smile on his face. I love the memory of that look on his face! I hope I never forget that look…it was pretty amazing.

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In one month of being engaged, we have….

~celebrated with champagne and strawberries at the sweet Pettigru Place Bed & Breakfast and had an amazing four-course dinner at American Grocery Restaurant

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~enjoyed a quiet get-away to the mountains, where we walked around the lake and just spent time together

~picked our wedding date! Woohooo May 27, 2012!!

~reserved our ceremony site

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~had dinner with my parents at Bin 112 to celebrate

~introduced part of our families to each other (with MUCH laughter and conversation!) at Giorgio’s

~introduced Tony to my sweet Great-Aunts…and received a hot-from-the-oven pound cake

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~been treated to a family Engagement Party Cookout hosted by Tony’s parents….again, MUCH laughter and conversation between our two families, and some neat surprise connections between them!

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~begun the process of combining two homes. WOW we both have a lot of stuff. Yard sale next week, folks!! (Seriously! Please, come buy.)

~asked about half of our bridesmaids and groomsmen to share in our special day

~asked our dads to perform our wedding ceremony

~gotten the cutest Flower Girl in the world who sings a special song about “Miss Amy and Mr Tony are getting marrrrrrrrried…”

~almost narrowed down our Guest List (thank goodness that’s nearly over; stressing me out!)

~pretty much decided on our reception site (crossing fingers!!)

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~hired our photographers–love our sweet friends from Sposa Bella!

Not too shabby for just a month, right?? 🙂 Tony and I are so excited to be planning not only our wedding, but more importantly our marriage. It has been wonderful and overwhelming to see how many people are sharing in our happiness and are supporting us in this new, exciting journey. The facebook messages, phone calls, cakes, cards, hugs, and happy tears of our friends and family have blown us away. It is a pretty special thing to be this loved! I am such a lucky girl.

–Amy