Say YES to the dress

I've always enjoyed watching the TLC show "Say yes to the dress." I mean, what girl doesn't love watching a show about about beautiful brides trying on gorgeous dresses!? But when Graym and I got engaged, boy, I don't think I've ever watched so many episodes of the same show in one day! I was in "Say yes" hyper-drive as I dreamed of my own perfect moment when I found my dress.

After a not so pleasant first try, I was more than stoked to head on over to Curvy Girls Bridal on Saturday. Joined by my mom, aunt, abuela, and two of my cousins/bridesmaids, it was definitely a family affair. The boutique itself was gorgeous, organized, and comfortable, and the staff was more than welcoming. After introductions, I was able to browse their bridal collection (a nice change from last time) and picked up about 10 different dresses! Hey, it's the only time in my life that I'll get to try on as many gorgeous gowns as I want. I might as well take advantage, right? :) After I modeled each and everyone, I found myself down to three. Two of them were very similarly styled so I tried those on first and was able pick my favorite out of those (but BOY was it hard!!). After I put the third dress on, it just failed to compare and looked so bland next to my choice. One last time, I slipped that pretty little thing on, looked into the mirror, and realized I was wearing the dress I'd be getting married in...that has by far been the most surreal, wonderful, crazy feeling as of yet! When I say it was breathtaking, I mean it. Every detail of the dress was perfect, and though I'd love to go into more details, Graym does read this blog and I have to leave some things a surprise for the actual wedding day ;) All you guys will just have to be patient like I am! Gosh, all I wanted to the the rest of the day was put that dress back on!

The day was a success. My wedding dress was picked, and I even chose the veil to go with it! Graym was so excited to hear the news, and it was definitely a special moment realizing we are one step close to becoming husband and wife. Wife. I'm becoming a WIFE. I still can't get over it!! :)

Learning to cook like a Pinckney!

If there is one thing that I've learned about the Pinckney family since Graym and I have started dating, it's that they sure do like to eat. I don't mean an "eat until you want to explode" or "always seen with a cookie in one hand and a cupcake in the other" kind of eat. They like to eat good, wholesome, healthy foods that not only fill the tummy but also strengthen and develop the body. Many of the yummy meals Erin, Aunt Beth, and Kay post on Facebook (and let's not forgot all the delicious plates I've consumed at Grammie's house!) leave me with major cravings and a hope to someday be able to do the same.

See, in my house I grew up with a male chef. My papa was the master cook and he provided many of the meals. I never grew up thinking that I would ever need to be the primary meal provider but instead always imagined marrying a man who, like my papa, would prepare dinner with my occasional assistance or meal prep. As I got older and started dating, though, I quickly found out that my picture of a testosterone filled kitchen was about as uncommon as a purple duck. Ok, so that may be a bit of an exaggeration, but there is a pretty wide gap between the female/male family chef ratio. My cooking skills were (correction: are) pretty much zilch since I never learned or thought I really needed to learn how to cook.

This wouldn't be such a challenge if it wasn't for the fact that Graym has come to expect such high caliber meals. Even a simple salad is made extraordinary in this family with the various toppings of fruits, nuts, and seeds that speckle the plate with taste and color. Graym has been wonderfully food-spoiled throughout this life, firstly by his own mom's wonderful and organic cooking, and then by the nutrient-rich meals he's had at every Thanksgiving, Christmas, and birthday (and currently every day!).

The wonderful thing about this is that I don't feel like I need to cook well for Graym, but I want to. Becoming a part of this family has inspired me to dive into the world of food culture and experience for myself what healthy, home-cooked, vegetable-filled meals taste like. Though I began my quest into the world of veggies when I got to college and chose to live a healthier lifestyle, it wasn't until Graym that I became much bolder in my food choices. Though there are still many many more things to try, I can now say that I enjoy a great variety of food that are filled with flavor without the yucky fake coloring, high fructose corn syrup, and excess sugar. I've learned to read labels, pick healthier choices, and enjoy the feeling of cooking your very own meal.

As a wife-to-be, I want to provide my future husband meals that he will not only enjoy, but be good for him. I want to learn to cook from scratch, not from a box. I want to use fresh fruits and veggies, not frozen. I can even say that I would like to have my very own vegetable garden one day, where I can cook meals with the food I have hand-grown. I know I have a long way to go before I'll be able to achieve all of my culinary goals, but with a wedding just over 10 months away I really gotta jump on the bandwagon! I hope I can continue to learn and be inspired by the Pinckney family, though with food being a common conversation started and cooking a way to bring them together, I don't think that will be too difficult!

Hopefully Graym can be patient with me during our first year of marriage (I'm sure there will be many things that aren't too great but he'll lovingly eat anyways), and hopefully I can pick up a pointer or two from so many of the wonderful women in Graym's life that have fed him so well :)

Happy cooking everyone!

Which came first: the cake or the cake topper?

I find myself saying alot of the same words over and over again during all this wedding planning. Words and phrases such as "photographer", "save-the-dates", and "bridal party" have fully integrated themselves into my vocabulary and I seldom go a day without saying something related to the wedding. But, despite all of those, I think the phrase that *takes the cake* (hehehe, pun intended!) is..."the one." 

I have found another "one" and, frankly, it's just super.

As soon as I saw it on Pintrest (my latest time-consuming addiction) I knew that this was our cake topper. It was sweet, innocent, so full of love and with the quaint, comfy feel that Graym and I are looking for for our wedding. And, I absolute LOVE Willow Tree! If you haven't seen Susan Lordi's collection before, you absolute must. I already have a few of her pieces at home and thoroughly plan on collecting all of them. Ahhhh, so lovely.

So, when I walked into the Christian bookstore on Wednesday for a completely unrelated reason (which, of course, I didn't end up buying!) and the beautiful cake topper was right there just looking at me and drawing me closer like a kid in a pet store who laid their eyes on a puppy, I just had to have it. Yup, that cake topper was my puppy and I was an ecstatic 5 year old.  Thankfully I didn't have a totally lame mom tugging me by my arm and saying dad would flip out if I brought it home, so after a little more shopping I bought our CAKE TOPPER.

I find it completely necessary to capitalize the fact that I bought a CAKE TOPPER simply because we don't even have a cake lady booked, let along our cake design! I'm starting to feel slightly ridiculous that I even bought the cake topper yet. I think I may have let my childlike excitement get the best of me, especially since this isn't a very difficult cake topper to find in stores and I could have easily purchased it farther down the road. Is it normal to buy the cake topper before the cake? I don't know, and I'm not exactly what I would call "normal", so I think I'm just going to enjoy our pretty little cake topper. There is even a very good possibility that I'll place it on my dresser just so I can look at it every day : )

I'm not gonna post a picture of it simply because a part of me wants the cake to be part of the whole "oohh-aahhh" effect of our wedding, but if you just have to see it like I had to buy it, than feel free to make like a ninja and sneak a peek (but, like any good ninja, you'll have to figure out on your own how to do just that! Thankfully for you, I didn't make that too difficult to do...)

Many many blessings,

Sash

This is gonna pose a problem.

Over the past year+, Graym and I have spent some wonderful times together. From snowboarding, hiking, carving pumpkins, and family get togethers, we have spent hours by each others side and I could only be happier when I get to spend every day with him. 

I've also learned a lot about Graym and myself during this time. We have many things in common, and love sharing with one another the things that we don't. But, sadly, I have also discovered what will be the first big dilemma in our married life...

Graym is always hot (and I don't mean his totally ridiculous babe status). He is warm blooded, sleeps in his boxers and a thin sheet, and prefers to spend most of his time at home shirtless. 

I, on the other hand, am always cold. I go to bed in fleece pants and a long sleeve shirt, throw at least one comforter on me, and, which Graym finds extremely weird, even occasionally enjoy the steamy feel of a car when you first open the door after it's been sitting out in the summer sun all day (Ok, so that might be little strange but come on, it's all warm and toasty in there!)

This has posed a problem during numerous cuddle sessions. We'll sit down to watch a movie or discuss a chapter in the book we've been reading and in my attempt to get cozy I'll grab a blanket and throw it over us. Graym quickly gets hot and sweaty and takes it off. I then find myself with chilly goose-bumps and the blanket is somehow wrapped and tucked around me and between us so that I am left with the benefit of warmth and him with the freezing cold he so strangely enjoys. This is pretty much what we look like half the time: 

This doesn't seem like much at the moment, but this poses a very interesting situation once we start sharing a bed. We're obviously gonna want to cuddle and be close as we fall asleep, but when my idea of cuddling involves warm blankets and his involves as little around him as possible, one of us is gonna be left to "deal with it." 

And it surely won't be me! Ugghh, if Graym just stopped being so stinkin' hot all the time we wouldn't have this problem. Men, always making things difficult! :P

What a wonderful 1st month!

Today is a pretty super day. The sun is shining, fall is here, and it's been one month since Graym and I got engaged. A WHOLE MONTH. It feels like a week! This time has flown by and so many wonderful things have been planned. We have our venue (including catering) booked and deposit it (whoo!), our photographer booked and deposit it (whoo again!), and our DJ booked and payment on it's way. We also found a wonderful lady who does cakes, and though we're still looking in case there is something a little more affordable, we would be thrilled to have her make our yummy yummy cake. I already designed the text part of our "save-the-date"s and Graym brother Spence so wonderfully said yes to do an engagement photo-shoot for us.Things are coming together and I couldn't be happier!

This past weekend I also had the exciting opportunity to try on wedding dresses! My mom, aunt, and I headed on over to Leesburg, VA to a cute lil bridal boutique I found on a vendors list. I fell in love with some of the designers so with high hopes of finding "the dress", we made the hour long trip. Now, I've been to bridal boutiques before. Last year one of my best friends got married, and this coming April my cousin will be saying her "I do." For both ladies I spent time in various stores filled with gorgeous gowns with even more stunning silhouettes. But let me tell ya, it is a whole 'nother ball game when you're the one picking out the dress and trying them on! The dresses felt huge and thick and I was quickly working up a sweat just trying to get in and out of these things! Not to mention they were about a foot too long for me and I kept upsnapping the clips in the back as I'd bend over to pick up the hem. It was quite amusing and I felt slightly ridiculous, but nothing could beat the feeling of joy and amazement that I was looking for the dress that I would, in less than 11 months, be getting married in.

Thankfully, however, I didn't find the dress. It seems silly to be thankful for that, but when you give a woman a price range and she decides to stick you in dresses way above that, I couldn't be happier knowing I didn't fall in love with a dress that I couldn't afford. After watching way too many episodes of "Say Yes to the Dress", I've seen the emotional strain it puts on a bride when she decides to "just try it on" even though the dress is above her limit, and, lo and behold, she falls in love with it and is left struggling with the decision to break her budget or break her heart. After I saw that she had put me in a $7,000 dress, I decided it was time to GO. Granted, I should have checked the prices before putting the dresses on, but I figured if I told her my cap that she would respect that and give me price appropriate dresses. Oh well, lesson learned!

On the bright side, I get to try on lots more pretty dresses until I do find "the one." The one I'll feel beautiful in, the one I'll walk down the aisle with my papi in, the one that I'll look into the eyes of the man I love and tell him I'm going to be by his side for the rest of my life in. And it'll be perfect.

A little over ten months to go! Let's see what fun stuff I put together next : )

When your mama cries, it's "the one."

She cried like a baby.

Well, maybe not like a baby, but more than your typical sappy romantic movie type of cry. More of a "deep in your gut you just know it's the one" type of cry.

Yup, that was my mumma when we checked out the ceremony site at Bowling Green Country Club in Front Royal, VA. I'm not even sure we had seen the whole thing when the tears began to flow. But either way, it was special. It was beautiful. And it is "the one."

We got up earlier than our usual Saturday morning wake up call to begin the trip out west to Front Royal. Described as having a beautiful setting with the mighty Blue Ridge Mountains as a backdrop, I was more than excited to see this place. Despite the rain, we geared up with umbrellas and jackets to brave the chilly, wet air and see what this place had to offer. And, at least, I could go in there knowing it had to be better than the first place we visited. Heh...see previous posts if you haven't yet.

An easy drive down 66 and 7 miles off the highway later, we arrived at a beautifully sculpted golf course surprisingly in use by what I like to call "extreme golfers" (there is no way you are getting me to play golf in 40* weather while its raining!). We pull up to the front and Graym and I bounced on in to look for Brian Jones, the event manager and one of my favorite people in the world right now. When we found him, HE KNEW MY NAME. I find this very important to emphasize and am giving him his rightly due brownie points. After introductions between him and my parents, we head over to ballroom #1. Large enough to fit 300 people, it was more than spacious and had the elegant simplicity we were looking for. We spent about 30 min there alone asking questions and receiving thorough and honest answers. Where else are you going to find a guy who says, "Well, you can rent them from us for $$ but you're better off going to X company for half the price if you want to save yourself some money. Their info is located on our vendors list." More brownie points.

We off-road-ed through the golf course (aka used the access road, but off-roading sounds way cooler, doesn't it?) to get to the outdoor ceremony location and ballroom #2, which is situated directly behind it. This, my friends, is where the tears began. You couldn't see the ceremony site from where we parked, which, thankfully, spared mom a few tearful moments. But, alas, as soon as we rounded the corner and saw the chuppah covered in ivy, surrounded by purple and pink flowers, and back-dropped by a stunning scene of rolling hills and mountains, the *gasp* escaped from her lips and the tears began to fall.

Now, before we keep going and I show you a picture of the site, I would like for you all to say the word chuppah ("choo-pah") again. Chuppah. Out loud this time. Hehehehe, it's so much fun to say!

Okie dokes! So here's a pic of the ceremony site as found on their website. I promise you (other than than the ivy which they couldn't get to climb this year) the place looks exactly like this. Oh, and just pretend that's me and Graym in the picture. It's way better that way, anyways :)

But, of course, no matter how pretty a picture looks it's always way better in person...and it was!! Graym and I both gave each a silent look that confirmed in both of our hearts that we saw each other standing there and saying our vows. It was a perfect moment, and I couldn't have been happier.

After the tears were wiped away, our group of six headed on in to see the South Ballroom. Can we all say the word "stunning" in unison please? Hardwood floors, built in fireplace, dark wood bar, elevated stage for the DJ, and, once again, plenty of space to dance your pants (or should I say dress?) off. The colors were deep and earthy, and matched perfectly with our country-esque theme we're aiming for. We have plenty of liberty to decorate with whatever we want, and they even have the purple linens I'm going for.

As we sat down to go over pricing (the cherry on top!) and the last of our questions, Graym and I shared another empty-word moment. This was it. This was the place where, in a little over 11 months, Graym and I will become husband and wife. Gives ya goose bumps, doesn't it? After we said our goodbyes and thank you's, we finally verbalized our thoughts and, though I'm not sure which one of us it was, out of someones mouth came, "Well, I don't think we need to see any other venues."

And we won't be! (well, we did go to an open house on Sunday but that was to check out the vendors. GREAT idea for all you future brides! We found our cake lady that way!) I emailed Brian today to inform him of our impending deposit and, hopefully, by the end of the week that will be in! Decoration mode will be in full swing shortly, but before all of that fun can begin it's time to pick our DJ and photographer. Whhooo!!

Oh man, oh man...I'm getting married!!

Peace and blessings,
Sasha