bikini time

Purchasing a bikini should not have to be this hard! I am not a skimpy bikini kind of girl, nor will I ever be. I don't weight 120 lbs and lets say the genes didn't give me an hourglass shape, so I'm working with what I've got. Every bikini I have looked at so far is SO skimpy. Victoria's Secret is now selling some of their swimsuits in stores and they are so low rise that you probably have to order 2 sizes up to get a comfortable fit (and they aren't selling that size in stores). I mean honestly, whose torso is THAT long?

So I found this Garnet Hill number and I think it will fit the bill (or at least I hope). The bottoms look thick enough on the sides and are described as "inspired by active lifestyles." (Or we can just pretend on that one) I think I'm leaning towards the turquoise since I already have an older candidate in black and white in my drawers. If I had it my way I'd wear one pieces but I'm sure Justin would not be thrilled with that on our honeymoon.

Anybody know of a good place to buy a bathing suit?

etsy in the mail day!

I got home after work today and found lots of fun things in the mail! First off, here is the rubber stamp I ordered from Etsy shop Sweet Papery. Look at how she packaged it. It felt extra special opening it up. Sometimes it's all in the details. I also got a fun package from Crate and Barrel with fun celebration plates, lots of dishtowels and some prep bowls. It was so nice and fun!

The stamp says Mr. and Mrs. Lassiter and also gives our address. I'm going to return address all of our thank you notes with this after we are married. She even put these cute stickers in the box as a little add on. It's a shame this will be my name for 2 more weeks! I need to figure out what to do with them.

But then....

I also recieved my candy buffett stickers but I am really disappointed. They are supposed to be the pink shade below but they turned out a light peachy pink. I am not very happy about these.

why, why, why???

Is this bothering anyone else?

I couldn't believe my eyes when I watched the Jon and Kate Plus 8 season premier on Monday. I have seen the tabloids (and maybe have purchased a few) but couldn't believe that they would air so much about it on the show. I watched it and was devastated for them. No matter who did what, it is really a sad story. I feel terrible for all of the children. And look, poor Biggest Loser Helen didn't even get the main cover picture, she got the corner!

Didn't they just renew their vows last season?

dancing with the stars

Or as I like to call it, Bailando con las Estrellas! Anyways, if you watched the finale tonight, did you see Cheryl's unhidden affection for Gilles? Now I know he is a handsome frenchman, who may or may not have been scandalous in the Sex and the City movie, but he is married with children! I also didn't like the fact that he told her that he loved her about 4.5 times throughout the show (only on camera "i love you's" were tabulated). Did anyone else see this?

pre-wedding party

My bridesmaid Sara. Check out her blog.

Bridesmaids Robyn and Kelly

My soon to be in-laws!

My bridesmaid Grace. Check out her blog.

My bridesmaid Ashley...aka "Hussy"

Mrs. Williams, who threw the party. A sweet, dear lady.

Check out those pockets!

Made for each other!

Me with my daddy and mama.

Grandma and mama.

Friends and bridesmaids! 3 moms in there!

We had a wonderful time at our pre-wedding party on Saturday night. The bridal party and some friends and family were there, and a good time was had by all. Thank you everyone for coming out to celebrate with us!

please help! take my survey!

We had a meeting with the wedding planner tonight and I have a daunting task: to decide whether or not we will meet just before the ceremony and have a "reveal." This will give us 15 minutes to be alone before the ceremony, to see each other, and to relieve all of the jitters we may be feeling. Justin will be standing with his back to me, I would walk up to him and then he would turn around and the photographer would capture our expressions. To see each other or not to see? Take my poll and please help me make a decision.

Justin wants to do this!

I took this next part from Lauren Clark Photography and she explains her "First Sight" method to the bride and groom seeing each other before the ceremony.

Here are some good reasons why to see each other before:

- the bride is not stressed out after she sees her groom.

- we don't have to play hide and seek with the groom before the ceremony.

- we take all the photographs before the ceremony so the couple, family and guests all get to the reception at the same time.

- we have natural light to make stellar images of the bride and groom together unlike when they get married at 6 and the sun has already set after the wedding. we normally get 1 flash picture of the standing in front of the church and then they have to be rushed off to the reception. I believe that people hire me for my ability to capture the bride and groom on the wedding day and if we don't have the time or natural light I am not able to do this. The couple is normally disappointed in the 1 "traditional" picture they have of each other and so are we. Our creative flow is stopped when this happens.

- the couple gets to see each other alone for the first time, instead of in front of hundreds of people. they can say things to each other and hug like they wouldn't be able to if they saw each other for the first time at the altar. The groom will say things to the bride that she will never forget because it was a no pressure situation. They wouldn't be able to speak if they were just seeing each other for the first time at the altar.

- the groom normally has a more genuine and breathtaking "look" on his face when he doesn't have three hundred guests staring at him as you walk down the aisle.

- there is 99% less stress on everyone involved in the wedding day.

bridal portrait re-cap

Excuse me please, I'm not wearing any makeup! This was the first hair trial and bridal portrait updo all in one sitting. I had some pictures of hair styles on my computer that I liked and it only took 1.5 tries until we had it!

Ta-da!

My beautiful bouquet! Peonies and roses, my favorites!

That's for me.

Holding my bouquet before picture time.

At the end of the day, my hair was still fully in-tact. Here is a progression of taking it down.

Taking down the curls.

Fooled you! None of that is my hair in those pictures. I guess I'm giving away my secret before the wedding even happens. I have really fine hair that is relatively short and there is no way in the world I could ever get my hair like in the pictures without a little help. Sorry folks, there are no dress shots. I've got to keep something secret before the big day!

one month to go

I can't believe that the one month countdown has begun. It seems like yesterday we got engaged, but now that was over a year ago! I am so excited to marry my best friend and settle down and to hopefully some day start a family. I love him so much and feel so fortunate to have found such a wonderful guy to share my life with!

Today I am having my bridal portraits done in the garden where we are getting married. It looks like it will be a beautiful day! I was going to originally do them this past Monday but it was a rainy, bleak day. I am so glad that the sun seems to be cooperating today!

happy mothers day!

Today I treated my mom and grandma to a house and garden tour in the museum district of Richmond. We got to tour 10 houses. It was really fun but towards the end we were pooped. It was a beautiful day and we had a wonderful time. Please excuse this photo. I was exhausted by this point and it's not my best look ever!

The peonies at Justin's house have finally popped open and they are gorgeous!

me and sonya issacs!

Friday night was so exciting Justin said that he had never seen me so happy in his whole life. We went to see The Isaacs (my favorite band EVER)! The doors opened at 6:30, the concert started at 7:30 and we were there at 5:45. I know that is really early but I will have an anxiety attack if I'm not one of the first people in line to get a good seat. Justin was such a good sport about it because he's not really a fan of their music, but he stuck with me the entire time and through the 2 hours of music. Afterwards, I waited around to take a picture with my singing idol, Sonya Isaacs. She has the most beautiful voice in the entire world. I felt like a 10 year old waiting to meet her. I've actually met her a few times before but I never had the nerve to ask for a picture before. I know I am a HUGE dork! We took two pictures but it almost looks like it's the same thing in each. Standing next to her makes me wish I had more makeup on. She's my favorite and I can't wait until the next time we can see her in concert!

happy birthday to my sister

My sister turned 24 yesterday! Happy Birthday Sarah! This picture is of me and my brother and my sister. She's obviously the one who is wearing the tiara. Who doesn't on their birthday?

a few shower pics

This was from a shower that was held at my Grandmother's house. My sister and I spent two hours decorating her beautiful backyard and deck with balloons, streamers, tablecloths and flowers. At 2:02 it started pouring outside so everyone had to gather in her living room. We had about thirty people in there and it was crowded! The shower could have been much better but I got a lot of fabulous things for our house! This is Emma, one of my great friend's babies!

This shower was at a relative's house who lives about an hour and a half away from me. We wanted to have a shower there so my 92 year old great-grandmother could participate because she won't be coming to the wedding. This is me holding a prize that I won! Lucky me!

More shower pics to come...