Lovely Tonight: The Beach Party

Now that our mid-morning wedding rehearsal was complete, we had plenty of time to spare before our rehearsal dinner that evening!

Since we had the wonderful beach house at our disposal, my family planned a beach party for the afternoon! And my, oh my, was it a beautiful day!

We invited the bridal party, family, and any out of town friends that wanted to spend some time in the sun. My brother and his girlfriend, along with my Aunt S, Aunt J, and Grandma, had arrived at the house when our rehearsal was taking place, and they set up a wonderful spread for lunch! We had assorted sandwiches, chips, and other munchies...as well as a bunch of leftovers from the previous night's sunset wedding shower.

Our guests quickly filled their plates with food and grabbed a cold drink...

After we had our fill, it was time to frolic in the sand and surf!

Even the pups got in on the action: Stewart showed off his swimming skills with Cousin J and sorority sister J...

Meanwhile, my beloved Theodore chased his frisbee. He also decided to explore the rest of the beach when our heads were turned...oops!

After some fun in the sun, we retreated to the house to relax (for what seemed like 2.5 seconds) before moving my bags to the hotel, since I was staying there that evening. My mom read a book to our flower girl, and GM J decided to take a nap...right in the middle of the house. I kid you not - he slept on those cushions for about an hour or so, even with about 10 or more people chatting around him! I wish I could learn that trick...

All in all, the beach party was a great success! When we first realized that our rehearsal would have to take place early in the day, I was a bit skeptical of how the day would work out. However, our time schedule couldn't have been more enjoyable! Both my family and Justin's family were able to get together in a casual environment, and I was able to spend time with both my family and my friends who had flown in from out of town to be with us! Plus, a little extra sun kissed glow before the wedding never hurt anybody...

Next up - our rehearsal dinner!

Did you have/are you planning to have some down time with friends and family on the day of your rehearsal?

Need to catch up?

• The bachelorette party commenced
  
• We had a night out on the town
  
• Relaxation, excitement, and slight panic
  
• Something went awry with our rehearsal dinner
  
• We had a sunset wedding shower
  
• The wedding party rehearsed
  

The Bachelorette: A sunset bridal shower

Once our busy day of nail salons and flower previews seemed to be complete, the bridesmaids and I had one last activity! The girls had put together a small bridal shower for that evening - how fun! We were joined by sorority sister J, who had flown in that afternoon, as well as my mom, both my grandmothers, and my Aunt J!

The girls laid out quite a lovely spread of appetizers: hummus, pita chips, assorted veggies, homemade guacamole (YUM), baked brie, spinach dip, fruit salad, and some yummy desserts.

The big hit of the dessert spread was definitely MOH L's apple dip - it consisted of a whipped cream cheese layer, caramel apple dip, and heath bar crunch topping. My mom also discovered that it tasted ridiculously good when spread on top of a brownie. We are so healthy...

And of course, there were drinks...MOH L crafted some adorable drink tags for the guests.

Each came with a beautiful handmade wine charm from an Etsy artisan. I loved them: each featured a different combination of beads and bird charms...they matched our wedding theme wonderfully! We had a spread of assorted wines, champagne, and even some champagne punch that the ladies whipped up!

We made some quick work of that champagne punch though...

After we stuffed ourselves silly, it was time to play a few games. For one, MOH L had contacted Justin and put together a list of questions/answers about himself that I had to answer.

For the most part, I did well. However, we all had a good laugh when MOH L asked me who Justin's best friend is. Of course, I confidently said it was me (yep, I'm vain)! But...apparently Justin had answered that his friend/groomsman J was! Sheesh! Of course, with the most perfect of timing, my phone rang right after that question was answered. It was Justin...and you can clearly see that I had to give him the 3rd degree about it...just kidding...a little teasing WAS an order though.

During our "game time," the beach house had some visitors. BM K's fiance and sorority sister J's boyfriend had spent the afternoon down at the beach, and returned to the house to retrieve their belongings. My grandmothers and Aunt J were excited that the "entertainment" had arrived, and requested that they perform a little dance for all of the ladies. Needless to say, they weren't biting at that offer...but it didn't stop my relatives from trying to persuade them!

We all found it pretty amusing...

Finally, the sun was setting, and it was time for a champagne toast! We trekked down to the beach with our fancy schmancy plastic champagne glasses for some sunset photos! BM A apparently wanted two glasses...

MOH L gave a short and sweet toast to the upcoming wedding weekend...

And we all enjoyed the beautiful sunset the evening had in store for us. We couldn't have asked for a more gorgeous night!

Need to catch up on the wedding week festivities?

The bachelorette party commenced

We had a night out on the town

Relaxation, excitement, and slight panic

Something went awry with our rehearsal dinner

Attempting to look pretty in pictures...

Oh hey there...have you been noticing how infrequently I've been posting lately? Well, if you haven't noticed, just keep going about your daily business. If you have; my excuse is that I'm currently working 6 days a week and trying desperately to complete the 1,001 wedding related appointments and tasks before the big day! So, cut me a little slack, pretty please?

I do have some exciting-ness to share with you about my upcoming weekend. The Stillettos are going to be in town, and the wonderful Mr. Stilletto and I are going to be meeting up to take some photos! If you don't recall, he is a wedding photographer (check his work out here) - how exciting! We will be traversing Clearwater beach together, starting at the crack of dawn!

But...what to wear? I've been contemplating the options. Originally, we wanted the photos to include Justin, but he has to work (sad face!). So, it is just little ol' me! To start...perhaps a pretty blue maxi dress paired with a large pendant necklace...

Forever 21

Forever 21

Maybe a cute tunic top over a pretty bikini?

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Victoria's Secret

For some hair inspiration, I might look to the lovely Cameron Diaz. Perhaps some sexy volume would work well?

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As of now, I'm still searching for some more inspiration in the wardrobe department, but I'll be sure to share with you what I selected after the shoot is complete!

What types of outfits would you want to wear for a beachy photo shoot?

Boudoir photos with a twist...

Everyone, its time to get a little...sexy...

I've noticed that it is rather commonplace for a bride to add a special portrait session in with their wedding photography. Enter...the boudoir session. Brides don some sexy outfits, have photographs taken, and present them to their groom as a wedding gift. Very cute (or should I say...scandalous...)!

I've been thinking about this myself, and if I would want to do something like this for Justin. One day while browsing through my Google Reader, I came across a boudoir session. I shifted my laptop over to Justin and asked him what he thought. He furrowed his brow a bit and then asked me, "what would I do with them???"

Fair enough, I guess. He does have a good point; it isn't like he would be taking around the photos and showing them off to his friends (I hope...). But nevertheless, I still like the idea. However, since Justin didn't exactly sound all that thrilled about the traditional boudoir photos (I know...what is wrong with him???), I wanted to ponder an alternative that would perhaps give the same effect.

And then...as I was shopping for some new swimwear for the summer season, I had an epiphany. Why hadn't I thought of this sooner??? If you've been following me from the beginning, you might recall that Justin and I first met each other at the beach. Well, what better location for a "boudoir" session? I mean, I already know that Justin doesn't mind seeing me in a bikini: he's snuck a few photos here and there when we've been at the beach...

So...instead of donning some sexy lingerie, I'd wear a pretty little two piece number, and maybe take some pictures like this...

Following photos from Victoria's Secret:

Now...the only questions would be - 1: who the heck is going to make me look sexy like that (I am good at "cute," but "sexy" still evades me)? And 2: can my photographer photoshop in some gorgeous abs for me? Haha...

So, what do you think of a "nontraditional" boudoir session at the beach? Are you planning to/have you done a boudoir session to present to your SO? How did you decide what you'd wear?

Hello, my name is Katie, and I am a Tanorexic

Admitting the problem is the first step, right???

(Ok, so it isn't THIS bad...)

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Upon moving to Virginia last month, I began to realize that I indeed have a problem. And that problem is the desire…no…the need to be tan all the time. This wasn’t difficult when we lived in Florida; Justin and I frequented the beach through November. But now…

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It is the beginning of September, and my weather forecast tells me in the morning that it is on average about 50 chilly degrees outside when I leave the apartment! Brrrr…freaking brrrrrrr!!!!!

My tan is fading quickly. I can just feel it, like the sunshine is being sucked out of my skin. I don’t like the prospect of being pale!

So then, the question arises; how do you manage to get that tan glow for your wedding day? Mine isn’t until the end of May, but to be honest, I am not sure how much time I will have at the beach before then. What a dilemma. I really hate to go to the tanning bed…I know it is bad for me…but it does get some fast results (and I have to admit, I enjoy rocking out to some tunes in the stand up beds…am I right???).

Is it/was it important to you to be tan on your wedding day? What are you doing to get that beachy glow? Are you hitting the tanning bed? Spray tan? Or are you going to just roll with whatever tone you happen to be at that point?

How it all began...

I feel the urge to share the story of how the fiance and I met, because if you haven't already heard it, its quite a cute story in my opinion!

It started in September of 2008. I was just about to leave the job I was in, and I was gearing up for my grad school application process (which, in itself, was a full time job). I don't have many friends in the area, so I had made it a custom to take my Morkie (maltese-yorkie) Theodore to the pet beach with me every weekend. He's pretty much my best bud, and we always had a fun time amazing all of the onlookers at his swimming skills.  This little dude is 10 lbs and he is fearless in the water; he swims with the big dogs!

My little man - isn't he cute?

There are always regulars at the pet beach, and you know who they are.  So, it was no surprise that one week I spotted a newcomer.  Camped up away from the water was a guy with a makeshift tent made out of an umbrella, with an 8 week old puppy sitting underneath.  Chick magnet, right? I parked myself down by the water with Theo, hoping that he'd bring the puppy out from under the shade. But alas, it was not meant to be that day.

Fast forward to the following week. Puppy guy was there again, and my DAD ends up talking to him/meeting the pup.  I am slightly jealous that I did not happen to run into him, but left the beach hoping that our paths will cross again.

Finally, the 3rd week, our luck decided to change.  As Theo and I made our sandy trek to the shore, at the end of the trail, who happens to be walking by at the exact time we make our entrance??? You guessed it!  Of course, I make an effort to start talking to him, and we make our way down the beach together.  This conversation turned into about 3-4 hours of talking, and it soon came time for us to leave.  In my head I'm thinking, "awesome! This guy is so nice...he's totally going to ask for my phone number." After an awkward few minutes in the parking lot, we end up parting ways, and he says that hopefully we'll run into each other again in 2 weeks when he comes back.  I have to admit, my ego was a bit deflated, but I was still intrigued. (He since has informed me that he was kicking himself for not getting my number that day)

So, 2 weeks later, guess where I was?  Clearly, the beach.  And guess what, so was he (Although, on a side note...he was almost bullied out of going!  His then-roommate had heard the story of "the girl at the beach" 2 weeks prior, and was convinced that I would not be returning.  Instead, he suggested that Justin attend a football game that they had tickets for.  But, thankfully, the fiance was convinced that I would be there, and was determined to have the chance to see me again)!  Once again, we spent a few hours on the beach with the pups...and then, with a little bit of suggestion from myself, we decided to meet at this awesome little Italian restaurant in town for dinner that night.  I was overjoyed!  Of course, I hemmed and hawed over what I was going to wear (achieving the "I'm extremely well dressed, but I'm not trying hard" look sometimes takes skill).  We had dinner that night and ended up staying at the restaurant for over 4 hours; I'm pretty sure that the owners wanted to kick us out, as we had eaten dinner at 6:30pm.  I was amazed at how easy it was to talk to him...this one was a keeper!

Justin and I at the beach!

Anyway, to make a long story short, that is the tale of how my fiance and I met...I can't imagine it being any other way!