Bridesmaid dress picked!

Seriously this time... I finally found it. This is just a picture of the sample, the ones we order will be tea-length. Searching for the bridesmaid dress was by far the most difficult decision I have had to make. There are soooo many options I just couldn't decide. I had an aha moment at a bridal store last week and decided on this dress. And... it fits in with the idea i had in my head at the beginning of this whole adventure :)

I love, love this time of year. It is the week of the first Gator football game!! The past 10 days have been filled with such anticipation. As I scroll down the status updates of my friends on facebook, all of my Gator friends have their countdown until the first football game. I love that this happens every year. It's like Christmas! Merry football season everyone!

More to come!

Maryel

Best. Breakfast. Ever.

This is the Lazy Breakfast from Max Brenner. It is delightful and by far one of the best breakfasts I have ever tasted. The little dishes are butter, peanut butter, chocolate, and apple jam. It also comes with a basket of raisin cinnamon bread. This pic is from a visit with Bryan and our friend Sarah to NYC. I can't wait to explore the Philadelphia location!

Anyway, enough with the chocolate. I went to Lithe at the beginning of the week and felt 100 times better coming out of the class than I did last week. I feel back to normal, but that first class after my break really took its toll on me.

I ended up getting a 95% and 100% on my two papers due at the end of last week for my most recent seminar so that is very exciting. Now I have one more week off before I begin my very last seminar to complete my master's coursework!

In wedding news, Bryan and I have decided to change the location of our reception. Based on trusted observations by my future mother-in-law and her dear friend we have decided that Plantation Hall is not the best location for us. Instead, the reception will now be at the Sweetwater Branch Inn in Gainesville. We are very excited about this change.

This week I will be busy at home preparing for Bryan's visit for Labor Day and assembling some general order in the apartment. Bryan and I have a packed... I mean PACKED... Labor Day weekend. Lots of sports and lots of wedding stuff! The to-do list includes: US Open Tennis, Mets v. Cubs game, and the first Gator football game of the season!

More to come!

Maryel

Quick update

Pink Peonies bouquet
Originally uploaded by L'esprit Sud Magazine

The past week has been a bit crazy. I went to my Lithe class, which is this amazing evolved-pilates class I go to in Philadelphia (blog fithiphealthy over at the right). I haven't been to class in about a month, so it was crazy difficult. My legs are like stone for the rest of the week. The plus here is that I found the Max Brenner in Philadelphia so when you come to visit, expect a trip there!

I wrote my 6 page Leadership Development Portfolio (the paper I have to write at the end of each seminar) and my 14 page Applied Organizational Analysis and uploaded them to my school website on Saturday. I started writing at 0700 and was done just in time to get in the car and drive to DC at 4pm. I was exhausted!!

Saturday night was the Frustrations final show. My Alpha Chi little sister, Kristen, is a rock star and has been singing in a band for two and half years. It was a fantastic show. Sunday, she, my grandlittle Alex and I enjoyed a wonderful brunch outside and then a little bridesmaid dress shopping. Kristen and I also enjoyed a Chopt salad and a couple of epsiodes of Mad Men before I drove back to NJ.

Wedding planning was put on hold while I finished up my school work. But now I have two weeks off before I start my next and final seminar, so hopefully I will accomplish a lot before then.

More to come!

Maryel

The Story

Our Engagement!
Originally uploaded by miss maryel

For those of you who haven't seen pictures or haven't heard the story... this post is for you.

Bryan and I were at my annual family reunion at Shrine Mont in Orkney Springs, Virginia. It is a conference and retreat center for the Epsicopal Diocese of Virginia and my family has been visiting for over 15 years. There is a gorgeous outdoor chapel at the top of the hill that is made of stone.

On Saturday, my Aunt Monty, Uncle Gene, and sister Maddie walked with Bryan and me to the chapel to take some pictures. We spent about 10 minutes being goofy taking silly pictures and then we sat down at the altar. All of sudden, Bryan took out his bible and turned to Ephesians. He read from Chapter 5:25-29

"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church"

I could tell this was the moment when he took out the bible because his hands were shaking. I turned towards him and tried to stay in the moment so that I wouldn't ever forget it. While he was reading I could hear Aunt Monty crying and each of the three of them snapping away (they each had a camera). As he turned the page I could see that he had the ring tied to the ribbon that marked the page. When he finished reading, he asked me to marry him and everybody started crying. I was still in shock until I turned to stand up and realized that my Dad had been hiding behind us the whole time. The moment he hugged me, I started to cry.

The six of us stayed up at the chapel for a little while taking more pictures and letting it all sink in before we headed back down the hill to share the news with the 75 other family members who were waiting!

A couple of cool things to note:
- Bryan actually flew to my dad's house in SC earlier in the summer just for the day to ask his permission to marry me.
- Bryan had Uncle Gene carry the bible up the hill in his cargo pocket. During the photo shoot, Uncle Gene slyly passed it back to Bryan and I never had a clue.
- My little sisters, Mimi (13) and Grace (9 1/2) have known since Bryan flew to SC and were able to keep it a secret, despite staying in the same room as me for 2 days before he proposed!
- There are officially 408 photographs of our time up at the chapel.

It was a beautiful moment along a beautiful journey and I am so grateful to everyone who played a role in carrying out His plan!

More to come!

Maryel

Bridesmaid Dress picked!

Just kidding... he he he. Mom was in Philadelphia this week for work, so we met up for dinner last night and a little MOB dress window shopping. Meanwhile, we found this fabulous little number... two of them actually!

We also enjoyed some yummy California Pizza Kitchen and chatted about a number of wedding details. This week is a little crazy as I finish up my Master's class with a 6-8 page paper and 12-15 page term project. After this, it's only one more class to go!!

A real quick thank you to everyone who is working so hard to help. I can't even begin to express how grateful I am to have such wonderful people in my life!

More to come!

Maryel

What a lovely weekend!

Boat lanterns
Originally uploaded by diskychick

Bryan came to visit this weekend and we had a lovely time! We enjoyed deliciousness at Bonefish (one of our faves). We started Saturday off as usual with coffee and Sportscenter. Then on a whim, we decided to head down to Annapolis, just to check it out. That town has one of the cutest historic downtown mainstreets I have ever seen. It also has two circles at the center of town, one with the Maryland state capitol and the other a hisitoric Episcopal church (go figure). On Sunday we went to church and spoke with the secretary about setting up pre-marital counseling with the Rector there since we won't be able to do it at Holy Trinity in Gainesville. Looks like it'll work out! We also accomplished a few other wedding tasks and will be putting down deposits on quite a few things this week.

More to come!
Maryel

Unplugged

a lazy spring morning
Originally uploaded by se7enmad

Bryan is coming to visit this weekend! This was a last minute-planned trip, so I am so exctied that he is able to visit. The past two weeks have been an absolute whirlwind and we plan on taking the weekend for ourselves. Besides a bit of schoolwork we both need to do, there will no internet and no phone for the WHOLE WEEKEND! Please feel free to email or leave comments but know that we will not get to them until Monday. Thanks for understanding!

More to Come!
Maryel

The Inspiration...

I wanted to let everyone know about the overall stlye for the wedding. The ceremony will most likely start at 1pm on Saturday, February 13th, 2010. Fell free to book hotel rooms, but if you would like to wait, we will be securing blocks of hotel rooms at a couple of hotels in Gainesville.


The ceremony will take place at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in downtown Gainesvilel and for those of you who haven't been there before, the church is absolutely breathtaking. I am going with a neutral color palette. Bryan and his groomsmen will be in Air Force Mess Dress, except for my brother Chase, since he is not in the Air Force :) He and my Dad will be in gray suits. My bridesmaids will be in a yet-to-be-determined dress, most likely in ivory or champagne (yes, people have asked if I am concerned that the bridesmaids will look too much like me in my dress. The answer is no, I am not concerned). The flowers will be cream and very light peach roses that we are ordering in bulk direct from a grower and putting into bouquets ourselves! Bryan and I have yet to discuss the details of the actual ceremony, but are planning some special music pieces.


The reception will take place at Plantation Hall at Haile Plantation. As it will be an afternoon wedding, we are planning on having a more social, mingling reception with heavy hors d'oeuvres as opposed to a sit-down dinner. I like the idea of winter citrus, like clementines, as the main decor- bunched together in a bowl or glass container. Instead of one large tiered cake, we also like the idea of having a bunch of smaller cakes and pies in varying flavors. Bryan and I will still have one cake that we will cut, so don't worry about that.


We anticipate everything being over around dinner time. We are working on our guest list and budget right now and then soon to follow will be the save-the-dates.


More to Come!
Maryel

So... we're engaged! Now what?

I have had about a week now to let this whole "being engaged" thing set in and I have to tell you, I still can hardly believe it is real! Bryan and I have had some time together to go over the big picture stuff and I will use this blog initially as a way to keep everyone informed and involved. I would love to hear your ideas and suggestions... and your comments to keep me sane as I try to plan a beautiful wedding but also try to keep my eyes on the prize as Bryan and I begin our married life together!

We have the date: Saturday February 13th, 2010

We have the location: Gainesville, Florida (Go Gators!)

We are still in the process of securing the church and the reception location.

Bridal parties have been set! (Love you girls)

More details to come!

Maryel