Way back when...

For those of you who don't know... Jonathan and I have been together forevvver! I am not exaggerating. We're getting married on our 13th -yes 13th- anniversary. And the big day is only a few days away...

I spent several hours of my final weekend as a "free woman" working on the rehearsal dinner/reception photo slideshow. It turned out to be quite a monumental task! Squeezing 13 years of memories into a single slideshow is not easy!!!

8th grade dance. High school proms. Beach trips. Birthdays. Game days. College life. Graduations. Vacations. New York. Chicago. San Fran. First homes. First jobs. First family dog.

After hours of scanning photos, putting them in chronological order and editing them onto a timeline I was exhausted... But it was so fun to look back at the amazing memories we've made together. Sometimes I still can't believe I am marrying the cute boy I crushed on in 8th grade. I was infatuated with him then... I'm infatuated with him now. Some things never change!


This is the first picture ever taken of Jonathan and I together. We were at our 8th grade Christmas dance. The year was 1995.

Breaking News!

OK, not really. But our engagement announcement was in the newspaper, so that's kind of like news... Right?

License to Wed

Jonathan and I went to the Davidson County Clerk's office today to get our marriage certificate. The process took less than 30 minutes... just a few quick signatures, two forms of identification and a swift swipe of the debit card, and we were legally prepared to wed. Actually, a man offered to marry us just moments after we applied for our certificate. We politely declined. Nonetheless it was a fun moment. I couldn't stop smiling. I still can't stop smiling.

You think you know...

...but chances are you have NO idea!

The other day I handed Jonathan a copy of our 4 page wedding day schedule. He read through it carefully to make sure I didn't miss a single detail. Then, he looked at me and said, "Wow, Mel... This is a lot of stuff."

Yes. I know.

Planning a wedding is a huge job! I don't think people truly understand the amount of organizing, tracking and communicating it takes to create a dream wedding. The process is much more than picking out the perfect princess dress and pair of glass slippers. Real-life Cinderellas aren't equipped with a fairy godmother or magic wand.

Research. Phone calls. E-mails. Vendor meetings. Contracts. Invoices. Budgets. The "to-do" lists are never-ending. Quite frankly, it sounds more like a day at the office than a fairytale!

The good news: all of the work is worth it! In a few short days (16 to be exact), Jonathan and I will have the wedding day of our dreams.

We'll have a lovely ceremony in a quaint little stone church. Our closest friends will stand beside us at the altar. Our parents will probably cry. I will probably cry too. Our families, friends and co-workers will witness our commitment to each other. We'll eat, dance, drink, laugh and toast to an everlasting marriage. After 13 years of personal growth, trials and triumphs, Jonathan and I will finally be husband and wife. If that isn't the definition of a real-life fairytale... then I don't know what is...

To give you a quick glimpse into the wedding planning process... Here are a few fun pictures!


My insanely thick wedding binder. It's my wedding planning Bible!

Another view of the binder

It's thick like a Bible... =)

When you open it, you'll find lots of fun stuff... Here's one of my many color-coded calendars.

My giant stack of wedding magazines.

Whoa... That's a lot of leisure reading.

Mums the word

I made a very important self-discovery this week...

Fall is officially my favorite season. I used to think summer was my number one. Nope. I was wrong. Autumn is much better. Ideal weather. Colorful leaves. Pumpkins. Football. Sweatshirts. Mums!

In preparation for fall, Jonathan gave our front garden a mum makeover. He did such a great job. As I leave for work each morning, I look at our colorful little yard and think "our garden is much cuter than the neighbor's." If our neighborhood had a gardening competition I think we'd take a prize. Maybe not first place since the lady across the street is an obvious gardening master-mind. But we'd definitely come in second.

Here are some pictures of our autumn-inspired garden...


Orange and yellow mums with pretty red fall daisies.

So pretty! Too bad our grass is d-e-a-d (we're working on reviving it)

One month until we're Mr. and Mrs.

Today is October 1, 2008. One month from today is our highly anticipated wedding day! Needless to say Jonathan and I are both very excited.

When Jonathan proposed on December 21, 2007 everyone immediately said, "Enjoy your engagement. It goes by so fast!" They were all right! Ten months feels like no time at all when you're planning a wedding.

I hope the next 30 days pass as quickly the last 10 months. I cannot wait to marry my best friend.


Jonathan and I moments after he proposed. I've never felt more blissful.

If you haven't read our engagement story click here!