My Favorite Ladies

Probably one thing I am most excited about for my wedding, is my bridesmaids!

I am blessed with having some of the best friends a girl could ask for. So I am going to introduce them to you!  

I asked each of my girls to send me six words or statements that described them. I definitely think you can get to know them better by how they describe themselves than by me describing them. So here we go!

Maid Of Honor: My sister, Courtney.

1. Genius

 2. Best sister, ever.

3. Ginger

4. Loud

5. Crafty

6. Simple

Matron Of Honor: Audriana 

 

1. Fantastic

2. Fabulous

3. Favorite

4. Frisky*

5. Fun

6. Freaking amazing

*just in general, not towards me

 

If one thing is clear in these photos, it's that Audriana has been my best friend through MULTIPLE hair colors and styles!


Bridesmaid: Lindsey

1. Inspirational
2. WITTY
3. Charming
4. Delightful
5. Brilliant
6. STUNNING
7. ....did I mention witty?

Bridesmaid: Amber

1. Adventurous
2. Hippie
3. Christian
4. Creative
5. I love people
6. I love to travel




....oddly enough the only picture I could find of Amber and me together, was one I really don't like of me..hahah BUT I swear I love this girl and spending time with her!


Bridesmaid: Rachel

(Rachel and her sweet, sweet momma!)

1. Love the Lord and post it notes.
2. I'm a closet racecar driver.
3. I never buy anything full price...except handbags.
4. I love food...any kind.
5. Love to travel and try new things.
6. My best friend is a grey schnauzer-poodle mix named Lady Adelayde of Owatonna a.k.a. Addie :)


Yes I went there! Throw WAY back photos of us!
 


Bridesmaid: Mary


1. Sassy
2. Pessimistic
3. Intellectual
4. Spunky
5. Crafty
6. Mom

 

I've known Mary the longest out of all of my bridesmaids (well, besides Courtney) and I have hardly any photos of us together in the digital form. Which 1. makes me sad, and 2. makes me feel SO OLD.
I mean, how old are we that most of our pictures together are in printed form?! Sheesh.
(Mary is also in the last two pictures with Rachel though)



I'll post just how I asked them to be a part of my special day in my next blog post! :)
xoxo

This Hall Has My Heart

We have a venue!! Heartwood Hall in Piperton, Tennessee!

 

This also means that we've set a date!!!

 

 

"Built in 1840, Heartwood Hall was originally part of a 5,000 acre plantation estate. It now sits on 25 beautifully wooded acres. Listed as "The Miller House" on the National Historic Register, Heartwood Hall was built by the Miller family as a gift for his daughter. The Heartwood Hall residence as well as the grounds are both on the National Historic Register. The grounds are on the historic register due to the fact that during the Civil War, the Union soldiers camped on the front lawn and occupied Heartwood Hall as a hospital.

Originally built by the Miller family, Heartwood Hall and a similar estate were constructed as wedding gifts for Mr. Miller's two daughters. Luckily, the Union soldiers chose to preserve Heartwood Hall as their residence during the war because Mr. Miller's other estate was burned to the ground.

John & Denise Suthoff bought the house 8 years ago. Since acquiring the house they have added on an additional 3500 square feet to the residence for a total of 7000 square feet. During the renovation the Suthoff's added a gourmet Kitchen, courtyard & pool area. They joined the servant houses scattered among the property to create an 1800 square foot Guest House updated with modern amenities located at the back of the property.

In addition to the Guest House & Courtyard, John & Denise added a gorgeous garden. They went through great pains to maintain the original character and integrity of the property during the renovation by using reclaimed wood, bricks and glass. The flooring used in the addition of the Main House was salvaged from a New Orleans cotton gin built in the 1800's. The Barn is also constructed from reclaimed wood derived from trees located on the property.

 

Once renovations to the Main House were complete the Suthoff's hosted a wedding on the property for their niece. It was during the wedding planning, that the Suthoff's saw how beautiful and relaxed environment Heartwood Hall provided for the ceremony and they knew it would make the perfect place for weddings. Since then, Heartwood Hall has become a highly sought after venue for wedding ceremonies and receptions."

**I do not take any credit for the photos or description provided for Heartwood Hall. All photographs of the property and information on the historic land are straight from their website www.heartwoodhall.com. None of the photos have been altered in any way, and all watermarks provided have remained intact. 

We are going to be married either in the garden, or in front of the barn under the big tree there. Here are a few more photos of both options. :)

The Four-Seasons Garden:

The entrance into the garden.

 

The photographer in me loves the framing going on in the garden.

The Barn:

See that big beautiful tree?! I'm a little obsessed with it.

 

The front of the barn!



 

The porch on the side--a perfect get away from all the noise and people. I know this will help a lot! Especially with people like my dad and granddad that just don't do crowds very well.

 

The inside of the barn! It's breathtaking. This photo doesn't even do it justice.

 

The bar--behind here there's a bathtub that the beverages chill in...gotta love that!

 

 

Now that you've seen our venue--what do you think!? If you had the choice of the ceremony being held in the garden or in front of the barn under that big tree, what would you choose?  I would love some feedback!

 

xoxo



 



His Side Of The Story

 

This blog post is actually from Joe! These are his thoughts on the day he proposed to me. :) Enjoy!

 

There was no doubt in my mind I wanted to marry Caitlin and try and give her the whole world. So in January 2013 her dad came out to go clam digging and I asked for his permission to marry his daughter. This is the text I sent to Caitlin’s mom explaining the details:
 
"So we walked down to the water...I thanked him for coming out then I said "So you know I love and respect Caitlin more than anything. I want nothing more than to be able to be there for her and provide for her and with you blessing and permission I would like to ask her to marry me?" 

Her dad said " Well what's your plan? She has school and stuff to finish you know"
I replied "Well the plan was to just get married. I know she has school to finish, and I want her to finish. Then when she is done find a place for us to live. I know she wants to be close to her family and I don't want to take that away. Then have a family I guess and just provide and care for them."

He then said "you have a permanent job and will be able to provide for her and a family?"
I told him "Yes I have a permanent job with benefits, retirement and life insurance and it would all be Caitlin's if we were married."

He then said "it's a big step you know, a lot of responsibility; I just want to make sure you thought it through."
I said "I know it's a responsibility and I want nothing more. It's been on my mind constantly the last few months"

He then said "okay well if you have thought it through then you have my permission." I hugged him (which threw him off I think.)

After the hug he said "she has the final say in this you know!?"
In my head I was thinking she's not the one I was worried about! But, I replied "of course."

Then we started talking about clams.

 

I had a plan to propose to Caitlin in the Memphis airport. So, I bought a ring and with the help of my parents plane tickets for the two of us back to Mississippi. I had the whole thing planned out thanks to the help of her best friend, sister and mother. 

I was going to get down on one knee and ask the woman of my dreams to marry me right there in the middle of the Memphis airport.  











  
The day came and we got up early for out flight. I had kept the secret this long and was somehow able to actually lie and trick her into thinking I was going to propose in April when we went camping.  

I only had to keep this secret for a few more hours. I was nervous that it would be my luck and security would want to go through my carry on and pull out the ring box in front of Caitlin. We made it through just fine though! I tried to sleep as much as I could so nothing would get brought up and I would spill the beans. I did drop a couple of subtle hints though. This made me think I was even more sneaky and sly.
 
We finally land in Memphis and I start to get nervous. She can see I am texting her mom, finalizing plans and making sure everything is a go. She starts to get nosey but still doesn’t expect a thing. We get off the plane and head toward baggage claim. I am a nervous wreck and just hoping that it doesn’t show.

We finally are approaching where I had planned to do it. Being so nervous I stopped just short of where I was supposed to do it and got down on one knee. Caitlin can probably tell you this part of the story better about what I said and everything.
 
When she said yes though she made me the happiest man in the whole world. I love this woman with all my heart. I felt so happy and relieved to get this off my chest, and that heavy ring out of my backpack and on to her finger.

 

 

Isn't he just the sweetest, y'all?! :)
Sorry I haven't been posting as much--it's been finals week! But I am officially on spring break so there will be many more posts to come! :)
xoxo

The Surprises Just Keep on Coming!

Here is the second part of what happened on March 1st, 2013--the day I got engaged! :) 

(Isn't my daddy just the sweetest?)

After having lunch with Audriana she told me she had to get back to Oxford to go to work. Joe and I got to my house, put our luggage up and played with the dogs. We both were in desperate need of a nap--and I personally wanted a shower, but my luggage was damaged (thanks, Delta!) and I had to report it within 24 hours....so back to the airport we went.

My sister invited us to dinner that night and we were supposed to be there at 7. Well, the Memphis airport was it's normal "lovely" self and incredibly helpful....so we ended up spending over 2 hours there. Honestly, I wasn't upset though because I was still on cloud nine and nothing could dampen my day! We get ready to leave and call my sister and she tells me she needs us to pick up some band aids. We headed to Walgreens and then she calls and says to pick up some wine. Soooo we head to the liquor store to buy some champagne to celebrate before we are finally on our way to her house.

I'd never driven there in the dark before so I wasn't 100% certain on how to get there. Joe was supposed to give me the directions........

We passed what I thought was the street, but Joe told me it was the next turn. We turn in and it's a clubhouse--way wrong. I look over at him and HE IS ON FACEBOOK. I asked him if he could please  give me the directions! He does--but doesn't turn on the GPS and just goes by the map "because he is a man" and we take two more wrong turns, I slam on my breaks at one point, and then he tells me it was the first turn and I was correct all along. I asked him if this was his way of testing me now that he put a ring on it. I was pretty perturbed with him to say the least! 

We finally pull up to her house and I see the blinds close...weird? I thought so but that was about all I thought. We walk up to the house and I open the door and was COMPLETELY shocked to see that it was a surprise engagement party! 

My family and friends were there and I was just in complete shock. Then, someone says "Joe has another surprise for you!" I look and Joe's parent's are there too!! They flew in from Washington to be there!! I was flabbergasted and SO excited that they got to meet everyone! 

After lots of hugs and smiles (by the way, Audriana did NOT have to go back to Oxford for work--she was there too) I have yet another surprise coming to me. My mom tells me there is an appointment for all of us (me and Joe and our parents) to go and see this venue I have just been gushing over since I looked it up in December! Talk about shocked! It just seemed to be one huge surprise after another. It was an amazing day and I was so blessed to have my loved ones there! 

My sister did an amazing amount of work and did a great job. I was so surprised and grateful to have family and friends that support and love me! 

So thank you, Courtney! I love you so much and couldn't ask for a better sister!! 

xoxo