Oh what a Summer!!!

I am going to stray from the wedding talk for a moment or (maybe longer than that) and talk about what a great summer I had. It is so nice having summers off. This summer was an absolute blast! I did so many things and went so many places. I tutored Connor and Katelyn twice a week, worked for a catering company as much as I could, and visited as many people as possible. I started the summer off with visiting my Dad for Father's Day in Morehead. It is always nice spending time with my Dad. I got to see my brother and meet his girlfriend, Kelly, too. She is awesome! On June 25th, we had a house warming party to celebrate moving to New Albany and our new engagement. It was so nice to have friends over and hang out on our rooftop terrace.

Here are some pics:

On the Fourth of July I went to Indiana to visit Kala and her family. They throw a big party for the Fourth every year. It was so much fun! Jaxson, her 2 year old. is so sweet and cute. She has another one on the way that I can't wait to meet. On July 14th I went back to Kentucky to get LASIK eye surgery. It was amazing!!!!!! I love not having contacts to put in and out every morning and night. I stayed with my Dad so he could take care of me for a few days. I also saw some of my best girlfriends  in Lexington and bought my wedding dress. This is sad but I can't remember if I found my wedding dress before or after LASIK. I'm sure my Mom remembers since she so kindly bought it for me. The next trip was down to South Carolina to vacation with Lauren and Brooklyn on Dewees Island. It was a blast. Melissa and I drove down together. We talked for 8 straight hours without even turning the radio on. It was so nice to spend time with Miss and catch up. We were so proud of ourselves for driving up and down the scary mountains all by ourselves. Usually we have men driving us and scaring us half to death.

Here are some pics:

  

As you can see I wore a hat and sunglasses the entire trip because my eyes were so sensitive to the sun after LASIK. I probably shouldn't have been in the sun, but anyone who knows me knows how much I love the sun!

On August 4, I threw a little mini bachelorette party for my dear friend Bliss. Yes that is her name! Don't you love it! Her and I met when I moved to Columbus 3 years ago. We have the same story as why we moved to Columbus. We lived in the same apartment complex and she moved up here 2 months before me from Kentucky. She also went to EKU and was a Chi Omega too. She is a couple years younger than me so we never met while I was there. Anyways a couple of us couldnt make it to her BIG bachelorette party on Cumberland Lake so I wanted to celebrate here in Columbus too!

The beautiful bride to be!

 If you cant tell Danielle is expecting!!!!

The first weekend of August Rob and I flew to Phoenix, AZ to visit his side of the family. It was 100+ degrees every day but it was so beautiful. Both his Mom and Dad's siblings live there. His Dad's dad, Leo and his Mom's Mom, Grandma Russo live there as well. I had never met any of them besides his grandpa once, years ago. We wanted to visit his grandparents the most before we got married in case they are not able to make it to the wedding. It was so nice meeting his aunts, uncles, and cousins. We also got to stay at the Biltmore which was the most amazing hotel ever. Here are some pics:

                              This picture is Rob's Grandpa and Grandma Russo's wedding picture.

On August 18th, I threw a mini baby shower for my dear friend, Ashley. Her and I went to UK together and she moved to Columbus a year before me. She is having a little boy in October. I couldn't make it to her big baby shower so I thought I'd throw her a small one. It was so fun!

         My first attempt at Cake Pops!

To end the wonderful summer of Bliss :) we headed down to Somerset, KY for Bliss' wedding. It was very country chic! She looked beautiful and the weather was perfect. I loved how she had a different set of salt & pepper shakers on each table. The DJ dismissed our tables to get food from the buffet by S&P shakers. Our table had deer shakers.

           Robyn, Bliss' co-worker, and I wore the same dress. LOL!  

Well that was my summer in a nutshell, a pretty big one, I know. Now it's off to teach 2nd grade and finish wedding planning!

Ok now for a wedding update:

On top of all the fun trips that I went on this summer I felt like I got a lot done in terms of wedding planning. My future Mother-in-law and I had a consultation with a florist at the beginning of August. We went to Flowers on Orchard Lane in Columbus. They have done many weddings at the ACC and Kelly, our wedding coordinator, suggested them. Since my mother-in-law is an interior decorator, an avid gardener, and flower connoisseur I let her lead the meeting. I told her beforehand what I was thinking for flowers- beautiful, elegant, and err I like hydrangeas. I do NOT have a green thumb and I am clueless when it comes to wedding flowers. We brought pictures and ideas of what we were thinking with us. Most of the pictures included traditional, white flowers since our colors are mainly ivory and black. After picking the venue we decided to add accents of gold and different greens too. If you would have asked me a year ago what my colors were going to be I would have said black, pink, and green. The ACC is covered in gold so I think it will look best to have accents of golds and greens with the flowers, invites, and who knows what else. Here is a little sneak peak of the flowers.

We are not doing cake, cupcakes instead, so don't pay attention to the last picture. The florist was featured in Columbus Bride and these are the pictures. We are going to use the candleabras that are in the middle picture.

The next thing on my list to do is find a photographer and choose the DJ/band.