Ladies & Gentleman: This is Mambo #5

Well.. 

I’ve avoiding this post because I honestly don’t know how to put so much in a post without getting boring! 

So we went dress shopping the first time just my mom & maid of honor, Sam. I’m pretty sure shop 1 was also the shop with the highest price tags! But they had some stunning gowns.

 

 

That was stop 1. 

Stop 2 was another local shop.. 

Note: I got super discouraged a lot of the time because everyone was so busy… so I went to shops 2 and 3 with just my mom.  No, this is not a problem but it’s always nice to have a little crowd! 

So shop two I found a perfect gown..actually my awesome cousin surprised me and came to the appointment & she found the dress! in fact I probably would’ve said yes to the dress that day if they could’ve guaranteed me to have buttons down the back of the dress… but they couldn’t… the designer couldn’t either… & the seamstress couldn’t either… so that dress was out the window 
* one of my wedding dress dreams is to have buttons down the back *

So we moved on from a dress that I could see myself walking down the isle…

Shop 3 was strictly my mom and I… I probably put on 19 dresses… I had pictured myself in a big gown the entire time… day in and day out… until this shop… I put on a simple and understated dress.  And I liked it a lot… my mom hated it.  But the dress confused me and after 2 hours there I just had to put my clothes on and leave… super overwhelmed !

Dress shop #4 was a consignment dress shop… found an amazing gown. But it had multiple picks in it.  So we opted out of it.  This trip was very special to me.. it included my maid of honor, Sam, my mom, and my little sister Brittney. (We aren’t really related but she’s been around long enough it’s like we are!) She’s 14.  It meant so much to me that she could make it! It was a weird place though.  The ‘dressing room’ was LITTLE like stand in the corner and there’s a curtain around you little.  And the lady there was rude toward the end.. very rude.

So after we went to shop #4 we went across the street to shop #5.. but shop #5 did not have any appointments that day..so we scheduled one for the following weekend… 

So the week came and went and on Saturday we were on our way to Wedding Dress Shop #5… yes Randy Fenoli would be disappointed in my 50+ dresses I had tried on prior!

On the way to the shop, we had a serious talk… we weren’t going to be so critical.  We were going to keep an open mind.  Then we started joking about how it’s shop 5… well that made us start singing Mambo #5. Which has now stuck with us. So, we got to the shop.  It was Sam, my mom, & me. We started trying on dresses… we tried on dress after dress.. found a few I liked a lot… 

Then Alex, my dress consultant,  told me that she wanted to try a ‘wild card’ I wasn’t really sure of the wild card.  But i tried it.  I put it on and it fit so nice.  I didn’t see it in the mirror yet but I liked it.  Then I looked in the mirror and it was beautiful.  I didn’t know if my mom would like it (yes I was that girl.. the girl that wanted her mom’s approval, after all she’s my best friend).  However, I walked out and my mom looked at me in a way I haven’t seen her in a while. It was honestly a priceless face.  Then I looked at Sam & she looked the same. After going back and forth between that dress and another one (yes, I am flakey).  I had ‘the dress’ on; my future mother-in-law walked in the door.  I was all jacked-up with my veil.  Her jaw dropped & she said “wow.” And any doubt in my mind was gone.  I knew it was my dress. (yes, I’m stubborn too). & yes, this dress could have buttons put on it!!!

 

So needless to say after trying on probably 60+ dresses… the right one does shine through. 

Why did I feel the need to share this story today??
I was at work and got a call. They left a voicemail… 

IT WAS THE DRESS SHOP!! MY DRESS IS IN!!!! 
I got the goosebumps when I heard her say that.  

This is so real and happening so quick. 

 

I’m really excited to show you my dress.. in 10 months!

What’s your wedding dress story? Did you cry?

 

Short & Sweet

We have known our wedding party for about 5 months now… Today Bryan (finally!) asked the groomsmen to be apart of our special day! I am so blessed to be around such a great group of guys. I already call them my family but I’ll be proud to actually be apart of their family soon!

Flower Girls

Let’s talk about my perfect little flower girl. Note: I’m biased.  But she’s the sweetest thing.  She’s 2 years old.  Not terrible. 

 

She’s funny, cute, sweet, etc…

Really I hope when I have kids they are just like her! 

 

Meet my Flower Girl, Hannah. She’s my “2nd” cousin.  

 

I babysat Hannah for a few months last year when I was job-less.. it was one of the best experiences out of college.  I got to work with a very intelligent child, one of my dreams in life.  She reassured me that in 10 years when I decide to have kids I’ll be a good mom.  Even if that means we eat yogurt because thats our favorite food of the week.  Or we watch the same episode of Elmo because we love Elmo… ( Lucy the Lazy Lizard travels to Lackawanna. )

Sadly, my time with Hannah was cut by getting a big girl job.  But when Bryan and I got engaged I knew exactly who would be my flower girl (I actually knew way before the engagement).  

On Easter sunday this year I made Hannah a sweet Easter basket equip with a book asking her to be my flower girl with all the pictures we had taken while I babysat her.. (yes, she couldn’t read it but later in like she will love it)

 

 

I wanted to write this post for my memories of Hannah this past month.  

We went on vacation last month, both Hannah and I were sick the first half.  But we did share moments that I will always cherish.  The moment of many was very special to me. Hannah has literally been saying “Bryan” for a year. Which is very very adorable.  She knew that Bryan was the guy on my cell phone wallpaper. When Bryan showed up at her 1st birthday party & he wasn’t a picture I think that freaked her out a little.  But she knew his name.  Well this year on vacation she was saying my name.  It was absolutely adorable. So as the week progressed we put sunglasses on her and she told us she was a “super model” and we tickled Bryan’s feet and laughed about it.  We forced a swim sweater on her.  Then when she realized how awesome the swim sweater was we couldn’t get her out of the pool.  In the pool, Aunt ‘Bath’ (my mom’s picked up name because she gives Hannah baths all the time) taught her how to ball her fists and ask if you’re “ready to rumble.”  When she looked at my grandpa and said it, it was probably the funniest thing that could happen. 

But along with the funny we shared some serious times.  One day we told her about being a flower girl and what flower girls do.  I asked if she’d be my flower girl and she looked at me and said “sure!” and then I told her that a flower girl throws flowers on the ground.  She replied “Ok!”  I had been sitting on the floor and she got behind me on my back (like a piggy back ride) and I started to rock back and forth.  As I did this, she kept saying “flower girl flower girl.”  It was awesome. The next day without me bringing it up she said “me flower girl.” I asked her what flower girls do and she responded ” throw leaves.” Close enough right? 

 

Well today, after spending almost 3 weeks apart I got to see the sweet girl again.  Besides the fact that when I said I had to leave she told me “no” twice and then responded with “that’s sad” she brought up the flower girl again… except this time was unique. 

Note: I had not talked about flower girls all day. 

After about 2 hours of being inside we went outside.  My aunt and uncle have a BEAUTIFUL hydrangea bush in their backyard.  Hannah walked up to it. Pulled a lump of purple flowers out and started picking the flower apart.  One by one she starting throwing the petals on the ground.  Then she looked up at me and said “flower girl.”

SHE IS SERIOUSLY SO SMART!!!

I know I probably bored you with this story but it seriously meant so much to me! 

 

We are 293 days left until our big day!  I’ll leave you with a few more pictures of Hannah & maybe follow it with a question or two!

 

 

What’s the best flower girl story you have? 

Little Man. Little “No Name” Man.

Funny how life can always grab me and take me completely away from things I am into. I would’ve been posting a little more frequently but this past week has been crazy. Last Friday for example.. I got off work early for a doctor appointment but I stopped at my house before the appointment. On the way into my neighborhood a woman put out her hand to stop me. I stopped to see this baby kitten hop half way across the road then run back. He just did not want to run to the woman. He finally had the courage but when the woman went to grab him he ran. So I went to the doctor. Then I biked to the gym. On the way home I took a detour to the cat. I sat down and started talking to him. He was so sweet. I reach out to pet him and he ran into the near by bushes. (Hmph. Fail). So I went home. I got my mom and we walked back to see the kitten. I sat down again and talked to him. My mom left me and went home to get a towel just in case I was able to grab it. While mom was gone he let me pet him. The neighbors came and talked to me. One went and got a plate of cat food. We put it in the fence the kitten was hiding in. The kitten ate the entire plate. Still randomly letting me pet him. Bryan came home and my mom went and got him. The neighbor went and got another plate of food and a fishing net (Yes, this sounds mean… No it wasn’t mean at all). We put the food in the net. Caught our little man. Put little man in a kennel and took him to the vet. The vet was closed (of course he was it was 7:30 on a Friday night). BUT he was still there. He came outside and listened to the cat’s heart and checked him out. Said he was too young, maybe 6 weeks, but didn’t have time to realize he was a ferrule cat. He also said that the cat probably was so desperate for help he didn’t mind a human. So we took the cat to the pets store… got him so food, toys, and wipes. Took him to Cook Out with us (yes we were hungry). Then we went to Bry’s house to show his mom. (NOTE: Bry had just lost his cat 2 weeks before all of this. Ironically the kitten looks like Bryan’s old cat. AND even more ironically, the neighborhood had been calling the kitten Socks, which is Bryan’s old cat’s name) So his mom LOVED our kitten. We are letting the kitten stay with Bryan’s family until we move into our own place next year when we get married. But we did leave there and take the cat back to my house.. we gave him a dawn bath to kill as many fleas as possible. Then we just hung out and the cat cuddled so hard all Friday night. He slept in the kennel from like 11pm until 4am. At 4 he meow-ed for about 5 minutes then slept til 7. Then Bry and I took him to the vet. He had roundworms and a cold. We have treated him for both. He was too young for shots. 10 more days they said.

Then on Sunday we had our engagement pictures!!! I cannot wait to see them!! I absolutely my photographer/best friend/bridesmaid. She is so awesome! Maybe she will guest post on here! If not I’ll definitely share!!

Happy 4th of July everyone!!! ❤

The start of the Engagement…

First a little picture of my fiancé and I….

Let’s talk about my proposal and the BEST Valentine’s Day ever!

A little humor to start with….First, my mom went to the doctor. She was telling the doctor (which so happens to be Bryan’s doctor too) that he better not propose to me on Valentine’s day because that is such a cliche. Ironically, our doctor proposed to his wife on Valentine’s Day. Mom put her foot in her mouth.

So, let’s talk about Valentine’s Day

Bryan was at work. He told me that “I wish Valentine’s day wasn’t today, I want to go to the basketball game.” NOTE: I get a few ‘special’ days a year. This comment made me mad. We argued a good chunk of Valentine’s Day. Yes, we are not perfect. No, I won’t pretend to be a perfect couple. I’m not ashamed of it. We have more good days than bad days!

So anyways, it was very very cold. I knew we were going out to dinner. I wore some fleece leggings, jeans over them, my boots, a black top with sequins around the neck, and my peacoat. Yes, I remember that. Bryan was in his deep purple work shirt and khaki pants. We looked good.

So Bry came over and instead of coming right upstairs to see me I heard him say that he needed to show my dad something that is wrong with his car. (my dad works with cars everyday, he’s a buyer for a dealership). Then Bryan came upstairs and we got ready and left. We had no idea where we were going to dinner. But we got on the road. We ended up going to the oceanfront to a nice Italian restaurant. We had a great dinner. We people watched, laughed, and talked about past Valentine’s Day. Especially the Valentine’s Day I ‘ditched’ him. Let’s clarify, we have been together 6 years. The first Valentine’s Day was 5 days after the first time we talked on AOL Instant Messenger. Bry had asked me to be his Valentine. So we made plans. I broke the plans the day of. My gramma had just passed away and I ended up going to my Pap’s for Valentine’s Day. Luckily, Bryan understands the love I have for my family.

But anyways…

Please Note: our breaths stank because of the Italian. LOTS of Garlic

After dinner Bryan started driving towards first street. I was really confused, neither of us live by first street. We got to the beach. And it was really cold. But I trusted him. I had got him a little valentines bag of goodies, candy, body wash, basketball clothes, etc… Bryan looked at me and said “Corie I did get you something for Valentines day, close your eyes.” So I did as I was told. He said “put our your hand.” I did that too. He put something in my hand… something I knew exactly what it was…

and when I opened my eyes sure enough it was a York Peppermint Patty. Yes, I was completely aware my breath stank like garlic…

However beyond my hand was Bryan, on his knee. He asked me to marry him.

It was easily one of the best feelings I have ever had. I felt like I was completely on top of the world. I really don’t remember what I said! It was just beautiful.

The following morning the sunset was absolutely stunning. It was God’s beauty shining through. It gave me the feeling like this is God’s plan for me.

OH! and later I found out nothing was wrong with Bryan’s car at all. Bryan had to ask my dad for his blessing. Which makes this even more amazing.

The day after Valentine’s Day I went to Blake (my future brother-in-law) basketball game.. I waited until after the game to tell Blake. Bryan was at a different game. I approached Blake and told him that he was going to have a sister. First he looked at his mom. Then he looked at me. Then I told him Bry and I are getting married. Blake genuinely made me feel so good inside, he was more excited than I was! I’m so lucky to be gaining a brother who is also like a best friend.

Needless to say, Bryan has a lot of work to do if he ever wants to top this past Valentine’s Day!!

What day did you get engaged? How’s wedding planning going?

Short & Sweet

Just went on a walk with my fiancé and our dog, Burrito.

This is burrito.

But we went on this walk and our first encounter was a peacock…

Then we chased the ducks. Seeing rito chase them and then smiling makes my heart so happy

And finally we were on our way back home and a beautiful rainbow appeared…