Call it a theme or what have you

I don't have colors, I guess you can say i'm more of a theme visionary than a color-nazi. Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful for people who can see color and know how to do it right. It's just not for me.

At first I was struggling between the themes of winter rustic and spanish elegance.

One day after talking to my mom and my cousins I decided to try and blend them both together. That's when my mom suggested the beautiful peacock. It's funny because at first I thought no birdcages, no birds, but the more I thought of the idea of a peacock, I kept getting more and more excited at the different ways I could incorporate it into a theme. So, when people ask me what's your theme or what look are you going for...my reply is Spanish Rustic with Peacock flairs. I haven't ever gotten a head turned sideways or a what's that mean so I think that is a good sign I nailed the description right on the head. If you're left puzzled let me share some pictures to give you a vision of what's in my head. :)

For your viewing pleasure:

Be sure to check me out on Pinterest to see more ideas Click Here. Also, I know I haven't been good at keeping up on the posts, but i'll get better :) See you soon!

The way I see it..

Not to be completely outdone, I'd like to share with you a little bit of my side of this story Kevyn is telling (and doing an awesome job.. I love her). First of all, when she told you about the day we met she got most of the story just right, but she doesn't know exactly what I was thinking. So let me tell you. I was sitting in a booth at Chuy's in their "waiting area" when she walked in. About an hour earlier, my friends had told me they were inviting a girl to dinner with us, and to be honest I didn't have that high of expectations. They told me her name (a boy's name I thought) and that they had met her at a church camp (not typically the ideal spot for finding hotties). So, we were just sitting there eating chips and salsa when she walked in and I didn't have a care in the world. I'll never ever forget the first time I saw her. She literally took my breath away. She was wearing what looked like a racing jacket and blue jeans and her blond hair was beautiful. I'm pretty sure I went from non-stop talking (probably about sports, movies, boating, fishing.. guy stuff.. etc. ) to dead silent. I was not expecting her. I managed to ask her a few question through out the evening like "have you ever had a boom boom chicken enchiladas?" and "do you like the Cowboys".. you know.. real smooth questions, but I wasn't my typical self. I knew something special had happened that night, and I now know what it was. I met my soulmate.

Kevyn is my best friend. She is the best thing that has ever happened to me, and there isn't anything in the whole world I wouldn't give up for her. Everywhere I want to go I want to go with her. Everywhere I've been, I want to go back, with her.

Asking Kevyn to marry me was the easiest thing I've ever done. Was it nerve-racking? Yes. Was I scared a little? Yes. But it was so easy to ask the lady I already knew was my soulmate to be my wife. I can honestly say I never once second guessed my decision to ask her. The only thing I second guessed was how I was going to do it. If you know Kevyn, you know she goes big, or she goes home. I knew she had high expectations and I also knew I'm not exactly the most creative person in the world, and I didn't want to let her down.

For months I contemplated elaborate ways to ask her to marry me. I thought about YouTube videos, surprise plane rides, boat rides, renting out theaters, and even flash mobs. I was driving myself insane thinking about it and yet over and over again I kept coming back to the same conclusion. Dan (kevyn's dad) and others I talked to about my ideas for engagement told me over and over again "the engagement itself is the special occasion" and so my elaborate ideas didn't make much since because they had nothing to do with me and Kevyn or our story. So, I thought to myself, "how did WE happen?" Obviously its a long story, but I've told Kevyn a million times I knew I loved her the first day we met and I knew we would stay together forever after our first date. Our first date was, in my opinion, PERFECT. We ate the best food in town, cuddled under the stars at the most romantic spot in town, and then went to probably one of the most fun places in town, the Alamo Drafthouse. Recreating this night became the obvious way for me to ask her to marry me, and thats exactly what I did. And on that night, as I dropped to one knee and looked at her face I saw her glowing and I knew it was the right decision. She was beautiful and perfect and I am so proud to call her mine. She said yes.. and the story continues to Act 2 (the wedding).

Heaven, I’m in Heaven

**Note: Play the music in this video while you read the post**

In an unexpected twist of fate, I found my DRESS this weekend and it’s gorgeous!

I had just finished getting my oil changed when Deanna, my gal pal and oh so helpful wedding planner, called me and told me she was working a bridal event downtown called Brides Against Breast Cancer.

She said I should come check it out, and I thought to myself well I’m not in dress shape yet but sure why the heck not. So I called my mom and Becky (Josh’s mom) and asked if they wanted to go. Luckily both were available, and we had a blast. 

With Deanna’s help and input from the moms, I tried on between 12-15 dresses. 

We were finally able to narrow it down to two and then we decided one was unbeatable -- nontraditional, Spanish and PERFECT :) It still needs alterations, but we walked away with it for a great price and it all went to a great cause. 

I thought to myself, isn’t it awesome how God works? I’ve been worrying and worrying about my budget, but it’s all going to work out. I just need to keep praying and keep planning.

Oh, I forgot to mention while we were there, I won a raffle for two free wedding bands! When I heard my name, I was in the middle of trying on a dress and we all went running to collect our winnings. 

The experience was funny, fun and so memorable. The best part is it wasn’t like that show “Say Yes to the Dress” - no drama, and three hours later we’re walking away with the perfect dress at a fantastic price and two FREE wedding bands!

I don’t know what’s next, all I know is we are well on our way to a wedding :) !

2+7

I always thought it was 27, but the reality is it’s 2+7. Those are the numbers that surround my life. Those are the numbers that surround my love with Josh. It’s never been more clear to me than now, at 3 a.m. 

Josh first asked me to “change my Facebook status” on May 27 and officially become his girlfriend. I don’t know if he specifically chose the day because of the significance of the number 27 in my life or if the cards just happened to fall in the right spots and it was au naturale.

Something just tells me it was God. 

Before I met Josh, the number 27 was the age I thought something big or devastating would be happening. My grandmother died of Leukemia when she was 27 and my dad died in a car wreck when he was 27, but now that I think about it, I was born on 7-2 and may have broken the cycle. 

When we marry, Josh will be 27 and the date will be 2-25 which adds up to 27. The weirdest part is we didn’t plan for it. The 25th happens to fall on a Saturday, which ends up being the perfect day to get married.

And so, it only seems fitting for us to have seven bridesmaids and seven groomsmen. It’s such and odd number, but it’s perfect. This is a decision I’ve been struggling with for many reasons because I have so many close friends and people I want to be a part of the BIG DAY, and it’s hard to narrow it to a number like 3 or 4. I admire those who do it because surely it “looks better at the altar,” but this balance helps me see the clarity of my 2+7 relationship with the man I’m going to spend the rest of my life with. 

I’ve always worried about what other people may think and have even been guilty myself of seeing those brides who have many, many girls serving for them in weddings and thought wow, that can’t be special, but it is. It’s like in the movie “27 dresses” - see, there it is again - when at the end Kathryn Heigl is explaining why she’s standing up for these friends of hers she says “Someday, it'll be my day and then all those people will be there for me.” Each one of these ladies have a special significance in my life and so I decided I don’t care what other people think. I’m just going to do what feels right to me....it just so happens what’s right is 2(me + josh) + 7(our wedding party).

Meet me in LOVE

It was the name of the first song we listened to, he and I. The first night we met it went something like this  -- It was a hot summer night in May. I was just coming home from a girls fishing trip in Rockport, and Josh was returning from a day at the lake with friends. Bert and Beau, our mutual friends, invited me to have dinner with them at Chuy's and have a game night afterward. I couldn't refuse because game nights are my favorite. So I went and I fell in love...

When I first saw him, I turned red and tried not to look directly at him because I thought he'd see right through me. He was the most gorgeous person I'd ever met.  For some reason when we sat a full table I tried to sit as far away as I could, but that didn't stop him. Josh being the sweet, charming character he is spoke to me from across the table and asked me what I was going to order. "The Lite Plate," I responded ..haha... as if there were any other choice. Josh ordered the Chicka Chicka Boom Boom...yes that's a real dish. When the food arrived, from across the table, he said, "Do you want to try I bite of mine?" I accepted. He handed a forkful to someone who then handed it to me. I took a bite. It was spicy and made me hot and uncomfortable which, in all actuality, captured my feelings that night.

After dinner we all got in our cars and headed to Josh's apartment to play board games. About eight of us gathered around the table, drank coffee and played games. I sat across from Josh. I finally looked up as I laughed at someone's joke, comment or story and we locked eyes. I'm not kidding when I say TIME STOOD STILL and it was like everything was paused ( at least for me) ..unreal. It was such a cool moment. One by one people began to leave and pretty soon it was just me and Josh playing Boggle, talking about World War II, planes, Garth Brooks and the song "Meet me in love." I had just finished writing  paper about "Troyal Garth Brooks" and Seth (my brother) showed me this song. Not even thinking about it I asked do you want to hear it....it's the BEST song in the world. I found it online and began playing it and as brooks sang the words I began turning red only this time I couldn't hide it because it was just him and me. After the song I saw it was 2 a.m. and I knew it was time to go. So I told him thanks for hosting and it was really nice to meet him and how much fun it was. He reached over to his desk and handed me a BUSINESS CARD...hahaha...so cheesy - and said would you like to go to lunch sometime? Of course I said yes and handed him one of my business cards, not to be outdone. I smiled the whole way home. When I got home and went to bed I was so happy and still thinking about him so I sent him a little text message that read.."I got home safely, in case you were wondering." He replied "I was. I'm glad. Goodnight."

Now, we're happily engaged and I'll be blogging through the wedding planning and recalling little bits and pieces of our story. It's going to be a hodge podge of posts, but you're sure to never be bored. Also, this is not a blog just for the wedding...the wedding is just my springboard. You can expect to hear from me quite often. So please take a seat and enjoy. Leave your feedback, comments and thoughts as you wish. Thanks for reading!