Tuesday, May 26, 2015

#thrilledforgill


i'm still trying to figure out why on earth i live so far from the beach. i love my life in charlotte so much, but the beach is my getaway. maybe that's why it's my getaway because i don't live there? anyway. this past weekend, we got to travel down to carolina beach to celebrate a lovely someone. 


that's right! it was a bachelorette weekend for the lovely amanda. #thrilledforgill became popular as amanda's last name is gill. and clearly we were thrilled to be celebrating her all weekend. as it turned out, there were three amanda's down at the beach so things got a bit confusing from time to time. but regardless, it was so much fun celebrating the bride to be. amanda & jj are getting married on june 27th, and i have no doubt it will be a gorgeous wedding. check out our sweet bachelorette pad - double window walls & a fantastic patio. i couldn't stop setting my drinks on the banister & taking pictures. 


after a fun night in on friday, we kicked off saturday morning with coffee and mimosas. a couple of the girls fixed breakfast before we headed out to the beach. quickly following coffee was... you guessed it. margaritas. 


after a long beach day, we went back up to get showered & head to dinner. the MOH had made reservations at havana's - which is a popular place to dine in carolina beach. i had a yummy seafood back and prosecco of course. what's a bachelorette party without champagne! 


after dinner, we headed back to shower amanda with a few gifts and talked most of the night. we were all pretty tired from the sun all day, and knew we needed rest before taking it on again on sunday. sunday was pretty much a repeat of saturday, but it was a nice relaxing getaway with this fun group of girls. 


happy bachelorette amanda!
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linking up with:
B Loved Boston and Champagne and Suburbs for weekending

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

wedding wednesday: the conflicting post.


via

remember last week when i mentioned i was going into detail about why we are not doing a first look? i was so adamant about it too. lee has given me free range on most of the things for the wedding. things that guys don't really care about one way or the other. things such as flower choices, or colors, or anything decor. so when i asked him what's one thing that is the most important to him - he said he didn't want to do a first look. 

he said the very first time he wanted to see his bride was as her father was walking her down the aisle. he even got slightly emotional over that so i know it meant a lot to him. so it was set. no matter logistics. no matter timing. no matter getting photos out of the way - i let it all go to give him that moment. 

fast forward about 5 months to last week when i wrote how i wanted to blog about this reason. and even last week, i was still ever so sure that's what we were doing.

insert this past saturday at my friend katie's wedding. katie works in the field of meeting planning as well so i know our brains think alike when it comes to wedding planning. i saw her at the reception for the first time and one of the first things she said to lee and i was "you have to do a first look."
i shot lee a look, knowing he didn't want to, but interestingly enough he asked her why? she went on about logistics and photos - typical reasons why a first look is a great idea. but then she mentioned something that i think changed lee's mind - or at least got his mind thinking.

she started talking about how it's an intimate moment shared between the bride and groom, all alone without the pressure and anxiety that comes with walking down the aisle. she mentioned that she got her emotions in check and wasn't ugly crying down the aisle. if you know me, i'm sold. i am so scared i will be so emotional crying down the aisle! i tear up every time i hear the song i am walking down to because my mind imagines it. she said she got to experience her emotion with her groom and vice versa. i feel this would help with anxiety and just make you more relaxed rather than anticipation. 

lee agreed.

yes, lee agreed. 

so now we're back to square one with the first look or not doing the first look. and that's why this post is conflicting and i need your help. did you do a first look? why or why not? do you wish you did the opposite? .
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Tuesday, May 19, 2015

a double anniversary.


see that man right there? he's been mine for two years now. we took our anniversary dinner date to bentley's on 27th and i swear it was one of the best meals i have ever had. do i say that a lot? i love food. but regardless, if you haven't been here, you need to take your life savings and go pronto.


obviously i'm kidding, but be prepared to drop a pretty penny. anniversaries just come around once a year, so we didn't mind. i ordered the bourbon filet which was served to me on fire, mind you. their signature martini was amazing as well. just check out this view from the 27th floor in the heart of uptown charlotte.


on our actual anniversary, may 16th, we had something different to celebrate. one of my great friends katie got married! so now we share anniversaries - until august that is. it was a gorgeous ceremony at byron's south end and and even more fun reception. complete with a photobooth, fantastic food, and wine for days, the frazier's know how to party. katie looked stunning in her bridal gown and i'm so thankful i got to be there for the event!


on sunday, we did lots of things walker wedding. complete with picking out the girls bouquets and the groomsmen's flower things that they wear. you know the word i can't spell. we also finally picked out wedding suits. i knew i wanted gray, but men's warehouse being the most annoying store on the planet, didn't have the gray i wanted but in tuxedo. tux's are a no no in lee's mind (and kind of mine too because i feel it dresses up our wedding too much. so i settled on this below number - but just without that god awful red.


ironically, it's the same suit that lee is wearing in another wedding at the end of june that he is in, so i'll get to see a little preview of what my groom will look like! lucky me. 


after tackling sunday with all things wedding, we decided to treat ourselves to a little mexican. cantina 1511 off of park road is seriously some of the best mexican i have ever had. and this girl knows her some mexican places. i don't know why it took me so long to go here, but can i go back right now? 

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Friday, May 15, 2015

there's something beautiful about all white.


i've been going back and forth, then back, and then forth again with an all white bouquet for myself. there's something about its simplicity and the textures of the baby's breath and roses that just do it for me. after getting back my dress and seeing it on, i have started brainstorming what would look best with it. 

i would like to think that all brides put this much thought into their wedding (and i'm sure they do!) but i seriously am planning every detail. planning and thinking is the the reflection i want to my guests? will i look back on this decision and be like why on earth did i do that? i'm prepping myself now for something not to go according to plan as i know that's normal. what's the biggest thing that "went wrong" at your wedding? tell me so i can prep even further! 

anyway back to flowers. we are meeting with our florist this sunday and i'm so pumped! here's the look i'm thinking for my bridesmaids. it has a hint of a flower called "dusty miller" which is the silvery-green look below.


and then the sprig-y looking ones in the above - those are called veronica. who knew i'd learn so much about flowers?? i love the weird texture they bring to an otherwise "perfectly round" bouquet. do you have any tips or tricks that you learned/wish you would have asked your florist? anything i should make sure to ask more about?
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Thursday, May 14, 2015

the one where i hold the drinks.

bissssss -eeeeeee. 

busy. that is one word to describe my life lately which is another reason i haven't had a chance to blog. lee swears once the wedding is over and the house is decorated, i won't have anything to do. 

i promise this post wasn't intentionally planned for me to hold some sort of wine in a glass about wedding stuff, but it just kinda happened that way. over the past few weeks, i have been busy sorting through our invitations and rsvp cards. want a sneak peek? sure you do.


i'm in love with this font. it's elegance, it's simplicity. it's everywhere at this wedding. so of course it made it to the actual invitations as well. i don't want to reveal those just yet because they don't go out until early june. 

early june? you ask. but your wedding isn't until the end of august, you say. yes, early june. also note my rsvp date says by august 1st - which is 5 weeks before the wedding. most people don't even send invitations until 6 weeks before the wedding. what can i say? working in meeting planning everyday of my life and seeing how people can lag on responses is all i can think about. and i want to know who is coming to plan accordingly.

now i'm just ranting. and now there's the photo with a sneak peak of the invitation.


and the there's the drink holding picture cheers-ing to me trying on my wedding gown for the first time tuesday. it was a special and so surreal moment. trying on my actual gown, seeing myself in the mirror and what i will look like on the day i get married - besides the 9 hour old hair and makeup from work that day. it's unlike any other feeling. 


i honestly can't wait to share my dress with y'all. i have shared it with half of my phone book anyway and have banned lee from my phone. it's taking everything in me not to show him because we are not doing a first look. gasp! find out why later next week. 
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Monday, May 11, 2015

wine, friends, showers, engagements, concerts, invites.

for the past two weekends, lee has gone a two different bachelor parties. that has left amanda at the house alone. something amanda doesn't enjoy. 

okay, i'll stop referring to myself in third person. it's no joke that i have been afraid of staying alone. i think there's a term for that? - stayingathomephobia? regardless, i'm glad lee is back from his back to back bachelor party weekends. the funny thing is - neither of those were his! we have 7 weddings this year, including our own, so get ready for #leeandamandaweddingtour to happen soon.

anyway, before he left, on thursday night we decided to start friends. i've definitely seen the show before but never in a consistent manner. so a blanket and my love were in order. 


lee left to go down to myrtle beach on friday night, so a trip to the grocery store was on my agenda which obviously included a bottle of wine or two. 


drew, lee's brother, was in town as well, so we decided to take on brother sister night hardcore. every day i wish my own brother, andy, lived closer. hopefully he can get down here soon! but in the mean time, drew and i decided to go out to selwyn pub to hang out and ended our night back at my house watching taylor swift music videos. if you know me, you know this was a top notch night. 


on saturday, i had a bridal shower for one of my friends, also named amanda. her and jj are getting married at the end of june and are one of the 7 weddings we have this year. it was a very intimate, sweet bridal shower to celebrate the bride to be! 


keeping in the theme of weddings, i witnessed a proposal this weekend! one of my bridesmaids, allyson, included me to go to a cookout for one of her friends, maggie, after she graduated. maggie had no idea that most of the crowd knew what was about to happen, so it made it that much sweeter that she started crying as chase proposed! loving all things wedding currently in my life, this was really cool to witness. it immediately took me back to when lee proposed. after celebrating the new couple, it was time for needtobreathe.


if you follow me on snapchat (agcrute!), then you knew i was some kind of excited. needtobreathe is actually a christian band, and their music is so amazing. i highly encourage you to check them out. at one point i was crying during the show! but at the same time, that's so something i would do so i don't trust my validity there.


phenomenal show. it was my second time ever seeing them (the first time was when they opened for taylor swift!), and i wish i could relive it again. on sunday, i decided to start stuffing our wedding invites while sipping on a mimosa. i can't wait to reveal the whole invitation to you!


i'm asking for all rsvp's to be in by august 1st. i know i know, it's 5 weeks before the wedding. but i live and breathe meeting planning everyday in my own job so i know how people can take their time. these pretty things will go out early june and i can't wait to share! thanks for bearing with my bride brain between how and the next three months. 

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Thursday, May 7, 2015

omg i am back.

oh hey blogland! how's life? i took a serious, unexpected break. last week was rough for me. i came down with a crazy cold and pretty much didn't exist for about a week. when i get sick, i get sick. i mean can't move out of the bed, why even put on pants, binge watch netflix - kind of sick. anyway, i'm back to myself and have missed blogging so let's get caught up, shall we?

before i got sick, i had an unexpected 12 hour shift. to those who do that on a normal basis - hats off to you. but for me who averages 8-9 hours a day - it was crazy. lee had made dinner reservations for date night and had to cancel them due to my last minute work thing so when i finally got home at 9:45 on a friday night, he had this waiting. am i marrying the right person or what?!


we also received our very first shower present! this arrived on our doorstep from some very sweet people. i have been eyeing this west elm wooden tray for such a long time and it sits nicely on our island in the kitchen displaying some flowers and a candle. my first shower is in about three weeks and i'm so very excited!!


now for a house update. we are still finalizing our living room so i have to keep that under wraps for now. but the kitchen is pretty much decorated (or at least decorated enough to share). last sunday, we both decided to pass on cooking dinner and order chinese take out to go along with our mario kart game. 

lee and i are both clean freaks about our kitchen (yes, lee is a clean freak! possibly more than me!) so we keep our kitchen always in good shape, but this picture just took me away. everyday, i am so grateful for everything we have.


as i mentioned being MIA last week - i was finally feeling better by last weekend. being sick for 5 days straight is awful so when saturday hit i was happy to finally be able to breathe again. and that's such a blessing because my best friend/maid of honor came to see me! we started #bestfriendsaturday, as we liked to call it, with pancakes and mimosas.


followed by another trip to sycamore brewing! she brought her adorable lab, knox, to stay with us for the weekend. 


isn't he adorable? he was ever so popular at sycamore. clearly this was a big snapchat of mine over the weekend (follow me on snapchat by searching agcrute!). we returned home and got ready to take on the night. i snagged this adorable picture of knox sleeping in my bathroom. looks like hanging out with all the cool dogs at sycamore did him in!


it was a much needed girls weekend as lee was away on a bachelor party. and i just love this picture because it describes us perfectly. 


and finally within the past week or so, i got to hang out with my girl sara. sara and i go wayyyy back! to this day, we still refer to each other as a "sister" and she's definitely very near to my heart. she texted me that she was in charlotte this past weekend and asked me to come hang out by the pool. it was an no brainer. 

i took her back to my house, after catching some rays, so she could see what lee and i have been up to and i cherished spending the day with her. some things don't change! i'm so excited she will be at our wedding.


speaking of our wedding - the other day i was driving past our venue. i actually pass by our venue every day on my way to work! it's such an a nice reminder. i snagged this awesome picture and it reminded me the wedding is in three and a half months.


what! three and a half months!!! lets enter bride brain. #agcbridebrain to be exact. i'm freaking out too. the next biggest thing is my first dress fitting next tuesday. wish me luck? 

glad to be back. xoxo.
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