Celebrating the countdown has been fun.  I see the calendar telling me today that there are 274 days left until John and I become husband and wife on June 23, 2012.  But today also marks exactly 9 months until that day.  My mother, the sweetest woman I know, has found a special way to celebrate these monthly markers.  She is giving a little gift for every 23rd of each month that passes until the wedding.

She started on my birthday which happens to be on the 23rd of July (11 months to the wedding).  She gave me a Wedding Memory Book, much like the one she had for her own wedding.  In this book I can write down my memories of the love and relationship that John and I share as well as all the exciting plans and activities for the big day.  I am excited to use this keepsake to pull together all of my adventures from this joyful time and to have something to cherish and pass down to maybe my daughter one day as she begins to plan her own wedding...

On August 23rd (10 months to the wedding) came a matching photo album.  This album will hold all the snapshots of the wedding day and matches beautifully with the Memory Book.  Also a wonderful keepsake for our special event.

And so September 23rd (9 months to the wedding), I received a measuring cup and some coasters.  She said some gifts would be sentimental and some would be practical... I am so blessed to have a mother who knows you need a little of both in this world. 

Anyway, I feel so grateful to have a mother that wants to celebrate with me, in big and small ways.  She is so thoughtful and continues to make each day special.

FIRST BRIDESMAIDS' ACTIVITY!

So Mom and I had travelled to Greenville in June for a small wedding festival.  Of course, when at a thing like that, you put your name in the hat at each booth for a chance at winning some glorious prize of a free honeymoon or 50% off photography packages or something sweet like that.

Well, my name was drawn from the Mary Kay booth and I was awarded "free" facials for me and my bridesmaids.

Unfortunately Esther couldn't join us for this event but Shea, Kelly, Tonya and I had fun in her absence.  

The Mary Kay experience wasn't exactly like winning a free honeymoon and actually was a little more of a sales pitch.  "Free" isn't so free when you end up purchasing a facial wash and replenisher and each of your bridesmaids feel obligated to purchase a little something as well.  However, despite the odd sales lady, the sales angle, and the sales lady's slightly unkempt house as the setting for this adventure, I think the girls had fun anyway.

Their good spirits and ability to turn a not-so-great experience into a comical, fun outing just reminded me of why I love them all so much.  Why they are such great friends.  And why I am so honored that they are willing to be part of this most special event in my life.

After we forked over some cash to the Mary Kay representative, we all ended the evening at the La Taverna Italian restaurant.  Great food, great conversation, great friends, great night all-in-all.  I hope they had as much fun as I did and enjoyed getting to know each other a little better.

I look forward to the time throughout this year that I will get to spend with each of them and am excited about our next outing... whatever it may be... 

Exciting day!  So we selected and ordered my wedding dress on July 3 and we picked it up on August 3.  To try on "my" dress in the store was amazing.  It fit well, made me feel pretty, and just reassured me that we had picked the perfect dress for the special day.  So now it resides in a closet at Mom's house until we start thinking about alterations...

I am so glad I was able to share the experience with my mother.  I am so grateful to her for everything she has provided to me in my life, for all the love and support she's always given, and for being the best friend and mother a girl could ever hope for.  Her presence in my life is the greatest gift ever and she always manages to make each moment special and precious and this one was no different.  Thank you Mom so much for being you and for the perfect wedding dress!  You are amazing in every way.

We've also been busy brainstorming about music, decorations, flowers...  you name it, we've discussed it.  So much goes in to a wedding, I never realized.  But it is fun to think about and Mom and I are enjoying this phase of idea gathering. 

Stay tuned...

First of all, welcome to this page.  I hope to share my thoughts about this whole process as Mom, myself and the Fosters make our plans for this joyful day.

I've been looking over all the plans we've made so far and I have to say, Mom and I have really made quite a bit of progress.  We have the officiant, the church, the reception site (which also comes with a reception coordinator and caterer), a photographer, we've finalized the wedding party, and the most important of all... we found my dress.

I didn't expect to find the dress so quickly, it was our first time out to the stores to look after all.  But I put it on and I felt beautiful in it... and, get this, I didn't want to take it off. That's huge for a tomboy such as myself.  But it is lovely and I can't wait until the moment John gets to see me all dressed up just for him. 

It was a great moment to share with Mom.  I'm proud of her, she only got slightly emotional a couple of times.  We had so much fun that I'm a little sad we found the perfect one so quickly.  But I'm grateful I'm not like the girl we heard in one store saying her wedding was 18 days away and she just found the dress... YIKES!

I'm looking forward to sharing this year with you all.  Please check back often for updates and sign the guestbook, let us know you've visited.

Thanks for stopping by!

Jennifer