This was a his and her bachelor party event, and we made it so that it would be a fun afternoon/evening for everyone. Adventure Landing is a place for families, but it's also a great place for adults to pretend to be kids again! As a huge group, we were able to get a group discount that allowed us to have unlimited go-karting, lazer tag, and mini golf for three hours. Everyone just played really hard for three hours, and then we were treated to a unlimited pizza buffet as part of our group package. There is the option of having a special meal catered, but my husband and I thought that pizza would be fine for one night.

My father is a part of a bowling league, and I am a pretty good bowler. Since my husband has met me, he has also improved on his game. For our family rehearsal dinner, we thought it would be fun to have a bowling party at Buffalo Lanes. It's a pretty typical bowling alley, and they serve the same food that you find at any alley. One thing that was nice was that they let us bring in our own cake! We had a room for dinner, and then we took over several lanes for a few hours. What made this a nice change of pace was that not everyone needed to bowl, and because it was so informal people could really move around and talk to one another. And, for a fun twist, if anyone got a strike Mark and I would kiss!

I had gone to this florist a few times with a friend who liked to take their workshops. At the workshops, we get to learn how to put together flower arragments, which came in really handy for the wedding planning! For my wedding, I did want to get a special bouquet, and I chose A Ming Rose because I think the staff there really does have the best interest of their clients at heart. Sylvia made me the most beautiful bouquet for my wedding. She knew what my favorite colors were, and during a discussion we looked over some books and came up with an idea of what my bouquet would look like. It looked amazing, much better than any photo could capture it!

At first I thought the question was about nuptial agreements and marital counseling, so I will say that my husband and I did attend several pre-marital counseling sessions in the months leading to our wedding. We weren't having problems, but we wanted to make sure that we were ready for marriage. I think it really helped to speak with someone who was a professional, and someone who was not our friends or family, about questions we had. I think people try to hide their problems, but we are a big fan about talking and learning to listen. I think Dr. Barnett was wonderful, she made us feel really confident in our relationship. It's a great feeling knowing that we work well as a couple.

This is the salon that I normally go to for everything! I have my hair colored here, I get my eyebrows waxed, and I have my fake eye lashes put on everytime I have a special event going on. For my wedding, there was no exception! Samina did a great job at helping me choose an hair style for me and my bridesmaids! My make-up was simple and fresh looking, and we all looked great! I love how organized and professional the whole staff is!

Even though Samina at Estee salon took care of my make-up, I went to Finesse salon for a few weeks to make sure that I had a nice and even tan for my wedding day. I usually get a summer tan and wax pass from Finesse, which gives me three months of unlimited tanning and bikini waxing, so I know that they have excellent machines and that they place is always clean. For my wedding, which was scheduled to be in May, I didn't want to have my dull wintery skin tone. I got a three month pass, and I went once a week. I didn't want to be too dark, and it's amazing how much healthier and better a person looks when they get a bit of tanning. In my pictures I looked healthy, with a bit of a glow.

We had the most amazing salesperson, Julie, help us understand and buy our engagement ring and wedding band at the Kay Jeweler's on Triangle Town Boulevard in Raleigh. We knew nothing about diamond, and we did want this to be an investment of sorts. My husband wanted to get me something special, but we needed a little guidance. Julie was wonderful. She helped explain the whole concept of karats, she showed us different models in our price range, and she took so much time explaining the different styles. I tried on dozens of rings until I found the one that I loved. I was so happy that she was so patient with us! We picked out the ring in one day, and we were sized for our matching wedding band the next day. I was so happy that Julie was there to help us!

I went with my husband and his best man to look at tuxedos, just because there is no bad luck tradition if a wife sees her husband in his tux before the wedding. This was where my husband and his younger brother each rented their tuxedo for prom, so it was a bit strange going back. This time he got a tux that was more expensive than the one he chose for prom. What I liked was that they had a great selection of different brands, and many different styles. The staff was really nice and informative, and they helped us choose the suit that would best form his frame. He looked handsome, and then fitting took less than ten minutes once he had his suit picked. It was an easy and fun process, and it took very little time!

I had heard about vistaprint through an online forum, and I checked it out and it turned out that they really do have ongoing promotions where they have free postcards. I love VistaPrint, because they let us get 100 postcards for the price of shipping, which was less than $6. The postcards were nice, maybe they looked a little commercial because they were glossy, but it was a great way to get free cards. We were able to print up the message that we wanted to send, and upload our engagement picture for the cover of the card. I though the cards were cute, and the price was right.

This is a huge event, but it's also lots of fun! The tickets are not really expensive, and I actually received two tickets for free as a gift. There are hundreds of vendors to see, and I did speak with a few wedding planners who had great tips for me! I loved seeing all the different floral arrangement options, and this was also a great way to see which restaurants in the area would be able to host a wedding party. It's so much easier to just go to one show than to spend weeks at home flipping through the yellow pages trying to find a DJ. I collected hundreds of business cards, and I called at least a dozen of them to book consultations.