T minus NINETYNINE

Double digits! YIKES! Originally I started this blog to keep my far away family and my friends updated on our new lives starting together and to update the wedding progress as we went along. This big number made me go back and look at all of the posts I have done about the wedding… Thaaaat would be a big fat 3?! So I guess I haven’t been keeping everyone as posted about the wedding as I had hoped, but you guys have gotten an ear-full on the “life” part and all our randomness that comes with it!

So here is a little catch up post for over the last, oh, EIGHT months!

The People:

One of my 3 awesome wedding posts I have written. I asked all of my girls nearly the minute we got home from San Francisco. Jarrett, on the other hand… well, let’s just say that reading my first post ever of this blog would be the only way that they know they are part of our day. Jarrett has a running “to-do” list to help me out with all the things to get done for the wedding.. & I am about positive that “Formally ask the Guys” is the longest running thing on that list! Boys!!! I just DON’T.GET.IT.

I will give J credit for formally asking ONE of his ushers, Philip, who gladly accepted :) This will be his first wedding to be involved in – we’re so honored! J still has one more to ask… which he has had endless opportunities, so we will keep this a surprise until he gets his ducks in a row… if ever!

The Place:

After many “I FOUND THE PLACE!” false alarms, we finally did “find the place!!!” Avanti Fountain Place to be exact. Let’s all pray for good, warm, dry weather come April… but as we all know Texas weather isn’t one to be counting on, so bring your umbrella! My ceremony IS happening outside; rain or shine!

Conveniently enough, The Fairmont hotel is located almost AT the venue. A tunnel connects the 2 lobbies and will be how myslef and the girls will go unseen before the ceremony  (You can reserve your room at https://manage.passkey.com/portal/ or 214.720.2540 and let them know you are with the Lally/Dunaway Wedding)

The Attire:
The first dress I tried on is the one we bought! I am so excited for J to see! It is currently hanging in “my” bedroom at my parent’s house, and I need to get my fittings schedule all taken care of.

ALMOST all of my girls have ordered their dresses… there is 1 left on my delinquent list, but it’s ok – I personally would think its comical if she has to walk down the aisle nakey in just her **color** shoes! Who cares if that shifts the focus off of me, it would be UN-forgettable!

**Color** I will be keeping the shoe colors a secret, but the great shoe debate is still a full fledged war, but we will get there…. Sooner or later!

We have started to look into the guys formalwear, and it is on J’s “to-do” list, but as previously stated, some things get pushed to the way side; so he may need a nudge or 2, but I can promise that the boys won’t be nakey on wedding day… NO ONE wants to see that!

DJ & Photographer – Booked!

Cake:

Yet another tasting on Saturday… and I can promise this will be my last. If this bakery doesn’t work out, I quit. And J is on his own for his sweet tooth craving!

Lists:

If there is one excuse for all Bridezillas, This.Is.It! 150 people isn’t a lot, and it’s not a little. But when you have a big family, like mine, and a lot of amazing friends, like both J&I do, the list is not fun. Let me re-iterate - NOT FUN! So we have done the best we can do, and I cross my fingers and toes (& eyes, for that matter) that no one is upset.

Flowers:

My sweet friend, Raquel, has just graduated from TU (sorry… I bleed maroon, it has to be said this way on this blog) and has started her own floral company RLove Designs! I am so excited to have her be the mastermind behind everything floral: Bouquets, Boutonnieres, Centerpieces, Aisle etc etc etc… you name it, she’s doing it! And beautifully at that!

Diet/Work-Out Plan:

I am a great procrastinator.. I didn’t know this until recently when I realized 8 months had flown by and all of my goals hadn’t even been started. So last week while we were off, I took Layla for walks, and did a 30-day Shred Video with Jillian Michaels. I hate that bitch. Not only was I laughing at myself while doing the 20 minute video because it was so pathetically apparent that I am EX-TREM-LY out of shape, but for the next 4 (F.O.U.R.) days I couldn’t walk normal. LITERALLY. Every move I made was accompanied by a groan, grunt, or God knows what kind of other noises I somehow was making. I have yet to do the video again. I have great excuses – Saturday, I have Jenna’s Dance Party Birthday, so for obvious reasons I need to be able to not only walk, but DaNcE! And then next week I go onto back to back meetings… which requires a lot of standing.. See, I told you I have gotten good at procrastinating! BUT if I take my gym shoes halfway across the world, literally (Malaysia) I better damn well use them. So although I may not be dying with Jillian in the next month, I’ll at least be walking/running on a treadmill. Maybe it will make the 3 minute segments of cardio not as pathetic when I get back to a normal routine.

Clearly this section is to make you laugh at me, and hopefully to make me realize I need to get my ass in gear, but either way it makes ME laugh the most!

Upcoming:

The showers, bachelor/ette parties, etc. all start next month. The FUN stuff! Don’t think that these will be at leisure though, like everything else in my life, I will be a crazy fool. I get home from San Francisco the morning of the bridal shower… don’t worry, I just have to catch a 6:00 am flight to make it.. haha And two weeks before the wedding you will find me in Vegas running a 1800 person meeting…

I sound like I’m complaining, but in reality if I had too much time on my hands, I probably would be a bridezilla, but thankfully DFF is keeping me on my toes and keeping me relaxed and sane about the wedding.

I am so excited to see all of my family, my cousins, my friends, EVERYONE all in one place, at one time. Most of all though, I am just excited to be married to the man I love most. But maybe a twinge more than that, I am excited for the wedding to be over, and to get back to our crazy, busy, ridiculous life that we have together, but by then it will just be a little sweeter as “The Dunaways”