··············

Hi guys!  I know it’s Friday night and I’m interrupting the regularly scheduled wedding goodness, but it’s for a good cause, I promise! I’m a big supporter of the Chicago rescue One Tail at a Time. They concentrate their efforts on dogs that are in danger of being euthanized, or those that are physically and/or mentally deteriorating in a shelter environment. They work to rehabilitate them, place them in foster homes (and pay for their care while they are being fostered), and match them with their perfect forever families. Basically, they do the work of angels.

And right now, there is a contest going on and they are in the running to win $25,000 of food and supplies from Kriser’s. Can you imagine how many needy doggies they could save by putting $25,000 to use? If you have two seconds, please help out by clicking here and clicking the “vote” button. The contest ends Monday and you can vote once every 24 hours. You don’t have to give any personal information, just click “vote” and make sure you see the number tick up.

I’m sweetening the deal for you because OTAT is now BEHIND (NOOOO!) by a few votes. One lucky voter will win a $50 gift card to Pottery Barn. Go vote (or if you already have voted, that works too!), come back here and comment, and I’ll select one of ya’ll to receive the gift card. Two clicks for a chance at $50 isn’t so bad, right? :)

And now some shameless campaigning from OTAT rescues:

Sometimes doing a little good is as easy as clicking a few buttons.  Thank you for being such amazing readers and if you have the time to click over to vote, the OTAT rescues send you big puppy kisses! :)

Have an awesome weekend!

© Elizabeth Anne Designs: The Wedding Blog, 2011 · Permalink · 21 comments · StumbleUpon It!
Posted in: blogging, life

Follow Ami on Twitter · Join us at EAD Living too! · EAD on Facebook

These are my great-grandparents, Clara and Arthur. They were married in 1914 in Wisconsin.

These are my grandparents, Joyce and Arthur. They were married in 1951. We will be getting married 60 years apart from them! We are so excited to be celebrating their anniversary next August with the entire family in Wisconsin.

And of course my parents. They were married in 1980 in Minnesota (even though they both lived in Arizona at the time). My mom was 25, the same age as me. In a previous post, I talked about how my mom made her own dress and I showed pictures of when I tried it on.

We will have plenty more family pictures on display at the wedding…which is in less than three months!

Are any of you doing anything unique to honor your family at your wedding?

© Elizabeth Anne Designs: The Wedding Blog, 2011 · Permalink · 1 comment · StumbleUpon It!
Posted in: life, the planning process

Follow Ami on Twitter · Join us at EAD Living too! · EAD on Facebook

Since I have to go way back in time regardless, I thought I’d go way back to something that happened last summer (I don’t know about the rest of you, but in the middle of this cold winter, summer feels like decades ago).  Shortly after we got engaged, I was reading a wedding blog that mentioned that the website Fab Over Fifty was having a mother of the bride makeover contest!  I immediately entered my mother into the contest as my parents were overseas with the military when they were married and they were unable to have a wedding.  I thought that my mom really deserved a makeover to help make our day feel extra special for her, and apparently Fab Over Fifty members agreed because she won the contest!

Soon after my mom found out she won, we headed to New York City for makeup and hair styling from Senses New York Salon & Spa and a style consultation with designer-to-the-stars Kay Unger.  Everyone at Senses Salon was incredibly nice to all of us, and they did a great job with my mom’s hair and make-up.  

{Image courtesy of Author’s Personal Collection}

Adam Maclay also does makeup for WE tv’s show “My Fair Wedding.”

However, the highlight of the day had to have been the few hours we spent with Kay Unger picking out a dress.  Kay Unger and her staff were extremely welcoming to all of us, and spent a considerable amount of time talking with us about my vision for the wedding and about Kay’s recent experience as a mother of the groom.  After Kay and her staff felt like they knew what I was looking for, my mom tried on a number of dresses that they pulled for her, and we ended up loving ALL of them.  I have literally never seen so many beautiful dresses in a single room in my life.  Even after we decided on “the one”, we walked around the room lusting over the dresses like kids in a candy store – I even found a few that I plan on searching for as potential bridal shower and rehearsal dinner dresses!  Ultimately, my mom ended up picking the dress below, and I am so excited for her to wear the dress she picked at my wedding!  Kay Unger also recently sent a matching sheer shawl to wear instead of the jacket, and I think she will look just perfect for our big day.

{Image courtesy of Author’s Personal Collection}

You can read more about the experience (and see many more pictures) on the Fab Over Fifty Blog.

Are you doing anything special for your mother?

© Elizabeth Anne Designs: The Wedding Blog, 2011 · Permalink · 1 comment · StumbleUpon It!
Posted in: life, the planning process, what to wear

Follow Ami on Twitter · Join us at EAD Living too! · EAD on Facebook

Perhaps you’d like to learn a little bit more about me?  Well, aside from my fondness for party hats, here are some fun facts:

• My sister (an English teacher) is 11 years older than me, and my brother (a physicist) is 13 years older than me.  Needless to say, my parents were a bit surprised when I showed up.
• I spent two months wandering around Europe with a great friend from college, and it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
• I can eat 3 bags of cotton candy in one sitting.
• I graduated with a Bachelors in Communications and Children’s Literature, worked in the business world for a bit, decided it wasn’t for me, and now am doing pre-requisites for a second Bachelors in nursing.  If I accidentally mention microbiology in any blog entry, that is why.
• I own a ukulele and love it.
• I want to adopt a three legged dog named Sprocket.  Dave (the fiance) has an (accurate) fear that our home will be full of misfit dogs one day.  If you’d like to see Sprocket, aka the cutest dog on earth, click here (but then come back and read the rest of this blog, please!)

Last fun fact — when I met Dave, he looked like this:

And I looked like this:

We’ve been friends since fourth grade, started dating during our freshman year of college (nothing like long distance relationships!), and got engaged after seven or so years of dating.  By the time we get married, we’ll have been together for just under nine years.  Dave is the most incredible person I’ve ever met.  It’s impossible not to love him.  He’s kind, and patient, and accepts people for who they are without question or judgement.  I still get butterflies when I see him.  It sounds completely silly, but I truthfully can’t remember a time that I wasn’t head over heels crazy for him.  He also happens to have the best smile on earth, and I hope our future kids have his hair.  He has excellent hair.

And now, onto our wedding.  Perfect recipe would be two parts our personalities, one part vintage, one part utter joy, a tablespoon of elegance, well mixed and sprinkled with family, friends, happiness, and peonies.  According to Dave, it will be “long awaited but completely worth the trip”.  See, he’s a keeper.  When we got engaged (that story will come later), the countdown to “wedding day” was 702 days… and now we’re right around 360.  Though we have made quite a few decisions as far as planning goes, we still have lots to do, so this is where you (yes you, dear reader, assuming you’re still with me after my lengthy introduction and random musings!) come in.  Any input, ideas, suggestions — all more than welcome.  My indecisive nature thanks you ahead of time.  I’m imagining twinkling lights, lots of laughter, and four flower girls twirling around in magenta dresses, so take that and run with it!

Until next time!

© Elizabeth Anne Designs: The Wedding Blog, 2010 · Permalink · 7 comments · StumbleUpon It!
Posted in: blogging, life

Follow Ami on Twitter · Join us at EAD Living too! · EAD on Facebook

I’m Canadian-born, though I’ve spent most of my life in the southeastern U.S., growing up in Brentwood, Tennessee (outside Nashville) and Roswell, Georgia (right outside Atlanta). Though I’d love to say I have a thick southern accent, I totally don’t. I just figured I’d throw in “y’all” to the blog title anyway!

I’ve been in the Atlanta area since 1995, with the exception of spending four fun years in Athens, Georgia, at UGA (Goooo Dawgs!), where I graduated with degrees in journalism and psychology. Since then, I’ve been working as an editor, first for several trade magazines and now as a Web site editor.

Funny enough, I first met my fiancé Brian in 7th grade, where we shared our homeroom period. He was much “cooler” than me (at 12 years old, I was very awkward, shy and – admittedly – a teacher’s pet), so it took a bit before we warmed up to each other! We didn’t really become friends until 10^th grade: We went to homecoming together that year, which only led to us becoming good friends. We spent many a Friday night hanging out just the two of us, with Brian talking me into watching horrible scary movies (and he still does! I’ve seen Texas Chainsaw Massacre way too many times and get a little creeped out whenever I hear a chainsaw). He had to put up with his fair share of me forcing him to listen to my Nsync CDs, however (poor guy!)

This is Brian and I right before our senior prom

We stayed friends all through high school and college (even though I was up in Athens while he remained in Atlanta), watching each other go in and out of relationships with other people. We both secretly went through phases of having stronger feelings for the other one, but neither of us was brave enough to spill the beans since we were such good friends.

{Engagement picture shot by Nicole of Nicole Dabbs Photography}

It was Brian who finally worked up the nerve to tell me that he had more-than-friends feelings for me, though it didn’t happen until right before our 23rd birthdays (nearly 4 years ago!) We had just been to a Braves baseball game and ended up talking for hours afterwards. It turned out to be one of the happiest days of my life (other than the day we got engaged…which you’ll hear more about later)!

We’ve been inseparable since then, and are now planning an elegant, rustic October 2010 wedding at the Whitlock Inn, which is just outside Atlanta in Marietta, Georgia!

© Elizabeth Anne Designs: The Wedding Blog, 2010 · Permalink · 1 comment · StumbleUpon It!
Posted in: life

Follow Ami on Twitter · Join us at EAD Living too! · EAD on Facebook