The Dress (It’s Barbie… not Cinderella!)

After less shopping than I predicted (under 3 hours to be exact), I finally have what most brides think of as the pride and joy of their wedding – A WEDDING DRESS! I have to admit that on my list of priorities for this wedding, a wedding gown was the least of my worries. Not that I’m not fashionable or I don’t like to dress up (I like both of those things), I just think there are better things to blow money on. To be honest, I can hardly remember one bride’s wedding dress from any of the weddings I have been to (and even the ones I have been in), but I always remember the small details of the actual wedding and of course, the PARTY! So, to sum it up, I wanted a dress that was unique (we all know I insist on not doing things like everyone else), a dress that flattered my figure (duh!), a dress that made me happy, and a dress that Tres would like! Well, I have to say, I scored big time in Atlanta. I got a dress that was all of these things and more. Not to mention, it put a new light on wedding dresses for me – they do matter, and when you find one you love, all the other plans begin to fall in place.

Our first stop was Brides Against Breast Cancer where I tried on some beautiful dresses, but none of them were it. I hated that I wasn’t going to be a “bride against breast cancer” like I had hoped, but I bought a t-shirt with proceeds going to breast cancer and told them I would donate mine when I found it! At this point, it was 10 a.m. and I didn’t have another appointment until 2, so luckily on our way out the door, the ladies recommended a gown shop to visit in between our appointments. I called the place to make an appointment, and I was told on the other end of the phone that I was in luck – someone had just canceled for the timeslot I wanted. I turned to mom and told her that was a sign, and as it turns out, IT WAS!

The first dress I put on at this place, my mom started crying and loved it. I looked in the mirror and hated it but kept thinking, “Crap! The one mom cries about is supposed to be ‘the one,’ but I don’t like this dress.” So I tried on a few more until I really did put on “the one.” I had a hard time with “the one” at first because while I wasn’t too picky with the dress hunting, there were three things I knew for sure I didn’t want in a wedding dress: 1) taffeta (I have never been a fan of this fabric) 2) ivory (I was set on stark white) and 3) a train (I am not very traditional gal and for me, a train screams traditional). Well, guess what?! This dress had ALL THREE, and I was still pretty sure it was the one. I say pretty sure because I am crazy. No matter what, I have it in my head that there is always something better out there, and though I thought this dress was perfect, that thought kept going through my head. As they say, once you find YOUR dress, you don’t even want to try any more on, but my curiosity pushed me to do it. I tried 2 more on but didn’t even zip them all the way up before looking in the mirror and saying, “Ick, I don’t like this.” One was a ball gown. My reaction? “This is Cinderella. I am NOT Cinderella. I like Barbie so much better!” Mom’s response? “The other dress was definitely Barbie!”

So as every bride’s story goes, I put MY dress back on – several more times. My family took loads of pictures while I pictured myself walking down the isle of Southern Oaks Plantation on October 17, 2010 in what I currently saw as my reflection in the mirror that day. I had never seen a dress like it, and I knew it was the one. At one point, I got dizzy and I started feeling like I was going to pass out. I knew right then it was because I realized the reality of it all (and because I had squeezed in size 0 because the size 2 was too big in the butt). But it was more my heart than my large ribcage causing those feelings - I thought… I AM GETTING MARRIED! And this was a thought I never really had. Getting married was never a priority of mine, not a goal, not a wish or dream – it was something I would do IF I ever found someone who complimented me perfectly, which was something I believed was impossible. But here I was on this day with a perfect dress and an even more perfect man.

After much contemplation of still going to the 2:00 appointment (just in case I found something even more perfect than my already perfect gown), we took the dress! I walked out of that shop feeling the same way I felt walking away from the Golden Gate Bridge the day Tres proposed - knowing there was no looking back. I had found my one and only – DRESS AND MAN!

See a picture of me in my dress below.......

Haha... gotcha! It's a SECRET until October 17! But I really do have it on here at my parent's house!

An extra story to the trip…
The day I found my dress, I noticed Tres became very interested in where my family and I would be going to dinner. He kept asking, but I didn’t really think much about it. I kept telling him I didn’t know because I didn’t. Well, the next day came and I told him we were going to brunch and he asked the name of the restaurant. When we got to the brunch place, Murphy’s, we had a wait so I ordered a mimosa while sitting at the bar. The girl was a total wanch, and said since my license was expired, I couldn’t order one. I was shocked – I had gotten through airport security at least 6 times with this expired license, and she wasn’t going to let me order a drink!? So, my mom ordered one for me, but the girl wouldn’t even let my own mother order me a champagne drink! I was like, “so… you’re telling me I’m with my mom, and my license says I’m 26, and you STILL won’t let me have a mimosa?!” The wanch said, “It’s against the law, sorry.” I found out later, it’s actually NOT against the law, she was just a complete WITCH! Anyway, I was so mad at this point that I started texting Tres telling him this woman had ruined my day. He acted really worried about it, and I wondered why.

Once we got to our table, we kept seeing waitresses and hostesses walk by our table but didn’t think too much about it then. UNTIL – our waitress brought us a bottle of champagne, and said “This is from your fiancé, Tres!” I was so confused, but then I realized then why he kept trying to figure out where we were eating – he wanted to deliver congratulatory champagne to our table because I had found my wedding dress! And the waitresses and hostesses were trying to get it delivered to the right table! When I realized what he had done, I couldn’t believe it… what a surprise! I couldn’t believe he thought to do that and it reminded me once again how truly blessed I am to have someone so caring and thoughtful! I cried it made me so happy, and my family joined in on the tears. Here we were in the middle of brunch crying tears of joy because we all knew I had one of the best guys in the world!

I called Tres ecstatic, telling him how excited I was! He told me he had called to have the champagne delivered to our table before I got told I couldn’t drink, so he had to call AGAIN and talk to the manager! What a job… haha! I didn’t do it, but what I wanted to do when I walked out of that place was bring the empty bottle of champagne to the bar where the wanch was and say TA-DA… look what I had!!!!! :)

Here Comes the Bride… and her Four Favorite Women!

I have often heard that no matter how long you have been engaged, you won’t feel like a true bride until you pick your wedding dress out. I have never been certain of that comment, but now I am. I’ve had it on my schedule to go wedding dress shopping in Atlanta for about four months now. It seemed so far away then, but as of today, it’s only a few days away. I truly can’t believe it! I am about to go pick out the dress that Tres will see me in for the first time as his wife. I’ve had this thought in my brain over and over for the past week, and every time I think about it, my stomach turns. Nervousness, excitement, love, eternity – these are all strong words and emotions, and the realization of them has definitely come to me. I mean, you only get to pick out a wedding dress once in your whole life, and I can’t believe I am about to do this! The best part of it all though is that a man as great as Tres has picked me to spend the rest of his life with. Once I pick that dress out its official – I will soon be Mrs. Francis Xavier LeTard III !

All the ladies - We were the bridesmaids for Nenne's Hawaiian wedding! So to prepare me to become a bride, I will have the four women there with me who have pretty much been the four most important women in my life from day one: my Mommy, my Nenne, my Aunt Gina, and my cousin and Maid of Honor, Melissa! I always heard you should never bring more than two people dress shopping, but it wouldn’t even make sense not to have all four of these women here on the special day when I choose my gown. We are not only all close, but each of them has shaped and formed me in some way to become the woman I am today. I truly believe that the advice they gave me growing up and the role models I saw them as helped me with every decision I ever made in life; therefore, having them as the voices of my wedding gown is only fitting!

Me, Melissa, Gina, and Mom in Oahu, Hawaii for Nenne's honeymoon!
Growing up, a week (or sometimes even a day) didn’t go by that me, Mom, Nenne, Gina, and Melissa weren’t all together. At one point, we all lived within two miles of each other, and going to Nenne and Gina’s house was always such a treat. I can remember sitting around and chit-chatting with them, asking them advice on teenage problems, and getting some of the best advice a girl could ever get. When Melissa was born, I was just a little girl… only about nine years old, but since she’s existed, she has been the closest thing I have ever had to a sister. Sadly, about 7+ years ago, Gina and her kids moved to Austin, Texas, so a trip down the road has become a 10 hour drive. We don’t see them as much anymore, but we try to get together as much as we can. And when all us girls get together we are a HOOT, and it’s still some of the most fun times I could ever have!

Me, Nenne, and Mom at our Sex and the City Movie Party Mom, Nenne, and I had planned on driving to Atlanta to dress shop for day one, and when I got a call from Gina several weeks ago saying that her and Melissa were flying in to Atlanta to meet us, I was ecstatic! This is truly the best way I could ever go wedding dress shopping – a fun girls weekend in Atlanta with my family!

TOP - All of us - Christmas 2008
MIDDLE - Mother of the Bride and Bride
BOTTOM - My little Maid of Honor!

The plan is to get to Atlanta Thursday night and EAT dinner (only our favorite thing to do), and then the shopping will begin Friday morning at Brides Against Breast Cancer. If you haven’t seen my blog about where I long to purchase my wedding dress CLICK HERE to read my Brides Against Breast Cancer blog post! As much as I want to purchase my gown there, I realize I may not find one, so I have appointments lined up at two other bridal boutiques. And, if I don’t find anything there, I would say I’m in trouble. As my mom and Nenne said to me, “If you don’t find a dress after shopping at three different places, then you have a problem.” Haha! Saturday, the plan is to have Melissa try on the potential bridesmaid dress I have picked out and shop for Mother-of-the-Bride dresses and Grandmother and Aunt of the Bride dresses if they want to! Just pray that I come home with a dress because I am a tad stressed about it! I will post a new blog as soon as we come back. Wish me LUCK!!

I Love Him Because…

Our great friends Trevor and Lori came in town last weekend to visit us. We were so excited because we always have such a good time with this couple… when we get together we tear up whatever town we are in… ha! Anyway, we were playing Pictionary with them on Friday night (a game neither of us had really played), and Tres and I were KILLING it… it was like we were inside each other’s minds! After we had gotten like five in a row and only had been playing for like 10 minutes, Lori said, “Its OFFICIAL… you two are definitely meant to get married. You think exactly the same!” I laughed and thought… she is so right. I feel that way daily with Tres. I know it’s cliché to say “that person was made just for me,” but I truly believe Tres was, and I was for him. Before Tres was in my life, I always heard engaged girlfriends say, “When you know, you just know.” That also may make the top 20 cliché love quotes, but it’s also very true and impossible to understand until you find THAT person. It’s almost like when you find this person, you don’t even have a choice… it’s so obvious that they are the person for you that if you didn’t want to commit to them, you would be just plain stupid!

"On a Boat" in Cabo San Lucas Sometimes, Tres does read my mind, and I read his. It’s just as simple as… words will be about to escape my mouth about my thoughts on something, and he will say the same thing I was about to say. We can be riding in the car or sitting at home in silence – not having talked in 20 minutes or so, and I will just start thinking about how I loved a movie we saw three days before, and he will say, “That Up In The Air Movie was the best one I’ve seen in a long time.” Sometimes it just makes me laugh, and I always have to tell him I was JUST about to say the same thing! It even goes back to before we were together. The first day I ever hung out with him, we were sitting around a group of friends conversing. Several different subjects came up, and when they did, I would go to give an opinion about it, but Tres would beat me to the punch, saying exactly what I was about to say. I don’t remember what all was said, but I do remember it happening like three different times in a 30 minute period and me calling Ginger and saying, there is this guy I met, and we have like the same opinion and thought about EVERYTHING! I went on a date with him two weeks later, and it’s now just a little part of our love history book.

At our hotel, ME Cabo in Mexico If I had a big bottle of ice cream sprinkles, I could pick every morsel out and give a reason I love Tres - our weird mind interconnection is just one of those sprinkles. A lot of times during wedding planning, people get mixed up in too much planning and forget the reasons they are getting married. I have vowed not to do that and am reminded every single day why I love the man I am marrying. Here are the main reasons I am so blessed:

1) His character. I remember my dad, Cliff, once saying, “Character is what a person does when no one is watching.” Tres is a perfect example of this, and he doesn’t even try to be – it’s simply just the person he is. He, no joke, always does the right thing… always! One moment that sticks out in mind is our last plane trip when this woman couldn’t get her luggage to fit in the overhead bin. While everyone just stared at her or did their own thing (including me), Tres jumped up out of his seat to help her. He does stuff like this all the time. He is also a definite “rule follower.” I can want to break them sometimes, but he keeps me in line! He doesn’t strive to follow all the rules, think of others, or do things morally right – he JUST DOES IT because that’s him!

2) He’s a people-person. Most people are at least somewhat people-persons, but not all of them are liked back by everyone. People like Tres… period. He has a way with conversing and socializing with people that is rare. I think when people met him they not only like him but also respect him in a sense. I tell him all of the time I am jealous of his charismatic ways.

Our first (and last... because I'm a scaredy cat) Hot Air Balloon ride... Palm Springs, CA 3) He wholeheartedly loves me. My friends laugh and say they don’t know how he could ever put up with me, but no matter how crazy or silly I can be - he loves me to the core. My family has said, when he looks at me, there is love in his eyes. I know this, because I see it every single time he looks at me!

4) He treats his mom like gold. What did your mother always tell you? Watch how a man treats his mom, and that’s how he will treat you. Well, sisters of America, whether you want to listen or not – YOUR MOTHER IS RIGHT! Tres loves and respects his mother and would do anything in the world for her. He treats me the same way. Surprising? I think not!

Mt. Vernon, Washington, DC
5) We have a solid relationship. Tres and I are together almost 24/7. We do absolutely everything together, and it never gets old. I’ve heard if you spend too much time with someone you can get on each other’s nerves and start arguing. Tres and I have been dating 2 ½ years, and I can count the number of arguments we have EVER had on one hand, and they lasted ten minutes at the most (and were probably because I started them… haha)!

6) He’s a gentleman. Chivalry is not dead, ladies, and if someone tells you that, tell them they can come talk to me! I have never been the type of gal that needed any man to “take care of me.” As a matter of fact, in my cynical college-days, I was a border-line feminist. Oh boy did Tres change my ways of thinking! I am now as old-fashioned as he is in these thoughts. I love the fact that Tres thinks that as a man, it’s his job to take care of everything. I do my job too… domestication is finally coming into my life!

John McCain and Sarah Palin... Halloween 2008!
7) He loves the things I love. We are right there with each other when it comes to just about everything: travel (We make this a priority), good food and fine dining (We love a good burger joint but also love dressing up and going out nice… especially on vacation), hotels (We love staying in hotels!!!), wine (Thanks to our Napa vacay we have become red-wine WINE-Os… with an occasional white :). We will never turn a glass down!), big cities (We like ‘em all), living downtown in the city (both of us agree that we could go the rest of our lives without having a yard… we love city living... I do want a dog one day though. haha), HBO TV (Sunday nights… obsessed much), movies (at home on the couch or at the theater... during the week especially), night shows (SNL, Conan, Fallon… we like to laugh)!

8) He's so smart and dedicated. Tres gives absolutely 100% in everything he does -

whether it's his job, his friendships and family, his relationship with his future wife - he does not do anything halfway. While his MBA proves he's well-educated, that's not why I call him smart. He is just naturally a books and common sense smart guy. It probably helps that he chooses to watch the History Channel and National Geographic when I choose to watch HGTV and TBS. :)

9) We have fun together. We can be all by ourselves and do just about anything and have a blast doing it! We go out by ourselves a lot, in Memphis and out of Memphis, and we take on the town like we are with a crowd of people! We will bar-hop and stay out all hours of the night – having so much fun… just me and Tres. And when we want a more low-key night – the couch, pizza, and a movie are just as fun as hoping around the city!

Napa Valley... a few days before we got engaged! A few weeks ago, we were out and about on one of our usual night-time Memphis outings, and we got into a deep conversation about divorce and how common it is. We are both realists, so while we are like all of the couples out there who get married and don’t want to get a divorce, we realize there may be a time in our marriage when we cross a rough path. We discussed this, and Tres said, “Well, if I am going to try to make it together forever with anyone, it’s got to be you.” It made me a bit teary-eyed, and I squeezed his hand and said, “Me too.”

Side note - Hopefully, this post was not too braggy on my significant other... I just think he's awesome. He will probably kill me for posting this :)

To be counseled or to not be counseled… That is the question

Wonder if these two got premarital?... YIKES! Don't want to follow in those footsteps!

The Knot To-Do list told me this month that me and Tres need to have an officiant booked and start considering premarital counseling. While we are pretty sure we have an officiant (Tres’ best man, JG’s, dad), the premarital counseling thing has become a question. We are aware that not all couples do this… as a matter of fact, most of my friends who are married did not do this, so we are both up-in-the-air about it. Me, personally, I tend to like the psychological side of things, so I think it sounds like lots of fun! Tres could care less either way.

I know most people do premarital counseling with their minister, but ours is located in Knoxville, so if we decide to do this, we are going to go to a premarital counseling specialist in Memphis. I actually contacted some places today to get an idea of what they do and their rates. I also found this really cool premarital counseling questionnaire online that I want Tres and I to take… just for fun! All of the counseling stuff sounds like fun to me... I just love it! Any thoughts? Feedback? Suggestions?

Save the Date and Invitation Preview...

Oh my GOSH!!! Tres and I are sending out the CUTEST Save the Dates ever!!! I am so excited about them I could scream!!!


Save the Date.... HANDKERCHIEFS?!?!? Yep, that's what all of our guests will be getting in the mail in the next few months. I have included a few examples of them, but ours will look much different than these. They will of course match our color scheme (gold and pink) and go with our theme (southern-vintage). I CANNOT wait to get them done and sent out so I can blog about them!!!

Also, we are getting custom-made invitations done, and the sample should be sent to me this week. I honestly believe we have one of the best graphic designers out there doing it too! I know this because I work with her on a daily basis, and I swear anything she ever sends to me for the website is almost jaw-dropping because it's like way better than I ever imagined it to be in my mind. After seeing her work, I don't even know if I could fathom the thought of anyone else doing them! I am 100% confident she will send me like the best invitation I have ever seen that matches perfectly with our theme... soooo exciting!

Steel Magnolias and Gents

It has been a long time coming, but we finally have a wedding party! We have officially asked all of our bridesmaids and groomsmen to be in the wedding. We both decided to do a formal invite – me mailing my bridesmaids one of my “crafts” and Tres asking his groomsmen with a bottle of wine from one of the wineries we went to in Napa Valley (Tres still has to give two of his groomsmen their gifts, but I couldn’t wait to post the blog)!

Paper Dolls with all hair just like my girls' hair! hehe!
The Invite (above)
The Reply Card (above)

Without further ado… here is our wedding party:

The Steel Magnolias
Stephanie Porter – Matron of Honor (childhood/high school friend of the bride)
Ginger Stewart – Matron of Honor (sorority sister of the bride)
Melissa Stokes – Maid of Honor (cousin of the bride)
Erin Hendricks (high school friend of the bride)
Sara Leach (sorority sister of the bride)
Amy Claire Smith (sorority sister of the bride)
Tracy Scott (sorority sister of the bride)
Lori Piety (adulthood friend of the bride and friend of the groom)
Renee Haralson (sister of the groom)

The Gents
JG Ketchen – Best Man (long-time friend of the groom)
Trevor Piety (long-time friend of the groom)
Mike Martinez (long-time friend of the groom)
Brandon Mize (long-time friend of the groom)
Joey Kaegi (college friend of the groom)
Steve Hines (college friend of the groom)
John Patrick (college friend of the groom)
Craig Hodges (college friend of the groom)
Randy Tatum (brother of the bride)

We wanted to do something special for our bridesmaids and groomsmen, so as you see in the pictures, we both made something special for each and every one of them! For my invite, I thought the paper dolls were a good idea because each of my girls would not only get invited to be in the wedding party via mail, but they could also immediately know who else I invited! The paper dolls took forever but the invite and reply card were pretty simple. For the invite, I wrote a personalized poem for each of my girls that referred to our friendship past, present, and future. The last line on the card in pink was on all my girls' cards. It says: "A Steel Magnolia is a southern woman who is strong and independent; yet very feminine. You are one of my Steel Magnolias." I thought of the Reply card idea because I needed my girls’ sizes and I wanted them to give me their take on Bachelorette party ideas and ideas for the wedding!

Bottles of wine with old pictures tied to them
The question card

The FRANK wine! haha!

Tres’ invite was all his idea… the only thing I helped with was the crafts part of it! After going to Napa Valley and visiting a winery that we loved, Frank Family Winery, Tres decided he would give all of his groomsmen a bottle of wine from there (his nickname is Frank, so that made the wine bottle even funnier). He got copies made of old pictures with his buddies, and attached a “Will you be my Groomsman?” card to it! We are so excited to announce our 18-member wedding party and can’t wait for all the festivities to begin with them!

My Something BLUE must be my SHOE!!!

Wow… it has been way too long since an update. I am really behind on wedding planning… my Knot To Do List is starting to yell at me through the computer screen. I have a good excuse though. First of all, it’s the beginning of the holidays and we all know how that goes. But second of all, I just got foot surgery about two weeks ago, and I have been laying low for a number of reasons. A) It hurts, B) Being started at by complete strangers because I can hardly put one foot in front of the other is one of the most awkward situations I have ever been in (for crying out loud…. Do people’s parents not teach them that staring is rude anymore?), and C) Do you know me at ALL?!?!?! If I’m not in heels, I don’t usually feel myself. My new slogan: “The higher my shoes… the higher my spirits!” …ESPECIALLY after being banned from them for three months. Yes, you heard me right… THREE MONTHS. I also cannot workout for three months, and if you know my obsession for heels, you also know my desire to work out at least 3-5 times a week. Needless to say, this situation is a disaster, but I will be kickin’ it again in no time. And when I finally am, those kicks will not be coming from just any pair of shoes!!!

Long before I had foot surgery, I decided that on my wedding day I wanted fancy shoes. Now, I am known for a fancy shoe here and there, and my closet is not hurting for them, but when I say fancy… I mean F-A-N-C-Y! I have always wanted a pair of Christian Louboutin shoes and have never bought myself a pair, so what better time to treat myself to a pair of them than after taunting foot surgery and for my wedding day!!! Aside from a shoe so exquisite, I would like for them to be BLUE! What better than for your SHOE to be your something BLUE on your wedding day! I have a pair in mind already (shown above), but they may be too tall. I always said a shoe could never be too tall, but I prefer to not tower over my future husband at our ceremony or for that matter, trip and fall down the aisle (oh dear!) So… the shoe search begins!!!

Did I mention after the wedding, I plan to ONLY wear the shoes every single year on our Anniversary date?! If that isn't special, I don't know what is!