he asked. i said yes.

mini e-shoot

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 14:25:00 +0000

Hope you all had a fabulous weekend! Here are a few of my favorite photos from our mini e-shoot in Sylva, NC.

the old courthouse/now library - love this shot

All photos taken by Nick Breedlove.

wedding shower in the mountains

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 13:30:00 +0000

Happy Friday!! I know I said that I would be starting the wedding recaps, butttt there are still a few pre-wedding things I'd like to share first. This is a fun one, too! Back in April the mister and I had our couples shower in his hometown of Sylva, NC. My mother- and sisters-in-law did a fabulous job hosting, and they even hired a professional photographer to capture the day!

The shower was held at Sapphire Mountain Brewing Company, which used to be owned by the mister's great grandmother (she was the first woman to be a licensed dentist in NC).

favors

fathers of the bride- and groom-to-be

the mister and his mama

me and my parents

my new in-laws

the flower girl and ring bearer - too cute for words

the mister's grandparents

BM/SIL Katie - hostess extraordinaire

two families combined

It was a beautiful shower and a very happy distraction from recent events. Once the festivities started to wind down, the mister and I wandered off with the photographer to get some engagement type photos of just the two of us walking around downtown Sylva. Those are up next!

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend! We're actually heading to Sylva tonight after work to attend a couples shower tomorrow for one of the mister's cousins. We haven't seen his family since the wedding, so it should be a nice time. See you back here next week! xoxo.

All photos taken by Nick Breedlove.

a cause for celebration

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 17:00:00 +0000

Today our wedding is being featured on the super amazing Southern Weddings Magazine blog! Yipee!!! I've been reading their blog and magazine since before we were even engaged, and they were a huge source of inspiration during the planning process, so it's an honor to have been picked. Go check it out:

Part I

Part II

I guess what this really means is that now I can start the full-fledged wedding recap! So excited and can't wait to share the day with you!

honeymoon in Barbados (part 5)

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 20:10:00 +0000

For the last day of our honeymoon, the mister set up a very special excursion. While researching things to do outside of the trips offered by our resort, he found a small, family-run stable that offered horseback rides. The reviews were amazing, so he called and arranged for us to take a one hour ride. The owners, Sam and Bernard, who are husband and wife, were extremely nice and very accommodating. Bernard picked us up at our resort and drove us to their home, where we signed some paperwork and got set up on our horses. Bernard, and his assistant, Sham, then took us and one other couple on our ride. Bernard was a wonderful tour guide, sharing with us the history and culture of Barbados as well as entertaining us with some of his poems and freestyle raps. He called it "edu-tainment." I also lucked out that he volunteered to take my camera, so we have some great photos of us on our horses.

Bernard (on the left) and Sam (on the right) helping the mister up on his horse, Bishop

me and Zorro

and we're off!

Bishop had to be put on a lead for part of the trip because he was being ornery

Bishop was not happy to be in the water. Zorro loved it.

back at the stables

Once we were done with our ride, Sam brought us some delicious fresh-squeezed juice and after we cooled off a bit Bernard drove us back to the resort. On the way back, he bought us some sugar cane to try. It's very hard and basically you just tear off a chunk and suck out the super sweet juice before spitting the cane back out. I couldn't even manage to tear off my own piece. The mister loved it, but I wasn't a huge fan.

Hands down, this was the best part of our trip. Sam and Bernard (and their two girls) are such a lovely family. Their business is well run and you can tell that they love what they do. We learned so much about the culture and history of Barbados and it was definitely more personal and intimate than the large resort-run tours.

Once we were back at our resort, tired and sore from our ride, we decided to top off the day with a couples' massage. It was absolutely heavenly and the perfect way to end our honeymoon. The next morning we were up at 3:30 to catch our 7am flight back to the states. Back to reality...

honeymoon in Barbados (part 4)

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 14:20:00 +0000

The day after our history lesson, the mister and I signed up for the sea safari tour through the resort. So. Much. Fun. After being bussed to the marina bright and early, we boarded our catamaran (?), slathered up with plenty of sun screen, and set sail to snorkel and swim with the sea turtles!

The turtles were so calm and gentle. There were big ones, small ones, and ones with really old, mangled shells. I could have floated in the warm Caribbean waters for hours, just watching. While on our safari, we also snorkeled near two shipwrecks, had a yummy Barbadian lunch - complete with rum punch - and swam in the crystal blue waters of Carlisle Bay. It's relaxing just to think about it.

Only one more honeymoon recap to go - and this was the definite highlight of the trip!

honeymoon in Barbados (part 3)

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 15:25:00 +0000

Hi guys! Sorry for yet another long hiatus - I just haven't felt like doing much lately. Anywho. Last we left off, the mister and I had a good, but long, rum and history tour. And since that wasn't enough history, the next day we took a taxi to the George Washington house. Did you know that the only time President Washington ever left the country was when he was a teenager to go with his sick half brother to Barbados. Yeah, I didn't either. But these are the kinds of things you learn when you marry a history ~~nerd~~ buff.

a rum safe - we totally need one of these!

the mister thought this satchel/man purse was pretty cool

good ol' Georgie

Overall, we were very impressed with the house, tour and museum. They did a wonderful job refurbishing the property and the museum exhibits were very informative and thorough. It was definitely worth the taxi fare.

And here are some random photos of us before dinner one night and the "friends" we made when attempting to walk on the beach under the moonlight. That walk sure didn't last long - ha.

pardon the interruption...

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 18:00:00 +0000

Hi all! I just wanted to interrupt these honeymoon recaps to excitedly exclaim that we have our pro photos! Actually, we've had them since last Thursday. However, for the past week I've turned into quite the selfish photo hoarder. I did send our family and friends the preview slideshow, but since Thursday the full online gallery has been allll mine (and the mister's, but I'm sure he doesn't click through them obsessively in his free time - like me). I still have to wait for the disc and there are so many pre-wedding things I have yet to share. So until I finally get to the wedding day recaps, here's a little teaser:

photo by the ridiculously talented Heidi of Our Labor of Love

honeymoon in Barbados (part 2)

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 17:45:00 +0000

After a stressful beginning, followed by a nice and relaxing day by the pool, we decided to see what else Barbados had to offer. So we hopped on the resort bus for the rum and history tour. The rum part was good, but the history part was a bit deceiving. The description said that we would visit the House of Parliament, St. Ann's Fort, and St. John's church. View, we did (out the bus window); visit, we did not. Despite that, we still enjoyed ourselves.

"the rum that invented rum"

rum barrels

old stills

The next stop was the Sunbury Plantation House for lunch and a (very quick) tour.

Then it was back on the bus, where I took a little snooze, only to be woken up with a pit stop at the beach in Bathsheba. This beach is not safe for swimming due to the strong undertows, but it was still beautiful.

Next up: The George Washington House - since we didn't get enough history on our history tour

honeymoon in Barbados (part 1)

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 19:15:00 +0000

Hi friends!! I've missed you guys, but it has been a wonderful break. The mister and I have been back for almost two weeks now. I wish I could say that the house is back in order and all of our thank yous have been written, but honestly, I haven't felt like doing anything. So I haven't - ha. Aside from cooking again and sitting on my butt and watching lots of TV, of course. We've got three or four more weeks until we get our pro-pics back, but I think it's about time I clear the cobwebs from the ol' blog. First to talk about - the honeymoon!

Our honeymoon started at about 3:30 am after an hour long nap (literally). I hadn't even bothered to take my makeup off or the pins out of my hair.

We took the shuttle from Athens to Atlanta and hopped the 6:45 am flight to Miami. Then, from there, it was onto Barbados!

the most expensive mediocre sandwich I have ever eaten

We don't have any photos of our first day in Barbados - understandably so, since it was quite stressful. Instead of waiting for a certified taxi, like all the airport signs tell you to do, we followed some guy across the street (luckily he did have a taxi license, which he showed us). He was very nice, but it seemed like he said "me too!" to everything we said. For example:

Taxi guy: Are you on vacation?
Us: Our honeymoon - we just got married!
TG: Oh! So did I! In February! Where are you from?
Us: The US.
TG: Oh! My wife is American! Where in the US do you live?
Us: Outside of Atlanta.
TG: My wife lives in Atlanta! Where are your families from?
Us: Pennsylvania and North Carolina.
TG: No way! My wife was born in North Carolina!

It was certainly amusing. Despite his friendly nature, the entire ride I was worried that we were going to be kidnapped. So what if he showed us his license - it could be fake, right?? What can I say? I have an overactive imagination.

Fortunately, we did make it to the resort, unharmed. It was only a $23 taxi ride, but we didn't have any singles with us, so we paid him $30. The bellman chastised us for doing so, thinking that we were overcharged, but it turned out to be a good thing. We were greeted with some delicious rum punch while we waited for them to check us in and give us our keys. Within the first 5 minutes, I was eaten alive by mosquitoes. When we went over to our bags to get the bug spray out, the mister discovered that his backpack (with his laptop!) had never made it out of the taxi! By some miracle, we had written down the driver's name and phone number in case we wanted to go on a tour of the island later in the week. He was back with the bag within 30 minutes, and I'm sure our generous tip helped. Although, I was irked that when he came back he asked us to "take care of him" since he had to pass up on a job to bring our bag back. Um, sorry sir, but we already took care of you by giving you a generous tip.

Anywho, unfortunately the stress didn't end there. To make a long story short, we ended up switching rooms three times. The first didn't have a working phone or Internet. The second had a bedroom with a broken window that overlooked the noisy stairwell. Third time's a charm, though! We were finally upgraded to an ocean view suit and it was wonderful!

the pool bar with our suite circled in red

Once our room situation was cleared up (which wasn't until our second day there), we relaxed by the pool. Since I'm our official photo taker, these are all pics of the mister. Don't you worry, I was relaxing too. Just picture me in my bikini, spf 50, sunglasses, floppy straw hat, and a good book - sitting under the shade of a palm tree.

my very own cabana boy!

Next up is our Rum & History tour!

Did anyone else encounter a few minor glitches while honeymooning?

just a little sneak peak...

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Mon, 23 May 2011 14:45:00 +0000

My MISTER (!) and I are now in Barbados - waiting for our third room change (but that's a long story). I don't have much to say about Saturday other than, it was absolutely perfect. I can't wait to see the pro pics and tell you all about it when we get back!!

this is it

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Sat, 21 May 2011 10:37:00 +0000

Our day is finally here. Almost two years in the making! As I type this, I am sitting in bed in my parent's cottage on the wedding property. With the perfect view of my beautiful dress hanging on the closet door in front of me. These are my last few moments of silence and reflection before the hustle and bustle of the day begins. I am ready. Today I am ready to commit myself to my best friend, my complement, my one true love. Today. Tomorrow. And always.

See you all on the other side!

grieving

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 13:20:00 +0000

Hi friends. It's been awhile, and well, this week I come to you with a heavy heart. Last Friday (the 15th) I received a gut-wrenching phone call, while at work, from my dad. My grandmother (grammy) had passed away unexpectedly from a heart attack. It's only been a little over a week since then, but it feels like at least a month has gone by. The future mister and I flew to Pennsylvania to be with my family, and I can't even begin to explain how emotionally exhausting it was. We are all in shock and still mourning.

I had just received her and my grandfather's reply card. A week or two later, I watched as they buried her in the dress she bought to wear to our wedding. Light green (one of our colors!) with ivory embroidered flowers. Simply heartbreaking.

In this time of loss and sorrow, I am still grateful for many things. That I was able to make it home to be with my family and that my last memory of her was giving her a hug goodbye at my Pennsylvania shower.

(Aunt Jackie, Grammy and Aunt Debbie)

She will no longer be physically present on May 21, 2011, but I know that she still "wouldn't miss it for the world."

Needless to say, my posting might continue to be light in the weeks leading up to the wedding. I've got so much more to share with you and hope to get it up here eventually, but I just don't have it in me right now. Thank you so, so much for following along during my long wedding planning journey. I've learned a lot and gotten some great feedback, advice and support. It has been such a rewarding experience!

taking a break

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 18:05:00 +0000

After a busy few weeks chock full of wedding related tasks, the future mister and I took a much needed break. On Sunday we hit the road with some friends of ours and spent the afternoon in Atlanta watching the Braves and Phillies play! The icing on the cake, though, was a spectacular post-game concert by the Avett Brothers!!

It was so nice to just be able to get out of our apartment and have fun, especially with only 40 days to go! Did you or do you plan to take any "breaks" right before the wedding?

my Pennsylvania shower

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 14:45:00 +0000

Okay, now that invitations are out the door and I've had a few days to recuperate, I have finally been able to put a post together on my beautiful bridal shower held two weeks ago!

My mom and MOH chose a great local restaurant, the Apple Wood Grille. The last (and only) time I was there was after my confirmation in 8th grade - many, many years ago. And back then, it was called the House of Strawberries.

I loved the little trees MOH Ashley found - in the dollar section of Target no less! She used tiny clothes pins to attach some of our e-photos. All of the decorations were perfect!

The prizes for the games

cute jars filled with colored sugar and heart shaped measuring spoons were the favors

my cousin, Ashley's mom, MOH Ashley, my mom, me and BM Emily

After a delicious lunch of citrus chicken, mashed potatoes, steamed vegetables, fettuccine alfredo and salad, we (or rather, I) played the "how well do you know your groom" game. I went in pretty confident - the future mister and I talk about everything! Well. I didn't realize how anxious I would feel trying to answer questions on the spot with 30 people staring at me! It was still fun, though. For every answer I got wrong, I had to chew a piece of gum. Out of 28 questions, I ended up with 12 pieces of gum. Ick. Funny enough, the questions that I got wrong were the ones that the future mister added to Emily's list - most of them history related (Who is his favorite Civil War general?, Who is his favorite Union soldier?). I read all of the future mister's papers and listen to him talk history all the time and I STILL got them wrong! Ack.

my very large wad of gum

After that, we moved on to opening up gifts. Most of the guests were very conscious of the fact that I flew in from Georgia, so I received a lot of gift cards and smaller gifts. The bigger gifts were shipped to our apartment. Everyone was so very generous!

Overall, it was a lovely day - I enjoyed catching up with friends and family and truly felt "showered" with love.

Has anyone else ever had to play the "how well do you know your groom" game? Hopefully you did better than me!

our little birds have left the nest

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 17:00:00 +0000

Or rather, I booted them out and celebrated once they were gone.

Now you know where I've been for the past few weeks! I've been having anxiety over the fact that these should have gone out weeks ago, but April 1 is still pretty reasonable - especially since our save the dates went out so long ago. Oh, and good thing we took that photo before I went in to the post office! For some reason, I thought the PO didn't close until 3 on Saturdays, so imagine my surprise when I walked in at 2 to see everything all locked up. I was not happy. The future mister saved the day when he went back in to check their hours for Monday and discovered that there was another post office open until 3! We were greeted by a very unhappy postal worker who gave us a hard time (about wanting stamps that added up to $0.81 and the fact that we had something bulky-a wax seal-in our envelopes), but we were able get everything stamped and shoved on their merry way right as she was closing up. What a huge weight off my shoulders!

If I ever again plan a huge party and want to make 130 invitations by hand, by myself, someone please remind me what a stupid idea it is. (They do look pretty, though!)

Keep your eyes out for the big reveal sometime next week!

the hangover (kit)

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 15:35:00 +0000

UPDATE (1/16/13):
Thank you all for the kind words and interest in my bachelor party hangover kit tags! Due to the influx of requests, please email me at hmgmcguire at gmail dot com to inquire about availability and pricing for customized hangover kit tags.

Please note that I prefer to be emailed directly (hmgmcguire at gmail dot com). I will not reply to comments left on my blog.

Thank you again for your interest!

-Heather

Original post:

This weekend the future mister went to Charleston for his Bachelor Party. A grand time was had by all and luckily there were no babies, tigers, missing teeth or lost and sunburned grooms. I did have a bit of fun on Thursday night (and a much needed break from invitations) while I created these for the guys:

Hangover Kits! They each contained two bottles of water, two mini bottles of Gatorade, a travel bottle of Advil, Pepto-Bismol, hand sanitizing wipes, gum, and some Airborne for extra antioxidants and electrolytes. Oh, and the future mister got a small box of BC Powder, his preferred headache medicine.

And here's a closeup of the tags I made for each guy (Warning: there is some foul language on some of them. Not meant to offend, just quotes from the movie).

images from imdb.com, photoshopped by me

I was told my kits were "life savers" on Saturday morning.

What did your fiance do for his bachelor party?

MIA

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 13:45:00 +0000

I can't believe it's Friday and this is my first post of the week! I have lots to catch you all up on - my fabulous Pennsylvania shower being on of them. But first things first. On Monday I received a very important package:

SHE'S HERE! I waited to open the box until the future mister left the house for a softball game. And I had my mom on video chat so she was able to share the moment with me. The dress is about a size too big in the torso area, but I was expecting that. They also forgot to ship the veil with my dress, but that's all taken care of and will be arriving on Tuesday. Now I just have to schedule my fitting appointments! Until then, though, I have her hanging in our guest bedroom/my office/craft room. I know that the future mister wouldn't dare go in there, but it still makes me nervous.

Did anyone else have to worry about hiding their dress from their fiance?

rsvp help

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 13:50:00 +0000

I need some help y'all. I've been neck deep in invitations for the past few weeks and am just about ready to start printing my RSVP cards. I thought I had it all figured out, but now I'm second guessing myself.

Here's the original wording:

We have reserved ___ seats in your honor

Name(s): ______________________

___ Wouldn't miss it for the world!

___ Will toast you from afar

My concern is that if we invite Mr. and Mrs. Joe Blow, indicating on their RSVP that we have reserved 2 seats for them, and only Mrs. Blow intends to come will they know that they are only supposed to write Mrs. Blow's name on the name line? Or what if Mrs. Blow thinks that since 2 seats are reserved for them and Mr. Blow can't come, that it's okay to bring Katie Blow who isn't invited to the wedding? Or am I just being crazy?

I did some research and discussed it with the future mister and here are the two other options that we are now considering.

Option 1:

We have reserved ___ seats in your honor

Name(s): ______________________

___ Wouldn't miss it for the world!
___ Number attending

___ Will toast you from afar

Option 2:

Name(s): ______________________

___ Wouldn't miss it for the world!
___ out of ___ attending

___ Will toast you from afar

Thoughts? Suggestions? Your help is much appreciated!

bride-to-be's little helper

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 18:30:00 +0000

It's just about time for the invitations to go out and I have more work than my two little hands can handle. At the same time, though, I'm too much of a perfectionist-control-freak to let anyone help me because the thought of relinquishing my control gives me more anxiety than actually doing it myself. Wow, I think I just made myself sound quite insane.

Anyway...

Yesterday I was convinced by a very willing future mister to let him help. And help he did. While I traced, he cut out about one hundred or so envelope liners.

Unfortunately, he's not all that comfortable helping me with the remaining invitation tasks (due to their skill level). But every little bit helps!

Did your fiance lend a hand with any wedding crafts?

THE call

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 21:00:00 +0000

Happy Friday! This week has certainly ended on a high note. Yesterday afternoon I received THE CALL. The most anticipated phone call for almost every bride. The call we anxiously await for months (or for me - a year and four months!). THE DRESS IS IN!

I purchased my dress at Kleinfeld's back in October 2009 during a trip to NYC with my mom. At that time, we decided that I would come home and have the alterations done at Kleinfeld's, which would guarantee that my mom could be there. Right after Christmas, though, the thought of having to somehow fit in and schedule another trip up North with all of the other stuff going on made me a sweaty, heart racing, anxious mess. So the dress will be shipped to me and I'll have the alterations done at the seamstress shop that Anne Barge recommended, which is in Atlanta. At least, that's the current plan.

Now I just have to (patiently??) wait for the delivery on the 21st!!

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

what is this I see?

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 22:00:00 +0000

I spy, with my little eye....

beautiful handwriting courtesy of FSIL/bridesmaid Katie

the cutest return label

and a gorgeous shower invite!

This is for our couples' shower at the end of April in North Carolina. I'm so excited! The future mister is too, even if he did roll his eyes at me when I insisted on taking a million pictures before actually opening the invitation. Hey, this wedding stuff is only going to happen once, so I intend to document every last detail!

in the garden of love

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 21:30:00 +0000

(usps via hello! lucky)

I spotted these beautiful new forever stamps over on hello! Lucky's blog this morning. I am so very sad that they won't be available until May 19. Way too late for our invitations, but just in time for all of those thank you cards, perhaps?

hostess with the mostest

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 17:45:00 +0000

March is here! Guess what that means?? It's almost shower time!

[As a side note: With all of these big wedding milestones coming up, I keep telling myself that the wedding will finally start to feel more "real" - but it has yet to happen. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will finally hit me either with these showers coming up or when I finally start my dress fittings.]

If you remember, I had a small shower back in October when my bridesmaids came into town for some dress shopping. But coming up I have a shower in Pennsylvania for all of my family and then we have a couples' shower in North Carolina with the future mister's side.

That being said...I need to start looking for some hostess gifts!

A paper-source catalog came in the mail the other day and I was impressed with their array of cute gift items:

(Lucia Soap Set)

(Bath Tea)

(Practically Perfect Tea Towel)

(Lotus Flower Apron)

(Reusable Tote)

Definitely a great jumping off point - I'm sure I'll be able to find something fabulous for the special women who are planning these events. I truly am blessed to have them in my life.

What did you get the women who hosted your bridal shower(s)? Do you have any more gift ideas to share?

hair and makeup - take 2

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 15:15:00 +0000

Sorry for the long hiatus! It's been a busy week at work and slightly busy on the wedding front as well. Anywho....two weekends ago I had a second hair and makeup trial with someone new (see the first one here). Overall, I think it went great. This MUA/stylist was much more personable and really put me at ease. Unlike the last person, once she was finished we evaluated and tweaked the look until I was happy with the outcome. Let's take a look-see at the results, shall we?

The eye makeup basically looks the same as it did the last time, she just used pinks and mauves instead of browns and golds. I love, love, love the long lashes. The hair was much closer to what I wanted in the back, but the front looked a bit flat and sad. I much prefer the look of the front from my first trial. Plenty of body at the crown and more hair sweeping across my forehead.

Now here's where it gets frustrating. I received a follow up email from this person early last week and I responded with my thoughts, questions and concerns almost immediately and also to let her know that I would like to sign a contract and place a down payment. This week came and I still had not heard anything. So I sent another email on Monday. As of this morning, still nothing. I really hope nothing serious has happened, but I don't want to wait around twiddling my thumbs until I hear something back. I'm quite upset at the thought of going through this entire process yet again. Especially since the trial had gone so well! Luckily I had an appointment for a cut and color last night and when I was talking to my stylist about it she told me that she does wedding hair and makeup. So I went ahead and set up an appointment for a trial with her (but it's not for another two weeks). Keep your fingers crossed that the third time really is the charm!

Have you had any experience with unresponsive vendors? How did you handle it?

*UPDATE* I finally just received an email back with a copy of the contract and an explanation for the delayed response. Now I have to make a decision whether to book her or not. I really want to because I love what she did and we got along great, but future unresponsiveness would probably make me very anxious. Perhaps I should bring this to her attention and see what she says? Thoughts?

black, black, black and blue

noreply@blogger.com (Heather) — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 16:15:00 +0000

This past Saturday, the future mister and I met with our officiant for the first time - wooo! And he didn't "fail" us or deem us unfit to be wed (not that I actually thought he would) - double wooo!

While we were in the area, we decided to hit up the outlet stores. After finding some new clothes at J Crew, we made our way down to Brooks Brothers to check out the ties.

There, nestled in between the other blue ties, was the PERFECT color. The color that I never in a million years thought I would be able to find (in a tie).

(good thing I carry the bridesmaid dress swatches with me wherever I go)

BUT there was only one and we would need six. The very nice salesman who was helping us out left to make a phone call. We were in luck - the closest other store had five ties and could ship them to us for free. Wait a second...could things really fall into place that easily?? I tell you, it was wedding serendipity at it's finest, so I snatched those babies right up.

I was so amazed by my good fortune that I sadly didn't listen very closely to the future mister's opinion. He agreed that the blue was the perfect color, but he wanted skinny black ties. We decided to try the suit on with both ties (since he already has a black skinny one from our e-photos) and, luckily, we can always return the blue ones - so no harm, no foul.

Cute, but very traditional/very wedding-y

Oh my gosh - hold me back! Are you sure you aren't a GQ model??

I have to hand it to him - the future mister was right with this one. The blue may look perfect in theory, but the black tie can't be beat. Now we just have to find black ties for the rest of the groomsmen.

Which would you choose - black or blue? Were you ever quick to make a wedding decision (that you were soooo sure about) only to be proven wrong after the fact?