Our first Valentine's Day!

This post is a little late for Valentine's day, but I had to post! It was such a great Valentine's day:) It is pretty crazy to me that our first Valentine's day ever ...and we are already engaged! Ha!
Ok, well we ate at Gaslamp, which is a new restaurant in Wichita where the Shadow (my old stompin grounds) used to be. They tore it down pretty much and remodeled the entire inside. It was gorgeous! It was super fancy and special. I had mentioned that we should try it sometime to Chance awhile back and he surprised me with reservations! It was so fun. I got a new dress and everything ...haha. Here is the only picture I could find on their website, they didn't have any inside ones:(


It was really yummy! I got a tenderloin with hollandaise and crab on it and Chance got a steak (typical!). It was sooooooo good. We also got a cheese fondue starter which was fun too.
Chance started out my V-day with some amazing pink roses! He really knows me, because I am so not ever traditional...and pink was so perfect! I love that he knows me! Accompanying it was a super cute card with this little cartoon with popping eyes on the inside haha, I'll put in a picture below. Sorry the bouquet picture is not ideal, but I was running late to work and wanted to snap one real quick. Don't mind my cluttered desk!




We got all dressed up for our dinner and I was so pumped to take pictures, because...well...getting me dressed up these days is pretty rare!... but when my mom was attempting pictures of us, my phone was being super awful and we couldn't seem to get one of us that wasn't blurry, so no full length pictures:(...also because I didn't want to be that girl at the fancy dinner being like "oh excuse me waiter would you take our picture on v-day?"...haha. So we attempted to take SOME pictures just us taking them ourselves and weren't very successful, but we managed to get a couple so we could at least document our night together:) I also took a picture of my shoes I wore to PROVE that I am still rocking heels even though we are getting older and married...I haven't given them up yet!




So that was our V-day plans, we were going to go for a drink after, but that was during the 7 days that my ID was MIA so ... we went home and relaxed. Which was fine, too! :) Oh ya, gifts! Of course! ...
If I haven't mentioned already, Chance is SO GENIUS when it comes to gifts. He always knows just what to give a girl to make her giddy. I feel like that girl on the movies that has that one guy who always surprises her with special things and always remembers things the girl likes and all her girlfriends hate her for it. Except my scenario is minus the hating;) I just love bragging on Chance. He is such an amazing man and every day I question why I got him. He does all the special note-leaving, surprise-giving things that I always wanted. Just him leaving me five dollars to get a drink or a pack of gum or a card is just what I always told my friends I wanted in a man. It's that thoughtfulness. So, anyway, Chance = thoughtful and wonderful. Thanks, babe...for making my life so dang special:)

Chance got me a really big fleece blanket from target with two cute birds on it. I am always getting cold feet at his apartment, so he said this was to aid me in staying oh so warm:) It is great! Super cozy. He also got me some Yorks that had pink filling and in the shape of hearts haha... my favorite treat ever! He also got me a really really special gift card to Healing Waters. It is a super fancy spa in Wichita and I am SO PUMPED TO GO THERE! Here is the website if you want to poke around:)

http://healingwatersbeauty.com/default.aspx

For Chance, who is impossible to buy for, I tried to use my creative side. He always wants more and more quality time, so I got him quality time for a gift! haha. Ok, kinda. I got him four date "packages" that he can choose from. He can take me out to 4 different special dates on me! I thought this way he could spend time with me, do super special things, and not have to worry about money! So he was thrilled...and is excited to use them! I made him promise not to use them all in one week ;) I got a little laminating-crazy and typed out these "packages" in funny ways with pictures and wording like I was describing a package on the Price is Right haha. I wanted him to know I put time into my dates and thought through which he would like the most. I would take a picture of all my laminated "date packages", but I am feeling lazy and don't want to, so you'll have to use your creative mind to picture them ! His four dates were:
1. Sushi dinner at our FAVORITE fancy sushi place downtown. OMG I want it now.
2. Special balcony seating with dinner at the theater for a movie. (He LOVES the special fancy balcony seating with seat warmers and big loveseats!)
3. An afternoon of fun and games at ...wait for it...Chuck E Cheeses! HA! Don't judge, he was MOST excited about this package! haha. He loves arcade games and well, what better place! At the end of describing the package, I put "Chuck E Cheese...where a couple........can be a couple".
4. The last package was a couples massage at a fun massage place on the West side of town. He is excited, his muscles needed this!

So that was our 2011 Valentine's Day. Chance was so thoughtful and precious and always thinks of super amazing things for me. Valentine's Day was full of love... and was the first AND last V-day together before we are official! 8.27.11 can not come quick enough!

Project Wedding: "Flowers"

Well...flowers. This was a total God thing because I was really wanting something ...wait for it....BOLD :) But unique, and laid back....sensing a pattern in the plans yet? haha.
I wanted some bouquets that were kind of wildflower looking, but still modern. Kinda like this type of thing:




So I went to a consultation with a local florist who is well known for creativity. He was super nice and spent ohhhh two hours telling me how to do everything about my wedding except for the flowers haha. Finally in the last 30 minutes we talked about flowers and he actually pulled out some stuff that was pretty much exactly what I wanted!
Anyway, we had pretty much decided on that florist when I stumbled upon something on..............I'll give you once guess....ETSY!
I fell in love with something completely bold, unique, different, and fun! Which suits my style just perfectly:) So I ditched the flower idea. I mean, who has real flowers at their wedding?...haha JUST KIDDING. Here are the pictures of what I ordered.



All the bridesmaids will have different bouquets with different buttons. My bouquet will be a little bigger than the girls and mostly white with accents of yellow and grey with really blingy buttons. The bridesmaids will have alternating colors on theirs. Like mostly grey with white and yellow and mostly yellow with white and grey, with more solid buttons. The boutonnieres are super cute too. Chance is so pumped about them!Here I included some pictures of an example that the lady who makes them sent me where the exact ones I want were used in a wedding!



The flower girls will carry the same type of bouquet...but only like 5 stems. So they will definitely match the "big girls" but more their size:) On their bouquets, I also included a little personal touch and added a few leaves to their bouquet. One leaf on each bouquet will be monogrammed with their initials! So I hope the little girls think that's super special. I'll put up pics when I get them.
The moms and grandmas will wear corsages that are made from the flowers on the bouquets...and made special with some of the same "blingy" buttons that will be on my bouquet.
I got a "toss size" bouquet for throwing at the reception. Cuz I'm sure as heck not throwing my beautiful keepsake! Ha. It will be special to throw one that whoever catches it can keep! I'm really excited to see all that I ordered. I think it will be fun! And then I don't have to worry about flowers being delivered, them wilting in the August heat, etc...I'm attempting to get away with NO LIVE flowers at my wedding. Not so traditional. Hopefully no one judges me. Chance and I both agree on what style we want, and making him happy and everyone have a relaxing, fun time at my wedding is what's most important to me. If I can succeed at those things, I will be one happy frikin bride:)

Project Wedding: Bridal Party

FINALLY I can post about my bridal party!!! I had been trying to find a cute way to ask all my girls to be bridesmaids, but it was hard because 5 out of the 7 don't even live in Wichita! So as I was browsing on Etsy, I found these handmade paper fortune cookies and you could get a message written inside them. Well I just thought that was a neat idea, but as I got to thinking...I realized hey, I bet I could make those by myself!
So....after a few youtube video instructionals and web page look ups, I finally got it down! Thanks to Aunt Cordry for all those origami books that got me so good at the art of folding paper haha...
I printed out little fortune papers to go inside each fortune "cookie" that said "It is in your destiny to be present in Wichita, KS on August 27,2011 as a bridesmaid for Chance and Katie's wedding. Lucky numbers: 08 27 11". I folded up some fortune cookies from some scrapbook paper with the message inside and then found some Chinese take out fold boxes from Target! What a blessing Target had some cute ones! They had to be mailed, so I was nervous the paper cookies would get smashed:( But it all worked out! I got some tissue paper to keep the cookies from smashing and put a message on top that said "Open to find your fortune" when you opened the box.
So I shipped off all SEVEN boxes and waited for each girl to receive their box!
Here are a few pics of the process of packaging and learning how to fold the fortune cookies:)

Chance did this....


While I did this....


Which eventually turned into this....






The bridal party is as follows:
Matron of HonorS: Yes two....my two sisters! Who else could possibly be as important to me as my big sisters!? They have been through a lot with me, been examples, and have loved on me my entire life. Sorry Laura, for not giving you a bite of my ice cream when I was 5, but this is my way of saying "Thanks!(and sorry!)" haha. So I am honored to have them each as a Matron of Honor at my wedding. I love you sisters. :)

Bridesmaids:
Tara- Chance's sister
Amanda- roommate from college
Jessica- friend from college
Anna- friend from church
Erin- friend since high school

Seems like a lot right? .... Well, it seemed like a lot of packages to make haha, but it was worth it. Those girls are so special and I couldn't have made it through a lot of my life situations without them. God provided each of them right when I needed it. Thanks, girls....I can't wait!
Chance is having seven as well, to match me:) His friends are all super fun and all but one is from Ellinwood. So he is pumped to have a big bridal party to hang with all day:)
That's my wedding party! I am so glad that part is over and I want to get on finding some outfits for them! I obviously want them to be wearing something to fit my theme, which is relaxed, chill, and laid back. I don't want dresses, I want skirts and cute ruffle cardigans or something of the sort. I am HOPING for yellow straight pencil type skirts and then a black or white under shirt with the cardigan over it. My inspiration was this: (found it on a blog!)



Cute? I really like it and I refuse to find something else. Well not REFUSE, but I would like something in this genre. With those colors. See how one of them is wearing a grey dress? I am assuming she is wearing something different because she is the maid of honor. I am thinking Susan and Laura could find a matching grey dress with a yellowish cardigan or cover thing like that. That way they could be matching and sort of different than the rest of the girls. If any of you see anything like these pictures, let me know! :) I am on the prowl!!