We are MARRIED!!

July 30, 2011 is a day that I will never forget, as it was the best day of my life.  On that day, I married my best friend and became Mrs. John Moreland III.  John made me the happiest woman in the world, when we said "I Do".  I cannot believe that everything is over and now we are enjoying life as newlyweds.

The day began very early, as my excitement wouldn't allow me to sleep.  My mom and I went and got our hair done for the big day.  My wonderful makeup artist, Amanda Eve, arrived to do makeup for my mom, sister and myself.  We were all very excited for what is going to happen in a few hours.  The very talented, Kristen Wynn, arrived ahead of schedule with her husband, to get set up for the day.

After my makeup was complete, it was start to put on my jewerly, which my mom had purchased for me as part of my bridal shower gift. I had rhinestone heart earings, with a matching necklace and a rhinestone bracelete.

My bridesmaids had finally arrived, with food, wine, and champange, which was very much appreciated, as I was getting hungry.  Now that the makeup and earings are on, it was time to put on my gorgeous wedding dress and glitter shoes.  This is when it really set in that I was getting married, but I could not wait to walk down the aisle to my future husband.

Now that everyone is dressed and ready to go, it was time to head outside to the South Florida summer heat to take pictures.  Thankfully, there was some breeze, because it was very hot, however, I pulled it out and as a result, Kristen was able to capture some beautiful photos.

Kristen headed over to the yacht club, to start pictures with John and the guys.  Of course, they had to endure the heat too, but thanks to editing, you would not even know that anyone was sweating.  The ceremony started on time, with me walking down the aisle with my dad and brother.  I was very excited to get down to my husband to be.  After being announced husband and wife, it was time to start the party! 

Everything at the reception was simply beautiful and perfect.  The night went by so fast, but we could have not asked for a better night.  From the food to the music, it was everything that we dreamed out and much more!  We are very excited to begin our lives together as husbsand and wife.



From Ms. to Mrs.

This may very well be my last blog post as a Miss.  John and I are leaving for Florida next Thursday.  We cannot believe how quickly time has flown by.  We are very excited to get down to Florida for all of the pre-wedding festivities, seeing family and friends, and most importantly getting married!  There is a lot to do before we board the train, but together we will be ready.

The train departs Lorton, Virginia on Thursday, July 14 at 4:00 PM.  We will need to check in no later than 3:00 PM, in order to load the cars onto the train.  We will be prepared with snacks, drinks, pillows, and a blanket, in order to have an enjoyable train ride.  We will arrive into Sanford, Florida the next morning at 9:30 AM, where we will then meeting with our photographer in Palm Bay. 

The first week in Florida, John will be recruiting in Delray and I will be working.  We will be staying at the Mariott Residence Inn off of Atlantic Ave.  It is within walking distance of the beach and the nightlife of Atlantic Ave! 

Family and friends start arriving on July 23, then the real fun will begin!  There are family cookouts, nights out on the town, and of course the bachelorette and bachelor parties! 

Key West is our honeymoon destination and we are looking forward to relaxation and enjoying the delicious foods, breathtaking sunsets, and nightlife that Key West has to offer. 

We just cannot believe how quickly time has passed. It just seems like yesterday that John got on one knee and proposed and here we are 23 days away from saying "I Do". We are very excited to become husband and wife!!

Gum Paste and Fondant, O My!

Another Wilton course is in the books and another certificate of completion is hanging on the refrigerator.  I am gaining more knowledge of cake decorating.  I am looking forward to continue my knowledge with the last course in the Wilton cake decorating series, which is flowers and cake design.  This course will have to wait until August, as the wedding is right around the corner. 

In the gum paste and fondant course, I learned how to make a bow, carnations, mums, roses, lilies, and cala lilies.  In addition to make various types of flowers, I learned how to make a variety of borders, how to cover a cake with fondant and much more! 

Since John is working tennis camp, I have decided to make a Navy themed cake, as my final project.  I knew that I wanted it to be simple, because flowers do not say Navy tennis.  I have decided to decorate the cake fondant overlays in blue and gold, with a bow on top.

I have enjoyed these courses and have learned a lot from them.  I am looking forward to creating other cake designs for birthdays, holidays and other special occasions.

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

It’s officially summertime, which means that is time for summer vacations and road trips! There are several options to get to your vacation spot, but it all depends on where you are going and what is within your budget. With today’s economy, gas prices to airfare have sky-rocketed, which have forced some couples and families to have a “staycation”.

With the wedding quickly approaching, John and I researched our options on the best economical way to get to Florida. John will be spending a week in Delray recruiting, so that means that work will pick up a portion of the tab, which is great for us! We knew that we were going to be away for 3 weeks for recruiting, the wedding, and honeymoon, so a car was essential.

We have spent many hours of researching the different options between flying and renting a car, driving 1,000 miles to Florida, and taking the Amtrak auto train. All of the options had their pros and cons, but after much consideration, we will be taking the auto train down to Florida.

The auto train departs at four o’clock in the afternoon from Lorton, Virginia and will arrive the next morning to Sanford, Florida. After arriving in Florida, there is a short three hour drive to Boca Raton. Amtrak offers a sleep car, dinner, continental breakfast, and a snack car. The sleeping arrangements with a regular fare are the most economical way to go, as the chair reclines all the way back. It is not the most comfortable sleeping arrangement, but it can be a lot worse.

We are looking forward to the 16 hour train ride, as it will give us time to talk and spend quality time together.  We will be packing a cooler with drinks and snacks, DVDs to watch on the lap top, pillows, and a blanket, to make sleeping more comfortable. We will be tired, once we get to Florida, but the excitement will keep us going!

John and I will be leaving on July 14...Florida here we come!!

Lessons Learned

Planning the wedding of your dreams can be stressful, but in the end it will be the happiest day of your life and everything you have dreamed about. During the past 11 months of planning, I have learned several lessons. I hope that you can take what I have learned and apply it to your planning process.

1) Stay Organized- From the moment I got engaged, my first gift was a binder with tabbed dividers to stay organized. My planning binder consists of tabs for the photographer, DJ, caterer, etc. Each section contains contracts, pricing guides, and much more. In addition, I have set up folders within my email account for each vendor, and keep every email communication. Keeping all of the emails has been beneficial with the wedding plans. When my mom went to the tasting, the caterer quoted her a price, which was $20 more per person, than what he had told me. Thankfully, I kept the email and was able to provide it to my mom, who in turned showed it to the caterer and was able to honor the lower price. Lesson of the story is to stay organized and keep every communication from vendors.

2) Use a Checklist- Many wedding planning sites like The Knot and Wedding Wire offer checklists to help during the planning process. The checklist breaks down your wedding to dos from 12+ months until the day of the wedding. I have printed out the checklist and placed it in my binder. Every time a task has been completed, it gets marked off. It is a great feeling to have so many checks!

3) Ask for Help- It is ok for you and your fiancé to ask for help during the planning process. Many family and friends would be honored to help plan your wedding, so if they offer take it! The more help you have, the less stress you will have leading up to the big day. I am 1,000 miles away, from where I will be getting married and some days the stress has gotten the best of me. However, I am very grateful to have my mom and sister, who have helped tremendously with the plans. Don’t be afraid to approach family and friends for help, because everyone needs help with planning a wedding, as it puts a lot of strain on the bride and groom to be.

4) Research, Research, Research- Doing extensive research on various vendors will be beneficial to your wedding planning. Search the name of the vendor, which you are wishing to use and read the reviews. I suggest that you read reviews from multiple sites, as vendor reviews will vary. In addition to doing internet research, talk to friends, who have recently got married, find out their vendors and ask about their experience with the vendor. Your friends will be very honest with you, because if they had a poor experience, they do not want you to go through the same thing. Joining wedding message boards will offer vendor reviews in your area. Talking to other brides will help you make the right decision on choosing the perfect vendor for you!

Just keep in mind that your wedding is all about you and your fiancé. Do what makes you two happy, as this is the beginning of your lives together as Mr. and Mrs. It is ok to be stressed out and shed some tears, but keep your head up and stay positive, because your wedding will be simply beautiful.

Showered With Love

My mom, sister (maid of honor) and family friend, Sandy, threw me a beautiful bridal shower on June 9th.  The shower was held at my parents house, with beautiful decorations, delicious food and fun games!  I was surrounded by many loving family  and friends, which made me smile from ear to ear.  My Aunt Kelly flew down from Ohio to celebrate this special occasion with me, which truly meant a lot.

The food, which was prepared by my mom and Sandy, consisted of various salads and my favorite, shrimp cocktail!  The table was decorated with a bowl filled with shells and candles.  It was simply beautiful!

The delicious food

My sister, made cupcakes for my shower, which went with the theme of the wedding.  She made teal chocolate seashells, which were made from a pre-made mold.  They were definitely a hit at the shower, not to mention full of flavor!

Cupcakes by Lauren

My love of pictures came from my mom, that is why she had created a tribute to John and I with pictures throughout our relationship.  It was nice to look back on those pictures and remember the memories that were created.  My mother is very creative when it comes to pictures, so I can only imagine what she has planned for the wedding.

Tribute to our love

Of course a party isn't a party without some games!  Sandy had decided to put together two games for all of the ladies to play at my bridal shower.  The first game was that we had to memorize various wedding related items on a tray, then write down as many as possible on a piece of paper.  The items included the bridal shower and wedding invitation, panties, flip flops, perfume, and much more.  The best game of the night was the toilet paper dress game.  Everyone got into teams of 4 and designed a wedding dress out of toilet paper.  It was so much fun and it was fun to see what everyone had come up with.

One of my favorite things of the night were the favors.  A family friend, Lynn, had favors made, which were individual box of Godiva chocolate, with a teal colored ribbon that said "Kay's Bridal Shower June 9, 2011", and beaded embellishment. The chocolates were to die for, but what Godiva chocolate isn't. 

Bridal shower favors

I had a wonderful time at my bridal shower and very happy to be with family and friends who love me.  All of my bridesmaids were there, except Chantal, who was extremely missed.  I am looking forward to seeing everyone on July 30 at the wedding! 

With my beautiful bridesmaids

With the hostesses of the bridal shower

My bouquet for the rehearsal, which Kat had made for me



Cupcakes, Cakes, and Icing

After 4 weeks and 8 hours of classes, I have graduated from 'Decorating Basics'!  I was very happy when I received my certificate, as I knew that this was the beginning of my cake decorating experience.  It came after a lot of baking cakes, making icing from scratch, and tinting the icing.  Next Monday, I will begin the next course, Gum Paste and Fondant, in becoming a cake decorating professional.

Throughout the four weeks of class, I leaned how to bake a great cake, make icing from scratch, how to make a variety of flowers, shell borders, and writing/priting.  There was a lot of information that I learned, but it is a foundation to become a great cake decorator.

Every night after class, I came home and told John all about what I had learned.  One night, I even showed him how to make drop flowers and he was very happy to be helping me out with my final project.  I came home with decorated cakes, cupcakes, and cakes, most of which were thrown out.

I am looking forward to taking the next two courses, in order to increase my cake decorating knowledge. I am thankful for John, who pushed me to take these courses, because I absolutely love going to class and cannot wait to take the next class on Monday evening.