Behind the Scenes: Bridal Portraits

My bridal portraits were such a thrill.  Putting on my dress, my 1st trial hair-do , make-up perfect and nails done...wow, I felt like a bride.  Was this actually happening?  My photographer (who I will continue to rave about) was Crystal George. She owns her own photography business called Crystal George Studios.  I would encourage you to check out her stuff, she's incredible and really knows how to capture "those moments."  You can find more information by clicking here:   http://www.crystalgeorgestudios.com/  

Crystal asked me where I wanted to get my bridal portraits done. I was honestly open for anything and left the decision up to her creativity!  She mentioned a fabulous winery about 45  minutes away.  As you may already know, Virginia is "wine country" and there are an unlimited amount of wineries around our area.  We found one of the best kept secrets in central Virginia that day at Mountain Cove Winery in Lovingston:  http://www.mountaincovevineyards.com/  When we got there, mom and I realized that the owner was shutting the place down an hour early just for my shoot. I walked up to him and said, "Sir, thank you so much for allowing me to take pictures here." His response was so sweet, "Sweetheart, we are honored by your presence."  I was glowing...ear to ear. 

We started our pictures out in the vineyard and keeping my dress clean was proven to be quite the challenge.  It was the most beautiful, perfect October day.  

My florist was another highlight of the BIG DAY!  Elisha Dudley is the owner of Petal Flower Company. She is incredible and I was so honored to have her creativity.  More information can be located on her website:  http://www.petalflowercompany.com/  Mom, Lauren and I met with Elisha back in June and she asked me to describe my dream flowers. I did...and I swear she took the images directly from my mind!! She is THAT good.  I would highly recommend using Petal Flower Company if you are planning to get married in the Central Virginia area!  Great prices, fantastic work.  Here were a couple pictures of the flowers:

At this point in the shoot, I pinned my veil on and we moved towards the barns. Keep in mind, I am walking around in my wedding dress...which has yet to be worn down the aisle.  I remember at one point I went through a brier patch and mom started getting nervous and bending down to pick the briers off before we moved onto the next shot. It was a honor that mom was able to come down.  Originally, I had the Bridal session scheduled for September 16 but when I found out that my alterations would not be quite done, I had to reschedule.  Luckily, my mom was able to be there for this special day...and thankfully she was there to keep the dress in mint condition.  Here was a great shot over near the red barn:

We headed to the other side of the vineyard and walked up to an incredible stone building.  While passing by, Crystal says "Oh wow, this looks like a gorgeous Bavarian Village."  She started snapping photos and captured this great shot:

On this stent of the shoot, we had a mini dilemma.   Crystal was going in for a close-up and all of a sudden I see mom's eyes get massively wide.  She looked like she had just seen a 4-headed alien behind me. She muttered, "Bee."  Crystal calmly said, "Oh no worries friend, there's a bee in your veil. I got it."  Little did I know that this "bee" was a wasp-like creature!  I wasn't sure exactly what type of bee but there was definitely a stinger!!!!!  Crystal calmly reached into my veil, pinched the bee with her two fingers and released it into the air.  No joke...it was quite impressive.  She has some guts!!  We picked up and moved on with the shoot but Crystal was able to capture this photo:

We wrapped up the photo shoot by heading out into the fields.  The mountains added a gorgeous backdrop and I was tickled to be getting my pictures taken during one of my favorite seasons, Fall. I love Fall colors....there is something warm and fuzzy about the colors.  Crystal had me posing on my own and said "Just be you."  I started posing while saying vogue and here is what she captured:

Great day! Great mom! Great winery! Great photographer! Great dress! Great florist...and one HAPPY bride!!!!

Thankful days and Christmas blessings

Matthew and I have so many things to be thankful for. After we returned from our dream honeymoon to MAUI, we had the privilege of spending time with Mom and Grandma down in Florida. Grandma (and Molly her lovable yorkie companion) live about an hour outside of Orlando. The weather is irresistible and the memories we made were countless.  In Lakeland there is a serene little lake where you can feed hundreds of swans.  Grandma took us there and it was a day we will never forget...what a blast!!!  It was loads of fun and quite terrifying when the little boogers would come up behind you and snatch the bread from your grip.  We also got to travel up to see mom's childhood friend Barb.  She is such a great family friend that we commonly refer to her as "Aunt Barb."

Matthew experienced his FIRST Black Friday shopping this year.  Of course, we went to Target...we go there every year and it's turned into quite the family tradition.  Since shopping started at an ungodly hour this year, we hit Starbucks around 12:30am and Target thereafter. I tell you what, FLORIDA is the BEST place to Black Friday shop. Usually I am up in Cincinnati and the worst part is fighting the bitterly cold weather.  Not this year!!!!  It was 72 degrees and I was sporting a cute tank-top and jeans while Matthew proudly wore his shorts.  What a fantastic evening.  Matthew found a few great country CDs and we got our ONE "must have" item.  We wanted the porch fire pit that usually runs about $75.  We saw in the ad that you could get it for $29.99.  By the time we got into the store, there were none left...boo!!  We looked everywhere...Finally we saw this lady who was carrying two. She looked at us and said, "Hey I'm waiting on my husband, if he doesn't want this, you all can have it!"  Well long story short, hubby came back and didn't want it!!  We got our BIG find and left the store (around 2AM) as happy Black Friday campers!!  All-in-all it was a great Thanksgiving and as newlyweds, we were so glad to have spent time with family...love you all.

Feeding the BIG duck.

Opening up gifts from Barb!!

Black Friday finds!!

Family shot.

Starbucks to start off an evening of shopping!!

This holiday season we have had the privilege of going to 7 Christmas parties.  Needless to say, we are DEFINITELY full of yuletide cheer.  One evening was particularly memorable and that was the evening we traveled up to Richmond to the Nationwide Christmas 2011 bash.  It was a blast and Matthew and I danced the night away.  What a great time meeting Matt's "wamily"....work family - as he commonly refers to it as.  

Christmas 2011 Nationwide

Enjoying an evening of fun and friends.

Down payment MADE!!

Ok, just a quick update.  We drove into Farmville and met our new puppy!! He is tiny and so loveably plump!!  ...I wanted to take him home so badly.  We made the down payment and will pick him up on DEC 30.  We only got one picture which wasn't so good.  The breeders will be sending us more pictures in the next few weeks so we will be sure to update you with more cute pics. Meet our little guy:

We will pick him up in 2 weeks!!

Puppy shopping!!

I am overwhelmed with joy right now!!  After work, Matthew is picking me up and we are heading to Farmville.  We believe we found our new little puppy!  He is a Yorkipoo and is only 5 weeks old.  There are two all black, male puppies and we will be choosing one tonight!!

Back in May 2010, I had gotten the most adorable puppy.  He was a Shichon (Shih Tzu/Bichon mix) and I named him Tokyo. He was the love of my life.  Due to unforeseen circumstances, Tokyo had to live with another family.  The timing was perfect as my parents were looking for a new dog and they were love bitten by him. Tokyo was adopted by the Wasson family back in Sept 2010 and I've been "dog-less" ever since.  Matthew and I are getting this little puppy as part of our Christmas gift(s) to each other.  Here is a sneak peek of our little man:

If we get this little guy, he will be ready for pick on Dec 30!  That is PERFECT timing for us and we cannot WAIT!!!  We believe we may have settled on a name...but that will be announced later!  Stay tuned as I will be posting more pictures after our visit today. WAHOO!!!

Wedding: Behind the scenes

11/11/11...what a cool date, huh?? ....Well this date was especially memorable for Matthew and I as our families were beginning to travel in from all over in preparation for the BIG day!!

The day before the wedding was ever-so-relaxing!  Mom, Lauren and I headed out for a day of shopping, lunch and pampering.  Our first stop included the nail salon where we received a glorious pedi/mani.  They took especially good care of us since I'm well....a regular.  My heels were dry, so they brought out the heavy-duty cheese grater to clean me up.  It was hysterical and yet embarrassing all at the same time.  Upon being primped, we headed out to pick up a few last things for the rehearsal...

As I'm sure you are aware, my sweet Pappy went to be with the Lord after a battle with cancer on 11/10/11.  My Grandma and he had together for 54 years so the heart break ran deep.  Would you believe that she boarded her FIRST airplane only 24 hours later?  I now know where I get my independent, self-driven side from...Grandma.  She was there and it meant the world to both of us! I know Pappy was smiling down the entire time!

As family came in, the goosebumps started increasing by the minute!  I could hardly believe that I was about to become Mrs. Robbe!  What a honor....what an absolute honor to be marrying the most handsome, godly, patient, compassionate and caring man in the world! I mean that with no exaggeration.  God matched us ever-so-perfectly and I could not be more honored and blessed to be his wife.

As the evening progressed, we loaded up the car and headed down to West Manor stopping to put up the  "wedding this way" signs along 221....this was scary!!  We arrived at West Manor and the rehearsal was fun, intimate and ran smoothly.  I guess I assumed that SOMETHING would go wrong at your rehearsal since that seems to be everyone else's story...but we were the exception and it was perfect!  The picture sums up my feelings at this point in the evening!

Rehearsal smiles!!

West Manor is the most incredible, romantic and magical place to get married. I first fell in love with this venue back during my undergraduate.  While I was a part of the Theater program at Liberty, we had a few formal events held there. I remember telling mom many years ago, "If I live in Lynchburg when I get married...can it be there?"  I remember her saying "Honey, we can have it wherever you want." Wow!!  Pretty lucky girl, huh?  West Manor provided me with a wedding planner and a ceremony director.  What a stress-free way to go!!  I would encourage you to check out their site:  http://www.westmanorevents.com/

The bride and groom.

After the rehearsal, we headed downtown to one of our FAVORITE restaurants, Shoemakers!  We are partial to the  Calamari, Salmon and the Asian Grilled Ribs...yummy!!  We enjoyed some great food, great wine with some great company.  It was a memorable night that I will never forget.  Matthew was able to capture a few pictures of the evening!

Shoemakers

Soon-to-be-married, smiles!

Group shot

After dinner we immediately headed home as we had a BIG day in store for us!!  

I always thought that I would never get any sleep the night before the big day...I was again, another exception to the rule!  I was the LAST person in my family to get up!  By 10am, I hopped out of bed and started the day off with some good family bonding time over a cup of Dunkin Doughnuts coffee.  Muy Delicioso!!  Eventually the guys parted from the girls and we headed out for a quick lunch before the REAL magic began!!  Studio Style and Spa did both my hair and makeup!!!  I would highly recommend them if you are looking to get either done...check them out here:  http://www.studiostyleandspa.com/

I took the advice from many and relaxed.  I was so calm, cool and collective I actually surprised myself!  We showed up in our newly fashioned hoodies (compliments of one, Mommy Wasson) and let the salon girls take over.  Here is a picture taken just after we had gotten our hair done.  Our makeup was being done on-site at West Manor:

My talented mom MADE these hoodies for us!

Sisters!!!

Ok, no more pictures!!  That is all you get for now! You will have to wait for the official wedding photography before you get another blog post :)  Hold tight for a couple more weeks and I should hopefully have some up. Ok...I'll give you just ONE sneak peek at the altar but that's all:

"You may now kiss your bride"

Tech shooting

It seems like we cannot escape horror and tragedy.  Someone murdered and shot here, a child kidnapped there, terrorist attacks....when is it going to end?  I sometimes find myself becoming so desensitized to the news.  It is a sad reality, but it is true.  Today is a tragic day indeed. It almost feels like we are reliving the Virginia Tech horror of 2007.  According to Collegiate Times for Tech (right now), there is a shooter at large.  Two people are confirmed dead, one including a police officer.  There are no further details at this point.

If you are from this area, you know that Blacksburg is roughly 1 hour from Lynchburg, VA.  Due to the close proximity between our campuses, many students, faculty and staff members have loved ones in Blacksburg. The mood at Liberty is heavy...

I cannot image the fear that is penetrating the hearts of these poor students.  Why Virginia Tech?  Why again?  Why do they seem to be targeted?  Is it becoming a popular trend to shoot up universities?  There are so many questions, thoughts and feelings flooding right now.  Lord we ask for your comfort, peace and guidance through these tough times.

A new chapter

I never really pictured myself as a blogger.  Instead I usually found myself sifting through hundreds of blogs and reading about the lives of others.  Now that my life is taking a huge turn and I am beginning one of the most important chapters of my life, I have decided to start blogging. 

As you probably already know, I recently married the love of my life.  To give you a "behind the scenes" of our love story, let me go back to early January.  I had recently declared to my mom that I would, "Not be dating for a year"  as I was taking some time off from the dating scene.  When I broke the news to mom, her immediate reaction was, "Ohhhhh....ok.  Are you sure you want to do that?"  Being the independent, strong-willed girl that I am, I confidently replied with a, "Yup, I sure am!"  Little to my surprise, the Lord had something much more exciting in store for me.  On January 10th, around 2am, I awoke from my sleep in a cold sweat.  In sincere honesty, the next thing I heard was CRAZY!  I heard a voice telling me to "Join E-harmony."  My initial thought was, "You've got to be kidding me!"  I immediately tried to lay back down but was unsuccessful in falling asleep. I woke up again to the voice repeating "Join E-harmony."  At that moment I recalled a friend from work telling me how she met her hubby on E-harmony too.  Reluctantly and after an hour of self-debating, I signed up.  Upon completing the grueling, 3-hour questionnaire, I was immediately matched and started getting "winks" and "nudges" by the dozens.  I immediately became overwhelmed as my inbox was becoming inundated. I started questioning whether or not my $120 was worth it.

This all happened on January 10th and on January 11th, I was matched with Matthew Robbe.  My first encounter with Matthew was not the best as he immediately skipped all the communication steps of E-harmony and jumped straight into the private messages.  One of his first messages to me was "Do you have a Facebook account?"  My natural red flags started to waive but something about him intrigued me.  He continued to pursue me for about a week and after about 20 solid hours of phone conversations until the wee-hours of the morning, he asked me on a date. The day that Matthew came into town, my mom recalls a phone conversation just moments before he arrived. "Hey mom, I think I might be meeting my future husband."  Of course this caught her by surprise since I had JUST told her about my projected sabbatical. Yes, I'm always this full of surprises!!

Matthew showed up on my front step with a gift & card in hand. When I opened the door he said, "Wow, you are even more gorgeous in person." Have goosebumps yet?  I hope not!!  We are only JUST getting started.  He dropped his gift and card and swooped me up (Hollywood movie-style) and swung me around in a tight embrace.  It was at that moment that I KNEW this was going to be something very special.

Matthew had the most personable and romantic proposal a girl could ask for.  Along the trails of Riverside Park, he got on one knee and asked me to marry him.  This was on 5/21 and on 11/12, we vowed ourselves to one another with a promise to never leave or forsake.  It was magical and the whole thing still feels like a dream and I'm waiting for the pinch.  Nope, this is real. Real true love.


And so now the journey begins.  The journey of life; two becoming one. Sappy?  Sure...but when you are this in love, you probably won't care either :)  Thank you for reading my first blog. I will update this regularly with pictures, videos and various banter.  Stay tuned and until next time.