I just wanted to write a quick update of the activities that will be going on between August 23^rd (Thursday) through August 26^th (Sunday) for our guests. By now you should have all received your invitations from my amazing sister for either my bridal shower, welcome BBQ or both. I really hope you loved them as much as we did! She did such an amazing job on them and she really captured the love and fun of Colt & I’s relationship and personalities. Colt & I really look forward to spending some quality time with each of you throughout the week at the below events:

Timeline of Events for J + C Wedding

Thursday August 23, 2012

11am – Jenn’s Bridal Shower

Ladies just as a friendly reminder please be sure to RSVP to my sister Jessica by July 20^th at Jesslynn1882@aol.com

3pm – Welcome BBQ

Introduction of our wedding party, family and friends

6:30pm – Lantern Lighting at the beach.

We will be walking down from the welcome BBQ and setting off over 80 sky lanterns.

Friday August 24, 2012

9:00am – Family & Friends Wailea Beach day

We will be renting stand up paddle boards, setting up a volleyball net and holding bocce ball tournaments. It will be a day of fun in the sun!

3:00pm – Pedicures and Manicures at the Nail Bar (Bridal party only)

6:30pm – Chapel Rehearsal (Wedding Party only)

8:00pm – Rehearsal dinner at Pizza Madness

Saturday August 25, 2012

(Tentative order of events)

2:30pm – Guests to gather at the seaside chapel at the Grand Wailea

2:45pm – Guests to be seated

3:00pm – Jennifer’s Processional begins (I just got butterflies typing that)

3:10pm – Ceremony

3:50 pm – Signing of Marriage License

4:00pm – Group Photo’s with Bridal Party, Family and Friends.

5:00pm – Guests to proceed to the Ballroom Terrance for Reception

5:30pm – Grand Entrance of the Wedding party

6:15pm –Dinner Begins

PARTY TIME….

Sunday August 26, 2012

8:00am – Colt & Jenn couples massage at Spa Grande

10:30am – Breakfast/Brunch at Fred’s with Family and Friends

Noon – Pool Party at the Grand Wailea until departures / goodbyes

You can also find all of our most current information of events, hotel rates, registry etc., on our wedding website at:

www.ewedding.com/sites/ColtJenn25

Lastly if you do plan on staying at the Grand Wailea but still have not booked your room you only have until July 25^th to get our group wedding rate. Please contact myself or Colt if you need help setting that up.

and counting…

Last Sunday July 1^st kicked off the beginning of our non-stop wedding meetings and planning (newlyweds weren’t joking about the 2 month mark of planning, all the sudden things go to a whole new level).

We started our morning with Warrick our photographer at Starbucks. We had some paperwork to sign and go over but mostly he wanted to talk about pictures, styles, timelines etc., We will actually have 2 photographers plus video on our actual wedding day, Warrick will be shooting Colt getting ready with our groomsmen and Jen will be shooting me with our bridesmaids while we get ready. We have a “shoot list” that we have to go through and decide what pictures we want before, after, during etc., we also have to decide on our family and group pictures. It’s crazy how much time pictures can take up if you don’t plan and schedule accordingly. MaryAnn and a few others will be helping to organize the picture flow of family and friends after the chapel so it should just be one big FUN photo shoot. (or at least that’s what I keep telling myself, and if not well there is always the open bar hahaha). Plus Colt and I have pictures all day and all night so I think everyone else can deal with 45 minutes. I already have so many picture ideas and I am already daydreaming about all the canvas shots we are going to print.

After starbucks we headed to Wailea to go to the shops. Colt found a ring online and they were suppose to have an actual store in Maui so we decided to go check it out. I also wanted to look for my wedding jewelry. We of course found my jewelry (a really simple beautiful pair of earrings, I am still debating the matching necklace) but no ring. The store that was listed on line was now the old sunglass place Colt use to work at. We looked around a few other stores and he did find a ring that we both loved! It was simple but manly. I loved the way it looked on his finger. He liked it a lot too but still wants to try on the other two rings he saw online when we are in Oahu for his birthday. I hope out of the three he finds “the one” since he is slowly running out of time. After the shops we headed to the Grand for our 5:45pm meeting with Minister Ron at the Boterro Bar Lounge. I was really excited to finally meet Ron since he was the big piece of our puzzle that was missing. I was also really nervous because I knew Colt had a picture in his head of what he wanted Ron to look, sound and act like which as we know never happens. I kept my fingers crossed as we waited that he would be a fit so we wouldn’t have to set up a ton of other meetings. As we were waiting MaryAnn called to say hello, she was at a wedding at the chapel so she told us to come down after our meeting to check out the set up and see the sunset. As we waited we laughed and giggled about our potential minister, would he be the one?

Ron showed up a little after 5:45pm and on first glace I ruled him out. I knew Colt was picturing a big local guy and this was not Ron. He was older, tall and seemed kind of sleepy. He quickly came up and shook our hands while introducing himself. He didn’t waste any time joking about Colt’s name and asking where we were both from. The conversation was light and comfortable before it transitioned into the more personal stuff. He told us so much about his background and that he is Christian but like me was raised Catholic. We talked and laughed as we discussed our first communions and confirmations. It made me feel at ease that he was so well educated in both a Christian and Catholic background. As he continued to talk about his life, family and marriage I could tell that Colt still wasn’t 100% convinced. I liked his style but it wasn’t until he said “I don’t like to make the whole ceremony about religion and God and to be honest I don’t think God minds because I don’t think even he is that religious” and it was at that exact moment that I was sold. We don’t need to walk around with a bible to prove our faith nor do we need to make anyone feel uncomfortable at our wedding. This day was about Colt & I’s love and although God is present in our life and relationship it was nice to know that even our minister agreed that sometimes enough is enough. He went on to talk about picking different scripture or highlighting certain versus from the bible that were light but fitting. He talked about how it was his job to provide us with a ceremony that we would remember vividly for years to come. He wanted us to be able to look back and remember what was said and how we felt. He began going over different examples and when he came to the “I Colt take you Jennifer to be my lawfully wedded wife” we both teared up. The presence of his voice was deafen and Colt shook his head in approval. This was it, Ron was our guy!

After we left our meeting we ran down to the chapel, the wedding party had already moved on to their reception so we looked around the chapel all set up with beautiful flowers and candles. The sun was about to set and it couldn’t have been more beautiful. It was a true Maui sunset and we both hoped it would be equally as beautiful on the night of our ceremony. Once the sun officially set we headed back up to Boterro to tell MaryAnn the good news about Ron and talk about numbers and any other pending details. We ordered drinks and pupus and had a great time. Everything was really coming together and MaryAnn was so on top of it. We thanked her one thousand times over for being so amazing and flexible with us through this whole process. As we were leaving the meeting I promised both MaryAnn and Colt that I was done freaking out, it was only going to be fun and excitement from here on out and although they both joked that I wasn’t “that bad” I could hear the sigh of relief.

This past Friday we celebrated our “50 days.” Anu made us a delicious homemade macaroni and cheese with some really fancy cheeses. She also got weight watchers brownies, fat free cool whip and strawberries for our candle celebration. It is so fun to count down the days with some of our bestest friends. I can’t believe we are approaching the one month (30 days) mark! You will all be here before you know it!

Sunday wedding day in progress

being goofy waiting for Minister Ron

our beautiful chapel sunset

can’t wait!

Anu getting our candles ready to celebrate

we are so close to saying “I Do”

got em!

I cannot believe in 8 weeks just 60 days (or in Colt’s terms 4 paychecks) we will be husband and wife! I got my 2 month reminder today from The Knot and AGAIN we are right on track! I also recently pulled out my checklist in my “Brides Book of Lists” and it was so reassuring to see everything lining up. This past Sunday we went to the mall and tired on rings for Colt. It was so funny watching him try to pick one out. He was so sure he knew exactly what he wanted until he actually started trying the rings on. After several attempts he decided he just wasn’t a “ring person” which of course made me and the ladies laugh so hard. Since it was only our first day shopping around I told him he had a week to think about it, look online and figure it out. He’s a size 11 so we have to special order it which can take anywhere from 2-6 weeks so the sooner we do the better. Last night he continued to look (there really are so many options) I hope he finds one he LOVES soon.

This upcoming Sunday July 1st marks the start of all our BIG meetings which means we will be meeting with our minister to go over the ceremony. We have decided to write our own vows so we want to talk to him about that and how we want the ceremony to flow. I am so excited to get the day planned out with him & MaryAnn. We are also meeting with Warrick our video/photographer to go over every detail of the wedding and the events leading up to it. Warrick is so awesome so every meeting with him is always our pleasure. We also have to set up a meeting with our DJ which I am hoping we can do the following Sunday (our work weeks are just so full so we really have to take advantage of our weekends for planning). We already sent the DJ our music planner so really the meeting is just about the flow and timeline of dinner and the reception. I feel like there is still so much to do so I made an 8 week checklist (I am such a checklist whore)

WELCOME to CRUNCHTIME (aka our next two months in a nutshell):

J+C WEDDING TO DO LIST

STILL PENDING FOR GROOMSMEN

Yellow Ties (*ordered* owe mum money; already got $ from Papa & Landon)

Groomsman white shirts (*still need Colt’s white shirt)

Colt to order groomsmen gifts (7/15 deadline)

STILL PENDING FOR BRIDESMAIDS / FLOWERGIRLS

Still need Jessica & Margaret’s hairstyles & make-up choices for Tiff’s file

Khloe’s Tutu to get resized (possible re-order $30.00 – $50.00)

Order Flower girls tops and shoes (7/15 deadline)

Buy Flower Girl Baskets

Jenn to order bridesmaids gifts (7/15 deadline)

STILL PENDING DIY

Centerpieces (need size from Mum)

Table Numbers cards printed / frames ordered

Anniversary year (need grey & yellow paper)

Guest Place Cards

Guest Name / Table numbers

Order Yellow and Grey Candy

Slideshow

J+C Slideshow (waiting on pictures from Ashley/Kellie)

Lemons

JENN PENDING

Order Colt’s Ring (deadline 7/8)

Breakfast MaryAnn (emailed 6/26)

Last Dress Fitting (Oahu 7/21)

Buy Veil (Oahu 7/21)

Buy Garter (Oahu 7/21)

Order Yellow Umbrella (deadline 7/21)

Vows (deadline 7/29)

Hair highlight with Jeremy (Monday 8/20)

Hair Trial with Ashley (Tuesday 8/21)

Spray Tan (Wednesday 8/22)

COLT PENDING

Pick out Ring (7/8 deadline)

Finalize cake with Rhonda (deadline 7/15)

Vows (deadline 7/29)

Golden Triangle (deadline 7/29)

Hair cut with Ashley (Wednesday 8/22)

J+C PENDING MEETINGS

Appointment for Thailand shots J&C (Thursday with Kelper; 4:00pm)

Tutu resizing with Khloe (Saturday 6/30; 9:30am)

Meeting with Warrick Price Photographer (Sunday 7/1; Starbuck 2:00pm)

Meeting with Minister, Ron Winckler (Sunday 7/1; Boterro Bar Lounge 5:45pm )

Schedule meeting with DJ (deadline 7/15)

Schedule meeting with Maryann to go over final guest list / budget (deadline 7/15)

Schedule meeting with MaryAnn for tasting (deadline 7/15)

Meeting with everyone at the Grand MaryAnn, Joe & Warrick (deadline 8/5)

Make appointment for Marriage license (deadline 8/1)

Set up Rehearsal at the chapel (Friday 8/24)

Honeymoon Registry Cutoff (deadline 8/20)

On Sunday Colt and I had such a fun day! Since it was father’s day Colt took Papa golfing. It was so nice for them to spend a special “guys” day together not working and just enjoying each other’s company. I talked to my Dad early that morning and was feeling a little bummed that I couldn’t spend the day with him and my family. Since I knew Colt wouldn’t be home until later that afternoon I decided to start going through some of my old pictures for our slideshow. I pulled out a big box and just sat there for hours. I found so many pictures and laughed and cried for almost 2 hours as I went through each and every one. The memories were so refreshing & overwhelming and it was so great to see so many years of love and happiness, I can’t wait to start putting the actual slideshow together.

Colt got home a little after 1:30pm and since I had been in the house all day we decided to go grab a bite to eat and watch the basketball game. We went to our favorite place pizza madness and ordered some pizza, salad and beers. While we were there we talked to the owner about our rehearsal dinner on Friday August 24th and he assured us that we are good to go! We also requested our favorite waitress Danielle to work that night. She is so fun and sweet and we just love her every time we go in. She was so cute when we asked her and couldn’t stop thanking us, we are so excited!

After we left pizza madness it was still pretty early so we decided to go down to the beach. Amanda had recently dropped off our 50 lanterns for our lantern lighting on Thursday August 23rd and I was dying to try them out! She had said they were a little tricky so I wanted Colt and I to be pro’s so we could teach all of our guests how to light them on that very special night. We went home grabbed two lanterns, packed up a cooler, some towels and headed to the beach for sunset. It was pretty overcast all day and windy but we figured we would still catch a pretty decent sunset. We played and talked and laughed and just enjoyed being outside. Colt and Kai ran the beach several times and Kailea fetched with a stick for the very first time! It was so nice just kicking back and relaxing together. After the sun went down we got ready to light our lanterns, we wanted to make a wish for all the Daddy’s that couldn’t be with their families that day as well as remember all the Dad’s that are no longer with us. Colt had taken the time earlier to put the lanterns together and boy was that funny. The lanterns are made in China and although the directions were in “English” they were pretty much in Chinese. The English was so broken and none of the sentences made sense. I laughed so hard as I watched Colt try to make sense out of it all! Thank goodness it was fairly simple the only thing working against us was the wind. We walked out to the middle of the beach and tried time and time again to get the lantern to light but each time had no such luck! We knew once we finally got it lit that we would need to get it filled with air to have it take off. Colt tried several more times and nothing! Frustrated he just gave it a good toss straight up in the air and the wind quickly caught hold of it and sent it soaring in my direction toward my head! I screamed, jumped and put my hand up to block the out of control lantern and to my surprise I caught it! I was so surprised and annoyed (I had almost been set on fire!) as Colt just sat there laughing hysterically. By this point I was so done with the lanterns and really bumming, if it was windy in August it would totally ruin everything. Colt sensed my disappointment and said we could try it again at home since there probably wouldn’t be as much wind so we packed up and drove back to the house.

Once we got back to the house we went out front in the street and tried to light a new one. It was still pretty windy and Colt was thinking it probably wasn’t going to take. We waited it out a few times and got it filled with air but it never took off. I was starting to give up when all the sudden Colt started running with the lantern and as he ran I watched it fill up perfectly with air as it began to raise out of Colts hands –it was floating!!! I don’t think even Colt realized it was really happening until it was literally out of his reach and up it went! He quickly shouted “I wish for our marriage to have a lifetime of happiness” and as if the lantern heard him it took off higher and higher! We stood there in our street for what seemed like forever watching that lantern soar, it was our little light in the sky, a little piece of us! Some of our neighbors even came out to see what was floating in the sky, they stood there for awhile before they noticed Colt and I. Once they finally did they asked us if we had set it off, Colt told them that we didn’t and that it was a UFO and we both laughed and watched until our beautiful light disappeared.

It was truly such a fun and memorable experience and I am so grateful to Amanda for thinking of us and our wedding for all the extras she had. All day today I just wanted to run outside my office and set one off! We are now more than ever looking forward to our special evening with all of you when we get to light the sky on fire with love and wishes ~

Colt & Papa golfing for Fathers Day and looking more handsome than ever

Colt & Kai playing on the beach

playing fetch with Kailea

The “Chinese” directions, hahahaha

Colt trying to get it lit!

he got it! (just moments before it attacked me)

heading back to the house after a fun night at the beach

at home getting ready to try again!

trying to make it float!

team work! (even though I got mad that he was yelling at me and he told me that it must be because I am a “manager” that I can’t take direction..hahahahaha”

one last try before Colt takes over!

off he goes!

and here comes the “toss”

hahah he DID it and yelled his wish!

up up and away….

My Saturday morning thoughts before I start my day:

I often hear people say “expect nothing and you will never be disappointed” and while I can certainly understand the truth in this statement it tends to make me rather angry. Why should I expect “nothing” so in turn I am not “disappointed?” I mean I get that expectations are sometimes unrealistic and or a hard topic but lets face it we all have them. In the most general form of expectations most individuals “expect” at minimum that their family & friends are there for them, that their significant others be faith, fair, love and communicate with them and that their co-workers and acquaintances respect them. Is this to much to “expect” ?! I of course say hell no but unfortunately I am often met with the sad reality that apparently for most it is.

It always strikes me as hard to grasp as to why some people can live up to expectations no problem and strive while others continuously fall short. I often wonder if it is something in their psychological makeup or if it is a taught behavior throughout their development. If one is surrounded by disappointment or constantly let down does it lead them to constantly disappoint? I’m on the fence because I have seen both ends of the spectrum. I have known several individuals raised in the same home with less than fortunate circumstances, and have watched them grow up with one allowing those circumstances to define them while the other refuses. So what makes one so different from the other? I can honesty say I don’t know. I would assume it has a lot to do with perspective. It takes an extremely strong and determined person to look outside the box that is their own reality. We all know that people tend to view the world through their experiences and that they will often have a hard time empathizing with something that is outside that realm (aka other peoples expectations).

Now with all that being said comes the importance of communication (which in my opinion goes hand and hand with expectations). You can not have expectations without clear communication which is really the point I am trying to make with this post in relation to our wedding. We have had our fair share of disappointments (due to how we expect people to act) with family and friends throughout this engagement process. Our disappointments come from us wanting them to respond and act in a certain way while they are resistant because of their own expectations of what our wedding should be and how we should act. The end result, a lot of hurt feelings and drama. The only solution; clear communication.

Communication (good or bad) is always key. I’d like to thank my mother for teaching me how to communicate at a very young age and also give credit to my advanced public speaking teachers for pushing me to learn how to communicate on a more public level. Communication is hard and is also the number one reason for all failed relationships (friends, lovers, families). I ask the question why is it easier to throw away a person and your relationship with them then it is to communicate? Is expressing your feeling and being vulnerable really that scary? Is being right really that important? Are you going to wish you had communicated when that person drops dead suddenly and you never again get that chance? What do you think is more scary communicating to find middle ground and move on or never being able to get there? The answer is easy for me which is why I have been putting my feelings on blast. I have been allowing myself to respond openly to family & friends when their actions cause me to feel happy, sad, disappointed, surprised, important, unimportant, exhilarated etc., and I urge each of you to do the same. Hold one another accountable for communication which in turn will hold you responsible for the relationship if it’s important to you.

I recently had some heart to hearts with great friends & family members and while some of the conversations were great, others were well not so great but the important thing is that they happened and we all know where we stand. Through these conversations I was able to learn that I am sometimes intimidating which is something I can work on. I have also learned that my future husband is sometimes scared of communicating with me because I can be so direct and assertive and sometimes just wrath out about a situation. This is something that I already know and try to work on but it is great to hear so I can become more in control of my feelings when I am angry or upset (since I really don’t want Colt living in fear of me, haha) I also challenge all of you to do the same. I know people and relationships change but is the person or relationship so far gone to save? If the answer is yes (and sometime it is) then move on but if the answer is no or I don’t know explore those feelings and reach out. After all you only live once…YOLO!

wife noun \ˈwīf\
plural wives\ˈwīvz\
Definition of WIFE: 1. a dialect : woman; b: a woman acting in a specified capacity —used in combination 2. a female partner in a marriage 3. the female partner in a marriage

Synonyms: helpmate, helpmeet, lady, little woman, madam, missus (or missis), Mrs, old lady, wifey, woman [chiefly dialect]

Related Words: bride; better half, companion, consort, mate, partner, significant other, soul mate, spouse; dowager, matron; hausfrau, homemaker, housekeeper, housewife, stay-at-home; widow

It’s funny how a word I have heard for as long I can remember is now suddenly carrying so much weight. A wife. Me. Huh, the thought alone makes me giggle. I have had to say it out loud in a sentence a few times just so it seems real, “Yes, I am Colt’s wife.” I have even had the pleasure on several occasions of being called Mrs. Stewart since I use Colt’s Safeway card to shop. At checkout they often check the receipt and say “thank you Mrs. Stewart you saved (insert amount).” This simple sentence will send me into hysterical giggles but this past weekend it hit me, Mrs. Stewart well Soon to be.

On Sunday I had a “me” day (Colt had to work and I didn’t have much to do) so I slept in, read my book, went to the gym and then went to the beach. After I was good and refreshed I headed home to start cleaning and doing laundry (seemed appropriate in the scheme of things). I wanted to get everything done before Colt got home because I was going to surprise him with a picnic at the beach. Sunday’s are typically our days off together so we usually pack up the cooler, grab some beers & lunch and head down to the beach to relax and enjoy each other. Since Colt had to work all day I figured it would be fun to go down when he got home (no need to let work rain on our parade).

After I was done cleaning up I got ready to jump in the shower. I stripped down and went into my room to grab a fresh towel. As I walked into our bedroom I quickly realized that there was a blanket of fresh sand all over the floor from Kailea (sand monster had not yet gotten her bath). I scowled a little as I had JUST swept the floor and quickly went to grab the broom. I had already had the shower running so naturally I was already naked and ready to jump in. As I quickly swept up the sand, I closed the bedroom door to get the crack between the door frame and as I looked up I stopped dead in my tracks. Right there in the full length mirror was a WOMAN staring back at me. I watched her eyes flicker and the way she moved. I noticed the curves on her body and her longer than she had realized blonde hair down her back. I couldn’t believe that the woman I was looking at was me. I saw every flaw and every perfection as I looked at this soon to be 28 year old wife.

I don’t know when, where or how but I guess I had stopped counting time (and age for that matter). My mind had somehow got stuck in my
mid-20’s as a young lady. I can’t remember the last time I had a significant moment of realization about my age… maybe it was at 13 when I started my period, or at 18 when I moved out on my own to Hawaii, or maybe it was at 21 when my parents stopped helping me pay my way. Either way it’s clearly been awhile. I couldn’t help but wonder when had I become an adult (a pretty successful adult) that lived in Hawaii and was about to get married? My heart leaped a little at the thought (the thought of my own life) how exciting! I simply couldn’t believe that I was grown up (I mean I am getting married for goodness sake!)

I don’t know if it’s our upcoming wedding or maybe my birthday or a combo of the two but something awoke inside of me on that Sunday in that mirror and I can honestly say I’ve never felt so alive and in tune. For the first time in what seems like forever I know exactly what I want, who I am and what I need to do. My desire to care for Colt is also the top of my priorities. I am determined to tend to his every need. As I sit on this flight to Honolulu and reflect I can’t help but feel overwhelmed with feelings of excitement, happiness and extreme love. I cant wait to begin our next chapter Colt Olden Stewart, and I can’t wait to be your wife.

Well we are officially in the double digits! At exactly this time in 3 months we will be Mr. & Mrs. Stewart and partying down at our reception. It’s so surreal.

I read a blog recently on happiness and it really stuck with me. It has helped me reflect on our journey over these past six months as well as gain some perspective on our upcoming wedding:

The Coulda-Woulda-Shouldas.

Everything that feels like regret (even just a little bit), let it go. You can’t let people, places or things hold you back from creating the beautiful and powerful future you desire. Everything we have experienced so far is a valuable lesson. It continues to shape us into who we are and what we want to be. Every new minute and day we are so blessed to get a second chance to re-write our story.

The Negative Nelly

I once heard that all it takes is 20 seconds of insane courage to change your entire life’s track. If you can’t trust yourself, if you can’t believe in yourself, who will? Shut Negative Nelly’s down, before they shut you down. Don’t allow those voices to lead you into black holes. “Take the leap and build your wings on your way down”

The “idea” of what our life is supposed to look like.

Give up the image that was sold to us in movies and media (it’s not real). Don’t focus your life on work or things that don’t matter. Make your life have meaning which means growing as an individual and being proud of who you are. Place yourself in healthy situations and relationships even if it means getting out of your comfort zone.

Comparing

Our lives are not even slightly the same. Our backgrounds, our salaries, our goals, our visions, our desires are all very different. Don’t let someone else’s path discourage you from yours. Each path comes with different timetables and different lessons to learn.

Stubbornness.

This one is extremely hard for me. But at some point, I had to admit that some people (very few) were indeed wiser than me. Once you stop being stubborn and open your heart and mind it is easy to see that the people that love you just want the best for you. Absorb their experiences (instead of shutting down) and learn from them.

Obsessive need for control.

Another really tough one for me (just ask Colt or my sister) however, this does not mean to be disorganized or accepting of whatever happens, NO never! Still be organized, still be prepared, still have goals but also accept that some things are beyond your control. Things will go wrong (and also go right, even if it is a different “right” than you envisioned). Take every one of these experiences and learn from them.

Extreme emotions.

(Probably the hardest one for me and all bride to be’s) But we must learn to respond instead of react. You are responsible for (and will have to deal with the consequences of your actions) no matter who or what gives you a Manny Carvalho. Learn to let go of those strong, sweeping emotions that push you to wrath out. Breathe, let the moment pass, and then think on it. Many times we are so busy and involved in the actual process we don’t think we just feel. “I feel like you are doing this…” or “I feel like you don’t care” or “I feel like you are selfish.” Lesson: less feeling more thinking.

Anger.

… Let that fade away (easier said than done) but anger will only steal your sweetness and your special moment in time. You don’t want to end up there. It’s miserable. Anger also shifts your focus from everything positive, creative, lovely and good to ugly things. Try to Forgive, Breathe, Talk,….Blog.

Anxieties.

If something is making you nervous, face it. If something scares you, learn about it. Figure out the source of your anxiety and then commit to giving it up. Try to be stronger the next time it comes back (because it will).

Bad people.

This is certainly the hardest one of them all but also the most necessary. And to clarify they may not be “bad” people but instead they are just bad for you or it’s just a bad time. Walk away from them. Only hold those in your life who will lift you up to new levels; those who will tell you the truth; those that will love you unconditionally and those who will help you grow and learn from mistakes and successes. Bad people are poison to a life of good intentions. Find the good, and walk away from the rest.

I honestly wouldn’t trade our last 6 months for anything. The good, the bad, the pretty and the ugly but without one we wouldn’t be where we are right now today with 3 months to go.

Over these next 3 months we have so many big meetings regarding set up, flowers, cake, food, rehearsals, photos, music etc., I also have my first dress fitting in Oahu on June 2nd and my makeup trail! I can’t wait to try my dress on and hug my family! We have so much to do together and I can’t wait to get the projects rolling! It’s going to be so nice to finally spend quality time with them! I feel like the lists are endless and everyday there is more and more to do! I talked to Tammy last week and she promised it was “operation finish tutus”! She called me the next day to pick them up and I couldn’t be happier. They are so amazing in all there puffy yellow glory. They came out better than I could have hoped for and we can’t wait to have the girls over to try them on. We called Khloe right when they came in (as promised) and she was so excited, I told her how beautiful she was going to look and she said “I know” I truly love that girl. We also have really special gifts for all 3 of them (my Uncle made them with extra special love). I can’t wait to get them all dolled up!

tutu heaven

I still need to find my shoes, I am looking for a pair I can dye so I can have them the same color as the girl’s dresses. Colt still needs to find his ring; I can’t wait to see a ring on his finger! He also still needs to find shirts and ties for his groomsmen. I’m going to try to go by men’s warehouse when I am in Oahu and see if I can find ties (men’s warehouse is suppose to match David’s Bridal colors which is half the reason I picked the bridesmaids dresses from there so I’m hoping they have them).

I also updated our wedding website with activities and timelines for the wedding party as well as our guests. Please take a look at it as you plan your travel and accommodations. We have a lot of fun stuff going on and I really don’t want anyone to miss out. The island is also forecasted to hit “season” around June 10th so flights are bound to go up so please keep that in mind if you haven’t booked your travel yet! As always we can’t wait to see you all and have this journey turn into reality.

xo

Lately I have been thinking a lot about what I want to do at our wedding ceremony as a remembrance of the amazing people that are no longer with us. I have researched everything from a candle lighting, to poems to balloon releases. My sister and Brendan actually did a balloon release at their wedding in remembrance of his sister Stacy and my grandfather and it was really beautiful.

Balloon release at Sissy & B’s wedding

I loved the idea of a balloon release but since we are getting married at the chapel and it’s inside I have been trying to rack my brain for something that would fit in with the actual flow of the ceremony. With the balloon release we would have to have our guests get up go outside then come back in and that just wasn’t going to work. Since nothing brilliant was coming to me I decided I would just put it on the back burner until I found something I really loved.

As most of you may know we recently did an event for a sweet boy that I am so blessed to know named Trek Atlas. We were fortunate enough to hold a benefit concert for him and his family at the Hard Rock Cafe a few Saturdays ago. During the event process I also got the pleasure of teaming up and working with Trek’s very crafty, smart and hard working Aunty Amanda. Amanda is one of the most selfless people I have ever met and together we were determined to create the best event we possibly could for sweet Trek & his beautiful family. During the planning phase Amanda came up with several different special moments for Trek and his family but she wanted to do something even more special and that’s where the sky lanterns came in. Sky lanterns, also known as Kongming Lantern or Chinese lanterns are airborne paper lanterns that are best known as a tradition found in some Asian cultures. They are constructed from oiled rice paper on a bamboo frame, and contain a small candle or fuel cell composed of a waxy flammable material. When lit, the flame heats the air inside the lantern, thus lowering its density causing the lantern to rise into the air. The sky lantern is only airborne for as long as the flame stays alight, after which the lantern sinks back to the ground. It couldn’t be more perfect so she decided that she was going to buy a bunch of the lanterns to give to guests at the event and have them met her and the Ingram’s at baby beach at sunset to set the sky on fire for baby Trek and that’s exactly what they did!

After all was said and done and I was at home thinking about how amazing the event was it hit me…the sky lanterns would also be perfect for the wedding and our guests!! I knew Amanda had ordered extra so I texted her and asked if I could buy the remaining lanterns and she happily accepted.

I couldn’t think of anything more perfect. My Mom and Dad have actually participated in a floating lantern ceremony at magic island the last 2 years were they put them in the water in remembrance. They have done this for my uncle, grandfather, god mother as well as others that we have lost.

The floating lantern’s ceremony my parents did last year in Oahu

This was almost the same idea but a little different and I liked that. It was also fitting because the actual sky lantern festival takes place in Thailand (where we are going on our honeymoon!) Yi peng sky lantern festival San Sai is a big festival where thousands of Khom Loi (sky lanterns) are floated in to the air during a Buddhist ceremony that is held north of Chiang Mai in Thailand every October. We won’t actually be there for the event but we do hope to someday go and see it.

With all that being said I would like to invite all of our wedding guests to participate in our sky lantern event on Thursday August 23^rd. We will be walking down to the beach at sunset after our welcome BBQ to set the sky on fire. You can join us in remembrance of a loved one or you can make a floating wish. We would love to have you all by our sides while we light our lantern and celebrate life, love, remembrance and our soon to be happily ever after.