Be our wedding party?

Well yall… summer is about over! It sure does always seem to fly by. Before heading back to school, my mom wanted to throw Devin and I an engagement party. We’ve been so busy planning because I have one more year of school left and we wanted to get the “big” decisions set in stone so I didn’t have to worry about it while I wrap up my SENIOR year of college. This party gave us a chance to just relax and enjoy our engagement before I left. We were so thankful and excited that she wanted to do this for us. The party was held at a local clubhouse. My mom and some of her close friends helped get everything ready. All of the decorations were fabulous and the food was delicious. My mom made mine and Devin’s favorite dish…dirty rice.

Since we were celebrating our engagement, we wanted to invite some of our closest friends. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to ask the people who we want in our wedding party if they’d like to be a part of our special day. If you can’t already tell, Devin and I do not like to do things the easy way. We didn’t want to just ask them….we wanted to do something original.

After dinner we asked if we could have everyone’s attention. Of course we thanked everyone for coming and this was the start of how we asked.

First we asked Little David and Braxton if they would be our ring holders. They probably didn’t understand what we were asking, but they sure did love the ring pops.

Next we asked my Uncle Duke to come and stand with us. He has always loved to embarrass Devin at family functions, so of course we had to bring him to the front and make him blush a little bit. Uncle Duke has always been so dear to my heart and such a great role model for Devin and I. He is a man of God and a good family man. Devin and I got down on our knee and asked if he would marry us. Of course he said yes! Marriage counseling before marriage is something I am a firm believer in. I believe it is more important to plan for your marriage than the wedding. A wedding is just one day…marriage is for life. I can’t wait for us to begin that journey.

And finally… Since Devin had some of my closest girlfriends kidnap me the day of the proposal, I figured I needed to return the favor…sooooo I decided to blindfold them. Devin and I made blindfolds out of a black sheet that we hand cut ourselves. We passed out them out and told the girls and guys to put it on themselves. We then lined them up and lead them outside. After getting them all in a straight line, we asked them to unblindfold themselves and Devin and I stood there holding a sign that said “Be Our Wedding Party?”

I know it seems a little crazy to have such a huge wedding party, but the way we look at it…what a testimony of how much love and support we have in our life! It truly is humbling. There are a couple more people who we are asking to be in our party that could not attend the party, but I will being doing a Bridesmaid series and will describe each and every one of them!

I SAID YES TO THE DRESS

Imagining my wedding day, the first thing I think about is Devin. I can just picture his sweet sweet smile grinning at me as I walk through the doors. The problem is, I never really thought about what I was going to be wearing! My mom, sister, and I took a whole weekend to start my search for the perfect dress. I could not have had better help and support when looking for my dress. This is an experience that I definitely recommend doing with a small group. It is so much fun yet very exhausting. So when I started my hunt for my wedding dress, I had no idea what I was looking for. We started in Conway, SC and made our way down to Wilmington, NC. The first store I walked into, I was so amazed. All of the white dresses everywhere just filled my heart with such joy and excitement! I grabbed almost every dress on the rack! 

Thankfully my sister was there to help me get into these dresses. I tried on just about every style you can think of. It did not take me long to decide which look I was going for though. After trying on and dancing around in a numerous amount of dresses, I knew I had found “the one” when my mom teared up as I walked out of the dressing room. It was the look on her face that I had been waiting for. I had found the one! My mom’s opinion means everything to me. I can’t even buy a shirt or a pair of pants without her telling me it looks okay! I told my mom I wanted to sleep on it for a couple of days to make sure that this was the dress. Each day after that, I looked at pictures of it on her phone at least twice a day and would day dream about it constantly! After a couple of days, we went back to the store, tried it on again, and knew that there was no other dress I’d like to be married in. I said YES TO THE DRESS!!! The sweet girl that was helping me told me that they had a rule that when someone bought a dress, they had to hold a bell, make a wish, then ring the bell as loud as they could while still wearing the dress! After I got done ringing the bell, I had to take the dress off. This was the first time I had gotten emotional because I realized that this would be the dress I would be wearing when I become Devin’s WIFE!

Until that day, Devin thinks I bought this dress. 

Take this ride with us

When I imagine my wedding day, the first thing I see is Devin. I cannot wait for that moment when the doors to open and to see him standing at the end of an aisle waiting for me. In my opinion, the wedding is not all about the dress, cake, reception, etc. It is to celebrate the union between two people. Marriage is supposed to represent Christ. Planning our marriage is the main priority and keeping Christ as our number one is what we are going to do. A lot of people get so caught up in the wedding planning process that they forget the overall meaning of the wedding and that is the marriage!

 

 So when we began searching for venues, we had to do some brainstorming! But it feels so good to say….

WE HAVE A VENUE! Finding a venue has been one of the hardest steps in the wedding planning process so far. Finding a venue that is big enough  has seriously been a task. Devin and I have been dating for 6 years so we have collected a lot of friends (high school and college) along the way. Plus we both have huge families! The first day we went out looking for venues, Devin, mine and his mom and my sister Emily went on the hunt for the perfect location.

 

We started off looking at local golf courses which were beautiful, but not really mine and Devin’s style. We then started driving down back roads, took a wrong turn and stumbled upon this magnificent barn. We immediately fell in love. This was not a venue, just a random house with a barn behind it. My sister and I got out the car and walked up to the owner of this barn and asked if they would mind if we had a wedding here! They seemed a little skittish at first (which I don’t blame them since random people came to their house asking if we could turn their home into a wedding venue) but after we started to talk to them, they soon agreed. When we got home that night, we immediately started pinning away on Pinterest and we even started buying a couple of decorations. BAD IDEA. We rushed into planning wayyyyyyy too early. After we got to talk to the owner of the barn again, we realized that the capacity of the barn could not hold the amount of guests we are expecting to have. Talk about ripping my heart in half! I was devastated. Everything we had planned had gone down the drain.

Round 2…

Devin and I decided we were going to do some searching of our own. We researched venues for hours one day. Believe it or not, a lot of places are already booked for next October! He asked me if I would ever consider getting married back home in Columbus County. I quickly fired back with, “ummm no.”  But get this…. After searching the internet, we actually found our dream location in Columbus County! Haha! This place could not be more perfect. It is located directly beside my old dance studio which is where I basically spent my entire childhood. This venue I believe resembles mine and Devin’s personality and it has a lot of sentimental value to it being that it is in my old hometown.

Overall, the wedding is just a public display of our love for Christ and our love for each other and now we have an amazing venue to express it! I cant wait to marry the love of my life. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride…our journey is just beginning!

 

 

Fit and Healthy Bride and Groom

So as most of you know, Devin just graduated from East Carolina University with a major in health fitness. With this major, he has started personal training at Gold’s Gym in Shallotte, NC. He has such a passion for lifting weights and working out. Whenever he can, he is offering advice to anyone who is looking to live a healthier life.

About a year or two ago, Devin and I started working out together. This has become one of our favorite hobbies to do together. This hobby allows us to encourage each other, push each other when we fill like giving up, and also just getting to spend time with each other. We had a goal last year and that was to run a 5k. We started training for our run last summer and we accomplished our goal and ran in the Oyster Festival road race in Ocean Isle Beach in October 2012! Since then we have ran in the Reindeer Dash for Cash 5k, the Pirate Nurse 5k, and also the Gamma Beta Phi 5k in Greenville, NC.

 

 

 

Since we have a big day coming up, Devin and I have decided we were going to start this fit/healthy lifestyle together. I am a little bit better about eating healthier than Devin, and Devin is a little bit better at working out than I am; therefore, we decided we are going to help each other out and get our lives and health on the right track. I want to live a long and healthy life with my hubby, so now is the time to start rather than when problems start to occur. I am not a fan of fad diets or depriving myself from certain foods (seriously, our weekly dates during the school year were to sweet frog). I believe a little bit of healthy eating and working out can take you a long ways.

 

Since Devin is a personal trainer, he wrote us up both a workout plan. We are going to try to stick to it along with me helping him do better on his eating habits. To show what progress we will make, Devin wanted to do a before and after picture and this is what he shows me for his “before” picture…

Hahahaha. He wishes.

Anywhoooo.. our goal is not to lose weight. It is just too simply live a healthier life style. Devin has a family history of high blood pressure so we are going to take every precaution to prevent this gene from being an issue in his life. I am excited I can enjoy a hobby like this with my future husband. Our goal for this year is to run a 10k in the Oyster Festival road race. Devin's dad who recently just left this earth to go spend his eternal life with the Lord, told us he wanted to run in the race with us this year. We will be in the race again this year and we will honor and run in remembrance of my father in law, Mr. Donald Sellers.

my maid of honor

There is this one particular person I have always looked up too. She is beautiful, smart, talented, crafty, and so much fun. From the time I was born, this girl has been my role model. This girl just happens to be my sister, Emily. She has the biggest heart out of anyone I know. She has taught me so much throughout my life, such as how to walk by pushing a baby stroller around the house to learning how to love people with my entire heart.

 

Emily is two years older than I am. I remember always trying to act like her when I was younger. I would wear her clothes, try to do my makeup the exact same way as she did, and style my hair just like her.  I would tag along with her and her friends everywhere she went. I’m sure this drove her crazy but I did not care. I wanted to do everything she did. In my eyes, she was the coolest person I knew. Being so close in age we got the privilege of being on the same dance team and also being in high school together. High school can be so tough for teenage girls, but having your older sister there is always a bonus because you have your big sister  there to help you out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When Devin and I first started dating, she did not approve of him at all. She constantly told me that I shouldn’t date him and that he wasn't right for me. Looking back now, this is probably because her 14 year old baby sister was falling in love with a 16 year old boy. A broken heart was something that she feared for me. Emily has always been there to protect me in any situation I’ve been in. When there is no one else around, she is always there by my side.

 

 

 

One of the best things about my sister is that she never gives up on me. No matter what I am trying to endure in life, she is my motivator and my life coach.  Not everyone can say that their best friend is their sister and I am so thankful for the relationship that we have. Our life has not always been a walk in the park but with the help of my sister, we have overcome so much.

 

Emily knew all about the proposal. Devin had told her all about it weeks before he popped the question. I don’t know how she kept it a secret for so long. I can usually tell when she’s got a juicy secret she wants to tell me! She participated in the proposal by taking me “down memory lane” to where Devin had the video for me to watch on the tailgate of his truck. I am so honored that she was a part of that special day. The relationship that Emily and Devin have is so awesome. They act like brother and sister. Seeing her baby sister grow up I’m sure is not an easy thing to do, but I think she approves of Devin now and is willing to let Devin take my hand in marriage.

 

 

 

 

I am so honored to be able to have my sister as my maid of honor. I can’t image anyone else standing beside me on that day. She has done a fabulous job this far of fulfilling the maid of honor duties; and I know she will be the best at keeping me organized and sane!

 

I love you so much “minner”

-your baby sister