Two Months Out!

OK, we are officially at two months and counting, people! And no, I am not freaking out. I'm very proud of that fact. In fact, after having my bridal portraits done yesterday, I'm feeling more ready by the day. And I discovered what it felt like to be a celebrity...for an afternoon at least. I had my bridal portraits done at the unbelievably gorgeous grounds of Cheekwood (you must go if you live in Nashville) by the adorable and uber-talented Evin Krehbiel of Evin Photography. Just look at how cute she is. Don't you want her to be your friend, too?

What's even better is that about five years ago, I rushed this sweet little chic at Samford, and basically told her I would threaten her life if she didn't "go Chi O." I wasn't really into the whole sorority rush thing, but I would get these little "rush crushes" and pounce on them from the minute they walked in the door. So imagine my delight when I move to Nashville, find out she's making a wonderful little life for herself as a Franklin-based photographer, and get to have her shoot my bridal portraits? I was stoked, people. And then the most glorious weather EVER decided to showcase itself yesterday for our session. Thanks to the Big Guy for doing His thing.

But back to being a celebrity. Before I could flash my first smile for the camera I had the pleasure of getting completely pampered and primped by the super-fab Alicia Keagy (of the Rodney Mitchell salon - love her!) She actually came to my house so I could just be lazy on Sunday morning and have her fix me up in the luxury of my own bedroom. The girl worked some major magic on my hair and makeup and I felt like a very put-together and fancified version of myself before I walked out the door. We had done a little run-through on my mop on Thursday night, so we could practice using the little lovely Chelsea made for me. And oh is it tres chic! I heart it. But no previews of it just yet, you'll have to be patient. So we got all finished and made sure Mr. T left the premises so she could stuff me in the back of the car and drive us to Cheekwood. Word to the wise: be SURE to bring a friend, and preferrably even a stylist friend, to your bridal shoot. She was able to fix that out-of-place hair, apply that last bit of lip gloss, and fluff the train just so before Evin snapped the shot. I could really get used to that kind of treatment. I'm not gonna lie, I kind of love having people fuss over me like that.

And before I could get completely primped I had to get a bouquet for the shoot, of course. Well I say "of course" but I actually forgot about that little detail until the week before. Awesome. But I had the best little appointment with Caprice of The Enchanted Florist at Fabu, where we got to pick out lots of fun items for the ceremony and reception decor. Mr. T even came with me and nodded helplessly as we talked about pin-spotting the centerpieces and such. What a troooper! And at the end of it all, I walked away with this beauty!

Forgive the picture quality, but this was taken with my iPhone. And yes, it looks like Heaven is beaming through my window. One of the perks of having lots of natural light in the house!

Want to know just how good Miss Caprice is? Here is the picture I gave her to show what I liked...

Dead on. Love her! It was so perfect with all the fall colors - I even put it in water after we were done to see if I could savor it for a little longer.

Oh and the best news! I found a veil! The lovely ladies at The Bride Room let me bring in my dress and try on almost everyone they had so that we could match it perfectly. There were several that I liked, but only one that gave me that warm and fuzzy feeling. Now you know I can't show a photo, but like my dress, I put it on and immediately knew it was "the one." I just love when that happens.

And let me just add a plug for Amy, the associate who helped me. Not only was she wonderful to work with, she also discovered I had left my phone behind after we took some photos of me in the veil, and then even tracked down my parents (she must have called "Home" - good to program that in I guess) and delivered it to Mr. T at the Vanderbilt stadium on Saturday afternoon so I wouldn't be without it all weekend. Now THAT is some customer service, folks. So thank you, Amy! You are a lifesaver, and I love you for doing that. I would have been a nutcase without my cell phone all weekend.

I'm heading to DC tomorrow for a work event, so I'll be MIA this week. But I will get to see my lovely MOH and BFF. And because I enjoy ending with a photo, here we are. As you can tell, I love that girl.

60 days and counting!

Lillian