wedding

Songs to love by.

| cheriarmour

I posted this last week.  A breakup playlist of sorts, after I saw a guest post on Helene’s blog.

I hope none of you thought that my breakup playlist was any indication of the status of my relationships with my man-hunk, Austin, or Austie-Bostie, as my mom calls him, but rest assured, I’m still in love with my groom-to-be, and despite the fact I sometimes neglect him to do work on this blog, I’m sure he still  loves me too 🙂

That said, in case you were worried, here are some songs to love by to balance out the breakup playlist I posted last week.

So I love love.  I love the way love makes me feel.  And each one of these songs reminds me of a wonderful time in my relationship, and it makes me feel warm and fuzzy to share it with you.

Love on Top – Queen Bey

Duh. I have no explanation except that this song is really incredible.

Easy 2 Luv You – Stacie Orrico

I first heard this song with another boyfriend, but it took on new meaning when I met Austin.  It really is so easy to love that man.  Similarly, I also feel like it’s easy to want to yell at him sometimes, but goodness, he makes me feel like a natural women, and this song says it.  Plus Stacie is amazing.

Lightweight – Demi Lovato

You guys knew that she would make an appearance sometime, right?  I heard this song at first last spring, when I was running the Nike Women’s Half Marathon, and as soon as I heard it, I felt like it was written for us.  Austin has my heart, and that’s all I can think of when I hear this song.


You Give Me Something – James Morrison

I have been obsessed with this song/with this artist for years, and again, this song took on new meaning when I met the nearly-husband. It didn’t mean nearly as much as when I had a schmoopy to share it with.

Sugar – Stevie Wonder

This song remind me of when me and Austin were first dating, and when he gave me his FM transmitter for my car for a long drive I had to New Jersey. I played the song the whole drive up and sang it to him.

One Night Stand – Jazmine Sullivan

This song is a good one cause it’s fun, and it describes perfectly who I was before Austin. I was a fun lady, and I had no idea that I would find someone that I’d want to marry as much as I want to do him. And then he got me heart. 🙂  Also, Jazmine, where the hell ya been girl?  I’m ready for new music!

Never Knew I Needed – Ne Yo

“You’re the best thing I never knew I needed.”


Soldier – Gavin DeGraw

I’m not yet married (did I mention I’m getting married!) but this song is what I envision the union to be like.

“I’ll get it, if you need it. I’ll search, if you don’t see it. You’re thirsty I’ll be rain, you get hurt I’ll take your pain. I know, you don’t believe it, but I said it, and I still mean it. When you heard what I told you, when you get worried, I’ll be your soldier.”

I want to be his soldier.

I had literally 10,000 more songs on this list, and let me be 100 with you guys, this list was way, way more fun than the breakup playlist to compile, and it makes me just want to love on everyone.  Now your turn.  What’s your favorite song to love by?  

Things every bride-to-be goes through.

| cheriarmour

But before that – look how gorgeous I looked at the gym yesterday!

photo-1I had to run my 7-miler on the treadmill today, and I paused to snap a pic of my gorgeous sweaty face before I finished.  Once I broke through the first 4 miles of horrific boredom, I was able to finish.  But I’m begging the gods of weather, please, please stop with this horrible weather.  I can honestly say I’ve never logged so much mileage on a treadmill, and this winter has been awful.  I really thought last winter when I was afraid I was going to lose a finger was the worst, but this is the absolute worst.

Moving right along!

So, this thing is not going to turn into a wedding blog, but you will get a few little morsels of wedding brownie.

Wedding stuff is really fun.  I love my husband-to-be, and I bring to you today, things that future brides go through.

  1. You’re not yet engaged, but you swear you’re gonna be the coolest effing bride to ever walk the face of the earth, should someone want to marry you.  “I bet you we’ll just get married at the courthouse, and have a great big huge party later!”  You swear you’ll wear like a white dress from ModCloth, and you don’t even need a diamond to be happy.
  2. The ring is on your finger, and you’re blissfully, unadulturatedly happy.  I literally called people that I hadn’t spoken to on the phone for years.  I would tell the cashier at Whole Foods.  We didn’t have a venue, but I was doing backflips and envisioning me in some insane dress.
  3. “I am an independent woman! I will NOT be changing my last name because I make my own money and pay my own bills so kiss my ass!”
  4. OMG I’m getting married.  What does this mean?!  Any bride who wants to pretend like they did not feel mortal anxiety at some point during their engagement is a liar.
  5. Oh em geeee I’m getting married!  And all you do is dance around all day cause you’re so excited.  And I’m confident that we will be together for a looooong time.  ::evil laughter::

So I’m not at the point where I’m freaking out stressed.  But did I miss any of the phases?  Especially you married ladies!  

Wedding Etiquette Question

| cheriarmour

Photo on 1-27-14 at 12.39 AM

Please help us out.

We’re a little less than 7 months out from the wedding, and since we have a ton of out-of-town guests, we’re for sure sending out save-the-dates next month.  So I asked Austin to put the final touches on the guest list, and he asked a really good question.

When it comes to work people, who do we invite to the wedding, and who do we leave off the guest list?  How did/would you navigate this?

 

Can I take a second to give @Amazon a shoutout?

| cheriarmour

This is gonna be a quick one, but I wanted to write on this before I forgot.

I have had many an experience with Amazon customer service and all of them have been wonderful.  And before you accuse me of being shady, I am declaring right here, right now, that this is my own opinion, and they are not paying me to say this.  Even though if they did, that would be awesome because I’m getting married and I keep ordering all this wedding stuff off Amazon.

But I digress.

Today, at the public library, I found this awesome book called Vintage Wedding Style, and once I got to flipping through it, I found a few pages that I would like to dog ear for my own nuptials coming up here in about 6 or 7 months.  So I decided it was worth it, and that I’d order the book on Amazon.  And for anyone who follows getting married, check this out, there are some awesome DIY ideas in here, including one for crepe paper flowers that I’m not skilled enough to try, but I’d love to see how yours turns out!

Vintage Wedding Style

I found it, ordered it, and then was forced to order two more nail polishes.  Not my fault.  But they were beckoning me.

Well, I went back to review my order, only to discover that I had had the items shipped to an apartment I hadn’t lived in for years.  And in a panic, I called Amazon, who resolved the issue literally within 5 minutes without any annoyance or hesitation from the guy on the other end.  The guy actual acted like it was his pleasure to be helping me, incompetent fool, out with her mistake.

So for best customer service of the day, Amazon.com totally gets my vote, and for as much wedding stuff as possible, I will be purchasing from them.  Thanks Amazon!  You guys made this neurotic bride’s day!

Engagement anxiety – a wedding post.

| cheriarmour

I was, and am thrilled to be getting married.  Absolutely thrilled.  I’m still in disbelief that someone wants to marry me, but that’s another discussion for another day.

We finally put a deposit down on the venue, and I feel like such a huge weight is lifted.   I literally, to the chagrin of me darling neighbors, did a Rockettes-styled dance when I hung up the phone with Jeremy, my point person at the venue.  The search for a venue was a frustrating one – especially because there’s no real indication of whats in your price range and what’s not until you visit a place.  And then they tell you it’s a $20,000 food minimum.  And then you die kinda.

Meadow
Here it is, the beautiful place where we will be getting married August 23, 2014.

Kudos to all you brides that make it look like you spent a year to a year-and-a-half enjoying making wedding plans over a bubbly pedicure with little flutes of champagne, and your wedding binder in your lap, but whatever.  I am SO not that bride.  Well, not yet.

There’s a little bit of anxiety that comes with being engaged, anxiety about the fact that you’re in this state of limbo, not a girlfriend, but not yet a wife, and you’re expected to run around with clouds around your feet, singing songs, and spreading your arms wide when you hit the high notes.  And any shred of anxiety is supposed to mean that you’re making a huge mistake, right?  Wrong.

Yes, I’m wearing a beautiful diamond ring, and I literally cannot wait to walk down the aisle and become an official family with Austin.  But the diamond doesn’t transcend all, and daily things and logistics about the wedding will create anxiety.  In the span of time since I’ve gotten engaged, I lost my grandmother, moved apartments suddenly, and started a new job, so arrest me for being a little off-kilter.

Additionally, the pressure from other people adds to this.  People making demands as far as their invites, worries about money, logistics of getting 150 folks into your city and housed, fed, and drinked for a night, complaints from family members about your choice of dress, hairstyle, the venue – these all will add to some of your anxiety.

So brides-to-be, listen here.  If you’re feeling a little overwhelmed, and you’re worried that your worry is a sure sign that you’re a freak, destined to be alone forever, chill out.  You’re not the only one and your worry is normal.  Relax and remember that in a few months, you’re about to throw the party of the dang century.  Cheers!

This is to all the marathon spouses.

| cheriarmour

Time to shift the focus of the blog. There is someone I feel like deserves a great big hug, kiss, and a thank you from me.

And I think some of you marathoners out there have a similar person in your lives.

Saturday, as I barfed my way though the final 9 of my marathon, there was someone on my mind.  Austin had dropped me off in the freezing cold, held my things, and reassured me all morning as I worried in Elon.  I know it wasn’t warm, and he fielded two mid-marathon phone calls as I sobbed and told him that I was throwing up, in grotesque detail, with incredible strength and calm.

“Okay love you so much. You can do this”

“Almost there babe. Love you”

A few of the reassuring texts I received from him, not to mention the kind words he passed along as I called him from the port-a-john.  Yep.

I raise a glass to you, marathon spouses.  Those of you who encourage through training, show up for race day, hold all the stuff, jangle a cowbell, and act like you’re happy to see us, even though you’ve been waiting in the cold, bored for hours?  We love you.  We appreciate you.  And we can’t wait for the day when we can do the same for you.

kiss

Wedding Venue Teaser!

| cheriarmour

I think I may have found a wedding venue.  But sorry guys, no pictures in this post, at least not until my fiancé sees it.  But let me bring you on this journey I’ve been on for the last few weeks or so.

Austin and I got engaged in July, and very soon after, my grandmother died, and my mom was very ill, so we really just not have begun some of the planning we need to do before we get married next year.

So you do the thing.  You go to all the venues you’ve seen folks getting married at, you take suggestions, and you visit all the venues on your list.

The photos.

The pictures of the place on the website will almost always be deceiving.  Beautifully lit, a white couple dancing happily while all of their white friends dance about.  And then you pull up to the venue.  “This….is it? Are you sure we’re at the right place hon?”

The visits. 

We visited a few venues.  There was the venue where the chain-smoking coordinator pranced out of the women’s bathroom with still-wet hands.  Declining to shake my hand, she gestured grandly to the room, which looked like a high-school auditorium, and she referred to it as having a “country-club feel”.  There was a stain on the carpet.  A large, mysterious stain.  This perhaps, was a country club in hell.  But not for our wedding.

I spoke with a woman who was nonchalant about the $20,000 food minimum we’d have to hit on a Saturday evening.

I visited a restaurant where I’m pretty sure the guy I was speaking with was high as a kite.  Didn’t do a whole lot to make my comfortable about our big day.

And I visited a place where the woman, a “close-talker” breathed her cigarette-breath in my face the entire meeting.  Would should be breathing on my guests in this same manner?

Last night. 

I pulled up to the venue.  The venue actually looked like the pictures.  (Point)  This was new!  I toured the facility, where I was greeted by a jolly guy with a southern accent.  (Another point)  He was playing John Legend’s new album over the speakers.  (Yet another point) And I began to visualize myself getting married there.  Bingo.  Just to make sure, I drove to Elon and went for a run around campus to make sure I still loved it, to mull it over.  I still did.  And Elon’s campus was gorgeous, even despite the fact that it was dark.  Next step?  Get approval from the fiancé, and make this thing official! Pics to come!