Just call me the Bride of Frankenstein!

O.M.G. is this story unlike any other I have posted on this blog & WARNING: some of the pictures in this one are NOT for the every day wedding blogger...

Well, to start off I had a great weekend!  It was my friend Ash's Bachelorette Weekend (post on that coming verrrrrry soon), and I was SO anxious to get home, unwind, and get prepared for a busy week ahead.  Celebrating with her was so much fun and I definitely had a CRAZY weekend, but the CRAZINESS was about to go through the roof before I had a chance to know my name, what day of the week it was, or what timezone I was in!

I won't bore you with a long story but let's just say when I was grabbing my bags out from Mr. Hess's big SUV trunk, somehow I proceeded to close the trunk and tried to pick up my bags at the same time.  Now, I know what your thinking, and NO I was not in the slightest bit drunk, hungover, or even tired for that matter...I have NO EXCUSE for this ridiculousness!

Now, I have been known to pull some stunts in my day and have proven numerous times that I am in fact a huge klutz, but this one truly takes the cake.  After hearing this story, my friend Ash told me that Mr. Hess's SUV owes me an apology because this 10 seconds of "unloading" got me knocked onto the ground, created a huge gash in my head, caused me to bleed everywhere (including on my new dress and all over my RING), 4 hours in the ER and 8 staples in my head.  Yup, that's right....staples in my HEAD...WHAT?! I know there are worse things that could have happened to me, and THANK GOD I had no kind of brain damage from this, but COME ON, REALLY?!?!?!?!

The absolute FIRST thing that popped into my mind is, "OH CRAP, HERE WE GO...." I had no idea what was in store for my future, but I knew it might not be good.  Mr. Hess came rushing to me and handed me a towel from his truck to put on my wound, which thinking back probably wasn't the most sanitary thing to do....but we rolled with it.  There I was, on the garage floor scared and had no idea what my head looked like or how bad it was....and believe me I feel SO lucky that it wasn't any worse that it is, I am truly blessed that 8 staples is all I need to a speedy recovery. 

On the way to the hospital Mr. Hess and I both kept going through a roller coaster of emotions...I would go from crying to laughing to getting angry for being so careless and klutzy.  Do you know what my first thought was (QUE MELTDOWN HERE)...."What if I need stitches?  And WHAT IF THEY HAVE TO SHAVE PART OF MY HEAD?!!?!?!" ARE YOU KIDDING ME?  Of course this is the year of random things and extra expenses and unexpected curveballs, but it seems as though Murphy's Law miiiiiight be pushing the limits on this one.  Again, after screaming "WHY NOW, WHY NOW, WHY RIGHT NOW...." over and over I went back to crying, laughing and getting angry.

Not the prettiest of pictures, but almost too good not to put on here...lol

When we got to the hospital it seemed like a million years went by until I finally got to see a doctor.  It wasn't longer than 2 hours, but when you are a bride-to-be picturing how the heck you're going to cover up WHO KNOWS WHAT on your head, the wait multiplies by a thousand.  It's crazy how something so silly like hair made me think such things but I seriously kept saying in a pathetic little defeated voice..."Maybe we should elope? Or...postpone the wedding?!" I know, I know - that's crazy.  But I'm telling you if I had to walk out of there with bald spots all over, don't put it past me people!

In the waiting room wondering "WHAT THE HECK JUST HAPPENED?!"

 So, there we are in the exam room and I just kept telling anyone who came up to examine me...."Please don't shave my head, I'm getting married in 3 months and I just can't deal with that!" I finally got JUST the response I was looking for after a few questionable ones when the physician finally assured me that would not be nessecary.  Apparently hospitals rarely do that anymore, especially on women.  FINE BY ME!!! Go ahead and put all the staples you want into my body, as long as there aren't any bald spots I'm a happy girl!  After hearing this I looked at Mr. Hess with such grateful eyes and I knew it was going to be okay.  Below, you can see a pic that you'll probably say, "WOW, too much info there," but I gotta work on my street cred, right?!

Ewww...gross. I know.

 As I was getting "stapled" I realized how silly this whole FREAK OUT was...things like this happen every day, and I started joking with her as she was stapling me saying how I need to work on my story because slamming a trunk on yourself just doesn't look cool.  We all had a good laugh and before I knew it, it was over.  It's moments like these I know Mr. Hess is going to stick by me no matter what type of condition I'm in.  I know it doesn't seem like that big of a deal to you, but the way he looked at me and held my hand really melted my heart.  He kept telling me "you're a strong, strong girl" and that motivated me to keep on trucking through it. 

Mr. Hess: You truly are my best friend, partner, and life long inspiration to be my best...and I love that.  So, THANK YOU for being there for me always, and letting me be your  

"BRIDE OF FRANKEINSTEIN!" as you called me... ;)

Hostpital bracelet and cleansing insturctions - OH BOY...

I get the staples out in 8 days and before you know it I'll be just like before.  When I got home I had a present waiting for me, and THIS really freaked me out because Mr. Hess had picked these babies up on his recent trip to Sacremento and I forgot to open it before I left for the weekend.  He said now would be a great time to open the present and what do you know....socks.  Not just ANY socks, but SOCKS WITH "STITCHES" on them...can you believe that?

You TRULY know me well, Mr. Hess.

Until next time little monsters,

Presh

Wedding Hint #5

I was going to wait to post this one because I average about 1 hint per month, but then I realized I would never get to giving away 10 Wedding Hints (which is what I originally wanted to do) at that rate! So ENJOY the second and last hint of the month:

I'm sure it's obvious to you - but this Hint combines a few different hints I've given so far (colors & crystals) and adds a BIG ONE to the list.

Every Ring Bearer needs a Flowermaid!

I was looking forward to spending some quality time with my mom, sister and niece this week.  We planned to spend an entire today doing wedding stuff together and first on the list for things to do was find my niece a Flowermaid Dress!   

Well, what the heck is a "flowermaid?" and why would she need a dress?  Let me explain...

From the beginning I was torn about whether or not to include my niece and nephew into our wedding, and there are two reasons for this.  1) We are not having children at our reception and 2) My niece is 9 years old, and tall for her age...so I knew she had outgrown the "flower girl" title.  After thinking about this topic since I asked my bridal party to be a part of our big day back in October/November, Mr. Hess and I finally agreed about what we would do.

My niece, Kayla.  I absolutely LOVE this pic of her!

Since Kayla is my ONLY niece and Cole is my ONLY nephew, it only seems fair that they should be a part of our big day.  The bridal party is well...traditionally about the "bride"...and for this reason I wanted to include them both into our ceremony, and I'm SO happy to officially announce:  

 Cole is going to be our Ring Bearer (and I can't wait to see him in his cute little tux/suit!) and Kayla is going to be.....a FLOWERMAID!  

My definition of the flowermaid title is "the role you give someone you love in your wedding when they're in between the age of a flower girl and a Jr. Bridesmaid."  I didn't really want there to be a Jr. Bridesmaid in my party because Lord knows we already have 9 beautiful bridesmaids there!  Since she is taller, she wouldn't have really gotten away with a Flower Girl title either...so out of no where one day it hit me - I can call her a FLOWERMAID! If it doesn't exist, it's not a problem because you know what?  It's OUR day and Mr. Hess and I can do whatever we want at OUR wedding!  :)

I really enjoyed getting to spend some girl time with the girls in my family.  We started off the day by going to have lunch at the cafe my caterer operates and finally put down a deposit with him! (AHHH FINALLY! This deserves an entire new post, so you can expect it in the next week or two when we go back to pick out linens and do a tasting!) After that, we picked out a few stores we wanted to try to find the perfect flowermaid dress for Kayla!  I had already browsed online and looked over the flower girl sections of Priscilla's when I was there last and had a few ideas.  We were right by the Millenia mall, so we figured we would start with a shot in the dark at David's Bridal.  Now - ladies, I'm not knocking this store...but the first time I ever attempted to go here was in the very beginning of our planning process...I walked in and saw the MADNESS...and walked right back out.  In no way did I want picking out my dress, my accessories, or my bridal party dresses in a stressful environment. SO, believe me I thought this would be a shot in the dark to say the least...

Ready to pick out our dress and color! SO many options...

We walked into DB, and surprisingly this time it was busy but not crazy. We signed in at the front and got assigned someone to help us.  At first, we found a few options in the flower girl section, but of course we all loved the dresses that came in white or ivory only.  Seeing that I didn't want Kayla to LOOK like a flower girl, I knew this wasn't an option. We pulled a few "doable" options, but then our consultant had the amazing idea to go look at the Jr. Bridesmaid section - the WHAT?! I didn't know that existed!  I'm so glad she mentioned it, because right away we found EXACTLY what we were looking for! It has similar material of my dress, and is very complimenting to the girls' dresses as well.  We chose to have the color different from the bridesmaid dresses because it wouldn't match exactly to their dresses and didn't want it to clash.  So, we settled on a pewter grey color and are going to accent the color in with accessories!  Kayla loved the dress, but I think half of the reason was because she tried on a bright blue color, which obviously is NOT in the wedding color scheme.  Eventually, she'll realize what her dress will look like, and I'm excited to see it all together with me, the girls, and accessories!

Do you like how I put in a bouquet to hide what her dress actually looks like? ;)

I had such a good time with my family, just taking a day to grab lunch and go shopping.  We really don't have enough days like that to just "hang out".  After the dress shopping we hopped over the Millenia mall and enjoyed the bouncing from one store to the next.  My mom even got her make-up done at MAC and she looked beautiful!  Hopefully that was just a preview for her of what her treatment on my wedding day will be like... :)

So there it is, the definition of a flowermaid.  Don't be surprised if you see this term a few more times, and even on the program at the wedding ceremony.  I'm extremely happy with the decision of including the two into the Bridal Party, and I'm even more excited to see how cute they look on the day of our wedding!

LOVE YOU BOTH!! <3

Kayla and Cole - Flowermaid and Ring Bearer! <3

113 days to go, my beautiful ---<-<-@ maid,

Presh

Courtney's Baby Shower!

We all know by now that this is the time and age where a lot of my friends are getting married, having babies, and starting completely new chapters in their lives.  I was in my dear friend Court's wedding last Januaray (2010) and I had the exciting role of helping to host her 1st baby shower last weekend!

I have known Court literally since I was in diapers, so it was a no-brainer that I would be involved in all of her new chapters of life, and she would be a part of mine.  I felt honored to be standing by her side about a year and a half ago when she became a MRS., and I felt just as proud this past weekend when I got to experience her first baby shower...welcome to the:

Sugar + Spice & Everything Nice Baby Shower!

To start with, Court's sister Lori is a bridal and baby shower genius.  She claims that she has been to "a shower or two" and has helped plan a lot of her girlfriend's showers and even weddings.  I knew right away when she started e-mailing a few months ago that Court's shower was going to be great, but seeing how everything turned out and how much work she put into everything, I was completely floored.

She knew ahead of time when she asked me to help host this wonderful event that I would not be able to get involved as much as I usually would, with traveling and planning a wedding...but I was there the day of and I can honestly say I could NEVER think of anything or do anything she hadn't already done or thought of!  Ladies, I have found the ultimate shower planner...and yes, I would hire her myself! 

Now that you know about how I personally am not responsible for the cuteness below, I am going to show you exactly what I'm talking about...some really cute ideas here!

"SUGAR & SPICE" table complete with Spiced Chai tea!

Baby sonogram...look at that little nugget! <3

Printed SUGAR & SPICE napkins:

 

Regular, Chocolate & Strawberry milk...great idea:

YUMMY chocolate fountain.

Food set up:

AND...as for party favors? Make your own candy bag...yum.

SUGAR & SPICE Candy Bar! (Get it?!)

Pink & White M&Ms...of course.

Great party favors!

I had read and heard about everything that was going to take place at this shower, but I had no idea just how much planning had gone into it until I got there.  Everything turned out SO freaking adorable, and I know Court appreciated every second of it.

Mommy-to-be Court! <3





And the baby shower hostesses:
My sister and niece, Me, Court, her sister Lori, Katie and Karine

It was so nice to see all of the girls again, and it almost like we pressed a rewind button to a year and a half ago when we really got to know each other during all of Court's bridal showers and wedding events!  It's really amazing how time just flies by...and here's proof: a beautiful baby girl on the way!

I CAN NOT WAIT to meet her, and I feel like I am going to be an Aunt again.  Court is in no way my "sister", but our families are very close and we jokingly call each other "cousins" and introduce ourselves that way to others, so you can see why I feel so connected to her baby on the way!

One thing I absolutely LOVED about this shower was the memories Court is going to take home with her.  Lori (once again) outdid herself and couldn't have made a cuter scrapbook for the baby, and for the guests to sign.  Each guest got a designated page in the scrapbook and we were told to pick our background, writing paper, and write a message to the baby.  She then took a picture of each of us and would add it to our page and finished off the page with some stickers.  INSTANT SCRAPBOOK! You know how obsessed I am with these, and you've probably seen it by now but I did an entire post about this subject in the "Our Honeymoon Album" post last month! 

great idea and touching gift for baby & mommy:

Instant Scrapbook:

Pick your background page, your writing space page, and write your message.

 Decorate with stickers, and finish it off with a photo of you (taken at the shower) to put on the page.
Example and directions of what each page looks like...genius.



I couldn't get over the amount of time and detail that went into every aspect of this shower, KUDOS Lori! :)  One more thing I thought was a great idea was buying the guest of honor Thank You cards, and having each guest address their own envelopes to be sent to them later...you know kind of like what you do at the dentist's office, but more fun! lol.

At the end the shower, Court pulled one name from this pile and they won a gift...easy, and very helpful for the guest of honor to get started on showing her thanks to the guests.  Good thing she had a good start because HOLY PRESENTS!!!

Court, Lori, and one of my fav presents:

UF Gator & FSU Seminole baby girl dresses - yup, they're a house divided!

I'm sure it's overly obvious to you how much I enjoyed this baby shower.  Not only did I get to spend time with Court and her family, but I got to share such a joyous time in her life with her.  I am so happy for her and I already love the little nugget in her belly SO much!  I can't wait to meet her and I'm counting down until the day that happens...

Love you Courtney!

You are going to be an amazing mother and your little girl is going to be surrounded by so much love.  I feel blessed to be such a big part of your life, and honored that you are one of my bridesmaids!  "Sister" or "cousin", whatever you are, I'm so glad we share such a special bond and I can't wait to add one more little girl to it...verrrrrry soon.

See you at the hospital!