Less than a week to go ...

... and a million things to do!

We've updated the map and transportation section so you can have the most up-to-date information on getting around. Finishing touches are coming together and all we're really waiting for is everyone to arrive so the party can begin.

Please let us know (or ask our immediate families) if you have any last minute questions or concerns and we'll be seeing you soon.

Love and hugs, ~Heather and Richard

Have Questions?

Chances are you just got your invitation and you're looking for details about our special day. If you can't find what you're looking for here, please leave a comment. I'll answer them all here so that everyone can benefit. Help us remember what we forgot to tell you ... start the comments feed below!

Invitations Out!

It was a wonderful relief to have the invitations go out the door this week. The thought of so many guests heading this way is simultaneously invigorating and terrifying. It's real (and only 53 days away!). There are so many details yet to plan, so many lists to make and to-do's to cross off.

The thought that gets me through it is knowing that by the end of the day on March 31st, I get to be married to my best friend in the world, surrounded by my best friends in the world and the greatest family a girl could ask for.

So let the box of favors arrive and almost trip me as I walk in the door. Have the shoes fit in the evening and be too tight the next morning. Make us appointments on weeknights and weekends and in between each of our alternating shifts. Just get me to the church on time and sign the papers when we say I do.

Please don't let those reply card stamps go to waste; drop us a line and tell us whether you'll be here to party with us! It's going to be a good day ... best of our lives. :)

Delighting in Details

The past couple of wedding planning weeks have been all about the details. Do we have all of the correct addresses for invitees? What is the timeline for all the necessary paperwork? Are we going to do this? Are we going to try that?

Honestly, I'm comfortable with all of the details so far. It can be overwhelming to think of them all at once, but on days like that I just remember my friends flying in from around the world, my family driving in from every-which-way, and then I am thrilled to be planning these details for them.

So what's been going on?

• The first dress fitting
• Printing and stuffing the invitations
• Planning the rehearsal dinner
• Taking care of the marriage prep and religious paperwork
• Trying to find a Catholic officiant
• Cake tasting
• Bridal shower planning (that's Lorien and Mom)
• Getting the flower girl dress
• Finalizing honeymoon details and payments
• Reserving the honeymoon suite
• Sending the last of the save-the-dates
• Taking Mom to the reception site

It's been crazy busy. And I'm loving it. 66 days and counting...

Engagement Photos

When we were putting together this website, we realized that the only pictures we had of ourselves together were taken at arms length. So, in November, my Uncle Thomas came down and took some amazing engagement photos of Richard and me.

The first round were taken at Stoneleigh Golf & Country Club - soon to be the site of our reception. Later on, we met Lorien and Travis (my sister and brother) at Great Falls National Park for some pictures there as well. The dressier shots we took the next morning around our neighborhood.

There are not enough words to thank Uncle Thomas for his brilliant photographic work and my cousin Micah for her assistance setting up shots and keeping us laughing. But, since "a picture is worth a thousand words" we'll let those speak for themselves!

Registries Up!

It has been fun working on our registries over the past few months. What have we learned about registering and each other?

1. We both love quality.
2. Not all scan guns are of equal quality (we're looking at you, Target).
3. Apparently, we only ever want to cook.
4. RJ loves green as much as I do.
5. Registries should be done in bursts; too much "shopping" at once can definitely get you frustrated.
6. We both really like to find the best deal on everything - RJ online and Heather by staring at three different brands for five minutes at a time in the store.

Want to see what we're wishing for? Head over to the Concession Stand to see our fabulous registries!

Save the Dates Mailed!

I'm so excited to have most of the save-the-dates addressed and in the mail! Of course, we're still rounding up a few addresses, but the main work is done. RJ was amazingly helpful (no surprise there) and got the contract with the Best Western Leesburg squared away, too. That means there are 30 guest rooms blocked off for wedding guests and (at least some) transportation for folks who won't be bringing their own vehicles.

Tomorrow morning I'm meeting with the caterer who will probably be making our wedding cake, and fingers crossed that the florist will get back to us today too.

Wedding productivity. Super huge win. Being able to share our special day with friends and family, biggest win of all.

Bitten by the Bridal Bug

I'm not sure if it is being done with coaching volleyball for the season or just that there's only about four months until the wedding, but the bridal bug has definitely bitten me. I'm flipping through girly magazines, buying LED candles, organizing lists of friends and family, and daydreaming about our honeymoon cruise to the Caribbean.

Until recently, I would definitely say I was taking the whole wedding planning gig in stride, but now it's definitely become something I think about everyday. About 10 times a day. I know it will get worse, but I'm embracing it. As far as I'm concerned, being engaged is a once in a lifetime experience. I plan to make the most of the next four months while avoiding the famed "Bridezilla" issues.

Mostly, I'm just so excited to get to marry my best friend at an amazing party we get to throw for our family and friends. Honestly, how can you let little things like typos overwhelm the awesomeness of that?

Save-the-Date Prep

In preparation for planning our wedding, I've spent some time looking at planning lists in wedding organizer books and magazines, as well as online. Here's a little something they don't tell you before suggesting you send the save-the-dates 6 to 9 months in advance: you have to do a third of the planning before you can get the things out the door!

Things to secure before you send a save-the date:

1. List of people you plan on inviting to the wedding. You need this so you have a rough guest count, which is required to find...
2. A venue. If you're religious, count on needing both the church and the reception site secured in advance, because a critical component of the save-the-date is the...
3. Date for the wedding. Come to think of it, this might be important to figure out - at least in the abstract - before hunting for venues. In our case, we wanted it to line up with my spring break from school, so it limited our choices quite a bit.
4. The addresses or email addresses of all of the people on the list from #1. You want them there, you've got to get them the details, like...
5. Where to stay. Blocking off hotel rooms for out of town guests is on the many lists I read, but not until about 4 months before the wedding. Giant fail if you have 75% of your guests coming in from out of town. These guests need details, which is why you also need your...
6. Wedding website. Include everything you can and then just update like crazy as you go to avoid a million phone calls.
7. An actual design for the save-the-date. If you're having someone design all of the stationary, you've got to secure that person too. Oh, and if you want a photo of you and your love on it, you have to find...
8. A photographer for your engagement photos. Luckily, this is not the same person as our wedding day photographer, so we still have another couple months to handle that. If you're not using a picture, you still probably want your save-the-date to reflect ...
9. Your theme. And if you are not the type of girl (or boy) who has been planning your wedding since childhood, this can take some time. Thank goodness RJ and I knew exactly what we wanted, and who we wanted in our...
10. Bridal party. Best to let them know a bit before everyone else about the upcoming nuptials. Saves on another million questions later on.

I'm capping the list at ten. If I figure out another thing I thought I still had months to do, but actually need to finalize before these save-the-dates go out the door, I might as well just send invitations and forget about saving the date at all.

Which would be a total shame, because the design is looking really awesome. :)

We're getting married!

If you're here, you probably already know that Richard and Heather are getting married this coming March. Please consider this your one-stop-shop for anything and everything you need to know about the upcoming nuptials (and probably more that you really don't care about at all!).