I N C R E D I B L E N E S S

It has almost been a month since I have posted and soo much has happened! First off I hope everyone had an amazing thanksgiving with their families and are thankful for everything in their lives. My thanksgiving was very good besides the fact that the finace had to work but thats ok!

Hmm I don't even know where to begin! hehe :)  OH YEA!! Soo I finally got my shoes and they fit this time! YAY! They are soooo beautiful and stunning but I don't want to say anything cause they are a surprise. Everything that I am wearing is going to be a surprise for James and since he reads this I can't say anything BUT uhhh they are amazing!! Soo now I just have to practice walking around the house and get them broke in so my feet aren't killing me at the wedding....but...I'm guessing they are going to kill me anyway....but its all worth it!!

James and I also went and registered for gifts!!! We went to Bed Bath and Beyond and probabaly spent 2 hours picking out stuff! James only went cause I agreed to let him handle the sanner gun! haha! :) Not sure if it was as much fun as he thought but there wasn't any random stuff on our list when we were done soo he did a good job :) It was actually a lot of fun and now I can't wait to open presents at the bridal shower haha! But it also brought out our differences and we couldn't agree on some things....but that'll happen!! And on Wednesday we will be registering at target!!!!

We also made a trip up to Cave B Inn and spent some time talking to the wedding coordinator about the big day!! After the meeting I got sooo excited that I wish we could jump ahead and just get married!! I am soo excited for all the love, food, celebrating, drinking, crying, laughing, and dancing that is going to happen! Its just going to be an amazing day!!

And today...I finished designing our Save the Dates and sent them into B&B Express Printing! I had to make some changes but tomorrow I get to go see a tester and then they can get printed!! I can't wait to get them sent out....it'll be a huge weight lifted off my shoulders!! And it will just be another step closer to the big day! They look awesome and I am soo proud of myself that I was able to design them myself and still love them. It is really hard to design for yourself. At WSU I worked as a graphic designer and I loved it but it was always for someone else....this time it was for me soo I was very picky and couldn't decide but I finally decided and I love it!! I think its perfect!! And I already have our invitations designed tooo!!! :) :) :)

Even though I get stressed out a lot and freak out about all the little things I am soo excited to continue planning the wedding and honeymoon and can't wait for the big day!! Its going to be sooo amazing and I know it will be a feeling I have never felt before when I put on my wedding dress, and see James for the first time and have our first kiss as husband and wife and dance our first dance! Its going to be a day full of incredibleness!!! I can't wait!

I also finished the blog and all the pages! Well to the best of my ability right now! I think I am still missing a picture on the wedding party but the rest of it is done SOOO ENJOY!!

In the coming month we will be ordering dresses and tuxes!! :)

<3 Shayna Lynn

Dresses, Tuxes and Shoes OH MY!!

We have hit another benchmark! We are in the 100's!!! :)  YAY!! I dont know what else to say except that I am excited as always haha!! I ordered my shoes the other day for the wedding and I got them and I love them BUT...they were too big! For everyone that knows me knows that I already have huge feet sooo how in the world would they be too big haha! But they were! So I have to send them back and get a different size but I have time soo thats good!

We are also meeting with our videographer on Monday! He videoed my cousins wedding and did an awsome job! I'm excited!!

Its all starting to get real and I'm starting to do more and more things for the wedding! Sometime this month I need to take a trip to Spokane to see my dress and do the first alterations!! And then by the end of November or beginning of December I want to get all the tuxes picked out and outfits for the flower girl and ring bearer!! And then the girls need to order their dresses in December!!!

YAY!! And James and I are starting the gym on Saturday!! Heres to an amazing body by time we go on our honeymoon!!

So there are a lot of exciting things happening and once the new year hits it will get even more fun with bridal showers, bachelorette parties, cake tasting, food tasting and more decorationg..oh yeah and apartment hunting!! :) I can't wait to live with James!!

Well thats all for now but I am sure there will be something new in the next week or two!!
Oh yeah! I don't remember if I already blogged about this but we had our engagement pictures on Saturday and I can not wait to see them!!! :) We should have all our pictures in about a week and a half! EEEEEEEE!!!

Loves!!! :)

Many things in the works!

We are almost in the 100's! :)  It is starting to go by fast and I am sooo excited! On November 19th we will be down to 6 months! YAY!! Its crazy how much I still need to do and get done. It's just so hard because a lot of things can't be done until a couple months before the wedding! But some of the fun starts tomorrow!

SHELLAC!!! If none of you ladies out there have had shellac done to your nails, you are missing out! It is amazing! I am getting mine done tomorrow for the second time! It's a hard nail polish that makes your nails harder and kind of gives the look of fake nails but without the damage! Everyone needs to try it!

But we have many things in the works right now and hopefully I will be blogging about them in the next month or two! On Saturday we have our engagement pictures with Ali Walker who does amazing work! I follow her blog religiously! Check her blog out!  I am sooo excited for pictures and cannot wait to see how they turn out! I hope the weather is nice and not rainy or super super cold haha!!

I have also been working on save the dates, invitations (rsvp cards, directions cards, etc.), programs and many other paper items for the wedding! Since I love graphic design and worked at a graphc design shop for 3 years I decided I would create them all myself and I am loving the style I have going so far! James also is loving it and thinks it looks really cool! I can't wait to share them with you all and hoepfully I will be able to share them sometime in November....well at least the save the dates cause those need to go out by middle/end of November! :)  And then its also about time to register at stores for gifts!! Now thats going to be fun...not sure James if is looking foward to those couple of days but we shall see!

Once January hits this wedding will be here in no time and like I've said a billion times....I AM SOOOO EXCITED!!! So many things will be happening starting at the new year and my blog will be overwhelmed with posts!

I will also try to get all the pages on my blog finished soon! :) 

I'm not sure if I have metioned my colors for the wedding yet! Here they are!

Most of the wedding is going to be very simple black and white with bursts of royal/cobalt blue! I'm really excited to see how it all turns out....I hope everything goes together and it will look nice! I love weddings and would love to plan weddings for a living but we will see if I am good at it after my wedding hehe :)

Stay Tuned!

I now pronounce you husband and wife.....

Today we had our first meeting with our officiant! It was AWESOME!! I am really excited for him to officiate our wedding and I think our ceremony will be perfect!!

We had such a good time today talking about our relationship and how it all began! We started to outline our ceremony and what all will be included and said! I am really excited because it is going to be totally personal and definitely about James and I! I love the personal touches we are adding that are specific to James and I!

After our meeting I got sooo excited about it all that now I am feeling really good about the wedding and I think it will be perfect!! Even though I stress about decorations and details...I know that the ceremony is going to be everything I dreamed of and I can't wait for it to happen!

So tonight James and I came home and did our homework! The officiant had us take an assesment test individually and in two weeks we will find out how compatible we really are ;) haha!!

So yeah, I'm excited  to plan our wedding with the officiant and talk to him about our relationship and get some advice!!
Soon will be saying I DO!! :)

<3 Shayna Lynn

Newest additions to the wedding!

Well I finally have some new additions to the wedding that I can now blog about! I am soo excited because for years I have had these centerpieces picked out that I wanted and could not find them anywhere....UNTIL about two weeks ago! I went to the place called Wonderful Weddings by Craft Warehouse and what do you know! I found my centerpieces!! All I can say is that they are tall, sparkly, white, and .....welll its a surprise haha! :)

So I am so excited about my centerpieces....they are probably my favorite part about the wedding! I got to set up a table and see what it is going to look like on the day and its AMAZING!!!

Also I finally found my guest book too!! I am making it myself so I guess I found the supplies!! And I got them all on sale! I only need one more item for the guest book and I will be able to make it :) I'm just so excited for the wedding to get closer because I have sooo many DIY projects and can't wait to make them!

I also found our toasting glasses! But there is a twist to it and no one will know until the day of the wedding! hehe! But its going to be awesome!! :)

Well we are down to about 7 months and something days! Its starting to go by soo fast! I am soo excited! Our engagement session got postponed until sometime in October and so I am shopping for outfits and getting excited for those! I have some ideas up my sleeve to make them personal and special so we will see!

Thats all I have for now but I am sure I will be blogging more and more as it gets closer! :) :) :) :) :)

<3 Shayna Lynn

White sand, clear blue water, and my Man by my side!

Our honeymoon is going to be so AMAZING!!! I can not wait to be in the carribean with my man relaxing after our beautiful wedding! We are going to the island of St. Lucia....which I have recently heard is the new hot spot in the carribean :) We have soo much planned for our honeymoon and have an amazing oceanview room!!

St. Lucia is a gorgeous island with huge beautiful jungle covered mountains, white sand beaches, shallow clear blue waters, palm trees and amazing views! We are going to stay at one of the Sandals resorts on the island! I can't wait!

I also know that James is super excited for the honeymoon too! I think he is more excited about the honeymoon then the wedding haha! :) I know we will have an awesome time together because we love going on trips together! And we are both super stoked to go somewhere tropical because neither of us have never been!

Our trip to St. Lucia will be our first journey as a married couple and will start the beginning of our many adventures we want tot ake together! We want to travel after we are married before we have kids and I can't wait!

Well that is about all the newest news so far :) I still need to find the other girls' dresses....but I'm not too worried because I think we will find them soon!
I have been on the internet alot looking at DIY wedding websites because I want to do a lot of my details and decorations myself to add my own touch!!
Also I am unique in my style and want my wedding to be something different and so I have been searching the internet for different way of doing things and creating a beautiful wedding! :)

Here are some pictures of the beautiful St. Lucia!!

Oh yes! And James can't wait to go golfing! :)

Talk to you soon!

<3 Shayna Lynn

The BIG DAY!!!

Hi Everyone! Sorry it has taken me sooo long to update my wedding blog! I have been super busy lately....but not with wedding planning!

Today is exactly 9 months until our BIG DAY!!! I can't believe it. There is still soo much to do and figure out! But I am super excited! At the beginning of August my sister and I went bridesmaid dress shopping! We found the most beautiful dress for my sister and have decided that the dresses for the other girls are going to be different since Shara is the maid of honor! So we are stilll looking for the other girls' dress!!

Then last week James and I drove around allll day to model homes in Pasco and it was soooo MUCH FUN!!!! I love looking at houses and can not wait for us to have our own home together forever!! :)

But that is about alll the wedding planning I have done so far! The rest of the time I have been hanging out with the in-laws at the farm and a couple days ago I was soooo proud of myself! I learned how to syphen (spelling?) tubes!!! By the time I finally got one tube I was covered in mud up to my knees, and my arm was cramping up!! Then the soon-to-be father in-law and I had a bet of who could jump over the widest part of the ditch! Well lets just say he made it and I was soaking wet up to my neck cause I fell in!!! haha! But I learned how to syphen tubes!

But that is all I have for now and hopefully soon I will post something exciting!

<3 Shayna Lynn

P.S. My countdown is all messed up and I am going to have to count the days by hand....sooo stay tuned for that! :)

We are in the 200's!

Oh man! Time is starting to fly by! 299 days until the big day! It seems like I have a long time but for all of you who have been a bride before.....well lets just say its about the time you start to stress a little bit! I'm not stressing alot but just a little bit!

I will be honest though! A couple weeks ago I was wishing that the time would go by faster and everyone kept saying "Don't say that, you'll wish you didn't" and now look at me....I'm starting to stress and hoping it doesn't go too fast!!

There is sooo much to do and some stuff I never even thought of! My mom and James' mom keep saying little things here and there and I hit my forehead and say "Oh my gosh, I didn't even think of that"!! haha!! I'm a newbie! :)

I absolutely love our location, but having a destination wedding is definitely a little more stressful! Just alot of planning, organizing and trips to the Gorge!! But I know it is going to be amazing and I can't wait for that weekend to come!

On Wednesday, Shara and I are off to rome the Tri-Cities for bridesmaid dresses and hopefully we will get lucky and find something beautiful!! :)

It's all starting to become real now that we are in the 200's! Soon I will be writing and it'll be down to the 100's and then down to weeks before and then days! Ekkk!

Hellllooooooo 200's! I'm ready for you!:)

Wedding News!!!

Ok, so I appologize...it has been awhile since I have updated about the wedding plans. Well I have soo many things that have happened over the last couple of weeks. First and foremost I have picked my bridal party and I am sooo excited to have these girls apart of our special day.

My Maid of Honor is my sister Shara. I have always dreamed of having my sister be my maid of honor and I am excited for her to plan the bridal shower and bachelorette party :) !

My Bridesmaids are Sharee Fitzgerald, my best friend from college :), my best friend Anna Peterson who I have known since kindergarten :), and James' best friend since he was born Erica who has become my friend and will always be apart of our family :)!

I am really excited that I have my bridal party all picked out! I wanted to do it a LONNNGGG time ago cause I had the cutest idea of how to ask them but then I held myself back until after I graduated. I actually got so anxious to ask my sister that I asked her the day I graduated!! haha :) But anyways, I wanted to ask the girls in a cute way soooo I thought and after many ideas I decided on one! I bought black frames and decorated each frame with the letter of their first name and pretty jewels of their favorite color. Then I made a sign that said 'Will you be my Maid of Honor?' and 'Will you be my Bridesmaid?'! I had James take pictures of me with each sign and had them printed in black and white! Then I put them in the frames and gave them to each girl! I loved it and I think all the girls loved it too!! :) Here is a picture of the one I gave Shara!!

I LOVE it!!!! hehe! Now I just need to get the boy to pick his side of the bridal party!   (I have everything check off my list in my planner right now except for the bridal party and the officiant)

AND....the other great news is that I FOUND my dress. In my last posting I was so excited to announce my first bridal appointment in Seattle but I found my dress before I could make it up there :)! Almost two weeks ago I went up to Spokane to see my friend Anna and ask her to be my bridesmaid. Welll we decided to go look at weddings dresses...Just for FUN!!! Well of course when you plan on doing something just for fun you actually end up finding something!! So I found this dress and it is amazing!! I think it was my 7th dress I tried on and I couldn't stop smiling :)  It is a one of kind soooo no one else in the entire world will ever have the same dress as me. Well my sister wasn't there an neither was my soon to be mother-in-law and so I decided I would take the chance of it not being there and wait until everyone could come. Well I couldn't stop thinking about it allllllll night and all the next day soooo I decided it had to be my dress. So my sister, mom and I met my friend Anna up in Spokane and we went to go look at the dress and try on others just to make sure!! But it was the one...everyone loved it and I couldn't stop smiling once again!! Sooooo.....I GOT IT!!!!! :)  If anyone knows of anyone who is looking for a wedding dress tell them about Marcella's Bridal in Spoakne!! It is amazing with very unique and one of a kind dresses for the unique bride. Also the staff there is wonderful and makes you feel like the most important girl in the world! I would highly recommend them!!

YAY me!!! :) hehe

AND....the last of the news is that James and I went to meet our photographer Ali Walker! She is an amazing photographer and I am soo excited for her to shoot our enagagement and wedding photos! Our meeting was awesome and I loved all her ideas and thoughts!! If any of you are interested in photography, or like me you love to look at photography blogs or you know someone who is engaged let them know about her! She is an amazing and talented photographer!  aliwalker.com/blog/

Welp! Thats all my news soo far!! I have everything checked off on my 12-9 month wedding list except officiant and bridal party like I mentioned before! Plus I've already dived into the 9-6 months by meeting with the photographer!! I love my chek list. It has kept me up to speed on everything I need to get done and my wedding will be organized!! :)

<3 Shayna Lynn!

White and Sparkly!

Yesterday I made my first appointment to go try on wedding dresses!! :) I am sooo excited! A long time ago I had found this cute little shop in Seattle called I Do Bridal! The outside is painted pink and black and it just caught my eye! And then, my favorite designer is Maggie Sottero and their website said they carry her dresses! So that was the plan until recently. Recently I just thought it was going to be too much of a hassle to get my mom, sister and mother-in-law up there! So I settled for this little shop in Spokane!!

But... every now and then I keep going back to this cute little pink shop downtown Seattle! Sooooo maybe it was a sign! So yesterday I was looking at wedding dresses online and decided to check out the website for I Do Bridal again. It said they had some upcoming events and I decided to check them out! Right when it popped up....I'll admit....I screamed haha!! On the page it said they were having a Maggie Sottero Trunk Show the weekend of July 16th!!!!! I mean c'mon people...this is a dream come true! So the next day I made an appointment for Sunday July 17th at 11am!! Its going to be an early morning but oh well its totally worth it!

Before I go to Seattle though, I think I am going to go David's Bridal just to try on dresses and see what styles I like best so when I go to Seattle I kind of have something in mind! But I don't really want to buy a dress from David's Bridal....! So that is the plan!!!
Hopefully I will come home with a dress by Maggie Sottero!! :)

Wish me luck!!

<3 Shayna Lynn

Three Hundred and Forty-Two Days!!!

I am soooo excited to get married!!! I'm starting a count down :) I know, kind of silly but hey! its only one day that is truly mine!!! This weekend was my cousins wedding...which was ABSOLUTELY beautiful!! I got allll excited this weekend because our wedding will be somewhat similar. They had their wedding at this awesome barn in Dayton and everyone camped out all weekend!! It was super fun and just gave me relief that mine will also be successful and fun!
I was super nervous about doing a somehwat destination wedding because I am close to all my family and want them all to be there!! But after this weekend I know it is now possible for everyone to make it and it will be an awesome weekend getaway filled with food, dancing, love and family!!!
So with all this excitement I thought I would start a countdown!!
I am also sooo excited for our honeymoon! I love spending time with James and we always have a blast on our vacations!! Its going to be soo fun and relaxing and a great way for us to start our life together!!!
This next year is filled with soo much excitement and I can't wait for it all to unfold with wedding dress shopping, bridal showers, decorating, planning, and finally the wedding! :)
EEEKKKK!!!!
Wish I had some more fun details about the wedding but I don't unfortunately!!

<3 Shayna Lynn

P.S. I just got an awesome new camera....a Cannon DSLR 18 megapixel and I am beginning to practice!! Hoepfully soon when I have some more practice I will start a photography blog!! So keep me in mind! :)

Ooops!

Sooo in my last post I forgot the locations name!!! gees... my bad!

Our wedding location will be at Cave B Inn at Sagecliffe at the Gorge in Washington!!! :)

And the countdown begins...

ONE YEAR EXACTLY until our wedding day!! All week we have been saying that Thursday will be one year til we get married....and what do you know...Thursday is here! I am sooooo stinckin' excited!!! So is James!!! Somedays it blows my mind that I am actually engaged....oh and I am still not use to calling James my fiance! But I LOVE it!!

Since it is one year until our wedding I will go ahead and announce our location! I am sooooo excited to be getting married at the most beautiful location I have ever seen! It caught my eye one day as I was looking at a photographers blog and I told myself that is where I am getting married! And when I showed it to James he fell in love with it to so I knew it had to be our spot!! We took a small family trip to the location in April and everyone was in Awe! They all loved it and are soo excited to go and spend our wedding weekend there. It is somewhat of a destination spot with gorgeous secenery and views to die for!! Ok ok ok....I will show you the spot now!!!

Here is the link if anyone is interested in looking! The picture on the front page is the spot where James and I be married!!!!

http://www.sagecliffe.com/weddings.htm

EEKK!!!! I am soo excited!! The spot that we are getting married at overlooks the river and the hills in the background. Honestly some of the pictures I have seen from photographers shooting weddings there are unbelievable!!!! :)   I am really excited that I can now announce the location and hope you all enjoy looking at it. It really is a spectacular place!! We have talked about going there for our anniversaries!!! :)

I can't wait to marry the man of my dreams and live happily ever after!

~~May 19, 2012~~

<3  Shayna Lynn

A New Chapter in My Life!

I am officially graduated from college! Saturday was a great day filled with excitement and nerves. I'll be honest..I was pretty nervous to graduate because now what?? Haha! Now its time for a job and the real world. But I am pretty excited for the real world. I am sick of school and staying up until weee hours of the  night studying. Now I will have a job that I can hopefully go to and then come home at night and relax or do things I want to do besides homework!! Also I am ready to be home with my family and friends...I have missed soo much in the last 4 years. I am soo excited to be able to celebrate family birthdays and get togethers again! Just really excited to be involved in everything that has to do with my family.

Four years ago it was really hard for me to leave home because I am soo close to my family. But it was an awesome experience that I will never regret or want to change. I learned soo much about myself and life! 

Also in those awesome 4 years of college, I met the love of my life! Three in a half years and we have made it long distance. It wasn't easy but when its meant to be and when you love someone you make it work. Now that one chapter in my life has closed and will forever be cherished, a new chapter is opening! I am now home and able to focus on planning our special day which I am soo excited for. I can't wait to go shopping for my wedding dress!! This weekend I also asked my sister to be my Maid of Honor!! She has always known she would be but I wanted to ask her and I am soo excited to spend the next year with her planning my wedding and doing all the girly things we love to do.

Be able to spend alot of time with my sister will be amazing! We have always been really close and when I went to college it was really hard. We didn;t get to see each other very much!! BUT now we can become super close again and I can't ait to grow with one another in our lives.

Okay I'll stop rambling and soooon this blog will become entertaining with wedding plans and our honeymoon plans. But I dont have alot of it figured out yet. BUT soon....I promise!!

:)  Shayna

The Month of May

Its MAY!!! Such an exciting month. I am graduating on May 7th which I am soooo excited for!!! It has been 4 long and hard years but I made it. And I am super excited to be moving home again. Can't wait to finally live in the same town as James. Long distance for 3 1/2 years has been amazing but I am ready to be by each other.
The other exciting thing about MAY is the on May 19th it will be one year exactly until our special day. I am soo excited to spend the rest of my life with James and can't wait to celebrate with friends and family. I have dreames of this day my whole life and it is now coming true!!
My blog for the next year will be mainly focused on my move back home and WEDDING PLANNING!!! So stay tuned for all the awesome fun details of our wedding day. I can't wait! :)

<3 Shayna

Lovin' It

I am lovin' how it is turning out!! I had to change headers about three times though because I couldn't get a photo to work so now I just have text!! It has been really fun creating this blog and I can't wait to learn and do more things with it. Thanks everyone for your help..it was much appreciated and needed!! :)

Testing

Just doing a test to see how everything looks!! I did not know that creating a blog would be soo difficult. Ok well the creating the blog isn't difficult....it's making it cute thats the difficult part hehe :)!! It still needs alot of work but I got it started.....