Engagement Photo Shoot

Randal and I had our engagement photo shoot on Saturday in Lynchburg. Lynchburg is where Randal and I got engaged, so we wanted to have our pictures there. We chose the country club and downtown areas for our shoot.

Photographer: Thomas Chaffin
Thomas is a pharmaceutical sales rep. that I work with who is also amazing at photography, so I give all the credit to him for our shoot. :-) Thanks Thomas!

Here are a few of our faves!

Dave Barnes

For those of you who are not familiar with Dave Barnes and his music, I wanted to share a link with you.

I came across his music a couple of years ago and have fallen in love with it. He has an amazing voice and beautiful songs. One of his songs is very special to Randal and I that we are going to have played at our wedding, and I'm not going to say which one so it can be a surprise, but I did want to post one of his new songs and I hope you all love it as much as I do.

Date night on a weekday?!?

For the first time in what seems like a loooong time Randal and I had our very first weekday date night (except for a few special occasions) tonight! For the past almost 2 years Randal and I have traveled back and forth from Williamsburg, Lynchburg, and Saltville, so since he finally moved back this weekend, tonight was the first weekday night we were able to have a "real" date without having to worry about driving back somewhere tomorrow!

Tonight Randal and I went to create our bridal registries. It was so much fun getting to pick out things and plan for things we might need once we say our "I Do's" and move in together! It was definitely a fun experience for us, and honestly I think Randal enjoyed it as much as I did, even though he did hold my purse most of the time while I scanned away, but I did let him take a turn every now and then and he LOVED it! ;-)

Soo excited he's back!

xoxo!

We bought a house!

Randal and I are very excited to be new homeowners! We recently bought our very first home and absolutely LOVE it! Randal just relocated back to the area so he will be living there until we get married, then I will move in. So not only are our days spent with wedding planning, we now have a house to paint and do little projects on! I must say though, both are a lot of work, but more fun than we would have ever thought! Come visit!

The Date has been set!!!!

These past few weeks have been absolutely amazing. Randal and I are extremely happy and definitely in wedding planning mode. One thing we have both agreed on is that we do not want a long engagement. When you have been together as long as we have, we both decided there is no real reason to drag it out. So, after several busy weeks of planning and what still seems like a fairytale, Randal and I have finally set a date and location for our wedding and reception.

We can't wait for all of our friends and family to join us for our special day!

The Date: August 28, 2010
Ceremony Location: First Church of God, Chilhowie, VA
Reception Location: Martha Washington Inn, Abingdon, VA

*Invitations and more details will follow!

His Guys

To go along with my 7 beautiful girls, Randal chose 7 guys to be a part of our special day.

Best Man

Garrison (Best Friend of Bride and Groom)

















Groomsmen

Andrew (aka Hambone: College Friend)

















Thomas (aka Hova: College Friend)

















Mike (aka Bic: College Friend)

















David (Friend)













Jacob (Cousin of Groom)

















Jeremy (Brother of Groom)

My Girls

I have the very best friends in the world, and when it came to picking who I wanted to stand with me and be a part of my wedding day, it was a very easy choice. I picked 7 of my favorite girls and here is a little bit about each of them and what makes me love them so much!

Maid of Honor:
Kayla: (Sister)
I didn't pick Kayla just because she's my sister, she is my best friend. Kayla and I are a lot closer than most sisters are, mainly for the fact that we are almost like twins without really being twins. She's been my best friend since the day she was born. Even though I'm the big sister, she's been there for me so many times giving me advice, calming me down when I'm upset, and can make me laugh when I want to cry. She's the most amazing young lady I know and I'm honored that she will be my Maid of Honor!


Bridesmaids:

Anne: (My soon to be sister in law)
Anne was a given choice as one of my bridesmaids! Yes, she's Randal's sister, but she's my best friend too. We graduated high school together and were friends even before I started dating her big brother. She is always the one that I call when I'm mad at Randal or want him to see things my way because she is the only one other than me who can convince him of anything. I love Anne like a sister, and I'm so excited that she really is going to be my new "sister" soon!





Janah: (College Roomie)
Janah and I met in East AJ at Virginia Tech and we've been best friends ever since. Janah is the girl that keeps me grounded and will tell me the truth even if it's not what I want to hear. She is strong in her Christian faith and the sweetest girl you will ever meet. She's a simple girl with a preppy style and is beautiful inside and out.


Karen: (Williamsburg Roomie)
Karen was my roommate when I lived in Williamsburg and she is also dating my cousin Andrew whom she will probably marry one of these days! When I moved to Williamsburg Karen asked me to live with her and we clicked right away. Karen and I like most of the same things and were like two peas in a pod when we lived together. I basically love her for her strawberry pie, stuffed pork chops, her complete set of Grey's Anatomy DVD's, and for the fact that she's the only other person I know who would watch The Holiday with me every week and never get tired of it! Oh, and she's probably the best friend that a girl could ask for, and is practically already like family!


Mica & Louise: (a package deal)
Bottom line they know waaaay to much about me and Randal to not be in our wedding! Mica, Louise, Randal, and I were all neighbors in college. You never saw one of us without the other on the weekends. Lucky for us girls, we all got jobs in the same area after college and still enjoy our dinner nights and occasional girls weekends! Couldn't make it without these two!!!


Katie: (My soon to be sister in law)
Katie is Randal's youngest sister. She is a beautiful young girl who I just adore. When I first started dating Randal, Katie was only in elementary school and I always had to play with her before I was allowed to see Randal. Even though she's a few years younger than me, I've always thought of her as a little sister and I'm very excited she really is going to be my little sister very soon!