We Did.

JOE AND I DID IT.

I am now Mrs. Anna Crews!

A few of my favorite photos are below, enjoy!

 

{I got my toenails done to match the girls' dresses.}

{My personal favorite of Joe.}

{I LOVE MY GIRLS.}

 

{Thank you, Pinterest!}

{Remember my top secret unity ceremony idea? A unity braid! A cord of 3 strands is not easily broken...<3}

{A few of our youth group girls that I work with!}

{Joe and I with the Powell's--a HUGE thank you to them for allowing us to use their property for our big day! We love y'all!}

 

Hope you enjoyed the brief photo summary!

Xoxo,

The Crews'



T minus 28 days!

I cannot believe my wedding is only 4 weeks from today. Panic is starting to set in! There is so much to do still, I just want to freeze time. When I said, "Yes!" in May, I had no idea how fast time would fly to October. I feel like I've blinked, and it's almost here. Pinterest isn't helping with the process, because I only keep seeing more ideas I love. Someone should really block Pinterest from my iPhone and laptop until October 21st. {No, but really, please don't...} Haha!

 

Today is bittersweet: it is the first day of fall. I LOVE FALL. I love layering clothes, I love not having a ton of humidity, I love a slight chill. I also love bonfire-season. The downside to this is that I no longer live in my sweet little house on Sugar Hill Road, where I could have bonfires in my huge backyard every weekend. I moved into the house Joe and I will live in together at the end of May, and Joe is at his parent's until the wedding. I realized this morning, when I let the dog out and felt the brisk morning air, that it is bonfire season...and for the first time in a couple years, I can not have a bonfire kickoff to fall. This is probably not a bad thing, as all my time and energy is invested in this wedding and settling into our home...but I sure do miss having all my friends over for fire, drinks, and music.

 

I told you I would keep you posted on this wedding process, so here's some of the "new" news:

 

1. We decided on a unity ceremony idea! I don't want to share it yet, as I'm so excited and want it to be revealed the day of the wedding. But what I can share is my thought process leading up to the choice! Our wedding is outside...meaning candles/open flame symbolizing an eternal commitment probably aren't a good idea. Nothing would be worse than lighting a beautiful candle to represent our marriage vows, and to have a fall breeze come in and blow it right out. Embarrassing!

The only other choice it looked we were left with was the obvious sand-pouring ceremony. {Insert gag here.} First of all, sand is beachy. I like the beach, but our wedding is not at a beach, nor beach-themed. Second, I am so "anti" doing what everyone else does or expects. Not that I'm a huge rebel, I just like to be different. Obviously with a wedding, there are certain traditions I am sticking to because I'm a southerner, and a Jesus-lover. But I want to do them {respectfully} different. My dear friend, Whitney, {an amazing wedding planner who loves Jesus with all her heart!} found a really beautiful idea, that fits the feel of the wedding perfectly, and I am so beyond excited to use it.

 

2. I am using tutorials from The Small Things Blog for my hair, my sister's hair, and Beth's hair. I have always had a love for Kate's blog {see here or here}, and I am so thrilled that most of her tutorials are for beautiful, classy, simple styles that will be stunning for our wedding vibe. A very close friend of Joe's, Autumn, will be doing our hair.

3. Some of the guys from church (particularly a group of senior high students whom we dearly love) are choreographing a dance for the reception. They are extremely excited and I am beyond curious and thrilled to see what these goobers come up with. I was totally rooting for having the bridal party and a few select friends do a flash mob during the reception, but after my sister giving me a strong "NO," I decided to let it go. {But I still think it'd be REALLY cool!}

I think that's all I am at liberty of sharing at this time. :) I can not WAIT until after the big day, when I can show you everything else! Secrets are SO hard to keep when I am this excited. :)

I Said Yes!

While getting my hair done tonight, my stylist (the lovely Allison at Salon Amore!) told me that I should be blogging about this time in my life. "Think of it as your journal, a place to sort your ideas," she suggested. Why didn't I think of that?, I wondered. I have been absent from the blogging world for so long, I should be banned. In my defense, my life has been insanely busy...so without further ado...

JOE AND I ARE ENGAGED! He asked on May 19th and we have been super busy ever since. We are planning our wedding for October 20th of this year. (AHHH!)

Want a sneak peek at what I'm considering? Keep reading. I want to share this process with you and my planning ideas, because I know that not all of you will attend. I wish so badly that I could invite each and every person I know, but its just not financially possible. I have had to make all kinds of cuts to my guest list, and it hurts me each time I have to, because I care so much for the people invested in my life. I'm finally down to 220 people, and I'm having to leave it there. I can't make it shorter, and I can't add a single more. I figure this way I can at least share wedding details and excitement with everyone, regardless of invitation status. If you get one, know that you are loved and dear to me. If you do not get one, know that you are also loved and dear to me and that it was very emotional for me to not be able to offer the opportunity to attend.

* * *

I have always been very sure of the desired feel of my wedding: rustic southern. I'm not sure what triggered that desire years ago, but it seems a natural thing for me.

I've always wanted 3 components to make up my wedding: water, but not the beach...a barn...and a large open field. I figured I'd never find all 3, but that I would settle for as close to the perfect trio as possible. Then, I saw the photos from one of our youth girl's birthday parties: her parents live in a house with a barn and large field. It was beautiful. I fell in love with the scenes from the pictures. When I saw her dad, Tom, at church, I asked him if he'd consider allowing me to look at his property as a potential wedding site. He was thrilled I'd asked, and offered to let me come by sometime and look at the property. I went out, and lo and behold, there was the barn and field I'd become so fond of. But it wasn't at all what I'd expected: there was a long drive from the main road, with fields on either side. The barn was in front of the house, to the right. I'd imagined it in the back, but felt fine with it being in front. As he walked me around back, I was amazed to see that their backyard sits right on a riverbank. All 3 of my wants were right there in front of me!

Our plan is to have the ceremony in the back, and reception in the front. I have this beautiful vision of a ceremony with the river in the background, and a party of a reception in the front with the fields and barn, with lots of strung lights.

Here are some ideas I'm in love with:

{I love this color scheme: so much that I'm copying!}

{I love the idea of cotton in the centerpieces! That's truly a southern thing!}

{Everyone knows: it's not a party 'til you play some cornhole...}

{The dinner plates will have similiar foods!}

Once I have more ideas finalized, I will share more! I could not be enjoying this time anymore than I already am. :)

hootin'-ninny-hoots, and other things.

so my most recent favorite thing to do is learn southern colloquialisms.

whew, let's say that word again. it's fun.

colloquialisms.

i think it's sad that these amazing phrases aren't being carried on by the younger generations; you only ever hear them said by older people anymore!

i had a patient the other day that scheduled surgery; as she walked out of the room, i said, "i'll see you soon!" her response, without looking back, was "good Lord willin', and the creek don't rise!" it caught me off-guard, being something that you don't hear often. but i loved it. it was like hearing a beautiful foreign language; i grew up hearing phrases like that but they seem to be heard less and less frequently as i grow up.

another patient, a sweet little lady who sounds like she was raised in carolina, responded to a question with "oh honey, i don't give a hootin'-ninny-hoot." {translation: i don't give a care.}

it led me to look up more online, and here a few of my favorites i found:

"he swooped down on it like a duck on a June bug!"

{i think this would be fun describing guys hitting on ladies!}

"well don't you look prettier than a glob of butter meltin' on a stack of pancakes!"

{that sounds pretty appealing to me, i wouldn't be opposed to being told that! ha}

"he's as useful as a pogostick in quicksand."

"the engine's running, but nobody's driving!"

"that boy's two sandwiches shy of a picnic."

{i know some people these could be said about!}

"that dog just won't hunt!"

{it just won't work.}

"so good, it'll make you want to slap your mama!"

{this paints a funny picture for me.}

"well ding-dang!"

{i say this one all the time.}

"i'm fixin'ta ______"

{i'm about to _____}

and lastly, you can say anything you want about a person, as long as it's followed by a "bless his/her heart..."

okay, so some i might try to revive, and others i might not...do you have any favorites? let me hear them!