Engagement Party Planning

When it came to deciding on the engagement party, Matt decided he wanted to have it at his parent's condo. It's nice, big, and pretty! Perfect for entertaining. So he called his parents and asked if we could have the party there. We started shopping for invites, looked for the perfect wording, and decided on what kind of party we wanted. We decided to use the same colors that we plan to use in the wedding (purple and teal). We were thinking heavy hor d'oeuvres from the beginning, and then we decided on Italian! Since our first date consisted of Matt cooking chicken parnesan, it seemed fitting. My ideas were bruschetta, fried mozzarella, meatballs, etc. Matt's mom did not like that idea at all, saying that those were the only three things she could think of as Italian appetizers and that she hates bruschetta. Wonderful. Then Matt tells me that after speaking with his dad, I need to schedule a meeting with his mom because his dad is no longer participating in the planning with her. FINALLY! Matt calls her to discuss the issues and apparently she had been confused about whether we wanted her to throw us a party at their place, or if we wanted to throw our own party using their place. Matt todl her to go ahead and take care of it because it's so much easier that way. Whew.

INVITATIONS: I went with some DIY invites from Michael's. The main colors are teal/turquoise, but I wanted to incorporate some purple and bling! I threw away the turquoise ribbon that was provided and bought purple. My mom and I tied bows at the top of the invite and attached a single rhinestone in the middle of the knot to give it some sparkle :)

Location & Dress

We went to look at rings in July 2010 and after that day I could not stop looking at wedding stuff for the next week. I had the fever. I looked at venues everywhere! I found this place very close to Houston that was so different from the hundreds of other venues I had seen online. Agave Road is beautiful, classy, and unique. There are agave plants all over the place and the landscaping is fabulous. The entrance gates are huge hand carved wooden doors. There's an in ground fire pit and the walkway is completely lit up with Tiki torches. I want to have an outdoor, evening wedding....so this is perfect!

The night we got engaged I was already on the computer requesting information about packages. The great thing is that they include almost everything you need for your wedding! The only other things I need to look for are a photographer, wedding dress, and florist! The even better thing is that the place is so beautiful inside and out, that there really isn't a lot to do to spruce it up.

We went and toured AR on January 1st with Matt's sister and husband. We all fell in love at first sight :) I couldn't stop talking about it and I just knew that it was the place for us, so on January 15th we went back and signed the contract and booked our date! March 25, 2012. Such an exciting day for us.

The Dress!

My mom and friends all came with me to the bridal extravaganza. We went to a couple of dress booths that were offering discounts for booking appointments. Even though the wedding is a good ways away, we went ahead and booked some appointments to take advantage of the discounts. So on January 21st, my mom and I got started. We had 3 appointments in ONE day! I do not suggest this as we were both exhausted and by dress 15, they all started to run together.

However, at the last appointment the 2nd dress I put on was the winner! It was a combination of all of the details that I loved. It's a Maggie Sottero. Once I knew it was "the one" I had to stop looking. I'm so indecisive that I knew I would just confuse myself. I know it's early, but we went ahead and ordered the dress to save money since prices were going up February 1st. It should be here near the end of June. I'm glad I have plenty of time to look for the perfect shoes and decide on what type of bustle I want.

For now, we are working on the engagement party invitations. It will be at Matt's parents condo on March 26th, almost one year to the day from our wedding :)