I’m now officially a Mrs.!! Wow, what a whirlwind, amazing wedding weekend! I’m still digesting it all! Since it isn’t quite time for us to take off on our honeymoon, we’re taking a “minimoon” — a.k.a. few days to relax and catch our breath! This is our view (pictured above) from El Encanto — nestled in the hills of Santa Barbara. Not only is the view stunning but the food is spectacular and the spa is magnificent too! Couple all of that with a glass of wine and my new husband by my side… è perfetto!

We are officially in the final countdown! We leave for our wedding exactly one week from today (eek!). You may have noticed, my blogging schedule has been a bit spotty as of late. The days are flying by and it feels like for every two things I cross off my “to do” list, three more appear! As I shift my focus to wedding related projects (like the little sneak peek pictured above!) please rest assured that there will be plenty of posts in the future to fill you in on everything that has been keeping me busy… all in due time.

My niece created the CD art (above). I think we might have a budding graphic designer on our hands! 

At my bridal shower in Philadelphia, my sister-in-laws contacted the guests before the party and found out their wedding first dance songs then compiled a CD to give out as favors. While Jason and I have already selected our first song (hint: it’s not in the list below!), it was so fun to see the variety of songs and even more fun to see who picked them! We’ve been listening to the CD while doing wedding-related things like selecting songs for our band to play (which we are doing right now!).

Here’s the song list from this compilation:
“No Other Love” —Perry Como
“Harbor Lights” —The Platters
“Dance Only With Me” —Blossom Dearie
“The Twelfth of Never” —Johnny Mathis
“Sunrise, Sunset” —Perry Como
“First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” —Roberta Flack
“It Had to Be You” —Frank Sinatra
“Our Love is Here to Stay” —Ella Fitzgerald
“L-O-V-E” —Natalie Cole
“Fly Me to the Moon” —Frank Sinatra
“You’re All I need to Get By” —Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
“That’s How Strong My Love Is” —Otis Redding
“I’ll Make Love to You” —Boys II Men
“You’re the Best Thing” —Style Council
“Loving Cup” —The Rolling Stones

This isn’t just any ol’ scavenger hunt — it’s a Bachelorette Party Scavenger Hunt! It all started with my dear friend Jenn’s bachelorette weekend Miami. In the midst of planning, the other bridesmaid and I were brainstorming ideas and thought it might be fun to have a game that we played throughout the weekend. We weren’t interested in the stereotypical bachelorette games. We wanted to think outside the box. When I mentioned that I participated in a scavenger hunt in Los Angeles and thought it could be fun with a “bachelorette” twist, we immediately started brainstorming! Once our list was complete, I designed a 2-sided card (pictured above) including our ideas and some empty lines that could be filled in as we were inspired over the course of the weekend. We handed these out as we toasted Jenn and, well, the rest is history! At the end of the weekend, the score was tallied and one lucky winner went home with a prize — a tank top with a line from a song by these guys!

This weekend I’m off to my own bachelorette party in New Orleans — JazzFest, Po-boys and beignets, here we come! Laissez les bon temps rouler!

Sometimes being a bride means you have to make sacrifices — waking up at the crack of dawn to workout, driving all over town for vendor meetings, having a “to do” list that is pages long. It can be a tough job. And then… there are the tastings! My fiancé and I have enjoyed our tastings so much that we’re considering keeping our “newly engaged” moniker after we’re married just so we can continue trying out all of these wonderful caterers, bartenders and bakers! But, alas, our wallet, our wastelines and our moral compass will forbid us from doing so. I will, however, savor every last bit of the tastings we do have scheduled! This past weekend we enjoyed — er, I mean we ”endured for the well being of all our guests” a cake tasting. Witness the aftermath (pictured above). All I have to say to my trainer is: “I’ll do a few more minutes of planking to make up for this indulgence… and for the box of macarons that I took home!”