Happy, Happy Holidays!

As most women are I am OBSESSED with the holidays.  I love absolutely everything about it, other than the fact that I ALWAYS procrastinate on my shopping.  I have had both of my trees up and my house decorated since before Thanksgiving, but have not even put a dent in my shopping.  So this weekend Luke and i are going to brave the crowds and hopefully knock some of it out.  When the holidays come and go I always wish that would have done more "holiday" activities, but this year I have managed to cover quite a bit of those.  We went to see a Christmas Carol at the IMAX before Thanksgiving.  I went to visit my best friend Katie in OH and she had an Ugly Christmas party,this weekend me and Brit are having a party at her house, went to Opryland Hotel and did the light thing, going to Dickens Christmas this weekend, and next weekend going to Gburg (where i hope to see some snow=), and also going to Dollywood while we are there!  So hopefully after the holidays I won't feel like I have been deprived ha ha.  Im really hoping i get a camera for Christmas so I can start posting pitcures =).  I hope everyone is having a WONDERFUL holiday season!!!

WEDDINGS,WEDDINGS,WEDDINGS!!

  This past weekend not one but TWO of our really good friends got engaged(one being one of my bridesmaids).  Lukes best girl friend Emily, and one my really good guy friends got engaged Sat night at Opryland Hotel.  They had a room at the hotel that night, and after dinner they went back to the room and Matt popped the question!  They plan to get married Labor Day weekend in Florida we could not be more excited about them!  Saturday morning I got a call from one of my best girlfriends(and bm) from college Jill.....her and Josh were in gburg for the weekend to celebrate their 5 year anniversary, and she told me that she had gotten her present from Josh and it was an engagement ring!!!  Unlike Matt and Emily this one was a complete shock to me!!  In fact I got off the phone and realized i didnt even ask how he popped the question ha ha.  I am so thrilled for them and cannot wait to return the favor and help her with all her weddings plans!!

New Addition!

Boy I have been really neglecting my blog the last few weeks!  Luke finally broke me down and convinced me to entertain the idea of getting a dog.  I have never really been a fan of dogs just because i never really wanted to have to take care of one.  Luke on the other hand absolutely loves them.  So I decided that I should really think about it because he is always so good to me, and gives me anything I want so I should not be selfish about this no matter how much I worried about my house getting torn apart.  We went back and forth for a few weeks on what kind to get, and he wanted an inside dog which I was totally against, so I said it would have to be small.  We looked at a few, and I just couldnt fall in love with one because I have never really liked small dogs.  So I mentioned maybe a boxer because my parents grew up with them and always talked about how they were such great dogs.  We went to "look" at some that a breeder here in town had, and we ended up taking one home!  I knew the minute Luke saw them we were not going to leave without one.  We have had Jax for a week and he has been such a joy!  He is such a good dog, and I just keep waiting for him to become a terror, but so far my house is still in one piece and we havent had too many accidents=).  Jax was 11 weeks old this week, and growing everyday!  I will keep everyone posted=)

Kitchen Update

Sorry i have been neglecting telling everyone the updates on my kitchen renovation but things have been crazy!  Im not sure what the last update was but we have cabinets,floors, and as of last week our GORGEOUS new appliances were delivered(never thought i would be so excited over appliaces), and I can't stop opening my refrigerator doors!  The granite countertops were installed Friday, and Sat all the appliances were hooked up, and we started the tile backsplash!  I cannot believe after two and a half months we are sooo close to having a funtioning kitchen!  Hopfully the next post will be all the before and after=).  We have been so blessed to have so many friends and family help with this process, and we could not have done it without them.  I cannot wait to thank them by cooking a fabulous meal in my new kitchen!

Allie's Wedding

This past weekend was a BIG weekend for us....Luke's little sister Allie got married!  She looked absolutely gorgeous!  Luke and I both were in the wedding,  so our weekend was filled with wedding festivities=)  Friday we had the rehearsal dinner, and then Sat i had the bridal luncheon that morning and then ran around all day getting ready.  I could not be more happy for Allie and Brian and I hope they have a lifetime of happiness=).  Here are a few pics from the day....hopefully I will get more soon!

Ashley's 30th Birthday!

I am a little last with this post because i was waiting on pictures. Last weekend a huge group of us including my whole family went to Gatlinburg for the weekend to celebrate Ashley's 30th birthday! She didnt want to just sit at home and be sad about turing 30 so we all helped her not think about it. My family goes to Gburg often, but this was one of the best trips we have ever been on! Friday we got in town and just walked around and enjoyed the gorgeous weather, and all the fall decorations. Saturday morning we got up and all went to Dollywood. We had the time of our lives riding the rides and acting like kids. It was really special because Dollywood is just like Opryland so for those of us who spent a lot of our childhood at the theme part it took us all back to our childhood! It was also special because it was Macy Kate's first trip to a theme park! She loved every minute of it. Seeing her ride the little kiddie rides and laugh the whole time was worth all the money in the world! The park was decorated so neat for the fall, and of course I was loving it! Sat night we all went back to the cabin and grilled out for her birthday dinner, and then started an intense game of left,right,center. For most of us it was the first time we had ever played and it was so much fun! We liked it because 1) there was money involved and 2) it was very easly to follow and partake in adult beverages ha ha! The game lasted until the wee hours of the morning, so needless to say getting up Sunday morning and going to Pancake Pantry was the just what we all needed=) Here are some pics from the weekend!

We have cabinets!

We had our cabinets installed yesterday! I was so antsy yesterday at work i could not wait to get home and see them=) It was such a pleasant surprise when i got home. Even though i picked them out i was still a little nervous, but they are absolutely GORGEOUS! They have so much detail and i don't even think I'm going to put any hardware on them, because i think it will take away from the detail=). I have decided that I'm just going to wait until we are all finished and do a blog on the start to finish with pictures. I have been so bummed lately because this time of year makes me want to do all kinds of baking and try new recipes=( Hopefully sooner or later I will be able to put my new kitchen to the test. I have promised Luke that if he will please finish fast I will cook for him every night for a year...good thing i LOVE to cook ha ha! I cannot wait to show everyone the finished product.

Fall is HERE!

I LOVE the fall almost as much as I do Christmas! I have been getting so excited when I go to stores and see that Christmas stuff is already out.....I CANNOT wait to get carried away with decorating for Christmas, but before that I have to decorate for fall so I have been working on the outside of the house for the past week, and im almost finished! I thought I would show you all what I have done so far=)

NOLA

As I told everyone before we went on our annual Girls Trip to New Orleans this past weekend, and had the time of our lives! Every year when we get back I always think I can't imagine how next years trip can top this one. Well yet again I was proven wrong, because NOLA was the best yet. We had the most amazing food I have ever eaten, and the entertainment was incredible. We arrived early Friday morning, checked into our hotel, and set out to see the town. We went to the Old New Orleans rum distillery, and it was awesome not only because the distillery is locally owned and run by artists, but they gave us complimentary cocktails before the tour, and a sampling of all the rums they make after. So needless to say we started our trip off right=). That night we decided to have a chill night and went to a fancy dinner at Commanders Palace which was on Top Chef. It was by far the best dinner I have ever had. Saturday morning we woke up early to get to the famous Cafe Du Monde for beingets and coffee. We strolled around the town that day taking in all the city had to offer. We were so lucky that they happened to be having the seafood festival that weekend. Saturday night was our big night out on the town on Bourbon Street! We partied like we were in college again staying out until 5AM,and now I know why we only get together and do this once a year. I am still recovering from the trip! Here are some pics from the trip=)

Me and Shan on the street car My amazing dinner at Commanders Palace

Jackson's Square

SO COOL!

I was reading the blog for the place I'm getting married and this was their new post.......If only we could be so lucky to have Kid Rock and Rascal Flatts play at our wedding=)

It Was Magical
Photo by Tec PetajaWe have had so much excitement at Cedarwood lately. Our recent weddings have been amazing, especially the Sunday night celebration of Holly Williams and Chris Coleman.Finally we got to enact our vision of the ultimate countryside ceremony on Cedarwood's meadow using our antique church pews and Victorian Gothic windows...it was magical just like Holly says in the People Magazine news preview article. Look for more on all of the details when official wedding photos are released by Tec Petaja.


Country singer Holly Williams gets marriedCountry legend Hank William’s granddaughter ties the knotLatest News from PEOPLE.com - View the article here.


NEW YORK - How much fun did Holly Williams have at her Nashville wedding Sunday evening? Her dress tells the story, the country singer says.
“I’m looking at my Vera Wang exclusive gown on the hotel room floor and it is covered with mud and ripped to shreds,” she tells PEOPLE with a laugh. “The grandkids will think I was a wild one.”
Despite the couture carnage, the nuptials between Williams, 28 — the granddaughter of country legend Hank Williams and daughter of Hank Jr. — and drummer Chris Coleman, 29, were all southern elegance.
Held at Cedarwood, an 1830s farm estate in Nashville, the ceremony took place outdoors where guests, including Kid Rock and Rascal Flatts’ Jay DeMarcus (who sang a solo version of “Bless the Broken Road”), were seated on church pews decorated with lavender sachets. Antique chandeliers hung from nearby trees.
The bride, whose 10 bridesmaids were clad in black Vera Wang gowns, was escorted down the aisle by her father, who, she says “was wildly nervous but he did great with it. He kept himself together.”
Coleman, whose pal Kings of Leon drummer Nathan Followill was one of the groomsmen, says he had a harder time. “Holly was breathtaking,” he says. “When she turned the corner with her dad I was overwhelmed, and the closer she got the more beautiful she got. I don’t know if it was the sun radiating or her, but either way I was sweating.”
The newlyweds danced their first dance to Emmylou Harris and Mark Knopfler’s “I Dug Up a Diamond” — a nod to their engagement when Coleman buried a ring for Williams to find.
Later, the crowd hit the dance floor as Kid Rock sang a few Bob Seger tunes along with his own hit, “All Summer Long.” The bride and groom took the stage for a version of Stevie Wonder’s “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” with Williams on vocals and Coleman on drums.
As the reception ended, the couple were driven off in a 1939 Packard while guests held sparklers. “It was,” Williams says, “magical.”


We can't wait to show you all the design and details in future blogs! There are so many amazing weddings to blog about...finding enough time to blog within our intensely busy fall wedding schedule is the most creative challenge of all!Linda & the Cedarwood Event Team

Update!

I have been neglecting my blog because i have been insanely busy lately! Between planning birthday andbacheloette parties,remodeling a kitchen, and planning a wedding I have not had much time to breathe. That is why my girls trip this weekend could not come at a better time! I cannot wait to get on a plane to New Orleans Friday with my best friends! The weather is calling for rain, but i don't think anything could keep me from having a good time with these girls=). The kitchen is coming along, we hit a bump in the road last weekend when Luke was going to fix a "small" part of the kitchen floor and found out that half of our kitchen floor is rotted out....AWESOME! I guess this is what to expect when you are renovating, i told him the other day we should be on that show "Renovation Realities" that comes on HGTV ha ha. It would be wonderful if i came home from my trip and there had been a lot of progress made, but I have a feeling Luke will be taking a break himself this weekend=). I am taking pics along the way and i cannot wait to post them along with the finished products hopefully sooner rather than later. I will post pictures from my trip next week!

My Best Friends Birthday=)

Tomorrow is my best friend Brittany's birthday! Brittany and I became friends when we were in high school, and have been pretty much inseparable ever since. In high school she became part of our family, and my parents think of her as one of their kids. When we graduated high school we decided to go to WKU together, and of course joined the same sorority=) After college she moved to Lexington for a while, and that was the first time we had lived away from each other since we were 16, but that didn't keep us from remaining best friends, and luckily it wasn't for that long and she chose to come home. Not long after she got home Luke introduced her to his best friend since childhood Michael. Well who would have known that they would hit it off right away and have been together ever since! So its only fitting that we are best friends and are dating best friends =) I couldn't have been more excited when I got engaged to ask her to be the maid of honor in my wedding. Like the friend she has always been she has been there for for me, and so willing to help with anything that she can. She has been so patient with me as i have asked her to go to just about every bridal shop in Nashville. I am so thankful and truly blessed to have her in my life, I could not ask for a better friend. and I know that our friendship will continue to grow stronger, and I cannot wait to see what the future holds for us!

I FOUND the dress!!

After lots of visits to to bridal shop,looking online, and my bridesmaids being VERY patient I have FINALLY found the perfect bridesmaid dresses=). I was browsing around online a few weeks ago and came across this dress at David's Bridal and fell in love. Unfortunately the dress was only available online, so I ordered one in Brit's size to to make sure it was everything i thought it was. It came in yesterday and its perfect! It fit so well and it was just what i was looking for. I am so happy to have that out of the way now I can move forward with my planning=)

Football Time

We are so excited about college football starting we can't stand it! As most of you know I am a HUGE Auburn fan and Luke is a Tennessee fan. However this never really seems to cause a problem in our house because neither one of us are sore losers, and we never pull against one an anothers team unless they are playing each other of course. In fact last year we went to the AU/UT game and did just fine=). It will interesting tomorrow though because TN is playing WKU so of course I'm pulling for the team that I graduated from......I mean i did meet my best friends there and it was my home for five years=). I am not really expecting a win out of Western, but hoping i will be shocked! After that AU comes on and hopefully they will pull of a W for me=). My best friend Roy and I always try and make it a point to watch games together, and try to go to at least one AU game since that is where he is from and its always fun to go back and visit all his friends and family. This is one of my favorite pictures of us in our AU gear =)

Bridesmaid Dresses!!

Most of you who are close to me know that I am having a REALLY hard time finding bridesmaid dresses. I never in my wildest dreams imagined I would have this hard of a time! I think my main problem is that I have a particular color in mind, I want a really bright,fun, summer pink, and you would think that would be a popular color, but i am finding that it is not. My friends and bridesmaids have been SO helpful helping my trying to find something and I appreciate you all so much=). We have been to a lot of places and still no luck, but my maid of honor and I are on a mission this weekend to find the perfect bridesmaid dress! I know i still have plenty of time, but I feel like i cannot get anything else done until I find this dress......I guess i can't be so lucky to find something as quick and easy as my wedding dress=). Hopefully I will have good news after this weekend and will have a dress! The picture is the color that im looking for....so if someone has any suggestions PLEASE let me know!

Girls Trip!!!

Yesterday was a very exciting day because we bought our plane tickets and booked the hotel room for girls trip! In college a group of us made a pact that after college we would go on a trip every year to "try" and relive our college days. Since each of us have very different lives (especially Shannie who has an adorable little girl), it is so important for us to get together every fall to keep in touch with each other and whats going on in our lives. Although we all keep in touch through phone calls and e mails our girls trip is a way for all of us to get away and reconnect with each other. This year we are so excited to be going to NEW ORLEANS!! I for one am so excited not only to be with my best friends, but i have never been to NOLA before! We are going the weekend of Sept 25-27, and just so happened its the weekend of Oktober Fest in NOLA! So from now until then it will be all about saving money and hitting the gym! These are a few pictures from last years girls trip in St. Louis....if this year is half as fun as last we are in for a good time =)

EVERYONE IS GETTING MARRIED!!

Well this was a BIG weekend as far as engagements are concerned. Not one but TWO of my good girlfriends got engaged this weekend! Friday night we were on the lake with some of our friends and I got a text message from my friend Meg saying that she was engaged! Everyone has just been waiting for the day that this would happen, but nobody knew when it would! I could not be happier for Meg and Aaron they are two truly amazing people who are perfect for each other=). So I have known for a month or so that my friend Leslie was going to get engaged this past Saturday so it wasn't quite as shocking as Meg and Aaron, nonetheless it was just as exciting! I also went to a bachelorette party on Saturday for my friend Heather who is getting married in October! I am so excited for all my friends who are getting married and happy that I have people to talk weddings with since mine is going to be here before I know it! Just to update on our planning I am STILL looking for bridesmaid dresses, but I'm optimistic that I will find something soon! I will keep you all posted....

BIG WEEKEND!

This past weekend was a really big weekend for us! My best friend Katie and her boyfriend Brad stopped in Nashville on their way to her family vacation in Dolphin island, and stayed with us Thursday and Friday night. Although their trip was short we had such a good time, and i FINALLY got to try my wedding dress on for her =). Saturday we started our BIG renovation on the kitchen. The kitchen is the last and biggest project we have on the house! I am so excited because anyone that knows me and saw my kitchen before knows the renovation was a MUST! Our kitchen was very outdated and not very functional. So Luke, some of his friends, my dad, and uncle worked Saturday and Sunday and got everything gutted out. Its going to be very hard to be without a kitchen for what will hopefully be only for a few months, but knowing how much better my kitchen will be will get us thorough it, and our friends and family feeding us occasionally =). Next up this weekend taking out a wall! I have taken pictures of the progress, but I haven't downloaded them so i will post them soon and keep everyone updated on the progress!

Canoe Trip!!

This past weekend Luke and I went on a canoe trip with our friends that we always go on the lake with. We got up at 5:30 Saturday morning to prepare for the trip and meet up with everyone to begin our caravan to the Buffalo River in Waverly, TN. There were 12 of us total and we had a blast! The river moved pretty fast because of all the rain we got last week so it was nice to not to have to paddle as much(not that I was doing much). The trip down the river went really well until the last hour when we flipped not once but twice! We were good sports and just kept on going. The trip went really well, but boy were we worn out! I wish I had some pictures to post but THANK GOODNESS I didnt have my camera with me or I would have been one unhappy camper=)

Meet Macy Kate

Last November my sister gave birth to the most precious little girl in the world (im not bias). Macy Kate Kessler came into all of our lives like a whirlwind and we all fell in love. The is the most energetic, happy, loving child I have ever met. I never realized before she got here how much I was going to love that little girl. I sometimes think she is mine ha ha. If i dont see her for one day I have to go over to Ashley and Marc's house and visit because I miss her so much. Luckily Ashley and Marc are very sharing parents and let us all pass her around like a doll. Well I am not the only one that is smitten by this little girl my parents have discovered that a grandparents love is like no other. They always say that is something completely different from your own. Probably because they spoil her rotten and send her home. It is amazing how we all make fools of ourselves over that child! She has just started crawling and is all over the place! Im sure there will be many more pics to come!

The Bachelorette

So I wasnt going to watch the bachelorette this season, but my friend Jill came to live with us for a while, and she had been watching the show so she got me hooked!! So last night as Jill and I had our usual monday wine and dinner night we were glued to the TV to watch the outcome of the show we had invested so much time in. Jill was always a fan of Jesse, but when he was cut Kipton became her new favorite! From the time that Ed left I told her the whole thing was staged, Ed would be back, and thats who she would pick. However as the show went on last night I was FOR SURE she would pick Kipton, and thats who I wanted because as time went on Ed began to get on my nerves, and after seeing him in the infamous green shorts that was it for me I switched teams ha ha! So Jill and I both were so SHOCKED when the show came to the end and she rejected not only Kipton, but Reid as well. So as I usually do on Tuesday morning I e-mailed my friend Jenny so we could share our opinions, and she gave me the link to a gossip website and according to some sources that are more reliable than others(as the website said) Ed has a girlfriend in Chicago, Kipton is signed to be the new bachelor, and Jillian is going to dump him and try and to get Reid back tonight.....sound familiar?!?! So I can't wait to tune in tonight and find out if the rumors are true=)

Our Wedding

Soon after we got engaged I was on the hunt for the perfect place to get married! I have always wanted to get married outside despite the fear of rain I was on a mission to find a outdoor venue. The first place we went to was Cedarwood a plantation home/wedding venue that is ran by two sisters here in Nashville and I fell in LOVE. It just fit Luke and I so perfectly with the mason jars hanging from the trees and the old wooden swing in the front yard. Anyone close to me knows that I love flowers so that was the most important thing to me, and just so happened one of the ladys that owns the place did flowers for weddings for 13 years before her and her sister opened Cedearwood. There was one drawback from the place and that was it can only hold 200 people comfortably, and it made me really nervous so I continued to look at several other places but kept going back to Cedarwood so we decided that it was more imporant for us to be able to get married where we wanted than having more guests, because in the end we will be able to have all of our closests friends and family there and thats whats most important! So we booked the place for June 12th 2010! Next up was finding a wedding dress, a friend of a friend told me about a little place in Columbia, TN called The Spoiled Lady so thats where I decided i wanted to start the adventure to everyone's surprise I fell in love with the third dress I tried on bought it and the search ended there. My dress is absoultely perfect as my best friend Katie would say "the perfect southern belle dress". The lady that worked at the shop actually brought it to me and I would have NEVER picked it out myself, but boy im glad she did! Next up will be finding bridesmaid dresses I hope it will go as smooth as dress shopping!

FINALLY!!!

I have been saying I was going to start a blog forever and i finally joined in on the fun and took the time to do it. I wanted to share with everyone all of my wedding planning and as most of the people close to us know Luke and I are renovating a house so it will be fun to show all of our before and after pictures of the crazy process. To back track a little.....Luke and I had known of each other for a very long time because he was friends with a lot of the same people I went to high school with and I always had a little bit of a crush, but we never actually met. Fast forward to December 2007 my friends Megan, Emily and I went to visit some of our guy friends we went to high school with, and we get there and unbeknownst to us Luke lived with them! We hung out for a bit and then left and hit the town. With the work of my friend Megan and his friend Adam we all started hanging out together, and by Feburary we were together! On December 6, 2008 Luke popped the question and obviously I said YES!