Reception Venue, Check!

Slowly but surely, we're crossing things off of our wedding to-do list. Yesterday, we finally booked our reception venue -- Raquet Club of Memphis. My mom and I have looked at several venues in the past two months. We've seen...

• Ridgeway Country Club
• South Main 409
• Hunt Phelan
• Dixon Gallery & Gardens
• Memphis Botanic Garden
• Brooks Museum
• Tower Room
• Chickasaw Country Club

Several of these places were awesome, but in the end, the Raquet Club had the most of what we wanted.

(source)

Here's what we like about it:

• Central location and not too far from the church
• Easy parking for guests
• Classy atmosphere, but not too formal
• Plenty of space inside
• A layout that's not too spread out
• Wooden floors, so we don't have to rent a dance floor
• Don't need an outside caterer
• Decent menu with a lot of options
• Tables/chairs/linens included
• All inside space (Weather in May can be unpredictable.)
• Helpful, friendly staff

Of course, there are some cons about the place, too, but I think it will be a great reception!

Having our venue booked is a big relief. Even though we still have an entire year to plan, May 19 is a popular wedding date, and I didn't want someone else to book it first!

We've already arranged for our wedding at St. George's Episcopal Church.

(source)

And booked our band -- the Soul Shockers! 

(source)

Up next: photography and videography!

Brian's Proposal

One year from today, Brian and I will be married! Our wedding date is set for May 19, 2012, and I'm so excited. In lieu of our future wedding date, I asked Brian to write a "guest post" about his propsal. He proposed in March while we were at the beach with friends. I was shocked. Here's his account:

Hillary asked that I write a blog post regarding my proposal and our engagement during our trip to Florida.  The trip down to Florida with Daniel, Brooke, Luke, and Emily reminded me of the Lord of the Rings and my duty, like Frodo, to carry the ring safely to its final destination. 

               

During our drive from my apartment in Birmingham to Seagrove, Florida, the ring seemed to burn a whole in my mind.  It was safely hidden in my suitcase where Hillary could not find it, just in case she had the slightest inclination I might be proposing and decided to search for it.  I knew that I wanted to propose the first evening we were down there so we could celebrate the rest of the trip.  All three floors of the house we rented had a balcony, and my plan was to propose on the top balcony (where you could see the ocean) over drinks with friends as the sun set.  I wanted to stay agile with my plans in case the evening's events changed. 

             

We arrived at the house late afternoon, and once we finished unpacking, everyone wanted to go up to the top porch to have drinks.  My plan was falling in to place perfectly.  Brooke began taking pictures, and I asked if she would take a picture of us.  I had already grabbed the ring from my bag and put it into my pocket so I could propose when the timing was perfect.  I got down on one knee and completely surprised Hillary by asking her to marry me.  The only words she thought to say were, “Are you kidding me?”  No, Hillary.  I’m down on one knee with a piece of compressed carbon in my hand.  I am not kidding.  To my relief, she said yes. 

We loved being able to celebrate the evening with friends and really enjoy the rest of our time at the beach. 

I am so fortunate to have found someone that makes me so happy, and I look forward to spending the rest of my life with her.

Mother's Day 2011

Tonight we celebrated Mother's Day. Yes, it's six days late, but last weekend my mom and dad were in Knoxville, Tenn., picking up Leah from school for the summer. So today -- with Leah and me at home -- was the perfect day to celebrate our mother.

Our mom always cooks homemade, delicious meals every single night. She's a great cook (she'd fully deny it, though). Tonight, we wanted to give her the night off and cook something she loves: pasta.

Our evening started with sauteed, seasoned shrimp and cheese and crackers. And chardonnay, of course.

Our "entree" was nothing fancy -- just linguine pasta with marinara and mushrooms, broccolini, garlic bread and a spinach salad.

No dinner party would be complete without a flower arrangement as a centerpiece.

Dinner was pretty good, but most importantly, the company was great. I am going to cherish these times I have left with just the four of us -- mom, dad, Leah and me. :)

48 Feet and Rising

I decided to head downtown today to check out the historic flooding of the Mississippi River. It's an odd sight to see -- part of Riverside Drive is completely under water, crowds of people with cameras (like me) are gathered, gawking, and national media stations are staked out.

The photo below was taken at Riverside Drive and Beale Street.

Kentucky Derby

Introduction
I did it. I finally created a blog -- something I've been wanting to do for a while now. I'm an avid reader of several blogs of all different kinds, and I've always wanted to start one of my own. But I didn't know what I'd blog about. Then, after a co-worker told me she uses her blog to document her family's life (she has it made into a book at the end of each year), I decided that I wanted to do the same. Thus begins the documentation...

Kentucky Derby
Today's post is short and sweet. Something to kick off the blog. It was a pretty fun day at least.

I love the Kentucky Derby, but I don't really know why. It's a whole lot of excitement for a race that only lasts no more than a few minutes. But I guess it's the tradition of it all...and maybe it's hearing the really weird interesting horses' names. Brian and I watched most of the coverage leading up to the race and the race too, of course.

Go Animal Kingdom!

Afterwards we decided to grill burgers for dinner because the weather was so nice. Hence the photo above of Brian, the grill master.

A relaxing evening for sure.