Website and Photo Release

Our photographer e-mailed me and Aaron earlier this week to let us know our customized website was ready. It looks, pretty much, just like what our blog used to look like. Here's the link:

http://www.benfieldphotography.net/engagements/amandaaaron/

We got excited, though, this morning when we found out that our engagement pictures had been released on Pictage for viewing and purchase! We love so many of them! Here's the link for the pictures:

http://www.pictage.com/client/registration.do?event=617457

After you sign the guest book, I think I have to verify you to see them. I'm not 100% sure about that though! Try it so we can all learn how it works! I'm not going to turn any of you down so look at them if you want! Some of you are already verified because I had your e-mail address in my address book. Enjoy! I'm off to Fayetteville!

Ready for Spring!

I just can't wait for warmer weather! I HAD to update the blog and give it a new, fresh look! What do you think?

Aaron and I are going to Rick's Bakery on Saturday to pick out our cakes! I think this will be one of my favorite parts :-)
Our rehearsal dinner is going to be Razorback themed. Aaron and I pretty much revolve our schedule around what the Razorbacks are doing, so it only seemed fitting that we fit it into the wedding! I bet you can't guess what his Groom's cake will be!?!

Sarah Hobart from Hobart's Printing and Design sent some proofs of our rehearsal dinner invitations and they are super cute! I still can't decide which one I like. We have decided on a wedding invitation and I love them! Sorry, you can't see until you get it in the mail :-)
My mom, Aaron's mom, and I had a great time when we met with Sarah Hobart to design invitations. She is so sweet and very helpful! There were so many different decisions to make, I literally had no idea! Paper size, shape, color, texture. Fonts, Scripts, Thermography. Color swatch after color swatch (I swear there were 50 different shades of each color!) Envelope size, shape, color, texture. Not to mention all the different ways to word things! But we had such a great time. We found something that was perfect and really fit our theme. I can't wait for you to see!

I've got a long weekend this weekend, so I'll be in Fayetteville visiting Aaron and going to lots of baseball games. We absolutely love getting to be outside enjoying the atmosphere at Baum Stadium. It's so great!
On Sunday, The '94 National Championship team will be in Fayetteville to sign autographs, watch the film of their game, and attend the Georgia game. Aaron and I are so excited and are devoting our day to enjoying the festivities! Have a good weekend!

Thank You Tuesday: Aaron Ray :-)

All the ladies out there will really appreciate this one!

E-mail from Aaron to Dale Benfield (our photographer)

Oh my goodness! Is he not just the sweetest thing ever? This post is just for him, for being such an amazing person to me and to all of those around him. Not only was he thoughtful for thinking of me in the e-mail, but he really wanted to let Dale and Meredith know what a great job they have been doing for us. I just think Aaron is the best there is!

I am so thankful for the relationship that we have. I love that we were such great friends long before we ever started dating way back when. I always know that I can talk to him about anything and our conversations are always the best. He literally is the best friend I have ever had.

This morning, while I was at work, Aaron sent me a text message telling me that I had some new voicemails I needed to check. Well, this made me so excited that I just had to listen to them right then! He left two. The first one was to tell me that we were exactly 5 months away from our wedding :-) sooooo sweet! The second one was to tell me happy 4 years and 4 months...I mean seriously...do they make them any sweeter than he is? I love that he remembers the little things. I just can't imagine my life without him and there is no one out there suited more perfectly for each other than we are. God has truly blessed us.

And for all you single ladies: remember that there actually are amazing guys out there just waiting to find someone to treat like a princess. Try not to rush it, wait for God's perfect timing, and you will have more than you ever thought possible. That's exactly what we did. Of course there will be some up's and down's, but finding that person to have by your side, that you can work through those up's and down's with, is the most amazing feeling.

Thank you, Aaron! You are amazing :-) I love you.

***Side note: I LOOOOVE going to baseball games. This picture was taken at a Razorback baseball game last spring. This weekend I get to go to my first game of the year and I can't wait!

Thank Goodness for a Rainy Day

Aaron and I are still alive and still in full swing 'wedding-planing' mode! The past week seems like it was a busy one, but now that I look back I can't really remember why. I think its because, both, Aaron and I have been slowly developing a cold.
I had to leave work early yesterday because: #1) I had a fever, and the O.R. is no place for a contagiuos bug! #2) My right eye's water faucet was apparently jammed in the on position, so I constantly had a stream of tears down the right side of my face. #3) My head was warning me that it was getting ready to explode by continuously pulsating until my eyes felt like they were about to pop out.
I was quite a sight to see,needless to say, and Aaron was no better. He had meetings in Little Rock on Thursday and Friday. He's way better at working through a cold than I am. The thing that gives him away is his coughing. I swear sometimes it seems like either a) he's going to vomit or, b) he's going to lose a lung. He might be upset at me for mentioning his cough because all of the ladies in his life (me, his mom, and both grandmothers) seem to kind of get worried about it! We just all love him and want him to be well!
Last night my family asked us to go out to eat and we LOVE getting to do things with all of them. We hated it because were feeling so bad and neither of us felt like getting out. But we did anyway! We just can't pass up an opportunity to spend time with them.
I wish you all could see us now because we are a hilarious pair! Neither of us can breath and there is constant nose blowing going on around here. All we are doing is sitting around trying not to do ANYTHING. That's why today is so perfect. Its raining outside and, so, that eliminates our constant desire to play outside! Our plan is to watch lots of movies and get lots of rest. When we start feeling better I'll fill you in on what's been going on with wedding planning!

Engagement Shoot Video!!!

Happy Valentine's Day!
Let me start off by saying that I have the greatest Valentine ever. He's my best friend and I am so glad to have spent the past 4 Valentine's Days with him! (This one makes #5!)
Aaron and I are in Fayetteville this weekend and have had a FABULOUS Valentine's Day! We went to the basketball game today and, even though Kentucky beat us, we had a great time.
Aaron's parents and sister dropped by his house to visit for a while after the game, which was great! We love getting to spend time with them!
After they left we got ready for a movie and late dinner. Aaron sort of "forgot" to make a reservation for us, so we ended up with one at 9:30. Hilarious! It ended up being perfect for us. We went to see "He's Just Not That Into You" first. The movie was great, lots of sad relationship stuff, but still good. Then we went to eat dinner at Bonefish. Delicious!
The next part was one of the MOST exciting of the night! Aaron and I had stopped to get gas on the way home and I checked the Benfield blog (like I do 4 million times a week) hoping to see some more pictures. To my surprise, a video of our engagment shoot had been posted! Aaron was still out pumping gas and I just sat their squealing! I tried desperately to get his attention! Finally he got back into the car and we rushed home to watch the video (my ol' palm treo doesn't quite care for videos.) We love the video Dale and Meredith put together!

http://benfieldphotography.blogspot.com/2009/02/happy-valentines-day.html

They are so sweet for putting it up on such a perfect day! I just can't express, enough, how appreciative I am of our AMAZING photographers. They literally are the best! Let us know what you think of their great work!
P.S. Sorry for all the smooches :-)

Wedding Peek Wednesday! Green apples... :-)

This gorgeous fruit will serve as part of the centerpieces for the reception tables! (This is where the apple green comes in, in the black, white and apple green color scheme!)
My bff and MOH, Haley, found a great deal on 5lb. bags of green apples for us to get when it gets closer to the wedding. So, I am pretty excited! We are going to use the green apples to fill tall cylinder vases we plan to have at several of the tables. There will, also, be an apple at each place setting with a little note tag attached! I'm not sure if the note tag will just have our new monogram on it, wedding date, or what. Details, details, details! I'll try to figure that one out some other time :-)
I can't wait to see how it turns out!

I'll let you know, tomorrow, how the meeting with Sarah Hobart from Hobarts Printing and Design went!

Thank You Tuesday: Mom and Dad

Once again, I have to thank my parents for all that they have done for us. They have been so great to us in all the many ways that they have helped with the wedding and getting us ready for our life together!

During the after Christmas sales, my mom, Haley (MOH), and I all went out to find some great deals. We all ended up meeting at Dillard's to stock up on some wonderful half priced Christmas decor! I got there first and was completely intimidated by the large amount of women frantically trying to get their hands on that perfect ornament or decoration. So, I stood there off to the side of the mob and just watched in astonishment at what was happening.

My mom got their next and told me to come on. So, I followed her and noticed that she picked up a big card board box. My first reaction was, "Mom, seriously? What do you need that huge box for? You only have one ornmanet in it!" She laughed and said, "You'll see." I, then, took a look around and noticed that lots of women had the same size cardboard box and they were full to the brim with Christmas items! Seriously?!? I thought they were all crazy! I wasn't even married, yet, so I had no intention of buying much.

Before I knew it, I had my own cardboard box and it was quickly filling up! I guess the buying frenzie was contagious! Haley finally arrived and looked at me like I was out of my mind. I told her I had no idea how it happened, but I just had to have it all! So these are some of the styles of ornaments that I found:

They are bigger than they look in the picture. I am such a fan of oversized ornaments! The red ball with the damask design on it in red velour is my favorite! I got several of each different style to go along with a few other styles I found. I, also, found some red and gold wide mesh for decorating the tree and doorway.

The "thank you " part of this post is for this:

My sweet parents bought Aaron and I our first Christmas tree! This isn't an actual picture of the tree, but you get the idea! Its a 7.5 ft pre-lit fur! LOVE it!

We are so excited that we will be ready for our first Christmas together! We both despised the idea of having to go out during the hectic holiday season next year to buy Christmas decorations (mainly because they would be so expensive...not half price like we got them this year!)

All of the Christmas decorations have been packed away in sterilite containers since a couple of weeks after Christmas. I don't think I'll be able to wait a whole year to see them again! Aaron thinks I'm going to have the tree and decorations up by Halloween...he just might be right :-)

Thanks, Mom and Dad!

P.S. Tomorrow my mom, Mrs. Hilborn (Future Mother-in-law, FMIL), and I are meeting with Sarah Hobart from Hobart's Printing and Design to design wedding invitations and stationary! I am so excited that both mom's will be able to be there for such a fun experience! I spoke with Sarah Hobart on the phone today to confirm the appointment and she sounded so sweet and fun. I can already tell that she LOVES what she does and will be such a big help in getting everything just how we want it! Wish us luck!

Wedding Peek Wednesday: Damask!

I'm sure I have already mentioned it on here before, but I just wanted to really talk about how we are going to use it. The black and white Damask pattern is an important part of our wedding decor! I love the modern flair it adds to everything! I think it is oh, so classy!So, this damask pattern will mainly be featured at the reception. The next picture is kind of similar to what we will be doing for the reception tables. (we are going to give it a little life though, but I'll save that for another post!)
We are very excited to see it all come together! By we, I mean all the ladies! Aaron is just along for the crazy ride, bless his heart! He has been such a good sport and a great help! I actually emailed him last night a list of addresses I needed him to get. I tried to butter it up and really make it sweet, so maybe he wouldn't notice how many there were on the list :-) I think it may have worked!

Just so you know, I have so many wedding-ish things to share, but I'm trying so very hard to space it out for you! I don't want to overload all you fellow bloggers and blog readers out there with wedding mania!
Happy Wednesday!

THANK YOU Tuesday: Parents

The week after we got engaged, I found Thanksgiving platters on clearance at my works gift shop. They are so warm and just great! (sorry no picture!) My mom gave me a hard time for buying platters so soon, but I just couldn't help myself! I already know I'm going to be a "Little Miss Susie Homemaker" and I can't wait! It runs deep inside me! I can't wait to have our own house that I can make warm and inviting!

At Christmas time, my mom surprised me with some beautiful Christmas platters. She remembered how much I love platters and it just made my day to get these three wonderful pieces.

This one says "May your days be Merry & Bright."

"Have yourself a merry little Christmas."

"May all your days be merry and bright, and may all your Christmases be white."

I just love them! I can't wait for Our First Christmas, so I can put them out!

Thanks, again, Mom & Dad!

They're up!!! (Engagement Picture Teaser!)

After the Super Bowl tonight, Aaron and I checked Benfield's blog (for like the millionth time!) and to our surprise some of our pictures were up! We were so excited and immediately called our parents! We love the pictures we have seen, so far, and can't wait to see the rest and our Engagement Website!

http://benfieldphotography.blogspot.com/2009/02/amanda-and-aarons-engagement-session.html

Let us know what ya think!!!