From One Wedding to Another

I'll begin this post with a little bit of honesty....

When Justin proposed it was without a doubt the happiest night of my life. However, at the time I was not fond of having a long engagement. (A year and a half-I don't graduate until May 2012) I'll speak for most engaged women....When your boyfriend finally pops the question and you finally get to call him your, "fiancé," you eagerly await the day you get to finally call him your, "husband." (Funny, right? All we ever do in life is wish away the present in anticipation for the future) Although I was a little weary of our extended engagement, my sister's wedding made me appreciate the extra planning time!!

For those of you that do not know me or my family...

My sister, Jessica, got engaged three months before me and planned to get married the following March. (A short engagement in contrast to mine) For six months, I watched my sister devote all of her free time to planning her wedding. (She was living in Minnesota while planning a wedding down south in Alabama....yikes) She chose the flowers and cake while in Mobile for the holidays and communicated via email, monthly with her vendors. Needless to say, I learned an insane amount of information about wedding planning during those six months. Her wedding was absolutely BEAUTIFUL and I actually cried a few times throughout her special day. (I am not an emotional person, but weddings always get me ;) )

Loved this moment

Truly a stunning bride

Our new brother-in-law, Matt! (How handsome is he?!?)

After the vows were said and the kiss applauded, I took Justin's arm as he walked me down the aisle. (He was a groomsmen and they paired us together) As we passed my parents sitting in the pews, I looked over and said, "I'm next!" as they both cried tears of joy!

The morning after the wedding I walked into the kitchen carrying my, "bride basket," that Emily made for me. It was complete with multiple bridal magazines, ring cleaner, a photo collage frame of our engagement pictures, and a pair of panties that read, "Future Mrs. Harrison." (I didn't plan a single thing before my sister's wedding because I didn't want to steal her spotlight) My dad walked into the kitchen shortly after and simply started laughing. After a few seconds he said, "Here we go again!"

And so began the extensive task of planning our wedding...

Kaci xoxo

Our Wedding Party

 "I get by with a little help from my friends..." -John Lennon

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The wedding party was surprisingly one of the most difficult parts of planning so far! It was extremely difficult to narrow down our bridesmaids and groomsmen when we have so many wonderful, supportive friends surrounding us! However, it had to be done. The following list is a group of people who have continuously been there for Justin and me regardless of how long we have known them. There are childhood friends, college friends, and family members in the wedding party, all of whom mean the world to us! (Yes, we have 12 bridesmaids and groomsmen.....the more the merrier :) )

To our wedding party:

We want to thank all of you for joining us in celebrating our special day! We have waited many years for this day to come and we cannot imagine standing at the altar without you by our side. Your friendship means so much to both of us and we consider ourselves lucky to have you in our wedding. Much love!! xoxo


Maids of Honor: Emily Kinney and Tiffani Maclay

Matron of Honor: Jessica Nylin

Bridesmaids: Sarah Grace Moorehead, Demi Lamb, Kara Howard, Norma Bradley, Brooke Baggett, Katie Mayfield, Kayla Fox, Tina McAfoos, Kristen Baker

Best Man: Spence Harrison

Groomsmen: Dean Harrison, Matt Nylin, Lucas Dobson, Jonathan Golden, Collin Lowell, Dom Palumbo, Blake Nelson, Jonathan Howard, Mason Bradley, Gene LaSarge

Candlelight...

Upon joining a sorority, every girl immediately begins dreaming of having a candlelight. For those of you who are not familiar with this tradition, I will quickly fill you in!

A candlelight is a gathering of sorority members in order to announce an engagement. For my sorority, Alpha Chi Omega, the President (Meg) puts a note on the front door of the sorority house announcing when the candlelight will take place. (These days we tweet and facebook as well) All of the members meet at the house at the assigned time and everyone sits in a circle. (The pledge class of the newly engaged member sit while others stand) A candle/flower bouquet is passed around the circle twice while members sing the, "candlelight," song. On the second pass, the newly engaged member blows out the candle (It's a HUGE surprise) and everyone cheers and celebrates. After, the engaged member tells the story of the proposal to the entire sorority! It's truly a bonding time for all of the members.

Now, on to my very own candlelight!

Justin and I got engaged on December 16, 2010. (Almost a year ago...WOW!) We were on winter break, therefore I had to keep my engagement a secret for an entire month! This may sound crazy, but like I said earlier, every girl dreams of having a candlelight. It was EXTREMELY hard keeping it a secret from so many people, but somehow I managed.

The night that I returned to Tuscaloosa I immediately called Meg and told her the big news! She arranged for me to have my candlelight on the night of our first chapter of the semester. When I woke up that Wednesday morning I was extremely nervous. I had to carry my ring in my bag (inside the box) because I couldn't risk one of my sorority sisters seeing it on my finger! Finally after a long day of class, I quickly walked to the sorority house to meet everyone for the candlelight before chapter. When I arrived I saw all of the seniors sitting in a circle in the formal living room. I panicked, knowing that the junior pledge class should be seated instead. Immediately, I searched for Meg so that she could make an announcement to the house. When she entered the formal living room and asked the juniors to sit in the circle, the entire house let out a squeal. We all sat down (my heart was literally racing) and waited for the candlelight to begin. Everyone was searching each others' faces trying to notice any changes in someone's demeanor. Apparently, I did an excellent job of hiding my emotions because no one suspected me!

At last, the candle was lit and it was quickly traveling towards me. As it passed me I tried my best to, "play it cool," and act nonchalant about the whole event. When the candle began it's second pass around the circle everyone clapped, anticipating the big reveal. As it neared my side of the circle I began to shake a little. As the candle was handed to me I pretended to pass it to Kelsey and then pulled it back and blew out the flame. My entire pledge class cheered and the whole house clapped. (There were even some tears shed) Sarah Grace opened my ring box and put my ring on my finger, while everyone crowded around me trying to get a glance of my bling. I told everyone how Justin proposed and all of my sorority sisters gushed and stated, "it's going to be hard to top that proposal now!" (Justin also received about 50 facebook friend requests that night haha)

My candlelight was truly one of my favorite memories with my pledge sisters. It was such a bonding experience and I can't imagine not sharing that special moment with all of them. Regardless of the things that we go through, we always have each others support and love. They mean so much to me and I absolutely cannot wait to have them celebrate my wedding day with me! "LTTL"

Until next time...

Kaci xoxo

Showing off my ring :)

Telling the story of how Justin proposed

Showing Jewel the book

Some of my pledge class

Bridesmaids!

A New Beginning

"You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams." -Dr. Seuss
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**I'll preface this post by warning you that it's a bit lengthy...as it should be right? It's about the most exciting night of my life up to this point! :)

Last December (2010) Justin planned a trip to New York City for Christmas. He invited some of our closest friends including one of my sisters, Tiffani, my best friend, Emily, our close friend, Jonathan and my roommate/best friend, Sarah Grace. Justin had been talking about this trip since the previous spring explaining that it would be his, "graduation trip," after college. I had already been to New York three times, but never during a cold season, therefore I was extremely excited when he suggested the idea for the trip. He and Jonathan orchestrated the entire planning process and us girls just went along with what they planned.

We left for the city early on December 15, 2010. The plane ride was comfortable and we were in New York that afternoon. That night we decided to get a quick dinner at Hard Rock (Everywhere else was PACKED) and walk around a bit. Justin suggested we go to Rockefeller Center and take pictures in front of the Christmas tree. (Justin and I absolutely love Christmas so naturally I was excited about getting some great pictures) However, within the next 24 hours we visited the tree several more times because Justin wanted to get, "better pictures." (I have to admit, I agreed. We had on these hideous hats we bought from GAP the first night because the wind was unbearable)

The next day (December 16, 2010) we went to a taping of Late Night  with Jimmy Fallon and sat FRONT ROW. We managed to get some TV time and have an incredible experience! After the taping we did a little shopping and after an "almost dinner fiasco," found a secluded Mexican restaurant on the Upper East Side. Manäna proved to be one of the best meals I have ever had in New York. The restaurant was dark and located in a basement next to Serafina's. It felt like we were at a night club rather than an upscale Mexican eatery. We all ordered the most delicious margaritas (Passion fruit and pomegranate) and enjoyed a gourmet meal. The service, environment, and food was impeccable. When the bill finally arrived to the table we all laughed when Jonathan finally opened it. $300+ dollars for our heavenly meal. (And worth every penny!!!) After dinner we decided that we would return to Rockefeller center to go ice-skating before returning to our hotel. (YES, we went again...possibly for the fourth time?) On the way, we all ran down the streets and even danced along the crosswalks in front of the taxis. We were having a blast being carefree in the city. While Justin and I walked, arms locked, I announced that this was by far the best day I had had in the last six months. Then I said, "The only way this night could get any better is if you were going to propose to me!" (Little did I know that my statement was full of irony and I would be newly engaged in about thirty minutes)

Dinner at Manana

When we arrived to Rockefeller center, Justin and I were the only ones who wanted to go ice-skating. When we stepped onto the ice in our nerdy skates and began skating around the rink we started reliving old memories. New York was insanely romantic at Christmas time and we stopped to take it all in while taking pictures under the famous tree. While were standing together, Justin began talking about how he couldn't believe that the trip worked out so well. He explained how he had been planning it for about two years and still couldn't believe we were there. Then he said, "You know, I didn't really know a lot about my life when I was fifteen, but I've always known I was going to marry you." I was still looking up at the tree and didn't realize he was proposing! (Justin is always saying extremely nice things to me in order to remind me how special I am to him...which I love) Finally, I looked to my left and realized that Justin was on one knee! He then said, "I know Demi is going to kill me, but Kaci Lynne, will you marry me?" (This was Demi's dream proposal...that Justin had planned two years prior to knowing that) I began crying and immediately looked across the rink at Emily, Tiffani, Sarah Grace, and Jonathan who were all watching. Emily let out a huge scream and began crying. I noticed a man in the crowd who was pushing his girlfriend/wife and pointing in my direction. Finally, reality hit me and I realized that I was the one getting engaged! I looked back to Justin and said, "Of course!" We then skated to center of the rink while people stopped to congratulate us. One of the workers met us in the middle of the rink and photographed the moment. It was unforgettable.

Ice Skating (pre-engagement) 

After the proposal

•I know you think this is where the story ends, but with Justin it is never that simple. ;)

After calling our parents we returned to the hotel and popped champagne off of the roof of our hotel. (Which was just off time square-great view) Everyone toasted and we celebrated our new engagement. While sipping champagne, Justin presented me with another gift. (Seriously, he is absolutely amazing) As I began opening the present I realized that it was a personalized copy of the book his late PawPaw had written for the family. PawPaw wrote the book after his wife's passing and it was about their love story. (They met when they were twelve) Justin had thoughtfully added photos of each of them and added a special note on the back of the coverlet that read, "Now it's time to begin our own fairy tale love story."

After toasting to our engagement 

The second gift

We stayed up talking in the lobby of our hotel until around 2am. The front desk assistant shared stories with us and wished us a happy marriage. Later after everyone else had retired to their rooms, Justin Paul and I walked down the street and got a good o'le street meat hot dog. We sat together relishing every moment of the night. We knew that in the morning that moment would be gone and we would embark on an entire new chapter of our relationship...

• I know you think THIS is the end, but again, Justin always goes above and beyond!

After finishing our trip (as an engaged couple) we returned home. It was evening and we had to drive from the airport in Pensacola back to Mobile. When we arrived to Justin's house I was greeted by my family and a surprise engagement party. (Justin and I had always discussed that we wanted a small engagement party just with family to celebrate!) I was completely overwhelmed and excited to see everyone and share the news! Justin truly put so much effort into ensuring that I felt special and loved and I cannot tell you how much I appreciate him and his loving ways.


Until next time...

-Kaci xoxo

A Little Bit of History

"When we first fall in love, we feel that we know all there is to know about life, and perhaps we are right." -Mignon McLaughlin
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• Although it would be impossible to catch all of you up about our 7+ year relationship in one post....I'm  going to give you the most condensed version possible!

An old photo from high school (Excuse the ugly hat!)

Back to the beginning....

Justin and I met when I was twelve turning thirteen and he was fourteen turning fifteen. He was already in high school along with my two older sisters Jessica and Tiffani. One day I received an AIM message (Yea, you know you remember those days) that simply said, "What up." After chatting for a few minutes he asked me if I would set him up with one of my older sisters. (He claims this was just a way to introduce himself to me, I say thank goodness I turned out to look just like my sisters ;) ) JP and I soon became best friends and spent countless hours talking on the phone and internet. We discussed everything under the sun and quickly got to know each other very well. A few months later we shared our first kiss while at a Hootie and the Blowfish concert. Throughout the rest of the school year we continued to talk and randomly see each other, but we still remained, "just friends." This all changed on June 1, 2004 when we officially began dating. (This also happen to be the first day of summer AND my official first day as a freshman in high school) Now, Justin and I are happier than ever and both extremely thankful that he had the courage to kiss me on that October night. :)

• I wish I had time to fill you in on every detail between then and now, but I don't think you would have the time or attention span to read every detail anyway.

-Kaci xox