The Hitchin' Post - Registering

Colby & I had our first registering experience this past weekend.  We grabbed a last minute supper with his family beforehand so we ended up rolling into Bed, Bath & Beyond an hour before it closed.  The consultant was helpful & informative.  He told us to take each room at a time, so with about 30 minutes to spare, Colby & I went to the kitchen area.

We had no idea what we were doing.   This was part of the conversation::

Courtney - "Ohh! I like these, Colby."

[SCAN]

Colby - "Nah, these over here look good.  But whatever you want, you'll be using them the most. :)"

Courtney - "Nevermind, I like those pretty good actually."

[SCAN]

Colby - "Babe, look at these over here."

Courtney - "Ahh, I like those too!"

[SCAN]

With at least 3 different sets of cookware.. we decided we needed to do some research and then delete all the sets that we didn't want from the registry online.  As we continued to go through kitchen basics, such as knives and coffee makers, I felt like such a snob.  I kept telling Colby to scan the cheaper items because I didn't want our friends and family to pay for the price of the things that we really wanted.  Colby kept assuring me that this is our only time ever to register, to ask for the things we really want.  He told me that some of friends and family will not want to spend that kind of money on a coffee maker or a pairing knife, which we totally get, but some of them will see this as an opportunity to serve us in this marriage.

Regardless of what our family & friends buy.. whether it be that precious cow creamer pourer thing or that red dutch oven... they are making an investment in our future & therefore we are thankful.

We are planning to finish up our registering adventures this weekend.  We'll finish up at BB&B, head over to Pottery Barn and maybe one other place... suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

I never thought registering would be a tricky thing for my heart, but it is.  It plays on the fine line of greed & humility.  Registering helps me see my greed & selfishness of wanting more, wanting the best.  With that little scanner so readily available, it is easy to look past of the basic & necessities. Registering is humbling experience in that we we don't have all these material things to be content.  We have Jesus.  My favorite scripture is Psalm 55:22 -- "Cast your cares on the Lord and he will SUSTAIN you..." SUSTAIN - He will meet requirements necessary for living, we need nothing else.  That's amazing to me.  So when Colby & I register, we hope that if we are gifted with these material gifts that we will in return serve the Lord & serve our neighbors with those gifts. 

The Hitchin' Post - Wedding Dress

Let's kick off this series y'all with a story about a little white dress.  Okay, so going into this process I knew I wanted one thing, lace.  I was WIDE open about trying any dress on that any consultant or my mama & sister pulled.  There have been several occasions where Ashley or Mama have made me try on a dress, shirt, pants, what have you, that I absolutely hated & then leaving the store with them because I couldn't do without 'em!  So again, I was wide open.  

One Sunday night, Mama, Ashley & I were running errands in Winston & we thought we could tackle our first round of trying on dresses.  (During my Christmas break I wanted to knock out A TON of the bigger things for the wedding, but the wedding dress was the top priority for checking off).  We went into David's Bridal & was greeted with plenty of loud, cheesy congratulations.  They were so sweet & we jumped right into it.  I met with my consultant, who I still don't know her name... Im thinking her name was Ashley, but Mama & I thought she looked like Kate Winslet, so we kept referring to her as Kate.  I told Kate a couple style options and she brought me three dresses.

Side note:  Plenty of former brides kept telling me.  "You'll know it when you put it on"  "You will have no doubts"  "There's only THE one"  "Courtney, seriously, you'll know first thing"

I'm just going to say that I don't totally agree with that.  Every. Single. Dress I tried on was beautiful & there were several that I absolutely LOVED.  What it came down to.. what am I most comfortable in? what did I want the whole day to look like?  now did this dress match that?  could I get my groove thing on in this dress? would I feel beautiful in this dress even if my hair & make up looked like crap?  I tried on plenty of dramatic dresses, that were seriously gorgeous, but they really did not match the theme or look of the day I was going for.  If I was going for a more extravagant wedding, I wouldn't have picked the dress I did.  Simple, southern charm is what I was going for.. & that is exactly what I got.

Okay, so we try on about 8-10 dresses at David's.. including the one.  The next day, Mama & I tried two other places in Burlington & Greenboro.  Long story short - it just was not the greatest experience, so let's move on.

 

Later that week or maybe that next weekend... my days are running together... Mom & I went to another place in Lexington & I found two dresses I really loved.  Also, this place was on Courtney Street, so naturally I thought "Yep, it's gonna be here".  On the way home from Lexington, Mom & I were chatting about the two dresses & I pretty much decided I wanted one of those two.  I guess Mom saw me still debating my decision & mentioned that we should try David's one more time to at least rule out all of those first dresses we tried on.  I was exhausted already but I knew she was right.  So once we got to David's, they pulled the three dresses I asked to keep in my "wishlist" & I tried them all on again.  I tried on the one last.  I was exhausted & I was like "Mom, do I even like this dress?  Is it too much this?  Does it not enough that?  Blah Blah Blah".  Mom told me that I was too tired to be trying on dresses and making this kind of decision without my full force energy.  I rebutted with "Nope.  I don't think so, I don't think I want this dress.  Ma'am, do you mind putting this dress back on the racks & off my wishlist?  I don't think that is the one".  Mom immediately told the consultant to keep everything on the wishlist & that we would come back tomorrow, after a full night's rest & full pot of coffee.

Praise the Lord for giving me a mama that knows when to say "that's enough" when I can't.

Praise Him for giving me a mama that knows me better than I know my self some days. 
  
The next day Mom, Ashley & Colby's mom, Sandra went with me to try my 4 favorite dresses one last time before I made my decision.  The first one I tried on was the one.  I had a completely different perspective than I did 20 hours before.   I felt at ease.  I looked and felt incredibly comfortable.  I even brought my shoes I was planning to wear to get a feel for the whole look I was going for.  I loved it.  I tried on all three other dresses from both David's & the small place in Lexington & decided I was going to sleep on it one last time.  

As I was laying in bed that night, looking through the pictures on my phone of the dresses I had tried on that day...  I looked at my facial expressions.  I saw that I looked most excited & thoroughly happy in the one.  

Made my decision.  Tried it on one more time for good measure.  Rang the wedding bell at David's.  They clapped.  I smiled.  Ordered it.  Picked it up.  Now it is eagerly waiting for a couple of minor alterations in my Mama's closet.

I am so so happy with my decision.  I cannot wait to wear it.  I cannot wait to show Sam.  

Yay for love
& gorgeous white dresses.

The one season to document.

Alright.  I have had this blog for about three & half years.  I have been great keeping up with it until my senior year of college came.  & since December 1st (the biggest day of my life)... I have blogged TWICE!  That is ridiculous because right now is the sweetest point in my life so far.  This part, right here, right now is what I want to capture more than any other.  Although my plate is completely full, I want to do this.  This is not a chore.  It is a creative outlet & an opportunity to embrace this rich & joyful season I have right now.

With all of that being said.  I plan on blogging weekly.  Not just about wedding stuff & future stuff, but college stuff too.  Seriously, I almost cry every Tuesday & Thursday morning on my way to class.  It is beautiful view of the NCSU campus & it is a scary reminder of how fast these next four months are gonna go.  Four more months in this exciting & lovely city, living with 3 of my best friends.   So I gotta embrace each day.  Each second.  Each coffee date.  Each grueling test.  All of it.  Hold me accountable... please?

For all things wedding - I am starting a series that will continue past the actual wedding day because I want to document this whole process: from dress to details, wedding party to venue, music to flowers.  Also, I see so much perk in this because I can use pictures from the wedding!  I am kicking off my wedding series tomorrow afternoon with the story of how I bought my dress.  Of course, I will not tell you about the details of the actual dress but the story behind how this dress is now hanging up in my house right now is pretty crazy (praise you Mama).  

For now,  the best entertainment I can give you is pictures of our more southern engagement session with my sister back at home (click here & here to see our RDU shoot with Jenny Lynn).  This pictures are real sweet as they were shot in our home town, some on Colby's dad's hunting land & some with my grandpa's army Jeep.