Monday, September 24, 2012

Whiteker Women

This past weekend Mom was in town not just so we could go wedding dress shopping but because my cousin, Jake, got married. Yesterday at the wedding all of my family sat together at a table and I sat in awe at my family, especially my aunts, Teak, and Mom. I got to thinking about each one today and how different they are but how similar they are too.

My Aunt T is just like my grandfather. Sometimes she has too much Mack Whiteker in her! She is brutally honest, hilarious, and you know where she stands on issues at all times. She is quick to console and quick to make you laugh. She can find fun in any situation. To know T, is to love T. She is the one in the family who takes care of the big things. She can hold it together. She can handle high stress situations and remains calm.

My Aunt Mitz was the mother of groom this weekend and there were plenty of tears shed. My Aunt Mitz has a soft heart and is quick to cry. She is the emotional one who cries about the Thanksgiving Day prayer and Christmas Hallmark commercials. She has flourished as a new grandmother and the love she has for Bo, Brantley, and Jackson is so touching. Her heart is so big and her love is easily shown.

My momma is known as the Big Dog in the family. Big Dog comes in and takes care of things. You need to get ready for a yard sale, call Big Dog. You need someone to watch the twins, call Big Dog. You need someone to get food together for a party, call Big Dog. Simply put, Mom gets it done. She is loyal to her family and thoughtful. She willingly drives the 500 mile round trip to be with us in Lexington and I know I greatly appreciate the time she spends on the road, just to see us.

Then there is the matriarch, the Teak. Teak loves her family and when we can all get together. She loves seeing the 3rd generation of her family and we know we act silly when the twins are around. She loves having her grandson's do little chores for her and is amazed at how much they can eat. She loves her girls and they love her. She has a different relationship with each of her girls because each daughter is different. As for her and I, we have a special bond. It is more than granddaughter and grandmother. I don't know if I will ever be capable of describing in words what the Teak means to me. Simply, she is my Teak and I love her to death.

Each of these women love their family with their whole heart. Each of them are STRONG women. They have been through their fair share of ups and downs and have got through the hard times. They are quick to laugh. Each bring different characteristics to our family and are known for different things. All four of these women mean the world to me. It was so nice to share this wedding weekend with them and I feel blessed to be related to the Whiteker women!

Saturday, September 22, 2012

I said YES to THE dress!!!

I have waited 25 years to go wedding dress shopping. As a little girl I dreamed about my wedding and the dress I would wear. A wedding gown is the one garment you will treasure forever. You will remember your gown with fond memories and you know you looked like a million bucks that day because of that gown.

Since becoming engaged, my wedding pinterest board has been overloaded and I have watched almost every episode of "Say Yes to the Dress" and in the words of Monte, I was ready to get "jacked up"! I had an appointment with Ruth's bridals, the same place where we got Whitney and Lauren's bridesmaid dresses. Mom and I were excited. We were prepared with plenty of Kleenex and our cameras. I walked in with my kitten heels, trusty Spanx, and a PACKET of pictures that I had printed out from Pinterest. We were ready!

I quickly showed Mom the dress that Lauren and I had spotted two weeks ago. I took a picture of the gown that day and I have looked at it every day since. It has been a long two weeks and I was so ready to get into the gown. I told Diane, the owner, what I liked, didn't like, about our wedding, the look and feel I was going for and then we got to work. She pulled out gowns and based on my reaction we either put them back on the rack or in the "try on" pile. She then asked me to pick gowns that I would never pick but would try on for silhouette.

For the first gown, we tried on the gown I had been thinking about for two weeks. Y'all I put it on and it was stunning but I didn't have the "This is the ONE" moment. I was shocked. Here I had waited for two full weeks to get in this gown and I didn't have the reaction I thought I would. The gown was stunning but was this the one? Had I built up the gown too much? So we moved on. We tried on another lace gown. It was ok. Then we put on a ballgown!!! I didn't want a ballgown but loved the satin material and basically tried it on to say that I tried on a ballgown. The gown was great! I got a feeling inside of me and I felt like a bride. Whitney's advice to me was whatever gown idea you have going into the appointment is not the one you are going to walk away with. She was so right!

We continued to try on dresses. More lace. More ballgown. More decisions. To be honest with you, I wanted lace. My heart was set on lace. I wanted the traditional gown BUT...when I tried on lace gowns, I felt like an old lady. I hated them. I learned I am not a 100% lace gown girl. Lace gowns are stunning on others but it just wasn't for me.

I tried on gowns that were strapless. Listen, I am a tugger. I will pull up on the dress all night long and didn't want to be doing that at our wedding. But the strapless dresses were TIGHT and I could dance in them and there was no way there would be a wardobe malfunction in those things! Bascially, I had fallen in love with gowns that I thought I would NEVER fall in love with.

I tried the first gown back on and it was still a contender. It was growing on me and the shock of "oh my gosh I am really trying on wedding gowns" was wearing off. I loved the silouette and it was classy, timeless, elegant, and the right amount of Southern charm to it. Then Diane put me in a ballgown she had pulled and it was beautiful. It has ruching, something that I thought I didn't want. It was big, again something that I didn't want. It had embellishment, again not on the wanted list. And it was gorgeous. Diane teared up, which made Mom tear up, and I couldn't take my eyes off of the gown. Was I falling in love with a gown that I swore I wouldn't have tried on? Would Jace like the gown? Did this fit the venues and the feel of our wedding day? I just didn't know. I was in love with not only this gown but the first gown I tried on, the one I had thought about for two weeks.

Diane stopped giving her opinion at this point. This was my decision to make. She asked me to think about Jace. She asked me to think about what I had always envisioned in my mind of what I wanted to look like on my wedding day. She asked me to think about our wedding party and their attire, the church, and mentally picture all of the details I have been working on with the dress. When she said that I knew. We put the first one back on and it was the dress! She "jacked me up" with a caterderal veil and the veil was truly the icing on the cake. Without a doubt, this was my wedding dress. Diane asked me, "are you saying yes to the dress?" Just as I said yes to Jace, I said yes to the dress!

Guess what? I didn't cry. I made it through the two hour appointment without a tear! I kept coming back to the dress throughout the appointment and it was never out of the running. I knew in my heart two weeks ago, without trying it on, that it was the dress and I was right. Trying it on only solidified my feeling. By this time, I had tried the gown on three times and by this point I didn't want to take it off! Mom loved it, Diane thought the gown went with my bridesmaid dresses, and fit with my wedding venues and what I am going for.

As we were checking out, Diane told me about her Haiti mininistry. She said that for every gown that is purchased in her shop a woman in Haiti will recieve a wedding gown. She has waiting lists for gowns and will most likely fly down sometime in October. Her husband goes with her and he has the tuxes for the grooms. Is that not special? My special moment allows another women her own speical moment. It is a God thing and I am thankful there are businesses out there who do something as special as this!

I am not going to give any detail about my gown. We could only take pictures of the gown that we purchased and couldn't take pictures of all the ones I tried on. I will tell you though that I feel like a bride in the gown, I feel stunning, and can envision myself walking down the aisle in it. In this gown, I will become Mrs. Katie Stamper!

Y'all I am getting married!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Congratulations are in order...

Today at Kenneland around mid-morning, our dear friend Jay Cash proposed to Lisa! I can't tell you how excited I am for these two!

Jay and Lisa's relationship is very similar to mine and Jace's. We both started dating around the same time, dated for 7 years, both boys proposed within a few months of each other, and our weddings are just months apart. Both Jay and Jace talked to each other throughout the engagement process. Those two know more about diamonds than I do! If you think about it, the guys have to go through the nerve-wrecking decision making process about the engagement ring. So much pressure and money for a ring that will be worn each and every day. Thankfully both Jay and Jace did a great job (I am biased!)! Jace and Jay talked all throughout this process and to be honest I think both of them enjoyed it! Just like the boys, Lisa and I are going through a process...wedding planning! We are using some of the same vendors and have many decisions to make about our big day!

Jay (I know you are reading this), Jace and I are beyond excited for you and Lisa! We wish you years of happiness and may you remain each other's best friend. See you at the rehearsal dinner!

Monday, September 10, 2012

Wedding and LLM progress

Today was just another Monday, until tonight happened...

After work, I had an appointment at Simply Love with Melissa from Affordable Invitations. Y'all it is amazing what I got done in 2 hours. I not only found our invitations, but I decided on font, wording, save the dates, RSVPs, direction cards, and thank you cards. I am pretty quick on deciding what I like and don't like. Whatever I like, if it is within budget, I go with it, stop looking, and it has made the decision making process so easy.

While working with Melissa, this girl walked in and I had to do a triple take. It was Lisa, Jay's girlfriend, who drove all the way from Nashville and both of us had meetings tonight. Neither one of us knew the other had an appointment. So good to see her and I am thrilled for her and Jay!

Basically, in 3 days I have found my bridesmaid dresses, almost all our paper products, and I haven't stopped thinking about the wedding gown I saw on Saturday. I can honestly say that wedding planning has been so much fun. I haven't cried, had a meltdown, or been a bridezilla. Some days I wonder if this smile will ever leave my face. I am so happy to be in this stage in my life and knowing that I get to be here with Jace, makes it that much sweeter. I told Jace tonight that all we need are flowers, his wedding band, and the marriage certificate and we can get married!

While I was making progress on our wedding, Mr. Stamper was making progess on our future. He asked his tax professor to write him a letter of recommendation for his LLM application. Jace is also working on getting all his transcripts together and I think the only thing left is the application. Applications can be submitted on Oct. 1. We are living by this date for right now.

Not too shabby of a Monday, if I say so myself. I hope you had a good Monday too!

Saturday, September 8, 2012

My Matrons

What a weekend it has been! I have the absolute best girlfriends a girl could ask for. Whitney and Lauren are the two sisters I never had. We are each other's listening ear, career counselor, free therapist, relationship guru, problem solver, comedian, and overall best friend. Now that we all have big girl jobs, it is rare that the three of us can get together. The stars aligned this weekend and we all got together and what a time we had!!!

I decided to cook dinner for Whitney and Lauren. As much as I would like to say that I cook and can work my way around the kitchen...I can't. I have made a few meals for Jace and I but had all afternoon to get it together and he helped me cook. This Friday night I was on my own. I dug through my cookbooks and searched on Pinterest for just the perfect dinner. I decided on a new recipe from my church's cookbook called Ritz Chicken Casserole. For our side dishes: steamed broccoli, rice, salad. and for dessert, chess bars. I also decide to fix homemade carmel cinnamon rolls for Saturday morning!

After going up and down every aisle in Kroger, I made my way home and quickly cleaned the house. After the tub had been scrubbed, carpet had been vacuumed, and the trash was out I wiped the sweat from my upper lip and made my way to the kitchen. As soon as I got into the kitchen, Lauren texted me and said she was on her way from Etown. I knew I had a little over an hour to get a whole dinner together. Suddenly I was on Iron Chef and my component was the clock. I quickly made the chess bars and put them in the oven. I defrosted the chicken and had the pot of water ready to cook them in. I got started on the carmel rolls and after they were finished it was time to cut up the broccoli and salad fixings. I set the table and tried to clean up my mess as I went. When everything was all said and done I had dirtied up every dish, mixing bowl, cutting board, and fork in our house, but I got it all done by the time Lauren arrived!

Lauren and I chitchatted and got caught up while we waited on Whitney to join us. Once she got to our house, we all sat down to dinner including the Teak. All of my hard work was well worth it when I sat down and fed 3 of the most important women in my life! I had made that meal with love and it was a wonderful feeling to share dinner with these women. After dinner I gave the girls a note asking them to be my Matrons of Honor and both accepted! I can't imagine our wedding day without them by my side.

On Saturday, the Teak, Lauren, and I put a dent in the carmel rolls and then Lauren and I made our way to Twirl. Lauren got her wedding dress and our bridesmaid dresses at Twirl and it is the cutest boutique. Lauren was so willing to try on any dress I picked out and I must say I struggled finding the right dress. I really didn't know what color I wanted to go with but knew what my budget was and I knew I wanted cocktail, satin dresses.

The first dress Lauren tried on I didn't care for on the hanger but it was darling on her!

We liked it!
Then she tried on a few more dresses and they just weren't doing anything for me. I couldn't find a color I liked. Lauren tried on ivory but I was worried it would look like there were 3 brides at the alter and not 1.

Way too much ivory!
Then she tried on a black/champagne and it was just not what I was looking for.

Too dark
I thought about putting Lauren in a blush/light pink but I am just not a pink girl. When we left Twirl, I decided I like the first dress Lauren tried on but only in black.  

Next we headed to Ruth's Bridal and we got there early. Our appointment was at Noon and we had almost 30 minutes to kill. When we pulled into the parking lot I could see the rows of wedding gowns. I tried to keep my focus on bridesmaid dresses and not on hundred wedding gowns on hangers. I did find three satin, cocktail dresses that I wanted the girls to try on. Since Lauren and I were early, we decide to peruse the wedding gowns while we waited on Whit to join us. Lauren pulled out this ivory lace/satin wedding gown and said, "Katie this looks like you!" Y'all I fell in LOVE!!! It was almost the exact same dress I saw at a boutique in Jackson, MS. Jace had taken me to a boutique this summer and I thought the dress was stunning, classic, and timeless. Now, the dress had found me in KY. Lauren tried her hardest to get me into that dress but I just couldn't do that to my momma. We are going dress shopping in two weeks and I wanted us to share this experience together.

When Whitney arrived, the girls tried on the three dresses I had pulled. Lauren put on a sage green, satin, sweetheart cocktail dress and it was EXACTLY what I wanted. Whitney had on another dress and I told her to don't even bother zipping it up because I didn't like it. Then I had Whitney try on the third dress and it looked like a hideous bridesmaid dress from 27 Dresses. Then, Whitney put on the sage green dress Lauren had on. Y'all it had looked great on Lauren and when Whitney put it on ol' momma had a smokin' hot hourglass figure! It was gorgeous on both of them! The more I looked at it, the more I loved it. The ruching is beautiful and as women we all know ruching is a girl's best friend!

I asked the girls if they were comfortable and they both said there were. They felt like they could sit down in it and dance the night away. Then they both looked at me and they said they loved the color. That was it. We found their dress! For something that I had been so worried about and really didn't know what color I wanted, the sage green dress was the one! I would have never thought about going with sage green but it was the perfect neutral, satin dress! Both me and the girls were so excited!

THE ONE. All this dress needs is some pearls and ivory hydrangeas!
After we had decided on the girls dresses, for kicks and giggles we put the ivory lace/satin wedding gown up next to it. Y'all I had to fight back the tears. The two dress colors were so complimentary and I had to fight the urge to jump into the wedding gown! I can NOT wait until Mom and I can go together. Today I may have just found both dresses and we did it in about 40 minutes!

Shopping for dresses today made me feel like a real bride. If you could have only heard me try to retell all of this to Jace! I was talking 90 to nothing! It was the best weekend and I have the sweetest, funniest, and most genuine girlfriends. Thank you Lauren and Whitney for being you and for being my matrons!

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Bridal Benchmark Series

Hi Y'all! Just a quick wedding update...

No big decisions have been made recently. We are in the glorious stage of enjoying our engagement and just counting down the days (11 months now!). All vendors have been secured and the next big step is picking out my dress and bridesmaid dresses. This month, Mom and I have appointments to try on gowns. We have stocked up on Kleenex because we are both going to cry. Lord, we can't even talk about it without tearing up!

Saturday Whitney and Lauren are going to be my mannequins as I try and figure out what kind of bridesmaid dresses I want to go with. Right now, the colors are cream and black. However, I am feeling drawn to blush. Am I crazy? Is this a fad? Can blush be classy and timeless? I guess we will find out on Saturday.

All of this is fun. I have not stressed out about our wedding and I plan on keeping it this way! The fun continued tonight when I attended Simply Love's Bridal Benchmark Series. Simply Love is a FREE resource to brides in the Lexington area. Vendors pay to be associated with Simply Love and Simply Love connects vendors and brides together. Tonight Simple Love hosted the first night of the Benchmark series. I went even though I have all my vendors and thoroughly enjoyed the speakers. There was a photographer, cake baker, hair stylist, invitation representative, and Hilton representative who spoke tonight. There was free cake and cake pops and of course I sampled all!!! I did have a few general questions and the vendors were very helpful. The best thing about tonight: giveaways!! Who walked away with a free spray tan...this girl! Now I have had a spray tan before and I wasn't sold on the idea but I will take a free one.

The series is for 5 more weeks and I can't wait! It keeps me excited and counting down the days until I become Mrs. Katie Stamper (a soon to be tanned Mrs. Katie Stamper!)