Engagement Pictures

At the end of May, Brett and I had our engagement pictures done. I knew when I got engaged that I definitely wanted Bayleigh to do my pictures! I met Bayleigh through Katherine and have obsessed over her pictures for a long time. I had a lot of ideas about what I wanted for engagement pictures and she did such an amazing job! It was hard to choose what to share so there are a lot of pictures but I don't ever upload anything to facebook anymore so I figured this is how I would share! 

Enjoy!

Outfit change! :)

Love this shot! 

Brett was such a good sport! I kept telling him thank you during our shoot and he just kept saying..."This is your day!" Thanks sweet boy! So....that is why he got this shot....he wanted one with the no swimming sign..go figure.... :)

Why are you smiling? haha...

Our relationship during football season.... :) haha. jk

"Grow old along with me....the best is yet to be!"

I love you!

All of our photos were taken at the place where we will say, "I do" in just a few short months! We had a beautiful day and that plus the location made for some pretty amazing pictures! Praying for beautiful weather on November 12th too!!

Thank you so much Bayleigh! You did a great job!

Have a great Fourth of July!

In 6 Months.....

I will have planned a wonderful wedding!

I will have walked down the aisle!

I will have danced the night away!

But most importantly......

I will be married to this guy!!!!!!!!

And we will be heading here....

Oh St. Thomas......I will be so excited to see you :) 

In other news.....this precious thing is on her way to see us this weekend! 

And I included this cause I found it and  it is just so darn cute!!

Happy Weekend Friends!!

Wedding Planning...So Far, So Good

Wedding planning so far has been slow but good. I guess things don't really speed up until closer to time. We have gotten some of the big things done which is wonderful! Our photographer is booked and we met with her last week! She seems wonderful and her work is AMAZING! I cannot wait to work with her! Check out Alisa Lynn! 

I also have my dress!! Well, I won't have it until September but it is ordered!! I love it! Like, it needs to get here now! :) We are also pretty sure that we have a venue but this isn't 100% yet! If it is then....ahh...so excited about it! 

I also wanted to share how I asked my girls to be in my wedding since they have all been asked now! Well, my sweet friend Sarah from Kazakhstan hasn't been officially asked...but since she is so far away we had to settle for a facebook invite! I got the idea from Elise Joy. Same basic idea with a few changes. I got these Paper Source envelopes. I thought about getting smaller ones but because I knew I would be able to deliver each one to my girls, I opted for the ones that would hold a regular 8.5x11 sheet of paper. I slipped one envelope into another so that it opened up like this...I used a tape runner to tape down the other flap on the back.

I had five different sheets of paper. One talked about each girl, one was about when and where, one was about the dresses (etc.), and the last one was a letter to the girls. 

I slipped them into the envelopes like this...

This is what was on the front..

 And the back...

Because we are having a fall wedding I decided to tie up the outside with raffia. 

They are maybe not quite as cute as the original idea that I saw but I loved them and was excited to give each girl their invite!! 

So as you can see....a good bit of the "big" decisions have been made which is great!

Only 203 days to go! haha. :)

Not Getting Caught Up

Well, I don't know why blogging has been so slow lately....not much to say? That can't be true because I'M PLANNING A WEDDING!! Haha. Well, hopefully there will be more posts soon both wedding related and life in general. This post will be a bit of both. 

Wedding plans have started being made and it makes me so excited. There are many things that have already been checked off the list. Dress...done. Photographer...done. I have loved making plans so far and some of you may be surprised by that. During my sister's wedding planning process I determined in my mind that I didn't care about details, she and my mom could make the big plans, and I wanted ONE shower. haha. Everyone told me, "You might feel differently once it is your wedding!" Ok...ok....I have changed my mind. I am really enjoying this planning process so far! In fact, I have found that since being engaged, I check my email over and over again. I tell myself, "Laura, between now and the 10 minutes that have passed, you have not received an email!" I also could spend hours on Etsy, Pinterest, and Style Me Pretty. Mom, Amy, and I talk about plans for the ceremony and reception and I cannot wait to make it all come to life.

However, lately, I have been feeling a bit guilty. I have no doubt that the Lord is all about weddings. I have been convicted about my time and how I spend it. I want to be balanced in all aspects of my life. I am excited about my wedding...but more than all of the little details, the dress, the flowers, etc., I want my wedding to be glorifying to the Lord. I want it to be an expression of Brett and I's love for the Lord. I want people to see more than a beautiful dress, pretty flowers, and fun details. I want the gospel to go forth and for people to see Christ in our wedding. If there is one thing you can pray, it is that Brett and I would both keep our eyes fixed on Christ during this planning process and that our decisions would glorify Him. Don't worry! I'll keep you updated on plans!!

"Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready." --Revelation 19:7

YES.

Let me just say, this blog contains a million pictures...but according to some, no one READS the writing anyways! :) 

For those of you who are unaware, something very exciting happened this weekend! On Sunday, Brett asked me to marry him and I SAID YES!! I cannot even explain how thrilled I am and how ready I am to be his wife!

Now, without further adieu...here are some pictures and our engagement story:

My whole family was in town this past weekend which was wonderful! A couple of weeks ago Brett and I had already planned to go to Fairhope. We have done this before so I obviously thought nothing of it and we hadn't been on a date in a while so that is why we planned! :) We were going to go eat and go by the water to take pictures. I really like to do that in case you didn't know. 

So, after church we head across the bay and eat at California Dreaming. We hung out around and shopped a little and then headed down by the bay! It was kind of a hazy day but we started just taking pictures and walking around...

He doesn't even look NERVOUS..does he?? 

 Little did I know......Brett's roommate who is a far better photographer than I am was there the whole time to capture the event! THANK YOU JUDSON!!!! 

We walked out on this pier and took pictures and talked for a while.....He said some sweet things and before he asked said, "I'm going to need your purity ring to give you some new bling!"

Side note: When I was 12 or 13 (don't exactly remember when) my dad took me out on a very special date. The reason for this date was to explain sex to me. (lower your eyebrows...pick your jaws up off the floor!) My parents knew that it was so important for us to not view sex as this nasty, terrible thing that we should NEVER do! They wanted us to know God's view about sex and what God's Word had to say about it. On this date he gave me a ring that he had special made for me. It had three question marks on it and three hearts surrounding a diamond. The questions are to remind me, "Does it honor God? Does it honor others? Does it honor myself?" I haven't taken it off since that day, until now. I have a replacement!!

 "I have to ask you the most important question of your life....Laura, will you be my wife?"

 Umm....shock. Absolute shock. I had no idea!!! I obviously knew it was coming but had no idea that it was that day!!

SO EXCITED!!!

He did so great and completely surprised me!!!

I LOVE YOU!!!

Okay...so I love my ring too!! :) 

Are you serious? You've had the ring how long? :)

So happy! So many questions! haha..

Oh....Judson is here.. HEY JUDSON!!

 ENGAGED!!!

 I LOVE YOU BRETT KITTRELL!!!

Then....we headed home....

We had a party waiting for us!!! ((My mom when I called her!!))

I don't know what I thought this get together would be like but with my family......I should have known!!

This is what I see when we pull up.....

We're HERE!!!

So many sweet friends there!!

And then.......the kitchen.. NO DETAIL WAS OVERLOOKED!!

Our beautiful cake! 

There were little diamond rings attached to each balloon!

Amy, Linds, and mom did such a great job!! Actually, I know everyone played a part in making this party so special for us! 

We felt SO LOVED!!

 Our parents gave us a big basket full of books, wedding magazines, kitchen stuff, and some towels with my new monogram!!

LOVE these!!

 Then we headed outside to take some pictures....

Looking a little rough....tired but so happy!!

I am so blessed to have such unbelievable parents!!

My parents and FUTURE INLAWS!! 

SISTER!!

 Brothers and sisters!! (minus Linds and Eric)

And....of course a couple of pictures of the ring......

Isn't it beautiful? I am in love! He picked it out all my himself!!!

Family and friends, THANK YOU all for making this day so amazing!! We both felt so special and so loved!! Each of you that were there Sunday have played such an important role in our lives!! Thank you for praying for us and loving us both so well!!

Brett, thank you for being so thoughtful and making me feel like the most important girl in the world! Sunday was perfect and you definitely surprised me! I love you so much and cannot wait to be your wife!!

((If you stuck with me THANKS! Hope you enjoyed our story!))