FRIDAY THE 13TH

December 27, 2015

For many, Friday the 13th is a day to hold your breath and try to make it through without being hit by a string of bad luck. For Ben and I, it's become a marker of one of our most special days. Ben proposed the night before Valentine's Day, the date was Friday, Feb. 13th. I'd say it's pretty LUCKY when the man you've been dreaming about building a life with gets down on a knee and tells you he wants to do the same. Take that superstition! Saying "yes" was one of the easiest, albeit biggest, decisions I've ever made.

An answer that DIDN'T come so easily to me was choosing my wedding dress. After several months of shopping I found about 6 different dresses I liked, and 6 outfit changes during the reception seemed a bit excessive, so the hunt continued on. As luck would have it though, things changed on Friday, Nov. 13th. It was another Friday the 13th and Ben started off my day by sending me these beautiful flowers and reminding me of how special this date combo was for us. I'm not sure if it was his thoughtful gesture that reminded me of what this engagement period is truly about (getting MARRIED and not all the little details), or if it was in fact the luck of the date, but that afternoon I drove home to my parents' house and my mom and I found my dress before the day was over.

I owe a HUGE thank you to Always Elegant Bridal in Yuba City and Bree Little for her tireless efforts to find the perfect dress for me. Bree is a dress-whisperer. She knows all the pressures and expectations a modern bride is up against and finds a way to gently talk her through it all while she's drowning in sheets of tulle and lace. Ultimately, Bree found the dress I needed before I even knew what I needed. She's THAT good. I'm so happy I was able to find my dress in the community I grew up in. My mom gets some major kudos as well. It takes a special woman to deal with my over-analyzing, hyper-critical, indecisive self and my mom seemed to never get tired of supporting me through the selection process. To all my friends and my future mother-in-law who accompanied me on shopping trips where I tried on several dresses but didn't end up making a decision, I had SO much fun playing dress-up with you all and I am so happy I got to experience the fun and fabulousness that is "dress shopping" with so many of you. Thank you all for being so patient with me :)

ben - thank you for making Friday the 13th a day of luck and big decisions and special memories. Also... I can't wait for you to see me in this white dress

Cocktail break in-between shops in SF with bridesmaid Becca Sack (soon to be Mrs. Hooker)

Shopping with the MOB and MOH, Danielle Harmon (don't worry, not the final dress, although a top contender) — Shopping with the **MOB** and **MOH**, Danielle Harmon (don't worry, not the final dress, although a top contender)

I FINALLY  SAID "YES"! — I **FINALLY** SAID "YES"!

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SAVE THE DATES!

November 12, 2015

If you are reading this you have likely received our Save The Date Road trip CDs. The ROAD TRIP CD idea came up when Jess and I traveled up to Lake Almanor this summer. Remember the days of making mixtapes or mixed CDs? I used to do that before every road trip with the family (my favorite was self titled BM JAMS VOL 3). We understand it's a little bit of a trek to get there so we wanted to give you something to listen to as you head to the Lake. At the same time, we felt that listening to these songs will help everyone get to know us a little more as a couple.

Music has been a huge part of our relationship. We communicated a lot through music early on in our relationship and we continue to enjoy going to concerts and shows or cranking up our shared Spotify playlist throughout our house. We share the meaning behind each song on the CD in a video we filmed on a road trip of our own. Check it out if you haven't already on the OUR STORY page.

A special thanks to Almaden Press for the printing of the CD sleeves and the Save The Date Polaroid. They came out great!

Another BIG thanks to Andrea Wallace (Jess' mom) for stuffing all the CDs and Polaroids into the sleeves... HUGE HELP!