Hi, friends! It was a good, good weekend. I've mentioned a few times here that this winter has been kicking my ass. I've been trying to stay positive and sending all the gratitude out to the universe for all the things but these temps and wind and snow have been testing me for sure. That combined with some other random stressors has made for a tense few weeks so this weekend was very much appreciated.
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| stole my sister's cute snapchat photo |
FRIDAY
I had plans to have my hairdresser come to my house (she lives five minutes away) for a quick trim on Friday night but her son ended up in the hospital (he's fine, thank God!), so we had to reschedule. Meaning I was able to cook dinner (something I never do on Friday nights when Sammy works haha I usually make him get Chipotle because by Friday night I'm DONE), eat with Sammy, and get some reading in which was awesome. I finished The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah and it was as good as everyone says.
I also spent the evening stalking our wedding venue's Instagram because they had started posting about the wedding show they were hosting Sunday. I got super excited to see that draping in person!
SATURDAY
Sammy and I headed to his family's jeweler on Saturday morning to drop off my ring for resizing *praise* but before we left, we tried on some wedding bands. Because of the shape of my center stone, I feel like I can only get something like in the picture below, which I think is pretty, but I also think it takes away from the engagement ring itself. So this bitch may not have a wedding band at all. WHOOPS.
Later that afternoon, Chelsie and I went to see
Isn't It Romantic which was cute. I thought it was going to be a little funnier just cause I think Rebel Wilson is hysterical and smart but it left a little to be desired. Still cute to see with your friends on a Saturday afternoon. I'm always in it for the popcorn.
We got some Chick-fil-A afterward because it was right by the theater and because I've never had it before and like, it was good, but guys, I don't get why people are obsessed with this place. You heard me. I didn't like
A Star Is Born and Chick-fil-A is just so-so in my book. SORRY.
(I do want to try their chicken minis for breakfast because I feel like I'll like them more than they're other food, if that helps anyone.)
We snuggled, read, and played with many tennis balls for the rest of the afternoon before Sammy came home from work. He took off a few hours early so we could meet friends downtown. We went to our friends' place for some drinking and then over to Benchmark in Old Town where Sammy and I stayed for approximately ten minutes before leaving to catch the last train home to CL. Still didn't get home until almost 2 A.M. which is plenty late for me. If I'm going to stay up that late, I want to be in bed reading ;) which I proceeded to do upon getting home because I haaaaad to finish
The Great Alone haha.
SUNDAY
I got up on Sunday with Henry, made myself a cup of tea in my new mug, and looked at a few wedding things before getting ready for the wedding show at our venue!
Chelsie, my sister, and my mom all met at my house (I'm closest to Lake Geneva) and my mom was kind enough to drive us all up.
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| I took this this morning at the train station HA cause my sticker was still on my coat and I wanted to document since I forgot yesterday #classic |
Our venue hosts a "preferred wedding vendor show" in February each year where (mostly) Wisconsin brides can come and check out local vendors while also checking out the venue. Not everyone there was getting married at Geneva National (or had even chosen a venue yet) but it's especially awesome for people who are.
I was able to see what certain colors looked like in each room, taste appetizers we may choose to serve, taste some drinks, see different food bar/station options, talk to vendors (we definitely found our bakery!), see the hotel where our guests may stay, use the shuttle they might use, etc.
Best of all, it was awesome to show the most important women our venue, especially my mom. I was thrilled when she kept saying how much she loved the place! I took a bunch of pictures to show Sammy and his mom (he was working and she was traveling for work), but I'm including a few of my favorite ideas/elements below.
We're really liking the draping on the walls and on the ceiling. I would nix the bling gatherings and use something transparent or more neutral, but I loooove the white, especially against the windows.
And I think we're going to be too large to have a full head table, and I'm not a fan of sweetheart tables, so I think we're going to have a few round tables up at the front (where a head table would be) and call it a day.
These color combos are all too dark, but I wanted to show a better view of the room at large. Since the ballroom already has some darker elements (moldings, the doors), I want to keep everything light and airy with white, ivory, and cream. Greenery in the florals. I think stuff like that will help lighten the space up a bit.
They had a few different appetizers being passed around: vegetarian egg rolls, mac & cheese, and crab cakes. All were really good which put me at ease food-wise. They also passed champagne around as well as some berry vodka lemonades.
I just loved the halved lemon on top of this cake haha.
The view out the ballroom windows gets me every time, even in the winter. The windows are what sold me on this place. I just think it's so beautiful and I haven't seen it when things are actually green and growing outside yet! Both times we've come the lake has been frozen and everything has basically died for the season, so I'm really excited to see it in a different season. I'm hoping to come up for our anniversary in April and on our wedding date in October this year.
They had a s'more bar which was awesome for this s'more fiend.
I made a super weirdo combo of cookies and creme bar with a maple marshmallow but it was SO good haha.
We tried samples from a lot of bakeries there but nothing compared to Julie Michelle's cake. Omg out of this world stupid good and I am not a cake fan. Sammy can't wait to go to the tastings haha. And I believe they're based out of Harvard, so they're actually closer to us than Lake Geneva is so getting to a tasting will be a breeze.
Our moms are super about these dark brown chivari chairs for whatever reason haha so I had to get a picture of those. They're not my personal favorite, probably because everyone uses them and I tend to dislike things everyone else
loves (like Chick-fil-A and
A Star Is Born haha), but I do think the dark brown look more elegant than the super popular gold and silver do. Sammy actually likes the glossy black which I may have to agree with, so we'll definitely have to see one of those in person and I can't believe I've been thinking about chairs THIS MUCH.
I was super about these clear chargers. I think they're very elegant looking. I think Sammy liked them too when I showed him.
A lovely woman has a cute business of making all these personalized items and signs and I thought these would make a great day-of groomsman gift if Sammy hadn't already given them koozies when he asked them to be groomsmen.
They had a french fry and tater tot bar with a bunch of dipping sauces that my mother of all people lost her shit for hahaha. She must have told me three times that we should have this as our late-night snack option.
The hotel down the road is owned by the same company who owns Geneva National, so if our guests don't stay on the houses on Geneva National's property, they can stay here at The Ridge just a mile down the road. The inside was recently renovated and I loved seeing how modern and clean it looked.
It was a great day. I really loved being at the venue, especially with my best girls.
Chelsie headed home once we got back to my house and my mom and sister stayed to hang out and watch the Oscars with me. Henry forever loving on everyone.
We ordered some Chinese food and settled in to watch the Oscars which I felt were kind of boring but I live for award shows so I'd watch five more hours of that boring shit if it were on.
Sammy came home from work just as the awards were ending and my mom and sister left pretty soon after that. We crashed into bed together five minutes later haha. I showed him all the information I got and all the pictures I took, sufficiently overwhelmed him, and promptly put myself to sleep ;)
As of now, my work calendar and home calendar for this week are looking very "boring" which I'm extremely happy and grateful for. Trying to keep my sanity as we close out this winter and having a schedule I can maintain helps to not overwhelm me. Twenty-five more days people. TWENTY-FIVE. Although, March 1 is spring in my book regardless of temperature ;)
I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and are looking at an even better week ahead. xo
