Hen Party...

I have been educated in Bride-to-be etiquette in Scotland thanks to my cousin's friend Ashleigh from St. Andrews.  Apparently in other countries, Brides forgo the traditionally American "Bachelorette party."  There is no party with the girls that results in bad decisions, head aches and lost days following the party (due to the activities from the previous night).  Instead, the Scots choose a more subdued (from what I hear) gathering of women involved in the impending wedding.  This is traditionally known as a Hen Party... mirroring the "Stag Party" for the men.

I have already been lucky enough to have a Bachelorette Party thrown for me last month by my beautiful bridesmaids and maid of honor (you can read about it in my earlier post).  However, I have been even more lucky enough to have moms in my life who care about me especially when my other half is enjoying his Bachelor Party.

Tonight, my mom, TJ's mom and step-mom, and I traveled to the beautiful and sentimental city of Princeton to enjoy a lovely Hen Party.  We chose Mediterra which turned out to be an outstanding choice.  The Cosmo was perfection, the dinner was delectable and the dessert was superb (especially the little candle the waitress added to it to celebrate my impending nuptials).  This night meant a lot to me and took my mind off of the Bachelor Party (the intention of the Hen Party). 

I was able to spend quality time with the magnanimous women in my life which means the world to me. 

The Guest Book

Thank goodness for Shutterfly!  

We received our engagement photos which are outstanding!  The pictures we immediately placed onto Shutterfly and I began placing them into a simple template of a photo book.  The photo books they offer are wonderful and perfect for what we need it for... a guest book for our guests to sign and add their words of wisdom.  We look forward to seeing this book when it arrives and then reading the messages our guests place into it on the day T and I become husband and wife!

My Bridal Shower!

Coming soon!!

The 2nd Engagement Shoot!

We absolutely LOVED our first (impromptu) engagement shoot with the wonderful family photographer Mary.  Last year, Mary was gracious enough to take time out of her very busy schedule one day in October to take pictures of T and me in Thompson Park in Monroe.  The weather was beautiful and the leaves were shades of orange, green, gold and maroon.  What a perfect backdrop!  What made everything better was Mary's very professional, artistic eye and the fact that we are so comfortable with her.  The photos came out beautifully and were used in many different details during our engagement.

 

This is just one of the many amazing shots that Mary was able to capture.

After choosing Art Work Photography for our wedding day photographers we quickly learned that we would have an engagement shoot (yes, another one).  The motive behind having an engagement shoot with the wedding day photographer was to get to know the photog and becoming comfortable with their style and vice versa.  After coercing T into taking yet another shoot we met the extremely talented Leah on Friday, July 29th of this year.  The setting was a no brainer to us... Princeton University; the site of our first date.  The weather, however, was lack luster to say the least.  We thought we were in the clear of the "isolated" thunderstorms until we arrived to the Starbucks on Nassau St.  The humidity was so high that the second I stepped out of Starbucks with T and Leah my hair seemed to elevate.  What was once long, pin straight hair turned into a big nest looking wig that felt like a wet blanket.  Gross!  I sucked it up and said to T that if Leah is good, she will be able to capture great photographs out of this stormy and humid backdrop.

We made our way through the university and after taking a few shots, the clouds opened and the rain fell.  I gave up... my luck has always been horrible but... come on!  I was convinced that nothing I will ever do in my life will be easy but, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger!  I still ask T if he is ready for a life of mediocre/bad luck with me. 

Leah seemed not to mind at all and pushed us to shelter where she continued to snap shots.  The rain continued to fall but we were covered on the steps of a building with huge pillars.  The sky began to clear a bit and revealed stunning colors of pink, orange and purple.  Here is the silver lining. 

We moved to the adjacent buildings for more photo ops when Leah stopped and snapped as I opened my umbrella. 

 We continued to courtyards and magnificent architechtual land marks in the university.  Leah caught the exact feeling with her camera that we wanted. 

The 3 of us then moved to Princeton Battle Field where I quickly changed.  We had a short time there before the sun set but Leah handed us cowboy hats as props and shot away.

These photos will be used to build a guest book where guests will sign and add their words of wisdom for T and me as a newly married couple <3  The fact that T and I will be the new Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Hunter is feeling more real as each day passes!