9 DAYS!!!

Okay, first of all... yes, I am still alive. I have just been a little busy with planning a wedding! But guess what, folks... only 9 more days to go!!! I can't even believe it! My best friend Angelina comes into town Monday, my other friend Emily and Tyler's parents and two siblings come in Tuesday, my grandpa and step-grandma from Florida and my sister and nephew from China arrive Thursday, Tyler's sister, bro-in-law and two nephews will be here Thursday, too, I think.... WILD!!! And then.. I'm going to get MARRIED. For reals. Not just talk about it, but actually DO IT! That's the crazy part for me. Tyler and I have been dating for almost 3 years now, and believe me, we have spent about two and a half of those years talking about getting married but never actually doing it! We've grown up so much together (well... mostly I was the one that needed growing up, ha) and now the time really is right for us to finally take the plunge. Enough of this boring stuff, though... On to the fun planning stuff!

FLOWERS:
Peonies and ranunculus are my favorite flowers. Unfortunately, everyone said they would be out of season and impossible to get on my wedding day. Everyone except Bed of Roses floral shop in Lindon! YAY! Here is a picture of what we will model my bouquet after...

Amazing right? I seriously can't wait!

PICTURES:
I got my bridal portraits taken yesterday and as lame as it sounds, I totally felt like a princess! My mom and grandma came along and we really had such a great time. My favorite part was this field of poppies that we found -- it was such a beautiful setting and then these amazing black clouds rolled in and it started to sprinkle which made for some really cool photos at the end. Also, our engagement photos recently received a little bit of publicity on the Utah Bride Blog. Our photographer Jason McGrew really is amazing.

RECEPTION:
We are doing the reception in my family's yard in Cedar Hills. This posed some interesting problems. The first problem is that our house backs up to a very busy road, which creates traffic noise. Solution? Hire an amazing band to drown it out! We are also renting a dance floor and a stage for the band, so get ready to dance your socks off! The second problem is that we had to get our yard in perfect condition. That took a lot of work and countless flats of flowers, but it really was fun. We got to pick out a lot of amazing flowers and if you know my mom at all you know she has an incredible green thumb, so the yard is looking spectacular and it was really fun to get to spend that time with my mom working outside. So even though it has been a ton of work, it has been really rewarding, too. I can't wait!

There are so many other things, but I think I should leave some of it as a surprise :) More than anything, though, I am just so excited to go to the temple with Tyler and be his wife forever. It's crazy and scary and a whole new adventure, but I feel so ready and peaceful and excited. And that's all that really matters, right? Right.