Our wedding weekend!! :) Part 2

Saturday morning before the wedding the bridesmaids and I went to Southern Roots Salon in Somerville, where my aunts held a bridal breakfast for us! We had a nice spread of breakfast casseroles, fruit, quiches* (sp). It was all delicious! If you haven't been to Southern Roots, you have to go and at least check out how well it is decorated! Everything is soo pretty in there!! Perfect for pictures! Abigail, the owner, does a great job at both hair and makeup!!

Some of the food and ladies at the breakfast!



The salon, isn't it just cute? We came here for hair and make up for Vals wedding and I knew then that Abigail would do a great job for mine!!

Some of my beautiful bridesmaids, wearing the shirts that Libby made! :)

Before pic: BEWARE! Patiently waiting to get muh hair done!

After: I LOVED my hair!!! :)

My beautiful Matron of Honor (Kellie Logan) and Maid of Honor (Christie Eddlemon) after hair and makeup! :)

Some of my beautiful bridesmaids at the Salon after hair and makeup! I def. recommend all brides in Somerville to get your hair and makeup done at Southern Roots. Relax and Enjoy your day!!

After we left the salon we had to book it back to Pinecrest to start pictures! Shane is crazy about tardiness and I TRIED TO BE ON TIME!! haha!

On the way back we went to the chapel to check on things and noticed that my dad put up my signs to direct guests to the chapel and they looked GREAT!!

My mom and I made these signs while I was in town for Valeries wedding and I am so happy with how they turned out! :)

Going to the....

The photographer (Cristi Oswalt) got to Pinecrest about 1:45, and began snapping pictures as soon as she walked through the door! She is awesome!! She took my dress, Mrs. McKay hanger, and rings outside and took some pics...here is one of the pics.

LOVE THIS!!!

Then it was time to get ready to meet Shane in the Chapel for our secret meeting. We went ahead and took all pictures before the ceremony so we would be able to get the reception started as soon as it was set up!

Me and mom getting ready.

My ladies helping me get in my dress! haha! I love my dress! I hate to say it, but I do believe it was made for me!



Our wedding weekend! :) Part 1

Shane and I flew into Memphis on a redeye flight from San Diego. Our plane took off at 10:50 pm and didn't arrive in TN until 7:20 am! We were thinking that we would sleep all the way but nooo...we were too excited to sleep! Once we landed we took a shuttle bus to enterprise to get our rental car. When we signed up for the rental car we requested a larger car like a maxima or buick lacrosse or something semi fancy for possible wedding pictures. But once we got to the dealership the agent said that both were unavailable and the only car they had about that same size was a CROWN VICTORIA! We died out laughing bc have you seen a crown vic...they are huge granny cars!

So we politely declined and asked the guy what else he had...and his next offer was a Dodge Challenger...and well you see what we decided to drive for the next few days while we were home!

It was one of the coolest cars I've ever ridden in! Shane of course did not let me drive it bc he said that I probably wouldnt be able to see over the front of the car! :(

Anyways, once we got the car, we headed to Pinecrest to meet my mom and let Shane see the chapel. He hadn't seen Pinecrest until the day before Rehearsal dinner, so TOUGH if he didn't like it because invitations were sent out and it was set in stone by then! But luckily enough Pinecrest is a place that everyone loves and shane ended up falling in love with it too! :)

After having lunch with my mom, Shane went on to Bruce to see his family and I was stuck at Pinecrest going on 2 hours of sleep getting things ready for the weekend. And believe me, my mother put me to work!

I had calluses all over my poor hands! haha!

I hate not being in control or not being able to help, so this was good for me! I got to do my part and help out! My aunt Nita came out to lend a hand and brought lanterns to help with the mosquitos and bugs bc it had just rained and there were millions of bugs out there!

Enough about that! We got all set up and I think I was working off of pure adrenaline, just thinking about the wedding!

Friday, I went to Pinecrest early, to meet up with the florist to set up a little more before our friends and families started arriving and to boss him around a little. I forgot to mention that the florist forgot about our wedding about a week before we flew out and that had me flipping out! I was so scared that we wouldn't have any flowers in the wedding, but woo they def. showed up and everything was beautiful!

I really didn't take any pictures at the rehearsal dinner and I hate that! We had some delicious food and good times with the bridal party and family!

As gifts for the party I got the girls: cute bags, silver flip flops, navy sunglasses, small lotion, and the jewelry for them to wear during the wedding. Pearl earrings and a Pearl necklace. They went perfect with their navy dresses!

For the guys we got them matching navy ties, to wear at the wedding and silver flasks! Just a warning for those of you planning on buying matching ties, it's hard!! lol. We went to at least 10 different stores before we found a total of 10!

After the rehearsal dinner, most of the wedding party stayed at Pinecrest with Shane and I in cabins. We had a good time catching up with everyone and hanging out!

We have a great group of friends and love them soo much!!

what a busy weekend!

This past weekend was our wedding weekend and it flew by so fast!!! I had so much fun but I hate that it's already over! :(
I just wanted to update really quickly and let you know how excited I am to say that I am FINALLY married to Mr. Patrick Shane McKay!!

I have to apologize for my creepy looking hands!!...but yay!!! I just love my wedding band! I'm hoping to get a matching band for the opposite side to complete the setting!! :)

Once we get the pictures I will update again, but for now...i have two suitcases to unpack! :(

Unpacking is the worst part!

{one} what color best describes you + why?Purple and gray. Don't know if it describes me in any way...Just love those colors!

{two} how have you changed in the past year?Wow...well first off I have become a heck of alot stronger with Shane being away for deployment! That was a long 5 months! I have missed him so!! If you don't know me very well, I have always been a momma's baby! When I would go to a slumber party, I would always end up calling my mom around midnight or later to come pick me up, because I missed her! And she would always roll out of bed and pick her little baby up! ha! :(   I just recently moved all the way to San Diego, CA, without my mom, to be with Shane and I'm doing alright...I still miss being with my mom though! :(

{three} have you ever had any surgeries? Yes, in November....

{four} why did you start your blog?I started my blog mainly because I knew I would be moving soon and this would be a good way to keep friends and family updated. Plus it's a like a journal for me!  

{five} what are you looking forward to this summer?I'm marrying my best friend this weekend!!! :) We have been planning our wedding since last June, changing the date at least 3 times! I really cannot wait for this weekend!!

{six} do you have any family traditions for the 4th of July?Yes, normally we would go to my aunt's house to swim, layout, play horseshoes, EAT LOTS of FOOD!!, play badminton and shoot fireworks. I'll be missing the 4th with the family because we will be in CA. But this means we will have to start our own family traditions, which I'm very excited about! 


{seven} what’s something new that you’ve tried in the past few months?I love doing crafts!! I really wish I could stay motivated!!

 

{eight} what is the perfect a/c temperature?We are so lucky to live inland in San Diego, we never have to turn the air on so it normally stays about 70 degrees year round! Which is perfect!!

{nine} what was the last movie you saw in the theater?Hangover II! HILARIOUS!!

{ten} what song do you think everyone should hear at least once?"Hey Porter" by Johnny Cash! I love it because it makes me think of the south and how proud I am to be a Southern Girl!! :)

1 week!!

As most of you know, Shane and I have had to change our wedding date at least 3 times because of our wonderful military! :)
But the day is drawing near!! JUNE 18!! yay! It's just so hard to believe that it's really almost here!!!

Today Shane has to work his 24 hour watch shift, so I'm kinda sad. Maybe I can get somethings done today tho!

Just had to update you with the wedding venue! It's at Pinecrest in LaGrange, TN!

I just love it!

I love the inside of the chapel!!

We cannot wait for our weekend of celebrations!!! :)

Getting OLD!

Last night Shane and I went to a dueling piano bar {the Shout House}...and it was soo much fun!! I mean the {pianist?} guys were awesome! They really interacted with the crowd and had everyone laughing and singing. We were having a blast!! We haven't gone out with other people yet. It's usually just the two of us, which I have a great time either way! Then we noticed that it was 9pm and we are normally alseep by then! So I told Shane we could leave whenever he was ready, but nope...he was ready to hangout!
12 am rolled around and we were headed home! And believe me, we have both struggled all day! We just cannot stay up that late anymore! Its a terrible feeling when you realize that you are aging!! But I wouldn't have it any other way! I can't wait to grow old with Shane McKay!

If you ever come to SD, you will have to go to the Shout House! So much FUN!!

Anyways, while recovering at home, I realized that I had to cook dinner and was not in the mood to cook and if you know me, I LOVE TO COOK! So I wanted something easy!! Which is why I am sharing this, you must try this soup!! It is awesome! A friend at my old office brought this awesome potato soup one day for lunch and man is it good!! It's Bear Creek Creamy Potato Soup.

Get the packet of soup, water and a whisk and this is seriously all you need and believe me, people will think that you are a master chef! Add your own little touches and it'll be even better!
When Shane is silent or slurping while eating, it's a good sign that he is enjoying every bit of that food! If you could see him now, he is asleep on the couch!! {Probably from pure exhaustion of last nights events, but we can just say that he is in a coma from my delicious food!}haha! I added some {peeled and chopped} potatoes and let the soup sit for about 2 hours.

Then fried some bacon and made some cornbread. Which by the way was the best cornbread I've made! Every other time, it would come out flat and hard as a brick! So YAY!!

Anyways, I garnished the soup with bacon and cheese and VOILA!! There you have it! An easy, delicious meal!!

Yes, this is so simple! And so delicious! I just had to share this with you! Go out and get some soup today and save it for a lazy day!!

I hope you had a great day!

Geez! It has been a long time!!!

I cannot believe that it has been over 6 months since I last blogged!!
I am such a slacker! Alot has happened since December! My best friend is back home from deployment, my niece had her FIRST birthday, I had to leave my job (which if you didn't already know, I love that office!! and everyone in it), I found a place for Shane and I to live in SD, We have made the big move over to California, Shane and I made a few stops along the way to Cali and made a vacation out of it and I saw a lot of the country that I had never seen, One of my best friends got married in May, Shane purchased a Harley! (pray for me! ha!) and now we are counting down the days until our wedding!! Which we are sooo excited about!!

I will update you with some pictures!!

Shane came home from deployment March 21! I had not seen him in over 6 months!!

This is me and my precious niece the day she was born! I cannot believe the time! It sure has flown by!

Isn't she the cutest little thing!! :)

She warms my heart!! Love you my Kyleigh bug!

I cannot believe it has been a year! :)

On our way to California we spent an extra day in Arizona for my birthday! We saw the Grand Canyon! It really is amazing!!!

My car packed to the roof with all of our stuff!! I'm so glad the Vue got us out here! :)

(I just love this man so much!!)

Here are a few pics of our apartment! We love where we live!

Our first home together! :)

I'm so glad that I was able to fly home for my Val Rae's wedding!! It was BEAUTIFUL!

I'm so excited for Valerie! You made a beautiful bride!! I can't believe it's been here and gone!

Valerie, I cannot wait to see what the Lord has in store for you and Jon!

You will make a wonderful wife and one day a GREAT mom!! I'm soo happy for yall!!

Thank you for letting me be a part of your day!!

While I was home for Val's wedding, I got to hangout with this little girl!! She learns something new everyday! She is such a sweet baby!! I love this girl soo much!

Kyleigh Bug!  

While we have been in California, we have tried to see something new at least every other weekend! One weekend we went to LA to checkout a Harley and while we were there, we went siteseeing! And I'm sure I wore Shane out with all the, "Oh my gosh, this is just soo cool!" "This is awesome!!" "Lauren Conrad has been here" "I hope we see a Kardashian!" 

We did have a blast, even though we didn't see any famous people! (I probably would've fainted if I had! So it's probably best we didn't!) 

Maybe for our honeymoon the mister will take me back so we can do a little more siteseeing and maybe see some famous folks!! And maybe a TV show!! AHH :)

The Kodak Theater was..."SOO AWESOME!!"

Muscle beach!! on the Venice boardwalk...

The boardwalk is just weird! So beware if you visit!

In about 11 days Shane McKay and I will FINALLY say, "I Do!"

We have had to change our date about...5 times! due to the military! But now it's really about to happen!! Thank goodness!!! I cannot wait! My mom has been my wedding planner and has helped with absolutely everything! I have no idea what I would do without that lady! Especially with me living in California now!

Shane and I are counting down the days until we are back in the south, with our closest friends and family! SOO EXCITED!!! I can hardly contain myself! I know the weekend will fly by but I'm hoping and praying that I just stop and soak everything in!!

As for now I am praying that I haven't gained 100 lbs and that I can still fit into my wedding dress! Which by the way I have had for over a year now! So ready to wear that baby!

June 18, here we come!

Cannot wait for our photo booth!!! :)

Shane McKay, I hope you are ready!! I love you!