T minus 3 days and counting!

OH MY GOODNESS!!!  I'm only blogging because my dad told me to.  He said it would be a nice memento upon which to look back and reminisce.  So here goes...

Last night, Joseph and I had a lovely dinner with his mom and her boyfriend, Dean, at Cypress.  Joseph and his mom both had lamb, Dean had steak (Cypress is known for their beef), and I had the smoked salmon Wellington.  I don't usually order salmon (even though I love fish), but the smoked salmon Wellington tasted how I always hope salmon will taste when, on the rare occasion, I do order it.  I believe this dinner has been planned for about three months, and, in my mind, it marked the official beginning of wedding celebrations!  If you haven't been to Cypress, put it on your to-do list for this weekend's activities.  It's quite nice :)

Today I ran a lot of errands, felt stressed and overwhelmed, had a stomach ache until lunch time... and apparently this is normal??  But now, at eight in the evening with nothing to worry about, nothing to do but relax, I can look back on my day and know that I had a very productive day and everything is going to be awesome!  While Joseph was on his lunch break, his boss called to let him have the rest of the day off-- yes!

Now I'm enjoying my evening, listening to Joseph add some of the last songs to the reception playlist.  Oh, yes, did I tell you?  Joseph is creating a five hour playlist as we speak.  He's been working on it for weeks.  It's pretty sweet.  This iPod is staaaaacked!!

Hooray!

We're getting our marriage license today!  Well, actually, I think we are just applying for it and then Joseph will pick it up on Tuesday (since Monday is Memorial Day).  THIS IS SO EXCITING!!

I hope everyone is as excited as we are about next weekend!  Here is some good advice from my friends and family:

Do not, I repeat, do NOT look at the 10 day weather forecast!

And everyone should probably bring some bug spray and wear sunscreen.  We've had some rain lately in Charleston and we're getting married in a swamp :)

See you soooooon!

One last (I hope) Last Minute Detail

I keep forgetting to mention on ANYthing that all guests to our wedding will receive free admission to Cypress Gardens between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on June 2.  So if your hotel is close by (or even if it's not and you'd like to drive up there twice), please visit these lovely gardens during their normal hours!

Some cool features of Cypress Gardens:

• Bilingual avian psittaciforms 
• Lepidoptera
• Various species of epiphytes
• Alligators, turtles, and otters, oh my!
• Row boating through the swamp

Last Minute Details!

Hello everyone!  As the days grow longer and the time before the wedding grows shorter, I wanted to share some important information.

Firstly, for those of you with small children, I have hired a babysitter for the evening.  Her name is Karla, and she is one of my students.  She has lots of experience working with and caring for infants, toddlers, and elementary school aged children.  She's doing me a huge favor by only charging $5/hour/child.  She'll be available from 6:00 - 11:00.  The building where she will be is very close to the reception hall, and it has a TV and DVD player.  Please feel free to bring any movies and/or toys for your kids to play with-- but make sure they have your name on them!!

Secondly, as I'm not sure where everyone is staying in the Charleston area, I wanted to give you all the address for Cypress Gardens so that you can plug it into your GPS, smartphone, or do this the "old fashioned way" and look it up on the internet :)

3030 Cypress Gardens Rd.
Moncks Corner, SC 29461

We are SO excited to see you all and really grateful that you're taking time out of your summer to celebrate with us!

Updated Registry

Happy Tuesday!  I have updated our wedding registry with some really cute and cool things from World Market and Anthropologie.  You can check it out by clicking on the link below and directing your search to Caroline Selby and Joseph Shrader:

Caroline and Joseph's Wedding Registry

Stay tuned for bridal party updates, bios, and news coming soon!

It's been a long, long, long time!

Hello! As there are 46 days until our wedding, I thought it would be a good idea to update our blog :)

The out-of-town invitations have been sent, as well as a few of the local ones that cannot be hand-delivered; and we have already gotten several RSVPs! I finally found the perfect bouquets for my girls from a local sweet grass vendor on Meeting Street, and I'll also be getting boutonnières from her for Joey's groomsmen. We are so excited about the music for the reception-- you can expect some groovy jazz during the cocktail hour while you play your lawn games and admire the beautiful scenery of Cypress Gardens. And, of course, there will be some awesome dance tunes once the party gets started!

My sister has been an amazing Maid-of-Honor: she keeps me updated and on track with monthly reminders and checklists; she threw an amazing bachelorette party in March; and on a totally unrelated note, has been training for a marathon!! I can't wait to see you at the end of May!!

So, for those of you who are new to our blog, here are some helpful links (and you can also find them on the sidebar on the right hand side of the page):

www.myregistry.com (direct your search to Caroline Selby and Joseph Shrader)

www.cypressgardens.info (this is where we are getting married!! oh yeah, and scenes from The Patriot and The Notebook were filmed here)

www.spoletousa.org/home (our wedding is taking place during the the Spoleto Festival, so make a vacation out of it and take in some shows while you're in Charleston!)

Happy Birthday KOTW!

Happy birthday, Dad! We love you!!