For the love of tackiness!!

Well it has been almost a week since Shawn & I have arrived in the burg and we are totally loving it and enjoying every second of being here! We have officially had my first dress fitting, confirmed our centerpieces that are sooo gorgeous and we absolutely love, met with Fr. LaValley and confirmed everything for the church (we start Pre-Cana in June with him), and have all the tuxes picked out EIGHTEEN in all!! They are going to look like total studs!! Well I think my girls will dress them up looking like hotties in their gorgeous dresses as well.. With so many things in line we are getting overwhelming excited and the stories to throw shawn off of any track he might fall upon for hints of my dress are getting outrageous from all around.. From ruffles, to puffy sleeves.. To my new favorite a teardrop headband that starts between my eyes, wraps around my head and ends with a bunch of veil at the back... I am sure that you may remember these from the beloved 80's!! I figured that I would leave you with this beautiful picture of a blushing bride!! *wink *wink

MY DRESS!!

Sooo I just had to inform everyone that I officially had my first dress fitting today!! I am absolutely in LOVE with it and could not be happier.. I have loved every bit of my experience at Sposa Bella's Bridal Shoppe in Canton, NY!! Michelle and Debbie (the boutique specialists!!) have been BEYOND wonderful... My dress came in more beautiful than I remember it and I was able to witness a teary eyed mom and Matron (Amy).. Two other bridesmaids/friends were able to come along as well and we had such a great time.. Jenn & Shawna helped me feel comfortable and helped with their opinions on veils!! We were able to go to lunch afterwards at the Gran View and Jill also met us.. I had a fabulous day and loved every bit of it!! Thank you girls!!!
Oh PS this is about the equivalent volume of sleeves that I told shawn my dress has!!

SUPER PUMPED!!!

oSoo I just can NOT hold my excitement in about making the trek up to the BURG on Saturday... After spending so much time on the River this summer, it has made it harder and harder to not be a little homesick and anxious to get back... This is one f the best times of the year, the Wright Family Christmas Party is a holiday must and Jenn, Breanne & I have made it pretty much habit to "crash" another Christmas party at Jonesy's, Bree is usually satisfied as long as there are meatballs somewhere along the way... Of course as always I am completely PUMPED to see my favorite three little girls in the entire world (makayla, lily, jenna) and get to celebrate an early christmas with them on Sunday... I am going to stay up north through the holiday BUT Shawn will be flying back south early to spend the holidays with his families... Although we have been busy making appointments for our time home, including MY FIRST OFFICIAL DRESS FITTING and a FLOWER appointment!! I am beyond ready to be home sweet home and can not wait to see everyone... Oh and when I get back... IT IS 2009!! The year of the wedding!!... There will be an official countdown of UNDER 8 months!! ... ahhhh!!! Until next time...

Junior Bridesmaid Mackenzie Rose:)

Mackenzie is Shawn's oldest niece who is in the 7th grade! I met Kenz when Shawn and I first started dating when she was in KINDERGARTEN! She has definitely matured into a beautiful young lady and presents herself very well. I am so proud of the person that she has become. Even though I left to go to school I feel like I have seen Kenz really transform into this person. She lives with her mom Krissy whom is an awesome person. She has raised her kids to be the best that they are and we are so proud of them. Thanks Kenz for being apart of our day.. We love and miss you so much

Bridesmaid Michelle :)

Okay Michelle Kathleen Durr Duuurr... Michy K.. Micheline.. Mole.. and the list goes on... this is one of the "better" pictures that Michelle and I have because I couldn't find one that one of us were not doing something ridiculous in because that is the type of friend Michelle is.. Sometimes I have no idea where she is, what she is doing, or what is going on BUT then we catch right back up!! Honestly I have "known" Michelle since Kindergarten (there are birthday party videos that back that up) but our friendship really held strong in the 6th grade.. With I might add the help of our purple walkie talkies that worked from my house to her house.. and we were coolios and forced our parents into getting us our own telephone line!! Michelle is probably the funniest/craziest/funnest.. friends I have ever had... Love you Mich K!! Thank you

Bridesmaid Jessica :)

Jessica Fields!... Whew where to even start.. Maybe Mrs. Dumus's class.. orrr the "triangle".. or the Knothole.. I am not really sure but it seems that this girl has been with at every important part of my life.. Jessica & I have been friends since probably the fourth grade.. Although through points in our friendship we may have been distant.. but when we pick that up we are right on target.. I am so appreciative of Jessica accepting to be a part of our wedding because I feel that she also has a great friendship with Shawn.. This is one off the wall girl and I love spending time with her.. New York or the Carolina's we stay strong.. Maybe I can fly "Bo" up for a dance with her.. LOVE YOU!!

Bridesmaid Lauren :)

This pretty much sums up mine and Lauren's friendship!! Peace up Atown down! Lauren and I went through the education program at Canisius College... BUT we did not become super close until our final year of school. I don't think that I would have made it through my senior year/ student teaching without Lauren by my side... She helped me keep my sanity and got me through some major obstacles that I hit... Once I moved to South Carolina, Lauren was the first person who visited me and makes huge attempts to get together!! And for that I am grateful... Last year we went down to see Lauren for a strict girls weekend and HAD A BLAST... This girl is my rock in sooo many ways as well as a comic relief... KITTY... HARV... I am forever thankful that you accepted to be a part of this transition in my life!!.. I love you!!

Bridesmaid Jill :)

Jill & I have been friends ever since I can recall having close friends!! We were pretty much inseparable from 6th grade on. There were even times when people confused Jill and I for twins and repeatedly we would be called each others names!! Jill has always been by side, well unless it was her causing trouble and then running in a different direction!!! She is one crazy girl and we always have an awesome time when we hang out! Jill married her high school sweetheart Sean back in August of 2005.. Sean and Jill have a beautiful little girl Claire (abella!! haha) and she definitely is going to give them a run for their money... especially if she is anything like her mother!!... Love you Jill and thank you for everything!!

Bridesmaid Shawna Mae:)

For about the past 8 years Shawna and I have been pretty indestructible! Our friendship has gone through many different hard and good times and I am proud to say that she is one of the closest friends I have had. Shawna has been there throughout Shawn & mine's relationship from day one. Shawna has a son Keighan who is five years old and I am proud to call him my godson! He is the cutest guy ever!! Our friendship has never faded over the years and although we may not see each other all the time, our bond remains constant and I am very thankful for that... I love you Shawna Mae and thank you for being apart of this process in my life!!

Bridesmaid Jenn :)

Jennifer Anne Manke Shaver... Also known now as Jenn Shaver!!.. Jenn and I go wayyyy back and is one of my very best friends... She has really always been there for me, even though we have gone through our times of not being the perfect angels that we are!! There haven't been too many memories made in the past six years that she has not been apart of!! She got married in July 2007 to Jonathan Shaver, and I was apart of their wedding... WHICH was one of the best weddings I have ever been to!! Jon & her are perfect for each other and they also have a beautiful little boy Brady, who cracks me up and has THE CUTEST voice EVER!! I can't wait to go home at Christmas to spend time with Jenn's little family!!... ILU and thank you so much for being a part of our special day!

Amie Smaciak is Shawn's brother Richard's wife. Over the past seven years Amie and I have grown close. She is the mother of shawn's beautiful niece and nephew Kayleigh and Tyler, also one of our flowergirls and one of our ringbearers. Being a northern native herself, she has helped me get used to this craziness they call the south!! We thank her for being a part of our day!!

Happy Birthday Bridesmaid Katrina :)

Katrina Smaciak is Shawn's sister and my soon to be sister in law! She has definitely been the welcome wagon into the family. Shawn & I are extremely close to her and value her relationship. Trina has always been there for both of us when we have needed her and vice versa! The three of us like to partake in some crazy activities... ie Concerts, fairs, tailgating and just about anything else. Trina and I are alot alike in the fact that we have had to "suffer" being the only girl in a family of all boys!! We can't wait to start having kids just to bug Aunt T T!! THANKS KATRINA, We love you!!

Bridesmaid Tara :)

Tara Conner is one of my dearest friends from my college years. We met six years ago as Freshman in College. Ever since then she has been the person that I tell everything to and count on her day/night and any other time!! She is always there for me, a little out of control at times BUT that is what makes her my Tara J!! Recently she has moved down to Columbia and it is really exciting to have her here. I have too many memories of our friendship to EVER begin recounting them... One that I think I may mention is Quad Party *06... And leave it at that!!! Thanks Tara for accepting to be apart of our day and for standing by my side at all points in my adulthood!! ilu!!

Bridesmaid Emily:)

This is my brother Nicholas's wife Emily!! I have known Emily for about eight years now. Over the years we have become extremely close and she is definitely one of my best friends. She has given me the three most beautiful nieces in the world!! (See below, the first three girls!!) Not only has she helped me with planning the wedding, she has helped me get to this point in my relationship with Shawn... She listened to many frustrations over the years and helped me through some tough times and I could never thank her enough for that. I have had some pretty crazy times with her and believe I haven't seen the last of those times!! She also needs to get some praise for being our graphic designer and being in charge of Save The Date cards, Invitations AND programs!! I love you em...

My Matron:)

I figured that I may as well stay on this path and introduce my wedding party!! In no particular order BUT I will only post one person at a time... Starting off with my sister in law Amy Wright. She is married to my oldest brother Scott. They started dating on and off when I was in FIFTH grade!! There are not too many memories I have without her included. She is definitely one of my best friends and can turn to her for anything at all. I could not have even began to chose a better person to be my sister!! Now that I am older we have some pretty wild and memorable times together but even when I was younger I remember the times when I was in pageants and she was the reigning Dairy Princess!! We were a couple of hotties back then!! So thank you so much to my sister and best friend for accepting the title of holy Matron!!!!

Dedication to My Flowergirls!!

Well like the rest of our wedding... our flowergirls are definitely in abundance!! My three beautiful nieces Makayla, Lily, and Jenna.. Then we have Shawn's gorgeous niece Kayleigh... AND we have Shawn's other niece Mackenzie as a junior bridesmaid!! But anywho.. Not only are these girls going to be the cutest ones walking down the aisle they mean so much to Shawn and I. The only thing that we wish is that we could spend more time with each of these girls!! We know that they are going to be successful in their lives and we will be there for them every step of the way!! They are definitely our favorite girls in the world and love them with all of our hearts!!

**Crazy Weekend**

So I have kind of been in a rut because I can never think of topics to write about... I also am still trying to figure out how everyone has amazing, really cool pages and I can NOT figure out how to!! So I guess I will fill everyone in on our awesome weekend! We were invited to a friends Halloween party and I witnessed for the first time EVER, Shawn dressing up!! Let's just say he certainly got into character outfit and attitude of RICHARD SIMMONS!!! I was not so original and went as a referee!!

We had a great time with friends including one of our groomsmen RJ who came down from Charlotte!!


On Saturday we tailgated and went in to the University of South Carolina vs. Tennessee game. We had amazing food and an even better time enjoying the game ten rows up from the goalpost!! Not to mention it was 65* all day and into the night!! That was our weekend!!

The Story of *Us*

Shawn & I have been dating for over seven years now. We met and became friends when we were the wee ages of 16 & 17. At first we were just friends and became very close and hung out with the same people. Our first round of dating ended soon because we decided against it. On June 16, 2001 we decided to give it a second go round. Our senior year of high school was awesome but then came college for both of us. I had my heart set on going to Canisius College in Buffalo, N.Y. and he was going back to the south, Midlands Technical School and then the University of South Carolina in Columbia, South Carolina. This meant FOUR years of a major long distance relationships. Many people voted against us thinking that it could not possibly work out. We were too young to even understand what this thing called love was. YES I would be crazy to not admit that we definitely had our fair trials of test & failure... A couple breaks here and there but honestly it made us the strongest people/couple that we are today. After that four years I took the plunge and moved to South Carolina and left all the securities that I had surrounded myself with for 22 years. Of course I miss my family and all of my friends everyday BUT I have made new friends and have a secon family down here!! And obviously being with Shawn & Ziggy day in and day out is pretty amazing too.. (Ziggy is our two year old cat who thinks he is a dog) So after living together for two years and passing the tests of "dealing" with each other we took a trip to Savannah, Georgia for Shawn's 25th birthday to get away from "home"... On that day we were discovering Savannah and having one of the best vacations we have been on... At the last fountain Shawn asked me to spend the rest of our lives together so that I could celebrate his birthday with him every year... So when everyone says well "it's about time", I wouldn't agree I would say this is "our time", yes seven almost eight years is a long time but we progressed through our relationship at our own rate and I could never imagine skipping any of those major milestones in our relationship. We took it in strides and not leaps and would not be here in the 10 months before our wedding if we had done it any other way...

Tribute to the Bonster!!

Soooo I have been making fun of my mom for months now about being a "blogster".... But I can not stop myself from reading her page along with others that I find randomly!! And with wedding fever in the air (as it has been since July 7th!!) I have become addicted to finding everything possible having to do with weddings... magazines/television shows/theknot/facebook and then checking out people who have wedding blogs.... So this part of the cyber world is completely new to me, so bare with me. I apologize ahead of time because this page is going to be STRICTLY WEDDING!!!... I plan to use this blog as an outlet for my excitement/stress/allll emotions having to do with AUGUST 15, 2009!! So without further adieu my title is obviously dedicated to my mom because she is the one that has turned my head towards "blogging" and also because she is TRULY my angel throughout this entire process. Not only is she already the best friend I could ever have she also blows any Wedding Planner out of the water. I could never accomplish the things she has for the wedding, let alone in the three months... Yes all major decisions for the wedding are made and booked!!! BUT I guess that is a later blog!!! Thank you mom I love you and miss you!! I guess that is it for now!!