We found our Venue!!

After looking at about 4 venues (that were all jokes!), we finally found the one we've been waiting for! On Saturday Debbie (Michael's mom), Michael and I all went down to Seattle to look at the The Harbor Club. When we walked in, it took our breath away. We both knew the minute we walked in that this was the place! We were grinning from ear to ear and taken away by the gorgeous view of both downtown and of the water. We hadn't picked a date until we found the place we wanted. We had initally spoke about a Saturday wedding, but after some discussions we settled on a Sunday date. We didn't have a preference until the wedding coordinator at the venue stated that the 22nd of July was open and the weekend before Seafair, so there'd be less traffic. Instantly we said yes because that date is very special as it was Michael's grandma's birthday. Since she recently passed he has missed her so much. We felt that doing it on the 22nd was the perfect way to celebrate that date and to have his family and my family all together. We are SO excited to share that special day with everyone.

Trip to Eastern WA

We just got back from our trip over to Eastern Washington. What a fun time! We went over to see Michael's childhood friend Conner get married. We stayed at the Davenport Hotel in downtown Spokane and it was absolutely gorgeous!

Before arriving, we drove the long way to Spokane which goes through Leavenworth, a cute little Bavarian town. Michael drove through here so we could go wine tasting! We went to 3 different places. The first was Willows Crest, then Patrick Ryan and finally Icicle Ridge. Michael sipped the whites while I fully indulged in the whites, rose, reds, and dessert wines. Good thing Michael was driving!

We drove through beautiful scenery and then arrived in Spokane. We got up to the room after walking through the gorgeous hotel and rested up. Soon after we walked down to have dinner at the Safari Room which was decorated with elephants, tigers and monkeys. The next day, we woke up after sleeping in and walked down to the mall which was only a few blocks from where we stayed. We were shocked to see how big it was!

Afterwards, we went back to the hotel and got ready for his friend's wedding. Michael put on his full suit and looked incredibly handsome! I even made him pose for a few pictures in the lobby. After driving for 2hrs trying to find the venue (which was only 20mins away from the hotel) we were both frustrated with getting lost, but the minute we saw the happy couple we knew it was worth it! Michael caught up with all of his old buddies and even asked me to dance 3 times! He even spun me around and dipped me! It was the highlight of the trip.
To see all the pictures of our trip go to the link below. Enjoy!

https://picasaweb.google.com/105562950769294746974/TripToEasternWAConnerAndMirandaSWedding?authkey=Gv1sRgCKu2prKbg-3fqwE#

Love & Respect

We finally started our first Growth Group together through Eastlake Church! We are reading a book called Love & Respect: The Love She Most Desires and The Respect He Despirately Needs. The group is for engaged couples and we are so excited to jump into this book and start growing together! We plan to take some time aside at night before we go to bed to read to one another. The group is great because we are able to meet new friends who share our values and who are also going through the hectic wedding planning that we are as well! This is Michael's first Growth Group and so far it's proven to be the best one that I've been a part of. The leaders Justin and Shelby Sampson (we also play softball with them) are so organized and are excited to share tips with all of the couples in the group. I'm sure we will learn at lot from them both.

We also received a book as a gift from one of our friends at work called Keys to a Successful Marriage by John Gottman. The author is actually from here in Washington State and has observed couples and how they fight and interact with one another. The book is supposed to teach us how to communicate with one another better. I keep wanting to start reading this one, but I'm going to try and keep it to one book at a time to not overwhelm Michael! ;)

We're so thankful for the wonderful support we have from friends and family and the great resources that are being laid out for the two of us! We are always open to any suggestions for us to continue to better our relationship!

Blog World

All right! We gave into it and decided to start a blog! With so much going on, we figured this was the easiest way to keep in touch with everyone with updates on our wedding planning and of course pictures!
So, thanks for setting out on this new journey through the blogging world with us!