Surviving Africa

Hi, Bloggers and Bloggetters! Unfortunately this is not a progress report stating the most recent wedding plans that I have made. However, this is a report talking about a slightly different type of progress: surviving Africa.

Seth left on June 23rd to a small little continent you may have heard of… Africa.  He went with a group of people from our church on a mission trip to a baby orphanage in Uganda. First of all, I would like to begin by saying that I am extremely blessed that my future husband has such a passion and pursuit to serve the Lord. I may not be married yet, but I know that a relationship with God is a necessity and more important than a relationship with each other. So, to see my fiancé’s heart and willingness to serve makes me count my blessings and look forward to a lifetime spent with him. Maybe one day I will be half the person that Seth is.

Most would think that the person I was most worried about surviving Africa would be Seth. But that’s not necessarily the case… I was worried about my own sanity and survival. There are only a lucky few who have shared in my struggle with this issue. And if you were one of these “lucky” ones, then you know I was uneasy from the first day that summer started, and I will continue to be until the day Seth lands in Atlanta. I guess I could not help but be hesitant about him going because we are so close to getting married (5 ½ months to be exact), and I cannot imagine not getting the chance to marry my own Captain America after looking forward to it for 6+ years.

You may be saying, “Why be worried? It’s just Africa. You are being a little dramatic.” Well, yes, I am being dramatic, but that is because I have no idea what to expect. Personally, the only “out of the country” experience I have had is when I went on cruises… but we all know that this is cheating because “foreign countries” on cruise routes are just Americanized, sheltering you from the drug cartels, etc. So I admit that I am a little naive about what goes out outside of the United States. Therefore, when I heard that Seth would be island hopping via boat in the middle of Lake Victoria, my mental image was not a good one. I envisioned Seth floating in a rackety canoe in the midst of branches and briars (kinda swamp-like), coming up on different tribes who are all wearing loin cloths holding hand-made spears. This is what was going through my head; hence my concern. However, I have some really comforting people in my life who tried to mentally help me through this. One thing that stood out to me was when someone asked me, “Don’t you think that God loves Seth even more than you do? So, why would He want anything to happen to him?” After hearing this, I would tell myself “Shut up, Elizabeth” on a daily basis.

There is a 7 hour time difference between Georgia and Uganda, Africa. This, along with other factors, (including lack of Wi-Fi, no 3G network, and enormous international phone costs) has caused communication between the two of us to be scarce. That is fine… in fact I was expecting it. However, at 8:30 on Monday morning when I saw a text message from Seth saying, “You there?”, you better believe I threw down my hair dryer and stopped what I was doing to answer!  We didn’t get to text long, but that didn’t matter. At least I knew he was safe, and there had been no sighting of spears, loin cloths, or cannibalism. (I’m telling you… I have a distorted view of the outside world.) On Wednesday, I had an even bigger surprise when I got a call from him. We didn’t get to have a good long talk about life, love, and marriage, but at least I got to hear his voice. He said that the fruit over there was great… even if it was cut with the same knife that the fish was cut with. Also, he felt like safety was not an issue at all… but they got to ride 4 people on a motorcycle. Looks like I have been worried about the wrong things.

Chain countdown for Seth's re-arrival.

Technically, we still haven’t “survived Africa,” but with him coming home in 4 days, I can say that we are well on our way. This summer has been eventful and dangerous already: If it’s not a bat infestation we are worried about, it’s riding illegally on a motorcycle with Africa natives. So, if we make it through this summer, I guess you could say we are doing alright.

Now on to more pressing matters: what good American staple should I cook for Seth when he returns? Something fried or the biggest Reese peanut butter cup you can find? Hum…

Progress Report #4

Well, the summer is upon us. And as much as I would like to be lounging by the pool, I have other “adult” things to do, such as work. That’s exactly what I have been doing since school got out. I am not complaining because it has been great. Plus, that’s what you are supposed to do after you graduate, right? Find a job? Make a salary? At least for the time being. But in the midst of work, I have a wedding to plan. I mean, let’s get our priorities straight. Thankfully, my job allows me to do that while working. I just sit here at a desk, answer two phone calls, smile when people enter the door, and plan my wedding. It’s a pretty good get-up don’t you think? However, there is only so much of a wedding you can plan. So within the first two weeks of working, my wedding was done. I mean every little detail was planned—just because I had the time to do so. A couple of my favorite websites this summer have been: Pinterest and Etsy. So, with the help of these two little crafty sites, I have planned, what I think to be, a great imaginary wedding. Now, let’s see if what I planned comes to fruition….

Now that I am done (well, not really) with mine, I need someone else to get married so I can be planning their wedding.

Bridesmaids’ Business

I love my bridesmaids. All 8 of them. They have been so cooperative and have made this wedding process so enjoyable, that I am considering do it again and again… with rededication ceremonies of course ;)  I’m not sure what my bridesmaids will think of me when I hand them a folder that has a calendar from now until December as well as some other information that they would need to know. (Like I said, my work causes me to have a lot of time on my hands. So I get this crazy ideas to create folders for my bridesmaids so they could keep up with everything. I’m sure I am the only one excited about it, but that’s probably because I am the only one diagnosed with OCD.) I mean, you cannot help but agree that the folders are a good idea. Right? Just agree with me…

Did you know that the attendants’ dresses could take up to 14 weeks to come in?! Being my first (and only) wedding, I didn’t know that either. So, even though my wedding is still several months out, my girls had to go ahead and order their dresses if they wanted time for alterations and such. After all, who wants a baggy bridesmaid’s dress? On June 1^st, they were ordered. And either the bridesmaids know how particular I am or they are similar to me because I did not have to go chasing down any of them to get their measurements! They all had them in a promptly manner… well, except for my sister (of all people). Being the older, alpha, and more organized sister, I had to physically go take care of her dress order. I guess she was at a disadvantage being the only one not in Athens… but still. Just call me, her second mom. (But we both wouldn’t have it any other way!)

 House

As much as I liked the idea of not leaving my roommates in December, and just having Seth be the 5^th wheel in a 4 person apartment, I knew that there were probably better options out there. But that doesn’t mean that I won’t join my friends for a midnight run to Kroger for a date with Ben & Jerry. I mean, come on now. Since me moving in during the middle of the school year kind of puts a damper on who we can live with, we had to come up with other options. So, I signed a 6-month lease at my apartment, and Seth signed a lease on little house that we will call our own in December. Have no fear, Seth will not be living alone for the first semester. My cousin (and Seth’s fellow engineering guru) will be living in the little love shack until he graduates in December too. And trust me, he will be moving out...despite all this joking that he will decide to stay and go to grad school. As far as I’m concerned, the Holiday Inn would suit him just as well! I am not worried about the condition that the house will be in while I am not there. Although Seth has a history of breaking down doors, punching through walls, and befriending bats in his previous apartment, Stephen is just as clean, if not more, than I am. It must be in the blood. Just as an example, he requires you to take off your shoes at the door before entering. That sounds a whole lot better than firing off a potato gun inside the house… (*Nudge* Seth). Plus, they will both enjoy each other's company as they rattle off engineering conversations over dinner. 

Anyway, this little chateau, love shack, or whatever you want to call it, is on the Jefferson side of Athens. It’s in a cute little neighborhood, and most importantly, it’s not associated with the college atmosphere. Because, after all, we will be grown up and graduated by that time, and would have put our college ways behind us... Nah, who am I kidding. Since we are both southern born and bred, living in a cookie cutter neighborhood will be a new adventure for the two of us! Maybe we will do cookie cutter stuff like make muffins for the neighbors, go on an evening stroll, trade in our cars for a SUV, etc. Oh the joys of life in the suburbs. To quote Seth’s role model, Duck Commander “You need to be able to take a leak in your backyard.” Well, we will get to that point eventually. But for now, let’s enjoy the life that our 2 bedroom, 2 bath (little) suburb house can offer us!

Graduation

On May 4^th, I turned 21. Seven days later, I graduated from UGA with a degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders. I live an eventful life. Graduation was the most organized chaos that I have ever been a part of. My OCD senses were tingling as we walked into the stadium in a herd-like formation while standing in the seats and talking on our phones like nothing was happening. But regardless, I graduated, with Seth soon to follow in December. As I was on the field for graduation, I couldn’t help but remember the last time (and first time) that I was on this very field. There were not near as many people there with me, and I was able to stand on the “G” and the glorious grass that is between the hedges. If you are having trouble remembering yourself, then go back and look at my very first blog post... Maybe that will RING a bell. Although I graduated, I am not done with school. Just like everybody else, I will be going back to the same college, same building, with some of the same people, in August. Then, in 2 years, I will be able to say that I am done!

 

I hope all of you are enjoying your summer, however you are spending it. Just know that if you are at the beach, I am jealous. Please keep Seth and me in your prayers as we plan the rest of this wedding, but most importantly, the start of our new life. 

Pictures Worth 1000 Words

All of the pictures are in! They are great. Period-The End. And I’m not being vain by saying that either. Ashlee did so good of making both me and Seth look good and in-love… which takes talent. So, all the compliments are due to her. Instead of keeping them all to myself, I thought it would be appreciated if I shared some of my favorites with you all. So throughout this post, please enjoy some pictures that cause me to squeal on the inside.

Before we even took the pictures, I knew that I wanted two different outfits: a more formal one, and a more casual one. Honestly, I was hoping that with the more casual outfit we would be able to go on in Sanford Stadium again to get some pictures there. But dearest Seth felt uneasy about doing that again and asking for permission to do that one more time. He didn’t want to push any more buttons than he had to. After all, it was purely by the grace of God that we got to be on the field for the proposal…. or so he says. That is fine though. I picked my battles, and left that one alone. Although we were not going on the field I did want some sort of “UGA Spirited” outfit/picture combo. We accommodated this request to North Campus and got some shots with our bulldog attire, the arch, and the infamous red and black Coke bottles. Props go out to Seth for having that bright idea!

Although my ring has always been sparkly, and will continue to be sparkly, I knew that for these pictures, I might want to get it shined up just a bit. Since the jewelry store that Seth purchased my ring from was about an hour and a half away, we had to come up with a plan B on getting this thing cleaned. So, the two of us moseyed over to the mall a couple of hours before our pictures were scheduled. We walked in a jewelry store and “were looking at wedding bands.” (Yeah right.) As we were “looking” and I was trying some things on, I casually mentioned that my engagement ring doesn’t look as bright as the wedding band that I was sporting. I further inquired about how I could fix this. The poor, innocent jeweler hastily suggested that she would be glad to clean and shine my ring so it looks as new as the band! (Bingo) Once the mission was accomplished, we gradually made our way out of the store with promises to return and “purchase the wedding band” we were “looking” at. Pure genius.

This is my first wedding. And as a result, my first engagement shoot too. So I was not entirely sure how this would all go down. I was hoping and praying that Seth and I would get some sort of direction with how to pose, act, etc. And praise the Lord we did! Otherwise, they would have turned out 10x worse. Seth and I probably wouldn’t have even touched each other if not instructed. (Well, maybe not really, but you never can tell.) I know I have mentioned this in a previous post, so I won’t run it in the ground, but we aren’t the most mushy-gushy-touchy-feely couple you will meet. So any kind of instruction is good instruction! Another prayer request of mine was that the awkwardness would be at a minimum. No matter how much in-love you may be, imagine how strange it is to be looking at each other for a minute straight while being no more than an inch and a half away from the other person’s face. (And breath). But I am glad I did it because it made for some great pictures! Oh and about the awkwardness… it was not that bad. We do love each other, you know.

Lastly, the weather couldn’t have been better. I just knew without a shadow of a doubt, that it was going to be raining. Why? Well, it has rained on every important event in my life thus far, so why not then? (Rain visited: both proms, graduation, moving in/out of dorms, birthday, etc.) Because of my attraction to rain, I knew it was a good idea to stay away from the outside wedding idea. It’s a great thing that December weddings don’t lend themselves too well for that anyway. But for engagement pictures, the weather was great. Not only did it not rain, but the ground wasn’t wet and the sun was shining! Of course we couldn’t get away from 0% humidity—Note the frizzy hair. But I will take what I can get!

I hope you have enjoyed these pictures as much as I have. Feel free to check more out under the “Pictures” page on my blog. Since I am so thrilled with the pictures, I will have a hard time picking just ONE to go on Save the Dates, and ONE to go in the newspaper. So, don’t be surprised if you see a photo collage of us in the paper. Just joking, of course. But they are all too good to pass up! Thanks to the wonderful and talented Ashlee!! (And Seth for his cooperation!)

Note: Seth did have permission to wear his cowboy boots in our photo shoot. It was one of those "battles" I chose not to fight. Plus, he looks kinda cute in them anyway. 

Progress Report #3

It’s April already? Time is flying by, things are getting done, and my checklist is getting longer and longer. I just recently added something else to my wedding “toolbox”: a calendar. As I go on with this process, Irealize the importance that vendors have on due dates. Bridesmaid’s dress measurements due this date; Cake deposit due that date; Send out these by tomorrow. I may be good—but not that good. So, I needed a calendar that has all of these dates in one place. You know I’m OCD, right? With that said, maybe it’s not surprising for you to know thatI have a “calendar legend” on the front. This legend is color coded depending on what it’s associated with. For instance, things highlighted pink deal with bridesmaids business. Things in green mean that deposits are due. For those of you planning a wedding yourself, you’re welcome for the tip!

Like I promised, I am keeping you updated with this weddingprocess. Here are some of the things that have gotten checked of f the list! (And the infamous calendar.)

Cake

Being the (amateur) cake decorator myself, it is only expected that I have a nicely decorated cake. In fact, I do not care if the cake is coconut on the inside (yuck), as long as it’s pretty to the eye! I’m sure that most of you wouldn’t be surprised to know that I brought my own hand-drawing of the cake to the meeting with our baker. Micromanaging at its finest. My sketch had everything from each flower placement, to each piping design. Yeah… I take this stuff seriously. Maybe I get this from my mom. Although she is a simple person, her wedding cake was pretty darn legit. There were a total of 7 tiers, not one but two bridges joining it to the other realm of cake, a fountain that lit up, and a figurine of each member of the bridal party. So, as her daughter, I had to live up to this cake-epicness in some way. (Hence the sketched cake drawn to the tee.) I will leave my cake up to your imagination, but I can tell you that there are no bridges! But I cannot promise there won’t be a lit-up, twirling, music-playing, multi-colored fountain! (Well… maybe I can.) Enjoy the pictureof my mom’s (and dad’s) wedding cake.

Bridesmaids Dresses

Well, it is about time that I decide on their dresses. I have not been able to fully pick-out my colors for the wedding until I decided on the dresses. I have always known the color scheme that I would want, but not the specific colors. For instance, being Christmas and all, I thought that golds and reds would be pretty for a wedding. But how broad is that? There are 100 shades of gold and 101 shades of red. But finally, I picked a dress, and in turn, colors. I won’t tell you what the dresses look like exactly, but I can tell you that they are floor-length: Because it’s winter, and I don’t want white, ashy legs showing. No offense, girls. Anyway,since there is such a spectrum of color options for gold, I feel comfortable enough telling you that the color of the dresses is “Latte.” Now it’s up to you and your perception to decide on what exactly is “Latte.” Sounds yummy, ay? By the way, you might be surprised about how difficult it is to pick out a dress that fits 8 girls (literally).But I have the best friends ever because not one of them gave me a problem during this process. Yet again, this is another reason why I love my girls. (And a reason why they are in my party.)

Engagement Pictures

This was probably the single most event that I was looking forward to. Because I got to get my nails done, of course. But really… I was excited, maybe a little bit too excited, about this. As I said in a previous post, we took pictures on April 15 with Ashlee Culverhouse. Since we are not getting married in Athens, but it is still an important part in our lives, we decided to take our pictures on NorthCampus. (Which is hysterical because neither Seth nor I have classes up there.)Anyway, they were a lot of fun. And surprisingly, it wasn’t too awkward. Why would it be awkward you may ask? Well, as you all know, Seth and I are not Mr. and Ms. PDA. You will very rarely catch us holding hands, being lovey-dovey, kissy-kissy, or touching, for that matter. But I like it that way. In fact, it’s a little sickening seeing others act like this more than they should. (If you want more on my soapbox, just let me know.) Anyway… on to the real point of this post, taking pictures was so much fun. I had to make sure that the outfits were perfect. Both of ours. Ashlee did a fabulous job. There are some “sneak peaks” already on Facebook, but I will be sure to post more pictures as soon as I get them. All Iwill say right now is that a chalkboard, Coca-Cola, and cheetah print shoes were all involved in the making of these pictures. For now, enjoy a picture as teaser: 

Progress Report #2

As if we haven’t done enough for this wedding already, we have made even more progress this month! And if you’re asking, yes, I still am enjoying every minute, nope, I’m not stressed yet, and yes, I know that stress will come about 6 months from now. But that’s fine. I’m up for the challenge. So far it seems that we have a lot of the “big stuff” done. That’s good to know. In case you are keeping up with us, here is an overview of some other things that are in progress for the Peavy-Tyus wedding!

Honeymoon: Ocho Rios, Jamaica

Starting with the most important topic of interest: we booked the honeymoon! Of course this part of the wedding is one of the few things that Seth has the final say in. However, I am very much okay with his decision! He decided that we go on a Sandals vacation at the Grande Riviera resort. I couldn’t be more excited; this will be a well deserved vacation for both Seth and me. We could consider it an all inclusive trip honoring my graduation, his graduation, me finishing my first semester in grad school, and our wedding! So, it will be well-overdue. What’s the weather like in December, you may be asking? Well, it’s quite lovely, actually. The average highs are 85° with the lows being 75°. Jealous yet? I guess I need to start that diet and tan regime that I have been talking about for so long…

Photographer(s): Ashlee Culverhouse and Mark Williams

I’m not sure if all of you have been fortunate enough to see Ashlee’s work, but she is utterly ridiculous. In a good way. She is actually a friend of a friend, who I have just recently gotten to know. Ashlee graduated from UGA this past December, and she is working in Tennessee at the Chattanooga Times. I asked Ashlee to do my engagement pictures… long before I was even engaged! She did a photo shoot for me and my sister this past fall. We gave this as a present to our parents for Christmas, and they absolutely loved them. Ashlee has an extreme amount of talent. I am so excited to take engagement pictures on April 15. Seth and I are wanting to do the pictures on UGA’s campus because not only does the school have meaning to us, but it is so beautiful in the spring-time. Maybe… with a bunch of string pulling… we can get into the stadium to do a couple of shots. Since we got engaged there and all.

Now, on to my wedding photographer. This makes for a really cool story, actually. When my mom was at the cash register paying for my wedding dress (because I sure wasn’t paying), she saw a business card for Mark Williams Photography. I wish you all could have seen her reaction when she realized that Mark Williams did her wedding pictures… 24ish years ago. Before you start cringing your face, thinking that my wedding pictures will look dated (like 24 years dated), then you are wrong. After doing some “research” on Mark Williams, I am stunned. The photos are unbelievably gorgeous. The Williams are so, so talented. So, although I am very sentimental and think it would be neat to have the same wedding photographer as my parents, I also chose them because they are really, really good!! I will do my marketing pitch and tell you to check out their website: http://www.markwilliamsstudio.com/. Be impressed. You should be.

Future: Graduate School and Jobs

A lot of you are probably wondering what Seth and I plan to do with our lives after the wedding. Only by the grace of God, things have fallen into place quite nicely. First, I have been in limbo, waiting on graduate school acceptances. Ideally, I was planning on staying near Athens (preferably UGA) to finish up my masters program. I finally got the golden letter, March 5, saying that I was accepted to UGA’s Communication Sciences and Disorders program. Praise the Lord. Literally. The next item of business on our future-plans-list was a job for Seth. He will be graduating in December (a day before the wedding), and he was looking for a full-time job starting that next semester. The Lord opened doors in this situation too. Not even a week after my UGA acceptance, Seth got the email saying that he was hired for a (paid) internship, starting this summer, which will lead into a full-time job next January. (Cha-Ching!) I am not exactly sure what he will be doing in this job, because I don’t understand all of the technical terms of engineering. All I know is that it will be in Winder, Ga. And it will be mean money. Cheers to that.

Well, that is the meat of all the wedding plans that have been made within the last month. Hope you are enjoying watching our check-list be completed. If not, I just enjoy putting this is writing for my own interest. There are still things that I am failing to mention… on purpose… because I don’t want to lose the element of surprise either! I guess  I will end this post with the phrase:

To Be Continued… 

WEE-dding Party

What's a wedding without some cute little kids to make the ceremony even more enjoyable?! Seth and I have officially asked 3 other attendants that are just as important (if not more) than the rest of the wedding party. They are too, too cute, and I think that you will agree! Since they are so special, they get their own short bio too... why wouldn't they?

Ladies first... Introducing my Flower Girls

Kathryn and Serena Swilley
Twins don't get much cuter than these two girls. Kathryn and Serena are 6 years old and full of energy. They are Seth's second cousins (his first cousins kids...), but since we have been dating for such a long time, I feel equally as related to them! In fact, I remember when they were born... although I swore to myself that I would never say that because it was a sign of aging. Cool fact: Little Seth was in Kathryn and Serena's mom's (Lori's) wedding, and now they are going to be in his. These lovely ladies currently live in Valdosta, Ga, and their parents are Lori and Al Swilley. They are such a joy to be around, and I am so glad that you all will get to meet them on December 15th! They are bound to make the day brighter!

Last but not least... Introducing the Ring Bearer 

Harrison Sims
If that face doesn't make you smile, I don't know what will! Harrison is one of the cutest little 4 year old boys I know, and I am lucky enough to be related to him. Unfortunately, we live a long distance from each other, so I don't get to see him like I would like to. Harrison is my second cousin. Want to know another cool fact? I was a junior bridesmaid in his mom's (Alicia's) wedding, and now her son is going to be in mine. Just as any young boy, Harrison is energetic and loves playing soccer. Luckily for him, he will be getting a new baby brother this summer that will hopefully be a good teammate! This sweet boy currently lives in Moultrie, Ga; his parents are Alicia and Brandt Sims. I can't wait to see Harrison in a tux. I am just positive that this will be the cutest thing ever.

Well, if you haven't been convinced yet, maybe the "wee-dding" party has encouraged you to come join us on December 15th. Seth and I love these kids so much, and we are excited to have them be with both of us on our wedding day.

Progress Report #1

So, it’s been a month since the engagement, and I decided to write about the fun and exciting things that have happened since that wonderful day. Of course I jumped into this wedding planning head first. Give me another week and I should have it completely planned. I’m being a little exaggerative of course, but a lot of decisions have been made. Just to have a “written record” (and to keep everyone in the loop), I will briefly describe the awesome party plans that we have thus far.

Date: December 15, 2012

This is probably not news to most of you because this decision was made within the first week of the engagement. Also, it has been talked about often—including having it posted on the blog! So, December 15 is a definite. Why this date? Well, we could have rushed into planning a wedding for this summer, but that didn’t sound fun to me. Having 11 months to plan this thing sounded a lot better! Also, we could have gotten married this summer, but both Seth and I would be going back to school starting in August. Therefore, there would be little-to-no time for money making. And I’m all for “living on love,” but having money helps too. So, Seth graduates in December (the 14^th to be exact… yes a day before the wedding) and will have a full-time, big-boy job. This means that he will have a full-time, big-boy salary. And that is music to my ears!

Time: 4:00 p.m.

It will be Christmas time. That’s no surprise. Therefore, it gets darker earlier. So… it is pretty much a guarantee that it will be dark when we leave the reception, without it being too late in the evening. Don’t you think that will make for pretty pictures? Me too. Also, a 4:00 wedding lends itself to a reception with a lot of delicious foods to fill my guests up. Oh, and me.

Place: First Baptist Church, Cochran, GA

If Seth and I are not strangers to you, then you know this was a pretty obvious choice for us. Both of us grew up in this church, and it would be so, so special to have our wedding in the same place that both of us were baptized. We even grew up with the people in the church, and we can’t imagine sharing this day with anyone other than these special people.

Dress: "_________________"

Strapless? Lace? Satin? Beaded? Halter? Train? White? Veil? A-Line? Mermaid? I should just take a vote to see what people think I picked. Surprisingly, I had no preferences before trying on dresses, and I was open to anything and everything…. hence the reason I tried on 13 different dresses. (The average for most brides is about 6). I traveled to Statesboro one weekend, and left feeling poorer (financially, of course). Well, I made a decision on one dress with ease. This is one of my secrets I’m keeping though… I have to leave some things to the imagination!

There are several, several more decisions that we have made including: preacher, wedding planner, caterer, ushers, food genre, photographer, wedding party, etc! I think wedding planning is so much fun. I’m proud to say that I haven’t even been a Bridezilla… well, in my opinion! There are some secrets that I am not revealing, but these things listed above are yours to share! Hope you are enjoying this as much as me!