New York Wedding Shower

With great anticipation, Ashley and I prepared on Friday to leave early the next morning for the first “event” that would kick off these last three months until the wedding. We had our first wedding shower in New York Mills, New York with my side of the fam.

We arrived and were greeted with the usual warm atmosphere of my aunt’s house but with a touch of brown and green- our wedding colors. A feast would soon be arriving as would my family, so Ash and I helped do a little prep and settled in while we waited for the shower to begin.

In the meantime, my lovely aunt (who is a hairdresser and is going Ash’s hair on the wedding day) decided to start experimenting with Ashley’s hair and a veil. With some resistance, I was able to gain admittance into the room and snap a few pictures.

After that, my dear mother (the lovely aunt’s sister) put together the bottles of wine (from Stonington, CT) and made everything look stunning. The other sisters put in their time and love as well- those Sessions really do it right!

People trickled in, the food was put out, and we began to feast. Lamb skewers, beef skewers, lasagna, and a host of other options kept us stuffed for the full length of our stay.

Following the meal, Ash and I opened our cards and presents. Needless to say, we were very grateful for the generosity of our family! We were blessed to be surrounded by such an amazing and funny crowd of people. It was a great way to begin the three-month countdown to the wedding. There are so many other things that I could mention to remember this occasion! The chocolate covered strawberries, Bruce making everyone laugh for an hour and a half, the “guess who” game, my aunts “special” cupcake decorating skills, handmade aprons, and SO much more. It was great.

Next up, we are anticipating and getting excited for Ashley’s shower in New Jersey and a shower for all the Connecticut folks following that. Here we go!

For this post w/ picture click HERE

New Year's Eve (2009)

Well, it has certainly been a few months and we are overdue for an update. Ashley and I are sitting on my couch with the 6 month threshold staring us in the face. This year of engagement has been flying by and now we are on theknot.com trying to figure out what we have to finish up before the wedding is upon us!

For a personal update, we've both been buried up to our eyebrows in school-work, and have been finding creative ways to have fun that don't cost an arm and a leg. I (Nathan) will be doing another full semester with an internship and Ash will be taking a handful of classes along with a few part time jobs. Needless to say we are busy!

We have a better idea of how we are going to approach this semester, though. We are going to continue in the path of hard work while maintaining a sense of excitement and joy in this season of engagement. We have been blessed to spend time with both of our families over the holidays, and as always, they have been a tremendous blessing to both of us during this time.

There are lots of other new things coming down the road, but those will come up in the next post. Until then, happy New Year! 2010 is going to be one for the books, I'll tell you that much. Make it count!

Here's a recent picture from when Ash and I went down to South Carolina to see my grandparents:

August Heat

The past few weeks here in Connecticut have been dreadfully warm and muggy. With temps in the 90’s, the only things taking the edge off are the air conditioners running full blast in every building you enter.

Regardless of the weather, Ashley and I are pushing ahead on the wedding planning process. As you know, we picked a date and location which you can read about on the last post (June 27, 2009 at Wickham Park). We recently asked my father to take some formal engagement photos which we are going to use for save-the-dates, invitations, and the web site. Here are a few of our favorites:

We don’t look like we were sweating in these pictures, but believe me, this was one of the hottest days we’ve had yet.

Of course, we have been working on things like the registry and picking people for our wedding party, but we have also been spending a good portion of our time preparing for our marriage in other ways, specifically: 1. Counseling 2. Reading books like “Sacred Marriage” by Gary Thomas and 3. Enjoying our engagement season!

Thanks for checking in.

Summer Update

August 11, 2009

It is 4 a.m. and I am sitting on the couch tending to a runny nose and itchy eyes. Even if there was no humidity or sun, I would still know it was summer because of my allergies that keep me awake at night.

There has been a lot that has occurred since the last post. For starters, a wedding date and location has been determined. Ready?

Sunday, June 27, 2010. Wickham Park (Manchester), Connecticut.

The location is really quick stunning, and it is in fact where Ashley and I went on one of our first dates almost a year ago. The park has several gardens that the park maintains during the season and acres of green hills that are always neatly trimmed and prime for laying out, reading, kite flying, frisbee, and relaxing. At the top of the hill there is a cabin that overlooks the Hartford skyline. Next to the cabin is the reception tent and a stunning garden that opens up to a massive green hill where they are putting in permanent benching for wedding ceremonies.

We now have the pleasure of working on the finer details like: a menu through a potential caterer Tastebuds, Save-the-Dates, Invitations, picking a wedding party, etc. We are moving a mile-a-minute because we know how crazy the semester can get. Also, this Friday begins the first of four pre-marital counseling sessions run by our friends at Klesis Ministries. We are looking forward to spending time with them as we continue to prepare ourselves for what lay ahead.

Although the summer has been hectic with issues in our beloved St. Paul’s Community, school responsibilities, wedding planning, etc., it has been extremely rewarding. Ashley and I have both been growing and learning a lot through this season about God and each other. We have been very blessed with the support and encouragement from our friends and families, we would not be able to do any of this without them.

So with that, we wish you the best until our next update. Photos of Wickham to follow.