February is Exciting

Things are moving along really fast now! Miranda and I both resigned from our jobs and are officially done working on Feb 1. We are excited to have a month to organize the wedding, get ready for the trip, and see our family and friends! Rachel and Dylan are getting married on Feb. 16th, so we decided to throw a joint Jack and Jill on the 2nd. We also have 3 showers coming up, bachelor and bachelorette parties, and Rachel and Dylan's wedding! So many celebrations!



We are getting very excited for our big day. We both love the way we are doing it and everything has worked out so easily. We are also thrilled about our upcoming trip! Soon we will be able to kick back on that dock...

South Carolina

Just after Christmas, the Donald family headed to Hilton Head, South Carolina for a weeks vacation. It was great to get away and relax. We enjoyed shopping, golfing, riding bikes on the beach and spending time together. While we were there, Jill took some engagement photos of Miranda and I. We love them! It may look warm... but it was not at all. Those pictures in the water were freezing, our feet went numb!

Jill has started a photography business, and we think she is amazing. If you would like her to take photos of you (wedding, engagement, maternity, family, etc...), please go see her website, see her other work, and let her know!

http://jilliandonaldphotography.blogspot.com/

Wedding Plans

I think Mike and I need to get much better at keeping this blog updated. It has been months since our last entry and so much has happened since then!
Our wedding plans are coming along very well and we are now currently one and a half months from the big day!
Above are pictures of the ceremony and reception venues. Allan Gardens’ greenhouse is the perfect place for us to get married. It is absolutely beautiful and just big enough to house the 20 some-odd people that will be there! We were concerned that, because our wedding is so small, most places would feel empty. When we went to look at Allan Gardens, both Mike and I unanimously agreed that it was the place.
Bodega is the name of the restaurant we will be taking everyone to post-ceremony. This decision was a little harder to make. We wanted a place that feels upscale and private but that is reasonably priced. Bodega is quite lovely and charming. It’s built into an old Victorian home in Baldwin Village, not far from Allan Gardens. Our parents took us there for dinner in November and we had a culinary experience! The food is exceptional.

Amongst all of these wedding plans we have also begun to plan our big trip to Central America! We are so unbelievably excited! If you know Mike and I well, you’ll know that we are very different. He loves sports, sports and more sports. And I love the arts, singing, dancing and performing. However, this dream to travel and see the world is one thing that we share as a common life goal. And if we have listened to any advice it’s this; if we want to travel, we should do it now. Almost every person with life experience agrees that the older you get, the harder it is to plan something like this.
We are both excited to step back from all the chaos and learn about this world and our role in it. As we take this time away, we hope to learn some really important lessons about what is important to us and get some perspective on what it means to live a full and passionate life.