Whirlwind of a Wedding Planning Weekend!

It's been a while since the last post, but we have been busy wedding planning as of late! This past weekend was probably the most reassuring weekend in that we were super productive and the best part was that my mom and I didn't have to plan a thing (thanks to our amazing wedding coordinator and cousin, Mercedes)!! So ever since then it feels like it's been smooth sailing and I could not be more grateful. On the agenda was bakers, linens, DJ's, invitations and florists. We had a busy Friday, Saturday and Sunday and with me just finishing up facilitating a conference and Kyle finishing his dreaded law school finals we were in for quite a weekend.

We first began with a cake tasting (what else would you guess for 9am!) in which we fell in LOVE with the baker, her sweet treats and the precious store. 

We blended in with the decor!

It's hard to see them, but she had the most stunning cupcakes on display!

Breakfast of champions

I wanted to take home the chairs and the wall color!!

When we had tried pretty much every combination the owner even made two cupcakes from scratch to take home with a different filling based on what we indicated we liked. I was more than impressed and may have found our baker with this one, absolutely the moistest cake we've tasted!

We then moved onto linens, which I'm not going to lie. did not seem that appealing at first. Once we arrived however I think we all realized how much fun dressing up a table could be. (Ok maybe not Kyle and dad, they plopped down on the lounging furniture for a majority of the appointment!)

Playing dress up with a table proved to be pretty entertaining and it wasn't before long until we decided on a new color scheme...

Watermelon anyone?

Ok anyone who knows me well enough is probably laughing by now and everyone else is just confused. We definitely will NOT be incorporating the watermelon theme, but it was fun to joke about!

Following our linen adventure, we headed to our first florist appointment which I was beyond excited about! Let me just say the possibilities are endless when it comes to flowers (and so is that price quote, whewwww!). The men that own the company were so fantastic and made us feel right at home. We discussed the look of our centerpieces, bridal and bridesmaid bouquets, boutonnieres, mother corsages and more. I think my favorite part was Kyle's confused/astonished expression as we chatted about ranunculus, asiatic lilys, ladies mantel and more, which to him sounded like (floral) foreign language.

Mercedes was our photographer extraordinaire for the day :)

As you well know by now our families like to eat, so we headed to a great new find in The Quarry, Urban Taco. Despite the menu being a little intimidating, the cuisine definitely delivered. If you're looking for a modern spin on a mexican taqueria, this is the place to go! Again, don't mind my foodie rave, we simply like to mix it up when we eat.

After lunch on to our first DJ appointment we went. Let me just say even I was overwhelmed on this one. I had NO idea how complicated something as simple as music could be. But it did get me pumped for those old classics everyone looks forward to hearing at the reception (you know that means some Journey!).

Before we knew it an hour had passed and it was on to another cake tasting..yum!!

Delicious!

Yes, everyone got two plates of cake!

Once we were stuffed to the brim we headed to our last appointment of the day, another florist. As you can imagine we were all ready to put our feet up and relax after 6 back to back meetings, such a productive day though!

Saturday was not as hectic, including two invitation appointments, another DJ appointment and last but not least, picking up my dress!

I thought my sorority Recruitment binder was big!!!

Helping pick out stationary..

With a hidden agenda...oh Kyle!

So cute

Once all our appointments were done, my mom and I headed to the bridal shop to pick up my dress and some accessories! The same woman that picked out my dress the first time just happened to be there and it was so fun playing dress up again!

Ahhh..it's all so real now!

Once the dress was placed delicately in the closet, I told me mom, "Ok if there is a fire, remember dress first then the dog!" Ha! But in all seriousness, I was so glad to finally have the dress in my grasp and cannot wait to put it on again.

So what could top a day like that? More registering of course! After a little rest at home and re-energizing, Kyle and I headed to Target like two kids in a candy store.

Hallelujah!!!!!!!!!

Starbucks, scanner and checklist in tow!

This is why I'm marrying him :) (One of the many reasons)

Ok ok, I gave in on a few things. 

All in all it was another fun weekend in San Antonio full of wedding planning, celebrating mother's day and plenty of memories!

Cakes, Weddings & More Cakes!

I know it's been a while since my last post, but I have still been trying to recover from the March (Wedding) Madness! All you really missed was more cake tasting and a little bridal inspiration from the now Mr. & Mrs. Malone that got married in San Antonio the end of March. First things first though, cake tasting!

Ready for some cake!

My dad was able to come along for this round of tastings, which I think he definitely enjoyed!

Such a cute couple :)

Kyle had his eye on some "less realistic" groom's cakes!

Let's just say after our multiple rounds of cake tastings in March we are resting our sweet tooth for a while before venturing back out! That weekend we were also able to reconnect with a lot of close friends at a good friend's wedding. A wonderful way to end another fun weekend with family and friends!

Luck of the Irish...

Maybe it was the luck of the Irish or just a coincidence that wedding planning would coincide with St. Patty's Day, but either way everything seemed to work out just right this past weekend! On our to do list and schedule for the weekend was dress shopping, rehearsal dinner tasting, more registering and cake tasting. After a six hour drive with Rhiley and Dakota I was ready for a good night's sleep for the next day's festivities with my family and the Crowls. 

Friday morning Kimberly, Mrs. Crowl and Kyle drove in from Conroe to meet my mom, dad and grandma for brunch at the house. The beautiful mother of the bride had a wonderful spread for everyone, on the menu: fruit medley, breakfast casserole and mimosas! After our registering trip last weekend, mom felt inclined to break out the china (after all if the wedding registry expert Henry thought china was for every day use, why shouldn't we)!

After we had our fair amount of brunch it was on to the first dress appointment for the ladies! And don't think the men got off that easy, we gave them the task of visiting some hotels downtown for guest accommodations. You can imagine how thrilled they were to navigate downtown on St. Patty's weekend, but took one for the team! Thanks dad and Kyle :).

Grandma making wasn't quite ready for the picture!

MOB, Kim, B2B, GOB and Hol!

As we arrived at the first appointment I had a great feeling and was pleasantly excited (unlike the first round of shopping which petrified me for some reason!). The bridal shop was just like out of a movie...spacious, rows and rows of white gowns and a wall of mirrors with the "bridal pedestal" to model the dresses. I tried on a good number of gowns before I slipped into one that brought a genuine smile to my face. As I walked out to proudly show the ladies, it was obvious that the dress was pulling at their heart strings as well. It was absolutely perfect in every way and I could not stop myself from smiling. After multiple mock walks down the aisle (Kimberly of course playing my dad), I determined this was the one and everyone erupted in tears and clapping. 

Tissues for everyone from our wonderful dress consultants! 

Knowing my analytical ways, the group suggested I try on one more dress just to solidify my decision. So my dress consultant and I headed back to try on one final, yet somewhat similar dress. As she finished tightening the next dress and I turned around to face the mirror I gasped "Oh NO!" I could not believe it, but this dress was even better than the last and we looked at each other with the same expression and she said with a chuckle "We're in trouble!" So much for solidifying my decision on the last dress! We decided I had to show the family and as I walked out yet again, I was met with an even better reaction by my family of gasps, tears and smiles (yes more pink tissues were used). The one thing that sent me over the edge was catching a glimpse of my mother's teary eyes which of course sent me into hysterics This was it and I had FINALLY found my dress!"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes to the dress," I yelled! And no more trying on to make sure, I didn't need to see anything else to make me the happiest bride. Even if I tried, I cannot express how thankful I am for my beautiful mother giving me the dress of my dreams! I cannot wait to walk down the aisle in this dress with my dad by my side toward the love of my life and future husband.

Grandma had some inspiration for bridesmaid dresses and played dress up! 

After three hours in the first (and last) shop we were ready to celebrate and thankfully now had a clear agenda. When we arrived back at wedding headquarters (the Robare household) we regaled in the experience without giving away too many details and then got the scoop on the guys trip down town, which sounded pretty successful. 

Next on the agenda was the first rehearsal dinner tasting with Kyle, Mrs. Crowl and Kimberly. Word to the wise...scheduling tastings in the evening as a meal is great, but make sure to save room! The tastings we had ended up being enough food for a family of 10!

Future sister-in-law and I at the first tasting

Once we had tasted all we could, Kyle and I headed to our favorite San Antonio spot with mom and dad to unwind and celebrate a very successful day! Not only was Saturday St. Patrick's Day, but it would be full of cake tastings and more registering.

Saturday morning arrived and since we were able to cancel dress appointments that morning, the crew was able to meet for a relaxing lunch at one of our new favorite eateries, Max's Wine Dive in the Quarry. Sporting our best color green (including green beads my mom had for everyone) we headed to Max's before our cake tastings.

Loved all our green!

After devouring our meal, the ladies and Kyle made for the first cake shop, Betty Jane's Bakeshoppe! 

Cute little store front!

The bridal room :)

The tasting "palette"

We heard about the "palette," but I didn't think they literally meant a painting palette of cakes, icings and fillings. This place was such a cute find and definitely have some amazing cakes! After sampling way too much, we moved on to the next appointment which also didn't skimp on servings.

Butter cake, Italian Cream and Red Velvet..still cannot pick a favorite!

Another word to the wise...when scheduling cake tastings back to back...DON'T! I have no idea what I was thinking when I scheduled these, but we obviously had no self control to quit eating after a few bites. Although extremely full, we all enjoyed the cake tasting experience.

That day Mr. Crowl and Patrick came into town to finish out the evening we decided to brave the crowds of La Cantera for an evening stroll, more registering and dinner. Kyle may not find these pictures as funny, but I just had to post them, we had such a blast and wouldn't be the couple we are without these beauties...

Just getting warmed up!

Registering far and wide!

Ok, one normal picture!:)

This trip seemed to fly by, but before leaving for Lubbock on Sunday we had one more rehearsal dinner tasting downtown at our rehearsal dinner venue with the Crowls.

By the Rio Plaza entrance

After tasting an appetizer plate, chips and queso, four different kinds of enchiladas, flautas, fajitas and all the fixings, we somehow made room for some dessert which was by far the best part of the meal!

YUM!

I think it's safe to say the luck of the Irish was with us during St. Patty's Day weekend! Kyle and I had lots of items crossed off the to do list this trip (all thanks to our lovely families that we can't thank enough), but still plenty more, so until next time enjoy!