Flowers for a Friend!!

I reconnected with my dear childhood friend Colleen a few months ago and funny enough she was engaged too! Her Mom (who was my Girl Scout leader for many years) invited my Mom and I to surprise Colleen at her bridal shower. We hadn't seen each other in about 8 years, but as most friends from long ago are it didn't really matter.

She needed a florist for her wedding and I just so happen to have some skills, so I volunteered my services. Travis and Colleen's friends in Jacksonville grew all of their flowers. How cool is that! With the ten days straight of rain I wasn't sure what would be left, but the flowers turned out beautifully. Another friend of theirs, Jenn came to help too. Thankfully!

We did 13 boutonnieres, 1 corsage, 6 bouquets, and 1 bridal bouquet. To take a peek at some of the wedding pictures follow the link. I did half of the boutonnieres and all the bouquets. I thought they turned out very well. I hope they liked them.

http://kregalphotography.com/#/beye-wedding/4533847423

Memorial Day Fun!

We headed to Hanna Park in Jacksonville with Emily, John, Will, and Kaity.


The Beach.

Erin and Luke.

Emily and John

Kaity and Will building a sandcastle

Luke, John, and Will playing in the waves.

Kaity eating lunch.

Bridesmaids Dresses are Here!

The Back of the Dress.

The true color of the dress is a sapphire blue, but with the flash of the camera it comes out brighter.

The front of the dress.

Wedding Update

It is probably time for a wedding update. We have about two months to go until the big day. My dress came in and we picked it up on Saturday. It fits PERFECT! No alterations needed. Yeah!!


Engagement photos were so much fun to take. We met with Dawn our photographer in Jacksonville. I met Dawn and her twin sister Jodi several years ago on a UF trip to Costa Rica. We have been friends ever since and they are close friends of Allison's as well. Dawn is a wonderful photographer and we loved her fun style. Here is a link to her blog http://www.dawnmckinstry.com/blog/ and also our enagement photos http://dawnmckinstry.smugmug.com/gallery/8155140_RqDoL/1/532152492_gosYf. I haven't ordered my pictures yet, but it is on my list to do.



Pictures of the flower kids at Easter. I think Kaity is practicing her model pose and Will is trying to be tough.



We ordered a cake not too long ago. We were going to order it from our local grocery store, but after learning it really wasn't going to be any cheaper and I have heard other people have had problems we decided just to order it from someone who actually did that for a living. Luke is really excited about it. It is three tiers and the bottom layer is vanilla cake with raspberry filling then the other two layers are chocolate cake with a amaretto filling. It will be made by Ms. Debbie in Newberry FL. Check out her website at http://msdebbie.homestead.com/.

Our honeymoon is set and confirmed. We are traveling to Metacumbe Resort in Islamorada, FL. It is in the FL Keys. We will be going Aug 22-29th. If you have not heard the story of our honeymoon it is a special gift from a friend of ours in the horticulture industry. We were not going to be able to go on a honeymoon, but after our friend won the trip at our annual Landscape Industry Trade Show he presented it to me at our monthly meeting as a wedding present. We couldn't have been more shocked or excited.

We have our rings too. I have posted a picture of them They actually look very similar to Chris and Laura's. I have also posted my engagement ring in case no one has seen it.


I'm not sure you can tell, but it looks like a flower. Very pretty.

Kanapaha Gardens

We visited Kanapaha Gardens in Gainesville, FL with Mom and Dad this past weekend to see where we are getting married. Here are some pictures of the Gardens.

Battle of Olustee

I have been trying to make it to the Battle of Olustee for years. We finally made it. The Battle of Olustee is probably the most famous Civil War battle that took place in Florida. The re-enactment was great. They had pyrotechnics set up and when the cannons went off a blast went off at the other end of the field.

A cannon blast.

The Confederates are moving in!

The Priest praying over the dead people at the end of the battle. (The Confederates win).

The last stand.

Union Army guns.

The first time Union soldiers were pushed back.

Kaity's Birthday Party

Luke and I went to Kaity's 4th birthday party a couple of weekends ago. We brought her a princess balloon because I didn't have any other present for her as Emily invited us that morning. Luke insisted that we get that balloon because it sang a Happy Birthday Princess song. Kaity loved it, John and Emily did not.