A Very Merry UnBirthday...

Every time we arrange a get-together, it always amazes me how many very special people we have in our lives. We truly are fortunate to be surrounded by family and friends who love us unconditionally. And even more so, those who are patient and understanding of our pup's needs. You see, he's a rescue with an unknown background. One thing is for sure, though; He has major trust issues and much anxiety! Perhaps my next post will tell his story.

 For now, I'll recap the story of our engagement and the party we held last night to honor the event. Brian proposed while we we on our first cruise together. The day before his birthday, November 8, 2012, we were at the private island of Half Moon Cay, Bahamas. We enjoyed a morning in the sun and swam in those crystal clear turquoise Caribbean waters before going for a walk to take some pictures (to display in our new home) before a lunch break. We got to a part of the beach where there were only a few other fellow passengers hiking and sat our stuff down on a lone lounge chair. I found a coconut and a really cool web-like coral that I began taking pictures of, and when I turned around, Brian was on his knee with a ring box in his hand. He asked, I said yes, it was wonderful. But we were hungry! So we went to find the beach buffet, blinded by my sparkly new bling that I had to photograph along the way!

 What a great trip! Anyway, back to the engagement party. I've had this lifelong obsession with Alice in Wonderland. So, since our wedding is beach themed, we figured we'd do a "Mad Tea Party" themed engagement party. Any excuse to party with our friends! We wanted to wait for warmer weather, so we planned it for May. I created our invitations with a vintage Wonderland decor in mind (front and back of the invites below).

 And since we'd been fans of Charm City Cakes for so long, we made an appointment with them to create a fabulous Wonderland themed cake. And they NAILED it! Thanks, Mary Alice (our designer) and the crew at Charm City Cakes!!

 Although I'd been sick since the middle of the week and the rain threatened to ruin our fun, we had a great turn out and had a blast with family and friends. And yes, even Hurricane, though traumatized by the amount of children there, had a great time and made some new friends (who spoiled him with carrots!)