it's about time

So it's been awhile...about two and a half months to be exact. Here's a little update on what's been going on:

--> Graduation: Zak graduated at the beginning of May with his Bachelor's degree in history. Zak's parents and my parents came up to Orlando, and Kerri and Charlie came down with Logan and Emma from Georgia. Graduation was early Saturday morning (Zak had to be there at 7:30!) and the processional started at 9. After a bagpipe-led processional, some speeches, and lots of names, Zak received his empty diploma holder! Yay!
The most entertaining part of the ceremony was courtesy of Logan. After standing up to sing the National Anthem with the entire arena, Logan yelled, "Play Ball!" It was cute and hilarious. Afterwards, we all hung out at the hotel pool and went to Stonewood for graduation celebration.

Zak looked very handsome in his cap and gown...


And Emma and Logan were adorable as always...


--> Moving Out: After 3 years of living together, Colleen and Becky graduated and the condo sold. Before they left, we had Jemma take roomie photos of us. As usual, they turned out awesome. Here are two of my favorites.



We had to pack up everything and move lots of furniture...it's amazing how much stuff can be accumulated in 3 years! Zak came up to help the weekend that Becky and I were moving everything out. I kept saying, "I don't have THAT much," but after two entire days of packing, boxing, loading the car down 3 flights of stairs, moving everything across town in several trips, carrying futons, entertainment centers, desks, lamps, and everything in between, I don't think he believed me anymore. It's all done now, and I am settled in my new home, living with David, Jemma and their 3 dogs, Coach, Vera, and Killian for the next 6 months.

--> Wedding Planning: We've actually gotten a lot done! On our week-long break at home, we looked at wedding bands, tuxes, florists, DJs, ceremony musicians, and invitations. It feels great to have all those little boxes checked off! Most of the big stuff is done, or at least reserved, so now it's on to all the little details. Planning is so much fun!

So that's about it...we'll keep up with this more as the next SEVEN months progress. Can't wait!

Love you all, z&j

back to school, back to school...

Spring break went by WAY too fast, and now we're back in classes again. It's okay though, because the semester is more than half way over. Zak graduates on May 3, only 7ish weeks away! I'll be in school all summer long (yuck), and then do my full time internship in the fall. I'm excited to be in the classroom full time, and doubly excited because I just got a scholarship that covers almost my entire tuition for the fall semester!! Three cheers for free money!
We had a lovely engagement party on the first Sunday of spring break. It was wonderful getting to see lots of friends and family, and we really appreciate everyone who came. The highlight of the week was Christine and Ryan's wedding on Saturday. The ceremony was beautiful, and we had lots of fun at the reception.


I've known Christine since 4th grade, so it's pretty crazy knowing she's actually married. (Mom and Dad's response to this statement: Multiply that by 1000 and you know how WE feel!) We're jealous of Christine and Ryan being married and we're ready for our wedding!! We're not wishing away time, but still, 9 months and 9 days to go...

love, z&j

they're up!

Jemma posted all of our engagement photos after many many hours editing them and they look AMAZING! (Thanks Jemma!!) You can check out the gallery here. They turned out wonderfully, but now we have to choose ONE for save-the-dates.... leave us a comment of your favorites and help us pick!!

love, z&j

FYI

...we have a wedding website! Right now it just has general information, but when the wedding gets closer it will have hotel info, links to our registries, and other specific info for your convenience. You can visit it here.
There's not really any new wedding updates. I've checked off all the boxes in the 9-12 months categories in the dozens of wedding planning checklists I have, so I've actually been focusing on school-- in between planning Christine's bachelorette party, working at Huntington Learning Center, starting to train for a triathlon, and learning photography, of course. Can't wait for spring break in THREE weeks and our engagement party and bridesmaiding in Christine and Ryan's wedding!

love, j

To keep you wanting more

The pictures won't be completely ready until this weekend, but Jemma has posted a few up on her photography blog as she has been editing. She's extremely talented and has lots of good photos you can check out. Click here to visit the blog.

love, z&j

A little snippet

So, today Jessica's friend Jemma took engagement pictures of us all around the Main Street area of Gainesville. It was VERY exciting. A couple of homeless people asked for money, we made goofy pictures, Jessica had problems striking a "serious" pose. It was great. We will not get the pictures for a few days but already got a little taste of what is to come. So far, so good. Here is a sneak peek! love, z&j

drumroll please....

I have my wedding dress!!! After three hours at David's Bridal, much patience from my Mom, Colleen and Christine, and two full racks of dresses later, I found the perfect one. We bought it Friday afternoon, and it is currently hanging in my mom's closet awaiting the big day! I haven't gotten any other accessories yet, but the dress was a very exciting purchase. This weekend we also booked a photographer, so it was a very productive weekend, wedding-wise. I've gotten to check off lots of little boxes on my 'wedding-planning time line.'

We are having engagement photos taken by my friend Jemma this upcoming weekend in Gainesville, which will be fun. I'll post some up when they're done, and hopefully we'll send out some save-the-dates soon. I think that's it for now... Life is good!

love, j