Bridal Shower and Skydiving!

Last Wednesday was my lingerie themed bridal shower, which was hosted by my Matron of Honor, and sister-in-law, Megan. It was so all so lovely, especially the food! Megan did such a wonderful job putting it all together! My close friends and family were there to support and shower me with pretty gifts! It was so amazing to be surrounded by a group of women who care for me and who are supporting me in this next big step I am taking in my life. I felt so blessed! 

The food was so delicious (and pretty too!)

My best friend from middle school, Elissa, who I haven't seen in 5 years! She did my hair. :)

My god-mother! 

My mommy!

My grandma!

My Matron of Honor, and sis-in-law, Megan! 

I have more pictures of the main group, but they happen to be on Megan's computer! If I can get them, I will definitely post them! I had such a wonderful time!

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Now on to a more thrilling topic: skydiving. 

You are probably asking yourself, "did she really go skydiving the week before her wedding?!" No, I most definitely did not. However, my fiance's brother and Best Man, Jeff, decided to gift Riley with a one way plane trip to the sky. They went today and, although I knew they were both going to make it back ok, it made me a little nervous! Despite my nerves, they came back unscathed, and I have to admit, I would like to go skydiving too. :) 

Riley and his brother Ben mimicking the skydiving instructor. Hee. :) 

Riley getting all strapped in!

Doing ballet? :)

My boy is excited! 

:)

Riley got in last, which means that he jumped first. :)

Ready for take-off! 

There they go!  

 We weren't able to actually see them jump and land, as they had to land a few miles away. I was so excited when the van brought my guy back, that I forgot to take pictures! He said that skydiving was one of his favorite experiences! I'm glad he got to do it. :) 

Well, I am getting married this Saturday! This time next week, I will be Mrs. Forrest. 

It's crazy to think about, but I am so ready! 

Marriage License!

Today, Riley and I went to the Lane County offices to get our marriage license!

It made everything become very real. 

It's funny, because you get engaged and are excited looking toward the wedding and what comes after, yet it's almost like it's pretend until it comes down to getting the marriage license and seeing people begin to show up for the wedding.  

It is then that you begin to realize that you are marrying the man of your dreams. 

You are going to be with him for the rest of your life. 

It is a wonderful feeling.

Back to the marriage license... :) They had us put all of our information in a computer, in which we got to choose how we are wanting to have our names look. 

We decided to not go with Riley and Nikki Knight. Haha!

 It was really cool to see my name with Riley's last name: 

Brenda Nicole Forrest

I absolutely love it. 

We are so excited!! 

I want the next few weeks to fly by. 

I can't wait to take on Riley's last name officially, becoming his wife. 

Only 25 days! 

Wedding Photography

Tomorrow, Riley and I are meeting with our photographer (Jeremy Mabe Photography) for the last time before the wedding to go over desired shots and schedule. 

I still can't believe how close we are to the big day! 

I have been doing research to see what I want for our pictures, there are so many great ideas out there. The ones I have chosen below come from Pinterest (of course). :) 

1. First off, every wedding needs a grooms first look picture. I love this. Riley and I are going to see each other before the wedding. It is just so much more convenient to do all pictures before the wedding, with a couple of "just married" pictures after the ceremony. I am going to make sure my photographer captures this moment. I know I am going to want to hold on to it forever. 

2. I love books. Reading is definitely my thing. I am a Jane Austen lover and can always go for a good period romance story. With that said, I would love to get a picture with me standing on books next to Riley (it would give me an excuse to show off my pink mary janes) and also get a shot of him and I kissing behind a book. It would be so cute! 

3. I love this picture. The bride and groom in the forefront kissing, yet having the focus set on the wedding party. 

4. This picture is so fun. I definitely want a picture like this while taking pictures with Riley's groomsmen. It is far to great to pass up... and another fun way to show off my shoes. :)

5. Every time I see this picture, it makes me laugh. It is priceless. I can picture Riley and his guys taking part in a picture such as this. This is definitely a must have! 

 6. This picture is simply beautiful. My Pride and Prejudice loving self craves owning a lace parasol anyway, but now I really wish I had one so I could take a picture like this! I love the fact that the parasol causes only the silhouette of the bride and groom to be seen. It is very romantic.   

7. Adorable. I can't get over how utterly cute this picture is. I have the perfect little couple to take this shot with. :) 

8. I love this picture. Have I mentioned how I really want to show my shoes off yet? :)

10. Wonderful family photo. All parts of the family in one loving picture. I would definitely put string down in the heart shape so they would know where to go to lessen the chaos. I might want to at least attempt!

I am so excited for my upcoming nuptials! All the festivities are coming so quickly. People said the engagement process would fly by, but I honestly didn't believe them. In the beginning it felt like an eternity! Yet, here I am, nine months after becoming engaged. It has been a whirlwind of fun, and it is not over yet! 

Now I am at that part in the process where I just want the wedding and honeymoon to get here. Once the big day comes, I can take a big breath and let the stress go. On the honeymoon, I will be relaxing for two weeks in Florida. I am so looking forward to that! 

So, here goes the next 27 days! 

Crafts and Countdowns

It is amazing how fast time flies when you are busy and having fun! 

I can't believe that the wedding is almost here. Only 29 days... 4 weeks!! 

It is absolutely crazy to think about. I am going to become a WIFE in a month.

 But it is oh so good. :) 

So far, we have the centerpieces and the rest of the decorations completely planned out for both the ceremony and reception, which is great, but the only thing I didn't have was flower girl baskets. I looked high and low for the perfect vintage baskets, but to no avail. So, I decided to take things into my own crafty hands. :) The pictures below show how I made them step by step.

I started with plain baskets, and created a pearl handle for it with wire. 

I spray painted the baskets ivory. 

I then used my handy dandy hot glue gun to attach two rows of lace around the baskets. 

I attached ivory ribbon around the rim, and then glued on pre strung (flat on one side) pearls. 

I took what was left over of the ribbon and tied bows on both sides,  creating the finished product!
 I love how they turned out. :) 

It was really fun to get crafty again. It has been too long since I have had the opportunity to do some fun DIY projects. 

My next project is stringing 30 (2 1/2 ft) strands of pearls for each of the reception centerpieces. It is quite time consuming, but it's relaxing too. :) 

I can't believe it is almost here. Family from out of town begins to arrive in 2 weeks. It's wild for sure. I can't wait for the day to actually arrive! 

I am so ready to become Mrs. Riley Forrest. 

Busy Times

These past few months have been crazy, yet relaxing at the same time. 

Shortly after Cinderella, Christmas Break began. I welcomed it with open arms, being completely exhausted and ready to crawl in a corner. However, Christmas break was full of celebration and wedding planning which, although being really fun,  left me feeling equally as tired.

With that said, I can tell you that my wedding planning has almost come to a close, as all I have left to do is send out invites and gather trinkets for the centerpieces!
Although a breath of fresh air would be wonderful, school is back in session and I have hit the ground running. But, instead of dwelling in the crazy times, filled with tons of homework to come, I am going to think on the fun things I have done and have planned for the biggest day of my life.

Riley and I over Christmas break got our engagement pictures blown up, from our photoshoot with Jeremy Mabe Photography, and picked which one we were going to use for the save the dates. :)

We ended up deciding on this one for the Save-the-Dates.

This one is Riley's favorite... "You look like you really want to kiss me in this one!" Ha. 

We (well mostly I) also decided on a centerpiece Idea. In the middle of the tables, I am going to put a doily with two old books stacked. On the books are going to be a small vase of pink and white roses with baby's breath, and surrounding the books are going to be candles of different sizes. :) 

It will look something like this, except with only 2, 1 inch, books stacked
with a shorter vase of flowers, and a doily too, of course. 

The bridesmaid styles were also chosen, but I have to keep the fashion a secret. :) Just know that they are all going to be shimmering goddesses. They look absolutely stunning in their dresses. 

With all the wedding planning done, I am wanting the wedding to get here really soon. I know that it is coming quickly, as we hit our 150 day mark in a week and a half, but it seems to be going by so slow! I am just trying to keep myself busy with school so I have something to do. 

I can't wait to be Mrs. Forrest!

Cinderella goes to the Ball...

I feel like a walking zombie, and I don't think I have ever craved sleep more than the past two weeks. 

Last week just happened to be the tech week/opening for my university's production of Cinderella and let me tell you it's pretty awesome. Besides being completely sleep deprived, I have been having so much fun. I love the cast, as we have become like a big, crazy, family. 

All of our shows have been sold out so far and every showing this weekend, with the exception of one which has very few seats left, is completely sold out!

What's really cool is that we are partnering with Shared Hope International, which is an organization to help those who have been, and still are, stuck within human trafficking. 

We are giving 40% of all our proceeds to them. Knowing that we are performing not only for leisure and pleasure, but also to help a cause which is so much bigger than people realize. Human trafficking is still happening all over the place, and knowing that we are taking part in the fight against it makes us as a cast work that much harder to provide the best performances we can. 

So far, it has been a success! 

Here are some pictures from this last weekend...

Cinderella and Prince Christopher 

Waltzing at the Ball

The Step Family

The King and Queen

I have been so proud of our cast so far, and I know we are going to knock it out of the park this week! All I can say is that I hope my energy lasts! We have a show tomorrow night, Friday night, Saturday morning, and Saturday night, not to mention that we have to take down the entire set Saturday night after the play, and we have the cast party... Hooray for all nighters! 

Luckily, next week is Thanksgiving break. 

Thank goodness I will have time to rest!