Engagement Pictures - Location?

Here at the Murphy/Watson household we're in full swing "workout like crazy because our engagement pictures are in less than two weeks" mode. Luckily we joined the brand-new, beautiful, clean, wonderful (can you tell I really like it??) YMCA in Newcastle. Anyways, while we're going to look great ;) for our pictures, we're still trying to settle on a location. A few things to keep in mind...
- We're taking our pictures in November...in Washington. Weather is iffy, might be cold, but it's the only time we have.
- We aren't really "urban" people - so probably not looking for a city location.
- We are bringing the crazy (aka: Atilla) with us for some of the pictures.

Here's a few of my location ideas:
- Marymoor park in Redmond - lots of trees, cute river nearby, random structures (including a windmill), and completely dog friendly
- Golden Gardens park in Ballard - great park, but it's on the water and will be windy - so I would have crazy hair in all pictures
- Bellevue Botanical Gardens - beautiful location, but... have done Watson family photos there in the past
- Discovery Park in West Seattle - similar to Golden Gardens, it's near the water and will be windy/probably really cold.

Any other ideas/suggestions? Or even places to completely avoid? We don't want to look completely out of our element, but we also don't want to look freezing and annoyed.

Frosting Overload

Although Brian and I are doing this "untraditional" destination wedding, we didn't want to miss out on some of the traditional planning items... namely - cake tasting. So, following the advice of Amy, we decided to sign up for the Trophy Cupcakes wedding cake tasting. Holy frosting overload. (Holly and her sister, Heidi, were there to attest to this)... the first few mini cupcakes went down delicious-ly, however I can safely say that I will be staying away from buttercream frosting for a while. We tasted about 10 different types of cupcakes - personal favorites (minus the frosting overload) were snickerdoodle, vanilla chocolate, and carrot. Cupcakes themselves were awesome, something we're considering replicating down in Akumal!

And The Winners Are...

Jon & Andrea Carey! Officially the first two plane tickets have been purchased to get to this crazy wedding! Andrea posted on FB that they were good to go and made my day. There will be some kind of prize in Mexico for their preparedness.
For those of you wondering about the actual dates - we'd love to have you for any and all of the time we're in Mexico. Brian and I will be in Mexico from Tuesday - Tuesday with our families and the bridal party (well Brittney will be there a little less, as she'll be finishing up her MBA). We're not planning on having large, organized group activities (because we're not that kind of people), but we will fill everyone in on general plans and keep it nice and casual. Between the properties we've rented we'll have 3 pools and a lagoon for snorkeling, so at least plan for a little time to hang out! Oh, and the wedding is on Saturday, July 3 - so please make sure to be there for that little event :)

About 8 months away... yay :)

A Quick CONGRATS!

Yes, this is a little late (okay, embarrassingly late). However, in the spirit of this blog (wedding, duh), it's completely important to note three important things that happened in the last month:
1. Zach and Megan got married! Congrats again to both of you, it was a wonderful ceremony in Sammamish! I've known Zach since about 7th grade (or whenever he moved from Montana to Sammamish), we both went to WWU, both went to Australia, and actually survived living with each other for half of a year (in one of the crappiest apartments ever). So happy for both of you!
2. Brian & Amy got engaged... in Hawaii! I've known Amy since Freshman year at Skyline - we were both on the swim team, and her group of friends was the Beaver Lake Middle School equivalent of my group of friends from Pine Lake Middle School. So excited for your big day.
3. Broderick & Holly got engaged! Holly and I have been friends since 6th grade - thats about 13ish years (no way are we that old...). Holly, Lauren and I were inseparable throughout middle school - we have the awkward pictures to prove it. Thrilled for her and Broderick (plus, it's just about the cutest proposal story I've heard in a long time!)

All wonderful people who, no doubt, will have/had beautiful weddings and lives together.

What we did on Sunday...

Much to Brian's dismay, I had completely planned out our morning last Sunday. For those of you who either grew up with Brian or know him very well... Brian is NOT a morning person. Especially if he hasn't had breakfast yet. ESPECIALLY if you take him shopping early in the morning, without breakfast. However, we are about 9 months our from our wedding (EEK... must. plan. more.) so it was time to register for gifts. Luckily, Crate & Barrel was having a registry event - before the mall opened, with food for the boys. Registering is weird - picking out gifts that you want other people to buy for you... it's just strange. However, we did have a good time planning for our future. We also stopped by Macy's, which wasn't nearly as fun as Crate and Barrel. Macy's was unorganized and not very helpful - but we still managed to find a few items.

To find our registeries visit: Crate & Barrel and type in one of our names, or Macy's - same thing, type in one of our names.

Note: We consider your attendence at our wedding the best gift you can give us... but we have been asked about our registry, so felt it was time to do something about it.

Hotels, Resorts, and Condos - Where to stay in Akumal?

Maybe you’re trying to decide if you want to come down for the wedding, and obviously cost is going to be a consideration. There are a variety of accommodations for a wide range of budgets. Below is a list of hotels and resources for accommodations priced as low as $89 nightly. Also, we’re looking into getting a block of rooms in a nearby hotel (if there is enough interest). Let us know if you have any questions about the areas these hotels are in relation to the wedding and other things to do in Akumal.


Hotel Akumal Caribe: Beachfront hotel rooms. Room rates for a double - $109 USD nightly; triple - $124 USD nightly; Bungalows: double - $89 USD nightly; $104 USD nightly
Gran Bahia Principe Akumal: All inclusive resort – double - $230 USD nightly
Vista Del Mar: Beachfront 2 bedroom condos from $110 USD nightly
Las Casitas Akumal: 2 bedroom condos from $220 USD nightly
Akumal Beach Resort: All inclusive resort from $90 USD per person, nightly
Loco Gringo: Great search engine for reasonably priced, well-maintained condos and houses for rent.

Fun Facts: Bridesmaid - Laurel

Laurel and I have not always seen eye to eye, mostly because I'm taller than her. Even though we have had our differences in the past, I am genuinely happy to have my wonderful sister as a part of our special day!

Fun facts about Laurel:
-Laurel majored in recreational therapy at UNH.
-Laurel has just (as of Oct. 2009) completed an internship in Colorado during which she worked with groups of people with disabilities on outward-bound like trips.
-Laurel once dropped a pitchfork on her foot while wearing flip-flops.
-Our dad used to refer to Laurel as “Henry.” My mom asked him to stop after Laur started to beleive it was her real name.
-Laurel used to have the best bowl-shaped haircut a girl could ever wish for.
-Laurel calls our mom “Karen,” even though her real name is “Mom.”
-Laurel loves cowboy stuff, like tractors, boots and goat-ropin’ music.
-Laurel played a lot of sports growing up, including soccer, basketball and hockey.
-There was a cow in the road.
-Laurel once chipped my tooth by jumping on my back when I was brushing my teeth. Take a close look; you can still see the bonding line. I looked like Jim Carey in Dumb and Dumber.
-We used to fight… ALL THE TIME.
-Laurel was obsessed with Vin Diesel for a long time. We think it was because of his man-boobs.
-Laurel beat up my friend Tim after he bet her that she couldn’t. He was wrong.
-Laurel loves working with kids.
-Laurel hates the color pink. Get over it, you’re a girl.
-Laurel refused my friend Matthew’s request to go to prom with him, more than once.
-Laurel once ripped the oil-tank off of the barn with the plow when asked to move the truck.


Bottom-line: Laurel is a thoughtful, caring sister who takes crap from no-one, has a great sense of humor and is always there when you need her. We can’t wait for her be part of our wedding!