Weekend Wedding Bliss

This weekend was a whirl wind of wedding adventures for us and for several of our friends. This is just the start of "2010 - The year of the Wedding" If you could see our calendar most of our weekends from here until November look just like the one we just had. It was a crazy one, but probably the most blissful and joy filled weekend we've had in a while. Our recap goes a little like this...

Friday... Our Engagement Party...

We had such an amazing time. Caroline and Kevin Gray hosted this fantastic night for us and we are so grateful to them! We had family and friends who will be part of the bridal party or ceremony in some fashion at the party and it was wonderful. We missed a few of our guests but there will be lots of other party opportunities along the way. By far, the most special part of this evening included Michael's Grandparents, Nene and Papa Clyde. They were a pretty big hit at the party. Papa Clyde and Nene have been married for almost 68 years and have had the most adventurous life together. Traveling cross country for 6 months while in their 70's with a couple suitcases and a skillet, trips to Florida for 2 months every year, and many more...find them at the wedding and they will tell some tales! Papa Clyde wanted to pass on some of their wonderful wedded bliss to us. Papa Clyde passed on his wedding band that has his wedding date (in 1943) and his initials engraved inside to Michael for him to use as his wedding band. I could not think of a better marriage to model ourselves after, and what an extra special meaning it will have for us when Michael gets to wear this ring. Many tears were shed during this portion of the party, but they were all the happy kind! Nene and Papa Clyde are two of the mot special people I have ever gotten to meet. I feel like they are my grandparents. One really cool discovery we recently made was that my grandfather and Papa Clyde played football together in high school at St. X. It always makes me think Michael and I were destined to be together when I think about that. My grandfather is probably really getting a kick out of this looking down on it now.

My Brother and Sister-in-Law

Nene and Mary Beth

Stacie and Jess

My Mom and Dad

My Lovely Girlfriends!

Saturday....work... bridal luncheon...shower!

I started with being very tired and working a couple hours in the morning. Then I went to a bridal luncheon for the lovely Sarah Billiter, where I got to catch up with some of my lovely pageants friends Mackenzie Mayes Walter, and Lindsey Sheckles. Sarah's luncheon was at the Greentree Tea Room... a lovely Lexington gem I never knew about until Saturday. Very lovely and very sweet, perfect for a bride to be.

Saturday night Stacie and I hosted a couples shower for Jess and Kellon at my house. Despite the rain early in the day, everything was perfectly dry outside for that night. Lots of food, drinks, music and silly wedding fun was had. We converted our backyard into a nice little party space with tents, tables, linens, and more. Jess and Kellon are getting married in September and it will be a super fantastic event!

Bride and Groom! ( Jess and Kellon)

Hostesses with the Bride

The Guys getting "Iced"

Post Shower Shenanigans...Typical

Sunday... Celebrating our Fathers!

For our first fathers day event we headed to lunch with Michael parents and grandparents (the now famous Nene and Papa Clyde) at Equestrian Woods. I had never been here before and it was so nice. Great buffet food, and as always great company. We got to recap all the fun from Friday nights party and make a few plans for things to come!

Next we went over to my parents house to celebrate with my family. My parents recently built a pool in their backyard, complete with a party deck  sun deck. We got my dad a volley ball net for the pool and played for like 2 hours. Bean also got to go she cried the whole time we played volleyball (because she wanted the volleyball for herself) and fell in the pool a few times until my mom decided to put her in the dog stroller and entertain her. Eventually Bean gave up and decided she would rather float on a raft in he pool like a little diva. Exhibit A...

We laid in the water, chatted, and had a yummy dinner my mom made (ribs for my dad of course) I think this was probably one of our best fathers days ever!

This was such a blissful and joyful weekend. I loved being able to spend time with so many people I love. I felt like there was so much to celebrate, and what a great weekend to do it all in. I ended the weekend feeling so blessed to have had so many fun, exciting, and special things to to be grateful for...our wedding day to come, several friends weddings to come, and of course both of our families!

Some say Black Tie, We do Pink Tie...Gala that is!

Friends,


This is such an important request. Remember when I asked each of you to vote for my mom for the Oaks? Remember how important that was to me? This is just as important. For several years now, Lexington is annually blessed with an event called Pink Tie Gala. Now, my mom and I were volunteers for the beginning stages of this event years ago, we were pulled in another direction for a year or 2, and now I am heading up the Rose Raffle Committee.


The Rose Raffle is such an important part to the event. During the cocktail hour baskets of roses are circulated throughout the ballroom by lovely ladies who are volunteers. Roses are sold for $25, $50, and $100. Each rose has  number attached to it, which is later presented at the raffle desk for a secret and fabulous prize of equal or greater value than the cost of your rose. It so much fun, the guests love it because it's cheeky and cute, and the money is going to an amazing cause!


This event benefits Susan G Komen for the Cure. In years past we have been able to raise over $70,000  IN ONE NIGHT. Aside from the Rose Raffle, we also have a silent and live auction with more of the higher ticket items. Some of these include UK basketball tickets, vacations, golf clubs, any kind of creative item we can acquire through donations we take it and make it PINKtastic! One of the coolest things about this event is that 75% of the money we generate from the event comes right back to women in Kentucky so that they can receive medical assistance pertaining to breast cancer. The other 25% goes on to the National Komen Foundation to add funding for research and development for new Breast Cancer drugs and treatments.


So what do I need from my blogger friends? Your help in asking local businesses, friends, and family members to donate items for our Rose Raffle, Silent Auction, and Live Auction. There is no item to great or too small! These can be creative, they can be fun, feminine, masculine, flirty, sporty... ANYTHING! Think of anything you can do! Here are examples of items we have coming is so far or from the past...


Mary-Kay Make Up
Dance Lessons
Gift Certificates for - Golf, Dinner, Jewelry, Purses, Hair color/cuts, Photography Sessions
Pink Gift Basket from Big Ass Fans
Gift Basket from Daffodils Stationary on Leestown Road.
Luggage
Golf Clubs


We need around 200 items for the Rose Raffle in various price ranges ($25-$100). Please Please Please contact me if you can think of something, someone, or somehow... you can donate!!! :) Big or small we can use it all!!!!


One final note... You can come to Pink Tie Gala to celebrate and buy items. A night of pink drinks, dinner, dancing, and helping to find a cure! Learn when, where, and how here.


Thank you friends and THINK PINK!!
~ A Future Mrs.

One Year...

... From Today I will be a married woman friends. HOLY COW! I am really excited to be able to call Michael my husband. One of the strangest things that I think about surrounding marriage for myself and my friends is the name change. I love the idea of having "Peddicord" as my new last name! Sometimes my mind wanders and I think of how weird it would be that every new person I meet one year from today will never know me as Dana Elliott, but instead to them I will always be Dana Peddicord. What if someone from my past met someone from my future and they had no idea I was married. Would they figure out I was their mutual friend? Would it really matter? Would they really care? Probably not... but its a weird thought that sometimes I let my mind wander to.

On a more serious, and slightly off the initial topic, note... I was letting my mind wander today reflecting back on our relationship and how it brought us to marriage. It hasnt always been an easy road to getting here, but I think we are better in our relationship for the mistakes made, lessons learned, and the many times one of us has had to put our pride aside and say "I'm Sorry". Two of the most simple words, but often times the most difficult to say. After reading a dear friends blog this week regarding mistakes and how we all make them... it really got me thinking about how powerful the words "I'm Sorry" can actually be. And how blessed I am to have a very forgiving fiance. I am far from perfect and have had to use those simple words many a time... more then I'd like to admit actually. To be honest I am wrong a lot more then I admit and I really need to get better at using "I'm Sorry". (Hopefully Michael will miss that last sentence when he reads this.) Anyway, it's something I've added to my 'To Do List'.

Think of a time when you were the most mad, upset, and hurt from someone making a mistake that broke you. Now thinking of that feeling, do you remember the relief you felt from the simple phrase "I'm Sorry"? Even though you may still have been mad at that person and hurt by that person, when they express remorse and understanding for your hurt, you immediately are able to rethink the situation and hopefully forgive it and move on. Put the shoe on the other foot now and recall a moment when you made a mistake and you need to apologize. (I know its hard since we are all so perfect)  How good did you feel after you said "I'm Sorry" and even though you didnt know in that moment of regret if you would be forgiven, the words themselves, leaving your mouth provided a slight relief and even a little hope.

Although it may be very difficult sometimes to utter those little words, they are so powerful and can quickly change the direction of any arguement, hurt, and even the path for your life. I can 100% say that if I were not able to use "I'm Sorry" and mean it in the past, my relationship with Michael would be very different, and maybe not at all. Saying "I'm Sorry", and I will emphasise MEANING IT, changed the direction of our path. I am so grateful. I am so happy. I am so lucky that forgiveness exists. It does exist more then we think and people are surprisely willing to forgive. I think mostly because being hurt and mad is so exhausting, draining even. Plus, what people really want  is to be past the hurt and mad and get back to what they love. What they love is often times the person who is on the other side of that "I'm Sorry".

So for practice and to get the ball rolling...I'll start... I'M SORRY this blog post is so long and I appreciate those of you who have sifted through my banter today. :)