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We got these made for all our wedding correspondence and I am so excited! The monogram was designed by the lovely, talented Shea Morgan. She designed our Save the Dates as well… coming soon to a mailbox near you.

January 28, 2012.

That’s the day I’ll marry the person who makes me laugh more than anyone, smile more than anything, and fills me with the joy I know God intended for me to experience from a husband.

And I can’t wait!

It’s been a little over a month since I moved to Sarasota (and blogged) and life has been one fast train of to-do’s and to-see’s ever since. Here’s kind of a modge podge of what’s been going on.

After researching every venue in Florida, we found the perfect place at the suggestion of my friend (& Bridesmaid), Katie.  We’re getting married at the Field Club, here in Sarasota.

Until getting the venue figured out, it was hard to get a vision for anything. One dress store sales associate actually gasped when I shared that I didn’t have a venue yet.

“How are you trying on dresses if you don’t even know where you’re getting married?” she scoffed.

I didn’t get my dress there.

Or anywhere yet. But I’ve probably tried on close to 30 by now. The good news is, I know exactly what I’m looking for. I think.

I thought I’d turn out to be an awesome wedding progress blogger, offering ideas and suggestions for other brides to-be but truth is, planning a wedding with a short engagement and a new full-time job is no joke.  It is a lot of fun though.

The biggest surprise so far has been the non-responsiveness of vendors. It’s hard to get a venue, hotel, lighting & tent rental companies, etc. to call me back! I guess business must be good.

We’re having 9 bridesmaids and 9 groomsmen. 

The reception is going to be held mostly outdoors, on a grass field (get your wedges ready!) by Sarasota bay. I’m hoping it won’t be too cold.  We plan on having long tables instead of rounds and I want to create a space with lighting, rather than a tent. The dance floor will be under a beautiful, large tree that sits between the building and the water. Hopefully with lanterns hanging down from it.  The top picture below is part of what I am going for. Ignore the band.

(does anyone know where I can find these twig lanterns?)

Given the short length of our engagement, we need to send out Save the Dates, like yesterday. Any ideas for getting this done super quick but super awesome?

If you have any ideas for me, on Save the Date’s, table tops, lighting, anything… let me know! On here or via Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/jovanitta/

6 months to go!

“The hushpuppies are real good here,” he said.
“The what?” I questioned.
“The HUSH-PUHPPIES.” He repeated.
“What’s a hushpuppy?”

And then his face went blank and then maybe a little concerned/angry.

“What you mean ‘what’s a hushpuppy’?”

And I grew scared.

There I was, at my first meeting with a banker, Mr. Wally Dodson, and I blew it less than 30 seconds in. We were at what I think was the only restaurant in Wakulla County, called Treasure Coast.

“She’s from Miami”, my CFO clarified.

Wally was Chairman of the Board for BancServ, the part of FBA I’d be working in. We sometimes joke that Wally needs a translator when talking to the Miami bankers because his Southern drawl is so thick and in my opinion, charming. That day, it could be argued, I needed a cultural translator.

That was the day I learned what hushpuppies are.  Wally was right, they were good there. It was a rough, but memorable moment. To this day, the site of Southern food makes my blood pressure go up a bit because it reminds me of the awkwardness I experience that day.

Living in the South, especially being from Miami, there was a lot I had to learn and learn to love in order to assimilate to the post-college Tallahassee way of life. At first, a lot of it irked me, made me anxious and aware of the fact that I was living in a city where the people weren’t like me. But now, I visit Miami, my home, and I can’t help but to think at times, oh mah word (hand goes gently toward my chest), how barbaric. Ok, let’s face it; I will never in my life say oh my word…

Point is, there’s a lot I learned from living in what is essentially South Georgia. Some of these nuggets may purely be a byproduct of growing up more so than living in Tally but regardless here they are.

What I learned from Living in the South

1. Everyone deserves a thank you note. In the past three years, I’ve written thank yous to friends, family, co-workers, employees at Delta, my dentist, nurses at my eye doctor’s office, church staff & volunteers, dental assistants… the list goes on. Writing thank you notes never went unnoticed, the way people (especially service employees) treated me once they knew I was grateful was always better. Alex had to stop me from writing a thank you note to the guy who recently sold me my car. He got a commission, babe. Alex lovingly reminded me.

2. Saying it’s nice to see you is a perfectly appropriate expression when meeting someone for the first time. This one used to drive me NUTSO but I now I use it when I am not sure I’ve met you before.

3. Everybody knows everybody. For real. So keep your mouth shut if ya ain’t got nothing nice to say about someone because chances are, you’re standing next to their mother, cousin, boyfriend, all of the above, when you said it.

4. If someone says bless your heart, you did something wrong.

5. When someone asks how are ya? They really want to know.

6. Saying hello to strangers is perfectly acceptable. And encouraged. (Unless you’re Teri Hill.[don’t be mad]).

7. No matter how long it takes someone to realize the light turned green, you don’t honk.

7a. When someone uses their turn signal, get this, you let them in! (Miami, are you reading?)

8. Everyone needs hobbies. In Miami, and during college, we mostly hung out. This doesn’t cut it in the south. If you’re a girl, you better be into taking pictures, blogging, interior design, DIY projects, or something else related to pretty things. Boys, you can hunt and/or fish, golf or do techy stuff.

9. Manners, manners, manners. Follow them, especially the ones regarding courtesy.

10. Lily Pulitzer, Croakies, Boat Shoes and Khaki Shorts are good fashion choices– just not for me.

11. China isn’t all that bad. I remember at my friend Natalie’s baby shower, we were served lunch on fine china (the presence of southern food already had me a bit riled up) and all I could think was please don’t break anything Jovanna, please don’t break anything. I was in a house that had way too many painted portraits of the family children, all seated with their hands folded neatly in their laps. The punch didn’t have nearly enough booze to drown my nerves. Now, I understand the purpose of fancy plates and crystal glasses, they’re an expression of celebration. Wait, what? I just lied.

In Sarasota, I guess I’ll learn the lessons that come from living in Heaven’s waiting room. I can’t wait for the wisdom of old people.

What other ones am I missing? What can’t I leave Tallahassee without knowing?

It was more emotional than I thought it’d be, saying good-bye to my yoga teacher last night.  My best in town girls treated me to a final, private session with Emily. As we hugged in the parking lot, sweaty and exhausted, I wanted to tell her how much better my Mondays are because of her. To tell her that I love starting my week with her Open Flow II class and that her encouragement has made me brave enough to try standing on my head. But, not fully recovered from the hard heart I once had, I didn’t let myself get emotional or be exposed. Instead, I scurried for a joke to water the moment down so that we could part ways before I revealed, even if only to myself, the truth I’ve been avoiding, I’m going to miss this place.

The good-bye was maybe forever, hopefully not. And I know it may sound absolutely over dramatic to have this sort of moment with a fitness instructor, but the big picture is that this was my first good-bye of many to come over the next few days and last night, I realized that. The thought overwhelms me.

I thought I’d have more time. To say my farewells, see everyone at church, go swimming with Ashley once more. But my time got cut short and so this weekend, we’re packing up the trailer and heading south. I started the list below a while ago and it got me teary eyed. I started the list before I knew if I was actually going to move and if so, when. I’ve had my fair share of I hate Tallahassee moments but looking at this list, I can’t imagine any better way to have spent the last 3.5 years.

First Fridays in Thomasville with the girls.

My college small group girls.

Leading them with Allison Lee

Doing the Need to Know with Matthew and Dave and Adam.

1518 Colonial

Emily’s monday yoga class with Teri and Ash.

Kickboxing.

The faces of The Well

Dinner with The Hills.

Sushi at Masa

Living with Heather

Chinese Chicken salads at Andrew’s

Being Heather & Wayne’s 3rd Wheel

Being Teri & Adam’s 3rd Wheel

Anything at the Cortese’s house, especially in their front yard

Matthew’s cupcakes/cakes/anything he made

Dean’s Sermons

Giana’s voice on Sunday morning

Teri’s voice any day

Being able to get anywhere fast.

El Tap

Pepper’s Quesadilla Rellena

The good mojitos but bad service at Chez Pierre

Nights of getting my closet (life) together with Teri

Complaining about Tally with Ashy

Bike rides that end up being longer than expected

Anything with the Doss family around

My old small group girls

Tallahassee.

By the lovely Rebekah Hood of Kallima Photography.

Alex says he thinks its funny how girls view fishing trips. We (girls) show up to a boat, preferably already in the water, with lines baited and beers on ice, ready to roll. We fish, tan, then come home and quickly jump in the shower. By the time we are done getting ready, the fruits of the day, if any, are filleted and neatly packaged, ready to be turned into ceviche or whatever else. All we do is show up, fish, then enjoy the catch.

Before dating Alex, my boating experience was limited and my fishing experience was non-existent (that’s me with my first ever catch, a catfish).  I was in for a rude awakening the first time we went out on the water and I learned that boats need to be packed, bait needs to be caught or bought, lines need to be hooked, ice needs to be put in coolers, etc. and that’s BEFORE we even pull out of the driveway. After fishing is the real work. The boat needs to be cleaned, rods put away, fish skinned and cut up. The post-fishing regiment takes Alex about 2 hours (even though he always promises it’ll only be “30 minutes”). Although he doesn’t make me do any of the work myself, I get bored after I’m showered and changed, waiting for him to be done (I should help, I know, but I’m already showered and clean and said it’d only be 30 minutes!).

My perception of fishing, I’ve realized, is how I’ve viewed wedding planning up until this week. I kind of thought/hoped that it would be my job to just show up, looking pretty as ever in a white dress, to a perfectly planned party and do nothing but enjoy it.

As we all know, that’s not the case but I’m so excited at the idea of planning an incredible night for me and Alex and those we love. Although it’ll take a lot of work and time, I don’t want to stand on the sidelines of what will arguably be the most memorable event of my lifetime. To use a fishing analogy, I want to pack the boat and fillet the fish that I am going to enjoy for dinner. This blog will likely be a big sounding board for me… a place where I can bounce off ideas and hear opinions. I hope you’ll join me for the ride.

So, remember the post right below this one? The one with the picture of the fantastic looking island that I was bragging about getting to visit? Well, guess what happened there! Ok, the title gave it away already but… Alex asked me to marry him!! There are not enough exclamation points that can be used to accurately describe how excited/happy/sureofthis I feel.

Pardon the cliche-ness ofthis comment and many more to come, but I really am the happiest girl in the world. And in a few/lot/several (we haven’t set a date yet) months, I get to marry a God-fearing, incredible, handsome man who happens to love me. (For proof of the handsome part, see below).

Above all the excitement and happiness, there is just an overwhelming peace in my heart, a feeling of all of this being just right. I have so much to thank God for.

So now, let’s get to the story. This may turn out to be the longest blog post ever on this site.

My family used to vacation in Sanibel. My dad caught a shark from the shore there once ya know. For my sister and niece’s birthday this year, my mom wanted to go back there (or so shes says) for a family beach weekend. My family, being the most awesome, non-committal, plan changing people you ever did meet, kept flip flopping on whether or not this beach weekend could happen. Excuses of work schedules, babies to schlep and so forth kept coming up and disappearing.

Finally, at feeling my frustration with my family’s lack of a concrete plan, Alex genius-ly offered “Why don’t we just go to the beach and if they want to come, they can join and if they don’t we’ll just hang out, the two of us?”. I agreed.

Alex came up with this story about someone not being able to use their reservation at the South Seas Plantation and so they were going to give it to us to use. My planning responsibilities evaporated. Saturday morning, we drove to Captiva Island. After a quick lunch and resort mini exploration, we returned to our room, changed into swim suits and headed to the beach. Alex kept talking about wanting to find the “point of the island” where there were supposed to be some tarpon. After a couple of failed attempts at accessing the place Alex kept talking about, I grew frustrated and started complaining… About the heat, about the bugs, about walking, about wanting to sit. I just kept seeing the sun lowering in the sky and thought about all the UV rays I could be catching. I wouldn’t come back from Memorial Day weekend with a sunburn, after all.  I shared with him that we were chasing a spot that he saw on a map that may or may not actually exist and that even if it did exist, there was no guarantee that we could access it. I was officially pouting.

Alex gave in on trying to find the elusive spot with me and we settled down (finally!) on some beach chairs. After a few seconds of sitting still, Alex announced that he was going for a walk to find the jetty/tarpon/whatever. With a cocktail and People magazine in hand (reading about Kim K’s engagement) I happily sent him on  his way. After about 20 minutes, Alex came back and again restlessly shifted in his chair. I could feel his anxiousness at having to do nothing (he once told me he feels like a little boy on time out when he has to sit still) so I offered to have him show me what he found on his walk.

We started toward the jetty. I noticed Alex brought his dry bag along and made fun of him for bringing his purse. He informed me he didn’t want someone taking his wallet and phone. There wasn’t really anyone else on the beach but Alex is pretty responsible so it didn’t surprise me. Almost to the rocks, Alex stopped and faced me, hugging me. His heart was beating so hard that it was pounding into my chest. I questioned his level of fitness, in my mind.

Now, the next few minutes are a blur- which I think every girl says about the moment he asks the question, but I am pretty sure the conversation went something like: He says-You know Jovi, I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I say- I know, dork (slapping him on the chest), me too. He says- something about being best friends, wanting to do life with me…. gets down on one knee, starts fumbling with the dry bag. I realize ohmygosh this is happening. Right now. He says- I’ve thought that I could marry you ever since that first car ride (maybe I’ll explain this one to you later). Jovanna, will you marry me? I say- Yes! Holy Crap that thing is beautiful! Thank you! Are you sure? Is this for real? He Says- Yes it’s for real. I love you. We hug, hug, kiss, I think I jump a few times. I keep saying thank you. He says- stop saying thank you.

I spent that night lying awake trying to recreate the days events, wishing more than anything that I could remember exactly what he said. He doesn’t really remember it either.

We went back to our room because we had to get ready for dinner. While getting ready we went through the who knew, how long have you had the ring, etc questions.

Alex shared with me that my family did not yet know, that he hadn’t asked my mom for permission. I was pretty disappointed in him for this and it dampened my spirits. He said he wasn’t sure he could trust her to keep the secret. All lies..

We got to the restaurant and Alex asked for “Morgan, party of two”. As the hostess walked us to our table, I saw a table of about 12 people holding menus up to their faces. Then I saw my mom sneak her head out from the side, gasp at the sight of me and return to her hiding place. I think I yelled out MOM! and everyone lowered their menus and yelled congrats. Alex had orchestrated this entire event with my and his (now our!) family there.  It was perfect. We ate dinner and continued the celebration at the villa Alex had rented for all of us to stay in. The next day we kept it going with a day at the pool, giving our families more time to get to know one another.

Turns out, my friends & family are VERY good secret keepers. Teri Hill takes the cake on this one. We hang out every day and talk about Alex all the time. Her poker face is commendable. My mom also did a surprisingly awesome job at throwing me off.

Last night at dinner, Ashley (one of my friends who knew) told me that Alex picked Sanibel because he knew I used to go there with my dad who passed away in 2002, and so the place would mean a lot to me. This was so thoughtful and Alex neglected to share it with me. He was right in his thinking though, that did mean a lot to me.

One of the best surprises came courtesy of Jen Little (the photog who did the shoot of us earlier this year). I’d commented on one of her blog posts that I thought a great idea for a photo shoot would be to capture an engagement, as its happening, without the girl knowing. Jen contacted Alex after I’d posted that to let him know what I’d said. Knowing how much pictures and documenting mean to me, Alex arranged to our engagement photographed. It was supposed to be a wedding day surprise but I caught a glimpse of a paparazzi camera taking pictures of us from afar and questioned Alex about it. His friend Mario Munoz made the stealth operation possible.

I was so happy and thankful to have everyone there. My sister managed to get her two little girls over. Shea and Chris came with Cole even though Shea has been battling (and kicking butt against) cancer. Shea’s friend Crystal was so sweet as to watch their dog in order for them to make it. Everyone gave up their weekend to share in this joyous time with us.

My ring is perfect! I couldn’t have picked anything better out myself. I love it. I can’t wait to get it back from being resized!!

I am SO excited for all that is to come. I start a new job later this month, I move to Sarasota June 24, I got engaged Saturday and bought a car on Monday. Everything has happened with His impeccable timing and I’ve seen God’s hand in all of this. I am so thankful!

this made me laugh so hard.