No longer... Soon To Be The Hatchers

I am ecstatic to announce that we are officially "The Hatchers"! April 2nd we tied the knot and had the most amazing day of our lives. On April 4th we left for our Honeymoon in St. Thomas and St. John for 10 magnificent days. Both events will take some time to fill in so I will try and get those posts out soon. Since we've returned things have been just a bit busy. For now I wanted to share a blog post from our amazing photographers in which they posted some pictures from our wedding. They turned out incredible and we can't wait to see the rest, but for now visit Piner Photography Blog Post to see a snap shot of the best day of our lives :)

Stay tuned for Wedding Weekend and Honeymoon Posts

3 days until I officially become Mrs. Kevin Hatcher :)

It's almost that time...the one I've been waiting for quite awhile now. The time seemed to pass so slowly for so long and now it is just days away. I cannot believe it. We have the car packed, our suitcases packed, and we are ready to hit the road to Wilmington this afternoon. We can't wait to get the festivities rolling. We have a lot to get done between the time we get down there tonight and Friday morning but we are so ready! The car is packed tightly with all kinds of wedding items from floor to ceiling. We barely found room to fit Ellie even with renting a Yukon for the weekend. I've loved just about every minute of this engagement and planning for this wedding. A few minor things that mean nothing to us now attempted to pull us down throughout the process. But through those minor setbacks we learned how true the saying, "everything happens for a reason" is. We could not be more excited about the venue we chose and how beautiful it has become. We never could have imagined the result when we first went to see it. It was our only option at the time, but now one that is simply breathtaking. In fact, we love every vendor we chose. Each one of them has brought such an amazing aspect to our wedding. I cannot wait to see it all come together. So much work from so many people has gone into this day and I am so excited to get down that aisle, say our vows, and finally call Kevin my husband!

The Final Countdown...

It has been one busy month to say the least! Unfortunately Kevin's family has had to deal with two very devastating losses, both grandmothers (Ganna-Louise Hathcer and Grandmommy- Frankie Jean Sutton). It has been a very tough time for both sides of Kevin's family. The engagement ring Kevin gave me was Ganna's ring. I feel so blessed to have her ring on my finger for the rest of my life. I feel doubly blessed that I was able to enjoy it with her while she was still here. The joy on her face when she saw that ring on my finger is something I will never forget. Both were loved so much and will truly be missed. With that, we spent the first weekend of March in Lumberton, North Carolina, where Kevin's mothers family grew up. Even with all of the wedding "to do's" we decided to let it all go for the weekend and just enjoy family. We had the most amazing time all being together and really spending time reminiscing old stories of Grandmommy and Granddaddy as well as the kids and grand kids. I even got the chance to meet a few of Kevin's extended family members that will be at the wedding. We were sad to leave but excited to think that the next time we would all see each other would be for the wedding.

The following weekend my mom came in town and my goodness were we busy. We spent the weekend in full fledged wedding mode. We worked on my dress, the ring bearers suit, knocked out a little shopping, altered Austin and Kevin's suits for the wedding, and knocked out a few of the "crafty" wedding tasks that I will reveal after the wedding. Needless to say we did not stop from the time she arrived on Friday until she left Monday morning. I am so grateful to my mom for EVERYTHING she has done for me for this wedding. I can't even list all of the things she has helped me with. Thank goodness for her amazing talent with a sewing machine otherwise I wouldn't have been able to do so many "do it yourself" things for our wedding.

Another thing to knock off the list...we received our wedding bands :) All I can say is I am in love and had a REALLY hard time taking them off after trying them on when they arrived. I cannot wait to wear those rings so very soon! I don't want to give away too many details before the wedding so I'll wait until after to describe them. The best part is the AMAZING deal we got!

Last weekend my bestest Lil Sister/Friend Ren came to spend the weekend. I was so grateful to have her help me with some last minute wedding tasks as well as keeping my mind off thinking of the wedding every second. She truly is an amazing friend and one that I just can't get enough of. We cooked, enjoyed girly movies and got organized for the wedding. There are soooo many things we have to get down there next weekend so she helped me put it all in order and box it up so we will be ready to pack the car and head on our way next week.

Well, that about sums up the last few weekends of wedding planning. I cannot believe how close we are. It's all about numbers now, how many "to do's" left, how much this, how much that, 6 more working days, 7 days until we leave, 10 days until the wedding...AHHHH! All I can say is we are pretty much done with everything we can do until we get down there so come on days and hurry up. I know I shouldn't wish away the last few days of our engagement, but all of this hard work over the past 15 months makes me soooo ready for this incredible weekend to arrive. I can't wait to be surrounded by all of family and friends. Not to mention the end result...Kevin will officially be my husband!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love him more than anything in this world and cannot wait to walk down that aisle and say our vows.

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures for this post...it was all about the planning that can't be disclosed just yet...

Bachelorette Weekend!

Let me start by saying I had the best weekend EVER! My sister has never been to a bachellorette party let alone planned one and she pulled it of with an AMAZING weekend to say the least. The picture above is of the house we stayed in. There were a few of us that got there on Thursday night (Me, Dev, Suzanne, Anna, Celeste and Molly) and the rest came in at varying times on Friday (Lindsay, Kathleen, Amy, Ren, Emily, Claire, Erin, and Tiffany) . We stayed at a ski in/ ski out cabin in McHenry, Maryland. The resort WISP is located there. Friday the weather was crazy. It started with a rain storm and incredible winds and thus made for pretty slushy and horrible conditions to ski/snowboard in. Against our wishes we decided not to take the risk and we stayed in. Anna scooped me up and took me to the Spa. I chose the deep tissue massage and she chose the prenatal massage. I can honestly say it was the best massage I've ever had! I will certainly be going back for a massage the next time I'm there :) When we returned from the massage it was snowing...a beautiful powdery snow. A few of us grabbed some mimosas and jumped in the hot tub while we watched the huge flakes come down. The weekend had only just begun and was turning out to be such an incredible weekend. While we were outside a few of the ladies set up all the fun decorations. We cooked spaghetti for dinner and then spent the night playing games while everyone arrived.

The next morning we cooked an awesome breakfast and then my sister and I hit the slopes. I had never been snowboarding with my sister so it was a real treat to have the morning with her. She is so much better at snowboarding than I am but we still had a blast just the two of us.
We decided to head in for lunch so we could hang with the girls for a bit. After lunch we hit the slopes again to make a few more runs, this time Emily came with us.

Once we returned we jumped straight into the hot tub with the ladies that stayed back. Then it was time to shower and get ourselves ready for a fun night out at the local mountain bars (haha). The girls made really yummy fondue and chicken kabobs for dinner. They wouldn't let me do ANYTHING. Next up was present and game time. My awesome friends showered me with lingerie gifts of all types. I even got a special pair with my wedding date and MRS. HATCHER printed on it as well as two coffee mugs that say Mrs. Hatcher and Mr. Hatcher. I just loved them all! My friends are way too good to me. Next we began the trivia game. Claire got in touch with Kevin a few weeks back and asked him to answer a bunch of questions about himself, us and a few other things. Then she read them out loud and I was to try and guess what his answer was before she would read what he actually answered. We were in sync for almost all of them...I was pretty excited about that! I'll post the questions/answers soon.

After the game we took off for the bars to begin our ladies night out. We were only able to find one bar open and it was quite the hole in the wall bar. So, needless to say when 14 cute girls walked in those boys couldn't believe it! There was a great band and lots of dancing going on. I was so sad when the night was over because the next morning we had to get up early to get back in time for my sister and Anna's flights.

Below is a recap of pictures from the weekend. I was so sad when the weekend was over...I had been looking forward to this weekend with all of my girls (high school, college, and family) for a long time. How often is it that you get to have all those groups together at one time? Hopefully we will make it back there for another fun girls trip sometime.

The 1 Month Countdown Begins...

I will officially, most certainly, 100% become Mrs. Kevin Hatcher one month from today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you can't tell I am just a tad bit excited. I cannot wait to marry the man of my dreams. I often wondered when people say that, if they honest to god felt that way or if it was just something you were supposed to say. I can say with certainty that I AM marrying the man of my dreams. He completes me in a way that no one in my life can. He stands by me/puts up with me when I've had a bad day and may not come off as the nicest person in the world. He rounds me out with the qualities he provides me. The bottom line is...I literally don't know what I would do without him and I love him with every ounce of my being. For all of those reasons and more I KNOW that I was created for Kevin and Kevin was created for me and that we were meant to find each other 7 years ago so that one day we would be walking down the aisle pronouncing to all of our friends and family that we will be together until the end.

There are many things left to do and I know you shouldn't wish away the last weeks of engagement, but I surely hope this last month flies. I can't wait for the most important weekend of our life to arrive.

Here is one of my favorite pictures taken of us back in 2006...LOVE HIM

This is another one of my favorite pictures of us more recently...

Here's to one more month as Breanne Parker Gurley :)

Weekend Full of To Do's With My Mom

Wow is all I can say after this exhausting weekend of knocking to do's off my list. I thought a weekend at home would be relaxing...not when you are 6 weeks from your wedding. I don't believe my mom or I stopped from the time she arrived on Friday afternoon until she left Monday night. There were a lot of little wedding related projects that needed to be done so that I can breathe a little over the next few weeks.

First up we completed the personalized water bottles. When I realized I wanted to have personalized water bottles I took a look online and realized how outrageous the prices were. So I figured if I could get sticker labels printed I could do them myself. I went to Sam's club and bought 6 cases of water (35 in each) for $2.98. I could not believe how cheap it was. I had my coworker who made my invitations design and print 200 labels for me. She did a wonderful job and delivered them to me last week. She incorporate the BHK that was also on our invitation. So, away we went cutting off the Sam's club labels and replacing them with our labels. The best part is what she creatively came up with for the nutrition facts...LOVE! They turned out great! We will have them in a party bucket I had made with our new initials. This bucket just arrived today and I absolutely love how it turned out. I ordered it off the website Etsy from Monkey See Boutique, which is where I have ordered a lot of my little "extras". We will have the bucket at the entrance to the ceremony with waters in case anyone wants one during the ceremony. Then it will be moved into the reception for guests to grab waters at their leisure.

Next up was the flip flops. Many months ago I decided to have buckets of flip flops as one of the favors at our wedding. I went to a wedding last year that had flip flops and I thought it was the greatest idea. Girls were grabbing for flip flops before they were all gone. So last summer when Old Navy had their flip flop sale I bought them out of yellow and navy blue. Then I ordered cute little buckets that match our beverage tub with our new initials. Also ordered from Monkey See Boutique. I got varying amounts of varying sizes to try to accommodate all the girls. Then I got the bright idea that I didn't want them to be plain Old Navy flip flops...I had to add a little something to them. I decided I wanted to tie ribbon bows on all of them. My mom got me all kinds of varying navy and yellow ribbons. We began tying and tying and tying mini bows. It seemed like that took most of the weekend. However, the work was worth it. I LOVE how cute they turned out in the end. I even got a few visitors (Annette and Suzanne) to help when they stopped over on Sunday. I can't wait to see the girls go grabbing them once they are brought out during the reception.

While I was working those projects my mom was working a few others. She altered both Austin and Kevin's suit pants for the wedding as well as my dress. All I can say is my mom is super talented when it comes to her ability with a sewing machine. We have one more thing to complete on my dress before it is 100% ready for my big day!

There were a few other crafts I worked on this weekend but I will have to fill in the details later as they were part of the bridesmaid gifts and the ring bearer and flower girl gifts. Needless to say it was a busy weekend but I feel highly accomplished and good about the to do's we have left to complete over the next few weeks.

On top of that I believe we found both Kevin's moms mother of the groom dress as well as my moms mother of the bride dress. That alone is a huge accomplishment because I know they were both getting a little nervous.

Next up this weekend...MY BACHELORETTE PARTY!!!!

I cannot wait to be surrounded by 15 of my best friends, including my sister, for an entire long weekend. We are headed up to the mountains of WISP in McHenry, Maryland. We will ski/snowboard and play all weekend in a beautiful house that is ski in/ski out off the mountain. I have been looking forward to this weekend and am so excited it is almost here. More details when I return...

Here is a picture of the house we will be staying in

North Carolina Bridal Shower

This past weekend (January 25th-27th) was a busy one. Kevin's Aunt Anita and cousin-in-law Daniella planned a bridal shower for me in Greensboro, North Carolina. Kevin was off on his bachelor party in New Orleans so don't feel too bad for him. He was with his closest friends having a blast for 4 days in warm weather roaming Bourbon Street.

My friend Molly (from Baltimore) decided to make the road trip with me. I was so thankful not only would I have someone to make the trip with me but I'd have the whole weekend with Molls! Needless to say we had a blast. Friday night we stayed with Kevin's mom in Winston Salem. It was so nice to spend a little time with Kay. We went through pictures of Kevin growing up so that I can begin to compile the slide show we plan on running during our rehearsal dinner.

Saturday morning we took off for Lexington, North Carolina. Kevin and I had stopped in to a a local jewelry shop, Hayes Jewelers, a few months prior. He found the ring he had been looking for but I wanted to shop around just a bit more. In the end this place seemed to be the best price so off I went to make the big purchase of our wedding bands :) They still had Kevin's ring on file so now it was up to finding mine. After a short time there I found the exact ring I wanted for an AMAZING price. So we rapped up the purchase of our bands and jumped in the car for our next stop.

Next up was Greensboro to Kevin's cousins house for the shower. The party was so much fun from start to end. Not that a party in your honor wouldn't be fun enough, but to top it off I got to see many of my friends and family I don't see very often now that I no longer live in North Carolina. The food was amazing! Kevin's Aunt Anita is so creative and found many different ways to shape the food into a heart (see pics below). They themed the party and invitation in pink and green and gave all the guests pink and green Lilly cups with our names and wedding date on them. I wish I had gotten a picture of them because they are super cute. In fact, I was so busy visiting with all the guests that I didn't get a single picture the entire time I was there. Good thing there were plenty of other cameras around. I was able to steal pictures from a few of my friends. After the delicious food it was time to open presents. I'd have to say my friends and family are too good to Kevin and I! We racked up with all sorts of fun gifts to make our home and kitchen a bit nicer and way more stocked! I can't wait to try new recipes with the neat stuff we got.

The best surprise of the weekend was a sweet letter that I got from a very good friend of mine. I will never forget what it said or where I was when I got it :) Details to be disclosed in a later post!

After the party we headed over to my high school friend/bridesmaid Brittanie's house to see her little girl Liza Grace. LG is my flower girl. Lord...that girl is something else. She was pure entertainment from the moment we got there until the moment we left. We brought over a sample of the flower girl dress my mom will be making for her to try on. Once she had it on she was strutting all around for us to see. Best of all she now calls me "BEE". I love it and can't wait to see that little ball of energy on my wedding day.

A few of my friends stayed in Greensboro and off we went to make a night of it. We went to a little bar that had a live band playing. The band was great and so was the night catching up and spending time with my friends.

Sunday morning we jumped back in the car to begin our long haul back to Maryland. But...not before stopping for some good ol' BOJANGLES!!!!!!!!!

The DELICIOUS food...

Present time...
All the fabulous ladies that made it to the shower...
All my moms! My mom, me, Kay (Kevin's mom) and Karen (Kevin's step-mom)

My wonderful girlfriends that made it to the party...

Brittanie, Theresa, Molly, Tiffany, Me, Lindsay, Erin, and Kelly- Anna had already left :( Page High School Friends...

Theresa, Brittanie, Me, & Linds- 10 years later!!!
Thanks to all of you that made it to the shower and made it such a special day!