This morning I was up literally before the sun so excited for the day's activities. Between seeing the flowers for my bouquet at Evantine, picking up my wedding dress and seeing my wedding band at the jeweler, it was better than Christmas morning.

After morning yoga, I pulled myself together and went right to Philadelphia for my first stop at Evantine. Check out some of the flowers Melissa Paul had waiting for me when I arrived!

In the last few months people have been asking me "are you nervous? is it hard for you to let go of things since you are in the business?" My answer has been "I've been fortunate enough to have the very best planner - she will take care of it!" Between communicating with the other vendors, refining our seating chart (twice!), proofing the stationary, organizing transportation, creating an event design, and establishing a timeline even Mercury Retrograde wouldn't be able to put a kink into, I really don't know how I would have done all this without Melissa.

Like for example, there were all these carts around with my name on them just waiting to get filled with decor and shipped off to Archmere tomorrow:

This is just the beginning of what is already packed and ready to go:

so pretty:

any guess as to what these are going to be?

John described the warehouse at Evantine design like "charlie and the chocolate factory for cool wedding stuff."

These will be showing up in the decor:

after the stop at Evantine, I went to Jennifer's to get my dress. Here is Debbie, the owner of Jennifer's holding my dress. So exciting!

Today I also picked up my wedding band, did some shopping, some beautifying and have finished just in time for family and friends to begin arriving. What a great day - I wish every day could be like today!

Come back and visit tomorrow for our guest blog poster, John!

Today was my last day in the office, which was a little bittersweet. I have actually never taken a non-working vacation since I started this business full time six years ago. Of course back then I didn't have people as fabulous as Michele and Becca running things, but it's still hard to leave. I love what I do for a living, and I love being in the studio because it is something I created based on a vision that is very close to my heart.

The next few days are going to be so fun, with lots of wedding events and activities with people I love the most. Any Laura Novak Photography emails or inquiries will be replied to by Michele, Becca or Annie so please don't hesitate to contact us even though I am not currently in the office.

I am completely grateful for all the amazing pieces of advice posted below and comments recorded about marriage, as John and I spent our dinner talking about your input and how valuable each piece of advice truly is. Thank you for sharing with us. Tomorrow I will be taking my camera with me to record a 'day in the life' as I drop things off to the event designer (who promised a glance at my flowers), pick up my dress, and many other things along the way. Friday we'll have a guest blog poster, John, as he has been asking me to post here and I finally agreed!

Check back tomorrow for a fun filled day with lots of wedding sneak peeks...

Yesterday I sent out an email to several friends and family, asking for marriage advice I could have and share on this blog in anticipation of this weekend. I love that some of it is practical, some of it is philisophical - and all of it is excellent.

My mom said:

Always respect each other. Your most important job as a spouse is to nuture and protect each others hearts. Stay close to the Lord, don't argue over trivial things and support one another's independant interests, because it gives you space for yourself.

From Rachel LaCour Niesen:

Here's a tidbit from my grandmother: "Choose Thy Love, Love Thy Choice." Simple words, but so very true!

From one of my bridesmaids, Jennifer, whose wedding I was in Oct. 2006:

"Greg and I got into such a habit of making dinner and eating while watching TV on the couch....Don't get me wrong...There is something so comforting about it. But we realized that after being apart all day and not seeing each other, we really needed "date night" during the week. So one day a week, we plan a special dinner and eat at the dining room table. Dim the lights and set the table with placemats, candles, flowers etc. We really look forward to it now and it creates a little romance for later :)"

From Jesh de Rox:

"Make sure your love stays current. if you are in love with who your partner was, or who you think they should be, you are in love only with your own ideas."

From Jeff and Allison Rodgers:

Jeff: a happy wife = a happy home : so is it really that important to win every argument?

Allison: watch each other from distance: let me explain - when I take a second and sit back and watch Jeff, whether he's talking to friends, hanging out with our girls - whatever - I separate myself from the day- to-day and I can "see" him. I can see all of the things that I originally fell in love with. Sometimes when you're married and you get caught up in the everyday cycle, you need to stop, take a step back and say "hey - I remember you - you're cute - and I like you a lot :)

From my friend Elizabeth Atlee:

Always go to bed together at the same time. I've found that even if your sleeping, reading, watching TV or just catching up on life, it's best to hit the pillow at the same time and close the evening together

From JoJami and Eric Tyler:

Never watch TV or answer the phone when eating any meal together, we treasure that time together!"

From my Maid of Honor, Tracy:

I was thinking a lot about this email this morning while I was in the shower and getting ready for work. Lots of pieces of advice came to mind, and I thought maybe as your matron-of-honor I should have some great words of wisdom to pass on, but the truth is that the greatest advice that I have is really simple...say "I love you" everyday.

From my grandparents on my father's side:

Here's an old one: don't go to bed angry! It has worked for us for going on 62 years.

Just for fun, here is my father's parent's wedding photo:

and my mother's parents:

What are your wise words of wisdom? Even if you have been married for a short time, I'd love to hear from you!

For those of you who are not on our newsletter list, here is the most recent version which we emailed out over the weekend:

To sign up to be on our newsletter just put your email address at the top right hand side of this blog and hit 'subscribe.' If you have kids and live in the Wilmington/Philadelphia area be sure to watch future newsletters for registration information about our storytelling event on March 29th. Last winter we had a fantastic turnout with lots of kids, food and fun for all ages!

Don't you love when people ask "is it cold enough for you?" It's such a seemingly innocent question, but with my Mediterranean roots it's pretty much always too cold for me. Today seems particularly chilly here in Delaware as I was just cleaning out my car of old yoga mats, lighting gear I don't need right now and several dozen frozen water bottles.

It's making me remember that in just one short week I will be on my way to Costa Rica. I honestly haven't thought much about the honeymoon, mainly because John has planned it all but I can't wait for the warm weather!

We're staying in the Northwest area of the country, first near Arenal (the volcano region)

and then traveling west toward the beach region

I would love to hear from anyone who has gone there for things I should pack or try out when we're traveling. I love adventure and am, of course, going to bring my camera and lots of memory cards!

With all of the exciting wedding activity going on right now, believe it or not I'm actually doing some work here and there in the studio as well. Each year I photograph the Gillespie family, who own Empowered Yoga located in Wilmington, Hockessin and Newark, Delaware. It seems as though every time I come to visit, they have another child which adds to the fun of it all!

Being that we were so working with three different children in various age groups, I thought it would be great for the family to bake some cookies together and I could be there to document it all for an album. Johnny and Sara loved to idea, and I am so glad the photos turned out as a perfect representation of their family.

Dear God,

Given the choice, I would love it if we could arrange for something like this:

rather than something like this:

thank you for your consideration,

Laura

Here is the infamous color-coded wedding to-do list geeky excel spreadsheet. Although most of the items have been changed to 'grey,' I still feel like there is so much to do. What are we missing?

and yes, we have five more days to acquire a marriage license. note to self: get that done!