Let's Catch Up: Commissioning and Weddings x2!

.  Guys!  It's been forever...seriously, it's been forever.  I can't believe how little free time I've had for the past month and it's been made very obvious by my lack of posts!  So sad...

But to get back in it, I thought I'd give you a little update on everything that has been going on.  It's been quite the past few weeks and I want to share my life with any and all who will read about it.  So let's get started.

The whirlwind began with a weekend trip to La Crosse, WI, for my brother's commissioning.  I may [or may not] have mentioned that my brother spent his college career at Winona State University in southern Minnesota studying criminal justice and dedicating his four years to the ROTC program.  Tyler [my brother] has had a strong passion for the army and police force since he was a wee baby, often times sporting life jackets in the streets as he patrolled cars whizzing through the neighborhood.  Or duck taping file folders together and calling his creation a bullet proof vest.  And I can vividly remember his renowned 'pew, pew' [spit laden] sound as he pretended to shoot down any moving object.  I know, adorable.  It really was. 

But a few weekends ago, my family and relatives gathered together to celebrate the culmination of my brother's dedication and hard work: commissioning into the army.  It was most definitely bittersweet, excited and so extremely proud of my brother that he has been one of the few to follow his dreams but at the same time dreading the possibility of deployment in the coming years.  But tears aside [and there were lots of them], I felt extremely blessed to be there and to be a part of his special day.  I can never explain in words how very proud my entire family is of this young man and how we are all anticipating what the bright future holds for him.  It's sure to be an adventure!

Then just a short few days later, I found myself on a plane with Robbie's parents traveling to the sunny and warm city of Scottsdale, Arizona for a weekend of wedding planning!  Robbie's mom, Julie, and I started the weekend off on Friday morning meeting with the [potential] venue coordinator for a tour of the grounds.  As expected, the location was just as beautiful as I remembered.  So with the hurdle of finding a place to get married, we then decided on a date: September 20, 2014!

Yep!  WE HAVE A DATE!  I'm sure you're not quite as excited as I am, but it's just a great feeling to have a tangible timeline now.  A date that Robbie and I will cherish for the rest of our lives.  It's a pretty special feeling! 

Family, friends, and relatives traveled from across the country [literally] to support Ty Ty!

Then that night, we picked up Robbie, his brother, and my mom at the airport, had a late night dinner, and woke up the next morning for our first wedding planner meeting.  Mmhmm...wedding planner!!  I was uber excited about this part of the process because since our wedding will be out of state, having someone there who actually knows what they're doing is an extremely comforting feeling.  So let the picking begin!

Our first meeting was with Some Like It Classic (SLIC), which is based out of Scottsdale.  I originally set up three meetings to meet different wedding planners and this first one actually happened to be the last meeting I arranged.  But I guess you always save the best for last.  I could go on and on about how much I absolutely adored Amina and Whitney, but you would just think I was weird.  But to give you an idea, the second lady didn't stand a chance and I ended up cancelling the following days meeting because I knew she wouldn't top SLIC.  Sowwy.

So with the venue, date, and wedding planner finalized, we spent the rest of the long weekend shopping, sunbathing, and just enjoying each others company.  Pretty darn productive weekend I would say!

And I'm guessing you're probably wondering why I'm not dishing out more information regarding our wedding venue, etc. because guess what?!  I'm making you visit our wedding page at The Knot to read more about our choices.  Darn me, huh?  But seriously, I think you'll enjoy it and I have some neat pictures to go along with it.  So click on over and take a look at the 'Ceremony' and 'Reception' links on the left hand side. 

And last but not least.  The post title indicates that I have two weddings to talk about because...I do.  But this second one is much more imminent.  The end of June to be exact.  And what do I have to do with it?  Well...I get to make cupcakes for the reception!!

How freakin' awesome is that?!

Because I'm pumped [and nervous]!  But I think it'll be a great experience and I'm crossing my fingers that I can deliver.  Well, I will deliver.  There really is no other option when it comes to someones wedding, right?!  And now I have even more of an appreciation for wanting things to go right, so wish me luck!

Fun fact: the bottom left picture is of a bobcat my mom and I saw on a morning walk!

Fortunately, the bride-to-be is surprisingly laid back and really isn't looking for anything too crazy.  So we decided on a couple of different cupcake flavors, including my Nutella Cloud Cupcakes, Hummingbird Cupcakes, and a vanilla cupcake [that I'll be testing out this weekend], to ensure we provided treats for an array of palettes.  The bride is expecting around 200 guests so you can bet I'll be consumed with baking and frosting cupcakes that weekend but I really can't wait to see how it all turns out!

In the mean time, I'll be practicing baking cupcakes and some frosting/decorating techniques [for the month of June] so if anyone has any advice at all, please leave as many comments as you'd like!  The more the merrier, baaaaa-lieve me!

Well thanks for sticking with me throughout this post, I know it's wordy but there's just so much I want to tell you!  Until next time, my lovelies!  .