*Our First Christmas* plans

We're planning on decorating our own stockings together and making a "Our First Christmas" ornament. I love getting crafty! : )

And we're planning on putting up the tree and decorating Monday night, just in time for December. : )

And we're also be opening up our Lego Advent calendar and building the Winter Toy Shop. : )

Last Night of Freedom?

The day before the wedding was ridiculous. I spent all day working on the slide show that, in the end, would not save. We now plan on showing it at the reception...and that will give me more time to get it how I really wanted it to be. But I was very disappointed. That was the one thing had always wanted at my wedding. On the other hand, no one would have probably paid much attention to it during the refreshments, when we planned to show it, because time was so short. Everything happens for a reason. : )

Bree and Kevin helped us so much, finishing last minute party favors and decorating the feather pen. I loved it (and I love them).

I was absolutely frantic and stressed and high strung that Friday. I ran into Megan Youngblood at Walmart and nearly had a fit because I wasn't in the best mood. (Sorry.) People in our building were so loud, and it was driving me to tears. I did have nice visit with my roommate from the British Isles, Emily Adams. She decorated a tea box with Alice in Wonderland quotes and pictures--it was beautiful! She was very upset that she could not come to the wedding because she got elected to SGA and had to attend their retreat. But I promised to show her the video someday!

We made it to the Saucer for our joint bachelor/bachelorette celebration. I had a WHOLE plate of cheese fries and several drinks...a bit too many for both of us. ; ) We were joined by Tommy, Terry, Adriane, Kevin, Bree, Chermanda (our RC who came from Ole Miss where K&B are now), Brian, Whitney, Monica, Jeff, James, Katie, and Lyndsay. It was good times, good times.

A picture is worth a thousand words...

I promised some photos . . .


a momentary stay against confusion


: )


"Moon River"


arm-in-arm

with Alan Tucker, Santa, who married us

~Mr. and Mrs. Pharr~

our very excited parents : )

the blue crew

We love all of you!

walking in Wonderland

School and work has spun out of control for both of us, and it hasn't helped that we have been sick since shortly after we got married. It hasn't been the easiest first month, but we are very happy and excited to see what our future will bring. I will try to keep this updated, especially as we begin to plan our December reception and honeymoon in Chicago! But first I will have to share some of our adventures from our wedding and the weeks since then . . .

Love & Hate

I hate school...

...but I love being married to Zach!!

(I promise to write more if grad school doesn't kill us : ( )

the BIG day

We are married!!! : )

2 DAYS!!!

So....TWO DAYS!!

We finished up the party favors tonight. I just got to pick up some more envelopes tomorrow. Still got to finish the feather pen, too.

Didn't get any work done on the slideshow. Thank God for tomorrow!

Tasha is doing my hair at 2 on Saturday. That means I won't have to walk around Conway in a white veil and black dress. ;)

Gosh, I need to memorize those vows...!

Yes yes yes yes yes

3 Days!

So...3 days, right? Hal-le-lu-jah. : )

(There are still moments we wish we had eloped. Shhh... ;)

We have the party favors half-finished...Zach is going to finish the rest of them up Thursday when I am in class. They have turned out nicely. I'm working on them some more tonight.

I am working on bows for the ferns and gift table. We also need to design the layout of the guest table so Stephanie can set it up (THANK YOU!).

Erin is running tulle and lights down the aisle (THANK YOU!). Plenty of Zach's friends are helping set up chairs and do whatever his parents need (THANK YOU!). Everyone needs to remember to use inside voices: "Shhh!"

I can't wait to see everyone, old and new friends alike!

Hopefully we'll get out one set of thank-you notes before the wedding. Tasha is going to do my hair, either early in the morning or before the wedding (THANK YOU!). We're having lunch with our parents, immediate family, and Alan and his wife at Mike's Place at noon on Saturday.

The slideshow is coming along...very slowly. But that is to be expected. I am off Friday, so I can finish it up then. That night we're heading to The Saucer for a bachelor/bachelorette shindig thingamajig. I'm off Friday through Tuesday; it will be so nice to enjoy ourselves. I'm excited to get to Eureka Springs. : )

We still have some things to unpack and clean. Then again, we'll probably get more presents to add this weekend, so it's probably best not to get too settled in.

My brother Matt is no longer coming because his wife Brandy is still being controlling and manipulative. I know someday she will realize the ones she's hurting the most are her kids. Pray for all children...and pray for your enemies!

HOME

Thank God for my in-laws. : )
If it hadn't been for them, I don't know how we would have moved all of my stuff out of my apartment, into a secure dorm, up three flights of stairs into our apartment.
Is the weekend really over? *sigh*

But I know another one will be here before we know it . . . !

You can never go home again...

I'm packing.

And I just realized I will probably never live in Bryant or Benton ever again.

And I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

Zach punked the paper!!

Our engagement announcements were in the Hot Springs Sentinel-Record and the Benton Courier on Sunday. I've yet to see the Benton Courier, although my mother told me they made a typo, calling Zach "she," instead of "he." At least there's a picture to prove he's a he! (He's wasn't exactly happy. ;)

We did see the Sentinel-Record since we were staying at his parents' house over the weekend. It turned out so good, but we had a very long record because of the inclusion of "all that education," to quote someone who read it from church. And, on top of that, Zach punked them! He said he was a member of The Unemployed Philosopher's Guild and a member of The Royal Society! *lol* Now, if you did not know, the Unemployed Philosopher's Guild produces items such as Freudian Slippers and a Cheshire Cat mug whose face disappears when the cup is hot. And The Royal Society? It is a long-standing British scientific organization. Is my husband-to-be in either? Negative. But I told him he could put it on there even though it lessens our credibility in one sense and the paper's in the other. (Fact-checker, anyone?) After all, someday we might be famous and throw some researchers off the track.

But there is no need to take ourselves too seriously, eh? ; )


Zach's mom is basting my straps this week. Both of his parents are coming up this weekend to help me move all of my stuff because my lease runs out the day after the wedding, so I need to move now. I finally had a chance to pack a bit more last night after having a breakdown over everything that needs to get done.

I've designed the bookmarks, so we're printing them off tonight...and all of the pictures are in. Still need to design the guest book, which we are designing as a series of over-sized library cards, like the ones they used to use to check out books. Going to print out "EAT ME" "DRINK ME" etc. signs for all the tables. Zach has some parchment paper left over from the proposal, so I think we'll use that for the guest book/signs.

Tomorrow I've got to run to Little Rock after work/yearbook interview to pick up some things from Mama, including my scrapbook, so I can finally start on the slideshow. Geez! At least I have designed it, complete with a fairy tale theme! Then I think I have to scurry back so Zach and I can head to JCPenney's before they close at 9, after he gets out of class at 8, to secure his wedding band.

(Whilst in LR town, I'm going to look for lingerie. O-la-la!)

I have always been self-conscious of the sounds my mouth makes when I eat.

So yesterday Zach says to me (somewhere along these lines): "I really like when your teeth crunch Sweettarts. It's a very soothing sound, like fingers typing computer keys."

:) That's love!

*~*fairy tale photo shoot*~*

I heard from Benton Courier yesterday, and our engagement announcement will be published in Sunday's paper. YAY!

Unfortunately I started feeling awful on my lunch break and ended up leaving work. Thankfully I only have a really bad sinus infection, but I thought it best to stay out of Irby since the swine flu is going around.

Zach is busy, busy, busy. I wish things could slow down after we are married, but, the way the semester's looking, things will only continue to pick up. We can't wait until we graduate!

I finally finished editing my bridal portraits today; I left my books in my office, so I couldn't get any work done today. :(? :)? ;) Anyway, these are my favorites:

probably my best close-up

I love my mama!

Rapunzel


looking for my Prince Charming


fairy tale photo shoot above and below

in the mushrooms


on the waterfront


I love bridges!


locked in the tower, waiting for my true love


just like Alice in blue and white


on the train


always look for a silver lining


a view from above


Momma Nay said this is my "come hither" pose. *lol*


The Old Mill


I love my bouquet!!


a break on the bench


I'm late! I'm late!

We got a package from Target today. I can't wait until Zach gets out of class so we can open it!!

Let the countdown begin: 19 DAYS!

19 days left!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I had my bridal portraits on Friday. It was so hot and difficult to maneuver in that dress! I was very concerned with getting my dress dirty or wet or ripped. Tasha and Momma Nay did my hair and my make-up; I loved my hair, and I liked my make-up, but, whenever you take pictures (especially outside), you have to wear a little extra. Let's just say I felt costumed...not as natural as I could have been. On top of that, my straps haven't been taken up yet, so I stiffened my shoulders a lot to hold it up. Still, Tasha got A LOT of nice pictures. Overall I am pleased. Here's a preview:

We tried to register at Wal-Mart Friday night to no avail; the Wal-Mart's here have removed their registry computers, a change all Wal-Mart's will be making soon. This means you have to create it solely online and can only access it there (unless your local Wal-Mart still has a computer). I think Wal-Mart is forgetting much of their demographic, and I was looking forward to scanning lots of things in store. To say the least, I am further displeased with that place! Oh, well. We already had the registry started online, so I think we are going to leave it "as is." I also worked on the Bed, Bath & Beyond registry. Zach's parents' church is throwing us a shower on September 27, and, as there is no Target in Hot Springs, I thought we should go ahead and get that going since we have no idea when we will make it to Little Rock.

So we are registered at Target, Wal-Mart, BBB, Amazon.com, and Kohl's (only because they give you a $25 gift card if you register 15 items).

Our engagement announcement will be in the September 6th issue of the Sentinel-Record. When we mailed them off, I enclosed a note that asked them to notify us upon receipt. I am still waiting to hear from the Benton Courier/Bryant Banner. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette requires you submit your announcement two months in advance of the wedding, which is when Zach proposed; since they only list your names, parents' names, hometowns, and wedding date, I was okay with missing that one. We will, however, have our wedding announcement in there, along with the papers previously mentioned. The Log Cabin Democrat, here in Conway, charges $35 for an engagement announcement, so we decided to skip that one, too.

Hmmm...we are going to Hot Springs this coming weekend to see Zach's family and to see Kevin and Bree, who will be in town (!). Zach's mom is going to fix my dress since I only need the straps worked on.

We went and looked at our apartment in Baridon last night. I'm a little disappointed in so far that this is a step down from where we each lived last year and this year so far. But, it is free, so I am not trying to complain too much. ;) I know it will look better once we are all moved in, and it smells like us (Eau de Zashley), rather than a dormitory. *ugh* We're moving the weekend before the wedding. I am NOT looking forward to packing. So far, I've only packed five or so small-ish boxes of books.

We also met with Alan yesterday and rehearsed. He offered a lot of good ideas (such as moving the slideshow to the refreshment half-hour so there is more time for that and after the ceremony...and a way to include our parents in the ceremony). I am really happy that he is marrying us; he said the focus should be on us, no one else, as it should be.

We got in the first set of photos for the party favors!

Nichole and her boyfriend are photographing and filming our wedding respectively. Woo-hoo! Everything is coming together. We still need to get started on the slideshow, party favors, aisle liner (tulle and lights), "Thank You" notes, joint bank account, various paperwork, packing, school/work assignments. *sigh* I'm ready to be married already!

Pictures and Papers, Housing and Hobie

Tasha's taking my bridal portraits tomorrow at the Old Mill, and Mama's gonna get to come. She'll finally get to see me in my dress! And Momma Nay is supposed to give me some fudge. : )!

We're mailing off our engagement announcement forms tomorrow (hopefully). We got the prints ready...it's just a matter of filling in all that information (i.e. Zach's...did mine at work today ;).

Zach talked to Housing and looks like we're going to be in Baridon. Who's never lived (officially) in a res hall before, but will be living in one for the first time next month as a married grad student? That's right...moi. At least it's free. : )

But poor Hobie will have to haul it back to Hot Springs. : (

( : Engagement Pictures : )

So...we got our engagement pictures back. : )

We picked 5, and Nichole threw in an extra 3-4.

Have a look!

I love this one!


My favorite
(The formal shots were taken at Hendrix, site of our first date!)


*~*RAWR*~* (Nichole threw this one in--I rather like it after all!)


Silly Face


Dreaming and Picnicking


Mad Tea Party (another freebie)
Today was the first time we ever saw this one!


Ashley and Zach's Power Puppet Hour?


my ring and the book that brought us together


Scandal in the Stacks

(Courtesy of Nichole Leigh Photography)
http://nicholeatwell.yolasite.com/

On average I have moved 2 times every year for the past 7 years so...

...I really hate moving.

I started packing yesterday. :(

You try 'n grab at me, and I'l cutcha!

FYI: There will be no bouquet or garter toss in our wedding.

For one, I think it's silly that, if you decide to do a bouquet toss, you make two bouquets, one for keeping and one for tossing. It's not that I don't understand why; I plan on keeping my bouquet forever, and, so, if I planned to throw my flowers over my head at my friends' heads...er, hands, I would have been forced to find an alternative bunch. But I think there is a note of falsity in using another bouquet. The catching of the bridal bouquet is supposed to impart a sort of luck--that the catcher will be the next married (because isn't that what every woman wants? ;). But, if it isn't the actual bouquet, doesn't this undermine this tradition?

(This same idea could be applied to the wearing of two garters, one for tossing and one for keeping.)

Secondly, I don't want to make any of my friends feel uncomfortable by being singled out (been there, done that) or breed competitive natures among good friends (been there, done that). There is nothing wrong with being single (or being coupled, for that matter)--but why point either out? I've been single my whole life and have been quite happy in that state. When I met Zach, I was embracing the single life ahead of me (as he was doing when he met me). My cousin used a breakaway bouquet that had fortunes attached to the flowers, and not all of them were wedding-related; mine said I would travel and have many adventures. :) I really like that idea. And I will admit that I like participating in the bouquet toss at past weddings because I am a little competitive, and I just wanted to catch it, but I always felt awkward being summoned to the floor. It is worse when there are only three of you out there. (Been there, done that AND caught the bouquet). (Sidenote: My date caught the garter, but only after the boys let it drop and they redid the throw.)

3) Women don't really wear garters anymore, and everyone knows it. It seems kind of silly to wear one more impractical thing because it's traditional (the dress, tux, veil, etc. being others.)

Also, the garter toss is slightly tacky. The groom reaches up the bride's dress and retrieves an article of clothing that is typically associated with the sexual and seductive to throw to his friends. Hmmm...I wonder what that is supposed to imply?

Besides, does anyone know from where these traditions come? I briefly alluded to this a moment ago, but the garter is very much tied into the bride's virginity. (Imagine that!) By removing the garter, the groom illustrated his bride's submission to him in marriage. Family and friends went so far as to accompany the couple to their marriage bed to insure that consummation occurred; as such, the same sort of luck that the bridal gown could impart (more on that in a minute) was also attributed to the garter. This is to say that the man who captured the bride's garter would share in the groom's luck (er, getting luck?) and it became the best man'sjob to retrieve the garter, tear it into bits, and share with all the men. Some male guests would go wild, attacking the bride and injuring guests in the process to get at the garters. Over time, brides and grooms began throwing the garter themselves to stave off unwelcome advances.

In the later Middle Ages, the idea also developed that the bride's clothing and accessories (such as her bouquet) could impart good fortune to whomever had a piece of it. So the bride's dress, headpieces, flowers, whatever she had on would be torn to pieces as the wedding audience attempted to access that sought-after wedding luck. As with the garter, it seems that brides began throwing their bouquets in an attempt to ward off the crowd.

Poor medieval brides...we thought we had it bad.

That's not to say that these traditions cannot be fun or funny with the right crowd in the right place at the right time. But we really don't have time or room for any of that nonsense anyway. There's plenty of other things to do. ;)

Math is and is not fun: School + Us = : ( but Zach + Ashley = : )

Survived our first two days of class (barely). *sigh* This is going to be a long semester--longer than either of us expected. Together we'll make it to the other side (a.k.a. graduation). :)

Zach's mom Beverly came up to Conway yesterday and brought us the engagement ring. I finally get to wear it!! The diamond still looks like a snowflake. A size 5 fits perfectly. It looks even better than I remember. :)

We went to the library and mapped out our seating and table arrangements so we will have everyone prepared who is helping set up. It was difficult trying to figure out how we want things to go, especially since the library was closing shortly after we got there. But I think we planned it out. We also went to Hobby Lobby and rented some pillars for our ferns. I think we are going to run some lights down the aisle with blue tulle and only use a handful of potted ferns. I think it will be elegant, but minimalist. :)

We had our engagement pictures today! We went to Hendrix, downtown Conway, the library, and our sculpture garden outside of Conway for them and took all kinds of photos. Poor Nichole...I hope we didn't wear her out. Getting your picture taken is awkward and we had NO idea what we wanted. But she was great at coming up with ideas on the spot. She posted some samples for us to choose from. I think they turned out great! We selected the ones we liked best, and we should get them soon. I can't wait to see them in person and to share them with everyone! :)

Licensed to Wed

We got our marriage license today! Being ever the practical one, Zach said we couldn't back out now because we would be even poorer. (If you don't register your license within 60 days, you have to pay a $100 bond.) ;)

We are meeting with Alan, who is marrying us, next weekend to go over the program, and Zach's mom is coming up Friday to check out the library and bring my ring so we can exchange them.

I found out on Monday that one of my papers has been accepted for publication in The Sigma Tau Delta Review, a journal released by the English Honors Society of the same name. HUZZAH! I'm a real scholar now. The news came at the perfect time to get me pumped up for the school year. Classes start back tomorrow. I've been hard at work on my thesis this week, and I have my first meeting for it at 10:15 in the morning. I'm also meeting with Dr. Fowler to hammer out my work schedule tomorrow afternoon. Things are going well!

500 Days of Summer is a really good movie, by the way. I did find the ending a little too pat and cute-sy for me, but we really identified with Zooey and Joseph's characters. *lol*

It's in the mail!

Well, we registered at Target yesterday. It took a lot longer than we expected, but it was fun going down all the aisles and picking out what we wanted in our future home. We really like quality items, and we focused on kitchen items since we don't know where we will be (which means no curtains, tablecloths, etc. because we don't know how many windows we will have or if we'll have a table or not). Zach added some Legos, and I picked out some cookbooks. ;)

I got some wide blue ribbon that will work nicely for a sash if knotted and looped over in the back. (I think it will look tacky if it is tied in a bow.)

We also looked at some wedding bands at JCPenney. Zach got sized and found one he really liked that will match my band. (I just want a simple one so as not to take away from my diamond.)

Speaking of diamonds, my ring will be shipped Thursday, which means it will be here Friday, which means I can wear it on Saturday for our engagement pictures! Zach's mom loaned me her ring to use because it's similar, but is in yellow gold, instead of white. But we had decided to not do any close-ups. Now it doesn't matter!

Today we finished the invitations! There are a few here and there that we are waiting on correct addresses, but tomorrow they will be in the mail. Watch out!