Weekend Update

Oh my how to sum up such a WONDERFUL weekend?
This may be a long one, so grab a cup of coffee, maybe a glass of wine, sit back and enjoy!

@ 5:30pm on Thursday Mr. P picked me up and we headed for Charleston.
Despite the monsoon like weather we found our adorable home and after a little mishap (I forgot the code to the lockbox) we were safely inside and touring our sleeping quarters.
We were lucky enough to have the master bedroom and boy was it a comfy bed!
This is the house my family will be staying in the days leading up to the wedding and I can honestly say I'm looking forward to returning!
We quickly found out that the house P has rented for the wedding week is literally two doors down!
I LOVE the idea of him being so close, but not being able to see him! I'm SO EXCITED for our wedding!!!

Anyways, back on subject now...
I tucked myself in pretty early on Thursday evening because we had our appointment with Jerri @ Ooh Events at 9:30 the next morning!
I've been so excited for this meeting!!! :) I was excited to hear Jerri's ideas and to run a couple little ideas (cookie "buffet" and postcard guestbook) by her.
The meeting was incredible and I left feeling elated and giddy! There's just something about being in their adorable store/office that put's the biggest smile on my face!!!

After a perfect morning my lovely friends, Chelsea and Elizabeth, accompanied me to Magnolia Plantation!
During my last trip to the plantation we really only had time to walk around the site of our actual ceremony/reception.
This time the ladies and I walked the gardens and even visited the petting zoo!
Yep, you read me right! There's a petting zoo at the plantation and it's AWESOME!!!
We saw goats, deer, a pig, chickens, bunnies and peacocks to name a few. All these animals cohabiting in the same area, it was very cool!!!
A few pictures are on the way, I promise!

The gardens are truly breathtaking!!!! There were so many areas I wish were big enough for the ceremony! *There is one particular lawn that I've fallen in love with and I'm going to check to see if it's available to us for a possible ceremony site.
*More on this to come!

Later that evening we had a lovely dinner courtesy of Miss Chelsea & Elizabeth! YUMMY stuffed shells, Caesar salad and garlic bread! Makes me hungry just thinking about it!

Once the Barzees arrived (they couldn't make it on Thursday) we all prepared our running gear for the big 10k the next morning! :D
I had a hard time sleeping because my heart was beating so fast from excitement!

The race was pretty tough for me this year (still sad/mad about this) but we all finished and that's all that matters!
Chelsea and Elizabeth came in around 54 minutes, my Mr. P with 55, GREAT job baby, and the rest of us soon there after. ;)

After the race we all stuffed our faces at Melvin's Legendary BBQ and boy was it good!
Best cheeseburger I've had in awhile! I have a feeling we'll all be visiting this restaurant again next year.

A few hours later (probably not the smartest move having Melvin's right beforehand) Mr. P and I had our tasting with JBC Catering!!! The food looked and tasted amazing, as we knew it would, and I'm thrilled to say they are our official caterer. My favorite item of the day was panko crusted mahi mahi on a skewer with a ginger dipping sauce! DELISH!!!

After stuffing our tummies even more the ladies and I headed to Jean's Bridal Boutique to check out a Jim Hjelm bridesmaid dress. I'd seen this dress online, but no one in Charlotte had it in their store. Luckily we were able to try it on there to see how it fit! The dress is beautiful and it's definitely "the one"!
Fortunately J Majors here in Charlotte can order the dress for us at a discounted rate since I also purchased my dress from them! :D
More on the bridesmaid attire later this week.

After an action packed non stop day we were all ready to unwind!
We headed to Shem's Creek for a bite to eat and lots of yummy cocktails!
EVERY place was packed so we ended up back home a few hours later to watch the Tarheels win, followed by a dance party! Yes my friends, we boogied our butts off!!!
It was the perfect end to the perfect weekend!
Actually the RIDICULOUSLY good biscuits and gravy I had the next morning at Acme Cantina in Isle of Palms was the perfect end to this amazing weekend!
Great friends always equals a great time and I'm already excited for next year!!!

LOTS of wedding updates/pictures this week, pinky promise!!!