steven + heather = forever.

my little brother is engaged! 

on february 15th, steven got on bended knee in ashland, oregon and proposed to heather!
SHE SAID YES
(of course)
although my brother joked with my dad that she said no and my mom nearly cried herself to sleep thinking it was true.
(bad joke, steven)

even though he's 26 (the age i was when i got married), there's something about "little brother" that just makes my head spin thinking about him engaged... a husband!

and while the beautiful sparkler on heather's finger makes it all official, let's be real - heather's been part of our family for what feels like forever. she's a super aunt to our niece and nephew, fantastic sister-in-law, longtime daughter-in-law in-training and most importantly a loving girlfriend. over the years, it's been obvious to everyone that she makes my brother very happy and there's no doubt that heather will be a wonderful wife and mother.

steven, you've done good lil bro. we love you both so much.
heather... this just dawned on me that you'll officially be a Schramm. Mrs. Schramm. Crazy!
oh the baking, and scrapbooking and DIYing that we have in our future... forever (starting with a WEDDING!) yay!

xoxoxo

aunt chilada's getting married.

four girlfriends gathered at postino last night to celebrate the holidays and miss angela's engagement to nicoli.

everyone who knows angela is so excited. when she and nick took off for their 16-day trip to bali, it was seriously ring watch 2012. we were all on pins and needles watching her daily Facebook updates and anxiously awaiting the "i said YES" social media post. even danny was like, "you can't really see her left hand in any photo - maybe she's hiding it?" ha. when the text & official post finally came, i think you could hear the screeching all the way from phoenix to new jersey. 

right after she returned from the bali beaches, i got to spend a little impromptu alone time with her and get the angela-style scoop (every detail) over a bottle of wine, bubbles and cheese. it was a special night and i loved every second of it. we spent hours chatting, laughing and bouncing around from vacation updates to wedding details. at one point, we realized danny was re-filling our champagne glasses with water. rude (but thank goodness) :)

aunt chilada, i'm over the moon for you and nicoli. you've snagged yourself a wonderful man. you have a beautiful life ahead of you that will be filled with rustic adventure and true love. you're glowing and calm. you're going to be a stunning rice & beans bride (and there will be refried beans, damn it). i can't wait to celebrate every step of the way to globe. it's your year. love you mrs. menninger to be. muah! 

4 months. 28 days. 

let's do this.

it only took eleven years...

but lacey jaye & the chad are engaged!

(her words, not mine!)

lacey jaye, my dear lifelong friend and her chad are officially fiances! after eleven years together which have included a whole lotta love, a french bulldog daughter and the recent purchase of a beautiful home, chad popped the question and lacey jaye said yes! the proposal was picture perfect and a total surprise... he got on bended knee on an insanely gorgeous beach in big sur, california. we couldn't be more excited for the happy couple.

when i saw a missed call from lacey, i just had a feeling. the kind girlfriends have when they know something exciting is up. i looked at danny and said, "i think lacey jaye is engaged." and she was... talking a million miles a minute and seriously glowing through the phone. the excitement you feel for your girlfriend's big news will never fade. it never gets old and i feel like it's me all over again. i can't stop smiling, looking at her photos or telling danny all the details she shared. 

{the beach where it happened}

{a photo chad took of lacey right before he asked her. she had no idea what was coming}

 

{hiking the next day as fiances}

{their footprints in the sand... walking towards their future married life together!}

lacey jaye, i love you & our friendship more than you'll ever know. 

to think we've gone from Roxy surfer obsessed tweens to brides... wow

you're going to be stunning. 

congratulations & tons of love to you, the chad & little leila! 

(hooray! her mommy & daddy are gettin' hitched!)

amor en espana.

quinn & meg are engaged!

oh, the tings couldn't be happier for these two. it's all so picture perfect.

a romantic night in the "royalty apartment" on the 42nd floor of the ritz carlton in barcelona, spain. champagne with the family. a gorgeous ring.

what more could a girl want?! nice work, quinnster. you really outdid yourself.  

the newly fianced couple is still in europe but managed to squeeze us in for some facetime.

they're glowing. we're glowing. so much love.

congratulations, quinnster & meg. we seriously couldn't be happier. we love you both so much individually and together you're just dynamite. i mean, what's not to love? you're the kindest, sincerest most wonderful people we know and you're joining forces?! holy amazing.

looking forward to a lifetime of coronado island trips, sunday night facetiming, couples vacations, eating things on a stick and i promise i'll work on my golf game.

big hugs. our hearts are full & happy.

now, let the wedding planning begin!

feast your eyes on a couple photos from the big engagement...

 

to the quinns!

my best friend's wedding.

in may 2010, jake took colby for a horseback ride in north scottsdale and popped the question with a sparkly ring. i was so honored that jake chose to include me and danny in such an important weekend in their lives. after she said yes, the four of us celebrated all weekend - it's one i'll never forget.

for the past fifteen months i've been by colbs' side as she venue hunted, researched flowers, looked for the perfect wedding and bridesmaid dresses, DIY'd until our backs hurt, poured over wedding blogs, laughed at an invitation oops, kept Michaels and SAS Fabrics in business and we've talked every.single.day about how wonderful october 1, 2011 is going to be.

well, the time has finally come! we're flying to san diego today for colby and jake's wedding weekend. the weather forecast looks perfect and there's no doubt it's going to gorgeous and an absolute blast.

i love wedding weekends. i mostly can't wait to spend all saturday with colbs and the girls getting ready for the big day. lisa working on the flowers, fun music in the background, ashton pouring lots of mimosas, donna doing our hair, tiffany cracking us up, and all the girls ooing and awwwing over the beautiful bride as she gets gussied up and slips into her wedding dress. i'm lucky enough to know what that feeling is like, so i can't wait for colbs to experience it. the excitement and nerves all mixed into one. knowing that pretty much everyone you love is in one place for the first - and perhaps - the last time... and they're all there for you.

hope your weekend is also filled with 
family, friends and a whole lotta love.

matt got down on one knee, and jenny said yes.

This is a post that calls for all exclamation marks, but I'll spare you.

I'm beyond thrilled to announce that my dear friend Jenny and Matt, her bf of nine years, are ENGAGED!

In true Matt & Jenny fashion, the proposal was understated, intimate, involved Matt's home cookin', a gorgeous vintage ring, a patio filled with lights & candles, lots of celebratory champagne and a Frenchie.

Proposal Perfection if you ask me.

Pete & Stick - Danny and I are ridiculously excited for you guys. You're a fantastic couple and there's no doubt in our minds you'll live a fabulously fun, adventurous and urban life together forever and ever.

I know there are a lot of people who feel the same way as we do... we're ready to CELEBRATE!
With you and for you. This is absolutely wonderful news!

And one of the best parts?
I get to see Jenny TOMORROW in San Francisco! Us girls are so excited! Let the celebrating begin! 

Stick - I love the timing. You're a genius.

Congratulations, Matt & Jenny! Cheers to a wonderful engagement and marriage. We love you.





a toast.

The news broke on Saturday night that one of my good friends from college, Sarah (more commonly referred to as Tone), is engaged! BK popped the question in NYC and she said yes!

Congratulations Tone & Brian!

Such an exciting time.

We wish you nothing but the best!

pretty people in love.

It's fun to flip through magazines to stare at pretty people and daydream about their perfect lives but then when you actually know the people - it's so much better.

As mentioned here, our friends Tiff and Troy are engaged to be married in July 2011 (can't wait)! They've hired our fabulous wedding photographers, StudioCastillero, and recently finished their engagement photo shoot at the tide pools in Orange County where Troy proposed. Oh. My. Gosh. The photos are stunning, the couple is beautiful and I seriously feel like I'm looking at an Anthropologie meets J. Crew catalogue.

A little eye candy for you. Enjoy.

Craving more? Head over to StudioCastillero's blog or click here for some of our wedding photos.



will you accept this rose?

Yesterday, we got together with our friends Matt & Mallary to celebrate their picture perfect engagement - hooray! So exciting.

We met Matt & Mallary in Florida at the wedding of our friends Carlye & Jeremy and were thrilled to learn they live in Phoenix. Shortly after the wedding we had our "first date" at Postino and have been having tons of fun together ever since.

Matt and Mal, we couldn't be more thrilled for you. You're a perfect match and it's so great to see you both totally relaxed and glowing.

Mallary (also quite the planner).. I can't wait for tons of happy hours and brunch dates to talk allll about the wedding... while the boys golf! :)

Congratulations, Matt & Mal!   

{could this engagement be more perfect? total movie scene. 

good things come to those who wait (wink wink)}

{matt & mallary glowing on engagement night - september 3, 2010}

{the bocktings & mckinney's to-be on halloween 2009}

{an afternoon at Postino - our "first date" spot}

{enjoying arizona's spring weather during bars on bikes}

{go hawkeyes}

{yesterday's celebratory get together}