Beautiful blossoms in Mason Jars!

My awesome cousin, Nancy Poole, has been photographing different flowers from her garden in Mason Jars to help me decide what do do for the wedding - which do you like the best?

5x7 Folded Card

Joyful And Bright Holiday Card

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Wedding Venues we loved: #2 Howard County Nature Conservancy

Wedding Venues we loved: #2 Howard County Nature Conservancy

This is a lovely historic farm in Woodstock, MD.

The Gudelsky Environmental Education Center is a 8,700 square foot facility that features many “green” elements, including bamboo and recycled tire flooring, full spectrum lighting, and HardiPlank exterior siding.


It has a gorgeous native plant garden that can host a reception, historic old stone walls, an old barn, and gardens by the ages that show what American gardens looked like during different decades!  They also have a hauntingly beautiful barred owl.


This site was one of our top choices when we were still planning on having the ceremony at McDonogh's chapel before we fell in love with a different nearby venue.


Our only problem with this site is that Gudelsky Center has a fire code limit of 130 people and Mike has a big family!

Wedding Venues we loved: #1 Swan Harbor Farm

Swan Harbor Farm, in Havre de Grace, MD
This is a gorgeous location with a old mansion from the 1700s overlooking the Chesapeake Bay.  It is absolutely dreamy! The wedding staff are extremely helpful.  When mom and I visited this place actually brought me to tears because it is so gorgeous!  But we got lost coming home and we worried that people might get lost driving to the wedding and it's 1.5 hours from home so if we forgot anything it would be a long ride back.
This place is a great value and your reservation money is going to support a park!

Here are some gorgeous photos from McDonogh teacher, Kate and Dan's wedding.  Just stunning!  I am hoping to book their photographer...
I also love her use of Mason Jars and the fact that her class came!  So cute!  :)

The Proposal

Sometimes fairy tales do come true!
(Written Saturday, October 22, 2011 right after the proposal)
Mike asked me to marry him!!!!!!!!!!!  I was told to dress up because we were going to Chops Steakhouse on Royal Caribbean's Enchantment of the Seas at 7:45 pm.  We arrived before the doors opened for dinner.  Frank Sinatra's “The Way You Look Tonight" was playing (I didn't know that Mike has secretly planned it!).  Mike asked me if I would like to dance - he's a fabulous dancer so of course I agreed.  He asked me if I was having fun and I told him that I always love spending time with him.  Then we did some twirls and a dip.  I felt lucky that we were the only ones on the dance floor.
























Then at the end of the song Mike got down on one knee and opened up a white box with a ring in it and I couldn’t stop crying to answer him.  When I shook my head to say yes the crowd cheered!

I was handed a dozen red roses and Danny uncorked a bottle of champagne for everyone to share.  Scott grabbed my camera (which I almost forgot because I couldn’t stop crying).
A cute little girl named Ava told her mom that a prince had just asked a princess to marry him so I picked her up and we took a picture together.

I couldn’t stop crying tears of joy and then when Mike said fiancé for the first time I started bawling again.

I didn’t want a diamond but Mike seems to have really put a lot of thought and consideration into designing the ring.  It’s a white gold ring with 3 diamonds to represent the past, the present, and the future.  The volunteer firefighters at Chestnut Ridge had recently saved the jeweler’s life so he was happy to help Mike pick out raw diamonds and design a setting.
A table of couples that all had been married over 25 years came by and wished us congratulations and said they hoped that we end up as happy as they are.  I am optimistic that we will be because I am marrying my best friend!  :)

Thank you to Danny Uddeme for the fantastic photos.  Thank you to Danny, Stacey, Scott, and the crew of Royal Carribean for helping plan and be a part of this special memory!