celebrate

Weekend Recap – #AlwaysAndForEbner

| The Bee Life

Saturday after our half marathon we had to quickly jump on the road and head home so we could make it to our friends wedding that night! Yes. We ran a half marathon, then pretty much immediate jumped in a car for 4-hours, got pretty in 1-hour and were at the wedding with 5-minutes to spare. Woo! Staying with me?

Yeah, it was crazy but we wouldn’t have missed J and B’s wedding.  They’ve become dear friends over the last few years, and we were honored to be guests at their nuptials. The venue was a historic arcade downtown and it was absolutely stunning. They wed on the grand staircase, their ceremony included a number of personal touches of loved ones past, each of the bride and grooms personalities/traits and how they’ve come to be as a couple.  It was so sweet!
AlwaysAndForEbner - the bee life
Once the ceremony finished, we were escorted up to cocktail hour to overlook the beautiful arcade. After some sips and snacks, we headed down to our tables and cheered for the bridal party and the bride and groom as they were officially announced to the reception!  The food was delicious, B and I both got the steak, and we were both a bit ravenous since it was our first real meal of the day. Eek!

Once the dancing got started it was a great mix of throwbacks and we were living on the dance floor, only stopping for more drinks or slow songs! The second most fun part (besides J and B getting married) was dancing it up with this group of friends, our neighbors. We’ve been so lucky to have an awesome group so close!

It was a long day, but it was a great night celebrating these two sweet, funny and caring people!  This wedding definitely got B and I excited for ours!

Cheers to Mr. and Mrs. E!

My Bachelorette Party – The Deets

| The Bee Life

I needed an extra day to recover and get all the deets from the Saturday evenings festivities.  It was my bachelorette!  From initial plans to head out to Vegas to see Magic Mike Live and the Backstreet Boys, to not knowing what the heck to do, but needing to do something for the sake of doing it – we settled on a “low-key” night out on the town. Dinner and a pit stop to a nearby club for some dancing would satisfy the bachelorette bug.

The night started with snacks and a champagne toast at the house before the limo arrived.  The girls spoiled me with a pantie box, a basket full of my favorite champagne to help celebrate upcoming firsts, and a fun pop-up photobooth, and of course jell-o champagne shots to help get the night started.  My bride tribe was greeted with adorable goodie bags on the limo, they were filled with essentials for the night from water, personalized wine glasses, snacks, hair ties, and of course mini-airplane bottle booze.
Bachelorette Party - the bee life
We headed to a local hot spot for dinner, Collision Bend Brewery. They also happen to have the best patio in town, and we were lucky to have the best seats in the place.  We arrived just as the sun was setting and it was incredible.  Not to mention our food and service was top notch.  The waiter was a blast, and the atmosphere and drinks only helped get the party started a bit more!

From dinner we took a quick limo ride to the nearby club, we arrived before all the cool kids, which worked out perfectly for us because we had first dibs on the dance floor! The music was on point and all we wanted to do was dance! After a few hours at the club, we continued the dancing and giggles on the limo back to the house to call it a night.

As much fun as it all was,  I am admittedly glad it’s over! All of these pre-wedding festivities have been fantastic, but also a ton of added stress/pressure, on top of high expectations, with an added layer of everyone’s opinion.  So I am glad to be able to just focus on the big day, that is quickly approaching! Eeek!

Cheers!

My Bridal Shower – Part 1

| The Bee Life

This past weekend our wedding festivities officially kicked off!  We kicked it off with my bridal shower, and it was absolutely amazing! So where to even begin? My shower was hosted by my mom, my MIL and my MOH and we were able to have it at our house, as many people had to travel anywhere from 5-minutes to 4-hours, so I was very grateful to everyone who made the journey!  So bare with me through the upcoming sap…
My Bridal Shower P1 - the bee life
Family and friends are so important, and you truly learn who your friends are as you grow older in life – whether they’re new or old, it’s the bonds that keep you together. From our amazing neighbors, to a group of former co-workers, to B’s amazing family, to my best friend/MOH from high school and her amazing mom, to my incredible family, it was all the people who matter – just like our wedding will be one night with all the people who B and I love, and have seen us grow and become us.

The one game we played was called Who Am I? which allowed me to have a special moment to connect with everyone there, shower guests wrote a memory on a card, and Katie read them for me to guess who the memory was with!  I was definitely stumped a bunch, only because there were multiple shower guests at the same event/memory – but it was fun and funny to see what most people wrote about or remembered about me, (and maybe even a little embarrassing!).  The note cards will be a nice keepsake to have as part of our wedding memories!
Bridal Shower P2 - the bee life (2)
I’m just grateful for all of the love, plus the shower wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be (the attention, and being on display opening presents!) … haha, I was a bit anti-shower for awhile.  It went so quick, that I wish I would’ve been able to socialize a bit more with everyone but I got hugs from everyone so that itself was a success!

I’ll be sharing part two featuring all the perfect details and decor, tomorrow!

Weekend Recap – Twilight Festivals

| The Bee Life

The first weekend of August is officially under our belts and we of course kicked it off with a boom!  Friday we started the night with some porch drinks with our friends before we headed off to the Twilight at the Zoo. Ironically, Friday was 5-years to the date when we’d gone to the same event with the same two friends, it was our own little reunion and celebration! And the weather was drastically different from 5-years ago, we were sweating our bums off and this year we were freezing our bums off! But it was still fun because we were with great company at an awesome event.

Twilight features 20-bands throughout the zoo, Sam Adams Beer, an assortment of wine and other alcohol in addition to food stands throughout! You explore the zoo while sipping and snacking, with a few dance moves thrown in between! Not to mention the animals are still out, we were able to swoon over the Tigers, awe at the Grizzly and adore over the other bears and wild life.  If you’ve never been, it’s definitely an event to plan for next summer – tickets sell out fast!

Saturday was full of cleaning around the house, but I made sure to take a break to head down to the Art’s Festival in town with Moz and my friend, Sarah! I’m so glad I did too, it was a nice way to break up the day and get out of the house and enjoy the sunshine and support local artists.  Not to mention, bought some kettle corn and fresh squeezed lemonade – the best!!

We will definitely be having a busy August, but hopefully a bit relaxing as well. This upcoming weekend is my bridal shower, so the wedding planning is getting real!

Weekend Recap – #HappAllieKeverAfter

| The Bee Life

This past weekend we were lucky enough to celebrate one of my best girl’s wedding! Knowing A, every detail and part of this day was thought of and would be done to perfection.  Having been planning our weddings at the same time, it was fun to share in the little details, that we got to see come to life on the big day! And everything was perfectly executed and stunning, including the bride herself.  A’s dress, hair, and accessories were the perfect compliment to the day and reflection of her personality.

We celebrated their union in a full service Catholic ceremony, which led to an exit with bag pipes and bubbles, all cheering the happy couple!  From the church, we headed to the reception which was at A&K’s farm, their property was completely transformed into a stunning venue as the barn was suited for cocktail hour with wooden walk-ways leading through the barn, a two-tier deck, decorative seating, a string quartet, and tasty drinks and hors d’oeuvre.
Happalliekeverafter - the bee life
The reception tent was a stunning reveal, as we were some of the first people let inside, jaws were on the floor in awe. The focal point was this breathtaking chandelier, and the wood farm tables which lined the room. The tables were perfectly set and staged with florals and flatware. The band was playing a Frank Sinatra song as the remaining guests entered and found their seats.

A&K were introduced with their bridal party and led quickly into their first dance.  The rest of the festivities continued to kickoff as we were served dinner, which was all amazing, the evening continued to flow as dancing got started! It was great catching up with friends, their loved ones and stealing a few dances and moments with the bride and groom.  The best part of the night was seeing how happy A&K were, they were so incredibly happy and it was such a beautifully perfect night to kickoff their next chapter as husband and wife!

Cheers to A&K! Love you!

Travel: Lake of the Ozarks

| The Bee Life

B and I were lucky enough to take another awesome vacation this past week.  We headed west-ish for my aunt’s belated 60th birthday trip to the Lake of the Ozarks.  A first for B and I, it was a treasured childhood spot for my mom and her family growing up, with lots of memories in and around the lake!

Days consisted of bikinis, sunshine, pool gossip sessions, corn hole tournaments, cold beers, fishing and ski-dos.  One day the ladies went hiking and explored around Ha Ha Tonka State Park, climbing 317 stairs both ways, while exploring old castle ruins, breath-taking water spots and the natural bridge.
Travel - Ozarks - the bee life
Night’s consisted of large family dinners with St. Louis style ribs paired with incredible spreads of fresh salads, fruit, lots of beverages, including of course, Manhattans.  There were also many family stories shared, reminisced of old times, and lots of laughs.  We celebrated my Aunt’s 60th our last night at the lake, and her gratitude for everyone making the trip there, was exactly the reason we went, to create and share in family memories.

It was a great vacation, full of sunshine, awesome weather and even better company.  We can’t wait to get back to the lake!

Weekend Recap – College Showers

| The Bee Life

This past weekend was a good mix of work and fun.

We started yet another house project Friday afternoon, even though we’re working with contractors, so we aren’t doing too much of the heavy lifting, just heavily babysitting. *winks*  But that should be finished up by tomorrow, so fingers crossed we got all the snafu’s worked out.  Don’t worry I’ll share the full project at a later date! Friday night we attended a watch party to watch the Cavs murder the Celtics in game two of the Eastern Conference finals, only to watch them loose at a buzzer beater last night. *grrrr*

Saturday after some of the babysitting stress subsided, we made it out of the house, over to our friend’s to celebrate her 30th! The theme of the night was “party like you’re in college” so there was plenty of drinking games and even a keg of beer.  In order to keep on theme for the night, we gifted the birthday girl with a t-shirt that read; “I Can’t Adult Today” it was perfect! We of course partook in some of the “college party” fun and ran the beer pong table for a few games before we retired and became spectators, mainly because we lost to a few cheaters (you know who you are.) It was a lot of fun, although B and I definitely didn’t party like we were in college. #adulting

Love & Mimosas
Happy 30th Lauren!
Work in Progress
Presents!
Besties with Baby Ash

Sunday was one of my bestie’s bridal showers.  It was fun catching up with friends and meeting a lot of her family! It was a beautiful shower with mimosas and lots of sweets, so it was extra perfect. A was spoiled with all of her beautiful gifts, because she has amazing taste. I can’t wait for her wedding in July!

On a side note, I can’t believe this next weekend is Memorial Day – where did May go?! What are your favorite May memorials of 2017?

XO

TBT – #CoakleyEverAfter

| The Bee Life

This Throwback Thursday is all about my bestie, and the day she married Travis.  As their first anniversary quickly approaches (this Sunday!) I wanted to take a walk down memory lane and share some pictures that weren’t shared last year on #CoakleyEverAfter – Part 1 and #CoakleyEverAfter – Part 2! All the events leading up to the big day, were amazing from the bridal shower to the bachelorette party, to weekends planning and prepping centerpieces.  And then the wedding, it was so beautiful and perfect, because it was my best friend’s wedding.  I’m so lucky to have been so involved and closely by Katie’s side the whole day! I can’t wait for her to do the same on my wedding.
tbt - coakleyeverafter - the bee life
Happy first Anniversary Katie & Travis!

Some photos included are by: Iburi Photography

Six.

| The Bee Life

Today mark’s six years with B and about 6-months until we’re married (!!!) and although we will have a new anniversary, this will always be our first.

As we’ve been prepping for our wedding with vendors, meetings, and security deposits, we’ve also been prepping for our wedding through the church with a series of quizzes and even an all day ‘prep course’.  I can hear some of you asking, a quiz? A course? Who is the church to decide if you’re able to get married? Valid, yes. But it’s our faith and how we grew up and a part of our wedding that is important to us, that it’s recognized in the church.  So during our all day course, we had to separate and write down where we saw ourselves in 5 and 10 years (among other things). And as we read these back to each other we laughed because they were nearly identical.  And although we talk about the future, our hopes and wants, it was nice to sit down and write these things down and discuss them with each other. Our “marriage prep” with the church has allowed us to talk about a few more things proactively vs. in the moment of life.

Every year together we grow a little more, we challenge each other, we become stronger, we love a little harder, we laugh, we try new things, we go new places, we support and encourage each other.

I can’t wait to walk down the aisle to this man and keep tallying up the years and memories together.

I love you, B! ❤