And yes, I realize this is just a little bit late, seeing as how today is January 8th. I look at it this way...better late than never! And it's always a good idea to look back and give the previous year some lovin'.
My Top 12 of 2012:
1. ~ Our wedding day. This is probably the single most important day of my entire life, but as far as 2012 goes...this one tops the list ~ easy peasy. Brad and I got married Saturday, August 18 2012. The ceremony was at Furman University's (my grad school) Charles E. Daniel Memorial Chapel. Gorgeous. Our reception was the at the historically beautiful Weston Poinset on Main Street in Greenville's famous downtown. Best. Day. of. My. Life. It was perfect and I married my best friend, my other half, my lover, my soul mate, and my best friend. To see more photos from our wedding, visit the "Our Wedding" page!
2. ~ Our "MiniMoon": Let's be honest, getting married is AMAZING!, but celebrating being a newlywed is just a great!! It was sooo much fun to be able to tell everyone and anyone that we were on our "honeymoon". There is nothing like being a newlywed. I'm convinced. Brad and I had to take a "MiniMoon" because of our move and the start of the school year. We are planning on taking an extended honeymoon later this year!! For our "MiniMoon," Brad and I went to historical Charleston, SC for 2 nights and Nashville, TN for one night. We did as much as possible in those 3 nights and we had a wonderful time! (For more pictures from our "MiniMoon"...click here!)
3. ~ Our Rehearsal Dinner: Our Rehearsal Dinner was such a special night for us. Not only did we "practice" our wedding, we spent our last single night with our families and our closest friends. Our Rehearsal started at 6:30 and then we were off to dinner at Mimi's Cafe off of Woodruff Road in Greenville. The setting was intimate and perfect for us. The staff and the food were amazing. We were so thankful for all of the love and support that was in that room that Friday night. We could not have asked for a better night. (To see more pictures from the Rehearsal Night, click here.)
4. ~ We Moved!: Although this was a good/hard thing to do, Brad and I chose to move to Iowa from South Carolina. I'm a southern girl, so this was especially hard for me. Brad loves Greenville, so this wasn't a walk in the park for him either. Brad accepted a new job from John Deere in March. He moved the last week in March and started work at the beginning of April. Now THAT was a hard/rough/tear filled day. I had to stay in Gville to take care of Belle and the house, finishing planning the wedding, and pack the house up. Finally, I moved in August. Brad and I rented a condo until our house was finished and we were able to move in on November 16th! Whew! What a summer/fall! (To read/see more about our move, click here.)
5. ~ Building Our House: Let me just say, Real Estate is doing very well in Iowa. When Brad and I started looking for a house here, we looked at 8 houses on a Monday night while I was visiting...ALL 8 houses sold by Friday!?! It was incredible. We were hesitant to build, but we decided that would give us a longer time to sell our house in SC and we would be able to build in a VERY nice neighborhood with a lot of kids and young families. It was a long process, but it was WELL worth it!! (To read/see more about building our house, click here.)
6. Moving into our New House!!: Building turned out to be a great idea. We are SO glad that we made that decision. Although it took one night, dinner, and hammering out all of the details, we were able to pick out every tiny little detail about our house. I. Love. It!! We picked everything, so our house is exactly the way we want it. I would definitely build again!! Now we just need some sod...hurry up March!! (To read/see more about our new house, click here.)
7. ~ Adopting our new Pup, Abe: When Brad and I started dating, he already had Belle. I adopted Belle pretty quickly and became "mommy." At the time, I had a cat. Brad is allergic to cats, so my little man had to fins a new home. I shed quite a few tears, since I am an animal/pet person, so Brad promised me any dog I wanted. Since our move was a but of an interruption, I had to wait a little while to get my dog. We started looking around at shelters the week we were supposed to move. The day before Thanksgiving, we brought home my sweet, big guy, Abe. He's my baby. Now I am a fur mom of 2 mutts and I love them to pieces! (To read/see more about Abe and Belle, click here and here.)
8. ~ Baby Jackson was born: Anyone who knows me, knows how much I LOVE kiddos...especially the babies. I worked at a day care for 6 years total and I worked in the infant room for 4 of those years. I need baby time. It's my therapy. Anyways, Brad's brother, Matt, and his wife Karen announced that they were pregnant in June. We were so excited!! Karen's due date was supposed to be on New Year's Eve. Luckily, Baby Jackson was born on Wednesday, December 19th. He. Is. Precious!! Love at first sight. Welcome to the world Baby Jackson. We are so happy you are here!! (To read/see more about Baby Jackson, click here.)
9. ~ Our Engagement Photo shoot with GetzCreative: If you have looked around my blog at all, you might have noticed that I am obsessed with GetzCreative photography. Sorry, hands down, they are the best! Our photos are so unique!! No one has photos that are like ours. Seriously, they look like they came from a magazine! For our Engagement session, TJ and Moe took us up to the Pisgah National Forest. Pisgah includes Looking Glass Falls (60 ft. waterfall) and Balsm Rock near the Blue Ridge Parkway (where we got engaged!!). This site was perfect for us and it could not have turned out any better!! (To read/see more about our Engagement session, click here.)
10. ~ Our Day After Photo shoot with GetzCreative: When Brad and I sat down with TJ to go over all of the different packages/sessions he offers, the "Day After" session stood out to me immediately. TJ does a little bit of a different version of "trash the dress." We ended up doing our creative session in October. Basically, any time after your wedding you put on your dress, your husband puts on his suit/tux, and there is no stress or timeline. When I looked at TJ's previous Day After photos, it was obvious he has an eye for catching the love and emotion that radiates out of newlyweds. These might be some of my most cherished photos of all! They are so unique, imtimate, beautiful, and special to us. (To read/see more about our Day After session, click here.)
11. ~ Our Wedding Showers: Our families and friends are awesome. It is so nice that both of us having loving, supportive, and genuine families. Brad and I both are lucky to be a part of each others families. Our first shower was from my school, East North Street Academy in May. Wow, I was blown away at the love and generosity of everyone that I worked with! Our second shower was from Brad's mom and sister. The shower was at Beth's house and was so much fun! Seriously, I have the best in-laws. Our third shower, was from my mom and her office. It was so nice to spend time with my friends and my mom's friends who I grew up around. We are blessed!!(I need to go back and blog about these!! Photos to come at a later date?)
12. ~ Matt and Karen's Baby Shower: Number 12 was a hard one to narrow down and pick. I picked this as my last "Top 12" for a few reasons: I got to decorate and help plan the shower, I love babies, this was a special baby, and the whole Bishop family was able to be at the shower. There were quite a few other things that occurred in 2012 with my family, our friends, and our marriage that seemed important, but I thought this was a nice way to end my "Top 12." (To read/see more about the Baby Shower, click here.)
