If At First You Don't Succeed.. Or Why We Did Two Engagement Shoots

I don't think I posted many photos from either (fixing this today!) so it might surprise some of you to learn that before we were married, Stuart and I actually booked two engagement shoots. One happened in Scotland just after Stuart proposed and the other only days before we were married in Raleigh.

In Scotland we did our research, looked extensively through our photographer's blog before we booked, picked a meaningful location, and went shopping for new outfits. Our photographer spent time talking to us beforehand, but didn't give us any direction after we started shooting.

In America, I found an ad on Craigslist, looked at his blog once before emailing him, let him choose the spot, and we wore our comfiest (but not t-shirt quality) clothes. Our photographer didn't chit-chat much, but he guided us into shots and even posed himself to show us what to do.

Now I'm not saying either photographer is better (though one was certainly better for us), but it is interesting to note that what we THOUGHT we were looking for was actually exactly what we didn't want! While we liked the laid-back feel of our first photographer's work, I don't think we were comfortable enough behind the camera to really get great shots.. plus my hair is unruly and covered my face in most of our photos.

It was an expensive lesson but honestly, if you're not happy with the way something turned out - it's worth it to try again. Our second shoot captured some really lovely moments and since photos mean so much to me I know they're something I'll always treasure.

The New Mr. and Mrs. McGhee

It's been less than two weeks since our big day and I'm still sorting through photos and feelings. I thought I would be more nervous the day of, I wasn't; I thought I would feel different afterwards, I do and I don't; and I thought I would finally be able to relax, but thank you cards don't write themselves!

What I am sure of is that I am incredibly happy and October 17 was one of the best days of my life.

Thanks to everyone who made this a reality! Special thanks to Katie who came in from Boston and took on jobs with very little heads-up - what a star! And of course my eldest sister Allison who we literally could not have done this without! She officiated our ceremony and mixed the perfect amount of humor with romance - it was breath-taking.

And thanks to you! Everyone has been so supportive of our journey! It's not over yet, but we are steadily moving closer to permanently settling in the UK. :))

Too Tired For Clever Titles (this has been a crazy month!)

Hello again, people who read my blog! I've been meaning to write up a new post for ages, but things keep getting away from me.. so maybe just for this month a bullet list will have to do. :)

• The wedding of the century is in about 2.5 months now!! I am simultaneously calm and totally freaking out. There's so much to do, but the big things have been taken care of and invitations will be sent out soon so I'm making progress. :) We're thinking about either video taping the ceremony or possibly live streaming it since so many of our loved ones are all over the world, but we'll see!
• Stuart graduated! He got his master's degree in Forensic and Analytical Chemistry and I'm so so proud of him! I got to watch his ceremony online and I don't think I've ever been more thankful for technology. #ldrpowercouple
• He then promptly landed a job in Northern Ireland at the company he interned with after he left Greensboro and is currently moving into OUR new place this week!
• I say "our" because that's what he's been calling it, but I still won't move until next summer. However, this does mean that when it's time for me to move I'll be heading to Northern Ireland and not Scotland!
• NI is still a part of the UK though, so nothing changes as far as visas are concerned. We'll be eligible to apply in January - I'll talk more about this after the wedding I'm sure.
• I may have already checked google maps for the nearest library and knitting club though.. totally not excited at all. :P
• Last month I turned 25! I ticked off a little over half of the things I wanted to accomplish which was awesome! I'm working through the rest of my list at a more relaxed pace now, but it's been really fun having big and little silly goals to keep track of. I tried new foods, new workouts, and new crafts and made sure to spend more time on things I enjoy but don't do often like painting my nails and yoga.
• I am finally in the last stages of getting a job - after three interviews I am ready to start already! Free time has been nice but too much can drive a person mad! :P

I think that covers all the big things that have been going on this month/recently - I'll be writing a post soon with more details about our wedding plans so if you have any questions let me know and I'll try to answer them then!

Let Me Tell You About My Dad..

It’s really beautiful seeing everyone’s posts about their fathers. Lots of them are accompanied by a photo of them as a baby with their dad, but my story is a little bit different.

I have a Tom. He likes computers, guitars, tanks, music made before the 90′s and a Japanese girl-group called Band-Maid. Tom came into our lives in 2004, when we needed him most. It takes a special person to not only accept my crazy mother (just kidding Mom! I love you!) But to take on her three daughters (14, 15, and 22) as well! The day I graduated from uni they called for all the parents to stand up, and seeing him standing beside my mom brought me to tears. If you don’t come from a broken home I don’t expect you to understand. We never officially acknowledged him as “Dad”, he just became that, at least for me.

So this is the oldest picture I have (featuring my mom hugging a bear), on our first of many family vacations. From day one he’s always been such a huge support system and I just hope he knows how much I appreciate everything he’s ever done for us.

The Story of How Stuart Proposed

Let me preface all of this with: if you're looking for a "romance in the highlands" type story, you're better off punching that into amazon and purchasing whatever comes up. ;P

Long distance relationships have a tendency to steal a lot of spontaneity from you. Everything has to be planned and arranged and organized in order to work, so before Stuart had even left America in May of 2013 we had a long, deep, dull conversation about practicality and the future. It's not realistic to assume that we can just love each other enough to make things work - not when there's extensive paperwork and fees keeping us both in our respective countries. So we looked at visas, and came up with a vague timeline, and coordinated it with when we would actually be in the same country and agreed that sometime in the summer of 2014 we would get engaged. Now, I'm sure that doesn't sound terribly romantic, but moving forward in our relationship with the knowledge that we have so many obstacles in our way - it was too big of a decision to make without thoroughly talking it over.

Besides, I'm just not the kind of girl you spring things on! My mom has said that I require at least three days notice if any plans change and she's not far off. Though I have relaxed on this considerably, I don't react well to surprises. So on June 9, Stuart sat next to me and held my hand and said exactly what I had asked him to say when he was ready: "Girlfriend, you might want to wear your hair down tomorrow." Not that it would matter, a few minutes after he slipped on my ring the sky opened up and all chances for photos were lost!

We drove out to the Highlands on June 10th, through Glen Coe and up to Loch Ness - the place of my childhood dreams. I have long been interested in cryptozoology and plesiosaurs, so naturally Loch Ness was the ultimate romantic destination for me! We went through the Loch Ness Centre and Exhibition and learned a lot about the surrounding area. We tried (mostly in vain) to make our way down to the water and when we finally did, I promptly landed my foot in freezing cold water. It's not anyone's fairy tale but my own and I feel so lucky to have someone who respects and values my wants over what society dictates as "traditional". Anyway, we saw a rainbow on our way home, which I'm counting as Nessie's blessing. ;)

How To Plan A Wedding Across An Ocean

It's been a little over six months since Stuart proposed, and a little under nine months until our wedding - it's probably time that I started blogging about it! Now planning a wedding isn't easy by any means, but adding in the whole Atlantic Ocean really complicates matters..

Initially we were just going to head down to the courthouse, but Stuart's an only child and I'm the baby of my family so that just wasn't going to work for us (read: our moms). I'm not going to lie and say that this has been the easiest experience of my life, it really would be nice if I could just call Stuart or his mom to confirm details but distance and a 5 hour time difference is against me. So it's been complicated, and a lot of the excitement has been lost in waiting for responses to emails. But even with all of that, it hasn't been as hard as I expected and now that we're over the initial hump of planning (venue's been reserved, catering has been contacted, dress shopping will happen soon) it's starting to get a lot more real.

I'm starting to imagine what it's going to be like surrounded by friends and family - some of whom I haven't seen in years and some I haven't even met yet - celebrating us. I'm excited to have my family be a part of the ceremony and I'm excited that they're excited to help me pull this off. Even if they weren't serious, both my mother and my sister have agreed to bake pies (because cake is so 2014) and my niece has offered on several occasions to be my flower girl.

It's easy enough to get lost in what we don't have. The opportunities we're missing out on because we live so far apart, but whenever things get sad it's important to remember what we do have: family that's willing to help, friends willing to travel long distances just to be with us on our special day, and each other - the best support I could have asked for. That's how you plan a wedding across an ocean.