{A motto to live by.}

The first gift from our wedding registry arrived!!!! Our friend Brandi generously bought out all of the Kate Spade china items I registered for at 2am a few months ago. (It was a particularly stressful day of wedding planning, so after a few glasses of wine, I decided to do a “fun” wedding task, like registering. Even though, at the time, our wedding was over a year away. I’m not skilled at prioritizing.)

More and more frequently, happy little moments keep happening that remind me this wedding is real, not just a fantasy, and that package showing up on our doorstep was one of them. I felt like I was starring in Father of the Bride.

We deliberately put NO GIFTS! on our engagement party invitation, because we want our loved ones to look forward to all of our wedding-related events and not feel like they’re a gift grab. And, more importantly, because our engagement party was in L.A., that was a “destination party” for half of our guest list, and so many people traveled such a long way to be there — not to sound like a cheesy Hallmark movie, but having all the people we love in one room really was our gift.

Despite this, a few friends gave us the most beautiful things, and all came from such a place of love and knowing us so well, because I was too embarrassed to post my crazy, haphazard registry anywhere (I don’t know how Brandi sniffed it out! I bet she wondered why I registered for 6 macaroon-making trays and a lot of forks, but no plates!) I can’t wait to share those gifts, too, because each and every one of them is personal and perfect, and great if you are a wedding guest and are looking to give something special that isn’t on a registry.

I’ve had my coffee in this mug every day since it arrived. It makes me happy, because it reminds me that I’m getting married soon(ish.) And, if you know me, you know I consider frosting a food group and cake is at the top of my food pyramid, so this mug really speaks to my soul. Also, we had so many red velvet cupcakes left over from our party, I HAVE eaten cake for breakfast pretty much every day since… Practice what you preach, you know.