Licensed!!

well, yesterday we finally got our marriage license!  here's to p dub tradition!

we got back, and danny set up a "picnic" in our old apartment to celebrate (since our grill is still over there lol)  we had champagne, BANGING steak and asparagus on the grill, and smoores for dessert!  he's so, so sweet..

picnic setup!

our MASSIVE steak and grilled asparagus =)

we made mimosas!

mmm its been so long since we've had smoores..

one month to go <3
Love,
The Shumans

Surprise Bridal Shower!!

my incredible mother in law and the women of danny's family threw me an AMAZING surprise shower!  i've never felt so loved in my whole life!

the surprise!  there was a WALL of women going all the way up the steps and on the balcony when I walked in the door!  very overwhelming!!

 

danny, me and momma, who made the 2.5 hour trip! <3

some details:

beautifully decorated

tons of food and wine!

present from my momma <3

one stack of gifts!!  

his and her stacks, so cute!

jello shots with nana...my fave part!! ;)

cutting my MASSIVE cake, which I didn't get a picture of (but I know someone did!!)

they did the coolest thing. two days before, they invterviewed danny and asked him a bunch of questions and recorded him!  so then they would ask me the same questions and play the tape back.  it was SUCH a good idea, everyone loved it and it made me cry so many times!!  everytime i got an answer wrong, i had to put a marshmallow in my mouth! it was hilarious:

tough to see, but I look like a chipmunk!

it really makes you see who your real friends and the important ppl in ur life are.  my one bridesmaid flew in from illinois and had to leave the next morning  JUST to come to this!  now, i'm SUPER excited for the wedding!!!

Love,

The Shumans

invites!!! finally...

so these things have been HAUNTING me for months!  i was not looking forward to them at all.  but with the help of our very own abattyref (thanks alex!!)  they turned out to be much less of a headache than I thought =)  However, I do admit, I was going to add a very fancy belly band...but it just would cost more money, take more time, and honestly who cares?!  i just wanted them to be done.  SO, here they are =)

the production:

 

inserts:

invitation quote: "Like the Father and the Son need the Holy Ghost, I need you..."

Return Address Label:

pocketfold sticker enclosure...thing...:

the whole she-bang!!

aaaaand there ya have it ;)  should be getting RSVP's in the mail any day!!
Love,
The Shumans

Oh how I love dresses...

Wow, its been awhile since I've had a post!  Getting pretty busy with only 80 days left til the wedding, and we're moving in just 15 days!! eek!

anyways, I got some of my dresses (yes, I need multiple!)

My fave I think, is my Bridal  Shower Dress:

pink and ruffly the whole way down!!!  i love it! from express

my bachelorette party dress:

 

and one of my honeymoon dresses!!

  

can't wait to be wearing this, walking on the beach at sunset in aruba with my new hubs!!  80 days to go<3

Love,

The Shumans

Our Tasting!!

Last night we went to have our tasting at our reception venue, Heritage Hills!  I wasn't sure what to expect, but it turned out to be like a very fancy, expensive (yet free!) date!  It was awesome!  And the food was to DIE for.  Very, very pleased =) Here's the place:

And Danny's fancy Captain and Coke:

Now on to the food!

For the first course we'll be having Garden Salads with Creamy Ranch and Heritage Hills' House Raspberry Vinaigrette.  The House dressing is SO good!! It tastes like you're biting into Raspberries...mmmm..

 

Danny approves of the salad!! Or maybe his drink?  lol

With fresh rolls of course

The first meal option is Queen Cut Prime Rib with Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes and Lemon Broccoli.  Sooooo good...

The Second Choice is my FAVE!  It's Black Peppercorn  Butter Salmon with Sweet Red Pepper Sauce...damn!! So good, with the same sides:

There's also a third choice, which we didn't try, which is a vegetarian pasta...it sounds pretty good too =)

We're very very satisfied, and can't wait to get our hands on that salmon in June!

Love, 
The Shumans

Our LIFE CHANGING Engaged Encounter Weekend =)

Well, this weekend Danny and I had to go to our Engaged Encounter weekend (pre-marital prep classes).  Honestly, we weren't looking forward to it at all.  Especially Danny...he was DREADING it!  But I have to say, our relationship is honestly on an entirely different level at this weekend.  It was amazing!! It's taken me 4 years to get Danny to open up as much as this program did in one weekend.  It dragged on a little bit, but it literally opened a new chapter for us (and even Danny was surprised how much it helped our relationship!)  Here's some quick pics:

This is before we left in our living room =)

We stayed in a VERY old convent building.  It was a different experience for Danny having nuns live right down the hall!  He learned on the first night not to walk to the bathroom with just a towel on ;)  LOL

This is the sign outside our "dialogue room."  Here's how it worked:

Our 2 sponsor couples would talk about  an issue (say communication for example).  They would talk about how to have good communication and give personal experiences.  Then Danny and I would separate into 2 rooms and answer btwn 10-15 VERY personal and intense questions.  And we had to answer 100% honestly.  Then Danny and I would meet in our dialogue room and read what each other wrote and talk it out.  Let me tell you, there was sobbing and crying and hugging...he took it SO seriously and poured so much emotion into it which I REALLY appreciated =) We did this all day (8am to 11pm) for 2 days! Exhausting. But, we worked out all of our issues, even ones we didn't know we had yet!  And it really brought God back into our relationship.

Here's our 2 sponsor couples.  They were great!!

Honestly, it was probably the best thing that we've ever done as a couple for our relationship.  I feel like couples that haven't gone on this weekend are really missing out tremendously.  Like they don't know the secrets to a REALLY REALLY great marriage!  I would reccommend it to all my friends, Catholic or not.  

The only cons of the weekend were the food was HORRENDOUS.  Literally, my dad's prisoners at his jail ate better than we did.  I felt so malnourished and weak after the weekend (but it was incredibly emotionally and physically draining!)  And everyone felt it dragged on a bit at the end and were getting a little antsy to finally get home.  But I'm so glad we went.  We even made new friends!  It was amazing to see Danny come out of his shell, he was the life of the weekend!!  Danny even started discussing eventually going back to church...which is the biggest blessing I could ever receive =)

If anyone reading this in interested in going on this weekend, just leave a comment or email me and I can give you the info and who to call. Like I said, it was very honestly a life changing experience for us =)

OH!  I always joke with Danny that we should combine our last name when we get married to either Shantz or Luman.  Well wouldn't you know it that as soon as we left when we were finished we were on Shantz Road! I was like WHAT?!?  It's a sign from God, for sure ;-)

Love,

The Shumans