Relax and Recover

After a fabulous night of fun with all of my best friends, I definitely needed to recover before the big day. I woke up bright and early on Saturday morning and headed to the hotel gym to get a good workout in and sweat off some funfetti cake. It was the perfect start to another day of pre-wedding activities.

We all got ready at the hotel and headed over to the Bridal Brunch at my favorite...Breadwinner's. If you live in the Dallas area and have not been to Breadwinner's, you need to make a special trip. It is DELICIOUS!! Karen, my mother-in-law, had everything set up so cute when we got there. Everyone had a daisy (my flowers) at the place with a picture of them with me. Isn't that such a cute idea?!

I had my favorite, the fruit platter. It was perfect for the day of detox that I needed. There were several other things to choose from and the brunch was a huge success. Karen and I decided that I wanted my Guest Book to be more of a coffee table book with pictures and lines in the back pages to sign and in all of the other wedding festivities I had completely forgotten about it. She surprised me at the brunch with the book and I could not have been happier!! It will be the centerpiece of our living room!

All of my wonderful bridesmaids

Sisters and Mama

After giving my bridesmaids, house party and hostess their gifts we headed back to mi casa to get some honeymoon packing done before our mani/pedi appointments. My poor nail salon...we all walked in in the matching shirts my bridal party made and loud as always. I'm sure they were overwhelmed. 

Aren't the shirts cute?! The front was me in a chef hat! 

We had a lot of fun at the nail salon. I don't usually get manicures and pedicures, so it's always such a treat and so relaxing. My mom is usually the one who has to say "OO Natalie, you need your nails and toenails done!" :) 

It took quite a while to get all of our nails and toes done, but I was glad to not have too much down time before the rehearsal. I didn't really talk to Ben all day (it's more fun!), so I was super anxious to see him and didn't need more time to think about it. When we got home I had just enough time to get a few things in order and then get ready for the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. That's to come later...

MARRIAGE UPDATE: It's amazing and even though it's an adjustment getting used to living with a boy, I fall more in love with Ben everyday. I cooked for friends last night for the first time and we finally got cable and internet. It was a big day!! Anyway, I love marriage and I love Ben! 

She's Getting Married

These are the 3 words my bridal party decided to shout the entire day and night of my Bachelorette party as we walked around the Gaylord Texan. As if my blinking "Bride to Be" pin, Bachelorette sash and Bridal shot glass didn't give me away. Don't get me wrong, I'm definitely not complaining...I had the best Bachelorette party ever!!

Clearly I had fun!

The whole party was a complete surprise to me. All I was told was to be at my sister's house at noon and they would bring me to all the festivities. I was pleasantly surprised by a day and night at the Gaylord Texan. 

The afternoon started off with some fabulous lounge time by the pool. It was a little cloudy and drizzled off and on but we still had a blast. The Gaylord was so sweet about it being my Bachelorette party. When I arrived I had a sleeping mask already waiting for me and then at the pool the DJ called me over and announced the party to everyone. I was a bit embarrassed, but then they gave me a huge chocolate cake. My bridal party took it from me and ate it up. Gotta love em! 

My wonderful Maid of Honor and me

After the announcement, these little boys (like 10-12 yrs old) kept showing off and bringing me things. One brought me one of those crazy bands that was a heart and then another bought me a cherry coke. They were adorable and so sweet! 

After a couple hours of lounging, the girls told me it was time to go inside. They took me on a stroll through the hotel and surprised me with a massage. It was INCREDIBLE!! I totally fell asleep and twitched! My sister-in-law joined me and the girls brought us champagne and chocolate and white chocolate covered strawberries. MMMMM!! 

We definitely took our time in the spa and enjoyed the steam room, sauna, sleeper room and showers. Yes, I said sleeper room! They have a room with lounge chairs/beds that is very quiet and dark and has a relaxing smell that you can just lay in. OMG it was great! What made it even better was that it started raining outside and you could hear it on the roof. 

The spa was followed with a fun-filled night. We got all dressed and ready and ate dinner at one of the hotel restaurants. The food was good and the people were super entertaining. I must say I did get pretty tired of drunk people coming up and telling me "don't do it." One lady was so drunk and rude that her friend bought our entire table drinks and kept coming and checking on us all night. That was a definite bonus. We had a lot of fun at dinner and of course the girls made me do plenty of embarrassing things. 

Me and all my sisters...we added one!! 

My fabulous bridal party! 

Showin off all the flare! 

After a great dinner and a couple drinks (my new favorite = Wedding Cake Martinis!) we went upstairs to play a few games and eat some cake before heading to Glass Cactus. I absolutely love the Glass Cactus! The live band was great and we had a blast dancing. We started out upstairs and met a group of guys who were celebrating the night before the wedding they were in. It just so happened that their wedding was at the same place as mine, The Piazza. It was so refreshing to hear people say that marriage is awesome and they were so excited for me. We ventured downstairs, front and center and danced all night. I ended up on stage thanks to the girls, but thank goodness they just announced my Bachelorette Party and I didn't have to do anything too embarrassing. 

My Bachelorette Party definitely went down in the books as one of the best nights ever. I am so thankful for such amazing friends. Stay tuned for Saturday's festivities. Those should be up tomorrow, but before I go I just have to show y'all the first meal I cooked as a wife....

Angel Hair with Rosa Sauce

This meal was delicious and was a big hit with Ben. I got the recipe from my Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Cooking Light cookbook. It was simple to make and only took about 20-30 minutes. I also discovered that I really like proscuitto. This recipe will be reappearing and maybe when I'm at home and have the recipe I will post it for you. Ben also poured us both a glass of red wine. Dinner #1 = SUCCESS!!

Check out the adorable place mats

Ben and I ran some errands after dinner and Ben suggested Yogurt Story to finish the night. I got a nice big cup of Red Velvet and Birthday Cake. LOVED IT!! I have the best husband EVER!! 

SHE'S ALIVE!!

This is what my mother would always shout when I'd call after being MIA in college. Yes yes, I am alive and ready to get back at blogging. I have missed posting and following all my blogs too. I have so much to catch up on. Things have been soo crazy with the wedding, honeymoon and vacation. No worries though, I'M BACK!!

First of all, I'M MARRIED!!!! Can you believe it?!?! I am no longer Miss Natalie Berry, I am Mrs. Natalie Clark! AHH!!!

I could not be happier! Ben and I had a wonderful and very very fun wedding and reception that I will never forget. Everyone danced all night and the DJ even got on the floor and taught everyone Thriller. It could not have been a better day! I will hopefully get a chance to post every day and will be filling you in on all the pre-wedding, wedding, honeymoon and vacation festivities. There is no way I could do it all in one post. Keep checking back for all the details. Right now I've got to get back to work. I'm still adjusting back to the real world!