Monsters & Aliens

The Mirriam-Webster defines "progression" as a bunch of different fancy things which I'm not going to attempt to regurgitate. M + Z defines progression as: the act of functioning procrastination. It's no secret that Zach and I both [at least a little] thrive on chaos-- the last few weeks have been an absolute blur between work [and overtime!] and school and school and work and life and school and work and planning a wedding. So basically in lieu of the always-daunting-ticking-clock.. . we are taking care of business.. .or at least, we plan to.

• We meet with our prospective caterer either this week or next for our tasting. He's drafted us a tentative yet wonderful Mediterranean-influenced menu, suited for a reception-style-buffet-dinner. hors d'oeuvres- linens- post dinner coffee- servers- entrees- sides- unnecessary price gouging included for $24/person! We'll see how impressed we are. We will most likely cut out the coffee service [coffee + beer.. .not so much] and tweak the menu a little. We are admittedly toying with the idea of bringing in our own caterer [we'd have to pay a $1,000 fee if we don't use an in-house vendor] for the sake of saving us money in the long run. 

• Also.. . .we get to custom design our own invitations. One of my sister-friends, Kayleigh Marx  did some research and found an awesome company who is willing to work with just about any budget while providing killer quality "paper-stuff." And, I love paper stuff. Since the invitation sets the mood for the event we want to make our invitations as personal as possible. We're thinking something paisley, matted with a fancy plain paper which will display all of our information in fun and funky font in fun and funky colors. Initially we were thinking that we would design and print our invitations in a D-I-Y fashion but after crunching the numbers and the (lack of) hours in a day we decided that it would cost just as much and be substantially more convenient to use this company. Not to mention, they will turn out MUCH nicer. Check out this fun papery-card stocky goodness! They offer just about any and every color in any and every style of paper.. . .stay tuned (or, check your mail in a few months) to see the final product... . .

• Kayleigh and I also hopped around Anthropologie looking for inspiration to use towards our centerpieces. Since we have 3 different styles of tables, we're thinking of doing a multitude of centerpieces. Only, we're going to be making them. I figured that while flowers are beautiful-- they die 2 days later and they cost an arm and a leg. Not to mention that Zach and I are both a little weird, quirky and informal. Which is slightly ironic. But since this is OUR day, we're going to not worry about standards-and-norms. Moving on.. .  Saturday night Kayleigh, Hurricane Alex, and I indulged in some deliciously-disgusting never ending salad, breadsticks and oh-so-fattening pasta at Olive Garden [judge us, we couldn't care less] and reminisced, talked science and planned for the futures we never actually believed would arrive. I am SO lucky to have such wonderful, supportive, and offensive friends :)

• And then there's the colors.. . .we should probably pick those. Kayleigh and I made it to Home Depot this weekend to lurk paint swatches. We grabbed some great options. Of course, fiancee-a-saurus-rex and I won't make the final decision until he has time to, you know, breathe again. 

I'm not quite sure how 24 hours seem to just evaporate in what seems like 3 minutes. Zach's Georgia Tech architecture case-load is one squeeze away from suffocating him and I'm nearly drowning in legal documents at work. When did life get so busy? We're grateful and excited that we can make all of these wedding-esque decisions together.. . .. . underneath the "stresses" of "real-life," which we're generally pretty decent at ignoring. 

Immediate Update: Speaking of James Zachery and his oh-so-demanding school schedule... . he's locked up in Wood Shop tonight working on a project and he has just informed me that.. . 

.. . .Okay, seriously. How cool is that? They carved their own forks and chopsticks because the chinese restaurant forgot to include them in the take out order. I know I never got to do that at school . . .but I can spell all of the amino acids.. ..backwards. I get to marry that guy!? Also, he changes oil, rotates tires, rebuilds engines and can fix/replace brakes with his eyes closed. All I bring to the table is good looks, excited-ness about doing laundry and cooking-ish. 

I should probably clean my room. I'm sure my mommy & daddy are in disbelief that I actually do that now considering the constant state of discombobulation my bedroom was ALWAYS in. Until next time... . 

[.. . I think I'm going to need to buy these. Or, make them. And different variations of such. As of recent, I'm really into ampersands.] 

Always,

M+Z

Pronto is Japanese for.. . NOW

These are already posted on Facebook so, I apologize for the redundancy but some of the family-folk and family-friends don't use facebook-- keep in mind that some of the vibrance and crisp-y-ness is lost in translation/uploads so these are stunning in person.. . ..And, most importatntly I forgot to mention in our last post that one of my best friends is coming to visit this weekend! Miss Kayleigh Marx and I will be painting the town all sorts of colors with our cameras and vintage-Anthropologie-type ideas and possible color schemes. 

Does Zach not have the most contagious smile ever?Some things we will never grow out of.. .like, playing in the grass... . 

. . this is pretty much how it happened.. typical..   . .this is one of my favorites. it speaks to my inner-obscure-photographer. .

a sigh* of (un)relief

I've been suffering from a heavy case of procrastination-itis. Some things never change and some people never slow down long enough to breathe (there's a strong possibility that my body stopped running off of oxygen as of weeks ago). I'm pretty sure that I've been managing to squeeze 27 hours into days that were only meant for 24 hours. It's a talent only a few posses. 


Updates, people! I have updates.. . . .

• We got our venue! Summerour Studio in Atlantic Station (Summerour as in, Keith Summerour the architect... how fitting). I highly recommend that you google it. It's got a killer loft-y feel with hardwood floors, awesome industrious ceilings, factory style windows and of course some brick-age. The outside of Summerour is Tuscan-esque and obviously, to-die-for. It's located on Bishop Street a few blocks from Atlantic Station. It's kind of an unexpected hole-in-the-wall place and I'm admittedly not crazy about the street it's on but it's a small "price to pay" for a lofty-elegant-architecturally inspired-vintage space with killer city skyline views. 

• Perhaps more importantly than the venue... .our date has changed. After excessive back-and-forthing with multiple vendors, we learned that our May 21 date was booked everywhere-- literally, EVERYWHERE. Once we fell in love with Summerour we became sickeningly determined to reserve the space. For those of you who have gone through the headache of venue-shopping, you know that, well...it's a headache and takes time to find a space fitting for you and your other of much significance. After spending the weekend on the edge of our seats, we were informed via an e-mail Sunday night at 11 that Summerour was booked May 21... . devastation set in as we ventured to conjure a plan D. Our last stab at the venue of our dreams was a game of tug-o-war with another couple for the evening of Saturday June 4, 2011.... .we won!!!

• We've gotten all 300 of our save-the-date photo options back and are very excited. Only that means that now it's time to actually pick our "Save the Dates." And probably our invitations as well. Does it ever end?

• Our next big "to-do" is the caterer. Which is possibly the most expensive (and delicious) part of wedding planning. It's slightly depressing and eye-popingly ridiculous how much catering companies charge per plate. Not to mention that they tack on a 20%-21% gratuity for themselves.. . .I'm sure they're not all THAT good. However, this is a wonderful opportunity to pay homage to my heritage. For those of you who don't know anything about Greeks.. .well, at the pit of every Greek person's soul there lies a manipulative, haggling, button-pressing, thieving fiend (according to my father, at least). Needless to say, I'm haggling like it's my job and attempting to play on the sympathies of the not-so-sympathetic event coordinators and accountants. We'll see what we end up with.. .but it's looking like the absolute cheapest (and most unrealistic) option is $30/person which may or may not include taxes and gratuity. Seems as if everyone in the catering business is also of Mediterranean descent. Stay tuned for doof selections...

• While we're talking dollars and (lack of) sense, I would like to pause at recognize/appreciate/thank/publicly announce the debt of gratitude I feel for Daddy + Mommy Warbucks for funding what will be the most meaningful day in our lives both individually and as a couple. Becoming 2 McClures rather than a McClure and a Dounis is no small thing. We're so incredibly lucky to have the families we do.

•   I'm going on a much needed diet. 1,200 calories/day and lots of running and p90x-ing. Zach is in perfect physical shape and doesn't need to waste his time prepping his physique. I'm seething with jealousy at the McClure metabolism!

Wedding aside (only momentarily though.. .I know you're all just drooling over what the next phase could depict. Note: sarcasm), I spent last weekend with Mrs. Jessica Milkwick. A cousin of Zach's who I absolutely adore. If anyone was born to be a grade-A mommy/homemaker/wife, it was Jessica. Not to mention, she's gorgeous. And has perfect children. We stayed up until 3am chatting and throwing together a portion of Zach's slightly belated birthday present. Since school/moving/life has completely interrupted our every-day, Zach's actual birthday was less than exciting-- date night with our newlywed friends Joe + Katie at Tin Drum in Atlantic Station and indulgences to follow. However, the night before the big 2-6, we were treated to a divine dinner at Chops (it seems like I spent my childhood in and out of such restaurants, whilst wearing sailor outfits or cloaked in flower-y dresses and Kentucky-Derby style hats). So to make up for September 15 being a dud, we went out to Rathbun's for dinner on Saturday night. I highly recommend it, killer atmosphere and heavenly "YaYa's Eggplant Fries" and I gave him a home-made scrap book of our adventures. I guess scrap books only come in the home-made fashion, they're not exactly like cakes, from the box or from scratch-- they're from the heart and hands, which are now sore from the over-exhaustion of muscles required for scissor-usage. My real birthday gift to my wonderful, loving, always-good-to-me fiancee will arrive on October 1.

I'm going to make another post pronto which will include a further "sneak peek" of our for fun photos, via Sarah-Cate Buckner.

-Zach + Maxine

We're so vain.

So, my wonderful friend Sarah-Cate sent us a sneak preview of our photo session from the other day.. . .These are 5 of M-A-N-Y. Some of my more favorite shots are to come later but since we got a few... .we thought we'd share... keep-you-on-the-edge-of-your-seat.. .and all of that nonsense. For those of you who receive "e-mail updates" you might have to actually visit the blog to view the photos. 

My fiancee is looking at me like I am ridiculous... . 

After spending the day frolicking around in 4inch heels, you might take your shoes off too.

Every-Day Life.

Thank you, James Zachery McClure.

.. . . .More to come later.

We love you,

-Zach + Maxine

Hello September

When did this independent, dizzy, blue-eyed girl's life become centered around bridal magazines!?

So our plans for the beach got thrown out the window... . .It seems as if I'll be laboring on Labor Day, as all foreclosures go to sale on Tuesday thus I need to have the necessary documents confirmed by over-paid, impossible-to-get-in touch-with attorneys, whilst Bonky attempts to recover from a paralyzing case of the sniffles.

However, last night Zach pushed his sniffles aside so that we could partake in celebrating the marriage of his long-time best friend Clark & his gorgeous German/South African bride Monique. After a chaotic week of traveling to and from Orlando.. . they finally made it to the alter .. . er, to the woods in Sandy Springs. My favorite part of the wedding: THE COTTON CANDY MACHINE. All else was secondary--- the laughter, the tears, Zach's banana yellow grooms-men tie, the toast, the vows, the delicious foreign food.. . .the relevance of such beautiful happenings were demolished by the presence of a cotton candy machine. It's quite possible that I'm still riding a sugar high. I will say that since we've gotten engaged (and admittedly, before), baring witness to our friends & loved ones tie the proverbial knot and exchange "I Do's" only contributes to the excessive enthusiasm in regard to our own nuptials. 

My gorgeous fiancee and I after stuffing our faces with exotic foods and OD'ing on sugar.
(note the banana yellow tie mentioned above.)

Speaking of... . my ears are smoking from planning-over-load. Remember in the cartoons when you were a kid? Whenever someone got mad their face turned tomato red and 2 oddly symmetrical streams of smoke poured from their ears? Well, red's not so flattering on me and steamy smoke makes my hair frizz. We're having an impossible time finding a venue we love available for our date (which is now in May due to life and convenience). The Piedmont Park Garden Room & Garden Tent which has been my personal and absolute favorite (The Foundry at Puritan Mills runs a close second) is booked through May with the exception of a Friday night but is available on our original wedding date. Predicament. I'm sending poor Zach to play the part of the inquisitive, curiously overjoyed bride AND the apathetic and slightly annoyed groom on Tuesday to meet with the vendors at Piedmont Park while I'm at work for kicks and giggles. Truth be told, Zach has been amazingly supportive, optimistic and involved through this process of venue searching. I began to fall victim to disappointment and discouragement when our "top picks" were all booked and started plotting for the pity party of the century meanwhile. That brown-eyed boy of mine pulled that plug real quick! We've been looking at other options together and have found a few potentials-- we're still waiting to hear back from the Botanical Gardens, The Roswell Mill Club, Summerour, and Primrose Cottage. Summerour is my favorite of the bunch. (http://novareevents.blogspot.com/2010/03/summerour-studio.html)

In lieu of finding the perfect venue-- which I'm told is one of the most* important decisions we'll make-- we started on a guest list. Really only including our families and closest of friends. It's unfortunate that we both have 75,000 cousins and a mess of close friends. We shaved our list down to the necessaries and our magic number still makes our eyes pop. Looks like I'll be having a (reasonable) BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING . ***Windex will be featured as a centerpiece on every table.***

The To-Do List.. . 

• Book a Venue
• Design & Send "Save The Dates"-- we're on-the-edge-of-our-seats excited to get our engagement photos back.. . .only a few more days!
• Find a Dress
• Pick out Invitations/Programs/Paper Stuff
• Sell a Kidney
• Book a Photographer-- you KNOW I already have one in mind.
• Decide on Food.
• Cookie Cake or Wedding Cake?
• Decide on Decor/Colors
• Sell an Ovary
• Add Roughly 50 Other Things to Said "To-Do List"