Eyes on the Bride: Jennifer F.

We've been busy packing in so much blog goodness here at TWB, that we just realized that it's been way too long since we've had a bride-to-be featured in our 'Eyes on the Bride' series. So today we have Jen here to dish on her life since getting engaged and all things wedding planning. Read on to see what Jen has in store for her July wedding!

(personal photo - from Cabo, where the proposal happened!)

(personal photo)

Bride's Name, Age, Occupation -- Jennifer Freeman, 26, Publicist

Groom's Name, Age, Occupation -- Timothy Hewell, 27, Business Analyst

City of Residence -- We live in Old City in Philadelphia, PA

Wedding Location -- The Garrison in Garrison, NY. It's in the Hudson Highlands

How you met -- We began dating during our senior year at Penn State University. We met during an intense game of beer pong. :)

How long you've dated -- We've been dating for about 5 and a half years now. We started during the Fall of 2005.

How he proposed -- Tim proposed in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico on August 2, 2010. Here's the write up from my wedding website: The Freeman Family owns a time share in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, and this year the whole family decided to take an August vacation. With Jen's entire family together in one place, Timmy knew this would be the perfect opportunity to propose. After asking Mr. Freeman's permission, and also calling Jen's brother Josh in Chicago, everything seemed to be falling into place. While some issues did come up, and Timmy was unable to get the ring in time, he was still sure that this would be the perfect place to ask Jen to be his wife. On the second day of vacation, Timmy asked Jen to go take a walk on the beach. Since the beach at the resort is where the Sea of Cortez meets the Pacific Ocean, you're not allowed to swim in the water. This makes the surrounding beaches rather secluded and private, leaving us with the perfect atmosphere for a romantic moment. While taking an afternoon stroll and watching the amazingly large waves crash on the sand, Tim got down on one knee and asked Jen to marry him and she said "Yes!" With the decoy ring securely on her finger, Jen wore it the rest of the vacation. *Proposal 2.0 A couple weeks after getting home from Cabo, the real ring was finally ready. After some (but not much) patience, Jen was definitely ready to get a ring back on her finger and show it off to the world. One MBA school night, Timmy decided to hide the ring in their apartment and sent Jen on a scavenger hunt for the rock. After a couple misses, Jen found a little white box and jumped up and down with joy... she soon found out the wait was definitely worth it!

Wedding colors/theme -- Our wedding colors are gray and purple. The boys will be in gray suits, white shirts, and purple ties; the girls will be in purple cocktail length dresses with gray shoes. The little girls and boys (we have Tim's 2 nieces and 2 nephews as our flower girls and ring bearers) are TBD, but something to go with the theme.

Bridesmaids' dresses info -- Bridesmaids are in J. Crew's Silk Taffeta dresses in "Spiced Wine". They have all different styles: 2 are in the "Bow Monde" dress, 2 are in the one shoulder "Nanine" dress and my Maid of Honor is in the "Gracie" dress.

J.Crew's "Nanine" style

Best part of planning -- Best parts of planning have been booking the honeymoon and doing the registries. Booking a tropical vacation and shopping for free? Yes, please. Plus those gun zappers are really cool.

Worst part of planning -- Worst parts of planning have been the stress it adds on to your normal every day life. Although I wish I could just put everything on hold to plan the wedding, it's certainly not the case. Also, planning a wedding in NY while living in Philadelphia is a challenge. Although, I have my Mom and Dad in CT who have been a HUGE help in meeting with vendors and setting up appointments.

Most surprising part of planning -- Most surprising part of planning has been the fact that I'm not a bridezilla. With my super type-A personality, everyone thought I would be awful by this point, but making all of the decisions has come really easy for me so far. I found my dress the first time I tried it on at the first store I went to! I just decided that if I love something, I should just book it and move on to the next thing on my list. There's no point in continuing to look if you're happy.

Favorite vendor so far -- My favorite vendor so far has been my photographer, Snap! Photography. They have a great blog that keeps me beyond excited for July to come, and I think I check it for new photos almost every day.

Places you registered -- We've registered at Williams-Sonoma, Crate & Barrel, Macy's, and Bed Bath & Beyond. A little of everything. :)

Any Do-It-Yourself (DIY) plans -- We're ordering our invitations from Wedding Paper Divas and I plan on doing a little DIY on those. We're also trying to be creative on the seat assignment cards, tying in the golf course with tees maybe, so that should be interesting. We'll just have to see if I have the strength to do any DIY when we get closer to July. :)

Honeymoon Location -- Tim and I are going to BARBADOS! So excited for the Rum and Sugar Cane Factories, the beaches and relaxation.


Thank you, Jen for sharing so many of your wedding planning details with us, and best of luck as we get closer to July!