Help Me Pick A Quote For Our Love Letter Box!

We've picked our wine, are in the process of writing our love letters, and have finally narrowed down the bazillion quotes floating around on marriage to 5 we really like for our love letter box! Now we need your help narrowing the quotes down to 1! We will then have that quote along with our names and wedding date engraved on a brass plate attached to the back of the box.

So which one is it going to be hive?

"To keep your marriage brimming,
With love in the loving cup,
Whenever you're wrong admit it;
Whenever you're right shut up."

-- Ogden Nash

"A good marriage is the union of two good forgivers."

-- Ruth Bell Graham

"We are a work in progress with a lifetime contract."

-- Phyllis Koss

"New love is the brightest, and long love is the greatest,
But revived love is the tenderest thing known on earth."

-- Thomas Hardy

"Ultimately the bond of all companionship, whether in marriage or in friendship, is conversation."

-- Oscar Wilde

[Poll]

• Ogden Nash
• Ruth Bell Graham
• Phyllis Koss
• Thomas Hardy
• Oscar Wilde

Thanks so much in advance for any votes! I'll let you know which one we pick soon!

Are you including a special quote somewhere in your wedding?

Filling Our Love Letter Box

I've finally found a wine to put in our love letter box! It tooks months of research but it's finally on our way!

The reason it was so hard to find a suitable wine was because I had so many criteria:

-It has to age well. We don't plan on cracking this thing open for awhile! But we did agree that we would open it on our 15th anniversary so it won't spoil. We would then replace it with a wine from our wedding year and close up the box again without reading the love letters.
-It has to be from either 2009 (the year we marry) or 2005 (the year we met).
-It has to be light and fruity because Mr. Lab isn't much of a wine drinker and that's all he likes.
-It has to have a pretty bottle. Naturally. :)
-It has to be relatively inexpensive.
-It has to be highly rated to ensure quality and taste.
-It has to be from Europe (I added this one late because it's ourdream honeymoon location).

So what did we end up with? I can't even pronounce it! It's a *deep breath* 2005 Perrin Chateauneuf du Pape Les Sinards Rhone Red Blends from Chateauneuf du Pape, France-Rhone. *whew*

Source

Basically, it's a red, fruity wine from France that meets all of our criteria.

I bought it from Wine.com for $38.99. I was sold after reading a couple of its reviews and the winemaker's notes:

"Perrin Chateauneuf du Pape Les Sinards is made from the traditional varieties of Chateauneuf du Pape from Chateau de Beaucastel's own vineyard and from other top quality growers in the appellation. Predominately Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault and Mourvedre, the wine is rich and silky with a deep red color. With the gamy, earthy quality that Beacastel is know for, Les Sinards is long on the palate with rounded tannins."

Yum, yum, and yum!

I just hope the slight wine lush in me doesn't break into this thing just to try it out! I'll have to remember to keep the house stocked with wine so I'm not tempted.

I had to have it shipped to our best man's house in South Carolina since Wine.com doesn't ship to Georgia. I also ran into this problem when ordering our bridal party wine and champagne for when we are getting ready. All that is left to do now is write our love letters and put an appropriate quote on the box! We're writing our letters after we get our marriage license next week (We've already attempted this once but had a minor fail. More later!)

Has anyone ever tried this wine? How was it?

Keeping It Real.

Ever since Miss Cowboy Boot wrote about the "love letter box", I knew I had to have one at my wedding. Mr. Lab and I both think it is important to recognize the fact that there WILL be hard times in our marriage; that it's not a matter of "if", but "when".

In this day and age where something like 40% of marriages end every year, it's important not to be so naive to think that it could never happen to you. In my family alone, my mother, two older brothers, and older sister have all gone through a divorce. I know of several people my age that have already been married and divorced. During the engagement and wedding planning process, the possibility of divorce can be the furthest thing from somebody's mind. But I feel it's necessary to talk now with your soon to be husband (or wife!) about how you plan to handle the difficult moments in your marriage. It's all about keeping it real.

No, this realization doesn't mean I'll become a super pessimist thinking about divorce all the time. Rather, it means that Mr. Lab and I have made a promise do everything in our power to overcome whatever obstacles that come our way which may potentially lead to divorce. We know many traditional wedding vows imply this promise, but we wanted something that more clearly expresses to our guests that we recognize marriage is hard work and we won't be taking it lightly. That's why the love letter box spoke to us.

So this weekend during a DIY project marathon, I got to work on making our very own love letter box. I found this little gem at the same A.C. Moore where I found my bridesmaids' flowers:


It was absolutely perfect for our love letter box! At only $10.99, it was also a good deal. But when I got to the register, a customer who had just checked out handed me her unused 40% off any one item coupon, so it only ended up costing me $6.59!

Once I was home, I began working on a way to customize it. I decided to use brown paint to tie into our wedding colors and started painting away. I had an episode of Heroes on the computer and a glass of wine (it's only fitting while working on a box that will house some wine!) while I transformed the box from this:


Into this:


I'm really happen with the way it turned out! We'll use the thin wood nails to hammer the sliding door shut during the ceremony. I'm going to add our wedding date on it somewhere, but I feel like it still needs a little something else. Maybe a quote on marriage that seems fitting for what the box is for?

Anyone have any suggestions on a short and sweet quote that encompasses the meaning of the box? And any suggestions on a relatively inexpensive bottle of wine that will (hopefully) last for many many years?

Our Wine & Cheese Engagement Party

My wonderful bridesmaid Brittany threw Chris and I an amazing engagement party a couple weeks ago. Another bridesmaid, Ashley, and my MOH, Amanda, helped out with the decorations and food setup as well as some of Brittany's roommates. I could not believe how fabulous the party was. I expected just a few bottles of wine and some cheese (since I knew the guests were expected to bring either a bottle of wine or a block of cheese), but I had no idea that they would have so many delicious hors d'oeuvres as well! The girls really outdid themselves. They made me wonder if hiring a caterer for the reception is really necessary...lol.

Brittany started out by sending adorable evites to the guests. Here's the main banner of the invitation:

Image Source

As I said, the food was absoluting amazing and yummy! There were mini burgers, mini strawberry cheesecakes, herbed potatoes with dip, fruit, & stuffed mushrooms. Brittany even went so far as to find napkins with a damask theme! How thoughtful is that?!?



Of course I can't forget the great wines & cheeses. The girls set up a display with balloons, a banner, and pictures of Chris & I along with the wine & cheese. They even put cute little bride & groom outfits on a couple bottles!



Me and the fabulous hostess!



And you'll have to excuse Chris's face in this one, but I wanted to show off how handsome he looks in his all-black ensemble. Grrrr... ;)



We topped off the party with a game of toilet paper wedding dresses! We split the guests up into groups and they had to design a wedding gown out of toilet paper on their "models" (which were all guys!). I then picked my favorite one by calling it pageant-style with runner-ups until the winner was announced. Trey's team (which ironically consisted of Brittany & Amanda) won! He's the second from the left with the "veil" covering his face. I picked them because he had a sweetheart, trumpet style gown which was closest to what I'm looking for in a gown! But I do have to say that the bow on Chris's butt was fabulous as well! ;)