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Beautiful Antigua

Patrick and I honeymooned at the Sandal's Resort in Antigua!!

Antigua is a British island in the Caribbean, north of Guadeloupe and east of St. Kitts and Nevis.  It was beautiful!  After all the hustle ans bustle of the wedding, it was nice to just lay out by the pool and relax.

One of days we were there, we went on a catamaran cruise around the island.  It was amazing!  I love being out on the water.  The Caribbean side is aqua colored, the waves are calm and you can see the bottom in most places - especially where the coral sits. The Atlantic side, is very blue - a deep sapphire blue!  The waves we a lot bigger and the water was a little cooler.  Being water/wave obsessed, I liked the Atlantic side the best!

The Sandal's Resort is positioned on the northwest side of the island in Dickenson Bay.  The setting made for some beautiful sunset pictures our last night.

The wedding

6 months after the fact, I think its time to finally time to update the blog and talk about the wedding!

It was beautiful! The weather did not cooperate at all, but everything turned out wonderful despite the cold rain! Since a picture is worth a 1000 words, this post will mostly be pictures from the wedding and bridal pictures. All pictures were taken by Jason Hardesty!

Bridals:

The Girls, The Boys, The Blacks, and The Hymels!

The Wedding:

 

The Reception:  The wedding and the reception we at the Historical Calcasieu Marine National Bank.  Melissa Limberis was the wedding planner/ event designer/ decorator - and she did an amazing job!

 

The beautiful and very delicious cake was made by Cypi's Cake Box.

To add another very unique experience, we had a hot dog stand come in towards the end of the night!!  They were also very yummy!

 Another super cool thing we did, was a photobooth.  It was tons of fun and I think everyone thoroughly enjoyed it!  Here are a few of my favorites from the photobooth:

               

                

              

You can see the rest of the wedding and bridal pictures on Shutterfly: blackhymel.shutterfly.com and the rest of the photobooth pictures at: Brittany-and-Patrick-Nov-13

22 days and counting!

Somehow my to-do list isn't getting any shorter... When exactly is that supposed to happen??

Thank you to everyone who RSVP-ed either verbally or by sending back the card. We now have a better idea of how many to plan for! We are so excited that we have so many friends and family members that want to share this special day with us!

I hope everyone has booked their hotel room. The last day to get the reservation in under the Black-Hymel block is today - Friday, October 22nd!

I have posted the limo schedule on the Hotel Information page. The limos will be available all night for anyone staying at the Holiday Inn who does not want to drive. I have also updated the registry link for Dillard's to take you directly to our registry rather than having to enter all the information.

I had another bridal shower on October 10th in Lake Charles. This one was given by 2 of my aunts that live in Lake Charles. We had a great time and the food was excellent. I also got some awesome gifts! Lots of cooking stuff... think its a hint ;) ??? Sadly, I don't have pictures since my camera is on strike that day. I hope to get some soon from some of the friends/ family that attended the shower. As soon as I do I'll post them! Thanks to my Aunt Ann and Aunt Becky for throwing the shower! It was so much fun!

Patrick and I took pictures on October 2nd, here in Houston with our photographer Jason Hardesty. Our plan was to start at the Waterwall Park then head to the volleyball courts and take pictures. Well in true brittany-black-blackcloud-luck the waterwall was being worked on that week. Of course right? I mean its too easy for things to go as planned! Anyways, we decided to venture downtown to take pictures at Houston City Hall (anyone else since the irony there?) and Tranquility Park. Then we headed to the volleyball courts where we took more pictures and drank some much needed beer! We of course had an entourage with us! Along with Patrick and I, we brought my mom, Melissa - the wedding planner, and Rian - made of honor, and our beast Coal!! I'm so excited about the pictures and can't wait to share them with you at and after the wedding...

Ok, ok... Here's your sneak peak:

In family/ post-surgical news: I'm doing so much better these days. The pain in the leg has finally started to go away next I just have to wait on the numbness to go away. I'm up walking every day and starting to get out and around the town. Of course, its in small spurts... I have to work up to a whole day of standing/ being around town.

I want to say Happy Birthday to my sister, BriAnne, and my niece, Anna! BriAnne is 4 years younger than me (so forever 21) and Anna is 1!!!

45 days to go...

We have been busy little bees the past few months!

Its is all finally coming together! All those small little details are being finalized and things are shaping up quite nicely. We have picked out the tuxes for the guys - they will be looking super handsome come November 13th! We also, decided on a honeymoon. We'll be vactioning in Antigua at the Sandal's resort!

I was extremely impressed with the invitations done by Desgins for Life. They should be arriving any day now, and I hope you love them just as much as we did! Cristy did an amazing job!

We are taking engagement/ bridal portraits this weekend! Fingers crossed its not 100+ degrees and we don't run into any rain! For pictures, my hair and makeup will be doen by Andrea Schutter of Fabulous and Flawless Hair and Makeup. We did a trial run a few weeks ago and she's amazing, I'm so excited about having her fix me up for pictures!

Speaking of a few weeks ago... For my bachelorette party, all the bridesmaids and I went to New Branfels, TX. We rented a house right on the Guadalupe River! We all went tubing on Saturday, it was a lot of fun. We all made it back in one piece, with very few bruises and gashes! The guys had their bachelor party the same weekend in Austin. I don't know much about it other than there was lots of drinking! I'm sure all evidence was burned at some point before they headed back home!

This past weekend was one of my bridal showers/ luncheon given by a few of my aunts. It was amazing. We drank lots of wine and laughed a lot! It was catered by Berryhill, which has amazing food. I also got some pretty cool gifts. I'm so glad all my friends go to come! Here are a few pictures from the shower:

<--Aunt Vicki

Aunt Karen -->

2 of the 3 Hostesses. I didn't get a picture with my Aunt Jennie. The shower was at her house!

A HUGE thank you to all 3 of these ladies!!

<-- Rian (maid of honor) and I at the shower!

Wedding things still to come... Of course pictures are this coming weekend. Next weekend is my bridal shower in Lake Charles! That should be tons of fun with lots of family and friends from my home town!

In non-wedding news. Patrick's brother and family have officially moved to Houston! They moved into their new house at the end of July! We also celebrated Patrick's birthday in August. We went to the Astros/ Braves game! We had a blast! I got to spend 2 and a half weeks in Anchorage, Alaska! Mom and BriAnne came up with me and spent a few days. Although it was coldy and rainy most of the time, it was a wonderful experience. I'm hoping to go back after the first of the year! Also, on september 15th, I had back surgery. I had pins put into my L2 and L3 vertebra to finally fix a problem I've been fighting since high school. I'm slowly but surely recoverying! Every day I get a little stronger and seem to be in less pain. By the wedding, I hope to be 100+%!

4 Months to go...

I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July!!! All of the Hotel details have been finalized and you can now make reservations at your convenience before October 22! We will be staying at the Holiday Inn on Lake Street in Lake Charles. All the details are on the Hotel Information page!

In other wedding news, I have picked out invitations and am waiting on the samples! We added a registry to our list from Target. We still want to register at Kohl's but have not quite had a chance for that, check out the Registries page for the links thus far. Mom came and spent a weekend in June to shop for wedding stuff and we finished ordering my dress accessories, I'm almost a complete bride! Guess we should start looking at tuxes for Pat and the guys...

Patrick and I had a very busy month! We attended a wedding down in League City in June, dog sat for a week, had a visit from Pat's parents, and spent 4th of July in Austin. We had a great time in Austin and loved spending time with Matt, Mandy, Rian, and Clayton. Rian's birthday is July 4th so we got to celebrate another year of Rian with fireworks!!