Brown Paper Packages #3

Testing, 1-2-3...

My future brother-in-law has mad skillz! First of all, he deserves a shoutout for just being awesome. But, secondly, he deserves a shoutout for his hard work on their wedding website and the phenomenal finished product. Click Here to check it out!!!

The Lord is working in mighty ways! Jake has been trying to receive the Holy Spirit and the gift of speaking in tongues, which came to him this week. The Lord is doing great things is Jake's life!

Out with the new, in with the newer.... This was an unexpected thing that happened this week. In one day, we went from driving one car (RIP Blue Honda Civic Hybrid...) to driving a different car.  We have extremely mixed feelings about this. Sadness over losing our blue car, frustration over an un-fixable problem, and excitement over having a new (used) car. Say hello to our new car, the Urban Titanium Honda Civic.

Get to know some fellow bloggers in my life! This is ironic because I do not consider myself a blogger. However, it does make me happy when people are supportive of our blog. I am also happy to have some friends and family who are also on the blogging journey. Support them too, people! These ladies are the three of the most interesting women and best writers I know, so their blogs are probably going to be on point!

Songstress of the South - Sarah Baldauff
Play On - Kaitlynn Logsdon
First Time Homemaker - Maegan Woodlee


Thats all folks. Over and out.

Credit is Due

Our wedding day wouldn't have been what it was without the help of family, friends, and our vendors. This blog post is thank our friends and family and give credit to our vendors. The second half of the post is a list of our vendors (click on links to learn more about each one). But first, some shoutouts...

• Shoutout to our parents! Both of our sets of parents were so so so supportive throughout the whole wedding planning process. From throwing showers and arranging flowers, to going to ALL of the pre-wedding planning meetings and doing makeup for the big day. One or more were involved in literally every aspect of our wedding. They were all so gracious in helping us create the perfect day for our wedding. Thank you for your love and support. We love you!
• Shoutout to our bridal party! Our bridesmaids, groomsmen, guest attendant and ushers were ON POINT! We couldn't have asked for better friends and family to stand beside us as we vow our lives and love to one another. We both have great memories of the days and hours leading up to June 14 and we will cherish these moments for years to come.
• Shoutout to our families and friends! To all who attended our wedding, thank you for sharing the day with us. Thank you also to our family members that helped in some way, whether it was making desserts for he reception, or helping set up the day before. Specifically, to Melissa and Chris Logsdon, thank you SO MUCH for all of the ways that you helped us prepare and accomplish what we wanted. Dems da berries.
• Shoutout to the weather! It was great! Honestly, I had no idea how PERFECT the weather was until months later. People kept commenting on how nice it was that June was producing 70 degree weather in Kentucky, but I didn't really process it at the time. 

Our Vendors:

Ceremony Venue: Oak Grove Baptist Church - Springfield, TN

Reception Venue: The Arling - Franklin, KY

Wedding Day Coordinator: Whitney Prescott

Officient: Deon Thompson

Photographer: Josh Salley - Bowling Green, KY

Florist (Bouquets & Boutonnieres): D&M Florist - Franklin, KY

Hair: Reflections Hair Studio - Franklin, KY

DJ: Jonathan Barrett

Dresses (Bridal Gown and Bridesmaid Dresses): David's Bridal

Tuxes: Men's Wearhouse

Rehearsal Dinner Venue: Loving Chapel Stables - Franklin, KY

Caterer: Dianne Thurmond - Franklin, KY
Rehearsal Catering: Brickyard Cafe - Franklin, KY

Again, thank you to every person and vendor who helped us prepare for our wedding day. We are so blessed.

<< Previous in the It's Been 8 Months Series --- Beginning of the It's Been 8 Months Series >>


All Photos by: Josh Salley

Highlights of Our Secret Honeymoon

In case you didn't know, or forgot, we didn't tell ANYONE where we were going for our honeymoon. It started as sort of a joke, but then we just kept on not telling people when they would beg and plead to know where we would spending a week after the big day. We went to Charleston, South Carolina, and, lucky for you, the time has come that we give you the highlights of our week in June. You're welcome.

Day 1: Charleston Strolls - city walking tour. We had decided to do this the first day to get an overview of the city of sorts. We are both so glad we did. It was fantastic! We got to hear about all of the most important aspects of history from a native Charlestonian. Despite his Confederate Pride, his knowledge and insight of Charleston was awesome! We got to see so many neat things in just a few short hours.

Day 2: QuickShot Indoor Shooting Range. They had a "ladies special" that day so we got a pretty good discount on shooting up a zombie. Good times.

Day 3: Fort Sumter. This was the location of the beginning of the Civil War. Not only was visiting Fort Sumter super interesting, it also involved right a boat to the fort. I mean, who doesn't love a good boat ride?! Actually... Nathan doesn't, however, I had a blast! And I'm sure he was secretively having a blast too ;) Additionally, visiting Fort Sumter has sparked our visiting other forts, battle field, and National Parks.

After we were done at FS, we went to the South Carolina Aquarium, which claims to be the best aquarium ever (or something like that). It was pretty fun, but I personally think the Georgia Aquarium is better. Thats just my opinion, though.

Later on that day, we got a couples massage. It was really awkward, but really great at the same time. We'll probably get more in the future. No picture available.

Day 4: Isle of Palms - BEACH DAY! We had a great day at the beach relaxing, playing card games, walking along the shore, taking pictures, patio lunching, and soaking up the sun...... Soaking up LOTS of sun. Too. Much. Sun. Needless to say, although we had a good time, we got really really really burned. Luckily, it was near the end of the week.

Day 5: Charleston Tea Plantation. Did you know that this is the only plantation in America that they grow tea plants! Most are grown out of the country. Did you also know that you can have unlimited tea samples? Yeah. So we were livin' it up with bellies full of tea and skin burned to a crisp.

After leaving the plantation, we went to see the Angel Oak. One word: HUGE. Below is a picture that someone took of us in front of the tree (shoutout to the guy in the red shirt). Yes, they cut off most of the top of the tree. Why can't people take decent pictures? Is it not obvious we want a picture of the how big the tree is? I mean thats why we're here, people... Anyway, if you want to see how big it really is, click on the link above. Thanks random guy. Thanks.

So, as you can see, we did a ton of stuff on our honeymoon. And its fitting because we both love to learn new things, and explore. And now you know. Hope that makes up for us keeping it a secret during the months before ;)

Click here to watch a video of our Secret Honeymoon!!

<< Previous in the It's Been 8 Months Series --- Next in the It's Been 8 Months Series >>

Brown Paper Packages #2

Since my last Brown Paper Packages post, a couple of events have occurred, but other than that, not much has happened for me to report. Therefore, this post is pretty much going to be pictures from those two events.

The first is that Nathan and I spent our first married Valentine's Day together. First, I made a late breakfast filled with heart-shaped food. What can I say, I go all out.

Later, we went to the Streets of Indian Lake in Hendersonville, TN to see Paddington the movie. We were the only people in the theatre that didn't bring small children, but hey, it was a great movie! I would recommend it. When we got home, Nathan fixed his annual Valentine's meal. Chicken from Walmart deli, kraft mac-n-cheese, and doritos.

We agreed to give each other a cheesy Valentine's Day gift. Here is a picture of me forcing Koba to cuddle with my gift. Koba + Gnash = Love

The next event was the snow week we had this week! We got 7-8 inches on Sunday night and another 2 inches on Tuesday night. 

Here are just a few pictures of some entertaining things that happened....

Day 1: Koba deciding the snow wasn't for him...

Day 2: Binge playing Roller Coaster Tycoon like I did in high school... It was nostalgic and great...

Day 3: Snow Shakes!... (click here for recipe)

Day 4: Running out of things to do.... so.... I made a ridiculous video.... (click here to watch video)

Day 5: Shoveling snow with these dudes. Thanks, Kevin, for helping us clear our driveway before it gets covered again.

Needless to say, its been a pretty relaxing week. Hope you enjoyed this edition's Brown Paper Packages.

Guest Wedding Photos Revealed

As you may remember, at our wedding, we asked our guests to post pictures from the wedding festivities to a smart phone application called Wedding Party. These are the results we got!

To make the photos a bit bigger, click on them to enlarge.

We can't believe we have been married 8 months! We are truly blessed to have so many people who love us. Thank you to everyone who posted these pictures to the Wedding Party app. It was really fun to look through the pictures form our guests perspective!

Click HERE to see some of our professional photos in motion!

<< Previous in the It's Been 8 Months Series --- Next in the It's Been 8 Months Series >>

Snow Day Snow Shake

I enjoy snow days. Especially when I don't have to enjoy them alone. Personally, I sort of like being trapped at home and preparing to have to survive only on what is in my house. I find myself subconsciously taking inventory... "oh yes this will be good to have in case we're snowed in for another 3 weeks."

Additionally, I enjoy playing in the snow: building snowmen, going for snow walks, and especially sledding. Sadly, there are no decent hills in our neighborhood and no sled in our possession. So, we have pretty much stayed snow-free during this season's snow day run. Until this afternoon. I decided to make snow shakes. Prepare yourself.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 cup sugar
• packed snow
• Something to flavor the shake. The recipe I found used vanilla extract. We used chocolate syrup for Nathan's, and strawberries for mine.
• Whipped cream (and other toppings)

Directions:

1. Mix milk and sugar together until sugar dissolves a bit.

2. Put milk/sugar mixture and packed snow into blender (I used about 4 cups of packed snow for this amount of milk). Mix.

3. Add flavor into the blender. Chocolate syrup works great. Strawberries work great. I'm sure bananas would be good. Oreos would be a good choice, I bet. And the obvious vanilla extract for the classic vanilla shake. Mix in blender until you get the consistency of a milkshake.

4. Pour. Add toppings. Serve.

Review:

Our snowshakes were AWESOME. They literally brought all the boys to the yard. DELICIOUS! One thing that I will note is that if you wait for a few minutes, the milk will start to separate from the snow to the bottom of your cup. All you have to do is just mix it back up with a spoon or straw. Other than that, they were perfect!

Nathan rated this recipe a 5 / 5
I rated this recipe a 5 / 5

Original Recipe is from macheesmo.com, but I changed it quite a bit, obviously

A Review of Our Day

Our Wedding Day. Where to start?... Everybody always warned me that your wedding day would be a whirlwind day and you won't remember anything afterwards. So, as I prepped emotionally, physically, and logistically for June 14, I also was prepping my attention and memory. I didn't want to wake up on June 15 and think, "Wait... I'm married?..." I was prepared to be mindful of as much as my brain could handle for the most important, exciting, and stressful day of my life.

I'm not going to give you a play-by-play of the whole entire day. There are, however, a few things that Nathan and I love to talk about when we think about our wedding day. The following is a list of things we remember and reminisce about often:

The Final Countdown: Nathan and I have very different memories of this moment. At about 3:55 pm, I announced to my bridesmaids that the prelude section was probably about to play "The Final Countdown" by Europe. Would you believe that they didn't believe me?!? I assured them that indeed the 1986 hit was playing in the church sound system. They convinced me that we should go to our places early so that they could be certain I was telling the truth. And, so we went. Even though I was nervous and excited all rolled into one, I will never forget their faces as we listened in the stairwell waiting for the procession to start.

Nathan's version of the Final Countdown was a little different. "I knew that it was coming, of course, but my groomsmen didn't. They all looked at me and smiled and asked for conformation of what they were hearing in the little Baptist church. Several of us then sang the song together. When I looked out the door window-frame into the sanctuary, many people were smiling in disbelief :) I'm sure they thought, 'this is totally Nathan's doing.' I think they loved it! Much better than some of the songs other couples pick."

Unity Canvas: We wanted to have a Unity Ceremony, but we didn't want to do the standard unity candle. So, I searched for something unique that would not only represent my/our personality, but also be a great keepsake. Finally, I found where someone had taken a blank canvas and poured paint down it. As gravity pulls the paint down, the paint mixes together. The paint cannot be unmixed and will be combined together, similarly to a marriage relationship in Jesus Christ. So, thats the background... the reason I remember the Unity Ceremony part of our ceremony was because of two reasons. Nathan will describe the first...

"So it was time for the unity ceremony, and we had told my grandpa what we wanted him to say. During the rehearsal, he said his line, and we went and pretended to do our thing. During the actual ceremony, he whispered “Unity Ceremony” to us, and motioned for us to go. We knew that he was supposed to say his line, so we just stood there awkwardly for a moment. I finally motioned to his notes, and his eyes lit up as he remembered what he was supposed to do. It was pretty hilarious."

The second reason the Unity Ceremony is memorable is because my jar of paint was....a little bit thick. About an hour before the ceremony my aunt, Melissa, had graciously helped me thin the paint so that I wouldn't accidentally get paint on my dress. We had it the perfect consistency. Well, I didn't anticipate that, although the jar had a top, the paint would thicken. Weirdly, only my color thickened. As, it was slowly moving out and onto the canvas, Nathan and I just looked at each other like, "uh oh." I gave my jar a discreet shake, and thankfully that helped it move along.

Predators Wedding Party Reception Entrance: Nathan will explain this one: "I sought special permission to ask our DJ, Jonathan, to announce us similar to how Paul McCann announces the Predators starting lineup, complete with Paul's signature sayings and music that the Preds play. It was perfect! Jonathan did an amazing job at imitating Paul, and it was exciting! We were announced as the goalie (because he has the best intro!) The music and goal horn made the intro a very Nathan and Ash Koehler experience!"

Love Song Serenades: We know a ton of talented people. I mean...a....ton. I sort of wanted to do karaoke, but honestly felt like that would possibly come across a little tacky. Then, it hit me. We'll just give our guests the opportunity to serenade us and then we will be forced to kiss afterwards. It was the perfect way to show off our friends' and families' talents, while still keeping the focus on us (not to be stingy on the attention, but I mean, come on, it was OUR wedding day...). Well, they didn't let me down. We had 8 different groups to serenade us, and we loved every single one. There were some that were you're standard sappy love song, some that were fun and energetic, and some that were just downright hilarious! It was great.

There are so so so many great memories from our Wedding Day. Honestly, our favorite is getting to be united in Christ through marriage. Second is getting to celebrate with all of our family and friends. Thank you to everyone who attended our wedding and for continuing to support us in our marriage.

<< Previous in the It's Been 8 Months Series --- Next in the It's Been 8 Months Series >>


All Photos by: Josh Salley 

Brown Paper Packages #1

I've decided to start a new series called "Brown Paper Packages" which will basically consist of Our Favorite Things (If you don't catch the reference, watch the South of Music). It's basically going to be somewhat of a review of awesome things that have happened.

Now, before you start judging me for being a braggart or a show-off or arrogant, please note that I don't anticipate these types of posts to be primarily about us or things that have happened to us. Honestly, its an excuse to brag about people we love and show others how awesome they are!

So, without further adieu....Brown Paper Packages.

This Engagement Picture

Not only does the photo show one of my best friends with her fiancé, it also completely shows her devout faithfulness to the Green Bay Packers. My only regret is that the cheesehead didn't make it into the picture. ADDITIONALLY, another one of my best friends was the photographer! Great job at being awesome, Katie and Kaitlin (and Dustin)!


This Ministry

My mother-in-law has recently started a Women's Ministry at their church. After only a few events, I count over 20 women in this photo alone! So thankful that Nathan and I both have parents who have chosen to follow God's calling on their life and set great examples for their children. Thanks for being awesome, God!


This Bedhead

My friend's two year old daughter is so beautiful even with this craziness on her head! Its so hilarious!... thats all I really have to say. Thanks for the awesome pictures of your kids, Melissa!


This Weather

As you may have remembered, last Saturday gave us some AWESOME WEATHER! It was above 60 degrees, if I recall correctly. Nathan had gone to a Predators game, so I decided to walk Koba around the block to enjoy the sunny day. And when I say walk, I mean carry. We talked to a few neighbors who were also enjoying the day. At the end of the walk, I wanted to send Nathan some pictures of our adventure. Here are just a few of what I got. Koba has proven over and over again that he has ADHD when we go outside. Anyway, it was still a great day! You gave an awesome 60 degree day in February, weather!


This Accomplishment

What can I say, my cousin is talented. She got freaking first chair in the whole state of Tennessee in choir! #NotSurprised She is honestly, probably the best singer I have ever heard in my life. I'm glad I taught her everything I know. Just kidding. But seriously, I remember when she was about 10 or 12 her singing some random 80s song ("whats up" by 4 non blondes) with her dad and thinking, "...wow..." She has only gotten better. Awesome job, Kait!


So, these are just a few things that I have come across this week alone that have become some of my favorite things. Leave a comment of one of your "brown paper packages"... or don't. Thats ok too.

The Lone Wolf Bachelor

Having a bachelor party is a time-honored tradition...I guess. I have only been to one, and while it was enjoyable (I shot my brother with a paintball gun, after all), I chose not to have one for myself.

You may be thinking, "that is just Nathan; he cares not for tradition." While that is completely true, that was not all there was to my decision. Probably the biggest deciding factor was that I did not feel like having "one last fling as a single man" was appropriate. It is not like I would not be able to call up my friends and go hang out with them ever again. I felt like I would be insulting the relationship that I already had with them by having a party, as if our friendship as we knew it was over. My prediction that things would remain about the same with them was accurate. 

My other problem was that I did not think that I could come up with anything else to do than what we normally do when we hang out. I figured we would probably plan to play video games all night, and I'd inevitably be asleep by 8:30pm. And I could do that with them any day. No need to make a special trip for an early snooze! 

<< Previous in the It's Been 8 Months Series --- Next in the It's Been 8 Months Series >>


CC Image courtesy of Paree on Flickr

Bachelorette Party Festivities

So.... I'm not really the "lets go out to the club and dance the night away" kind of girl. I'm not really the "lets drink wine and watch chick flicks all night" kind of girl either. So what kind of girl am I?...

I'm the "lets go run around in black clothes shooting lasers at each other" kind of girl.

For my bachelorette party I wanted to do something fun where we didn't have to dress fancy and everyone could have a fun and relaxed time. Now, I'm not saying that going out on the town, or watching chick flicks all night is not fun, I'm just saying I would rather shoot my friends with lasers in the dark.

We all met in the afternoon and headed to Nashville to go to Laser Quest. Lauren, Kaitlynn, Zack and I had been there for Lauren's 21st birthday (We know how to party), so I knew it would be fun. And it was! We had to pick a code name to play, so we each picked a bird reference to celebrate my future maiden name (Birdwell). I legitimately thought I was going to walk out of there with an awesome score...

Apparently, I'm confused about how to score in laser tag, because I definitely had one of the lowest scores of all. Regardless, it was a great time and I'm glad we acted like ninjas instead of anything else we could have acted like at a bachelorette party!

<< Previous in the It's Been 8 Months Series --- Next in the It's Been 8 Months Series >>

Our Proposal

It happened on November 17, 2013

Nathan had planned for weeks for us to have a date at Patti's 1880 Settlement restaurant and grounds. I had just been on a school trip for several days, so we were both excited to spend some time together and excited for the date. Additionally, the Patti's had already put up their Christmas lights and decorations to add to the excitement!

The date started with playing Mario Kart... Nathan got 1st every time, and I got 12th. Then we ate some ham sandwiches.

Afterwards, we got dressed up and headed to Patti's, We ate, and of course it was delicious. Then we went outside and started walking around and looking at all the Christmas lights and soon ended up under a gazebo with dozens of Christmas trees and a line of children waiting to sit in Santa's lap.

All of a sudden, Nathan got down on one knee and said, "Ashley, you know I love you, and you know I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me? Obviously, I said yes! At this point, random people began gathering around us and asking, "Is he serious? Is this real?" and I replied, "Yes, he's serious!" They all started taking pictures of us. It was pretty hilarious.

Then, we walked around the grounds and enjoyed the lights. It was a great night and one that we will not ever forget.



The Whole Story:
Was I excited? YES, of course! Was I surprised? Let's just say I had a few clues. Naturally, we had discussed marriage for our future and we both knew that we wanted to be married. I'm not a huge fan of extra long engagements because I feel that it is unnecessary torture (I could go on and on about this topic, but I won't, for the sake of keeping this post light and happy).

My first clue was that when he had asked me if I wanted to go to Patti's, he suggested that we dress up. NOW, if this doesn't see suspicious to you, then you don't really know Nathan that well. I personally don't mind dressing up now and then, especially for a special occasion ;) but Nathan will put up a fight every single time.

After the first clue, I pushed it out of my mind. I wanted to be surprised, and after all, its not every day that the love of your life proposes to you, right?! Anyway, the day of November 17, he was going to come over to my apartment to hang out before we went to Pattis. He had planned for us to play on the Wii and he was going to "fix us lunch" AKA ham sandwiches from Kroger. Well, at the time, I had a habit of putting my hands in his jacket to hold his whenever we greeted one another. So, just like every other day, I opened the door and immediately reached for his pocket. He pushed my hands away and just held outside of his pockets instead. This might seem like not a big clue, but after that, I was positive it was happening that day. I'm very very analytical and I notice very small details about seemingly insignificant things.

Again, I pushed it out of mind. I must say it was extremely hard to forget that I knew what was going to happen. I think I must have been a detective in another life, because 1) I'm pretty intuitive I can figure things out in a jiffy and 2) I randomly enjoy using a magnifying glass.

So, as the night went on, the weather got colder and colder. So cold, that when we were walking around looking at Christmas lights, I made the comment that I might have to put on my gloves. Nathan's response, "No! Not yet..." and we continued walking.

A few minutes later, he slipped the ring on my un-gloved finger. It was pretty great, and so special. Whether or not I expected it, or knew, or was or wasn't surprised, who cares! We had a great proposal and I will never forget it.


<< Previous in the It's Been 8 Months Series --- Next in the It's Been 8 Months Series >>

How We Met

Ashley: I first noticed Nathan when we had a class together my first semester back at Murray State. I remember him because he had glasses like me.

Nathan: I remember taking notice in Ashley when we were in a class together (her first semester), but I really noticed her in a class we had later. I would always tell my friends that I thought she was gorgeous! I had a big plan about what to say to her to get to know her, but quickly became nervous and abandoned that plan and said something awkward instead! Thankfully, God gave me a second chance later! 

Ashley: Nathan was very persistent in trying to get to know me. The next semester he asked if he could be my chemistry lab partner, where I politely told him no, and suggested someone else he could be partners with.

Nathan: I ended up with someone else from the OSH department as my partner, but we conveniently were placed back to back with Ashley and her partner. I tried to talk with Ashley as much as possible (even though it was still probably awkward!!). I eventually decided to ask for her number during a study session.

Ashley: Well, I gave it to him, and we soon started getting to know each other and talking everyday. I realized he was just as much of a nerd as I was! I was noticing we had so much in common: music, favorite types of music, and most importantly, our yearn to please God above all things.

Nathan: I finally got up the nerve to ask her out on a date, and we enjoyed some good food and a movie together. She asked me to come to Murray State's All Campus Sing event, which I had never been to. I attended, and had a blast with her! That night, I asked her to be my girlfriend (April 17, 2013).

Ashley: The next few months were exciting getting to know one another, yet difficult because I was away on an internship for 3 months. Although we were 800 miles away from each other, I knew by the end of the summer that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Nathan.

Nathan: I am so excited to spend the rest of my life with Ashley! I know that God has put us together, and has wonderful things in store for us!


<< Previous in the It's Been 8 Months Series --- Next in the It's Been 8 Months Series >>