April Haynes and Joseph Wunderlick

March Madness

BY April // April 4th, 2010

Need I even say why I have not blogged in a while? March Madness is officially here…and three months pre-wedding, that takes on a whole new meaning.

February absolutely flew by and before we knew it, March was here.   The first weekend of the month, I met with Panini Bakery to choose our wedding cake and I think the cake-tasting may have been the best part of the wedding planning thus far!  I cannot wait to cut into it and enjoy a slice.  The consultant boxed up the leftovers so I could take them home for Joe to enjoy, but I couldn’t let him eat cake alone….and we polished off the entire box in one sitting.

The following week, we met with Ed, our pre-marital counselor, and are looking forward to our sessions with him.  We also attended a wedding music recital at Christ the King Catholic Church, where our ceremony will be held, and the music was AMAZING!

On March 9, our Matron of Honor, Lauren, welcomed a healthy baby girl named Katie Elizabeth. We were fortunate enough to be able to drive down to Mansfield that night to see her and hold her, and she is beautiful, just like her mommy.

Spring Break began (for me) on Friday, March 12. We kicked it off with an evening of margaritas at Luna de Noche with our friends Holly and Tanner. Saturday night was the Anthony Travel spring party at Fox & Hound, where in addition to good food and drinks, Joe and I managed to win a two-night stay at the Hilton Costa Mesa in Orange County, CA! We are planning to go sometime in the fall for a nice weekend getaway.

My birthday always falls during the week of Final Four, so there is little time to celebrate. On Monday night, Joe and I went to dinner and then planned to meet Tricia and a few other Anthony Travelers at Ozona’s for happy hour.  Just the two of us went to Chili’s and then headed to “happy hour”.  When we walked into Ozona’s, much to my surprise, there was a table full of people who yelled “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!”. Knowing we would not be able to celebrate my birthday the week of, Joe planned a surprise party for me, complete with a cake and balloons. We had a great time and I must say, I do have the absolute most wonderful and thoughtful fiance in the world.  He’s always full of surprises!

Tuesday afternoon, I picked up my wedding gown and headed to Livingston for my bridal portraits on Wednesday.  Our photographer chose some interesting locations (who would have thought the trees next to an overpass on Highway 59 would make for such an amazing setting?!) and I had a blast taking the pictures.  My mom and I got to see them on Thursday, along with the engagement pictures (AWESOME!) we had not yet seen.  I chose the pictures that will go in our book and ordered prints for us and our families.  We spent the rest of the day shopping for spring clothes and wedding festivity outfits before enjoying a nice relaxing evening at home.   I returned to Dallas on Friday and was SO HAPPY to see Joe, and we went to his aunt and uncle’s that night for a going away party for Joe’s sister, Becca, who is entering the convent. Don’t worry, she already got permission from Mother Nadine to attend our wedding (wearing a teal habit!). We spent the rest of the weekend relaxing and hoping to enjoy some great weather, but woke up Sunday morning to several inches of snow on the ground.  The snow is always beautiful, but we have had more than enough this year…it’s time for spring!

Joe has been super busy at Anthony Travel while working on his freelance projects as well.  He is so incredibly talented and his hard work is continuing to pay off.  We both stay so busy and while I want to enjoy every second of our engagement and wedding planning, I have to say that I’m very much looking forward to July when we can hopefully enjoy some down time.

In other news, the honeymoon has been booked and I’m hoping Joe and his family can manage to keep it a surprise until the night before the wedding! All I know is we are spending six days at an all-inclusive resort somewhere in the Caribbean, and I could not be more excited.