Mothers and Grandmothers can have fun too!

It strikes me as funny that I am actually not able to attend every party that has something to do with my wedding.  But oh well...as long as others can have fun, that's the point!

And fun was certainly had this past Monday when Kern's mother drove both of his grandmothers to Jackson and they went dress shopping with my mother and grandmother. 

Can you even imagine it? All five of these lovely ladies trying on dresses?  It warms my heart to think about it.  After a busy morning of "work" they had lunch at Gran Fran's house.

Mom, Grandmother, Gran Fran, Nana, Jody

I feel so blessed that these ladies are a part of our lives.  I am thankful for each one!

Farewell to Matthew

When you're sad about a situation, often the best course of action is...to throw a party!

Which is exactly what we did to wish Matthew farewell as he begins a new and very exciting job in Charleston.

 

Archer, Betsy, Alex

 

Saturday night was everything a farewell party should be: good friends, delicious food, some tears...but lots of laughter (and maybe even a little singing and dancing...ahem)

Kent, Alex, Ryan

Henry and Archer

The newly engaged couple: Patrick and Lisa!

My bride-to-be buddy!

Grillmasters: Jordan and Kern

Carolyn and Matthew

Matthew and me

After dinner, we gathered for a precious farewell speech and a creative game.

These words cannot do it justice, but Matthew penned an elegant letter that had us laughing, crying and reminiscing. 

"Nothing makes the earth seem so spacious as to have friends at a distance;

they make the latitudes and longitudes."

Henry David Thoreau

Eat, Drink and be Married!

Our engagement season has been such a sweet time already--filled with well wishes, cards and gifts.  I never dreamed of receiving such an outpouring of love from family and friends.

My sweet DC girlfriends did not waste any time in getting a little shindig together to celebrate our engagement--and I had such a good time relaxing, eating good food and soaking up time with some of my favorite people in the city.

A huge thanks to Archer and Henry for hosting and to Henry for grilling our dinner!

Laine, me, Mary Mitchell

Oh, these two.  They are just the best.  My dear roomies!

Lee, me, Holly

Archer, Betsy, me, Carolyn and Mary Mitchell

Laine and I had to use our fingers to count the years, but this is our seventh summer in DC together!

Constance blew us all away with her mouthwateringly delectable black and white creme brulee.

Y'all.  I'll take five more helpings, please!

Look who showed up too!  Matthew had just arrived in DC so he came over to wish me well.

It was a special evening and one I will never forget.  I'm thankful for these friends!

An evening on the Potomac

Old Town Alexandria has their firework display the week after the Fourth of July (who can compete with the fireworks on the National Mall?) and in order to get the best seat in the house, Jordan invited a few of us along to catch the view from his boat on the Potomac.

Right before we were planning to leave, a huge summer rainstorm swept through.  Once we made it through the torrential rain, a double rainbow emerged.

Truly breathtaking!

We finally set sail with a cool breeze, a boat full of snacks and the perfect sunset.

Will, Mary Mitchell, Jordan, Carolyn and me

America the Beautiful

The girls scooted up to the front of the boat for the best view and a refreshing breeze.

Meeting Baby Grey

One of the highlights of my week in Jackson was getting to meet Mary Jane and Greg's son--Grey.

After 3 weeks of seeing photos of this little guy I was ready to hug and kiss on him in person!

Grey and me chillin'

Grey getting fiesty

We worked it out pretty quickly...

Annnnnd...naptime

I am so thrilled that Grey is here and healthy...and already counting the days until my return in August!

Video: Em + Kern

The Tuesday after we got engaged, I flew to Jackson for some quality family time and to begin the planning process.  Kern joined me on Thursday and had a surprise waiting for me when he got off the airplane.

He had spent the entire two hour flight compiling a video tribute including photos of us from the past four years (and some random video footage).  It was fun to remember back to those early days and so sweet to consider how much we have grown and changed--for the better.

And the best part?  This is just the beginning.

Kern and Em from Emily Penn on Vimeo.

Kern and I are Engaged!

June 28th has now become a new milestone date to add to my calendar: the day Kern and I got engaged!

My parents were in town visiting me for the weekend--a trip that had been planned for several months.  However...I only knew half of the plan.

Unbeknownst to me, Kern, my parents and his parents had been planning for this weekend since May.  

Kern proposed to me and I said yes...YES!  

A few moments later, my parents emerged to begin celebrating and Kern opened the door--and there were his parents, standing outside under an umbrella in the rain.  As soon as I saw them and looked over to Kern and my parents--I immediately burst into happy tears!  

My parents brought out a set of antique champagne glasses they had purchased for us while Kern brought out special chilled champagne that we purchased on a trip last fall.

Mothers!  Jody and Marcia 

All the guys: Bill, Kern, Greg

Let the calling commence!

We finally took a break from the phone and had a fabulous French dinner at Le Grenier on H Street.

I finally heard all the back story of Kern's plans.  The moms lamented how hard it was for them to keep it a secret!

No real celebration is complete without giant ice cream sundaes from Serendipity...so we ended the evening with the most perfect fried oreo sundae.

The rest of the weekend was filled with delicious food and lots of planning.  It was so nice to be able to sit down and discuss options face to face instead of making (more!) phone calls back and forth.

French theme all weekend--we had Saturday brunch at Le Diplomate!

I was so giddy I could barely sleep all weekend--ah, such fun!

Come back tomorrow for a video by KERN!