Supplies For DIY Wedding Invitations

After finalizing our decision to make and print our own wedding invitations, John and I decided to head over to Hobby Lobby just to LOOK at paper. Well, looking turned into purchasing. That seems to be the case when going to Hobby Lobby.

I am really glad John came with me. He seemed glad to do so which made it even more fun.

Once we made it to the 'scrapbooking' isle, we got down and dirty with the details. For those of you who have never been to Hobby Lobby (I find that hard to believe) there are at least 4 long isles of every type of paper you can think of.

First, John and I were looking at our options with cardstock. We found our wedding colors and started planning how we could design the invitations. I looked up and noticed that all the individually sold sheets were on sale for 50% off. On the other side of the isle were packs of cardstock that were regular price. Thanks to a customer, I was informed that Hobby Lobby had an online coupon for 40% off regular priced items. She seemed pleased at our reaction and went on to do her shopping.

John and I sat in the middle of the isle like children looking at all of our different choices laid out on the floor. We had shades of blue, brown, white, black, you name it! We finally narrowed it down to a few choices. Another woman walked up and asked what we were trying to make. I informed her that we were designing our wedding invitations together and she immediately got excited. She then sparked another idea into our heads--vellum paper. I don't know why I didn't think of this. I love vellum! It looks very classy yet simple.

We made our way down to the wedding section and both got very distracted. Unity candles, party favors, isle runners, veils, toasters, everything! This really made John and I step back and look at what is happening. We are planning our wedding TOGETHER the way best friends would. Both enjoying our time and loving each other even more.

We then decided to get back to business and ask an associate where we could find vellum. She took us back to the wedding section and handed us a packet of white vellum paper.

Once again, we went back to where the cardstock was located. Only this time, we found more vellum paper! Single sheets of every color, including our baby blue shade we chose for the wedding. After laying out more and more options, we finally decided to have a white cardstock background, baby blue vellum paper with chocolate brown ink and a brown bow at the top just to add a final touch. After picking out the vellum, our cardstock for the invitations and the response cards, as well as enough ribbon for 60 invitations we were ready to check out.

We left Hobby Lobby with a total of $25. Now all we have to do is print them! We have the option of using a professional printing company like UPS or doing it at home. Even if we add in the cost of ink, we are getting by with less than $1 per invitation. That sure beats spending $200 on invitations that looked horrible! By doing this ourselves, we will be saving close to $140 AND we got to have a wonderful time enjoying eachother's company.

Here are some examples: 

The blue background on the invitation will be the baby blue vellum paper. The vellum sheet will be placed on white cardstock and tied off with a chocolate brown bow at the top.

Once we get to putting it all together, I will provide a photo tutorial to help you if you chose this option as well.

Once again, here is the link that I used for these fabulous templates:

http://www.weddingchicks.com/freebies/

Happy planning!

Do It Yourself Wedding Invitations, RSVP Cards, Table Numbers and Programs

I know that a few posts back I said that John and I chose our invitations and that I was keeping them a secret. Truth is I ordered a sample from invitationsbydavidsbridal.com and absolutely HATED them. They looked like something I could do with my eyes closed. There is no way I would spend $200 on invitations that I could do myself for free.

So then it hit me. John and I started to talk about designing our own and printing them at the closest print store. I have to admit, John is one-upping me with this wedding planning stuff. First the flowers, now this? I thought this idea of printing our invitations would be terrible and cheap looking.
I started to look online to try and find ideas on how to make your own wedding invitations.

Honestly, it looks like if you don't have Photoshop, you're invitations won't really come out the way you want. Good news is, I found a website with some REALLY cute free wedding templates!
You choose your design, enter your information and done! Click 'print' and it will save to your computer so that you can access your design easily and take it to your print store.

http://www.weddingchicks.com/freebies/invitation-suites/ 

They not only have invitation templates but RSVPs, Thank You's, Menus, Programs, and Table Numbers. I got really excited about this and I can't even image how happy my findings made John. That only makes this more of a win. Here are some examples of the templates I made!

This first example is not really my style but it could be cute!

This second template is our FAVORITE. Pretty sure we will use this:

This next one is more of a casual version than my favorite:

Here is a rough draft of our wedding program:

 Table Number Template:

 

And here is an example of our RSVP:

 

We are going to definitely play up the baby blue! We will put the invitations in a chocolate brown envelope and send a couple of copies of our engagement pictures.

In case you didn't find a template you were looking for, here are a couple of other sites that may help you.

http://www.weddingchicks.com/freebies/

http://squirrlyplanning.weebly.com/invitations.html

http://squirrlyplanning.weebly.com/programs.html

http://squirrlyplanning.weebly.com/paper.html

http://www.ayleebits.com/templates.htm

http://brideonbudget.blogspot.com/2010/02/free-wedding-templates.html

http://designbetty.com/card/template_wedding_invitation_announcement__p1_ippAll

Hope you enjoy! These sites should keep you busy for a while. I can't even begin to tell you how long I've been sitting infront of this computer. It is really interesting to see what is offered online to make your wedding exactly how you envisioned it.

A Bride-To-Be Crazy Calendar

I thought this was way too cute not to share. Thanks to Pinterest!

Someone PLEASE keep me sane during the last month, I don't want my calendar to look like this!

I Am My Bridesmaid's Bridesmaid

Clarissa is my roommate, my co-worker, my friend, my bridesmaid and a bride!
She will be getting married a little less than a month after me on April 6th.

The fun thing about this is she is one of my bridesmaids and I am one of her bridesmaids! I was really excited to be asked to be in her wedding being that we would both be going through wedding details at the same time.

Originally, Clarissa and her other bridesmaids were supposed to go bridesmaids dress shopping with me and my other bridesmaids but since it was extremely hard to get everyone together, we decided to go on separate days.

I took my girls shopping back in August and Clarissa took me and her other girls, MaryBeth and Christin, shopping last weekend.

We got up around 8:30 to hit the road around 9:30.
Our first appointment was at Brickhouse Bridal in the Woodlands. I really can't say I was impressed with this place. There were a lot of selections but the service was terrible and everything was way overpriced. Our consultant really didn't help at all. She didn't ask questions, help with selections, or give an opinion. She literally just stood to the side and took our dresses when we were finished trying them on without saying a word. We found a couple of dresses that we liked. However, they didn't have the color Clarissa had in mind and the cheapest dress we could find was over $200.

Obviously, we were ready to move on to our next appointment.


It was only 12 and our next appointment wasn't until 2. We drove the whole 12 miles down to David's Bridal just so we knew where we would have to be in 2 hours. We found a little Mexican restaurant and decided to go in and get some Margaritas. Christin and I ordered the house Margaritas and holy cow were they strong! I'm pretty sure I was handed a margarita glass filled with Tequila and one lime. Good thing I had 2 hours to finish it.

Our experience at David's Bridal was really positive. I bought my wedding dress at a David's Bridal in Austin and had wonderful service so I wasn't surprised to have good service here as well. It was extremely busy but our consultant made every effort to make sure she helped as much as possible. And her assistance was in addition to several other appointments she had at the time. We had 2 dresses we really like. One was a sweetheart chiffon dress and one was a sweetheart satin dress.

We agreed that we would visit our last appointment at Alfred Angelo before we made our decision although we were pretty sure it would be one of those two.

We drove a couple of miles to Alfred Angelo. When we first walked in, they were extremely nice. We told our consultant what we were looking for and she went to grab some samples while we sat and watched a bride try on different gowns.

It is safe to say that the short dress selection was awful. We tried on ONE dress we would even consider and even then, it was just boring. And don't even get me started on the other dresses she brought. Not to mention, she seemed very dissatisfied with us, even before we stated we didn't like the dresses.

So we went back to David's Bridal and put in our order!
Here is the style we purchased (but imagine the dresses grey):

After we picked these dresses and decided on the shade of grey, we moved over to the shoes! Everyone that knows me knows that I absolutely LOVE shoes.

We agreed on a yellow shade since Clarissa's wedding colors are grey and yellow. Our shoes will match our yellow orchid bouquets.

Picking The Perfect Wedding Cake

Ok. So maybe I am going a bit overboard with the posts today. But it's not like I have 2 years anymore.

John and I have picked our wedding cake! Can't say this was a hard decision. We both wanted something more on the simple side. Let's face it, some of these wedding cakes are CRAZY.
For example:

Pretty sure we can see who will wear the pants in THAT relationship. I mean seriously. How full of yourself do you have to be to have a life-size cake version of yourself?

After looking through numerous cake magazines, we found one that is simple and very precious. We both like it a lot, although we are probably going to have 3 tiers instead of 4 as shown.

 

I absolutely love the bows! It adds a little something to the cake but not so much that it would look so busy. However, the bows will not be that color; they will be closer to this.

 

My friend Jessica and I will be making this cake sometime in the next few weeks as a practice run. Mainly to see how much it will cost for ingredients and how much time she will need to make the cake the day before the wedding. I know I said a while back that we were going to do that and we never did but this is different because we have actually chosen a cake to bake!

Picking The Wedding Flowers

It will be time to meet with the florist soon. We aren't for sure yet whether we are using our family friend Sandy or if we will use a company. Either way, we will have gorgeous flowers.

I was browsing around on Google Images to see what flowers might go well with my our color scheme.
I was looking at yellow flowers until John came and looked over my shoulder and made a dissatisfied noise. I then asked him what he was thinking and he said to do blue flowers. Not going to lie, blue flowers with blue dresses and blue napkins seemed a bit much, not to mention the blue flowers I have seen in my life weren't attractive to say the least.

Since we want orchids for the wedding, I decided to search 'blue orchids'. Honestly, I did not even know these flowers existed but let's just say John will have one happy wife if he brings these home to me.

Here are some blue orchid ideas for our center pieces:

Bridal bouquets:

Here is what me and the bridesmaids would look like (kind of):

Here is what our dessert table will look like (minus the giant twig things):

Ideas for our centerpieces:

 

 

This last picture is probably my favorite!

After looking at these examples, I really like the hints of purple and turquoise!
I e-mailed Sandy to see what prices would look like and if she would be able to do it.

I can't wait! 

Here are some links so you can check them out yourself:

http://www.pekinflowers.com/flowers/weddings/pfweddings01.jpg
http://www.mustloveweddings.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11049
http://kiokreations.com/2010/08/purple-and-blue-blooms-at-riverside-receptions/
 

Engagement Pictures

Engagement pictures are finally here! Shannon has finished our wedding website and now filling it out is up to us. I am so excited with the way these pictures turned out and unbelievably blessed that Shannon would do this for us.

There are more pictures at our website which you can now check out at:
http://johnandtina.captivatingweddings.com/

They are also available on Shannon's wedding blog:
http://austin-photographers.com/?p=280

John and Tina are two people that know how to have fun. I know these two very well considering John is my cousin. A key feature for good life style photography is good subjects. What makes a good subject in any type of wedding photography, is the clients ability to interact with each other. John and Tina are obviously in love. This shows through their ability to laugh, banter, and be intimate no matter the setting. I believe the greatest person to marry is your best friend. John and Tina are just  that; best friends. I cannot wait to attend their wedding! It will be a joyous occasion.
                             -Shannon Vandivier

I think it is safe to say I'm living my happily ever after.

Customizing Your Big Day

Obviously, your wedding day is about you marrying that one person you know you want to spend your life with. John and I wanted this day to be both special and memorable to us. Having a priest that I have never met before marry us at the front of the church hardly seems like that would grasp the relationship that John and I have with one another. A huge part of who we are today came from the way we were raised by our families to know and love Christ. You stop and look at the big picture and realize that John's family is protestant and my family is Catholic. To a lot of people, this seems like it would cause arguing, fighting, and eventually either the bride or the groom giving in to which church they will get married in. Anyone who knows me and John know that we are both stubborn but we want to do what will make the other one happy. Not to mention just "giving in" does not fit into either of our vocabulary. This is where we had our idea to customize our big day but combining our backgrounds.

Growing up in two beautiful but different churches, we wanted to take pride in how we have grown in our faith and proudly show where we came from. After online research and talking to my mother (who has had a Catholic wedding and been to several), we chose what is important to the Catholic faith and then researched what is important in the Protestant, or in this case United Methodist faith. We were able to sit down together and plan out how we want our ceremony. Surprisingly, it is still traditional. However, this is obviously a John and Tina wedding.

My point is this is your day. Who says you have to do everything that everyone else has always done? What is special to you and your husband to be? Once you answer that question, plan your wedding together and make it special for you because this is the start of your lives together.

Here is the structure of our Catholic United Methodist Ceremony:

The ceremony will start at 4pm. The altar ends facing the lake and all of our closest family and friends will be seated waiting for everything to begin. While everyone is coming in to take their seats, there will be an instrumental that will be very soft and classical.
The first to walk down the isle will be the grandparents of both the bride and the groom. When they reach the altar, they will take their seats in the front row. John and his groomsmen will be waiting at the beginning of the isle. This way John is not alone at the altar and my bridesmaids will still be escorted down the isle.
The next to come down the isle will be John's parents. They will walk through the doors of the Villa and escort John down to the altar. Once they have reached the altar, the Vandiviers will walk to the Unity candle and John will remain standing next to the minister and the priest.
They will be followed by my mom who will be escorted by my brother. My brother will take his seat in the front row with John's siblings while my mom joins John's parents at the candle.
Next, my bridesmaids will enter and will be greeted at the beginning of the isle by John's groomsmen and then escorted to the altar where they will stand with John and I as we get married.
Of course, the next person to walk down the isle will be me and I will be escorted by my father. Once my father gives me away he will join my mother and John's parents and they will light the family candles.

Brad Slaten, the United Methodist Minister, will do the opening prayer.
Brad has been apart of both mine and John's youth. He was our youth pastor at Wellspring and he is also the man who baptized John when he was in high school. To me this seemed more personal to the both of us.

Father Kinsel, the Catholic Priest, will then introduce my Maid of Honor to do the Old Testament Reading.
Father Kinsel is a friend of my dad's. He knows our family and has become good friends with my dad over the past couple of years.
After Stacey does the first reading, John's Best Man will be introduced to read the a reading from the New Testament.

Typically, in a Catholic wedding they do 2 readings, a gospel and then a sermon. John and I decided to have Father Kinsel give a 5 minute sermon including the gospel he feels relates to the ceremony and then Brad Slaten will also give a 5 minute sermon including the gospel he feels relates to the ceremony. This way we are incorporating both denominations into our wedding.

Brad will then give us the invitation to exchange the vows we have written ourselves for the other person.
Father Kinsel will then give the blessing and begin the exchanging of the rings which will end in "I now pronounce you husband and wife, you may kiss your bride".

This will lead the guests into cocktail hour where hors d'oeuvres will be served, wine and beer will be available, music will play and guests will mingle while the bride and groom take pictures.

The rest is traditional from there. We will dance the night away and live happily ever after.

Planning, Pictures, Excitement OH MY!

It is officially September and we have 6 months to go. Here it is guys, the half year mark. Can you believe it?
Over a year and a half ago, John and I got engaged. After setting our time frame, I never thought the wedding could be so close.
These past couple of days have been busy and a lot of changes have been made. For one, John and I have decided to no longer get married in the Catholic Church but the Villas instead. Being that we have different backgrounds in terms of what churches we were raised in, we thought that we should combine our faith and unite not only our families, but build a bridge that makes the bond between Catholics and Protestants stronger. After all, we are all Christians who believe the same thing. We just get fed a different way. How will they combine a Catholic wedding with an United Methodist wedding you ask? Well, that you will just have to read in my next post and of course I will walk you through the details of our customized ceremony.
Also, we picked out our invitations! They are beautiful yet a surprise. Partially because I feel that showing the sample isn't as fun as the real thing. Not to mention, our engagement pictures are still in the process of being edited.
Which reminds me, 3 weeks ago John and I had our engagement pictures taken by Shannon Vandivier. I am so anxious to see how they turned out and absolutely cannot wait to share them with you.
Another cool thing about that is Shannon will be designing a website specifically for our wedding. The website will have all of our engagement pictures for everyone to see and order if they wish. We will also post our invitations, directions to get to the Villas, hotels in the area for out of town guests, information about the rehearsal dinner, and even our registry will be available on this website! Our registry will consist of three things: an online store that is easily accessible to all members of the family if they feel a gift is needed, a PayPal account if they wish to give the gift of money, or they may give money to a travel agency to help with activities that John and I would like to do while on our beautiful honeymoon in Cancun. We will also provide a wine survey to get a majority vote of what types of wine people would prefer with dinner. The cool thing about this is that there will be a link similar to a guest book where guests can leave posts on our website homepage. If you have not already booked your photographer, asking them about a wedding website maybe a very good idea. Luckily, John and I are receiving this website and the engagement pictures as a gift.

Another good thing is being that the wedding is sneaking up and getting close, I have a entire page dedicated to posts that I am so excited about.

Honeymoon Booked

John and I were blessed with the opportunity to come home over the long weekend and work over wedding details before school gets crazy.
Being that I am now FINALLY 21, I was able to meet up with Casa Blanca Travel Agency here in Georgetown and set our desired travel dates to Cancun.

I walked in and she immediately remembered me as the winner from the Georgetown Bridal Show back in February. This was really surprising to me especially because I had never called to let her know I was coming.
I sat down in front of her and we started talking about the relationship I have with John and how winning our honeymoon was such an enormous blessing. She was sad to tell me that the whole month of March is considered black out for travel due to the high volume of "spring breakers" that travel that month.
I was not surprised at her telling me this and she was glad to know John and I had already planned to go in May when we have both graduated.

So it's set! John and I will be taking our honeymoon in paradise at the beginning of May!

I am happy to say that in 8 months, this is where John and I will be. 









Not to mention, our engagement photographer will be making a website for our wedding. It will consist of all the engagement pictures, wedding details, directions, everything! Yes everything. Including the registry! If you just feel that John and I need scuba lessons, you can visit the website once it is finished.


"A good love is delicious because you can't get enough too soon."  --Anonymous 

Happy Bride Happy Bridesmaids

Today was the day that made this event even more real. I can't believe how quickly everything is coming up. 3 months ago, I had a day trip planned with my closest girls to find their dress. How crazy is it to think that I have only 7 months to go? I can say now that I am reaching that stage where I am thinking nonstop at night about flowers, djs, photography, and that I am going to be married in less than a year! Last night was probably one of the worst. I did not get any sleep. I feel like a 5 year old on Christmas Eve waiting for Santa to come with the presents.

8 o'clock finally rolled around and I got myself out of bed. I let the girls know to be ready at 8:30 because we had to take 1960. I don't know how many of you are familiar with Houston but 1960 has got to be THE worst when it comes to traffic lights. Don't even get me started.

We reached Alfred Angelo at 9:55 for an appointment at 10.

Walking in, I already felt excited. I knew we were going to find their dresses today and that they would be gorgeous.

We were greeted by a woman who seemed surprised to see us all with big smiles on our face. Apparently, she never has a hard time picking out the bride because she is smiling but all of us were. That comment made my day. Not only was I extremely happy but so were my girls. We talked a little about styles and their personalities, of course Clarissa was described as the "blunt" one you find in every group.

The appointment was off to a quick start but I wasn't complaining. She brought us a few strapless sweetheart dresses made of Chiffon. There were 2 dresses that stood out to us. One was a beautiful one shoulder, floor-length dress that looked flattering on all of them. It was a little over budget but we agreed to keep it in mind. The next one was a strapless Chiffon dress with a ruched bodess.

The girls really seemed to like this one, even more than the first dress they tried on. Of course, there were a couple in between that we just won't mention.Once again, this dress was beautiful on the girls but over budget. We decided that $150 was a reasonable budget when taking into consideration that there will be alterations, accessories and other expenses. This dress was $180.

Next, we decided to try on satin dresses because they would match my wedding gown. Honestly, I wasn't too hopeful with this one but turns out, I was surprised.

They tried on a satin gown with a sweetheart neckline and simple beading. All of us agreed that this dress was beautiful but would look better had there not been as much poof. The consultant informed us that we could take the tulle out so that the dress would lay a little flatter. However, this dress was $200.

Being that we liked this dress, we asked if we could find a similar outline but without the extra fabric underneath. This brought out our winner. A satin gown, sweetheart neckline, slimming, elegant and simple. The best part is it was under budget. We had all sorts of ideas for accessories!

 

Next, we picked the colors. For the bridesmaids we chose "Blue Box" and for Stacey we chose "Beyond The Sea". The dresses should arrive in a few weeks and I am so excited to see the fit and color all together on these wonderful ladies!

Of course, when we are called to pick up the dresses I will be sure to take pictures and share my joy.

Nothing but heaven itself is better than a friend who is really a friend. - Plautus

Sam Moon Trip: Accessories

I mentioned in my previous post that I would be posting about my trip to Sam Moon. As you know, my mom and grandma came down to visit me. After our long day of shopping, we decided to head over to Sam Moon to pick out fabulous accessories to go with our purchases. I wasn't exactly looking for anything but every shopper knows that's the best time to go.

I walked up to a glass case because everything that sparkles catches my eye within a matter of seconds. I looked down and found the most gorgeous head piece. I immediately imagined myself with a beautiful veil attached to this head piece. Once this flashed through my head, I had to have it.

I asked for assistance and a very sweet lady held it in a box for me to pick up once I was ready to purchase. I walked around a little bit longer to find the perfect necklace and earrings for my dress. And what's even better, it matched my head piece as well. How lucky can I possibly be? I have the perfect man, the perfect dress, the perfect location, and now the perfect accessories.

I cannot wait to be walking down that isle towards my best friend and love of my life. 7 months and 7 days away.

All I can say at this point is I'm blessed.

Full Day Of Shopping

So let's start off by saying I've had a good week. Today one of my close friends/bridesmaid is turning 21. Last night we had an ABC party for her and I truly believe everyone had a good time.

A few days before this event, my grandmother and my mom came on down to see me. We hit up The Woodlands mall, Willowbrook Mall, Alfred Angelo, Panache Bridal, and who knows what else. We got up at 9am to hit the road and arrived back home at 8:30pm.

Our first stop was the Woodlands. We shopped around Dillards, Macys, Bridal and Formal Wear, and several other smaller stores that looked to be on the nicer side. My mom had decided that she would like to wear a floor-length gown. Looking around Macys, my mom found a beautiful taffeta gown. She tried it on and all 3 of us agreed that the fabric was flattering on her, but the neckline did nothing for her. We moved on to Dillards and found an Alex Evenings dress that was the same style, only a dark shade of brown (almost on the copper side) but had a beautiful v neckline. We all that this gown did wonders for my mom, but it was too big so she decided to order it online. Mom found her wedding day gown, check!

I found a dress to wear for the rehearsal dinner but I think I will just wait for the price to drop just a little bit. I don't know who Adrianna Papell is, but her dresses are gorgeous.

Next, we decided to head further South to hit up Panache Bridal off Highway 66. Let me tell you, our first sign should have been that it was next to a pawn shop. We walked in to no greetings, no assistance, and poorly made dresses. We headed over to what looked like mother-of-the-bride gowns only to find that there was no such thing as a fine line between frumpy and sleazy. When we did come across a gown that might have looked decent, the fabric was torn and the dress was well over budget. Still with no assistance, we left. I'm pretty sure they didn't notice we were even there, or maybe they did.

We drove maybe half a mile to come across Alfred Angelo. Their mother and grandmother of the bride dresses were nothing special either. However, I spotted the bridesmaids section and decided to make an appointment next weekend. Once the woman noticed we were into more than "just browsing" she helped us with making the appointment and picking out a color that would be a couple of shades darker for my lovely maid of honor to wear. All in all, I was pleased and very excited for bridesmaid dress shopping on Saturday! (Which of course I will keep you posted). Bridesmaid dress prep, check!

Next, we went over to Willowbrook Mall. I was impressed. I had never been to this mall before but I think I will be making a second trip soon. We went straight into Dillards in hopes of finding that gown in a smaller size but turns out they didn't even carry that dress. Good news is, she tried on a very flattering knee length dress that she could easily wear to the rehearsal dinner. Mom's rehearsal dinner dress, check!

 It looks WAY better on my mom, just saying.

My grandma knew what color she wanted to wear and decided she has a dress at home that would be perfect for the occasion. I was so glad to have had her come and see me. Not to mention, she should get an infinite amount of credit for lasting through me and my mom's shopping addiction.

Last stop before dinner was Sam Moon. I won't go into too much detail on this stop only because I plan on writing a whole separate piece for this. Let's just say I found something special for the big day.

Finally, it was time for dinner. Of course, I had to take them to my favorite place probably in all of the Houston area, Wild Ginger. My mom and I ordered several rolls of sushi and my grandmother order shrimp, but I think the three of us know "shrimp" was an understatement. This had to have been the biggest plate of shrimp I have ever seen but it looked delicious.

The next couple of weeks are going to be pretty busy. Bridesmaid dress shopping is on the 11, engagement pictures (finally) will be done by Shannon Vandivier on the 14th, I will be talking to the florist soon to go over ideas for wedding day decorations, and hopefully John and I will be sitting down for some taste testing with Ralph's catering business soon. I love it when things are moving. This day is getting closer and closer and no one can even imagine my excitement.
 

Love is a symbol of eternity.  It wipes out all sense of time, destroying all memory of a beginning and all fear of an end.  ~Author Unknown

All About The Shoes

I don't how I could forget. While we were in Pennsylvania, my grandmother decided she would like to make a contribution to the wedding by purchasing the perfect shoes for my dress. Here comes the 'but'. I found two and couldn't decide. Her response was "get both". This just left me in a dilemma that every shoe lover has nightmares about. Which pair do I wear on our big day?

Catching Up

Well hey all you wedding people. It has been a while. I have not had a computer since mine decided it hated me. What have I done recently that hasn't hit the web?

John, myself and my parents took a trip up the Pennsylvania for a family reunion and a wedding. He got to meet the whole gang, weird ones and all. He survived and walked away loving my family even more. What else can I ask for? Anyways, as you know, my family is Catholic. He got to attend his first catholic wedding! We were observant and looked at things we want to do the same and what we want to do differently. We are still debating whether or not we want to use the venue or the church. Both would be beautiful, but what is better? I dont know, just another journey.

Within the next couple of weeks, I will be arranging meetings with a florist and a photographer. Luckily, we have friends in those areas and will FINALLY be taking engagement pictures. I think a 15 month engagement deserves some engagement pictures!

Lastly, I added a new bridesmaid to my bunch named Allison. This now makes four and I am really pumped about this one. Picking bridesmaids can be hard. I'm going through a bit of a difficult time being that I have the suspicion that one of my ladies doesn't like John. I could be wrong, but just the thought upsets me. What would you do in my situation? I guess I'll do a poll or something to see what should happen in my situation.

I know this was short but it's only because I'm saving the juicy stuff for later.

“When I saw you I fell in love, and you smiled because you knew." -Shakespeare