Well friends and family, this is it. We are down to the final 20 days. I am starting to get excited! People keep asking me if I'm nervous, but why would I be? It's not like after dating Jason for 3.5 years I'm all of a sudden going to realize I hate him. Does that really happen to people? Well, I mean people in real life (*ahem* Burke and Christina!)
Though I'm starting to get a little busier putting together last minute things, I think going through everything, packing it up, labeling it and writing specific detailed instructions helps me double check that everything is in order. It also helps me de-stress, believe it or not. Our dining room is beginning to get piled up with boxes, which is a good feeling to see all the crap that won't be returning with us (well most of it won't at least.) I have a few little projects left to tackle, but if I don't get to them it's not a big deal.
This week we move into Danielle's house to house sit for her while her and Thomas are vacationing in Florida. While it will be nice to play house for 10 days, it kind of puts a damper on organizing wedding stuff in my spare time. So that's why I'm trying to take care of so much of it today and will continue chugging away tomorrow after work. I'm taking everything out, setting it up on our dining table, taking a digital photo of how it should look, and including that photo in the box to make sure when Jason and the boys set up, they can zoom through things instead of worrying what to do. As it is, Jason has banned me from seeing the reception room on the day of the wedding, so when we get announced and enter the reception, don't be surprised if I'm paying more attention to decorations than to you all. That will quickly pass!
On another note, RSVPs are due this Friday. I was hoping to get them all in by now, but it's my fault for making the date so late in the timeline. There's a very slight chance that we might be able to get away without a seating chart, but only if everyone we haven't heard from is a no. My biggest fear is that we would have enough seats for everyone, but somehow there would wind up being a single empty seat at each of the tables, and a dozen people without seats. We will see what happens Friday (ok really, we will see what happens Sunday when I call everyone I didn't hear from - I know it's going to happen because people these days don't bother to RSVP!)
I need to get my dress cleaned. I need to choose which bridal portrait to blow up to display at the reception (my sister and I have narrowed it down to two, now to make a final decision.) I need to drop the cake topper off with our baker. And I need to rob a bank to scrounge up the rest of the money to pay off the caterer and DJ and pastor, who all take cash or check only. Oh, and I need to pack for the honeymoon! In the meantime I'm house sitting, spending next weekend in Lubbock (be there bitches!) and attending the renewal of vows of Jason's aunt and uncle. Oh, and I have to clean the apartment so when we get back from the honeymoon it will be nice and tidy (with gifts piled everywhere, which will make it seem like a wreck.)
Thank God I took off the week before the wedding!
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Smile for the camera
Yesterday I had my bridal portraits done. I want to say a huge thank you to my mommy who made the trip up from Houston to be there with me. Larry did take a few of us together at the end, and I can't wait to see how they all turn out!
One really nice thing about yesterday was that it was a sort of dress rehearsal for the big day. I have to say that I felt very pretty in my complete bridal outfit, but there will be some changes made with regards to scheduling, that's for sure. We started out a little late which shouldn't have been a problem, but everything took longer that it should have, and we got stuck in major traffic, so we wound up being almost 30 minutes late to the Japanese Gardens. In the end, we only lost about 15 minutes because we took some pictures after the gardens had closed, right outside the gift shop, where we were technically not in the gardens but in an area that still had a little bench and a waterfall and such. Thanks to Larry and Jill for staying a little late and waiting on our late butts.
The biggest issue of the day were the flowers. I went to pick them up from the florist, and they pulled this dusty pink and light purple bouquet out of the cooler. I was like um that's not mine but it had my name on it. Lucky for me they really wanted me to be happy, so they literally took apart the entire thing and I dug through their flower supplies in the back to show them exactly what I was going for. I'm still not sure where they got that pink was one of my wedding colors, or how they went so wrong considering I had multiple meetings with them, we specified exact flowers and colors, and I even brought lots of pictures to illustrate what I couldn't describe in words. Not to mention we have a contract that explicitly states all of that. They did manage to fix it though, and it looked fabulous. I took lots of pictures of the new bouquet and plan on sending them in to make sure that we don't have an issue like this on the wedding day (they'll be delivering the flowers to the Abbey, so we won't have the luxury of a fully stocked shop to fall back on. They kind of get one shot at it next time.)
All in all, the experience was positive. Now I can't wait to see how they all turn out! Sorry guys, you won't get to see them until after the wedding. A girl's gotta have some secrets! How else do I make you all breathless at the sight of my beauty on the big day?!
One really nice thing about yesterday was that it was a sort of dress rehearsal for the big day. I have to say that I felt very pretty in my complete bridal outfit, but there will be some changes made with regards to scheduling, that's for sure. We started out a little late which shouldn't have been a problem, but everything took longer that it should have, and we got stuck in major traffic, so we wound up being almost 30 minutes late to the Japanese Gardens. In the end, we only lost about 15 minutes because we took some pictures after the gardens had closed, right outside the gift shop, where we were technically not in the gardens but in an area that still had a little bench and a waterfall and such. Thanks to Larry and Jill for staying a little late and waiting on our late butts.
The biggest issue of the day were the flowers. I went to pick them up from the florist, and they pulled this dusty pink and light purple bouquet out of the cooler. I was like um that's not mine but it had my name on it. Lucky for me they really wanted me to be happy, so they literally took apart the entire thing and I dug through their flower supplies in the back to show them exactly what I was going for. I'm still not sure where they got that pink was one of my wedding colors, or how they went so wrong considering I had multiple meetings with them, we specified exact flowers and colors, and I even brought lots of pictures to illustrate what I couldn't describe in words. Not to mention we have a contract that explicitly states all of that. They did manage to fix it though, and it looked fabulous. I took lots of pictures of the new bouquet and plan on sending them in to make sure that we don't have an issue like this on the wedding day (they'll be delivering the flowers to the Abbey, so we won't have the luxury of a fully stocked shop to fall back on. They kind of get one shot at it next time.)
All in all, the experience was positive. Now I can't wait to see how they all turn out! Sorry guys, you won't get to see them until after the wedding. A girl's gotta have some secrets! How else do I make you all breathless at the sight of my beauty on the big day?!
Thursday, September 20, 2007
The race is on
Well, friends, guess what. It's exactly one month until the wedding. People keep asking me if I'm nervous, and honestly I'm not. What's there to be nervous about? Emotions that I am feeling are excitement, anxiousness and impatience. I am so excited that Jason and I are taking the next step in our relationship and starting our own family. I'm anxious to see how many guests we will have on our special day, and I'm impatient because I want it to be here already!
Last night I sat in the living room watching Bridezillas and putting together stuff for the reception. Maybe it's just that I don't have ridiculous expectations, but people like that always make me wonder "why is he marrying her if she calls herself a princess and only cares for herself?" Seriously, the wedding I watched last night involved a glass slipper carried in on a pillow, a dramatic reenactment of the groom trying the slipper on all the wrong feet (a la the bridesmaids) and a trumpet bray as he finally made a connection with his Cinderella!
My mommy will be here tomorrow because I am meeting with the wonderful couple Jill and Larry of Larry Reynolds Photography for my bridal portraits! Yesterday I took my dress out of its garment bag, hung it up, gave it a good once-over with the iron, and blocked the room off from all directions so Jason can't enter. I even hung signs that say the penalty for peeking is death! In all serious though, I'm proud to say Jason has never even hinted at peeking. He knows how much it means to me and so he's doing his part to avert his eyes until the wedding day.
Now I'm down to working on the last-minute details - tying ribbon on the ceremony programs, creating a checklist, drawing up a master timeline of the day, and fudging a seating chart (hard to do when you have less than half the RSVPs - please send them back to me NOW! No really, I'll wait while you go to your mailbox...)
Yesterday I confirmed and paid for the rehearsal dinner. I met with a piercer who helped me take the bar out of my industrial in favor of clear retainers so the piercings won't show in pictures. Having previously booked our dolphin swim in Cozumel, I am now awaiting some transactions to go through at the bank so my poor self can book and pay for our zipline tour in Jamaica and our private charter in Grand Cayman. Then the cruise will be taken care of, except for packing!
I'm still trying to stay on top of everything so my last week as a single gal can be spent having fun with friends and family instead of working out things that could have already been done. At this point it's all in the details. Anything that doesn't get resolved or pan out won't really matter to me because it won't affect the wedding as a whole. Now we are working on sprucing things up to make what we have nicer. Sometimes I fantasize about what I would do differently if I could get all my money back and start from scratch. I know it's not productive, but it's all the more incentive to stay together for the purpose of implementing my other ideas into our 50th wedding anniversary extravaganza!!! Not that we need something like that to keep our marriage together though...
Tomorrow I will get to see what my bouquet will look like for the first time. I'm going in early, so anything I don't like can be fixed and I can have it just like the vision in my head (however faint it may be.) Then it's off to get my hair done like I did during the trial, but this time she will do my makeup as well, which we didn't have time to do last time. It will be the first time I see the entire look put together from the veil to the shoes. I'm excited my mom will be here, I'm excited to see how I mesh with our photographers, I'm excited to head out to the beautiful Japanese Gardens again, and I'm excited to soak up a few bridal moments before it all goes back where it came from for a few weeks. I guess you could say this will by my dress rehearsal. A time to figure out any problems that might arise and how to combat them. Bring it on!
Sorry this is so long. I'm obviously excited about everything that's coming together! Pretty soon we will be seeing all of you all dressed up and looking lovely :)
Kisses to all!
Last night I sat in the living room watching Bridezillas and putting together stuff for the reception. Maybe it's just that I don't have ridiculous expectations, but people like that always make me wonder "why is he marrying her if she calls herself a princess and only cares for herself?" Seriously, the wedding I watched last night involved a glass slipper carried in on a pillow, a dramatic reenactment of the groom trying the slipper on all the wrong feet (a la the bridesmaids) and a trumpet bray as he finally made a connection with his Cinderella!
My mommy will be here tomorrow because I am meeting with the wonderful couple Jill and Larry of Larry Reynolds Photography for my bridal portraits! Yesterday I took my dress out of its garment bag, hung it up, gave it a good once-over with the iron, and blocked the room off from all directions so Jason can't enter. I even hung signs that say the penalty for peeking is death! In all serious though, I'm proud to say Jason has never even hinted at peeking. He knows how much it means to me and so he's doing his part to avert his eyes until the wedding day.
Now I'm down to working on the last-minute details - tying ribbon on the ceremony programs, creating a checklist, drawing up a master timeline of the day, and fudging a seating chart (hard to do when you have less than half the RSVPs - please send them back to me NOW! No really, I'll wait while you go to your mailbox...)
Yesterday I confirmed and paid for the rehearsal dinner. I met with a piercer who helped me take the bar out of my industrial in favor of clear retainers so the piercings won't show in pictures. Having previously booked our dolphin swim in Cozumel, I am now awaiting some transactions to go through at the bank so my poor self can book and pay for our zipline tour in Jamaica and our private charter in Grand Cayman. Then the cruise will be taken care of, except for packing!
I'm still trying to stay on top of everything so my last week as a single gal can be spent having fun with friends and family instead of working out things that could have already been done. At this point it's all in the details. Anything that doesn't get resolved or pan out won't really matter to me because it won't affect the wedding as a whole. Now we are working on sprucing things up to make what we have nicer. Sometimes I fantasize about what I would do differently if I could get all my money back and start from scratch. I know it's not productive, but it's all the more incentive to stay together for the purpose of implementing my other ideas into our 50th wedding anniversary extravaganza!!! Not that we need something like that to keep our marriage together though...
Tomorrow I will get to see what my bouquet will look like for the first time. I'm going in early, so anything I don't like can be fixed and I can have it just like the vision in my head (however faint it may be.) Then it's off to get my hair done like I did during the trial, but this time she will do my makeup as well, which we didn't have time to do last time. It will be the first time I see the entire look put together from the veil to the shoes. I'm excited my mom will be here, I'm excited to see how I mesh with our photographers, I'm excited to head out to the beautiful Japanese Gardens again, and I'm excited to soak up a few bridal moments before it all goes back where it came from for a few weeks. I guess you could say this will by my dress rehearsal. A time to figure out any problems that might arise and how to combat them. Bring it on!
Sorry this is so long. I'm obviously excited about everything that's coming together! Pretty soon we will be seeing all of you all dressed up and looking lovely :)
Kisses to all!
Friday, September 7, 2007
C. Final answer.
I never really envisioned my wedding as a little girl - now, actually planning it, I don't have any nostalgic memories of elements I want or how anything should be. In the unique "made to order" society that we live in, just about everything can be customized to make it unique. From a myriad of invitations options (paper, vellum, cardstock, embossing, thermography, inks, letterpress, pocketfolds, A7s, etc. etc. etc.) to sensory stimuli (custom lighting, fabric draping, even signature scents) it seems like a no-brainer that no two weddings could possibly be identical.
While all the choices can be really fabulous for those with a vision, for someone like me they can make everything more difficult! It's easy for me to make a decision given two or three options (sit down dinner or buffet, dj or live band) but starting from scratch is so intimidating. I'm stuck at a crossroad between making our wedding unique and keeping it from becoming ridiculous.
Anyway, the point of this rambling post is to preface the fact that I have again changed my mind about wedding cake designs. Yes, we have chosen the shape, size and flavors (again a limited number of options) and will not waver on those, but for some reason what it looks like has been tormenting me. I see a design that I like, pick apart the elements I would change about it, then worry my vision won't all come together right. But fear not! Last night I made an executive decision. Ta dum:
The only change we will be making is the icing color. Imagine it in a deep royal purple. And we are looking for an alternative cake topper since we aren't sure what to think about the flowers.
What do you think?
While all the choices can be really fabulous for those with a vision, for someone like me they can make everything more difficult! It's easy for me to make a decision given two or three options (sit down dinner or buffet, dj or live band) but starting from scratch is so intimidating. I'm stuck at a crossroad between making our wedding unique and keeping it from becoming ridiculous.
Anyway, the point of this rambling post is to preface the fact that I have again changed my mind about wedding cake designs. Yes, we have chosen the shape, size and flavors (again a limited number of options) and will not waver on those, but for some reason what it looks like has been tormenting me. I see a design that I like, pick apart the elements I would change about it, then worry my vision won't all come together right. But fear not! Last night I made an executive decision. Ta dum:
The only change we will be making is the icing color. Imagine it in a deep royal purple. And we are looking for an alternative cake topper since we aren't sure what to think about the flowers.
What do you think?
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Dazzling!
Tonight I started using Crest Whitestrips. They feel really weird, like I have wrapped my teeth in saran wrap. I can't talk or spit while they're on because they shift really easily. So far, 5 minutes down, another 25 to go. I really hope I can continue to use them for the whole time I'm supposed to, because Romie's teeth were so white and pretty when I saw her and she said she's been using them and she likes them. I know my sister had issues with them when she first tried them, like they made her teeth really sensitive so she stopped using them halfway through the kit. Hopefully I'll adjust easier than that. With only 16 days until my bridal portraits, I hope I can at least make my pearlies a few shades whiter. If I like them I think I'll try them again right before the wedding but if not it's no loss since I got this kit free for being a first-time patient at my new dentist's office.
6 minutes down. Has anyone else had good or bad experiences with these?
6 minutes down. Has anyone else had good or bad experiences with these?
Monday, September 3, 2007
I hung out with the pool boy
Holy crap I'm tired. What a fabulous weekend. It started Friday night when Arthur, Romie, Thomas and Allison came to stay with us. It continued Saturday at our wedding shower where we were joined by Chelsea, our parents, Jason's aunts and uncle and grandparents. It continued Sunday though we lost Allison and Chelsea. And it came to a conclusion this afternoon as Arthur, Romie and Thomas headed back.
I can't even begin to describe how overwhelmed we were by the generosity of our friends and family. Not only did Jason's mom and aunt throw us a lovely shower, but we got so many nice and useful shower gifts including lots of stuff to use on the honeymoon!
Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the weekend (more on Facebook). Thanks again to everyone who made it special for me and Jason. We love you all so much and are so glad you are sharing this time with us. We can now say that we are getting married NEXT MONTH!!!
I can't even begin to describe how overwhelmed we were by the generosity of our friends and family. Not only did Jason's mom and aunt throw us a lovely shower, but we got so many nice and useful shower gifts including lots of stuff to use on the honeymoon!
Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the weekend (more on Facebook). Thanks again to everyone who made it special for me and Jason. We love you all so much and are so glad you are sharing this time with us. We can now say that we are getting married NEXT MONTH!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
