Life after the wedding.... the one that hasn't happened yet.

I love party planning. I really, really do. I know that over the years I've changed what I wanted to do...a lot. But... this is something I never SEARCHED for. It just kinda happened. I think it all started with planning my dinner party and helping my sister plan out parents 27th anniversary. Something about the stress, the hustle... it's fun :)
Maybe after awhile me and my groom can talk about me going to school for it or something. sounds weird but yes... there are SCHOOLS for that sorta thing!

On a different note, I'M GOING TO BE IN A WEDDING!! :) my soon-to-be sister-in-law!!! :) she asked me to be her matron-of-honor a few weeks ago and I EAGERLY said yes! :) I'm so excited :) There's at least 2 parties I get to plan!! :D hehehe YAYYYY!!! It'll be neat because their theme and venue and EVERYTHING is completely different from me and my grooms. She's already got A LOT of ideas and even bridesmaids dresses picked out! :) she's makin' me look bad! haha But, I'm extremely excited for her :) and to be in their wedding... I'm so stinkin' honored! :)

well, I just got a new android phone last night so I think I'm going to play with it. Ever since my mom, my aunt, and I made of list of everything we needed for the wedding and found out that it's not so bad... I've been relaxing quite a bit :)

Until next time...

I'm so ready for this to be over.

It finally hit me the other day. Not that I'm moving out, not that I'm losing my name... but the finances. I have way more money going out than I do going in. It's getting me very stressed. I finally had a complete melt down and cried for about 6 hours straight. I just couldn't stop crying. But... It's better now :) my groom did a great job destressing me :)
I got my wedding programs done! Still other details to get done but hey... I'll take what I can get. And $34 for printing off all my programs? TAKE IT! Whoot! Whoot! Now... those dang ribbon wands. They WILL be the death of me. My toe tag will read, "cause of death: ribbons" Ugh. But hey... this saturday, I'm sitting down with my mom and a glue gun on saturday and I'm BUSTING THEM OUT!..... hopefully. :D
I'm also shopping for a blue ring for my right hand. It's sad.. but that's my something blue :) Oh well.. It'll end up having more meaning than just being a blue ring!
And wanna hear a secret? ...Groom... if you're reading... STOP! RIGHT NOW!! I'll find you... :|
anyway... I'm getting him a grooms cake! TOTALLY AWESOME too! And so help me, if anyone who read this, tells him.. I'll find YOU too! so, ZIP IT! :D hehe thanks :) It's going to be totally awesome :)
ok... I'm hot and tired...

Until next time...

Wow...

Has it really been that long? Wow- sorry everyone. Everyone? Who is everyone anyway? Am I writing all this in vain? oh well :)
Well- SO MUCH has changed!!! For starters...THE DATE! We're no longer getting married April 28, 2012. We're now getting married on... *drumroll*.... AUGUST 8TH, 2011!!! Yup yup.. a whole heck of a lot sooner than next April. 89 Days. Oh my gosh O_o .... 89 days. I'm down to double digits and I just left the 90's... holy.crap. But not only that... I bought my dress, which is opposite of what I originally thought I wanted, we've done massive amounts of flower shopping and have yet to settle on a florist, my bridesmaids and I are going dress shopping this weekend, I'm also going suit shopping with my groom and his mom, I bought my wedding shoes, we FINALLY got our contract with the photographer figured out, and we ordered our wedding invitations. :) We were going to make them ourselves but it was WAY too time consuming. So- we found a set we liked online, filled out all the information, and then ordered them :) They should be here any day now... They are seriously perfect.

Hm.. well, life has been kind of a mess lately. I was working 2 jobs, planning the wedding, planning my sisters baby shower, and then trying to spend time with my hunny and family. But, I quite 1 job, the baby shower is over, and my hunny and I still get to spend time together WHILE wedding planning. :)

It's been a rough 2 weeks, but I'm at least glad they are over. Now I can slow down and FOCUS. :) Yay!

Seriously.. 89 days??

Until next time...

Our Story :)

I never would have thought that I'd be looking to an internet dating site for my future. But, I went for it.
Guy after guy, picture after picture, message after message. It wasn't working out. I had started to give up, knowing I only had a month left on my subscription. There was no way a WEBSITE was going to find me a boyfriend in a mere three months when I had been trying for YEARS. As a last resort, I sent my questions and information out to every single one of my matches. One fish took the bait.
After looking over his profile- I wasn't too impressed. Wasn't a reader, not too athletic, liked video games. Boom. Not interested. Video games was a huge negative. I was ready to write him off and move on to the next one or even just give up period and live my life alone in the same pessimistic outlook I had so fondly become friends with. Well, my mom convinced me to give him a shot. So, I did. The more we exchanged information, answered questions, and emailed, the more I realized how special of a person he is. With one last month to spare... we exchanged email addresses and facebook pages and phone numbers. That's when we started texting :) We emailed and texted for about a month until he asked me for a phone date :) Now, eharmony gives guidelines on how the first phone call, first date, all that should go. Phone calls shouldn't be very long- ten minutes tops, first dates should only be something casual in the daytime, in public. And only last 15 minutes. I guess, to take it slow. Well, we had our first phone call on June 9th. It lasted 3 hours. We never ran out of stuff to talk about. It just kept coming out. Which, is amazing because both of us hate talking on the phone. But it was completely different. I feel like I got to know him so well in those 3 short hours. At the end, he did the cutest thing ever and asked me out on a date for sunday. THAT sunday :) At 5:00 :) We were going to go to dinner and a movie. Much longer than 15 minutes :)
He brought me flowers, met my parents, opened all my doors. It was the greatest night of my life. I couldn't stop smiling. Especially when he asked to hold my hand :) AH! I remember feeling like such a little kid! After only a few weeks of talking, he asked me to my boyfriend. Such a great guy. How could I pass that up? July 17th. :)
Sometime in august, after meeting his family, that's when we said we loved each other. It sounds soon, but it didn't feel soon. We had BOTH felt like we've known each other for YEARS, not just 2 months. That's when the wedding planning started. All the way back in August :) And that's when it'll end.
I wouldn't have chosen a different way to meet the man of my dreams. It was perfect. Stressful at times. But still perfect. I love him so much :)
*HE* is why I'm doing this to myself, getting so stressed out over wedding plans. To make OUR day, our wedding, and our future as perfect as we can.

Until next time...

I can do this.

This is going to be a short post..
I need to remind myself to stay away from stress. Get closer to a treadmill and run the stress away. Running really helps. It releases the tension that feasters in my shoulders. And running makes you thinner :)
Anyway. I didn't realize how much I had on my plate. I really need all your prayers :)

Until next time...

I have no idea what to name this post

I really don't. I honestly don't even know what it'll be about. But, it's been awhile and I have the need to write. So, here we go.
Only 429 days left. Crazy! I feel like just yesterday we were in the 600's. Still no ring though. :\ Groom keeps telling me to plan for 12/31/2011 that way I'm not expecting it or I won't be disappointed. If he waits until 12/30/2011, I'm not going to be a happy camper.
That's the hardest part about this- waiting. It'd be so much easier if we'd just get engaged now, and married by November. Or even September. Either way- getting married NOW would be so much better than waiting another 429 days. Gah.

I rejoined the gym. I NEED to get in shape if I'm going to fit into a single digit wedding dress and if we're going somewhere tropical for the honeymoon. I refuse to qualify for Say Yes to the Dress- Big Bliss. Won't happen. I won't let it. So, I've been running more lately. Which feels great! I can't remember why I would ever want to stop. Such a stress relief.
THERE! that's what this will be about!! Stress on the wedding! SWEET!
ok ok, so... Groom and I have been talking and planning and figuring things out for the wedding since about August. About 2 months after we started dating. So, so far our whole dating relationship has been focused around our wedding. Most times we don't talk about it but 90% of the time I'm thinking about it. Or I'll bring something up or ask a question, something to that effect. So you can imagine that it's put a tad bit of stress on the 2 of us. While we're still getting to know each other better, we're also trying to plan our wedding- a day we've both thought about for years. Two different people with two different visions. It's rough. We've come REALLY far though! As we've been going through this we've kinda slowed up a little. We still have a lot of time so we don't HAVE to stress about it.
Ever watch Bridezillas? That's what stress can do to ya... I don't want to qualify for that show either :\

We're trying really hard to keep our heads on. And my groom-to-be is doing an amazing job at helping me maintain my sanity. Don't know what I'd do without that wonderful man :)

Until next time...

Visions and wishes

After reading a few chapters of my new party planning book, I'm so excited to get moving on different parties! :) But most of all- MY WEDDING!! After all, that's why I'm here.. writing about it :) Before ANYTHING can be any further mapped out, the vision needs pin pointed down between groom and I so we can feed off of that. The feel of the wedding, the smell of the wedding, the taste of it, everything. In the first chapter of David's book, he gives the best details on how to achieve not just a great party, but a party that people will remember and won't even realize how the details are effecting them. I keep telling groom that I want all of our guests to have a great time, I want them all to feel relaxed. I don't like recruiting the help of family or even family friends for the wedding because then it keeps them from sitting back, relaxing, and enjoying themselves. My vision of our wedding is pretty much like a huge dinner party with family and friends where everyone knows each other, everyone feels comfortable, everyone's laughing, having a great time, and it's the perfect time to celebrate me and my handsome groom :) hopefully he has the same vision :D hehe

So... there's been a huge struggle lately with a guest book. To have one, or not to have one. Well, we aren't. Groom still wants something that we can look back at and see who was there, which is fine- we're going to do the autograph picture frame. Which, would still be nice because it would be a great decoration for the house. Like this...

Not that picture though, I don't know who they are. It'd be nice have a different frame and a different matte, but those are hard to find. Maybe I can make one :) But I also had the idea to do wish jars. It's a fun way to make it a little more personal  between me and groom, and our guests :) Each table will have a decorated mason jar and each place setting will have a slip of paper and a sharpie to write down a wish or advice for us, as the newly weds :) Like this..

Maybe different decorations or paper but pretty much the same concept. After the wedding and honeymoon and after being settled into the house, we'll take those slips of paper, combine all the wishes and advice, put them on scrapbooking paper or even just type them out really pretty and use them as decorations throughout the house. That way we'll always see them, remember, them use them :) I thought that was pretty neat idea :) hehe
Sorry about the delay with posts (tiffany). I don't know why, but I've been feeling crazy stressed this past week. It might be party overload with my wedding, my sisters baby shower, the engagement party, and other parties I'm coming up with. the last few days away from it were kinda nice. I still talked wedding stuff. But it was nice leaving it at just that. Talk. Now that groom is letting us book more stuff and get in the action of wedding plans, it's a little easier to find an idea, go with it, and move on. I think the thinking of one idea over and over was what was stressing me out..never finding a solution. Thankfully, the ball is rolling!! :) WOO!!

Until next time...

song and dance

The title really has nothing to do with what this post will be about. I'm not even so sure where the title came from except Guitar Hero. Regardless... this post IS about everything party related. Not just wedding.

I just purchased this book. I'm so excited. He is who I want to be. The Ultimate Party Planner. There's something about planning parties and throwing parties that I absolutely love. If I could, I would go to party planning school. Yes, they have those. There's a school in New York that has like... every course I want to attend. Jewelry making... event planning..... INTERIOR DESIGN! gah. That's what I WANT to do. I want to plan parties and weddings and baby showers and engagement parties and birthdays.... EVERYTHING! So, if anyone knows of anyone who has a person who has a party to plan, LET ME KNOW!! I love doing it, I'm good at it, and I won't do it for huge price. a low price.... low low price :)
I already have a business name too :D hehehe

Until next time...

flowers and dresses

For having a spring, you need to have some sort of flower. And with my theme of.. Garden Whimsical Romantic DIY..... something, I don't remember. Anyway. I really wanted something OTHER THAN roses or cala lillies. Everyone does that. And I wanted a full flower, like fluffy! With that all being said... I'm obsessed with Peonies. AHHH!! they're so perfect. They're full, fluffy, WHITE, romantic, and in season too!! The great thing about peonies, you don't need MANY flowers to make it look good. Gah. I love them. After doing some research I have seen that peonies were paired a lot with garden roses. I know, I know. I said no roses. But these are SO MUCH BETTER than normal roses. They're the fluffiest flower I've ever seen and they are the PERFECT compliment to peonies. Kinda... like this:

AAHHH!!!! I love them so much :) THEY'RE SO FLUFFY!!!! hehehe Get that... just like Despicable Me :D hehe. Anyway. I love that the peonies are white but kinda off white. And the roses are pink but a super pale pink. AND SO FLUFFY!! :) ok ok, enough with the fluffy.
Now, yes, our colors are yellow and orange but i really think this is a REALLY pretty touch of pink! Geeee!!! I love them :) I mean... I love my groom. Yes, him. I love him :) hehehe

To go with those adorable FLUFFY flowers.. you need some awesome dresses :) I really debated posting pictures of the dresses I liked. Bridal dresses. So... Groom, if you're reading. STOP! RIGHT NOW! Go! Walk away! No, don't walk... RUN! :) ok... with that being said... Voila!

AHH! And the back is AWESOME! it's a keyhole back. Can we just talk about how beautiful that is? I love it. So to get such a beautiful dress means my bridesmaids dresses need to be just as fabulous! I was thinking... flowy, short, springy, THIS!

I really want to let my girls pick their own style. Obviously the length, color, and fabric will be the same but as far as the cut, straps, fit- all that... i want them to be comfortable. I do want my matron of honor to be in this color and the other girls be in orange. Just to keep it cohesive. I love this dress. It's so flattering. EE! :)
Ok, I'm pooped. Y'all got FOUR pictures! There ya go. :)

Until next time...

lace wrappers and mirror toppers

At the bridal expo we visited this past sunday there was the most darling cake topper. It was the image of a bride and groom and it was mirrored. That got my mind rolling. The normal cake toppers are so boring, so mundane, so... eh. The last thing I wanted to adorn the top of my beautiful cake would be the stuffy sculpture of a bride and groom that look less than enthused. Not to mention a bride and groom that look nothing like the ACTUAL bride and groom. So, I want to go with something that's NOTHING like a bride and groom :) Like this:

Ah! I love it!! There's also a little thing between the groom and I about being a "mister" and "misses". So it seems pretty perfect :) I could be "bedazzle" it if I wanted!! yay! :) My last post I said I needed to find a cake topper that didn't make me nauseous, well, I DID! :)

So, to go with my adorable cupcakes I need nothing less than adorable cake wrappers. Not just plain printed ones... I'm talking.. adorable. I don't even remember how I found these, I just know that I feel in love. There's so many  variants too. That's the awesome thing about them! I first found them online for about $1 a piece. It was like $30 something dollars for a pack of 40. Well, I did my research and found packs of 12 for $5.99 at Hobby Lobby! I was stoked. I bought 2 packs right away. Well, Groom and I were walking through walmart and I found some. Packs of 18 for $3!!! AHHH!!! So I bought 3. I'm totally taking the Hobby Lobby ones back!! Now, this isn't EXACTLY what I got from Walmart- but it's along the same lines..

Beautiful, aren't they? I thought so.
I just hope I can keep finding them!! I know sometimes the wedding section at walmart changes so maybe I should stock up...
Oh- Groom is here :) hehe

Until next time...

Yummy yummy cuppy cakes!

I'm more of a pie person. But don't get me wrong... I'll eat me some cake. I still do love cake. Well, GOOD cake. Thankfully Groom and I have the same taste buds and we already have that figured out. WOO! Less stress that way :) And I'm all about less stress. The only thing that was a little road bump was the decision between a traditional cake and cupcakes. I'm all for cupcakes. They're cute, they're fun, and they're the perfect portion! Groom is traditional. blah. But- it didn't take much to compromise :) We'll have a small cake on the top for just us and everyone else gets cupcakes. So now it's settled! Cupcakes AND cake :)
Thank the Lord for my Aunt. She has a history of baking and baking WELL. Her awesome-ness doesn't stop there. She's already OFFERED to bake our cuppycakes!! We'd pretty much just pay for the ingredients. HOW AMAZING!! That may just make her my favorite Aunt :) hehe. I sure hope she's reading this. So anyway, our cupcakes. I really feel like simpler is better. The taste should speak for itself. You don't need anything fancy or elaborate. Just Simple.

See? Simple. And EXACTLY what I want. Oh, did I mention the flavor is lemon? Yes. Lemon. Yum. See how the frosting is just swirled and has sprinkles? Yes, exactly what I want. And since not EVERYONE likes lemon, we will be going with the traditional yet still so yummy white cupcake :) They would both consists of the same colors, just alternating. how fun? :)
Our top tier, something hopefully a little more fancy :)

But just one tier. And a yellow cake with white lace. Isn't it cute?? simple, classic. Yet still gorgeous. At least in my eyes it is :)
Now to find a cake stopper that doesn't make me nauseous.

Until next time...

Seating and Pictures

Best Day Ever. Today, Matron-of-honor, Bride-to-be, and Groom-to-be ventured out to Zemple Shrine in Harriburg for the abc27 The Perfect Wedding Bridal Expo event. It was... amazing. They had a mock wedding, reception, a fashion show, and so many vendors. I can't even count how much stuff we signed up for. CRAZY amounts. And gift cards! Holy cow! So many bridal places were like, just GAVE money out. Well, not real money. but $50 off and $100 off. Like, really?? wow.. Awesome. We got so many handouts. Anyway, after the fashion show... well, during the fashion show we went back out to the vendors and check out a few more that we didn't hit and there was this Photographer. He had AMAZING work. After looking at the deals they had going on for that day it honestly seemed too good to be true. Which normally, it is. Well... groom and I debated it after looking at the papers and we decided we'd go for it! We were getting more than half off on an already good deal. The most we'd be losing is $20. Sounds good to me! After doing more research, the photographer we booked is like, the BEST. And he was the photographer at a wedding for a girl I went to college with. Pretty awesome stuff. It's hard to fake a face of someone you know.
I seriously can't wait. Knowing the wedding plans have gotten so far that we are BOOKING stuff... EEEEE!!!! :D
No picture for that. lol Sorry.

To switch things up a bit, groom and I have decided we like the idea of a SweetHeart Table for the reception. We have people in the wedding party that may want to sit with other family or dates or friends. Why force someone to sit by themselves when they could enjoy themselves with someone else. Hm. Anyway.. it almost seems to be a newer idea. Or at least an old idea coming back into the wedding circuit. I love it.

Isn't it sweet? It's just the bride and groom. Our first meal together :) I just love the idea! Plus, then we don't have to worry about people sitting by themselves. I know what it's like to rather be sitting someone else and hating the feeling of someone watching you eat. This way, that doesn't happen and the only person I eat with, is my new hubby :)

Lots of excitement from today. It has be so exhausted. After coming home from the expo all we did was talk about wedding plans. It seems like everything is snow balling. We're already trying to get in to the reception site this week so we can hopefully get that booked and the menu set. It'd be really great to keep the ball rolling. The sooner we get things booked- the less we have to stress about the closer to the date. Good stuff today :)

Until next time...

Ribbons and Lights

Since my last post, things have shifted a little. No marshmallows. After several readers made it known- marshmallows are a fun idea, but not a practical idea. So, I came up with a better one. But- it's a surprise for the Groom so it'll have to remain a secret! Sorry guys! :)
Anyway... Today I'm brainstorming my ceremony/church decorations. After discussing my theme, I've come to find that it's DIY, shabby chic, garden, romantic, whimsical... *phew*. But going with the "Shabby Chic" aspect, I want to incorporate shreds and pieces of material and ribbons in the colors we're using. That way it ties everything in together :)

See??? Now, not THOSE colors and not used in THAT way. But kinda the same. Using material and ribbons as main decorations. In bows, streamers, and maybe even weaving it threw stuff. I feel like the essence of shabby chic is making something romantic and beautiful out of what most people would consider scraps or left overs. So what's more awesome and shabby chic than scraps of material that has romantic, soft prints on it?? My thoughts exactly.

Moving right along. I'm utterly obsessed with twinkle lights. When I had my summer dinner party, the main decoration was lights. Lights, lights, lights. I love them!! It makes everything so.. WHIMSICAL! :) Look at that.. 2 themes in one post! Whoop whoop! At the church we're getting married at- it's got amazing architecture inside. The ceiling has all kinds of angles, beams, and these like... light boxes or something on the sides. It's really beautiful. And Groom loves it :) yay! So with that said, I'm REALLY hoping that we're able to do my idea in the sanctuary because I have a feeling it'd be BEAUTIFUL. Ok ok, so this is KINDA my idea....

Not the venue or decor obviously. Just the lights, how they drape across the ceiling. It makes it look like stars or something :) I love it! Getting all those lights on the ceiling of the church would be tricky. Really tricky. But if David Tutera can make a swap themed wedding look good, I think I can hang a few christmas lights. We'll see. For all I know, it won't work out and I'll think of something better. Either way, I WILL have my twinkle lights. :D

Ya know, I love party planning. It's a high. Finding a theme, decorations, making a menu, having favors and a good time is like the best thing ever. So when it came time to plan a wedding, I think it was going to be a BREEZE. False. It's stressful. Especially when it's not just MY party. Just when I think I have the perfect game plan, I forget that I have someone else to consider :( It'll all be beautiful though. Compromise with the glue in a marriage, right? :)

Until next time...

To throw or to shake?

I don't want a normal wedding!! You know what I'm talking about.. decorating the church a certain way because those are the decorations available, picking the same bridesmaid dress that EVERYONE picks, and using square mirrors with a candle on top of it as a center piece. While that's all good and everything for most people, I like being unusual. I want people to leave thinking, "wow! I never would have expected that!" It's the little details that you never think people will notice, that make your wedding... YOURS!

I've never been a huge fan of things being thrown at me. How is that fun? Yay! You're married! Now lets chuck bird seeds in you and cause deafness!! No, not fun. So this is my DIY fix for that.. :D

Ribbon Wands!!! Both safe and fun! We don't have to worry about losing our hearing (it's happened...) and it would look really awesome in pictures. Plus... cheap. You can get those really long craft wooden rods for $.50 at any store... seriously. And ribbon... shoot, the dollar store. So, would I rather spend money on a few bags of bird seed, tulle, and ribbon to make the mundane pouches of wedding-fetti that I hate, or make something unique and unconventional to make it fun, festive, and memorable? I choose ribbon wands :)
I did compromise with my traditional groom though. We WILL have things tossed. and I emphasized... TOSSED.

Yup. Mini-marshmallows. It's fun, colorful, youthful, and soft... oh, and big enough to not fit in my ear. :)
Plus- at what wedding have you been to that you tossed marshmallows? we all know it's know!

Hopefully Groom-to-be understands that I'm just trying to make a fun day as cheap as possible. I won't even tell you what he was thinking... oy vey. Men.

Until next time...

The man of my dreams

This is it! Only 459 days until I marry the man I thought I'd never meet. He is the most amazing man ever.. and the whole reason I'm doing this blog. For our wedding. To find what there is out there, what suits us, and what's cheapest!

Isn't he cute? :D hehe awww :)

Anyway. It's hard to believe that I'm actually planning a wedding. I was always the girl that said she'd never get married. I'd finally become situated in my single lifestyle when I joined... eHarmony. YES! I did online dating. I figured, "What's the worst that can happen? I meet a creeper, he becomes obsessed with him, stalks me, threatens my family, get a restrainer order, and tries to force me to marry him?" That's not too bad! (kidding by the way.)

It was the best thing I've ever done for myself. It really should come with a warning though. Do NOT join if you aren't serious about committing and being in a full-time relationship. Brandon's my everything. I can't even remember what life was like before him. And honestly, I don't want to.

Even though we've only been dating for 8 months and 10 days, it feels like I've known him for years. He's my best friend. In 459 days, he'll be my husband :)
Which brings me to our WEDDING! :) yay!! I love planning parties! I've come up with the colors yellow and orange. But THESE yellow and orange...

It's all very spring-ish. But much more whimsical. There may be a few extra accent colors but those are yet to be decided. We have the date. We have the colors. And we have each other :)

Until next time...