Work

I am having a problem most brides to be have. I don't want to work. All I can think about is the wedding- the details, the schedule for the day, how to wear my hair. It really is silly. I even woke up at 5am this morning thinking about it and had trouble going back to sleep. And if I'm not thinking about the wedding, I am thinking the about the house I will be moving into and where everything should go and what color the walls will be.

The last thing I want to do is call up mean ol' car guys and ask if they want to buy something. Ick.

My latest project- I've made the place cards and escort cards out of the paper I bought a few weeks ago. It lended itself to that task so easily. It has the perfect stiffness. I had been thinking about hiring a calligrapher, but I think I'll ask my mom to do all of the handwriting to save some $$. My mother has the most beautiful handwriting and I am surprised she hasn't taken up calligraphy. She could probably make some good money doing that. I am going to see if I can find some ivory or cream labels that we could use. Self adhesive. Gotta love it. If not, I'll use paper, but cutting all of the names and such out would be a pain- even with a good paper cutter. Luckily I just found some online! I love the internet. The company I found offers so many different labels- from favor labels to return address labels to lip balm container labels.

Tonight I think I am going to visit my favorite stores of late- Hobby Lobby and Michaels. I've decided on a favor and I can make the container beforehand. I need a project. Yes, another one. Chris is out of town so I need something to keep me busy.

Closer

I have gotten a lot accomplished today. I bit the bullet and booked a day of coordinator. I can't believe how much they charge for the service so it better be worth it! I also booked a baker and a florist. I spent quite a bit of time on the phone with the florist and I am so excited. She loves my book theme and has already come up with some good ideas. She definitely knows her flowers and I had such a good time chatting with her. This bouquet of dahlias is just absolutely gorgeous. I wouldn't mind holding these on my wedding day.

I think all I have left to book is an officiant and Mary the florist had a suggestion for that that I intend to look into. Everyone has been so helpful today. I really am blessed.

Yay! I'm getting married!

Voting Revisited

Which one do you like???





Time for vote. I had Creative Montage redo the monograms with the new color scheme for the wedding. I am planning on using these in a number of ways including as stickers on the back of the Save the Dates. It takes about 4-6 weeks to produce the stickers and so I need to order them asap. So I would love to get input from everyone. If you would be so kind, please leave a comment with your favorite monogram noted.

I do love the new colors though. They are vibrant and just great. I am very happy with Aimee's work and highly suggest using her

if you ever need a monogram.

http://www.creativemontage.com/ Check her out.

Paper Addiction

Here are some papers that I found yesterday and today that I plan on using in the wedding. The first two are just two styles in a pack that I will be using for escort cards and place cards. The second two will be used to make the favors- bookmarks. I made a trip all the way to Ventura's just to check to make sure the slate blue color I like will match. And it does. Yay!

Blue Skies

Well, I managed to change my mind once again. I had no idea I could change it so often :) I have decided to have the bridesmaid in blue instead of brown. A full-length brown dress in August seemed too dark and heavy for my taste. So, I am going back to the original color scheme of blue and terra cotta.

This past week included a quick trip to Atlanta. I was upgraded to first class both times. How did I ever get so lucky? Ok, the trip was only an hour and 45 minutes, but hey I got hot food for free. I figure this will be my last first class experience for awhile as I did not travel near enough this year to qualify for elite status. Ah well. It was fun while it lasted.

Chris went to NYC this weekend and brought me back a great present from Lush. I just love that store, but according to him, it was just about the worst shopping experience of his life. He hates it when sales people in the store ask to help him and apparently someone asked if he needed help onve every 30 seconds or so. He brought back some great stuff- including Flying Fox which is a shower gel that I love. Thanks Chris!! (See, he really does love me.)

Church was great today. I was surrounded by my wonderful friends, held a baby for a few minutes, and got to spend even more quality time with my friends at lunch. They are having a wrapping night this week and I am bummed I can't make it. I can't make the Christmas party either :( I hope they know that I do wish I could be there. I have two concerts this weekend and lots of rehearsals. It will be a busy week, but I love to make music.

Who Wants to Play???

In an effort to make this wedding interesting and fun, Chris and I have decided to include a Twister Competition. Well, ok, Chris picked Twister. I thought Bingo would have been fun, but he nixed that idea. He thought Twister would be cool and you know what- Maybe it will be hilarious to see people in semi-formal outfits bending and 'twisting' on the floor to see who wins the ultimate prize.



I think we'll have dinner, cut the cake, eat the cake, dance a little, and then have Twister with the Mister. Yes, I am going to make Chris play! (I just can't quite imagine how I would be able to do anything in my dress; although it might make for a great picture.) I am going to have to come up with something fun to get people excited about playing. There will be at least 3 games going on at once with 4 people to mat. The 3 winners will then fight it out on one mat and the winner of that game has to play Chris in the final round.



I'm not sure Chris knows his part in this whole story. He'll be surprised and somehow I will have to convince him to play.



On other fronts...The guest list has ballooned to about 115. Yikes. I don't really expect all of those people to come, but the problem is- what if they do? If more than 75 of them come, the numbers get to big to use the rooms I had planned on at the Stanley and of course my first pick of the larger rooms is already reserved for August 8. So I guess I need to be safe rather than sorry and reserve a room big enough just in case more than 75 people come. That means the Pinon and Billard room will have to work for the reception. They are two ajoining rooms that seat up to 96 for dinner. Watch- only 60 people will come and we could have easily fit into the Music Room. Oh well. In the bigger picture of life, does it really matter? It will be beautiful no matter where we have it.



The question then becomes- inside or outside ceremony? We are at such a beautiful location it would be heartbreaking not to do it outside, but with the outside comes wind and sun and rain. They do offer an inside option incase of inclement weather so I should just choose outside and go with it.



Here is a picture of the Pinion Room set up for a ceremony. I love the dark woodwork and the gold floors. Perfect for my color scheme!!

**UPDATE** OK, Pinion and Billard Room are taken so I am going to have the reception in the Music Room and just pray that no more than 80 or so show up. The Ceremony is going to be on the Front Lawn.

Changing

I have pretty much decided to change my color scheme. There were too many colors going on with the old one and the venue I have chosen, so I think I am going to go with the palette to the left. Rich, chocolate brown, a light, dusty gold, and white. My bridesmaids will be in brown and carrying white hydrangeas with a gold ribbon I think. I will have white hydrangeas as well with an even cooler gold ribbon :)

I am undecided as far as
the flower girl goes. Should she be in chocolate? Should she be in gold? This dress is super cute, that is for sure.

Here is a cake I found as well. I think they could do this with buttercream by icing it very smoothly. I love how classic and clean it is. I think it might be a winner. I'll have to come up with some other kind of flower to place on it if I want to have that. Maybe something in brown?

I've also decided to do bookmarks for favors and found this DIY bookmark that has similar colors that I want to use. I am tempted to go to Hobby Lobby right now and make them all this weekend! Silly girl, I know. I might go look at stamps and paper. You never know, I might find the perfect tools to start creating these.

Caught

Do you think Chris would be up for a photo like this? We definitely won't have anywhere near this many people in the wedding party, but maybe we could get some of the guys to volunteer. By the way, this photo is by Nicole Marie http://www.nicolemariephoto.com/ and she is in contention as far as photographers go. She has some great shots on her site.

I am thinking we are going to get married in Estes Park, Colorado on August 3 or August 10 of 2009. Trying to plan from so far away is not going to be easy, especially for this control freak. I have decided to finally do something about my love of creating and planning. I am going to start a business where I offer to help brides (or any host for that matter) with all of the details for the theme of the wedding- whether that means I get to know her and the groom and come up with a theme or they already have one figured out. I'll help them create custom invites and such (thanks M) as well as favors and everything in between. I have to pay attention to the voice screaming inside wanting to be creative (as well as a few friends who keep pushing me in that direction- Thanks H and B). I'll post more about that venture on the other blog I think.

Cheers.

It's going to be so cool

• While eating lunch today I had an idea for a programs. I have been torn as to whether or not to have programs. I always feel like people know what happens in a wedding, why spend the money? But now. Now I have a reason to. What do you think of programs that look like library check out cards? Something similar to the picture on the left. On the back I thought it would be nice to include the readings that will be read so that people can either read along or if they like the reading, they can keep it.

I go to get measured for my dress on Thursday. When the wedding was going to be in October of 2009, I was going to order it in December and of course lose a little weight before then. I haven't lost a pound I think and I have to order the dress now so that it will arrive in time for August of 2009. Natalie at the dress shop said they could take it in up to 2 sizes once it comes in, but that wasn't the point. I was supposed to be skinnier to order it. And what did I eat at lunch today? A brownie. I think I need to decide if I really want to commit to losing a few pounds or not and then really do it. No more brownies, at least no more baking brownies at home where I am the only one that eats them :) More water, less carbs...blah, blah, blah. Is there ever a point in life where we are happy with our bodies? I admit I am the closest I have ever been and it isn't because I am the skinniest. It is a process I guess. Maybe it was buying those size 6 jeans two weeks ago. I am still convinced they had the wrong size on them...

Haunted?

For those of you who know me, once I tell you about this possible wedding venue you will know I have a new favorite. The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado. Stephen King stayed there once and was inspired to write The Shining. And they have ghost tours. Could it get any better? Well, yes it could.

This lovely hotel has this wonderful music room that is absolutely gorgeous and would work perfectly for a reception. AND they have a library room where Chris and I could get married. We both love books and reading and have wanted to incorporate that somehow. Plus, they have a Stephen King suite and I would so have to reserve that for Chris and I to sleep in.

I am thinking this has to be the place. There are too many elements that would make it special and different for us. Let's hope it isn't a gazillion dollars.

Married in the mountains?

After a day of searching online for destinations, I think I have found the one I like best. Banff. I love mountains, really love them and Banff has great mountains. Here is a picture of one of the hotels I am looking at to have the event.

That is just so incredibly beautiful. If we do decide to get married in the mountains, that will change our month of choice. I am thinking July or August. It doesn't even have to be on a weekend since I figure everyone will have to travel they can make a little mini vacation out of it. Having a wedding on a Monday might save quite a bit and it would give people Saturday and Sunday to go out and explore a part of the world none of us live in. There is white water rafting, rock climbing, hiking, and shopping.

In case you are interested in seeing more, here are links to the two hotels I am considering for the event:

Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel http://www.fairmont.com/banffsprings

The Rimrock http://www.rimrockresort.com/concierge.html

Either place is heaven.

The long wait

After what seemed like forever, I was given this beautiful ring yesterday. Chris had wanted to do something elaborate (like propose again while in a hot air balloon), but I reminded him I was busy every weekend until December and so he was nice enough not to make me wait any longer. This ring was well worth the wait. Actually, this man was well worth the wait. I am just so lucky to have met a man who is my soul mate. That may sound cheesy and I suppose it is, but there is a definite connection between us. There are so many things that make each of us unique shall I say (ok, weird may be a better adjective) that we have in common and it is great to be able to share that. He loves my life sized Buffy and that should say it all.

We spent our time discussing the wedding over dinner at Chewy's last night. It is very important for him that this be different from his first. There goes the Parador ;) He is thinking a destination wedding might be more ideal and so it is back to the drawing board. My plans today are to research some different destinations (Ireland? Banff? Greece?), figure out if a destination wedding is in the budget and go from there. A trip to B&N is definitely in the plans. I am hoping they have some magazines that might be helpful.

Details

I've finally convinced Chris to have a look at the Parador. Of course with his doctor schedule it might be next to impossible. He asked why I was in such a rush last night. I reminded him that we were looking at October, which leads into November, which leads into December, and then HELLO, my birthday. He laughed as he knows I don't want to get married too close to my birthday. I want presents other times of the year.

It may be silly, but I worry that the venue and the vendors I want will be taken by the time we get around to deciding on an exact date. I plan on allowing the venue and vendors to help set that date since we are not 'married' to any particular day. I just need to quit worrying. I just like to have things all planned out and done. Once I have a date, I expect this wedding will be planned in less than a week- down to all the nitty gritty details. That's just the way I am.

Here are some pictures of some very cute flower girl dresses. The first is just adorable with the flowers. The second has some elements that might mimic a dress I might like. They have other colors available and I would do it in a similar color to the first dress. Which one do you like?

The Parador

Below are some pictures of the Parador. My flash wasn't working so well in the venue at that time of day. I love this place and told Chris I wanted to get married here yesterday. You can also visit the link to the right and have a look for yourself.

It isn't in the best part of town. It is near the MedCenter and the neighborhood has been 'transitioning' for awhile. It is Spanish in style and absolutely beautiful. I drive past it all the time as it is about 3 blocks from my house and on the corner where I turn to go to Chris' house. At night you can see this golden glow coming from the windows and I always try to get a peek when driving past.

I went to check it out with HP since she lives in Michigan. I figured it would be a great time to get her opinion, although I had already made up my mind :) The style inside is just right. Very simple, but elegant. No trashy hearts. No gawdy flowers. I am pretty much just going to let candles do the talking when it comes to decorating for the wedding.

Here you'll see there is a beautiful garden outside. Well, it was beautiful. It was trashed by Ike, but I think by the time next October comes around it will be lush and vibrant. I think the 'cocktail' hour will be held there.

My game plan is to have the ceremony with the sun still out and then have it setting and set by the time dinner rolls around. The Duomo (the main room) is really at its best when it is dark outside.


The ceremony site.




A view of the ceiling in the Duomo.




The garden.

New Beginnings

I've created this blog for my friends who can't get enough of weddings. Ok, who can't get enough of MY wedding. I may be the only one who ever reads it, but I figure it will help me to have a different outlet than my regular blog since most people don't want to read all about my wedding all of the time.


Check out this dress. Gorgeous isn't it? Its ok for me to start dreaming about dresses and such, right? I admit this example is very different from what I normally like. I am definitely going to try it on when I get to go dress shopping. It could either be increadible or a complete disaster. I want to make sure my dress is stunning. I don't want to look like everyone else. I don't mean my friends here, I mean the thousands of girls who get married every year. My friends all had unique, beautiful dresses that were perfect for them.

And that is what I want. A dress that is perfect for me.