Heather and Eddie - a 2009 wedding

[Ninedays9]

Until now, I've been too afraid to start a journal, but I decided to just go ahead and do it. It's good motivation to have people to share with in my own personal thread, and I really like the journals other people have done that I've read so far. So... here goes.

The Story
(It's a long one.)

We started dating on September 13th, 2006, but the story truly begins much sooner than that. Back in high school, my friend Sam posted on Yahoo personals. She didn't think she'd get a response, but, low and behold, she did, from a guy named Tim. They started dating and got married in 2004.

What does all that have to do with Eddie and me, you ask? My answer is that we were both in their wedding. At Sam's shower, Tim stopped by afterwards with Eddie and introduced him to everyone. I still remember Eddie standing there, barely saying a word, in white socks (and other clothes, of course). At the time, I was dating someone else.

We started talking online quite frequently, but I was never thought I was interested in him, even though I knew I cared about him a lot. Oh yeah, I might add that my past relationship ended a few weeks after Sam's wedding. We kept talking and saw eachother a few times in person. In August of 2006, he made an hour long trip to come and comfort me after I had an extremely bad day (that I won't go into).

After that, we both became busy with different things and didn't talk much during the next month. I started to realize that I really missed talking to him and called him. I was living in an efficiency apartment at school, and he came to visit, and we had our first date. At the end of the school year, I moved into his apartment with him.

The Engagement

In January of this year, we went and picked out an engagement ring. He'd wanted to surprise me but also wanted to get something he knew I'd love. I don't have a picture of it, but it's a princess cut diamond with three stones. I was planning a birthday party for Feb. 23rd, the day before my b-day, and that's when he decided to propose! He called all the friends and siblings and told them to make sure that they could come. He also bought all the food for the party, including two cakes -- a birthday cake and one that he hid from me, that said "Will you marry me?" And with that... here are some pictures. Hopefully it works; I've never posted pictures before.

A picture from the actual proposal:

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn12/ninedays9/lkjklj.jpg


The cake:

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn12/ninedays9/4.jpg

Us right after the proposal:

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn12/ninedays9/3.jpg

And us a bit later on that night:

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn12/ninedays9/P2230093.jpg

[Ninedays9]

Well then... I posted that message a bit sooner than I wanted to. I wanted to hit "preview" and hit the one that puts the message up, instead. Oops. Oh well.

Anyway, I guess I'll continue on with all the ideas we've got so far, since really nothing has been set in stone (:irked:).

Location (and food):

For some reason, I've been set on not having it in a church. I've only found one location that has stood out to me, which hopefully we're going to tour this coming week. I don't want to say what it is yet until I can put up pictures, and there aren't any on their website. Anyway, it'd be for the ceremony and the reception, and they have their own catering and drinks. It's $700 to rent it, and during the time we're looking at, we could rent it out for the entire day, privately. We're looking at the buffet option that has chicken and pork, and then we'd order seperate vegetable lasagnas for the vegetarians.

Otherwise, we've looked at another place online that seems to be very reasonable in price. However, we didn't like what we saw for the ceremony site they have. It resembled a high school gym or classroom to me.

We had a tour set up with the first place a couple weeks ago, but they called and told us we should change it to when they actually have weddings going on. Apparently, their first wedding for this year is today, so it's open for touring next week. I want to get that done as fast as possible. I've been anxious about looking at this place since I found it in a bridal magazine, and I want to get the date set!! If we go with this place, it'll be in June or July of 2009 since they don't do them in early August, like I wanted.

Color Theme and Decorations:

I love the color medium blue, so I'd like to have that as the main color. I was trying to think of other colors that would look good with it and decided on purple. I'd like to go with medium blue and a plum color, but I may go with light blue if that's all I can find for bridesmaid dresses.

I'm not entirely sure what I want for center pieces or other decorations, but I am going to Michaels and Dollar Tree tomorrow to see what they've got. I'm pretty sure I'd like to do Hershey rosebuds in blue and purple as favors. I'm not sure if I'll make those the centerpieces or just put them on peoples' placemats... probably the latter. I'd also like to put pictures of us at least on the guestbook table.

I've also been looking at flower bouquets online that are blue and purple and will post some pictures of what I like in another post.

Other Things:

-I've looked into Vistaprint for invitations, save the dates, and possibly thank you cards.

-We got a rough draft invitation list; it's around 100 people.

-We've decided who we want in the wedding party. I just can't decide if I want my sister or a longtime friend to be the MOH.

-I'd like to do a sand ceremony and want to look at Michael's and other stores for vases, rather than ordering a set online.

-I found a photographer I'd like for us to interview, hopefully he doesn't book up too fast.

-My aunt does wedding cakes, and if I like what she does for my cousins' cakes, I'm going to see if she'll do ours.

-Our first dance song will probably be "I Love You" by Nine Days.

And that's about all I can think of right now. Up next, pictures of dresses!

[Ninedays9]

I found a dress online that I have liked more than any other one that I've seen, and it is here: http://www.maggiesottero.com/dress.aspx?line=d&pageSize=8&page=2&style=AD1011. I was going to put the pictures, but it won't seem to let me.

I went to a bridal store with two of the bridesmaids about a month ago that was supposed to have this dress, according to Maggie Sottero's site. However, they did not. So I tried on one that is very similar to it, only there is a giant train on it, and the top is different. As you'll notice, I left my bra on, so it kind of looks like the dress has straps, but it doesn't.

Here's some pics of me in it:

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn12/ninedays9/dress1.jpg

The next one is the whole thing, but it doesn't look good on the bottom because it wrapped around me.

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn12/ninedays9/dress4.jpg

Here's the back (which I love, except for my arms, haha):

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn12/ninedays9/dress2.jpg

Here's the top:

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn12/ninedays9/dress3.jpg

I'm clearly going to have to get whichever dress I do end up getting altered because I'm very disproportionate from bottom to top. As much as I wish I could fit into one that'll fit me on top perfectly, my hips just won't allow for it.

I'm hoping to be able to find a store that has AD1011 so I can actually try it on, because I think I may end up ordering it regardless, though I will still try on others in the near future.

Up next: Bridesmaid dresses

[Ninedays9]

On the same day that I tried on the dress, one of my bridesmaids tried on some two piece dresses at David's Bridal. They didn't have ones in the same color that would fit her, so they're two-toned... obviously not what I would go with, but it gives you an idea of what we looked at.

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn12/ninedays9/maiddress1.jpg

This one would be a little hard to work out with a bra, as we found out, but I think it looks better than this one:

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn12/ninedays9/maiddress2.jpg

Anyway, I really liked the length of the skirt, seeing as when I was a bridesmaid, I was tripping all over my dress all night long.


If anyone knows of any places that have nice, inexpensive two-piece bridesmaid dresses (say that phrase ten times fast), let me know. I'm not sure that I really want to go with David's Bridal.

[Ninedays9]

I totally forgot in the first post to give more info. about us, other than the story about us.

My name is Heather. As you may have seen, I just got accepted to a master's program for library science. Another thing that you may have seen is that I am working on getting a driver's license. Until that happens, I'll be working at Kohl's doing overnights. It's an alright job, but I'm getting sick of the overnight schedule very quickly, plus it may not work out with my school schedule in the fall. I'm hoping that having my license will open up opportunity to get a daytime job that avoids my class schedule in the fall. We'll see what happens come that time. I'll probably be posting updates on that here.

Eddie just had a rather major job change, and he's now working for the post office, delivering mail. He does all walking routes. It's definitely a job I couldn't do! He seems to like it, though, which is good.

We've got one pet, and it's a mouse. I could put up a pic if anyone wants to see, haha. My sister decided that we needed a pet, and we weren't allowed to have animals that weren't caged at the apartment we lived at, so she got me a mouse.

Alright, I think I've posted enough on here for one day, haha. :)

[Ninedays9]

I went to Michael's yesterday and checked out their wedding stuff. They had some really cute vases we could use for the sand ceremony. They had a heart on them. Then we were looking at jewelry making stuff, and I was overwhelmed, but my sister, who has made jewlery before said she'd help me out with it.

I also found out they're having a wedding show on June 28th. I don't know if it's just at the particular store or if they're all doing it. I might go to that if my sister has the day off.

Oh, and we are also probably going to be touring the venue on Thursday (FH got the day off).

[Ninedays9]

We set up a tour (finally!) at the venue we're interested in, for tomorrow. I plan on taking lots of pictures and asking lots of questions. The planner that we got has tons of questions to ask, so I'm going to go through it and see which questions fit with the venue that I don't already know. They had a pretty extensive wedding packet on their site, so I know quite a bit.

Plus I might see if I can drag Eddie into Michael's and see if he likes the vases I found for the sand ceremony. We both have the day off, so it'll be a very productive day for us, I hope.

[migsepu]

I went to Michael's yesterday and checked out their wedding stuff. They had some really cute vases we could use for the sand ceremony.

We got our sand vases at Walmart and they're actually pretty cute. I'll try and see if I can post a pic them soon. The big one was like 10 bucks too. Then I bought three rosebud vases to hold the sand (one for me,one for FH, and one for our pastor) that were $0.97 each.

Btw... hiiii! You guys had a very cute proposal. Good luck with the planning! :D

[Ninedays9]

Hey, thanks for the reply! I looked at the vases at Walmart, but I didn't see any that I thought would work. Does yours have a cover for the big one? That's about the only thing I'm concerned about is being able to have that one covered... well that and them being pretty and whatnot. That'd be really cool if you got a picture of yours. :)

[migsepu]

sorry it took me so long... I'm really bad with pics lol. Well this still needs some decorating (maybe a ribbon?). They had some with tops that were smaller and very cute but this one was more elegant in my opinion.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa180/migsepu/Wedding/sandjar.jpg

Lemme know if I can help with anything. :D

[Nekochanpurr]

We got our vases at Ikea, if that helps. :D
Aww, yay for you starting your journal!! I was wondering when you would...

[Danielle9608]

You two make such a sweet couple! Beautiful dress btw :)

[Ninedays9]

We visited the venue today! We took pics, but the camera battery died right after we took them all. We moved and haven't unpacked all the boxes, so the charger is in one of them. So, unfortunetely, until we can find that, I can't put them up. So I'll put those up in the next one with a description of it all. Just wanted to put the update here for now.

[migsepu]

Can't wait to see! Hurry, hurry... start tearing open some boxes! lol :grinhappy:

[Jenna5366]

Beautiful dress!! I think it's gorgeous on you!

I can't wait to see pics of the venue! I wanna know why you don't want to tell us before you have pics...

[Ninedays9]

I'm about to go look for the charger, but I don't know how long it'll be before I find it, so I guess I'll just describe it for now. But I will definitely put up the pics when I get them on the computer.

The place we looked at is the Renaissance Festival. I found in a local bride magazine and it was the cheapest place that looked decent. Plus it had almost every possible bit of information you could ever want on their website about their weddings. We don't want to have it during the fest, so it'd be preseason.

We set off yesterday in search of it; it's a little bit of a drive. We had a hard time finding the road it was on because the site gives terrible directions. So I was getting that fun anxious stressed feeling because we ended up late, and I kept telling Eddie to call the lady we were meeting, and he wouldn't. (She only had his name written down 'cause I made him call originally, muahaha.) We were becoming very discouraged because it was in the middle of nowhere and all fields, except for a horse stable.

When we did find it, it looked like a really cute little town as we drove in. The coordinator was there, and she wasn't much older than me, which surprised me.

First, she showed us where the ceremonies are held. It was absolutely beautiful! It's outside, and the seating is benches, and then there's an alter type thing up front with flowers. It's hard to describe without pictures, which is why I wanted to wait, so I'll have to try very hard to get them on the computer soon. I have been leaning towards having an outdoor wedding and this was the perfect setting for it. Eddie also really liked it. I don't know about him, but it gave me the tingly feeling that told me that it was the place.


The building for the reception, on the other hand... we're not so sure about. It looked like a neat place, but... it's not air conditioned (our wedding would be in June or July), and there is no real bathroom.... meaning we'd have to use a porta potty. Can you imagine going into one of those with a big huge wedding dress? Eddie suggested changing after the ceremony, which I immediately vetoed. it's kind of funny, the website tries to glorify the porta potties by saying that if you're there on a preseason day, the porta potties are there just for you and your guests. So... I guess if you go in there and it smells like typical porta potty, you can know your guests did it and not some stranger. Lovely.

Other than those two factors, it wasn't that bad. It had wood floors and long tables with special tables for the wedding party and gifts. There were also king and queen chairs for the bride and groom. Then there was an upper part level that just went around the lower level where the DJ usually sets up. Eddie went and took pictures up there, which I'm eager to see, since I didn't go up there (wasn't a big fan of the stairs that led up there). Another thing that would be cool is that you have the whole fair to yourselves, open reign for everyone. The people that had the last wedding there set up a volleyball net. There'd be tons of awesome picture opportunities.

So...it's very debateable at this time. I definitely do want to have the ceremony there if we don't end up finding something closer (which we probably won't, I've already e-scavenged everything around here). I'm going to e-mail all the halls in that area and find out about prices for their receptions.

And that is all for now... hopefully the next post from me will be pictures. If anyone has any ideas on the situation, let me know. We're still debating if we'd want to have the reception there, or not, but probably not.

[Ninedays9]

I finally got the pictures!

Here's the ceremony spot as a whole:

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn12/ninedays9/cer5.jpg

The benches get spread out to create an aisle and they have as many benches as you need for the guests.

Here it is again, up closer:

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn12/ninedays9/cer4.jpg

Here's a spot up even closer, so you can see some of the flowers:

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn12/ninedays9/cer2.jpg

And here's the building that they have the receptions in:

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn12/ninedays9/rec4.jpg

[Ninedays9]

More pics!

Here's one of Bad Manor, the reception building (yup, that's me):

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn12/ninedays9/rec2.jpg

Here's another, if you look up front, you can see the thrones that we'd sit at:

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn12/ninedays9/rec3.jpg

Here's a view from the top:

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn12/ninedays9/rec1.jpg

And another (that table that's pushed against the others goes in the middle for the food and then pushed back again for dancing):

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn12/ninedays9/rec22.jpg

[Ninedays9]

And here are pics of the dressing rooms.

This is the brides one (very small but very cute):

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn12/ninedays9/dressing1.jpg

And here's the one where the wedding party can hang out:

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn12/ninedays9/dressing2.jpg

They say that you should get mostly ready ahead of time 'cause they're not too big. It's more of a hang out area. We will get a hotel though, so it shouldn't be too big a deal. Plus they are actually bigger than I had expected.

[Nekochanpurr]

i think its really cute! I'd be all about that place!

[Ninedays9]

i think its really cute! I'd be all about that place!

I love it too, but what about the no air conditioned reception and porta potty? But I'm about 90% sure on using the ceremony spot.

[Danielle9608]

Wow the place is really beautiful!

[Nekochanpurr]

How many are you planning on inviting again? If not a horrible amount, then the porta-potty should be good. I mean, they would clean it out before, right? And about the heat.. Is there certain times you have to have the wedding at? If you have it early or late enough, the heat should back off enough for it to be okay.. i think. Heh.

[Ninedays9]

We're probably inviting about 100, I envision about 80-90 showing up. We kind of talked about having it earlier in the day or later at night when it's a little cooler. Perhaps we'll have to explore this idea further if we can't find another reception place we like in that area... 'cause we both really liked the whole site, but those were the only downfalls for us.

[bichonlvr]

WOW! It is beautiful!!!!

[Kirby]

Your story is cute! I love the proposal cake.

That venue is gorgeous! I love it.

My friend got married in that same dress that you tried on I think! And she had the same colors as you!

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2134/2064393266_5c4c5a3577.jpg

[Ninedays9]

Thanks for the reply! That is so cool about your friend; that does look like the same dress I tried on and the same type of bouquet that I would get.

[Ninedays9]

A bit of an update... I got emails back from two places. One was the big hotel in that town, saying they don't do receptions. We will, however, use their lodging services, I'm assuming, since everyone is at least 40 minutes from there. Another place was a golf club, which must be a popular place because every Saturday for the summer of 2009 was filled.

If I don't chicken out, I plan on calling the legion and possibly the VFW to see what their availability, pricing, and catering options are like. It's going to depend on how it goes with these to places as to if we'll have the reception at the ren fest or not. We're both still on a total teeter totter lately on if we want to just have the whole thing at the ren fest because it's such a fun location. Plus if we have it at night, it might be cooler. So I guess we'll see....

In other news, I've been kind of messing around with the photobucket editing and then with vista print to see if I can come up with a Save the Date card that I like... even though we don't know the date yet. I'm not even sure if we'll do the cards... but I was kind of hoping to come up with one that Eddie would be so impressed with that he'd want to order them and send them out. If I can, I'll put up the pic of it here if I come up with something I like.

[Danielle9608]

I can't wait to see what you come up with for your STD :)

[Goin2thechapel]

Ummm...So I'm catching up on your Journal and....WOW!!!

Are you having a Renassaince wedding??? That reception site is GORGEOUS and I LOVE your dress!! Great choice!

[Ninedays9]

Ummm...So I'm catching up on your Journal and....WOW!!!

Are you having a Renassaince wedding??? That reception site is GORGEOUS and I LOVE your dress!! Great choice!

Thanks! :) We're not going to have it be a renaissance theme 'cause it'll be during the preseason... plus I'm not really into that stuff. Though we could throw in some hints of the theme; like I noticed Vista Print has a font that looks kind of renaissance-y, and I might make Save the Dates and stuff with that.

[Ninedays9]

Ok... I got bored and started messing around, trying to figure out a save the date rough draft type thing and came up with this:

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn12/ninedays9/livepreview.jpg

It'd have our last names, and I'm still just guessing on the date, but I wanted to put one in there.

It's totally totally a rough draft, just coming up with ideas. I've never done anything like this before, so I'm still not sure how I want it to look. Does this look too cluttered? And would the blue writing be hard to read? And does it look funny having two different fonts? I just wanted to see if I could get some feedback, I haven't even shown Eddie yet (I know, *gasp*) 'cause he's still sleeping. And oh yeah... I noticed it's a little lopsided, one side is bigger of the blue, so I'd fix that if I did this design.

[Ninedays9]

Ok, so I just worked up a ton of bravery and called the legion and it sounds excellent. It's $350 to book, and they pretty much have the dates that I want. He said they need it either the 18th or the 25th, but they can switch it around, as long as they get one of those days, so I could have either. And he's sending out a brochure today.

So now the decisions really begin. Depending on what the catering costs at the legion, it will probably cost about the same as the ren fest would.... 'cause... here's how it works:

Ren fest costs $700 for ceremony and reception or $350 for ceremony only. So if we went with ren fest for the ceremony and the legion for the reception, it'd still be $700.

My thought as of right now is that we're going to go with the legion.

[Ninedays9]

If all is open when we have the money to book (when he gets his rebate next week), we're picking July 25th. So hopefully it all works out! :)

[Ninedays9]

I am currently so disgusted with myself. I got this thing in the mail about registering for classes (grad school library science), and I didn't pay much attention to it for some reason. I think it was because Eddie gave it to me after I'd just woken up. Then I got an email from the person in charge of the program saying to send in my form because they register you based on who sends in the form first.

Anyway, I went and looked at what classes are available and I am so confused. I'm supposed to register for the first introduction class. There's two available with the same course number and same amount of credits. One is from 12:15pm to 5:15pm and the other is from 6pm-9pm. Why is one two hours longer than the other?? Why does one need to last for 5 hours?

Plus it kind of sucks because 6-9pm is straight out of the time I spend with Eddie after he gets home from work... but it would be for only one night.

This isn't wedding related but these journals seem like they can be about anything... sooo that's my confusion for the day.

[migsepu]

Maybe one's longer cuz it's being taught by a different prof? I dunno... but wow.... 5 hours! I can't sit still that long.

[Danielle9608]

EWW 5 hour long class - I couldn't do it. Good luck getting your classes sorted out :)

[Ninedays9]

We got the brochure from the legion! It looks like the catering is quite a bit cheaper than ren fest ($14.95 on average and $18.95 at ren fest). They listed some of their more popular meals... which did not include chicken, but I'm hoping they do have that. Soooo yeah, I think that's the route we're going to end up taking.

I am still a little concerned about the vegetarian meals... I never before noticed how much our culture revolves around having meat of some sort for meals. I can't imagine being a vegetarian and having to worry about that all the time!

So now we've gotta contact them and probably set up a tour. I want to know what the tables look like and how the space is set up, even though I've seen a legion reception before (it was in another city). Hopefully Eddie's rebate comes quickly so we can book these places and have our date!

[Ninedays9]

Eddie got his rebate today... so now we've gotta call the legion and set up a tour. I'm 95% sure the reception will be there, I just want to ask them questions and see what it looks like for decoration purposes. And we also need to find out how to book at ren fest. Hopefully sometime in the next week we'll finally have our date set!

[Danielle9608]

Good luck on your tour - hope you get it :)

[Ninedays9]

I've got a little bit of an update. The good news is that the date seems to be open at both places. The bad news is that the ren fest will cost $350 more than we thought.

I guess for preseason weddings, whether it's ceremony alone or ceremony and reception, it's all $700. The $350 ceremony only price refers to ceremonies that take place during the renaissance festival... which... eww, I don't want that.

The price difference, however, is made up for in the fact that the legion's catering is between $4-5 cheaper a plate then ren fest's. It comes out even or actually a bit cheaper to go with the legion. Plus we'd have real plumbing and AC... which makes it worth it.

I called the legion about tours, and he said we can just check it out on our own. He leaves before Eddie gets done with work. So we'd have to call with questions. Then all we'd need to do to hold the date is tell him the one we want, and send in a deposit. And it's the same thing for the ren. fest.

Sooooo hopefully we can go check out the legion tonight or tomorrow night and FINALLY have the date set!!

[Ninedays9]

We went to the legion last night. We weren't too impressed with the room. I should've taken pictures anyway but decided against it.

Although it was nice and spacious, we liked the lights and the bar... it just did not strike us at "the place." It just wasn't very attractive. Plus, it has rectangle tables, which Eddie said was the thing that totally turned him off from it.

Honestly it reminded me a lot of church banquet halls... which seem to remind me more of after-funeral lunches than anything else. I'd rather not associate our reception with funerals!

It really sucks because the guy that runs it seems very cool and very helpful. I wasn't even nervous about calling him back to ask questions about it.

Oh yeah, the funny thing is that the bartender that was there actually suggested the place she had her own reception at. Unfortunately, it's half an hour from where our ceremony will be. Considering we're already driving 40 minutes to get there, I'd rather not add more drive time for people.

So it's back to square one. Well, I guess not totally because I've already looked for some places and ruled some of them out. I did not contact one of the hotels or the VFW yet, so let's hope one of those is the place! Oh yeah, I can see from the hotel's site that their tables are circle (except the head table), so that's one plus already!

[Ninedays9]

I filled out the FAFSA online for school on July 1st. I got an email saying they processed it, and they were going to send it to the school. I figured that was all I needed to know. I went to the FAFSA site today, and looked at the comments on my report, and it says I may have already taken out too much in loans as an undergraduate and may not be eligible for much.

As far as I know, I haven't gotten anything yet from the school that says what they'll give me. Until then, I'm trying not to stress too much... though it's not working. Getting my master's in library science is my dream... I hope in the end, if I make it through, it'll be worth all this stress.

In wedding news, we're going to check out the VFW tomorrow and see how it looks.

[Nekochanpurr]

Good luck!! Keep calling/asking questions! FAFSA SUCKS and won't tell you anything unless you harass them for it!

[Ninedays9]

Here is an inspiration pic for centerpieces.

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn12/ninedays9/rosebud-vase.jpg

They are Hershey rosebuds that I would make, hopefully with help from the bridesmaids if they want to. They would double as the favors. And of course, they'd be in our colors. And the vases might be a little bit wider so I can fit more of them in there. Otherwise I think it looks really cool.

[Ninedays9]

And.... we've got the date set for July 25th! I finally know the day I'm going to be getting married on!

The coordinater at the renaissance festival is holding the date for us, and we need to mail her the contract and deposit. Then we're still unsure on the reception... I haven't been very "bridezilla" lately in setting that up... I guess I should be so we know we can get our date and don't get stuck having the reception at the ren fest... which we can still do if it comes to that.

Oh yeah, another very cool thing the renaissance festival does is a wedding fair, where a bunch of local vendors come, and you can get information from them. You also get 2 free tickets into the renaissance festival for it. I've always wanted to go to it, and now I'll get to go to and plan my wedding all in one day... and it'll be free. What could be better than that??

[lalaland13]

July 25 is a most excellent day for a wedding, I think. How does the wedding vendor thing work now? Is it held one weekend during the regular renfest, and you get free tickets to renfest and go to the wedding showcase in between hemp tattoos and jousting, or whatever happens there? Not trying to make fun of renfests, I've been to one or two, and they are interesting.

[Ninedays9]

I'm guessing it's held during the regular ren fest since they said you get two free tickets for that day. So we can enjoy the wedding thing and the ren fest all in one day... for free! Speaking of which, I need to email and tell her we'd like to go to it.

[Ninedays9]

I just got an e-mail from school today, and I am registered for the classes I need! Woohoo! I was so nervous I wouldn't get into them because they say library science classes fill up fast.. and my application went in late. What sucks is that I'll be in the one on Sunday from 12:15 to 5:15.... I still don't get that... I think I'll send an email to the person in charge of the department and ask why it's like that. Perhaps it every other Sunday? That'd be cool. But yay, that's one less thing to worry about.

[lalaland13]

I have never in my life heard of a Sunday class, and at a Catholic university of all places. That cracks me up, even though I know many religious institutions aren't overtly religious.

[Ninedays9]

I finally e-mailed someone at the school to find out what was going on with Sunday classes. It turns out it is pretty much every other Sunday, and that's why it's 5 hours as opposed to 3. And added perk: it just happens to not meet on the day of the renaissance festival's wedding fair. That made me extremely happy!! It meets all the other Sundays in September, though. And I also found out that the school year ends around June 28th, so that takes away my fear that summer classes will be happening around the wedding time. It'll still suck to have it that late into the summer while I'm in the last month of preparing, but oh well. Just a little bit of an update since I really don't have anything else... we need to get on the ball with this planning, like... majorly.

[lalaland13]

Sweet! Wow, that is late-June 28th, I mean. I know you're so happy that you can watch football with the FH every other Sunday. :P Oh gosh how is he going to be dragged to the wedding fair? Will you have to convince him the Vikings are playing there, and it's a special away game?

[NOTKT]

I like your journal so far! Everything looks great, especially those centerpieces. :)

[Ninedays9]

I haven't updated for awhile, so I thought I would even with hardly anything to update on! We have a loooooot to do. Tomorrow I plan on making a to do list, both for the wedding and for other things, like what I need to do for school. Eddie got a surprise day off tomorrow, so he even suggested having a major wedding planning day.

To do list and plans to come. Are you excited yet? I know I am.

[snowflakebride]

Congrats! Have fun and try not to panic if the list is long.

[Ninedays9]

I've finally got a little bit of news. After much work and time, we finally got our save the date cards out in the mail yesterday, minus a few that we didn't have the addresses of. I wanted to post a picture, but the camera battery died, so I will in a bit. I'll also post a new thread about them and creating them.

I found an awesome site that provides officiants. There was one officiant who stood out to me and seemed to be calling out to me to be our officiant. If Eddie agrees, I think we may actually book with him. I'm debating if we need to book a seperate rehearsal with him... for some reason the site didn't think rehearsals were all that necessary. But come to think of it, in the wedding that I was in, we could have done it without the rehearsal. But then again, Eddie might think otherwise and think it's very necessary. So, after I hear back on an e-mail I wrote them, we'll decide if we want to use their services.

We STILL don't have a place for the reception. Eddie's cousin suggested a certain legion to us at her wedding (they had their reception in the same city we plan on having ours). So we'll have to check that out. Or else we may just end up going with the legion in the actual city we have the reception in, even though we thought it was kind of ugly. Decorations could change that.

But my mom brought up the good point that the less travel from the ceremony place to the reception, the better. So, we'll have to figure out which place is closest because I'm assuming they'll have similar costs.

Or else, Eddie's family brought up to us that we could rent an RV to put on our ceremony place and just have the reception there. (Remember, the big problems with having the reception there is no AC and no real bathrooms.) That way, there'd be a real, working bathroom and A/C for the occassional guest that needs it. It'd be convenient - no one would have to try and find the reception because it'd be right there, and the building they had for receptions was really cute. However... I'm not sure I want to put in the extra work to find out about doing that. I'd kind of rather just have a whole A/Ced building with lots of nice bathrooms.

I guess we will find out what happens in the next posting of Heather and Eddie - a 2009 wedding.

[Ninedays9]

More news! We're about 95% sure that we're going to go with the VFW for the reception. It's got a similar setting as the legion, if not a little bit better.

I don't know if anyone remembers, but I posted about the food being scarily cheap. I believe it's $7.75 a plate or 8.75 if you have less than 100 guests. We were a little afraid about that.

But then, as our wedding reception experience increased, we realized something. Even if you pay $20 or more for a plate, the food could still be mediocre. Or, if you have a long line of guests waiting for food, it could get cold and be bad by the time people get to it. Plus, who's to say it'll be bad just because it's cheap? And maybe they will be willing to come up with something different for us. They have their own caterers for weddings, so I'm sure they're experienced with it.

So, on Thursday, I plan on calling them to find out the answer to some of the questions I've got. If it all sounds good, we're going to book with them. And finally we'll have our reception place booked.

I've also been in contact with the minister at the site that I found. He still seems really cool, and I really think I want to have him be the officiant (him out of all the other ministers on the site). Maybe it's just because I want to get this stuff booked so badly... but I'd like to believe it's because he's the right choice.

I also found a site for a DJ that looks pretty good. So, if Eddie likes him, and if he's still open by the time we have enough money to put down a deposit, we may very well have that taken care of, as well.

Finally things feel like they're falling into place. Yay!!

[EarlyBird]

That great. Once we booked the reception place, i felt like a weight had been lifted :) You will too!!

any other news???

[Ninedays9]

Grr, I had a very long post all typed out, and somehow the page closed. So, here goes another one...

I e-mailed the minister again to see if we could meet with him. He mailed back almost instantly and said we could. The company or whatever you might call it also does photography. I asked him if we could discuss that, as well. He said we could and.... he said we could even do engagement pictures right there that night... for free! Wow!

So now I'm in this "too good to be true" mindset, but I guess we will find out when we meet with him. It does seem like a great business they have, and they have tons upon tons of pictures on their website from weddings they have provided services for. So, I am very excited for that. I think it's awesome that they're willing to give us a taste of their services before we've even fully decided we want to use them! If all goes well, they'll be getting a huge thank you from us to put on the page, haha.

I also e-mailed the DJ that I found and asked if we could meet with him. So, I need to go through my wedding planner again and come up with a list of questions for these people so I know I'm picking the right vendors.

If all goes well and we book everything we want to get booked in the next week, we'll have our...

- ceremony place (already booked and paid for, mostly in full except for the fee for having the rehearsal there)
- reception place, including catering
- officiant
- photographer
- dj

What does that leave left to book? We still need to look at florists and I still plan on contacting a cake baker (very likely the one that Whitewater recommended to me). And I still need to order my dress and figure out when I can get all the bridesmaids together to decide on what dresses they should get.

Oh yeah, we also sort of set up our timeline for the ceremony and the reception... which we'll likely get completely figured out when we talk to the minister.

Then we've also got the matter of the music at the ceremony. The place we're having the ceremony at has the ability for electric equipment, but I'm not entirely sure if they provide a way to actually play it. I'm pretty sure they do, though, so I think all we need to do is figure 1. the songs we want played when, and 2. how to get those songs.

I am sooo excited about this. It finally feels like we're forming the shape of a wedding... we've got a lot of work to do yet, but we're making some big steps... I can't wait until these things are booked and it's all set in stone.

[EarlyBird]

Most places will have a cd player or something and have speakers where they can pipe music. this is what we were originally going to do for our ceremony but we are looking into a harpist now. However, in the room for cocktail hour we will be having it piped through that way.

[lalaland13]

Yay for getting things done! I wish it was next summer now, so I could be there partying with you guys. :)

Oh, what about the hotel for guests? Got that booked yet? Haha, not like I could book mine this far in advance, I'm just being nosy.

[Ninedays9]

Nope... that's another thing I need to do like... 3 months ago. I wrote to the hotel and they said they were gonna write back and didn't. So I'll have to call.

We've got the meeting tomorrow, and we are quite excited for it. Only thing that kinda stinks is that I have to work right after that :(.

[Ninedays9]

I've already been posting like crazy about this, but I thought I'd post here, too.

We had our meeting with the minister. It turned out to be a double meeting because his wife is actually the main photographer of the site. So that was cool. We were quite impressed with both of them.

It seems like with the photography, we'll be getting really good services for the price. We're looking at having her there for 3 hours, which should be long enough to get pictures of us getting ready, formal pictures, and ceremony pictures. I figure we can have friends/family take tons of pictures at the reception. I may even "assign" our digital camera to someone.

But anyway, for those three hours, plus I think a disk with the photos on it, it is $750. Compared to many other photographers we looked at, that's quite a deal! And her work is comparable with those photographers, I think.

Then we kind of discussed the ceremony with the minister. Once we book, we get access to a vow planning program to plan the ceremony. And basically, we e-mail with him to set up the ceremony exactly as we want it. Then before we left, he showed us the equipment they have for playing music at the ceremony, which we're probably going to rent.

So, I think we're all set for our minister and photographer... we just need to pay the deposits. I didn't mention before, but we actually met with them in their house... and as icing on the cake for me, they had (that I saw) 2 cats, and one of their vehicles had a sticker for the presidential candidate I plan to vote for.

Coming up next is the booking of the reception hall on Friday and the meeting with the DJ on Monday. Ahhh, so exciting. :) :) :)

[Kay]

Just want to say ~ your story is super sweet. $750 sounds like a good photo deal, too!!

[caligal85]

Coming up next is the booking of the reception hall on Friday and the meeting with the DJ on Monday. Ahhh, so exciting. :) :) :)

How'd the reception hall booking and meeting with the DJ go?

[Ninedays9]

How'd the reception hall booking and meeting with the DJ go?

Wellllllll... they didn't happen. I don't remember what happened that Friday that we didn't book the hall. But, Eddie said he was going to go there yesterday to ask questions and book it... but he stayed home and watched the entire season 7 of Scrubs, instead. So now, if I get the guts, and I hope I do, I'll be calling on Friday. Hopefully they're still open for that date!

With the DJ meeting, Eddie didn't feel good, so we cancelled. He wasn't too thrilled about having an 18 year old DJ, and now he doesn't even want to meet with him. So I feel kinda rude about not contacting the DJ again.

I have another DJ company in mind, but I'm waiting to get some info on one from Eddie's brother.

We got our minister and photographer booked, and we're sending about 1/3 of the total money that we owe them, today. If I wasn't so stressed with school, I would be exploring their website way more because they have a nice, interactive program for setting up how you want your ceremony to go. Possibly over winter break, I'll look at that.

[caligal85]

If I wasn't so stressed with school, I would be exploring their website way more because they have a nice, interactive program for setting up how you want your ceremony to go. Possibly over winter break, I'll look at that.

That sounds like such a life saver. Helps you think things through. Now is that something the minister offers or the photographer?

[Ninedays9]

That sounds like such a life saver. Helps you think things through. Now is that something the minister offers or the photographer?

The minister offers it so that we can set up exactly what we want said during the ceremony. They have some already set up that you can pick from and change as you want, or you come up with the whole thing.

[EarlyBird]

I've finally got a little bit of news. After much work and time, we finally got our save the date cards out in the mail yesterday, minus a few that we didn't have the addresses of. I wanted to post a picture, but the camera battery died, so I will in a bit. I'll also post a new thread about them and creating them.

I found an awesome site that provides officiants. There was one officiant who stood out to me and seemed to be calling out to me to be our officiant. If Eddie agrees, I think we may actually book with him. I'm debating if we need to book a seperate rehearsal with him... for some reason the site didn't think rehearsals were all that necessary. But come to think of it, in the wedding that I was in, we could have done it without the rehearsal. But then again, Eddie might think otherwise and think it's very necessary. So, after I hear back on an e-mail I wrote them, we'll decide if we want to use their services.

We STILL don't have a place for the reception. Eddie's cousin suggested a certain legion to us at her wedding (they had their reception in the same city we plan on having ours). So we'll have to check that out. Or else we may just end up going with the legion in the actual city we have the reception in, even though we thought it was kind of ugly. Decorations could change that.

But my mom brought up the good point that the less travel from the ceremony place to the reception, the better. So, we'll have to figure out which place is closest because I'm assuming they'll have similar costs.

Or else, Eddie's family brought up to us that we could rent an RV to put on our ceremony place and just have the reception there. (Remember, the big problems with having the reception there is no AC and no real bathrooms.) That way, there'd be a real, working bathroom and A/C for the occassional guest that needs it. It'd be convenient - no one would have to try and find the reception because it'd be right there, and the building they had for receptions was really cute. However... I'm not sure I want to put in the extra work to find out about doing that. I'd kind of rather just have a whole A/Ced building with lots of nice bathrooms.

I guess we will find out what happens in the next posting of Heather and Eddie - a 2009 wedding.

may i ask what the officiant site is?

[Ninedays9]

may i ask what the officiant site is?

I sent you a message with it, :).

[caligal85]

The minister offers it so that we can set up exactly what we want said during the ceremony. They have some already set up that you can pick from and change as you want, or you come up with the whole thing.

That's great! That sounds like it's good for people who don't know what they want, people who are kind of on the fence, and people who know for sure.

[Ninedays9]

I've been waiting since before Christmas to get some icicle lights... and I knew they'd go on clearance after Christmas. So, we went to Target, and they were 50% off. There was a lady there with a very loud, screaming child. (Eddie and I were complaining, saying when we have kids, we would immediately leave the store if they acted like that.)

Anyway, she saw that we were looking at the icicle lights, and she told us that they were 75% off at Lowe's. So we went there, and got 10 boxes for $20! I am very excited. :) :) :)

[Kay]

Awesome!! We got two topiary trees with white lights (for the front of the ceremony area) for $12.49 each!! Marked down from $50 each!! This was THE TIME to get deals!!

[PGDesigns]

Awesome!! We got two topiary trees with white lights (for the front of the ceremony area) for $12.49 each!! Marked down from $50 each!! This was THE TIME to get deals!!

Sorry to hijack, but Kay do you happen to have pics of the trees? Where did you get them from? I've been looking for some, but our selection here in town is awful! LOL



Great deal on the icicle lights, Heather! How awesome of the lady to point you to Lowe's to save even more money!

[Ninedays9]

I have been doing a little thinking about the wedding. Probably not as much as I should have, given it's been my break from school, and I havent had to work much.

However, I am getting an awesome deal on some vases for my centerpieces. I have a picture of those a few pages back, the hershey rosebuds. I sometimes look on another wedding message board because it has a local board, and I happened to notice that someone was selling stuff. She has 22 7 and a half inch vases that are just perfect for what I want to do, for $15. That's less than a dollar a vase! Woohoo! The only pain in the butt is that we have to go pick them up, somewhere that's 20 or so minutes from here, but it's well worth it, I think.

And then, by the end of this week, I should have my dress! They sent a crabby e-mail because I haven't made any new payments, and they are closing on January 30th. I don't blame them if they're annoyed. So, whenever it works out, I'm just gonna go pay the rest and pick it up. Then, I'll need to find a seamstress.

I've also been looking at hairstyles. I'm thinking of doing something that's half up and half down with lots of curls. If anyone is reading this and has any good picture examples, I would love to see them. I know some people on here have posted ones that I've liked, and I'm not sure where they are now to find them again. I do have some picture ideas that I should post, though.

I'm also thinking I should call some places about the reception and the hotel. Hopefully it's not too late on either of those.

And then I'm also going to try and put together a list of things I want to register for and look on websites to compare prices before we even go to the stores.

And I want to try and put together a vague list of things that need to get done. It's a lot.

[EarlyBird]

here is a half up half down hairstyle i found and had in m file i like
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j277/vanamarieG/hairstyle/hairstyles.jpg

[Ninedays9]

Ooh, that is pretty. I actually like both of them.

[Ninedays9]

I thought I'd post my save the date image here, even though I did in the do it yourself boards. Just so it's here...

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn12/ninedays9/savethedate-1.jpg

[NOTKT]

That is cute!

[Ninedays9]

Ok, here's the list I came up with! It's HUGE!

What’s been done:

-Picked the date
-Ceremony place and fee is paid for
-Decided no decorations needed for ceremony – they have flowers
-Reserved photographer (paid $450)
-Reserved minister
-Picked wedding party
Tim & Krista
Tony & Sam
Justin & Shelli –
Corey & Jamie
-Picked colors
-Decided on center pieces and favors – Hershey rosebuds
-Vases being picked up this week
-Dress picked out, being picked up this week
-Bridesmaid dresses picked out
-Icicle lights for reception bought
-Sent save the date cards
-Invitation list and addresses on computer
-Ceremony music decided on, renting equipment with the minister
-Chose song for first dance (I Love You by Nine Days… but possibly thinking about The Moment by Nine Days)
-Want “Worth Fighting For” played during dancing
-Do NOT want – The Chicken Dance, “We are Family,” “YMCA” played
-Want “I’m Only Me When I’m With You” by Taylor Swift for one of the slideshow songs
-Set up the timeline for the photographer to arrive and leave and the time for the ceremony and reception
-Set up the photography registry


Needs to be done:

-Make payments as we get any spare money so it’s not all due on the wedding day
Still needs to be paid for that can be done in payments:
-Rehearsal at ceremony place, I think it’s $30
-~$900 – photographer, minister, ceremony music
-VFW – catering and renting fees
-DJ
-Florist
-Cake
-Do taxes as soon as W-2s come – refunds go towards these things!
-Call VFW for reception, hope it’s open!!
-Decide on the meal, bar choices – VFW does catering
-Set up meetings with DJs
-Set up meetings with florists (photography/officiant company has a florist)
-Set up meetings with cake bakers (have one in mind in Onewed mail)
-Find a cake topper
-Aisle runner??
-Order bridesmaid dresses
-Find the exact number/style again so they can order
-Help them find seamstress?
-Get guys together for tux decisions
-Get guys together for fittings? (not sure how tuxes work but FBIL will know)
-Decide on engagement pictures – photographer does them free
-Find seamstress, schedule fittings!
-Find under clothes that work with the dress
-Pick veil, tiara, shoes, jewelry
-Stop having dreams about the wedding being here with nothing done
-Figure out something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue
-Pick attendants jewelry and shoes
-Invitations – choose and send
-Hotel room blocking – our room and guest rooms, decide how many rooms to block
-Honeymoon details??????
-Register for gifts
-Buy guestbook and card box
-Buy bubbles
-Make signs for reserved tables for immediate family at reception
-Purchase materials for Hershey Rosebud centerpieces, order cellophane, find ribbons that work, decide on wire or something else for them, find florist tape or green pipe cleaners
-Put together centerpieces – find a day when all the girls can get together if they want to help
-Pick out other decorations for reception –confetti, rose petals(?), mirrors (?), candles(?)
-Pick out decorations for cake table – I DO letters?
-Decide on rehearsal dinner – where to have it, what time to have rehearsal (decided on not having minister there but still want rehearsal)
-Figure out gifts to give the attendants, buy them
-Figure out transportation for wedding day
-Come up with the ceremony wording, choose a prayer for service, e-mail the minister about it to make sure it’s good, possibly meet with him again before the wedding
-Buy sand ceremony vases and sand (sand at Michaels in our colors)
-Choose song for father/daughter dance, come up with lists of other songs to be played and not played
-Choose other song for slideshow, choose pictures, put slideshow together
-Purchase wedding rings
-Thank you gifts for parents
-Pick out a hairstyle I want – find a salon, set up trial?, decide on makeup
-Ceremony programs -want to do fan programs – it will be hot! So, purchase materials and come up with wording for programs
-Come up with a list for the photographer of which pictures we want done
-Give Krista the addresses for the women to invite to the shower

Wait for Later List:
-Marriage license
-Put engagement notice in papers
-Make sure we have comfortable chairs for grandparents and other older guests, possibly figure out a tent for them to sit under?
-Final dress fittings
-Pick up rings
-Figure out final head count for caterer
-Come up with detailed schedule of wedding reception events (first dance, dinner, cake-cutting)
-Decide how much for gratuities or gifts for vendors
-Make sure everything is paid for!!
-Come up with a list of everything each of us needs for the wedding day, gather it all together
-Confirm final details with all vendors
-Assign tasks for wedding party for the wedding day
-Make sure to get days off work!
-Figure out name change process (not looking forward to that process!!)
-Purchase thank you cards
-Set up photobucket site for pictures

Maybe:
-Bathroom baskets
-Flower Girl
-Make cards to put at tables with instructions on how and where to upload pictures
-Picture frames and pictures to put up at the reception (only if we get engagement pictures done)

[Ninedays9]

^ I know it's huge when I get a notice saying I can't post it because there's too many characters in it!

[Ninedays9]

Just wanted to do a tiny update. We went and picked up the vases from the girl from another message board that was selling them. She also had 6 inch mirrors on her site of stuff she was selling. I had expressed interest in those, but she said someone else e-mailed her first.

But when I got there, she said the person never came by to get the mirrors, so she offered them to me. She wanted $10 for (I think) 18 of them. I've never looked at anything like that before to know how much they cost, but I think that was a pretty good deal.

I was looking in the craft section at Walmart this morning, and I saw the vases. I'm quite certain they're the same ones, and they were $1.47. So I got a pretty good deal! And now I know where we can get extras if we happen to need more.

If I get brave enough, I will call a couple places today and knock a couple of things off the too do list. Thinking about everything we have to do in the next 6 months is quite overwhelming, especially since we're going to have to move in between now and then!!

[Ninedays9]

I made a couple of calls... I am all set to pick up my dress on Saturday. So then I'll wanna try and find a seamstress. And I'm hoping to be able to figure out when we can get the girls' dresses ordered pretty quickly.

And then I also called the VFW. It turns out the prices have gone up a bit. They're still very cheap, though. Now I can't help but wonder if I would have gotten the cheaper prices if we'd booked when I called a few months ago...

Annnyway, the caterer is supposed to call me back at some point with info on the meals they serve.

I'm somewhat tempted to try calling the legion again, that we've tried both e-mailing and calling and haven't gotten a response from... Eddie's cousin keeps saying how nice it is there. I wonder if them not responding is their way of saying they're not open for that date? Part of me thinks if I tried, I'd have different results 'cause it was Eddie calling last time....haha.

I shall report more when I hear back from the VFW. I'm off to search one last time to make sure I didn't leave out any other reception places in the area....

[EarlyBird]

heather, that happened with me with pricing. they honored the prices i had gotten a couple months ago. i told them exactly who i spoke with and the price and the guy knew i was not kidding when i told him that he must honor that price or i wouldnt book ;) You may wanna try it if they arent booked at 6 months out.. they could be desperate for the sale.

[Ninedays9]

Hmm, that is an interesting idea. Thanks for telling me about it. :)

I don't remember the guy's name that I talked to... though I think he was the guy who's in charge there. I should look it up and see if the name sounds familiar...

I think we are going to book with them. We have to actually go there to give them the deposit, though... I'm kind of a chicken, but I could probably get Eddie to start acting like we're considering not going with it because we heard lower prices...haha. And then he could say we're also planning to go look at another place.... which we might do. I'll have to see what he thinks about that.

Anyway, I realized I gave them the wrong number to call me back yesterday (still kinda new number that I thought I knew but messed up a couple numbers). So I called them back. For the vegetarian meals, she said we could bring stuff in that the caterer would prepare for us. They normally don't allow people to bring in food, but they really don't have anything for vegetarians. So, I e-mailed one of my vegetarian friends to see if she had any ideas on what we could bring.

Soooo... now we have to find a time to go there. Hopefully something gets worked out soon 'cause this is the biggest part that's been worrying me about everything we don't have done.

[Ninedays9]

We are FINALLY going to book the reception hall on Thursday. Eddie even called and left a message saying we should go do it that day because he's got the day off. So I'm going to hold him to that! More updates to come after that.

[Ninedays9]

We booked the reception hall!! Yaaaay!! It was a little bit disappointing 'cause the person who knows all the info. about the hall wasn't there. But we got all the info. on pricing and all that. And we got to see the hall. We'd been there before, but there was a class going on, so we couldn't go in.

So now we need to call the caterer and tell her the meal that we want. I haven't actually talked to her yet in the couple times I've called there... but hopefully she's nice.

And then I finally got a library card in this county, after living here for over a year. (I'm a library science student, so that was very slow of me.) I've been to the library a couple times for class assignments, observing a reference librarian. She was there today, and she and the other librarian there got me to sign up for their winter program... you get a free mug just for signing up, and then there's weekly drawings when you read books. I think it's the coolest thing. So I'm all excited about that... and I even got a couple of budget bride books, including one that tells how to find deals.

It's been a good day. :)

[Kari&Jeremy]

It sounds like you have a lot accomplished. I love your dress!

[Ninedays9]

I got a few things to check off my to-do list. I got a tiara: http://cgi.ebay.com/Light-blue-Bridal-Wedding-Veil-Swarovski-Tiara-New-bT22_W0QQitemZ270336592422QQcmdZViewItemQQptZHair_ Jewelry_Accessories?hash=item270336592422&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C 240%3A1318%7C301%3A0%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50. I bid on it and won, and it came today.

I also told the bridesmaids that I wanted to have the dresses ordered soon. I know about when three of four are going to order. One hasn't gotten back to me, but I'm sure she'll be able to around the time the others do. Two of them I think are coming here on the 21st, so we can go together. One of those two is my FBIL's wife, so they're both coming... so FBIL and Eddie will go and pick out tuxes that day.

And, we both got our W-2's today, so we're in the process of filing. We're gonna get a lot more back than I thought, so we should be able to pay for quite a bit of stuff. Yaaaaay!!

To do for this week, should I find time amidst work and homework: call the hotel, call the the caterer, find the veil I want on Ebay and do the "buy it now" option. Next week, when I hopefully have less homework: call or e-mail the cake place I'm interested in, check out some other cake places just in case, set up cake tastings, find out about florists (I have two in mind I want to contact).

[Ninedays9]

I never posted the picture of the actual dress I got here, so I'm going to, just so it is here:

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn12/ninedays9/IMG_3241.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn12/ninedays9/IMG_3245.jpg

And while I'm thinking of that, I also need to contact some seamstresses. There's one that it seems like a lot of people on a Minnesota bride message board are using and like... so I'm going to contact her, I think.

[Kay]

I luv your blue tiara ~ fantastic idea!

[Ninedays9]

I've got a couple things to report.

My parents are funny. My mom told my dad to come up with a song for the father/daughter dance. He was thinking about it... and then it randomly came to him. I think it's called "I think about you." It's by Collin Raye. I like that song. I think we'll end up going with that one... and if so, it'll be one of two country songs that Eddie will allow to be played at the reception. The other is "I'm only me when I'm with you" by Taylor Swfit, if we end up having a slide show.

Annnnd... there was a lot of talk on a Minnesota bride message board about a local seamstress, so I e-mailed her about alterations. Hopefully she's not overly expensive. I'm really hoping that since I bought a dress that actually mostly fit me (unlike most where the top was way too big), it won't be that much.

I still need to call the caterer, the cake place, the hotel..... the list goes on and on. Oh yeah, I also e-mailed a DJ, but I worry about how we're going to pay for all this!

[Ninedays9]

I got an e-mail back about the alterations, and she said I probably wouldn't need to start on it until around May (though I could go in anytime). So I think I'm going to wait on that until April or May.

We also should have a meeting set up with a cake place soon. That's one of the things I've been most excited about... cake tasting! That, along with picking out my dress and registering were on my top most exciting planning things.

Speaking of registering, we wanted to do it this Sunday... though I kind of have this feeling it won't happen.

Annnd... the DJ company that I e-mailed hasn't responded. Their website honestly didn't look that promising to me, but Eddie is determined not to go with the one that is 19 year old. I don't know what will happen with that... but I do know the wedding date isn't getting any further away. It's a bit scary of a prospect... but I think it'll all work out in the end. It has to, everyone already has STDs from us. (As much as I'd love to end it that way, I have to say I put that sentence in on purpose, haha.)

[Ninedays9]

We started one of our registries! Yay! We went to Target today and set it up. We had interesting little conversations on what to and not to register for. There was a lot of "I'll scan you!" going on, haha. We're weird like that. But it was kinda fun. We added a lot of kitchen electronics and gadgets that we don't have.

I think we're also going to go to Bed Bath and Beyond to look at things like bedding and towels. And then Target had no good lamps or picture frames. Sooo... we might actually have our registries done by Tuesday. Very cool. :)

[Kay]

Sounds soooo fun! I once heard a couple say they got in a TERRIBlE fight ~ over registering! HOW SILLY! It seems like loads of fun to me!! :o I can't wait!! FH & I are gonna go gun-scanning crazy! hee hee hee

[Whitewater]

Hey Heather!

What cake place did you finally decide on? I'm just being nosy :) And which seamstress? I'm curious because it sounds like you and I might have the same person. Inquiring minds want to know! I'm just being my curious self.

Whitewater

[Ninedays9]

Hey Heather!

What cake place did you finally decide on? I'm just being nosy :) And which seamstress? I'm curious because it sounds like you and I might have the same person. Inquiring minds want to know! I'm just being my curious self.

Whitewater

I'm actually hoping to meet with the lady that you recommended to me. We keep never having good times to meet with her. Otherwise, we're considering looking at the ones at Target and seeing how much they are there. For the seamstress, I e-mailed a lady named Louise. That's about all I really know about her... I noticed a lot of people were talking about her on The Knot, so I e-mailed her. She said I could wait until around April or even May to get measured.

And... to further update, we went to David's Bridal today. One of the bridesmaids ordered her dress, so there's two more left. One of them said last night something about wanting to keep her weight down to order a size 6... I think I'm gonna send her a message and tell her to just order the 6 'cause that's what she was at when they tried them on before, and she can always get it altered. I can't really imagine her getting a full size bigger before the wedding.

Then I got a fabric swatch with the color of the dresses and went over to Mens Wearhouse to check out tuxes. The guy in there was like "I see you have a card from what looks like David's Bridal, and that looks like cornflower!" Haha, he was funny. Anyway, we set up tuxes for the groomsmen, for Eddie, and for the dads. They looked quite snazzy. Eddie finally got to experience some of what I've already experienced about 3 times.. picking out the attire. He said it made it feel more real. And I got twinges of excitement while we were there.

Soooo... that's one thing down, 80 million more to go!

[TeacherSonja]

Hey, I just noticed that we have the same wedding date :) You have so much done already - I am at the very beginning. The 5 month mark is almost here. I wish you good luck planning and hope everything turns out the way you planned.

BTW I love your tiara!

[caligal85]

Sounds soooo fun! I once heard a couple say they got in a TERRIBlE fight ~ over registering! HOW SILLY! It seems like loads of fun to me!! :o I can't wait!! FH & I are gonna go gun-scanning crazy! hee hee hee

Ohmigosh were they talking about FH and me at Bed Bath and Beyond? I almost punched him in the face. I think he was really bored and I finally told him he could leave and I would do it alone. He didn't like that idea, but we had sooooo much fun doing our Target registry. I think he might have been pmsing.

Anywho, how goes the DJ search?

[Ninedays9]

Anywho, how goes the DJ search?

Still no luck... I still really want to go with the guy who's 19 'cause he's only $495. Personally, I just want someone that knows which music to play when, and how to make announcements. So I don't care if he's younger, as long as he does have some experience with weddings. But Eddie still insists he doesn't want someone that young to be the DJ. Soo I'm not sure what's gonna happen. I might e-mail the young DJ again and see if he's available... maybe we can just meet with him and see how professional he is.

[lalaland13]

I don't see a problem with going with the young kid. He's of age. I mean, he can't drink at the wedding, but so what? Does he have any specific problem with the guy? Did y'all meet with the guy and he kept making fart noises?

That's a cute song for you and your dad. Speaking of dresses, I want to buy a new dress for the wedding! I just thought of that.

[Ninedays9]

My shower date is probably set! It will be on June 6th. I've got a summer class two weekends in June, and the one in the middle is father's day, and then the first weekend in July is the 4th... so that's the only weekend that worked. I kind of feel like telling my friends right now 'cause they seem to make plans very far in advance. Is that bad etiquette to do that?

I'm also kind of excited because on the Minnesota Knot boards, they were talking about DJ prices, and someone mentioned one that costs $250. So, I e-mailed them to see if they are available, and I figured I'd get more details if they are. Otherwise, there's a place that has like 15 DJs, and they are $540.

I honestly don't care that much about what the DJ is like, as long as they're not over the top cheesy. I just want someone that can make announcements and play music. I really don't want to have to do it ourselves, especially since we don't really know anyone that has that type of personality that could do it for us. If the one that's $250 is available, we'll probably end up booking with them, even if they aren't as flashy as some of the ones that cost way more. I really hope they are available!

Not too much other news... I've been meaning to make a list for Michael's. I want to see if I can find stuff for the centerpieces. And then I also wanted to make program fans, so I want to look at stuff for thos. And I was thinking of possibly seeing what they have for jewelry making. My sister is really creative with that stuff, so I want to go with her and see if she has an ideas. If I don't see anything there, I may see if I can find anything in the Avon catalogs for the bridesmaids.

For my jewelry, I will probably be wearing a pearl necklace that belonged to my great grandma that my grandma now has. My mom wore it on her wedding day. My mom asked my grandma about it, and my grandma is all excited. I'm a little bit afraid about what they're going to look like with my blue tiara and veil that has flowers on it (if I get that veil). I feel bad for thinking like that because of the history of the necklace... and it is one less thing to think about (both my jewelry and "something old" taken care of). For whoever reads this, do you think it would look ok?

I've also been e-mailing with a florist that is on Craigslist. It seems like she'd have good prices, but I should really call her 'cause I'm finding myself a little doubtful since it was originally through Craigslist. She keeps mentioning how she is booking up fast and how brides are always amazed by her prices and the samples she shows them. But it's hard to say if that's actually true based on e-mails.

I think that is all I have to update on... I should have a very exciting non-wedding update next weekend, but I don't want to say anything until it is 100%.

[Ninedays9]

Oh, and I have also been looking a little bit at wedding bands for Eddie. I was looking on Etsy to start, and I bookmarked a couple that I liked. I showed them to Eddie, and the one that got a response from him was this one:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=sr_gallery_11&listing_id=20779137&ga_search_query=wedding+band&ga_search_type=tag_title

I'm a bit afraid to buy from there though, rather than a professional jeweler. And the fact that it can't be resized is a little scary. Soo I'm not sure what we'll do. We'll probably go to a jewelry store first to see what styles and metal types he likes.

[Ninedays9]

While I'm on the updating kick, I'll also put up my updated to-do list.

Things in bold are done, comments in red:

-Call VFW for reception, hope it’s open!! -booked and paid the deposit
-Decide on the meal, bar choices – VFW does catering -this has been decided on, but we need to call the caterer like... 3 weeks ago.
-Set up meetings with DJs -e-mailed two djs, hopefully one works
-Set up meetings with florists (photography/officiant company has a florist)
-Set up meetings with cake bakers (have one in mind in Onewed mail)
-Find a cake topper
-Aisle runner??
-Order bridesmaid dresses -two are ordered, one's ordering this weekend, one of them I need to talk to and see when she's going to order
-Find the exact number/style again so they can order - it was already on the computer at DB
-Help them find seamstress?
-Get guys together for tux decisions
-Get guys together for fittings? (not sure how tuxes work but FBIL will know) - doing this on the shower day
-Decide on engagement pictures – photographer does them free
-Find seamstress, schedule fittings! - in contact with a seamstress, setting it up for April
-Find under clothes that work with the dress
-Pick veil, tiara, shoes, jewelry
-Figure out something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue
-Pick attendants jewelry and shoes
-Invitations – choose and send
-Hotel room blocking – our room and guest rooms, decide how many rooms to block
-Honeymoon details??????
-Register for gifts -registered at Target
-Buy guestbook and card box
-Buy bubbles -want to make labels for them
-Make signs for reserved tables for immediate family at reception
-Purchase materials for Hershey Rosebud centerpieces, order cellophane, find ribbons that work, decide on wire or something else for them, find florist tape or green pipe cleaners
-Put together centerpieces – find a day when all the girls can get together if they want to help
-Pick out other decorations for reception –confetti, rose petals(?), mirrors (?), candles(?)
-Pick out decorations for cake table – I DO letters?
-Decide on rehearsal dinner – where to have it, what time to have rehearsal (decided on not having minister there but still want rehearsal)
-Figure out gifts to give the attendants, buy them
-Figure out transportation for wedding day
-Come up with the ceremony wording, choose a prayer for service, e-mail the minister about it to make sure it’s good, possibly meet with him again before the wedding
-Buy sand ceremony vases and sand (sand at Michaels in our colors)
-Choose song for father/daughter dance, come up with lists of other songs to be played and not played
-Choose other song for slideshow, choose pictures, put slideshow together
-Purchase wedding rings
-Thank you gifts for parents
-Pick out a hairstyle I want – find a salon, set up trial?, decide on makeup
-Ceremony programs -want to do fan programs – it will be hot! So, purchase materials and come up with wording for programs
-Come up with a list for the photographer of which pictures we want done
-Give Krista the addresses for the women to invite to the shower

[TeacherSonja]

Your to-do list is getting smaller! :) I love the wedding band, your FH has a great taste! The necklace will look good, but try it on first with the tiara and veil and see how you feel about it. Then you'll definitely know. Can't wait to hear the exciting update!

[Mrs.Goff]

I really like the ring. However I would also be nervous ordering something that can't be resized. Can you visit local stores and have him try on something similar to make sure of his size. My FH tried on 2 rings at the same store (different styles) one was 11 and the other was a 12 and they both fit. Best of luck with that.

As for your tiara and necklace. I think it would look fine but agree with Teachersonja that you should try it all on and see what you think.

[Ninedays9]

For some reason, I haven't had much inspiration for planning lately. It's probably because too much other stuff is going on the needs more attention right now. Unfortunately, I think I'm already at the state where I'm tired of planning and just want the wedding to be here... even though there's still a lot left to do.

We did, however, go and get some blue picture frames for the guestbook table and the cake table. I'd been waiting for an employee extra discount day at Kohl's. We also got some nifty blue glasses that have nothing to do with the wedding but are cool, haha.

And then for the news I was talking about... We are moving out at the end of the month, and we're moving to a house that we're going to rent. We just went and looked at the house today. It's interesting... it's quite old, so it's got the narrow, steep stairs. It's got two floors, though I doubt I'll spend much time upstairs 'cause the ceiling is low, so it kinda gives me claustrophobia. But, all in all, it's much better than an apartment, about the same price when it's all said and done, and we can get a cat or two!! I am very excited!

We actually went to look at Petsmart today 'cause I have a gift card from a friend, and Eddie said I had a "glow." We don't actually have the cat yet, but I wanted to look around and get an idea of what I wanted to buy with the gift card and what I wanted to get from Walmart.

We've got a busy two weeks coming up, but it'll be exciting.

[Kay]

For some reason, I haven't had much inspiration for planning lately. It's probably because too much other stuff is going on the needs more attention right now. Unfortunately, I think I'm already at the state where I'm tired of planning and just want the wedding to be here... .

Well, I feel the same way. We have LOTS to do for the wedding AND we are buying a home & moving in the next month! I agree, I just want the wedding here & "over with" ~ if I would have known the stress a wedding can cause, I would have had about a 3-month engagement. Oh Well. Good luck with your move and have fun! We decided to focus on the house for the next month or so... and THEN the wedding... one thing at a time. :upsidown:

[TeacherSonja]

It's great that you're moving to a house - good luck with your move! Focusing on the house will help you a lot. I was tired of thinking about the wedding too, and for the past month we've been working on our house. Now, I can't wait to finish with that and get back to planning!

[Ninedays9]

My sister and I went shopping today for some of the DIY stuff that I wanna do. We went to Michael's first. I got the sand for our sand ceremony (blue and purple). I also got sticks (popsicle type) for the program fans that I wanna make. I found a box of 75 for $3... and then at the end of the aisle, there was a box of 300 for $3. They were the same size sticks. It didn't make sense to me.

And then we were looking at stuff for the centerpieces. I got a bag of very shiny clear marbles as a filler in the vases, and I'm going to test it to see how many bags I will need. Hopefully not as many as I think I'll need 'cause they're $2.30 each.

Then, we were looking at wire for the hershey rosebuds. It was $3 for 12 wires. I decided to look at Wal-mart instead.

We also went to DSW shoes, which was not as great for this purpose as I thought. I did find some cool flip-flop wedges that I will probably purchase if I don't find anything else for my shoes. They're white, probably 3-4 inches tall, and then the part that goes over the toes is a metal decoration. So they're fancier than typical flip flops, but they're not a typical wedding shoe. Then again... an outdoor wedding kind of changes wedding attire.

Next, we went to Walmart. I happened upon a clearance section in crafts, and they had florist wire. It was 88 cents for 30 wires (remember: Michael's was $3 for 12 wires)! The wires are 18 inches, so I can cut them in half to make two (the vases are about 7 inches tall) I also got a wire cutter and some pieces that make the stem stronger (both on clearance as well). Apparently the wire I bought is meant to be wrapped around the stem to strengthen it, but... I went to a site on making hershey rosebuds, and it says to use those as the stems, so it ended up working out for me. I am so happy I found those 'cause it saved me a lot of money!

We also stopped at Party City, where they have cello-wrap... but they didn't really have any good blue colors. I might have to order that online... or settle for having purple rosebuds with blue ribbon. I considered using tissue paper 'cause Hallmark (also stopped there quickly) had some that actually came very close to matching the BM dress color (not much stuff out there does!) But that seems like a scary idea to me since it's not very strong. If you're reading this and you have any ideas on what I could use in the rosebuds besides cellophane, that'd be cool. :)

Oh yeah... I looked at invites at both Michael's and Wal-mart, and I really don't like any of them... I was hoping to get some in our colors, but none of them even came close. So I'm not sure what I'm going to do for those... maybe figure something out on Vistaprint.

Anyway... I'd say it was a successful trip!

[Ninedays9]

I decided to test out the marbles I bought in the vases with the stems. I'm not sure I like the small marbles. I'm thinking about going to the dollar store and getting some of the gems they have there. I might mix the smaller ones with those and see how that looks. But anyway, it's kinda scary 'cause these centerpieces are going to be a loooot of work.

And... I saw these pails at Wal-mart in the Easter section that just about match the cornflower color, and I am debating... if they're there when that stuff goes on clearance, I might get some to put on tables and put candy in them. Then people would have a favor right away, since they'd have to wait for the rosebuds.

[f77g4]

Sounds like a successful shopping trip.

Any pics of the vases with the marbles?

Heather, you had commented in my journal about a veil.....what did you need up deciding on?

[Ninedays9]

Thanks for the comment, Ashley! I didn't get a picture of the vase, though I did think about it. Next time I put it together, I will take one. Maybe a picture of how it looked last time and then one with the new ones in there, too. We went to the Dollar Tree today, and I didn't like their gem selection at all, so I'll probably look at Wal-mart in the next few days.

I'm pretty sure I decided on a veil from another ebay seller. I'm a little bit scared because of how yours turned out.. but I'm hopeful since it's a different seller and it costs a tiny bit more. I really like the flowers on it. I'll probably order it once we figure out exactly how the budget is gonna work once we move.

[f77g4]

Thanks for the comment, Ashley! I didn't get a picture of the vase, though I did think about it. Next time I put it together, I will take one. Maybe a picture of how it looked last time and then one with the new ones in there, too. We went to the Dollar Tree today, and I didn't like their gem selection at all, so I'll probably look at Wal-mart in the next few days.

I'm pretty sure I decided on a veil from another ebay seller. I'm a little bit scared because of how yours turned out.. but I'm hopeful since it's a different seller and it costs a tiny bit more. I really like the flowers on it. I'll probably order it once we figure out exactly how the budget is gonna work once we move.

Good luck with your choice!

[Ninedays9]

The Good News: My mom ordered the shoes for the girls, and they all came in!! They were $6.40 a pair. Couldn't ask for a better deal than that.

I also finally called the hotel I'd like to block rooms at. They'll be calling me back later today. I guess it's really close to where we are having our reception at, so that's nice. And it's cheaper than the other option, so I think we'll be going with that one.

Eddie's cousin gave me the number for their florist, and she is very cheap. Bridesmaids bouqets are only $15.

The Bad News: I still have no idea what we're going to do about a DJ. And I have no idea how we're going to pay for all this... it's a very scary concept.

[Ninedays9]

I finally got in contact with the hotel, and they're sending me some info. on blocking rooms. I think it's basically like a contract.

We were at the grocery store tonight, and they had some Easter candy left over, so we bought some bags of kisses on clearance for the Hershey rosebuds. So I still need silk leaves, cellophane, and marbles for the centerpieces... and then maybe some confetti or rose petals to sprinkle around it... oh yeah, and the candles.

[Ninedays9]

Got the hotel rooms all booked for the 24th and 25th. I booked two rooms that are hopefully at least next to each other if not conjoining rooms for me and the bridesmaids and another friend.

The bridal suite was all booked for that night, but that's ok actually 'cause it's $160 with the discount, and we really don't need all the stuff it would have. We probably won't be in it long enough to fully enjoy it. We got the junior suite, instead. It's only $20 more than what everyone else is paying for their regular rooms.

Also, we went to Michael's tonight. I picked out the candles first. I got four packs of 12, which is hopefully enough. I want two for each centerpieces.

Next, I checked out the clearance, and I'm so glad I did. They had somewhat simple invitation packs for $14.99 for a 50 pack. It's got silver hearts at the top... I'll take a picture soon. They are more plain that I envisioned our invites being but... the brutal truth is, most people throw invites away, anyway. I still think they look fancy enough. And I think I'll add a cute little ribbon near the top to dress it up. I need to look at them to make sure they come with everything, otherwise we might be VistaPrint'ing some things.

I also got:

- Purple cellophane (there is no blue out there that matches our color, so I'm going to use blue ribbons on the vases for the centerpieces)

- Blue and purple curling ribbon for the bubbles

- Blue ribbon to attach to the top the invites

- Craft glue stick

Overall, it was a very efficient trip!

Soooo... a probably incomplete list of what we still need to buy:

- Cake topper
- Aisle runner (maybe)
- Silk leaves for the rosebuds
- Marbles for the vases
- Confetti or rose petals
- Guest book
- Card box
- Veil
- Day of under clothes
- My shoes
- Paper for the programs
- Ribbon for the vases (from Walmart, hopefully they still have the particular ribbon I want)
- Wedding party gifts, parents gifts (this will probably be pictures, though and that will come after the wedding)

[Ninedays9]

Sigh... I just had a long post all typed out, and I lost it with my normal trick that is meant to save it. I copy my message, so if the internet screws up, I still have my post and can just hit paste.. in this case, I hit paste instead.

Anyway... I can't believe I'm such a chicken sometimes. I finally called our caterer and set up our meal choices.

I think it's a pretty good deal. For $10.00 a plate ($9.00 if by some chance we have 100 guests or more), we get...

- Roast beef
- Potatoes
- Corn
- Stuffing
- Coleslaw
- Dinner roll
- Cranberries
- Milk/coffee

Then I'm getting 2 bottles for champagne for the head table. We're also thinking of doing a keg. She thought it was about 14 pitchers, so hopefully that's enough for awhile. I know the "free" beer was a hit at Eddie's cousin's wedding.

If it's not busy on the 24th, we can come and set up... which kind of scares me 'cause it's hard to say if it's going to be busy on a Friday or not. Some places aren't so busy on Friday, but they're more busy on Saturdays. I don't imagine us coming in to decorate would be that much more of an intrusion than us coming in with the full reception party on Saturday...haha. Hopefully they have that room not open to customers if we do decorate on Friday. If we have to do in on Saturday, though, I think I'll make that the guys' job. It's going to involve putting up lights, which I would be no good at, anyway. Plus I think the girls will have more going on, with hair and make up.

So, now I just need to make sure to call her again 2 weeks before the wedding. That shouldn't be too difficult to remember, since we also have to call our ceremony place with a final guest count.

Yay, another thing to check off my list! Now it's off to call the florist Eddie's cousin recommended....maybe.

[Danielle9608]

Wow $10 a plate is a really awesome price! Congrats.

[Nekochanpurr]

Wow $10 a plate is a really awesome price! Congrats.

Heck yeah it is!!! Good job! :D

[Ninedays9]

Thanks, guys! :)

If my calculations are anywhere near correct... I added up everything (rent charge, meals, table covering, champagne, punch, keg, tax, gratuity)... and the grand result is $1510. I probably didn't add in enough tax and stuff, but I think that's pretty close. And we already put down $100 which goes towards rental (which is $2 a person), so it's really $1610 total.

Considering some places I looked at charge $2000 just to rent the place out... I'd say we're getting a good deal.

We just need to do a serious sit down and figure out where all this money is going to come from.... I think we can do it, we just need to figure it out and where to cut expenses until then to save money. I'd really rather not have it come to the wedding day and owe $2000 or more to people and not have it.... We'll make it work... hopefully. :)

[Ninedays9]

As I said earlier, Eddie's cousin was recommending to us the florist that they used. She said she (the florist) did a really good job, and she was inexpensive. So I called, and I got an appointment set up! Yay!

I also e-mailed the florist that works with our minister and photographer's company. I am going to find out details from both of them and see which one I think would do a better job for the price. They both seem to be very good, so it might come down to the price. It's especially nice that I'm not really picky... I only care about the colors, not the type of flowers.

The appointment is set for Tuesday, so I'll be updating then.

[Ninedays9]

We've got our florist! All we have to do is send her $50 to hold the date. I am extremely happy with the price.

For my bouquet, she is planning a cluster nosegay with: blue hydrangeas, white roses, purple statices, blue irises, greens, and lavender roses. This will be $65.

For the bridesmaids, she is planning a cluster with white gerbera daisies, purple statices, greens, and blue irises. These are $35 each.

Then for Eddie, he'll have a white rose boutonnierre, which is $6. The groomsmen's would also be $6, but we probably won't have those. Then there's two ushers, two dads, and two grandfathers. Then the mom's corsages will be wrist corsages for $15 each. Then there's three grandmothers, and she's planning white mini gerbera daisies for those, and they're $10 each.

The grand total, this was actually with the groomsmen's boutonnieres, is $331.

I e-mailed the other florist back to let her know we were going with the other florist, and I told her the total. She wrote back and was understanding, and she wanted to know what the bouquets were going to be and how many stems for the cost. She was concerned she was overcharging. So I told her all the prices, and she was amazed. She said she would starve if she charged those prices...haha. She also said she could have done a bouquet for $65, but not one with hydrangeas. So that was very interesting and made me happier with the prices.

In other news, I was having a hard timing finding the silk rose leaves for my hershey rosebuds. I finally found some on Ebay, where they actually come as individual leaves with wires. That way, I can attach one leaf to the rose pretty easily, and it's nice because it will probably add support in keeping the rose on the stem.

Those came today, so I am wanting to do a mock up centerpiece pretty soon with everything but the ribbon that goes around the vases. This probably won't happen until at least Monday, but I will have pictures!

[petulantfem]

Your bouquets sounds so pretty!! I love hydrangeas and I think the colours are going to look soooo pretty and romantic together. I can't wait to see it! Also, love the dress!! It reminds me of Belle's dress in Beauty and the Beast. Your wedding is coming fast - can't wait to see it!

[Ninedays9]

I've created my mock centerpieces... or at least as much as I'm going to do for tonight.

The rosebuds are extremely easy to make. I've learned one thing though... I definitely need to pick up some florist tape. Regular tape just doesn't cut it.

Anyway, the rosebuds are gorgeous! I didn't think it would work because the cellophane is kind of translucent, and we got colored kisses. They look awesome, and the kiss wrapper almost makes them look glittery. I am so excited for how these are going to look!

I will post a picture momentarily...

[f77g4]

Patiently waiting for a picture!

[Ninedays9]

I just got a coupon for 20% off my entire purchase at Michael's, so I'm thinking I'd like to get our marbles then. We need so many that it probably wouldn't be worth it to continuously go back with 40% off coupons. And I'll probably get the floral tape then, too. Maybe at 20% off, it will be comparable to Wal-mart.

And now I am off to go grab the camera so I can transfer pictures over here!

[Ninedays9]

Here's the two rosebuds I made (I didn't want to do more because I wasn't sure if the tape would wreck the cellophane, so I am waiting until I get the floral tape):
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn12/ninedays9/P5060286.jpg


Closeup:
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn12/ninedays9/P5060282.jpg


Marbles (I think I'm gonna get some bigger ones so they fill up more space, then use this particular bag randomly in all the vases):
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn12/ninedays9/P5060287.jpg


And the final result:
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn12/ninedays9/P5060285-1.jpg

I just wanted to see how the vases/marbles/rosebuds would look together. I think I will have 5 or 6 roses in each vase, along with some silk baby's breath. Then there will be a blue ribbon tied around the top of the vases. And it will all go on top of a mirror with candles on each side. The final result will look much, much better because I'll be treating the materials better, and I'll actually have them all. Hopefully I'll have a better example after the Michael's trip!

[Ninedays9]

We went to Michael's with my 20% off coupon and got some blue marbles. I wanted to mix those with the white so there'd be some blue, since the roses will be purple.

We also recently went to Wal-mart and got some of the bigger marbles for the vases. I tried mixing the blue marbles with those, and they blended right in. So I decided I'll put the blue ones in the bottom so they stand out a little bit. We also got floral tape, so if I really wanted, I coud make all of the roses.

My mom and sister sent out shower invitations. My sister had thought we registered at Kohl's, so she listed Kohl's, Target, and Bed Bath & Beyond as the places we're registered at. So, we went to Kohl's and set one up. I actually just did the Bed Bath & Beyond one online today. So now all three are set up. It's very exciting to me, haha.

We still have so much to do and so little time to do it in... I'd like get our invitations out by May 25th. They aren't printed out yet. I'm planning on making little ribbon bows to glue at the top, which I think I'm going to do tonight. Hopefully I'll be able to make my goal.

[Ninedays9]

We've started setting up our invites. We've got the main invite part done, and we've got the possible RSVP card. I just put together the entire address list, and we'll have 45 invites and 101 people invited. So if everyone comes (which I know they won't), there will be 103 people there. I'm expecting between 70 and 80. That'll be a decent number. I'm still debating if I want to make little ribbon bows to put on the invites to dress them up a little.

[Ninedays9]

Onewed strikes again! We need a DJ, and I e-mailed the guys I had been in contact with before, but they are booked for the day. I looked on Onewed, and I found two DJs that are married and run their own business. Their prices are $350, $450, and $550. I think we'll end up going with the $450 one because that's what they say is ideal for under 100 guests. And better yet, they prefer to meet at night or on Sundays, which works the best for us, too. So I asked about setting up a meeting, and hopefully we can early next week! Yay!! I am very excited about that because the DJs I meantioned earlier kind of gave me a bad vibe... probably because they're in college and don't seem nearly as professional as the new ones.

I also got my shoes. I posted about that in the dresses forum.

[Ninedays9]

Sooo... since the shower invites have been sent out, I've been peeking at our registries, just see if anyone's gotten anything. And now someone has! Someone got all the solid color towels we had on there (we also had some fancy hand towels, which is why I specified, haha). Annnd.. I found these nifty glasses in the seasonal area. They're plastic, but it's thick plastic. They're clear on bottom and blue bubbles on top. These were what I most wanted from our Kohl's registry, and someone purchased them. Yay! I told Eddie, and he said "Quit peeking!" It's going to be extremely hard to not... Ahh, how exciting!

[f77g4]

Cool congrats!

[Ninedays9]

With less than two months to go... here's my condensed to do list:

Needs to be done:
-Go to Target for info on cakes
-Find a cake topper
-Aisle runner??
-Decide on engagement pictures – photographer does them free
-Find seamstress, schedule fittings!
-Find under clothes that work with the dress
-Pick veil
-Pick attendants jewelry
-Invitations – send
-Honeymoon details??????
-Buy guestbook and card box
-Put together centerpieces – find a day when all the girls can get together if they want to help
-Figure out gifts to give the attendants, buy them
-Figure out transportation for wedding day
-Come up with the ceremony wording, choose a prayer for service, e-mail the minister about it to make sure it’s good, possibly meet with him again before the wedding
-Buy sand ceremony vases
- Come up with lists of other songs to be played and not played
-Choose other song for slideshow, choose pictures, put slideshow together
-Purchase wedding rings
-Thank you gifts for parents
-Pick out a hairstyle I want – find a salon, set up trial?, decide on makeup
-Ceremony programs
-Come up with a list for the photographer of which pictures we want done
-Finish ribbon on bubbles, find a basket or something for them to go in
-Ask about tables at the ceremony to see if we need to bring one

Wait for Later List:
-Marriage license
-Put engagement notice in papers
-Make sure we have comfortable chairs for grandparents and other older guests, possibly figure out a tent for them to sit under?
-Final dress fittings
-Pick up rings
-Figure out final head count for caterer
-Come up with detailed schedule of wedding reception events (first dance, dinner, cake-cutting)
-Decide how much for gratuities or gifts for vendors
-Make sure everything is paid for!!
-Come up with a list of everything each of us needs for the wedding day, gather it all together
-Confirm final details with all vendors
-Assign tasks for wedding party for the wedding day
-Figure out name change process (not looking forward to that process!!)
-Purchase thank you cards
-Set up photobucket site for pictures

Maybe:
-Make cards to put at tables with instructions on how and where to upload pictures
-Picture frames and pictures to put up at the reception (only if we get engagement pictures done)


It's a lot smaller! There is still a lot to do... but I think we can do it. We've got our meeting with the DJs on Sunday.

What's awesome is that Eddie's parents are going to take care of the rehearsal dinner completely. I wasn't sure if they had thought about it, since they hadn't said anything. Eddie's mom asked me about it, though, and she said they were going to take care of everything since that's the tradition. We figured out it'd be 17 people there. That's one less huge thing for me to worry about! Yay! His parents are also going to take care of all of the alcohol at the reception, which is cool.

I also figured out a cool way to incorporate one of my best friends into the wedding.... she's further away, so I didn't think it'd make sense to ask her to be a bridesmaid. Sooo, I asked if she would be an usher. She agreed to it! Eddie still needs to ask his cousin. I think his cousin will agree though because we're not asking them to buy/rent fancy outfits. I'd rather not ask his cousin to pay $150 for the tux when we're asking him at basically the last minute, here. So, as long as they get colors that go with the theme, it'll be good. And they'll get flowers so they stand out.

I've gotten a few things from Ebay for the wedding. This includes 5 spools of Cornflower colored ribbon (75 yards each) for about $5. I thought that was an amazing deal, especially considering it comes from another country. I also got some blue rose petals for the cake table, and if I can't find good confetti, it may act as confetti at the regular tables. And of course, I got my shoes from Ebay, too. (I put a bid on Snoopy and Belle in wedding outfit figurines for the cake, but I didn't win them.)

The good news is that I'm dropping my summer class, so that will open up a lot more time for me to do stuff!

[Ninedays9]

The timer kept going when I tried to edit.. but I thought I'd add that the part about dropping the class isn't entirely good news, but it is good wedding-wise.

[TeacherSonja]

You are doing great! My to-do list is pretty similar to yours. Great deal on the ribbon!

[f77g4]

How did the meeting with the DJ go?

[Ninedays9]

It went great! They are very cool. I'm not sure if I already mentioned, but it's a husband and wife. The wife does all the talking at the events and the husband does all the technical stuff. They were professional and experienced. We're going to go with the $450 package and then do a slideshow, which is an extra $100. They put the slideshow together. I was quite excited afterwards 'cause that's the last huge thing we needed to do.

[EarlyBird]

Heather im so glad to hear the dj stuff worked out for you!!!! great price too

[gwenshack]

Heather - that seems like a LONG list! :) I'm sure it'll all get done in time though! Thought I'd check out your journal to see how things are going with your plans! I like that you asked a female to be an usher. I think that's a sweet way to include her without saddling her to a guest book or something!
Can't wait to see how everything turns out. :)

[f77g4]

Glad to hear the DJ worked out for you Heather & heck one other thing crossed off your list by them doing the slideshow...lol....I think the price seems reasonable too!

[Ninedays9]

Thanks for the comments!

I am very glad we finally found a DJ. I'm actually happy with all of our vendor selections. It really goes to show that if you do your research, you can find inexpensive, quality vendors. I think a part of it was also luck, since we ended up booking some stuff pretty late! And I also find it cool that there will now be two husband/wife pairs working for our wedding. And they were both found through Onewed.

My list does seem long, but it was about three times as long before, haha. I think it's manageable, especially now that I don't have that summer class. That would've had me glued to books until June 28th.

[EarlyBird]

You know. i dont know if this is the same for other brides.. but i really found that the last two weeks, my list managed to work out without me stressing.. for example, on my list was "contact all vendors 1 week prior to confirm times" they really all contacted me about 13 days before so that was perfect, something i didnt have to worry about. Also, the band helped me by suggesting things when "pick entrance song" was on my list etc etc ... things will fall into place.. my lsit was two handwritten pages front and back up until 2 weeks before.

[BelhurstBride]

Did you wake up today and think "I get married NEXT MONTH!"?? Because I did!! :whoohoo: It's so fun to say "next month"!

[Ninedays9]

Haha, I didn't think of that, but I am now! That is very exciting!

[Ninedays9]

My ticker is now down to days rather than months... scary!

Here is the updated to-do list:

Needs to be done:
-Go to Target for info on cakes
-Find a cake topper
-Aisle runner??
-Decide on engagement pictures – photographer does them free
-Pick veil
-Pick attendants jewelry
-Honeymoon details??????
-Buy guestbook and card box
-Put together centerpieces – find a day when all the girls can get together if they want to help
-Figure out gifts to give the attendants, buy them
-Figure out transportation for wedding day
-Come up with the ceremony wording, choose a prayer for service, e-mail the minister about it to make sure it’s good, possibly meet with him again before the wedding
-Buy sand ceremony vases
-Choose other song for slideshow, choose pictures, put slideshow together
-Purchase wedding rings
-Thank you gifts for parents
-Ceremony programs
-Come up with a list for the photographer of which pictures we want done

Wait for Later List:
-Marriage license
-Put engagement notice in papers
-Make sure we have comfortable chairs for grandparents and other older guests, possibly figure out a tent for them to sit under?
-Final dress fittings
-Pick up rings
-Figure out final head count for caterer
-Come up with detailed schedule of wedding reception events (first dance, dinner, cake-cutting)
-Decide how much for gratuities or gifts for vendors
-Make sure everything is paid for!!
-Come up with a list of everything each of us needs for the wedding day, gather it all together
-Confirm final details with all vendors
-Assign tasks for wedding party for the wedding day
-Figure out name change process (not looking forward to that process!!)
-Purchase thank you cards
-Set up photobucket site for pictures

Maybe:
-Make cards to put at tables with instructions on how and where to upload pictures
-Picture frames and pictures to put up at the reception (only if we get engagement pictures done)

[Ninedays9]

The list is still kind of big, but we've gotten quite a bit of big things done. The invitations are all out now, and we're waiting on 16 more RSVPs. That's not bad, I think.

I just set up an appointment for me and all the bridesmaids plus the female usher to get our hair done. According to their website, it's only $14.95 starting for up-dos. So I'm guessing that's what the short-hair girls will be around for price. I'm not sure how much mine will be. I should've asked.

I made a little list of songs I wanted played and not played at the wedding. The only song on the do not play list is "Save a Horse Ride a Cowboy." I saw that on their most requested list, and I immediately put it on our do not play list. I despise that song... mostly because it reminds me of my ex and a very bad weekend spent with him. I still can't decide between two Nine Days songs for our first dance song. One is a cheesy love song, and the other is a pretty song, but I don't know if I like the lyrics as much for that particular occassion. Both songs are in the male's perspective, which makes sense since it's a male singing. We also still need to decide on father/daughter and mother/son dance songs. I told the DJ I didn't care about the dollar dance song. And we're thinking of having "Closing Time" as the last song of the night.

I also purchased my under-stuff for the dress. It's just a strapless bra, so hopefully it works! I'm not sure what else is supposed to be worn under a wedding dress, but I figure I don't really need any more layers in the hot July weather.

I've begun cutting cellophane squares for the hershey rosebuds. Cutting cellophane is a pain in the you know what. Vana, if you are reading this, you were right. I remember you saying something about it being annoying to cut. But so far, I've got 55 squares, and there is plenty left, so there should be lots of extra if I need it. Those centerpieces are going to really suck to make, but I know they will be worth it. I ordered cream-colored baby's breath to go with the rosebuds. I wanted blue, but I found a deal on Ebay where I could get 24 for $13. That's the best deal I've seen, so I went with it. I also got my cornflower blue ribbon in from another country... and it actually nearly perfectly matches the bridesmaid dresses. I was so excited about that because no ribbon I've seen anywhere else does. So that's going to go around the candles and in little bows on the programs.

What else, what else... We need to go get information about Target cakes on Sunday. I'm going to be busy shopping with my mom and sister on Sunday, which is the only other good day for FH, so Saturday it is. We're going to be going "up north" over the weekend of the 4th, so that is out for wedding stuff.

We're still trying to decide on honeymoon details. We could go to the lake that his family has a place by... We'd be alone, and it's a very peaceful place. Almost nobody if anybody goes there during the week. I would love it because we could jet ski and have the lake to ourselves. On the other hand, the excitement wouldn't really be there... we've already seen everything that that area has to offer. On the other hand again, I think the honeymoon should be about spending quality time together, which we could get at the lake.

We're also considering Door County in Wisconsin, but that's a good 6 hours away from us, and we'd have to spend quite a bit on a hotel room. On the plus side, I think it'd be really fun to actually take a trip with Eddie, since we never, ever go anywhere. The last time we went somewhere together (and the only time) was to Milwaukee in 2007. One of my friends lives in Wisconsin, and she says her favorite place ever is Door County, so it's made me very curious to see it!

Lastly, we need to decide quickly if we want to take advantage of our photographers free studio session. I say we might as well, since we got picture frames to put up at the wedding... but, like I said, we need to decide soon.

I think that is all I've got for updates for now...haha, I should update more often instead of massive updates, but oh well.

[lalaland13]

I like the idea of Closing Time as the last song. Trying to think of other songs in that same vein-there's a song by the British group The Editors that is kind of along the same line called "An End Has a Start."

Also you should listen to the CD sent from a certain person and see if you want to play any of those songs at any point, muahaha.

I have never heard the song "Save a Horse Ride a Cowboy," but oh my, I'd put that on my DNP list too.

Going through iTunes now-god I get so easily distracted on iTunes.

[Ninedays9]

We went to Target yesterday, and we just caught the cake decorator, who was leaving for the day. We set up a time to go there tomorrow. She's going to have samples! So I am excited about that.

I feel a little bad 'cause my aunt made the cake for two of my cousins' weddings. And my cousins (my aunts daughters) also did photography at both my other cousins' weddings. So a couple weeks ago, they told me that they were willing to do the cake and the photography for my wedding, also.

However... we already had our photographer booked. I am glad we booked with the professional though; we were very impressed with her work.

And for the cake... the cakes my aunt made were very pretty, and I thought it tasted good, but it was dry. She was saying that it was difficult to bake a cake in the heat. Plus, she lives probably 2 hours from our wedding spot, so it'd be difficult to travel to the wedding with it, I would think. I assumed she wouldn't want to bake ours. But, she was telling my sister she wasn't sure what to get us for a gift if we didn't want a cake. So I feel kinda bad, but I think the arrangements we already had planned will work out the best for us.

I made some other progress. I got my dress for the rehearsal dinner, and it has blue and purple on it. It's purty. I'll take some pics of it soon.

I also found some clearance necklace/earring sets (hearts with little gems surrounding the heart), and they just happened to have 4 of them. They were $5.40, plus I had my associate discount... and $4.70 on a gift card. So they ended up being around $13.75 for all 4. Very cool. I was having a hard time finding jewelry I liked anywhere.

And then I got the mugs for the groomsmen and the male usher. So now we need to find a time to get them engraved.

I am happy with what I got done!

[gwenshack]

Mmmmm cake samples. :) We never got to do a tasting - not that our cake didn't end up great - but who doesn't like to do a little taste test? :)

[Kay]

OMG! I just read your journal and my-o-my are you getting things done! Awesome!! I can't believe how quickly the summer is flying by! You will have to post pictures of your rehearsal dress!

[f77g4]

Mmmmm cake samples. :) We never got to do a tasting - not that our cake didn't end up great - but who doesn't like to do a little taste test? :)

We didn't get one either.... How exciting that you do Heather!

[Ninedays9]

OMG! I just read your journal and my-o-my are you getting things done! Awesome!! I can't believe how quickly the summer is flying by! You will have to post pictures of your rehearsal dress!

Yes it really is flying by. That means the actual wedding day is going to go even faster, so we'll hopefully get lots and lots of pictures!

[Ninedays9]

Eddie's mom called... She is setting up the rehearsal dinner and wanted to make sure she had the number of people right. The whole wedding party was ok with the time we set for the rehearsal, so that was cool. There's so many little details like that to think of, so I hope we don't end up forgetting something important!

Anyway, she also said she wants to take us shopping tomorrow night for a wedding gift, but she didn't say where. So that is making me very curious!

[Ninedays9]

We've got our cake all taken care of! The decorator gave us little samples of all three kinds of cake, four kinds of fillings, and the two frostings. We decided on a three tier square cake. The first layer will be marble with chocolate filling. The second layer will be chocolate with the yellow filling... I forget what it's called. And then, since we didn't want to use fondant (we were going for taste over looks there), we're having white frosting on the whole thing. The ridges at the bottom of the layers will be purple, and then there will be a blue flower on top and flowers going down the side of it.

She said they run from $150 to $210... but then after she checked the price, she said it was $250. I am pretty sure that's because they have to order in the flowers that go down the side. I think it's worth it, though, since that'll make the cake look prettier and add more color. It's still the cheapest price I've found for that many pieces (70 on the bottom, 50 in the middle, and 17 on top). And it even comes assembled; my mom was worried that it wouldn't. The only bad thing is that we have to pick it up, and I'm not sure when we're going to do that. Since I have a room on the 24th at the hotel and Eddie doesn't, he'll probably be the one that gets it... or one of the groomsmen will. All of the bridesmaids are staying in rooms with me.

So that's another huge check off the list. Next up is picking out rings and turning in our application for the marriage license.

[Ninedays9]

We're now up to 86 guests, plus the two of us... which is scarily close to the point where we'll have to pay more if we don't get to 100 guests. In other words... It's 10 dollars a plate for under 100 people and 9 for 100 and over. So 90 and 100 will cost the same. Ninety-nine guests would cost an extra $90 than having 100 would.

Eddie's mom wanted us to send out one more invite (kind of a long story behind it), which would add another 5 people if they come. And then my cousin hasn't RSVP'ed, and I am pretty sure she'll come with her family... so that'd add at least 2, but it could add 6. I'm thinking if we're close enough to 100, I'm just going to tell them 100... or maybe ask if we can get the $9, since it's so close.

I've been working on the hershey rosebuds. First, I cut probably around $120 peices of cellophane (not fun!), and then I cut 60 peices of stem wire into 120 peices of stem wire. Now I'm in the process of actually making the roses. It's a major pain. Some of the stems do not want to cooperate and stay in the rose. I don't really care of they're not like, super glued on since people will demolish the rose when they want the hershey kisses anyway, but some of the stems were easily falling out. So some of them have lots of florist tape on them. And speaking of florist tape, that is some weird stuff! It's difficult to tell which side is actually the sticky side, so sometimes I cut a peice and forget which side is which. And then I get the stickiness all over my fingers. Yuck! I'll be glad when those are done, but I still have 78 more to go. The good news is that they are coming out nicely! Eddie really likes them. I just have to figure out how to let people know that they're also favors and that they should take one when they leave.

I think when the wedding is done, I'll be teeter-tottering between being sad that it's actually over and happy that I'm married and all the planning/stress is done.

[f77g4]

Congrats on getting the cake taken care of! Sounds like a good price compared to what some are paying...sorry to hear you have to pick it up though. I'm so glad that we don't have to do anything with ours - she delivers and setsup.

[Kay]

The cake sounds awesome and decently priced... the wedding gift shopping sounds fun and now I'm curious for you, too... and since you're so close, SURELY they will honor the $9 price??!! Good Luck! You are sooooo close! :)

[Ninedays9]

We went over to FH's parents' house a couple nights ago, and his mom wanted to show us something on the computer. Apparently, she had been looking at TVs at different places online. We registered for a $500 one at Target, and we figured we wouldn't get it, so we were planning on using the cash gifts on that. Now we don't have to because she picked one out that was an upgrade from the one we'd put on the registry at Target. The most convenient/cheapest place they had it at was Walmart, so we went there and got it! And she even got us a wall mounter for it, since the entertainment center we have now is too small for it. Wow!

Eddie has been giddy like a little kid since we got it. I am quite happy with it as well. It was exciting to get our first gift!

In other news, I have my fitting tonight for my dress and I am a little nervous. When I tried the dress on, it was back in November... and I could have easily gained weight since then. Fortunately, my dress has a corset back, so it's a little more forgiving, but I am still nervous. And I also am nervous about how I need help putting it on....haha. I am a rather modest person when it comes to stuff like that. When I tried it on at the store, the sales girl insisted that everyone come in to the room with me as I tried dresses on, and I was annoyed by it. But I think the alterations will end up ok. I trust the lady who is doing them very much -- everyone on the Minnesota Knot message board seems to highly recommend her.

The florist called me yesterday, wanting to know the final details. I could tell she thought I was silly for wanting a boutinerre(?) for the ushers and not the groomsmen... but she doesn't know that one of our ushers is a female who will be wearing a different dress than the bridesmaids, so I want her to stand out. We also decided to have her deliver the flowers, since we already have to go pick up the cake on the 24th. It's an extra $50, but it will probably be worth it, especially since flowers are so delicate and would probably require refrigeration.

And that is all for now...

[f77g4]

Congrats on your first gift!!! Such a nice gift from your FIL's.

When we first bought our house in 2007 FH was I need a big screen TV. It was all picked up and financing arranged even before we moved into the house....so I can understand what you are dealing with your FH being all giddy!

[amisteratwisterandme]

We're now up to 86 guests, plus the two of us... which is scarily close to the point where we'll have to pay more if we don't get to 100 guests. In other words... It's 10 dollars a plate for under 100 people and 9 for 100 and over. So 90 and 100 will cost the same. Ninety-nine guests would cost an extra $90 than having 100 would.

Eddie's mom wanted us to send out one more invite (kind of a long story behind it), which would add another 5 people if they come. And then my cousin hasn't RSVP'ed, and I am pretty sure she'll come with her family... so that'd add at least 2, but it could add 6. I'm thinking if we're close enough to 100, I'm just going to tell them 100... or maybe ask if we can get the $9, since it's so close.

I've been working on the hershey rosebuds. First, I cut probably around $120 peices of cellophane (not fun!), and then I cut 60 peices of stem wire into 120 peices of stem wire. Now I'm in the process of actually making the roses. It's a major pain. Some of the stems do not want to cooperate and stay in the rose. I don't really care of they're not like, super glued on since people will demolish the rose when they want the hershey kisses anyway, but some of the stems were easily falling out. So some of them have lots of florist tape on them. And speaking of florist tape, that is some weird stuff! It's difficult to tell which side is actually the sticky side, so sometimes I cut a peice and forget which side is which. And then I get the stickiness all over my fingers. Yuck! I'll be glad when those are done, but I still have 78 more to go. The good news is that they are coming out nicely! Eddie really likes them. I just have to figure out how to let people know that they're also favors and that they should take one when they leave.

I think when the wedding is done, I'll be teeter-tottering between being sad that it's actually over and happy that I'm married and all the planning/stress is done.

If you order 90 dinners at $10.00 each, that would be $900.00, or you could order 101 dinners at $9.00 each and pay $909.00

I would just go ahead and order the few extra, which would be cheaper than just paying for even 91 people.

[Ninedays9]

The alterations appointment was tonight. It went pretty well. The seamstress is very nice; I can see why everyone recommends her. She was funny; she made a comment about how if anyone actually fit into the top of the dress, they'd topple over. She said most dresses need to be altered at the top.

I was very happy to wear the dress again. It was a very nice feeling. However... I am worried because I was soooo hot in it. I told Eddie I will probably create a lake of sweat on the wedding day. Gross, I know. I am so glad we decided against having the reception at the same place as the ceremony, since it's not air-conditioned.

Anywho, we set up another time for me to come in and make sure I like the length she sets the bottom to before she actually cuts it. And then she's going to press it, so it'll be all nice for the wedding.

The countdown is now 23 days....

[gwenshack]

23 days! Wow!
Glad you like the alterations person - that's a good sign. And that is funny about people toppling over if they fit in the tops. :)

I'm sure you'll look perfect in it, even if you're also wearing a puddle of sweat...:winktongue: You should make Eddie fan you or something! His first husbandly duty...:) LOL...

[Kay]

What a WONDERFUL first gift, btw. Excellent.

[Ninedays9]

What a WONDERFUL first gift, btw. Excellent.

I know; I was in awe, and his mom could tell, haha. She was laughing at me. I am very happy they decided to give it to us early.

[Ninedays9]

I got the silk baby's breath from Ebay today. I put together a vase with all the contents (blue marbles, regular marbles, the baby's breath, and 6 rosebuds). The baby's breath flowers are white, and I think they would've looked much better if they were blue... but oh well. The guests won't know any different. They still look cute/pretty and different from most centerpieces I've seen.

Eddie and I went to his parents' lake place this last weekend, and everyone was talking about the wedding. Eddie's brother drunkenly told me that he was going to be my brother-in-law soon, and he wanted to get to know me better. Eddie's other brother and his wife, whose wedding we met at, told us how quickly the wedding would go. I've been getting more nervous the more the days pass... I'm not one to enjoy being the center of attention, so it should be interesting!

Nineteen days to go, and seventeen days before my friend from Arkansas is here. :)

[Kay]

I've heard it does go very quickly! Strange~ we are nervous, stressed, and have planned our butts off ~ and then it just zooms... or so I hear!! You must be sooooo excited!! :)

[pinkbride]

i love the idea of hershey rose buds! any pics of your wonderful creations?

Not long to go now, im excited for you! xxxx

[lalaland13]

Aww you're so sweet for wanting me to look spiffy and floral! My mom is gonna be mailing the dress she's making tomorrow-she's gotten my measurements, so unless they're terribly wrong, I should be OK. I'm still nervous though. Just my nature, I'm afraid.

That TV gift is awesome! I just got a 22-inch and felt like I was looking at a big-screen, ha (my TV before that was the one I had in college, and it was 13 or 15 inches).

[Ninedays9]

Aww you're so sweet for wanting me to look spiffy and floral! My mom is gonna be mailing the dress she's making tomorrow-she's gotten my measurements, so unless they're terribly wrong, I should be OK. I'm still nervous though. Just my nature, I'm afraid.

That TV gift is awesome! I just got a 22-inch and felt like I was looking at a big-screen, ha (my TV before that was the one I had in college, and it was 13 or 15 inches).

I'm sure the dress will look very lovely. I'm excited to see it... and of course, you. :) The TV is very exciting... our other TV is still set up next it, haha.

[Ninedays9]

Our last two big things are checked off. We went to a mall on Sunday... I got my hair higlighted (with my long, thick hair, it took over 2 hours and costed $110 with tip). While I was doing that, he went to the ring store and looked at rings for himself. Then when I was done, we both went over there.

The ring he picked out is just a plain white gold band. I think it was $399, if that gives any indicator of the size. It's pretty nice, especially, as the sales guy said, for someone who has never worn any jewelry before. Then we looked at the ones for me. The engagement ring I have is three stones, princess cut, so he found ones that line up with that. For me, I just cared that I had the band and that it was pretty, so I didn't need anything elaborate... so I ended up going with the quarter carot princess cut band. It looks pretty good with the E-ring. And I honestly did think it looked better than the half carot. I'm not really a flashy person... When we picked out my E-ring, I helped up the one carot and the one and a half (I think that's what it was), and asked what the difference was, haha.

Then today, we finally went and filled out the application for the marriage license, and just in time... we can pick it up on Wednesday. It was quick and painless, though.

Other stuff:

-Ceremony place/rehearsal is totally paid for. We just owed another $100 for security staff and the rehearsal.

-Catering plans are all set. I went with 100 plates, which I think is going to work nicely. What was funny is that I said we had around 100, and she asked how many exactly because we'd have to pay for all that we ordered... and then I asked it's still $9 for 100 and $10 for under 100, and she said yes. So I said we'd go with 100.

-Had my final dress fitting. I'm so glad I found out about that seamstress. She even gives 10% off for paying in cash.

-I found out the hotel has a room we can open gifts in.

-My dad picked out a song for the father/daughter dance. It's called "I loved her first." I totally forgot the band name, though... It's a good thing I immediately e-mailed the DJs with it. And then I decided on "The Moment" by Nine Days for our first song. I really wanted a song that Nine Days wrote, and the other song I was thinking of using was one they did a cover of ("I Love You"). I really wish they had more lovey songs, but oh well. I think "The Moment" will work. Also, our play lists are all set for the rest of the night.

Soooo... We need to pick up: my ring, my dress, the cake, and the marriage license all next week at different times. We also need to make programs, and I need to make probably 30 more hershey rosebuds. Bleh, I'm so sick of those things, but I think it will be worth it. Other than that, I think we're good to go, other than sorting out final detais, but I think those will come up when they need to come up.

Eight days to go....

[Ninedays9]

Oh yeah, some things I forgot...

No one knows about the highlights except Eddie and the people I work with... and now whoever reads this, hehe. I decided to surprise people by just them seeing me. And I will add that I will never ever do it again. Never. Ever. I wasn't too comfortable with having someone touching me for that long... plus $110 is a lot!! I can just do the self kits next time I want highlights. It ends up looking nearly the same... I just wanted to make sure that it definitely looked good this time.

And another thing that I thought was cute... Eddie thought his ring didn't totally fit and that I'd have to squeeze it on, on the wedding day. So, I told him I wanted to practice. I put it on him, and it went on nicely and fit better than it did in the store. Then later on, he said, all giddy, "You put my ring on..." He sounded smitten, haha, it was so cute. It's probably very similar to how I felt when we got out of the license place today... like it's all the more real. :)

[TeacherSonja]

You've done a lot. All your planning will definitely be worth it - your wedding is going to be amazing. Can't wait to see the highlights!

[f77g4]

You're so close Heather and getting lots done. Can't wait to see how everything plays out!

[NOTKT]

You too are so cute! 8 days!!!!

[Ninedays9]

There was a slight knock on the door today, and I pulled my usual chicken behavior and didn't answer... but then I quickly saw it was a UPS truck. So I opened the door, but the person was already pulling away. I thought maybe it was my book from Ebay... but it was a huge box from Bed Bath and Beyond! Eddie's aunt and uncle must've ordered online.

The present box is wrapped, but I already know what it is 'cause I cheated and looked at the registry online. It's a 16 peice pan/utensil set and a wall hanger for the pans. I'm very excited because the set that we have was one Eddie had from his bachelor apartment days... and the handles are all metal, so you need a pot holder to take it off the stove. And the big one even has a fancy lid that you can use to drain it. I really hope we don't end up having to move because the wall hanger would work very nicely in the kitchen we have... there's hardly any cupboard or shelf space (which was why I picked out the hanger when registering). Anyway... yay! It was very exciting to get that.

[f77g4]

There was a slight knock on the door today, and I pulled my usual chicken behavior and didn't answer... but then I quickly saw it was a UPS truck. So I opened the door, but the person was already pulling away. I thought maybe it was my book from Ebay... but it was a huge box from Bed Bath and Beyond! Eddie's aunt and uncle must've ordered online.

The present box is wrapped, but I already know what it is 'cause I cheated and looked at the registry online. It's a 16 peice pan/utensil set and a wall hanger for the pans. I'm very excited because the set that we have was one Eddie had from his bachelor apartment days... and the handles are all metal, so you need a pot holder to take it off the stove. And the big one even has a fancy lid that you can use to drain it. I really hope we don't end up having to move because the wall hanger would work very nicely in the kitchen we have... there's hardly any cupboard or shelf space (which was why I picked out the hanger when registering). Anyway... yay! It was very exciting to get that.


Sounds like a great gift!

[Ninedays9]

I'm about to go work on some more rosebuds, but I thought I'd update a little...

All the details are set with the minister. I got an automatic e-mail reminder from him to bring the marriage license, and he'll be showing up half an hour early to sign in and go over things with us. I have to say I'm a wee bit nervous that he won't be at the rehearsal, but he seems to think it's not necessary (and it would've been an extra $185, I think).

We also just now decided not to have a slideshow. Eddie was looking at his pictures again, and he was disappointed in the selection. Most of the pictures we picked out from his parents were from Disney World (just from one trip). And there's pretty much no pictures of him as a teen. I'm kind of sad, but I'm also very relieved... We needed to have the pictures to the DJ by tomorrow so they could work on the slideshow, and it was greatly stressing me out. We would've had to scan his pictures, put them in order, figure out how to get mine from the Target disc to the DJ, and retrieve the newer ones of the two of us together. So, not only is it less stress, but it makes our DJ bill $100 cheaper. So now I figure that extra money can go for their tip, so it'll still be $550... we just won't have to pay extra on the tip.

And then we are going to Eddie's parents house tomorrow night to discuss details with them.

I just need to work on a list of stuff to bring with me to the hotel on Friday. I most definetely cannot forgot my one bridesmaid's shoes. And then there's my dress, shoes, veil, tiara, makeup, centerpieces (gonna put those together at some point on Friday night so the cats don't wreck them here), programs... there's probably more.

And that is all... 7, almost 6 days to go....

[lalaland13]

I kind of wanted to see the photo booth pic of us in the slideshow, but can't blame you a bit for ditching it. You have enough to do, and a good time will still be had by all.

And I know about hiding things from cats. Believe me, ha. Especially gifts for certain people.

[yam102284]

Oh my goodness, your wedding is so close! :)

That utensil/pan set sounds awesome! Yay for getting early gifts! I'll probably be bad and check our registry too when we have one!

Enjoy your last week before the big day!

[Kay]

Your Bed Bath & Beyond pots n' pans sounds like a nice gift! Yay for nice gifts!!! :)

[Ninedays9]

I kind of wanted to see the photo booth pic of us in the slideshow, but can't blame you a bit for ditching it. You have enough to do, and a good time will still be had by all.

And I know about hiding things from cats. Believe me, ha. Especially gifts for certain people.

I know, there were a bunch of pictures I was all excited to put in the slideshow. Hopefully the DJs are more relieved that they don't have to put it together than mad that we cancelled it.

[f77g4]

You're so close now Heather!!! It's so exciting!!

[Ninedays9]

You're so close now Heather!!! It's so exciting!!

I know, less than a week! It's crazy!

We went to Eddie's parents' house for dinner tonight, and discussed details. Apparently there were a lot of things that needed to be worked out that we hadn't thought of! So now I need to call the caterer again to ask a few things. And Eddie asked for help paying for more than they already planned to, and they agreed, which is awesome. We probably wouldn't have had enough if he hadn't. So we need to write them a very nice thank you letter for that and the Tv. That was a huge relief to me, but I felt bad about him asking! We still will have around $2000 to pay ourselves for remaining balances. But I we'll be able to make it work now, so yay!

Almost 5 days to go.....

[Ninedays9]

The DJ e-mailed back about the slideshow and was ok with it. And... she was wanting to know if it'd be ok if her mom were to come watch them in action as DJs (they're a married couple). She said she'd knock off $50, and I was free to say no. For us, it's like a free $50, 'cause it's really not a problem, so I said yes. Sooo.. we get two DJs for $400 total. Sweeeet.

[f77g4]

The DJ e-mailed back about the slideshow and was ok with it. And... she was wanting to know if it'd be ok if her mom were to come watch them in action as DJs (they're a married couple). She said she'd knock off $50, and I was free to say no. For us, it's like a free $50, 'cause it's really not a problem, so I said yes. Sooo.. we get two DJs for $400 total. Sweeeet.

Yay awesome!!

Care to share the final details that got overlooked for the rest of us???

[Ninedays9]

I shall see if I can remember them... I ended up sleeping longer than I wanted to today (work tonight), so I'll be calling the caterer tomorrow.

We aren't sure who's gonna cut the cake, if they do it at the VFW or not. I would assume since it's a wedding they think of that... but there was nothing mentioned on the paper we got.

We need three more bottles of champagne if we want to have enough for the head table plus the table of grandparents/parents. I really hope it's not too late to get that!

We may need extension cords for our lights. Eddie's parents had some, but they weren't sure if they'd let us use them at the VFW, like if they had their own we should use.

I forget what else... but we've got it written down for when I call.

[Ninedays9]

I got all the details sorted out with the caterer. We've got the champagne all set. We need to bring our own extension cords, but that's ok because we have them already in the car we're bringing. And they charge $50 for cake cutting...but she said she could show someone how to do it and that would be free. So I think we're gonna do that!

And now I think I'm going to e-mail the DJ to see if she can give me a list of how things are taking place at the reception 'cause I forgot the order.

So many details to take care of!

Ha, apparently one of my bridesmaids thinks we're going to go to this nearby amusement park and go on one of the bigger roller coasts on that Friday night. For me, the biggest roller coaster I've been on was space mountain at Disney World... and the only other one I've been on was a kiddie one. I think I'll pass on the giant roller coaster, despite her insistance, lol.

Hopefully there is nothing else huge that we are forgetting about... We need to work on programs and the guest book idea tonight and tomorrow night. I hadn't mentioned here that I would like to do a time capsule guest book. We'll hand out cards with questions and have them fill them out. Then we'll put them in a box for probably 10 years and open it then. We have cardstock postcards that we can use for this, so hopefully it won't be too difficult.

The rosebuds are done. There are 129 of them, using all the kisses I had. Of course, we cheated and ate some along the way. But, so there is no confusion.. I made them all, haha. All 129 of them. And now I wouldn't mind never seeing another hersheys kiss again... at least for a few weeks.

We've got the gifts for the wedding party, but we need to figure out still when we can take the guys' mugs to get engraved. And we even already have the bags and the tissue paper that goes in it. Gotta love the dollar store.

That's all I can think of for right now... Four days left!!

[f77g4]

Woohoo so close!!!

Good luck finishing up the details!

[lalaland13]

Oh god I can't believe this! In a few hours I'll be on the road...holy matrimony!

And if we do go there and you don't want to go on the roller coaster, I'll be a wuss with you. Ask my family. I'm good at wussing out at theme parks.

If you want, I can be in charge of getting a newspaper on Saturday. For the time capsule. Or someone who actually lives there and subscribes to it could, I guess. If you want to do it the easy way.

[Ninedays9]

You'll probably see me before you see this message, but I don't think anyone I know subscribes to the daily paper. I thought it'd be kinda cool to get one from the wedding city.

Updates:

I am going to set up an appointment to get a manicure. My nails have always been very weak, and it doesn't help that I work at a place that totally destroys them. They tear down beyond where the skin starts. So I wasn't going to bother with a manicure, since there's not much to work with, anyway... but someone at work pointed out to me that they'll probably take some close up pictures of my hands for the rings and the bouquet. So I'll want them to look nice, even if they do look short.

Also, I made up a list of things that I would like to remember for Friday and Saturday. When stuff starts, what to bring, etc. I really hope I don't forget anything important!

3 days to go!!.....

[TeacherSonja]

Yay! I can't believe it's so close! Good luck on your wedding day and have a great time! As for the manicure, I highly recommend having it done. I'm having my manicure on Friday and since my nails are also very short and weak I'm having artificial nails.

Anyway, all the best and hope your wedding day is everything you dreamed of.

[Ninedays9]

Yay! I can't believe it's so close! Good luck on your wedding day and have a great time! As for the manicure, I highly recommend having it done. I'm having my manicure on Friday and since my nails are also very short and weak I'm having artificial nails.

Anyway, all the best and hope your wedding day is everything you dreamed of.

Thanks! I hope everything goes spendidly for you, as well. :) I'm debating if I want artificial nails... I bought some of those press on ones you can get at a department store for a dance when I was 18... and one of them fell off. I know they'd be much higher quality from a salon, but I also noticed while wearing those longer nails, that I'm not good with them. I'm already clumsy enough without having something in the way, haha. I may have to see what they look like and see what they say about how long they last 'cause it is kind of tempting to get artificial nails (especially since my nails have been tearing all day long... I think they know what's coming, haha).

[FFC]

Nooo don't do artificial nails - get acrylics. They're stronger and they won't fall off :) Not to mention you can get them very natural looking. However, if you do them, do them like, now so that you can get used to them!

You're *almost* there!!!!

[Ninedays9]

Nooo don't do artificial nails - get acrylics. They're stronger and they won't fall off :) Not to mention you can get them very natural looking. However, if you do them, do them like, now so that you can get used to them!

You're *almost* there!!!!

Yeah, that's what I meant.. I didn't know there was a difference. I think that is all the salon offers for fake nails. My appointment is at 10:00 on Friday. That's probably the soonest I'll have any time to go 'cause tomorrow will be busy, too. I shall see what they recommend and how much the difference in cost is.

[f77g4]

Yeah, that's what I meant.. I didn't know there was a difference. I think that is all the salon offers for fake nails. My appointment is at 10:00 on Friday. That's probably the soonest I'll have any time to go 'cause tomorrow will be busy, too. I shall see what they recommend and how much the difference in cost is.

My sister is a nail technician and I have incredibly short nails on my own as I've never been able to grow them out. They can make the arcrylic any length that you are comfortable with and when she does my gel nails, we make them on the shorter side just since a)I'm not use to them and b)I wear contacts so I can't have them too long or I'll poke my eye out...lol

There is also the option of a gel overlay. All they would do is use the gel from the arcrylics and put it over your own nail just to give them a nice finish.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

[FutureMrsWilson]

WOW!
I can't imagine how excited you are.. THREE DAYS? (well probably two by the time you read this...)

I can't wait to see pictures.. All of your decorations sound so unique and gorgeous!!! Can't wait to see the pics of you and Eddie all fancied up ;D

(Oh! Before I forget, another note on the nails. Aside from them being able to make the acrylics whatever size you're comfortable with, as was mentioned, you can also get a rounded or squared shape - so whichever you think looks best and won't get in your way.)

[Mrs.Goff]

:bbeek: ... 2 days! I'm nervous for you. haha I cannot wait to hear all about your day. I hope that it goes perfectly and you have the time of your life.

[amisteratwisterandme]

By my calculations you are a just a few minutes away from 24 hours! :bbeek:

Congratulations Heather!

[Kay]

1 day!!! YAY!!! So excited for you! :)

[f77g4]

Happy Wedding Day Heather!! :)

[pinkbride]

I hope you had a wonderful fabulous day xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[NOTKT]

Have a great day, I'll be thinking of you! Congrats girl! yayayayay!

[Mrs.Goff]

Happy wedding day!! I just wanted to tell you I'm thinking about you and I hope you have a wondeful day.

Congrats!

[Ninedays9]

It's all done! It had some glitches, but it mostly went extremely well. We're at the lake now, so I will have more updates later!

[FFC]

It's all done! It had some glitches, but it mostly went extremely well. We're at the lake now, so I will have more updates later!


WOOHOOOOO!! So glad to hear! I can't wait to hear more details! CONGRATS!!!!!!

[gwenshack]

Hooray Heather! You're a MRS! Congrats! Enjoy the lake - can't wait to hear all the details! :)

[FutureMrsWilson]

Congrats!!! Can't wait to see the pictures - and I hope you two are enjoying your relaxing post-nuptials time!!

[Nekochanpurr]

Have fun at the lake!! I can't wait to hear the update. <3

[ChristineLS]

Congrats congrats congrats!!!! :D

[f77g4]

Congrats Heather - sorry to hear about some glitches but I think that is something that I can be expected for such an event.

Have a great time at the lake!!! Come back with details and pictures!

[FFC]

I saw a few pics on Facebook :D I can't wait to see more!!!! :) :) :) From the few I saw - you looked great!!!

[Ninedays9]

I saw a few pics on Facebook :D I can't wait to see more!!!! :) :) :) From the few I saw - you looked great!!!

Thanks! There should be quite a bit more than a few, haha. My sister posted a bunch and one of the bridesmaids did. I shall post some of those here in a bit.

[FFC]

Thanks! There should be quite a bit more than a few, haha. My sister posted a bunch and one of the bridesmaids did. I shall post some of those here in a bit.

I saw one of the albums, but there weren't many of the beautiful bride in it that's all :)

I LOVE LOVE LOVE your BM's dresses!!! I want one! :D

[Mrs.Goff]

:bbeek: ... You've seen pictures! I'm so jealous. haha:winktongue:

[TeacherSonja]

Congrats Heather! Can't wait to hear all about your wedding and see pics!

[Ninedays9]

Thanks everyone! The story is up and the pictures will be soon, after I am caught up reading the board.