Hello 2011!!!

Goodbye 2010, Hello 2011!!!

Can you believe I will be married this year?!?!?! WOW. What an awesome feeling. I have SO much to do between now and May 21st. But I also must say that I have gotten alot done as well...

A few weeks ago I picked up my dress!!!!! Let me just tell you, that was the most excited I have been about wedding stuff since the day I got engaged. I had all these fears that I would not like the dress, it wouldnt fit, I would have second thoughts, etc. But I put the dress on at the shop, it fit me perfectly, and I loved it even MORE than the day I picked it out! I am STOKED!! It needs minor alterations, as most all dresses do, but other than that, its ready to rock and roll!!

I have been working on invitations alot longer than I want to admit. It has been by far the LEAST fun thing to work on. There are so many etiquette rules you are supposed to follow, and wording you're supposed to use, and design options, and this and that. I got my final sample in the mail last week and luckily I am really happy with it. They will be ready to be printed as soon as I can finalize the direction card. Stupid construction on I-75 is throwing a wrench in my original directions....

Mike got me a nice computer printer for Christmas so I have been using it to experiment with a few DIY wedding projects. Mom is excited to be able to help with some of those as well so I am happy to have an extra hand!

On our final day of winter vacation, Mike and I went to James Free and ordered my wedding ring and I purchased his wedding band. That didnt take long at all but at least its something else thats done and off the list.

We left there and went to Bed, Bath, & Beyond to start our registry. Holy WOW. Who knew it would be so draining to pick out stuff that you want??!! LOL! Trying to agree on what stuff to scan, what color, what style, etc. 3 hours later, we were finally out of there. Geesh.

Although I can't believe 2011 is here, I know its going to fly. With 2 of my good friends getting married around the same time as we are, we have bridal showers, bachelor parties, and weddings out the yin yang! I just need to remember to breathe deep, take time to relax and take it all in, and enjoy it :-)

Moving right along.....

My list has a few more check marks on it this week.

The first check, I am proud to say, is from my wonderful fiance. I got crazy one day and decided to delegate a few wedding items to him. Just a few. I gave him the task of finding and booking a limo. And that is what he did. DONE!

The last time I wrote, I mentioned that we were getting ready to have our engagement photos taken. The photo shoot went great! We felt really comfortable with Debbie, and she was full of great ideas for locations to take us to. About a week later, she had the photos ready for us to view, and even had a slideshow put to music which I absolutely LOVE. In fact, the first time I watched it, I cried. I am such a sap!! But it really brought everything into perspective for me and just made me very happy to see US very happy :)

Engagement Picture Slideshow

Now that our engagement pictures were complete, I could move forward with our Save the Dates. I found a website where I could design them myself so that's what I decided to do. If you EVER have any needs for all things paper, please look into using Vistaprint.com. Awesome prices, lots of great designs, or you can upload your own design, and the products are very nice. I have a feeling I will be using that website more than just a few more times! 

And last, but certainly not least, I have decided on my flower vendor. I signed on the dotted line and dropped off the contract after work today. The girl I am working with is fantastic - super nice, easy to work with, flexible, and decently priced. I don't have to make up my mind on exactly what I want until 2 weeks prior to the wedding, so that makes me feel better.

Whats next on the list, you ask?? Well for Mikey its Rehearsal Dinner location & reservations, hotel room blocks, and tuxes. For me its bridesmaid dresses, finding a hairdresser, and booking makeup. We have a meeting with our reception coordinator this Saturday, so I am sure that will bring more work my way. But at least for now, today, I feel accomplished!

Engagement Pictures

October is finally here. And you know what that means. OK, so you probably DON'T know what that means, so I will tell you ;-) We are getting our engagement pictures done!! This Saturday as a matter of fact. We decided a long time ago that we wanted to have them done in the fall, outside, so that we could capture the beauty of all the colors. There is a park very close to where we lived called Hills & Dales and its soooo pretty there. They have a beautiful little pond with a bridge, walking trails, and of course, tons of trees. The last time we were there, there was another couple there getting their engagement pictures done and it was kinda nice to sit back and watch, knowing that would be us in a few months :)

Our photographer, Debbie Leclere, included this engagement picture shoot as part of our wedding package. This of course will be our first time working with her and I am really excited. She is such a sweet lady, and very talented. I cant wait to see how the pictures turn out! I am using one of our engagement pictures to make our Save the Date magnets with, so once we get the images back from her, I will be a busy little bee putting those together.

Actually, this coming weekend is a very busy one for us. Not only do we have our engagement pictures on Saturday, but we also have our annual fall cocktail party to get ready for. Ahhhh.....I love this time of year :)

The "B" Bling

I have been eyeing some pretty beautiful cake toppers for a while now. I knew that I had plenty of time before I had to settle on one and place the order, but I have just been obsessed with finding the perfect one.

I found several online that were gorgeous, with an equally gorgeous price tag of course. I was not willing to spend an arm and a leg on something such as the cake topper, so I kept searching. It has finally paid off :-)

I love bling. No, I mean I REALLY love bling. Especially for weddings. Where else can you be over the top with shiny bling and get away with it??? ;-) So it is no surprise, that I have chosen a beautiful bling "B" cake topper for our wedding cake. I ordered it Monday and can't wait to get it. Its a fancy, swirly, sparkly, B. In the words of my good friend Sara, "Shiny! It looks like you!" LOL!!

"Do It Yourself" Projects

There are some things about our wedding that I deem as necessary "Do It Yourself" (DIY) projects. Not only to save $$ where we can, but also because I really believe that it adds a very personal touch to the wedding. There is something very cool about seeing the fruits of your labor come to life, right? :-) I say that now, but who knows, in 3 months when I am knee deep in craft glue, I may have a different opinion.

Before I start, let me be VERY clear that I am NOT an artsy person. At all. I am an analyst, for pete's sake. Something in me tells me that those 2 things just do not work together. BUT, in spite of the fact that I am no Davinci, I am still up for the challenge. I have several projects that I would like to do on my own (or with the help of my trusty bridesmaids) but I want them to LOOK like they were professional. Here goes nothin'....

The ever growing list of DIY!

• Save the dates
• Card box
• Bathroom baskets
• Centerpieces
• Favors
• Unity Candle
• Photo sharing cards
• Table numbers
• Escort Cards
• Guest Book
• Toasting Flutes personalization (maybe, lol)

That's the list so far. We'll see how far I make it before I throw in the towel, lol. I am ordering part of the save the dates tonight, the rest will have to wait until our engagement pictures are done next month. The centerpieces have been a work in progress for 2 months now. Everything else I am hoping will become wintertime projects.

Happy crafting! (wow I never thought I would say that)

Colors - DONE!

Whew! I have been wanting to say that for a LONG TIME. I can now officially say that the colors are finalized. YAYYYY!!! They will be violet and silver. Well, the designer of the bridesmaid dress calls the color violet, I call it more of a purpley pink. Whatever it is, its very pretty and I am so happy with it. So happy in fact, that Emily and I went out Sunday on a mad shopping spree for centerpiece flowers and such. The lady at the dress store gave me a fabric sample of the bridesmaid dresses so that I can match it up to all of the other things I still need to get (like flowers) and that was a HUGE help.

Now its just going to be a matter of rounding up all the girls and me together one day to get over to the bridal shop and pick out styles. I want each girl to wear a different style, but of course the same fabric and color. I will let them each pick out the ones they like and TA-DA! Everyone is happy :) Or at least I hope they will be.

On to the next thing on my list!!

Busy Bee

We crossed 2 more items off of our "to do" list this week, so I felt the need to update you about it.

Last weekend we met with 2 cake vendors - first with Dorothy Lane Market, then with a home run business called The Cake Movers. DLM was of course wonderful, who doesnt love that place? But we felt that we could find something just as nice for a little less dough. So we met with Courtney from The Cake Movers in Englewood. She started this business 2 years ago and runs it out of her home. She does all kinds of specialty cakes from weddings to birthdays to anniversaries, you name it. I saw lots of pictures of her work, and she brought 2 boxes of samples for us to try. We were both very impressed with everything she presented, so we went ahead and booked her! I dont have to make a decision on flavors until a month before the wedding, so I have plenty of time to settle on that, although I already have a good idea of what I want ;-)

Next up - the honeymoon!!! If you havent figured it out by now, I like to do alot of research before making big decisions. The honeymoon is a HUGE decision. We knew that we wanted hot, tropical, palm trees, and beach with non-stop umbrella drinks. We had also decided that since we have done a cruise the past 2 years, we would try something a little different and go with an all-inclusive resort. I LOVE cruises - but for our HM, I wanted something a little slower paced where we could just sit back, relax, and go at our own leisure. 

I had several MUSTS - all-inclusive, adults only, oceanfront room, spa access, great food, things to do close by, and not terribly far away (we didnt want to spend our first day as a married couple on a plane all day). Mike really had his heart set on a Caribbean island. I literally combed the Caribbean with a fine tooth pick. I would fall in love with one place, then find another that I liked. I am severly indecisive, so that has not helped matters AT ALL. But I do believe that all of my hard work research is about to pay off. We will be booking our HM this weekend!!!!!!!!!!

Where did we decide, you ask??? Riviera Maya, Mexico!!! Secrets Maroma Beach, to be specific. This place looks nothing short of amazing. The reviews on TripAdvisor are excellent. This resort is everything I was looking for. The beach here was rated one of the top beaches in the world by the Travel Channel, which makes Mikey happy since he is more of the beach bum out of the 2 of us. The resort has amazing food, we get a honeymoon package which includes spa treatments, a dinner on the beach, etc. We are close to Playa del Carmen so I can do some shopping, Cozumel is only a 45 min ferry ride, and Cancun is a 30 min taxi ride. I AM SO EXCITED!!!  

Click here to see the resort we chose for our honeymoon!

Still so much to do, but I think its all starting to come together very nicely :-)