Oh Happy Day!!

Everyone...I have huge news:

I GOT ENGAGED THIS WEEKEND!

Oh mylanta, I can hardly breathe. I'm sitting here at my desk unable to concentrate on anything but this gorgeous ring on my finger and the wonderful man I'm going to marry. So here's the story:

Saturday, Dave and I were going ice skating with the Middle School ministry at our church, so he came over to pick me up. He told me he needed to show me something outside, so I followed him out to his car. Mind you, it was quite chilly on Saturday, so I was thinking we were going to get a quick breath of fresh air and go right back inside. Oh no. He pulls out two travel magazines, which we look at all the time because of our hopes and dreams of traveling someday, and says he wants to show me this picture of St. Lucia. At this point I'm starting to shiver and teeth are chattering, so I ask if we can go back inside to look at the magazines. He smiles and says, "Just one more..." he flips the page and there is a beautiful black and white photo, from one of my favorite photographers, Alison Conklin. It looks a lot like an advertisement for a wedding photographer, but at the bottom, there is a short poem and the words, "Will you marry me?" Still thinking its part of the magazine, I flippantly say, "That's really sweet," and I turn around and see Dave on one knee, holding out the ring!! I scream and jump back about 5 feet. Tears well up in his eyes and he quietly says, "Will you marry me?" I am so shocked and shaken, it takes me a few seconds to recognize that all of this is real. This is really happening. I fly into his arms and we just hold each other for about ten minutes before I actually say "Yes." It was perfect.

AND...he got it all on film!!! He had set up his camera on the dashboard of his car so that it was facing out the back windshield (we had been leaning on the trunk while looking at the magazines.) He really thought of everything. It was so him, and so us.

It's been a whirlwind of a weekend, calling everyone and seeing everyone. It's so exciting but tiring and overwhelming at the same time. I'm hoping that Dave and I have some time to just to enjoy it and relax. Then, the planning will begin.

Holy cow. I'm planning my own wedding.

Favorite Online Resources

I lied. I'm not going to talk about budgeting today. I decided while I was going through my daily grazing of wedding websites, that you should be aware of some of my favorites before we go any further.

All of the sites in the list below contain a Pandora's box of wedding ideas. You'll find listing of local vendors, discussion boards with topics from fellow brides, photos of the latest trends in fashion, flowers, and decorations, as well as some really awesome DIY projects that will save you tons of mula.


The Knot

The Wedding Channel

Martha Stewart Weddings

Real Simple Weddings

Brides.com


For example, I found this adorable idea for a fall wedding on Martha Stewart Weddings: Instead of your flower girl tossing petals, find a small basket, line it with fall-time fabric and fill it with dried leaves.

Most sites will allow you to set up an account where you can store information such as your guest list, seating arrangements, budget, and wedding checklist. Beware: These sites will eat the hours in the day for breakfast. You may need to set the kitchen timer so as not to become completely absorbed and consumed by the abyss of weddings. I would, however, make a folder in your Favorites list for strictly for wedding resources like these. Enjoy!

Let's Get Organized, Organized! ( To the tune of, "Let's Get Physical)

One of the most awful feelings is knowing that you have a million and three things to do, but not having a single clue what they all are...

Thus, I give you THE WEDDING PLANNING BINDER OF GLORY:

Well, maybe yours is called something else, but you get the idea. In your wedding planning binder you will keep everything from your Inspiration Board, to your receipts from your vendors. Feel free to decorate and Bedazzle to your heart's content. (I think I'm going to rig mine to play some sort of angelic melody when it opens, like a singing birthday card.) To keep yourself more organized you will want to divide your binder into tabs. Possible tabs might include:

• Budget
• Invitations
• Registry & Gifts
• Bridal Party
• Ceremony
• Reception
• Photography & Videography
• Music
• Attire
• Flowers
• Hair & Makeup
• Transportation
• Honeymoon
• Contact List

As you go through the planning process, you will want to file everything in chronological order under the respective tabs for easy flip-ability. There will probably be a lot of paperwork, swatches, pictures, and receipts so you'll want to get one of those honkin' 3 inchers to hold it all.

Short post today. I'll be back soon with some info on budgeting! Yippee!

If You Search, It Will Come...

First, I would like to apologize for the lengthy hiatus I have taken from writing. There is no excuse for leaving you waiting for help, but nonetheless, I will share a few:

1. I started a new job that doesn't allow any time for me to waste the company's dollar.


2. I sprained my ankle at the church game night


3. My company-owned laptop was stolen out of my car in my driveway.


4. I took up painting...for two days.


5. I've buried myself in wonderful books about castles and lobster-fishing.

I will not promise that it won't happen again because as you'll notice in Excuse Number Four, I have trouble sticking with things. But I will promise that I will try.

So it was recently Bridal Fashion Week and as much I love procrastinating and scrolling through all of the latest trends from Oscar De La Renta, Anne Barge and Jenny Lee, I often find myself rolling into a snowball of despair when I look at the prices. For example, my dream dress is a De La Renta from a few years ago. It was even featured in an article about what types of dresses to wear if you're flat-as-a-board in Real Simple Weddings. (How perfect is that?!) Cost? 10,000 buckarooskies...

Fear not my brides-to-be! There are websites and secrets to gown shopping that will enable you to find the dresses you drool over at a fraction of the original price:
Craig's List: Did you know that you can find wedding dresses on Craig's list?? Seriously, go to your city, and search for "wedding dress". You will find TONS of bridal gowns that may or may not have been worn by brides who want to make some money off of a dress they only wear once, or cancel her wedding at the last minute or just change their minds. Whatever the reason, they are usually marked way down, saving you hundreds of dollars.
Once Wed: One of my favorite websites of all time is Oncewed.com. In addition to being an awesome wedding blog, it also features a page where brides can sell their gowns after the wedding. These are beautiful, designer dresses for as low as $100! The great thing about this site is that the selection is always changing, so if you don't see anything that tickles your fancy, check back in a few days.
Brides Against Breast Cancer: Why not combine dress buying with charity? The ladies behind Bridesagainstbreastcancer.org travel to cities all over the US selling used or donated dresses and part of the proceeds go to breast cancer research!
Designer Sample Sales: Most designers have annual sample and trunk sales, where you can snag a $3,000 gown for $300! All you have to do is go to the websites of your favorite designers, check out their event calendar and/or get on their email list to receive notifications about these awesome sales. Just be prepared to throw some 'bows at out of control bridezillas. Tip: You may want to camp out the night before so you can get first dibs on the selection.
A strategy I've considered is making an appointment at designer salons, solely for the purpose of trying on different types of dresses. Once you have an idea what kind of shape and style looks best for your body type, you can be a more efficient shopper on the websites above.
As always, please let me know if you have any questions or information I'm missing. I'll make sure to update these posts as I come across new websites and resources. Happy shopping/saving!

Inspiration

Since age ten, I have been collecting clippings and pages from my growing stack of wedding magazines that resembles the Washington Monument. With that said, I have a confession:

I am not now, nor have I ever been engaged.

But I will be! Someday! And when I acquire such a status, I will be fully prepared for the daunting and exciting task at hand.

A few months ago, a friend of mine, who is actually getting married, showed me her "Wedding Inspiration Board." The purpose of this mosaic of pictures from magazines and websites is to show the overall mood and motif of the ceremony and reception. One might include swatches from bridesmaid dresses, examples of bouquets or boutonnieres and cake photos. Here are some examples I found from one of my favorite wedding blogs, http://snippetandink.blogspot.com/:

I would highly recommend making your own Inspiration Board from your collection of ideas and giving copies to all of your vendors so that everyone is on the same page (no pun intended). Now, if you find that your inspiration board is starting to look like a billboard... you might want to cut back on the clippings. The Inspiration Board should serve as a reference, not the Encyclopedia Britannica of your wedding.

Board contruction should be fairly stress-free and fun. Put on a movie, make some popcorn (the less butter the better, as to keep from grease-printing your pictures) and enjoy!

A Brief Introduction

Before we get into all the squealing and jumping up and down with the clapping about your engagement, I would like to address one issue:

Bridezillas are not welcome here.

If you find yourself consistently uttering the words, "This is MY day!" or "Daddy, I thought I was your little princess..." Take your dog-in-a-bag and don't let the door hit you on the way out.

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Okay, now that we have that out in the open...
Congratulations! I am so happy that you have found the one that God has set apart for you. What an incredible blessing!

My vision for this blog is to share my thoughts, observations and ideas for brides who have some perspective. A wedding is a wonderful, beautiful and once-in-a-lifetime celebration, but it's also ONE DAY that will come and go just like every other day. In saying that, I sure as heck do not want to spend my entire life savings, plus that of my parents, along with a college-degree sized loan on such a day. Therefore, I will also provide some suggestions on saving a buck or two...or a thousand on your wedding.

Keeping your budget on the cheaper side of TomKat's doesn't mean that your wedding will need to be held at the firehall either. We are unique, reasonable, stylish and beautiful women, and our weddings will be just that: unique, reasonable, stylish and beautiful. I promise.

So, for the love of all the things, pure and holy in this world...
Put down the Wedding Planning binder. Relax. Take a few cleansing breaths. It's all going to be alright.