Married

Wow! It's already been three weeks since the wedding! We have been so busy since then with driving across the country, spending a week in Maui, and beginning to settle in at our new place, that I can hardly believe it's Christmastime already.
We had a fantastic time in Hawaii. The weather was great, the hotel was fabulous, the scenery was amazing, and of course, the company was perfect! Click on the picture below to see our pictures from Maui:

From Honeymoon photos

Thanks to everyone who helped with the wedding, travelled to be with us, and showered us abundantly with gifts! Once I get that guest room unpacked, you should come visit us!

Just Over a Month to Go

Well, I'm about 98% packed now, which is a good thing since the moving truck will be here later this week. I thought I had overestimated how many boxes I would have, but as it turns out, my supposed over estimate was a bit too optimistic. I've got tons of stuff. In my defense: a lot of the boxes are full of shower gifts that I didn't take out of their original boxes.
We had two showers last week where we got so many nice things! It's overwhelming to see how kind people are to us. Thanks everybody!

The Calm Before the Storm?

Most of the wedding planning seems really low-key these days. When I think about it one step at a time instead of thinking of the whole pictures, it's a lot easier to deal with.
Most of the major things are done, or at least planned. I finally got the invitations last week and they're ready to be mailed. I also finally talked to the DJ I want. I don't have him scheduled for sure, but hopefully that will all work out this week. My mom has been working on many things and I'm SO grateful for her! I really only have one big-ish task left that I don't want to do, but after that, everything should be set until the week before the wedding when all the planning gets put to the test.
Stephen moved into our new apartment yesterday. That's very exciting to think about! The moving company will be at my house on either November 1st, 2nd, or 3rd (I'll know which day 24-48 hours before they get here), so I'm trying to get things packed up now so I'm not overwhelmed that week. I feel like I'm making progress, but I have a lot more to do and I'll be gone the only 2 weekends between now and then, so I'll have to do it on weeknights after work. I'll get it done, though.
We've got two showers coming up at the end of this month, too: one in Monroe and one in Nacogdoches. After that, I'll have one more shower in November, but I don't imagine the gifts from that one will be very difficult to pack and move.

Still No Wedding Invitations

Word to the wise: don't order your wedding invitations from Paper Shack. This has been a complete hassle over something that should be very simple. This seems to be the way things are for me right now: if someone tells me something will take two weeks, they actually mean 4 or 5 weeks. Grr.

Other than that, thing are going okay. I have 1 month to get all my worldly possessions packed up to send across the country, so other wedding planning may take a back seat for a week or two until I get things packed and organized. And by "a week or two", I probably mean 4 or 5 weeks : )

I've had other fun things going on lately, too. A few weeks ago, we had our first shower/party. Stephen came in for it and we really had a great time. Our hosts really put together a fun party for us and we got lost of nice gifts. I'm very blessed to have so many wonderful friends.

I got to spend this past weekend in California. We had an excellent weekend together and I'm glad that I get to go back again next weekend! Both of us are getting very tired of flying, but it's worth the hassle. Only two more months to go!

Update

*I'm having quite an adventure with the wedding invitations. I ordered them a few weeks ago and they were supposed to call me to come look at the proof within a few days. Well, I didn't hear from them for over a week so I decided to give them a call. The girl assured me that the proof would be in the next day, but when they called me the next day, it wasn't the proof that was in, it was the invitations themselves! Well, I was excited, so I went up to get them and wouldn't you know it? They were all wrong! Thankfully, the manager was there and handled it very professionally since her clerk was the one who made the mistake. I got a proof today for the corrected invitations, but it was still wrong (but better than the first ones), so I'm supposed to get another proof tomorrow. Hopefully, it will be right and I can move ahead.

*My dress is coming together beautifully and I'm so excited about it!

*Stephen and I have our first shower this weekend. He's flying in for a VERY quick trip. I know the traveling won't be fun for him, but hopefully he'll still have a good time.

*I'm feeling very good about all the planning (for today anyway). Since my mom was here last week while my new niece was born, she was able to help me with a lot more things. My mom is a gem! (So is my new little Layla.)

Less Than Three Months To Go

Things are coming along, slowly but surely. If I think about the huge list of things still to be done, I panic, but when I take one thing at a time, all is well. The problem is that I take care of the things I don't mind doing, which leaves me a list of things I don't want to take care of. This is not good.
What is good? Well, I got to try on my dress yesterday which was really fun! Sophie (my 4 year old niece) came in to see it and she got a big smile on her face. My mom asked her is she thought it would work. She told us that she liked it, but she didn't think it would work because it didn't have any straps. She was concerned about that. Little girls are mystified by strapless clothing.
A few weeks ago, I bought jewelry to go with the dress and I was second guessing myself on my choice. Now that I've tried it on with the dress, I'm pleased with it. I got it at an antique store in West Monroe, so it can be my "something old". I think I'm going to try to modify the earrings from old-fashioned clip-ons to be more dangly. I'll try to rig them before I do anything permanent, so I can always go back to plan A.
I ordered the invitations today. My confidence in the clerk taking the order was not great, but that's why I get a proof copy before they print them. I'm anxious to get the invitations so I can start addressing them as as I have time. I'm only 3 addresses short of completing the list!
I'm having issues with photographers, so that's my next big thing to tackle. Why do they have to be so darn expensive? Rachel is going to shoot some engagements pictures for us in a few weeks. Too bad she can't do the wedding too!
Even though I feel completely stressed about all this planning sometimes, I am so excited about the wedding and more importantly, about being married to Stephen. He came to visit this past weekend and reminded me over and over why I love him so much.

Onward

I don't feel like I've accomplished a ton of wedding planning this past week, though I'm certain I must have gotten at least something done! I did add a few shower dates to my calendar, so now I'm working on guest lists for those.
I also managed to plan out when to do certain tasks, so I know what things need to be done by the end of August, what can wait until October, what can't be done until the week before the wedding, and so on. It's the old "Better Grades Through Notebook Re-Organization" method: if I sit down and make a plan, it almost feels like I'm accomplishing something, whether I am or not.
I did manage to talk to someone about wedding music and I am only 12+/- addresses short of completing the guest list. I guess that's something, considering I started out last week needing about 80 addresses. Oh, and I compiled the playlist for my annual Christmas CD, so I can be sure to get those out. Maybe I have made slight progress. Baby steps.

Observations, Comments and Other Ramblings

*It's hard to think about December when it 103 degrees outside.

*Someone told me the wedding countdown thing on the sidebar of this blog is off, but it looks right to me. Does it look wrong to anyone else?

*My parents and I acquired almost all of the decorations for the ceremony and reception last weekend.

*Four weeks is too long to not see one's fiance.

*I actually packed five boxes worth of stuff yesterday, which is certainly a record for me as far as early moving preparations go.

*I feel like for every one thing I cross off "The List", I think of three more things to add. It's scary.

A Bit of an Update

Things are going slowly here at Wedding Planning Central. I'm at the point where most of the things I need to take care of involve lots of shopping around for price quotes. Currently, I'm working on photographers, jewelers, and movers. I also need to get working on the DJ issue as well as make decisions on some decor items.
The cake I want has a bunch of those little silver BB things on it, which are edible, but not really edible (they're actually illegal in the state of Texas), so I have to decide if I want to go with those, which I like, or pick out something that I don't like as much, but are less likely to be a problem. Ahhh, more decisions.
Stephen and I did pick out tuxedos last weekend. That is SO much easier than bridesmaid dresses: you just pick out a whole outfit - including shoes and accessories, give the guys the reference number, have them get measured and it's done. No fair. (Also, not as fun.)
We also tried on wedding bands and looked at apartments while I was in sunny (and not NEARLY as hot) California. We are making progress! Plus, I now have my first shower scheduled (in Nacogdoches), which is exciting!
In the midst of all this, I have great intentions of getting my Christmas shopping taken care of and high hopes of making my annual Christmas CD, so I can have them in the mail before the wedding. We'll see if that actually happens.

Love/Hate (Wedding Edition)

::I love the idea of planning a wedding ::
::I hate feeling overwhelmed by all the things to be done ::

::I love that I have so many friends that have great ideas::
::I hate that I have to make so many decisions myself::

::I love that I’m moving to California::
::I hate that I’m leaving Monroe::

::I love that I’ll get to make new friends::
::I hate that I’ll have to look for a new job::

::I love that I get to see Stephen this weekend::
::I hate that it’s only for a weekend::

::I love Stephen::

Ask and You Shall Receive

Because you asked so nicely, here is a picture of my beautiful ring. It's hard to get a good picture of it, but my sister tipped me off that if I shot it under water, it might turn out better, and wouldn't you know it? She was right. That's why I keep her around. The photo still doesn't capture the true fabulousness of the ring, but you get the idea.
(Click on the picture for a closer view, and please ignore the do-it-yourself manicure.)

Falling Into Place

Things are starting to come together. Most of the "big" pieces of the puzzle are falling into place. Of course, we've got the church booked, the reception facility booked, I've picked out my dress and the bridesmaids' (actually, all brides matrons, if you want to get technical) dresses are picked out, too. I have some idea of what food we'll serve at the reception and how we'll decorate the church. I think I even have the wedding cake picked out. Of course, there are many more details to be taken care of, but I'm feeling good about how things are shaping up.
The best news of the week though, is that I'm going to California in a few weeks to see Stephen! It will only be for the weekend, but the longer our relationship goes on, the tougher it gets to live so far apart. 17 days and counting...

Brainstorming Needed

I'm having a major problem finding a reception facility that is reasonably priced, large enough to accommodate the number of people I anticipate and available on December 1. I've called several churches (First West, North Monroe Baptist, Parkview Baptist, St. Paul's, Lea Joyner, FUMC, Covenant Pres), country clubs, restaurants, King's Palace, Grand Plaza, and The Atrium. Does anyone have any other ideas? I'm getting desperate.

In Process

This wedding blog may be a total flop, but I thought it would be a good way to keep people posted with things that may or may not be going on with wedding planning, showers, etc.
So far, I've done pretty much nothing, but I have a lot of ideas in my head. Hopefully, those ideas will translate into reality and go as seamlessly as they do in my head.
Since Stephen has been here with me the last 2 weeks, we decided to enjoy our time together instead of stressing over wedding plans. We did get a few things done (like registering), but the planning really begins now.