Wedding Wednesday: Wedding Debt?

If there's one thing I love it's talking about our wedding and married life. When we were planning our wedding, I knew that no matter what we would not go into debt for our wedding. If that meant cutting the budget, food, flowers, then we would do so.

I was scrolling through my Facebook feed when I saw a girl I knew from school post that they just got approved for a 20,000 loan for their wedding. It made me wonder how many people do this...

A wedding to me is about getting married to your best friend and about celebrating with your loved ones. I think that people forget that this one day will only last about five hours and then its done. Of course you want it to be beautiful, but it should be beautiful to you and your spouse. If that means it has to be smaller, or less extravagant in order to fit your budget then you should feel no pressure to go outside of your means to please others.

Once you are married and the wedding is over, you quickly go back to reality and then realize that all that truly matters now is that you're married to the one that you love. I feel that if we would have taken out a loan for our wedding, I would have knots in my stomach right about now. I have student loans to still pay off, we now have a car loan to pay for each month, and we will eventually want to buy a home.

I'm not saying that this is wrong, I'm just saying that I had no idea that people were doing this in order to make their wedding bigger or better.

How do you feel about loans for weddings? Did you take one out, or know anyone that did? Do you think it's worth it?

Bishop Wedding Part 5: The Reception

After all of our pictures were finished Joe and I entered the reception. In between the ceremony and reception our guests were able to make their way up to the reception area, grab a drink, and relax. Before we started dinner and the other festivities, we went around to every table to hug all of our friends and family and thank them for coming. We had around fifty people and it felt so special that we were able to talk to every one of our guests. 

I cannot believe that we do not have a single photo of our dinner! When I went through the thousands of pictures, I was sure I would find even just one, and I didn't. Salad was served first, then for the main course we had chicken cordon bleu, mashed potatoes, vegetables, and dinner rolls. I was especially sad we didn't get a photo of the dinner because the chef decorated hearts from spices all around our dinner plates. 

When we did our tasting I knew right away that the chicken cordon bleu had to be served. I am still kicking myself for not eating more of that dinner. I should have had someone box it up for us but I was a little side tracked, just being married and all.

As dinner was finishing up, it was time for speeches.

First up was Joe's best man Anthony, his speech was funny, but still very sweet. He gave us all a big laugh by asking me to place my hand on the table, then asking Joe to place his hand on top of mine and then making the joke that this would be the last time he would have the upper hand.

Then it was my sister Connie's turn. She had to go and give a seriously sweet toast that made me tear up. She quoted Pablo Neruda: “I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you simply, without problems or pride: I love you in this way because I do not know any other way of loving but this, in which there is no I or you, so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand, so intimate that when I fall asleep your eyes close.”  
I had this quote put into our wedding album, it will always make me think of this day. 

Our first dance was to "Dancing Away With My Heart" by Lady Antebellum

After more dancing it was time for the bouquet toss. We played "All The Single Ladies" Duh.
I know my sister was gunning for that thing. But it was the youngest of the bunch, my cousin Jamie who caught it. I guess that's bad news for the rest of the girls because there is still at least ten years before she can get married.

We knew that we wanted a small cake, and then different flavored cupcakes. We opted for the main cake to be red velvet and the cupcakes were: spice, oreo, and champagne. They were so delicious. Instead of keeping the top tier of the wedding cake for our one year anniversary, we kept one cupcake to freeze. 

That's my "Don't you dare get this cake all over my face" look. He's a smart guy, and knew to get that cake fully in my mouth.

We danced, we mingled, we drank champagne. It was a blast being around so many of our closest family and friends. It went by so fast, it was truly the best night.

Bishop Wedding: Part 1 Getting Ready

It has been way too long since I have posted a wedding related post. I emailed my photographer a couple weeks ago and she said it usually takes around eight weeks to get them back. Since we weren't able to have my photographer there while I was actually getting ready for the wedding, I thought I would start with this post since it will be Iphone pictures anyway. 

Getting ready - 

The day before: If you read my previous post, you would remember that I had a pretty bad night before the wedding. I spent the night at my moms with my sisters, and we had a day of last minute errands and of course - getting pedicures. Mine was actually the pedicure from hell, he cut the skin all under my toe, and it burned the entire time but that's okay. I just kind of rolled with it. After the pedicure, that's really when everything went wrong. Since I have no desire to harp on that awful night, I will say that joy really does come in the morning, because I was ready to take on the day when I woke up.

I was just so excited to see Joe and make it until five o'clock. 

My mom made coffee and french toast, because it's my favorite and she's the best. We all had some time before we had to go set up at the venue so we ate, and all had time to shower. I know a lot of brides choose to relax the morning of their wedding, but I just wanted to go be busy and set up the reception. It kept my mind busy, and I loved being able to make everything just the way I wanted it.

It was truly, a beautiful day to get married.

My sisters strung blush pink lanterns along the exposed beams in the reception area that took a couple hours. I cannot tell you how amazing they looked. My family was a life saver setting everything up. 

A couple of hours later, it was time to go get hair and makeup done. It seemed like the morning flew by, and everything was moving so fast. My normal hair dresser was not available the day of the wedding, so I had to find someone a few months prior. Although I did a trial with this lady, I will say that I wish I would have been able to find someone I knew better to do the hair and makeup. She didn't quite listen to what I wanted. Thankfully though, it turned out really great!

I didn't wear a veil, instead I wore a really pretty headband and it matched my bridesmaids dresses. 

Joe and I opted not to see each other before the wedding. I knew it would have been easier to take pictures before, but I also knew since the beginning that I wanted to wait and see Joe as I was walking down the aisle. Stick to what you want, ladies.

After we we're done getting ready, it was time to head back to the venue and get married!

Day of Wedding Essentials

Ladies, when searching on Pinterest to figure out everything I needed on my wedding day, I laughed. Not at all of the items of course, but some of them I figured I would never need. Wrong. There are several things I wish I would have brought because I actually would have used them. 

My dress had a pretty long train and had a poof at the bottom like most wedding gowns do. I cannot count the number of times people stepped on my dress. It wasn't anyone's fault, because it was so big when I would dance or hug someone they would accidentally step on it. Not even halfway through the reception, I realize - no scratch that, someone pointed out that my dress was ripped. In my head I thought about how I laughed that I wouldn't need that silly sewing kit. Well it would have come in handy. Thankfully it ripped right at the seam on the zipper and on my upper back (it could have ripped in a much worse place).

Just because you may think you won't use something, still pack it and you won't be sorry. I over packed, even just for the day and I'm glad I had these things on hand.

Here are some things I did pack:

+ Deodorant | Trust me, you'll wanna freshen up!

+ Phone charger | If you hand your phone over like I did and you're out of the house/hotel all day this will be necessary. 

+ Lotion | It's all about showing off the ring. 

+ Lip color you are wearing | Touch ups 

+ Nail polish color you're wearing | Ditto. 

+ Bobby-pins
+ Hairspray
+ Bandaids
+ Mints or little Colgate Wisp freshen brushes

+ Lint roller 

+ Tissues | For any tears or also works for blotting lipstick or excess oil. 

+ Pain Reliever | I had a major headache and my back really hurt that morning.
+ Sandals or flip flops | I actually ended up not even putting on my heels!! You couldn't see my feet anyway. 

Things I didn't but wish I had packed: 

+ Sewing kit

+ Bug spray | I didn't take into consideration the bugs for our outdoor ceremony, but I wish I would have thought to bring bug spray for everyone.

+ Double sided tape or skin tape. 

MUST haves:

Rings

Marriage License 

Extra cash for tipping (unless someone else is handling)

Another tip: Drinking water is so important to stay hydrated, and eating will keep the bridezilla mood to a minimum. 

What were some of your essentials? Anything else you would recommend? 

**This post is not sponsored, everything was purchased with my own money**

A prelude to our wedding.

I cannot believe I am finally married! What a crazy past few days it has been! I have no idea where to even start with these blog posts. I don't have the professional pictures yet, so I can't really re-cap or share the details quite yet. I just can't wait to share our special day with you all, but I guess there are some other things that I would probably benefit from getting off my chest..

Weddings are not all they are cracked up to be. I am so beyond thankful for Joe and if I wasn't sure a week ago (I was) I sure would be now, that I 100% married the right person. 

With weddings comes a lot of cost, pressure, and ups and downs. But never in all the nights that I stayed up panicking did I imagine just how cruel and mean people can be. Not just people, but family. 

Friday night; yes, the night before our wedding - I received some really upsetting news from my dad that turned our supposed to be girls night in with my mom and sisters into sadness, anger, and tears. I only bring this up now because I can't pretend that everything was exactly how I imagined. I won't go into details of course, but I think I got maybe three hours of sleep the night before. 

After drying my eyes and finally calming down we had people asking to come and bring extra people two hours before the wedding. Talk about stress..

The point that it really clicked for me that no one else mattered and this was OUR day was when our officiant prayed over our marriage. She spoke about how the person we were holding will be the one to wipe away tears and who will be here until the very end; Joe knew this very well from the night before. That night I had to put all of my anger and sadness away no matter how hard people tried to push me. Note: Someone made fun of the way I was standing during the ceremony... I think I prayed my way through the night to give me grace, and to get through it with a smile. 

I cannot forget to mention all of the amazing from the night, though! Once certain people left, everything was perfect. We had people there who genuinely love and care for Joe and I. These people helped the planning of this wedding for months and they lifted my spirits when I really needed it most. Joe, was my saving grace, he kept me calm and made me laugh even when I wanted to cry. That is what a wedding is about, anyway. 

This post is the prelude to the happiness of the wedding. I wanted to get this out of the way before I share everything else. There are so many happy things and thoughts from that night that I want to spew out all over this page, but I will wait until I have the pictures to back it up. 

Although I am sad it's over, I am just so happy to be married and start this new life as a wife and everything that comes with it!!

A wedding checklist.

 If I do say so myself, things are getting accomplished. This wedding may not be completely planned but with just a day over a month left to plan this thing, I can honestly say that it will happen with or without these small details. But for my sake let's hope it all gets done.

First dress fitting – The seamstress at David’s Bridal looked at me like I was insane for waiting until September to come in for my first dress fitting. I live on the edge lady. Actually not at all. I literally was swamped and put it off to the last minute but had major anxiety about it. I went in to actually look at the under garments for my dress, and the seamstress insisted that she had to get me in THAT DAY in order for it to be ready before the wedding. I almost had a full blown panic attack, but my maid of honor came to the rescue.  I go in for obviously what will have to be my last fitting / pick up the dress on October 3^rd! You know, only 8 days before the wedding…let’s hope it fits.

Hair/Makeup - By the time you read this I will have finally had my hair and makeup trial FINALLY. Since I am pre-writing this post, I'll have to let you guys know how it went next week or I'm sure I'll say something on Twitter. 

Guest book – Ordered and it is beautiful! Covered in burlap and lace. Just the way I like it.

Bridesmaids dresses have arrived, and they are so perfect. 

Gifts for the groomsmen need to be found and ordered. ASAP.

Garter – Still need to find and order.

Seating chart - This is awful. I have no idea how you ladies with 100+ people managed this. I am having a hard time situating everyone. 

Table numbers and place cards - Purchased, now I just need to get them finished after I get the pesky seating chart done. 

Favors and DIY projects - Still need to buy some more things to finish those.

Find shoes and jewelry for bridesmaids and myself – Nope. Still really need to get on that.

Book hotel room – This will happen with the next few coming weeks.

Order Joe's ring and get mine cleaned- Happening soon!

Music for pre-ceremony, walking down the isle, and of course songs to play during reception (suggestions would be amazing!!)

Create a strict weekend timeline with my wedding party.

We can officially go get our marriage licence as of tomorrow. Tomorrow it'll be 30 days until the wedding!


Also married ladies - did you get a spray tan before your wedding? If so, how soon/long before should I wait so hopefully it wont stain my dress?

The Details. | Wedding Wednesday

The month of August has already proven to be one of the most productive months of wedding planning yet. We aren't even halfway through the month and I feel like we have all of the major aspects of the wedding planned. Now the little details on the other hand will be the death of me, over dramatic: I know. 

My mom and I were in the car the other day, talking about the wedding of course when I mentioned doing a bouquet toss and needing to order the garters. She said how she had completely forgotten about those two things until I mentioned it. I had too, actually. The smallest of details are the hardest things to remember when I'm trying to remember not to overlook anything major! 

The rest of the list besides paying things off:

-Find hair and makeup person. 

-Order garter set

-Order gifts for reception

-Bridesmaids dresses (happening on Friday)

-Put together bridal party gifts to give at my bridal shower

-Make a complete list of songs for wedding/reception 

-Find shoes, jewelry, veil. 

-Alterations and under garments for dress.  

-Order Joe's ring

-Book hotel rooms

-Decide on seating chart - Table numbers 

-Set up transportation for after the wedding.
-Find a day of coordinator 

The 23rd is my bridal shower and I am way too excited to see this party that my mom and sister have been working so hard at planning. I know it'll be beautiful. Plus some people are coming from out of town for my shower that I cannot wait to see!

If you married/engaged ladies can give any tips or see anything I may be missing please let me know. Being the oldest in my family, and not having any friends that have gotten married I need all the advice I can get! Also, at what point did you take your dress to get altered?

I am vowing to take time this month to relax, focus on my health, my family, and especially my fiance for these special moments before we get married. I know how much work my family is putting into this wedding as well; without them I would be insane. 

At this time next month we will be able to get our marriage licence, how crazy is that!?


Linking up for Wedding Wednesday!

Wedding Wednesday | Invitations

Happy hump day all. It's AUGUST! Only two more months! Now that the invitations are officially out of my hands and into our friends and families, I can finally share the details of our invitations and RSVP's. 

After debating and pretty much being dead set on using Wedding Paper Divas as our vendor for invitations I changed my mind, and for good reason. Since we are having a small wedding we only needed to order about 50 invitations because most of the people coming were couples or families. When you order a smaller amount of invitations the price actually increases on each individual invite and RSVP card. After realizing that the invitations I had my heart set on would cost 4+ dollars each and then another 2-3 dollars for each response card I knew I needed to find an alternative. 

I felt as if spending about 6+ dollars on each invitation was a bit much considering we still had to mail them and put stamps on the RSVP's. I'm on a budget y'all. Plus I know for a fact that the extra saved money could go to much better use. 

I also wasn't pleased that WPD doesn't offer personal customization without an extra cost. I knew after searching on Etsy that it was the way to go. I found a really great shop called from Britni at "papernpeonies".  I just had to pay for the template and then also for printing/shipping of course and then she took charge and we conversed about all the little details and wording. She had the option to only pay for the template and print your self but after the problems I had with our save the dates, I wanted a professional to do it. She printed, cut, and shipped everything with the envelopes for a great price. 

When I received the box I was so impressed with the quality of the shipping and how fast everything came together!

Tips for the RSVP cards:

I used my wedding notebook and dedicated a page to numbering each family being invited starting with number 1 and ending with however many invites are being sent out also adding the number of people that are being invited from each family. We then put the same number on the bottom corner of the RSVP with the filled in number of people being invited so there will be no confusion (for us and for them).
Example:
1. Smith family (2 invited)
2. Andrew family (4 invited)

P.S - I'm glad I checked with the post office before adding the twine around each invitation. If you plan on adding any weight to the invitation check with the post office to check if you need to add extra postage. 

What do you think? Where did you get your invitations from, and how did they turn out?

Linking up for Wedding Wednesday

The Wedding Party

I feel like every single week I am going to repeat the words "I can't believe how close we are" and I mean it. I am shocked every time I look at the date and realize that in just a couple of months I get to marry my best friends in front of our closest friends and family. 

If you didn't already know, we're having a pretty small wedding compared to others.When you move away from your hometown where we live currently for seven years, lets just say you don't stay in touch with too many people. Neither Joe or I have big families, but honestly that's okay with me. I don't personally want 200 people that don't know us or make an attempt to be more than acquaintances attending our wedding. We have friends and family from out of state that may not be able to make it, and that's the sad part for me. 

Since our wedding will be around 50-60 guests we are keeping our wedding party very small. We both agreed on two people each. My bridesmaids will be my two sisters who just so happen to be two of my best friends as well. 

Another thing that we are doing in our wedding that may be different is that I plan on having my mom walk me down the isle. I know it's typical for the father to do this, but I feel like it should be whoever you feel in your heart to do this part. The person who raised me my entire life and who has been my best friend since day one is my mom.  

P.S The next wedding post will be all about our invitations! Since they are finally sent out, I cannot wait to share. 

Did you do anything different on your wedding day,if so how did it turn out?

Eighty Days.

Wedding Wednesday is probably one of my favorite days here in blog land lately. With only 80 more days leading up to our big day things are finally starting to come together.

~ Both of my rings have been resized. I picked the first jewelry repair store from Google, and they were about $100 cheaper than the quotes I had called around for!

~ We got our invitations in the mail! I worked with a company through Etsy. I knew I wanted certain things and wording on the invites and she made sure that everything was perfect. The price was right, and everything shipped within a week of the starting process. I cannot wait to share them, but that will have to wait until everyone receives them first.

(A mini sneak peak)

~ Tuxes are ordered for the guys in the wedding.

~ We have an appointment set with a vendor to rent everything else needed for the ceremony and reception.

~ My first fitting will be in a couple of weeks, as well as picking out the bridesmaids dresses. Cutting it close on these but I know it'll get done.

~ Music is really important to both Joe and I so one of the next thing on our to-do list is to make a song list and figure out what our main songs will be. This is such a hard task!

~ I still need to figure out the shoe and jewelry situation for myself and my girls.

~ The hair and makeup problem, is in fact still a problem. My hair stylist will be out of town the weekend of our wedding and I cannot manage to find not one person in this town that is available on the day of. My stylist said she gave out my number to a few girls she works with, so fingers crossed it works out!

~ My sisters and mom are throwing my bridal shower toward the end of August. The only thing I need to do is find a cute outfit which is such a relief!

~ Any ideas on gifts for bridesmaids? I can't seem to find anything that stands out.

Linking up for wedding Wednesday!

Wedding Wednesday: A To-Do List

Time sure does fly when you have a ton of things to do and everything in my body is making me procrastinate it all. How is it even possible that it's July? Although it only may be halfway through the year, July means that I only have 3 months until our wedding. THREE. My wedding binder with the perfect little checklist of things to do really must be collecting dust right now because I have been a slacker. In my defense It's really hard trying to set appointments with vendors and places when you have the weirdest work schedule ever, and your fiance's work schedule is completely opposite of yours. Excuses, excuses I know. I am reminded every time The Knot sends me "what I should be doing this month/week" updates right to my email how really, very behind I am. They also keep reminding me to start a workout regimen and to that I have really nothing to say. 

So here is a public checklist for the month of July that I vow hopefully accomplish. 

1| Have a freaking meeting with the coordinator at our ceremony/reception venue to get a timeline/linens/layout all set. Every other vendor is waiting on us to get a timeline from the coordinator so they have a time for setup, etc. Procrastination at its finest. Number one priority at the moment. 

2| Order invitations - According to my checklist I'm actually on time with this one if we get them ordered and out in the month of July. 

3| Bridesmaids dresses and Tuxes - This seriously needs to happen this month. 

4| Order all rentals for the day ceremony/receptionist. 

5| Figure out music situation. The fun part will actually picking out our favorite songs to incorporate into our day. 

6| Find/book hair and makeup artists for me and my bridal party. 

July is a really busy month, in between the major part of my summer school semester and BOTH of my sisters birthdays I really hope I can buckle down and get shiz done. On a really positive note, we took our engagement photos and all my photographer left us with was one single sneak peek until we get the final edits so I decided why not share it with you all. I am not a patient person and I cannot wait to see the final pictures, there will be a full post about our engagement photos coming soon! 

Wedding Wednesday | Update

Guys, we're finally making some progress! These past few weeks have been filled with hardcore wedding planning. If you read my past couple wedding updates you would know that we hadn't even found a photographer, or more importantly - an officiant! Well I'm here to tell you that we finally have both! We met with a photographer, loved her and told her about our awful mishap that happened with the first officiant, she recommended someone that she knew and boom, we have a photographer and an officiant. Joe and I both loved her from the second we met with her, and knew she was the perfect one to marry us. She also owns her own ranch and is a florist - therefore we are meeting with her again next month to go over flowers! I know that we may be a bit behind on planning, but I think things all fall into place when they are supposed to. I also wanted to share some pictures of other wedding planning progress as well letting you know that I am  updating my wedding checklist as we progress in planning! 

A couple months ago I found so many pretty things in the dollar section at Target, and I am so happy I snatched them up when I did because they no longer have any of this stuff at my Target. These things will either be used for my bridal shower and some for the reception or both, we're not quite sure yet! 

Our Save the dates, I can honestly say did not turn out how I had planned for them to, and that's my fault. I purchased them through an Etsy shop and they just weren't what I had planned for them to be. But that's okay. After spending more than planned on them at the printer itself, I have let it go. I will make sure our actual invitations are just what I want. We actually received free samples from Wedding Paper Divas and I am in love with the quality of their invitations!

My hair is a wedding update too! I always knew I wanted to get rid of the ombre before our engagement pictures and wedding so I am now in the process of doing just that. After one time visiting my hair dresser I am so excited to be a blonde again. The lack of upkeep needed with an ombre was amazing, but I missed my blonde hair and I needed a change. I'll only have two more times visiting my hair dresser before the wedding! 

                            (Before)  I may look angry, but I swear I'm not. People were looking at me! 

(After) One time after starting the highlighting process

I am so happy with all of the progress made, and I can't wait to start all of the little details of decorations and music selections! I got an oriental trading wedding magazine in the mail the other day, and I am obsessed! They have so many great things such as candy for candy bars, and other things needed for a reception. 

Happy hump day!

Linking up over at Belle in Boots

Wedding Wednesday - Who's gonna marry us?

It's officially been over a week since my last post, and I'm glad to be back for wedding Wednesday. Unfortunately this post has no pretty pictures or any great ideas, but it's a true story and I wanted to share. 

Who's going to marry us? Well that's a good question considering we only have five months until our wedding. I've been a little picky about our officiant and here's why..

Have you ever went into a business with the money in your account ready to put down a deposit, and then get totally let down? Well that's what happened to us last night..

A few weeks ago when I attended a bridal show with my mom I received a business card from a very nice lady who is a wedding officiant. Her booth was set up very nicely and she seemed like a good fit. Since we aren't members of a church at the moment I thought I would set up an appointment to talk about our vision for our ceremony and go over the details. I email the women and we set the appointment. Joe and I are always a little early so we showed up about 30 minutes early thinking we could just look around before our appointment. When we arrived the door was locked, the lights were off, and all that you could identify that we were even in the correct place was a little paper sign with the name of the business on it.. So we waited. 

I don't mind waiting, but when I wait for a doctors appointment usually I'm indoors and in a chair waiting. Not here. We were waiting outside in 99 degree weather - and I wish I were exaggerating. Our appointment time came and went so I decide to email the women to make sure she was coming. No response. 

Finally a lady shows up that is not the same person I met at the bridal show, and this lady seems rushed. It takes her trying about ten different keys before she can figure out how to open the door. Mind you, we still didn't receive an apology for being late. She lets us in the doorway and I see that the business is very filthy. I'm talking dust bunnies - buy a swiffer or something! She doesn't even ask us to sit down and talk, we just stand in the doorway. Finally she asks why we were here....at this point I am ready to leave. I mean really?? She literally just stood there and asked absolutely no questions regarding our wedding before I asked if she had a brochure of prices and details - guess what? They didn't have any. I politely told this women that we are not interested and we are leaving, and she didn't seem to care one bit. 

Rant over. 

Moral of the story is, make sure you check out everyone you use for your wedding - and be picky!! Don't settle for people who aren't passionate about what they are doing or don't seem to care about your special day. Some people I have emailed don't even want to meet in person before the wedding, no way I'm falling for that. 

I will definitely be meeting personally from now on before signing any contracts or putting down any type of deposit. Customer service is everything! We're meeting with a photographer this Friday, so cross your fingers!

Any brides out there have problems with vendors or people involved in your wedding?