Posted Sunday, July 27, 2008 12:32 PM
ideas for the dj's play list:
first dance together: "i only have eyes for you" -- peggy lee
daddy-daughter dance: "slipping through my fingers" -- abba
bouquet toss: "gimme! gimme! gimme! (a man after midnight) -- abba
that's all for now... of course there are tons of songs i want to be played, but these are for the more... important moments.
also, for the wedding march... i want the song "gumption" played from the score of the movie "the holiday," with kate winslet and cameron diaz.
Posted Monday, July 07, 2008 9:29 PM
I have made some small decisions -- or rather, I am merely stating my preferences:
! I've been browsing the pictures of wedding favors, and I have decided that if I can help it, I don't want to give the guests candy as gifts. I'd like to come up with something a little more meaningful. I'm not sure what... Maybe we'll come up with two ideas and place them at every other setting. Jonathan will pick one, and I'll pick the other. His should be something musically inspired. No candy bars!
! Perhaps my half of the favors will be coffee mugs with packages of coffee, tea, and hot chocolate. That could be cute! I'll see about coming up with a design for the mug. I wonder how much that would cost...
So far, that is all.
Posted Saturday, July 05, 2008 5:29 PM
I haven't been, really. I've merely been browsing the website. Maybe I shouldn't...
I'm having problems making a decision...
Jonathan is graduating in December 2009, if all goes according to our plans. He's not working much right now, and he won't have the time to until next summer. I'm nervous that we won't have much money saved away for marriage, and we definitely won't be able to pay for the trip to Europe for his student teaching. So my options are the following:
1) I can stay in school and save little money, even though I'm going to have to pause my studies when we leave for Europe.
OR
2) I can take few classes and save more money.
OR
3) I can pause schooling altogether, work two full-time jobs and raise enough money to start off our life as a married couple together.
If I picked the second or third, I would always be able to get back into school full-time once Jonathan graduates and has a career. I'm afraid that if I stop taking classes full-time, I'll have to begin making payments on what I already have in student loans. I'm not sure what to do! I feel like it's my duty to save money specifically for the wedding, while Jonathan finishes school. I really don't know...
Posted Wednesday, July 02, 2008 9:35 PM
After coming home from work the other evening, I sat in front of the television with my FI-to-be and grabbed my laptop. While watching Family Guy (or something silly like that), I planned to check my e-mail and such. One of the tabs left open on the web browser was a website listing many wedding reception venues in Tennessee. Jonathan had been doing wedding planning!
That is one highlight of the week, wedding-wise.
Jonathan and I drove through at KFC to appease my fried chicken-craving tonight, and I noticed a billboard announcing an upcoming bridal show! Of course I begged Jonathan that we go, even though we're not supposed to be planning the wedding. He agreed to come with me! (Before I mention any more... should I bring my FI-to-be, or is it meant to be a place to bring my MOH and mother instead? I'm not sure! But I want him to be involved in the planning as well... Ugh, I don't know.)
That would be the second highlight, wedding-wise.
Not a clue when the engagement will begin, and I've given up on waiting for it. I'm going to just try to keep my mind off of it. If I struggle planning the wedding, then sobeit. Sure, I'm freaking out just thinking about the planning... But, that'll give the planning character... or something... I guess. :-/
Sarah R. Phillips
Posted Friday, June 27, 2008 9:50 PM
I approached Jonathan and told him that I think we should begin planning. I don't mind being casual about the planning at this point, but I think a year is a decent amount of time to plan what I have in mind. Also, considering that I will be working and schooling full-time throughout the planning process, a year can seem inadequate.
I've been considering my problem of not being able to find a color/colors for the wedding party that compliment the color of sunflowers, and I may (or may not) have come up with THE idea. Pomegranates! I probably won't incorporate the actual fruit -- if so, it will be a tiny accent of the decor -- simply because that could drive up the budget for the wedding. (Pomegranates can be quite expensive! I also think they would be out of season...? If I'm remembering correctly, pomegranates are usually available in the late fall. Maybe they'll ripen early next summer! Ha ha, likely to much to hope for.) The color of pomegranates, though, could make very pretty dresses... or at least add a splash of color to what could be a colorless wedding. I cannot come up with any other options, honestly. [Let's see... A deep red... And almost a burnt yellow... I think it could be a very pretty display of people standing in front of a setting sun. Tell me if you despise the idea. I don't think Jonathan's fond of the color scheme, but I think he's just having a hard time picturing it.]
I had the fond, yet unlikely, desire to have a themed wedding. I would absolutely love for Jonathan and the groomsmen to wear 1940's-inspired suits, along with fedoras and suspenders -- as hollywood did it! A major problem with bringing a theme into the wedding is finding appropriate clothing. I have a feeling that the gentleman will be much easier to dress up than the ladies. Where am I going to find a wedding dress, reasonably priced, that reflects the 1940's period? I'm not willing to wear a used wedding dress, so antique stores and consignment shops are out of the question. I think I'll probably just toss out the idea. It was a cute one, but I think it would require too much time... more time than I have to devote to the wedding. If I happen to come across dresses by chance, then I may pick up the idea again, but until that happens, I will not be planning for a themed wedding.
Jonathan, being a music major, has bunches of friends who could play at our wedding, so I think I'd like for us to have a stringed quartet or some sort of live band to play during hors d'ouvres and maybe even during dinner as well. I would also like a DJ for dancing, though. Would that be too much? ...To have both? Depending on how nice his friends are, we may be able to pay the band and still have money leftover for a DJ. Guess Jonathan should start kissing ass!
I still cannot decide what I'd like to do for catering. Jonathan thinks that a seated dinner is too much, but I don't like his suggestion of just having a buffet. Having worked in banquet halls as much as I have, I've become disgusted by buffets, hot and cold. I really like seeing the appetizers carried around with cocktails by the service, and having a plated dinner would just make my day perfect... but... There is the money issue.
And that's another story. Haven't announced our engagement (not **exactly** even officially engaged yet), so I haven't felt comfortable discussing the wedding with my parents. We probably should consider doing that soon, though, since I need to begin planning, and I'm not sure what kind of budget they had in mind for the event.
I guess that's about all I've come up with so far. I told Jonathan today that I'd like to know what he wants for our wedding, so that it doesn't become "MY" wedding, and he can enjoy it just as much as I plan to. We'll have to wait and see what ideas he comes up with. ;-D
Posted Tuesday, June 17, 2008 1:52 PM
So there's no ring and no proposal yet, but Jonathan and I have all but engaged ourselves to be married next summer. When Jonathan told me of his plans to student teach in Europe for fall semester, 2009, he assured me that he wanted to marry me beforehand, so that I could leave with him.
I've reminded him a little too much that I require a proposal and engagement ring before we announce our intentions, though I haven't been able to help but tell my closest friends and family (mother and sister, who I'm sure have already blabbed to the rest of the immediate family and close friends).
I feel a little odd planning a wedding without a ring, but I want to be prepared, and this wedding is less than a year away!
So far, I have decided that I want sunflowers (though I haven't exactly decided on the arrangements). That's about it. I know I want an outdoor wedding with a reception underneath one of those grand, white tents. The reception (possibly the wedding as well) will begin at sundown, because I want candles. Lots and lots of candles!
I'm having some issues picking the color for the bridesmaid dresses, since I don't want to go with brown, yellow, or black, which you will find as the most common sunflower-themed wedding colors. I'm thinking RUBY RED, but I cannot be for sure. As for now, I'll allow the bridesmaids to pick the style of the dress, as I will be picking the color and fabric. No clue what we'll do with the groomsmen.
For now, I'm just brainstorming. I won't begin visiting venues or searching for vendors until after the engagement. Unless my fiance takes too long... Ha!