Where has the time gone?

Posted Saturday, August 16, 2008 3:52 PM

8-16-08

Here it is mid august and still I feel like there is so much to do and nothing is getting done.

The Wedding dress is found the bridesmaids dresses are decided, the colors and flowers are figured out but over all these seem to be pretty minor comparied to finding the perfect location, the perfect caterer, the photographer, dj/band etc. I still haven't found the perfect venue haven't even started looking at caterers because so many venues offer their own catering, I have been inundated with information on photographers , cake bakers, florists and djs yet I haven't been able to filter through any of it! I am feeling so overwhelmed that I started ignoring all of it and now we are under a year till the wedding date and there is so much to do yet!

time flies...

Posted Saturday, May 17, 2008 3:24 PM

here it is May 17th and I don't feel like I have gotten much accomplished yet. Getting a lot of little details figured out but not the major ones.

 I think I have decided on a dress even though I can't try it on before I buy it I really love it. I found this wonderful site http://www.bridalonlinestore.com/Collection/ that has fabulous dresses for hugely discounted prices. The down side is you have to find your own seamstress for alterations if any are needed.

I have decided on colors for the wedding which took forever but after looking at the check list I  am ahead of schedule on it lol. Colors are deep/royal purple or plum depending on what color I can actually get the brides maid dresses in, Periwinkle blue and bright yellow. The groom and grooms men are going to wear the periwinkle vest and tie and the maids will wear the purple with a periwinkle sash.

Flowers are deep purple Iris with the yellow hearts, blue daisies, yellow tulip daffodil or rose and some other wild flowers in those colors. Again according to the check list I am ahead of schedule.

Table decorations will be silk iris and pansy arrangements. I decided to silk arrangements becuase so many are allergic but I really wanted flowers on the tables.

Mom and I found flowers for the wedding trellis blue and purple Hydrangea vines and purple wisteria vines also silks with a yellow sparkle toole.

We still have not found the perfect venue yet or figured out if we are going to have to look into caterers or if they will be provided by the venue.

the photographers and dj's scare me.

We don't know how we are going to be able to come up with the large lump sums for reserving the sites photographer, dj and caterer and I haven't even considered the cake yet.

I saw some interesting stuff for the favors that I have been thinking about like a Candy bar for everyone to make there own favor but there are to many diebetics in the family so I was thinking about maybe doing something like a bath salts bar or potpourri bar since I already have about 25 lbs of course sea salt and essential oils to scent them with and a ton of fragerent flowers and herbs but there again one has to look at the allergy factor.

I will do the proverbial bubbles and my favorite cookie maybe with the recipe for the cookie. and maybe if things work out I can make the floural peices gifts as well. I am not sure yet...so many things to think about and the time just keeps flying by.

 

to make or buy a wedding dress??

Posted Sunday, March 09, 2008 4:29 AM

This is the question that is eating at me right now. I had a friend offer to make my wedding dress she made her sisters but I haven't seen any pictures to know how well it turned out. I think making it really is going to be the better call because I am going for a traditional style but not a traditional color. I think it would be easier and cheaper to make it than custom order it once I found a style that I liked. I have also found several really nice formal patterns that I am seriously considering for the brides maids dresses. again I think it would be cheaper to make them than buy than to buy them but that is a tough call since you can now find formals in many styles for under $200.00 I think I am going to post this on community page to see what others think and what others are doing.

Patterns I have found that I like

Butterick 6463 formal

butterick 5542 formal

McCalls  3572 formal

Simplicity 7469 lace up front wedding

butterick 5184 2008 wedding collection

Style 2991 wedding

McCalls 7452 Wedding

well that is all I have found so far I haven't actually made it into a fabric store to look at the pattern books or fabric prices yet to see what I am looking at over all but it has got to be better than 600 - 800 that I have been seeing on the styles that I like lol who knows.

fun Ideas

Posted Saturday, March 01, 2008 4:26 PM

march 1 2008,

I was panicing over all the gifts that as a bride I am supposed to give out. The decorations that need to be purchased for the wedding and reception etc. There is so much more to do than I had any Idea and I am a horrible procrastinator. I was looking through martha stewarts Living magazine and found a really easy decoration/ gift idea for votive candle cups. The no stitch cross stitch project. you can download patterned with designs and letters etc and then with a paint pen mark the cross stitch pattern onto the votive cups. I love the idea and I know my sister will help me with them. I also decided to make microwavable hot/cold eye pillows for my maids and moms as well as all natural tea blends bundles for the ladies. I might even add in bath salts and hand made soaps. well that is it for now will come back and post more later.

Breathing again :)

Posted Sunday, February 17, 2008 8:59 PM

Feb 16th 2008 var rootDomain = document.domain;var domain = document.domain.split('.');if (domain.length > 2) rootDomain = domain[domain.length-2] + '.' + domain[domain.length-1]; _uacct = "UA-776588-8"; _udn = rootDomain; urchinTracker();

So I am going to use this to log all the chaos panic attacks and bright ideas

Chelle offered to make my wedding dress I will have to see pictures of the one she made before I make that decision. Dave said that he wants full tails Charcoal grey if we can find it. Since I have been married before I don't want a white or cream/ivory dress I want something bold I have seen some beautiful red dresses. I also want to find brides maid's dresses that can and will be worn by my friends on other occasions...I don't want to ask them to spend the money on a silly dress that they will never wear again. I have also thought about doing some kind of corset and flowing skirt or an actual corset dress but not sure at this point. I randomly picked June 20th 2009 as a potential wedding date just to complete the registration for the knot. but the more I think about it I really like the idea of having our wedding during the summer solstice the longest day of the yr sounds like a great day to have a wedding to symbolize the duration of our love and marriage. I also started looking into the random expenses involved with planning a wedding to get an idea of what we are really looking at dollar wise money is tight and we are going to have to come up with a good budget to make it happen. With the date almost 18 months out I think we will be ok but money always freaks me out.

I think I am going to make the majority of my decorations and brides maids gifts since I am pretty crafty and I think it will save me a bit of money in the long run.

The shock

Posted Sunday, February 17, 2008 8:21 PM

feb 15th 2008

I spent the morning cruising the knot trying to figure out what I don't know what I need to know and what is actually involved in planning a wedding. Though I have been married twice I have never planned a wedding or had a full fledged wedding my first was very descreet there were only nine people at it my mom his parents 1 couple that were friends of his parents the pastor and his wife. I didn't really know any of them and I was very young. My second marraige was a common law no ceramony at all. Dave has never been married and not a typical male actually wants a pretty elaborate wedding. We are going to have to finance this ourselves which is a bit overwhelming...

I had to take my ring in for sizing when I called the jeweler they said if I got in soon they could have it finished for me by 5 pm. I dropped everything and rushed out there to get my ring in cause I really didn't want to be parted from it even though I couldn't wear it. The Shane Co is actually a ways away from the house, Close to my work but a distance from the house so I dropped it off and perused the bands they had I know we have a while before we have to worry about our wedding bands but I really had no clue about rings and wanted to get an idea about what was out there. I left the Shane co and ran by work to pick up my paycheck. I decided that I didn't want to head all the way back home to have to drive back again so I went to Jereds jewelry to look at there rings then went to the mall cause there are about a bazillion jewelry stores there. I had a hard time finding anything that I really liked I was looking at bands for myself as well as for Dave. It was really hard to picture the bands against my engagement ring with out actually having it to lay next to. I also had a really hard time finding any rings that I really liked for him.. I had envisioned something with a celtic design but everything I was shown wasn't even close to what I had in my minds eye. I found a ring at helsberg that I really liked it wasn't celtic but it was nice and I think it might even look good against my engagement ring. I found a nice silver smooth rope chain that I can wear my ring on when I am working and I found a heavy silver celtic infinite knot ring that I picked up for him. Kind of non-traditional but he works with his hands a lot and we aren't really sure if a gold ring will survive so I thought I nice heavy silver ring would give us a good idea of how much damage it will actually get and help us decide whether we should go with gold or some other type of ring. I looked at dresses and shoes and everything else I could think of that I might find in the mall to kill time. I couldn't take it anymore it was 4:10 so I decided to head back to the jewelry store to see if maybe it was done early...a girl can hope...I was told it was still to early to check when I got to the store so I looked at the rings again waiting. finally about 4:30 I went to the service desk and asked them to check on it...They were doing the final quality check on it and it would be another 5-10 minutes. When I finally got my ring I was so excited if fit and I couldn't wait to show Dave how good it looked. I couldn't wait to show our friends either. Dave wasn't sure to think about the ring I picked up for him but thought it was a sound idea to have a test ring to find out how much abuse it will actually take. I guessed at his size being a 12 and it fit perfectly. I annoyed Dave with a bazillion questions about what type of wedding he wanted I think we have decided on a semi-formal wedding. We already know who we are going to ask to officiate we discussed colors a little. He finally told me to breathe we don't have to figure it all out tonight lol.

 

 

Oh My God He really asked

Posted Sunday, February 17, 2008 5:49 PM

So this is the log drawn out story of how his proposal came to pass. 

Feb 12th 2008

I always call Dave when I am on my way home from work because I work evenings and don't want him to worry when I get out late. He told me he had a suprize for me for valentine's day. Now he had already told me that he was buying tickets to Stomp in march and that was my valentine's day present which I was totally ok with. When I got home I kept teasing him tell me tell me I want my 'prize now what is it...He finally gave in and told me that he would tell me what my prize was so that I would understand why I couldn't have it until valentine's day. He told me that he was taking me to the Broker for a fancy dinner for valentine's day. He was so giddy with the news, so excited but I didn't get it. I didn't understand what the significance of the Broker was so he had to explain that it was a 4 star restaurant and we would be dressing to the nine's to go. I had never been to a really nice restaurant like this for a date or romantic interlude...As he explained the restaurant to me the thoughts that went through my mind is why isn't he saving this for asking me to marry him. I couldn't get excited about this dinner because I thought it was a waste of money. We had talked about getting married at some point but Dave kept telling me that he wanted to wait until he could afford the perfect ring for me. Finances have been tight for a while and we were just starting to come out of it. I knew he didn't have the money he was talking about to get a ring and I felt it would be better to go someplace less expensive for dinner. for once I kept my mouth shut and didn't tell him what I thought he was so excited that he was going to be able to do this for me that I didn't want to put a damper on it for him and I knew that ultimately I would enjoy the dinner.

feb 13th 2008

I knew what dress I wanted to wear but I needed a new pair of shoes for it Dave said it was ok to go find a new pair of shoes so I went shoe shopping WOO HOO. Not only did I find the perfect shoes I found 3 pairs of shoes at Shoe carnival...Ladies if your are looking for nice shoes this is the place to go I actually got out of there for under $20.00 with 3 pairs of shoes I was exstatic!!! I got home went to the closet to get out the dress that I planned to wear to make sure it wasn't dirty or furry or such since I haven't worn it in over a year... I couldn't find it. I couldn't find it anywhere. Panic. Dave told me to relax we would go dress shopping tomorrow and find something that would work.

Feb 14th 2008

We had a nice lazy morning one of our friends,Jupi was on the way over going to Savers with us. Savers is a discount/second hand store we frequent for fun club clothes. They have some really nice formals and evening dresses for pennies compared to its original price. I spent the afternoon trying on dress after dress couldn't find one that fit quite right. Then I found this royal blue dress with a black floral lace overlay that was perfect I had looked at it and looked at it but thought it was to formal for this dinner so I hadn't tried it on yet. Dave had already brought over 3 beautiful black dresses that didn't fit my rib cage go figure...So I tried on this dress and if fit like it was made for me it was beautiful and I felt like a princess... The perfect dress for a romantic valentine's dinner. Dave took one look at it and said "that's the dress, thats the one you are wearing tonight."

Now let me back track for a minute here. While I was trying on the black dresses my sister called me. I told her where he was taking me for dinner and the next words out of her mouth were " Do you think he is going to propose to you?" My answer " Not a chance we are still catching up on bills I know our finances are not where he wants and besides we spend every spare moment together when would he have had time to get a ring? No there is no chance he is going to ask maybe next year but not now." I even went so far as to tell her that I wished he would have saved this dinner for asking me to marry him.. I stepped out of the dressing room to ask him to see if he could finish zipping up the dress I was trying on to find that he was in the dressing room next to me. I was mortified. Afraid that he had heard me talking to my sister. I didn't want to put a damper on the day/evening with talks of getting married when I knew he wasn't proposing. Fortunately he had not heard the conversation. My sister tells me I have to call her if he does propose..even though I have already told her there was no chance of it. So we find the perfect dress for me a nice pair of slacks for him a couple of really nice long winter dress coats for both of us and our friend Jupi found 3 fun outfits for the club. So far this had been a fun day and I was getting into the mood to enjoy an exceptional dinner. We ran over to walmart to get food for the dogs. Dave ran over to the shoe dept for a quick look at the dress shoes while Jupi and I grapped food for the dogs. I told her about the conversation with my sister and how I hoped he really hadn't heard the conversation. I also told her how I wished he would be proposing but I had resigned myself to it being either later this year or maybe next valentine's day. (She already knew and didn't give anything away)

We get home get dressed for dinner and head out the door no major hitchs my hair won't curl to save my life but oh well.

We get to the Broker early, Dave didn't want to risk our reservations being given away if we weren't on time and finding parking downtown can be a nightmare..But tonight we found parking without any trouble. We got seated right away even though we were early...We hadn't eaten all day and were starving :). We devoured our first bowl of complimentary peel and eat shrimp like a couple of uncouth kids. Dave ordered the Prime rib Cattleman's cut and I ordered the southwest wellington. We each had another cocktail and polished off a second shrimp bowl waiting for dinner to arrive. Dinner was fantastic my southwest wellington was made with cuts of prime rib and filet mignon with chilis and other spicy seasonings. Dave commented on how beautifully presented my dinner was compared to his plate with this monster slab of meat on it. :) the food was fabulous and the wine divine. The evening well worth it even though he wasn't going to propose. After dinner we each took a turn at running to the restroom...I went first...I saw Dave coming back to the table he was beaming very proud of himself and this evening. I turned away to get my wine glass and turned back to watch him walk back to the table. I hadn't gotten turned all the way back around when he reached the table dropped to one knee and said " Marcie Joanne Brown Will you marry me?" and placed the ring on the table infront of me. It took about 30 seconds for my brain to actually decipher what he said I don't think he has ever used my full name ever...and I had had 2 cocktails and half a glass of wine with dinner...My brain deciphered my eyes registered I gasped, shreaked started to cry and all I could say was Oh My God Oh my god over and over again I think I said yes and started with the oh my gods again after about another dozen oh my gods it dawned on me that I don't think I said Yes or if I did it wasn't audible so very clearly I said YES. I couldn't stop crying, my eyes wouldn't stop watering. Our waitress came to check on us she said that a couple of the other tables heard the crying and hoped they were tears of joy. She left and came back with 2 glasses of complimentary champagne and left us to enjoy the moment. Dave wanted to do the circled arms thing to drink our champagne but the table was to wide. Our waitress came back when it looked like I was done falling apart and requested to see the ring. She took our dessert request and left...She liked the ring so much that she tried to draw it for a fellow co-worker couldn't get it so she brought her over to see it herself she even showed us her attempt to draw the ring design :). We shared our dessert of teramisu had a cup of coffee which Dave never drinks but he actually had a cup paid the bill and headed out. What a perfect end to the day. As we were walking to the car he tells me that I have to call his mom, He tells me the story of when he bought the ring and took it over to the moms' house to show them, when he told his mom the time of the dinner reservation she said that we had to call afterwards cause they would still be up. He confessed that the reason he told me about the dinner tuesday night was because he had just bought the ring and  how he had told our closest friends. He had to tell me something to keep from confessing all and ruining his perfectly planned romantic proposal.  I didn't want to interupt our evening with phone calls everyone could wait until tomorrow...besides if I called his mom I would have to call my sister, I love my sister but she is always an hour conversation :) I didn't want to give up that time with him tonight. Dave decided since I wasn't going to call he was going to drive us over to the moms' house to show them and let them hear the story see us all dressed up etc. We finally got home it was still pretty early and at this point I wanted to tell everyone so I called my mom, told her and called my sister left a message and come out of the bedroom to find Dave online in the chat room telling everyone there. He said he was too hyped up to settle in for the evening LOL...so I jumped online went into the chat room and told everyone, it took a few for everyone in the chat room to actually put 1 and 1 together and figure out Dave was talking about me and I was talking about him. We thought most of the regulars in the chat room already knew we were a couple but apperently not. Come to find out most of our friends knew and none of them even let on a little bit. I never saw it coming. Dave said that my reaction was priceless and worth every penny he spent on the day and soo much more. Dave said that everything happened just as he had envisioned it happening and it couldn't have turned out better.

..finally we went off to bed what happened next is not for public consumption lol.

So that is the story of how Dave asked me to Marry him.