correction!

SO, in all of this blogging over the past year, it has been pointed out to me, which it was inevitably bound to happen, that I have made a mistake in one of my many postings. ;)

I was informed today from the future family (aka, Adam's dad) that I referenced a time early on in Adam and I's relationship where I was mistaken. Somewhere in the realms of blog world, I stated that the first member of Adam's family that I met after we started dating was his grandparents...however I was severely mistaken...as his dad pointed out, it was he who drove us on one of our first dates. This is true. I forgot about the times when he used to pick us up at approximately 10:45 at night in order to get me home by my 11pm curfew...alas, it was dark, and I only vaguely knew what he looked like at the time, (and I was only 16 years old, meaning I only am bound to retain so much) but it was he who I met first in the Martinez family. I still stand by my memory that his grandparents was the first house I went to, or, well, went inside. After all, my memory is bound to be a bit rusty in the 6 years that we have been dating. However, I felt that I needed to make this mistake clear to avoid future in-law dramas. :) Hehe.

On a side note, it makes me happy to know that his parents are reading this happy blog! Slightly embarrassed that they are reading my pointless ramblings, but excited that they are following along on wedding progress. Though staying up until 3am to read the entire thing....that I am not so sure about. ;)

But a nice big shout out to his dad and mom--- "HI GUYS!!!" Hahahaha.

:) I enjoy my new family.

stress, stress, stress

Ughhh there is still SO much that needs to be done. Little tiny details that you never would have guessed needed to be done...we still need a cake cutter and toasting glasses, cellophane bags for the dessert bar, favor jars, ingredients for the dessert bar items and favors, programs, something to put the programs IN, something to put the bubbles in, ribbons for the bubbles, toss garter, wedding band, rehearsal dress, rehearsal dinner location, etc etc etc!

I think my head is going to explode. Sadly alot of those things are going to go un-bought due to the money situation...which in the long run is going to seem fine, but now is stressing me out because it's the little things that pull everything together, and I hate that it is going to seem lacking somehow...

more pretties

More pretty pretties! My mom just keeps on making such pretty arrangements. It's going to just blow people away at the wedding, everyone is going to be asking to take them home!!! We could never, NEVER in a million years have ever hoped or expected for our flowers to have turned out so incredible for our wedding. It's more than we could have dreamed. I am so lucky to have such an incredible and talented mommy. :)















I can't wait to see them all set up and pretty at the wedding. They are going to be so stunning!

updates...or lack thereof

Not too much has been happening wedding wise lately. We have been so busy concentrating on OTHER people's weddings that our own planning has sort of fallen to the sidelines, but that's ok! We dont have a tremendous amount of things left to sort through, most things are just the little annoying details, so I'm hoping that we can try and accomplish some of those things soon.

We've had a bit of trouble money-wise lately in terms of sticking to budget. Unfortunately, alot of things that we had banked on are turning up to be more expensive that we initially thought, and that's caused a bunch of stress. Hopefully it will work itself out, I'm trying to stay optimistic! We might be forced to take our honeymoon at some other time, which is going to really suck since the two of us had been really looking forward to it. Sigh. It was going to be our very first trip together that wasnt family or work related, and it's a real downer when we are starting to think we may not be able to afford one right now.

Oh well. The important thing is that we are getting married! That's really all that matters in the long run, and these little stresses will just be a blur in the past in a few years. We just gotta keep telling ourselves that! 53 days!

Aside from all of that, my mom has been making some more outstanding wedding arrangements! I just love them all. I'll post some pictures tomorrow, but now I am off to bed! Yay for sleep!

big news

So after booking the rental company and working out all of the details regarding the tent, decorations, and chair setup, we went and did something insane.

We changed ceremony venues.

Yes, there is only 60 days until the wedding. That's 2 months. And yeah, invitations have already went out.

But my mom made the mistake of showing me an article in the paper with this place- this beautiful, wonderful place- that just so happened to be OPENING in September. Brand new, hence why we hadnt heard of it when we were spending months of sleepless nights trying to find the right location.

Oh, and they have our date open.

Yeah, that's the view.

Floor to ceiling windows make me happy. Esp when they overlook mountains and water.

So we've cancelled the tent and all of the rentals that we had spent the entire day before booking, and booked this place. Now there are no worries about manuvering down a flight of 100 stairs to start the processional. No worries about "what if it storms?" and no worries about where I would "hide" before the ceremony starts. Everything you could possibly want view and detail wise, this place has. Sure, I still wanted an outdoor ceremony. But I was so worried about the weather. And so worried about it storming and we having to end up getting married in a hotel room. Plus, from the time I saw this lake view in the fall last year, I wanted our ceremony there. The problem was there were few places that had this view, andt he ones that did, had fish backdrops. Or were already booked.







We got lucky.

But no worries, everything is the same time-wise and reception wise and everything. The only thing that changes is the ceremony location. Which in the end, will make people happy, since the other place was a bit hard to find.

After we get our final RSVP count in September, we'll mail out new direction cards to everyone who is coming. We are both so excited...this is the most excited I have seen Adam since the planning began!

Back of chapel, I LOVE the floors!

kelsey, the dress, the shoes, and the air vent...

Hahaha, so I forgot to update with these fun pictures of my sister from the trip. I had her try on the completed bridesmaid dress with the slip and shoes and they are super cute! She had some fun trying the Marilyn Monroe pose with the air vent...and also had a fun time practicing walking in her shoes...hahahahahaha. There may be trippage on the wedding day.

Attempting to put the shoes on...

And immediately falling.

She's up. Ignore the polka dotted bra.

Closeup of the shoes and slip!

She cant quite figure out how to do the pose...

Falling into the air vent...

Attempt number 1.

Attempt number 2.

I really have no idea.

Hahahaha. So if you ignore the tripping and falling and weird faces- the dress is pretty cute! And the shoes (although tall!) look cute too. And I love the slip!

sleepy sleepy

Wedding planner today, that went well. We talked about all of the new changes and all, and again it made me realize just how glad I am that we hired her. She seems so confident about everything, and I just hope that everything runs as smoothly as she says on the day itself!

I think we got alot of things tied up this weekend. Granted there are still a couple issues, with the main one being the transportation to the ceremony place, but we will work it out. The major things are decided and we've put a face to a name with the vendors. Now we just have to meet with the photographers in Omaha, which is in September, I have to make a quick up and back in one day trip to Springfield for my final dress fitting, and then tie up the transportation. And then, of course, figure out how to pay for everything. Ha. Yeah, that's a biggie.

I'm tired, but will update on the changes soon...

changes are a' comin...

I feel like I have been up forever.

Hair and makeup today at 8:30 in the morning...guh. Makeup trial was fine, but I wasnt a big fan of the hair. I could do what she did to it, and it had fallen out by the time I had my pictures an hour later. That needs to not happen on the wedding. So I'm a bit stressing about that...my mom claims it will be ok on the day and that she will make sure the girls does it better...but, well, I dont know. I mean, it wasnt ugly, it just wasnt...wedding. It was more like, homecoming, and I had my hair done nicer for homecoming. So I dont know.

Makup! It was early and I just rolled out of bed and came...I looked hideous.

Start of the hair...

More hair! I cant put a pic of the final one up because I dont want Adam to see, even though I want to change it...haha.

But we booked out the upstairs of the salon for the bridal party to get ready in. They let us bring in champagne and food and all, and it's all rented out to us, so we can get our hair and whatnot done up there without the stresses. I had wanted someone to come to the hotel, but this was cheaper, and there are couches and stuff up there, so I think it will turn out ok. Plus, it looks cool.

Next we had to make a mad dash for a place to change into my dress for the pictures...thank goodness for my grandpa's hotel. We stopped in, and mom used her connections to get us a room to change in, haha. That was, well, interesting...me wandering around in a tiara and my dress in the comfort inn. We made it to the pictures, which went good I hope. I never think I look good in pictures, and my hair kept messing up since the girl failed at doing it, but hopefully a few of the shots turned out. It was fun to get the urban, grungy pictures that I wont be able to get on the wedding day. Trunging around in my dress was interesting, and I was glad we hadnt spent the money to have it cleaned yet, since he took me into tall grass and whatnot...ha.

Then we had a problem with the alteration place. We showed up already in my dress (I mean, I had it on for the pictures and I would have had to put it back on anyways, so why not?) but after a bit, they informed us they cant work on the dress because of the beading. Ok, fine...he gave us the name of a place a couple blocks up that he said should be open, so we rushed over there, only to find they were closed. So it's after 1 in the afternoon on Saturday, and we are trying to call an alterations place that is 1) open, and 2) works on bridal gowns. Luckily we found a place that was open until 2, and seemed to be able to do gowns, and were only a mile or so from where we were. So we walk in, me in my gown, and after they got over the shock of me in full hair/makeup/jewelry, we got the dress pinned and ready to be altered.

Finally we headed back and picked up Adam and everyone and headed for our unplanned trip to Branson. Let's just say...things are going to be changing a bit in regards to the wedding. I'm in a bit of a shocked state right now, but once we get back home I'll inform people of the changes...but dont be concered- they are all good!!

Your only hint!!!

Catering meeting was next (yes, we had meetings until 10:30 tonight). That went well, we are hoping that we are going to be able to do a bit more food-wise than we were initially, and the guy seemed really nice and seemed to know what he was doing. We worked out the table and chair situation, the setup, and really everything regarding the Tonic. So far, this has been my best vendor to work with...they have been super accomodating and everything, so hopefully this will follow through up to the wedding day. The manager is new, but he's obviously done this before, and he really put us at ease. And while we waited for the DJ, he brought us some drinks, on the house. I guess people like you when you rent out the place for a night.

DJ Vinyl Richie was next (or Shawn, as is his actual name). He was really easy-going and you could tell he had done this many, many times over. This was a meeting we really didnt HAVE to do, but it was nice to put the face to the name, and I think he will do a good job at making people involved and getting people out on the dance floor.

So today was definitely a productive day. Even more productive than originally anticipated. Tomorrow we just have our meeting with the wedding planner, and then we need to figure out a place to hold the rehearsal dinner. Aside from that, we have really done most everything that we needed to. Sigh- I feel like we've been going 100 miles an hour, but when this is our last time to come down here before the wedding, I suppose it's bound to feel that way...

so much stress

To sum up today, well, it was stressful. It started out kind of frustrating, but it ended on a, well, interesting note.

This morning my mom and I got downtown to the hair salon for our 10:15 appointment only to be told that the girl who was supossed to be doing my hair was having car troubles...in the end, they had to reschedule everything for bright and early tomorrow morning...which meant I had to rechedule the bridal pictures and the alterations for then as well. Unfortuantely the alterations place isnt open on Saturdays...so we had to make a mad scramble of calls to find another place that was.

Luckily everyone was able to move their things, and we went ahead and went straight to the rental place, which was much better than the last. At least here they had a big assortment of things, and the colonnade is going to look pretty sweet at the wedding. They had everything that we needed except for the brown linens or chair covers, but we got the name of a lady who does have brown and met with her later on in the day. She's a bit pricer than we had hoped, but everything does match...we are going to keep looking and decide on her later.

The table we are getting for the sand ceremony

The top of the colonnade!

Ignore the random crap, but the table itself is what we are using for the dessert bar!

Another shot of the table

Anywho, the rentals are booked. Ceremony chairs, colonade, tables, reception chairs, dessert bar stuff, serving trays, etc. And even a couple of surprises that I'll divulge next week! I knew the rental place was going to be a heafty cost, but luckily it came in right at what we had figured, so it wasnt too bad.

Then Kelsey and I went out to meet with the videographer (who is also doing the bridal pics tomorrow!). He changed it up on me and informed me that his brother would be the one in charge of the video now, instead of the guy who I had initially booked...I was a bit frustrated, because I didnt know this guy's experience and all...but after meeting with him I think it will be ok. He's got a broadcasting degree and owns the same camera as me, so obviously he *should* know what he is doing. We are going to set up our camera too, so they will have a bunch of different angles, and he seems really nice, so I feel better about that. And the guy who is doing the bridal pics, Jared, seems really easy-going and seems to have good ideas for the shoot tomorrow, so hopefully that goes well!

And then shortly before Adam got into town my mom threw me a curve ball, all because of an article in the paper...I cant disclose all of the details yet, but let's just say we are going to make an unexpected trip to Branson tomorrow afternoon, and this could potentially shake up some things... We shall see...

day 1 of wedding insane weekend.

This weekend has begun stressful as all getup.

After getting pushed around and things messed up all morning, we were finally able to set up a meeting with one of the rental companies for tonight. So I drove down and we had our first meeting and I was really disappointed with their selection. They had the cheapest prices on the tent for the ceremony and they did have the brown tablecloths, but unfortunately they were two tablecloths short, and they didnt have any of the serving trays that we need and the price, well, I just wanted to look around a bit. Plus, the fact that they guy used his brother's shop after hours, used his inventory, and yet said the business was "his" was a bit disturbing to me...and I had really hoped to go with the same place for everything, and they didnt have the colonnade either. So that was disapointing.

Tomorrow is the dress fitting and bridal pictures and hair/makeup trials. And hopefully another meeting with the other rental company in town. Hopefully those turn out a bit better...I feel like nothing has been accomplished, and we need to do so so much this weekend....sighhhh....

rsvps

So we got our first RSVP's back in the mail today!

Sadly, the are both declines, but it was still a thrill to get them back in the mail, along with cards! Cards are always fun! :) I'm sad that these few people wont be able to make it. I had expected it, since they are families and I didnt really expect them to make the drive, but I was still sad since I wish everyone we invited could come!

Hopefully we will slowly be getting more back in the mail, and hopefully we'll be getting some "accept!" ones soon!

favors

So we had wanted originally to do little favor boxes as favors for people, but then we were stumped with what exactly to fill them with. We didnt really want to do candy, since there is already going to be a candy buffet, and everything else just seemed like something little that people wouldnt necessarily appreciate it and expensive. Not to mention the cost of the little boxes, which were alot more than we anticipated, and we know that few, if any, people would actually keep them and the majority would end up in the trash.

So then we started to throw around ideas of something "fall" that we could do for the favors...while we dont want the entire wedding to scream FALL, we do want to incorporate some elements into it, and we are having alot of things at the dessert bar that are "fall themed" so we wanted to do something fall themed for the favors, too.

At first we had wanted to do the caramel apples as favors, but the cost and time that goes into those are a bit high, especially when we figure that not everyone is going to like them. So we are still having them, but we are having them on the dessert bar so people who want them can take them.

Then I came across a picture of people who did mini jars of hommade jam as their favors. The couple made them themselves, and they were super cute. While I didnt want to go as far as making JAM (that just sounds hard) we finally found the perfect solution--

APPLE BUTTER!




It is totally fall, and totally simple (or well, it looks that way) to make. We are going to get the little mini canning jars, and make it in the slow cooker, and then fill up the little jars. We'll tie a ribbon around them, get some personalized labels, and voila! Hopefully they will resemble something close to this, only with ribbons and such...





And the good thing, is that these can totally be made before the rush of the week before the wedding. We can even start them now. YAY!

updates

This week has been stressful so far, and it's only Monday.

Trying to coordinate meetings with pretty much every vendor over the span of only 1 weekend is turning out to be increasingly difficult...not that that ever really seemed easy. Luckily I'm heading down on Thursday, so hopefully we can get the rental situation figured out then...provided the reception place will email me back about using tables/chairs/etc. Grr.

I was supposed to get bridal pics done Friday after the hair trial, but unfortunately it doesnt seem like my veil is going to be done in time...and I really didnt want to pay to get my pics done and not have my full veil and everything. Sigh. We'll see I guess.

In other news, we are slowly making headway with paying for this whole shindig. We sent checks to the photographer, wedding planner, and cake person, so hopefully we wont get hit with TOO big of a bill last minute.

the tree

This is probably one of my favorite pieces for the wedding. I remember seeing centerpieces like this at different weddings I've done and LOVING them, especially for fall weddings, but they are so so expensive to have made. Well, I mentioned it to my mom, and one day I get this picture text with a picture of a giant tree branch she found while out, and I started getting really excited.

After many weeks of debating just how to secure this sucker into a vase and the technicallities of it all, the plaster of paris came out, and the end result is so pretty!!! I know this going to be pretty incredible all lit up at the reception, and I am so excited for it! My mommy is so creative.





YAY!! We get to have an amazing tree branch centerpiece!!!

aisle flowers

My mom just keeps making so many pretty things.

So a few weeks ago she sent me this pretty picture of an idea for ceremony decorations for the chairs. They are really pretty, simple lilies and tulle that add just that right amount to the ceremony without taking away from the pretty fall scenery.

And here she sent me pictures of them done, and they are even prettier than the original picture! I'm so excited, I think they are going to look really, really nice!







Yay for pretties!!!

sand!

After sorting through many many samples of various sand colors (who knew there were so many?) we finally decided!






At first we thought we wanted to do shades of blue...but then we decided to be normal and do the wedding colors. Something sappy about being able to look at the vase and "remember our wedding day" ;). Hehe.

I love it, and personally, I'm really happy we went with the wedding colors. I think the blue would be really pretty, but it just wont have the same meaning as if it was in the colors from the day.

We placed the order for the sand yesterday night and they already shipped it out! I'm so excited.

flowers!

So many new goodies today! YAY!!!!!! I love them all!! And they are all so different from one another, that is my favorite!

mailing time

We finally got the invites mailed out today! So everyone should be getting them in the next couple days. Now I just hope that people RSVP...and that they all arent declined!

Ready to go! See, the card box is ALREADY being put to good use!

All stacked and lined up at the Post Office!

So he'll help with THIS part, just not the part that involves the cutting...or gluing...or printing...

Yes, I made Adam take a picture. And yes, I look ridiculous. OH WELL!

It is such a relief to get those finished and sent out! Everything is starting to come together now...most of the main things are finishing up and after our trip to Springfield in a couple weeks, we should have all of the main events finalized. It's those little details that are stressing me out, but at least all of the MAIN things are almost finished...

Next up on the agenda, pick and order sand ceremony colors!

FINISHED!

The finished product!

FINALLY!!!!

After many long hours (and no help from the boy, mister "make them nice, I'll help you, I want them to look good!" Uh huh. Sure you will.) and more rubber cement containers than I care to remember, they are finally DONE!

See just two of the empty rubber cement bottles in the back...

The fun sealing of the envelope time...eww they taste icky

A small portion of properly sealed invites!

Now we just have to stamp them and send them on their merry way! YAY!!

flowers again!

More pretty arrangements!!!


I LOVE THEM!!! Yay for talented mom!!