Shoes

I am not a shoe-holic. I don't have dozens of pairs of shoes. In fact, Philip has more shoes than me... by a lot. haha

However, that doesn't mean that I don't like shoes. I really do like cute shoes. I just have a lot of trouble finding shoes that fit me right. And, I also have a lot of trouble justifying spending money on shoes when I already have shoes.

I'm gradually getting better about being okay with buying shoes. I've even started my search for wedding shoes. :)

Originally, I was looking for white or ivory shoes. You know, typical wedding shoes. Then I decided that was too boring. I want my shoes to be a little more wild than that. Especially since my dress will be more traditional.

Since our colors are navy and ivory, I thought it would be cute to have navy colored pumps. And, that takes care of the "something blue" part of the tradition!

Here are a few of my favorites so far:

I'm not set on any of these. They're just the styles that I like right now. Of course, if I get something like this, I'm most likely going to need to by some reception shoes, too... I don't think I'll be able to dance all night long in pumps like these!

Photo list

I've been thinking recently about the photography. I already have a photographer (the first thing that I put a deposit on!). We went with Double H Photography in Lancaster, Pennsylvania (Howie Hartman). I'm still pleased with that decision. The photos that I have seen are wonderful. I'm sure that he will do a fantastic job at our wedding.

My thoughts have mostly been around which photos are my "must haves." I'm not sure if you've ever searched for lists of "must have" wedding photos, but there are a TON. So, I've been sifting through the lists that I've found to try to figure out which photos I really want. The rest I'll leave up to Howie. I'm sure he'll do a fine job without me having to tell him exactly what I want.

There are the obvious shots: with my family, with Philip's family, with the bridal party, etc. I'm sure Howie knows to get those shots. The ones I'm working on compiling are ones that he may not think of or may forget about.

I plan to spend a lot of time decorating the venues, so I really want to make sure that he gets pictures of all of the details. I mean, if I spend a year planning this thing, I want to have pictures of all of my hard work.

One of the bigger, more important ones I want is the "first look." I mean the moment that Philip and I first see each other as I start to walk down the aisle. I can't wait to see the look on his face and I want photos to have that moment forever.

I spent a lot of time choosing the perfect venue for us. Chickies Rock is absolutely beautiful. I want photos of the overlook and the gazebo and our guests mulling around in the area.

I want photos of us mingling with guests. I want TONS of pictures of everyone dancing. I want pictures of us being absolutely, disgustingly lovey-dovey.

I've also tossed around the idea of having a fauxto-booth. I am a budget bride and don't want to pay for an actual photo booth (they're outrageously priced!). However, I thought about putting out props and getting some posed photos (similar to a photo booth). I'm not sure about that idea yet. We shall see.

I'm hoping to put together my own list of photos to give to Howie. I've still got plenty of time for that though!

Save the Dates Disagreement

I know it has been a while since I blogged last. I've been busy with other things. I haven't been doing much wedding related in the past month. I've been doing Thanksgiving stuff, baking, irritating our government (mostly the TSA), and preparing for Christmas.

The one thing I have been doing which is wedding related is pondering which photo to use for our Save the Dates. They will need to go out in 2 or 3 months and so, I should have them finished before then!

There have been a few problems though. My mother and I agree on our 3 favorites. That was a piece of cake. I was surprised it was so easy (there were originally about 15 designs, so to narrow it down to 3 favorites for both of us in common was nothing short of amazing!). However, I then asked Philip to pick his favorites. He picked one. It was not one of the three that we originally picked. It's probably one of my least favorites. So, now I have to figure out why he likes the one he does and why he doesn't like the others.

Hopefully I'll be able to come up with a design in the next few weeks that will be satisfactory to each of the important people (myself, my mom, and Philip). Then I can get them printed and get started making them into magnets! :)

Aisle Runner - Finished!

I have another DIY project finished: the aisle runner! I'm really happy that it is finally done. It was a royal pain. It took me a few weeks to finish it because I just didn't have the patience for it recently. There were lots of tiny lines and it took a while to figure out which paintbrush was going to work the best.

http://roadtotheaisle.blogspot.com gave me the idea to do the DIY aisle runner. I really liked the idea of taking something simple and personalizing it. So, without further ado, here it is:

It's not perfect (one of my lovely pups bumped me as I was standing up and I dropped the paintbrush onto the fabric... I will eventually get the spot out, but for now, I'm just glad that the biggest part is done!), but I'm really happy with how it turned out.

Soon, I will put up my instructions (a few changes from Road to the Aisle) and some pictures of the journey to the finish. ;) However, for now, my hands need a break!

Engagement Announcement

I am so excited! Our first engagement announcement made it to my parents' town's newspaper today (Plymouth Pilot News - Plymouth, Indiana)! It looks pretty good, too! :)

If you'd like to see it, you can find it here. We are on page 5 right at the top center of the page. Okay, so I can't wait for you to see it, so here is a preview of it:

It's so exciting! I didn't think i would be this thrilled about the engagement announcement! But, I most definitely am. Please, share my joy! :D

It took a few weeks for it to get posted, but I am definitely pleased with the result.

I still plan to have the announcement put in the Lancaster, Pennsylvania newspaper (Philip's grandparents), the Phoenix, Arizona newspaper (Philip's Mom & Stepdad), and the podunk, Pennsylvania newspaper (Philip's Dad & Stepmom... okay, so I can't remember the name of the little bitty town - HA!). I wonder if the excitement will wear off for those announcements? I doubt it! :)

Wedding Planning Resources

I have spent a lot of hours researching online about DIY weddings. I've had quite a bit of luck. There are lots of very helpful brides out there! I know that many brides are not Google savvy, so I have compiled a list of the websites/blogs that I use most often. I was going to just do a blog post about it, but I wanted it to be easy to get to even after this post isn't on the main page.

So, I've dedicated a page to this cause. ;) You can see it at the top of the blog. It's titled "Resources." You can also get to the page by clicking here.

I hope that brides can get some inspiration or even some instructions from these resources like I did! If there are any blogs/websites that you think should be added, please let me know! :)

Final Engagement Photos

We got the disc in the mail on Friday with our final, edited engagement photos. They turned out really well. The only thing I wish was that there were a little more variety. I know we posed for a lot of different shots. I didn't see a lot of those in the finals. We ended up with 41 final photos... that seems legit because he told us 40 to 50. It's just that some of them are just black and whites or sepias of the same photo.

Don't get me wrong; I love our photos. And, I still definitely recommend Lucas McDonough. I mean, we paid $50.00 for the photos. So, they are definitely fantastic to the max. :)

Instead of posting all of the photos to this post (it would have taken 87 years and it would also require effort for viewers to find when I post a few more entries after this one), I made a page specifically for the engagement photos. You can see it at the top of the page (it's called "Engagement Photos") or you can just click here to go there directly.

Chaos

Lately I've been working on a dozen different DIY projects at a time. I start working on one and then I think of another idea or come across an idea that I absolutely adore online... so then I start working on that idea. I really do love working on all of the projects.

However, I've discovered today that I haven't managed to finish very much. I'm in the middle of each of these projects. Some of them, it's not entirely my fault. For instance, with the pocketfold invitations, I haven't been able to find the metallic gold paper/cardstock that I need for the background (in between the dark blue cardstock pocketfold and the ivory paper invitation). It's just too plain the way it is. I want the gold to go between to give it a little oomph. :)

Here is what they look like so far:

[My pocket-fold mock-up]

This one is just my mock-up of what I want the pocketfolds to look like. I like them so far. Again, I just want that extra "oomph" for the actual pocketfolds. If I can't find the metallic gold that I want, I will probably just end up choosing another color... I'm pretty sure I want it to be metallic though. The rest of the paper I have used is matte, so I think I nice shiny paper will give it that extra kick.

I'm also working on some reserved signs for the special people in the wedding. By that, I mean the MOB, FOB, FMIL, FFIL, the grandparents, etc. The people who will be sitting in the first rows. I really like my mock-up of those, but I am having some glue difficulties. I will hopefully be able to get them together tonight (or maybe tomorrow)... it just depends if I find a glue that wants to cooperate.

I also have a basket full of bubbles that are complete and a basket full of bubbles that are incomplete. The ones that are not finished are just waiting on labels. Philip liked the white labels better than the clear labels and I only had one sheet of white labels left... and I keep forgetting to pick up white labels for the bubbles. So, here they are:

[The basket of completed bubbles]

[A completed bottle of bubbles]

[The basket of incomplete bubbles]

I also have my aisle runner in limbo. I have almost completed the tracing (pencil outline). I am really dreading the painting... I think that's why I have been more focused on the other DIY projects for the time being. It's really going to be a pain. There are lots of very thin lines in the logo... it's going to be a headache and a half.

And, I'm trying to get our Halloween costumes together... Halloween is on Sunday! I really love Halloween. I've been counting down the days. However, now that it's only a few days away, I realize how much I still have to do before the big day! Ahhh! But, it will be finished soon. :)

I am hoping that since I have blogged about some of these unfinished projects, it will light a fire under my bum and get me into gear! So, hopefully in the next week or so, I will have some new blog posts about my completed DIY projects. :) Wish me luck!

Music...

So, I've been thinking a lot about music lately. I have made a few decisions, but not a lot yet. Here is what I have so far:
CEREMONY
Prelude: General Classical Music (no real preference yet)
Grandparents' & Parents' Processional: Handel's Air
Bridesmaids Processional: Pachelbel's Canon in D
Bride's Processional: Wagner's Bridal Chorus
Sand Ceremony: Come What May from the Moulin Rouge soundtrack (film version)
Recessional: the Star Wars Theme

RECEPTION
Bridal Party Entrance: The Throne Room (from Star Wars Episode VI)
Bride & Groom's Entrance: The Imperial March (think Darth Vader)
Dinner Music: Norah Jones (not 100%, but it's the sound I'm looking for)
First Dance: Only You Can Love Me This Way by Keith Urban
Father/Daughter Dance: ... The one I'm having a ton of difficulty with.
Mother/Son Dance: Forever Young by Rod Stewart
Bridal Party Dance: Stayin' Alive by The Bee Gees & Coolio (Remix)
Cake Cutting: Sweet Thing by Keith Urban
Married Couples Dance: Grow Old With You by Adam Sandler or God Only Knows by the Beach Boys
Dollar Dance: You've Got a Friend by James Taylor, Lean on Me by Bill Withers, With a Little Help From My Friends by the Beatles (depends on how many people want to dance!)
Garter Toss: Rock 'N Roll Part 2 by Gary Glitter (the "Hey" song)
Bouquet Toss: Rocky Theme Song
Last Dance: Here's to the Nights by Eve 6

Nothing is set in stone yet, but that is what I'm thinking so far. What do you think? I know, I know... a few are pretty nerdy, but what can I say? I'm marrying a Star Wars nerd and I know he'll get a kick out of it! ... it's a surprise! :)

Sneak Peek! :)

Lucas put up 12 photos on Facebook from our engagement photo shoot. I absolutely love them. :) Here is a sneak peek:

Again, Lucas only put 12 photos up on Facebook... these are just my favorites of the photos he put up. He told me that there should be about 40 to 50 photos on the disc that he sends us. If you are in the Denver area and are looking for a photographer, I definitely recommend Lucas McDonough. He has reasonable prices and he does an amazing job. :) You can see more here or here.

Engagement Photos... DONE!

I was a little worried because the weather forecast was calling for it to be chilly and rainy. Fortunately, the weather-people were wrong (what a surprise, right?). The day was beautiful. It was breezy, but it was sunny and 60s. :)

Even though the weather cooperated, I was still nervous. I felt awkward doing the shoot. I'm normally the person behind the camera. I didn't know what to do with myself. Philip felt the same way! I am sure that the photos turned out beautiful... I just can't wait to see them!

Lucas said that we should have the disc back within a week or so... he said that he will post some of the pictures to Facebook when he finishes editing them. He had one other appointment on Saturday and he has already posted their pictures to Facebook. So, hopefully we will get to see ours soon! I will be sure to put up the link when I see them!

Engagement Photos

We officially have an appointment for our engagement photos. I have put it off until now because I didn't want to spend a few hundred dollars on just e-pics. Well, thanks to Facebook, I found a photographer to do them for $50!

The photographer is Lucas McDonough. The engagement package is normally $100.00, but I saw an ad on Facebook for him with a 50% off deal... so, I contacted him immediately. He confirmed the deal and we set up an appointment for this Saturday at 3pm.

We're doing the shots in Downtown Denver. I let Philip decide. We could have done them anywhere within 25 miles of Denver, but our photographer recommended Red Rocks or Downtown. Philip said since our wedding pictures will be outside in a park, we should get something a little different for our e-pics. I think he has a valid point. Hell, I'm just thrilled whenever he gives input!

To be fair, Philip has been doing an excellent job lately. He has given input whenever I have asked, and he has even helped on a few projects! I am an incredibly lucky bride! :) In fact, I should have a post up later this week of a project he was helping me with... I'll get the post up as soon as the project is finished.

Oh! And, the paper for the invitations came in on Friday! It's darker than I thought it was going to be, so I am very happy with it! I used Craigslist to find a 24"x24" paper cutter for $30 (GREAT deal!) and I'm going to pick it up tomorrow after work... then I will get to begin creating my pocketfolds! I am so excited! :D

Lucky

I am so incredibly lucky. Why? In planning my wedding, I have spent a lot of time surfing wedding websites and message boards. I have seen a LOT of complaints about many different things: future in-laws, family, bridal party, budgets, etc.

I don't have any problems with my future in-laws. I don't get to see them very often because we live several hundred miles away from both sides of our families. However, when I see them or talk to them, they are very supportive. They want us to have the wedding the way we want it. They are happy to have me as a future in-law. They have been nothing but welcoming to me. They are becoming my family as much as my FH's family. :)

My family has been supportive as well. My parents are trying to help with the wedding financially. My sister is my MOH. My mom (and probably my sister) plan to help with many of the DIY projects that I'm doing. We are having our wedding in Pennsylvania (where FH's family is from) and my family (in Indiana) have not complained about the distance at all. They are just thrilled about the wedding (and marriage!). They love their FSIL. :)

Our bridal party is small. We will each have two people: a maid of honor, a bridesmaid, a best man, and a groomsman. There hasn't been much for them to do thus far. Basically, they have to buy their attire and show up. My MOH will be planning my bachelorette party and it will take place the night before the wedding (everyone is coming from all over! My family and MOH are in Indiana, I'm in Colorado, my bridesmaid is in DC, and many of my friends are in Virginia and North Carolina). The same goes for FH: his family is in Pennsylvania, his BM is in Tennessee, his groomsman is coming from North Carolina, and he has friends coming from Virginia and NC. So, we aren't really expecting a lot from our bridal party. Most of the details will be on the wedding day (helping decorate, getting ready, etc.). So, no real problems there!

My FH and I have been very fortunate. We moved to Colorado from North Carolina at the end of June. I found a job within 2 weeks and he had a job transfer (so he immediately had a job). So, financially, we are doing really well. This means that, although we have kept our budget small, we are able to do the things we want to do for our wedding... especially our dream honeymoon to Italy!

So, as you can see, we have been very lucky. I am so thankful that we have managed to be so fortunate. I hope that I will not be on the wedding message boards with complaints any time soon! And, to all of those brides who DO have those problems, I am so incredibly sorry. I hope that you and FH can work through them. Just remember, after all of this wedding stress is over, you will be able to spend the rest of your life with your wonderful husband. :)

Say Yes To The Dress

I've been watching Say Yes to the Dress lately. I had never watched it before but my mom mentioned it to me and I saw that it was available to watch instantly on Netflix. So, I sat down and watched a few episodes.

It's an interesting show, I'll give them that. However, being a budget bride, I find myself blown away by how much these brides spend on their dresses! Don't get me wrong, I plan to find my dream dress. However, I don't plan on spending more than $500 on the dress. So, when I see brides not even thinking about blowing $15,000 on a dress, I get a little nauseous. That's more than my entire wedding budget. Including the honeymoon! And we're going to Italy!

It just blows my mind! Where are these brides coming up with this money?? Especially when I see that some of them are teachers or SAHMs... I work full time and so does Philip. We don't have that kind of money to blow on our wedding. I know that many brides take out loans to cover wedding costs... we don't see that as an option. We'd like to buy a house and start a family in the next few years. $15,000 wedding dresses don't fit into that plan very well.

Am I the only person who thinks that spending that much money on a dress is crazy??

Invitations

I realize that I still have about 10 months until the invitations need to be mailed, but I just can't help myself... I've been working on them. However, I may end up needing a lot of that time to get them finished!

That is because I have decided to do my own pocketfold invitations. Phew! I am exhausted just thinking about it! For those of you who do not know what I'm talking about, I mean this:

Mine will be similar to this because I will be doing the vertical pockets. I do really like the look of the horizontal pockets like this:

...but I feel like that pocket is just going to be a lot of work. It looks like more hassle than it's worth. So, vertical pocketfolds it is!

Our wedding colors are navy and ivory. So, I wanted to do a navy

colored pocketfold with ivory invitations and inserts. I had a heck of a time finding navy colored cardstock in a large size. And, when I did, it was outrageously expensive.

Eventually, I did find some dark blue cardstock that I thought would work. I found it at Paper-Source. The exact paper I used is here. I thought text paper would be fine... it's 80# paper, so it should be sturdy enough to hold up, but not so hard that I have difficulty folding it into the pocketfold. I used the color Night. It's not exactly what I had in mind, but it's pretty close.

The paper is 20x26... so, enormous. I will cut it down into the sizes that I need (I'm excited because I finally get to get the cutter I've wanted for a while -- I'm a scrapbooker!). The paper is $0.60 per sheet. It's pretty reasonable as it is, but if you buy 10 sheets, you get 10% off; if you buy 25 sheets, you get 20% off; and, if you buy 50 sheets, you get 30% off. I didn't really need all 25 sheets, but I bought them anyway. I figured I could use the extra for programs. I also signed up for email from Paper-Source and I got a 10% off coupon. So, I ended up paying about $0.43 per sheet. Including shipping, my total was $17.80. I don't think that's unreasonable. Especially since pocketfolds can be as much as several dollars a piece!

The paper shipped out last night, so I should have it in a few days and I can see exactly what I'm working with.

In the meantime, I have been working up some mock-ups of how I want to do the pocketfolds. I had to glue two sheets of paper together since I didn't have any paper long enough at home, but I think I've got the idea.

This is what I've come up with:

The original that I made is to scale, but I shrunk this one so that it wouldn't be enormous for the blog page. So, I have a 20x26 inch piece of cardstock. Since the measurements of my pocketfold are 5x20, I can make 5 pocketfolds out of 1 piece of cardstock! I'll have to cut 1" off the edge of the paper, but then I can just cut the paper into 5 strips and, voila!

Then I will be ready to measure, cut, score, and fold! It's going to be an absolute pain, but I hope that it will be worth it when I see the finished result. They are going to be beautiful! :)

Save the Dates

I've been focusing a lot on the paper part of the wedding recently. I have been trying to figure out how I want the invitations and save-the-dates to look.

Well, I think I've finally figured the save-the-dates out:


The ivory part is actually going to be a magnet. The rest will be a card (folded in half). The front of the card will have our logo/monogram on it:


I am pretty excited about it. I am going to do the magnets myself. I am having the photos printed at http://www.photoworks.com/. They offer 3.5x5 prints (one of the few places I can find that size!) for $0.15 per print. I thought it was pretty reasonable. I am buying sheets of adhesive magnets to attach the prints to. I am still searching for the magnet sheets, but so far, I found these. The problem is that I can only fit about 5 STDs on each magnet sheet, and they sell them by the dozen. I'd like to make about 75-80. I don't really want to have to buy 2 dozen sheets when I only need 15-16 sheets. So, my search continues... If it comes to that though, at least they are fairly reasonably priced. :)

Once I have the magnets finished, I am going to attach them to the cards. I'm printing 2 cards per sheet of cardstock, so it will save a bit of paper. I haven't decided what color cardstock I want to use yet though. I had originally thought ivory, but I changed the magnets so that they are ivory (they were Philip's favorite -- I also made navy blue and black backgrounds). So, I had thought about doing navy blue cards, but I don't want the writing to be difficult to see on the card. So, I think I'm just going to go to the craft store and see what they've got on sale that will go with my STDs.

I will update as soon as I get a mock-up done! :)


**P.S. I went with a photo from our first date for the STD magnets. I thought it was a cute touch! :)

Wish Jar...

So, one of the ideas that I fell in love with for the wedding reception is a Wish Jar.

Basically, you put out pieces of paper or cardstock and writing utensils and ask your guests to write a wish for the bride and groom or even a piece of advice. Then, they put the note in the "wish jar."

Many brides use these scraps of paper for scrapbooking or as additions to their wedding albums... which is what I plan to do. :)

I am using a vase as my wish "jar." It will be the same sort of vase I'm using for my centerpieces. It's a fantastic vase... mostly because it's only a dollar. hahaha... Dollar Tree is my friend! You can see the vase here. I'm going to put navy tulle ribbon around the top (our wedding colors are navy and ivory).

I spent several hours last night cutting out pieces of cardstock (I have plenty since I do scrapbooking). I used several different colors. And, once I had a LOT of pieces, I used craft scissors to give the pieces a cute cut-out border. They look really cute, but the fingers on my right hand are KILLING me. Holding scissors (especially to cut cardstock) for several hours at a time is just not a good idea.

But, I will have an adorable addition to my reception. :) I'll put up pictures soon.

Bridezillas

Yes, getting married is an incredibly important step in life. It's an enormous decision. It's a reason to rejoice and have friends and family join in the celebration.

However, I'm not sure when getting married stopped being about the marriage and became more about the wedding. I'm not going to lie; I am planning my wedding to be how Philip and I want it to be. Still, I am not flipping out over every single detail.

It is just ONE DAY. Your wedding does not give you reason to be a b*tch for a year or so before the date. It does not give you just cause to flip out because you did not get your way on every little detail.

I just don't understand bridezillas. I've been surfing a lot of wedding websites trying to get ideas (I am on a budget after all). I have been surprised by how many crazy brides-to-be there are out there.

One bride flipped out on and disowned her maid of honor because she got pregnant. Seriously?? In what world is this acceptable? She felt that she was justified because, how could her maid of honor "ruin" her special day like that? She literally said, "She has her whole life to have children. Why did she have to ruin my wedding?" OMGWTF???

Why does it matter if your best friend is pregnant at your wedding? Shouldn't you be happy for your best friend for adding a child to her family? What difference does it make if your MOH is pregnant? She's still your best friend and she'll still stand by your side at your wedding... I just don't understand.

Another bride-to-be was upset because her future brother-in-law proposed to his girlfriend. They announced their wedding for 6 months after her wedding. Still, she was upset because she felt that they were "stealing her shine." Seriously??? Where the hell do these brides get this? They get one day for their wedding... not months or years. I mean, I can understand if they picked the same day or maybe even the weeks prior or after the wedding (I mean, that would cause a lot of stress for the family to have 2 weddings so close together), but six months? SIX MONTHS!!! That's half of a year! GAH!!! These bridezillas drive me crazy.

Your wedding should be wonderful and magical. But, it is just one day. The marriage is the really important thing here. Am I just crazy for feeling like these women are nuts?? I really worry for the state of their marriages... and the world that lets women think that they are justified in feeling this way.

Difficulties

I live just outside of Denver, Colorado. Philip and I are having our wedding in Lancaster, Pennsylvania (most of his family lives in that area). That's about 1,600 miles away.

FYI, that is a major pain in my you-know-what. It's incredibly difficult to plan a wedding from that far away. That's one of the reasons that I'm doing so much DIYing... that and for financial reasons.

The biggest problem has been with the venue. I can't just drop everything here in Colorado, buy a plane ticket to Pennsylvania, rent a car, and scout sites for the ceremony and reception. First of all, we just moved here and I just started a new job... I don't have vacation time yet! Second, I don't want to blow a bunch of money from my wedding budget on that!

So, I have had to depend on my new best friend, Google, and some wonderful relatives of Philip's in Lancaster. I did decide on a venue:


It is Chickies Rock Park in Columbia (just outside of Lancaster), Pennsylvania. It is gorgeous. Unfortunately, I cannot officially book the venue until September 27, 2010. However, that means that no one else can have it booked that day. :)

I think it will be absolutely perfect. :) The wedding will be September 24, 2011, so we should have at least a little bit of color for the trees! But, it should still be relatively comfortable temperature-wise.

With the venue situation relatively settled, I still have to deal with finding other vendors. How do I decide on a baker without having tried their cakes? How do I decide on a caterer without trying their food? How do I decide on a florist without seeing their work?

Well, here comes the DIY. I refuse to do my own cake. That's a hassle times a hundred. However, I will be doing my own flowers. Most likely silk. I have a few other ideas in mind, but that's an entirely different post alltogether.

We will also be handing the food. We will be doing some sandwiches and other simple ideas for the reception. It's a park, so no alcohol is allowed. Not really an issue to Philip or I... there are a few people in our families that we don't want getting liquored up and causing a scene. We plan to take our wedding party out for drinks afterwards, though.

We are also doing our own music and a friend of ours will be the MC.

I will post about all of this in more detail later. I just wanted to get the general ideas down right now. :)

Welcome!

My name is Tara. I will be getting married in just over a year: Saturday, September 24, 2011. I have received a lot of help/advice from other people's wedding blogs, so I thought I would start one of my own. I hope that my blog can help other brides-to-be with their planning.

I plan to do a lot of DIYing for my wedding, so I will try to my readers know how and why I chose to do/use certain things... especially since many parts of my wedding will be non-traditional.

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to share them with me. I'll try to help any way I can!

Thanks for coming to my blog. Happy reading!