Wedding Peephole

FREE PHOTOGRAPHY!

2010-01-18T08:11:00.000-08:00

Hi All!
I know it's been a long time since I've posted over here.... but that's because I write HERE now!

I also have started a little photography business on the side... I offered 10 free shoots when I got started. Well, a couple of the shoots fell through, so I am giving you guys another shot at them! Head over HERE to see more on it!

Reception Review!

2009-10-22T09:44:00.000-07:00

The reception was awesome!!! We had such a fun time having wonderful food, dancing and hanging out with our friends and family!

We walked in, and immediately did our first dance.

Then we had a yummy dinner from Salem Kitchen. While we ate, our photographers were busy taking shots of all the little details!

Once dinner was over, we made our way around our two crazy long tables to see all our guests. We even took some pictures with some people, like my aunt Esther and cousin Kristin. My aunt wore my dress when she got married too!!

One of my favorite parts of the night was doing the "Grand March" with my dad. It was our special father/daughter dance that everyone got to participate in it.

Us ladies (minus Sabrina :-( ) did some karaoke

We cut our cake

Our best man and matron of honor gave toasts :-)

and we danced the night away with our wonderful friends and family!

I'll be posting more about all the details soon!!!

:-)

I Was Blogged :-)

2009-10-21T07:46:00.000-07:00

A lovely knottie has started a wedding blog and she put me on there for having worn my mom's dress! Check her out HERE!!!

Thank You Cards!

2009-10-20T08:35:00.000-07:00

I absolutely despise that I haven't written a single thank-you note yet. Buuuuuuuuttttt.... I have good reason :-)

I was waiting for our pro pics to be blogged so that I could make postcards using one of our pro pics!!! Well, they were blogged on Friday, and I ordered the cards today! They should arrive next week.

So don't go judging me yet, because you haven't received your note yet.... it's coming, I promise!

Wedding Day Review!

2009-10-19T08:35:00.001-07:00

Here we go..... are you ready? I am!

So Saturday morning I woke up around 7-7:30AM.... I laid in bed and kept waiting for 8AM, when I could call the rental company and let them know about the 45 chairs they shorted me, and how they were going to be delivering them pronto.

8AM- I called rental co. I was nice. No need to be snippy, after all, I already got snippy on their emergency line- and lets face it- snippy can get you nowhere fast sometimes.

8:15AM- back to bed.

9 AM- BM Karen comes in with a wedding gift :-) She thought we'd be up (Me, BM Nicole and BM Liz shared a room). She was all giddy and happy with her coffee and gift. She ploped down on our bed, and gave it to me. I open up the most perfectly personalized cookbook ever! She'd collected lots of pictures of Jeremy and I through the years with our family and friends and put them along with our favorite family recipes! It's awesome, and now sits proudly on a shelf in our kitchen!

10 AM- Elizabeth arrives to do hair and makeup.... gah, we love her! :-)

12:30 PM- Our Lunch arrives at our hotel room :-)

2:30 PM- We headed off to Sertoma- and of course I needed gas!

3-3:45 PM- Was, well, a bit insane. Because of the chair issue I wanted to run make sure everything was alright with that, and I wanted to move some lamps at the last moment. I needed to help Jennifer get the desserts and flowers from the cooler and then get ribbon tied around all the bouquets. We all teamed up together to get the ribbon on the flowers, got dressed and off we went to take pictures!

3:45-4:30 PM- Because my sister's car had been broken into at the hotel the night before, they had managed to borrow a friends minivan, which worked out perfect to haul us all down to the horse barn to take pictures!

meanwhile- the boys were taking pictures too :-)

Then.... it was time!

We're married!

......... Next up, the reception!!! :-)

Changing My Name

2009-10-16T06:51:00.000-07:00

Today I am making the trip to the Cabarrus County courthouse to retrieve my marriage certificate so that I can change my name! I will officially be a Horton by the end of the day! :-)

New Blog!!!

2009-10-15T09:01:00.000-07:00

I've grown to really love documenting my life for people to read. I've decided to continue on HERE. Please hop over and follow :-)

Don't worry, I'll continue to review the wedding weekend here! :-)

Review: Friday

2009-10-15T07:07:00.001-07:00

OK, here we go... I've finally somewhat gotten caught up on work, so here it goes....

Let me start by saying, Thursday before the wedding was busy busy busy. I got up early and drove the doggies up to Conover for boarding. Then ran a few last errands on my way home. I spent the rest of the day organizing, packing the suburban, and putting bouquets together. Then that evening when Jeremy came home from work, we finished packing the truck..... and car. Yes, we had to drive separate to our own wedding weekend... we simply had too much stuff!

So anyway- Friday, right, Friday, we were talking about Friday......

We got up early, showered and packed those last few items. We took off in two different directions. I was headed to Greensboro to pick up the cakes and cupcakes. We ordered them from Maxie B's, the bakery I worked at for 2.5 years while in college at UNCG. I arrived there shortly after 10AM, and had a nice visit with the ladies, picked up our goodies and off I went.

I made my next stop at Salem Kitchen, our catering company, to drop off our final payment. My last stop was Jersey Mikes, Jeremy requested I pick it up for lunch.

Finally..... I was on my way to Sertoma.

I had *planned* to spend 12-4 cleaning and decorating the chapel, hotel and rec hall. With the help of bridesmaid, Melanie and DOC, Jennifer, we unloaded the truck and car, and began working!

Jeremy's parents arrived, and his mom was really sick :-( So she steered clear of all of us! Meanwhile, him and his dad started hanging the white bed sheets around the porch.

I kept wondering where the rentals were (tables, chairs, plates, glasses.... all the jazz I rented for the reception) I had scheduled them for delivery between 1-2 PM..... it was past 2 at this point. I call them, "Oh well, we weren't told you needed them at a certain time, just that you needed them today, they just packed the truck and will be pulling out shortly"

fast forward 2 more hours.... still no rentals..... I call again. "They just left with the truck"

5:30 PM the rentals show up.... LATE.... but thank God.

We start the rehearsal late (the preacher was late, so it all worked out anyway).

We eat dinner and distribute gifts.

We then had everyone pitch in and help us set up the reception.... which should have been done that afternoon.... but with no tables, you can't really do much!

Melanie- filling the photo screen with pictures of our parents weddings.

taking a break from decorating for a photo!

We get the tables up, and the chairs up..... and that's when I look around and realize we don't have enough chairs!!!! I ordered 115.... they only delivered 70!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

At that point I swipe someones cell phone to leave the bitchy-ist voice mail ever on the rental companies "emergency voice mail" (of which I NEVER got a return call). I knew they opened at 8 the next day, so I made a mental note to call them again in the morning.

We proceeded to dress the tables and continue decorating. We finished about 9:15 that night.... I thought it was much much later.... but realized it wasn't too late when I got in the car to drive to our hotel.

Once we arrived at the hotel, I checked in, and went up to our room with my two roommates, Liz and Nicole. They'd given me a king room- not a king suite. So back to the front desk we went, and they fixed it (later I found out that Jeremy was also only given a regular King room and didn't know it was wrong)

Then the bridesmaids (minus my sister) made a trip to walmart, and harris teeter for supplies and champagne!

We spent the evening eating cheese puffs, trail mix and drinking champagne.

We're Married!!!

2009-10-13T05:44:00.000-07:00

We're married!!! :-)

I'll be slowly reviewing the weekend, but for now, there's lots of work to catch up on, and a very messy house to be cleaned!

Our flowers arrived!!!!!

2009-10-01T12:38:00.000-07:00

Just before 9AM our flowers arrived!!!

They are beautiful!!!! however, I wish the people at fifty flowers had told me that the white tulips I was ordering were going to be itty bitty..... not the size of "normal" tulips.... so they look a bit dinky compared to the orange ones..... oh well!

weather

2009-09-30T09:37:00.000-07:00

via noaa.gov

Saturday: A chance of showers before 2pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 72. Chance of precipitation is 50%.

I can handle that :-)

We're Legal!

2009-09-29T12:05:00.000-07:00

We received our ABC permit to serve alcohol! YAY!

Last Few Projects!

2009-09-28T08:47:00.000-07:00

I am getting my last few projects completed. After a very, very difficult last 4 days of nonstop work, I'm back in my office, only to have tons more work to accomplish. But, I am keeping my spirits high, because I am getting married this weekend! :-)

I pulled all the wedding stuff down from our office into our dining area last night. I then sat at our table and worked on "glittering" some pumpkins. They are a pain in the ass to do, but they look so pretty. I think I am going to put them out on the picnic tables on the porch :-)

Vases of pumpkins for the tables!

Most of the wedding stuff!

Glittered pumpkins! :-)

Getting Close!

2009-09-23T09:03:00.000-07:00

I've made my final to do list on a day by day basis..... I cannot believe we are 10 days away!

Makeup Trial

2009-09-22T05:51:00.000-07:00

Went and saw Elizabeth last night :-)

we were going to do my hair too.... but I decided I just want her to do it how she did during my 1st b-pics.... so it will look like this :-)

Weekend Recap!

2009-09-21T10:10:00.000-07:00

Great weekend! State Won and we got tons of cool stuff at our "Tailgate Shower"!

I also had a visit with Olga.... the dress looks amazing! She is outstanding, I can't wait to wear it! (want to see pics? email me! pinkladiej@gmail.com)

.... Wedding madness has begun to take over our dining room now... it seems to be like a disease spreading throughout our house!

I worked on our programs, and goodie bags for the hotel rooms on Friday afternoon.... I ran out of orange ribbon so that project is at a halt till I get more....

Nervous?

2009-09-18T09:03:00.001-07:00

I keep getting asked "Are you nervous yet?"

I suppose it's a common question to ask someone who's about to get married. So for all you out there who are wondering "If I am nervous yet?" Yes. and No.

No.
I'm not nervous to marry Jeremy. I know I could never find someone who loves me the way he does. I'll never want to wake up next to anyone else. I'll never see eye to eye on so many different things with any one else. I am not nervous about the weather. If it rains, that will suck- but at least their is a chapel to get married inside of! If it's cold- so what? People do have tvs and people do watch the weather and prepare for what to wear every other day, why is this day different? If it's chilly, bring a jacket! No. I'm not nervous.

Yes.
I am nervous.... about the Thursday and Friday, before the wedding. I'm nervous about time. Will their be enough to adequately do all the things that are planned to be done. I'm nervous all 425 flowers that arrive on Thursday will be crushed, and look awful. I am nervous that I won't find mini pumpkins in time. I am basically nervous about all the little things that must be done in the few days prior to the wedding! Yes. I am nervous.

Looking Forward....

2009-09-18T06:43:00.001-07:00

To the weekend!!!!!!!!

We're headed to Durham this evening to spend the night with Jeremy's Parents. I have my 2nd dress fitting on Saturday, then it's off to the NCSU vs. Gardner Webb football game!!!

Then Sunday is our exciting Tailgate Shower that Jeremy's sister is throwing for us! We can't wait!!!

The Next Week and a half....

2009-09-16T07:10:00.000-07:00

Are going to be crazy busy..... unfortunately, with lots of work.

Lunch meeting today in Greensboro
NCSU football & dress fitting on Saturday
Bridal Shower on Sunday
Hair trial Monday
Catering Meeting Tuesday
Wednesday-Sunday- annual meeting for work.....

Then the wedding week is here!

I Failed.....

2009-09-15T13:10:00.000-07:00

to mention.....

Sunday was one year since we got engaged! Wow... seems like just yesterday!

......... 18 days to go!!!

Table Runners... Check!

2009-09-15T10:08:00.000-07:00

I picked up the monogrammed pieces of our table runners yesterday! YAY!

They will look great hanging over the ends of our long tables!

:-)

Wedding Gifts.....

2009-09-14T08:25:00.000-07:00

Jeremy has been chomping at the bit to give me my wedding gift! So, he decided on Friday night he couldn't wait any longer! He led me through the kitchen into our living room with my eyes closed, so that he could hand me my gift. I opened my eyes to find a box covered in "wrapping paper" he had made. He took bunches of pictures of us and copied them all on to a giant sheet of paper to wrap my gift with! I gingerly opened the gift, so I could save the paper, I opened the unmarked box to find an unmarked leather case. Inside the case was a BEAUTIFUL strand of pearls. I am in love with them!!! He wanted so badly for me to wear them on Saturday to the football game, but I couldn't stomach risking loosing them!!! I will most likely wear them on the big day!

After he gave them to me, I thought, what the hell, I will go ahead and give him his gift too! I brought down a patterned baggie with my b-pic album inside. He opened it up, and flipped through those pages 100 times!!! When he got to the end, and saw the picture of Stewie.... he about died!!! I have never seen him laugh so hard!

***If you don't remember, we (I!) won stewie during our e-pic shoot at the fair.... he will be randomly making appearances throughout our photo shoots!***

Weekend Recap

2009-09-14T07:13:00.000-07:00

I got a bit done on Friday... but not much the rest of the weekend!

I left work, picked up our pumpkin! and dropped off our table runners to be monogrammed!

Bought our chardonnay from Trader Joes!
Found these awesome little buckets to put 4 bottles of champagne on our head tables! (and caramel apple lollipops for the kids!)

and.... stamped all the little candy bags with the 4-H logo.... get it? We're getting married at a 4-H camp.... and our last name will be Horton??? :-)

Who's the hottie with the black hair?

2009-09-11T08:13:00.000-07:00

;-)

Rehearsal Dinner Attire....

2009-09-10T09:47:00.000-07:00

Let me start by saying, I had NO intention of buying something new to wear for our rehearsal.... it's going to be a casual dinner of BBQ and Chicken with all the fixin's..... I have plenty of items in my closet appropriate for this type of event.

However,

I just spotted the dress I had wanted my bridesmaids to wear on overstock.com for 1/2 the price... in orange! How could I not resist!?!?!

Making Preparations!

2009-09-10T06:39:00.000-07:00

On Monday, Jeremy and I tore our house upside down looking for the hardware we bought for our cabinets when we first moved in last summer. We did not find them.... anywhere! I bought new ones :-(

However, this included going through our attic, which meant we had to move all the wedding stuff down into the office. Kinda a blessing in disguise. I realized how unorganized all the wedding stuff was. Well, last night I realized that with so much stuff going to different places at camp... I better get it together, or we'd be running from place to place all day Friday before the wedding, instead of actually getting stuff done! So.... I got some of our old moving boxes out and started sorting things....

We now have a box for each of the following....

Kids Playroom (kid bags, game, sign for room, crayons)
Bar (napkins, cups, candles, wine bottle opener, guest book)
Ceremony (grapevine, napkins, wreath hangers, program basket-Mel- I am using the orange one you gave me!!)
Lights (long strands of christmas lights for the rec hall posts, extension cords)
Linens (table runners, and "curtains" for porch)
Hotel (ribbon for bm dresses, hotel room labels, goody bags for guest rooms)
Bridal Party Gifts (self explanatory!)
Dessert Table (card holders, table cloths- an old set of Jeremys brown curtains!- table runner, napkin holder)

THEN..... I took on the HORRIBLE (although I didn't expect it to be bad) task of taking all 36 of those IKEA sheets out of their packaging and laying them out over the stairwell. W.O.W N.O.T F.U.N!!!! This probably took an hour and a half alone!

I also unpackaged all of the linen napkins I bought and we washed them.

......so many little things add up so quick! Like taking price tags off of stuff! Quite time consuming!!!

I wrapped 3 crayons together and tied with ribbon for each of the kid bags, they each got 2 glow sticks.... they will also have an activity book, and a small bottle of water and maybe a sucker (they had some really cute pumpkin shape ones at Michaels!)

Our poor office, post pack up!

2 last things....

I saw this awesome cake pan at Michaels a couple of weeks ago.... it's a pumpkin cake pan.... it was expensive, so I found me a coupon and went back and got it yesterday! I think I might try it out this weekend!

AND....
I stopped by World Market and bought all our Merlot!!!! 12 bottles for about $65! :-)

Booze? Check!

2009-09-08T11:48:00.000-07:00

We got our beer ordered on Sunday from the Carolina Brewing Company! 1/4 keg of IPA and 1/4 keg of Pale Ale!

I ordered Funf 5 Riesling today, and will get the rest of the wine soon!!
Still to buy: World Market Merlot and Trader Joes Chardonnay :-)
Yay, the last few big things are getting done!!!

Changes....

2009-09-08T06:24:00.000-07:00

Not with the wedding! Life in general....

I have made the decision to apply to Graduate Schools next fall. NC State will be offering a Parks and Rec masters totally online next fall. I am also making considerations for my undergrad home... UNCG.

Some other changes may be in the works for Jeremy and I, I'll fill you in on those if they happen!

:-) Happy Tuesday!

Game Time!!!

2009-09-03T07:27:00.001-07:00

Headed out to Raleigh for the weekend, and we'll kick off our long Labor Day weekend with the NCSU home opener vs. South Carolina!

GO Pack!

Only one wedding related event this weekend.... Dress fitting with Olga on Saturday! :-)

OH AND..........

ONE MONTH FROM TODAY IS THE BIG DAY!!!!!

Table Runners & Dance Floor Lights

2009-09-02T05:37:00.001-07:00

I got my giant roll of fabric out last night and had Jeremy help me unroll it out on the sidewalk in front of our house. It was 16 yards long- the length of 3 house lots on our street! This picture is awful, but I took it late... We had to fold it in 1/3rds so that I could get 3 equal width pieces to make our table runners!

We also received our lights to hang over the dance floor! Hopefully, it will look something like this!

Photo Cards

2009-09-01T07:19:00.000-07:00

I was so ANTI these things.... bc really who cares, right? But... after getting an email for "free" postcards from vistaprint, and seeing how everyone is uploading pictures from the girls weekend a month ago to shutterfly.... I envisioned this actually working! So in about 2.4 minuetes I created them, and paid for them..... nothing special, but here they are!

They will be placed at every other seat at the reception (I only got 100 for "free")

Front....

Back....

and by "free" I mean.... they charge you to upload your own image, they charge you for color on each side..... whatever, they were still much cheaper than our invitation postcards (but not nearly as nice!).... after creating them, and paying for them I realized, I should have used our oh so cute "post card" image that is on all our invites.... oh well, too late!

.... hmmm maybe I'll do giant size postcards (printed by me) for our programs?

Weekend Goodies! aka NO LACE!

2009-08-31T07:12:00.000-07:00

Friday-
Ventured down to downtown (or uptown? I'm not sure what you call it!) Charlotte to the courthouse. Asked the sheriffs office on the first floor where to find a certified copy of my criminal record, sent to the second floor to the criminal clerk of court, stood in line, made my request, back down to the first floor to pay $15 for it, didn't have cash, she sent me back up to the atm on the 2nd floor, back down to pay her with cash, back up to the criminal clerk of court to give her my receipt and get a piece of paper saying I have no criminal record..... ugh! All this just to send it in with my application for a temporary alcohol permit!!! W.O.W

Then on to Poppies to order the adorable pumpkin shown below!

Then the gym

Then cooked steaks with the honey! :-)

Saturday-
Got up, did some chores around the house, ate breakfast.... then a bad headache started to set in.... so I layed back down for a bit..... showered.... and got ready to leave for the beach!!!

11:45 AM- Melanie arrived, we packed up the car and headed out!

2:30- Made a pit stop in Cary to see Olga, seamstress extraordinaire! Dropped off the dress (got told I bought the WRONG type of bra to sew in the dress..... so I'm back on the bra/corset hunt)

Then off to the beach we went! We arrived at our hotel about 5 PM, and to Melanie's surprise, Melissa and Jennifer, some friends from home were waiting there to surprise her! Boy was she surprised!! After the initial shock wore off we headed to dinner at the beach, came back and had cake. We hung out in our plush (FREE) hotel room for the rest of the evening.

Sunday-
We ate a fantastic continental breakfast at the Comfort Suites, packed our things and headed out to see the sand, where Karen, Sabrina and Sabrina's little boy Kaleb met us. We also had another surprise for Melanie- our friend Marianne drove in just for the day to spend her birthday on the beach with us! She was again, in shock! Saturday was Karen's birthday so I wanted to celebrate a little with her.... we had cupcakes on the beach, YUM!

We ended our trip with a late lunch to P.T.s Grill for some good greasy hamburgers and fries!

It was great to have a weekend that wasn't focused on wedding chores, but to focus on someone elses celebration instead!

Here's the only pictures I have from the weekend, hopefully more will surface on facebook soon!

Kaleb and Sabrina enjoying cupcakes on the beach to celebrate Karen's 24th!

Poppies Personalized Pumpkins

2009-08-31T07:02:00.000-07:00

:-)

I saw these about a month ago when I was in Poppies (a monogram shop in Huntersville) and thought they were just the cutest things ever! After a month of mulling over the price of the larger one... I decided it was worth the splurge! $145 + tax + shipping later....... I will soon be the proud owner of a handmade pumpkin with "Horton" written in the mouth! It will sit on the bar at our wedding!!! :-)

The Anti Flower Girl Dress....

2009-08-28T06:26:00.000-07:00

Last week sometime I saw a very pretty wedding featured on the Green Wedding Shoe Blog.... I followed over to the photographers website and left a comment asking where the little girls orange dress was from, hoping the bride would see. She did! Of course it's J Crew! I ventured over to the site, and it was on sale... but still $49... I emailed my sister and she got them! Now my two adorable nieces will be wearing these dresses on our wedding day!!

Want the dress for your little angel? Click here!

Those Shoes....

2009-08-27T06:42:00.001-07:00

So last week I posted about the awesome little flats that Aeriel dug out of a box for me at the J Crew Yard Sale.... I finally got around to taking their picture :-) I want to wear them so bad, but I am pretty sure these are the shoes I am going to wear for the ceremony, so I'm saving them!

Extra, Extra Read All About It!!!!

2009-08-26T06:07:00.000-07:00

We interrupt this normally wedding related blog to bring you this news....

I've lost 3 pounds!!!!!!!!

After my workout yesterday I reluctantly stepped on the scale in the women's bathroom. Last time I did this, my weight had not budged from 151, so I had not been wanting to get on the scale. I guess I just couldn't resist yesterday! I'm glad I saw 148 when I hopped on! Now I feel like all that sweat and exaustion is worth it!

My goal is to drop 7 pounds over the next 5.5 weeks... I will be down 10 pounds at the wedding, if I pull that off!

Breakfast today- Naked Juice and Oatmeal
Lunch today- Pimento Cheese Sandwich and Cottage Cheese

:-)

From Dad's View....

2009-08-25T12:59:00.000-07:00

No, not my dad.... I would probably fall out if my dad had a clue what "blogging" meant!

I have been following August 15th bride..... well clearly, she is now married.... and her dad is blogging his persecption of the events.... please read this post of his....

Get In the Giving Spirit!

2009-08-25T11:33:00.001-07:00

And no, I don't mean wedding gifts!

Head over here to read about how bad the Wake County Salvation Army needs our help! Take a moment, make a small (or large!) donation to help them get this building to look like this!

oh and....

2009-08-24T10:07:00.001-07:00

I bought the coveted Martha Stewart glitter from Michaels to *bedazzle* some poor, innocent, mini pumpkins. Surprisingly, the glitter wasn't much differently priced than "regular" glitter.

Weekend Goodies, Part II

2009-08-24T09:35:00.000-07:00

I did some serious wedding list checking-off yesterday!

Made some returns that I'd been meaning to do. Made a couple of trips to Target.

Got these for our guests rooms the night of the wedding.... they will be filled with bottled water, snacks and maybe a little candy :-)

Got these for the candy on our dessert table :-)

Got boutonniere pins, ribbon, pins for the guest book, clothespins for name tags/ place card makers, candy corn.... I got lots of things marked off my "to do list" and "to buy list"

:-)

Weekend Goodies!

2009-08-24T05:54:00.000-07:00

Lots of stuff accomplished this weekend!

We got our invitation for our 3rd shower!! It's a NCSU tailgate theme!!! We are super excited :-)

We got our marriage license!

**Sorry No Pic**

Here's the wedding night outfit... isn't it crazy appropriate for our fall, rustic wedding!?!

Much more to come!! :-)

Lunch, Lunch, Lunch, Lunchy, Lunchy, Lunch!

2009-08-21T06:19:00.000-07:00

After much debate over what to do for lunch on the big day, I finally made a decision. We are having boxed lunches catered and delivered to our hotel room from the same people that are doing our dinner! :-)

Yum!

ALL THE GREAT OPTIONS FOUND HERE!

Chop Chop

2009-08-21T06:14:00.000-07:00

The hair is cut! WAHOO!!! :-)

On another note- I swung by the Victoria's Secret at Southpoint in Durham to pick up my wedding night outfit :-)

..... I saw it about a week ago when I was there, decided that I had a giftcard at home I wanted to use towards it, so I would just go get it from a store in the Charlotte area or online. Easier said than done. NO ONE had the outfit, nor is it available online. I finally called the Southpoint store on Tuesday in a panic, luckily, they still had it, and could hold it for me! I was super excited to get it yesterday, even if it did cost me a small fortune. I will post a picture of it soon! It's ivory, with an orange tie under the bust, and a gray design on the top.... pretty damn close to our wedding colors! :-) I love it!!!!

Hair... :-)

2009-08-20T06:53:00.000-07:00

I will try and make this wedding related....

Finally, I will be going from this mange......

back to this, at 6:15 PM today.....

So that my hair will look like this for the wedding....

I got my hair and makeup trial with Elizabeth scheduled for September 1st! :-)

Identification....

2009-08-18T11:32:00.000-07:00

Since our wedding party and family members don't know each other I thought it would be good to make name tags for the rehearsal dinner.... I found these, and thought they would be good to mark their seats at the reception too!

Found Here

Boudoir Sunday!

2009-08-17T07:36:00.000-07:00

No Sleeping In... AGAIN!

I was up at 6:30 AM yesterday to hit the road with Aeriel again, but this time to BFE Louisburg for our outdoor boudoir sessions with April Sirit of Evoke (Aeriel's Photographer) and Ashley Stephenson of Story Photographers (My lovely Photographer!). We stopped to pick up my sister, and then on to the location. It was a beautiful piece of property outside of Louisburg.

I can never say enough good things about doing boudoirs. It's an out of body, freeing expereince that all women should experience. Everyone should have the opportunity to feel that amazing about themselves. After the last 6 weeks, of maybe having breast cancer, I wanted to celebrate the fact that my boobies are healthy. It's a liberating, empowering experience, that makes you proud to be a woman. Seriously- look into this ladies, it's not a cheap hobby- but well worth E.V.E.R.Y S.I.N.G.L.E P.E.N.N.Y!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You cannot put a price on the emotions this will evoke on you.

When I get my cd, I will be posting a picture or two here! I cannot wait to give these to Jeremy, he is going to flip!!! :-)

Ashley shooting me.... :-)
Photo courtesy of ElizabethTolley- via facebook..... best makeup/hair artist. Period.

Saturday.....

2009-08-17T07:19:00.000-07:00

No sleeping in! I was up at 7 AM to hit the road with Aeriel up to Asheville for the J Crew Yard Sale! I went 2 months ago, and this time it was at least triple the size!!!! It took us 4 HOURS to go through all the boxes!!!!!! It was nuts, I thought for sure we'd be headed back to Charlotte by noon..... nope! We didn't get back to my house till almost 6 PM! I had to forgo my nail salon date with Melanie and go alone that night. Then off to target for some last minuet boudoir preparations!

I spent $121 at the J Crew Yard sale.... on this....

Blue Strapless Chiffon Dress
Grey sweater
2 White tank tops
Orange ruffly cardigan
Red sweatpants
Jeremy- black sweater
Jeremy- rusty red sweater
Jeremy- navy sweater
Jeremy- Corduroy pants
orange and white peep toe flats (which I may wear for the wedding!!)

and.....

GREY LEATHER KNEE HIGH BOOTS!!!!

Very successful shopping!!! :-)

Busy Busy Weekend..... Friday!

2009-08-17T05:34:00.000-07:00

We'll start with Friday... since that's where the weekend starts! :-)

I have the lovely privilege of getting off work at 1 PM every Friday. So I left work, and rode up to Sertoma, for what was probably my last trip up there before the wedding. I met Kathy of Salem Kitchen to give her the tour, and let her know our setup. She was very helpful, and also informed me that we will need to get liability insurance for the wedding because we are serving our own alcohol, we'll also need a temporary alcohol license.... ugh.... more things to research and pay for.... if we'd used their alcohol and bartenders, they already have those things in place- but it's much more expensive.... :-(

I was amazed how clean camp was!!! :-)

Making a List, and checking it twice.....

2009-08-13T07:01:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow afternoon I am off to Sertoma to meet with the caterer for a "walk through". This will also probably be my last chance to go up there before the wedding weekend! I needed to make a list of things to do, see, ect.

1. Take lots of pictures of the rec hall rafters, to plan how to hand the lit wreaths.
2. Seek out "loveseat size" benches, for our parents to sit on for the ceremony, and us at the reception.
3. Count the benches.
4. Seek out sofa tables to be placed at the back of the ceremony site for spigot jars and programs.
5. Inspect hotel rooms, and decide which one will be used for getting dressed.
6. Take pictures of the computer room aka the kids playroom
7. Let caterer know about the "board room" that will be used for the vendors dinner.
8. Discuss the possibility of doing boxed lunches the day of the wedding, and possible delivery of them?
9. Inspect camp store, for storing ice cream and flowers
10. Ask about getting several extra gallons of tea for the spigot jars.

This will be us soon!!!!!
(photo from Rodney and Susan's wedding in May)

Preparation....

2009-08-12T11:43:00.000-07:00

has begun for this Sunday.... Boudoir Shoot #2 with Ashley of Story Photographers!

I have a few last minute errands to run to get all my supplies for the shoot, and gotta get my nails done on Saturday :-)

I cannot even begin to explain my excitement! We are shooting out in a big field, with tall grass and a pond :-) I look forward to feeling super hott again!

Holy Honeymoon!

2009-08-11T06:21:00.001-07:00

Jeremy's parents informed us last night, they are paying for our honeymoon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's their gift to us, holy crap! Just so you know.... that's like $4k! I can't believe it, we're in shock!!!

G-Chat with the almost hubby...

2009-08-10T13:02:00.000-07:00

me: ugh finished all 29 thank you notes for yesterday

you owe me

Sent at 3:40 PM on Monday

Jeremy: i love you

me: you owe me

Jeremy: i love you

me: you owe me

Jeremy: i love you

me: I KNOW YOU LOVE ME

Jeremy: hahaa

me: YOU ALSO OWE ME

Jeremy: maybe one of these days i'll take you out for a treat

me: 29 thank you notes = serious hand cramppage

Jeremy: haha

me: yeah you owe me a treat, and scrubbing our bathtub

Jeremy: :-)

me: and just so we are clear a treat = del friscos or something similar

Sent at 4:02 PM on Monday

Jeremy: WHOA WHOA WHOA

it might be wendy's

me: I call bullshit

Another Busy Weekend!

2009-08-10T05:40:00.000-07:00

Saturday- Olivia's 7th Birthday Party :-)
Decorating Cupcakes

Opening Presents

Sunday- Newton Shower :-)
All the yummy homemade goodies :-)

Presents! We got so many beautiful things, that I had to leave 1/2 of them at Dad's house!

Financial Advice

2009-08-06T09:08:00.000-07:00

Advice about affording your wedding.....

If you are 6-12 months out from your big day, consider doing what we did..... I had a chunk of money that two weeks before we were engaged, I had stuck in a CD with Wachovia. I lucked out and stuck it in there just before interest rates plummeted, and managed to secure a 4.25% rate. That CD is about to mature in 2 weeks. I have made about $1000 just letting that cash sit there! This will help us out a bunch when it comes to write those big checks in a few short weeks!

You do normally have to have a minimum of several thousand dollars to be able to open one. DO YOUR RESARCH ON RATES! Don't think that YOUR bank has the best rate. I surely didn't shop around last year, I just stuck it in Wachovia bc that is who I bank with. I have been looking around lately to see who has the best rate so that I can stick out "leftovers" after the wedding back in a CD. Currently Citi Bank has the highest rates... just over 2%..... not great, but better than nothing!

Check out high interest checking accounts (I have a checking acct with Allegacy Federal Credit Union that pays out 6% when you complete certain tasks each month... they are simple too!)

Check out money market accounts too, if you think you'll be needing to pull money out periodically.

There are so many options out there, just do some research! It will pay you back!

Dropped $549.97 like a rich girl....

2009-08-05T06:43:00.000-07:00

I bought all our flowers yesterday. ALL. OUR. FLOWERS. The rational side of me says "Oh my Jesus, you are a MORON! You just spent twice your car payment on something that will be dead, and in the trash only days after you receive it!" Then the other side of me says.... "Eh, they're pretty :-)"

I went with pretty.

I purchased 300 white tulips, 100 orange tulips, and 25 white calla lillies. Plenty of flowers for the girls to carry, me to carry, the guys to wear, and to decorate the tables with.

Backtracking....

2009-08-04T12:29:00.000-07:00

.....A couple of days so that I can show you a few more photos from my WONDERFUL girls weekend!!!! :-)

Me and BM Karen :-)

FSIL and FMIL (and future niece, if we're being technical!)

Me and my sister, and MOH Jenny, before going out!

All of us!

At dinner!

Shower Time

My nieces arrived home from the beach right as the shower was ending

My BM's and I after the shower

And..... They're Off!

2009-08-04T12:24:00.000-07:00

The invitations I have slaved over for weeks and months.... they got dumped in the big, blue mailbox at the post office today! I guess it's for real now.... their will actually be guests showing up on October 3rd!!

Thank You Thank You Thank You

2009-08-03T10:03:00.000-07:00

The writing of the Thank You notes has begun! What a daunting task.... but I am knocking it out like a champ!

Post 2 of Today....

2009-08-03T05:36:00.000-07:00

Today marks the 2 month mark!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:-)

The Best Weekend Ever!

2009-08-03T05:31:00.001-07:00

I cannot begin to express how lucky I am to have amazing girlfriends. We all came together this weekend for some good 'ole girl fun, with a little bit of wedding stuff mixed in! It was like being 10 years old at your birthday party sleepover. I only took one picture all weekend (but don't worry, they took TONS! As soon as the shufferfly account is created I'll post pics from it!) my one picture was of my packed car before I left my sister's house yesterday......

I am so blessed to have so many people who care about me. I cannot even put my feelings for all of you into words. Thank you so much for your time and generosity, you'll never know how much I appreciate it all.

Warning! Girls on the loose this weekend!!!!!

2009-07-31T05:54:00.000-07:00

This weekend is "Girls Weekend"!!!!!!!!

Schedule:

Tonight- everyone arrives at Jenny's house, then we'll all go out to dinner and have drinks!

Saturday- Bridal Lunch, pool?? Bachelorette Party!! :-)

Sunday- Shower :-)

I am so excited to see all my girls! One of them I haven't seen since we've been engaged!

Splurges....

2009-07-28T06:04:00.000-07:00

I made a serious investment on Friday.....

Popped in Anthropologie and just had to have this coat!

My justification: My black pea coat I bought ages ago at Old Navy has bit the dust. I will wear this for years to come. I love love love the sleeves and ruffles!!! :-)

I also splurged on a pink "derby" style hat at the JCrew outlet! It was only $20, but more than I'd normally spend.... I thought it would be a super cute accessory for my "girls weekend"

Happy Tuesday!!

2009-07-28T05:50:00.000-07:00

We had a super adventurous weekend! We awoke at 4 AM on Saturday to leave by 5 AM to head down to Epworth, Georgia to see our preacher.

It was really nice to see him and chat about our ceremony and relationship. He was really insighful, and offered some good advice. I almost wish we had more sessions with him. Here's a few pictures from our fantastic drive!

We drove down 85 and then over through Clemson, through SC over to GA. The we did the opposite on the way back.... we drove up by the Natahala River (HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE WERE WHITE WATER RAFTING! It was a beautiful ride!) then up through Murphy, to Asheville (where we stopped at the lovely JCrew Outlet :-)) on to Hickory and Newton, where we stopped at one of our favorite restaurants for dinner (The Artist Cafe) and home! It was a long day, but awesome!

We saw the sun come up in the rearview mirrors

Then we saw a bunch of hot air balloons!

Coming back across the border!

Headed to Epworth....

2009-07-24T08:53:00.000-07:00

We're making the 4.5 hour trip to Epworth, Georgia tomorrow morning at 5:30 AM!!!!!!!! Ugh.... so early :-( We are going to meet with our preacher for a mini "marriage counseling session" and to discuss our ceremony! It's exciting to know I will be able to work on programs next week :-) YAY!!!

Next weekend is my "Girls Weekend" consisting of dinner Friday night, Bridesmaids Lunch, Bachelorette Night, and Bridal Shower on Sunday!! :-)

I am so excited! I've learned my girlies have been conspiring about things!!

Invitations Arrived!

2009-07-21T05:44:00.000-07:00

And look awesome!!!!

They fixed the fuzzy text and coloring! YAY! I can't believe they go out in less than 2 weeks!

Top Row: Invite Card, Rehearsal Card
Bottom Row: Accommodations Card (they reprinted them for me), and our Map/Direction Card

Invite Back

Rehearsal Back

Accommodations Back

Map Back

Goodies!!!!!!!

2009-07-21T05:37:00.000-07:00

I found the most awesome "kid bags" at Target last night!!!!!!!!!!! (our last name will be Horton)

Vases from Marshalls

Candy Dishes

I'm Back!!!!

2009-07-20T08:48:00.000-07:00

I'm not gonna lie, it was super awesome to not think about the wedding madness I am/about to experience!!!!!!!

I did find out some fun details about the upcoming girls weekend from one BM. I am so excited to blow off some steam with my girls!

I was going through a bit of shopping withdrawal yesterday, so I hit the pavement...... Here's what I got accomplished.....

1. Bought the remaining 3 vases for the tables! (I am DONE with this task!)
2. Found dishes for the candy to go on the dessert buffet (They are 2 dishes that each have 3 compartments, perfect for displaying my pumpkin kisses, candy corn and resees pieces)
3. The remaining invite postcards should arrive TODAY!
4. NWR- We bought our red tailgate tent for tailgating at the NCSU games this fall.... and the best part- it fits in my car..... through the backseat/trunk pass through!! yay!!
5. NWR- found super awesome $4 red leggings to sport to the football games! Wahoo!

Pictures to come tomorrow!

:-)

Update.....

2009-07-16T19:35:00.000-07:00

This is where I am all week! :-)

I write that blog too.... I kinda get paid to do this :-)

I'm Out.....

2009-07-10T09:43:00.000-07:00

for the next week.....

Headed to Columbia, North Carolina's Eastern 4-H Center for a week of summer camp with the kids I work with!

See you on the 20th!

p.s. If you are looking for a spectacular place to get married on the water, check out the Eastern 4-H Center..... it's beautiful!

First Try.....

2009-07-09T07:49:00.000-07:00

and I think it came out pretty damn good.

pudding was a little runny, but tasted yummy!

Jeremy requested whipped cream on top next time instead of meringue. I said no, what the hell are you thinking?!?!?! That's cheating! And NOT real banana pudding!

Invitation Drama

2009-07-09T07:00:00.000-07:00

I thought I had this all worked out..... was ahead of the game.... then I went to upload them and order yesterday morning. Did that, printed out what they would look like.... yikes! did't look to swift, so I changed the picture on one, and unbolded some text (before going back to it bolded), got it looking good enough (this was 4 hours later!) and ordered. $90 worth of postcards, ordered. Ten mins later.... an email arrived in my inbox.... "Order on hold". Damn.

I've been emailing back and forth with one of their associates, sending them my files, so that they could tweak them and get them to look better.

I just hope they come out alright, and they actually send me a proof before they print!

The lady said that she sent the files to the graphic design department, they would fix them and then go to print. I was like um ok... I want to proof it first!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We'll see what happens. Ugh.

Anti-My-Handwriting

2009-07-07T12:21:00.000-07:00

So I made the executive decision today that I WILL NOT be hand addressing my envelopes.... call me tacky, call me etiquette-less...... whatever, I don't care!

With much trial and error I finally got my printer and computer on the same page as my brain.... brown, centered text in a pretty font :-)

Back to Reality....

2009-07-06T06:39:00.000-07:00

Weekend Recap!

We went to Wilmington for the 4th and stayed at the Taylor House Inn Bed and Breakfast. It was super cute, but the inn keeper was odd. We drove straight out to Wrightsville, had lunch at one of my favorite places, Two Guys Grill, and then out to the beach. We lucked out and only had to hunt for about 15 mins for a parking space. Spent about an hour and a half there, went and got ice cream, and then checked in our B & B. We had dinner at Roy's Riverboat Landing on one of the adorable balconies, then went to Carolina Beach for fireworks with my sister and her family.

Saturday, we had breakfast, and bolted out to the beach.... after 30 mins of hunting for a spot to park, we said F it, and drove to Topsail, which was super peaceful! Spent a few hours there, had lunch, showered and then went back to Carolina Beach to cookout with my sister.

Sunday, had breakfast, checked out, walked around Mayfair, and then went to lunch at Pita Delight with Sabrina!

Finally headed home, and it took us over 6 hours......... :-(

Great weekend, being back at work sucks. Here's some pics!

on the way to drop off the doggies with Jeremy's parents! We bought them seatbelts to match the bug!

Once on the beach, I realized I was being so festive with my red and white towel, and navy and white swimwear :-)

At Roy's Riverboat Landing

Topsail Beach

Walking around Greenfield Park

Pre Post...

2009-07-02T06:42:00.000-07:00

Since tomorrow is a holiday for me..... YAY! I thought I'd go ahead and post today about tomorrow.

THREE MONTHS FROM TOMORROW I'LL BE GETTING MARRIED!!!!!!!

the next three months are CRAZY packed with stuff... we have one potential free weekend, and I think we have decided to go to the beach.... here's the rundown....

July
3-5- Wilmington for vacation!
12-18- Grange Camp
18- knottie gtg??
25-26- Georgia to see our preacher for counseling... yikes!
31-2- Girls weekend!! :-) (Shower, Bridal Lunch, Bachelorette Partying!)

August
8- Olivia's birthday party
9- Newton Shower
16- B-pics
22-23- Beach????
29- Drop off wedding dress at Olga's in Raleigh
30- Day trip to the beach with Melanie??? :-)

September
3- NCSU Football!
5- Dress fitting in Raleigh
6- Shower??
11-13- In VA for work
19- Dress fitting in Raleigh and NCSU Football!
20-Shower??
24- Final Dress fitting in Raleigh
24-27- Work in Fayetteville
27- Shower??
28- Pick up dress

October-
1- Nails, Tan
2- Rehearsal
3- Married!!!!!
5-10- Honeymoon in Antigua!

Dear Style Me Pretty Blog,

2009-06-30T11:28:00.000-07:00

I love you, you post pretty things for me to look at. However, could you please stop obsessing over letterpress? It's beautiful, but for Christ's sake have you noticed the economy tanking? Who the hell can afford this shit?

Please stop breaking my spirit by showing me things I can't afford. Start showing me things I can. Thanks.

Love,
A broke, diy, I'm paying for it by myself bride.

Friday Night....

2009-06-29T11:05:00.000-07:00

We have finally picked where we are staying the night before the wedding!

Holiday Inn Select in Winston Salem on University Parkway.

We really wanted to stay in Mount Airy, and go to the Drive Inn Theater there. But after much thought, we decided we would be very rushed to do the rehearsal, dinner, get to the theater and get a good nights rest. If for some reason it works out to go to the theater we still can, we'll just have to drive 30 mins back to our hotel.

We will (still working on the contract) have 15 rooms reserved.

The Gym, The Gym, The Gym......

2009-06-29T10:46:00.000-07:00

I would like to publicly announce that I have been to the gym 6 of the last 7 days. :-)

By the August b-pics I will be healthier.
By the wedding I will be more fit.
By the end of 2009 my clothes will fit better.

Notice: I did not say anything about pounds. I have a goal, to be 15 lbs lighter, at some point. Maybe by the wedding, maybe by the end of 2009. But, I will do it.

And...

2009-06-29T07:25:00.000-07:00

We finished our Target registry! :-) Yay for nice towels!

A place for all those pretty things.....

2009-06-29T05:58:00.000-07:00

With 12 sets of Crate and Barrel dishes, flatware, and glassware headed our way in a few months I was beginning to panic about where we would put it all! I did NOT want to stick it in the attic, and only pull it out on special occasions.....

Well last week Jeremy mentioned wanting to go to the Polo outlet in Gaffney, SC. I was totally OK with that because it meant that I could look for more of our table runners at the Pottery Barn Outlet.

So, we went.

Stopped in the Pottery Barn Outlet first, grabbed up the two table runners I needed, and began to walk through the store.... and there it was..... a beautiful, white, CORNER china cabinet!!!!!! We've known since we moved in our house a year ago, that we would eventually buy a corner china cabinet, but we had not been activly looking for one.... but there it was, yelling "take me home!!!"

It was marked down to $899 and then it was an additional 15% off, for just over $800 we got a FANTASTIC china cabinet! Our dining area looks so much more complete now! :-)

I got some other goodies too, from Gap and J Crew's outlets! :-)

Oh My!

2009-06-26T06:13:00.000-07:00

99 Days to Go!

Gah....

2009-06-24T10:22:00.000-07:00

I'm over the wedding....

I can't wait for the HONEYMOON! I need some vaca like no other! :-)

Terrified....

2009-06-23T11:05:00.000-07:00

After watching the latest "John and Kate Plus 8" marriage totally terrifies me. Jeremy and I sat and watched it together yesterday. It broke my heart to see John totally check out of his marriage and family.

I confessed my fear of divorce to Jeremy, I never want to be a statistic, or go through the heartbreak of "dissolving a marriage"

He was so sweet, came over to me on the couch and assured me that we would be ok, and work hard to stay together no matter what.

I really, really love him, and pray daily that we never become different people that want to "dissolve" our marriage.

That's all.

oh.....

2009-06-23T10:45:00.000-07:00

and.... hope you had a nice fathers day :-)

Oh yeah, and....

2009-06-23T09:35:00.001-07:00

I joined the gym..... again.

I drug my sleepy ass out of bed at 6:15 this morning and hit the gym before work.

I was quite proud of myself :-)

Treasures....

2009-06-23T09:03:00.000-07:00

In the box of moms china were these goodies :-)

I am guessing this was a wedding gift from someone

AND...

the knife they used to cut their cake... I opened the box, and their were two knives, one with their names engraved on the blade with a wrong wedding date, and then a second knife (tarnished handle) that has their monograms on one side, and the correct date on the other.... we will be using this :-)

And.... I'm Back....

2009-06-23T08:43:00.000-07:00

Work last week was crazy, the weekend was a whirlwind, and Monday+ no internet at work= FRUSTRATION!!!!

So anyways... lots to catch up on....

So first: while I was gone for work our box of 150 napkins arrived :-)

Then over Fathers Day we picked up lots of pieces that my sister had cleaned out of her attic.... I was not prepared for this.... we went prepared to bring my family iron bed back for our guest room.... and boy did we get lots more....

We retrieved... a crib (my crib, that my nieces used), a cradle, a high chair, moms china, moms silver, and all my old prom dresses.....

YEAH RANDOM....

and now my guest room looks like a freakin nursery...... oh jeez, someone get me a brown paper bag, I think I might hyperventilate.....

ok, now for pics.....

The bed :-) and take note of the crib pieces under the bed.... yikes
I forgot to get the dust ruffle... it will cover all that jazz

The cradle and high chair.... I'll be glad when wedding shit is out of our attic so I can hurdle these up there and not look at them, till I am about to pop one out.....

Mom's china :-)

....... More to come :-)

Craziness- NWR

2009-06-17T08:34:00.000-07:00

Leaving for New Bern for work tonight
Board meeting and tour Thursday in Beaufort County
Beaufort Co. Grange meeting Thursday night
Asheboro for a reception at the Zoo on Friday
and working my table at the Kannapolis Intimidators Baseball Game that night.....

I'll be so glad when Saturday is here!

Weekend Recap....

2009-06-16T07:04:00.000-07:00

OK here we go.... lots of goodies to share.....

Friday-
1. Went to Michaels, bought stamp ink in copper and chocolate brown, and another grapevine wreath.
2. Went to IKEA to buy the rest of the sheets.
3. Tested out stamp ink on our orange envelopes. We decided on the brown, the others were hard to read.
4. Stamped our return address on 80 envelopes, and put postage on them.

Saturday-
Got up early and drove to Asheville to experience the J Crew Sidewalk Sale. I bought:
A. White pants for me ($10)
B. Khaki pants for me ($10)
C. Navy blue pants for me ($10)
D. Polka dot bikini for me ($6!) Still on sale online for $34 for each piece!
E. Khaki pants for Jeremy ($10)
F. Khaki pants for Jeremy ($10)

AND.....

to make myself feel better about the whole dress issue... I still wanted a backup dress in case my moms dress is a disaster. So... I popped in the clearance store- I picked up the 3 wedding dresses that were in my size- 2 strapless and another one.... the first 2 were ok..... the third fit PERFECT! It was only $40, so I had to have it!!!!! It's def. not something that I would have normally picked out for myself- but at $40..... I'll find somewhere to wear it, or I'll sell it, if I don't use it for the wedding.

Is it my perfect dress? No.
Is it perfectly suitable? Yes.

It's the goddess dress on J Crew's site, if you want to see a picture of it :-)

now for pics-
Testing out the different inks- Gold at the top, Copper in the middle, Chocolate Brown last

Stamped our envelopes

Put postage on envelopes

All the sheets from IKEA- 36 tan, 10 white

J Crew Sidewalk Sale- this is only about 1/2 the place!

So much to blog about.....

2009-06-15T05:17:00.001-07:00

too bad I am leaving for a marketing meeting in Raleigh.....

I'll catch you all up later today, or tomorrow :-)

Happy Monday!

Yes. I spent money on this.

2009-06-11T07:19:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry, I had to do it. They were just too cute, and too perfect for my rustic, fall wedding.

Pumpkin ring pops! (don't worry, they are orange flavored, not pumpkin!)

Napkins. Found.

2009-06-11T07:12:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Shan on the knot.... she listed a linen site for us girlies to check out...

cvimports.com

I can get 150 chocolate brown napkins for $87! :-)

I am thinking about buying some of their wide sashes to use as table runners too :-)

Dud.

2009-06-11T06:45:00.000-07:00

The JCrew dress was so pretty. But;

A. Not wedding-dressy enough for me.

and

B. Not worth $700

Out For Delivery!

2009-06-10T12:27:00.000-07:00

My JCrew dress has made it to Charlotte, and is "out for delivery"

I can't wait to get home!!!!

:-)

Must. Do. This.

2009-06-09T06:42:00.001-07:00

I keep thinking about draping curtains on the rec hall porch, where our reception will be. After seeing the pics from Halli and Adam's wedding.... I absolutly MUST DO THIS! I just love the way it looks. I've already done some math, and I think I can use queen sheets.

Our reception place.....

Their reception place.....

Having Cold Feet....

2009-06-08T06:14:00.000-07:00

about the whole dress issue. Here's the time line of events.

1. Jessica buys beautiful Amsale Tyler dress in October for 1/4 of retail.
2. Jessica has buyers remorse and sells said dress in March/April. She breaks even.
3. Her sister brings her their moms dress in April.
4. Jessica tries on the dress, it fits. Jessica starts thinking.
5. Jessica takes dress to seamstress to have it analyzed for the possibility for remaking it.
6. Jessica gets excited.
7. Jessica starts to have second thoughts about moms dress.
8. Jessica is still in love with a J. Crew dress she saw months ago.
9. Jessica decides to order said dress to see if she loves it as much in person.
10. Dress is G.O.N.E. from JCrew's site.
11. Dress magically reappears 3 days later on the site, but in a size to small, and too big.
12. She orders both.

13. She's anxiously waiting.......

Our Canvas Arrived!!!

2009-06-05T16:37:00.000-07:00

So, after we had our engagement pictures done, and Ashley let me know that they can order me canvases, I knew I had to have one for our house, and to use at the reception! Her prices were great!

But unfortunately for her, I found a different co, that does them a bit cheaper (sorry Ashley!)

Well, I ordered it the end of last week, and it came today!!!! :-)

A Bone To Pick....

2009-06-05T16:11:00.000-07:00

OK, the knot got my on my nerves again today.

Today their was a discussion about how a girl was irritated with what she was spending on her future-sister-in-law's wedding this coming weekend, and that she was supposed to also provide a covered dish.

Her son and fiance are both in the wedding, she has to take off work, and bought herself a new outfit to wear. She's dropping a little over $400 to go to this event. And, she's even more outraged that they have decided to host a potlock reception, and expects this girl to provide a dish.

Really? Quit with the bitching. It's their day, if they want potluck, let them do it. Who cares!?! If it's what they want, big deal!

Luckily most of the girls were like..... Um yeah that's really not much to be spending.

Then another girl had the nerve to pipe in and say how she was outraged that a girl she knew was getting married, in another state, where no one lives, and providing their guests a veggie tray, and turkey sandwiches.

Well how dare she provide what she can afford!!?!?

The girl was pissed that she was spending x amount of money to go to the wedding, and not be fed a "proper" meal.

Give me an effing break!!!!!!!

Why is it that we expect brides and grooms (or whoever is footing the bill) to way overspend on one day???? You'd think as brides in this economy we'd be a little more simpathetic to these situations!

I personally think a potluck reception is awesome, and quite cost effective. I also think that if you can afford to serve sandwiches and veggies, and want to; great! I will gladly attend you wedding and bring my covered dish, or enjoy your sandwich (which could very well be packaged awesome, think, picnic theme!?!?!?!?! :-))

On Style Me Pretty....

2009-06-05T09:20:00.000-07:00

I'm glad I am not the only one collecting random jars for flowers!

"For a year we collected glass mason and milk jars, some vintage and some spaghetti sauce jars to use as vases and candle holders."

The Name Change.....

2009-06-04T13:09:00.000-07:00

So if you don't already know, my last name is Newton. Jeremy's last name is Horton.

Jessica Newton Horton is a mouthful.

but I don't want to drop my maiden name. Jeremy said he thinks I should keep my middle name too, so I think I am. I'll be:

Jessica Leigh Newton Horton

Newton will become a second middle name for me, NOT a hyphenated last name.

So for future reference, my monogram will be JHL

I love that my new monogram is symmetrical.

:-)

To Buy:

2009-06-03T10:20:00.000-07:00

I have my "to do" list on the side bar, but maybe I need to start a "to buy" list. I always have more direction with a list, and don't tend to buy things I don't need. Here's my best shot.

(This is just the "little things" obviously, I still need to get booze, flowers, ect.)

1. Plastic punch cups for the spigot jars at the ceremony. (And maybe for the wine and martinis)
2. More grapevine wreaths (I'm working on that week by week with my michaels coupons)
3. Ribbon for the BM dresses and "chandeliers"
4. Fishing line to hang "chandeliers"
5. A few more tall vases
6. Candles from Ikea
7. Trays for cupcakes?? Maybe??
8. Sharpie for the guest book.
9. Photo albums or scrap books to put at reception.
10. Chocolate brown fabric for table runners.
11. Copy our parents wedding pictures for the photo screen.
12. Lots of brown or black extension cords.