Blogging From A Bride

1 Week To Go!!!!!

2010-04-03T18:34:00.000-07:00

So the freaky thing is that at this time in one week I will be a married lady!!
Just had to get that off my chest haha

Last weekend I had my bachelorette party and lingerie shower. It was amazing! My mom and sister did an amazing job and my friends all have excellent taste in lingerie :o)
Thank you all for coming out and a special thanks to mom and Beth for all the hard work!
We had the shower at my sister's house with cake, games, and gift opening. The cake was a huge hit and the games were so funny.
We played one where mom and I had made a list of items and if you had them in your purse you got points for each one. Whoever had the most points in the end won a gift from Victoria Secret.
Seeing the crazy randomness that make up different girls purses was hilarious!
The other game everyone got a balloon and inside were slips of paper, one paper had the word winner written on it. So you had to pop your balloon with a pin to find out if you won or not.
Mom accidentally gave me a balloon to pop (since I'm the bride I couldn't win of course haha).
So not thinking anything about it we all pop our balloons and mine was the winner!! lol
So mom put all the papers in bowl and all the girls just chose one. Mandi ended up winning that one and Ashley won the purse game. After opening all the gifts I changed into my going out to Nashville outfit and then privately gave my bridesmaids their gifts.
It was a bag from Forever 21 with their wedding shoes (sparkly flip flops), daisy earrings (for the wedding), and a body spray and lotion from Victoria Secret as well as a little comb that folded into itself with a mirror on the other side, cute but functional!

Then out to Nashville we went! We ate at Joe's Crab Shack first and then hit up several different bars. They had a list that we worked on such as finding a guy with the grooms same first name and getting a picture with him. Getting a random person to buy me a shot, and getting wedding advice written on napkins from people. It was a really fun time!
Beth, Mandi and I all stayed at a hotel close to downtown.

In other news, I have checked even more things off of the to do list. Mom and I ran errands all day on Thursday. We hit up Victoria Secret so I could get my something white for the honeymoon :o) as well as part of what I needed for under the wedding dress.
We also found all of the underthings, such as the crinoline skirt and bra for the wedding dress!
We were also looking for a mother of the bride dress for mom which I think we found. She has a couple that she is going between. Not to sure which she is wearing yet.

Jason has the day off tomorrow so we will be consulting with a travel agent to try and finally pick our honeymoon destination. We are down to two different spots that we are trying to decide between. I will know better tomorrow. And a final decision should be made by Tuesday and the honeymoon will be booked by Wednesday...hopefully it will be done by Tuesday.
We also will be going shopping to find him some swim trunks and shorts for the honeymoon. Whichever destination we pick it will be on the beach!! Super excited that in 7 days we will be on the beach!!
So tomorrow starts a very very busy 7 days for me!
I worked on packing my honeymoon duffel bag today. Cutting all the tags off of my new lingerie etc.. ;o)
Also cleaned the whole house and gave the dogs a bath!! Super productive day! :o)

So excited to be married in 7 days!!
Jenny

Crazy Busy But Great Week Ahead!!

2010-03-21T12:18:00.000-07:00

Hi!
Hard to believe that when I started this blog, (to be able to remember the adventure after it is over), that we had 88 days to go...well today marks 20 days! That is completely insane to me! In 20 days we will be married! :o)
Most of the stuff is done I am thankful to report. We are waiting till the absolute last minute to book the honeymoon and hoping that we get a great last minute deal. Wednesday we are going to get our marriage license and both of our bach parties are this coming weekend! We decided to do them on the same night so that neither of us has to sit at home while the other one has all the fun haha
Yesterday his day drove down here from where he lives and got measured for his tux. My dad has already gone so now I am happy to say ALL of the men have now successfully been fitted!
The bridesmaids dresses had to be ordered and they are supposed to be in on Friday. So we will be picking them up then. I'm a little antsy cause it seems to be cutting it close but according to the lady we ordered them from it will be plenty of time as long as my bridesmaids don't drag their feet about picking them up. Guess this is where I crack the proverbial whip! haha j/k
They all know what day they are in and my far away friend/bridesmaid will be here already for the bachelorette party so there won't be an issue on that front. I am beyond excited for it to happen. We are having the lingerie shower at my sister's apartment at 7, then afterward all us ladies are headed downtown for dinner at a favorite restaurant and then hitting downtown :o)
We are also supposed to be getting a hotel room for a sleepover and also so no one has to worry about being the DD.
I crossed another big check off my list this past week.....ordering all the flowers! We are making all the bouquets ourselves :o)
I know there are a lot of smileys in this post but that is how I feel about all the things that are FINALLY coming together!
As far as food for the reception we did finally make a decision. Since the wedding is outside we wanted to go with a more casual feel, such as sundresses and light slacks so we are going the same direction with the food. We were going to get 6ft sub sandwiches from Walmart but my mom and dad discovered that if we get the fixings from Sam's Club and make them ourselves it would probably be cheaper. Hence my mom and I took another trip over there and priced things ourselves and found it to be around half price if we make them ourselves. So roll up your sleeves and get to slicing bread! My bridesmaids are also pitching in and each making something. Mandi is making a pasta salad with tomato's, Trina is making this huge batch of dip called "Buffalo Dip" the best dip you will EVER eat in your life, to go with all the chips. And I think Beth (sister) is making Oreo balls. I have never actually had them but the way she described them sounded amazing. Of course we are having a cake which is being made for us by a lady who does it out of her home for far cheaper than a bakery would charge. Trust me I know cause we checked there first haha
This week is actually going to be super busy so I am sure there will be another post that follows.

Monday, picking hairstyles and buying a pair of jeans for my bach party to go with my bach shirt . The sister should be accompanying me for all this.
Tuesday, something can't remember at the moment, and coffee with a friend for a much needed catch-up.
Wednesday, marriage license, lunch with sister and mom for sisters b-day (which is Wednesday) then dinner with sister and friends for her birthday.
Thursday, hair appointment with mom, while she has hers done I will also be having my wedding hair run through to try to pick a style.
Friday, picking up bridesmaids dresses with the bridesmaids, lingerie shower, bachelorette party.
Saturday and Sunday, hopefully just relaxing after such a super busy week!
And in between all of this...finding time to workout and hit the gym!!!

What about you? What kind of errands and craziness just this upcoming week hold for any of you??

Sorry for the ridiculously long post haha but so much has been happening it seems!
Happy Bride to Be,
Jenny

First Wedding Gift!!!! And Wedding Dress!!!

2010-03-09T17:19:00.000-08:00

So the past two days have been exceptionally awesome! Yesterday I had my appt at David's Bridal with my mom and sister. I tried on about 8-10 dresses and it came down to two different ones. One was $399 and the other was on sale for $199. I tried them both on several times and got to the one that I was leaning toward and tried it on for the third time...and the sales girl who was helping me asked "That was on the sale rack, right?" We go "yeah it says $199 on the tag"
Her reply "It is actually on sale for $99." My immediate response was "Sold!"
haha that truly helped me make up my mind as it doesn't even need to be altered. Not to mention the fact that as soon as my mother helped me into it and I turned around she started tearing up. That is the only dress that she had that reaction too. It reminded her of a dress I had when I was little for some reason. Even my little sister teared up at me in the dress. It is beautiful!! The dress was originally $699. I have no idea at all why it was so steeply discounted but thank God that it was! He truly blessed me with an amazing deal right when I needed one!

I also found my garter :) Jason will be pleased with that one! haha

We also went and got some more stuff for the wedding :o)

Things are really coming together!!!

Picture

2010-03-06T18:54:00.000-08:00

Super excited so just had to post really quickly. Got our picture back from Staples, that we are using as our guestbook and it looks amazing! I am super happy with the way that it turned out and cannot wait to hang it in our house!

:o)
Jenny

Wowza!!

2010-03-06T10:17:00.001-08:00

Have to start off by saying that today is beautiful!!! I actually got to open my windows and air out the house :o)
Sitting here on my couch with the breeze blowing over me and....I am wearing shorts!!

I have been worrying over this nasty weather since we only have 35 days (eeek!) until the wedding and it is OUTSIDE! But this entire week is supposed to be in the 60's and 70's so YES!!!

These past three days have been ridiculously productive...

My mom went with me the first two days and then the third day I was off by myself :(
Not so much fun having to make decisions by yourself and relying upon picture messages lol
So we got all the bubbles, all the plates, all the cups, all the napkins, I found the flipflops for myself and the bridesmaids. Also found the bags for the bridesmaids, the earrings, the other secret gift for them :)

And I got the white fish gravel for the centerpieces, checked on getting the goldfish that I will need. Dropped off our picture at Staples to be blown up (to use as our "guest book"), got my dress for the bridal shower and the white cardigan to go over it. I also got the scoops and the vases for our candy bar that we having as our favors. To be honest I can't remember all of the stuff I got. But tons of it got accomplished! And my dad is supposed to get fitted for his tux today!

Today I am off to shop for my soon to be niece's birthday which is the day after our wedding and to pick up our picture from Staples. Also to Hobby Lobby to pick up another decoration for the tables and to meet up with one of my bridesmaids ;o)

I'll write more soon!
Jenny

Luncheon Fun

2010-02-28T17:16:00.000-08:00

I had the bridal luncheon yesterday with my peeps. It was so nice, they had gotten me a crown with a veil attached (haha) I was a funny sight. And also a button that said bride to be that flashes. My mom ended up coming as well which made it even more fun. We had pizza and brownies and lots of girl talk of course. It ended up being decided that the last weekend in March will be the linguire shower as well as bachelorette. Since all the same girls are going to be invited to both we will have the shower during the day then everyone go out to dinner and then out on the town for the bachelorette fun :o)

We also got our cake topper. We custom ordered it online and it only took a day or two to get here!

Also in other news I got Jason to go get fitted for his tux as well as pick one out. So now he and the best man have been fitted and a tux has been decided upon.

Alot of stuff has actually gotten accomplished this week which I am super excited about.

We decided up on not having a rehearsal or rehearsal dinner as there is to much family drama for that to happen. Also decided upon no grooms cake as Jason doesn't really care and we will have more than enough wedding cake.

Found out the bridesmaids dresses will be in on March 26th which is cutting it close but not to bad as Mandi will be coming back down that weekend anyway for the shower and party.

Well just wanted to sit down and write an update on this wedding adventure....

Jenny

2010-02-20T21:07:00.001-08:00

Hi All,
So I didn't actually get the deer kit yet but my mom told me they have them at Dick's Sporting Goods store so I will be heading there in the next week or two most likely. I did send the deposit off to my cake lady this week and have decided on lemon filling instead of raspberry for the cake.

We did get our cake cutting set a few days ago from Hobby Lobby. The best part was I printed off a 40% off coupon so I got them super cheap! I was excited bout that!

So I still haven't gotten all of my rsvp's back just yet, but yesterday I got a very exciting piece of news. My soon to be sister-in-law is going to be able to make it to the wedding!
I haven't been able to meet her in person yet but we get along great on the phone and im's lol
So Jason and I are more than a little excited that she gets to come and that we get to spend some time with her!

I am going to go try on dresses in the next few weeks :)

Also I have a bridal luncheon with my Maid Of Honor (my sister--Beth), and my two bridesmaids and very good friends (Mandi) and (Trina)! That is this coming Saturday and I am super excited bout it.

Then at the end of March I have my lingerie shower and then bachelorette party, I believe the weekend ofter the shower. We are going to have so much fun!

I am still thinking about what I want to do food wise but I'm not sure yet. We might just do cake and punch but we are not totally sure yet.

I found a hairstyle that I like that I am going to have a trial run done as soon as I find a hair dresser. I also need to get my hair trimmed some.

Oooo weee so much to do. But on the bright side we only have 49 days until the wedding!!! So super excited!!

Hope you all are having fun planning your weddings!
Jenny

And The Countdown Continues!!

2010-02-03T19:28:00.001-08:00

Hi,
So the last time I wrote there was about 88 days left...we are now down into the 60's. Cannot believe how fast time flies! It has been a productive few weeks as far as wedding planning goes. My mom bought our toasting glasses as a surprise for me and gave them to me last week :o)
Very nice surprise! We have been looking for a cake topper and we are trying to decide between a couple that we have found. Tomorrow we are going to try to find our cake cutter/server and also go find a kit to make the grooms cake. Jason is a deer hunter and wanted that incorporated into his grooms cake. So I am thinking about getting a sheet cake with green icing and a kit from the store with a deer and hunter etc..and creating the scene on the top of the cake :o)

I also found someone to make our cake which I am super excited about. Also found someone that can come out and marry us :o)

And applied for our passports this past week too...like I said it has been super productive.

It feels so good that things are finally finally coming together for the wedding.

Beth and I were discussing bridesmaids details etc today and we are talking about having everyone wear white sparkly flipflops instead of fancier shoes as we are getting married outdoors. Also I hadn't picked any kinds of flowers but now we are thinking white and yellow daisies for the bridesmaids and then yellow roses with white daisies for me and then the cake will have white and yellow daisies (fresh flowers) on it. Love love love that things are coming together!!!

:o)
Jenny

88 Days To Go!!!!

2010-01-12T19:01:00.000-08:00

There is only 88 days to go till the wedding and I am getting super excited! I cannot wait to be a Mrs. :o)
I'm also really looking forward to Florida with my new hubby! Beach time and amusement park fun!
We for sure need a vacation after all the stress of this. Just cannot wait! :o)

Still needing stuff done.

2010-01-11T21:52:00.000-08:00

Hi,
Well the good news is I went with Beth today and met Trina at the bridal shop to get them fitted. Fitting went well and deposits were put down, so tomorrow morning she will make the order for all three dresses. That means I have to call and find out what exact day they will arrive at the shop so that they can be picked up. Now I need to get Jason fitted for his tux and a cake flavor and design picked out. I have been waiting until Jason can go but I did get two volunteers in Beth and Trina to cake test with me haha. I might just end up taking them up on that lol
Also on the list of calls to make is to find someone to marry us.

I cannot believe how fast the days are ticking away until the wedding! It is crazy and it will be here before we know it!

And on top of the other stuff, I am working out trying to get in shape for the wedding. Let me tell you trying to watch what you eat aka dieting can make one cranky when you are already super stressed with wedding plans. I am however doing Pilate's and hitting the gym with my mom. The good thing is I have a couple of friends who are doing the same thing so I have people to commiserate with which helps.

Also one of my besties got engaged New Years Eve so it's awesome to talk wedding plans with her and listen to her ideas. She is doing a cruise wedding which is way different then mine and its exciting to talk about! I can't wait to go and see two of my really good friends tie the knot. And going on a cruise with all of them is going to be awesome! For sure something to look forward to after the craziness of our wedding is over!

Peace & Love,
Jenny

Super Stressed

2010-01-06T11:20:00.000-08:00

Hi,
So I had no clue how stressful planning a wedding was until I got into planning mine. I have been nothing but stressed since January 1st. Hopefully once I check some more things off it won't be so bad. I have been successful at getting one bridesmaids down to the store to put down the deposit and get fitted for a dress and now I have two more to do that with. Was supposed to go with Beth tomorrow to do hers but with the weather and her work schedule looks like it might not be happening until Monday. Which gives me a mini panic because they won't even get here until March most likely. It seems like several things have just gone wrong lately. I just keep reminding myself that no matter how it turns out all that truly matters in the end is that we walk away from the wedding as Mr. and Mrs. Booher. That is the truly important thing here. All you brides out there planning understand my level of stress, however, I am sure. I have gotten several things accomplished such as hotel rooms, venue, photographer, center pieces etc...but I still have large stuff left such as someone to marry us, a cake, a wedding dress and lots of money lol
Not to mention airline tickets and hopefully a deal on my hotel rooms which means talking to a friend of the families. GRRRRR so much to do!

I think I am going to take Jason's advice and take a day away from wedding planning...no thinking about the wedding, calling about the wedding or I guess writing about the wedding lol

Till next time, hope your wedding planning is going well!
Jenny

Getting Things Accomplished Slowly But Surely

2009-12-22T21:02:00.000-08:00

Hello All,

So I have actually got quite a bit accomplished for the wedding. Almost a little shocking that it is actually coming together haha.

So after picking the center pieces I did go back and get 10 more of the vases that were voted as the winner. This was after much debate and votes from several bridesmaids and my mom.

In other news I picked out my bridesmaids dresses! They are by Alfred Angelo and will be in a sunshine yellow. I went and looked at the color swatch today with Jason. He actually helped me pick between the two. The only thing left to do is to get all the bridesmaids down to the store in the first week of January to get all the dresses ordered.

I actually had a nightmare last night about things going wrong with the wedding. I was told by my bridesmaid, Mandi, that this was normal and it happened to every bride. I'm guessing excessive stress is the cause of it lol
What about you guys have any of you had any wedding related nightmares yet? Hope not!

I think for now I am going to put off wedding planning for this week and just enjoy Christmas!

What are your plans? Any special traditions that you guys have?

Merry Christmas to you all!
Jenny

Things are coming together!

2009-12-15T18:45:00.000-08:00

Hi everybody,

So just thought I would share a wedding update with whoever the heck is reading this! I was on the phone and Internet trying to pick a honeymoon spot last night with little success...the more you research the more options come up! I was having a mini meltdown by the end of the night as I had been doing wedding planning for most of the day. Lucky me I have some wonderful bridesmaids, a good friend and some awesome bridesmaids who reminded me to chill out, take it one step at a time and breathe and that it will all come together beautifully in the end. Well today my fiance was off work so this entire day was earmarked for wedding planning. As soon as we got up, we got coffee (a must have in this house) and set to work researching hotels for our honeymoon travels. It took most the morning but we finally got a plan in place, a destination picked and the hotels booked. We will be going to two different locations in one state for ours. Kinda like two honeymoons in one :o)
What about you guys? Honeymoon plans? Have you made them?

After a morning of honeymoon planning we got ready and hit the stores to find vases for our center pieces. We are doing nice vases with river rocks in the bottom, a white ribbon around the top, possibly a laminated picture of us in the middle, and a crown tail Betta fish swimming around. It looks amazing, is super cost effective and will also serve as a small gift for the lucky guest who wins one. We also bought two different kinds of fish (which we will be keeping as our pets) to test to see which we like better center piece wise. So basically we are picking and assembling two different centerpieces to choose from. Once we have chosen one I will go and buy a bunch more of the one we like best.

The picture was my brilliant fiance's idea to add to the idea that we already had and it turned out really well. I am pretty pleased with the outcome of my centerpieces altogether. Although it was harder to pick vases and fish etc than I ever thought it would be.

What about you? Were your center pieces hard to pick?

Happy Planning from a Happy Bride,
Jenny

2009-12-14T07:23:00.000-08:00

Good Monday Morning,
So just thought I would share the news that Jason and I got our wedding bands last night! We had to order Jason's but we went ahead and got mine. I brought it home with me to show the mom :o) but we are sending it off by tomorrow to be sized. We also got an incredible deal on them both so I am super excited about it! I also have emailed the photographer that I really really want and am awaiting on a price quote. She has my wedding date open so hopefully her price will be reasonable too! I also have a lead on a wedding cake so my wedding plans are slowly but surely coming together. Honeymoon plans should be getting made this week too! So all in all it is a good Monday. I also got to have a date night with my honey. It was a nice time having dinner to kind of reconnect and celebrate finding our wedding rings. I think that is super important and I will remind you guys of it too...make sure to carve out time to just be together and reconnect cause between work, regular life and wedding planning it can get crazy!!

Happy Wedding Planning!
Jenny

Hey :o)

2009-12-13T09:36:00.000-08:00

So doesn't it seem like the holidays just pass by in a flash? All the parties are a great time catching up with friends especially since wedding planning keeps us out of the loop sometimes haha.
I just went to a Christmas party Friday night with a bunch of girlfriends and had an ornament swap. I didn't know everyone there but it turns out that two other women were brides this coming year but they are getting married in May, the month after me. It was really nice cause we were all able to talk about some of the stress and some of the good stuff about planning a wedding. Not only did I make a new friend but I got a lead on a wedding photographer which I desperately needed. Then last night I had another friends Christmas party, this one a couples party, no brides so really not much wedding talk which was nice also just to get away from the thoughts for a night. Played White Elephant and got some awesome gifts. We figured mostly people would fight over the gifts and steal em left and right but they really didn't. I guess most everybody got what they wanted. My lil sis/maid of honor showed up about 20 mins before I left so it was nice to see her cause we don't get to see each other that much here lately. Today, Jason and I are going to pick out our wedding bans. The store we got my engagement ring from is having a customer appreciation sale today and it is the last day so we are going to save at least 25 percent on them. I am super excited!! He has already picked one out that he likes for me so I will see if I like it too. I'm sure I will though! We also have a fairly good idea on his ring we just have to see what kind of deal we can get especially since we already bought one ring there.

Have any of you picked your wedding bands yet? Was it an amazing feeling? I think it is going to be awesome!

With all the holiday parties going on I realized that I love that the holidays bring family and friends closer to each other. Especially when you get to see people that you don't always get to.

What about you guys? What are your holiday plans?

Hope you all are having stress-free days of wedding planning and holiday fun!

Jenny

Hi To All The Brides

2009-12-09T20:50:00.000-08:00

Hi,
I'm not quite sure how to start this out but I read that blogging while planning a wedding is a good stress reliever. I am in need of one of those it seems. The closer the wedding gets the more panicky I start to feel. Not from cold feet or jitters mind you but just from the stress of it all. I had a friend who got married last December advise me before I even got engaged to elope...I laughed at her and her talk of stress and figured it would be a piece of cake because I am super organized...What I didn't realize at the time is that even being super organized it can be a very stressful thing to plan a wedding. In part, I believe, because we all want our big days to be absolutely perfect! And in the back of our minds we all know without a shadow of a doubt that nothing ever turns out perfect in this world so why would our weddings be any different. My fiance and I are tying the knot on April 10, 2010...yes in a mere 121 days. I could tell you down to the hour and minutes but I shall refrain from doing so :o)
As each day passes the pressure grows because I have been slacking in doing things that I certainly should have accomplished by now. I, however, avoided thinking about them because they were stressful and now I am in a rapidly passing countdown to the big day. So my first piece of advice would be to NOT avoid thinking about the things you need to get done for the wedding because you shall surely suceed and it will end up being a not so great thing.
I am hoping to find some fellow brides on here to commiserate with me and share ideas and stories of this adventure called wedding planning. If you also have a blog please share it with me so I can read about your plans and challenges so that I know I am not alone :)

Until next time,
Jenny (Stressed out Bride!)