Newlywed Life

 

Well we are one month into our lifelong journey - and I must say it's been a whirlwind.  You hear and read all over the place about the ups and downs of the first year of marriage, but if the first month is any representation of the first year then I think we will be just fine :)

 

We've started getting back into most of our routines, along with adding all the new ones.  Really, who knew cooking every night could actually be FUN?!  I say that now... but I'm already getting to the point that I'm running out of things to make without being to repetitive - we'll see where that takes us!

 

Budgeting is a new part of life that takes some getting used to, and as you all know, living in the country has been an adjustment all of its own.  But at the end of every day, good days and bad, I am still going to sleep next to my best friend, nothing gets better than that.

Wedding Wednesday - 10 Weeks and Counting

73 Days to go!!

This week we were finally able to get a lot accomplished!  Over the weekend we went and picked out the tuxedos, vest and tie colors, style, shoes, etc.  I learned a lot about tuxedos and the general male hatred for them.  I have to give it to men, as women we complain a lot about the heals we have to wear, but at least we can wear a dress and feel cool in the summer. I couldn't image wearing a full tuxedo with coat in the 100+ degree weather of the Oklahoma summer!

Side note: Our meteorologists have said a couple of times this week that it will be 98 degrees as a high but it will feel like 106.... can anyone really tell the difference?  Sure if its in the 80's and it feels like the 90's, I understand voicing that, but who walks outside when its in the upper 90's and says, man it feels like its in the hundreds today?  Okay side note over...

I also finalized my invitation order this week.  This was such a relief - they are beautiful and elegant and just absolutely perfect.  I couldn't be happier with them!  Here's a sneak peak!

(Terrible image quality - I know)

I was also able to stop by the hotel this week and get a block of rooms with group rate together for our out-of-town guests.  This is something I honestly hadn't thought of, so glad my hubby-to-be is on top of things!

With those two big items out of the way along with the hotel chosen, I am feeling more comfortable. We still need to decide on the groom's cake (what it will look like and who will make it), we need to pick out usher attire, shoes style for the girls, food that will be served as snacks, and so many more tiny details!

Wedding Wednesday - 12 Weeks and Counting

Well, I was able to accomplish part of my small to-do list last week. I was able to get the cake ordered, finally, so that is one thing off my plate and I can honestly feel my shoulders getting a little bit lighter.

I met with the church again on Thursday and was able to get a better understanding of some of the "rules" and what items they have for us to borrow. They have some beautiful screens to use as a backdrop for our cake table and also some of those tall white columns. I was however reminded that I need to start planning out the ceremony and start getting all of the music together on one medium.

After meeting with the church I ran by Hobby Lobby to pick a few of the items that needed to be purchased, such as the guest book picture frame, every candle holder they had in a certain style, the ring bearer pillow and the flower girl basket, and this wonderful lantern to use as the Card Drop!

My new to-do list - make a more tedious to-do list, pick out tuxedos, and start planning the ceremony.

Wedding Wednesday - 13 Weeks and Counting

95 days and counting, that's right, we are down to the double digits! I can't believe it has been nearly 7 months since the proposal, over half a year has flown by!! With that being said, it's time to start tracking the weekly progress, seeing as though my list of things to do outnumbers the days left to do them in!!

Due to the planning and partaking in my bachelorette party this last weekend, I have very little to report. I can tell you I am in the process of firing my invitation vendor; 2 months to create something and all I got was something more plain than convenience store thank you cards?! I don't think so... Luckily I have already found a wonderful replacement and work is in progress!

Top of my priority list, get the cake ordered and take my two favorite men to pick out tuxedos...

Ready.Set.GO!

Tea Party

Saturday the wedding festivities officially began! We are a little less than 100 days until the wedding and my calendar is quickly filling up with parties and showers and appointments!

This Saturday was my Tea Party and Bachelorette Party - It.Was.AWESOME! Sunday morning however, was a completely different story. I had all of the women and young ladies closest to me surrounding me for a beautiful tea party complete with big hats and cupcakes :)

After the tea party some girlfriends took me out to dinner and we ended the night at the local piano bar. I honestly haven't let loose like that in so long, but it felt great to let all the stress go on the back burner for the night and just enjoy myself!

The Promise

This is my story, but we wont start from the beginning; lets start on New Years Eve of 2012. On that day, my Prince Charming asked me to be his lawfully-wedded Princess (he would cringe if he saw it worded like that) but either way, he asked me to be his wife :) Ever since then I have been on a roller coaster of emotions. Excitement, happiness, joy, love.... Stress, anxiety, worry, fear.

Women look forward to their wedding day from the day they first watch Cinderella, but I know I can't be alone in feeling the fear of wondering if I will live up to those high "wifey" expectations! As women, we have a lot to live up to once we take on a husband, and a family, of our very own. So here is my journey, my trials, my excitement, and every piece of life in between. I may never become the "perfect" wife, but I can promise myself to have fun trying!

Moving - Preparing for Wife-hood

If you have ever had to move from an upstairs apartment...more than once...my sympathies go out to you. I just completed the awful task of moving out of my 3rd floor apartment and into my parents' house in preparations for the wedding. My biggest piece of advise for moving out of a 3rd floor apartment you ask? Don't move into a 3rd floor apartment! (Unless there is an elevator provided)

But that chapter of my life has now closed, and next comes 6 months of "job-shadowing" my mom, in order to learn what being a great wife entails.

Any advice for preparing for wife-hood?
Any nuggets of wisdom?

Wedding Planning - Change of Colors

So all of this wedding planning has left me just plain worn out! I had no idea planning my wedding would be this time consuming, stressful, or confusing!  So since my last post a few things have changed.  First and foremost, the date has stayed the same - that is locked in stone, and we went and booked the church for that day - so if anything, we will be married on 10-19-13 in the Newcastle Baptist Church :)

Now for the changes - first off - the color.  Long story short, I've changed the colors to "Sapphire and Diamonds" Anyone that has known me for even a short amount of time knows my love for blue sapphires, and just the look of that color against a crisp white and silver is stunning to me. 

Obviously this changes the theme of the wedding. "Country chic" really doesn't go well with the new colors. So the wedding has taken more of a formal turn - a turn for the better in my opinion :)

As of right now those are the only things decided - date, location, color, and theme - now I just have to find me a wedding dress!

Wedding Planning - Date, Location, Colors

O...M...G... Who new a pretty ring on my finger would turn my world into a tornado! I have to say...if you ask me today (because I'm sure it will change by tomorrow) wedding planning is so much more fun when it's not for real. When the dollar amounts are fake, when you don't have to actually talk to vendors, etc.

So yesterday I had a break down - yes I realize I'm only one week into this - and I still have 40 more weeks to go - but this is harder than I thought it would be! One day you think you want something - then you see a different color, or a different style, or a different material that doesn't match your first idea so you find yourself confused.  Me personally - I'm having an internal argument about the reception...Should we have a big reception at a second location and celebrate the evening surrounded by our friends and family, or should we have a small Baptist reception with a cake, nice finger foods, and celebrate our evening together, just the two of us - after all  it is OUR day. I am leaning more towards the simple, understated event. It'll be more intimate, and we will be able to spend more money on the details versus having to do a large reception as cheap as possible.

Now that I've gone on my rant - here is what I have in the works so far. First off - the date is set:

October 19, 2012

I want my colors to be a really pale pink, kind of soft and flowy, almost sheer; light grey, and white.  I am a pink kind of girl and these colors, I feel like, use pink in a really pretty, not so flashy way.

For the reception I am planning to go with the vintage/lace, understated, country theme.  Now I know this has been way overdone, but I like it.  However, another idea was thrown my direction yesterday that I think I would really like, a Victorian theme.  This would be a swing in the opposite direction, and I couldn't use a lot of the ideas that I have right now.  But it's a work in progress right now.

If I decide to go with my original plan of the understated country theme - my pride and joy and center of the reception will be a Milk and Cookie Bar. This is a spin on the Candy Bar that a lot of people have been doing lately. We will serve several types of homemade cookies in large glass cookie jars, and there will be milk available in milkman vases sitting on ice in an old metal bucket for those that enjoy milk with their cookies!  This is the idea I am most proud of, and with a Victorian theme, this would probably have to go away, so as I said, this is a work in progress, so we will see.

We have picked our location - and I have an appointment tomorrow to sit down and sign the contract - at the First Baptist Church of Newcastle.  We have also picked our wedding party.  There will be five attendants on each side, one flower girl, and one ring bearer. 

As I said, I'm only one week in and its already getting stressful, but I have the best bridesmaids and MOH a girl could ask for. They are so great at pulling me out of those thinking/planning ruts and lifting my spirits when I start to get down. I'm taking today to clear my head, then back on the planning wagon I'll go!

The Proposal

First off let me say - Happy New Year!! 2012 was FULL of ups and downs - happy times and sad. But my happiest moment not only of 2012 - but of the entire 25+ years I've lived - came last night. Jeffery-Lee asked me to marry him!

This New Years Eve was going to be a quiet night in. We didn't have any plans and it was way too cold to go out and do anything noteworthy - so I promised a home-cooked meal and a stress free night at home. Jeff spent all of Monday "running errands", when I came home from work he announced he was too tired for a night in...yea - it makes no sense, but I fell for it! He wanted to go out to eat instead; after all, it was easier and he insisted I was too tired to cook.  So he took me to the restaurant where we had our first date over 2 years ago. We had a very short wait - especially for it being New Years Eve - then the hostess walked us directly to the booth where our first date took place!  

We reminisced over the events of 2012 and after dessert he got down on one knee. He used my full name and asked if I would marry him :) It all went by so SO fast! But of course I said yes, then the wait staff came by one-by-one to congratulate us and give their own accounts of nerves and impatience while they waited for him to pop the question.  I forgot to mention I cried like a baby...

We left the restaurant and headed straight over to my parents' house.  Jeff had talked to my dad that afternoon, but my mom was just as surprised as I was! To end the night we brought in the New Year with each other and my parents all together in celebration!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!