Budget Girl Bride

Cutest Cookies EVER!

2012-02-08T11:03:00.001-05:00

Escort cards, table cards, whatever you must call them...the cards guests use to know what table they sit at is what I am trying to get at. I wanted them to be super adorable! Since the wedding was in winter and had some holiday touches I thought---cut out cookies! We decided to go with cut-outs with a tag on them, kind of like you would find on a little gift, with the names and tables the guests would park themselves for dinner.

The cookies were done by my bridesmaid, Lindsay's, sister, Emily. She is a pastry chef and so talented. I really didn't give her a whole lot of direction other than what I was thinking and the colors and left it up to her bc I knew whatever she did would turn out sooo amazing and they did! *Emily charged me $1.75 a cookie, I bought 80 cookies from her, spent $150 total on the cookies.

For the cards I found a purple (with a little shimmer) paper card stock ($.99 a sheet, 5 sheets needed) in the scrap booking section of the craft store and then for the other layer I used the off white card stock ($3 per stack, not sure how many sheet we pulled out of here) I used for my programs. I also found some champagne gold ribbon ($.99 cents a roll, 1 roll needed) to tie the cards on the cookies. Bc my brain is the only thing artistic, Lindsay actually assisted helping me make the cards. Below are the steps she took (and her handwriting is a bazillion times cuter than mine!). *total cost for the cards was under $10!

Supplies.

Here is the paper that we used.

Paper with the ribbon.

Supplies used for this were:

Paper cutter
Hole Punch
Corner Cutter (if you have one)
Glue
Scissors
Ruler


Measurements for the cards. The white paper was 8x10 the purple was 12 x12.

The paper cutter was nice to have bc the paper size could be measured and cut at the same time.

This is the corner cutting Lindsay had, it was nifty and made the cards little more formal.

This is what a finished card looks like with the ribbon.

These are our special "Bride" & "Groom" cookies with tag attached.

Here is an example of what a guest would get with our monogram, other cookies had snowflakes on as well.

Cookies all ready to be displayed at the reception.

I think these turned out really cute! Emily was able to match the colors on the cookies exactly to the paper, she also put some shimmer and pearls on the cookies so they were as fancy as we were that night! I loved this idea! Thank you Lindsay and Emily!! <3

Bachelorette Party!

2012-01-31T17:05:00.000-05:00

The girls made my last night as a "single mingle" out such a blast! We spent the night in Philadelphia, starting the night off with tapas and wine and finishing with a VIP section and bottle service at a dance bar. It was sooo fun and we definitely felt the effects of the night before the next day! Thank you girls <3!

Dinner out for tapas and wine.

Some of the gorgeous girls who joined in the festivities.

Undie sundae!

The official pinning of "bachelorette"

Meeting my "date" for the night, Brad.

Our walk to the bar...and Brad's...

Flaming bottle in our VIP section.

The whole group!

Wedding Day Itinerary-Who, What, Where, When?

2012-01-30T14:06:00.002-05:00

With so many people and so many places to be in a short amount of time on wedding day, I had anticipated sending out an email to the "important" members of the day so they would know the when, where and who should be where and at what times. My photographer actually beat me to it a few weeks before requesting a "detailed" itinerary. He had wanted to know the times, important numbers and vendors (not sure why but ok). Since we had two photographers, one for the boys and one for the girls, I went ahead and created my detailed wedding day itinerary for both. I am really glad we did this ahead of time bc it really took alot of the confusion out of who should be where and kept us on a schedule, we did pretty well! (minus the semi-lateness to the ceremony of the girls!)

January 7, 2012

GIRLS			GUYS
8:00am	Meet at Brides’s house		11:00am-12:15pm	Dressing at Hotel
		Address			Hotel
		Easton PA			Address
					Bethlehem , PA
					Number
8:30-11:30 am	Hair/Makeup
		Apotheca Salon	12:15pm	Leave for Church
		Address			Church
		Bethlehem, PA			Address
		Number			Easton, PA
					Number
11:45am-12:45pm	Dressing at Brides’s house

1:00pm	Leave for Church-Limo transporting		12:30pm	Arrive at Church

1:15pm	Arrive at Church		12:30pm-1:00pm	Guys Pics with Photog
		Church
		Address	1:00pm	Groomsmen Seat guests
		Easton, PA
		Number	1:25pm	Take place in church

1:30-2:30pm	Ceremony		1:30-2:30pm	Ceremony

2:30-2:45pm	Receiving Line		2:30-2:45pm	Receiving Line

2:45-3:30pm	Pictures in Church		2:45-3:30pm	Pictures in Church

3:30-5:00pm	Pictures in Bethlehem-Limo transporting		3:30-5:00pm	Pictures in Beth-Limo
		Location			Location
		Address			Address
		Bethlehem, PA			Bethlehem, PA
		Number			Number

5:00-6:00pm	Cocktail Hour		5:00-6:00pm	Cocktail Hour
		Location			Location
		Address			Address
		Bethlehem, PA			Bethlehem, PA
		Number			Number

6:00pm	Bridal Party Intros		6:00pm	Bridal Party Intros

6:15pm	First Dance		6:15pm	First Dance

6:25pm	Blessing and Toast		6:25pm	Blessing and Toast

6:30pm	Dinner		6:30pm	Dinner

7:30pm	Father Daughter Dance		7:30pm	Father Daughter Dance

7:30-8:30pm	General Dancing		7:30-8:30pm	General Dancing

8:30pm	Cake Cutting		8:30pm	Cake Cutting

8:30-11:00pm	General Dancing		8:30-11:00pm	General Dancing

Also included on this was the important numbers which consisted of the bride,

groom, MOH, Best Man and the parents as well as the vendor info.

This was included in an excel document but I couldn't get it to import

so sorry for that! If needed I can always email you the excel file

if someone is really interested.

Hope this helps some brides-to-be be a little less stressed on their

special day! <3

Just Married!!!

2012-01-27T13:13:00.000-05:00

We did it! Tied the knot, got hitched, took the plunge, etc! And it turned out fabulous!

The day started with the all the girls going to the salon to get out hair done. I brought along bagels and mimosas to nibble on as we beautified ourselves. It was nice to sit around and chit chat with the girls, pondering what the day would bring.

We then returned back to my parents house where we got dressed and took some pictures before heading to the church. This is where we added a bit of mayhem to they day. Dad walked in & out of his room numerous time to get help from MY maid of honor bc he was having difficulties with his tux (I think he was just nervous!), Mom was taking forever putting herself together, which then resulted in me continuing to tell her to come into my room for the "getting ready" pictures. All of this fully expected bc no event in our family is just smiles and staring at each other calmly. While all this was happening the boys were at the church getting pictures and seating guests.

We made our way over to the church in the limo---which smelled like gas for some reason, I'm glad we didn't blow up! It was an interesting ride, we were all pretty quiet (not normal for any of us!), and my sister was in this "I have to puke phase of the day" haha! (Shouldn't that have been me!?) We made it, late of course, but I predicted that! Apparently, while Jimmy was waiting for us all to arrive the priest would come in and be like, "nope, they are still not here", I think he started to wonder what was taking so long!

The walk down the isle---it was strange, like it didn't feel like this was the moment where we were actually getting married. It was alot faster than I thought also! I would write what I was thinking but I am not sure I could even think!

The ceremony was nice, I think I more couldn't wait for it to be over so we could talk! The vows came, and we all (bridal party and us) got in position. Jimmy began to say his vows and I just was like "ohhh nooo!" something happened, I am not even sure but I had a semi-breakdown and couldn't pull myself together to say my vows! Luckily there were pockets in my dress for fast access to tissues! Jimmy was thinking when I was shaking my head meaning "I couldn't say my vows" was instead "I couldn't go thru with it"! haha My bridesmaid behind me also couldn't figure out what was going on, she was like "OMG shes going to run!" But I pulled myself together and we were married!!

We went to do pictures in downtown Bethlehem---which I also must say, our weather for January was great, high 50s! I do not have the pictures yet, and cannot wait to see them, but will share as soon as I get them!

When we got to the reception we were able to share in a private cocktail hour, that was more like a half hour by the time we got there. We we able to see the room before anyone touched anything (this was one of the main things I wanted in a venue, separate rooms for cocktail hour and reception so I could see all the work we did before anyone!) The room was beautiful! I was so excited with how it turned out! It looked completely redone from all the other times we had visited the venue.

The whole reception was great! The speeches by the MOH, Best Man and my Dad were so nice, the food was delish and the dancing never stopped!

I am a bit sad the day has come and gone, but now that it is over I can share all my little details with everyone without ruining the suprise!

Count Down in DAYSSS

2012-01-04T22:43:00.000-05:00

So its been a while! I've literally been walking around like a chicken with her head cut off! Bw the holidays, end of the year business with work and all the last minute wedding details, I haven't had a chance to write! Here we are, 3 days till the wedding! I cant believe we are at the point where we are counting down "days"! I am not going to lie, I think we are both in denial, for instance, at this very moment Jimmy is jacket shopping (yes he is currently online looking to add to his coat collection---after in the past few months hes purchased 2 very nice coats!) and well, I am sitting here blogging. What we should be doing is packing for our wedding and honeymoon since we plan to leave our mini-house and not come back till we are "Mr" and "Mrs" and finished honeymooning, hence the subconscious denial!

Since I last wrote, we've done many things! We had the bachelorette party----which needs its own blog post, so I will save that and the hilarious pics for later =P My dress is completely fitted and sitting in my mom and dads house waiting for its magical appearance! I made my table numbers, programs, Lins (one of my amazing bridesmaids) made the table seating cards----all of which I will show you once the wedding is over!

We are so close (even though I am in denial) and I am starting to get "wedding brain". An example of this would be my latest trip to the gym, where I seriously forgot where I parked---like, "Wake up Amy, you are not 85, you should not be getting like this yet!" Scary feeling tho!

I also have some concerns---like the shuttle--I know it will be fine, but I am just worried it wont go as smoothly as I would like. We have cards on the welcome bags, and we mention it in the program so we should be fine...but I worry! Also, my dress...last try on the front was not laying correctly, the seamstress said it just needed to be steamed, but what if that doesn't take care of it??

And men! Jimmy's one job in the past 2 weeks has been to finalize the rings, of course he calls last min, and our jeweler will not be in--therefore he will not be able to shine, polish and dip my engagement ring! It doesn't sound like a big deal---but anything is making me freak at this point!

In a few days---it will all be over--and I am sure it will be amazing! Taking deep breaths would probably help!

My DIY "Kissing Ball"

2011-12-07T15:42:00.000-05:00

It's about that time where the wedding planning takes a turn to some of the details! Now that we are close to Christmas, a lot of the holiday decorations are out, and gold is such a holiday color...which is great for me to start the search for some decorations!

My mom and I took a trip to Michael's other week to take a looksy at what they had out. My mom was on a mission to find a beautiful gold wreath to hang on the door of her house, she thinks we may take some pictures there. I on the other had was looking for place cards, some pretty gold something for the garland and who-knows-what!

I had the idea to hang some mistletoe over the entrance of the reception and thought maybe i would find some pretty mistletoe at Michael's. This is where I came across the "kissing balls". They had cute gold pine cone ones, and greenery ones, and then I found one with greenery and gold that Michael's had made up.....but it was $50...kind of a rip! I decided I would make my own. So with a bunch of little trinkets, a glue gun, and a naked "kissing ball" I took a stab at it. Here it goes:


The naked "kissing ball"

Here is the ribbon I used, I must confess, tying bows is not my forte.


The plethora of little trinkets to go in the kissing ball.

These little berries I loved, I just think they look elegant but not gaudy.

My completed "kissing ball"

Everything ending up coming to about $15 for the whole thing. A lot better than the $50 Michael's wanted to charge me!

Now that I know I have a bit of a "crafty" bone in my body, I am ready to make the programs and the table numbers. Oh and by the way....today is exactly 1 month till we are hubby and wifey! Sooo soon! <3

Late Late Late Late Late!

2011-12-02T17:02:00.000-05:00

My family is late for everything, holidays, birthdays, church, I swear every one of us in my family we will to our own funerals. I most likely will be late walking down the isle, hopefully by now Jimmy knows me enough that he will know its just my lateness and not a "runaway bride" situation.

So about 2 weeks ago I had sent my dad the guest list with who on our side had been sent invitations. He had left a few people off, so that Jimmy and I were able to add all the friends we wanted to. Since we received some regrets back, I was letting him know, just in case we needed to sent out invites, in time for the additions to respond. I hear nothing back, and even mentioned to my mom that I had sent him the list in case there were people he wanted to add. Her response, "oh let your father deal with that, I don't know who he wants to add". I wait for an email and nothing back, also had mentioned this to him in phone calls and visits as well.

Monday I get a text from dad "How many more people can I invite?" HELLO read your email! Of course I responded back to him asking where his response was, to which he replies "well I am responding to you now". Need I say more than, MEN!? Of course he wants to add a few people now, so what was I doing Thursday? (December 1st....RSVPs are due back December 5th!!!!) Sending out four more invites! Only for you, Dad! Thanks for making me just a bit more insane!

I think this may be a precursor of a bunch of other late things I will be doing this late month of wedding prep...oh Lord!

"Bridezilla" Behavior---OK I Get It.

2011-11-11T17:32:00.000-05:00

"Bridezilla"---the term used to describe a difficult, unpleasant, perfectionist bride. I couldn't understand how one could become a "bridezilla"? I mean weddings and shopping (yes purchasing numerous items for a wedding) & choosing different pretty things is fun! How could anyone become a bridezilla among all this fun, surrounding that one person (since usually the bride is given most of the attention---sorry grooms!).

But now I am starting to feel it, that overwhelming, "ohmygod this is coming fast, ahh I have so much to do feeling"! This is why girls become "bridezillas"! Not bc they are straight up biotches (which i am sure there are a bunch of those as well) but bc they are just in over their heads in wedding. Every weekend and hour is something wedding, and even if it doesn't seem like a lot once its all laid out in a list, its like whoa! Especially when there are only a few more weeks to go.

The Fiance---this is another factor. Lets just say "MEN"! Like how do they expect a wedding to be put together? Just a snap of the fingers? No boys, this stuff takes a time, lots of it! I know its not really their thing, but a bride wants her man involved, it is his wedding too!

So I have been having some "bridezilla" moments. They've been centering around Jimmy and his involvement with the wedding. For instance, today he was home ALL day, we still need to make another appointment with the priest, we still need to make an appointment with the wedding coordinator, we still haven't picked out tuxes (soo his fault bc hes being a drama king!) and so what did he do? I'm not quite sure, but not one call was made....i find this as a reason to have a small irritable moment. I'm working all day while hes chilling, watching movies, and eating junk food? oh no no no! So then I come home a bit tense, which leads him to be tense bc "why should he being doing all this wedding stuff? he does so much already"

So all you "Bridezillas" out there---I know why you act the way you do. You just cant contain it. You are overwhelmed, overworked and not helped by your other half. I fully condone your behavior, but only a little bit, for a small moment. Let it out, then take a big breath and apologize. You had to let loose, usually its on the one you love, now that its out of your system you should be good!

*Disclaimer---this in no way says its ok to be 24/7 mean to people who care about you. I know there are a bunch of us brides out there who take it a little too far with the "bridezilla-ness". To that I say---Get a grip and take a chill pill!

Boys Bachelor Party

2011-11-08T16:30:00.000-05:00

Jimmy's groomsmen and a bunch of his friends went to AC to celebrate his Bachelor Party. They braved the first snow-fall of the season (in October!) and made their way to Atlantic City, which I am sure resulted in a bunch of raunchy celebrations! Since they went to AC over the Halloween weekend they decided to ALL dress up as the Blues Brothers. They had a great time! Can't wait for mine!

You're Invited!

2011-10-27T16:45:00.000-04:00

If you have been reading this blog, you will know that I have been having a bit of a hard time finding invites that I liked, & were affordable and classy. In my experience with looking for invites I have found them to be either gorgeous and pricey, or very affordable yet "cheap" looking. I spent lots of time looking at sites, where you could chose invites, select what you wanted printed on them and order them. Thinking this would be an affordable alternative since it was on the Internet, I went through the process a few times just to see what my final bill would be if I had everything I wanted. Usually this resulted in a $700-$1000 bill for invites! Oh NO! I also looked into having someone hand make them, thinking that since they were being made, and a cheaper paper choice might bring the cost down being an option. I looked at Etsy, and emailed a few people. Apparently what they offered was what you get, with only the option to change colors, beads, etc. The invites on there averaged about $5 an invite, which brings us down to about $500 but then considering postage we would be back up close to $650 again! (By the way my budget for invites with postage is $500)

During my whole Save-the-Date drama and our emergency trip to Michael's for a quick fix on those, we just happened to peruse the "wedding isle". This is where I saw them, pre-packaged, pre-matching, ready to print, affordable and decent looking invites! A mental note was made to come back and get them when the invite creation time had arrived, and so here we are! I must say that I was pleasantly suprised with the selection and quality of these invites. "Make-your-own" invites have really stepped it up and gave the option to have really decent invites at a very affordable price! I think the invites we chose were $30-something a box, however the day we took our trip to Michael's to get these was a lucky day bc all the invites were 20% off! We spent $90 for all our invitations!

The brand we went with is Bride's. They also have matching "thank-yous", programs and table seat cards if you're feeling super matchy. The kit includes the invitation, envelop, rsvp card & return envelope, and an extra small card that can be used for whatever you would like (we made it our "Reception/Accommodations" card). They also provide the templates if you go onto their site and put the set you bought, which is what I did. To make them extra pretty I found some fonts to download onto my computer to use on the template and voila, a professional DIY invitation!

This is the exact package our came in, there were many other options, styles and colors. We thought cream was a classy option.

Side Note: I did look up reviews on these invites and saw that people had some issues/suggestions, so I used them to my benefit:

Someone said they printed them on their own printer and the ink smeared = we decided to take our invites to a professional printing company, it was more to print the invites than they actually cost but so worth it!

Main invite, professional printed (printing press was used).

Reception/Accommodations card & RSVP card. I had been trying to find those pretty spacers online, the graphic designer at the printing company updated the invites for me when she had free time and it gives a great final touch!

Someone said that when they mailed their invites they came apart = we used double stick tape to enforce that the invites stayed closed, we also had them "hand canceled" at the post office, meaning they didn't go through that machine that cancels the stamp and someone manually did it. This worked!

This is the invite as a guest would receive it in the mail.

This is the complete invite.

After all the hard work with researching the wording I wanted, finding the perfect font, and packaging them all up (which took forevs! but thanks to my mom and sister I had company to help) I was sad to see all my pretty little invites be handed over to the post office and out of my watchful care! haha


My mom, sister and I with the invites across the entire kitchen table----PS-wine was not such a good idea, it spilled! luckily it was white wine and it was only a few spots on two invites, once dried we couldn't even tell there was an "oopsie"!

Stacks of invites ready to go! (I was trying to be artsy with the b&w--guess I should keep my day job!)

A few tips on wedding invites:

When to send the wedding invites? Everywhere I have looked, they have said at the latest 8 weeks prior to the wedding, in order to give out of town guests time to clear their schedules and make necessary arrangements.
When should the RSVP cards be due? This is usually due 3-4 weeks before the wedding. Depending on the venue you may not need it so soon, in our case we do!
How to Address the Invite!---The worst thing, I personally think you can do is word the address label incorrectly on the invitation. Make sure you use the formal names of your guests, this is a formal affair and the invites should be equally addressed. If you are confused, Google it! I had a few questionable instances with my invites, and Google helped me!
Wording!---I had mentioned above that the package the invites came in included templates with wording, however I wanted to choose my own wording. Google came in handy again and gave options for me to use on the invites to make them sound prettier!
Address Labels---I have seen alot of people get their invites done with gorgeous calligraphy writing, we could have done that--and I love it! But our package also included address labels to go on the outside of the envelopes.
The inside of the envelopes for the RSVP we used clear address labels. This gave it the semi-feel that they were printed right on the envelope. Hand-writing (unless you are super skilled) can make it a bit messy looking.

This is the brand we used, cheaper at Target than Staples!

We made budget on the invites coming in at $393 total and about $4.30 an invite (postage included---need to watch out for that, stamps add up so fast!).

No turning back now (not that I would want to--its getting close and soo exciting!).

Dreaded Marriage Prep! Ah!

2011-10-19T17:13:00.000-04:00

About two weekends ago we attended the dreaded marriage prep class. This is something that our church requires of us before we get married. I guess they really want us to "know" each other before we tie the knot. Anyway, we decided on taking the class that was a Friday evening into a Saturday all morning/ afternoon thing rather than the 3 weeks 1 night a week deal. Sounds fabulous right? On top of that the class was $125! I really cant imagine why this was $125. We were thinking maybe we would get fed, or maybe an awesome hard cover prep book, or something worth $125!!! We did get a work book and the people there did bring snacks for us, but nothing worth $125! On top of that, I am pretty sure the people volunteered to give this class so this $125 charge, to people trying to plan weddings is a bit much!

We of course got stuck in Philly traffic on our way there so we were late...that's no suprise for us though, we are chronically late. That was awkward to be walking in during the middle of it, but whatevs we weren't the only ones. We started with taking this quiz which asked questions about different things couples would most likely argue over in a marriage. He took one and I took one and then guess they will match up our answers and give to our priest. That should be interesting!

We then had assigned groups and sat in circles and discussed certain topics. I feel like our assigned group had quite the interesting bunch. There was this one couple that def made it interesting, we later decided that he was a gamer. There was this other couple where the girl was mute and the guy wore this plaid cargo shorts that showed wayyyy to much leg, and of course all he talked about was the Phillies. This was the group we were to discuss the talks given by different couples we would listen to at this class. (great right!?) Oh and did I mention the guy next to me had breath that could kill a small animal? The talks were interesting. One couple gave a talk about communication, one about money, one about sex....which was so awkward bc they were kinda old and it grossed me out!

The Saturday session was a bit more intense since it was longer. There were alot of little group questions that we would ask and then people would discuss in the group. There were also little quizzes we would take in or work book and then compare against each other. One of the quizzes was on being a parent, where you were supposed to give 3 reasons why you would be a good parent and then 3 where your spouse would be. Well---I couldn't think of any for myself, and neither could Jimmy, so maybe I really shouldn't have babies, Ill probably ruin them!

All in all it was an ok experience. We already have this book my parents bought us with similar things that we go through and discuss. I think our biggest issue is what we think a relationship, marriage and family life should be. We were both brought up in such different households, so our ideas of how a man and wife should act, and how communication bw a family should be are alot different. The more we go through this book the more we can see how differently we were raised. It is really interesting and explains why we get into alot of the little tiffs we have. The one thing we were able to take from this book is that he might think something and I might think another of how things should be in our marriage and we cant go by that. We need to take what we like from what we know and mesh it into our own marriage and family. It will take work but bc we know what it is we need to work on, it takes out some of the confusion on why we are the way we are.

We can now check off the marriage prep and move forward with becoming "Mr. & Mrs"!

This Takes the Cake!

2011-10-10T13:41:00.001-04:00

We spent the past weekend in Easton getting a bunch of wedding "to-dos" out of the way, one of which was the cake taste testing! We had made the appointment bright and early for 8am, since we had our marriage prep class at 10am. So early, but we had to sneak this in!

We got to the bakery right on time and made our way to the door, and it was locked! There were no lights on and then we looked at the store hours, and they didn't open till 9! We were a bit confused as to why they would make an appointment with us for 8 when they weren't even open then? Did they have a mix up? We went back to the car and I tried to call them to see if they were there but just didn't unlock the door....and nothing, just the message with the store hours. We decided that we would just grab some breakfast and come back when they opened at 9 to get it out of the way. So of course as we are in the middle of breakfast we get a call from the bakery, "hi, do you know you had an appointment this morning at 8?". "Yes and we were both there at 8 and the door was locked", I replied in a semi-annoyed voice. According to her, someone, a "she" had said "she" opened the door and "she" turned on the lights. This "she" didn't know what she was talking about bc we for sure checked the door a few times before driving away. Luckily they were fine with us coming back at 9 to get all this shoving our faces with sugar out of the way. We get there and again are questioned, "are you sure the door wasn't opened? I just cant believe it. and the lights really weren't on?". Like we would lie about it or something.....some people! So this began our taste testing.

I really was not about to get crazy with the cake and have different layers of different flavors and pay extra for this filling and extra for that. I am more concerned about the prettiness of the cake. Plus, I rarely see people even eat the cake at weddings and we will have other dessert treats to tickle our guests sweet treat fancy. Conveniently for us, our cake is included with our price per person at the reception site, but the catch, its all basic stuff, which we were fine with. We could choose from chocolate, vanilla, marble or half choco/half vanilla. We could also choose whatever frosting we wanted but would have to pay extra for fondant (but they can make normal frosting look just as smooth and pretty so we were ok without the fondant). We decided to go with half and half, so that the vanillas in our bunch and the chocos in our bunch would both be happy. The frosting will be a french butter cream, which is a little less sweet and a little more silky then the normal butter cream you usually taste on birthday cakes.

Decor for the cake will be simple. It will be a 4 layer cake, every other layer will have a dot design (Jimmy's choice) and a swirl type design (my choice). So the cake has a little bit of what we both picked. It will also have shimmer to the whole cake and around each round layer we will have a ribbon (which now I have something new on my list to hunt down). We are back and forth over a purple ribbon or a gold ribbon. We also aren't quite sure on the topper? Flowers? Initial? Icing flowers? Overall I think it will look really pretty! All the cakes they had there were gorgeous!

I tried to find some cakes with things similar to what we want. Gold ribbon?

Or plum ribbion?

Now some tips I found about choosing your wedding cake:

Cost-If your cake is not included in your reception cost like mine, think about the cost. Wedding cakes are very pricey and simple things you can do can keep the cost down. Choose a flavor that is lower in price, choose and icing that is lower in price. It is amazing what bakeries can do to make an inexpensive cake look like you paid a bunch!
Design-There are so many different designs and shapes to cakes (square, round, hexagon, etc). Choose a style that reflects what you like. As far as color goes, usually its best to keep the cake within the colors of the wedding so it ties in. Make sure you are not throwing random colors on your cake just because you like them and then it doesn't go with anything else at the wedding!
Display-If there is anything you would like to add to the cake table, just make sure it does not take away from the cake. Candles are a nice example of something to enhance the beauty of the cake. Also remember to have a cake knife and server for when its time to feed your new hubby his first piece of married dessert.

Some other options if you aren't a fan of cakes:

Cupcakes-they are already portioned out and can be displayed on a display that makes them look like the shape of a cake if you did have a cake!

Croquembouche -a display of mini cakes (cream puffs), much like the cupcakes, displayed in a tiered disgn to represent the shape of a cake but not like a normal traditional cake. It means profiterole tower---its french.

Cake Buffet - a bunch of small cakes of something for everyone, red velvet, tiramisu, brownies, etc.
Pie Buffet- instead of the cake buffet you can have a buffet of all different pie options.
Varied Dessert Buffet- a bunch of different cookies, brownies, candies etc. This can also double as a favor. Get cute little container and your guests can take home their dessert with them.

picture from Martha Stewart cakes.

My Shower!!! Words Cannot Express...

2011-10-07T11:14:00.000-04:00

Well my bridal shower was this past Saturday and as the title of this post says, words cannot express how amazing the girls did! There are so many different words to express my thoughts! The shower was beautiful, classy, unique, pretty, bridal, fancy, basically anything I could have dreamed up and more!

I always knew the date of the shower, because I am not a fan of surprises, I can't fake liking something! Andddd I wouldn't be happy if i didn't have an outfit prepared! So I knew the date but the girls wouldn't tell me where the shower was being held. Just that I would like it, and of course I did!

The shower was held on a Saturday at noon, so the girls gave me the brunch with mimosas i always envisioned. Before the shower I went to pick up my wedding gown, and let me tell you, it;s just fabulous! I can't wait to wear it on the big day! So I was in a great mood with my wedding dress pickup and then to top it off with walking into my fab shower just made my day!

The girls seemed to read my mind with what I would love. The venue they held the shower at was called the Cosmopolitan. It is in Allentown PA, gorgeous place. The food was brunchy, there were finger sandwiches, quiche, fresh fruit, & salad. For dessert they had these adorable cupcakes and yummy cookies made to match the theme. All their little touches were so cute! The favors for the guests were candy from the Carmel Corn Shop in Easton. They were boxed in a gold box with a purple ribbon to match my wedding. (and the candy was yum).


This is the room the shower was held in---i stole this off their website!

Delicious desserts!

Flowers---similar to wedding day flowers.

Each bridesmaid made an adorable themed basket to give away for prizes. There was only on game played. It was this game where everyone started with a clothes pin to wear. If they said on of the buzz words (like "bride") the bridesmaids made up and someone noticed, they would lose their clothes pin to that person. Whoever had the most clothes pins won a basket. They also put something under one chair at each table, the person who sat at that chair won a basket. The bridesmaids know i am not a fan of shower games!

The baskets the girls made for prizes, if you look to the right my sister made an adorable shadow box with the invite and an engagement pic.

It was so nice to have everyone I love there to celebrate with me. We got alot of amazing gifts off the registries and cannot wait to use them all, thank you everyone!

All in all the shower was amazing, it may have been one of the best ones I've ever been to! And I am not just saying that bc it was mine <3


My gorgeous bridesmaids. (from left) Liz, Lindsay, Me, Audrey & Tiffany.

Me with my mom and sister.

Shower-Wear, Why Can't I Find You!?

2011-09-27T11:17:00.000-04:00

My shower is coming up this weekend! I know my bridesmaids are going to do a fabulous job on it bc, well they are pretty fabulous themselves! I'm pretty excited! So of course I must look equally as fabulous! I am not allowed to know where the shower is bc I am too sneaky but I have been told that "heels will fit the venue".

I think that showers should be a more semi-formal (church wear) than casual affair. Its a time for girls to get dressed up and be girly! How often do we get to do that these days!?

In my mind for an October shower I think of a cream colored something, shouldn't be that hard to find I would think.....so wrong! I have looked everywhere! Purchased multiple options, only to return them. These are the moments where a "vision" is not good to have bc then that's all I look for! I guess in my mind I should not think of the bride for the shower wearing something white or neutral...

Jimmy thinks I am being a bit ridiculous but lets really think about this: You only get married once, you only have one shower, so why would you not want the pictures of your one and only shower to great!? These are the things you will show your kids one day. And so, I do not think I am being ridiculous with my shower-wear!

My current option right now is a dress I had purchased but never wore anywhere. It is a lighter blue, and instead of buying a new dress I just bought myself some new shoes. I'm not in love with my outfit, but this will have to do, unless I find something out there in the next 4 days, which I am doubtful of! Maybe for the shower Jimmy's mom is throwing I will have something I like more....or the rehearsal dinner. I will not be giving up on the hunt!

So to all you brides out there, here is my word of advice for the shower: If you see something you like months prior, BUY IT!!!

Photo Guest Book

2011-09-20T14:00:00.002-04:00

Click here to view this photo book larger

Guest Books. They are actually a bit boring and does anyone ever really look at them? Now they have some cute options out to make them not so blah, like photo frames where your guests can sign, I've seen platters where guests can sign, homemade journals where people can leave you a little message, I even came across this one book (now this was kinda cute): It looked like a normal album with the couple's picture on the front, but inside were small envelops (with the guests name on them) glued to the pages front side down so they could be opened, inside was a card that the guest could write a message and then stick it back in the envelope.

Anyway, I decided to go with the photo album guest book. This way we could make use of our engagement pictures and it wouldn't be so boring that we would never look at it again. My hope is that our guests leave us with little messages that we can go back and read when we want to remember our wedding day and who was there. I came across this option on Shutterfly when I was working on my STDs and got sucked in. It was fun to make the backgrounds match and choose the little designs I wanted. I also was able to get the photo book 40% off so the whole thing was about $25! I was also pleasantly surprised with how nice it turned out when I actually received it. The quality was better than I thought it would be. I have also seen options for these photo books on MyPublisher.com. Both sites seem to have deals all the time. The key is not to order until you see a coupon or special coming through!

Riding in Style

2011-09-01T14:11:00.000-04:00

Jimmy earned himself some major fiance bonus points with this one! He was in change of finding the limo and the shuttle. My dad had told us if we do anything make sure to get a limo! It makes the whole experience feel like the whole bridal party is just that much more special...bc they really are!!! Now the shuttle, this is a bit of a sore spot bc in the beginning the hotel was going to provide the shuttle at no cost. Then they tell us that they only have one shuttle and it needs to be made available to guests at the hotel....what!?! So another added cost for us--blah!

I looked up some places, and Jimmy looked up some places and he got a great deal! We are getting a limo and a shuttle for $100 under what I had budgeted! The way we were able to get such an awesome price is that the guy who owns the company lives very close to where the reception is. So instead of us renting a shuttle for the whole reception time, we have it for the hour in the beginning to get guests there, and an hour at the end to get them back to the hotel. In bw he said he would just go home and chill during the wedding so we do not need to pay for the shuttle to just sit there.

I can estimate the number of people we will be shuttling just by knowing the number of out-of-towners, but that does not mean that they will for sure be using the shuttle. In order to make sure that we are providing the proper amount of transportation I am including a small line on the RSVP card. It simply will state "will you be using the provided transportation?" This way I can see if we have enough for everyone or need a new plan.

Rehearsal Dinner: What? When? Where? How? Who?

2011-08-31T12:07:00.002-04:00

I haven't had a chance to update lately bc my car got into a fight with a deer! Yup, a deer body slammed my windshield, all attention was then diverted to dealing with the insurance company and repairs, but I am glad to say that no one was hurt and my car is now being revived! (oh and I should mention I was not the one driving, it was allll Jimmy!)

So whats new with the wedding plans!? Well, a few weeks ago Jimmy's Ma and Pa came to visit and we took a trip to visit a few options for the rehearsal dinner. My mom (so nice of her!) had gone to a bunch of places and collected menus and important phone numbers and sent them to Jimmy's mom, from there we narrowed down where we would visit and then from our visits we picked the place, well I really left it up to Jimmy, I have been making so many decisions lately...We ended up going with this restaurant called Valenca. It has Mediterranean food, the menu looks great so it should be a good time. For a party of about 25 we are able to get this room called the "Wine Cellar" room. It looks really cool in the pic, but after taking a real life peak we may need to warm it up a bit. It also ties in our engagement, bc we ate dinner in a private wine cellar room the night we got engaged! It will also be nice to be in a separate room bc it will be more intimate with the close people in our lives before it gets hectic with the wedding the next day!

This will be the room where our rehearsal dinner is being held.

Now as far as rehearsal dinner etiquette goes. The rehearsal dinner is usually the evening before the wedding, however I have seen online that people have made rehearsal brunches or lunches as well. Traditionally the grooms parents host the rehearsal dinner, since the brides parents host the wedding. Depending on the budgets of everyone this is not always the case.

Guest List: As far as guest list goes for the rehearsal dinner, the only people who really need to be invited are those who participate in the rehearsal. This includes bride, groom, parents, readers, wedding party and dates of the participants. The guest list also may include other family members or out of town guests. Ours will only be including immediate family and participants in the wedding, I want it to be more intimate.

Type of Rehearsal Dinner: The style of the rehearsal dinner should complement the wedding, but of course not overshadow it! Usually it is a more casual atmosphere held at a restaurant or even if you have a great backyard, chairs and tables can be rented and catering can be ordered!

Invitations: Its probably a good idea to send out invitations for the rehearsal dinner. The invitations for the dinner should be sent out only a couple weeks after the main invitations for the wedding go out. They are not as formal as a wedding invite (obviously!) but should just include the specifics of where this dinner is being held and the times, it is a small party after all!

Dress Code: You should assume the rehearsal dinner to be semi-casual (aka NO jeans!) For you chicas out there this would mean a cute dress or dress pants and top (of course any opportunity I have to wear a dress i take it! and knowing the girls i have in my wedding party they always dress to impress!). For the men, a pair of slacks and a button down, tie not necessary (of course Jimmy will be sporting one!). This is not a football game or just another dinner out so the dress code should be a step up.

Seating: Although not necessary, for a more formal feel a seating chart may be used with a rehearsal dinner. Not sure what we are going to do with this yet! =)

Toasts: Toasts are usually a a part of a rehearsal dinner. This is the chance for the father of the groom who is hosting to welcome everyone, as well as maybe the bride's father to say something. This is also a chance for the bride and groom to thank their wedding party and present them with their gifts, and parents gifts. If you would prefer toasts its probably a good idea to let those you would like to toast know so that they can pull together something to say instead of throwing it together last min (that can always be messy and embarrassing!)

Decor: The rehearsal dinner can be as decorated as you want. Normally the venue you decide to have your rehearsal dinner at will provide you will small decor, such as candles or flowers. If not you can always bring a few in or not decorate with anything. Ours will have candles and we shall see if there is anything else we want to decorate, Ill leave that up to Jimmy's mom! And favors? I think we were just going to throw some Hershey's Kisses on the tables. I am pretty sure that they have foil in gold and purple which will match the wedding theme. Other than that I don't think a favor is necessary, others may disagree!

The rehearsal dinner is also a time where a "grooms cake" is introduced. This may seem like a cute idea, however, why a grooms cake? Is that saying that the wedding cake is the "brides cake"? I thought that the wedding was supposed to be a joint thing? Hence, in my mind a "grooms cake" can be seen as an insult. Plus, we will be eating wedding cake the next day, and I don't know about you but that might be just a bit too much leftover cake for me! I am thinking a nice pasrty tray will be more like it! We have a great italian bakery where we can get some delish homemade italian goodies for dessert! Now that's more like it!

All in all the rehearsal dinner should be a more relaxed dinner the night before the wedding. It should be a time to spend with close family and friends and give the bride and groom an opportunity to thank everyone for the effort they put into helping them share their wedding.

My Inner Bride

2011-08-10T15:31:00.000-04:00

So for fun I was on the Knot's website today and I came across this "Inner Bride" tool where you can create (I guess) what you want to look like on your day. So for fun I created my "inner bride"! This is as much of what you will see of my dress until the big day!

My "Inner Bride"

Get the Margaritas Ready! We're Going to the Rivera Maya!

2011-08-05T14:21:00.001-04:00

The honeymoon hunt was on for a while. We decided that in January, what would be better than a Caribbean honeymoon!? We set our limit at $3500 and went on our search. I must confess this was not easy. I didn't really want to go to all the places everyone has been already, aka Jamaica, Dominican, Hawaii... I wanted "our own" honeymoon location---Jimmy honestly could have cared less, which is probably why it took 3 travel agents and looking at over 50 resorts to choose one!

Like I said, we set out limit at $3500 and then started to search on our own to see what was out there. Truth is, there was a ton! But we were afraid to book something ourselves. We thought that a travel agent's opinion would help with the resort narrowing down.

We went to our first travel agent, she was ok, Jimmy was ready to book after that! I was let down though. What could we afford? Jamaica, Dominican or Mexico (which I was totally against bc all I thought was "spring break"). No wonder everyone goes to these places! They are what we all can afford! So we took our list of options home and thought about it. Then I ran into a friend in Michael's (while I was trying to come up with a way to fix those STDs!) and she mentioned that she loved her travel agent and I should give her a call. So I sent her an email, let her know what we wanted to spend and told her to send us the options! Alot were the same, Jamaica, Mexico and then Costa Rica popped up. Would loooove to go there but apparently the resorts are not for honeymooners. Scrap that! Still not a huge fan of the options we went to yet a third travel agent--yup we went to 3!!! She gave us many options and talked to us about what she liked and didn't like about all the resorts (which were all the same Jamaica, Dominican, Mexico). After our meeting with her, she changed our minds about Mexico and after looking at the resorts online we were set with the Rivera Maya!

Secrets Silversands---So pretty! Can't wait!

We will be going to Secrets Silversands in the Rivera Maya! This resort has everything we were looking for (except for the fact that its not in Antigua or Fiji), it is super modern, there are a bunch of different excursions to do and apparently alot of young people vacation here. (so if we get sick of looking at each other 24/7 for a week maybe we can make some new friends jk!) We were able to stay withing our budget (even tho its not like this is anything that is really in anyones budget!) and got everything for $3066! This is all inclusive and air fare is included so we don't have to worry about spending money on meals and alcohol!

What did we learn from this? Well, my taste is definitely more expensive than my wallet can afford, my finance was willing to pay whatever for a honeymoon without even caring about the price (which is scary for future spendings!---I may have to have a convo about that with him! ha), it was a good idea to try a few travel agents bc we did notice that some of the resorts were repeats bw the agents and the prices were a few $100 difference, & going to a travel agent is a good idea. The travel agent was able to tell us where to go at the time of year we are traveling, she was able to compare flights right away, she is going to make sure that she makes a note that its a "honeymoon" so we get special treatment and maybe even an upgraded suite--that would be sweet!

Since the whole time I knew we wanted to go somewhere tropical, I have been buying "honeymoon" outfits all summer! There wont be any options in the winter for tropical outfits and I have to have cute outfits for ever lasting pictures! So excited to wear my big floppy hat!

Now we need to get working on the passports!

STDs = Save The Dates!

2011-07-28T11:37:00.000-04:00

Save the Dates, or STDs as I like to call them for short (even though that sounds a bit nasty! ha) are usually sent out 6 months prior to the wedding. They are an update for guests to know the date of the wedding, especialy for out of towners who would need to make travel plans. Usually the STD contains the names of the people getting married (obvi!), date, location, a wedding website with info (if you have one) and a cute pic if you'd like. They can be a card, postcard, magnet, etc.

The six month countdown arrived for us which ment we needed to get moving on our STDs! I found that Shutterfly had the best options and best prices but I also looked at Wedding Paper Divas, Paper Culture & Magnet Street Weddings. I made a few options on Shutterfly's site and had Jimmy look at them and pick the final version. We used our engagement pictures for the STDs bc really what else would we use them for?

Then a blonde moment happened....We ordered the STDs, I opened them and loved them and that was that. We planned to make address labels and send them out. Then we had friends over and thought that we would just give them theirs right then and there....and thats when we realized it: We didnt put the DATE on the save the DATE! Major oopsie!

So now what!?! We had almost 100 STDs without the date!! I didnt want to toss them and order new ones. That would be a total waste of money! So brainstorming had to happen. I thought maybe I could write it on the back? or get stickers with numbers and put it on the bottom? and then lightbulb! I was in Michaels and found these Sharpie paint pens. Perfect! I could write the date on the bottom of the card with this! I made a few practice trys and then went to work. Luckily when we were finalizing the list we found that we needed to order more STDs, this time with dates! So at least I had a few that were as they should have been for me to save!

Worst part of this process was making the address labels, sticking them on the envelopes (thanks for the help on that Alison!), stuffing and then sealing. There was an attempt from the fiance for help, but out of all of them I'm guessing he probably stuffed and sealed about 20ish? He did however stamp them all so there was some participation on his end! I wasnt about to let him get off with doing nothing!

Sharpie paint pen, used for the first DIY project of this wedding.

Paint pen tip, this was the smallest it came in.

Final product, not too bad if I say so myself! =)

These are the final outcome but with the dates printed.

Ready to be delivered!

What's Mine is Yours and Yours is Mine

2011-07-14T16:45:00.001-04:00

I have always been a tight wad when it comes to money, so this next step we took with our relationship was quite a biggie to me. We have combined the goods into a joint checking account. This is a step where we both know we have total trust in each other and we don't want to begin our marriage with division already in a topic that can divide couples. What we want to start our marriage on is what we have is "ours" and not "this is mine" "this is yours". This is no longer a roommate situation, but a marriage.

So what are some of the guidelines and rules we are doing this by?

We had the "money talk", which we have always had. We have always knew what the other made, what the other had in debt etc. I think that being open about finances, especially when you are in a relationship that could result in marriage is important. We have for the past few years run large purchases by each other to see how the other felt about them. It would have been horrible if Jimmy and I never discussed it and then found out that one of us was cazillions in debt! Once you marry, that debt becomes yours too!
We discussed the division of finances. Yes, instead of 3 checkbooks we will have only 1, but we will still keep our individual savings accounts we had before tying the knot along with a third joint savings account for joint purchases aka-house, tv, furniture! We also have a random one in the works called "Wedding" which I plan to switch to our "Vacation" savings account once all this hoopla is over and we are no longer "wedding broke"!
Budget: Both of us currently have our own monthly budget where we track our fixed expenses (car payment, rent etc) and our variable expenses (eating out, shopping etc). We do this so we can make sure that in a month we are not going over the amt we have designated for ourselves to spend on "extras". Once everything is set with our combined checking account, we will combine the budget. All of the fixed expenses will remain the same and we will determine an extra amt or allowance that we each get a month to spend on our own fun things, like shopping or golf.
We made financial goals. Currently our main financial goal is to save a specified amt of money a month for our "house" savings account for the end goal of purchasing a home! Sometimes we make littler goals, like when we purchased furniture. We paid ourselves an amt each month into our joint account and then bought our furniture with it.
We are keeping all the finances simple. Each month our tracker is the same to make sure when we track we know exactly where we put what we spent. We have all our bills automated to pull from the joint account as well so we cant miss a payment! We also have written out what date each month a certain bill will be withdrawn so we know to make sure we have enough in our account at that time. It's probably a good idea to have it all written out so both know what is going on.
I have read that it is a good idea to have a conversation at least once a month about finances. Are we paying our bills comfortably? Are we able to save? Are we spending too much somewhere and need to cut back? These are all things we are going to be open about so that nothing just "pops" up on us!

Now I am not saying that this is the best process for everyone to use but it will work for us. Some other couples need to ease into it a bit more and see that they can trust one another with money before doing this. Or some just want it all to remain separate forever. It's whatever fit that works best for the couple. The main thing I think is that being open to each other will help eliminate any fights or problems in the future.

Some other options:

3 checking accounts, 2 separate 1 joint. All payroll deposited into joint where all joint bills are paid, an allowance would be transferred monthly for separate expenses.
2 separate checking accounts, determine who pays for what as their responsibility for the monthly bills.

6 Months to go---Whoa!

2011-07-07T13:40:00.001-04:00

6 months from this exact day we will no longer be single mingles! Holy Shizzznit! Although very excited, I must admit that I will be sad to see my "Single" status be replaced with a "Married" (even though I don't even have a status on FB....ha). Only 6 more months to go and I will be using the term "Husband" and I will be a "Wife"---crazy!

If I really think hard about it---I get this little jump in my chest? I don't know if its an anxious/nervous jump or what! Like this is forevsss! Don't get me wrong I would never see myself with anyone else for the rest of my life but still--whoa! I think if I think about it real hard, all this planning and fun actually becomes real! I think being engaged might have just hit me.....right now! I don't think I ever really just thought about it! Took me long enough!

Bed Bath & Beyond....And Beyond...

2011-07-06T21:58:00.001-04:00

Registering! Wooo Hoo! Its like shopping without spending money! I was excited for it--Jimmy was too (not as much tho ha!). We decided to go and get it done in one weekend, one place Saturday and the other Sunday.....boy were we wrong! Registering takes hours, literally! It was like working a full time day job. And its wayyyyy harder than i thought it would be...making decisions on multiple items is really tough!

Before our first registering experience---we look so happy before we knew it would take HOURS!

We started at Macys. We got there, got everything set up and were good to go with the little scanner thing. Now this was fun at first. We were shopping, adding a few things here and there and then...we hit the wall! We must have walked around the housewares department like 50 times! So 2 hrs later and only 30 items added to the registry, we were tired, thirsty and confused! I don't think we realized the enormity of the task we had ahead of ourselves. We were filling our "house" (that we will have one day!) with some of the things we will have forever.

Happy with the bedding!

So moving on to the next day, our trip to Bed Bath & Beyond with me having a breakdown over registering. There was sooo much effort and time put into registering and I got upset bc I didn't think anyone would buy it for us! Silly I know but there are some items on the registry that we want and really need that I don't know who would buy! And alot of things on there that we are just never going to get...so why were we wasting all this time and stress over it? Maybe I was PMSing too! lol Anyway, I had my little fit and we were off to BBB. Now BBB was a bit more successful! We got this amazing lady to help us with what we needed, knowledge on the products and what ones would fit our needs....and like 6 hours later we have close to 200 items! We didn't even make it to bedding--we closed the store down!

For all of you who don't know, this is the view of BBB from the car.

And....from the parking lot...bc we're nerds!

It took us another visit to each store, and some online additions and the registry is mostly done. There may be a few items here and there we missed, but its done! yay!

So tips for registering:

Pick at least 2 stores. We picked Macys bc I like their bedding and BBB bc people have the option to use those coupons everyone gets in the mail.
Make a plan as to what you want to register for when you go in (bathroom, bedroom, kitchen, etc.) so you aren't walking around in circles like we were!
If both stores have the same item, add them to both registries. G-ma might want to buy you a toaster but you registered it at Macys and she went to BBB---options people!
Add different priced items, very low-very high and everything in bw. More price points for everyone who will buy for you.
Register for alot, people like to have alot of options to choose from.
Give yourself ALOT of time! It takes hours and days to get this done!

Webbin It for the Wedding

2011-06-23T16:57:00.000-04:00

I think these days, with all the technology at our fingertips, almost every engaged couple has a wedding website, or some sort of online site for their engagement. I think this has alot to do with the techno era we are in, satisfying the needs of nosy people (bc facebook isn't enough!), and alot more guests come from out of town due to friends you have met in college. So of course I went ahead and jumped on the bandwagon myself! This way extended family can read our story, see pictures of us, and see who is going to be in our wedding party.

At first I went on the Knot.com. To be honest, not really a fan! I mean they do have a multitude of ideas and links and pages and even a free website, but I really wasn't feelin it. Part of it was due to the fact that it just confused me and I really didn't have the time or patience to figure it out, so I just gave up. Not sure if it saved our names and date but that's about it in there. I'm actually a bit glad I didn't go with the Knot, bc everyone just assumes you are going to have a Knot.com website, and then they go on and search you without even asking, and what if you were working on a website but it wasn't done? That would just bother me! I want people to see the finished product!

I came across mywedding.com by searching for something wedding related (I think it might have been flowers or something). Somewhere on there it popped up advertising a free wedding website so I just browsed and thought that it was cute. It didn't take long to set up at all! I like the way this site formatted the website. It gives you all the general pages you would normally need for a wedding website (location, accommodations, etc) and then it give you options to create your own pages as well. It also allows you to upload some pics of you and your hunnie. When you are working on a page you can keep it "turned off" until you are ready for the world to see and then you can "turn on" the page. Another cute option was that you could upload music to play while your guests visit the site.

What am I going to do with this website? Well since there are so many guests out of town, I put the website on my Save the Date Cards (I'll show you them soon!!!) so that people can see where the wedding is, maybe they want to book the hotel early, maybe they want to suggest songs, whatever they want! There is also an attractions page where I put some of the things they can do in the area if they are interested.

I did a Google search to see what else is out there as far as wedding websites that are free and there is a good number to choose from. I definitely suggest looking into one while engaged. It will help answer alot of guests questions before they get the official invite.

Check out our wedding website: www.mywedding.com/amylovesjames

Engagement Pics Final!

2011-06-10T10:34:00.001-04:00

Engagement pics are done! Not sure what ones I want printed yet! All in all I am happy! My hair of course annoyed me in some, we both realized how pasty our legs are and now we have some good practice for the actual wedding pics! Hopefully we will be ready for ALL the wedding pics with no awkward faces from me!

These adorable signs were made courtesy of our friend Mike! Thanks Mike! Love them!!!

Not so ready for this one! Too bad bc Jimmy looks cute!

This one is a bit awkward---I think we were both unsure how it was supposed to go down!

Again---I think I wasn't ready! Instead I loo like "umm why are you kissing me?"