I'm back...

...in the planning mood-- woo hoo! As I told y'all last time, for the last couple of weeks, I have so not been in the mood to plan this wedding. I guess it was the fact that we didn't have a venue or photographer. Now we have both! I'm going to pay the deposit and sign the contract on Monday {although we did have to change the date to Sept. 10}. But, the good news is that we don't have to rent tables and chairs, so that's a huge burden lifted.

And we got a freelance photographer; she did my headshots last summer. So, now I'm kind of excited about the wedding since those two huge things are out of the way. I've also paid the deposit for my jewelry, and I'm getting a custom flower made by Flowers From Fatima.

Next on the agenda:

• Finally take engagement pics.
• Get the rest of the bridesmaids' dresses.
• Look for tablecloths, invitations, flower girl dresses, music, a DJ
• Start thinking of centerpiece ideas
• Resend the Save the Dates since our date has changed
• Start getting guests' addresses

I still have a lot to get done, but I'm feeling better since we have the major things squared away and the wedding is two weeks later. : )

Well, that's it...until next time...

A super delayed update

Hey y'all! So, I know this is waaaaaaay overdue. I aplogize. I have been swamped with everything-- wedding, work...life in general. Let's see; what's been going on...

Let me be honest with y'all: I have been extremely stressed. I mean, last week, I was basically at the IDGAF point-- seriously. It seems like nothing is/was going right {it's getting a little better}. As I mentioned before {I think}, I live in a small town, so there are not many venues to choose from. Since the last venue I wrote about didn't work out, we've been having to look for another. I think (God, I pray) that we've found the ONE. I should talk to the lady tomorrow, and everything should be squared away...and mom is paying-- thank God! We're having to cut the guest list down to 200, but it will be worth it.

We still don't have a photographer *ugh* If you've had a wedding, you probably know that wedding photogs are not cheap, and we are definitely on a budget. So...yeah. But I think (hope and pray) we'll have that squared away super soon...

We're going to be doing our cake tasting within the next few weeks which is awesome, and Chris went and checked on the tuxes and got prices...I'm also working on getting a flower made for my hair, figuring out invitations and decor, and the other bridesmaids will be ordering dresses at the end of this month...I'm sure I forgot something, but just know that I'll be plenty busy for the next four months...

Y'all just send me positive vibes and prayers so I don't pull my locs out lol!

More updates

I have sooo been neglecting this blog, but I'm happy to report that I've been getting things done! : )

We now have a caterer, menu, a cake baker, videographer, and we're close to choosing a photographer {hopefully...but it has been somewhat of a struggle}. Now, we're at less than six months away, and I'm getting a little anxious about everything. We still haven't confirmed our reception venue or our photographer; but, we should be taking care of the venue this week {fingers crossed}. Oh yeah, I forgot that I'm having custom jewelry made {shout out to Carrie of Carrie's Beaded Accessories!}, and one of my friends, Ian of Spontaneous Spark, is designing a logo for invitations. And shout out to my fabulous wedding coordinator, LaKesha Womack, for helping me stay sane!

Another thing we've been struggling with is the registry. We're still not done with that yet because we have to find 300+ things to put on there *le sigh.* Luckily, I found myregistry.com, and on there, you can make a place for people to give money toward your first home or honeymoon. Yay for that! So, now, we won't have to find 300 items to put on our registry, which is good because we have about 75 things on it now lol. My goal is to finish it completely this week...

Also, I'm very excited to say that two of the girls have their bridesmaids dresses! Six more to go; hopefully, that goes smoothly as well.

Ummm...I think that's it for now

Until next time...

Updates: The Dress!

So...I got my wedding dress a couple of weeks ago! Woo hoo! It was quite an interesting experience. It was super crowded being that it was a Saturday and this is 'busy season' since everyone got engaged over the holidays.

I only tried on four dresses because I had already figured out which ones I really liked and just wanted to narrow it down and pick one! I didn't want to be there all day {I'm not a fan of trying on clothes}, and thankfully, we were out in less than two hours.

So, I had a really hard time choosing between the first and last dresses and so did my crew, which consisted of my momma, sister and three besties. After I tried on the last one, I tried on the first one again. I swear to you, everyone in that store had something to say about it-- everyone was gushing over it and giving me their opinions, and to be honest, it was kind of weird. After much back and forth, I ended up choosing the first dress I tried on that day.

I ♥ it because it has the right amount of details for me, it fits me well, shows off the little bit of curves I do have, and it's comfortable. And, by the way, I didn't cry (not a crier) or squeal or anything like that; I did smile a lot though. What can I say? I'm a pretty laid-back person...

I first saw my dress online, but I didn't really ike how it looked on the screen. I decided to try it anyway because I loved the shape (mermaid), and I'm glad I did. Oh yeah, the wedding colors have been changed, too lol...the dress has gold accents, so I made my sister try on a gold bridesmaids dress. It really complimented what I had on, and it looked good with her skintone. Now, the colors are gold, hot pink/fuschia and burnt orange!

I'm happy that that part is out of the way, and now I can kind of figure everything else out. I'll be back soon because I really have to force myself to cut the guest list {for real, for real}. Until next time...

Fighting = True Love?

The other day, Chris and I were in the car, and I brought up how there's this Facebook page that essentially says couples who truly love each other argue/fight {verbally} a lot. I thought it was an interesting theory, and I wanted to know what he thought.

See, Chris and I hardly ever argue. In fact, by today's standards, they probably wouldn't even be considered arguments. I mean, we have our little spats about stupid stuff (like why he hasn't cleaned or something), and yeah, we might raise our voices, but we're not screaming at the top of our lungs, cussing each other out and fussing because he didn't call me back. Personally, I don't think arguing all the time is indicative of love. Yes, you'll have your disagreements from time to time, but I don't think fighting all the time in a relationship is healthy. I don't know though, I could be wrong. I like to think Chris and I are very much in love...

What do ya'll think?

Photo Credit

Updates- 2!

Happy New Year, ya'll! I can't believe I'm getting married this year!

Anyhoo, I haven't done a whole lot in the past month for the wedding mainly because I want to book vendors after I attend another bridal show that's closer to where I live. So, I plan to see what they have there, and then start booking people.

The venue: So, we got the price and capacity of the National Guard. The price is pretty reasonable, but the guy said it could realistically hold 200 people, and our guest list is considerably more. But, we now have another option that is less expensive and holds 300 people, so...we shall see how this plays out.

The dress: I made an appointment to purchase the gown near the end of this month {whoo-hoo!}; I'm definitely ready to get that part over with.

The bridal party: I've confirmed all the bridesmaids and the flower girl. Now, I have to figure out the number of hostesses and/or candle lighters. And Chris has to figure out the whole usher thing.

The dreaded guest list: We still haven't finalized the guest list *smh* Well, I kind of forgot to add some people, and they weren't people I could forget {they were family}, and we're still having some issues with cutting it. But, we have to figure it out ASAP because we're supposed to send save-the-dates next month!

Everything else: One of my goals is to spend at least two hours a week on wedding stuff so when August gets here, I won't turn into Bridezilla. And I have been researching ideas for reception decoration and centerpieces.

Well, that's about it for now...Until next time...

Updates!

I know, I know, I've been MIA-- sorry. Of course, I haven't been doing a whole, whole lot with planning, but I do have some updates.

First, the venue. As you can see in the previous post, I found a venue that I absolutely loved. However, since the galleys can only hold 150 people in each, we would've either had to invited only 150 people to the wedding and everyone to the reception or cut the entire list to 150, which is what we probably would've done. Chris wasn't very fond of the idea of cutting the list that much (and mommma didn't like the price all that much either), so I decided to compromise and use the church we attend for our ceremony, and hopefully the local National Guard for the reception. I know it's going to take a lot when it comes to decorating our reception, but I figured if I compromised on this, I can get some of the other things I really want like a really fabulous photographer and a photo booth (even if I have to DIY it)!

Also, I finally went gown browsing for the first time last Thursday! I didn't think I would have fun initially because I don't care for shopping and trying on clothes. But I actually had fun (shout out to one of the besties/bridesmaids for pushing me to go)! And I found three dresses I really like; I think I may have found the "one," but I'm planning to go back to try on a few more with my momma, sister and a few other people. That's when I'll make the final decision and buy it {how exciting!}.

I think trying on dresses really made me realize that I'm about to get married. Initially, it was a very surreal feeling. When I put the first dress on it was like, Wow...what the heck is going on? I'm really standing here in a wedding gown, and I'm about to get married soon! So, now, I officially feel like a bride lol.

Anyhoo, since the time is getting closer {263 days--eek!}, I should have updates more often, so stay tuned!