Dance Party!!!

I probably shouldn't post this, as it is a surprise but I won't let it all out! One hint... Bridal Party will be entering the reception in a very unique way that will surely start the night out with high energy and lots of fun!

Flowers of Spring

I have been able to take advantage of having winter break to take care of necessary details that I won't have a chance to handle otherwise.

Last Tuesday, I took my dress to the bridal store for alterations. I didn't think it needed everything the seamstress planned for but when she described everything it really was necessary. She will be shortening the front end about an inch and a half, readjusting my bustle to actually fit the length of my height, shortening the ribbon for the corset *cough cough*, and fixing the shape of the chest area.
Fortunately the total came out to be a whole lot less than I thought it would and I pick it up mid January :)

We also arranged to meet with our pastor, Mark Eiken, late January to talk about the ceremony and all the details necessary to do the actual wedding! I'm super excited about that!

Now for what you have waited for, AKA the flowers... I wrote previously (like June) about all the florists we visited and how impressed I was with Huff's Flowers in Lawrenceville.

As I was trying to explain it to Scott, the florist starts out with business stating she would show pictures, trying to be very time sensitive and direct. But her personality always blossoms through, and after the first time I saw this, I knew she would be perfect for my flowers. The more and more she talked about flowers and what would go beautifully with the others, she even brought out samples of the flowers (in other colors they had available at the time). She, Penny, got very excited about making the bouquet and you could definitely tell with her excited smile and gleam in her eyes.

I took Scott to the florist yesterday to make a couple of changes from the original contract we had discussed. The original total came to be nearly a thousand. With so many changes that took place between June and now, we removed flowers from the centerpieces, removed flowers from the ceremony stage, and also removed flowers from the Bridesmaids, father of the bride, and the Groom (both wearing military uniforms!). With these changes, we brought the total to a third of the original price, along with a huge sigh of relief! I actually went today with my aunt and paid the total!

In case you are wondering.. here's what we have going for my bouquet.. light blue delphinium, white freesia, white agapanthia, white roses, white spray roses, white daisies, white stock, blue hydrangea, and a couple of other choices the florist decided to throw in last minute to accentuate colors. The bundle will be bundled together with the hemmed part of my dress and tied with pearls!

The evening ended great.. after we returned from making the payment, a box was sitting on the kitchen counter. My Wedding TOMS had arrived!!! Ivory Glitters :) don't forget to ask to see them at the wedding!

Invitation Craze

I will say.. invites turned out to be more of a hassle than it should have been! It was a series of days and events that made it all possible..

The invites arrived on Friday and I sent dad to pick them up. I had my first scare when the ribbons were not attached to the invites. We had originally thought they didn't come with them even after we paid for them! Sunday came around, Scott and I spent the afternoon assembling the little pieces together (ribbon, envelopes, etc) while our moms wrote addresses. It was a long but fun afternoon of talking and working! Kim came by in the later part of the afternoon and we took a mini break to Archiver's to find some gold seals to close the envelopes. That store has everything!

Monday night I picked up a tip. If you number the rsvp return cards, if someone forgets to put their name, you will still know who it is! For those of you with invites, you can check the upper right hand corner of the inside of your rsvp card. It's got a penciled in number. AND if you erase it.... I will come after you!!
Each number has been paired with a family on my complete wedding list excel sheet for easy access.And just an FYI if you are filling the rsvp card out, the M ____ is where you put MR (NAME) or MRS (NAME).


Tuesday I was able to make it to the Post Office before lunch. I ended up spending nearly $200 in stamps and wanted to throw my wallet away then and there! I bought extra forever stamps too.. knowing that postage is going up in January, it was only wise to get the stamps for the save the dates later.

What makes it funny is the bittersweet feeling I had Tuesday afternoon when I dropped off the invitations at the post office. Of course I wanted to send them off and show people the invites, but after all that time spent working on them I wasn't ready to part. I wanted to hand deliver them with care that we all know is lacking in the postal service.

Finally one last thing... Wednesday afternoon I get a call from dad that an empty RSVP envelope had returned with nothing inside meaning that the invitation had come apart in the postal service somewhere. So PLEASE let me know if you received your invite, received your invite with a missing RSVP card, or did not receive one all together and you have all ready gotten a save the date!

100 Days and Counting!

It's the final countdown! It feels like I will blink and the next thing I know my hand will be in dad's as he is walking me down the aisle! Thanksgiving 2011 marked the 100 day mark before the wedding. It crept up on us and the urgency begins to hit. I feel so great to have taken care of all the major things and have a plan for the smaller details.

100 days.. It definitely makes me nervous! As I explained in a previous blog, and I've actually told Scott.. I won't have cold feet about getting married, I will be nervous about standing up in front of everyone!
If you haven't seen Breaking Dawn Part 1 (I will not get into any commentary on the movie) I can definitely relate to Bella. Not even having gone into the situation myself, I thought they did a fantastic job with the wedding scene. Emotionally I felt as if I was there. My heart was pounding as hard as you could hear hers in the film. I was nervous for her! But when she saw Edward all I could do was think of Scott. I got excited, I got relaxed, I got nervous - but good nervous. It was a rush of emotions and I can't wait to experience them for myself!

Ciao Carinos

After over a year of telling everyone we wanted barbecue for the wedding envy one knows how the story goes... We changed our minds! It was sort of an odd come to my senses moment. I originally stated we wanted to get BBQ because it was cheaper. I had called like 15 places and gotten quotes. We had our placed picked out just no deposit (mostly because it was too far in advance). Well the other day I was looking around online and realized I hadn't been to Johnny Carinos in years. In fact, the last time I went was with my grandmother nearly two years ago. Perhaps that was why I hadn't returned?!

Regardless I decided to check their website for how much catering was. If anyone has been to Johnny Carinos it's great Italian but much cheaper than Olive Garden. As I was looking through the website the prices looked horrifying from the get go. I tried to calculate how much it would cost to have some of this and some of that. My total came out to be $100 more than the cost of the BBQ. I called Scott to tell him my findings and I told him I would request a quote to just see how much everything would cost and find out if they have military discount.
I got an email response two days later with a quote including delivery, tax, gratuity that turned out to be the same as the BBQ! I was so excited because we can now provide more selection of foods and take into consideration those who don't eat meat. The best part is the chicken parmigiana :) my favorite Italian dish (other than dads lasagna!)

The next step was to test the selections. :)
The Wednesday before thanksgiving this year was sort of a treat for us. We took advantage of a half day after working and did both a cake tasting and eat lunch at Johnny Carinos to taste the meals we would potentially be serving our wonderful guests. I love the restaurant too... In case you haven't been it has a very home feel to it. I tried the homemade lasagna and Scott had the lemon rosemary chicken, we each ate half the plate and shared the other. Both were delicious! We have two other dishes one being a angel hair pasta salad with no meat and the other being my favorite the chicken parmigiana. I told Scott I would bring him back another time to try it because I knew he would love it! Not sure if the bread is included in the catering but if it is I may be requesting some if that too.. If you haven't tried it is a legit garlic bread roll. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. They serve it with a oil, and fried garlic concoction that is absorbed by the bread and... Let me stop before I take another trip home to eat!

So there you have it, we have not put the deposit as of yet but our caterer will be Johnny Carinos!

Easy as Pie, or Cake!

The cake has been one of the most difficult parts of this process. With such a large group, it is almost impossible to find something less than 1000$ but we've learned some pretty important things along the way.. It all started January 3 this year. We were invited to a cake tasting in some city south of Atlanta. Not knowing exactly how far we decided to RSVP yes and found it two hours later! The cake however turned out to be fantastic. The strawberry was one of the most moist cakes and their frosting was made fresh every morning. The problem... cost. The delivery was obviously outrageous and it was sort of a mom and pop place that charge more than if we got the cake from Publix. On that note I will tell you we also checked out Publix. I have loved their cakes since I was little, but any Publix lover knows they have recently changed their icing from an actual frosting to a whipped icing and it has lost the majority of the flavor. With that being said they actually charge a lot more than you think! We checked out two other places, one actually in Lawrenceville Square and another in Norcross. The cakes turned out to be about the same prices with a crucial difference. Celso's Cakes in Norcross has been rated number 1 in The Knot a handful of times (not that that is important) but the guy was probably the most honest business man ever. Every location had asked me how many people were in attendance. When I mentioned 250 they would quote for that many slices.. Celso told us that not everyone eats cake you only need to account for about 2/3 of the guests eating cake. That makes a huge difference in the budget!!!
After the tasting we even were able to bring a free sample home for my parents to try. Of course they loved the flavors.. On of which was Baileys - for me it was interesting and I think it to be an acquired taste. Of course mom loved it though!

Anyway for what I know you have been waiting to read about:
We've decided (and this could be changed at any time!) the bottom tier will be chocolate with bitter chocolate truffle filling, second tier will be vanilla with French raspberry mousse, third will be strawberry shortcake with fresh strawberries, then the top tier will be strawberry flavor with strawberry mousse! The cake itself will be buttercream and have sugar flowers with a very unique design. None of this sheet cake nonsense... We will have cake!

The design above is a hand drawn design from me. There is a whole explanation to go along with it, however the overall design has a major difference, instead of the drapes there will be flowers - the sugar flowers. But don't get too caught up in the photo, the actual cake will be spectacular!

Stationary Stationary

Everyone tells me invitations cost so much money and to be weary. I wanted to play it smart and make my own...

It all started out on dark and stormy night.. Well more like a beautiful afternoon but I found myself in Office Depot and bought 2 packs of print your own postcards. Well I took advantage and after two hours of fighting with the printer to finally print the first save the date. I also purchased post card stamps (much cheaper than regular stamps by the way!) and maybe spent a whole $40 on the save the dates! It was such a wonderful feeling to be saving hundreds of dollars! And the story always gets better...

For a few months I am searching different websites for a place to by recycled paper in bulk in a kraft paper color. If you haven't tried.. Good luck! Anyway I had already designed the invitations (hand drawn by Momma Shearon), scanned the image, and created the wording to be just perfect. With every intention of printing my own and putting ribbons and everything I ordered paper and envelopes. Of course as everything ordered online turns out to be (with the exception of the table clothes), the colors didn't match and the project became more difficult. Mom became frustrated and asked me why I didn't just order some invitations. I tried to explain how expensive (easily $800) invitations could be and that I had not budgeted that much. But she was determined. That weekend her and daddy went out to do some searching for invites.

That determination paid off. We found a cute store in Suwanee called La Ti Da that has easily 40 or 50 invitation and stationary binders. Scott and I spent a good couple of hours looking through them. We fell in love with one - really simple ivory with a gold/champagne ribbon and beautiful font. The down fall was the invitation alone without the envelope was over $1000! Ridiculous!! I could have made it myself! I asked the store lady to help find a cheaper version and we found a comparable one for half the price that we liked more AND all inclusive with envelopes and RSVP card. Much better! It was just over budget but we were able to cut back on a couple of other things as well. It was pretty fun though to customize it to even the font of each word, color font, color of the ribbon, and wording. One more hectic thing off the list! Only thing left is to address the envelopes... Let's see who's got nice handwriting....

And for those of you waiting to see it.. Check in the mail in the next few weeks!

The Countdown

Less than five months away and I think it's starting to hit me how soon it yes, yet I still yearn, I want it to be the day, like I would be waking up knowing today is my day. I can't wait for it to be official and we can start the next chapter in our lives.
Yet I am still holding back enjoying this time getting to plan out that day. I'm enjoying going on dates and talking about what our life will be like as we're older, what our kids will look like, and what our families will be like. I enjoy getting to dream.
Scary thought about how fast we're growing up.. and all those times parents and other adults told us not to grow up too fast. But you can't help it, you can't help enjoying each day and living life.

I will admit I am nervous. I've never been one to stand in front of so many people and be truly comfortable. All I think about it how many eyes will be staring at me. Though I know and I have been reaffirmed that the only thing I will think about as I walk down the aisle is him. I look forward to it.

We're starting to take care of all the little details including the centerpieces, other decorations, favors, bridal party gifts, etc. The only major thing not finalized is the food and that is only due to the crazy game we are playing with adding more and more guests to the list. Its crazy to think how many people we want to share our day with, how many meant that much to us. It is too much but I will trade a bit of my pay check in to have them there on my day.

Linens and Things - Part 2

So as far as the last linens and things post, I recall ranting about the situation of what I was to do. Let's recap...

The average price to rent linens in Atlanta for the size I need is $15 per table - let alone the fact that most places don't offer blue linens. On the other hand if I purchase the linens, they would be as low as $11.25. Problem is what am I supposed to do with 40 plus linens after the wedding. Some suggest to rent them out, others to straight forward sell them to someone else.

Well.. turns out I went with the latter.. I went ahead and purchased the linens in hopes one day I will sell them back somewhere... Lets see what happens!

But for now, one more thing to cross off my list!! :)

Dress for Success

Oct 1 turned out to be a spectacular date with the majority of my bridal party. It began Friday night. I had prepared a little gift for each of the bridesmaids, something they could hold on to - turns out they scrapbook!

KSU celebrated its annual homecoming finale with a celebration known as Owl Prowl. The events comprised of a parade from campus organizations, a fall festival, and a concert. This years performance was by The Maine - who turned out to be a pretty fantastic band! Regardless, Kim and Lauren drove up after class on Friday to celebrate and have a good time. We enjoyed an afternoon of festivities, giggling, talking, and all the little things girls do. I also presented them with their gifts receiving gracious smiles in return :)

Saturday morning we woke at 10am to meet Megan and head out to our first destination - Bel Fiore Bridal in Marietta. The shop was a smaller size but had a lot to offer. We arrived for our 11 o'clock appointment 5 minutes late and had to wait for my mom and Alison to arrive, but the attendants were also really friendly and accommodating. We were taken to the back section with the bridesmaid dresses and asked specifically for Bill Levkoff.

The day I returned for my dress fitting, Jessie tried on a Bill Levkoff that was flattering and elegant. So the brand stuck...

We looked through and found chiffon fabric, full length dresses and had a selection of about 6 to try on between them and the sizes provided. I can tell you it was an experience listening from the other side of the curtain at all the difficulties in putting on the dresses. I couldn't help but laugh! We had a great time and found 3 dresses we liked including the original Jessie tried on. One in particular looked absolutely phenomenal on Kim. It was a strapless, sweetheart neckline black dress. Even mom thought it was jaw dropping on her.
We got the information from the dresses and thanked our attendant. There was one more place to go...

If anyone has ever seen Say Yes to the Dress Atlanta, they've heard of Bridals by Lori. Well it was our next stop! It was a surprise treat for the girls and a guilty pleasure for myself!

We were like little girls in a toy store.. we got out of the car and took pictures of everything and all the signs! Kim made a comment about how crazy the lady at the front desk thought we were and I wanted to prove her theory correct. As we walked in, I asked her if every girl came in taking pictures and she laughed stating how true it was.

I filled out the information card and we walked right back into the bridesmaids dress section. It was huge, and there were so many things to look at.. We found the Bill Levkoff section again and they had even more styles that the other shop! I had the girls try on more dresses including the ones we liked for mthe other shop to compare. Our attendant was great. She gave us a larger room for the girls to change and our own pedestal to show off the dresses. She even dragged a bench for me to sit on and judge the dresses! It was a truly fun experience. The store also provided for other size dresses so some could try a dress that may not have fit at the other store. We finally narrowed down to two dresses. One had a sash similar to my dress, while the other had a delicate bow giving a simple elegant feel - which is what we were looking for. Though the specific color we want was not in stock, we decided on the one with the bow! It seemed to match best with all the body types and they agreed it was indeed very comfortable.

I saw the dress Kim tried on at the other place again too.. and YES I made her try it on again! If she hadn't before she definitely fell in love with it this time - not even wanting to take it off!
The prices at Bridal's by Lori were also cheaper than the smaller shop which surprised me due to the fame of the shop.

We had decided on a dress and shoes - later found online $20 at Payless :)

The dresses we found were also sold at the shop where I bought my dress. With my purchase, their dresses were given a 10% discount which brings the cost down to a manageable price (that will not be posted!!). It turned out to be perfect timing too. If we had waited to long, they would not be in before the wedding!

Anyway, the day was completed with lunch at Shogun (Japanese Hibachi Grill), girl time for couple hours, Nick & Scott joining us for dinner at Big Pie, followed by an amazing KSU Hockey Game vs. Alabama (and that ended in a victory 4-1!).

Now that's what I call a successful, productive, and downright awesome day!

Crazy Little Thing Called Love

Nearly three years ago, Scott and I spent 5 months apart during his army training. It was some of the most trying and scary moments of our relationship, but we were fortunate enough to make it through. The experience in turn brought us that much more closer.
I remember clearly one day in particular...

Scott was in Ft. Lee, Virginia, being trained as a unit supply specialist (92Yankee). I had been able to take a 3 day weekend from classes and drove up 8 hours to visit him. That Sunday I left about 11am after saying our goodbye's. I was sort of in a state of shock driving back. I had seen him once prior during the five month duration of training and it would be weeks before he would be coming home. It was a numbing feeling knowing I was driving away from him and everything would go back to normal. All the butterflies and emotions that came up that weekend were only a dream. I had left him and he seemed heartbroken. The look he had left of sadness.. Regardless I couldn't muster enough energy to call or text him. I thought I would break down. It happened. He texted me.

The text... Can we play I don't want to miss a thing by aerosmith as our first song?

It fit so perfect. Besides the first year, our entire relationship was based on long distance and precious time. We couldn't stand to be apart. He hadn't even proposed but we both knew at that point we would be together and that would be our song.

The song choice was not brought up again until just recently. We heard it on the radio several times, and though our circumstances of distance changed, we still felt something for the song.

Mid July we attended a good friend's wedding. Their first song caught both of our attention, Then by Brad Paisley. It was perfect.
We loved it and it fit. The other song became our song that grew with us - one that will be played at the wedding because of its meaning to us. But Then spoke to us about how we felt. Scott and I agreed not to do individual vows because we would be too emotional. Regardless, Then seemed to state exactly what we want.

The new task. Learn to Dance.

Here's the link to youtube if you want to listen!

Here's the lyrics:

"Then"

I remember trying not to stare
The night that I first met you
You had me mezmorized
And three weeks later
In the front porch light
Taking 45 minutes to kiss goodnight
I hadn't told you yet
I thought I loved you then

Now you're my whole life
Now you're my whole world
I just can't believe
The way I feel about you girl
Like a river meets the sea
Stronger than its ever been
We've come so far since that day
And I thought I loved you then

I remember taking you back
To right where I first met you
You were so suprised
There were people around
But I didn't care
I got down on one knee right there
And once again
I thought I loved you then

Now you're my whole life
Now you're my whole world
I just can't believe
The way I feel about you girl
Like a river meets the sea
Stronger than its ever been
We've come so far since that day
And I thought I loved you then

I can just see you
With a baby on the way
I can just see you
When your hair is turning grey
What I can't see
Is how I'm ever gonna love you more
But I've said that before

Now you're my whole life
Now you're my whole world
I just can't believe
The way I feel about you girl
We'll look back someday
At this moment that we're in
And I'll look at you and say
And I thought I loved you then

And I thought I loved you then

6 Months and Counting..

Labor Day Weekend is always a nice getaway weekend to look forward to. The ResLife department had just finished all training for the directors, the resident assistants, move in for all the new residents, and the week of heavy program for welcoming back students. August turns to be a hectic month but well worth time and effort put in it. Labor Day weekend serves as a general break for everyone to re-energize for the next series of things to come.

Well fortunately for me Labor Day weekend this year turned out to be Father-Daughter Night at the Atlanta Braves! Dad bought us tickets and we had a great time getting to just hang out like we used to when I was younger. I know he really enjoyed it :)
It hit me sometime in the 4th inning - and I couldn't even tell you what I was thinking about! - but it hit me that there were exactly 6 months until the wedding! I got really excited, turned to Dad, and told him there were only 6 months left. I think it sort of put him in a state of shock. He was like," no it's not that soon!"

I chuckled it off but I knew deep inside he was sad that his little girl was getting married and leaving his protection. But Daddy should always know he cannot get rid of Daddy's Little Girl - plus I am looking forward to our dance together with him also in uniform ...

A New Addition...

So I totally just realized and I will clarify the title.. I am not pregnant (or have any intention at least for the next year and a half!). But I am proud to say that we have added a couple to our Bridal Party!!

It's too funny but I always get anxious about the smallest things. We met a couple at pre-marital class that just turned out to be super awesome. They invited us to their wedding in July and we've been hanging out here and there really getting to know each other. It sort of dawned on me.. This could be a couple we could be really close friends with for a long time! In a way this is also really good for not only our relationship but theirs as well.. almost acting as a support system for our marriage.

Well, after meeting them after a few times, I talked to Scott about adding more numbers to our Bridal Party. He had actually thought to ask me the same. It only seemed natural to take the next step! We had invited them to hang out with us over labor day weekend. I had planned on having the majority of the bridesmaids (since we were all in town) go dress shopping. While we were doing so, the guys would get their tux measurements. Alison was hanging out with us at David's Bridal helping with the others finding a dress. I almost wanted to just tell her to join in but I had to figure out the perfect way of asking. Scott and I texted back and forth (he was at Men's Wearhouse) about what to do. We decided to tell them that night. Well... as things progress... there were like 6 of us at my place watching the movie Bridesmaids and just having a good time. Midnight came around and we drove them back to the mall (where they left there car). I think it was a case of all of us being delirious but we decided to ask next time.
But for some reason, when I woke the next day I was really excited and ready to ask them. We planned it out perfect, eat dinner with his parents, eat ice cream at Bruster's with them, then head back to Kennesaw. As always, we were running late, leaving the house at the time we were supposed to meet them...

As we left Scott asked me what we would say.. I completely forgot about the actual asking. I told him we would just flat out ask and pray they say yes! We finally arrived and of course I had the classic chocolate with sprinkles in a cup. Turns out Nick had never been to Bruster's, so it was a real treat for him!

Time came and I spoke up, "we had a question to ask you guys".
I feel like my tongue twisted and I spoke to fast but it came out and they both said yes!! Scott and I were sooo excited!
Alison is now my Matron of Honor/Bridesmaid and Nick a Groomsmen equivalent now having a total of 6 on each side!

June Dress Fitting

June 3rd I get a call that my dress has finally arrived at the store. I don't know if I could have been more excited! I was ready to see the dress tailored to my size with a different back than what most people generally put on the particular design. I immediately called or texted every one of my bridesmaids, the maid of honor, my future mother in law, and most importantly my Mom. I can assume we were there as soon as the store opened! As they unlocked I noticed the dress was all ready waiting in one of the fitting rooms for me! No worries.. pictures were taken and will be posted after the wedding :)

I was so excited and one of the ladies took me ahead to start getting ready while everyone settled into the couches in front of the mirror. I was so excited. She unzipped the bag with the dress and it was as perfect as I remembered it with the beading and the back was so elegant with the ribbon. (these two elements are found in almost any dress thus I can disclose the information!).

I was nervous, excited, and sort of in a state of shock it was here and I didn't know how to react. As she finished tightening the dress, I turned to face the shop. She pulled back the curtain and I sort of held my breath unsure of the responses from the dozen or so women who would be staring at me. I walked to the mirror not saying a word but holding my head up sort of saying 'I got this.' Some people (not to be mentioned) took pictures and it was like paparazzi like on Say Yes to the Dress. I couldn't help to smile. I looked at mom asking if the back looked ok. Then I looked to everyone else's faces. They were all in the same state of shock and happiness as my mom had been the first time she saw me in the dress in January.

I can just remember the "you look Beautiful" and thinking wow.

Once the paparazzi stopped and I changed back to normal clothes I sat down next to Mrs. Shearon and Jessie. I turned to her and asked her what she thought. She could only say it was beautiful. I thought I noticed her getting a little teary eyed, and I could only smile. I was happy to be able to share this moment with her.

I also remember the attendant asking me to try and refrain from putting on the dress and the only thing I could think about is how absurd it was to try and put it on (other than the fitting) before the wedding. Knowing myself I would do something to stain it or I don't know but I wasn't going to risk even breathing on it the wrong way.

I gave the last payment for the dress and walked out a very happy and even more excited bride.

A Cake of Many Flavors

One of my major projects this summer was also to decide what to do with the cake as far as the design goes.
Scott and I had to look at easily over a thousand different cake images on various wedding websites. We looked at every color, shape, and overall feel. We narrowed down to a few cute nature themed cakes but couldn't agree on what we liked best. We then talked about what elements we liked from each cake whether it was the circle or square shape, the fondant or icing, pearl balls, ribbon, designs, lettering, etc. We sort of took the best elements and I drew out a cake.

Now to back track on an earlier post... We had in fact gone to a cake tasting that was fantastic, however the price ended up being way too much.

The design took elements from all over the wedding. We would have a ribbon around every tier in navy blue from our colors, pearl balls around the ribbon as decoration, and a fondant plaque on the second top tier with our logo on it. now for the other elements.. the wedding cake topper is the Beauty and the Beast figurine. We are using the sashes on her dress and draping gold sahes around the top of each tier on the cake. The cake itself will sit on a tree slab and have flowers from the rest of the decoration on it sort of to incorporate the rustic/green theme.

I will attach a picture shortly so you can see how much the design changes from the drawing to the actual cake!

Linens & Things

It is a pain in the butt to have to worry about linens.. keep that in mind when you yourself have to plan a wedding. If the venue does not have linens you have two options... either you can rent them from a party rental facility, or you can purchase them. Here is the catch.. the size of the table is very important, also taking into consideration if you want the linens to touch the ground or not. The lengths makes a world of difference in the elegance of the venue. Well if you rent them, the specific table size I need costs roughly $15 per table! It is ridiculous!! Especially because it's $15 per and I need 30 clothes! On the other hand you have the option to buy the specific size at roughly $11 per. Now it does not make much of a difference other than trying to figure out where to store 30 linens and the preparation in getting them ready..

On the other hand, you have 30 table clothes you bought at $11 and you can easily sell them on Craigslist for $13 bucks each easily :)
you make the call...

Flowers & Centerpieces

It's hard to imagine how stressful these things really are... You set aside a certain amount of money for flowers and realize the actual cost could be up to 3x as much! I want the wedding to be simple and elegant. I imagined simple wildflowers in 1 jar at the center of each table for a simple yet rustic feel. It suddenly becomes so much more complicated...

I visited a florist near Norcross, a name given to me by the venue in fact. The florist was known for providing fresh, lively flowers. The store was elegant as well, however I knew nothing about flowers. What was in season, what was cost effective, or even the general names of some flowers would have been very helpful. She was kind enough to show me examples of various flowers but I did feel like she was taking advantage of me. She would bring out some beautiful blooms and I had no idea how much the flowers cost. Generally the florists gather an idea of what you want then out together a quote for you based on the flowers and how hard it is to put the arrangements together. I was surprised I did not faint on the spot with the cost!

I decided to try a different florist. The second time around I took mrs. Shearon with me. Working in landscape, I knew she would be knowledgeable of the plants the florist was showing me. We started from scratch and I told the florist from the start I was on a lower budget. The florist was very responsive and only showed me things that would be more cost effective. We had decided to go with a garden bouquet, with a variety of flowers rather than only two or three varieties. The colors consisting of white, pale blue, and green. We got a much lower quote however the quote was still a few hundred over the original budgeted amount.

I went home disheartened about what to do. I talked to my mom and my aunt (who had flown in for a couple days to help with some of the wedding planning) about the situation and they came up with some great ideas that would lessen the cost and would still be in the same boat as what I imagined. The flowers were not only to be used for the bouquets and boutonnieres, they would be used for decoration on the cake and for centerpieces. Without giving too much away... we're sticking to a smaller variety of flowers, continuing with the simple but elegant look. Imagine this... you enter the room and see tables in navy blue linens, the lights turned down, light classical guitar playing, candles gleaming in the corner of your site, jars with flowers, and jars with (oops I can't tell you, that part it's a surprise!). Anyway the point is we came up with a game plan! It was 3 days of intense frustration and lack of willingness to work things out but we were finally able to come up with a plan. :)

The Party Starts with the Wedding Party!!

Official Status of the Wedding Party has been determined and confirmed!! Get Excited!!

Maid of Honor: Kim Walker
Best Man: Mike Davis

Bridesmaid: Michelle Grau
Bridesmaid: Lauren Murphree
Bridesmaid: Megan Collett
Bridesmaid: Jessie Shearon

Groomsmen: Michael Walsh
Groomsmen: Taylor Wade
Groomsmen: David Payette
Groomsmen: Kevin Grau

The Payments Begin!!

We've OFFICIALLY put down payments on some VERY important pieces!!
The DJ will be Richard from Complete Music and Video here in Atlanta. Met him at a Bridal Show and he seems to be really relaxed but a fun kind of guy. Of course Scott hit it off well because Richard was also in the military :)

Our Photographer has been decided as well. We have not been placed with the actual person yet, but we are going with George Street Photography. You can check out their website here: http://www.georgestreetphoto.com/

Plans are slowly coming along and we will be putting the deposit down for 550 Trackside hopefully this week! Dad came up with another great idea but this will be kept on the down low only for the wedding party to know.. partly because it is still being discussed and secondly because it will be a huuuge thing at the ceremony!!

In other news I graduate college in a week! Scott and I are hoping to go on a road trip the end of the month to visit.... (will be a surprise) and to do some more wedding planning!

Wedding Resolutions.. or Should I Say Goals

So Scott and I came up with some personal goals for the wedding, I guess you could say health wise will leave us in better shape for our new life together.

Mine:
I decided that I wanted to focus on my teeth. When I look at myself I am most conscious about my teeth, especially after going through 4 years of appliances and braces.. Well I have vowed to make sure I brush, floss, and use mouth wash everyday (what we should all be doing anyway...) to have them as clean as possible and just to prevent cavities or other unwanted things. I am also going to work on whitening but that will be closer to the wedding. I just had my wisdom teeth removed last Friday in effort to really move my mouth where it needs to be. Once the pain has completely gone, I will be wearing my retainers, especially when I sleep to make sure my teeth don't become more crooked than what they have become due to the wisdom teeth. Regardless that is my goal and you can even ask if I'm keeping up with it... it may help me stay motivated especially through out the less-than year!

His:
Scott's back has been injured for just about a year now in case you were not aware. He has problems with his lower spine that prevents him from walking for long periods of time, bending down, and even picking up heavy things. It's really painful for me to just watch him be in so much pain and not be able to help him in any manner. Regardless he is doing everything from going to the chiropractor, receiving injections, seeing a back specialist, and constantly taking medication to try and essentially fix his back. His goal right now is to strengthen his back through stretching etc to eventually be able to dance without pain.For all of you reading this... just keep praying for him that he has a speedy recovery.

Photo Fun

We were fortunate enough to have two engagement sessions! The first was done late October 2010 with Eason Photography (thanks Ashlie and Max!), the second more recently this past March with Milana Photography (thanks Milana!). Milana's was actually by luck of winning a facebook photo contest in which we won a free photoshoot. Well we enjoyed both shoots and are in the process of making some photo books that will be available for viewing at the wedding as well as some other nifty little surprises!

Here are links to the sites so you can the photos first hand! I think they both turned out amazing!

http://easonphoto.com/krystalandscott
http://milanaphotographyblog.com

Just a Handful of Changes!

It's crazy to think a year to go and there's so much to do, people to meet, and things to make! Well we've been struggling the last couple of weeks with a couple of things including the date and the venue. The venue at first was perfect in price but with change in ownership it almost doubled. Imagine being completely excited about something new and it gets torn from under you and you get that gut wrenching feeling like the world is falling apart and your upset.. well I did my best to cope. I looked at other venues and it took me a while to really open my eyes to even the possibility of liking it.
We checked out Zoo Atlanta, the Carl house, Little Gardens, and the Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center to name a few. Well a found flaws in each with either the size, or more costly the required catering. Actually there is a funny story with the GEHC. One of the ladies was giving us a tour. I had never been to the building but I think it was love at first site and all the features she pointed out made it so much more! Well she took us to the Blue Planet Theater. It holds up to 350 and had a waterfall we could utilize with a monogram! I specifically remember talking to Carlos and sitting on these bleachers. There were two of them sitting in the middle of the room facing towards the waterfall (used for a show). We were sitting in the bleachers and bouncing ideas about how we could arrange stuff and how perfect it was! I was so excited to have found another location, especially so quickly! Well mom and dad were asking the lady some questions and I overheard the dreaded words... The bleachers must stay in the room... Really?!?

I was so frustrated for days trying to figure out what to do with the bleachers, whether to put them on the sides, cover them up, etc. They were so large and ugly, and I mentioned to Scott... they reminded me of football.. the last thing on my mind on my wedding day!

Anyway, the search was on. Scott and I decided one day to stop at the Lawrenceville Historic Courthouse. We'd taken all of our homecoming and prom pictures there but had never actually gone inside. A secretary led us up to the courtroom and it was gorgeous! The high ceiling with all the old historic features added more to the room. The best part was the ridiculously low price for county residents! We would be able to use this as a reception space for not even a fraction of what we originally planned AND they allowed for outside catering (which if you don't know catering is one of the most expensive things!)
We decided to do our reception there and ceremony at 550 Trackside and decided on the date March 17 to place the date back on Saturday.

Well... more changes head our way.

Scott and my mom schedule an appointment to place a down payment at 550 Trackside and the owner calls to reschedule an hour later. They drove ahead to the Courthouse to book that as well. When they arrive, Scott calls to tell me that the Courthouse cannot be used March 17 because of the St. Patrick's Day festivities. They would be open for the 24th or 3rd. I told him to go to 550 Trackside and based on their availability we could decide.
1:45pm came around and they met with the owner of 550 Trackside. Well turns out he was an Army Vet - toured in Vietnam! Unbeknownst to me, Scott worked his magic and was able to bring down a military discount making it possible to have both the ceremony and reception for a much lower price, something we could actually afford!
He and mom called me right after and told me.. I was well in state of shock and excitement! Scott thought I was crying but I honestly didn't know what to think! I had come to the conclusion that I would not be able to do both at 550 and was caught completely off guard from the news! He marked us down for March 3, 2012 only 330 days to go!!!
If you still can't tell how excited I was, I pretty much had the biggest smile in the world the rest of the day regardless of the sore and pain I felt from my cheeks (just got my wisdom teeth removed last week!)

Growing Together

5 weeks ago we started PreMarital Classes (5 of 6 weeks completed!)
I have to say I have really enjoyed the process and sort of wish we could continue longer. They suggest we can join a small group for couples, specifically newly engaged or newly married but our church is just about an hour drive from school and with gas prices soo high its just hard.

Anyway so we have decided to commit to ourselves to grow spiritually and together. March 21 we celebrated our 5 year anniversary. As a gift to each other, we purchased a NIV Couples Bible that has devotionals for the whole year. Our goal is to go through the entire Bible in a year and finish within a week of the wedding. It was funny because just as we decided to do this, one of the pastors challenged everyone to do three things, read the bible together, pray together, and worship together. It was cool that we had literally just started when we told us this. At least we know we're on the right page!

It's funny to think how much we've learned. I feel like every week we went to my house after and I would sit and talk with mom about what we learned and discussed. I think Scott and I have also grown closer to and have started to talk about a lot of things that we hadn't really considered. We've finally gotten on the right page for budgeting for one thing!

What I really got out of the classes thus far is the time spent and importance of the relationship... about pushing each other up not bringing each other down, about placing our relationship above all others. We've met some other couples our age and have made some friends that hopefully we'll be able to keep in touch with afterwards as well!

A Little Bling

Everything is sort of moving in high motion, prior to when its supposed to happen but at opportune moments..

When Scott purchased my rings last year, he bought the set - an engagement ring and the band. It left me the opportunity to find something that would match him. I looked around at Shane Co, Jared, and most recently D Geller and Sons. D Geller turned out to be more upsetting than anything else. We specifically mentioned we were just looking through rings but the attendant helping us was doing everything possible to try to get us to buy before leaving. We did see a few rings but the one I had originally wanted to see they did not have in store stock. It was a Scott Kay Cobalt Comfort. They pretty much had every other Scott Kay minus the one I wanted to see! Anyway, we tried to leave and she even had the manager come over to give us a "great deal" trying to get us to buy the ring they didn't even have in stock.. like really? That large of an investment.. its like buying a car before test driving or purchasing a home without visiting it. Regardless we left.

During Spring Break in March we, Scott and I, stopped by Shane Co by chance - we actually stopped by LifeWay and Shane Co happened to be next door...
Anyway, so we walk in and I asked to see several of various styles they had. he must have tried about 70% of what they had available. He put on the styles we originally liked, I asked him to try on a few two tones, and asked if they had rings with a curved line similar to the ring my dad has. Well just when we had found this really pretty two tone, I saw one with diamonds on it. Scott and I really didn't care for a crazy guys ring. The ring is supposed to be simple and elegant like mine. I asked the guy to see the ring just to see a different style. Well as soon as Scott put it on, I was in love. The swirl on the ring matched the curve from mine! We were soo excited! We didn't think we would find something similar!

A Place to Change

Recently we've made a lot of changes, the most important thing being the venue. 550 Trackside has unfortunately raised their prices within the last few months. Budgeting wise we are trying to determine if the location is still feasible... We've been able to locate just a handful of other locations that could serve as a backup or perhaps the location of either the ceremony or reception to perhaps cut the cost.

Anyway so we, mom, Carlos, my aunt, Scott, and dad are sitting in my family room talking about venues and all things possible wedding. Out of no where my mom asks me if I would get dressed at home. I was sort of caught of guard not knowing what she was asking. I told her that the venues typically had a dressing room for the bride/bridesmaids. She cut me off saying she wanted me to get dressed there. I wasn't sure what to think. My mind was racing around venues, catering and the big picture items; I hadn't even thought of anything in relation to day of..
Well she explained that in Puerto Rico it was customary to get dressed in your mothers home. I wondered why she hadn't brought that up earlier when I asked about Puerto Rican traditions...

I told her that it depended on the venue because I really liked the full size mirrors that many places had in the dressing room. Looking at mom you could tell she was concocting some evil plan. She told me she would get a mirror! I said well if there is a mirror then yes.

The next weekend I come home and mom has a surprise for me. She has decided to completely redecorate my room! Along with a big mirror, she wants to place a nice white carpet, repaint my dresser, and repaint the room itself to colors that match the wedding colors. I was actually really excited even taking two days out of my schedule to essentially wipe out my room donating bags of clothes and old items to a local church owned organization! Though the project is on hold to start this summer, mom will get her wish and I will have an awesome, tall mirror to take my wedding dress photos with.

Cake Topper

So many weeks and quite a few bridal shows later, quite a bit has happened.
Carlos introduced me to a fine China brand I apparently should have heard of before, Lenox! After figuring out what it was I think he was right! We traveled to a local outlet mall to learn of the Lenox store where everything is half off all year round!

The store itself is roughly a 35 mile, 30 min drive from home its out of the way, and with these gas prices not the first choice for shopping. Well I ended up making like 4 different trips up there purchasing various items. In late January I bought our toasting flutes. If you are familiar with the Opal Innocence collection, I think I've fallen in love... A trip later on and I discovered my dining set - the one I will acquire when Scott and I find a home.

The first trip in March was during Spring Break. Originally the plan was that Scott and I would cut the cake with a saber, this was planned when we were still going to use the military uniform. However with circumstances that have changed, we decided to use a regular cake cutter and server. I looked on the Lenox website to find the matching set for the toasting flutes to discover a ridiculously high price. When we finally arrived at the store, I had one thing in mind was to purchase the set. The had three left in stock and just under half price from online! I was so excited!!

Finally the true tale of why I wrote this blog.. When we first got engaged I found a Precious Moments figurine of a girl and a soldier. It was adorable, however one thing continues to bug me about Precious Moments... the vast majority are blond. I know the cake topper doesn't need to be exact but I want it to sort of exemplify us. I purchased the figuring regardless but I was still on the look out. I looked into monograms, photos, classic wedding toppers, even looking into love birds etc but nothing really seem to fit us.
On the last trip to the Lenox Store, Carlos and I looked around the figurines in the front display area. There were several cases of Disney figurines, Cinderella, Mickey, Princess Aurora, Lady and the Tramp, etc. Then I saw it, the top shelf of the center case held Beauty and the Beast. Belle was and still is my favorite Disney Princess. The very top corner sat a figurine of Belle dancing with the Beast in the form of a Prince. It was beautiful with a gold dress and him with a blue jacket. It was perfect, perfect colors and exactly what I could have imagined. Though we are not royal by any means it sort of shows how we feel for each other - like a princess in his arms where the most important thing in the world is each other.

Well I left the store, empty handed.. Mom told me she thought it was pretty though not really matching to the rest of the theme of the wedding. Carlos said I was crazy for not buying it, and Scott had no idea what I was talking about when I sent him a picture text message asking if I should buy it. The picture I ended up sending him turned out, that he thought I wanted to purchase the actual beast in the front of the picture not the dancing couple in the back! I love Beauty and the Beast but for our wedding day I would never consider getting Scott as a beast!
I went home upset thinking I would find something better. I will tell you, every night that week I looked online, for every cake topper imaginable through every website you could find. Nothing.

Thursday came along and I was talking to Scott. I pulled up the Lenox website and showed him a picture of it. We both knew it was the one. I couldn't think of anything more perfect. I went back that Friday and I finally came home with the topper of my dreams.

Slight Frustration and Self Motivation

There are always positives and negatives about everything. The only negative thing about my planning is the timing. Professional planners couldn’t even agree upon how much time you need to plan a proper wedding. Miracles have been pulled off in two weeks yet so much emphasis is placed on having nearly a year to plan. Fortunately I have the luxury of having the year and more but sometimes you do feel like throwing in the towel and going to get married in Vegas or something. I do understand why people do that now!
No lie I would regret it in the long run, hence the not getting eloped in a small chapel in the middle of nowhere. Either way I do get frustrated. Life is a bit complicated with school, work, and so many things going on. For me wedding planning is sort of a release. I can just dream and come up with the craziest ideas and doing what I can to make it possible while spending the least amount of money and resources. For example, last night as I lay in bed unable to sleep, I let me mind wander for hours thinking about decoration. I know that I want mason jars on the table but I have no idea how to present it. I also know the perfect wedding favors to have but again, the presentation is what I think about. I came up with the perfect idea of personalization per family but I have to figure out now if it will be feasible.

Color Coordination

Things have gone haywire! Besides the essential elements I wanted originally I feel like the wedding theme is sort of flipped upside down. The military theme is up in the air as to how far we will go with it. Fortunately we are keeping the same colors! If you are familiar with the Army, they are going towards using the Dress Blue uniform rather than the Traditional Green. Well we are sticking to the new uniform, more specifically the pants. Officer pants are blue with a gold stripe down the pant leg. Scott and I decided to have blue as the primary color with gold/yellow as the secondary more accentuating color. So hint, hint… some if not most of the flowers will be of a certain color!

Mmm Mmm Cake!

It's pretty awesome how slowly everything seems to be coming together but how quickly things are coming along!

January 2 my family took me to a cake show and tasting. I wasn't really sure what to expect but I figured it would be cool to start thinking of an idea of what type of cake and the style.

When we got there, the tasting was a little smaller than I hoped. It was only one vendor but fortunately they brought many samples! She also presented a vary unique style of cake that would be more traditional in Puerto Rico. The modern cake now has the 4 or so tiers layed right on top of each other with flowers, ribbon, and the cake topper. That was pretty much what I was expecting. Well she had some gorgeous and very showy cakes with lights, pillars, and well more of a wow factor cake. At first I was a bit skeptical but my cousin talked me into it. We decided we wanted a unique platform for the venue to place the cake on. The platform will be a large flat top wooden wagon! It goes wonderfully with the rustic feel but I have no idea where to find one! The cake lady even had a solution! She told me that a local city close to home had one sitting in the back of their chamber of commerce! I'll me visiting that building soon to check it out myself!
Regardless Carlos told me that the style cake presented would look a lot better on the platform.

We tried several different homemade icings and cake flavors. At the tasting they had chocolate, french vanilla with raspberry filling, strawberry, key lime, and rum. I'll let you guess my favorite!

Nearly three weeks later I am looking through pictures I have saved on my computer and I notice on in particular. The picture of the sample cake had plastic pillars holding the tiers. A picture in the same folder showed the DIY (do it yourself) platter made of wood! I showed Carlos and both of us knew how perfect it would be! Only one thing left to do is talk to Scott because it is as much his wedding as mine.

Now I want to say one last thing.. though we did not choose the color, flavors, flowers, cake topper, or even the general look of the cake I won't disclose too many details! That will ruin the overall effect at the wedding of seeing the cake if you know what to expect!

The Dress!!

This is a bit of a funny story so sit back and relax...
my cousin Carlos recently moved up from Puerto Rico and has been hanging out with me and Scott. He made me promise him that I would go and try on dresses before I actually tried on dresses so just to make sure I am not biased towards any style. Another thing you should know.. I've been looking at dresses for about a year and had my heart set on one in particular...

Well early January I received an email from a local small bridal shop that was hosting a trunk show for the particular designer. I was so excited and asked my mom if she'd be interested in going. I don't really know if she understood what I was asking but she agreed! I emailed the shop requesting an appointment. About an hour later I got a response that I had a slot and had won a garter! The only downside was that I was limited to two guests. I obviously chose mom and Carlos.

The day came and I was so excited and nervous! Again I was feeling that surreal feeling. I had been watching Say Yes to the Dress and couldn't picture myself in a wedding dress. Well we got to the store and I could hear my heart pounding in my chest. I signed in and she lady gave me 6 clips to place on dresses I wanted to try on. Carlos and mom helped me choose dresses of a wide variety of styles just to see what would work. Once I had used the clips, a second attendant approached me offering me any help. I asked her if she had the particular dress in stock and she quickly stated she had! AND it was in a smaller size! I told her about the dress and how I knew a year ago it would be my dress. She told me to try it on last to give the others a chance.

The first dress was so awkward for me. The dresses were all heavy... The first was simple but very elegant. I was sort of in shock for a second. It was a beautiful dress but I still couldn't picture myself in the dress! I think Carlos and mom felt the same because we all had that sort of yeah expression..
The second dress was not my favorite. The first had been made of satin and this one was a rougher material. Mom loved the design but it was uncomfortable to me.
The third dress I thought was beautiful. I felt like a princess because it was a ball gown. Carlos did not like the pleated front and mom thought it was for an older bride. Regardless it was beautiful.
The fourth dress was by the same designer as mine. It was solid white, satin with a beaded design in the waist area. Very pretty but again for an older bride.
Finally she said I could try my dress. My heart sort of stopped for a split second walking back into the dressing room and seeing the wedding dress on the hanger. It was the dress I had seen in a magazine a year earlier, the one I knew would be my dress. As the attendant took it out of the bag I'm sure I had a huge grin on my face. I put the dress on and she helped button me up. I couldn't stop smiling. I had butterflies in my stomache! I loved how it looked on me, how comfortable it was.. and I was hoping mom would love it too!

As she opened the curtain and I walked onto the pedestal I sort of mouthed to mom this is the one (not sure if she got that!) but Her and Carlos, my cousin, were speechless. I'm pretty sure they were both trying to hold back tears. I was soo happy and nervous too because they hadn't said anything. Mom stopped up and stood next to me and said it was perfect. She had this grin on her face that only made my butterflies even more prominent. She thought the beading was gorgeous and the fit was, well, in her words made for me. I knew it was the dress... it was so amazing too for a split second everyone in the store was looking at me and I was on the spotlight, I was the bride! A friend of mine found her dress and told me she would wear it all the time if she could. I knew exactly how she felt; I wish I didn't have to take it off! It just makes you feel so beautiful!

Sort of ironic the same dress I saw a year ago became my dress, but I knew all along it would. The question finally came up from the attendant if I wanted to buy the dress. My heart sank for a second because we had no intention to purchase, only to try on some dresses that day. The attendant told me about the sale for that weekend and mom asked me if I had the money! I thought my heart was going to leap from my chest! I called my fiance Scott and while looking at myself in the mirror I asked if I could buy the dress. It was nerve wracking not knowing what he would say. I think he was confused at first but he got reassurance from Carlos and mom that it was the one! I was fitted for size, signed some paperwork, and paid for the dress! It was like WOW, Oh my gosh!! It was the point of no return... the biggest and most important decision for the wedding and it was done!

The dress would arrive from the designer in 5-6 months and I could be fitted for it then. The timing was perfect. The only downside was the store itself could have held more people if I wanted to bring a couple others like my best friend or mother in law. Regardless I will have them at the fitting!!!

The Venue

Finding a venue was quite an adventure! Scott and I wanted to find a place that had our names written all over it. We argued at first about the indoor/outdoor venue and decided either would be fine if the place had some history.

A major factor that came into the decision (besides the price) was the distance. I was looking all over Atlanta for a venue not thinking that a majority of our guests would be from out of town and may not have transportation or a GPS!

Originally I looked at the Brickyard, a new venue in Marietta Square. The place itself was beautiful with wood vaulted ceilings and a large room. The only downside besides the hour drive from Lawrenceville was the very, very limited parking. The search was on for a perfect location. I also saw an idea someone had about marrying in a state park, however the closest park is nearly an hour away also!

Finally I talked to dad (which should have been a priority since he has the checkbook!). He suggested to check out this venue in Lawrenceville. My first thought was: really dad another venue? I decided to check it out regardless. I went to 550 Trackside not knowing anything or even hearing about it. Curiously it has not been posted on any wedding websites as a venue. Well I drove to the venue and noticed how clean and new it looked. I parked in the back noticing a van parked there. Scott was with me and we walked to the front doors to see what we could see. A lady approached the doors and let us in. She gave us a private tour of the building telling us of its amazing history. It was around in the early 1900's as a train depot and has recently been redone completely to become an event venue.

I will not disclose the price of pretty much anything.. just because... but I will tell you I am soo excited! Scott and I walked in there and we knew it was the place! I've taken my mom and some other key people to the venue and all have agreed we couldn't have chosen a more perfect fit. Its a little nerve wracking but so awesome!! I get butterflies.. its almost surreal getting married! I mean I definitely wouldn't change it for the world, in fact I'm excited!! It's just like high school all over again thinking how weird it would be to actually graduate and be in college!

Regardless we will be putting down our deposit come March and it will be official!! YAY!!

The Date

Deciding a day was an event in itself! When we discussed getting married a couple of years ago, his parents had mentioned their dislike of us marrying prior to his graduation. Circumstances changed with him changing to Kennesaw State to be with me.

The date was originally set to early June 2012 still with several complications including birthdays, heat, and the possibility of changing the date for the cost for the venue; a Friday venue is cheaper than Saturday! We finally agreed to push it closer in March 2012. Scott wanted to have it on our anniversary, March 21 to have a deeper meaning for us. The only problem... it will be a Wednesday. We continued to discuss, well argue about the date. I can't remember quite how it came about but we decided on the date of March 16, a Friday. Reasoning: I asked him to prom in high school which ended up being March 11 and the date he asked me out was March 21. March 16 is settled right in the middle :)