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 :)