It's All in the Details

I got a trillion pictures from my wedding, and I didn't want to post them all at once. Here are some detail photo's from the wedding! I cannot say it enough, everything turned out far beyond what I had imagined. I loved everything. And almost all of it was DIY.




















**All photo's by Racz Photography

Wedding Pics

I got our wedding pictures last night and I could not be more thrilled with how they turned out! I love, love, LOVE them. Here are just a few that are my favorites! I have no idea how I am going to decide what to get printed, because I want them all!

All photo's are by Racz Photography

The Big Day.

It is so crazy that two weeks ago today I was at our rehearsal dinner at this very minute. I have waited for this day for so long and I am amazed at how fast it all went. I can't believe we have been married almost two weeks already. I have finally collected some pictures from friends that attended our wedding to post!


First Kiss..Apparently I am trying to attack him at the same time

I really did love every single thing about our wedding day. I would only change one thing about the day, and that would be the location. I loved the beauty of the location, the food and the wine, but it wasn't worth the headache the venue caused. Needless to say, I would not recommend getting married there, ever.

The flowers turned out far more amazing than I ever imagined they would be. When I pulled up to the venue the morning of my wedding I saw the flowers being delivered and I gasped, I was blown away. I ended up getting the deal of a life time from my florist and she went way beyond what I thought I was getting. I can't wait to see the professional pics of my flowers!


My daddy giving me away

My sister was a huge factor in how my wedding turned out. When I lost my mind and wanted to do nothing wedding related, she yelled at me and snapped me back into place.(thanks Sista!) Not only did she keep me on track, but she went far beyond what was ever expected of her. She was the Craft Queen and handmade so many special, unique personal touches that were found all around our wedding. I cannot thank her enough for all her hard work and attention to detail. Thanks Sista Martha, my wedding would not have been the same without you, and neither would I.


My Sista and her hubby


Kayleigh and Myself


The cupcakes were TO.DIE.FOR.


Rachel & I (she just got married 2 weeks before we did)

I'm a Mrs.

Last Saturday I finally became a Mrs., and I couldn't be more thrilled! Our wedding day was more than I had imagined it would be. I always thought I would be so nervous and stressed out, and I was just the opposite. I was unbelievably calm, which is very unlike me. Everyone kept mentioning how ironic it was that I was so calm! Every single thing about the wedding was perfect and we all had a blast that night.

The day went off without a hitch and T and I are now husband and wife! We just got home from our honeymoon last night and we had a wonderful time. I am planning to write a review on both the honeymoon and our wedding vendors in the next few days. And hopefully some friends send me some pics of the wedding day that I can post on here. In the meantime I am bugging my sister every day for a sneak peak at my wedding pics (her boss was our photographer).

Here is the one picture I have..

Dazed & Confused

I don't know what the appropriate "feelings" to have two days before your wedding are, but I'm fairly certain I am not feeling them, unless they are stress. While I know I am getting married in two days, I don't really think it has hit me yet. It still doesn't seem real. I have waited, hoped and planned for this day for so long and now I cannot believe it is actually here.

Stress is ruling my life at the moment and while I spend my day running around for wedding related things, I just can't believe it is TWO DAYS AWAY. Maybe by Saturday afternoon when I walk down the aisle it will hit me!

Five Flippin' Days..

I cannot believe I am five days away from being married. Seriously, FIVE DAYS. There is still SO much to do. I have a running list and every time I check something off the list, I end up adding two more things. Today I had a lot planned and very few things got done. So, I really have 4 days and they are jam packed. I am hoping to have everything done by Thursday night so that Friday I can just relax and enjoy the day. But, the thought of doing all the laundry for the honeymoon, finishing the seating chart, starting and finishing the seating cards, sewing the pillow for our ring king, go shopping for wedding and honeymoon items, steam the table runners, make rice crispy treats, seriously this list could go on for days. I just have no motivation to do any of these things. Instead I just want to sit here. But I know if I just sit here when I go to bed all I will be able to think about is the ever growing list. And to add to my stres there is a chance of rain, which will be just lovely for my outdoor ceremony.

Only five more days...

30 Days and Counting

HOLY CRAP. Where on earth did time go? How did the past four months just fly right by? I have spent the past 4 months waiting for January to be here, and not it is and I want to go back in time! I still have so much to do. Heck, with only 30 days to go I still need vendors! Ahhh...

I certainly never thought I would be the bride who was waiting until the last minute to do this. Infact, I could never understand those brides who waited until 30 days before their wedding to make decisions, I HAVE BECOME THAT PERSON. I totally understand it now. While stress has paid a large part of why things have not gotten checked off the list, finances are the main reason. Weddings are just so darn expensive. My parents work very hard, but they shouldn't have to go broke just to pay for my wedding. Infact, I feel really bad about this wedding. I feel guilt that my parents are spending their hard earned money on me. I could have simply gone to the court house or eloped, but I just had to have a wedding.
Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining about my wedding. I feel so very blessed that my parents are working so hard to give me the wedding of my dreams, I just feel bad at the end of the day.

But with 30 days left I am most looking forward to being a Mrs. I have been dreaming for over 3 years about the day I got to marry T, and now that day is only 30 days away! All the stress and anxiety is starting to subside and pure joy and excitement is taking over. I can't wait! Let the countdown begin...

Why Wedding Planning Blows

Dearest Wedding Industry,
i always thought the day I would be able to utilize your professionals would be the happiest day ever. I dreamed of wonderful, creative, one of a kind things for my wedding. All those things have gone right out the window and you have crushed all of my dreams. Now I understand you have to make money and you have bills to pay too, but look around, we are in a recession.

I think I speak for the masses when I say engaged couples can't spend what they would have two years ago. Brides have to watch every dollar they spend. At least I do. And maybe I am just too cheap but I seem to find wedding vendors extremely overpriced. A wedding officiant is $400...four hundred dollars to show up at my wedding for maybe an hour at the most, and actually "work" for 20ish minutes of that hour. You charge $400 for that? For all I know you spent $30 and became ordained online, and now you are charging $400 for your services. And then the church I attend, you won't even consider marrying me because you don't think I am "involved enough" in the church. (Those were your words, not mine) And then you really said no when you heard I was not getting married IN your church, but outdoors. Let me just say, this has left a nasty taste in my mouth, and I'm not sure how you plan on getting me more "involved" after our ever-so-welcoming chat.

My next beef would be with bakeries. I know wedding cakes are a piece of art, and many of them will take your breath away. However, I am not having one of those cakes. I do not have an extra $1000 laying around to spend on water, flour and eggs. I do not want a nasty fondant cake, yes I understand you can create amazing designs on them, but I don't enjoy peeling what looks and feels like already chewed gum off my wedding cake. I simply want some plain butter cream frosting and fresh flowers on my cake. But $4 a slice seems insane to me. I could make an entire box cake for that much. And if I had the time and sanity to learn how to make butter cream frosting, I would be making my cake myself. In fact, if I can scrape together some sanity, I just might learn and save myself the $164.50 I have been quoted for a cake.

Going down the hit list would be the makeup & hair vendors. I did find an amazing makeup artist and she is very reasonably priced. So why on earth can I not find a reasonable hair dresser? Please, please tell me why it will cost me upwards of $100 to have my hair done. I don't want anything crazy! Your supplies consist of bobby pins and hairspray, so $5 goes towards supplies. You are now making $95 for an hour of work. I'm clearly in the wrong profession. Tack on the additional $75 per bridesmaid, after 3 hours of work you have just made at least $250 before tip! I would like to make that kind of money.

I have said it once and I will say it again, if I could go back in time I would have never run right out and put down a deposit on a venue. I would have waited a few days and really let the wedding stress sink in. And at that very moment I would have booked a cabin in Lake Tahoe in January, called our family and told them when to be there. We would be getting married in front of a roaring fireplace with the snow falling outside. It would have cost 1/3 the price and I wouldn't be spouting grey hairs as fast as women Tiger Woods has slept with are appearing.

Bottom line, ELOPE.


~This would have been lovely

63 Days and Counting

That's right folks, I have 63 days until our wedding. As you probably already read, I am hating the wedding planning process. But I am looking at it as though only 63 more days until I am a wife! 63 days until we leave for our honeymoon! 63 days until we can start trying for a baby..ok, maybe I'm getting ahead of myself! I am so excited to start our lives together. I can't wait for our first little apartment (and believe me, it is little). I'm a little bummed that I have to wait a year to spend our first Christmas together, but I'm sure I will be able to deal with it. This Christmas is the first Christmas we will have ever spent together, and that I am really excited for!

So with 63 days left until the wedding, I have about 163 things left to do! Here are some pictures I sent to my florist as my inspiration. I don't remember where I got the pictures..sorry.

Not What I Was Anticipating

I have spent the past 13 years planning my wedding. That's right, it started when I was 13 years old and I picked up my first wedding magazine. I didn't just dream about it, oh no, I took it to a whole new level. I started purchasing wedding magazine's every single chance I got. I made "booklets" with magazine cut outs of exactly what my wedding was going to be. I even sent away for information from vendors (my parents LOVED this). The older I got, the more intense the planning was. Even when there was no husband in site. Then I started dating T, and I knew early on that he was the perfect guy for me. (I know, gag) He knew my obsession with weddings, but I always played it off because of my desire to one day be an event planner. Then as time went on and T and got more serious I really started planning. I had no idea it was going to be so long before we actually got engaged.

Needless to say, I have planned our wedding, roughly 40 times. I had a wedding for every season, several states (Cali, Texas, Arizona, Nevada), and even considered a destination wedding (which FYI sounds like a marvalous plan right about now). I knew what flowers I wanted depending on the season, which theme I would chose and all the small details that went along with each of those themes. My wedding plans have gone from several local wineries, to a small family only backyard event in Lake Tahoe, to getting hitched in Las Vegas at the Wynn, Mandalay Bay and Caesars Palace. There were plans for Sedona and Scottsdale, Arizona. I carefully planned a wedding to be held at an amazing ranch in Austin, Texas. I searched for the perfect "old" chapel in Dallas, Texas. There were plans for a backyard wedding at our friends house. Details for a wedding on a cruise and all inclusive in Mexico or the Bahamas. There were ideas for a winter wedding in Lake Tahoe, Julian and Big Bear. A summer wedding in Big Bear, Julian and Lake Arrowhead. I can tell you about almost any location in San Diego or South Orange County. What I'm getting at is, I thought once I actually got engaged planning would be the easiest thing I have ever done. I could do it with my eyes shut and my hands tied behind my back and no internet for miles around.

And then I got engaged. And suddenly these exquisite, fabulous and stunning weddings I had planned came to a screaching halt. There was one minor (HUGE) detail I overlooked...THE BUDGET. And while I never dreamed that I would still be a waitress when I got married, I also always dreamed I would have at least double the budget I do have. Suddenly planning our wedding became a lot more work. I had to make sure all our decisions and choices were within reason and budget friendly. And the hardest decision of all was to chose if I wanted to have the wedding of my dreams (to the man of my dreams of course) and only have 50 people there, or have a huge wedding but none of it be what I dreamed my day would be. I went for option A. It kills me that I am not able to invite everyone I would like to. Believe me. But it was the choice I made. And yes I realize at the end of the day all that matters is that we are married, and that is so true. But for someone who has been planning this day for 13 years, not only do I want to enjoy every single moment of it with T, but I want to look back at what I created (especially since I am DIY'ing so much of it).

What I am getting at is, wedding planning is not what I always dreamed it would be. In all honesty, there are so many days I don't even want to think about it. I wish I could have sold T on the idea of eloping. So much less work involved and fewer feelings hurt. My parents wouldn't be going broke, especially since my sister was married only 7 months ago. I sometime wonder if I would be able to relax more and just really have soaked it all in and truly enjoyed the moment of being engaged and wedding planning. Don't get me wrong, I am so thrilled to be marrying T, but this 6 month wait is not as fun as I thought it would be.

What I Look Forward to The Most

I am looking forward to my wedding, very much so. Every day I get excited that we are one day closer to becoming husband and wife. I cannot wait to see the look on T's face when he sees me for the first time on our wedding day. I cannot wait to stand in front of our family and friends and repeat our wedding vows to each other. I can't wait for our first dance together. I can't wait for our honeymoon. I can't wait, I can't wait, I can't wait!

But what I am looking forward to the most is getting to wake up every day with T. I can't wait to get to live with him. Especially considering the past 12 months we have lived 45 minutes away from each other. I understand that isn't that far, and there are many people who live much further away from their loved ones. I have no idea how they do it. But for T and I, with our schedules were are lucky to see each other once a week, and that is usually just for a few hours. I am so looking forward to learning to cook for him (I am not so handy in the kitchen!!) I am looking forward to making our little apartment ours and having a place of our own. I know things aren't going to be perfect, and there is going to be a lot of adjustment time. But I am so excited that at the end of each day we get to go home to each other. That is what I am really counting down to.(And when we can start trying for a baby, but that's a little while longer!)

Progress

Today was my first day of wedding related activities! My mom, sister and I went to the location I was hoping to get married at. I worked there years ago, and my first time there I knew I had to get married there one day. However, it has always been a pretty pricey place, so I always figured it just woudln't happen. The other day I checked out their website and they were offering a discount on weddings in January. Great, so January it was. However, they also have head count minimums based on what day of the week it is, and because we are having such a small wedding I decided to get married on a Thursday night. So then when we went in today to talk to them, because they are doing construction on another area of the property, they are not only offering a discount but they have done away with minimums. So, I can get married on a Saturday night for a discounted price..and in the room I want! So, January 30, 2010 I will be getting married at a local winery! I am so excited.

If that wasn't enough to make my day, after going to the winery we decided to go to a local bridal salon. They were having a big sale, 50% off select gowns, and the sale ended today. I am always up for a good bargain, so I figured we had to at least check it out. There were only about 30 dresses that were for sale, however, it was my lucky day because I found my dress!!! I got my dress for less than $500 including tax! I was THRILLED!

I hope all wedding planning goes this easily! Next up is putting down the deposit and securing my date. And then sending out save-the-dates! The crafting has already begun. And since my sister and I are yet again doing all the centerpieces, I need to start figuring out what I want. Ahhhh..I cannot believe this is real!

Is This Real?

Tonight, was the best night ever. I am now, ENGAGED! Ahhhhhhhh... Travis had me totally fooled. I really didn't think it was happening tonight. Infact, I started crying in the car on the way home from dinner because I was sure that it wasn't going to happen tonight. But then I we got home, and pulling into the drive way I noticed my sister's car a few houses up the street. Then we walked in the house, and the lights were off, so that couldn't have been my sisters car. I looked out in the backyard, and at first glance I noticed a lot of light, but thought it was the outdoor lights. I quickly realized they were candles, and then I KNEW! I started laughing and smiling from ear to ear. T asked me to come with him and he lead me outside. There were candles and rose's EVERYWHERE. He started to tell me how much he loved me, and a bunch of stuff I don't remember. In the middle of all that I realized my sister was hiding (not very well) on my parents balcony, taking pictures and then talking to us in the middle of the proposal. Then the sprinklers went off and I got sprayed. But in the end T asked me to be his wife and spend my life with him. And of course I said YES!

I am so thrilled! Words cannot describe my excitement! It was the perfect proposal fo us! Sprinklers and all! I am on cloud 9 right now. Poor T is just so overwhelmed, he said he hasn't slept all week. He was so figiddty at dinner, and I asked him if he took his ADD med's and he said no, so I figured that was why! Guess not, it was nerves.

If it all works out, the offical wedding date is January 28, 2010. I am hoping to go to the venue this weekend and put down a deposit! AHHHHH!!!!! This leaves me 5 months from tomorrow! I cannot wait to spend my life with T. He is so amazing and I am so thankful to have him in my life. God really did bless me when he brought T into my life. He is the perfect balance to my nuttiness! He is the one person who can calm me down, and make me slow down.

Stay tuned to all the wedding details! I will be posting much more now! We already have quite a bit figured out. We are having a very small wedding, only family in Jan. But we will be having a big party to celebrate with everyone sometime in May. So, basically I get to plan 2 weddings, which makes me even happier!

I am so luck and so blessed! This has been the best night ever. I love you so much T.

P.S. I hope to have pictures from my sister soon!