Tuxedo

I like this. I'm trying to decide between regular tie and bow tie, though.

Reception Decisions

It looks like we will be able to get Jason's church for the reception. This is great news, as it frees us up to really start finalizing some of the planning. He is going to call them tomorrow to double check a couple things, then we should know for sure.

I think it will be neat if it works out to have the reception there. Then we would be having the wedding at my church and the reception at his. It is a neat way to link the two, and it also acts as a 'rite of passage' of sorts since I will be leaving my church when we get married to attend his. It seems almost symbolic to go from my church and the wedding to his and the reception. Maybe I am just being sentimental, but I think it's cool!

We also decided on people over food for the reception. It was getting so frustrating trying to do an A list and a B list, and finding out that more and more people wanted to be invited ... and we our budget was for light snacks for 150 ... it just wasn't worth it. The wedding and reception are between lunch and dinner, so we are going to nix the food and just invite everyone we want to be at the wedding (currently around 300). We'll have the standard cake and punch, with nuts, mints, and sparkling cider on the tables. We are hoping everyone will so happy to be there that they won't mind if we don't feed them.

I Didn't Make It

TO the dress shop, that is. It seems I need someone to prod me along, so I will wait until I have more moral support.

I did get my engagement ring back today. We had it sized down, inspected, and cleaned, so I was without it for the weekend. I missed it so much! I used a fill-in because my finger felt so naked without it.

On the wedding ring front, we did find one that we really like for Jason and we have a couple ideas for mine. One idea is to have a ring that is similar to my engagement ring, but with three baget diamonds across. That one will probably have to be custom made, though, and may cost around $800. Option number two is a much simpler design, with a row of small diamonds that is the same length as my engagement ring. The lady at the jewelry store was looking to find one that does not have to be custom made, but she was not there for us to talk with today. I am pleased with either option, but money is obviously a consideration.

It looks like I may go dress shopping on February 11, since Ruth is going to try to be here that weekend. I am going to try to get my bridesmaids out, too, and we will all go together. What fun!

Dress Time

Today is the day. I am actually going to go to the dunge ... er ... I mean, a dress shop.

I'm scared stiff. I'll let you know if I survive.

Rings

Today we go to see if my engagement ring needs resized, and to start looking at possible wedding rings. I really hope we can find something nice that 1) links with my engagement ring, 2) has a coordinating ring for Jason, and 3) is not too expensive.

Am I asking too much?

The Plan Thus Far

Wedding:

Theme: Victorian inspired
Location: my church, with my pastor officiating
Possible colors: Black, forest green, rose pink

Attendants:
Maid of Honor - Ruth (my former roommate)
Bridesmaids - Sarah (my 21-year-old sister), Lissa (my close friend)
Junior Bridesmaid - Rebekah (my 13-year-old sister)
Flower Girls (tentative) - Tatyana and Annaleia (my step-sister's 9-year-old twin daughters)

Best Man - Dave (Jason's cousin)
Groomsmen - Jeff (Jason's best friend), TBD (maybe one of my brothers)
Junior Groomsman - Austin (Dave's 9 year-old son)
Ring Bearer - Jacob (Dave's 4 year-old son)

Reception:

Theme: Summer Afternoon Garden Tea
Location: Jason's church
(possible) rented plants to make a garden indoors

Menu: Finger foods, scones, mini-sandwiches, little smokies (per special request)
Cake
Tea (of course) and punch
Sparling cider for the toast (they have peach and pear cider at Ikea, how cool is that???)

Inspiration

I hung out with Deb last night, and she totally inspired me. It was so nice to have someone (besides Jason) to bounce my ideas off of and get positive feedback. I really don't know what happens at weddings, since I have freaked and not gone to any for most of my life (I've attended two weddings total, one as a kid, and one as a bridesmaid about 7 years ago). I totally regret my avoidance of weddings now, as I'm completely lost when it comes to planning.

So, talking with Deb was good. We talked about general wedding and reception stuff that I already have ideas for, and brainstormed a couple other things. Then we went to Barnes and Noble and looked through Wedding magazines and a book about Victorian Tea parties. I really would like to do a lot of things myself (flowers, decorations, entertainment ... maybe even the wedding cake), so that might help me get more into it as well.

So, I'm feeling a little better about this, just waiting on the reception site so I can really get down to business.

Blech

I am really not digging this whole wedding planning business. Some days, I REALLY wish I had enough money to tell someone -- here, I want to get married here, with this color, and invite these people, YOU do the rest. What am I saying? "Some" days? No, I wish that EVERY day.

I am hopefully going to meet with Melissa sometime this week or next week to go through her stuff and see what inspiration I can borrow. Maybe that will help me get out of the slump. A wedding is supposed to be a joyous occassion, but, for some reason, for me it is sheer torture.

Guest Lists

Jason and I input our rough guest list (I LOVE theknot.com), and came to 250 invitees (approx 100 invitations). Then we realized that each of us forgot 10-20 people each. So, when all is said and done, we will have around 300 invitees. I think we have decided to go for 150 guests total.

Time to break out the ax.

I went through last night and this morning working my list to come up with an A list, and a B list (sadly, my blog readers are confined to the B list). According to articles I read about quest list etiquette, it is best to first invite those people you MUST have. When we get responses back from those guests, we can then move to the B list and invite friends from there. What a process.

One Month

Today is the one month anniversary of when Jason and I got engaged. :oD

Now it's time to really knuckle down and get this wedding planned.

To Veil, or Not To Veil?

So many questions to answer when planning a wedding. What are your guys' thoughts on veils?