POSE FOR THE CAMERA NOW

And another check off the list.....The PHOTOGRAPHER. Yeah I'm a little sad that we aren't gonna go with the family friend but sorry for him to come, take pictures, then give us a CD and still charge me $2000.00 I'm good. My budget can't handle it. We are gonna hire him in about September or so when we get all of the attire probably about the end of November and have him take us out and take some fun shots together. This way I still get his fly expertise on the other side of the lens. And it doesn't disrupt the family hormonal imbalance.

But anyway we have book our wonderful photogs Divine Image Photography. Gotta say that I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE Zac and Tiffany. We just clicked with them and I love their vibe. We are gonna have a BLAST. So be on the look out for a link with some boudoir pics (yeah I think that I want to give Bear a little picture book of his own lol), our "epics", our cutsey pictures and probably much much more.

SAVINGS

Ok I'm on a roll with the savings...I was sitting here thinking about the price of the post cards for the invites, and the price was seriously adding up. Well I got an email from a Archivers and they had a bogo free coupon in the email. So I got to adding up how many post cards I could get out of a 12x12 or a 8.5x11 sheet of paper and realized that all i needed was 14 sheets of 12x12 paper. Well today I used the coupon and got 6 sheets for $2. I'm gonna try to go tomorrow and use another coupon at the other location and the other 2 sheets that I'll need. Total for what I would've paid for 1 and a half packages of the paper that I needed (and I needed 3 packages of paper which was $10). Once its all said and done I'll end up paying $5 for the paper that I will need. 50% savings YAY!!!!

Ok so I wanted a "broach" bracelet. I seen one if the picture of the dress that I want, and I started to price them out well to buy one it was about $80, to make one the broach alone was $20. I went to Michael's today and on their clearance rack they had a ton of stuff on clearance, and I found my pendant, 3 options for clasps, crimp bead and covers all for $2. YAY!!!!

Then I was cleaning out my "crafting" area and found 20 sheets of Sugar Daddy card stock. Sugar Daddy is a shimmery chocolate colored card stock. And a package of 50 envelopes. Guess what...there are the starting components of our Save the Date cards. I just have to buy paper to print the information on.

And finally....LAST BUT NOT LEAST...and the GREATEST savings of all.......THE HONEYMOON...its booked and with airfare, hotel, & cruise......$1600.

ALL DRESSED UP IN LOVE

Everyone else's attire....

this is my inspiration

Bride'smaid dress is from Alfred Angelo Style 7004 in Mocha with Cafe trim
The Jr. Bride's maids dresses are from Davids Bridal one will be in latte an the other in truffle
I sooooo wanted that tie set for the fellas but its discontinued from the company I saw it at so off to find something similar. But the fellas will just be in Brown suits, ivory shirts, and some nice tie that i finally find.

CANDY IS DANDY BUT LIQUOR IS QUICKER

So I have decided on 4 signature drinks for the bar.

Jack and Coke (something old)

A Chocolate Bride (something new)

• 6 parts vodka
• 1 part chocolate liqueur
• Chocolate curl

Directions

• Combine vodka and liqueur in a mixing glass with ice cubes and stir. Strain into a cilled cocktail glass and garnish with chocolate curl.

A Golden Groom,(something borrowed)

• 2 ounces tequila
• 1/4 cup pineapple juice
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• Splash of pomegranate juice
• Orange peel, for garnish

Directions

1. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice; add tequila, pineapple juice, orange juice, and pomegranate juice.
2. Shake well.
3. Divide between 2 highball glasses; garnish each with a piece of orange peel.

A Electric Smurf (for my something blue)

• 1 oz. Blue Curacao
• 1 oz. Coconut Rum
• Fill with Pineapple Juice
• Fill with Sprite

Then we will have a few cases of budweiser and heinken, a couple bottles of moscota, and a few bottles of champagne. And maybe the usuals, (Hennessy, Crown, Kettle One, Malibu, Barcardi's, Coke, Pepsi, Sprite, Apple Juice, Cranberry Juice, and Grenadine)

TO DO LIST

9-11 MONTHS
November 14, 2009 through February 13, 2010

• Get organized! Start a notebook/file folder to house all your wedding-planning paperwork in one place, browse our Wedding Planning Basics area, and download The Knot Toolbar for easy access to all your online planning tools.
• Begin envisioning your wedding style and wedding colors -- formal, eggplant-and-gold hotel reception? Or a modern, black-and-white loft? Colorful, tented, backyard barbecue celebration? Or exotic, orange-and-yellow beach wedding?
• Decide on a wedding budget and hash out who's contributing to the wedding. The Knot Hint: For a quick and easy way to determine your budget, use The Knot Wedding Budget Tool.
• Choose a wedding date and time, and finalize after okaying with important guests (parents, siblings, and grandparents), ceremony and/or reception location, and ceremony officiant.
• Begin interviewing wedding coordinators (if you'll have one) -- look online and ask family and friends for local wedding coordinator recommendations.
• Brides: It's never too early to begin thinking about your wedding dress. Start by figuring out what wedding dress style will look best on you.
• Start taking better care of yourself. Get in wedding day shape by eating right, joining a gym, and/or even hiring a personal trainer.
• Hire a wedding coordinator (if you're having one) and sign the wedding coordinator contract.
• Interview wedding caterers look online for wedding caterers in your area and ask recently married friends for recommendations.
• Scout out reception sites in your area until you find the perfect reception location.
• Look for a ceremony officiant in your area (if you don't already have one in mind) and/or a premarital counselor who suits your style and spirit. Interview prospective officiants and start prewedding counseling if it's right for you.
• If you're having an engagement party, set a date, draft a guest list, and order the invitations.
• Book your reception site as soon as you see something you love that's available on your date. Before you sign the reception contract, make sure it includes everything you discussed.
• Begin working on a preliminary online wedding guest list and decide approximately how many people you want to invite. Request "wish lists" from both sets of parents, then compile.
• Put together your bridal party. Choose your bridesmaids, pick your groomsmen, and decide on your flower girl and ring bearer. Also consider giving a part to those very important friends and family outside of the bridal party (ceremony readers, guest book attendants, candle lighters).
• Find a ceremony site (if one hasn't already been determined by your choice of officiant or reception site).
• Brides: Start your wedding dress search. Begin by looking at pictures of wedding dresses online and in magazines.
• Choose your wedding colors (if you haven't already), taking into account the existing decor of your ceremony and reception spaces.
• Decide on a caterer. Hash out a rough price per head and start planning your reception menu.
• Sign your catering contract and send in a deposit.
• Finalize your wedding guest list. The Knot Hint: When you're done, make your lives easy by entering everything into your Guest List Manager.
• Envision your wedding flowers and set up appointments with wedding florists in the area to discuss options.
• Start looking for and auditioning local reception bands or DJs.
• Brides: Once you've found photos of wedding dresses you like, make appointments and head out to bridal salons to try them on.
• Envision your wedding invitations. Look at invite photos and decide who will make your wedding invitations. The Knot hint: Coordinate all your wedding stationery from the save-the-dates to your invitations and place cards.
• Set up appointments with various florists to discuss options.
• Decide on your officiant and set up a meeting to plan the wedding ceremony and talk about any religious requirements (such as premarital counseling).
• Research, interview, and get price lists from several wedding photographers in your area and local videographers. Before you start, read up on wedding photo and video basics.
• Start a wedding registry at one or more of your favorite stores. Even if you start with just a few pieces, you can always add more items later. The Knot Hint: Do it all in one place at Registry Central.

MEMORY CANDLE

We are going a memory candle, I'm deciding on if I want a floating one in an etched glass vase or if I want to actually make a candle. Here are the instructions on using tissue paper to have a seamless look but I might go with the vellum printing and attaching with glue and studs and ribbon.

ANOTHER CHECK

Ok I've just finished the monograms...I think that I like the one with our names better than the one with our initials.

Next step is to find a company to do the stamp for us. We have been given the names of a few that aren't local (Villiage Impressions & rubberstamps.net )and then a local company Stampers Ink. Stamper's Ink told me approx $60 for a custom stamp, but to come in and maybe it could be a little cheaper. So I am going to take my design down to Stamper's Ink in a few days and see what price she is talking about, and I've sent a request to Villiage Impressions for a quote. I'll do an update when I get that quote.

WEDDING SHOES

(photo from Wedding Bee)

I'm doing the monogram on the bottom of my shoes :) I found instructions on Wedding Bee

FLOWERS....CHECK

My bouquet and the groom's boutineer DONE.! And all for the low low price of $15 this includes flowers, crystals, ribbon, rhinestones, and boutineer holder. Gotta love sales!

LET THERE BE LIGHT

LET THERE BE LIGHT! Ok I have seen this EVERYWHERE and now I want it. I want uplights and our monogram in lights. Something I haven't seen yet at my friends and family's weddings. I did find some info on DIY on the a blog ( Becoming His Mrs ) OMG I love her for it. So I'm going to look into do the uplighting and having the monogram done by the lighting company vs DIY. Due to the fact that KC is basically shut DOWN, we have an appointment with a local lighting company soon.

NEW YEARS

In my cutest yet scary kid voice, "WE'RE BACK!!!!!" And actually better than ever. Honey Bear has found a new job YAY but I lost mine, well lets just say that I made an Exodus from my previous employer. I have an interview this week and I am claiming the job, because it is what I have prayed for. But we are still going to pray long and hard that everything is going to be ok and that we can get this wedding back on track. With penny pinching my DIY list has just gotten even longer. I still want a ton of stuff that I know is soooo out of the budget but we will see. A lot of things have changed but I'll update soon.