99 Days - Making Progress (Finally)

I am feeling way good about where we are at. It's a nice change!

We met with caterers this week and had great success! It's going to be a lot of money, but that is where we expected to spend a lot of money.

We have our dj, our photo booth, my dress, veil & tiara. We have bridesmaid dresses and tuxes, mother of the groom dress, mother of the bride dress. We have the pastor, the ceremony location, the reception location, the photographer, the engagement photos.

We have a potential cake baker. We have a potential floral designer. (Same person, in fact)

We are starting to get ideas for decorating the ceremony and reception. We are working invitations.

We have an appointment with our wedding coordinator on Monday.

We worked really hard today on our guest list. I was so happy and proud to be done with the names of whose on the list. And then I checked my email and found a list from his mom with more people to invite. Ha ha. Of course.

104 Days

I finally got our engagement announcement submitted to the paper. It was not easy.

I'm feeling overwhelmed again tonight. My fiance has a very busy week at work, and I think his work stress is rubbing off on me, and my wedding stress is rubbing off on him. Not a good combination.

I have finally decided I have to do something about losing weight. I hate the way I look in pictures/video and know I won't be happy with wedding pictures if I look the way I do. I have over 3 months. I can do a lot in 3 months if I really go hardcore.

I've learned in the last 3 months that I am definitely a stress eater!!

Sigh....so many things to do. Such little time. Not just between now and July 4th, but actually ON July 4th.

I wait for people to respond to inquiries. I'm frustrated.

105 Days

I'm still tired.

Wedding planning consists of never-ending tasks of things to work on.

People told me at the beginning of the engagement that I'd have moments where I'd think how much easier it would be to just elope.

I thought I understood them.

I was wrong.

Now I understand.

I'm grateful I'm doing it all with my fiance by my side. I can't imagine doing this without his support.

Tired

Oh man, I am tired of being treated poorly by wedding vendors!!! Is this what I get for trying to do things on a budget?? To save money I have to sacrifice decent service?? Unacceptable!!

...Only, I really want what they have to offer. What I haven't been able to find anywhere else.

I want to go off on them. But I'm still trying to stay professional and respectful. It's just getting harder and harder.

In other updates...

We think we know where we will live. Though it's not ideal, it looks like we will live at my place for awhile. This is a great way to save money and pay off debt because it is so inexpensive to live here. It also takes less pressure and stress off us to find our love nest before July 4th.

Oh, have I mentioned we're getting married July 4th? Yep. And I want fireworks.

I ordered the last of our dishes. They were on clearance and in random places so my mom recommended that we order them ourselves to make sure we will have the ones we want. We got all 3 sets on sale! It's nice to have that taken care of. And it wasn't even on my list!

I've been lazy lately about making sure things are on my list. And if it's not on my list, I forget all about it... Which reminds me, I need to gather addresses for a shower invite...

Good Times

I L O V E being engaged!!!

I just read two cards from today's mail that reminded me that I GET TO MARRY THE LOVE OF MY LIFE!!!!!

Oh, and he is!! I couldn't have found a better man for me! God picked him out for me and kept him safe in the palm of His hand, and now he is giving him to me! I want to honor and respect him and be the best fiancee (and soon wife) he needs!

Tonight we put in our order for bridesmaid dresses, flower girl dresses, groom & groomsmen tuxes and ring bearer suits (we thought suits were ok for $70 vs. tuxes for $150). What a great feeling to accomplish much! Tomorrow we go to our first cake testing - so exciting!!

We had our engagement photo session yesterday. I can't tell you enough how FUN it was!!! To have our shared love as the focus of our afternoon was amazing! I didn't want it to end!

Engagement Photos

Engagement photos were a BLAST!!! This morning my stress and nerves turned into giddyness and excitement for the shoot. I was able to find outfits and come up with props, and I couldn't wait for our 3:00 appointment! We did 3 different outfits, multiple backgrounds, and shot over 1,000 photos in 2 1/2 hours. Seriously a blast!

We found the greatest places in downtown! We did an outfit change in the restroom at the back of this local cafe and ended up shooting in the hall outside the bathroom for like 15 minutes because of the great color of the walls there.

Oh man, I can't wait to see the pictures!!!

Waiting

I'm so tired of waiting to hear back from people!!!

Currently waiting for confirmation of our rehearsal time. This is important because it affects all events planned for the day before the wedding - bridal brunch, personal shower, bachelor party, rehearsal dinner/party, etc. I just want confirmation!!!

Also waiting to hear back a price quote for catering the bridal brunch and the rehearsal dinner. Please, please, please send me this information!!!

And to the guy who is ignoring my requests to see his apartment...JERK!!! We don't want you as our landlord anyway!!!

I understand not everybody works on the same schedule as me. But common courtesy is to respond within a day or two, not more than a week. And if you tell me you will provide information by a certain date, and you don't, I have every right to be upset.

Yes, I am becoming Bridezilla.

Wedding Stress

I cannot even begin to describe all the stress I am feeling. I've got it coming at me from all possible areas. Work, friends, family, wedding party, living arrangements, clutter at my work station, clutter in my car, clutter in my home. It's complete madness. I don't feel like myself.

Today I let out a loud, deep, real laugh at something a co-worker said. And it surprised me. It had been so long since I've heard a real laugh come out. I can't even remember what was said that caused me to laugh. I wish I did so it might bring some humor and joy back into my life.

My fiance is being great through all this. He's doing what he can. He's supporting me. He's encouraging me. He's praying with me and for me. But, there are 30 minutes in between us. And we are both busy. I'll see him tomorrow (I cannot wait!!), which will be 4 days since seeing him last.

Sunday are our engagement photos, and I'm freaking out about them. I think I finally figured out why. They (and all these wedding related things) are only gonna happen once. I've waited my entire life for these events and activities. And I get one shot at them. So, I want them to be perfect. And I am killing myself trying to figure out what I want for these once-in-a-lifetime engagement photos. And the the once-in-a-lifetime personal shower, and bridal brunch, and rehearsal dinner, and ceremony, and reception and wedding night and and and and and. What elements should we include for the perfect engagement photos, the perfect shower, the perfect rehearsal dinner, the perfect wedding cake, etc. etc. etc.?

No wonder I'm exhausted.

I promised myself I'd stop crying. I lied.