No news is good news... or is it? :)

How sweet is this "tying the knot" save-the-date?!

So I have not updated in a while, mostly because there's been no real news since the booking of the venue (HUGE relief!!!). We have an appointment with a photographer Saturday in Murfreesboro so hopefulle after that we'll be able to decide on that aspect. Honeymoon is booked (but you already know that story, how Daniel accidentally paid for the entire thing at once--hehe!). I suppose next on my list is getting save-the-dates together and sent out in the spring since fall is a crazy hectic time in general, not to mention busy with other weddings. Somewhere I heard that October is the new June (wedding lingo that I never fully grasped until recently and ventured into trying to book venues, caterers, etc). Man, whoever said that was NOT lying! After save-the-dates, I think I'll get started on the design for our invititations and talk to an officiant that I have in mind to see if he would do us the honor of marrying us. Lots to do...! Thankfully... Sarah took a HUGE strain off my shoulders when she told me she was not leavin for basic until mid-to-late October. THANK GOODNESS! I was so concerned that she was not going to make it back in time for the big day with the previous timeline. But all is well and I'll have my three lovely ladies up there with me: Amy, Sarah and Erica. SO excited! Until next time, peace and love:)

Movin' on along!

Things are finally starting to come together... thank GOODNESS! Really though, getting a venue booked--a venue that I LOVE--has lifted an enormous amount of weight off my shoulders. I also booked the same venue for our rehearsal dinner the night before. Next on my list is getting save-the-dates taken care of and booking a photographer. YAHOO!!!!

Oh, and I just had to post these pics from www.oncewed.com (my FAVE wedding site. I'm definitely wearing a birdcage veil and these photos of this gorgeous lady and her retro veil have me smitten. I mean, how cute is she in that little, feathered veil?!

OH HAPPY DAY! Venue is BOOKED!

OH THANK THE LORD, I HAVE A VENUE BOOKED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Seriously, words cannot express the amount of stress that is taken off my shoulders... and the venue is PERFECT. Outdoor area with a backup plan of wedding/reception being held inside in case of inclement weather and catering is offered on-site! THANK GOODNESS!!!!! It's perfect (and very affordable, luckily!). HALLELUJAH! Time to celebrate! only thing left: save-the-dates, invitations and booking a photographer. :) PROGRESS!!!!

PROGRESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Honeymoon is booked! (and entirely paid for).
Ok, so Daniel and I sat down Sunday and decided to finally book our honeymoon--a cruise to Mexico. (We had been on a cruise together as a couple once before about two years ago and I have been one more prior to that. I LOVE them and highly recommend them for the budget-conscious traveler!)
Anyway, Daniel was going through the proper rigamaroar (yes, i just typed that hehe) and hit the "book now" tab. Well as our luck would have it, we were then directed to an "error" page instead of the usual confirmation page. Daniel went back and said, "I think I'm just gonna hit 'book now' again."
I slightly panicked and told him he should call the cruise line and see if it did in fact go through for fear of us being charged twice.
He called. And waited. And waited. And of course: It went through. But...
We then realized that Daniel had accidentally pushed the tab to pay for the ENTIRE trip from start to finish instead of just paying for the booking fee (we had previously decided to pay-as-we-go).
Daniel and I looked at each other with our eyes wide.
"Oh well," he said. "We were going to have to pay for it all eventually."
True. But it still came as a slight shock.
All in all, our honeymoon is now entirely paid for. We even decided to spring for a big, fancy suite, complete with a whirl-pool bath and personal ocean-view balcony.
CANNOT. WAIT.

Retro Love

I just love this photograph of newly-wedded Mick and Bianca Jagger. Yes, Mick look's a little strung out, but I just love the celebratory factor: Champagne in hand, ready celebrate. And I think Bianca looks gorgeous. Love her hat/veil combo. Very 70s cool.

I'm getting married THIS year!

It's been a while since I updated this thing. There's been no headway in the wedding planning extravaganza, but it was the holidays and both Daniel and I were incredibly busy, so I'm cutting myself some slack. Although now I must admit that I feel slightly panicked because in my crazy, worried mind I'm thinking that a LOT of ladies became engaged over the holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Eve), therefore, they'll be trying to book vendors, venues, etc too.
We had decided that we would do the wedding/reception at my mom's beautiful farm. But then I started thinking of how ill-equipped the place is to handle a wedding, albeit a small one. My worries: rain (no indoor backup plan), caterers require a full working kitchen (or at least all of the ones I've talked to have) and I'd hate to put that cleanup burdain on my mom in her own house, people wearing heels outdoors, the place I wanted to do the wedding/receptoin at was pretty far away from the house and barn, therefore, no place to hook up electrical equipment unless we bought thousands of yards of extension cords, parking, etc.
So... now we're back at square one. I'm trying not to fret over it too terribly much. I've said it before and I'll say it again, if we can just get the VENUE, I'll have a TON lifted off my shoulders. Wish me luck!

New Year's resolutions:
- be more considerate at home, no matter how tired I may be.
- Save X amount for our new (in the works) savings account.
- RELAX more and enjoy the small things in life and simply enjoy being ENGAGED!
- Spend more time with my Snicklett:)
- Advance my career (in whatever way possible).
- Last but not least, take more trips: day trips, hour-long trips, rides in the sun, explore and learn...

Going to the chapel...

Well guys, with a little less than a year to go I already got a wedding dress. It was one that I had my eye on for over a year (sad huh? lol). I'm absolutely DYING to show Daniel because I can't keep a surprise to save my life, but Im under strict orders from my mom and Amy to NOT, under any circumstances show him the dress lol. We made the trek to Green Hills yesterday and I was accomopanied by my mama and best friend Amy. It was so fun and felt so great to be surrounded by love on a special day like that. I had already set up an appointment with a personal shopper at JCrew (sounds fancy, but I assure you the service was free yippee!) and had a huge dressing room waiting for me with my top three dress choices all laid out ready for me to try on. Andrea, the personal shopper, advised me to try on the dresses in a 3-2-1 fashion, with my least favorite being the first to try on.
I did this and the first two dresses were exquisite. But then...
I tried on my all-time favorite, to-die-for dress that I said over a year ago (long before a ring was ever in our minds) "that will be the dress I get married in."
It. Was. Fabulous.
It was amazing. Truly and utterly. I came out and everyone went 'Oh yea, that's it.'
It was perfect for me. No frills. No lace. No beading. Just pure lovliness and simple elegance. With one sexy silhouette. I was smitten:)
I will admit though that even though it was definitely on the low-end price range for a wedding dress, it was the biggest purchase I've ever made, personally and that was hard to swallow. BUT I kept telling myself... we're having such a simple affair as far as the wedding goes (food, music and friends in a field) that I was getting that darn dress, the dress that I had been eyeing for over a year.
I also picked up some awesome bright red nail polish to wear on our special day. I'm envisioning short red, retro nails and a homemade (or cheaply bought!) birdcage veil.
If you know me, you probably know that I was never all for a wedding... the important thing was that I just simply wanted to MARRY daniel. I always told him that I wanted to elope and then celebrate with family later, but he never budged on the wedding idea. But now that I have this amazing dream dress... I'll admit... I'm all over the idea of a (SIMPLE!) wedding :)