Wedding hair idea with accessories #1... RANDY TO THE RESCUE!

Minus the one flower, I like her bouquet! I'd get it a little smaller too.

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Watching SYTTD! Research.

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Randy to the dresscue!

Lots of changes

We've made a lot of progress since my last update...
Narrowed down my bridesmaid dresses to two choices.
Picked the final groomsmen.
Got a DJ finalized.
Printed out our Engagement Photos that turned out so excellent!
Start working on a song list.
Narrowed down some invitations
and many other tiny things...

HOWEVER...

Something much bigger has happened and it throws everything off.

Life got lifey and as the clock kept ticking down more and more negatives kept popping up. Finances were becoming an issue. I found out my brother is getting married right before me, so I'm scared my family won't make it to my wedding. I somehow managed to plan this right in the middle of volleyball season, so I would have to miss multiple games and practices. We'll also just be in the middle of our first semester at ODU. The list goes on and on. So I had to take a hard look at it and take it over with Reggie and think about changing the date.

After careful consideration, we decided that it would be better to go with our 2nd date choice which is February 2nd, 2013. It is our actual anniversary. Our first date was at the Polar Plunge on February 2nd, 2005 and it just happens to be the weekend of the Polar Plunge again. 13 is my favorite number as well. Maybe it's fate?

We're just waiting to hear back from our wedding coordinator at the venue to ensure that date is still open and we'll be good to go. It's only 3 months difference. We are NOT putting on wedding off for anything other than timing reasons. There are no cold feet. There are just too many obstacles and we truly want to enjoy this process rather than "make things work".

We hope we aren't inconviencing anything at this point, that's why we're getting the word out now. We hope you support our decision!

Research ladies!

Met with the florists...think this is a good match!

SO much happening! Engagement photos came out amazing. Will post soon! DEF found our fotogs. Just made a date with a possible florist!

Had an amazing day shooting, but we couldn't finish because it was so cold! Got the park done though. Round two at the beach tomorrow!

Engagement Photos - Take 2

So we met up with the fotogs from Vinluan Photography on Wednesday night and we are very pleased with what they have to offer. We scheduled our shoot for tomorrow morning and if everything works out as hoped, they will be shooting our wedding as well.

We're basically reshooting at Redwing Park and at the oceanfront again. I have soooo many wardrobe changes, haha. This married couple is too cute! They have a lot of ideas and we have a lot of similar ideas in photography. I think it's a great match. I did a little recon of the park. We've had some nasty weather and the cherry blossoms are not here yet, but there are a lot of really cool shots that we can still get.

We'll take our baseball shots here.

Checking out the blooms

A cute bridge to take advantage of!

The Japanese Garden is really pretty!

I love the pond setting, but I don't know if I'll be "mounting" it like the first time, haha.

We've got trees to work with.

The joking "myspace" face picture I took for Jake.

We're really looking forward to testing them out and see the results. We may even have the raw footage tomorrow and then we'll get some edited work at a later date. From what I've seen in their current portfolio, I will not be let down!



Interesting! They did it ALL in one room!

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We may have stumbled across our photographers! We're meeting on the 7th and doin' an engagement shoot on the 10th to test them out! It seems to good to be true!

I wonder how we could do uplighting ourselves?

Doing more research

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Doing some research! Similar stuff here...stingy scores though!

You get your choice in pillows...soft or firm....I'll take firm! Hahahaha!

Another shot from the balcony!

The view from our King Room at the hotel!

Had a great meeting with my new Coordinator at the Holiday Inn today. She cleared alot up and is going above & beyond to make things easier on me! Love her!

4 Years!

Today is our 4th anniversary! I can't believe it's been that long since we first met. If we were to change wedding dates, it would probably be today's date in 2013. Unfortunately, that usually falls on the same day as to why we met...the Polar Plunge. It's such a great charity event for those that don't know about it. Many idiots around the country get together in the freezing cold and dive into the ocean...for a good cause of course!

Our first date was 2/2/08 at Mahi Mahi's where they hold the event. I met him and the rest of his crew down there. Half of his friends plunged, the other half just get hammered, haha. The best part is seeing all the people who get dressed up in various costumes. It was definitely a very interesting first date.

God must've known I needed someone like him in my life at that time because I (we) went though one the roughest periods in my life over the next 6 months or so. Losing my Gramma and my Dad, the two people who loved me the most on this planet, a void in my heart that I thought could never be replaced. While it was never "replaced" it, he definitely made life bearable and then whole again. I have learned to love and be loved again. He taught me it was okay to let go and let someone help me...one of the greatest gifts anyone has ever given me.

I knew if we could make it through that, we could make it through anything. Now here we are, four years later...still in love, laughing, graduating school together, moving on to University together, still coaching volleyball together, raising that hormonal man-child of mine together, planning a wedding together, and living one day at a time together.

Life is good!

Personalized Black Wedding Flutes - Oriental Trading

Personalized Black Wedding Flutes - Oriental Trading

The champange flutes I plan to order!

Chair wrap on Four Weddings

Alternative chair sash wrap! Just change the color to eggplant/plum/etc.

I'm about to have a pow wow with some of my bridal party. It could be very productive or just a whole lotta laughs. Either way I win!

Official Date & Time!

We all knew October 13th was our wedding date, but we didn't know where we were going to actually get married. The ceremony has been weighing on us for quite some time now. We were going back and forth between indoors and outdoors...at a church or not. He (and myself) wanted the oceanfront wedding, but you just never know planning those outdoor weddings. It's even worse here in Virginia Beach and it's hurricane season. Having the wedding at a church wasn't a priority because we don't go to church even though we both have a relationship with a higher power. My relationship with God is important to me, but I don't need a "facility" to be a part of our special day. That being said, after a quick talk with our coordinators at the Hotel we have reserved another area of the hotel as a backup for the ceremony!!!

I couldn't believe it would be that easy! Our previous coordinator said that if we wanted to do the outdoor wedding and it didn't work out, we could move it inside to our reception area as a backup. If there was no one in this other area we could do it in there as well, but she could not guarantee it. I guess their policy has changed because for a little bit of dough, we can reserve the space for an hour as a backup and if we don't use it for the ceremony, we can use it for our cocktail hour!

I'm so excited about it. I'd almost rather plan it indoors than outdoors just because of the weather issue and save on expenses for outdoor rentals and licenses. However, I really like the idea of having the cocktail hour downstairs and separate from our reception area that way it will be a surprise when they head upstairs for dinner and dancing.

No matter what happens a HUGE weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I now can proceed with Save The Date cards and look at making Invitations. Our out of town guests don't even have to leave the hotel to go to our festivities. We blocked all the rooms there. It couldn't have turned out any better!

YAY!

Platinum what?

I'm sorry but I just think these people on Platinum Weddings are out of control! If I had to to do I would do it up, but I would be more selective. This lady spent more on her cake "decorations" than I did on my wedding dress. She spent more on her food and drinks in four hours than I make in two years. It honestly makes me sick to my stomach. I wish it were jealousy, but it's not. It's one thing to be lavish, but to just throw money away that could be used to help others is another thing.

Who am I to judge though?

Table decor with my colors! Love the chrome/silver overlay.

Uniquely Yours Bridalshow - Jan 15, 2012

Let the vendorage begin!

Table decor!

MOH & Me at the UYBS

Me and my MOH getting ready to tackle the Show!

How unique is that cake?

Doing research while watching Four Weddings tonight. I cant't believe I'm down to 9 months. Tomorrow is the Uniquely Yours Bridalshow! Lots of pics to come!

Got an email today. Time to set up a time to meet with the new catering Manager! Nom Nom!

Nothing like My Big Redneck Wedding to inspire me!

Flowers I like!

10 Months - time to get serious

Yeah...it's been a while and it's time to get crackin'...if we're really going to do this.

David Tutera is going to be in the Outer banks this weekend. I really wish I could go down and meet him, but that's not going to happen. However, we are going to go to the Uniquely Yours Bridal Showcase at the Scope next Sunday. We are also going to the VOW Bridal show next month as well. I hope we win something this year...besides 1,000 annoying sales calls and two pounds of added weight from cake samples!

So many things to do, so little time. Check list time:

• I need to call Maya Couture and schedule my first fitting. (I've put that off long enough.)
• Gotta get the local bridal party together to start looking at dresses.
• Pick a ceremony spot! (At least nail down indoor or outdoor!)
• Start narrowing down the guest list! (I've far exceeded 100 in my mind and on paper)
• WORK OUT! Tuesdays with Z!
• Get engagement photos done (for real this time!)

That's just the tip of it...so much more, but those are my main focus for this month. Once I get to these shows I can start looking into cakes, photography, shoes, decor, etc.