Venue, Sweet Fiance

Well, we met with the coordinator at our venue. We haven't booked yet, but we've decided we will. We're going to a Sunday brunch there this weekend, just to make sure the food is good. I've only heard good things, so I don't think it's going to be a problem.

I just wish the reception room were prettier. It's kind of plain and a little ugly. The dance floor is small, though the manager said they have additional mats they can use if we'd like a bigger space for dancing.

I commented to J today that I wish the room weren't so ugly. Y'know what he said? You might not believe me, but this is how the conversation went:

J:Well we have that brunch Sunday, right?
Me: Yeah. I mean, we're set, but it's still a good idea to try the food before our deposit. I just wish the room weren't so ugly.
J: It won't be ugly in October of next year.
Me: Huh? I guess the decorations will help, but it's still...
J: Because if the decorations don't make it pretty, the bride will.
Me: Where is my fiance? What did you do with him? That was really sweet...
J: Yeah, I'm good for a year now.
Me: Try a month.
J: Oh come on! That's worth at least two months!
Me: Ok, two months!

LOL
I am not usually into the mushy mushy crap, but that was just awesome. It's nice once in a while. :)

That's one of the reasons I love J. He very rarely says sweet/romantic things, but when he does, they mean even more because of his personality.

Deleting "Bulging Bride" Journal

Ok, now that I know what I'm doing, I'm going to delete my Bulging Bride weight loss blog. I track my food on Fitday, and that keeps a record for me. I also have a journal/diary on the weight loss forum I joined. I think that's plenty of tracking...no need for overkill.

As for the weight, I'm starting to feel confident that I'll be in a size I'm more comfortable with by the time I'm ready to try on dresses (or most likely, have one made!).

I'm down 16lbs already. I know I have a long way to go, but I'm getting there day by day, and I'm happy with my progress.

I'll periodically update here.

Liesel's Dress

Have you seen the movie, The Sound of Music, starring Julie Andrews? If so, you know the scene I'm about to describe...

Liesel, the oldest of the von Trapp family children, manages to sneak away from the dinner table to meet her beau, Rolf, in the gazebo. Upon meeting, their dialogue turns to song. "I am sixteen going on seventeen....lalalalalalala...." They dance around the gazebo, sashaying on benches and twirling about...

Well, that's the dress I want. Yes, it's true.

Since I was a young girl, I loved that movie...and that has always been my favorite scene...due in no small part to that amazing, twirling, ethereal dress!

I've been saying for years that I want a wedding dress with sleeves, but not your typical lace sleeves, though some kind of bell shape might be nice...but that I don't necessarily want long sleeves because I don't want to be too warm...lol. Well, these sleeves fit the bill.

There are only three changes I'd make to the dress:

1. I want it in gold (not the pale pink). I will not wear white or ivory at my wedding, so gold it is.

2. I want to extend the length of the dress so it just skims the floor. Ahhh...how pretty...

3. If possible, I want to add just a bit more space between each ribbon on the bodice. The first right under my bust, but the last closer to my hips, rather than my natural waist, thus creating more space between the first and middle, and middle and third.

Now, I won't be able to find this dress on a rack or in a bridal store, obviously...but I do have some options.

I can always find a seamstress to make it, which, I know, can get expensive. I do have two courses of action I can take before that, though.

My MoH's mother can sew. She may not agree to do it. It depends on whether or not she thinks she has the ability. If so, I will buy the fabric and pay her whatever she deems reasonable for the job.

If that option doesn't work out for me, I have one more...longshot. My sister-in-law could sew sew sew...she really had talent. Unfortunately, she passed away a long time ago. However, her mother is still alive...and that's where she learned how to sew. If I can get in touch with her, I know she can create this dress. If she's willing, I would, again, buy all the materials and pay her for it.

If those options fail, then I start seeing about a seamstress.

I was told that the material I need isn't too expensive, but that the dress requires A LOT of fabric.

I'm trying not to get my hopes up about this. I am aware that I may encounter a lot of obstacles in having this dress made for me. At the same time, I am feeling a bit relieved. I was getting so overwhelmed with the idea of a wedding dress. There are too many options, but at the same time, they all look alike to me. Maybe it's because I viewed too many.

Part of me wants to wait to look into this because of my weight. I'm still dropping pounds, and I'd like to be my goal weight for my wedding. I can't wait too long, though, because it is going to take time to A) find someone to make it and B) actually make it.

I think I'll give it until October. That still gives me an entire year. If I drop all the weight I want to lose before then, great! If not, oh well. I'll maintain where I'm at at that point in time.

Music: Recessional

I've been having a hard time deciding on processional and recessional music. I know I have time to work it out...it's just that music really sets a mood for me. I came across this song and I really really like it: Ingrid Michaelson - Take Me the Way I Am

At first, I was really excited about it. Now, I just want to add it to the list of possibilities. Sometimes, I think I'd like something really cute and romantic. Other times, I think I'd like something fun(ny) that is reflective of us.

Possible Recessional Music:
Ingrid Michaelson - Take Me the Way I Am
Something from Star Wars
Farscape Theme Music
Something from the LoTR Soundtrack (also considering for processional, so much pretty music)
Celtic Music
Medieval Babes (sp)
Super Mario Bros. Theme Song (I really like this one...heheheh - omg the processional could be the dungeon music...rofl - sorry, was taken away for a minute there...I'm back now)

I had a bunch of other possibilities in my head, but they flew away just a minute ago...

Progress Post / Update

It's been a few days since I've posted here...oh noes! LOL

I actually joined an LJ community for wedding plans, so I've mostly been posting there and gathering inspiration from a lot of other lovely and creative brides.

J and I have an appointment on Thursday, April 3rd at 6:30 with our preffered venue, Inne of the Abingtons. I really hope we can swing the deposit this month to save our date...assuming we like them. It's funny, but unless I go there and hate the staff, I've pretty much decided on them already. We can hold our ceremony and reception there. The scenery is great. The prices are reasonable. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that all goes well.

I also spoke to a photographer whose work I like. I visited her website, Melissa Ann Portraits. She's just breaking into wedding photography. What drew me to her were A) Her nature photos (they are gorgeous) and B) her reasonable prices. She said if we book this year, she'll secure her rates for us for next year. Squeeeeeeee. I told her we'd be in touch after booking the venue. I think she can do what I want for our photos. We aren't into having a huge album full of pics of us getting ready, etc. What I really want are pics that will incorporate the autumn into our shots, not just use it as a backdrop. I have a feeling she can do that (but of course, we'll talk about it when we meet).

So yeah, that's that. I'm still dieting/trying to lose weight. My hair is finally starting to grow out. I might even be able to get a half decent ponytail in a month or two. lol.

Most of our family and friends know the engagement news. His poor mom still doesn't, but that's a long story. He or both of us will tell her soon, I'm sure. I don't think it's really going to matter to her one way or another anyway.

Favor, Drink, and Dessert Ideas

I had surgery this morning and should be sleeping, but I don't feel like it. I'll lie down in a bit.

In the meantime, I wanted to post about possible wedding favors.

Originally, I was going to purchase gold organza drawstring bags and fill them with pumpkin shaped candy corn. Then, I remembered one of my favorite treats (that I almost never have)...maple candy!

Now, I'm thinking that I could fill these gorgeous bags...

With these yummy treats that look as good as they taste!

Assuming we stay within the 100 guest limit (even 120, allowing for more, but expecting around 75), we could get the candies for between $60 and $100, depending on the size of the candies and the shipping costs. That's not bad! Sure, it's a little more than the pumpkin candy corn, but I think it'll be worth it. They fit so perfectly with our theme.

Oh, I've also decided that I want apple cider from our favorite cider mill at the reception. J and I will have to purchase it, but I have a feeling our venue will be fine with that. I was thinking we could serve warm apple cider with a cinnamon stick and mulled wine during the cocktail hour!

I was also thinking that instead of a wedding cake, we might have pie. J didn't seem thrilled about the idea, but he didn't say no, either. I think we'll have to talk about it. I was thinking we could do apple and pumpkin pies (as they both remind me of autumn). We could set the different pies on our cake table on different levels, and surround them with foliage (probably silk).

Is anyone else doing a non-traditional dessert?

Planning Excitement - It's All Real Now!

Yipeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

We have our first wedding appointment scheduled! We're visiting a possible venue on the evening of April 43rd. I was surprised to hear that they were nearly booked for 10/09 already. Fortunately, none of the Sundays are taken yet. Whew! The gentleman I spoke to said that regardless of where we book, we should do so soon, as dates are already filling up. I had no idea so many people were planning as far ahead as we are.

I'm a little bummed today. I had to take my ring back to have it sized. They said it's going to take a week to get it back! :( I was really looking forward to wearing it all the time once I got it. It'll be more comfortable and fit better though, so I suppose it's worth the wait!

Now that this is really and truly official, there are a few things I want to do within the next three to four months.

1) Book our venue.
Unfortunately, we probably won't be able to afford a deposit until late next month. *bites fingernails* I hope our date will still be available.

2) Dress shopping.
There is a problem with this, though...my weight! I am more motivated now than ever before to drop all this extra baggage. No, I don't want to be a size 6 bride, but I do want to be thinner. I'm still keeping up with my weight loss journal pretty regularly. I've lost 11lbs and have 39 more to go. I think once I've lost a total of 25 lbs (so 14 more to go), I'll start seriously looking for dresses. I think that'll be a substantial enough loss that I won't feel so bad when I put on a dress. Maybe it won't feel so much like a tent then!

3) Decide on stationery.
I've had a real problem finding stationery I like. From Save the Dates to Invitations, I just can't seem to find anything that really catches my eye. I've thought about going DIY with stationery, but I think that's a bit too complicated for me. I'm not great with printing/formatting stuff.

4) Talk to our potential officiant.
We'd like a mutual friend/acquaintance to perform our ceremony, but we aren't sure if he'll be comfortable with straying from tradition. I'm writing our ceremony (with input from J, of course), and it's important to me that we make it our own. So, I want to know if he'll be comfortable with it, or if we need to figure out another plan of action.

I know these aren't necessarily the 'proper' order of doing things, but since when is anything J and I do 'proper?' There are a lot of things I need to wait to do, either because it's too early or I simply need this autumn to roll around for reasonably priced supplies to become available. I'm very anxious to try my DIY boquets, but I've heard the flowers I want to use (mums) are more affordable in autumn.

I've put together a binder for wedding planning. I was going to buy one of the wedding planners I saw at Border's, but $30 and up seemed awfully expensive for something I could put together myself. I think what I might add to it is my own timeline/checklist. I've found a lot online, but I want to customize them.

It's Finally Official!!!

IT'S OFFICIAL!!!

J finally proposed last night!!! Yay! I pretty much knew it was coming, but it doesn't make it any less exciting for me.

It turns out that he actually got me my second choice ring. At first, I was a teeny bit disappointed, but I'm so thrilled that it's official that I don't care anymore. I think this ring suits me well. In fact, it'll go really well with the channel set wedding band I want...they'll complement each other nicely!

Here's a pic!!!

We have to have it sized, though. It's a bit too small and uncomfortable on my finger. Unfortunately, it's going to take them a week to do it. :( So, we're going to drop it off tomorrow afternoon. I want to wear it tonight when the girls come over so I can tell them the good news!

Now all the ideas I've been posting about can come to fruition. I can actually plan, not just talk about planning!

Yay! I think we found my ring...

J and I looked at rings on Saturday. I think I found the one I want. I hope it's the one he buys!It's really just a plain old round solitare set in white gold, but I really fell in love with it when I tried it on.

When I went to their website to find this pic, I also saw a wedding band that I really like...

I think it'll look stunning next to the engagement ring. I was thinking of using my grandmother's wedding band...until I saw this one!

I haven't forgotten about J. We both like the black titanium one I showed him, but it's a bit more than we wanted to spend on the bands. Turns out the same ring is availble by Littman for half the price of the first one I saw! Yay!

Yes, Another Engagement Post

...but this one isn't as whiney as some of the others.

I have an extremely close relationship with my Aunt. I have turned to her during many hard times. I love the relationship we've developed and the conversations we can have now that I'm "all growed up." Hehehe. She has been a positive guiding force in my life for a long time now. I am soooooo grateful for her. I honestly don't know if she is aware how important she is to me. I try to tell her, but I stumble over words when they're the "mushy" kind.

I will talk to her about almost anything. One thing I have not spoken to her about is my non-engagement. (I don't know what else to call it anymore) The subject is a difficult one for me and I tend to dance around it a lot, unless I'm blogging or freaking out to J.

We talked about it today, and she, as always, really helped me see things from a different perspective. It doesn't change the way I feel about the situation, but the understanding I've gained is helping me cope with it better. I think I have a clearer sense of where J is coming from, even if I don't like it.

I'm just so blessed to have her.