I'm Back!

I have been a non blogger for so long (July was my last post! eek!) and there is a reason behind my absence. Blogging reminded me of the wedding and I was so disappointed by some elements of the wedding that it was very hard to get over. I know to some of you that may sound so silly and many times I have tried to tell myself to stop being so critical and to get over it - which I am working on and that is why I am trying to blog more again. I am hoping that blogging will be my outlet and help me put all the little things behind me, because after all I am happily married to my best friend and that is what matters!

BUT you have to realize that I work in the wedding business and I see multiple beautiful weddings EVERY weekend. It is hard to see it first hand and compare it to mine, I just can't help it. There are so many things that I would change about my wedding, I know that there is no way to have it all and I would have to have A LOT of money to pull off my dream wedding (maybe someday!). Working as a floral designer at a premier event and wedding florist is amazing, the work that we do on a daily basis is nothing but the best - which is how every florist should function. WELL, NOT my wedding florist. Let's just say that there were lots of tears when I saw my wedding flowers (not happy tears). Being in the business I expected so much out of my wedding flowers and to say that I was disappointed is an understatement. Some of you may be wondering why I did not do them myself, well I did not want to be a bridezilla and no one should have to do their own flowers for their wedding - too much stress! And why did I not hire my boss to do my flowers? Well, when I started my job in February and had my date set in June there was really no question that my boss and co workers would not be doing my flowers (which I was fully aware of, but would TOTALLY go back in time now and BEG and PLEAD for them to make it happen : ). Not only could they not do my flowers, there were not able to attend my wedding either : ( I work in Nashville and my wedding was in Louisville so between the 3 hour drive and having 8 weddings that weekend I knew that there was no way they could be there.

My mom and I were determined to hire seasoned professionals to do basically everything so we did not have to run around on the wedding day doing last minute details (we THOUGHT we had hired seasoned professionals - I will blog about all of them later *not all of our vendors disappointed us, but more than one) We wanted to enjoy the day, which I did!



I had a very relaxing day with my bridesmaids, parents, and some other family members at my parents house. My dad mixed mimosas all day for us girls, my uncle was a busy bee straightening the kitchen and making sure my parent's house was not destroyed by all the "controlled" chaos, my mom was able to relax (some) and hang with us girls and some of my family dropped in throughout the day. It was great. I got to spend time with all my bridesmaids: my best friend since 7th grade, my best friend from college/Phi Mu, my sister in law, and my 2 future sister in laws (Matt's sisters). I look back and really that was one of the best parts of the day. I was surrounded by people who loved me and I felt so at ease because I knew that I was marrying my best friend. I was not nervous at all and was surprisingly super calm...

Okay, that is all for today - I have been on Pinterest all morning and now it is time for me to get things done (Christmas decorating, cleaning, and run errands). I will hopefully blog more tomorrow about the wedding and my HORRIBLE florist! I do want you to know that I am fully aware that my wedding is a minuscule thing in life and that there are so many more important things out there to worry about. I am just a girl who needs an outlet and has real emotions and needs some way to get them out. Cheers to you all, hope you are all getting ready for Thanksgiving! We are hosting Matt's family this year and I am excited to use some of our wedding gifts for entertaining!

Pics from Blake & Miranda Shelton's Wedding

Wanted you all to see some of the pics from Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert's wedding festivities. My boss has received some pics but these are straight from the photographers blog! Still cannot believe that I was able to experience this all first hand! I got to party with all the stars (after we broke down EVERYTHING that we put up - which took 4 DAYS to put up and about 2 HOURS to take down!!!) Reba, Katherine Heigl, Kelly Clarkson, Martina McBride, Trace Adkins, Dierks Bentley, Lady Antebellum and the list goes on...I got to have a chat with Miranda who said that it was her fairytale wedding!

There was definitely some blood, sweat and tears (literally). We worked our butts off, but it was all worth it in the end to see the whole thing come together AND because we got to attend the reception/concert/best party I've ever been to! We were lucky enough to be featured in US Weekly, People Country, and Country Weekly!!! We were responsible for all of the ceremony decor and all of the floral arrangements including ceremony and reception. Hope you guys enjoy some of the amazing pics!!!

Check out the pics here: Robert Evans Photography Blog

we're married!

I completely failed at blogging at all before the wedding - I wanted to keep a lot of the details under wraps and so much was going on that I didn't have any time to blog anyways. Work was crazy and so was all the chaos of moving, settling into the new place and making sure everything was ready to make the trip to Louisville. I will blog later about all the details leading up to the day but I didn't want to leave everyone hanging forever! I have a few sneak peek pics from my amazing photographer and cannot wait to see the rest! Everyone says that the day of the wedding is a blur but honestly the days leading up to it were a blur and the day of was very calm and relaxed.

When it came time to see Matt for the first time I was so calm. I stood in the ceremony area and he came up behind me - I had never felt so at peace. I turned around and saw my handsome groom and he looked even better than I imagined. BUT he was shaking and tearing up - I couldn't stop smiling, I just wanted to get the show on the road and get married!!!



There were quite a few little bumps in the road leading up to the big day that kind of made me lose it, but the day of went smoothly (as far as I know!). I will tell you that there are a lot of things I would have done differently and things I would have changed but it is over now and all that matters is that we are married. I think the fact that I work in the wedding industry made things not as "fairy tale" as they are to others. I just expect a lot and have seen lots of weddings so it was hard for me when it came to my wedding. The best part of the wedding was the ceremony because everyone was there for us and we became husband and wife!!!

The only thing that I can't get over is the fact that there were a lot people that were not able to be there. That is the biggest regret I have is having it on a Friday and at the beginning of summer. A lot of people were out of town on vacation or couldn't get in town because it was a Friday. A lot of people left earlier than I thought they would and a lot of people that said they were coming weren't there. A lot of people that I really wanted to be there - that hurt the most. I was looking forward to having the special people in my life to be there for my big day. It is just hard when this is my life, being in the wedding business and the fact that I have been planning for my wedding since I was in the womb!!! It is hard when it is not your "dream" wedding.

I feel bad because I feel like I am supposed to say that it was. Don't get me wrong I had a lot of fun and I am now married to the love of my life and best friend, but things didn't play out like I saw it in my head. BUT I over analyze everything anyway! I had a TON of fun dancing with my closest friends and my parents. I really think my parents had a great time and that honestly matters more to me than anything else. They have sacrificed so much for me to have such a great life and a great future! My dad was a dancing machine, it was so fun to watch him let loose!
Ok, that is enough of my nonsense! I hope to blog again soon about more of the details!! Cheers!

Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert's Wedding

Ok, so I promised that I would blog about the wedding and all the wonderful details but I will have to wait for a while for all of the pics and details to come out through the media. We were told we have to keep it on the DL for now. BUT, when it comes time I will be sure to share with you a day by day breakdown of my amazing opportunity and involvement in the Shelton's wedding!

For those of you who don't know - the florist I work for was chosen to do all the florals for Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert's wedding and I GOT TO GO and work my butt off! It was completely worth it though! Sorry I have been MIA for a while, I was gone to Texas for the wedding for a week and have been crazy busy with work since I got back - not to mention miserable with nasty allergies! Hope to be back on the blogging trail soon! In the meantime go out and get yourself a copy of Us Weekly to see some of our floral work and ceremony decor! In honor of the country cuties, cheers - with a glass of whiskey on the rocks...

getting close!

I have been absent once again, it is becoming an issue. Once I get home from work the only thing I feel like doing is making dinner and going to sleep! And I never know if people really read this nonsense so I feel like no one is really missing anything if I blog - if you are a reader and don't follow me leave me some love in my comment box!

Last week I got the call that my dress was in so I packed up some wedding stuff and headed home to see the beauty! I was very anxious because I had not lost that much weight and I am still not satisfied with the way I look so I was afraid I would not like the way I looked. I am excited to say that as of today I have lost 12 lbs and 3.5 inches off my waist in about a week and a half!!! I am very proud of myself and I hope that it keeps coming off!!! OK, back to the dress - sorry I get side tracked very easily! I knew that the dress would need to be hemmed for sure and that there would be some other minor changes as well so I went into the fitting knowing that my dress was not going to look the way it will on the wedding day. The dress that I tried on was not the same color that I ordered so when I walked into the fitting room (with HUGE mirrors on every wall! eek!) there was my beautiful WHITE WHITE dress hanging in all its glory! My mom and I were so excited to see it again in person, it has been six months since we had seen it last! It looked a little different but I remembered it ( I can't lie - I looked at it probably at least once a week since we purchased it) but I was surprised at the color. I wanted to wear white I just didn't realize it would be this white! It has a sheen to it - so it kinda glimmers in the light so its not a flat white.

The owner of the store is the one who did the fitting and she is so great, I was glad that she was there to do it. I slipped into the dress and she started lacing it up in the back and I can just see the panic in my mom's eyes - she starts to freak cause she thinks she is not going to be able to lace it up the day of the wedding so I see her studying what Sher (the owner) is doing, then she starts asking a million questions and all the sudden became a paparazzi!!! And if you know me, I do not like random pictures of me taken AT ALL - I HATE it, I like to know when you are taking a picture and at what angle - I hate candid photos! So here she is clicking away and I am not even all the way laced up! Gotta love her though!

So I am standing on this little wooden box in my wedding shoes that are not that tall but when you are standing on a small wooden box in one spot for like ten minutes straight your ankles start to throb! Finally it is laced up and I am in it and to my surprise it is quite a bit too big! I was relieved, but a little disappointed because it did not look the way I wanted it to. Since I have been losing weight they are not going to take it in until my next fitting which will be my last I believe, so hopefully once it is all said and done it will look fab and fit like a glove. So we looked at and stared at it and walked around a little and then I got back up on the box and she started to pin the hem. Wow, I knew I was short (somewhere between 5"1 and 5"3), but she jacked that hem up - you could have made a reception dress out of the fabric they are going to cut out of it! So that took a while and I just stood and my mom continued to ask questions and take pics.

Then when everything was pinned up we got out my veil and feather fascinator and attempted to make it look right - we have been having issues with the veil, it does not want to behave! Sher got it to look pretty good and my mom was making her show her how she did it and then took more pics of it in my hair so she can remember...

So that was my dress fitting experience. While we were there we picked up the rest of the bridesmaid dresses to deliver to the out of town girls - it was my first time seeing them and they looked great and I still love them too! All the guys have been fitted for their tuxes and I just picked up the girls shoes, I immediately made Haley (Matt's younger sister and my roommate)try on the whole ensemble and it looked great!!! I was worried that the shoes would not go well with the dresses cause I got them online without seeing them or the dresses in person so I am so relieved that they go great together, I just hope everyone's shoes fit!

In other news I am mentally preparing myself for everything coming up at work, moving and the wedding. I have today off and possibly tomorrow then basically work almost everyday the rest of May - I have a big trip coming up for work that I leave for next week, we will be gone Tuesday through Sunday, we are headed to the Southwest and it is going to be hottttt!!! I am excited though, it is going to be some really cool floral work! Matt and his dad are going to be moving stuff into our first apartment while I am gone (very excited I don't have to do any heavy lifting for that, but I will be in 90 something degree weather so I don't feel too bad!)

Well that is all for now since I just wrote quite a bit for one day! Hope everyone in KY is getting excited for the Derby, wish I was able to partake in the festivities! I will cheers you with an invisible Mint Julep today!

down in the dumps

So I am not having the best week, just down a little and pretty overwhelmed! Once May hits I am going to be going non stop with work & wedding stuff - I am trying to prepare myself. Everything right now is pretty low key though so I am getting kind of nervous that I won't be able to keep up once everything starts getting crazy!

The bridesmaid's dresses are in, I won't be able to see them for a week or two but I hope they look great! My dress is in between somewhere in China and Louisville, KY. Who knows! I hope it arrives soon cause it is getting down to crunch time for fittings and making sure everything is in order! The bridal store says that it should be there in a week or two.

Matt & I put down a deposit on our first apartment together! We are staying in BG, we had hoped to move towards Nashville but everything we looked at was way over priced for the amount of space we would be getting. We figured we might as well stay put until Matt graduates and we have more income to put towards a nice place close to Nashville.

Everyone is starting to get their invitations, my mom sent them out last week and she has gotten about 20 reply cards back which is exciting! I hope everyone replies so I don't have to call people... that would not be fun!

I have been doing my TurboFire workout for about a week now and it is crazy! At first I did not think it was that bad, but then I had my first HIIT workout yesterday (which means high intensity interval training) I almost died!!!! Oh my gosh, it was insane! I hope to keep it up and stay on track. Well that is what I have been up to lately! Cheers to a great week!

exciting things

I love me some Tori Spelling & all things wedding, so naturally I am super excited about her new show sToribook Weddings that starts tomorrow!



I am going back into my hair stylist next week to show her my veil & possibly do another run through of my hair. This is a picture of the first run through, not sure if I will keep it like this or not. I like it, but it is very heavy in the back cause I have a ton of hair! I am excited to see it all with the veil. I am waiting for my dress to come in also, I haven't called - I figure it would be better just to be patient but I am getting kind of nervous that neither my dress nor the bridesmaids dresses are in. I am getting ready to order the girls shoes & possibly make them some little stud earrings to wear.



If you know me, then you know that I am a night owl and I like to watch infomercials. I have seen infomercials for Chalene Johnson's TurboFire many many times and finally decided that I HAD TO HAVE IT!!! I started researching it - reading reviews, checking for the best price etc. I found a brand new set on ebay & bought it! Now I am just waiting for it to get here & bust my butt!



My mom is working on addressing the invites & I decided on the stamps which I love because I love flowers & purple is one of our colors!



In other news I have been emailing all my vendors like crazy - they are probably super annoyed by me, but I like to be informed and in control! Matt & I designed our gobo last night - which is a light design that will be on the wall at our reception with our monogram. I really like what we designed & can't wait to see it at the venue. We are also looking into doing some up lighting throughout the seating area at the reception - hopefully it is in the budget!! I am working on changing the centerpieces a little too, I will know more soon about that & will be sure to update you! Cheers to you all! (all pics from google, Frazier Museum website, & personal photos)

opening day!

In honor of opening day! GO REDS!



wish we could have been there : (

you are invited!

whew, I have some catching up to do in the blog world! I have been all over the place in the past few weeks! I started a new job in TN, I have gone home twice in the past three weeks and been trying to catch up on laundry for like a month - not to mention the mess and Valentine's Day decor that is still up!!!

This past weekend my parents friends threw Matt & I a couples shower! The theme was movie theme and each guest was given a movie and had to base their gift off of the movie, then Matt & I had to guess which movie it was! It sounds easy, but some of them were difficult! Some of the things we got were a fan from my parents (gone with the wind), a waffle maker (julie & julia), an ice bucket with our new monogram with playing cards, dice & stuffed tiger (the hangover), and one of the most difficult came from Matt's parents who spoiled us with six wine glasses, six napkins & napkin rings, six votive holders(with fleur de lis on them!), six shot glasses, & some home scents (the sixth sense)- we were completely stumped on this one! Those were just some of the amazing gifts we got! So blessed with amazing friends & family!

That was Saturday - Sunday we went to church then came home and began addressing the invitations outer & inner envelopes! We chose to do them on the computer instead of hand written or pay to have them done. We did not get a lot done considering it took about 2 hours or more to get the right template and alignment (thanks to my wonderful future hubby who figured all of it out). Once we got going we got quite a few done! This is when it really started to hit me (the shower & invites getting sent out), we are really getting married!!! I can't believe it is time for the invites to be sent out - for some reason this makes it so much more real! I will blog more soon about all the other things going on! Here is a sneak peak of our invites! Cheers!

a few of my favorite things...

hey y'all! Hope everyone had a great weekend and for those of you out there that were on spring break I hope that it was fabulous and know that I am quite jealous! My weekend was pretty uneventful, Matt and I were supposed to go up to Cinci. to hang out with his parents and go to a gun show (Matt just got a new hand gun he is obsessed with), but that did not happen so needless to say I was bummed to be staying in BG instead of going to the big city for the weekend...

Anyways, I thought it would be interesting to share some of the things I can't live without and some guilty pleasures. So often I am reading other people's blogs and it is nice when they share some funny and interesting things about them that I so often think to myself hmm, I am glad I am not the only person that does that/likes that/says that etc.



Some of my favorite things - material things:

- diet coke & diet dr. p
- my laptop
- WE network ondemand
- facebook ( it is more like a sickness!)
- junk/reality TV (another sickness)
- skype (the only way I can function when I am not in the same city as my niece)
- Penn Station (crossing my fingers that BG gets one asap!)
- conditioner (my hair is extremely temperamental)
- an occasional coca cola classic (guilty pleasure)
- my brita purifier (I have a faucet water phobia!)
- flowers (obsessed- my favs are peonies, garden roses, tulips, and orchids - I HATE roses, especially red roses! I know weird..)
- co bigelow mentha lip shine spearmint lip gloss
- cell phone (even though it is pre historic I am eventually going to get an iphone)
- clorox disinfecting wipes (I use these things on the reg!)


those are just a few of my favorite things! What are some things you can't function without?! Do tell! Cheers and happy Monday!

Ps I finally ordered the wedding invites, more about that later!

98 days!!!

OH MY GOODNESS!!! I just can't believe it! When we first got engaged in May it was more than a year away and now there is only 98 days til we say I DO! It has truly flown by and I just could not be happier! My veil and feather fascinator were shipped today and I can't wait to see it! My dress should be in in April for my first fitting and I am so excited to see it again! I can't wait to see it on with my veil, jewelry and shoes! So exciting! In other news...

Matt and I were on a really good workout routine but have faltered this week : ( I just started my new job at an event and wedding florist which I LOVE! I am so blessed and thankful right now that certain things did not fall into place right after graduation and that a little patience and prayers brought me to this wonderful opportunity. Matt has been in contact with a construction company that could lead to an internship and we are just over the moon with happiness right now!

We hit a little bump in the road a couple nights ago when I was browsing the net and thought to look up some reviews on our honeymoon resort. WELL am I glad that I did (Matt told me not to look at them anymore because there were quite a few negative ones and it upset me) but I thought I would just look again cause I had seen some before that mentioned that the property had filed for bankruptcy. The first review that popped up said that the resort had CLOSED without warning!!! I freak and go to look up the resort website and sure enough, the name had changed and there was a notification about the closure and a link that lead me to FAQ's about the closure. I freak out! It said that the resort had closed on Feb. 20 and they did not have a re open date, the resort was bought by someone else and had many legal issues to settle. Matt was doing homework in my room and I ran in there and just showed him the page where it said CLOSED! We immediately called his dad and he said he would look into it the next day, we then emailed the contact that we had asking if we still had a reservation and if we could be sent to another resort or something like that. I was sooo pissed because I had to find out on the internet, they never sent anything to us or Matt's parents or grandparents who booked our stay.

The next day Matt's grandma called the timeshare company and basically said that we were not risking them re opening in time before our wedding and that they better find us somewhere else - bless her heart she is amazing and we are so thankful for her! So now the plan is that we will be going to a MUCH better resort in Puerto Rico! I don't know much about it but it looks great and has a great beach with a bar and grill right on the beach - that is all I need to know!
Matt and I took money out of savings to pay for his passport that he does not need now! But they say it is good to have one so I guess that is a good thing we went ahead and got one for him. That just gives us an excuse to go somewhere else in the next few years out of the country!

This next week is spring break for Western, not that it matters to me anymore cause I am a big kid now and Matt plans to work all week but everyone on facebook is talking about their plans for Panama City, Ft. Lauderdale and Jamaica. Slightly jealous, but I get to go on a HONEYMOON in a few short months with the love of my life so that is ok with me! My boss is also on vaca so I don't have work next week so I am going home to hang with my mom and one of my other favorite people my little niece, Gracie! Hope everyone has a great weekend, cheers!

a POP of color!

Hey guys, I just had to share this wonderful blog with you all who are recently engaged or have already started the planning process or if you are just in love with weddings! The Perfect Palette is wonderful and shows you so many different color inspired inspiration boards! I'm sharing my colors with you! My colors were the first thing that I chose when I started the planning process and it made everything else so much easier and fall in to place. I do recommend that you do not strictly stick to only one shade of your colors, using different shades of your colors brings in depth and makes things more interesting! Cheers!

The Enchanted Florist

Hey guys I wanted to introduce you to a new friend of mine Caprice and her wonderful company -The Enchanted Florist. The Enchanted Florist was originally a full service floral shop but after much demand for wedding and event floral design Caprice decided to become strictly a wedding and event florist. I got to sit down with Caprice recently and learn a little more about her company, herself, and her wonderful designs. I immediately felt so comfortable in her warm and well decorated office in downtown Nashville, she had me laughing within minutes and I felt like an old friend. Caprice is such a genuine person with amazing design ideas up her sleeve. So in honor of Caprice's great success I wanted to share with you all some of her work from this past fall at Front Porch Farms.



I just love the casual, yet sophisticated country atmosphere overlooking the hills of Tennessee.



Janna, the bride, chose beautiful and rich fall colors which were executed flawlessly by the team at The Enchanted Florist. I love the touch of feathers with earthy tones accenting the bold florals, very appropriate for an outdoor wedding.



The boutonniere on the groom, Todd, matches perfectly with his casual tan suit, fall colors, and country surroundings. Congratulations to Janna and Todd on your marriage and to a life full of happiness and health!



I just had to add this last image, isn't it great?! What a cool way to bring in the colors of the flowers and the balloons make such a statement, not to mention a great photo opp! Cheers to all my readers and The Enchanted Florist on all their success!

gettaway dress

Happy Friday everyone!!! Hope you all had a good week and are ready for the weekend! Not much planned for the weekend over here, I am going shopping for an interview outfit for my interview on Monday in Nashville. Went to the grocery yesterday - I have lots of yummy meals to make this weekend and next week including white chili and teryiaki chicken with rice & veggies - yum! Speaking of grocery shopping, this has been one of the biggest money savers for Matt & I lately. We eat dinner together every night no matter what and that used to mean that we would go out to dinner more nights than we cooked but since January we have been keeping a budget and saving all of our receipts. This has been a HUGE eyeopener! We use one of the budgeting charts from Excel and it is wonderful - I highly recommend! Anyways, we have been planning out our meals before we go to the grocery and only buying items on our grocery list not random extra stuff that is now sitting in the back of my pantry. So now we are saving sooo much money and eating better! I am very proud of us for keeping track and trying to do better with our finances before we say I DO! I think that money is sadly one of the things that a lot of couples fight over and I am glad that we are getting a handle on our spending before we start sharing money.

Onto other news... I have been looking for a dress to leave the wedding in and to maybe wear for the last thirty to forty five minutes. So it is not technically a "reception" dress because I will be wearing my gown almost the whole time, but Matt and I are leaving early the next morning for our honeymoon and I don't want to take my dress back to the hotel room plus I don't think Matt would know how to get it off of me haha (scandalous!) It has a corset back and I think it would just be easier for my mom to help me get out of it and take it back to my parents house than have to mess with it the next morning. I have not found anything that I love! I want something short and playful possibly pink and something I could wear on the honeymoon. Any ideas where to look? I have looked online @ Macys, Cache, and J.Crew but nothing is really speaking to me! I want it to be dressy, short, and summery. Let me know if you have any ideas! Have a great weekend everyone! Cheers!

wedding nonsense

So lately I have been kinda in a funk because I am done with the planning of my wedding until about April/May when I will go back into my vendors to confirm things. I am kind of sad because I just looooove weddings and everything that goes with them! Many people that I talk to are surprised that I am done with all of the plans, I have been done since before Christmas so now it is just kind of a waiting game. I don't know what I will do when our wedding is over. I have told Matt that we will have to renew our vows numerous times so I can have multiple weddings and in every season!
The only thing that I do not feel super confident in is the ceremony music. I find it difficult to pick songs for the ceremony. I mean people don't usually remember ceremony music - at least I don't, but I want it to be cohesive and sound pretty. I need to talk to my DJ about it, I have songs that I want but I just don't know if they all flow/go together.
Matt and I have started pre marital counseling at our church in Bowling Green and we love it so far. I was excited about it, but Matt was not too enthused. After our first meeting Matt loved it. It was so nice to talk to someone who was married, young, and didn't know us that well. I think since Matt and I feel so comfortable together it is nice to have a third party to look onto our relationship. We love our minister - he is great and we can't wait for our next meeting. Unfortunately he is not able to perform our ceremony because his brother is getting married the next day in a different part of the state. This was a major issue at first because we had ruled out anyone in Louisville marrying us. We wanted someone from our church in Bowling Green - the church that we joined together, instead of someone from the church I grew up in. I wanted the person that was going to marry us be someone that we both knew. WELL, it did not work out that way - but I think everything happens for a reason. The minister who married my parents 29 years ago (who is also the minister I grew up hearing from the pulpit) will be performing our ceremony. Matt and I will both sit down with him and get to talk about our relationship and commitment before the wedding so it is not like we are just showing up on the wedding day without ever meeting our minister. My parents are stoked and I really think they are honored that he is able to marry Matt & I and I am honored that Matt & I will share that with my parents.
In other news... I am still on the job search - I have gotten two offers one is full time but not great money and the other is in between part and full time and decent money, but I will have to commute some. THEN I recently heard from a dream job that I had emailed at the very beginning of the year. I was so ecstatic to see it in my email. I have sent them my resume and portfolio (hint - it has to do with weddings!) and heard back from them immediately. I hope to be able to meet with them soon and possibly have a job. I won't reveal yet, but hopefully I will hear something soon!
Matt and I started looking for our first apartment and we are so excited to have our own place to decorate and make our own. Though it is an apartment that is ok with us for now. Matt is still in school for another year and we plan to move as soon as he graduates, so apartment living is fine for now. We had initially hoped to move towards Nashville and that could still be a possibility, but all of the jobs that are in the picture right now for me are in all different areas (Glasgow, Owensboro, Bowling Green, and Nashville) - hopefully the one in Nashville will work out! If not we think we have found a place in BG to make our home! It is crazy that the countdown is almost in the double digits! Hope everyone is having a great week! Cheers!

birdcages & feathers - what a pair!

So I have finally selected my veil and I am very anxious and excited to see it! It is going to be custom made by TessaKim on Etsy check her out (http://www.etsy.com/people/TessaKim). I had found the perfect feather fascinator that I was dying for but I did not like the veil that came with it so I asked around and was able to get both that I was looking for. I am so excited to have this beautiful piece! The veil and fascinator will be two different pieces so I can wear just the fascniator at the reception. I also got it for a great price! I went to a bridal store and found almost exactly what I wanted and it was going to be almost 300 bucks - the majority of that would be the feathers which boggles my mind!
I also got my bridesmaid gifts on etsy and recently got them and love them! Can't wait for the big day - it is going to be here before we know it! I have officially started having crazy wedding dreams and it is really out of control. I wake up thinking that they are so real and that I am now married. The most recent dream was that no one was on time for anything - my bridesmaids were not anywhere to be found and my hair girl wouldn't answer her phone and never showed up! Many other bizarre things that don't even make sense. Anyone else out there having/had crazy dreams before their wedding? Hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day - I can't wait to be Hannah Valentine next year for Valentine's Day! Matt says it gets old when people ask if that is really his last name, but I am pretty stoked! Matt and I didn't get to go out or do anything because of work and Matt's night class, but I got some lovely tulips that I adore! Cheers to you all!

bridezilla!

So I was working last night at the basketball game and one of the ladies I work with asked me if I have had a "bridezilla" moment. I just thought it was funny because that is not the first person to ask me this. Do I seem like the person that would be a bridezilla? To those who know me best the answer would most likely be "yes" - BUT I think everyone would be surprised because I honestly don't think I have. I believe I have only cried once (no yelling - just tears). That is pretty good I think... For those of you who don't know me that well (which I don't think people really know me unless they have lived with me, cleaned with me, or done crafts with me (those are my intense moments). I am extremely particular and anal when it comes to certain things - a perfectionist actually. I get that from my dad - which is not a bad thing. The only bad thing about it is that I stress myself out and may pop a blood vessel one day. I do get bent out of shape easily. Many of you may be surprised though, because I can truly say that I have not had a bridezilla moment - yet. I pray that I am able to keep my cool and take everything with a grain of salt as the big day draws nearer.
A lot of people have asked me if I am doing a lot of the wedding stuff myself. Yeah, sure I can whip up some bouquets pretty fast and hand stamp a fleur de lis on the programs etc, but that would cause the crazy in me to come out. I would not dare put my fiance' or family through that. My mother and myself's philosophy is to leave it to the seasoned professionals. For my mother and I, it is worth the money to hire people to do everything. I am only getting married once and I want to remember it in a positive way, not me crying at 3 am because the centerpieces are not to my liking. Some things are just worth spending money on. I am not saying I have a huge budget either. As of now our spreadsheet says we are under budget and we have figured every possible expense in. I am very lucky to have a mom who is so budget savvy and whips up a spreadsheet better than me. We have been on top of our budget from the beginning and it has really really helped with the planning. We went in and started putting in what we wanted or projected to spend in each area that totaled up to the budget or close to. Then when we would go to our vendors we knew what we wanted to spend and could tell them. This made things so much easier. I was also very thankful that I was working for a wedding planner because I knew going into consultations with vendors how much I could get for something. I was not going to let them take advantage of my money. I truly believed that we have hired people that know what they are doing, familiar with my venue and each other and know what I am expecting.
I told all my vendors what I was expecting and that it was a lot. I was very nice and calm about it - no bridezilla veins were popping out. I just said that I notice everything and expect everything to be perfect. I would rather them know ahead of time than the day of when it is too late. I fully expect for some things to not go the way that I planned them to, but that is why I am so thankful that I have worked a few weddings in my lifetime. I have seen the mistakes first hand, and mistakes happen. I have also asked a TON of questions and I am not done emailing, calling, and going back in to meet with my vendors. I would much rather know what I am getting than be surprised. I want my wedding to reflect me - I want it to look like my personality is shining through, not just the vendors professionalism. So if I get a choice on how the napkin is folded or how the table is set I am going to decide - I am not going to let them just guess how I would like it. Yes, some may say it is anal - but it is the little things that can bring me joy or make me mad. If I were in my vendors shoes - which I have been - I would want to know how the bride wants everything. I would hate to just guess and it end up being completely wrong. Ok, well I could talk about this for days but I will stop dragging. If you are a bride planning their wedding, leave a comment of your most recent breakdown or bridezilla moment! And if you have not had one, cheers to you!

carnations

so I am sure as soon as you see the word carnations you think filler flower or yuck! Or if you are one of my Phi Mu girls you think Phi Mu's beloved flower. Well I really want to incorporate the carnation into the wedding but they are not the most attractive. Well I have found that with the right color and grouping them is really quite great - to me. I don't think I will be using the "rose" colored carnation that we are used to in the Phi Mu world, but a more vibrant and rich colored carn. Any thoughts about this? Check out some carns being used in these beautiful bridal bouquets and chic centerpieces!

things that are happening

so I thought I would put some pics on here to let you see some things that are in progress - just a glimpse, I can't give everything away! I promised some pics of the sketch of the cake/s, I put a couple on here but not all of them just so you can get the idea! Props to my amazing cake girl Chelsea from Baked With Love!

the ladies attire

So I talked briefly before about shopping/looking for bridesmaid dresses. Well I am happy to say that they are now officially ordered! YAY, I really can't wait to see them on the girls. The girls that got to try them on had to try on larger sizes so I did not get to see a true fit or the right color. BUT I knew it was the one! I really wanted a look that was not that typical bridesmaid dress that gets donated, used as a costume, or pushed to the back of the closet. I wanted something young, attractive, and wearable. I hope the girls enjoy the dress I have chosen, I am kinda jealous and may be borrowing from one of them in the future! I was looking for more of a party dress so they could wear in the future and get their party on at the reception! I will not reveal the dress, but I will reveal the color. The color is a dark gray, almost black. I think that the dark color is wearable again and flattering. The pop of color will be the amazing peonies, ranunculus, orchids & garden roses! The dress IS on here, take a guess! But you will have to wait until June to find out!

take a guess!

So I have not blogged recently because I did not have much content to write, but I thought I would give you a little eye candy and a little guessing game! Guess which dress is mine! The answer will not be revealed, BUT it is on here! ENJOY!