Time to Buckle Down!

It is now 3 months until our wedding day! I have been in Myrtle Beach since Sunday and returned last night realizing that the Big Day is just around the corner....time to buckle down! We have a few things left on our list to "tidy up". Like calling the caterer to let her know the menu we decided on. Choosing our songlist for the DJ (if you have a special request....let us know!) We are going in to East TN on July 14th for Lewis and his guys to get fitted for the tuxedos and pick out their ties. Jade and Jasmine's dresses will be on the "to-do" list for that weekend as well.

All of the big stuff is done..... what we're mostly busy with now is just paying everything off at this point. Lewis and I agreed from the start that we will not go into debt for the wedding. We have heard Dave Ramsey enough and had our own experiences on top of that to know that paying for things up-front is the way to go. We both realize that we do not want to be faced with a large bill when we get back from our honeymoon. So it is our goal to have the wedding and honeymoon paid off when we walk down the aisle. Luckily we are managing that pretty well at this point. There are bigger things we want to focus on after the wedding, like buying a new home.

So 3 months away and we are buckling down! We're going to get those small details done and we're going to tighten the budget-belt. I guess that means I'll have to skip that pedicure appointment and Lewis will drive through McDonalds a few less times in the next 90 days. But that also means we won't be in debt at the end of it all!

Only 99 More Days!!

99 Days.... 99 Days....99 Days!!!!

Everything's Coming Up Roses

Lewis and I decided not to hire a florist. I know.... many of you I'm sure are thinking we are crazy. But we are practical people. And we also happen to be the people paying for the wedding. We couldn't justify spending hunderds of dollars or more on flowers that we would be throwing away after using for only a few hours. It just didn't make sense to us.

Soooooooooo....I made a trip to Michael's. I decided to try my hand at making flower arrangements. In particular, I wanted to make Heather and Michelle's bouquets. I was in luck.... Michael's was justs putting out their fall arrangements so everything wasn't picked over. I found some beautiful autumn flowers that I thought would be great for our fall theme. Wednesday night I put together my first bouquet..... and it's perfect! I started snipping and arranging and adding a bit here and there ... and WALAH! I have to say I'm pretty proud of my creation. It is ridiculous how much money I saved on these flowers. I think I'll take those savings to the craps tables on our honeymoon! :-)

My First Freak-Out

The whole planning process for me and Lewis has been relatively stress-free. Yesterday, however, was a different story. I think I can honestly say I had my first moment of "freak out".

I called the Bridal Shop where I ordered my wedding dress to check on getting a color swatch from the bridesmaids dresses so we could match the guys ties. At the end of the conversation, I just happened to ask what the status of my wedding dress order was. The girl checked her computer and told me it was scheduled to deliver the first week of SEPTEMBER. Huh??? What did she say?? I told her politely that I had paid for a rush charge in order for my dress to arrive by end of July. After further research, she found the "rush charge code" had not been properly entered into the system, and it was too late to rush the dress. It is now scheduled to arrive the first week of September. Oh nooooooooooooo........ !!!!!!!

She did refund the rush charge I paid...but that doesn't do me any good. I still have to buy a veil.... which typically you get after you buy a dress. How can I try on veils with a dress that I don't have yet? Oh...and let's not forget that the dress will need alterations. There will be a minimum of two fittings, barring the seamstress gets the alterations perfect the first time.

Yep.... a moment of freak-out. Plain and simple. I finally realized there is nothing I can do to change the current situation, so no sense in worrying about it now. I guess now matter how well you plan, something is going to go wrong. I just didn't think it would be the wedding dress!!

Any Trouble Booking Your Room?

If you have had any trouble booking a room at the hotel, please let me or Lewis know. There are 2 other weddings going on in Lebanon that same weekend and we all have rooms blocked. My mom called a few weeks ago to book her room and they told her there were not any left. However, I spoke with the manager and she assured me I still have the block of rooms for the discounted rate. I think we got it all worked out.....but let me know if you have any trouble.

Mug Shots

So how many of you have passports? Lewis and I applied for passports for the first time this week. The process is actually quiet simple, but I was surprised about the whole picture-taking process. I'm not sure if requirements have changed since 9/11. And its not that the requirements bothered me. I was just a bit surprised.

Lewis was first in line to have his mug shot made. I say "mug shot" because that is exactly what it looked like....without him holding the sign with his name and inmate number on it! He was told not to smile or to make any facial expressions..... just look at the camera. Of course, that got him cracked up and he crossed his eyes and stuck out his tongue! I don't think the guy was too amused.

I was next and I stood in front of the screen just as Lewis did. The guy focused, then brought his camera down and asked one of the other worker about my hair. (What???) I was told that my hair had to be behind my ears with my ears clearly showing. (What again???) The only reason I think this is strange is because the only time you see my ears is if I put my hair up. So the way I look in that "mug shot" is not any way you will ever see me. I also learned you cannot have any earrings or jewelry showing. It is indeed indicative of a mug shot.

When it was all said and done, we looked like two common criminals that had just held up the local liquor store. It was a good chuckle for us in the middle of our very long day.

Checkin' Off!

Lewis and I took a personal day off on Monday to get some wedding stuff done. I use the word "personal day" because it was certainly no vacation! We left the house at 8:30 am and got home about 12 hours later. HOWEVER... we got alot accomplished!

By 9:00 am we were in downtown Nashville at the Office of Vital Records. We had to get original birth certificates to apply for our passports. By 10:30 am we were at the caterer's, going over the reception details. We did get to sample some of those wonderful chocolate and pecan brownies! (yummy!!) After our meeting with the caterer we drove to a party rental place to secure our rental items, such as the candelabras. Then it was off to Wal-Mart to get our passport photos made. Can you believe the picture place in Wal-Mart was closed???? When does anything in Wal-Mart ever close? Oh well.... That was a brief hiccup....so we stopped for a minute to eat lunch.

We drove next door to Walgreen's and got our passport photos made...then back to the house to make copies of our birth certificates. From there....we were off to the post office to actually apply for the passports, which will take about 10 weeks to get back. Then...back in the car to go talk to our State Farm agent to get some insurance stuff taken care of. FINALLY....back home for an hour before we left, once again, to go meet with our preacher.

It was a productive day.....but glad that stuff is done. It's not the big stuff that wears you out. It's the little things. The leg work. I think we're gonna be ready for that nice long honeymoon when this is all over...... I can't wait! :-)