Husband and Wife

So the wedding is 99% planned and ready to go- vows written, center pieces assembled and the gown is being steamed this weekend, but wait- that is all for the "party"- now it time to prepare for MARRIAGE.

Isn't that what this is all about anyway?

I come from a long line of successful marriages- and did I mention "religious family", so every single relative; aunt/ grandma and mom has shared their own advice on how to have a long lasting happy marriage.

Honestly- the articles, scripture and "Oprah books" are a bit overwhelming. Half of them talk about what do when your spouse hits a mid life crisis, money runs dry and or the kids are acting up. I understand the importance of being a team, having an open/honest relationship and loving one another- but is there anything I should be preparing for, anything that will change right after we say "I do".


Well, I'm stuck- we kind of already live like a married couple
1) We live together- we have been since May 07.
2) We share just about everything- a checking account, a bed, a car.
3) We take of each other when we are sick
4) Celebrate occasions together, birthdays, Christmas...etc.
you get the idea..

Besides a name change- and a fabulous honeymoon is there any other life alternating change I should be prepared for in those first couple of months as newlyweds!?

Wedding Weather

From the Farmer's Almanac-Northeast region!

September 2009
1st-3rd. Record low temperatures

and fair skies. 4th-7th. Clear and unseasonably chilly air shifts into the Northeast, after showers. Pleasant, dry, and cool for Labor Day. 8th-11th. Continued unseasonably chilly and dry. 12th-15th. Lots of cloudiness 16th-19th. Showers move in from the west. In addition, there’s a hurricane threat for the coast. 20th-23rd. More light showers. 24th-27th. Variably cloudy skies, with more widely scattered showers. 28th-30th. Increasingly cloudy skies.

Yea- cool and dry by labor day!!! perfect wedding weather.

Keeping my fingers crossed- only 12 more days to go :)

Hair Issues

This weekend was fun- we got a lot of wedding stuff done - including our marriage license!! and also spent Saturday in Newport with friends, so it was good!

But yesterday was stressful- I went for my "hair trial" so that the stylists knows exactly what to do on wedding day. She is a wonderful woman and super nice, but I just wasn't in the mood for some reason.

She spent hours- washing, curling, spraying and fooling around with different looks- All I want is something SIMPLE, very natural and simple looking. Its a beachy wedding, nothing too formal- and I just felt like she wanted to make it over the top.

I was in no mood to argue, so I just let play. Then came the veil.

I mentioned before that I am wearing my mother's veil- it is suppose to be the kick off of a new tradition between the girls in my family. At first I thought this was great- but now I'm realizing- I HATE the veil, not my mother's veil, just the whole thing- any veil, I DO NOT like it on my head!

Maybe I'm just super moody (menstrual) and stressed out- but yesterday was a disaster- between my MIL to- be telling me how important it is for a bride to wear a veil and my stylist sticking sparkles in my head all I wanted to do was cry. Whats wrong with me?? I just do not like this "fancy bride look"- the veil and sparkle headgear has me stressed out. I just prefer simple- nothing weighing me down.

I think I also really miss my bridesmaids/sister and mom. They understand my style more- and get the fact that I just won't be comfortable wearing the veil for more than just the church- and would hate sparkles in my hair.

It sucks that they are so far- but it just 10 days everyone will be in the Boston area and ready to help me with those last min. details! whew.

What are other brides doing with their hair? Veil?

Holy Heatwave!

Its hot out- like really hot! and humid, gross!

This is probably a good sign- because I think that since it rained all June/July that means a good chance for a sunny August/September!

And because all my formal wedding pictures will be taken at the beach (Duxbury, of course) good weather is crucial- therefore my fingers are crossed for sunny skies.

Till then I am grateful for our central air, and will be staying inside gluing, cutting, sewing, and finishing all these last min. DIY wedding projects.

Time has really flown.

In just 19 days I will be a Mrs. :) and in 21 days my new hubs and I will be lounging on the beaches of Aruba! Can not wait!!!

Weekend Wedding Hoopla- please use your imagination!

Before I dive into the MANY things Fiance and I accomplished this weekend- let me apologize for my lack of photos. I promise I will add them later- when I'm not at work and have access the to many illustrations.

First off I never realized how "DIY" this wedding actually is! One, we are paying for it- that's right, every last cent we are responsible for. ( with the exception of other wedding events such as showers and rehearsal dinner) At first this seemed impossible but, we did it! We saved, salvaged, and cut back like whoa. The perks of this is that- WE decided everything! Guest list- bar- time-date, everything was what WE wanted :) Two, Because we were very caucious of cost- we did a lot of this "stuff" on our own, from scratch.

Lets recap the DIY projects this weekend.

Programs- we built the programs we will be handing out at the church. A four sided piece of "off white" card stock paper with brown color font, covered by a piece of navy cardstock and tied together with a brown/white printed piece of ribbon! 120 finished and ready to go!!

Hotel Guest Bags- We have a lot of guests from out of town- so we wanted to make some goody bags for them to recieve when they check in. A brown gift bag, with a welcome tag attached with ribbon thanking them for traveling. Inside: two water bottles- some cape cod chips, a baggie filled with red lobster gummies and an insert with information about the area. 45 bags- DONE!

Table Numbers- We order these cute little silver sailboats that hold pictures or placecards- and backed a piece of light blue cardstock with left order navy cardstock- printed the numbers in navy- cut-glue and BAM we have table numbers! 18 finished- check!



My "guest book"- We decided to go with the trend and have an untraditional guest book. We went down to the beach found an old oar- about 6 feet long. Sanded it down and engraved our name with the wedding date at the paddle. At the wedding people will sign the oar with paint pens then we will lacker the oar to make all the signatures permenent. Then we will proudly hang it in our home!!

Ring Bearers Pillow- Yup, made this too! I bought some kacki fabric, sewed together a 8x8 pillow and then tied a navy ribbon around the top. Since all the men are wearing the kacki pants with navy blazer, it matches perfectly!! the shiney white ones at the store did'nt quite fit the casual/natuical theme I have going on. Pillow- DONE!

Card Box- Big cardboard box- wrapped in navy paper- same brown/white ribbon- and hung a sanddollar shell from the bow!

Whew- and I still have a list a mile long to complete- in the next 20 days!!!!!

Again- I promise to share pictures!!

Now What...

Recently one of my friends/co-workers got engaged (Yea)! So office talk has turned to wedding planning all the time. Between my count down and her initial planning we have turned our section into a party planning hub!

So this got me thinking- as I research dresses, vendors and themes for my dear friend "S" I realized that in a little over three weeks, it will all be done!

Yes, it gets stressful, and its very expensive/time consuming- but... I LOVE doing it.
I really enjoy the planning, coordinating, research, details, and I am going to miss it- A LOT.

In the mean time I have volunteered myself to aid "S" in all her wedding planning for her Kentucky wedding. Which is so fun- already we have found southern carriage houses- discussed a brunch menu, complete with mimosas and bloody Marys ( which would fit her yellow/red color scheme).

Basically what I'm getting at here- is that I'm sad to see it all go. And I'll be happy to assist any other bride to be out there with wedding planning :)

Engagement Story

So today is kind of slow at work- we had a new intern start today, and she is starting a big a project for me- hence my down time. Rather than online shop (my number one weakness) I spent a good amount time blog reading and realized that one of my favorite things to read on “wedding blogs” is the engagement story. Which brings me to my point – I have not shared “our story” yet, so in my down time I have written it out, with incredible detail so everyone can “aw”

It was a Thursday- October 4^th 2007 to be precise.

I remember waking up in our bed to find Fiancé already dressed and ready to go. He was wearing a suit and searching through the closet for a matching tie when I asked him about his fancy attire. He claimed that he had an “off site” meeting with a client and may be able to come home right after it was done.

Well this thrilled me, because at this point in time in our lives we were both working different jobs, not the ones we have now. I was employed by the devil and was working a crazy schedule, sometimes weekends, lots of overnights and never predictable. So, it just happened to be that this weekend I had off Thursday- Saturday and we had planned to get away- maybe camping up state. So the fact that he would be home early was awesome because then we could go shopping for the trip together and get an early start on the road.

Fiancé left and I proceeded to draft up “to buy” lists and research some sites on the internet. Then at around 1pm he called and said he was done and on his way home- he also mentioned that his parents put the boat in the water, due to the warm fall weather and asked if I wanted to go for a quick ride around the harbor before shopping.

I happily agreed- honestly I can never say no to a boat ride. I grew up on the water as did Fiancé so I have a sense of belonging out on a boat.

So, we got dressed and headed down the shore to the harbor. When we arrived I jumped right in and started to review with him my lists and discuss what we needed to buy that afternoon. Then I noticed he was acting funny- but thought nothing of it, just kept rambling.

Finally he asks- you hungry? Well of course I am, I am ALWAYS hungry. He replies good! and turns the corner into the “back river” part of the harbor. Then I see, set up on a dock a table and chairs, candles and a bucket of champagne. (No joke, seriously like just out of a movie). Immediately I am thrown off, my legs turn to Jell-O and my head feels foggy.

He parks the boat alongside the dock and helps me out- then we sit down. I make some comment about the lobster dinner that was displayed in front of me, but then he turns and says “I can’t wait a second longer”.

Down on one knee he looks into my eyes and pulls out the most beautiful ring I have ever seen then asks the most important question – “will you marry me”.

I naturally start to cry and I nod my head yes. Meanwhile in the house across from the dock, about 10 little girls run outside and start cheering.

See, the dock is owned by that house- and when Fiancé went down that morning to set everything up ( he never had a meeting, he took the day off) he explain to the owners that he was proposing, so the little girl invited some friends over to watch the magic happen first hand. It was sweet!

After the ring was placed on my left hand and the tears stop flowing, I totally forgot about the amazing dinner in front of me and called my family. Eventually I got off the phone and enjoyed some food- and lots of champagne.

He did an amazing job.