CHECK!

We have an officiate! I am so excited. I was having a lot of trouble with this check for sure. I could justify paying someone $400 to marry us, it would take them a total of 10 minutes to do. Well, after talking to Gerald we decided to ask my friend Sam if she would want to get ordained and marry us. Let's just say that she was speechless, which doesn't happen much with her, and then said it would be an honor. I told her that Gerald and I were going to talk about the idea some more and once we made the final decision, we would pay for her to get ordained if we ended up going that way. Well, I get a call from her last night and she just wanted to let me know that she was ordained and could marry us if we wanted. I couldn't believe she went out of her way to do that, before we have decided what we wanted to do. I offered to pay for it and she wouldn't have it. I am beyond happy that some I love, trust and admire is going to marry Gerald and I. I'm one happy bride right now:)

Venue!!!

It is now offical, we have are reception venue. You wouldn't believe how great it felt to sign the contract and send in the check for the whole thing! I felt a HUGE wait lifted off my back. The venue has a great location, in the center of Madison but far enough outside the city. It was a great price and table AND chairs are included. We are even able to get married outside in a beautiful courtyard if we would like:) Here are a few pictures of the venue, off of their website.

I love the patio that wraps around the back of the building. The reception space in on the second floor so we also get the whole patio. Also, it gives a space for the smokers to go. I will have to come up with a creative idea for that...

The past month has been pretty tough but I am finally feeling better and ready to get back to wedding planning and working out. We have a meeting with a wedding photographer in October and I can't wait to get that check done. Then it will be time for engagement photos!

Double Post Sunday!

I am posting twice in one day and that can only mean one thing, I have homework to avoid:) I just though I would share so DIY I did for my FBIL wedding two weeks ago. All of the DIY is last minute but I liked the way that it came out. I made a Cardbox and added a little something to the cake serving set and the B&G glasses.

I am still trying to get this whole uploading photo's thing down. Hopefully, as the year of wedding planning moves on I will get better at this. Well, time to do my homework and then help Gerald with his:)

UPDATE!!!

So a lot has changed since my last post. Gerald and I have decided to move the wedding back to Fall 2011. We are currently searching for a reception venue and once that is booked we will have a date. We saw a venue yesterday that I really like and is a great price! Plus it includes chairs and tables. I hope to get the venue nailed down in the next couple of weeks.

DRESS UPDATE!! I have bought the dress. I ordered the dress back in May and it came in, in August. I order the dress a size too small, so I hope that motivates me to loss all this extra weight. It has a corset back, so if something happens and I don't lose the weight it can be altered to fit me. The picture I have of the dress isn't my dress, because I haven't taken any pictures of me in it yet. Here is a picture of the sample I tried on:

The dress I ordered is in white, this one is ivory. I can't wait to try on the dress again in October. I am keeping it at my friends house right now since Gerald doesn't want to see it before the wedding.

Time for me to hit the gym. I am currently trying to go 4 times a week. I am also working on eating right. I think that I am doing pretty good and hopefully I will post some good, healthy recipes.

Time sure is flying by. Gerald and I just celebrated our one year anniversary! We went to Minnesota and did the whole Mall of America thing. Gerald LOVED Lego Land of course and we both enjoyed the underground aquarium they had. We got a nice hotel room with a heart shaped jacuzzi:) Currently I am trying to create a workout routine that works best for me and doing my best to eat right. Now back to wedding planning. I signed Gerald, Stina and myself up for a DIY wedding class at Archivers this coming Wednesday. I will write a review on the class. I have also been working on a to do list. Here is what I have so far....I'm sure there is a lot more to come.

Things to Decide:

Budget
Date(done)
Guest List
Color Scheme(done)
WP

Type of Dress
Types of Flowers
Centerpieces
Ceremony Decorations
Reception Decorations
Food
Honeymoon
Linens


Things to Book:

Ceremony Site(done)
Reception Site(done)
Photographer(done)
Officiant
Baker(done)
DJ(done)

Band

Photobooth

Florist

Transportation
Rehearsal Dinner Site
Honeymoon
Linens/chairs

DIY List:

Design STDs
Design Invites
Centerpieces
Unity Candles
Programs
Pomanders?
Bathroom Baskets

Flip Flop basket

Thank You parasol?

Things to Do:

Order Gown
Buy shoes
Bridesmaids Dresses
Create Wedding Website
Send Invites

Register for Gifts
Block off hotel rooms

Pick Out Wedding Bands
Order Wedding Bands
Parents Gifts
WP Gifts
Take Engagement Photos
Create Must Take Photos for Photographer
Create music playlist for reception

The Weeks Before:

Plan Rehearsal and Rehearsal Dinner
Finalize Menu and Service Details
Emergency Wedding Kit
Apply for Marriage License
Change of Name Paperwork
Prepare Toasts or Thanks to Guests
Mani/Pedi Session

Day Before:

Rehearse Ceremony
Drop off any Required/Necessary Materials at Venue
Rehearsal Dinner

Until next time....

How time does fly....

Sure has been awhile since my last post. School was kicking my butt and plus all the work stress I just didn't have time. A few things have changed. I joined a gym two weeks ago and it feels great to work out again. Sad thing is that three weeks ago I sprained my ankle and am not able to work out hard core:( But I have been going every other day and getting a work out in. My goal right now is to lose 15lbs, once I do that I am treating myself to a purse I have had my eye on for awhile. FI also joined the gym with me, he has yet to go and work out...LOL.
UPDATE on Venue...FI and I have been planning on getting married in this beautiful park that we both love. I called them last month to ask about making my reservation and I found out I am not able to do it until Jan 2011!!! FI has offered to camp out at the office to make sure we get our date. Wish us luck!
UPDATE on dress...I have found another dress that I have fallen madly in love with. I truly believe that this could be the one, of course I haven't tried it on yet. I plan on waiting until May to start trying on dresses.

Other then that not much has been going on, on the wedding front. Happy I still have over a year to plan and save! I do have a rather large to do list to tackle but that will be for another post...until then...

..But I'm trying to lose weight

So over the past week I have been sick and wasn't able to get much done around the house because of this. My wonderful FI thought he would help me by buying some food this week. Well, all he bought was junk food. It is every where in the apt!! I can no longer stuff it all in on cupboard and act like it's not there. I did rather good at resisting the urge to eat it but I failed this morning. BIG FAIL! I know most of it was stress eating because I had to go back to work after having three days off...and I just don't like my job. Not only have I not been eating good but I haven't worked out in a week. It seems like I keep on finding excuses not to. My FI loves me the way I look but it's more then the weight for me, it's the health reasons too I want to get in better shape. So right now I am trying to accept the fact that I went against my diet and move on. Monday better watch out because I'm getting back into my workout hardcore. I would like to start sooner by I don't like working out in front of my FI. I will keep you posted on how it works.
470 days until I marry the sweetest man ever!!

The biggest loser?

I know that many brides want to lose weight before their big day and I'm right there with them. But over the past few months this has been a challenge. I am not losing weight but gaining it. Since Gerald and I moved in together I have gained at least 20 pounds! This is only since October! I have finally stopped gaining weight but now I have to try to lose all that I have gained. My current weight is 212. I still can't believe that number. I have never been this heavy before so it's a shock for me. Of course my wonderful FI says that I'm beautiful and everything but I don't feel that way. So today was the first real day of me eating healthy. SO NOT THE BEST DAY TO START THAT! On my way to work I get a flat tire, which makes me late. I get to work and nothing seems to be working write and everyone is in a bad mood. But I am holding strong and not even looking at all the junk food I could eat. I need to be strong this time. The hardest part about this is all the junk food we have in the house. Gerald loves his fruit snacks and Little Debbie snacks too much for me to take them away. So I have decided to tape pictures of wedding gowns to the cupboard. I really hope that helps me some. I also am going to try to do the Wii fit and the 30-day shred five times a week. If I want to see results I'm going to have to start working harder for them. Right now my goal is to lose 7LBS by the end of February. Wish me luck!

The first

This is my first post, so I will tell you a little about myself. I am 24 years old and live with my FI in Wisconsin. We are getting May 28, 2011. I have been lurking about many wedding planning sites and blogs for awhile now and have finally decided to make one of my own. I plan on doing a lot of DIY for the wedding and I will post as I learn. So, time for the story. I met my wonderful FI on March 18, 2009. I was out with some friends at a local night club and saw someone I hadn't seen in years. I stop to talk to them for awhile and there he was, sitting next to the wall in the booth. Turns out I had met him once before and I knew many of his friends. It was kind of like magic I would say. I was never the type of girl that went out looking to meet guys. We ended up talking the rest of the night and into the early morning. He asked me for my phone number and the next day he asked me out for our first date:) Four short months later he asked me to marry him! I said yes. We haven't been together for long but we have been through a lot in our time together and know we have each found "the one". We had planned on a Sept. 2010 wedding but decided to wait a little longer since we wold be paying for it ourselves. I love our wedding date, just wish it wasn't 475 days away. We are currently planning a wedding for around 350 people under $10,000. Wish me luck!