We're gonna have a PARRRRTAAYYY!

So we've finally done it. We found it. Probably the best one in the land. --- Our Reception Location!!

We've called/emailed/chatted to what seems like millions of people and we FINALLY found a place that is not ridiculously overpriced and will hold our wedding. After our wedding ceremony, the reception will be at the City Hotel & Bistro. I'm pretty stoked. We went yesterday to see the space (even though we've had it booked for a week...) and it will be just grand. The girl that's in charge of the place was very accomodating and basically anything we want to do will be fine with them.

And you know what's best of all... included in this is a complimentary stay in the jacuzzi suite on the wedding night ... :o)

And we have a photographer...

From the beginning of our engagement I knew what kind of pictures I wanted of my wedding, it was just a matter of finding the right person to take those pictures. After looking at several around town, Blake & I decided on Ginny Corbett. She has recently done the wedding of a girl Blake grew up with and I LOVE every picture I see she has done.

So we met with Ginny and it was so easy and natural to talk with her. She is truly excited to be a part of our wedding and that's exactly what we want--people who are passionate about US to be a part of our big day.

We signed the contract this past Monday and have booked a date for our engagement pictures. I'm stoked and soo excited to work with Ginny and have some amazing pictures. After all, our pictures will be the only memories for our kids of our wedding and I want them to see just how much fun was had and how much love was felt on our wedding day.

Wedding Gown, Check! Bridesmaid Dresses, Check Check Check Check!

You may have noticed through the lack of recent posts that Christmas break is over and I am back in the swing of full-time teaching. (Gone are the days of sleeping in... le sigh...)

Over Christmas break though my mom and I were able to take a day trip to Burlington. We'd heard about a huge store there with tons of gowns to choose from. (And the sentimental fact that my mom got her dress at a different store in Burlington 27 years ago...) We go in and it is completely different than the store in Smithfield or David's Bridal. The most obvious difference is the fact that the dressing room is one large open room and all the girls get dressed together. I'm not too self-conscious but I really don't like being in a bra and undies in front of girls I don't even know. (At least I did remember to wear granny panties and not a thong... mom would have been TOTALLY embarassed, so you're welcome mom!)

So anywho, we tried on probably 15 dresses that day and then went back to the one we LOVED in Smithfield. Burlington only had it in a size 14. So I tried it on in a 14, used tons of clips to keep it up, and I still LOVED it. Even 4 sizes too big. We ordered the dress that day and got it $125 cheaper than in Smithfield. I was stoked.

A few weeks have passed and I can't wait for my dress to come in. I think it should arrive around April--what a great birthday present! We've only had one snafoo since... Meghan & I went to Smithfield for BM dresses. I wanted to show her my dress. So I went to look for it in a size 6 and COULDN'T FIND IT! Turns out the dress I tried on there was an 8. We ordered the WRONG SIZE! But leave it to mom to save the day and we paid $50 for a re-stocking fee and got the correct size ordered. Whew! (So what if we only ended up saving $75... I'm only $1,000,000 over budget anyways...)

This past weekend all my bridesmaids got together in Smithfield and we ordered dresses. I'm stoked that they all could get together at the same time. Meghan & I had narrowed down our choices and with my mom's help (and Julie, our model) we had one picked out in 30 minutes. That's what I'm talking about! So all my girls will be wearing this beautimous dress in eggplant...

They will probably also come in about the same time leaving plenty of time for alterations and such. So I'm set and my girls are set.

Let me remind you of something....

... the last time I checked this wedding was all about US. Blake & Amy.

Just thought I'd share.

We've had people complain about/not want to be a part of/be complete asses towards us and things we want for our wedding. We just want to have a good time, we want to celebrate our marriage, and we want a very select few of the world's population to join us in this celebration. So if you are lucky enough to be involved, be excited for us because you mean something to us in our lives.

Sticker Shock

This week has been full of ups and downs for Blake & I. We met with the Convention Center this week and loved the space they could offer us. We didn't love the price. It's not completely outrageous but we've had to struggle renting the space and actually feeding people attending our wedding without going too much over our budget.

We set a budget for each item on our list of things to pay for and then added them up.. and oh dearie me! But the person who had the most trouble with it was my mom who just let anything happen for her wedding and she paid for it herself. It was a beautiful wedding and all but that was 27 years ago. I hate to break it to you mom, but prices have gone up in the past few years.

So anywho, hopefully we'll find ways to trim down the budget and it won't be such a shock.

Honeymoon: Check!

So what that we don't have a reception location, we've just now set the date, we don't have any of the big stuff done but we have booked our HoNeYmOoN!! We're stoked that we've worked it out to stay at a super nice resort in Hawaii!

I always thought I wanted to go somewhere in the Caribbean since it would be fairly cheap and easy to get there but let's look at the following equation created by the math teacher in me:

Caribbean+October+Warm Water+Honeymoon = High possibility of Hurricanes

Hawaii was suggested by our wedding planner and I thought she was kind of crazy at first. Once I thought about it I realized we could go to the Caribbean just about any time and it would be easier to go there with kids. So now, while we are sans kids, is the best time to avoid (typically) those hurricanes we Southerners are used to and enjoy the magic of what Hawaii has to offer.

The social studies teacher in me is super excited to see Pearl Harbor, black sand beaches, and volcanoes. I think Blake is just excited to get west of the Mississippi. And in this unusually butt-freezing weather we've had lately, who can't be excited to be somewhere like this...

Now THAT'S what I'm talking about.

Wedding Dreams

I've heard other girls talk about them but never figured they'd start so soon. About ten days ago I had my first wedding dream since Blake & I got engaged. I've had dreams about my wedding since I was probably 12 but they've really started up and can be kind of crazy (or not in some cases).

Dream #1: I'm out all dressed in my bridal gown taking my bridal pictures and guess who shows up? Blake. I'm sooo mad that he came even though I told him not to but I somehow figure out that it's ok because my hair isn't exactly how it's going to be at the wedding so technically he hasn't seen me in my dress.... confusing I know.

Dream #2: We get to the Rehearsal Dinner and I hate the decorations. I wasn't consulted on anything and I hate it all. I start grabbing the centerpieces and throwing them in the trash. We were supposed to be "surprised" but I'm just mad. Super mad.

Dream #3: It's the day before the wedding and all I can do is think about all the things I wanted to do when I first started planning my wedding that still haven't been accomplished. I haven't completed any of the things that I wanted to and I'm stressing. Me stressing... now that's surprising.

Those are the only two I can think of right now. As I remember more (or have more) I'll edit the post. You know how dreams are, you remember them for a minute then forget all about them. Or, something in your daily life reminds you of your dream and then you forget them. I'll try to remember more :)