Invitation Preview

We've been working with Jessica's Design Shop for our custom invitations. It's been a pleasure so far working with Jessica. She recently sent us the draft of our invitation suite. Mike's reaction was great, he was really pleased with the design and customization she did. She was able to incorporate our monogram that Mike's Dad designed for us on the ceremony invite and then she carried that artwork over into the other cards. The whole design was very cohesive and had the perfect fall elements we were looking for. We really liked her creativity in tying the whole thing together. The actual invitation design part was easy, my only regret is that I didn't give her the rest of the design elements other than the monogram to work with from our save the date, like the apple and pumpkin banners, oh well, it looks beautiful as it is and we're very happy with it as is!

Happy

I just have to give Mike some credit since I don't know how often this will happen, but I really feel so lucky to have found someone that shares in the house work and responsibilities. When I got home from the gym tonight I was welcomed home to a wonderful dinner ready and waiting on the table for us. In the brief hour and a half that I was gone, Mike had gone to the supermarket, picked up the items on the small shopping list we had, gassed up my car and made a delicious dinner. He had a beautiful spread of caesar salad, fried mushrooms & onions to put on top of the cheeseburgers, corn and he made me grilled zucchini on the grill (which I know he hates doing). I'll try not to get too spoiled but I could def get used to this. It was a nice way to spend a Friday night dinner together.... I think I'll keep him!

Finally Purchased

After months of shopping and too many places visited and dresses tried on, my Mother has officially purchased her dress, there's no going back now, this is one item she can't return. Maybe blame it on the peer pressure or the excitement of the day, we just came from seeing my dress, when my Mom finally made the BIG commitment. Of course after trying on I'd say no less than 50 dresses, it was back to one of the very first dresses she tried on and the first dress that I fell in love with on her. The dress is nothing short of spectacular and truly one of a kind. The detail on the dress is amazing, it's so elegant and makes her stand out and will be perfect for the Mother of the Bride. It was a very big purchase but I don't think she will regret it, after all it will be seen in my wedding pictures for years to come. But she only gets to be the Mother of the Bride once and I'm sure she will look absolutely beautiful (and much better than in a potato sack).

Love at Second Sight

Maybe I should say love at second glance. I officially had a bride panic moment when I saw my dress today for the first time. I so excited to get to the store and see my dress. I was accompanied by my Mom and my Future Mother-in-Law for the big moment. After we arrived they took us to the back to one of the alteration fitting rooms and she got my dress.

While the Mom's waited outside chatting away, they missed the panic in my voice as bag was unzipped and saw my dress halter top and all. My mouth dropped, the only thing I could get out was "that's not my dress." While it was the dress I ordered I had very clearly in my mind envisioned it arriving in the store with a strapless top. After I successfully scared the woman working there by saying it wasn't my dress they confirmed that the alterations were to be done in house and that they would take apart the dress and take out the middle panel and make it into the strapless dress of my dreams.

After my brief freak out moment I could then enjoy wearing my beautiful dress. It still made me just as happy as the first time I saw it. The fabric is beautiful, it was finally in my size so that I could see the beautiful details and buttons on the back. I was taken over to one of the larger rooms so I could see the dress in the 3 way mirrors and see my favorite part the train. I also ordered extra beading which we held up under the bust line - loved that so much, I'm so happy we ordered extra beading!

After some pictures and tons of smiles, I was told that for my next appointment they'd have the strapless part of the dress ready and then we can begin the rest of the alterations. I can't wait to see the dress with my top the way that I want it. It is still hard to envision it completely as it was with the halter top and holding that part down and there was also a deep v-neck from the halter, so I'm very curious to see how they put this strapless together, but I trust they can do it. I am def looking forward to seeing it at my next appointment on August 7th.

My Newest Idea

I've come up with some random ideas in my time, some more crazy than others. My newest one isn't necessarily a bad idea in the sense that it is healthy for you. I've been increasing my work out schedule, not entirely due to the wedding, but also because I have really been enjoying it and trying to make the time for it, especially when I'm not in school and have homework to contend with. 

My newest idea is that I'd really like to run a 5K race. My problem is that I've never been a runner, my knees just haven't been on my side. I can do two hours a day at the gym no problem, an hour in toning class plus an hour in cardio class (step is my favorite), I actually look forward to it. I'm sure mentally I could handle a 5K, after all it's only 3.1 miles. I told Mike my idea tonight and he didn't seem to think I was crazy or shoot me down, although he might after I start complaining about knee pain. He actually said he would join me!! (This coming from someone that hasn't seen the inside of the gym since once in January and years before that, although he is very fast out on the softball field). 

There's a race coming up in our town on Saturday, July 17th at 9am and it's only $20 to register and participate. I think I would like to try and train for it so I can say that I did it, even if it's just once and say I gave it a shot. Here's hoping my knees will keep up with my head and I can make it! 

A Potato Sack

.... Is exactly what my Mother may be wearing to the wedding. You may recall an earlier post where I wrote about how my Mother had found a stunning dress that she found and took me to see at Macy's that we all were in love with. Well my Mother, who can't commit to any purchases, and returns everything, has yet to make a final decision on a dress to wear to the wedding. I kid you not when I say that my Mother has been to every wedding salon in Nassau County, frequenting most several times. There have also been several occassions where she's 'made up her mind' of course going back to the first dress but has yet to go back and purchase it. Every time I talk to her she tells me about another new dress, but there's always something wrong with it. There are too many places to list out all the stores that she's been to, frankly, I'm not sure how she keeps track of them all and what she saw where (although I'm not quite sure she remembers anymore either). Although it will be somewhat comical/ironic when she decides and goes back to the original beautiful dress that she saw. But I want her to be sure about her decision and feel great about her choice and feel beautiful in the dress. I know that she will look beautiful in almost anything she wears (the potato sack I'm not so sure about, but I may buy her one to wear if it'll help her make a decision). She is a beautiful woman with a great figure (since she goes to the gym practically 4x a week). I just hope one day I do not drive my daughter (or myself) this crazy with picking out a dress, because I know whatever she wears she will look beautiful in!!!

Miscellaneous Updates

There's actually a few fun miscellaneous wedding items and updates that I never got a chance to write about. With the end of the semester, work being crazy and a busy personal schedule, I realized I missed writing about a couple of fun items. So let's see....

• We've got a location for our Rehearsal Dinner. My future in-laws went on a small quest to find a nice restaurant in the South Orange area (which is near the church). I know my future Mother-in-Law did an extensive search to find the best atmosphere and food for us. They settled on Giorgio's Restaurant in South Orange, a wonderful Italian restaurant where we'll have our own private room. While Mike and I haven't been there yet we are looking forward to trying it with Mike's parents in the near future. I'm sure it will be as good as they say! 
• I probably should have started with this one, I'm happy to say that I finished another semester of graduate school. I completed two more classes this semester, in Compensation & Staffing. Once again the semester seemed to fly by. Hard to believe I'm down with another 2 classes and even better that I only have 3 more classes left in the program. I'm not looking forward to spending my summer in school taking statistics, but at least then I'll be down to my last 2 classes and one of my professors even agreed to sponsor me in an independent study for my last elective class so that was good news. And before I know it I'm sure graduation will be right around the corner - I'm getting so close now! 
• Last month on a whirlwind day, where my Mother and I literally drove circles around Long Island and covered almost every major highway, we went to so many places in one day it made my head spin. Well mostly because of looking for a dress for my mother, but more on that later. Three of the items that I did pick out for myself were, my shoes (plus shoe clips), headpiece and looked at veils. My Matron of Honor, Bridget, directed me to a fabulous place that sells wedding veils and headpieces. Looking at veils was somewhat overwhelming, we didn't know where to start, plus the store was so crowded.  We plan to go back (and take Bridget with us) to make a final decision on the veil. In the meantime I did pick out a headpiece from there that I really liked (see picture above). And Bridget also sent us to a fabulous shoe store where I found these shoes (in a lower heel) and I also got a pair of these shoe clips to go along with it. The clips really change the look of the shoe. I'll have to get them dyed slightly to ivory to match my dress, and after the wedding they'll even dye the shoes black for me. 

Hotel Surprise

Well I have to admit our biggest surprise in all our wedding planning is that we are already out of hotel rooms as part of our hotel block for the night of the wedding. When we originally signed up for the hotel block we were actually hesitant and worried about filling 10 hotel rooms! Boy we could not have been more off base on that one. We only booked 10 rooms, and then increased it to 15 and within days of that we changed it to 20 rooms, the maximum allowed in a hotel block. We still have over 5 months to go till the wedding and we're already out of rooms. We're so happy to have such organized friends and family that are clearly on top of their plans with making reservations and want to be there and share in our special day and continue the night and next morning with us.

In one way it is a little bit sad though we know there are several more friends and family members that we heard wanted to possibly stay over as well and now unfortunately won't be able to be in the same hotel with us and have breakfast with us the next morning. One of our favorite features about booking at The Manor was the fact that we would have the convenient accessibility of the hotel directly next door and within walking distance. That was a big convenience factor and draw for us!

The timing of this discovery is convenient though. Ironically our invitations were also set to begin printing this week and would have included our hotel information, looks like we will need to make an adjustment there and do a swap.

I guess this is one of those things that you never could have predicted or anticipated and just have to roll with the punches and we'll have to look into alternate arrangements. I've already called another hotel located just a mile down the road from the hotel. I'm really hoping that they can provide some type of free local shuttle to pick up the guests and transport them since we don't want people drinking and driving. Otherwise I'm not sure what we'll do about transportation, that was not something we counted on in our budget. But I guess there will also be things you don't count on.

We really are so happy that so many people want to spend the day and night with us but boy we were surprised how quickly and fast these rooms went!!!

My Mother & Hero

On this Mother's Day as we celebrate the wonderful Mom's in all of our lives, I feel truly blessed to have such a wonderful and amazing Mother who has given everything for her children. For this I am eternally grateful for everything that she has sacrificed and given up for my brother and I. Growing up she was at every softball game, every dance recitcal, drove me to every piano lesson, picked me up from all my activities, and was always there with a smile on her face, doing everything in her power to make sure her kids had everything they needed!

She is more than a mother she is also my best friend and the person I can can count on for anything and everything. For this and so many more reasons it was so important to me to recognize her on the most important day of my life. Most little girls dream about dancing with their Father on their wedding day, for me it is my Mother, the one that has been there for me for everything. I found the perfect song to recognize my mother. On my wedding day I will dance to "Somebody's Hero" by Jamie O'Neal with my Mother, because she is MY hero. I love you Mom - Thank you for being MY hero!!!

She's never pulled anyone from a burning building
She's never rocked Central Park to a half a million fans, screaming out her name

She's never hit a shot to win the game

She's never left her footprints on the moon

She's never made a solo hot air balloon ride, around the world,

No, she's just your everyday average girl (but)

She's somebody's hero

A hero to her baby with a skinned up knee

A little kiss is all she needs

The keeper of the cheerios

The voice that brings Snow White to life

Bedtime stories every night

And that smile lets her know

She's somebody's hero

She didn't get a check every week like a nine-to fiver

But she's been a waiter, and a cook and a taxi driver

For twenty years, there at home, until the day her girl was grown

Giving all her love to her was her life's ambition

But now her baby's movin' on, and she'll soon be missin' her

But not today, those are tears of joy runnin' down her face

She's somebody's hero

A hero to her daughter in her wedding dress

She gave her wings to leave the nest

It hurts to let her baby go down the aisle she walks right by

Looks back into her mother's eyes

And that smile lets her know oh oh oh

She's somebody's hero

Thirty years have flown right past

Her daughters' starin' at all the photographs

Of her mother, and she wishes she could be like that

Oh, but she already is

She's somebody's hero

A hero to her mother in a rockin' chair

She runs a brush through her silver hair

The envy of the nursing home

She drops by every afternoon

Feeds her mother with a spoon

And that smile lets her know oh oh

Her mother's smile lets her know oh oh

She's somebody's hero

A Cinco De Mayo Celebration

It's hard to believe a year has gone by already since Mike asked me to marry him. It was by far the happiest night of my life. I never could have imagined a more perfect proposal from him. It was everything I could have dreamed of and then some. I never get tired of telling the story of how he proposed, and I don't think I could ever forget either - it was my perfect fairy tale moment!

Since it's been a year already I figured it couldn't hurt to include the story of how my best friend asked me to marry him. So here goes....We were leaving the next day for our trip to London and Paris. I had surely hoped in the back of my mind that there would be a ring coming with us. What better and more romantic place to do it than Paris, I had thought (boy was I wrong/glad about that one). While there was no ring in Paris - there was one in New Jersey - which I was totally not expecting!

I came home from my last day of the school semester expecting to celebrate that the semester was over and we were leaving for our vacation to London and Paris the next afternoon. When I walked in from school after taking an economics final, the whole living room and dining room were lit up with candles. Candles on the wall; candles I didn't even know we had. Not sure what was going on, I called out for Mike and he then popped up wearing his favorite sweat pants and T-shirt (so that made me think nothing was up). I asked him what was going on and he had told me we were celebrating the end of the school semester. We went into the living room and sat and talked on the couch for a bit drinking some celebratory champagne (which I had suggested - and also threw me off). (Looking back Mike was also downing the champagne rather quickly)

He then leaned over to the side of the couch and pulled out a dozen pink roses, which I had no idea were over there. While I was looking at the roses and admiring them and just so excited for those, I was (literally) smelling the roses and didn't notice him getting down on one knee in front of me and pulled out the ring box and then asked me to marry him, by this point I'm crying so much and just kept hugging him, 5 minutes later he asked me if he could have an answer, I of course said yes!!!! I still hadn't even looked at the ring at this point, I was just in shock and of course extremely excited! 

And to this very day I am still so excited that I get to marry him and I can't wait for that day to come so we can share it together and have memories forever! 

IT'S IN!

Although I should be studying for my final exam on Thursday I couldn't help but want to write about this one. It's far more exciting than studying for Compensation....

MY wedding dressing is in. The very dress that I will be wearing when I walk down that aisle.

I had a feeling it would be arriving soon but I wasn't sure when. I was getting antsy to find out. When Mike went to go check the mail I was completely surprised when he called my name from upstairs and said "I have something here I think you're going to want to see." It was a letter from the Bridal Salon informing me that my very dress had arrived and it was finally time to go see it. I then proceeded to do a dance all around the kitchen jumping up and down (this probably went on for a good 20 minutes or so).

It's been pratically nine months already since I said yes to my dress and made the big purchase and I've been day dreaming about it ever since. I can't wait to see it in my size (since the one I tried on was like 12 sizes too big and I was pinned 50 ways to Sunday) and also because I changed the neckline on the dress. It was originally a halter top and it will now be a sweetheart neckline so I really can't wait to see it all together and of course try it on with all my accessories I've gotten so far.I'm so excited to go see it. I hope my Mom can come to NJ soon so we can go and I can fall in love with it all over again!!!