As 2009 draws to a close, I can't help but think about how much has happened and changed over the past 12 months. I know many people had really, really hard years. Mine wasn't so bad, but I know 2010 will be WAY better. None the less, here we go.
January - Started with a WAY.TOO.LONG business trip. I was engaged on December 25th and left for 2 long weeks on January 5th. Barely enough time to tell all my friends and family! None the less, I packed up my clothes and got in the company van to go about 6 hours east to close one of our other plants. I learned a lot, but it was the hardest trip I have taken to date. Lots of sad people and a difficult group that I traveled with. It tried my patience and definitely made the failing economy feel very prevalent.
February - The boy went on an equally long business trip. I spent a good portion of the month being miffed that we weren't able to travel together and that my birthday plans for him got wrecked, but got over it. It was a great opportunity for him and I think he enjoyed it, although I missed him. We also decided sometime mid month we wanted to buy a house. Call it my engaged bliss, but all of a sudden moving sounded like a great idea.
March - St. Patrick's Day (my favorite holiday) we made our first offer on a house. They countered, and we countered back, but in the end, WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!! I was beside myself with excitement. I still love my house and am beyond glad we bought it.
April - We closed on the house and started living in an episode of Renovation Realities. We basically repainted the entire house, tiled the kitchen wall, moved cabinets, bought new hardware for the cabinets and installed a microwave. It was insane, but totally worth it in the end. We also took our very first real vacation that didn't involve visiting anyone. We went to Myrtle Beach, SC the day after we closed on the house. It was a blast, but we were slightly preoccupied with home stuff, as I'm sure you can imagine.
May - We FINALLY moved into our house. I didn't think we were going to make it. Between getting out of our apartment and getting the house up to speed, it was a whirlwind month. I also had finals and we were prepping to have a surprise party at our house the first week of June. To be honest, I barely remember May.
June - We hosted our very first party at our new house. We attempted to open the pool for the first time, and were successful. Come the second week of June, we were pooped and ready to spend some time relaxing!
July - My birthday month! We had a nice relaxing month. The weather was kinda crappy, so we didn't get to enjoy the pool as much as we had hoped, but that's okay. We also started to plan our wedding. We booked the reception site and church this month. For the first time in 6 months, I actually felt like we were getting married! We also welcomed our first nephew to the world. Thomas Jacob was born on July 23 after 2.5 DAYS of labor! We spent the whole day on the 23rd in the hospital waiting for his arrival. It's unreal how crazy it is to be hanging out without him one minute, and then a few hours later see a whole new person. I can't imagine life without him now.
August - We booked our photographer and DJ. I tried to do as much planning as possible over the summer since I was on a break from school. I got almost all the big stuff planned. We also bought new furniture for our Dining Room and redid the basement entirely. New floor, new paint, new furniture...it was the birth of Adam's "Lair".
September - Back to school and pool closing. We also had our "housewarming party". It was underwhelming to be honest. We also found out my good friend and bridesmaid is having a baby! Very exciting. It's the first "friend baby" and I can't wait to spoil her.
October - We met the pastor that will marry us and were very happy with him. We aren't really affiliated with a church, so finding one was tough. I can't believe how many turned us down! But it turned out okay in the end. We also traveled to Charleston, SC for the wedding of our friends Joel and Ashley. It was my first wedding since getting engaged and it's amazing how you look at everything so differently! We had a blast for the weekend.
November - I started the dress hunt. I was terribly nervous, but I had a blast. We also had our first Thanksgiving in our new house. It was great to have an actual functional kitchen!
December - I found and purchased my wedding dress. I absolutely love it and can't wait to wear it. We hosted my entire family for the weekend for Christmas and had a blast. It's so nice to have a place to put everyone that we can all feel comfortable.
So that's my year in a nut shell. It's crazy to think of everything we did this year! It was a whirlwind year, but I'm so happy with where we are going. Next year holds so much excitement! I graduate from my Master's program and become a Newlywed! Next year's recap will be full of fun things! Until then, HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Thursday, December 24, 2009
The Dress...
This piece of wedding planning deserves a post of it's own because I think to any bride, it's hugely important. Even if you aren't the girly girly type, you care about what you wear on that day. Even if it's only because the pictures will be ones you look back to for the rest of forever, you care about what you are wearing.
To be honest, I wasn't excited to start shopping. I was engaged almost a year before I went out to try things on for the first time. I was terrified nothing was going to look good on me, or worse, the only things that did look good were going to cost me an arm and a leg.
I had an idea in mind of what I thought I wanted. I wanted a full, princess, ballgown. For. Sure. I wanted a pick up skirt with a long train...lots of embellishment...no lace.
When I got to the first salon, I put my little rings around all the dresses that I thought fit the idea I had in my mind. As soon as I put the first dress on, I knew what I was envisioning was NOT what I would wind up buying.
I'm very petite. I'm only about 5 feet, so when I put on those huge skirts with all the pick ups and craziness it was like WHOA...that's a dress. I got lost in it. The dresses were pretty, and they looked nice when I was standing on the little table, but not so much when I stepped down.
So...new plan. I was thankful that the consultant I had was a veteran and had spent many years outfitting brides. She knew it wasn't going to work and could explain to me exactly why. Different body types require different things. There's actually a science behind it! It's not to say that a small girl can't pull off a ball gown, it's just that there need to be other factors involved to balance things out.
She pulled some dresses she thought would be better and I liked them. I even found one that I thought I might love. It was stunning, A-Line, light beading and rouching...long, gorgoeus train...but I had barely shopped! Everyone I talked to said, when you find the dress "you just know"...I didn't feel that way, at least not yet.
So off I went to the next appointment. I kept trying on that original dress and it continued to be my favorite. But there were no tears or that feeling that I had to have it. I shopped with my mom, I shopped with my bridesmaids. My maid of honer had "a moment" with my favorite dress, but I hadn't had one yet. I felt like, I know this is the one...but why am I not bawling??
But then I started to find myself looking online at it when I was at home, and when I started to think about the day, all of a sudden I was wearing the dress. When I went back for my final appointment, I brought my mom, my maid of honor, my (future) sister in law, and my (future) mother in law. They all cried when I put it on. The dress made me feel great. It was the dress, and I finally knew it.
It's crazy because I was so worried I wasn't having that "Say Yes to the Dress" moment, I stressed myself out over nothing! I'm not a publicly emotional person, so to think I was going to start sobbing on the bridal block is just silly. I am POSITIVE I found "the dress", but it took me a minute to feel really sure, and I think that's OK. I am glad I took the time to wait until I was sure rather than having anxiety about whether I selected the right one or not for months!
Now, come the first fitting, I might feel totally different! But for now, I know I made the right decision. Plus I really enjoyed shopping around. I got to experience different salon styles and make some great memories with all the ladies involved in my wedding. Just thinking about it gets me all excited!
So...this blog has been kinda boring doing all my backtracking. I'm thinking I want to switch gears a bit. There is much more to my crazy life than just wedding planning!
To be honest, I wasn't excited to start shopping. I was engaged almost a year before I went out to try things on for the first time. I was terrified nothing was going to look good on me, or worse, the only things that did look good were going to cost me an arm and a leg.
I had an idea in mind of what I thought I wanted. I wanted a full, princess, ballgown. For. Sure. I wanted a pick up skirt with a long train...lots of embellishment...no lace.
When I got to the first salon, I put my little rings around all the dresses that I thought fit the idea I had in my mind. As soon as I put the first dress on, I knew what I was envisioning was NOT what I would wind up buying.
I'm very petite. I'm only about 5 feet, so when I put on those huge skirts with all the pick ups and craziness it was like WHOA...that's a dress. I got lost in it. The dresses were pretty, and they looked nice when I was standing on the little table, but not so much when I stepped down.
So...new plan. I was thankful that the consultant I had was a veteran and had spent many years outfitting brides. She knew it wasn't going to work and could explain to me exactly why. Different body types require different things. There's actually a science behind it! It's not to say that a small girl can't pull off a ball gown, it's just that there need to be other factors involved to balance things out.
She pulled some dresses she thought would be better and I liked them. I even found one that I thought I might love. It was stunning, A-Line, light beading and rouching...long, gorgoeus train...but I had barely shopped! Everyone I talked to said, when you find the dress "you just know"...I didn't feel that way, at least not yet.
So off I went to the next appointment. I kept trying on that original dress and it continued to be my favorite. But there were no tears or that feeling that I had to have it. I shopped with my mom, I shopped with my bridesmaids. My maid of honer had "a moment" with my favorite dress, but I hadn't had one yet. I felt like, I know this is the one...but why am I not bawling??
But then I started to find myself looking online at it when I was at home, and when I started to think about the day, all of a sudden I was wearing the dress. When I went back for my final appointment, I brought my mom, my maid of honor, my (future) sister in law, and my (future) mother in law. They all cried when I put it on. The dress made me feel great. It was the dress, and I finally knew it.
It's crazy because I was so worried I wasn't having that "Say Yes to the Dress" moment, I stressed myself out over nothing! I'm not a publicly emotional person, so to think I was going to start sobbing on the bridal block is just silly. I am POSITIVE I found "the dress", but it took me a minute to feel really sure, and I think that's OK. I am glad I took the time to wait until I was sure rather than having anxiety about whether I selected the right one or not for months!
Now, come the first fitting, I might feel totally different! But for now, I know I made the right decision. Plus I really enjoyed shopping around. I got to experience different salon styles and make some great memories with all the ladies involved in my wedding. Just thinking about it gets me all excited!
So...this blog has been kinda boring doing all my backtracking. I'm thinking I want to switch gears a bit. There is much more to my crazy life than just wedding planning!
Monday, December 21, 2009
Interviewing and booking etc...
My entry titles sort of stink...but whatev. It's all about the content.
Since we have already gotten most of the big stuff out of the way as far as planning, I'm going to go backwards and sort of talk about the selection process in general. To be honest, I was overwhelmed at times. There were some bumps in the road, but overall, it works out. I'm happy with my choices and looking back, the process wasn't that bad.
The reception site was the first decision we made. I collected information from at least a dozen venues. Most I was able to veto from the start based on price or online pictures. We had a few criteria in mind, but we weren't dead set on party center, country club, hotel or any other option, so I was willing to look at almost anything.
We only visited about 4 sites and were sold as soon as we toured through our first pick. It was the prefect mix of elegance and package price. I felt very comfortable with our wedding consultant and really felt like we were getting exactly what we wanted. Plus, it was a hotel which meant we didn't need to book a shuttle service for our guests. Overall, it was an easy decision.
The church was a little more complicated. I'd love to say that we are avid church goers and I was certain I wanted to get married at the church I was baptized in or my parents got married in or some other completely sentimental reason, but that would be a lie.
To be quite frank, I haven't had the greatest experiences with church and I was SHOCKED at how much they want to charge people that are "non-members" to use their facilities. To sum it up in a word, church selection was very shocking.
I found myself shocked that I was struggling to find a church that would accept us. Many wouldn't work with us because we were already living together. Others insisted we become the same religion before they would meet with us. I was surprised at how many collected my information so they could send me out a pamphlet and it simply never arrived. I concluded those churches already had enough parishioners and weren't accepting new members.
None the less, we finally found one that would take us! It was a fair price and the pastor is fantastic. He seems to care that our day is the most special it can possibly be. They are welcoming and I feel like I'm contributing my money back to the community not just to reserve a spot. Once we found it, we knew...decision made.
The photographer was challenging...simply because my father is an photographer. He cared about the camera type and was format the files would be in when we received them. I asked so many questions that to me were in a different language! He cares about the pictures! And really, so did we. It's the one thing you have to hold on to forever, and it's important it comes out.
I called several but only met with a few. Some were good...some weren't...others were UNBELIEVABLY priced. I think we found someone in the middle and we are happy with our selection. She was patient and excited for us. She genuinely loves what she does and it shows in her work. We are very much looking forward to scrolling through the hundreds of pictures we will get once the wedding has passed.
The moral of the story here is that there is no need to stress about it. I laid awake and night and put off school work to research vendors. I cried fearing we were NEVER going to find a place to hold our ceremony. I asked the same questions to my friends and family millions of times over for reassurance.
The truth is though, you will find the right people...and when you do, you just know. So for any brides freaking out right now, keep this in mind. There is the perfect vendor for you out there! You will find them and you will be thrilled with your choice.
Since we have already gotten most of the big stuff out of the way as far as planning, I'm going to go backwards and sort of talk about the selection process in general. To be honest, I was overwhelmed at times. There were some bumps in the road, but overall, it works out. I'm happy with my choices and looking back, the process wasn't that bad.
The reception site was the first decision we made. I collected information from at least a dozen venues. Most I was able to veto from the start based on price or online pictures. We had a few criteria in mind, but we weren't dead set on party center, country club, hotel or any other option, so I was willing to look at almost anything.
We only visited about 4 sites and were sold as soon as we toured through our first pick. It was the prefect mix of elegance and package price. I felt very comfortable with our wedding consultant and really felt like we were getting exactly what we wanted. Plus, it was a hotel which meant we didn't need to book a shuttle service for our guests. Overall, it was an easy decision.
The church was a little more complicated. I'd love to say that we are avid church goers and I was certain I wanted to get married at the church I was baptized in or my parents got married in or some other completely sentimental reason, but that would be a lie.
To be quite frank, I haven't had the greatest experiences with church and I was SHOCKED at how much they want to charge people that are "non-members" to use their facilities. To sum it up in a word, church selection was very shocking.
I found myself shocked that I was struggling to find a church that would accept us. Many wouldn't work with us because we were already living together. Others insisted we become the same religion before they would meet with us. I was surprised at how many collected my information so they could send me out a pamphlet and it simply never arrived. I concluded those churches already had enough parishioners and weren't accepting new members.
None the less, we finally found one that would take us! It was a fair price and the pastor is fantastic. He seems to care that our day is the most special it can possibly be. They are welcoming and I feel like I'm contributing my money back to the community not just to reserve a spot. Once we found it, we knew...decision made.
The photographer was challenging...simply because my father is an photographer. He cared about the camera type and was format the files would be in when we received them. I asked so many questions that to me were in a different language! He cares about the pictures! And really, so did we. It's the one thing you have to hold on to forever, and it's important it comes out.
I called several but only met with a few. Some were good...some weren't...others were UNBELIEVABLY priced. I think we found someone in the middle and we are happy with our selection. She was patient and excited for us. She genuinely loves what she does and it shows in her work. We are very much looking forward to scrolling through the hundreds of pictures we will get once the wedding has passed.
The moral of the story here is that there is no need to stress about it. I laid awake and night and put off school work to research vendors. I cried fearing we were NEVER going to find a place to hold our ceremony. I asked the same questions to my friends and family millions of times over for reassurance.
The truth is though, you will find the right people...and when you do, you just know. So for any brides freaking out right now, keep this in mind. There is the perfect vendor for you out there! You will find them and you will be thrilled with your choice.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Engagement and such...
Since I've been engaged for a while now (a year next Friday!), I'm not going to spend too much time talking about the actual engagement, but instead some things I want to remember about it.
In a nut shell, it was Christmas day. He told NO ONE. Not my dad, not his parents, no one. He simply decided on his own it was time and off he went to the jewler. I had always thought I knew what I wanted from an engagement ring. I thought I wanted square, three stones, white gold, nothing too fancy. To be honest, I just wanted one...I didn't so much care what it looked like. In my mind, anything he picked would be perfect. Until I saw it...round cut solitare...So unbelieveably sparkley. I truly can't imagine anything else on my left hand. Total love at first sight.
As the story goes, it was Christmas day and we were just about done opening gifts. I had no clue it was coming. He said he had one more gift for me, and as he got down on his knee, I thought he was pulling something out from under the couch so I got down with him. He asked me to marry him in front of his whole family and I said yes. It's probably the only moment in my life that I truly felt like the entire world stopped except for the moment I was in. It is such special memory, I hope I never forget the way I felt that day. So incredibly special.
Anyway, after the day passed and I told everyone I could possibly think of. I was beyond excited and felt so crazy in love. I knew we were in love before, but after, it changed. It was different. There is truly nothing like it. When others around me got engaged, I felt differently for them. It was a different kind of excitement. I could totally relate to their happiness and it was special.
But I have to say, I was totally taken aback by it. I didn't know it was coming, I didn't pick out my ring, and I'm so happy about that. Every choice he made was his and it demonstrated his thought about me and what I would like. It made it so much more personal to me, and I couldn't have asked for anything more.
I still get butterflies thinking about it. It was truly the greatest day ever. I can't wait until the big day! I can only imagine how special it will be!
In a nut shell, it was Christmas day. He told NO ONE. Not my dad, not his parents, no one. He simply decided on his own it was time and off he went to the jewler. I had always thought I knew what I wanted from an engagement ring. I thought I wanted square, three stones, white gold, nothing too fancy. To be honest, I just wanted one...I didn't so much care what it looked like. In my mind, anything he picked would be perfect. Until I saw it...round cut solitare...So unbelieveably sparkley. I truly can't imagine anything else on my left hand. Total love at first sight.
As the story goes, it was Christmas day and we were just about done opening gifts. I had no clue it was coming. He said he had one more gift for me, and as he got down on his knee, I thought he was pulling something out from under the couch so I got down with him. He asked me to marry him in front of his whole family and I said yes. It's probably the only moment in my life that I truly felt like the entire world stopped except for the moment I was in. It is such special memory, I hope I never forget the way I felt that day. So incredibly special.
Anyway, after the day passed and I told everyone I could possibly think of. I was beyond excited and felt so crazy in love. I knew we were in love before, but after, it changed. It was different. There is truly nothing like it. When others around me got engaged, I felt differently for them. It was a different kind of excitement. I could totally relate to their happiness and it was special.
But I have to say, I was totally taken aback by it. I didn't know it was coming, I didn't pick out my ring, and I'm so happy about that. Every choice he made was his and it demonstrated his thought about me and what I would like. It made it so much more personal to me, and I couldn't have asked for anything more.
I still get butterflies thinking about it. It was truly the greatest day ever. I can't wait until the big day! I can only imagine how special it will be!
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Getting to know me
Like I said, my name is Melissa. I'm 27 and from the midwest. My fiance and I have been together now for almost 5 and a half years, and engaged for a year this Christmas. I can't believe it's already been a year!! Thinking about the engagement still gives me goosebumps...feels like yesterday.
I'm finishing up my Masters degree in June (can't freaking wait!) and our wedding is scheduled for October 9, 2010 (can't freaking wait for that either!!). So I have a lot to catch up on, which is good because that might make this blog last for more than 6 posts!
I have lots going on in my life in general, so for those peeps out there that aren't interested in wedding updates all the time, there will hopefully be a little more meat to this for you guys too.
So that's that. Pretty much me in a nut shell. Wish me luck!
I'm finishing up my Masters degree in June (can't freaking wait!) and our wedding is scheduled for October 9, 2010 (can't freaking wait for that either!!). So I have a lot to catch up on, which is good because that might make this blog last for more than 6 posts!
I have lots going on in my life in general, so for those peeps out there that aren't interested in wedding updates all the time, there will hopefully be a little more meat to this for you guys too.
So that's that. Pretty much me in a nut shell. Wish me luck!
Trying again...
Hi! I'm Melissa. This is probably my third-ish attempt at blogging and I always seem to get off to a start and then totally lose interest. But, I'm getting married in October, and there is so much going on right now and I want to capture it. There are so many great memories when you are wedding planning and I want to be able to go back to them. Plus, I know how I feel about Newlywed blogs, so I'm hoping others will find what I have to say helpful.
So here it goes! Trying again...
So here it goes! Trying again...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)