One more check! (well almost..)

Well I talked it over with Mr. Stilts and I have officially let our florist choice know that we have decided to go with her. Now (and this is the reason I said "almost" in the title) all we have to do is get the deposit check in the mail. That might be a little harder than it should be. First of all, I always hate asking my parents for the money and I hate asking Wes to ask his parents for the money. I know that they have all told us they would help pay for the wedding but I always feel weird asking for it. I also know that they won't hesitate to write the check (well except if I was asking for like a million dollar check...ha ha) but I still get apprehensive about it. Mr. Stilts and I are so fortunate to have families who are willing to help us out and pay for the majority of our wedding. I do think though that once we get this certain check in the mail, we won't have anymore "big" checks to write for a while. Mr. Stilts and I are planning on starting to pay for somethings on a monthly basis just so that we won't have as much all at one time. Like our DJ total is $600.00 so we figured we could pay $100 a month for 6 months and he would be fully paid by December. One less thing to worry about come March 2010. Mr. Stilts suggested that if we can do this, some things like the DJ we wouldn't even consider to be part of the wedding. So we could even do that with the bagpipe player and organist because we only lack $250 for that one. My advice to anyone planning a wedding- pay as you go! If you pay a little at a time then it won't be such a huge hit on you right before the wedding. The one time you really shouldn't be worried about money. You will have plenty of other things to worry about. So I am feeling good about this. I think if we can do this, we will be able to use more the "wedding money" towards the reception (food, alcohol), flowers, unexpected things, etc. There are SO many aspects of planning a wedding, you really have no idea until you are in those shoes.
I got the swatch of my dress from the bridal shop the other day and I can't stop looking at it. I swear I love my dress so much I can't wait until mine actually comes in. It's a shame that we only get to wear it once. That's why I don't really understand the concept of having two or more dresses for the wedding. If I am paying THAT much for one dress, I am going to wear it as long as I can because I will never get to again. Well except for when I am feeling nostalgic and I end up wearing it to vacuum around the house or something (oh yeah, I will probably be one of THOSE people).
So anyway, we are moving right along it seems. We still need to buckle down and work on the guest list some more. Mr. Stilts and I actually talked about that last night and he agreed that we needed to just do it and stop saying, "we'll get to it later". We really need to be able to get a better idea of the ball park we are going to be in. I know things might change as far as that goes over the next 8 1/2 months but we need to have somewhat of a clearer idea now. I really hope that we can work that out. I really want to be able to invite all the people we want there. I know this is one thing we have been trying to tackle from day one. When we made our first "list" it was well over 300 people. Now we are trying to whittle it down to a max of 200. It's so much of a back and forth thing because on one hand, you don't want to leave anyone out but at the same time every person you have to pay a certain amount for and it totally adds up. Their food, champagne, table, chair, cake, save the date, invitation, place card, favor, etc. etc. etc.....it goes on and on. I pray that we can work it out so that we are feeling good about it and don't come away from it feeling like some people are going to be upset with us.
So in conclusion, florist- half check. Next on the agenda- guest list. I already have a headache........

Oops! I suck.

Ok well I apologize to all my loyal fans (all 4 of you. Don't be jealous.)that I have not blogged since June 11. Things have been sort of hectic lately but in the best way. I have gotten a new job that I will be starting in two weeks. It's something totally different than I have been doing so it will be a big change. One of the best parts is that I am only going to be working about 15 minutes from home. How freakin' awesome is that?!?! SO much better than the hour plus drive for the past three years. Anyway, so things have been crazy but I am both excited and anxious about what's to come though. Closing one chapter and opening another one. I'll update as we go along but I think that this is pretty nuts planning a wedding and switching jobs at the same time. I'm sure many have done it before me but it still feels a little crazy.
In addition to the "new job good news" is the fact that my Mom and I have successfully met and interviewed three different florists. We have been fortunate to meet with three fantastic ones at that. I think having too many choices is better than none at all so hats off to my Mom and I, as well as our wedding planner. I think we have more than likely made our choice but I am still going to finalize everything with Mr. Stilts and make sure that he's on board. I think this one particular florist will be able to work with our budget while still being able to capture our "vision". I feel like that sounds so weird to say "vision" (like I feel like I should have sunglasses on, wear all black and only snap when I like something) but it's really the only word I can think of at the moment. I have an idea in my head of what I would want it to look like (and Mr. Stilts too even though he does not seem the least bit interested in what kind of flowers we are going to have but really I didn't expect him to- he's a guy) and so I would like to try and get as close as I can to that. I think regardless of who we pick, they will be great and we will be really happy with them. We have been so fortunate so far in all of our vendors. I feel like everything is really beginning to come together and I am getting more and more excited every day the closer it gets (I know that will probably change once we are actually "close").
My sister and I have been talking about the design for our invitations, save the dates, etc. and she came up with an awesome idea! She freaks me out she's so creative. She has offered so graciously to do our invitations and hers were SO GOOD that I know I have nothing to worry about. I am so excited to see what she comes up with.
Once we book the florist we will be in a really good place. There will really be nothing to DO for about a month or so. We can kind of sit back and relax. Which will be great for me because I will be starting the new job and will need as little additional stress as possible. I am giving myself a little pat on the back for a job well done thus far. I am really going to try and do what everyone has told me........Enjoy this time, it will be over before you know it.

Tell me somethin' good!

I am in good spirits today. I feel like we are making more major steps and things (so far) seem to be fairly flawless. We have finally gotten the "OK" from the church's pastor to have our long time family friend, Charles, officiate the ceremony. This means so much to us because for one, he is such a great guy and has such an amazing spirit. It means a lot to both Mr. Stilts and I to have someone who knows us perform the ceremony. Plus, it doesn't hurt that he has an amazing speaking voice. I am so thrilled that we were able to work it out. Also, we got the proposal from the florist myself and my Mom met with a while ago. Both my Mom and I really liked her and thought she had a lot of great ideas. The way she described things put such a great picture in my head and it made me that much more excited about seeing it all unfold. It really gets you pumped to finally be able to picture in your head what everything could look like. The proposal was over our budget but she was upfront about it and said that she wanted to put everything in there and then we could start cutting what we could live without to get down where we were more comfortable. We are going to meet with another potential florist hopefully next week. I am just waiting for him to let me know what days and times work for him. I plan on meeting with one more just so we can see what our options are and then we can pick from there. So far though, I am very pleased (even though I have only met with one). I guess for me it's fun to think that these people are just as excited about our wedding as I am. Now, I know that they are trying to get the business so they NEED to seem excited but they do a great job at it! As I was reading this first proposal I could see how beautiful everything would be and it makes me a little misty-eyed. What a wonderful day this is going to be.
I know we still have a long way to go and we MUST start working on finalizing the guest list. That is the one thing that I am really not looking forward to and totally petrified about. We are both so scared about making people upset is they aren't invited. You know, it's upsetting but at the same time, cutting the guest list is the #1 way to cut down costs. I am just trying to do everything I can to make it beautiful but also affordable. SO this is going to be a tough one.
Oh and one little update. I went to have my wedding dress re-measure last week. My Mom and Mr. Stilts Mom came out and his Mom got to see the dress for the first time. She said she loved it and it made me so happy that she was able to see it before the wedding. BUT ALSO- I found out that I have lost an inch off both the top and bottom of my chest (YAY!) and 2 1/2 inches off my waist!!! I mean seriously!! ?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?! I was so excited and it really proves to me that what I am doing is working as far as working out and eating right. At this rate, I am SO pumped to see what can happen in 9 1/2 months until the wedding. It really gives me the motivation to keep it up and to make this a lifestyle, not a temporary, "I want to look great only for the wedding" thing.
So, patting myself on the back and moving forward- Tally Ho!!! (I really don't know what that means but it sounds cool) :-)