FINALLY! Progress!!

So~~ We have finally hired a wedding planner!! WOO HOO! I am so happy about it, I can almost scream! It might not be much but it makes it feel like we are actually moving forward instead of standing still or running in circles. I think we have pretty much settled on the church as well but we still have to go up there to meet with the minister and the event coordinator. Also, we still have to sign all the necessary paperwork and such. As for the reception, we are getting closer to the areas in which we are comfortable with but still not 100% yet. Mr. Stilts and I are going back and forth on locations. I am still in love with Gaylord Springs but we have to be able to feel comfortable with what we are spending in relation to our budget. We both feel it's not necessary to spend a ton of money on one day and in reality, this is more about us vowing to be there for each other for the rest of our lives and to me, that's more important than any sit down dinner, honeymoon, dress....anything. I am so excited about becoming his wife. I know we have our ups and downs as any couple would (and ESPECIALLY a couple planning a wedding)but in the end I couldn't imagine going home at night and not having him there.
We have also started working out just about every day and really watching what we eat. I never thought I would be as motivated as I am but knowing that a wedding gown is in my future REALLY helps. Plus, we got the Wii Fit and it has been kicking our butt! It makes it fun and it's nice to be able to feel like we are getting well rounded work outs at home. Mr. Stilts has already lost quite a bit of weight and I have lost some but I noticed the other day some toning that made me squeal with excitement. That is the motivation I need to keep it going. I really want to be tone more than lose weight (even though who would be mad about losing weight.....not I) but mostly I want to not pay attention to the numbers and concentrate on how I feel about myself and how my clothes fit. Anyway, I am feeling that while this wedding planning is probably one of the most stressful things I have ever done in my life, it's also been a great motivator for both of to make some changes in our lives. I'm so pumped and hopefully the next time I post, I will have one more GIANT check off our list!!
YAY 1 1/2 CHECKS SO FAR!!! :-)

Still waiting....but with a slight glimmer of hope

So we are still in the process of trying to make some decisions. It is a lot harder than I ever thought it would be. I think we are sort of leaning towards the Donelson area for the ceremony. It's a great compromise for us since I would like downtown and Mr. Stilts would like Lebanon. It's right smack in the middle if you ask me! So my Mom and I went last Friday and looked at two possible churches in the Donelson area. The first two pictures above are from Andrew Price Memorial United Methodist Church (a mouthful, right??). It is absolutely beautiful with its stained glass windows and has so much history that I am really drawn too. The other two pictures are from Doneslon Heights United Methodist Church which is about one mile up the road from APMUNC. It is also really beautiful and the people there were so kind and helpful. It's a tough call but it might just come down to which one has the better price. Donelson Heights is cheaper and that is REALLY attractive to us, the couple on a serious budget. As for the reception, I think we are really liking the Gaylord Springs Golf Course. It is breathtaking and the thought of how gorgeous the pictures would be, blows my mind!! Plus, golf is a pretty big part of Mr. Stilts life so it would be something that is a piece of him. That, to me, is so important. We are going to meet with the event coordinator there this Saturday morning. I am really excited and optimistic about this meeting and hope that we can get what we want for the price we can afford. We went to visit the Mill in Lebanon yesterday evening and the woman there was such a pleasure. She showed us around and it was nice but it is a lot more expensive than we thought and you don't get a lot for your money. The area in which we would have to use too is just this HUGE warehouse that had no windows and really no charm. I think it would end up costing us a lot more money just to make it pretty, if that makes sense. I knew going into the meeting yesterday that it was more expensive but I want us to look at every possible option so that we know in the end that we got the best with what we could afford. Plus, I know it meant a lot for Mr. Stilts to go look at it. He also mentioned going to look at two other possible reception venues downtown, the Ryman (how AWESOME would that be?!??!) and the Suite Level Club at the Sommet Center. The Ryman we pretty much know already is going to be too expensive (even though if we did do it there, we would have both the wedding and the reception there) but we just think it's too cool to not look at. The Suite Level Club is a place where one of our wedding coordinator candidates suggested. It is supposed to be really nice and pretty with a ton of windows that show downtown. My Mom would LOVE that. So I have contacted both of these other places to see if and when we can go take a look at them. It doesn't hurt if you ask me to look at every option we are interested in. I do feel like though, I am personally falling in love with the idea of doing the wedding in Donelson and the reception at Gaylord Springs.

My main focus though at this point is deciding on a wedding planner. This is really important to me because I am ready to have something be set in stone. I know this is something that Mr. Stilts and I are going to have to decide on together and I am really hopeful that we can decide something this week. Cross you fingers for us!!!!!!!!