Song Request!!

For any and all of you that have a song(s) request to be played during the reception...here is your chance to speak up!! Fill out the form below and I will make sure to add it to our list in the spring!! Thanks!!

Powered by Freak Music - the home of live wedding bands and entertainers for hire.

Feeling The Love

On August 10th I was able to have ALL of my bridesmaids including my mom, together for the 1st time ever!! I love how everyone gets along and keeps a smile on their faces. This is so uplifting to me and a reminder as to why they are each so special to me. We all met at David's Bridal that afternoon for our girl's day.  Jessica brought mimosas for everyone but we learned there was no alcohol allowed...bummer. I picked the color "regency" to use. I let the girls decide on their dresses, to be long or short was up to them. A shorter dress would mean the shoes had to match, a longer dress meant that they did not have to be exactly a match but similar. I am trying to be accommodating and doing so, I want everyone to feel comfortable because when you feel good, you look good! Anyone wearing shoes they aren't comfortable in will be miserable the whole day and we don't want that. After some laughs and several dresses later (and discovering that Bernadine has a donk like me, we get it from our mama) a dress was agreed upon. As we left David's Bridal, we decided to act like we are from Kentucky and pop the back to Jami's Navi and pour some mimosas up in Red Solo cups in the parking lot. Good times for sure. Next stop was Chili's where we all had lunch and got to mingle a little more. I really enjoyed myself and seeing all of the people that meant so much to me enjoying themselves too. 

A few days later and I realized "regency" wasn't really the color I had in mind, that color was not "purple" enough, it was too bright. So now I need to make a trip to Geno's for swatches to get a better idea of the color I really want. We will stay with the same look of dresses though since we all agreed upon that. Candace insists on me having my make-up and lashes done so her gift to me will be airbrush make-up by Artistry HD out of Louisville. YAY! That's exciting! I trust all of the girls to do their own make up but we all deserve to be pampered sometimes, so I've left that option up to them. Hair will all be similarly done by Fleet Street Hair Shoppe, except for those girls that have their own stylist that they prefer to use. 

I have been to about 20 weddings over the past few years and one small problem I have noticed at a few of them has been the waiting time between the ceremony and reception...the culprit is the BRIDAL PARTY PICTURES. I understand this because as everyone knows I am very much a picture person myself and always have been. But I decided I don't want to make people wait all that time in between. Besides the fact that riding the horse and carriage will take long enough of a wait as the horse only moves at very slow pace. And with further thinking Quinn and I are very humble and reserved for the most part. As much as we are open about our feelings and love for one another, we are also not used to having so much focus on us and being the center of attention. Therefore, we have decided to do "First Look" pictures. We would like to have our very own private moment of seeing one another for the 1st time, without an audience. This will allow us to have our emotions and nerves a little more under control. We're both criers.  One reason we both hesitated was due to missing out on that "moment" of the doors opening to the music and us seeing one another for the 1st time. We all dream of that "moment". The pros outweigh the con. This way we have ALL the pictures taken prior to the wedding and can leave the ceremony, get into the horse carriage, and be on our way to the reception to eat, drink, and celebrate with our loved ones. We still get that "moment"..it just wont be the traditional 1st moment and that is fine. I think we will both smile more than we will cry by doing it this way. The people I have talked to that have done it, were SOOOOOO glad they did. That was confirmation enough for me. I don't care if its not traditional or what people think or have to say. Its not their day. Period.

A few Save The Dates have been sent out to family members that live in Nebraska and California since they need a little more time with making travel arrangements and whatnot. The rest will be mailed out at the beginning of November so they will not get mixed up with the rush of the holidays that are quickly approaching. 

Before I finish, I must mention one more thing that has happened since I last blogged. Samantha's mother, Ms. Lee,  has volunteered to coordinate the wedding for us!!!  She did an amazing job on Samantha's baby shower and has experience with coordinating weddings, so I have NO doubt she will do a fabulous job for us and I know I can count on her to be my backbone with making this all happen for us. She will make sure everything and everyone begins on time, things are set up as they are supposed to be, and the entire day runs smoothly. I met with her last night to go over a few things and I already feel relieved! 

As you all can see, so much has happened this month. Which is all just in time for my last semester that began yesterday!! I graduate in December and the next milestone will be our wedding day...291 days to go!

Flowers and Changes!

As usual, changes occur! Due to timing and expenses on everyone's end, we have decided not to do a Disney Family Vacation with friends and family for our Honeymoon as we had planned. Instead, we will have our own personal Honeymoon which will be much needed by the time the wedding gets here! LOL. Requirement: BEACH!!

On another note, I met with the florist Pennington's Petals last night for dinner and we were able to come up with and finalize our ideas. I loved finally meeting with her and putting our thoughts together, which was a relief! I absolutely cannot wait to walk into our reception hand in hand as husband and wife with all of my visions, alive! And best of all, she is SO reasonable because she works out of her home, super sweet girl!!

I have another idea for our wedding day that I am waiting to discuss with the Groom himself that I think we will both love and find to be more personal. As the majority of our plans are finalized and deposits are paid, we can relax!! School starts again in a few weeks and I will be graduating college in December 2013!! Such a long road that has been. As I close another chapter in my life, I will be opening another.

So many changes these past couple of weeks in our personal lives has created a new beginning for us also. I am excited moving forward to watch the boys grow and learn in ways they never have before. Life is better than ever and I never take it for granted!

Moving Right Along!

WOW!!! What a couple of productive weeks I have had! I AM OFFICIALLY IN WEDDING MODE!! After attending Ashley's wedding, I was able to make some new contacts. I absolutely LOVED her wedding fans and so we will be using Jessica Bubb with Citrine Designs out of New York for our program fans also. To charge $1.19/per fan already assembled and designed is much cheaper than me buying them for $1.00/each and having to assemble and glue them myself. Plus, her cousin did an awesome job with her cake, so I believe we will be using Sarah with Hey Baby Cakes Bakery. Her pricing of $2.50/per slice is the same as the other bakers we've looked at so I like that I was able to see it with my own eyes and tasted it already. Since it's very similar to ours (which is a simple cake), I already know she will do great, no doubts. 

A few weeks ago I narrowed down some floral designs and ideas, but realized I am very crafty and I could probably do some of them myself. Needless to say after pricing yesterday, we are in need of clarification so we are going to be meeting with Jenni  at the end of this month to finalize everything in the most cost efficient way possible. When pricing and totaling the cost for DIY centerpieces...the cost is nearly $600! I am thinking the florist may be able to do the same thing and I not have to have any labor for the same cost. But we shall see what happens soon. 

Moving right along, I will have ALL seven of my beautiful bridesmaids together on August 10th to look for bridesmaids dresses!! I am so thrilled that everyone is available the weekend that my sister will be in from Nebraska. The other day I decided I would ask my mom to come with me to check out wedding dresses!! My only intentions were to LOOK...NOT BUY!!! We went to the place where Mindy got hers, it was out of business. Then I went to where a place used to be on Richmond Rd. It was gone. So off to David's Bridal we went!! I tried on the 1st one and fell in love. But to be sure I tried on 4-5 more. I liked the 2nd one alot too but knew the 1st one was IT. The lady helping us, Christelle, was so nice and made me feel at ease. The only problem was that this dress was sold out for Fall 2013 and it wasn't going to be made anymore....WAHHH! My mom was in love with it also. So...I bought it!!! ha! Then I text Quinn to say that I said yes to the dress. He replied with: How much? (haha) I replied with the cost, which he was okay because I spent less than he expected. It fits perfectly everywhere except the top area. That is the only area I will need to have altered. I honestly felt like a Princess every time I put the dress back on to be sure. I love everything about it. The feeling is so surreal. When Christelle put the veil on my head, I could only stare at myself as if this were an out of body experience. This is really happening. This is real. I am marrying the man that makes me feel like no one ever has before. I could never put into words how good it feels to know in my heart he was made for me. 

That was all on Saturday! But on Friday, not only did I get off work 2 hours early...but I found our invitations!!! All 250 of them for $125!!! I have been browsing the internet for weeks trying to find the best cost scenario or even the cheapest way is to DIY.  I came across Hobby Lobby's website and decided to go to their store on my lunch break. It must've been meant to be because their wedding section was 50% off and I loved the invitation pack! Woohoo!! After visiting that invitations lady, the thought of spending $600-700 on invitation sets, made my head spin! Granted, there are sites like Zazzle and VistaPrint that my friends have used to reduce the costs greatly to nearly $300-400ish, but I was determined to save even more. 

After much research and many quotes for photo booths, we picked one! What I have discovered is this: if the vendor doesn't have their pricing listed, it's for a reason. More than likely it is because it is more than others that do have their pricing posted. They don't want to scare you from them, so you are made to inquire. BUT I am ballin on a budget, so to ease my mind....I asked for several quotes and printed several just so I would know. Most have several packages to choose from but here a few prices with nearly the same package options, ranging in 3-4 hour time frames:

4 hours
Big Cheese Booth -    $800 + no fee to Lexington & NO printed pics (Louisville, KY)

Say Cheese Photo Booth - $750 + $25 travel fee to Lexington (Florence, KY)

Bluegrass Photo Booth -  $695 + no fee to Lexington (Nicholasville, KY)

Showtime Photo Booth -  $650 Louisville only (Louisville, KY)

Clear Choice Photo Booth- $749 with props & scrapbook (Lexington, KY)

3 hours

Bluegrass Photo Booth -  $595 + no fee to Lexington (includes props & scrapbook!!) (Nicholasville, KY)
Showtime Photo Booth -  $600 Louisville only (including props) (Louisville, KY)

Clear Choice Photo Booth- $649  (NO props & scrapbook) (Lexington, KY)

So we have chosen to go with Bluegrass Photo Booth because we literally get much more for our money and we are supporting local business! They give the extras without overcharging and they work out of their home, so no need for as much overhead cost. As most people know and I have mentioned, I love love love pictures!! Britney's wedding last year had a photo booth and we loved it. It gives your guests a memory to have/take, something to fill in time, and most of all...it's fun and creative!! (update: I met with Ed today 7/9/2013 and he was super nice and easy going, I can't wait to work with him, I highly recommend him!!)

It seems as if much of the major "to-do's" are gone and out of the way. All of our deposits are made thus far. And now we just have to work our butts off to get the balances paid before June 14, 2014! 

Another update: I contacted a college acquaintance and he has agreed to DJ our wedding for $100/hour!! He has all of his own equipment: speakers, cordless mic, lights, turntables) and I know he is legit and dependable. Thankful for his quick response time @DjJohnQ. 

My goal in blogging is to hopefully help someone else in need of advice or questions or concerns. I am doing my planning mostly alone and it is not always easy. Research can take alot of time. I am not the 1st bride nor will I be the last and reading previous brides' blogs has helped me tremendously when it comes to making decisions. 

Until next time,
Misty

P.S. We are anxiously awaiting our engagement pictures to come back any day now!!  Save-The-Dates will go out to family and friends in October/November. Those that live further away will get theirs sooner as they need more time to make arrangements. 

Picture time!

After we attended our 1st wedding of 2013, I was able to begin brainstorming. I was looking through Pinterest when all of a sudden I saw a cake that I loved. I then found out the type of flowers they were and did some research on bouquets and I fell in love even more. I began getting visions and have been super busy ever since contacting vendors for pricing. I believe we are going to use Pennington's Petals for our floral arrangements. She has been super sweet and has had very quick turn around/response time. She is reasonable and had a few ideas she threw in there that helped me to envision our centerpieces, which is awesome!! 

Sunday will be our engagement pictures with Willie Wilson Photography at Gainesway Farm, thanks to someone Mindy knows! I randomly mentioned how neat I think it would be to have them done on a horse farm and walah! Mindy knows someone that births horses there and he got the approval. I am SO SUPER EXCITED I can't hardly stand it!!!!!!!! We are looking forward to working with Willie and getting our pictures back so we can share them with our loved ones. 

S/N: I was inspired for the Save The Dates by Pinterest. There were pics of couples with wine bottles and labels with their wedding dates on them, but I wanted purple bottles. So, I was going to get some empty ones and then try to stain them myself BUT Hobby Lobby to the rescue! They had several colors and the purple I was looking for, PLUS 50% off therefore only $4 each!!!! I got some 3" numbers in the home section and simply stuck them onto the bottles. And there you have it. We will use those in the pictures on Sunday! YAY!!! 

Time to Plan!!!

Now that vacation and the semester is over, it's time to PLAN this WEDDING!!! A couple of new ideas have come about this past week. One was my bright idea and the other was Quinn's! Imagine that, ha! ;) I decided that after our vacation to Cancun, it seems we kinda had what seems like a honeymoon would feel like. Mexico was beautiful BUT after marriage, a new house, and trying to add to our family, I don't see us being able to go to a place I've always wanted to go at anytime in our near future.....DISNEY WORLD!!!! The 4 boys will be of good age and will enjoy the trip as much as us adults will. Including our families in our trip will still allow us to have some alone time while being able to let those we love the most, to have a once in a lifetime opportunity! Slowly but surely we will get everyone in on our plan, on both sides of our families, the more the merrier!!  After talking with a few friends, I will need to contact a Disney World agent and meet with my AAA travel agent for pricing very soon!! I can;t wait to see Mickey & Minnie Mouse!! And the faces on the boys....will be PRICELESS!!

Now, for Quinn's bright idea...since our ceremony and reception are only 1.8 miles apart, I didn't want to rent a limo or have any special mode of transportation. But one night last week Quinn asked how would I feel about a horse and carriage ride into the reception!? Well, honey I think that's a brilliant idea!!! Plus, couldn't believe I hadn't thought of it myself! Ha! I have emailed Lexington Livery for pricing. They are the ones who do the horse carriage tours in downtown Lexington, so I am looking forward to hearing back from them soon.Update: This man only replied once and said he didn't feel comfortable taking his horses on the less than 2 mile trip down Paris Pike...so I emailed Laura with Destiny Horse and Carriage and she was more than happy to do it for us. She quickly answered my questions and concerns. She was HIRED! lol.

Next up: Our engagement session with Willie Wilson is in a few weeks and then I can work on ordering our Save the Dates & Invitations possibly from Zazzle or another source. With 4 weddings on our agenda this year, I look forward to getting ideas and sharing idea with friends that have their big day behind them.

P.S. I have never been so sure of who I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I have never had someone love me truly unconditionally and endlessly. I have no worries or concerns. This is real. Only 393 days to go! WOOHOO!!

Super Special Saturday!!

Saturday morning Quinn and I met with Doug and Glenn from Doug Smith Designs. They were very helpful with their questions and idea process. I sort of know what I want but can't completely envision it. That is what I would like them to help me with, bring my vision to life. This is Tuesday morning and they've already sent me their quote! Can't wait to work with them!





After Doug and Glenn, we met with Melissa of Affordable Invitations Saturday morning. Both vendors met us at the Simply Love Studio office which made it convenient. She had us look through several invitation binders to get an idea of the style we would like to use, as well priced them all for us. She had MANY!!! Lol. Since we are far from needing those yet, I loved that she allowed us to take pics with the prices beside each of our favorites. Quinn and I were able to agree on a "look" that we both like so we have a few options to choose from, if I don't find a way or feel like doing them myself...or my future sister-in-law can do them ;)



Mindy met us there when we were looking through binders of invitations. She had planned for us to have a "sister day" of shopping and hanging out since we don't do much of that. As our meeting finished, Quinn went to work and Mindy and I went shopping. After a few stores she said she had to do something at 4 o'clock on Richmond Rd. but since we were early we made a pit stop at O'Charleys for an adult beverage. After we were finished, MINDY pulls us up to Posh Salon. I thought she was surprising me with a pedi but she had already gotten one so I was confused. We walk in and go to the back room where I see CANDACE!!!!!! She was setting out some cheese and veggies with some OJ and champagne for Mimosas!! How special!! I found out JESSICA was there too from Cincy and some more girls were on their way. As we all get around to getting our massages, I find out LOREN is getting one also. JAMI meets us there and SAMANTHA is going to meet us at the restaurant. Which by the way, I thought was going to be Chili's because Jami had previously invited me to dinner at 5:45 that evening and we settled on there. Ha! To my surprise again, Jessica mentions needing to follow someone to Abuelos....Huh?!? YAY! Haha. So we enjoyed a fabulous dinner and a couple of pitchers of sangria daiquiris. We talked and visited for hours. I loved my engagement cards and tank, but most of all I love you each for taking time out of your busy lives to make me feel special!! It was a much needed day and a break from my super busy life. The only person missing was by BIG SISSY Bernadine that lives in Nebraska. So blessed to have each of you in my life and thankful you will be sharing this process and big day with me!! 


Loving my life!!