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!!

Simply Love Studio Meeting

Working full time and taking my classes online full time has proven to be harder than I imagined! Between the two, I stay so busy and tired that I do not have much time for wedding planning as much as I'd like to. In the evenings I sometimes browse Pinterest for ideas. Since I know that I do not have to have final decisions made but do need to have my vendors reserved, I met with Sarah at Simply Love Studio last night.

Sarah runs Simply Love Studio in Lexington, it is adjacent to Purdon's Rental and Sales (linens, chairs, pipe and drape, etc.). Meeting with her is COMPLIMENTARY a.k.a. FREE (no matter how many meetings you have with her)!!!! She has been a wedding planner for the past 5 years and is basically funded by the local wedding vendors. You tell her your budget, give her ideas of what you have in mind and/or your style preferences and she is able to recommend local vendors that are on her preferred list that she believes are a good fit for your perfect day. Since I have been to several bridal shows and affairs already, it was nice to be able to ask her specific questions about certain vendors I had in mind and not feel pressured or like I was being sold a dream. For example, I absolutely loved Tinker's cakes (one of her preferred vendors)! But at $4.50/slice I was looking at around $900-1125 for our cake (depending on the final guest list). Sarah was able to recommend another local preferred vendor Sweets By Cindy that is comparable for $2.50/slice. That cuts our cake cost almost in half, $500-625!! So I will be contacting Sarah's recommendation for a taste testing and consultation. 

Sarah gave me a to do list. First was to work on our guest list since this will be the determining factor in many costs. So needless to say, we will be working on getting that finalized ASAP. Second, she said to work on finding the photographer. Since a photographer is only able to do one wedding per day (unlike a cake vendor who can make lots for one day) and a larger wedding cost, we need to make sure we find one we like and get the deposit paid so they are reserved since June is the busiest month for weddings. A couple she recommended were Blair Studio and Wes Brown Photography beings how I am a very traditional kind of girl when it comes to pictures and settings. Third, she said to find a florist we want to work with and get them reserved as well. She recommended Doug Smith Designs, which was comforting because I know they do beautiful work with floral arrangements and also help with the design/setup at both the church and the reception. I assumed they were expensive and out of range but Sarah assured me they are very reasonably priced and easy to work with. I have contacted them this morning to get a meeting set up, since this will be one of the bigger wedding expenses also. They can help bring our vision to life and I believe this will be the most productive consultation of all. 

Sarah was very informational and helpful with recommending vendors that are in our budget and ones that fit my personality and preferences. Most all of these vendors will meet you at the Simply Love Studio office for your convenience, which I think is pretty awesome. There were many more points we touched on, but they aren't as important yet. Around April or so we will meet with Affordable Invitations to get a potential package together. I am so thankful for Sarah's direction and guidance, and am looking forward to slowly but surely getting this planning under way! 

In blogging, I hope I am able to help someone else whom is busy, needs help, is budgeting or looking for recommendations as this can be a very time consuming process. I have provided links within the blog to each of the vendors to allow easy access. This day should only come once in a lifetime and I want to be sure we have the day of our dreams!! Only 479 days until I marry my best friend and change my last name!

My Daddy

Going to school full time and working full time is keeping me SUPER busy right now!! Working on a few wedding details here and there in my spare free time. This Saturday is a bridal affair at Purdon's rental company, which my mom will be attending with me since Quinn will be working all day. As most people know I lost my father to cancer when I was 15 years old. Time has made his absence a little less painful but there is not a day that goes by that he does not cross my mind. I miss him as if he were just here yesterday. I sometimes even talk to him in my head or I laugh out loud when something reminds me of him. I can't really remember what his voice sounds like but his face is always so clear. I swear he still hangs around my mom's house and messes with her stuff. Some evenings the touch lamp is on in her room when she hasn't been home all day. Ha ha. He has already missed so much, it hurts deeply to know he will not be here on my wedding day as well. Yes, I know he is watching over me and that he is proud of me...BUT none of that replaces his bodily presence. I was so glad my grandmother (his mother) was able to meet Quinn last April in California,before her passing this past fall, as well as two of my aunts (my dad's sisters). I knew even then that Quinn was the one. They say when you've met THE ONE, you just know, and that's true. As most  also know, I found my half siblings almost 2 years ago, my dad's other two children, Lawrence and Teresa. They are amazing people with amazing families. We've gotten to meet a few times already. We always make a way, regardless of distance, to see one another. Once I knew in my heart I would be spending the rest of my life with Quinn, I told Teresa over the phone while in Las Vegas that I was going to ask our father's only son to walk me down the aisle when the day came. He is the closest thing to my father I can get. That day came on December 12th. On December 13th Lawrence sent me a congratulations message and in turn I replied, "On that note, I was wondering if you would walk me down the aisle?" He accepted with great honor and that means more to me than he will ever know!! I get emotional at times when I think about my daddy not being here. Especially when I think about him walking me down the aisle or our father/daughter dance or him being a grandfather to my future child(ren). But I do admit, it brings me some comfort knowing that I have the next best people to help me with that day....my brother to give me away and my fiance to take me for the rest of our lives. I hope people that still have both of their parents understand and cherish the moments they have. Time and love is so precious, they are not something to be taken advantage of. I attended 4-5 weddings in 2012 and the hardest part was always listening to the song selection and watching the bride and her father dancing. With such an array of emotions going on, I pray I can make it through the rehearsal and ceremony without boohooing when our day comes. Live, Love, and Laugh!! 

7 Special Envelopes!

 Yesterday I mailed out cards to 7 women that are very near and dear to my heart for all of their own special reasons.Whether it be a shoulder I can lean on unconditionally, unwavering support in one way or another, loving me, venting until I lose my voice, long time steady friends that are more like sisters, or being my sanity when I have been ready to lose my mind, even when there was no benefit for them. One of the easiest, yet hardest things to do is narrow that list down to one handful rather than two. I have been blessed with many great friends, more so than most. Mindy(M), Candace(C), Jami(W), Loren(L), Bernadine(B), Samantha(S), and Jessica(J) will be receiving mail asking them to Plan With Me, Stand With Me, Cry With Me, and Laugh With Me. For the most part of the last 10 years, each of these women have been a steady rock in my life and this is my thank you!! Most importantly, I would not be where I am or who I am without you. Time to celebrate ladies!! 

On another note, I bought an Ultimate Wedding Planner & Organizer last week at Barnes & Noble!! It is so useful and informative on every little detail imaginable, it has been a great guide thus far. It has helped get an idea of a budget and where we should be and can be. Next up, continue to get the guest list and numbers together and filling in pricing info. Now I know the small details can come a little later! I am still in disbelief that I get to spend the rest of my life with this incredible man! I love him more and more everyday.