it's been awhile

It's been a little over 3 months since I've updated anything here. It feels like FOREVER!
So much has happened since then. Life has just gotten so busy, which isn't such a bad thing :)

I found the wonderful world of WeddingBee, Josh and I have started our garden, the weather is beautiful and I have begun designing wedding invitations! Whew. It makes me tired just typing that.

So much has happened concerning the wedding plans, too. Too much to even start talking about....
The biggest thing is we've decided to wait until October 2011. What a weight off the shoulders for now! I'm so excited to be able to enjoy this summer together without the added stress.
I feel so good about it all -- I've go so much on paper and planned out month by month that I'm not even worried about it. It will all fall into place. I am so far ahead at 17 months to go!

Last night, I got all the annual mums and some zinnias planted for the flower trial. I also ordered my perennial mums today and planted the sunflowers. I am SUPER excited to see how this turns out.
I have only planted a fraction of what I plan to plant next year if all goes well.

That's it for now :)

the reason

i discovered weddingbee this week. uh oh.

it has been incredibly addicting! how fun to find so many other wonderful women out there sharing thoughts and ideas.

so... i feel like i have been sleeping, eating, and breathing "wedding stuff" for the past few days.

i wanted to take the time to step back for a second and remember the why of all of this.
it's because i want to spend my life with this amazing man.
i am still 110% sure of us.
i know it's right when i can take a step back, look at our relationship from a 3rd person point of view and say yes, this is right. these two people go great together. our qualities compliment each other and i know i will appreciate them even more when we are getting gray.

my sweet cubs fan, i love you dearly.

venue decision?

first, a big THANK YOU to tia!

i posted an ad on craigslist in search of a barn for our wedding. she replied that she is having hers at Laury Barn at Kennekuk County Park in Danville.

after looking at the photos, i realized that on one of our random summer road trips, the dbf and i had actually been there already!

although he didn't particularly like it because it didn't have that "old, rustic" feeling, i don't think the deal can be beaten. (but i do feel very, very sad that he doesn't LOVE it... not sure that i can get over that).

it's $350 for all day, compared to $740 for Farm Lake. also, there are modern restrooms across the parking lot, whereas Farm Lake has port-a-potties.

although we really were pulling for Hodge Farm, i feel as though having it at a place where events and receptions are "supposed" to be held is a better idea. we'll have experienced personnel there to help. on top of that, we'd probably have to rent port-a-potties for Hodge Farm, which aren't too cheap.

the only downfall to this location is it's about a 40 minute drive from our home.
the upside is it's still a 2 hour drive from my hometown, so it wouldn't be any different than having it here.

it's a little unfortunate we won't be able to have the september wedding of our dreams, but our original (and i mean original, we decided on this and then against it quite some time ago) date is still open.

our options are august 21, september 4th (labor day weekend, good or bad idea??), or october 16th (the original date).

i do know we need to make a decision soon, though!

inspiration on the "big things"

read this post from A Practical Wedding

wow, it's everything i could want. how inspiring.

"Choose a color and soul that you want to have linger for years, and then LIVE there."

this is very similar to thoughts i was having while in bed last night (see previous post). i think a wedding is essentially a reflection of the the couple, especially the bride.
simple, but think about all the weddings you've been to. true or not?

hand cancelling invitations

i laid in bed for 2 hours last night. not sure why i couldn't sleep, but i had all kinds of thoughts running through my head!
from today's "to do" list to wedding invitations, to bills, to.... well the list is endless!

i remembered reading about having your invitations hand-canceled at the post office. it looks better and also prevents any damage that might occur to the invites while going through the auto-canceler.

then, i had a small epiphany... wouldn't it be fun to have them canceled in a town with a unique name?

whadda ya know? there's a Love, Illinois... 3 hours away! unfortunately, they don't have a post office of their own :(

Romance, Missouri is 7 hours away, but strike out again! no post office. (that would have been a fun trip to the ozarks!)

Love Lake, Missouri is only a 4.5 hour drive.... strike 3!

their post offices are all located in bigger towns nearby. damn.

okay, Loves Park, Illinois is 3 hours away and they DO have a post office. 4th time's a charm :)


Gourmet Invitations shows the difference between hand-canceled invitations and auto-canceled ones here.

the ring

the etsy ring is out. not a big deal, i was beginning to think it might look weird with a 1 carat stone anyway.
quite understandably, my dbf is concerned about sending a stone to someone we do not know. although etsy is 100% trustworthy, i can see where he is coming from.

he would also have to put his good faith in the USPS, which can be a let down (from experience!)

this is a ring we've both looked at on eBay, and the jeweler is just 2 hours away, so he could go see it in person, which is great! i think the experience of going, picking out, and such is really priceless. it's not quite the same when you order it from the 'net.

this one is also much more budget friendly, coming in at $749 versus the $1,079 for the Cartier inspired one from Moissanite Co.

we'll see :)(not sure why the picture turned weird at the bottom?)

a little rant

the "Wedding Industry" makes me SICK. seriously.
i can RENT table linens for a minimum of $5.50 each? uh, no thanks.

how about i head on over to ReStore and buy some beautiful, mismatched, vintagey ones for around $2 apeice?
that sounds better. much cheaper, much less cookie-cutter.

yes, everyone, i CAN have my cake and eat it, too!

we are pushed and prodded from every angle, as brides-to-be, to spend, spend, spend. this is "your" day, buy EVERYTHING!
you need the perfect linens to match the perfect centerpieces to match the $3,000 dress to match the blah, blah, blah.

i want our guests to walk away with a feeling of sincerity. with their souls a little softer and their hearts a little warmer... not thinking "wow, that must've cost a fortune!"
i want beautiful simplicity, not beautiful extravagance.

to me, it's not about that and it never will be.