The Wedding Countdown

223 days to go:

Well…just 223 days left! We have our place, our pastor, and our photographer! I have been dress shopping and I fell in love with an amazing dress, but it's about double what I wanted to spend, so I am keeping an open mind when I go to my next fitting on January 7th, at 6 PM. The flowers are planned out and the invitations picked! We still need to do the cake and pick someone to cater the event! We have not taken our engagement pictures yet, but hopefully the formal ones will be later this week and then the other sometime next month! There are so many decisions to make and so many people that I feel I need to make happy, so it is not always easy and/or fun, but it is going to be an amazing day no matter what!!!

206 days to go:

I bought my wedding dress yesterday. It is the most BEAUTIFUL dress ever! I am so happy that I decided to get it even though it was about double what I had planned to spend on a dress. We got our first set of engagement pictures taken about 2 weeks ago, so look for those to be posted soon. The next mission is the catering and the cake!

193 days to go:

Our next set of engagement pictures is going to be on February 9, 2008! We are going this weekend to get the catering and the wedding cake figured out!

181 days to go:

Today marks 6 months exactly until the wedding day. I am up to my neck in student teaching stuff and I don't feel at all that I have the time of the energy to plan a wedding right now. So many things that I thought mattered to me many months ago are now becoming less and less important. I know we will have a first dance, but to what song? I don't care anymore it’s the fact that I will be having it with the person that I love that really matters. Same goes with the cake....does the flavor of the style matter that much? Not really anymore....whatever works will just work. It is going to be an amazing day! There is NO doubt about that. The only think that I am struggling with right now is finding out that the catering is going to be more than double what we originally planned on it being. I don’t really know what to do about that part of it because I don’t know where we are going to get the money for it. Alex and I are both fresh out of college...No jobs and trying to plan and pay for the dream wedding. So far we have managed, but I begin to worry that out luck will run out.

166 days to go:

5 months to go! We were not able to get our engagement pictures taken at the pass on the 9th like we were suppose to because it was closed! Now the new date is set for the 8th of March. I am trying to balance student teaching and this right now. We changed our mind about our honeymoon because of passports etc….so we just decided to go back to Hawaii and go to a different island. We are thinking probably Maui, but maybe Oahu within the next month we will be booking it for sure. After much stress and tears about the catering turning out to be MORE than double what we thought it would cost I think the stress with that is over and the catering will be a gift to us for our wedding. Hopefully that comes through and then we can actually feed our guests! Nothing else is new really. I am getting ready to order wedding invitations and I have a bridal shower set for July. We still need to figure out the cake, it’s becoming less and less important to be as the days go on!

153 days to go:

On March the 8th we are finally going to get our engagement pictures taken (it’s about time). We now have the catering figured out which is such a huge blessing because that has been the biggest stress thus far. Next mission is the CAKE! It’s much more expensive than we thought just like everything so far. This wedding is costing more than double what we had originally planned for and it’s not like we are trying to go over the top, but even just the basics with a nice touch are A LOT! I am happy that the catering is done though- it will be a nice summer afternoon buffet with a great variety of food. We still need to order the bridesmaid and groomsman attire even though it’s all pick out for the most part. And of course the honeymoon...I think we are pretty much set now on going to Oahu (Honolulu). Our original plans of Jamaica had to be changed because of passports and all the time and extra money involved with that and blah, blah, blah. Hawaii last summer was wonderful, so we are looking forward to going back. It will be a new experience so it should be great. We are looking to stay at one of the many Outrigger Resorts. I have 9 actual days of teaching left for student teaching and then I will just be hanging out and waiting until my subbing paper work gets into the system and I can get on the payroll. During that little break I hope to spend a lot of time with Alex and just relax and focus on my wedding.

146 days to go:

We took our engagement pictures at the pass yesterday and I think that they are going to turn out great! I can't wait to see them. We have the cake ordered and I bought the PERFECT cake topper to match it! I booked our honeymoon tonight! We are going back to HAWAII! We leave Monday, August 4th and come back Tuesday August 12th. We are staying at an Outrigger Resort and it’s amazing. Our room looks FABULOUS and I am sooooo excited. Everything is come together so perfectly. I am at a stage of pure bliss right now.

130 days to go:

We are now approaching the 4 month mark and it feels great! All the major details are taken care of and only the little minor things are left. I need to get the music part of the ceremony and reception figured out, get the flowers ordered from the wholesale house and book a hotel room for our wedding night. Other than that just here and there things need to be done. We also have our wedding rings ordered now- just like with my engagement Alex's dad will be making our wedding bands! Alex's band is AMAZING- white gold and square all the way around. Just timeless! And I am just SO spoiled that he bought me TWO wedding bands. I know, I know keep your comments to yourself ;) They are just SO pretty that I needed a band to go on each side of the ring I have now (ok.. I didn’t need it, but I wanted it)! Now that I am finished with student teaching I have all the time in the world to plan it, but it’s already done! =) It feels great! Alex and I have been looking for a home to buy and have not quite found one we like yet. I am still not sure what part of Vancouver I will be teaching in, so we may move to a rental for a few months on a month to month type lease and then when I know where I will be then we can get more serious in the home search. It feels really great to have the opportunity to get into a home and know that it is something we can afford! I should be having a bridal shower in Vancouver on June 28th and then another in Tacoma on July 12th. Hopefully everyone can make it to one or the other. Other than that life is still life- I am MORE than anxious to move to Vancouver and have my own place again. These next 2 months will drag on I am sure, but from June on life should be Amazing!

101 days to go:

Just over 3 months to go! I don't have much to say. We are at the same place we were at about 30 days ago. I now have my veil and hair style picked out as well as my shoes now. My super blingy white flip flops! I still need to order in the flowers and find a place to keep them. Still don't have a hotel booked nor do we have transportation to get from the wedding to the airport. As I read back to the Day 223 I can't believe how fast the time has gone. It will be here before we know it!

90 days to go:

So less than 3 months now and its getting to the point where everything is fitting together so well that I see my wedding unfolding in front of me and it is amazing. It's going to be a perfect day above any other. Invitation stuffed and almost all addressed only about 3 1/2 weeks until I can send those out! The details that are left really are pretty minor. MUSIC! Ahhh that has really been stressful, but I think we are doing live music for the ceremony and then cd's for the reception. Still need to book a hotel and leaving transportation. Other than that it’s all...at least I think for now. I now have the hotel picked out for guests if they choose to stay overnight. (If you need that information let me know and I will get it to you.) We are still looking to move around the 1st of July, so less than 2 more months. Life is slightly stressful, but really good right now. I am so blessed to have a well paying job even if it is only for the next 6 weeks or so.

82 days to go:

Finally we have a hotel booked for our wedding night! We are staying at the Raddison in SeaTac and got a great deal on a room and a free upgrade to a honeymoon suite! My bridal shower is now set in TACOMA for Saturday, June 21st 2008 at 1pm. Invites will be in the mail next week, so look for those!

68 days to go:

Wow! It’s FINALLY beginning to feel real. My bridal showers are in less than a month and I am beginning to all the final arrangements for the wedding day. Just a little over 2 months away now! I am getting really excited to move- we have been searching for a place to move into like crazy. We are thinking sometime in the first week in June. I only have about 3 weeks left to teach this school year, so after June 17th I am a VERY free woman. Free to plan my wedding (the final touches at least), free to move into our new house, and free to FINALLY start enjoying this moment that is only going to happen once. I dream about this wedding a few nights a week. I wake up in a fright because I dream that is it all going wrong, that I forgot to order flowers or something else crazy. I am getting REALLY nervous...not in a bad cold feet kind of way more nervous for everything to go as planned, I am nervous to have all eyes on me and just the intensity of everything that is going on. I have planned so many months for this I am just ready for it to happen. Alex and I have been doing our relationship long distance for SIX whole months now! I have been lucky enough to get to see him every weekend. I know it will be over soon, within 2 months, but it still is very hard and I will not miss this part of my life for anything!

45 days to go:

School is OVER! I have a bridal shower in about 3 days and I am so excited about it. I am really looking forward to moving and being closer to Alex. As the parties and big events come up I am truly learning who my real friends are. I am learning about which people really care about me and which people will truly be there in those moments that I need them the most. I really cannot imagine not being a part of some of these people’s lives. I would drive anywhere and do everything in my power to make that day the best I could for them. I am also learning that there are some ties I need to cut with a few people in my life who refuse to answer phone calls, return phone calls, and never return emails. Oh well I guess...I am happy with the close friends I have and after this wedding and everything is all over with those who matter most to me will still be there.

39 days to go:

That's it... 39 days until my wedding. I cannot believe it. It will be here before I even know it! I am very anxious and very excited and very ready for it to happen, but at the same time I am very scared. I am thinking I will look back and miss this time in my life. I am scared that I will miss being engaged, that I will miss planning my dream wedding and I am very scared that the day will just pass me by and then it will all be over. Once you are married and that whole exciting time of your life is over what's next? I am a little nervous about that as well. Alex and I have not lived in the same city for over 7 month and it will be more like 9 by the time the wedding is here. That worries me... what will be like to see him every day? Everything is just happening so fast and before I know it - it will all be over! Maybe that's good and maybe not?!?

29 days to go:

Wow...LESS than a month now! I am getting so excited and so SUPER anxious and nervous. I just cannot believe how fast the time went by. It seems like yesterday that we met and fell in love. I have had 2 amazing bridal showers now and still have one more on July 12th and then my bachelorette party on July 26th. Hopefully by the end of next week Alex and I will begin to move into our new town home together. We are both VERY anxious to move in and get settled. We are also looking forward to having our puppy living with us- unlike now when we get only some weekend visits! Very exciting things are about to happen in our lives and I just cannot wait.

11 days to go:

Only 11 more days to go and I cannot wait! I have had all my bridal showers and each one was amazing and unique in its own special way. (Thank you to all those who attended and made each one that much more special.) Alex and I have now moved into our new home. It’s a beautiful townhouse with lots and lots of room! About 1,000 or 1,000 (we don’t really know) square feet and a garage! We bought new furniture etc. so everything is brand new so it feels amazing. The location is close to Alex's work (about 5 minutes) and we are right in the middle of the Evergreen School District where I will be teaching. Oh and of course we have our puppy Simon now (see Simon picture album on my page!) He is amazing and fully housebroken, sleeping through the night now and is everything and more that we wanted in a dog. It's amazing how it feels that life has changed for the better since having him. We are a complete family for the time being! I have my bachelorette party in Tacoma on Saturday the 26th! Sorry to say out of the 15 people invited only 2 are coming! I am pretty bummed about that, so hopefully it will be fun anyway. I have my little sister there and the best friend anyone could ask for so what's better than that?!? I am so happy to say that the 7 months of a long distance relationship is over. It was very trying at times on our relationship, so now I am just looking towards the future and moving on with life. I am looking forward to the wedding and of course Hawaii!!!! 11 days and counting.............

Married!!!
Last time I wrote it was 11 days till the wedding now its 11 days since. I can't believe how quickly it came and went! Nothing can prepare you for the love and emotions that you experience that day. The day was perfect. Alex and I worked VERY hard to give ourselves the wedding we both always wanted. We saved money for a long time and we able to pay for everything without going into debt. The weather was beautiful and all of the people we care the most about were by our sides. I cannot explain the feeling of being married. It's just a little different than before. Don't get me wrong it’s an amazing feeling. My heart just melts when I hear him refer to me as his 'wife' and I get little butterflies in my stomach each and every time I look down at his wedding ring and knowing that he wears it proudly. Nothing though could have prepared me for how differently I would feel about my husband- much more differently than I felt about him as my boyfriend or fiancé. It was amazing to come home to spend the first night actually living in the same house in the same bed. Waking up next to him and our puppy is amazing. I am so glad we did things how we did, when we did and where we did. Thank you to each and every person who came or sent gifts and their best wishes. We love you all!