We're flyin first class...up in the sky....

On the way to the honeymoon.....just had to take a sec to write because we got first class upgrades AND got in the admirals club at the airport....didn't know the Nashville airport could be so nice!! All those poor people down below with no free coffee, muffins, juice, internet and comfy chairs!

Kinda  feeling like Chandler and Monica from Friend's when they go on their honeymoon....at least that's how we felt tryin to get in, but we did!! :o)

I will never be able to fly with all the other poor shmucks again!

Costa Rica......here we come! :o)

Cupcake tree!

 

This is the very first wedding picture! It actually came from the cake master herself- Shara of Cakes by Shara. And if you've been reading my blog at all you know how much I've been looking forward to these cupcakes!!! Sad to say, I did not even see the cupcakes in this untouched state! I saw it when most were gone and sitting next to a pretty messy chocolate fountain that everyone had already happily enjoyed! I didn't get to try one at the ceremony (although I did snatch a shell off the top of my cousin's cupcake!), but we had some packed in our goodie bag that we had later that night! YUM!!!!! My parents even have  a few more left to share with us!

Everyone RAVED that they were the BEST cupcakes they'd ever had!! They were an enormous hit!!! :o)

My main cake was also a huge hit, which I only got a teeeeeeny bite of (the one Ray wiped on the side of my face!)  Can't wait to share about how fabulous that turned out too! (um, except for the fact that my cake knife and server were and STILL are M.I.A.!!)

Ok.....don't tell Ray that his wife (tehe!) is blogging before the honeymoon! Don't wanna get in trouble but I couldn't wait to share my first picture!!! There will be lots to come!!!

It's official!!!

We're officially married now!!!! The wedding was crazy, it was emotional, it was CRAZY, it was beautiful, it was crazy, it was a blast......did I say crazy??!!

Look for recaps and more info on details I didn't have time to get to before the wedding sometime in the next couple weeks after our HONEYMOON IN COSTA RICA!!!!!!

Tata for now!!!

Mrs. H   :o)

Sand Ceremony Kit

Awhile ago, I ordered my sand ceremony kit from The Knot, I expected to like it....but I didn't expect to LOVE it as much as I do!!

Here's their website photo...

 

A reviewer on their site says that the "personalization" is a ribbon to put around the vase with a tag that has names and date on it. Not so with ours!! Maybe they got a clue by the review and decided to actually etch it on the vase! Ours main vase has our name and date inscribed!! Yippee!! I wasn't expecting it but greatly pleased and surprised!

Now it's not put together yet, and won't be until wedding day, but here's what it looks like apart...

I stuffed a dish towel inside the vase in an effort to show the inscription....obviously didn't work to well!

Then the wonderful fiance got the idea to stick it in front of his navy shirt so it would show up! Great idea baby!!

Many people have heard by now about the sand ceremony, but in case you haven't. here is a great website to check out for origin and ideas for your own ceremony.

Here's something similar to the description we plan on using, from the website above...

Officiant: Before us sits a container to symbolize the bonding of this union sealed with the love and blessing of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The white sand symbolizes the purity of a marriage covenant at which Christ Jesus is the center. The sands the couple holds represent their individual selves. As they pour these sands together and mix them, they symbolize the eternal bond that will hold them and their marriage together.
Officiant: (Bride/Groom) and (Groom/Bride) will now come together for the Mixing of the Sands. Just as Jesus Christ is the Lord of their lives and the Rock of their Salvation, He will now be the solid foundation that holds their marriage firm. This is symbolized by the white sand in the bottom of the bottle. (Bride/Groom) and (Groom/Bride) both have sands that symbolize their individual lives and selves. As they pour their sands in together, it shows how their lives- once separate- are now becoming intertwined as one. Just as it would be impossible to separate these sands once poured, their union shall make them inseperable as well. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

I'm loving this new way of doing a unity ceremony. I was pretty sure already that I didn't want to do the typical unity candle- just not me! I loved the idea of how the sands mix together along with the spiritual part.

We plan to have our pastor pour the foundational layer of white sand, then have each of our moms pour in a layer before they are seated, followed by Ray and I mixing the 3 together along with our pastor.

Can't wait to see how it turns out, and we plan on keeping it in the vase as a reminder to us always of how important our relationship is, but most importantly that it is founded in a relationship with the Lord!

Bubbles and Glow sticks

As the big day approaches, lots of details are being finalized!

We ordered bubbles from The Knot and they look great! That was the only place we could find the blue bottles- at least for a decent price! We ordered 4 boxes and they got here really quickly!

Can't wait to see the bubbles flying al around! They will be passed out by my adorable little cousins, Jordan and Anthony (whose little brother is my ring bearer!) after our cake reception exit!

Then at our dinner reception- we ^might* be using sparklers. We have them, but not sure how to get them all lit quickly!! Any ideas anyone?? For the kids we have glow sticks from Target and Michael's that they can wave around instead of playing with fire!

My next post will also be about something ordered from The Knot that I am also SUPER happy with!! Aside from hating their online database- loving the stuff I've ordered from them!!!

Girl's just wanna have fun!!

Headed out to party with my girl's tonight!! Looking forward to my "last" single night, and hoping I remember it all!! Tehe! Just kiddin!! :o)

Hair trial!!

Today, I went in for my last little hair trim and to get my hairstyle for the wedding down pat. I've had the same hair stylist for nearly 20 years! She's been with me through bad perms, prom up-dos, friend's weddings, and now my own wedding!

She's pretty fantastic! I can usually take her a picture of what I want, and it comes out exactly how I imagined! Although on occasion, she has told me my hair just won't do what I'm wanting, so I listen and go another direction! I have the finest hair in the world!! But she looooooves fixing it and playing with it! And I won't let anyone else come near it with a pair of scissors. I have had my hair fixed by others when I've had to (ie been out of the country or in another state for weddings!), but I won't let anyone else cut it! Even when I lived in Honduras, I got my hair cut at Christmas and in the summer when I came home! NO ONE else has cut it since she started! And I hope to keep it that way!!

Not everyone may have a trusted, long standing relationship with a hairstylist, but even if you do, I still  highly believe in the importance of a hair trial!  I knew that she'd do a great job, I just wanted to make sure it really was what I wanted and had imagined...........it was!!!

When she put the tiara and veil on my head for the first time after my hair was finished, tears started to come to my eyes because even though I've had my dress on many times and already took bridal portraits, I truly felt like a bride at that moment. I fixed my own hair for bridal portraits (which were very informal- taken by my MOH on the beach!), and I didn't have a veil or tiara at the time.

So......here is a preview....minus the dress!!

Veil in front....

Veil behind shoulders.....

Side view......

Honestly, I don't think the pics do it justice! (and I wish mom had gotten in closer!!But I do love it! And I think this veil will look good with the same material in my dress! The tiara is still TBD (this one was borrowed for hair trial!), and we'll see what I come up with!

Bring on some cooler air!!

Current forcast for wedding day.......since it's still a bit out, hopefully it will cool down a "bit"!!

90°FMostly Cloudy

 

High 91°
Low   70°

Precipitation chance 10%

More cake decisions!!

Ok....don't yell at me anyone....but the cake for my cake reception is still TBD just a couple weeks out!! No worries though, I have lots of ideas that I'll be working on with my cake maker (and friend!) Cake by dake this week! I have full confidence in her abilities! :o)

These are a couple of my current inspiration ideas..........

Too late for the topper, I think, but I am loving this "water effect" which I might get Jen to add some sand to on the top.....possibly along with this cake topper from Target. More confident in Target's ability to get me this quickly than the random websites and eBayer's selling the starfish!

 

My cake layers will all be separate, so I'm thinking maybe just the white and blue "water" fondant for those, with maybe some white chocolate or fondant seashells? Definitely want to keep it simple!!

This, of course, is all separate from my cupcakes, much talked about by me on this blog!! But just in case your just coming around to reading this......here's my cupcakes for my dinner reception from Cakes by Shara.

What a week!

This is what my place looked like and my life FELT like until I got all moved into our new place this weekend......

Multiply that by 4 other rooms at my place and every room at our new townhouse and...ugh!!!!

And for awhile, our new place get much better with the influx of my stuff!! But wonderfully, Ray got most of the week off and was able to help! Not wonderful for him because he spent 6 days straight off of work essentially still working! But wonderful for me!! The plant he drives for takes the week off for the 4th, so he still got paid and it didn't count as "vacation time" which he's saved for the wedding/honeymoon! Yippeeee!!

And now....everything is out of my place except what I can't live w/o the next couple weeks and whatever we are getting rid of- like lots of furniture, much of which is spoken for and will head out on Mon. after the wedding!

Although I have LOTS of details to take care of this week, they are mostly little details! I feel a great amount of relief having taken care of our places! Also we'll prob spend Monday after the wedding completely getting out of my apt. since we don't leave for the honeymoon until Tues- due to stupid blackout dates from our free flights my parents earned for us!! It's a good thing though! Saves us over $1000 and we should be more organized before we head off for a week of relaxation in COSTA RICA!!!!!

Franklin Bridal Ball

If you are a Nashville bride-to-be, you won't want to miss this event! If I have the time, I plan to go just to check out all the cool stuff and maybe get some (very!) last minute inspiration! I'll have two maids in town that day (only one lives here right now!!) so the 3 of us might hit it up for some bridal fun! Good clean fun, to make up for all the wildness that will ensue at my bachelorette party two days after!!

It's at the Factory in Franklin, which I loooooooove and actually considered a bit as a venue in my own wedding planning! I can't wait to see how they have it all set up!

Check out the info below, and visit www.franklinbridalball.com

 



 

Wedding songs!

Ray and I have been working hard to come up with wedding songs for the ceremony!

The one place we are stuck- is with a hymn! See, he's a bit more into traditional church music, where I'm more into contemporary praise music. So since I picked out the contemporary (actually not a church song!) music that my lovely sis-in-law, Lindsey, will be singing, I've asked him to pick a hymn. There are lots he likes- but he can't think of them unless he's in church and says- Oh, I love that song!

So any suggestions, would be great!!

We're also working on songs for the pre-wedding slideshow! We're going with all oldies...including this song that just popped into my head tonight! So take a listen, enjoy, and then post a comment with your suggestions!!

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=EUdtG3Er_-s]

Oh, also any reception song suggestions! :o) I've asked on myspace too, but most of my friends have been silly about it!! Keep the songs comin!!

"Green" Thank-you cards and favors

Thank you cards have been on my mind a lot lately! (By the way, giving a bride a gift of cute thank you notes- great idea!! Thanks, Mom and Kerri!) So far, I am completely caught up on writing all my thank-you cards, after three showers! I know there are much more to come!! I've always heard about how long it takes and how tedious it can be, but I had no problem at all- except actually finding time to sit and do it! But I know how important it is to make sure that everyone who got you all those spectacular gifts is thoroughly thanked! And quickly!!

Anyways, while reading on Weddingbee.com today, I noticed a post about "plantable" thank you cards!-Thank you cards with flower seeds embedded in the paper! What a cool idea! How likely is it that people keep the thank you notes around forever, so what better way to thank them than by something they'll be able to use and look at and enjoy to remind them of your thankfulness!

So I did a bit of research and came up with some great ideas,that aren't too outrageous!

From Flowerseedpaper.com........



And look at their adorable favor boxes!! On sale now for $1.64 each!



I don't know about you, but my favor boxes almost always go in the trash after I eat/use whatever goodie is inside! With these you can use the box to put a favor in and then the box is a favor too when they plant it! Instructions are printed on the bottom of the boxes. I couldn't tell if the paper around the boxes is plantable too or not, but it looks like it might be!

Flowerweddingfavors.comhas some great options too, although it seemed to me that their stuff might be a little less modern than the above site- meaning, they look more formal/Victorian looking than modern- but that's just my opinion!

Place cards.......



Bookmarks


Some other sites that offer plantable favors/thank you cards

Love Blooms, Plantable Favors
Botanical Paperworks

And Swallow Tail Farms has super cute Daisy's that could be used as favors/name cards



I bet there are some local paper/stationary stores that carry stuff like this! I think my ordering online days are numbered as the wedding approaches quickly! :o) This isn't something I've looked for before, but I bet there are lost more options out there!

What a great idea!

That's me you'll hear "flip-flopping" down the aisle!

Awhile ago, I picked out these shoes to wear on my wedding day......

Cute, comfortable, sensible and affordable- Payless ($14.99)......but they just aren't me!

Ever since I bought them several months ago, I've still been searching!

Then, I was inspired by my new blogging friend Linda and her "something blue" shoes she'll be wearing on her big day coming up very soon!

So I began a search for blue, sparkly shoes and found these at New York & Co.

(They are actually a little less bright than the pic shows them to be!!)

Since my mom wasn't too thrilled with me wearing blue flip flops down the aisle, I got some silver ones too....

However, I am way more in love with the blue! It remains to be seen which ones will be on my feet down the aisle, but if the silver ones are, those blue babies will definitely be with me out on the dance floor later!! :o) Both pairs together cost $15 (on sale 2 for $15) so two pairs cost what the other one pair cost!

Now, my feet are finally happy!!! Plus with those others, you wouldn't see the cute pedicure that you know I'll be rocking on the big day!!

I realize not all people will think it's appropriate to wear flip flops at a wedding, but it is BEACH themed! And it's MY wedding! So this is one area where I'll put my foot down (hehe!) and wear flip flops!!

Beach stickers!

While at the beach a few weeks ago with Kerri, I came across these adorable stickers and picked some up for my jr. bridesmaids/flower girls at Wing's, one of our favorite stores to visit at the beach (yep, each and every one!). I didn't notice them until our 3rd or so Wing's visit, though!

 

I completely forgot though to look for  the "Lauren" ones at another store (they were out at the first one), and they didn't have Gabriella or Caylie (they did have Kaylee, which I needed too!) so I picked up a Princess one and forgot to get another!

So I looked up the company- Holden International, Inc. and sent them an email. They don't have anyway to order online, but they did let me order over the phone!

Here are some more pictures from their website, including some boy ones and some other types they have with names.

 

 

 

If you live near a Wing's or similar store (or headed near one for a summer trip!) look for this display!

 

 

Or if you are interested, but can't make it to a store, visit their website and email or call them for more info! I tried filling out the contact form and kept getting errors, so I just emailed them directly with my phone number. They called the next day and left me a message, and returned my call again today (I called over the 4th weekend so they were obviously closed!)

They were soooo helpful and easy to work with! They even looked up names for me and listed off all of the generic ones they have! They also have ones that are blank- where you can fill in the name, but I didn't want to write the names 144 times and they are too little for the girls to write that small!

They were only $2.99 a piece and $2 for shipping and handling- which I did all over the phone! Fantastic! :o)

Under 20 days to go!!

Yipes!! Twenty is such a small number! It's hard to believe it's almost here!!

I'm starting to calm down a bit as some of the huge projects are being tackled and taken care of!! I've still got plenty of time since wedding and moving are all I have to do the next few weeks! (at least I keep telling myself I have plenty of time!!) ;o)

Retail Therapy= Bride Therapy

I've been a little stressed out lately....did I say a little? Should've said a LOT!! I'm just realizing how many teeny details haven't been done or even thought about yet! Who knew there were so many??!!

So today, I decided I needed a little bit of a break- a shopping break!! Actually, I got a lot done that I needed to do- returned some stuff to different stores, bought a few bridesmaid gifts, bought some patio furniture...ok, so maybe I didn't need to do that last one, but we did need it and it was on clearance at Pier 1

 

This is it in the store.....mine is actually still in boxes...in the back of my car...awaiting the arrival of my fiance- or I should say the pick-up of the fiance whose car went dead for some strange reason and I had to go get at 5am to take to work!

After getting that and doing a bit of shopping/returning at the mall, I headed to Green Hills to drop off paper samples to Susanna- our lovely calligrapher! And because she lives so close to the new Hill Center, I just HAD to stop in at Swoozies! I was forced!! Haha- by myself!

I've raved about Swoozie's before, as have many friends, and today wasn't disappointing! As soon as I walked in there was a huge table full of fun bride stuff! I never saw this kind of stuff when my friends were getting married (the 10 whose weddings I've been in!), but I probably just wasn't looking in the right place- although there is way more of it now!

It's so hard to not buy all this stuff for myself!! But I'm not supposed to be the one buying stuff like this, right??!! :o)



I did however pick up this...on clearance, which perfectly matches my new home's decor!!

 

Ahhhhh, it was nice to get some shopping in! :o)

Unity Sand Ceremony Kit!

I'm finding that closer and closer to the wedding, I'm having to relinquish many of the "details" I originally wanted to DIY or otherwise do myself! One of those things is the Unity Sand Ceremony kit! I was going to find the jars myself, color the sand myself....and well, who has time to do that the month of the wedding??!! Not me!! Enter The Knot.....

The other day, I ordered this set, that I may have mentioned before........

Here's hoping it turns out to be all I wanted! It comes with 3 colors of sand, 3 smaller vases and the larger one with hearts. It also comes "personalized" which a reviewer said was simply a ribbon with a tag with your names on it. We'll wait til I see it, but I might not be using that!! Even if it was on the vase, who is going to see it!!

I ordered the exact colors shown, however there are lots of different color combinations! We'll be using the darker blue for his family, the lighter blue for mine, and the white for the spiritual foundation (which our pastor will pour in.)

Too bad this isn't something we can really do a "trial" run of! I'd like to see how it works out since I sincerely doubt the top layer will be as well mixed as the bottom, but oh well. Again, it will only be seen from afar and is more for us than anyone else!!

One more thing checked off the list!! It wasn't cheap- a little over $60 with the discount code- SAVECASH which saved 10%- better than nothing! And worth not having the hassle tracking down all the items myself!!

It wasn't hard to order from them when I bought my bubbles (which I still plan to blog on!!), and they came quickly! Here's hoping this one come quickly too!!