Waiting...that seems to be the only wedding thing I am doing these days. Waiting for the dress to come in. Waiting to pay more money to the vendors. Waiting for mom to send me updated pictures showing me what the centerpieces will look like. Waiting for my hair to grow long so that we can achieve the hairstyle I want. Waiting, waiting, waiting!
As of today we are 108 days away. I feel blessed that we have had the amount of time to plan that we have. As a result of allowing ourselves this amount of time we are not stressed with the planning. We know that everything is taken care of and we know what to expect come July. That being said, I dont like WAITING! I am so ready for July 11th to be here. I am ready to be married to the man of my dreams and move forward with our lives.
But alas, I must be patient. I had to wait 25 years for him to come into my life, I guess I can wait another 108 days to have him as my husband :-)
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Honeymoon is finally BOOKED!
For about two weeks we have been researching and comparing all of the Sandals resorts. After reading reviews and watching forums and comparing prices and actually creating a spreadsheet to compare them all, we finally decided on Sandals Royal Caribbean. Who knew that deciding on a honeymoon would take this much work! Maybe for some people its not, but there were certain things that we wanted and we needed to make sure we got what we want!
Now, we did book SRC, however going to bed Thursday night I thought we were booking Sandals Royal Bahamian in the Bahamas. That resort seems amazing, however it was the only resort that did not offer the horseback riding excursion. Aaron knew I wanted to ride horses in the ocean so on Friday he talked to the travel agent and after many phone calls he decided on a swim-up river suite at the Royal Caribbean. I am going to be able to walk out of the room and go directly into the water!!
I dont know what I am looking forward to more, getting married in a castle or having a super sweet honeymoon in Jamaica!
Friday, February 13, 2009
Feel Free To Say I Love You
Ok, so of course on Valentines Day some people have mixed emotions about the day. I would like to remind everyone of the original reason the Valentines Day exists.
NOTE: I did not write this, I did some research and this is what I found
As early as the fourth century B.C., the Romans engaged in an annual young man's rite to passage to the God Lupercus. The names of the teenage women were placed in a box and drawn at random by adolescent men; thus, a man was assigned a woman companion for the duration of the year, after which another lottery was staged. After eight hundred years of this cruel practice, the early church fathers sought to end this practice... They found an answer in Valentine, a bishop who had been martyred some two hundred years earlier.
According to church tradition St. Valentine was a priest near Rome in about the year 270 A.D. At that time the Roman Emperor Claudius-II who had issued an edict forbidding marriage.
This was around when the heyday of Roman empire had almost come to an end. Lack of quality administrators led to frequent civil strife. Learning declined, taxation increased, and trade slumped to a low, precarious level. And the Gauls, Slavs, Huns, Turks and Mongolians from Northern Europe and Asian increased their pressure on the empire's boundaries. The empire was grown too large to be shielded from external aggression and internal chaos with existing forces. Thus more of capable men were required to be recruited as soldiers and officers. When Claudius became the emperor, he felt that married men were more emotionally attached to their families, and thus, will not make good soldiers. So to assure quality soldiers, he banned marriage.
Valentine, a bishop , seeing the trauma of young lovers, met them in a secret place, and joined them in the sacrament of matrimony. Claudius learned of this "friend of lovers," and had him arrested. The emperor, impressed with the young priest's dignity and conviction, attempted to convert him to the roman gods, to save him from certain execution. Valentine refused to recognize Roman Gods and even attempted to convert the emperor, knowing the consequences fully.
On February 24, 270, Valentine was executed.
"From your Valentine"
While Valentine was in prison awaiting his fate, he came in contact with his jailor, Asterius. The jailor had a blind daughter. Asterius requested him to heal his daughter. Through his faith he miraculously restored the sight of Asterius' daughter. Just before his execution, he asked for a pen and paper from his jailor, and signed a farewell message to her "From Your Valentine," a phrase that lived ever after.
Valentine thus become a Patron Saint, and spiritual overseer of an annual festival. The festival involved young Romans offering women they admired, and wished to court, handwritten greetings of affection on February 14. The greeting cards acquired St.Valentine's name.
The Valentine's Day card spread with Christianity, and is now celebrated all over the world. One of the earliest card was sent in 1415 by Charles, duke of Orleans, to his wife while he was a prisoner in the Tower of London. The card is now preserved in the British Museum.
So, as you can see the reason we have Valentines Day is kind of sad. I think we need to take this day and be thankful that we are allowed to announce to the world who we love and that we are able to publicly show that love. I dont know about anyone else, but if I had to hide the love that I have for my fiance, I would go CRAZY!
So, instead of getting upset because your significant other forgot to send you flowers or get you a gift of some sort, be thankful that you are allowed to love who you choose and that you are not forced to hide those amazing feelings.
NOTE: I did not write this, I did some research and this is what I found
As early as the fourth century B.C., the Romans engaged in an annual young man's rite to passage to the God Lupercus. The names of the teenage women were placed in a box and drawn at random by adolescent men; thus, a man was assigned a woman companion for the duration of the year, after which another lottery was staged. After eight hundred years of this cruel practice, the early church fathers sought to end this practice... They found an answer in Valentine, a bishop who had been martyred some two hundred years earlier.
According to church tradition St. Valentine was a priest near Rome in about the year 270 A.D. At that time the Roman Emperor Claudius-II who had issued an edict forbidding marriage.
This was around when the heyday of Roman empire had almost come to an end. Lack of quality administrators led to frequent civil strife. Learning declined, taxation increased, and trade slumped to a low, precarious level. And the Gauls, Slavs, Huns, Turks and Mongolians from Northern Europe and Asian increased their pressure on the empire's boundaries. The empire was grown too large to be shielded from external aggression and internal chaos with existing forces. Thus more of capable men were required to be recruited as soldiers and officers. When Claudius became the emperor, he felt that married men were more emotionally attached to their families, and thus, will not make good soldiers. So to assure quality soldiers, he banned marriage.
Valentine, a bishop , seeing the trauma of young lovers, met them in a secret place, and joined them in the sacrament of matrimony. Claudius learned of this "friend of lovers," and had him arrested. The emperor, impressed with the young priest's dignity and conviction, attempted to convert him to the roman gods, to save him from certain execution. Valentine refused to recognize Roman Gods and even attempted to convert the emperor, knowing the consequences fully.
On February 24, 270, Valentine was executed.
"From your Valentine"
While Valentine was in prison awaiting his fate, he came in contact with his jailor, Asterius. The jailor had a blind daughter. Asterius requested him to heal his daughter. Through his faith he miraculously restored the sight of Asterius' daughter. Just before his execution, he asked for a pen and paper from his jailor, and signed a farewell message to her "From Your Valentine," a phrase that lived ever after.
Valentine thus become a Patron Saint, and spiritual overseer of an annual festival. The festival involved young Romans offering women they admired, and wished to court, handwritten greetings of affection on February 14. The greeting cards acquired St.Valentine's name.
The Valentine's Day card spread with Christianity, and is now celebrated all over the world. One of the earliest card was sent in 1415 by Charles, duke of Orleans, to his wife while he was a prisoner in the Tower of London. The card is now preserved in the British Museum.
So, as you can see the reason we have Valentines Day is kind of sad. I think we need to take this day and be thankful that we are allowed to announce to the world who we love and that we are able to publicly show that love. I dont know about anyone else, but if I had to hide the love that I have for my fiance, I would go CRAZY!
So, instead of getting upset because your significant other forgot to send you flowers or get you a gift of some sort, be thankful that you are allowed to love who you choose and that you are not forced to hide those amazing feelings.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Honeymoon!
For awhile now Aaron and I have been trying to figure out if we would be able to afford a honeymoon or not. Aaron has had this dream of going to Sandals since he was 12 years old, but what he didn't understand when he was 12 is how expensive a Sandals trip can get! So after several conversations we decided that we would wait and see how much we got back from Uncle Sam this year; what ever we got back would determine how much we could spend on a honeymoon. Well much to our surprise Uncle Sam decided to bless us with an amazing honeymoon this year:) Now the only problem is finding a flight that doesn't have FOUR layovers! Who really wants to spend the first two days of married life in an airport?!?
So far we have been very blessed to have the means to do everything we want for this wedding. I know that we can do things for a lot cheaper than what we are. But almost every girl has a dream of having a Cinderella wedding and before Aaron and I were even engaged I knew we needed to start saving money in order to get what we wanted. There have been some sacrifices along the way and definitely some compromises! This whole journey has proven to be a test for Aaron and I financially and has taught us financial responsibility that will only help us later in life.
Now we are off to plan an awesome honeymoon to celebrate our commitment to each other!
Thursday, January 29, 2009
I hate addresses
Aaron and I have been busy collecting addresses for the past couple weeks. That part has not been to bad...however, every time we go to enter a new address for someone we realize that we forgot someone else. UGH! That is the part I hate! So then we sit and discuss whether or not we should invite some one. I finally decided that if I have not talked to you in the past year, there is really no reason I need to invite you (with the exception of family members).
I feel that if I am going to have people participate and witness our special day that we should have had a better friendship/relationship over time. There are people I went to college with that probably don't even know that I am getting married, or that I even have a fiance, so they probably wont miss anything by not being at the wedding right?
Oh, but now I feel bad even after typing that...but really, I cant afford to buy more invitations or to feed more people...
I just have to remind myself every time I get distracted by who I should or shouldn't invite, or by how much the decorations are going to cost or how much food people get to get, that the wedding day is meant for one thing: Aaron and I pledging our love for each other and that is all that really matters. No matter who is invited or how much shrimp one person eats, Aaron and
I will still be married.
I feel that if I am going to have people participate and witness our special day that we should have had a better friendship/relationship over time. There are people I went to college with that probably don't even know that I am getting married, or that I even have a fiance, so they probably wont miss anything by not being at the wedding right?
Oh, but now I feel bad even after typing that...but really, I cant afford to buy more invitations or to feed more people...
I just have to remind myself every time I get distracted by who I should or shouldn't invite, or by how much the decorations are going to cost or how much food people get to get, that the wedding day is meant for one thing: Aaron and I pledging our love for each other and that is all that really matters. No matter who is invited or how much shrimp one person eats, Aaron and
I will still be married.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Long and successful day
Today was a day set aside for making some wedding decisions. We had to go put deposits down on the bridesmaid dresses. However, I knew the one I had chosen back in December was not one I was extremely happy with. It was one I settled on, but it was not really what I wanted. That dress was a tea length dress and I wanted a full length dress. So I went in today to take one last look to see what I might find. I found a full length dress that is very elegant and I am much happier with it!
In addition to the bridesmaid dresses, I was also on a mission to find our flower girl dress. And let me tell you, I have the most adorable flower girl that exists on this earth! Her mom, Rosemond, was a good sport today as well. She was a model for the bridesmaid dresses that I was looking at; and I think her and her daughter Grace have a career in modeling ahead of them :-). Grace made every dress we put on her look absolutely adorable.
After playing dress up for a while I went out with Katy, who is singing at the wedding, to find the accompaniment track for the song she is going to sing. The first sample we listened to sounded like a cheesy 80's keyboard song. Fortunately there is a new version off the song and it sounds amazing! Katy has this angelic voice that is going to be perfect for our wedding :-)
Now, we have the big chore of typing in addresses for our save the dates and invitations. This is going to be one tedious task!
In addition to the bridesmaid dresses, I was also on a mission to find our flower girl dress. And let me tell you, I have the most adorable flower girl that exists on this earth! Her mom, Rosemond, was a good sport today as well. She was a model for the bridesmaid dresses that I was looking at; and I think her and her daughter Grace have a career in modeling ahead of them :-). Grace made every dress we put on her look absolutely adorable.
After playing dress up for a while I went out with Katy, who is singing at the wedding, to find the accompaniment track for the song she is going to sing. The first sample we listened to sounded like a cheesy 80's keyboard song. Fortunately there is a new version off the song and it sounds amazing! Katy has this angelic voice that is going to be perfect for our wedding :-)
Now, we have the big chore of typing in addresses for our save the dates and invitations. This is going to be one tedious task!
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
I'm Back
Ok, so I am apparently not very good at this blogging thing. I actually forgot had this thing.
The past few weeks have gone by so FAST! And I have a feeling the next 6 months are going to go by even faster. We are 179 days away from the big day...its a bitter sweet feeling. I cant wait for the day to be here, but then again I don't want the day to just fly by either.
We went to both Colorado and Nebraska for our Winter break. Colorado was cold and it would not stop snowing. It had to snow at least 4 feet while we were there. Then we flew off to Omaha (after spending 12 hours in the airport on Christmas day) and it was non-stop wedding planning for the next 7 days. We did take a break and got my dad to go see a movie for the first time since I was in grade school; but other than that it was wedding, wedding, wedding. There are just so many decisions to be made for weddings, many of which I just want some one else to make!
We finally have deposits down an all the major parts of the wedding; the location, the dress, the cake, the videographer and the DJ. Now we just have to figure out a way to pay off the balances! This wedding stuff is expensive...we have learned that we have to start cutting things so that we can make everything else happen. Our horse and carriage is one thing that we had to let go, which makes me VERY sad, but I guess there are just some sacrifices that I have to make if I am going to get everything else. :(
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