Kind of Off Subject

Seth has started applying for jobs and sending his resume out to various states' Southern Baptist Conventions.  He's applied for one here in Cola, and while we both understand that it's a stretch, every once in a while, we look at apartments in the area.  We've found a few that we like, and there's one aspect that I will now not go without:

Did you know that some apartment complexes serve weekday continental breakfast???

This is true, folks.   They do.  Continental breakfast. 
Unfortunately, I haven't seen maid service advertised as an included perk.  I'm holding out for that apartment complex.  I know that when I find it, that's God's way of telling me it's where we're supposed to be.

Ok, I'm kidding.  I mean, it would be awesome, but I'm totally prepared to share in the chores.

The problem with looking at apartments now is that I just want to know where to look!  I want Seth to get a stellar job somewhere with really adorable, inexpensive apartments or homes so that I can productively waste time looking at them.  And I want to be able to buy furniture... and cute decorations... and everything else I find on clearance that I can't buy because I have no home for it yet! 

All in good time; I know.  So, if you hear of any youth ministry jobs open, let us know :)  And hey, if it's your church, it'll just mean we'll get to see you more... and if you love us enough to actually read this, we would love seeing you more. 

Engagement photos

So, Katie McGee - of Katie McGee Photography - is quite a talented lady.  Seth and I had our engagement photos done last night on the Horseshoe at USC and at the South Carolina State Fair!  If you haven't seen them on our Facebooks yet, here's one of my favorite (ok, I love them all...)

Yup.  We're cute. Katie makes us look so good. 

I can't wait to see the rest of them.  I'm hoping the ones at the fair are this awesome. 

Ok... I'm going now.... :)

Welcome home! Now - PLAN!

When I come home, my mom and I go on these wedding planning rampages (for lack of better word).  They are intense and awesome.  I just feel inspired about things now!  We were at Ace Hardware last night (my dad is renovating his bathroom, bless him) and I found these really unique pew decorations.  They are much less expensive than if we'd chosen flowers, and they are very much me and Seth (ok, mainly me, but he'll love them). 

Then, today (while watching Auburn and Carolina football!), Mom and I rocked out the centerpieces for the reception.  We've actually been planning on buying them for a few months, but today we found them for less than half of the original price.  You can bet we bought them!  They, also, are not flowers and are quite unique.  

What else have we done?  Oh yes, I might have found my shoes and other accessories.  We have an idea for decorations at the front of the church.  Our engagement pictures are scheduled for Wednesday, and I can't wait.  Seth has been diligent about working on his part of the guest list, for which I am grateful and also ashamed, because I haven't been proactive on mine!  We're waiting for our invitations to go on sale and for us to have a roundabout number for the guest list before we order, but they are designed and ready to go!  I think they match the wedding theme perfectly (which, by the way, is a garden theme - in an indoor church way).

I think that's all we've done this week.  I mean, I got a car Thursday so that took up a good chunk of time :)

I know we need to figure out a new poll, so let me know if you have any ideas! 

Well....It's been a while

I am sorry that I have not posted in a while. I have been extremely overwhelmed with work and school and have spent my remaining time with Shelley or with Jon playing ping pong. I am excited on how the planning is going. We are probably doing our engagement pictures next week (and I am really excited about them..the location is going to be awesome) we will post some as soon as we can.

About the cakes, both will be really good some come ready to get some good food and cake.

I just want to see if anyone can guess the location of the pictures....so reply and try to guess where we will be taking them (if you know don't guess) and if you get it right i might buy you a candy bar

Ignorance is Bliss

I have to admit, I have thoroughly enjoyed forgetting that Seth and I are responsible for planning our wedding.  That is, until I remember actually how much we have to do that still has to fit within the budget.

So... we'll probably make final decisions on invitations over fall break.  We should also be getting our price list from the florist soon, so that will be nice to finally know if we've budgeted correctly for the flowers.  Seth and I will work on our music preferences as soon as we're together for a few hours (and not doing homework or watching Netflix - see the priorities!).  Food choices should be easy, but hopefully we'll get them done by Thanksgiving.

I think the biggest project for us to work on right now is our guest list.  We worked on it a little the other weekend when we were driving back to Cola, and it was getting big :)  Now, don't get me wrong - I think bigger is better for my wedding (and the only costs it affects are invitations, postage, and food), but we have got to not invite everyone that has ever been a part of our lives.  Anyway, we've got to get people's names and addresses ASAP, and we've got to set up a nice Excel spreadsheet that will make my mother happy :)

On a really awesome note,
Seth has found some really exciting information...
Cupcake in Cola offers wedding cupcake tasting sessions.

YES, please.

I have no idea what the next poll should be.  Do you?  If you do, please suggest it!

First Dance Songs

Here are some YouTube videos of the songs in the poll - don't vote unless you've heard them all!






(except for the baby part... we could fade out before then...lol)



If you have any good ideas, let me know - I'm open to suggestions! 

1 Day Left!

One day, folks, till I'm back on wedding planning duty. 

These past two weeks have been wonderfully peaceful.  By the way, it's ok to ask how things are going :)  I won't refuse to answer questions just because I'm not supposed to be planning!  Talking isn't planning.  I LIKE talking about how successful our wedding plans are so far.  I mean, I'm excited about getting married, and the wedding is kind of a big deal. 

ALSO, because so many of you have mentioned your utter sadness at the lack of polls, there will be a new one TOMORROW!  Get excited. 

I'm looking forward to getting back to planning :) and blogging.

Shelley

Friday the 13th

Most people avoid big things on Friday the 13th. 

I - well, I book a florist :)

I am SUPER stoked about it.  Hopefully I will still be as excited when the pricing comes in, but I think it's all gorgeous.  Seth wasn't with me today, but he was with me at the other florist when we discussed basically all the same flowers.  I think I have a much clearer idea of how to accomplish the garden theme that I want.  Hallelujah!

Also, I'm pretty sure we finalized photography yesterday. Whoa! 

Big items left:
invitations
food
music

= piece of cake!

Speaking of cake... I cannot wait to see mine at the wedding. 

Now, adios for me for two weeks.  God bless and much love.

Wedding Marathon summer

I'd like to start with an apology of sorts - I think I complained previously that I wished Seth and I could catch a break.  We really have caught breaks on things so far: decorations, accessories, the cake.  So I'm sorry, and I thank God for the blessings He has given us.

When Seth came into town for my birthday, I feel like we planned wedding details 24/7 for 7 days straight.  It didn't happen... I mean, I celebrated my birthday for two of those days :)  And on the Sabbath, we rested.  But Thursday and Monday we knocked the ball out of the park.

We actually started Wednesday when he met me and Mom at the doctor's office (for my shoulder - completely off topic for this post).  After I was done there, Seth and I went to go see what kind of surprise I had put on layaway a few days prior.  It was at the mall, and he guessed where we were going when I got inside, but I lied (convincingly) and told him no.  Then we walked right in.  I gave the lady my layaway receipt and asked Seth what he thought he was going to see - he guessed his wedding ring.  Well, he was right... on half of it.  It was a ring, but it was MY wedding band!  It had been such a good deal that I put it on layaway immediately, and then when Seth saw it he loved it and bought it.  YAY!

We finished up that evening by grabbing some cake samples from one bakery, having dinner with my parents, and checking out a possible rehearsal dinner location.

Thursday was Power Day #1.  We went to the store where my bridesmaid dresses are so he could see them, then we went to three or four tux stores to see what they offered and get some price quotes.  Then we went back to the mall to kill some time before our meeting with Pastor Bosson at church, and guess what we found there?  HIS wedding band!  It was hilarious.  He had just finished telling me that since we'd found mine, he was excited about only having to look for his (and thus getting all the attention).  We walked into Helzberg's, he tried on a few rings, and found the one he wanted.  He even picked it over another one that he had been (in my words) obsessing over for a couple of months!  And it was such a good deal that, if I'd had known to transfer money to my checking account, I could have bought it that day.  But we ordered a special size that just came in, so I'll go finish up that account tomorrow :)  Then we went to church to meet with the pastor.  We got there a bit early on purpose.  Mom and I had ordered sample tablecloths for the reception, but we needed to see what they looked like in the fellowship hall -- beautiful!  Success!  Our meeting with the pastor was a success too.

I can't remember many more specifics, but at some point that weekend, Seth and I did the following:
- met with another baker, a cake lady who lives on Wilmington Island who is DEFINITELY baking our wedding cake.  I love her... and her prices.
- looked at florist books
- registered at Target
- met with a photographer

Since then, I've been ordering sample after sample after sample of invitations.  I'm not in love with any that I can afford, so we're still looking. 

Seth came back into town at the end of July to accompany me to a friend's wedding that was held at Southside.  I really wanted him to be able to see  a ceremony there so we would be able to really discuss ceremony details.  It was beautiful and I think it will really help us in our own planning.  That week we got another consultation with a florist completed and another meeting with the pastor.

We have three large details left to decide:
photography
flowers
invitations

We also have to decide on music, but that's more us having to ask to see if the musician(s) we want can do what we want them to do.  We have a pretty good idea of what we want, and I think it may surprise you.

Anyway, I am getting fairly burnt out on wedding planning, so even though it's been awhile since we posted last, it may be a couple of weeks again.  School starts up for Seth and me next week, and I'd really like for us to take some time off.

PS - If you know anyone who does beautiful invitations for beautifully inexpensive prices, I'd really appreciate it.

I wish!

Check out this story!  I keep telling Seth that we need to catch a break, and he keeps reminding me that we will.  I know we've caught a few, and I'm just not being thankful enough.  So, if you ever hear me complaining, please remind me of all the good things about my life, Seth's life, our relationship, and our future. 

Mom and I both have a lot of free time this summer, so we're tackling about one wedding topic a day.  Thursday was tablecloths.  I'm not joking when I say it took us 4 hours. TABLECLOTHS!  We finally ordered a few that will hopefully be here in time to check at Southside for color compatibility, size, and whatnot. 

Photography is the overarching subject of the week.  I have narrowed it down to two photographers, and Seth and I have appointments for consultations with both of them next week.  We also have plans to see my bridesmaids' dresses, check out some tuxes, visit a florist, taste some cakes, pose for some pictures, and - oh yeah - celebrate my birthday!  Whew!
 
Also, if you were wondering what I've done about invitations, I have a good lead on a friend of my brother's who now designs invitations and such.  I'm pretty excited about contacting her.

 I've tried on some wedding dresses, too :)  Not many, but a good enough start for me to realize that the dresses I thought I would love don't look anywhere near as beautiful as the dresses I barely considered.  There are also the dresses that I just won't try!  Yes, Dad cried when I walked out in the first one.

Hmm... what else have I done for this wedding?  I don't know.  Seth keeps busy, too, with plans, but he also has papers to write so I try to keep the distractions to a minimum. 

Still haven't found a cake topper, other than the Waterford cake topper, that I want. 


I think that's about it...