This is beckyandtom's Pink Wedding!

Now that it's over I can finally put in my 2 cents! Here's my bits of advice to all you brides:
1. You'll never be as skinny as you want to be. Accept it and feel as beautiful as you are.
2. Have a wedding day coordinator!!! We didn't and here's what went down- tea not made, kegs not tapped, couldn't get in brides room until 1 hr before wedding, photographer took too long, etc.
3. Accept that things will go wrong- weather, time period (you get your period! Yeah, it happened!), things get lost.
4. I don't care if it's 100 degrees out, you hardly notice! All you care about it you look hot, not feel it! Buy that beautiful and big dress if you want it!
5. Your feet will hurt.
6. People will steal your decorations!!!!
7. He will slam cake in you face, so get him back.
8. You will look beautiful no matter how much you pay for makeup and hair.
9. Laugh, cry, if you feel it, do it.
10. Greet every guest, they came here for you.
11. Write down gifts!!!
12. Don't let you hubby write down gifts...
13. Have lots of fun, and don't get mad when the best man changes out of his tux before the toast.
14. Thank everyone for coming!

The kiss is done, the dance is danced, the cake is eaten, the honeymoon's over (well, maybe :). The wedding day was crazy!! It started with me meeting my girls at the hair place. Shannon was done and her hair did not match the pic at all!! It was a huge fluff! I complained, and the girl basically said that was all she could do! The pic is below under hair- the one with the braid- looking thing. In the end every girl looked different and no one like the pic! But I got over it, just wished they hadn't paid so much for it. Then we had to run by Beall's for panties. Then home so we could stream dresses, fix hair, finish last minute details. It was supposed to rain, but didn't! Just 30 mph winds! So the guys put out all the tables and taped the clothes on! We couldn't put out any of our table decorations b/c the wind! But I didn't care. The day of, you won't! I promise. And no one else did either. The wedding was beautiful with no kinks. The boys carried the sign and fell! It was so cute. I didn't cry.... I swear... My biggest problem was this: I begged my friend Carol to be our photographer. She was terrried to do a wedding, but agreed. Thomas's brother asked to bring a date. I said yes- she's also a photographer and does weddings. She jumped in and was pushy and bossy and started taking pics!!! I never asked her nor knew about this. She ended up being our other photographer and Carol barely got any of the family shots. I was mortified, I just keep thinking- hey free pics! B/c I better get them since she was rude to my guests! But all in all the rest was wonderful!!

Yaya, it's almost here! We are running around like crazy trying to get things down, but it is all coming together. We went to Albertson's today to get flowers fro the DIY bouteneres (ya, can't spell, blah.) $5.95 for a dozen roses!!!! Yay! So mom and I are arranging them tomorrow. Bought impatiens for the favors, only $10 a flat!!! Putting those together tomorrrow. Hair consult is done and wonderful. Mine is $65 and the girls $45. Makeup I decided to do myself. Bought about $60 worth of mineral wear, etc adn looks perfect. Plus I get to keep it all when done! The parasols match the BM dresses. Bought shoes ($75 at a bridal boutique, but there was no alternative at this point. I will wear them in my sleep to break them in if necessary!) The rehearsal is tomorrow. Can't wait. My bachellorette is tonight, (sorry all not invited... I didn't plan it!) I am tan, teeth whitened, dress ready, nails tomorrow. Just praying for no rain!!!! 60% chance and it is all OUTSIDE!!!!!!! But here in Fl, that could mean a quick downpour and then sunshine. Everone can hide inside the one building if need be. I just am too excited to care at this point!

So my deejay doesn't have our song, great. But now he wants US to figure out how to transfer the file from my ipod onto another computer (I am not at home now) and burn him a copy. I'm sorry, but he's getting paid over $100 an hour! HE can go out and spend $15 and buy the stupid cd!!!!! Am I wrong? Like I don't have enough things to do with only 4 days left? Come on! Am I being irrational? We have already had so many other ordeals- my camera stolen the FIRST day we get to Florida, rain expected on my outdoor wedding, half my site not kept up since fall so we had to move things around last minute, insane prices for table linens, not finding shoes, etc.

I left Thomas's groomsmen gifts up to him and he chose to buy 2 liter glass beer boots (Das Boots if you've seen Beerfest...). We have a really close group of friends we left back in Florida when we moved and their nicknames were "Team Sausage Factory" and "The Boo Boo Kitties". Weird, I know, but everyone has their moments! So we bought a glass etching kit from Michael's - about $30 with some extra stencils and we are etching the guys' names on one side and their nickname on the other. It is really easy if anyone wanted to try. And looks very professional. Pics don't come out right though. So now I am engraving the parents gifts we bought and a bunch of other stuff. It's so fun! Now I have to incorporate the girls' nickname into their gifts somehow...

Our venue has 4 main areas: large lawn, deck, great building and side lawn. We are having the ceremony on the side lawn. For the reception we have some issues. The deck and the great building are on the same level and each can hold 80 people. We have 160 coming. The large lawn can hold whatever and is about 10 steps down from the great building.

We can either divide the guests and have them eat on the deck and inside the building (3 french doors open between 2, so guests won't feel separated), but then they have to dance downstairs on the lawn (we rented a floor though). Problem: inside is bare and we can't hang anything up, but food and guests won't be in the weather; but it is a garden and I want people outside!

Or we can eat on the large lawn and dance upstairs. Problem: the inside will be a big bare space. We are trying to rent a pool table for this reason. The reception will be from 5- 10 and sun sets at 7:30. Some tables will be in sun. And food will have to be downstairs so guests don't have to carry food down steps.

Also, will people travel up and down steps to dance?

Love my venue, but logistically challenging.

Here's the marriage license what- to- do for my county- Manatee. Some vary: http://www.manateeclerk.com/ClerkServices/MarriageLic/index.htm
Fill out online marriage paperwork, appear in person at courthouse with ID, SS#, and $96 (or $61.50 if taken marriage prep class, not valid for non- residents). No waiting period. Most counties are same with price varying. No blood test in FL. Simple and easy, that's the best!

Haha, this was a funny story that I thought I would share to hopefully save some of you the hassle. I went on Saturday to Annie's Alterations in Knoxville. It is owned and operated by this little Chinese lady and her family. Well, I haven't been able to find shoes or the right bra yet, but I only have 4 wks until I leave for Fl, so the dress has to be ready. My experience was a disaster! Well, at least funny. First, no one helped me into my dress (all fam and friends in FL) and it has no zipper, just corset ties in back. So I had to come out half dressed with a store full of people so she could tie me up. Then she asked where my shoes were. When I told her I didn't buy them yet she yelled at me! Imagine a little tiny old Chinese lady yelling at me in a store full of people b/c she can't alter without the right height. So I told her I would buy 3 in heels, it was fine. She makes me wear these heels she had (I wear 9 1/2, this was a 6!). For the next 15 min I have to balance on tiny shoes while she pins me up and also keeps pulling on the dress to make sure it won't fall down since it's strapless. I about fell off the stand 5 times! Then getting out of it, she helped me, but wouldn't take the ribbon out the corset so I could get out. She wanted to keep it in so next time will be easier. Well I am very curvy and couldn't pull out! Here I was being yanked on by this little lady with half my butt hangin out and people walking by. Moral of the story- go with company, wear your shoes...and don't wear a thong!

We have a dilemna. Our ceremony and reception are at the same place. In one area we will have the ceremony and another the reception about 30 ft away. We have to rent chairs. Would it be tacky to rent 150 chairs for the ceremony and after it is done have some hired help move those chairs over to the reception (Cousins are helping out for free)? Or should we rent another 150? We are trying to cut costs as much as we can now that the end is near.

Only 46 more days. I am never going to get there! I cannot find shoes anywhere and every time I go shopping I end up spending money on other cute shoes. . . It's an illness I tell you. Any ideas? I really want a pair of wedges (not the platform type) b/c of the grass. I don't want to sink. But I haven't found any cute ones. AND when I find cute white shoes, they have tan or black bottoms! Hello, who wears white shoes when they aren't getting married? Why can't they match? We still need a DJ. I got my huge tax refund and paid for a few things. But we are still waiting on Thomas's. Hopefully the money's not going to be an issue. So far we are okay. I am just ready for this to be done. My life is too crazy with working 40+ hours, driving 2 hrs to work each day, working out (or trying to), making dinner, cleaning, laundry, wedding planning, phone calls, and still trying to watch Rock of Love in the process. Bret's the only thing keeping me sane! Er, I mean THomas. . .yeah. . .Thomas :)

So I only have 53 days left... Oh God. I haven't become Bridezilla yet (contrary to what the fiance thinks), and I haven't sold a kidney to buy flowers, but I am definitely starting to stress. Here's what I have left:


6. Find cake topper
7. Find underwear
secure kegs
26. Buy cups,
27. Rent iced tea servers



Oh man, I better get my stuff together. I'm never gonna get this done on time. Brides, don't procrastinate- get married in Vegas.

Where is everyone getting their makeup done? Everyone says go to the mall b/c it's free, but don't they use "used" makeup? Ick. I am not wanting to do my own. Or pay a fortune.

I stole this idea from someone else's page! So I can't take credit. Since we decided on the untraditional idea of using one song (read below) to walk down the aisle we came to the problem of how to announce the bride. And this is perfect! I love it, especially since I have 2 ringbearers who are twins!

Update 2-13-08: Done! Got each of my 5 girls 2 pairs of Sexy Little Things panties, 1 large body spray, plus their jewelry.
I have been sooooo unsure of what to get my girls since the beginning of this planning! I have been in a few weddings (and am in 4 this year, including my own!), and the gifts are usually pretty typical- cute tote or purse with jewelry, and some other personalized thing. Which I love! A girl can never own enough purses! But I want to give my girls something else. They are all super cute and sexy, so I am going with the best- Victoria's Secret! Not too much though, my budget's strained as it is! I am thinking panties since they are always on sale, some sprays, maybe a t- shirt. All wrapped up in the cute VS bags with their jewelry inside. Who can't use some VS?

Here are my invitations. My maid of honor, Kristine, is a graphic artist who works at a printing company, so we definitely wanted her to design them! She did a wonderful job! All we did was give her the wording, told her we wanted simple outlines and picked the script and she did the rest! We also got these really neat green envelopes that fold up and become part of the invite! Once completed we will use the old fashioned wax sealer I bought at Hobby Lobby.

Update 2-11: Don't use old fashioned wax sealer! Almost all of them fell off before arriving at their destinations!

I can't decide which parasols to buy? The white won't clash, but the pink is so cute. Which one looks better with the dresses?

Update 2-3-08: THanks girls. Going with the pink! They are only 5.95 a piece on eparasols.com. Yay!

Update 3-2-08: eparasols.com had no place to order and the phone number didn't work! So I ordered 5 from lunabazaar.com with shipping was $45. Not bad, but more than the other site and no design. I hope they match!

Update 3-11-08: parasols came in, unfortunately they are not quite the color shown, but I think they will match the lighter pink in the dress. Hope...

So I have the unfortunate disadvantage of planning my Florida wedding from TN. I don't know what to do about my hair and makeup. Do I go to salons up here and try out styles or do I wait until I get to Fl the week before the wedding and try them? And if I do it up here, what do I say to the stylist, "I'm getting married in FL, but can you make me beautiful today even though I won't be paying you to do it the day of?" Ugh.

We finally picked out the honeymoon and payed for it! We will be spending 5 nights and 6 days in the Riviera Maya, Mexico just south of Cancun at the Grand Sunset Princess Resort all inclusive. We got a great deal on bookit.com:
"Laguna villa suite sleeps 2.
Includes: Bedroom & Living area, Jacuzzi in Balcony/Terrace, Bathroom with Jacuzzi, Plasma TV 32”, DVD and CD Stereo, Platinum Lounge, Premium bar, Pillow’s menu, 24 hrs Room Service, Internet, Private pool w/butler service. Free 1 day Spa package."
on top of all meals, all drinks (alcoholic included), all sports, 12 pools, etc. Only $159 a night per person, and this is top of the line room! I am so excited.

We are having this cake, 4 tiers. I tier will be lemon cake with lemon glaze and lemon curd. 2 tiers pina colada- pineapple cake with cream of coconut, crushed pineapple and a coconut filling. The top will be whatever since we won't eat it for a year!. Buttercream frosting with pink roses and green ribbon.

So I have only 68 days left until my execution, ahem, wedding. I have since changed my mind on decoration about a dozen times. I will however keep my old posts up for other brides to see. But here are the definites:
Ceremony: gazebo area of the park
- 2 aisles of white chairs in the grass with a runner and rose petals lining
- 2 baskets with cones of rose petals to be tossed after receiving line posted at back of aisles post ceremony
- undecided on decor at head of aisles
Bathrooms:
-baskets with toiletries will be placed on the glass tables in the bathrooms
- glass vases with limes and pink flowers
Cocktail hour (photo hour for wedding party):
- guest book- pink scrapbook with polaroid camera for sign in
- Beer and wine on lawn in reception area
Reception:
-Tables decorated with white linens, centerpieces of tall hurricane glasses with candles and plant favors
- Pink and green paper lanterns
- Umbrellas over tables if we can afford them
- Tiki torches and white lights when it gets dark
- Bonus- it's a botanical park, already tons of flowers!

Note- this is mostly for my scatterbrained head right now, don't be afraid of the clutter of this post!

Men's Wearhouse 1 button.
Groom: white vest
Groomsmen: platinum vest
Father of the bride: charcoal vest
other importants: black vest

Brides: How easy was this part?! Sit down, pick suit, colors, shoes, cuff links (all from a book I might add), and done! It took 10 minutes. And each tux rental is only $80, with the groom's free!

We are being eclectic! Here's our menu:
Appetizers:
crab balls with dipping sauce
fruit
stuffed portabella mushrooms (yuk)
chicken teriyaki sticks

Entrees
pulled pork sandwiches
caribbean shrimp

sides:
mac n cheese
tropical rice
steamed veggies
salad
rolls

Hooray for good food that everyone will remember (probably because they don't go together!)

I have finally gotten some of my wedding tasks completed! My photographer will be the fabulous Carol, my new best friend who I have spent MONTHS trying to convince to photograph my wedding! She is the best in the whole world! But she's never done a wedding, she does engagement photos, family pics etc and makes these wonderful books. She has such talent, but is deathly afraid of branching out. So I am going to be her first! I am so excited. She's the pic on the left (okay, so I took it, but you get the PICTURE). My other best friend and maid of honor Kristine is designing my invitations. She is a graphic designer in Fl and has made the cutest invite. I will post a pic when they come in since I can't copy the pdf file to here. THey are awesome! My caterer is a friend of Kristine's, Steve Lechner with the Expo. I haven't tried his food but I have heard plenty enough from her, and he has given a super deal! You can't beat it!

we are using rose petals to toss instead of rice, seed or that gross candy confetti (did you know you can't eat it? woops....)

Finally registered! We hit Target first and went crazy. Then went to J C Penney's and ended up leaving, they didn't have much. Then registered for a few things at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. They are really expensive, so most is at Target! This wedding stuff is fun!

pink and green paper lanterns Hobby Lobby 2.79 each (bought 10).2 baskets from Walmart 6.00 each.

okay, here's the finished project. It was super easy to make. Found 3 gift boxes at Hobby Lobby, painted and decorated with ribbon from a sale at Kmart, glued together and topped with painted letters from Michael's! Only took like a week to decide how to do it....

Favors are something I have been thinking about lately b/c I hate them! I have been to so many weddings where the bride and groom spend so much money on things that we all either throw away or toss in a drawer b/c we are ashamed to throw them away! So we did some shopping around and I came up with these. I found small terra cota pots at Hobby Lobby for 38 cents, spray painted them, attached opposing color ribbons in our colors (20 cents for 5 yards), and placed some annuals in them (less than 30 cents each). Hopefully people will feel super guilty about throwing away a plant! Plus I'm pretty crafty and don't mind the time they take.

Not sure what I want yet, but definitely pink and green. Love tulips, but they won't last in the Fl humidity.

I look over at the count- down to my wedding and the numbers seem so big, but April is coming so fast! I am trying to get most of the things done before the holidays, that way I am not stressing come the new year. So here's some hairstyles I've found on theknot.com and brides.com. I know I want my hair all up with my veil pinned underneath and the bridesmaids probably half up and down.

Well, I was having difficulty with getting my bridesmaid dresses. I picked what I wanted online because it was cheaper than the girls buying the same dress in the store. Read below for the facts. So I didn't know what to do. I contacted the seller online and they said that there is the possibility of the dresses coming out different shades UNLESS they all order together on the same credit card. Well, that is a lot of work when you have 6 bridesmaids who all live in different areas! So I contacted the place I bought my dress back home and she reduced the price. Thank God! The dresses are still about $20 more, but they can order at different times, get professional measurements, and only have to pay half up front. Then she will mail out one order when they all have come in. So at least that part is off my shoulders! The price of these were $176 (tax and shipping included) versus $220 what she quoted originally! Just remember brides, everything is negotiable! The jewelry is from Marvella by Monet, found at Target. Hard to see, but the necklaces were $18 and earrings $8 (silver, not gold).

It is unbelievable how expensive bridesmaid dresses are! In the beginning of planning I just wanted to keep them under $100. I just can't justify making my girls pay so much for a dress you know they'll never wear again. But there are no dresses under $100 in the stores! Even David's dresses were all around $150-200. So I turned to the internet. Online I was able to find name brand dresses from $100-200 and found mine for $123. Then I found out from one of my BMs that sometimes if you don't order all dresses together, they end up different colors because they didn't come from the same dye lot! Has anyone had this problem? I mean, I just can't afford to buy all their dresses at once and have them pay me back, I have 6 BMs!

I have been in and to more weddings than I can count and it seems that everyone has the same processional songs- that classic march of the bride. When I suggested to my fiance that we should use something newer, he only asked why? I wanted to play either "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" the Hawaiian version or "I'm Your's" by Jason Mraz. to liven it up a little. Is that too weird?

This is the hard part! I have the space and color scheme, so it should be easy, right? Some ideas I've pulled together are (note 1-27-08: I have since done away with many of these ideas, but will leave them up for other brides):
- instead of unity candles- pour different colored sand into a glass.
- at the ceremony I want to put stakes in the ground between rows with hanging tin buckets holding roses. Each guest can take one after the ceremony to toss the petals after the receiving line.
-Each table will have a potted plant instead of centerpice with small matching plants as the favors.
- Lots of sheer fabric with white strung lights under for when the sun goes down.
- Paper lanterns in white and pink.

My mother has been making wedding cakes for years and will be making mine. I have an idea what I want, but no definites yet!

The botanical park was a gret choice for us because it was relatively inexpensive- $1200 for the whole Saturday. It is large enough to accomodate a large wedding and reception too!

We chose to have the ceremony and reception at the same place. I loved the idea of a garden wedding, so we chose April because it has the least rainfall (April showers does NOT bring May flowers).

I knew this was it the second I put it on! If anyone is looking for a great place to buy their dress in Florida, I suggest Elaine's Bridal in Bradenton. I had been to David's Bridal and will NEVER go back! My saleswoman was rude and practically called me fat (even though my dress is a size 12, which is not that big in wedding dress lingo!)! So I stopped at Elaine's on my lunch break one day and came back the following week to try on dresses. Elaine, the owner, made me feel like the only bride in the store when she helped me. She said stay all day if you want! My ideal dress would have been a form fitting mermaid. She made no suggestions at first and let me try on whatever so I could see how each shape looked. Unfortunately J- Lo is not the only big booty out there! I Try as we might, Elaine could not get it over my butt! So she then offered help and we found this Maggie Sottero that fit perfect! It gave me the curvy look I wanted and tied tight enough to make me look 20 lbs lighter- bride's dream come true! The veil I won on Ebay, it's a David's Bridal, shame on me, hopefully it's a knock- off!

My fav spot back home is Desoto National Park. If you've ever been there you understand! It sits quietly nestled on the water among the Banyons and Mangroves hidden at the northernmost edge of town near a bunch of subdivisions. Since we live nearby we always like to take walks and bike up there. We had talked of getting engaged before we moved to TN in a few months (keep the relatives happy!), so I knew it was coming eventually. But I assumed Christmas since it was right up the road. He surprised me 2 weeks prior by popping the question there on the water bank at Desoto Park on a quiet evening at sunset! I was really happy, because I thought he was predictable and I would know when it was coming! Guess he fooled me!