This is mcbride's Purple Wedding!

I can't tell you how excited I am! I'll post an update with some pictures when I get home!

Here is what I have in mind for a dress!!!

I tried to add some beautiful Maggie Sottero dresses, but I must not be saving the image right.. Hmm..

How long did you date before you got engaged?
3.5 years and counting.

Did you get the ring you wanted?
I'm nervous about this! He has given me the green light to plan but he's still trying to surprise me! We have very different views on rings.

Was the proposal a complete surprise?
It's going to be, I'm sure.

Do you wish you had a bigger/smaller diamond? If so what size?
Not Applicable :-)

Did you cry when he proposed?
Not Applicable, but I'm not a crier!

When/Where do you want to go for your honeymoon?
We will be going to Ireland the Monday after our wedding.

Are you buying his wedding band for him?
Yes.

Have you gone over your original wedding budget?
Yes.

What day of the year will your wedding be?
May 21, 2011

What kind of weather?
It will be late spring/early summer! Hope it doesn't rain!

Inside or outside?
Inside for both.

Church/justice of the peace/other?
Church

How many people will be there?
Max 100, Min 70

Time of day?
Haven't decided, late probably.

Any kind of theme?
I really hadn't thought of a theme. Is "Mish-Mash" a theme? lol

How many bridesmaids? Who would they be?
6, sisters and friends.

What kind of cake/what will it look like?
I like very plain cakes. It'll be buttercream, I hate fondant, and there will be no real flowers on it because that's overdone, in my opinion.

Where will you have the reception?
We haven't decided.

What kind of dress will you have/color/material?
Ivory dress and I've chosen an Essence of Australia dress. Now we just have to see what it looks like ON. it'll be a simple dress.

What kind of flowers in your bouquet?
Lilly of the valley and cymbidium for SURE.

Kind of engagement ring?
Whatever he picks :-)

Kind of wedding bands?
Not sure yet.

How will you wear your hair?
Loose half up/half down so I can take it down at the reception. He likes my hair down.

Who will be important to be there?
Everyone!

Will the reception be big or small?
Mediumish.

What will the groom wear?
He wants a tux with purple vests... I'm okay with that.

How old will you and the groom be?
I will be 25 (holy crap!) and he have just turned 29

How long will you be engaged before you get married?
Depends on when he surprises me.

Live together before or wait till married?
We already live together as we have a daughter and a child on the way.

Take a long time to plan the wedding or will it be simple?
15 months!

Will you do it yourself or with family or hire someone to plan the wedding?
My best friend who is a master organizer he helping. It'll probably just be us.

Will you write your own vows or use something pre-made?
Hmm, I don't know that he'll want to write his vows. I'll have to ask him.

Since we're having a spring wedding we plan to go all out with the spring colors and feelings.

Since the bridesmaids will all be in a rich purple color I want their bouquets to play off the dresses. We're going with a simple white bouquet for them.

I love these Lily of the Valley bouquets that I've found. SO simple and so very elegant! They'll be much different from my bouquet which at first I didn't like. But I think it will all work together in the end.

I also think the boutonniere will be a simple boutonniere made from a Lily of the Valley. They're just so pretty. Maybe with colored ribbon to play into our colors.

I'll have to add photos later when I'm at home!

This is a rough list as we still have 15 months to plan and TONS of family members to include! So stressful!

Maid of Honor: Stephanie (28, my sister)
Bridesmaid: Danielle (24, college friend)
Melissa (26, best friend)
Jessica (25, best friend)
Unknown
Kelly (26, standing up in honor of Stefan)

Junior Bride: Rileigh (3, daughter)

I desperately wanted my little sister involved but she'll be in Afghanistan during our wedding. I have a spot to fill and I'm deciding between two great friends at this time.

Best Man: Mike (29, Stefan's cousin)
Groomsmen: Josh (29, Stefan's cousin)
Jason (31, friend)
Kevin (30, friend)
Jeff (30, friend)
John (25, standing up in honor of me)

We're fully aware that 6 a piece is a lot. We just don't care at this point. They're our best and closest friends and that is how it should be.

Ring Bearer: Brook (2, nephew)
Flower Girls: Annie and Taelyn (4, 2, neices)
Candle Lighters: Ejanae and Dustin (8, 10 neice, nephew)
Memory Holders: Ashlynn and Dilyn (7, 5 neices)
Ushers: Jeremy and Jimmy (my brothers)
Anthony and Scott (his brothers)
Vies: Taylor and Tanner (16, 13 Good Family friends)
Honorary Attendants: Ron and Jo (Stefan's self adopted "parents")
Dee and Delmer (Good family friends)

I think that's all! I may be forgetting something which I can always edit to add later. Especially if something changes down the road.

We have a never ending list of friends and so it was very hard to stick to just a few bridesmaids and groomsmen. We have 12 total in mind, 6 to stand up for each of us. If they all accept.

Again, going against tradition, we each have a very close friend of the opposite sex that we wanted to stand up for us. Mine is my friend John, we've known each other for years and it wouldn't be my dream wedding if he couldn't have a place in it. So he'll be standing up for me--with the groomsmen and Stefan's friend Kelly will be standing up for him--with the bridesmaids..

That is if they accept! I'm getting a little ahead of myself here, but that will be our master plan. I can't imagine them saying no.

Stefan and I have very different ideas on what we want for a wedding and so there will be a lot of give and take, but one thing we agreed on very quickly was color. Our bridesmaids dresses reflect the colors we have chosen perfectly.

They're Alfred Angelo and they'll "Purple and Pistachio". We love them!

After 4 years I finally got the clearance to start planning our wedding!

It's not traditional in the sense that we are not technically engaged yet. We've been saving up for a ring and he's desperately wanting to surprise me so I'm letting him do that.

We already have a daughter together and one on the away due this July so we have our work cut out for us for the next 15 months!

We're big followers of Dave Ramsey so the wedding will have a budget and everything will be paid for upfront in cash, which will be nice! So time to start getting our ideas drawn out!