This is tigerbutterfly76's Green Wedding!

As long as we can afford it, and of course they arent already booked when Eric finally gets around to wanting to set a date, this is where I want to have the reception. I'm talking several thousand, before we even serve food! All of Eric's family will be coming from out of town to Grand Rapids, so I want to make sure they really appreciate where they are, and I'm sure the Public Museum would be the perfect place for that. Ideally I want to rent the entire museum for the evening, so all the guests will have the run of the place, including this historically restored carousel that is in an enclosed pavillion OVER the river. I grew up going to this museum and after seeing the photos of receptions there I love it. It is probably one of the most expensive place in town, but hey, we both make good money, why shouldn't we host the best wedding our families have ever been to. If you live in Kent County, MI, check out grmuseum.org, click on 'host an event' and look at every page.

Eric is soooo methodical. He is on his way to the Police Academy soon, and wants to ensure that he has a good career to support the family we will start someday (and to pay for the wedding we have in mind). I've tried convincing him that I don't care what he's doing for a living, we can always make anything work. I think he just doesnt want me to get my hopes up for a super nice wedding if he is for some reason not making the salary he is expecting as a police officer, and have to go cheap for our big day. We have both been married once before, and both had cheap fast weddings the first time. We want to be able to have a NICE wedding, as though it were our first. SO I shop for rings, and know hes planning something, probably at his graduation party from the Police Academy, in the Fall. Hopefully we will have enough time to plan for an elegant, formal affair in May of 2009. This is driving me crazy, I'm so impatient. I'd marry him tomorrow if we could throw it all together. So I do my best at supporting him while he is in the Academy, trying not to drive him too crazy with wedding questions. I've tried real hard to convince him that it usually takes a full year to plan a wedding, but he thinks we should be able to pull it together in six months. We shall see! I just hope that one of venues I like will be available, and the horse and carraige isnt booked.
BTW, the date that I've posted is an ESTIMATE. Could be later, but probably not sooner, bleh.

Oh lordy! Eric doesn't like cake. I asked him if he HAD to eat a piece of cake (and he WILL have to on our wedding day, lol) what would it be, he said marbled cake. Marbled cake?? Uh, sure. I love the citrus flavors but he doesn't, so perhaps one layer in each flavor. I found this picture in a search for "victorian wedding cake". I like this cake except for the plastic looking angels and peach roses. My ivory dress has soft purples and greens so those are the colors that will carry over to the cake. I like the alternating shapes and the arches and swags that look like gold beads.

My mom and I are bargain hunters and this time it payed off bigtime!! I was visiting Michigan last July and mom and I stopped at a Salvation Army Store, looking for stuff for the cottage, and thought we'd peek at the wedding gowns. I swear there was a light shining down on this dress guiding me to it. Get this, a never worn Lazaro gown (tags still on, $4,950.00 original cost) for $250!! I tried it on, and with some minor alterations it will fit perfect. I can't wait till Eric sees me in it. Its such a gorgeous dress, with this stem (soft brown) leaves (soft celery green, soft olive green) and flowers (soft lilac, soft eggplant). It has a little bit of beading and some amber colored Swarovski flat backed crystals at the bust and hem. According to my research, there is a matching veil, and I'm searching high and low for one. Wish me luck!

We have been ring shopping and found a great little jewelry shop, owned by a man who used to do the custom work for Bailey Banks & Biddle. He had several settings that I liked. Initially I wanted a green tourmaline for a center stone, possibly with amythests on either side. I'm not all that into diamonds. I'm into COLOR. Now I think I'm leaning toward a yellow diamond. I like that butter yellow color (not lemon yellow). I kind of want 18k yellow gold, with a yellow diamond. My dress is antique ivory and gold. I definitely want something unusual. If anyone has a photo of a completely yellow gold ring with a yellow diamond, please let me know! There are a lot of rings on the market like the one I posted, but I'm looking for something with no white gold in it. Something beyond a solitaire, with a pattern, with PERSONALITY!