So many invitations! (78)

Because I'm getting married out of state, we're having a reception here in California a week after the wedding. This means that almost all of the wedding plans have to be doubled  - one for Nebraska and one for California. I'm *almost* done addressing the invitations for both events. I've told myself 3 days in a row that I'd finish them that day, but I still have a big ol' pile to work on. Boo.

...and some good news (79)

In addition to working on all things wedding, Michael and I have been waiting to hear about a rental home. We were told that we could either move in in August or in November. While we would be thrilled to move in at any time, August would really be best because if we had to wait for November it would complicate things - most apartments required a 1 year lease which would require us to stay longer than we wanted. BUT! We just found out this morning that we will get the house August 1st, and I'll be able to move in shortly after that!! Praise the Lord!! This means I can get everything settled in before the wedding and make it home :)

Snip its :) (80)

I've been so reluctant to post lately because, while I'm DYING to share what I've been doing, I REALLY want to save it for the wedding and reception. Up until this point, it's just been ideas and venues and food and stuff that wouldn't really be a surprise, but now it's really fun decorations and invitations and dresses and flowers that I want to show off on the wedding day. So my mom suggested just taking a picture every day of something that will give you a hint, but not a full view of what we're up to. Here we go....

Bridal shower number two! (86)

I had my second bridal shower this weekend :) Thank you Nina for taking these beautiful pictures! 

Double Digits!! (98)

Hooray! We made it to the double digits! I don't know why, but it makes it seem so much closer :) Today we went out and bought some more pots for our centerpieces. It's coming along :) I have a shower coming up next weekend that I'm pretty excited about. I'm so blessed :)

Caterer :) (102)

My mom and I just met with our wonderful caterer, Delinda Hernandez of The Four Roses! :) We really weren't sure of what to expect, but she was FANTASTIC and set our minds at ease for the whole event. She's such a joyful person and wonderful to work with, which was one of the reasons we chose her to do the catering. We found out today that her prices include the linens and the dishes, which we were not expecting and will end up saving us some more money :) Hooray! One top of that, she's waiving the sale's tax AND giving us 10% off. She kept acting like it wasn't all that much, but we're dealing with over 300 people here, so hey, that discount can get us a plane ticket! She also understands my obsession with the look of long tables :P

Ahhh...gorgeous :) The simplicity! The repetition! I. Love. This. 

So yes, Delinda has reassured us that with her help, we can indeed pull off relatively large wedding and reception one weekend and turn around to do a massive reception 1600 miles away the next. So. Excited! 

What to say...what not to say...(109)

I haven't been posting on here lately because we've been working on the actual parts of the wedding that you all will see! I'm not sure what I should show you and what I should keep as a surprise! I'm thinking that I want as much of it to be a surprise as possible...:) Decorations are coming along very well, and I can't wait for everyone to see them :) We've been talking about food, we've ordered invitations, and I have 3 showers coming up. Exciting things are happening! :) We've moved my moving date to June 17th because of some changes in our summer plans and the Long family has generously offered to host me while I'm waiting for our house or apartment to be ready for me to move into. It's so exciting!

Centerpieces (112)

Okay, I know in a previous post I had said that we opted out of doing topiaries for the centerpiece, but we rethought it and decided to make them out of TISSUE PAPER! Dirt. Cheap. We made the "prototype" tonight and I can't even begin to tell you how much I LOVE it! It's exactly what I was looking for - tall and elegant, but cheap. We bought tissue paper in bulk (2000 sheets) which was WAY cheaper, we're getting bamboo and pots from the 99 cent store, and then we'll buy some black spray paint for the pot. So cute! So it's all for less than 5 dollars a piece which is FANTASTIC!

Never hurts to ask :) (120)

ASK FOR DISCOUNTS! 20% off wedding invitations and 20% off fabric for table runners! That's a total savings of $118.37! Yes!

I'm so excited that my invitations are being ordered :) They're all ready to go, I just want someone else to look over them real quick so that I know I'm not making any stupid mistakes :P

They're so pretty :)

Tables (122)

We went all over Fresno today looking for cheap, tall, elegant centerpiece options. We were thinking candelabras, but while they're readily available, they're 20 bucks a piece and we need at least 16. Then we considered topiaries - we could construct our own at home and save some money. Buuuuuuuuuut, the materials alone cost almost as much as a live topiary and we don't want to spend that much. Hmph. We went to Home Goods, Ross, Marshall's and Bed Bath and Beyond hoping to find something tall and pretty on clearance, but no luck...everything is going to cost us about 20 bucks just for the main part (it doesn't include candles or flowers.)

We've also been looking for fabric to use as table runners. There's this black and white print that I LOVE at Home Fabrics, but it's 8 bucks a yard and we need at least 90 yards for our tables. We started looking at sheets and curtains as another option for runners, and did actually find some that I like, but we don't have nearly enough to cover all the tables. Boo.

Wedding Stuff is Happening :) (123)

Momma and I are getting to work over here on the wedding stuff :D Tonight we're planning on purchasing all the plane tickets so we can start FINALIZING some things! Woot! Love that :)

We're sitting here working on centerpiece ideas, invitation wording and the order of ceremony :) Oh boy. I'm so overwhelmed, excited and HAPPY! :D

So much is going on in these next few weeks, I'm MOVING in just 8-9 weeks! While I'm SO excited to be with Michael and my friends in Nebraska, I'm going to MISS my family and friends here :( So emotional! I still don't know where I'm going to stay while I'm out there, which is so weird for me...so strange to NOT KNOW what's going to be happening to me in the near future. I'm not worried or stressed surprisingly, because I know it'll all be alright, but it's going to be so DIFFERENT!

Good changes :)

I feel like this kid :P

Table (124)

Mom and I are working on centerpiece/reception stuff today :) This is my favorite so far

Save the Dates (126)

I MAILED THE SAVE THE DATE CARDS! Yes, it's true. I didn't think that it would ever truly happen, but it has and I'm so happy about it. This also means that the guest list is officially DONE. Oh yes :)

Now to move on to the California reception guest list and save the dates :P

Thank yous (127)

Today, I'm writing thank yous. I am determined to stay on top of this so it's not completely overwhelming! It helps that my showers are so spread out (one in April, one in May, one in June and one in August) so I'm hoping that I can keep up :) I am so blessed to have so many people showering me with gifts for my new job as a wife and homemaker :)

Bridal Shower! (128)

Last Saturday, I had my very first bridal shower! Our good friends, the Knutsons hosted it for me and it was absolutely beautiful! This shower was for my homeschool friends, and most of them were able to come. We had such a wonderful evening with these lovely ladies :) Mary Ann and Maddie were in town for this one, and both of my grandmothers were able to come which just made it better. We played a few silly games, ate cheesecake with strawberries, got advice, opened my presents and then everyone prayed over me. I'm so blessed to have such great friends :)

I'm baaaaaaaaaack! (129)

I've been told by more than one person that I need to post on this blog again :P Yes, the wedding is still on ;) Since I posted last, Maddie and Marcus and my future mother-in-love came to visit and we were able to get some wedding stuff planned :) The best thing is that the guest list is FINALIZED! Woot! It's a whole lot smaller than I expected, but I think people will understand. Save the date cards will go out shortly :) The moms also made some phone calls and have Charity and Laura all signed up to help with wedding decorations and food. Yay! I'm so excited!

I also had my very first bridal shower last Friday! It was so much fun, but I think I'll write about that in a different  post :)

Ring Bearer! (159)

So excited! We just picked up Quinny's outfit for the wedding! Again, it was just the Easter clothes that Costco has to offer this time of year and the colors and style were just perfect! Best thing, it was only 17.99! It has grey pinstripe pants with a matching vest, a sage green button up shirt and a green striped clip on tie. SO adorable! :)

Random Wedding News (160)

Well, there hasn't been much wedding related activity going on here lately, hence the lack of blog posts :P But, I did receive my wedding invitation samples! I think I've decided on the style that I like, now I just have to spend some more time on the wording.

I showed Claire her flower girl dress and she seemed happy with it :) I'm so excited to have her in the wedding.

I talked to Quinn about being the ring bearer, and in that conversation mentioned that I was a flower girl in his parents wedding 13 years ago. He was quite upset that his parents picked me and Bethany to be in their wedding rather than him. After explaining to him that he wasn't born for another 10 years, he was still confused and upset. Poor kid.

The wedding nightmares continue. Bethany seems to be the one ruining the day in all the dreams, but I'm not sure why. The dreams have included a barnyard wedding, Buzz Lightyear sweatpants, bad hair days, and horse trailers.

Madison, my other bridesmaid, is coming into town along with my future mother in love and Marcus, my brother in law in mid April. I'm SO excited! Maddie, Bethany and I are going to see Wicked at the Saroyan here in Fresno. This was their bridesmaid gift :)

That's pretty much all. I think I found someone who can arrange my flowers for me :) She'll make my bouquet, the girl's bouquets, a bouquet for me to toss at the reception and boutineers for the men. So exciting! :)

Invitation Samples (168)

My mom and I have been talking about invitations lately, and we decided to go ahead and order printed invites rather than going the DIY route. I think it's better that way for this. I was kind of nervous about ordering like 200 invitations without actually seeing or feeling them, but when we started looking around, we found that most invitation companies allow you to order samples for free so you can see them. So we ordered a few from two different companies, and they came yesterday! I was so excited! I definitely have a favorite one :)

Flower Girl Dress :) (171)

My mom found Claire's dress! I'm so excited! It's beautiful :) I was going to post a picture, but I think I want it to be a surprise :) Best part: it was only 16 bucks! :D