AHR Invites are complete! MIB supplies has arrived!

Today is a good day so far. Despite the fact that I've had a HORRIBLE week, with Brian leaving for an out of town business trip, and Elyssa back to her dad's last week, I've been here all alone!!! You'd think that I'd be busy with all things Wedding Related huh? Fat chance! I've been moping around.

I did manage however, to get my AHR invites created. Unfortunately Brian took the camera with him, so the best I can do at this time is scan, upload and try to insert it here. We'll see if it works.

So, those are my AHR invites that I created, and the RSVP front and RSVP back. I don't know why the image of the front is so much bigger than the image of the back?!? Weird.

Another good thing about today is that I actually received my MIB order! A huge box with all the glass bottles, corks, sand, shells and mailing boxes arrived today! I am so excited! Now it's almost real! : ) I'm going to have a MIB assembly party at my house very soon!!! : ) Anyone want to join in on some fun? Margaritas???? Jello Shots??? LOL.

** AHR Center Pieces **

These are the first round of my Centerpieces I am going to use at both of our AHR's. As you can see, they're very easy to make. I purchased all the supplies at Michael's and the Starfish, Shells & Sea Biscuits were purchased from a former DW Knottie!

In lieu of a guestbook, I decided that I wanted to do a "Message in a Cylinder" where guest write their words of wisdom, or advice on a note card, then drop them in the cylinder vase! Here's my inspiration photo taken from the Wedding Star Magazine, and the other photo is what I created.

Whoo Hoo, it's THE DRESS

So, I made an appointment at David's Bridal in Roseville because I knew that we were going to be in the Sacramento area early this morning. I found some dresses on line on DB's website and thought that maybe they'd have them in the Roseville store. Brian came along with, and I totally felt comfortable with him shopping for dresses! I tried on several dresses, and he took pictures of each one, so if you want to see them all, you'll have to go to my planning bio to have a look!! (www.mywedding.com/michelesplanningbio )

This dress is the dress that both Brian & I really liked. There was another one that was a close second, and in all honesty, I think Brian liked it better. He said he liked them both, and it was ultimately my decision. I really felt more comfortable in this one than I did the other one, and I think the other one made me look a little fatter than I really am!

What is even more amazing is the fact that the dress was clearanced for $99!!!! SCORE!!!! I really like it alot. I just need to get it hemmed at the bottom and tighten up the back halter top area where it buttons together. I need to make it smaller. It shouldn't be a problem. I am also going to have it dry cleaned and pressed!!!

I am very excited that I've gotten this very HUGE check completed! : ) Woot Woot!

New Motivation

I am making new goals in all things Wedding Related. On Sunday, I am going to start my own private Bridal Boot Camp! I will work out on a daily basis and be disiplined enough to be consistant about it! I'm going to alternate swimming laps and working out in the weight room, utilizing the treadmill the most.

I am making my daily task lists with something wedding related to accomplish each day and going to ensure that I am consistent with getting everything done daily!

I am going to make long term task lists and ensure I assign a date to have said tasks & goals completed by.

I am going to EAT PROPERLY to coincide with my new health & fitness regime.

And that's that! : )

Getting off my duff!!! D.I.Y Projects

I've been slacking the last couple of weeks with anything wedding related. I bought tons of shells, miniature starfish, sea biscuits, more shells and the like from former DW Knotties and the packages have been trickling in. That's pretty much anything wedding related that I've done... sit on my arse and wait for the mail man. My 12 year old, Elyssa, will be going back to her dad's this Saturday, so beginning Sunday, I am going to be a mad woman with everything DIY!!!! Here are my projects:

Debating on any type of "fans" ~ do I need any fans at all? I originally thought these were a very cute idea and would like them and the could double as a "favor" that the guests could take home with them. (The picture directly on the left is from knottie AlaskanAlison) I love the palm fans and the flower she put on them. Then I got to thinking, the ceremony will be in April where it's still a little on the cool side and the ceremony will only be approximately 20 minutes tops. I saw another knottie's program/fan she's doing and really thought, "wow, these could triple as a "fan", "program", and a "favor" for guests. These were from knottie natmcb1983. How easy could this be? However, for the time being, this particular DIY project is on the back burner, but still something I may want to do.

Next on my list of DIY projects is the centerpieces for both receptions. I was inspired by so

many other knotties and their centerpieces that I kept changing my mind as to what I wanted. Finally, I decided that I wanted to do ones similar to what knottie natmcb1983 is doing for her September 2009 wedding. Various sizes of vases with sand, shells and candles. So, now that I have the shells, it's all about collecting the vases, several at a time. So, this will be an on-going DIY project until I have accumulated all of the vases I need. I'm thinking maybe 12 will be more than enough. I'll purchse the ribbon and sand soon to get that done and out of the way!

What can I really be actively doing? I need to order the MIB supplies to get them done. Those need to be mailed by late September / early October so that our guests have enough time to book their cruise before the February deadline! That'll give them 4 months. The Save the Dates all went out in June and all of the cruise information was available then.

I want to get the Welcome bags done and out of the way, but again, we're debating on the bags! Brian is all for the Trader Joe's bags. I originally wanted these too, but now, I'm not so sure. There are so many cute bags to choose from! The good thing about these are that they are re-usable and they're of the "beachy" theme. I think they're a little too big for what we need. If we were going to be putting a beach towel in them, then it would be perfect, but as of right now, we're not. We're only going to put trial sizes of things like kleenex, advil / tylenol, J&J first aid kit, sunscreen, shout wipes, hand sanitizer, crystal light packettes, various snack crackers, and the like. So, I'm still on the hunt for these. I have been picking up things here and there for the bags, so that's a start!

I would like to get both AHR invitations started, done and out of the way! I keep telling myself I have 9 months.... I have 9 months.... but these 9 months are going to fly by from what I've been told. So, I really need a big motivating factor to kick my butt in gear! : )

Message in a Bottle DIY Project

So, yesterday I did a "mock-up" of our Message in a Bottle Invitations. I think they came out rather cute! Okay, so both Brian and I are totally EXCITED about how they came out! To finish out this project, I'm going to look for Caribbean Blue rafia to wrap at the top of the bottle where the cork goes in. Other than that, I think it's a great DIY accompolishment! : ) Woo Hoo!!!

I am so excited that these are done. Well, at least the "prototype". Now, to get all the supplies in and then mass produce at least 50 - 60 of them. It'll be a fun night of Brian and I that's for sure! Anyone wanna come over and have a MIB making party?????? : )

Little things to accomplish

Today will be the day where I will sit down and write out my task list, prioritize them and then just follow the list! I've been writing things down in a notebook as they pop in my head, then I tend to start that project however when a new idea pops up, I go on a frenzy to start that new project. I have a gazillion projects started but not yet completed. SOOOOOO, going forward, I will try to complete one task before starting another. Easier said than done huh? Well, we will see!

First thing's first though. I need to get the ceremony issue figured out before I go stir crazy! I know it will all work out, but I'm a planner, and I need have it figured out so I will sleep easier! : )

Here's what I need to priortize:

*Ceremony wording for invites
*Ordering the MIB supplies
*Ceremony itself figured out
*Cruise bookings / guests
*Dress

Those are the most important.... then comes the little things:

*AHR invites ~ Minnesota & California
*BM Dresses
*Groomsmen attire
*Welcome bags
*Contents of Welcome bags
*BM flowers
*Hair flower

And the list goes on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
*

4th of July

Not much wedding wise is going on today. Just actuallly working on the Knottie Knot list. Wow... so much time is put into this "volunteer" project, it's almost a full time job! : ) Anyway, Brian and I have just pretty much been working on our Wedding Budget. We knew the Cruise was a very inexpensive way to have our wedding "on a beach" and somewhere where family from Minnesota would enjoy traveling to. We have officially picked our wedding party and with the exception of Brian's best friend, it's all family! My three children will be a part of it as well as Brian's brother, sister, niece, nephews and one of his daughters.

We're excited and although most of our planning has been just that,

"planning"

now we've got to put our plans into action and get things done!

The list seems to be getting longer and longer, when actually it shouldn't be a problem at all right? Yeah, right!

Not to mention, we have two, yes TWO, AHR's to plan as well!

So, onward with the plans! : )

Overwhelmed

Today I'm feeling a little overwhelmed with all things wedding concerned. Although the one great check is that we paid the deposit on our Cabin for the Cruise. Woo Hoo. That's kinda important don't ya think? We have tons of little projects left to do and it's just prioritizing these little tasks that are crazy! We're talking figuring out what, if any, company we're going to use on the Island to handle the ceremony; what kind of flowers to use in the bridal party bouquets; dress; veil, if any; shoes; hair flower; groom's shirt; wedding party gifts; Welcome bag contents; MIB invitation supplies; AHR - Minnesota invites; AHR - California invites;........... the list goes on and on!!! It's tough when you don't know how many people are coming to the ceremony! We can't really pick out a "wedding package" from what we were given just yet because we're not sure on how many people will be there! And, these "wedding packages" are designated for only certain amount of people! Grrrrr....

Field Trip!!!

I had a fun day today with Elyssa! We went to David's Bridal and I tried on Wedding Dresses! I found the dress that I absolutely love a lot. I tried that one on plus several others, but you know, the first one is always "the" one! I am a little disappointed though because I have such a bigger shoulder / upper body / arms due to swimming/diving in my younger years. So...... needless to say, I looked like a linebacker in a wedding dress! : ) LOL. I will not post any pictures here and scare you

I was going through some fellow Knotties on the Destination Wedding Board on The Knot, and I've seen several Knotties whos weddings are AFTER mine, however they have a lot more accompolished than I do. I guess that means I need to get my butt in gear!

9 months, 3 weeks and 1 day to go! : )

On track!!!

So... I haven't been too diciplined on keeping up with this blog on a daily basis, however, we did take a vacation last week, so yeah... that's my excuse! : ) We've finally decided on our STD's. It's a definate, done deal! No changing minds! So, with that said and done, on to really planning all the details! Need to make sure we have the Cruise information all outlined on our wedding website. Since there seems to be alot of Brian's famiily and friends really interested in going, they are asking for specifics... so... I'd better make sure I get everything in there!!!

I'm not 100% sure if I'm going to do the MIB invites or pocket folds. Hmmm that's a decision I need to make in the next couple of weeks! Along with looking at dresses. Whew......

Make up my mind!

Well, well, well.... just when I thought everything was finally figured out, Brian tells me "Don't rule out Hawaii". Grrrrrr. What exactly is that supposed to mean? It's either Hawaii, or the Cruise. Simple as that. The only good thing out of this is that no matter where our wedding is, we're still having two receptions, one in Minnesota, the other in California, so, all of my brain storming for those events are safe at least! : )

In my honest opinion, I think we're going to stick to the cruise thing. It's waaaayyyyy less expensive than Hawaii for our guests, and that's what is important to us.... having close family members and friends share our moment with us. So, with that being said...... let's cross our fingers!

Planning resumes!!!!

How fortunate am I to have such an understanding boyfriend?!? We have a "hiccup" in our planning and we realize how much we jumped the gun, so we put all of our options on the table and viola ~ we come up with something better suited for us!!! We've decided on a Destination Wedding Cruise. It's not too far or anything like that, but it works for us! We're going to be sailing aboard the Carnival Elation on a 4 day cruise to Baja, Mexico. We'll be departing from the port of San Diego on Monday, a fun day at sea on Tuesday, Port in Santa Catalina Island on Wednesday, Port in Ensenada, Mexico on Thursday, then back to San Diego on Friday!!! Woo hoo. What is more amazing is that I was able to get a group discount rate at a VERY reasonable price. It is more affordable for friends and family to be able to come cruise with us versus traveling to Hawaii, paying for their lodging, paying for their food, etc. It's a win win situation all the way around! : )

What's even more amazing is the fact that I put together m own "Boarding Pass" Save the dates! Woo Hoo!!! Didn't think I had it in me to accomplish something like this, but low and behold I did it!

Now to get to the rest of my check list of over a gazillion things to do!

Operation: Change Destination

Where shall I start??? I was so excited yesterday when I checked my P.O. Box and what did I receive? My 100 free Save The Date Postcards from Vista Print!!!! Woo Hoo!! I love the mail man! But what happens last night??? Well, we discuss the feasability of the whole Hawaii thing. The reason we chose Hawaii is not only the fact that Brian's not been to Hawaii, and he's talked about a beach wedding shortly after we met, should I ever decided to get married again! : ) But also because my grandma's 89th birthday party is being planned for April 2010 and since we were planning on going, we decided what a great opportunity to have the ceremony there! We sorta jumped on that right away without really thinking things thru. So... after discussing our options, one of which was to still do the whole Hawaii ceremony, but we also discussed maybe the Bahama's or Jamaica ~ however it would be tough with all my children (granted two of them are adults... or practically so...) So, I thought about a cruise. I looked at the Carnival Cruise to Baja Mexico... I've been on one before and enjoyed it so I thought we could do the one that leaves San Diego, goes to Catalina Island, Ensenada Mexico and then back to San Diego. So I also did some research on Catalina Island as far as Beach ceremonies go.

Guess What!!!! The cruise itself as of right now is only $174 per person!

That's on the Early Saver Promotion, and so wow. I believe it's totally reasonably priced and may be to the point that many of Brian's friends and family in Minnesota may even be able to join us! So, if this is the case, I'm gonna have to chuck the 100 FREE STD Postcards that I created and re-do some, or change up altogether and come up with something BIGGER AND BETTER. Lol.

Stay tuned for more........ who knows..... maybe more changes?? I hope not!

Decisions, decisions, decisions......

Woo hoo. I've accomplished a very small amount of things that need to be done for this lovely adventure. Let's see.... I've created the STD's and ordered them thru Vista Print. They're postcards and was "free". I was able to get 100 standard size post cards along with 25 brochures for free, all I had to pay was shipping. Not bad. I wasn't sure if I wanted to use those STD for sure or not and we figured that if it's not what we want to use after all, we're not really out any money. Not a bad idea huh? Also, one of the other ideas that I wanted to use for either STD's or for the actual invites were these cool looking "Boarding Passes" ~ they're a real hit now a days and I was fortunate enough to have a friend of mine help create these. However, Brian is a huge fan of the MIB (Message in a Bottle) for the invites. He is sooooo in to the planning aspect of this wedding, it's cute. For our ages, it's weird, but hey.... you're never to old to have fun planning your wedding! : )

This is what the Boarding Passes looks like.....~~~~~~~~~~~~~~>

Very creative huh? I think they're cute, but unfortunately we're not going to use this idea. Maybe for something in the future we can use this idea!!!

Let's see.. what else have I "accomplished"?? Oh... I did manage to order and have since received a "sample" set MIB products and stuff...... it came with a plastic bottle & cork, a glass bottle & cork, sample portion of beach sand and sample portion of tiny shells along with a snippit of raffia. Oh, and a mailing box to mail them in. Very cute!!!!

Well, that's it for now.. I'll be back on here in a little bit! More planning is underway!

Welcome to Destination Wedding Planning!!

So, as I venture into this new journey of mine, I decided that I needed a place where I can vent, collect my thoughts, and also share with others (who are interested) what a person like myself, goes through on a daily basis in the CHAOTIC ways of trying to plan not only a destination wedding on the beautiful island of Oahu, but two, yes, TWO "At Home Receptions"~ one in Minnesota, and one in California.

Let's just say that where to start always seems like an easy task, but let me tell you it's rather difficult. I've joined the Knot, a very versitile website for brides to be that has a wealth of information along with "Boards" or chat rooms if you will, that tends to consume the majority of my day!! I enjoy reading all the posts as it contains valuable information!!!! So many helpful bride to be's and very addicting as well.

So, as I continue with my planning process, I will definately be updating this blog as I go along. Come enjoy this journey with me!!! : )