Only seven days left of work

Next Tuesday is my last day of work. Wednesday we're off to my parents and then Thursday we're on the plane.

My dress arrived two weeks ago and at first I wasn't sure if I liked it at all, but I've grown to love it now that I have a little color... even if it is fake. Johnny is taking it today to have it pressed so it should be in good shape.

Last night I had a bit of a meltdown about what I have left to do, including the fact that I still hadn't bought a veil or hairpiece. We made a list and Johnny will do what he can, but just the fact that he cares makes me feel better about it.

Probably, there won't be any updates until next week. There's only 10 days left...

Been a while.

So yeah Trista pretty much recapped the important stuff, mostly we have both been busy with non wedding related things this last month or so... School is coming to a close for the summer so the kids are restless and my last few weeks at work have been rather shitty. On top of the Shelby and Amanda dropped out of the wedding... Kinda sucks but there isn't much I can do about it. Oh well, Nate is still coming and with them dropping out I think we have enough room in the limo for the whole family that is staying at new york new york can ride in the limo. So, there is that.

In other news I think Trista and I have both decided that we are both going to go for our MLS degrees at the same time, that way we can both be librarians, which I think will be a job I find much more enjoyable and fulfilling than 5th and 6th grade art. I dont even think I really want to do school librarians either, but it will be nice to have the option.

I'm very excite about the wedding. I really cant wait until june so I can focus more fully on it. One thing we need to do soon is get show tickets, I need to call the Chapel again and see what and when that free show they are giving us is.

So far we know we want to see Penn and Teller, Zumanity, and the Tournament of Kings. Hopefully our free show wont suck. We need the date and time of it so we can buy our other tickets. I think that is the plan for next weekend.

It's been a while

In fact, here is a short rundown of things that have happened in the month since we last updated:

1. I nearly lost my job.
2. We decided on Nobhill Tavern in MGM Grand as our reception spot. Daddy is officially paying.
3. I've lost nearly 30 pounds on a combination of Slim Fast and Weight Watchers, though how much of it is just water weight I'm not sure.
4. I've been measured for my dress and officially paid for it.
5. We're taking more engagement photos in June.
6. Shelby, Amanda, John Mark and Tabitha have all bailed.
7. Both wedding rings have been purchased.
8. I have begun inflating my wardrobe with honeymoon clothes.

I also have been reading more wedding books: Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert and For Better: the Science of a Good Marriage by Lara Pope-Lynn. Both have been interesting and thought provoking, and I'd recommend them to anyone about to make a major life commitment.

I have to get back to work. More later from either me or Johnny.

There are only 51 days left.

Sick

I have a cold so basically nothing got accomplished this weekend. I finally sent John Mark his promised email so now he, Tabitha, and Ben have all officially been invited. It remains to be seen what will come of it.

We're still waffling on the issue of the reception dinner. Since I'm pretty sure I heard the old man say he was PAYING for the reception I'm feeling a little unsure about a buffet. There are lots of VERY nice restaurants in Mandalay Bay and lots of nice bars we could mosey to afterward as well. It might be nice to go to a nice place. We may get special treatment and I'm sure it'd be an easy thing to get a nice, private room without too much extra bullshit. But I don't know. Maybe my dad is effecting me.

Definitely we need to have made a decision in the next couple of weeks though so we can move on this. We should have our minds made up on Plans A and B so when we tell my dad wether he wants to pay or not the decision is made either way.

I'm getting tired of sending everyone the same Las Vegas information and travel links. It's really sounding like a good idea to have another website or even maybe a Facebook group to disseminate this information in an easy fashion.

I can't believe there's so much still left to do and decisions to make and people to whip into making a decision before we get married, and there's only 82 days left.

Dinner?

Well 3 months eh? I can't wait. I keep asking Trista if it is June yet, and sadly the answer is always no.

There has been some discussion of possible changes made to our "Reception" dinner after the wedding. We did some Review checking on the Round Table buffet, and it sounds like Round Table might be kinda shitty (eg, cold food etc). So we may spring for the Mandalay Buffet which is one hotel down and only a few bucks more expensive, plus they offer private rooms for groups of 20+ we won't have that many, but we plan to call them and see if we can get such a room anyways if its not too expensive.

Trista's dad seems to think we can do better than a buffet, and there is rumor that he may pay for the reception someplace nicer that a buffet, and thats fine any help he wants to offer we will greatly accept. The only problem is getting everybody to said place, the nice thing about the buffets is they are walking distance from our hotels. Plus if the Buffet is good, I don't see what is wrong with it, and from all accounts Mandalay Buffet is nice. I think Trista's dad tends to fancy us as more luxurious people than we really are sometimes...

Anyways, we need to make a decision some time this month about what we plan to do for it, and its definitely time to get everyone who doesn't have plane tickets/hotel reservations to get them! Clock is tickin!

New Invitees

We took our engagement photos this past weekend in Huntsville. Johnny's mom worked the camera and they turned out really well. We'll shoop them a little bit and put them up on Flickr or something for everyone to see.

Amy's request for time off was rejected so right now she's a no. She says she is transferring in May though, and she's going to tell them that she already got the time off to see if she can get it that way. Honestly, I don't have much hope that my MOH will make it.

On the other hand, Shelby and Amanda got their tax refund in, so they will be buying their tickets soon and planning their stay. We'll be buying our show tickets and making fancy dinner reservations some time this month, hopefully one of those shows will be with them.

Mike and Tracy won't be able to make the wedding so we've decided to invite some more friends of ours. For me: Ben, John Mark, and Tabitha. For Johnny: Nate. Ben and Nate seem pretty interested, but I haven't heard squat from John Mark and Tabi, but then I only told them yesterday.

We need to call the hotel to see if they'll bump us for a couple of nights for our wedding and if they'll charge us and stuff like that. We have to call the chapel too because we apparently get show tickets with our wedding package and we don't know what shows they're for. Hopefully, one of the shows they offer will be one of the ones we're interested in.

I'm really thinking that this blog will be simply for us to look back on and read from time to time as an account of the days leading up to our wedding. Therefore, I don't think I'll ever let our parents see it. Which, means we can be a bit more REAL than we are at the moment. Probably I'll make a crappy wedding page on The Knot for everyone to actually look at with links and info but without the blow by blow details.

The wedding is in 95 days.

Clothes done!

Well I managed to pick my clothes. A red dress shirt, a black vest, some black pants, and Black converse. I haven't got the converse yet, but will soon. I also haven't decided on a tie yet. It's nice to have that sorted out though. We decided it might be too hot for a full suit, so I don't think I'll be getting a jacket, but there is still time should I change my mind. As for the shoes, I don't know if I'm going to get normal black converse, or if I will look into ordering a custom pair. I need to look at the shoe maker thing on the website again. It's nice to have that done. As far as I know, Trista's dress selection is pretty much done, I'm sure she will write something about it soon.

We also decided we will be eating out reception dinner at The Round Table Buffet at the Excalibur. All you can Feast. It's about 18 bucks a person, which is pretty good for a vegas buffet, and the food still looks good, plus it right across from the hotel where we and most everyone else will be staying so we wont have to play Taxi tag to get everyone over there! We are waiting on final numbers before we actually make the reservation. So far, my parents, chris, Trista's mom and grandma are the only ones to officially buy their tickets. Shelby and Amanda are waiting for their tax refund, and so is Amy, as for Trista's Dad who knows. I also finally managed to get a hold of my brother Mike after a week of trying to call, I ended up having to call my nephew Justin to get a hold of him! So, I e-mailed them all the info and am waiting to hear if they will be able to make it or not.

Hopefully by the end of april everyone will have their travel and hotel squared away so we can officially call the Excalibur and tell the chapel the final numbers.

Now we are starting to really think about things to do in Vegas after the wedding. We know we want to see Penn and Teller, we are both big fans of their show Bull Shit. We are also thinking Zoomanity, but other than that I'm not sure. I'm sure looking forward to going to Vegas for the first time! July can't come soon enough!

Developments

Last Tuesday, Johnny and I officially became engaged. He suprised me when I came home from work with take home Red Lobster and my beautiful tanzanite and diamond ring in a little red box. We changed our facebook relationship status and posted about it and we got well wishes all night. Since then things have been in high gear.

When I visited my parents this past weekend I picked out my dress with my mother and grandmothers help from etsy. I'm getting my dress, petticoat, and bolero from the same little shop so they should all be ready to go at the same time. My mother is also buying my dress which saves us money and is a lovely gesture, so now all I have to do is find something to do with my hair.

Tomorrow, we'll probably tootle over to the Men's Wearhouse after we go to visit his parents to see what they've got in terms of suits. Johnny still hasn't decided on his clothes but he has more time than I do. He can't seem to decide between just going ahead and getting a suit or going more casual. I say do whatever you like that's what I'm doing; Honestly, I'm just happy to be marrying you.

My main issue right now is with some of our beloved guests who can't seem to get their plans in order. I hate to be a nag but gas prices and airfares are going up, and I don't want to bankrupt people when they come to my wedding. As it stands now we have officially 5 guests: my mother and grandmother and his parents and brother. We've invited 5 others, two of whom are the best man and maid of honor.

I get more excited every day this thing gets closer. There's only 110 days left until I get married.

Went to visit trista's parents.

It was a good visit we managed to figure out the location of ou reception dinner. The round table buffet at the Excalibur. Looks pretty sweet and not too expensive. Now we just need to make sure who all is coming so we can make reservations. Tried to call both Shelby and my brother and neither one answered. Need to get these numbers down ppl! Answer the phone!

I told my Mother

I told my mother and my grandmother and it went great. I feel a little guilty for waiting so long actually but I wanted be sure I had things lined up before I told her the plan so I wouldn't be tempted to backtrack if it didn't go well.

I'm very happy and excited that it went well. Next weekend when we go into Shreveport for a visit she and grandma are going to look at dresses with me. I'm really looking forward to it. I found some beautiful short white ones on etsy that honestly seem to be better quality than what I've been thinking of so far. There's still some time to figure it all out and I'll feel better once I can get their chop on it.

117 days left.

Date is set!

Title says it all really. We called the Little Chapel of Flowers last night and spoke with the wedding planner and put down our deposit for our wedding in the Magnolia Chapel for July 1st! The 1st is a special date already because it will be our second anniversary or when we started dating. After this year it will be our wedding anniversary! We got everything hammered out though and we are ready to go!

I am very excited. Now we just need to pay off the rest of the balance, get me a suit, Trista a dress, and Shelby, Amanda, and Amy all on a flight! It should be so much fun. I am excite!

Nervous

I notice that the closer this gets the more nervous I am about it. Surely, this is normal?

Fortunately, the nerves are tempered with a great deal of excitement. I love Johnny and he makes me happy. We laugh all the time. We respect each other. I know that I won't ever be embarrassed to say, "This is Johnny, my husband." I am already proud of everything he's done to help us get this far in creating our new family. It is not possible for me have done better.

I'm getting too mushy.

121 days left.

Hurdle 1 crossed.

Well we told our parents this weekend! My parents took it very well, my dad actually said my mom had been waiting to hear this, and my mom said my grandma has been really waiting to hear it. As expected my parents both greatly approve of the Vegas idea. They have been telling me I should elope since my brother and his wife did it way back when. My parents also did something amazingly awesome for us and have agreed to pay for our hotel and flight cost for the trip! Now that our flight and hotel is booked it almost feels like the wedding money battle is half over (in some ways it is.).
Next step is a deposit on the chapel, and sense I got paid today I expect that to happen post haste! Oh and we are staying in new York new York woo!

I found some more books at work recently on the subject of non-traditional weddings, specifically Let's Elope. Granted, its a decade old at this point but it's still useful. For example, I had no idea what to do about engagement or wedding announcements, now I do. It also supplied more reasons for eloping, strategies for your parents, and information about places to go other than Las Vegas, which I had not even thought about, much less considered. I think we'll stick with Vegas though.

I spoke to Amy about the possibility of her making the wedding. I wanted to give her a lot of lead time because I know money is tight for a lot of us. She's my best friend in the whole world and she lives in Florida now. It'll be tough to plan everything without her. I really hope she can make it.

It would also be nice if my parents could make it, but I don't have high hopes. Much like Amy, there is work and funding to consider and they are not small considerations at all.

126 days left.

Kinda Sleepy

So, I managed to talk to my best friend Shelby last weekend for the first time in over a year or so. It was great being able to catch up. Turns out they moved back to PA cuz they were tired of running around the world and such, go figure. Anyways I told him and his wife Amanda about the wedding (I'm pretty sure they are the only two outside of me and Trista who know about it) and I'm pretty excited cuz they said they would do their best to be there! Which is awesome because I was Shelby's best man at his wedding and It'd be awesome for him to be mine, plus there's nothing cooler than hanging out in vegas right? Well wait I guess there is, getting married in vegas is cooler! Even better than that? Being married by the King of Rock and Roll Elvis himself in vegas! Things are starting to come together a bit, we looked into possibly taking out a small loan to pay for the whole shebang an it seems like something we can do easy enough. I think I might talk to my parents this weekend and let them know the big news. They have been pro-eloping ever since my brother did it, so I'll definitely want their opinion when it comes to moneys and loans and such.

That's all for now, more to come I'm sure!

Dress Crisis

I spent yesterday reading about how to talk to your parents after you've eloped and basically didn't find anything I didn't already know. Basically, everyone talked about how to involve them afterward, not how to actually broach the topic. So, at this point I might do the unthinkable and email... which is terrible I know. Thank goodness we've got time to plan a little better.

Anyway, I was looking at these articles and seeing all these normal sized brides in beautiful white dresses and I found myself questioning my decision to go short and red. I had a little bit of a freak-out on the drive home thinking about it. In the end though, I decided to stick with my original decision of a shorter bridesmaid style dress, but to possibly change the color.

Why? You only get one shot to wear whatever you want for your wedding, so why not big and white? But the trouble is, I'm not any good at dressing myself. I'd have to go to like a David's Bridal with an appointment, on a weekday (to get the best service) and try on dresses several sizes too small for me to see what they look like to get an idea of what isn't horrible. Then, I'd have to go home and remember this information and recall it later so that I can order the dress for way cheaper on Bridal Zoom.There are several problems with this, not the least of which is I don't get time off. My only vacation this year will probably be my wedding and that doesn't leave me with a lot of days left over. Another problem is what will happen if I buy a dress on the internet and I don't like it. It's been made to my specifications: I can't return it. I'd have to order another. It takes them a month to make a dress so by the end of all this trying on and ordering and ordering again it may be June. Then, what if I still don't like the dress? Boned. I'm certainly not wearing a dress I hate to my wedding. Oh sure, I could buy it from David's Bridal but I'm not made of money.

I told Johnny what I was thinking and in the usual fashion he said I'd be beautiful no matter what and left it at that but I continued to fret until about 10:30 when I made the decision above and then decided it was time for bed. Now, the issue is that of color, the main one being I can't really see the colors until I'm actually holding the dress. There's a teal sort of blue that I like very much, but the possibility is high it will clash with my yellowish skin and I'll look like a zombie.

Thank god we're not having a wedding wedding because I don't think I could handle having a crisis every day about what color china we're having at the reception, and losing my brains because the chargers don't mach the bridesmaids AND THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO!

129 more days, then it will all be over. So help me god.

Our Chapel?

We like the Little Chapel of the Flowers. They have a deal where you use one of their chapels (I like the Magnolia Chapel because of the archway) and it includes live wedding streaming and a DVD plus some photo prints, but then after your wedding the limo driver will take you to the Las Vegas sign where you can take personal photos. It's like a $600 package with almost everything we want included. Things are really firming up.


We also finally picked our hotel for the trip: New York New York Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, NV. Not only have I never stayed there, the theme should make for some pretty sweet photo opportunities while I'm still wearing my dress and stuff. Our total for just the flight, hotel, and transportation from McCarran International Airport is coming in at $1353.72, which totally doable considering that's flight both ways, six nights in an awesome hotel, plus tax and resort fees. The trick is we'll have to drive a total of nine hours by car to and from my hometown of Shreveport, LA to use our preferred airline, but we're still saving almost $1000 compared to flying out of Houston. In my opinion, well worth the gas money since we can spend the time together just enjoying each other's company.


I'm really starting to get excited and we've got 131 days to go yet.

Progress

As it stands now, the general plan is a Las Vegas wedding at a chapel immediately followed by a honeymoon. This is because we don't make a lot of money, so a traditional wedding would require financing from parental sources, and I worry that this would cause me to lose creative control over my wedding. I also hate being the center of attention and I have never been a party girl, so the thought of having a huge party where Johnny and I saying deeply meaningful things about our relationship to each other while people watch closely just frankly freaks me out. 


Last night we tried to lock in our Las Vegas hotel choice so that when we have money we can make the reservations without any hesitation but Shelby, Johnny's best friend, called him at about 11:30 and they talked for an hour and a half or so. In other words: I fell asleep and we didn't accomplish anything. I suppose we'll try again tonight before we go to bed. (LOL as I type this I hear the phone ringing)


At work last week I saw a book I thought might be interesting for Johnny and I to have a look through. It's called The Hard Questions: 101 Essential Questions to Ask Before You Say "I Do". Today, we went through almost the whole book and it turned out that we'd pretty much discussed everything on the list, either because we actually talk to each other or the fact we've lived together for almost a year now. Afterward, I felt like a kid who didn't study for a test but somehow managed to ace it anyway.


Tonight, we went to Benihana's for a late Valentine's Day dinner, but it gave me a bit of stomachache, so I decided to use the time to search the internet for wedding dresses. I'm thinking something either tea or knee length, A-line silhouette, strapless in red. I found this website called ZoomBridal, and while their spelling is atrocious, their deals are sweet. Theoretically speaking, I could get this dress (which is the frontrunner) in red matte satin made to my measurements for less than $150. Seeing as I have $400 budgeted for just a dress at the moment this puts me way ahead of the game. I think it would look amazing with black Chuck Taylors, a little bolero like this, and maybe a feathery headpiece like this.


I logged into The Knot to look at their wedding checklist for fun. If we were planning a traditional wedding on a traditional timeframe we'd be so boned, so thank god we aren't or I'd really feel the pressure. As it is I have (according to The Knot's count) 132 days until my wedding and I still feel a little pinched.

Who is Johnny?

Good Question.

1. I'm 28, 29 this august 17th. I was born in Houston, moved to PA for a while, then went back the Houston where I graduated from Cy Falls High School in 2001

2. I have 3 older brothers and 2 older sisters. Technically I'm the only child from my Mom and Dad, and my brothers and sisters are from their previous marriages (making them "half"-siblings), but I just consider them my brothers and sisters (none of this "half" nonsense).

3. My dad worked in Education, dealing a lot with Special Education to be specific and my mother was a stay at home mom as far as I can recall... She Quilts like a machine though.

4. I attended University in PA at Edinboro where I studied animation. After I graduated I returned home and was pretty bummed at the prospect of becoming a professional animator at the time because I wasn't too big on Computer animation, which is pretty much all there is now. So, I enrolled in a post Bac Teacher Certification program at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville where I was living with my parents at the time so that I could become an art teacher!

5. Before becoming an Art Teacher, but shortly after I received my Teaching Certificate, I decided to spend a year in China working as an English Teacher along with my best friend Shelby and his new wife Amanda! (knew them from Edinboro). It was an experience, one that would take too much time to relate here, but I'll sum it up. Lots of people (almost all of them Chinese), lots of the same food (all of it Chinese and no I didn't eat dog, but possibly fox Jury is still out on that one), many many language barriers (some overcame, some probably still lost in translation), Much adventure (woo middle of winter great wall hike and up and out all night in Shang Hai New Years Eve!), Many new friends (thanks to Facebook I can kinda keep track of em!), and Much Fun! I was glad to come home in the end, but even more glad I went!

6. I currently work as an art Teacher at an Intermediate school within Conroe ISD. It's a good job even if they do take advantage of us Fine Arts Teachers, but I hope to move up the High School within the next year or so (looking at the way the economy is at the moment I'm willing to bet I'll have to wait at least one more year before they open any new High School positions in my district).

You've already heard from Trista about how we met, she e-mailed me first, and I'm glad she did because the way Plenty of Fish Works (or worked at the time) it was a good thing she saw my pic an stuff and e-mailed me when she did cuz she never popped up for me!

So, with all that said lets see what happens next eh?

Who is Trista?

I'll do this in a numbered list format because this is the Internet and generally tl;dr is a good rule to follow.

1.) I am 25 years old and I was born on Friday, September 13th in a small town in Northwest Louisiana called Shreveport: It is now chiefly famous for having riverboat casinos that fellow Texans love to go and throw all of their money at.

2.) I am the eldest of two children and my brother is seven years younger than me.

3.) My mother worked retail until my brother was born, then she became a homemaker and took care of my brother and I and the house. My father is an architect. He designed both the Horseshoe Casino Hotel in Bossier City, LA and the Davison Professional Aviation Building at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, LA, among other things. He also had a hand in just about every IHOP in Louisiana and Texas built in the early 2000's.

4.) I did not attend high school. From the ages of 12 to 18 I was home schooled by my mother or taking courses at the local college.

5.) I graduated May 2008 from Louisiana Tech University with a BS in Computer Information Systems.

6.) Currently I work for Houston Public Library in Houston, TX as a library assistant, which means I am responsible for circulating materials to patrons and back again, and some light reference work ("Where can I find this book?" "I liked this book. What else can you recommend?")

Johnny and I met almost two years ago through Plenty of Fish. I was coming off a major breakup and a friend suggested I try it. There were some hits and misses, but I was just about to lay off of it for a while, when idly browsing I came across this:

And instantly needed to know who THAT was. I sent that first message in the break room at work and after a few weeks of messaging and phone calls he picked me up for our first date. We went to the Olive Garden and to the Silverado Theatre to see The Hangover. It's been going swimmingly ever since.

The Beginning

So, this is the first post of a blog about our wedding, and by "our" I mean Johnny and I.

After we are married, I want to send the link of this blog to friends, family, and loved ones so that they can see the steps we took and the decisions we made to arrive where we did so that we can all celebrate together.


If you have stumbled across this in the midst of researching elopements or plus-sized brides, let me say welcome. I am logging a lot of internet time right now with interest in those very same topics. I started this blog in an attempt to keep up with my internet findings, my dreams, and my plans, and to have a record of these days before our wedding. I will post opinions and crises as I have them and pictures or articles that I find interesting or want to look at later.