Bridal Shower #2

The ladies at church threw me a shower about two weeks ago.  Here are some of the photos from that day.  Thank you to all of you who came.  Thank you Brenda and Eva especially for all the work you put into making the shower a success.  

 The cake

 Eating our delicious meal

 Sister and me

Gift table

 Starting to open presents

Bridal Shower #1

Danny's mother was so sweet that she threw a bridal shower for me today.  Plus she already sent me some of the pictures from today.  The shower was at a cute tea house in the area and it was such a nice shower.  I am so thankful to be marrying into such a loving and sweet family!

 The goodies

Opening gifts

Danny's mother and sister- Pat and Emily

Me and Kasey

Me and my mom

Lack of Updates and Motivation

I've done a bad job at updating everyone on the wedding planning recently.  Although, there hasn't been very much to talk about either.  I've been out of town throughout the month visiting family.  Plus I was sick for a good week and a half so that put a lot of wedding planning on hold.  I think the stress of wedding planning, working, my family house for sale, and moving got to me finally.  But anyway there are just a few things here and there I figured I would let you all know about.

Danny and I did get our marriage license this past weekend.  That really hit me with the realization that I am actually getting married next month.  I did find it funny that as soon as we got our license Danny said, "Alright let's go get married now."  I was like, "You've got to be kidding right?"  Thankfully he was.  When we were at the courthouse getting the paperwork and swearing that we were not under the influence of alcohol and not cousins or kin of some kind I was thinking," Wow is this process completely necessary?"  How many people in the state of Ohio really try to marry their brother or sister or their first cousins?  It was a very interesting process.  It went smoothly overall.  The only difficult part was trying to find the building in downtown Columbus.  Tip for anyone getting married anytime soon.  Fill out your paperwork beforehand.  It is 100 times faster and if you can submit the paperwork online, do it.

Besides getting our license and getting hit in the face with the realization that this wedding is actually happening SOON; not much has been going on.  I got to spend time with a friend that will be getting married next year in the September so it was nice to have someone to talk to about wedding planning.  It's funny how I can go back and talk about planning like I am some sort of expert now because I have already been through a lot of what she is doing now.  I really enjoyed hearing about all her wedding plans.

This month is also filled with bridal showers.  I am excited for all of those.  I am really excited about the shower my mom is having for me in Louisville.  I can't wait to see a few friends and family!  Hopefully, I can post a couple pictures soon from all the different showers.

I have been working on getting favors together for our guests too.  That has been a little stressful.  I just keep putting it off and that's why it stresses me out.  I know I need to do it but I just don't have the motivation.  I also don't have the motivation to work on programs.  It's funny how I was so ready a year ago to get all this wedding planning done but when it's crunch time I just kind of blow it off.  Oh yeah this weekend also marked Danny and I being engaged for a whole year!  I was happy that we got to spend it together.

I got a few other details ready for the wedding.  I got our guest book figured out and one of the pieces arrived today.  It's really cute I think!

I look at all the wedding check lists I have going and there isn't much left to do but I feel like there is so much more to do.  I have about five different lists going...OCD I know.  I started on itineraries for all the guests and bridal party members.  I feel this is completely necessary and forgotten by many brides.  I have witnessed many weddings where people in the bridal party have no idea where they need to be and what times they are needed so I made it my mission to get those started and as full of details as possible.

As always if you have any ideas for the wedding please share.  If you would like to motivate me to actually plan my wedding that would also be appreciated haha.

Only 44 days to go!  It's not in triple digits anymore...AHHH!

Extra Photos

Here are a few more shots from our venue walk thru! You can actually see the field this time.

It's All Moving so Fast!

I cannot believe how quickly the days have been going by recently.  Only a 103 more days till the wedding!  I feel like I still don't have a lot going on though!  I have just been knocking stuff out as it comes along but I still just don't feel like I am overwhelmed with a ton of wedding planning tasks.  Here's what I have been up to in case you were wondering.  Danny and I met with our fantastic coordinator, Teri, on Saturday.  We actually got to go on the field and in the dugout to see how everything will run that day.  It was hot on that field; I am keeping my fingers crossed for a nice 65 degree slightly cloudy day.  They were setting up for a gala that night so there were tons of people running around setting up tables and chairs, moving centerpieces around, and trying to figure out where to put things.  It was a little crazy but it was nice to see how things will look from up close.  We met with our other photographer for the day too.  He was very nice and he is going to be great to work with that day.  He took a few pictures and shared two of them with us later that day.  He constantly took pictures of us talking with the coordinator. Here they are...not the most flattering but you can see how bright it was that day, the centerpieces the florist was working on, and the stands.

 We both look weird...oh well. Hopefully he will send more and I can post them on here!

I felt like I had a million questions to ask Teri and the photographer so thankfully they were patient and willing to answer all of them.  It feels good to have things figured out.

Speaking of getting things figured out.  I have been working on the wedding day timeline.  I am not a fan of scheduling days exactly to the minute I am finding.  It is not fun at all.  It's also very confusing. I know the timeline is essential so I will not complain too much.

Other things on my to-do list are sending out the pile of wedding invitations that have been sitting in our living room for about a month.  Those will probably go out more towards the end of the month.  I am trying to wait till the three month point.  I am excited to get rid of those.  They caused me so much trouble haha.  The next thing I will have to tackle are the programs.  That shouldn't be too bad since assembling them will mainly consist of printing and putting the pages in order.  I still have to wait to get the details like flowers figured out because that doesn't need to be done until it's closer to the wedding.  My florist did start working on the boutonnieres for the guys and they are AMAZING!  I didn't want the guys to have flowers since they usually fall off and well guys just don't really care for flowers that much.  So my awesome florist came up with this idea based off a picture I showed her when we first met.  I LOVE IT!

The top is the original picture I showed her and the bottom is what she came up with.

I think the guys will really like it because it's something different and it's sporty.  I can't wait to see what else she comes up with.  

I did have my first dress fitting this month.  That went well.  My dress needed a lot of hemming and it needed to be taken in, so that means I will be trying my hardest to avoid junk food and actually work out for once. 

All the bridesmaids have their shoes and dresses so that is a relief.  Groomsmen are falling behind the girls and some still need to get fitted but I am going to let Danny be the one in charge of all that mess.  

Danny and I both picked out and purchased our wedding bands.  Yes, it is early, but with all the chaos of planning a wedding with us being apart we needed to get that out of the way.  I had to try on mine of course to see if it fit.  So I may have taken a picture of it while it was on my finger =)

Don't worry, the ring is no longer in my possession.  It is at Danny's parent's house because my family is in the process of moving and I don't want to leave it at our house.  So I am not wearing it.  Danny isn't as thrilled about wearing a ring.  He tried on his and said it felt funny wearing the ring.  He will have to learn to get used to wearing jewelry.  Even though he already wears a watch (that was his wedding present, that he wasn't supposed to get until the day of the wedding, but someone is sneaky) he still has to get used to it.  

Others things I am trying to figure out are what details to incorporate into the wedding.  I found this cool little baseball with a heart stitched into it that I want to use in some way.  The box and the grass are not included with the ball.

I think I want to use it for this cool ring picture. 

I decided that I do not want the traditional guest book.  We are going to have a a few different items for guests to sign, and yes they do revolve around baseball so I think most of you can guess what those might be.  I figured out what kind of favors I want to do for my guests.  I have been working on out of town guest gift bag fillers too.

I have been looking through pictures from baseball weddings and I am pleasantly surprised to see that more people are starting to have sports themed weddings.  That is good for me because now I have more ideas for decorations and photos!  Here are a few photos that I may want to get.

 These two are my favorites

For now I will be sitting tight and waiting for more stuff to come my way and I'll keep counting down the days.  If you see any cool pictures or wedding ideas please share!!

Knocked it Out of the Park

I couldn't believe it but I sat myself down one night and took the time to address every envelope.  All but three invitations are now addressed and ready to be stuffed with their invitation goodness.  The whole process took about an hour or two but it wasn't as bad as I thought. THANK GOODNESS!  I do have to admit, I did get frustrated when my handwriting didn't look perfect.  I did have to throw out a few envelopes because I didn't like how I wrote a guest's name or address.  My perfectionism still haunts me even after being out of school. Oh, and one other thing I must admit.  I had a Billy Madison moment and forgot how to write a cursive, "z" and I actually had to Google it.  I never write in cursive and I was almost embarrassed that I had to search, "how to write letters in cursive"...I felt like I stepped back into elementary school.  It's depressing that my mind is already fading and I'm not even 25 yet.  

In other wedding planning news.  I have a dress fitting this month (which I mentioned in my last post). Plus we are meeting with our coordinator next month and getting a tour of the field and dugout suites.  Since planning is kind of at a standstill I just keep thinking the last month before the wedding is going to be hectic and catastrophic.  That's just my OCD, pessimistic, perfectionism coming out though.  I am sure it will all be fine, but I am setting myself up to think something may go wrong.  That way if something really does go wrong, I knew it was coming and I won't feel like the world is coming to an end.  I know it's really weird to think that way but oh well it's how I cope with stress.

That's pretty much all that has been going on as far as planning goes.  

I am happy to announce that after a whole week of being in Columbus; Danny is finally moved into our new apartment!  Moving is so exhausting.  I cannot stress that enough.  It's so exhausting that Danny has already committed to hiring movers for our next move.  That move is a while off though.  The move went well though and I'm glad it's finished!

The apartment looks pretty empty as of now.  Danny's things are minimal and do not fill the two story apartment.  Pictures need to be hung, more furniture needs to be bought, and it just needs to be personalized more towards our tastes.  Plus I need to move in there still!

We made our first big purchases as a couple this weekend to help fill up the apartment.  We found a larger sectional to replace his smaller couch.  Finding the couch wasn't even that difficult.  Thankfully, Danny lives by a ton of furniture stores so we just went to about five or six stores within two or three hours and found our couch.  We even agreed on what kind of furniture we want for our new place!  That's one thing that many people have noticed while we have picked out items for our registry or furniture for our place; we have no problems with compromising and agreeing on what we want.  Or it could be that Danny just doesn't care haha.  I will just continue to think we are an agreeable couple.  We also found a kitchen island and some bathroom storage shelving.  The apartment kitchen is lacking in counter and cabinet space so it's nice to have the island.  Slowly but surely the apartment will fill up and it will feel just like ours.

FINALLY FINISHED!

I just wanted to take a little time and let everyone know that I am FINALLY FINISHED assembling all the invitations.  I spread them out over weeks because I really could not even imagine getting them done all at once. Basically this is just me telling everyone how happy I am to be finished.  Addressing them is next though...eh not thrilled about that either.  But addressing invitations does not involve glue dots so I'm pumped!

As for other wedding planning news there is not much to say.  I decided on my bridesmaid shoes.  I was thinking for a while we could do two different style of shoes but since one was sold out the decision was made easier for me and everyone else to just go with one type of shoe.

I scheduled my first dress fitting for next month! I am eager to get in that dress again!  Danny and I have been shopping for our wedding bands.  I finally found one that goes nicely with my ring.  Danny basically picked out the same style of band at every store we went to.  I feel so educated on diamonds and their settings after looking at some many different bands at about five different stores.  I'll have to post pictures later next month after we go back and order them.  

One of Danny's friends from OSU is going to be helping with the wedding video.  I am so excited about it because he is so excited to be involved.  He and I have been going back and forth on ideas for the video and I am sooooo happy with some of the things he has come up with.  I can't wait to meet with him and just bounce ideas off of each other. 

Danny is moving into the apartment next week so things are starting to hit me.  I am realizing that I am going to help Danny move into our own place and I won't be living with my family anymore starting in September.  So many life changes are happening this year.  It's a little overwhelming at times but I am excited for them even though I am still nervous. Plus, I have been thinking wow I am getting married in 160 days.  That seems like a long time, but the past few months have been flying by.  I am glad that we got so much done already so I won't be scrambling around before the wedding trying to get stuff done.  It's nice right now because all the vendors are booked and all I have to do is just little stuff here and there.  I was looking at one of my wedding checklists the other day and I am more than halfway through it already!  CRAZY!  I was going down the list and seeing:

caterer-booked

photographer and videographer-booked

florist- booked 

registry- completed

string trio for the ceremony- booked

indoor photo location in case of rain- booked

cake- ordered

stationary- purchased 

venue- booked

save-the-dates: sent

dress- purchased and ready for fittings, and I already have all my accessories

bridesmaid dresses- all ordered pretty much as well as shoes pretty much all ordered

groomsmen tuxedos- ordered, the guys just need to get fitted

hotels for guest- reserved

honeymoon- booked

I am so happy to see stuff like that!  I really thought wedding planning would be such a difficult task.  I realized though, if you take on one or two things at a time, you have other people helping you, or if your groom is involved with the planning, then it's not so bad.  I highly highly recommend staying organized and using spreadsheets and keeping your paper work in a binder to help make the process easier.  I made collages of photos that I liked and gave them to all my vendors and they loved that too because they understood what I was looking for that way. 

I think I have come along way from not even knowing what kind of wedding I wanted to having so much accomplished already.  I'm serious though, I never thought as a little girl about what kind of wedding I wanted or what kind of dress I wanted to wear, or the colors, or the cake or anything. The idea just never really appealed to me, I knew I wanted to get married, but I didn't really care about all the details.  Now though, I have a pretty good idea of how things are going to look and I can't wait to see it all come together!!