Let them eat anything...but wedding cake

One of the first decisions that we made after we decided on our venue was the type of food we wanted. Since Casey is such a great cook and we're easy-going people, we wanted the food to reflect our personalities. The location of the wedding (in a local park) also reinforced the idea of having "picnic" type food. Our caterer Chef's Choice Catering (one of the caterers approved by the park) had just the kind of food we were looking for. Below is an idea of the type of food our guests will be feasting on this Saturday:

 

        

(images courtesy of google)

When it came time to think of desserts, we knew right away that we didn't want a traditional wedding cake. We're not a traditional kind of couple so we definitely wanted to do something different. Plus, cakes are expensive so we wanted a more affordable but still delicious route. So we decided on....cupcakes! We're doing a little bit of a twist on the cupcakes so it will be unique. A friend of mine has her own cupcake business on the side. She does weddings, showers, birthday parties, etc. Click on the link to check out her Facebook page: Becky's A+ Cupcakes .We also had to think about other options for those who might not like cupcakes. Luckily our "picnic" menu included brownies (without nuts) and cookies. I think our guests will definitely be pleased with our food choices!

                                      (Vanilla Cupcake with Vanilla Buttercream photo courtesy of Becky's A+ Cupcakes)

5 days until the big day!!!

Hello loves!!!

I can't believe it's been almost 2 months since my last post. My original goal was to post as much as possible during the planning process...but with school, wedding planning and the job search, I had no time. So now I'm going to do a quick recap and post like crazy over the next couple of days (i hope).

I am pleased to say that the to-do list is very short for the remainder of the week. All the vendors have been paid so now it's just the little stuff. The plan is to have everything done by Thursday. Here's the list:

Wrap gifts for the bridal party

Make bathroom baskets for bathrooms

Do seating chart

Decide on places to visit on our honeymoon (doing that today). Casey already has a list of places he wants to visit.

Buy RD dress (Tues, June 14)

Finalize any rentals (chairs for ceremony, extra tables for guest book & cards—30 inch 

Make a “must take” list for photographer (finish by tomorrow)

Contact vendors to finalize times (florist, photographer, dj, caterer, etc

Pick up cupcakes and cheesecake (Friday, June 17)

Get pedicure and manicure (Thursday, June 16)

Finalize wedding timeline (Wednesday, June 15)

Practice walking in wedding shoes

Buy/borrow a white clutch 

Pack for honeymoon

And of course there is still packing that needs to be done since we're moving after our honeymoon. I guess I should talk a little bit about that as well. After many job applications and a couple of interviews...we decided to choose where we wanted to move instead of waiting on job offers. Since Casey has lived in Colorado before and I loved it when we went to visit a couple of years back, it just made since to move there.  We decided on Fort Collins because one of his best friends lives there and it's in the perfect location. So I'm focusing the job search in Fort. Collins and the surrounding area.

Well, my next post  will be about desserts and food..one of my favorite topics! 

Can't believe it's almost here...finally :)

Two Months and Counting!!

Two months until the big day or 8 weekends before the "big" one. Unfortunately I was unable to post this past Friday. With the days winding down before the wedding I have been too busy to write. Although it's been fun to plan the wedding I can't wait to have my life back. All the wedding planning has made it hard to focus on my master's project and classes. Anyway here is an update on my to-do list from last week. As a reminder here is the list that I made:

1) Find a wedding band for me--still looking with no luck
2) have Casey e-mail guys about attire for the wedding
3) address and send out invitations. My goal is to have them sent out by Sat, at the latest -  With the help of my FSIL the addresses were addressed and mailed out on Thursday. We did realize that we were about 10 invitations short so I will be sending those out this week. But I am so glad this one is out of the way.
4) make wedding & parking signs
5) buy paper lanterns

Other checks from last week & week before:
-found a make-up artist for the wedding. I don't wear make-up and I don't plan on wearing much for the wedding. But as a gift to myself I am working with Diana Varga.
- found a wedding "cake" topper from a seller on etsy.com- Great shop check it out: lynnslittlecreations . I found this seller from reading: :http://chelseagetsmarried.blogspot.com/

So the list for the rest of this week:
1)  Keep searching for wedding bands
2) e-mail groomsmen about wedding attire
3) buy paper lanterns
4) make wedding and parking signs
5) schedule make-up trial run
6)  make final payments for DJ
7) send in updated contract for caterer.

On another note on Sat, April 16th I had my bridal shower/bachelorette party in Columbus. It was amazing. Columbus was the central location for my bridesmaids (2 live in my hometown, one in Pittsburgh, one in C-bus and 2 in Cincinnati. My MOH (matron) and maid of honor did an excellent job and we had a blast. I am still recovering from Saturday night. I only have picture from the night posted but I will be sure to post more.

(me with Stacey-Matron of honor on left and Nani-Maid of honor on right)

Until next time :)

Time To Check In :)

Hello loves!!

It's been 11 days since my last post and a lot has happened since then. I know my usual to-do list are reserved for Fridays but Casey and I were doing some shopping at Michael's last night. Anyway, here was the to-do list that I had for the past 2 weeks:

1) Pick out/buy Casey's attire and select attire for groomsmen-We knocked this out when my maid of honor came to visit. FI, me, my FSIL, and my MOH went to K & G . If you are not doing tuxedos, I definitely recommend going to K& G...great prices.
2) Finish enclosure cards for invitations and other materials needed to send them out--Major check out of the way. My matron of honor, FSIL and I  put together the majority of the invitations (i have about 15 more invitations to tape to the pocket fold invitations). I love weddingpaperdivas.com but decided to do the enclosures myself on vistaprint.com. I think they came out great and I saved a lot of money.
3) Buy shoes for flower girl--I still haven't found shoes that I like yet but we'll see.
4) Find under-the-dress essentials--I knocked this one out with my matron of honor :).
5) Set up taste test with caterer--The caterer and I have been going back and forth finalizing/updating our menu. I've suggested days for the taste test so I'm just wanting for them to set a date.
6) Start buying reception decor-(finalize items needed)- We've got a list of items that we still need to get such as linen (we're planning on renting these) and paper lanterns. Last night we got a handful of key items from Michael's: aisle runner, mason jars, floating candles, etc. Thanks to a fellow Knottie I found out about the sale on mason jars and candles. 
7) Contact ceremony/reception site to finalize rentals needed for wedding & book rehearsal time--Our rehearsal time is booked! Unless we find cheaper linen elsewhere we will be renting from the venue. Depending on the ceremony set-up we may need to rent additional chairs.
8) Reserve rehearsal dinner--We choose a place that is a local favorite, which will be nice for out of town guests to experience. We decided to do something more low-key than Pompilio's and more affordable.
9) Buy wedding bands--still need to do this. Casey's ring is already picked out. We found a ring we liked for me but we're thinking it. The cut of my engagement ring is unique so that makes it a little difficult. If anyone has suggestions of jewelers, please let me know!
10) Bought one item for my bridesmaids--Because some of my bridesmaids read my blog, I won't say what I found.


For next week we my list is:
1) Find a wedding band for me
2) have Casey e-mail guys about attire for the wedding
3) address and send out invitations. My goal is to have them sent out by Sat, at the latest
4) make wedding & parking signs
5) buy paper lanterns

My to-do list is a little shorter this week for a couple of reasons: 1) the most important thing is to get invitations addressed and sent, 2) I'm going to my bridal and bachelorette party in C-bus on Saturday. So excited about things.

I'm hoping to do another post by Monday.

Have a great Saturday!

Confessions of a Clueless Bride

Wow, it feels like forever since the last blog post. I decided to take a break from wedding planning,school and work to get re-energized. And my wonderful fiancé took me a way for the weekend...I didn't want to come back.lol. 


Back to the title of my post. When I first started thinking of names for my blog this was my #1 choice. Unlike a lot of brides planning their wedding, I did not have my wedding details planned out since I was a little girl. I'm actually glad I didn't because I think I have changed a lot since then. Before I started planning I never thought about wedding themes, centerpieces, etc. I have to admit that I was (and still am) intimidated by brides I meet on 
TheKnot or other places. I have learned so much during the planning process and the type of bride I really am.


Here are some tips/advice that I've learned during the planning process:


1) Think about your wedding theme early on. ---I had no idea what I wanted to do. I started planning and luckily everything fit perfectly into a specific theme. I would suggest talking to your FI about what kind of vibe or atmosphere you want to create for your guests. Your theme should be (in my opinion) a reflection of you and your FI.


2) Get organized early on! ----Find a way to get organized. I keep all of my ideas on lists in folders on my computer. I also have a binder specifically for contracts. You can buy a wedding binder at Barnes & Nobles or Borders, but I think it's cheaper to create your own binder. In addition to my binder and folders I also bought a wedding planning book (recently) and it also gives me ideas. Theknot.com has also been my #1 source for organization.


3) Accept help from anyone who offers!---As a clueless bride I thought wedding planning would be a breeze. Being a laid-back person, I couldn't imagine planning being stressful. Boy was I wrong!! Without the help of family and friends, the planning process would not have been so smooth. As soon as I started realizing that I needed help, I accepted it from anyone who offered. The more help you have the less stress you will have.


4) Talk to other brides and share ideas. This is so important. I joined theknot in 2005 for a friend's wedding and a friend suggested that I look at the boards for my own wedding. More than 90% of what I learned and my ideas come from this website. I suggest looking at your local board (city), wedding month board, DIY (this is an awesome place to get ideas or inspiration) and Invites & Paper.


5) Start a blog/planning website and follow other blogs/websites. The wedding planning process goes by so fast and this is a way to remember the whole process. Also the blogs are a way to learn more and get 
inspiration.  Here are some blogs that I follow:
 http://heylucyphoto.blogspot.com/ (my photographer for both engagement pictures and the wedding)
http://chelseagetsmarried.blogspot.com/  (great DIY ideas)
 http://www.weddingchicks.com/
 http://diyfashionista.weebly.com (gives tips on how to make a wishing tree and other ideas)
 http://itsthelittlethingsthatmakeahouseahome.blogspot.com
 http://classyncheap.weebly.com/index.html
 http://www.younghouselove.com/wedding-album/ (I love love love this!!)
 http://sammichele89.blogspot.com/
  http://chicfitgeek.blogspot.com

6) Do research! -- Magazines, internet searches and books are your friends...use them often :)

7) Use Vistaprint and save money--I can't say enough about VP. I will devote a blog post to talk about the ways you can save by going to vistaprint.com
   
I'm sure there are more tips but I think these 7  will help you to not be a "clueless bride".

3 months til the big day!!!!

                                                         (Casey and I-Halloween 2009)

I can't believe the big day is almost here! This past week has been great especially because I didn't have finals. I was able to get some things done off the list and also some things that were not on the list. Unfortunately my camera is broken so I can't post pics of the tattoos or the completed wedding projects. But I hope to have a new camera by next weekend :).

Here was the to-do list for this week:
1) Talk to caterer to set up a taste test and discuss other questions/concerns -  I contacted the caterer with questions that I had and readjusted our contract. I still need to set up a taste test.
2) Choose a seamstress for alterations on the dress--
3) Find under-the-dress essentials--I still need to do this
4) Figure out what things to be bought or rented for the ceremony/reception-- Started doing this, I need to complete it.
5) Finalize the wedding day "schedule"--- We have a schedule but it may need to be changed..so we'll see.
6) Finalize music selection for ceremony-- Still need to finalize this but this will be decided when we meet with musician.


Other checks from this past week:
1) Scheduled an appointment with a seamstress for my minor alteration
2) Bridesmaid dresses are in!- I called the bridal shop yesterday and they had just been delivered.
3) Invitations were ordered Sunday and arrived on Wednesday!
4) Scheduled meeting with musician to discuss ceremony music.

Casey and I will be out of town next Friday so my to-do list will be for the next two Fridays:

1) Pick out/buy Casey's attire and select attire for groomsmen-doing this tomorrow :)
2) Finish enclosure cards for invitations and other materials needed to send them out
3) Buy shoes for flower girl
4) Find under-the-dress essentials
5) Set up taste taste with caterer
6) Start buying reception decor-(finalize items needed)
7) Contact ceremony/reception site to finalize rentals needed for wedding & book rehearsal time
8) Reserve rehearsal dinner
9) Buy wedding bands

So I have a lot to do for the next two Fridays. I will be doing another post on Sunday, so be sure to check that out!

Happy Friday everyone :) !!!

99 Days To Go!!!

I can't believe it's 99 days until the big day! The days are flying by and I still have so much that I want to do. This week was not my most productive week because I had papers and projects due for my classes. After I turn my last project in on Sunday I'll have two weeks of free time and it will be devoted to wedding related projects. With that being said here was the to-do list for this week:

 1) Talk to caterer to set up a taste test and discuss other questions/concerns -  I contacted the caterer with questions that I had and readjusted our contract. I still need to set up a taste test.
2) Choose a seamstress for alterations on the dress--I've researched some seamstress for the minor alteration that I need for the dress. Still need to contact the places I found and do a price comparison.
3) Find under-the-dress essentials--I still need to do this
4) Figure out what things to be bought or rented for the ceremony/reception-- Started doing this, I need to complete it.
5) Finalize the wedding day "schedule"--- I also started this but it may need to be changed based on our vendors.

So my list for next week will be to continue working on the items on the list above and one new item:

6) Finalize music selection for ceremony

I've also added new pages to the blog. Check out the "Inspiration" page to get an idea of our vision for the wedding. In the next week or so I will also add pictures of DIY items and projects that I'm working on. Please feel free to steal ideas or suggest ones to me :) . It is also my goal to do more posts during the week, I will really work on this one.

That's all for now.  Hopefully I'll have a more productive week this upcoming week.

Have a great Friday night everyone!

Taking Time to Stop and Smell the Roses

So this week has been a stressful week, to say the least. My week started off with my laptop dying on me. I thought I was going to have a heart attack...seriously. Not only are all of my wedding related items (contracts, ideas, favorite blogs, etc) on that computer but also all of my documents and pictures. And to top it all off this is the week all of my things are due for school. Luckily FI took it to Best Buy, thank goodness I have a 3 year extended warranty, and it was just a faulty adapter. Now I'm just waiting patiently (or at least pretending to) for my free replacement to get here. Then to add fuel to the fire I met with the assistant dean of my college to discuss my incompetent advisor. The plan was to finish my MEd in June right before the wedding. But long story short I have to switch advisors and graduate in the summer. The dean apologized for the setback but it's just frustrating. On top of trying to do a master's project, I'm looking for teaching jobs and planning a wedding!  Oh and did I mention I had to work a 10 hour shift today?

Ok, glad I got that off my chest. This week has taught me a lot. I realized that I put way to much stress on myself. I'm a perfectionist, which can be a good and a very bad thing at the same time. I try to make everything, well perfect for lack of a better word. But along the way I stress myself out while keeping it all inside. However, I've decided to change all that. FI pointed out that I need to take all of it (wedding planning, my master's project and the job search) day by day. The more I think about the long lists of things I have to do the more I want to hyperventilate. So to all of you brides-to-be out there, take time to stop and smell the roses. The planning process goes by so fast so make sure you actually enjoy it! It can get stressful sometimes but when that happens you need to take a step back. Having a drink with the girls, reading a book or spending time with the FI are just some ways to jolt you back to reality. Of course we all want our wedding day to be perfect but not at the expense of our sanity! Another great way to reduce stress is to make to-do lists for each week that way you don't feel to overwhelmed.

Even with the crazy week I can still cross things of the list:

 1) Finalize the wedding day "schedule"-- This is still rough so I'm going to put this on the list for the coming week.
 2)  finalize wording for invitations and order them--  We're done with the wording so we just need to order them. Hoping to do that by Sun/Mon at the latest.
 3) confirm rehearsal dinner site and menu   Although we loved Pompilio's, we decided to choose a different location. But the location only books their party room 3 months out so we have to call the first week of April to have it booked. The menu should be easy because it's a Cincinnati favorite ;).
 4) finalize groom's and groomsmen attire   Casey has made up his mind and I think it is going to look great :) !


Here is this week's to-do list:

1) Talk to caterer to set up a taste test and discuss other questions/concerns
2) Choose a seamstress for alterations on the dress
3) Find under-the-dress essentials
4) Figure out what things to be bought or rented for the ceremony/reception
5) Finalize the wedding day "schedule"

Have a great weekend everyone and remember to take time to stop and smell the roses :)!

Progress and List for Next week

I can't believe that it's been a week since my last post. I wanted to post earlier but I've been a busy little bee this week focusing on my to-do list. I'm happy to report that I've accomplished a lot this week and I get to cross things off the list :)  :

1). Call and confirm hotel room reservations/blocks for out-of-town guests: I've been corresponding with one hotel in particular (Garfield Suites Hotel), I just need to make sure the rooms are actually reserved for our guests---I'm happy to report that I booked rooms with Garfield Suites Hotel (10 rooms for Friday night and 20 rooms for Sat night, the night of our wedding. I definitely recommend Garfield Suites Hotel for any Cincinnati Bride looking to book rooms. I worked with Mick Douthat and he's great. I would e-mail him if you're interested in working with him (mick@garfieldsuiteshotel.com).
2) Invitations: Make a decision on whether or not we're going to DIY them or buy them. We're planning on sending them out April 23rd, so we need to choose our invitations asap.---We found our invitations!!! We decided to go with www.weddingpaperdivas.com . We're going to do pocket folds so there will be some assembling on our part but not much. Since I don't want to spend a lot on paper, we're going to use Vista Print to make the RSVP, Enclosure, Accommodation and Song Request cards. I'm all about saving money :).
I'll show you what we decided on once we've ordered them. 

3) Find a location for the rehearsal dinner- I really need to get on top of this because I'm afraid everything is going to be just about booked. Casey and I want something fun and intimate for our guests...and laid-back. I have a couple of ideas about where we could do this but we'll see what happens.--Thanks to Melissa's suggestion we've decided to look at Pompilio's . I just hope they're not booked already!

4) Update our wedding website with information like accommodations,etc--I did this last night after I received  our confirmation e-mail from Garfield Suites. I even created a "Things to Do in Cincinnati" list for our guests.
5) Finalize the wedding day "schedule"--This is the only thing that is not finalized yet. We have an idea of when we want to do things the day of but we need to finalize this/make sure it will work.


I'm so proud of everything we got accomplished this past week. I think creating a small list to do every week helps to reduce stress. Plus it's a great to be able to check things off the list each week. I would recommend this for any bride planning their wedding!

Okay, so my to-do list for next week is:

1) Finalize the wedding day "schedule"
 2)  finalize wording for invitations and order them
 3) confirm rehearsal dinner site and menu
 4) finalize groom's and groomsmen attire

Oh and one last thing. Last Friday I mentioned that Casey and I did something to celebrate the 4-month mark. So for all of you waiting on the edge of your seats.........we got TATTOOS!!! Before you freak out, we didn't get each other names.hahaha. Both of our tattoos reflect something about Costa Rica, the place where we got engaged. We have about 3 more weeks until they heal, so you'll have to wait until then to see pics!

Hope everyone has a great Friday night :)!

4 Months!!!

I can't believe it is exactly 4 months until the big day! It seems as if it was only yesterday that we got engaged. Although I got a lot of the major things out of the way within the first couple of months of planning, I still have so much to do. So instead of writing a whole list of things that I need to do this month, I'm going to give my self a to-do list for the next week. Here it is:

1). Call and confirm hotel room reservations/blocks for out-of-town guests: I've been corresponding with one hotel in particular (Garfield Suites Hotel), I just need to make sure the rooms are actually reserved for our guests

2) Invitations: Make a decision on whether or not we're going to DIY them or buy them. We're planning on sending them out April 23rd, so we need to choose our invitations asap.

3) Find a location for the rehearsal dinner- I really need to get on top of this because I'm afraid everything is going to be just about booked. Casey and I want something fun and intimate for our guests...and laid-back. I have a couple of ideas about where we could do this but we'll see what happens.

4) Update our wedding website with information like accommodations,etc

5) Finalize the wedding day "schedule"


My goal is to work on these things and have them checked off by next Friday. I'll be sure to post my progress and have a new to-do list for next Friday. I'll try to dedicate my Friday posts  "to-do lists" so please check back for those.

Today Casey and I did something really cool to celebrate the 4 month mark but I can't share it with you today  :(  . I promise that I will reveal what we did in the next couple of days.

Hope everyone is enjoying their Friday night! And to all of my June 18 knotties, we're almost there :)!!!!

Night everyone

Welcome!!!

Hey everyone :). I can't believe that it is already the middle of February, June will be here before I know it. After talking to my friend Melissa, who is helping me plan the wedding, we decided that I should start a blog. We thought it would be a great way to remember the planning process and hopefully my blog will be able to help future brides. So I will be blogging several times a week about projects that I'm working on or ideas I have about the wedding. I would love to hear what you guys think and I would love to hear feedback or ideas that you might have.

Here's a little information about me and my future husband. Casey and I met in 2008 at J Taps Bar and Grill at a friend's show. After the show we were introduced and the rest is history. Two years and a month after we met Casey proposed in Costa Rica. After we returned to the States and told our friends and family, I began planning.

(Casey and I in Arenal, Costa Rica two days before we got engaged)

The Venue: We both knew that we wanted to get married outside in a park so we knew that Oak Ridge Lodge was perfect for us. Not only was the venue secluded, but the price was hard to pass up: $650 for eight hours. The venue was almost booked but we found the last available Saturday in June, so we will be getting married June 18, 2011 :).

(Oak Ridge Loge photo courtesy of Premier Events)

The Dress: While I would love to share the dress, I don't know who will be reading the blog so I will keep my final decision a secret. I will post pictures of 4wedding dresses, one of which is the dress that I chose. Choosing the dress was probably the easiest part of the planning process. I went to Bridal and Formal and it was the second dress that I tried on. I can't say enough about the wonderful experience that I had at Bridal and Formal.

Wedding Dress 1

Wedding Dress 2

Wedding Dress 3

Wedding Dress 4

Bridesmaid Dresses: I picked out the dress for my bridesmaids the same day I found my dress. Since our wedding is in June and outside, I knew that I wanted something shorter and more like a cocktail dress. The dresses will be in espresso brown and have a petunia pink sash: http://tinyurl.com/4pucnj7

Shoes: Another reason that I love Bridal and Formal is because of their sales. The day I went to pick up my dress they were having a 40% off sale on shoes. I decided to look and before I knew I had chosen my shoes and the bridesmaid shoes. The Bridesmaids will wear this shoe in brown and I will be wearing it in pink: http://tinyurl.com/4uof2ba  .

Well, that's it for now. I hope you will continue to come back and read the blog. I'm new at blogging so I will learn as I go.