It started at 60 days.....now it's only 10!!!!

Since it is totally against the rules of this wonderful forum to start a planning thread, I figured I'd go ahead and start blogging.  Fairly new to this blogging thing, yet I know within a week with the help of my many new 'friends' I will be a pro.

I couldn't tell you the exact day I stumbled across this site, yet it is indeed a day I would never forget.  I was at work being oh so productive as usual, when I googled destination wedding and that is where it started and here I am now. So I guess everyone is interested in how I ended up here with a wedding being exactly 60 days from earlier today.....

The Beginning:

April 2, 2007 - NCAA basketball championship - Florida Gators versus Ohio State Buckeyes. Me at work, Chili's to be exact in Tampa, Florida.  I never worked To-Go on a Monday night, yet some reason I was there and boy was I getting my behind handed to me.  Everyone, I mean everyone decided to order to-go food that evening and when he walked in my head was down and I was on the phone taking yet another order.  Yet I noticed him.  So in true stalkerish form, after everything slowed down, I searched through my past orders and came across Coley.  Gave him a call, mimicking Mrs. Alicia Keys - "Hi, this is the girl from To-Go, I apologize that I was a bit rude earlier, yet I would like to have a moment to talk.  Here's my number.

2 days later he called, of course I was at work, so I responded via text. We talked, talked a lot, talked for long times, even ran his then AT&T bill up to $600.  You would never think that two people had so much to talk about.  Yet I could go for hours with continuous conversation.  He was different, good different and I absolutely loved the feeling.

Engagement : 

Unlike most brides, I couldn't tell you the exact day he asked me to marry him.  We were 2 years into our relationship, had been on cruises, trips to Arizona, Atlanta, and Tennessee.  I had been through hell and high water and I knew that this was the relationship that was going to be the last or I would be here sitting as an old maid.  After our trip to Tennessee, my then boyfriend had lost his job, I received a text saying if you want to leave, this would be a great day to do so.  I was at work when that text came through and I had no clue what he had meant by that.  The next message after my question marks was, Roger won (Roger being his boss at the time), so I knew exactly what that meant.  Never for a second did me leaving him every cross my mind.  I was shock that he would even consider the thought, yet that was my boyfriend, accustom to facing the world alone, yet I was determined to show him different.   That was July, I started management training and we went on with life as if nothing was different.  Things were as good as they could have been at that time, no stress on either heads.  I showed him that the world is to big to tackle on his own and if he allowed me, I don't mind being the back bone at times, we can share roles.  Well low and behold, three months in he received an email, they wanted him in D.C.  You know he asked me if he should go to the interview, hell yeah!!! Why wouldn't you?  They scouted you out, not the other way.  So with the little we had he took a road trip from Florida to Washington, D.C.  First interview down and they want him back. In the midst of that we have a conversation in regards to what happens next.  What if he gets the job? Where do we go?  I was willing to let him go so that he can become a better person, yet that was not his plans.  So there it is, before he went back for the second interview he let it be known that he wasn't leaving Florida without me and he wasn't taking his girlfriend with him. So I officially became his fiancee......EXCITING!!!!

11-11-11....that was supposed to be my day! I picked that September 2009 and it could have been.....more on that later

Pregnancy:

In the midst of becoming a fiancee, planning to move from Florida to Virginia, the day he left to start his new job (I was planned to come up 6 months later, at the end of our current lease) I found out I was pregnant.  Those plans quickly changed, now I was planned to come up 3 months later, December 2009.  I put in my two weeks, I packed up a 3 bedroom apartment and I moved.  I moved to create a life with my now husband and my baby girl.  Yes at times, I did become depress during the pregnancy, no one was here to see my growing belly.  Yet, I have a strong man and he did everything in his power to make things perfect.  When I say I had a perfect pregnancy, I had a PERFECT pregnancy.  No stress at all!  Yet you don't want to read about my pregnancy, LOL

11-11-11

While I sat at home nurturing my growing belly, I began to plan a wedding. We went from deciding if it would be in Virginia or Florida and if in Florida where?  Had to be an equal distance for my family and his (I always try to be fair when accommodating other people and it usually bites me in the @$$)  So at first, it was St. Augustine, Florida only for me to decide that I rather have just close friends and family, so it was Moon Dance Villas, with plans to have 40 people to rent the resort.  Flyers out, people on board, deposit made.

I have a thing for burnt orange, so I knew that was one of my wedding colors.  And since we had painted all 3 of our apartments with that accent color in our living rooms, I knew he was on board. 

After resort was booked, November 9 through November 14, it was time for me to decide on a dress.  I always knew I didn't want a traditional white gown, after all there is nothing traditional about our life.  I'm planning a wedding for 2011 as I am carrying the child of my soon to be husband (We were wedded January 29, 2010).  I still believe that white gowns are seen as a sign of purity and I am nowhere near pure ( I could have been the virgin mary, LOL - okay that may not be funny to some, sorry if I offend)

Anywho, I went on to look for a gown, originally chose Alfred Angelo's gown.

<a href=http://www.alfredangelo.com/collections/productdisplay.aspx?productID=2039e191-e45b-4b44-bba1-6a2ac07f9712&categoryID=8b186130-0d63-4e3c-ac5c-aea0d9566e1c&pg=1&colorId1=

Such a beautiful story!!! Did you change your location, I thought it was at dreams la romana?

Okay....my last post cut me off.

I originally planned to get that dress with a charcoal under color.  Do not ask me why the charcoal gray, yet I love the way it compliments the orange.  So there you have it charcoal, orange, and ivory would be my wedding colors.  Picked my wedding party and everything seemed to be going well and then people started to back out.  So what did I do? My over accomodating self, I cancelled my plans and moved it back to Florida. Now February 2011, I have decided to move my wedding from Jamaica (what I wanted) to Florida to just get a guest count.  And that is exactly what it was.  March came, we paid yet another deposit and everyone else is excited about my wedding in Florida, yet I am not.  Yet I push on.  One day as I was watching Real Housewife's of Atlanta, I saw it and knew I had to have it.  Some people said it looked like a trash bag yet those with great eyes can see my vision.  I was different, the gown was different and I know the right person to make it!!

This is my dress desire - no I didn't go into a bridal store and say yes to the dress. I turned the TV on and the dress was there!

Minus the large bow she had, the gown is gorgeous and I get it at the end of the month!!! Super excited.

No one knows of this dress, no one knows that I am wearing a charcoal dress besides my husband and he will not see the gown until November 12.  

Yes November 12...the story behind that.  Do you have the time?  Well because I switched between Florida - Jamaica - Florida and now Dominican Republic, I have had slim pickings of what days I could choose.  So the 12th is as good as gold to me, I'm just excited to be doing me.  

I apologize, I jumped around, I believe I may have ADHD with a mild case of CDO (OCD in alphabetical order), back to Florida.  As I started to plan this wedding in Florida, I hired a wedding planner, booked a resort, started concentrating on centerpieces, cakes and floral arrangements.  Booked a DJ and photographer.  Originally these were my bridesmaid dresses:

 It would have been an ivory gown with tangerine sash.  I thought it was an appropriate choice for a Florida fall wedding.  Yet I am still not happy.

One phone call....

One phone call (okay 5) was all it took for me to consider myself.  I called my mom and told her that this was not what I wanted.  Would she be upset if I moved it back to the islands?  Would she not be able to come? ( My mom is in Arizona) My mother being the woman she is, couldn't have worded it better.  "Stop spending your life trying to accomodate others.  In the end no one will be happy including yourself.  If they want to be a part of YOUR special day, they will make the effort" With that being said, I contacted St. John's Golf Course, my wedding planner, DJ and photographer and clearly stated that this is not my ideal of a perfect picture. My MOH and bridesmaid agree, they were ready and willing to go to the islands.  So the search for new bridesmaid gowns start and NO I am not changing my gown, it adds to the drama of my day!!!  We all agree that they would go with Mori Lee gowns (although I wish I would have stumbled across this site before I ordered those *shucks)

This is the gown, of course ivory with a tangerine sash.  The girls received them last week and absolutely loved them!!! We first looked at ivory heels from DSW 

 very cute yet are they practical.....so somehow I stumbled across these and the girls love them and the combination of them with the dress!

 Yes the have a little yellow and green but they compliment very well.  And they are happy with them.  They are called Poetic License Princess Sophia and I think I may just order me a pair also.  Talking about shoes, I was determined to wear my something blue at first they were going to be the above mentioned shoes, just in navy and then once again I stumbled across these and my husband said the right words.  So now I have them, yes I do believe that shoes are a wedding expense!

The red bottoms!! They are oh so perfect for this perfect day. Unlike some other ladies, this will never be a regular purchase, so to be able to splurge on this one think, OW!

The guys will be wearing ivory tuxedos from Men Warehouse with customized converses, sorry don't have a pic saved.  Yet they are ivory with orange and gray detailings.  My husband wants to be suave so he will be having on dress shoes, as well as my grandfather who will be walking me down the aisle.

I wanted my mother to wear this: http://www.siriinc.com/mb-5744.html#.Tl0adHkauk0.email

yet see disagrees, so I guess I'll find out in November, she's very fashionable so no worries on her part.  His mom on the other hand (to be honest I don't believe she is coming, filling her son with false hopes and dreams, yet you DO NOT want me to go into his family, that'll be an entirely different blog in itself).

It is, had to get to the meat of the story, LOL
 

Originally Posted by brendee2005 

Such a beautiful story!!!

Did you change your location, I thought it was at dreams la romana?

Oohhh !! I got the rest if it!!

LOL and I have only begun. Calling it a night....to be continued!

Originally Posted by brendee2005 

Oohhh !! I got the rest if it!!

So I admit, I suck at this blogging thing, yet I have a very good reason why I missed yesterday. See what had happened was.....eBay allowed me to list 150 items yesterday only with no insertion fees, you know how much that saved me?!?!? I was finally able to list all three boxes of baby clothes I have.  See I have this problem, my first child was born June 2010 and I promise her wardrobe, shoes included, is WAY better than mine.  Like seriously how can you resist the cute clothes at Baby Gap, Gymboree, Crazy 8, Pumpkin Patch, Janie and Jack and Ralph Lauren, really have you not seen their clothing.  At she is still at that age were everything is sooooo cute!!! So, of course me being me she has had literally 6 months of clothes between the sizes of 6-12 months and it didn't help in the midst of that sizes, the season changed twice.  Revolving wardrobes, that's why I love living in a state with seasons.  Yet I digress....

So I am writing this at work, so my pictures are sort of limited but let me continue where I left off. 

So let me start with this site has been a true inspiration, thanks to many brides for there different templates and ideas, I have officially developed ADHD and I rarely seem to complete a project before starting a new one after of course visiting this site in the midst of the other one.

So my first project was my DIY boarding pass invites.  This were sent out recently and only to confirmed guest.  I am pretty sure that I am not changing any one's mind this late in the game and nor do I want too. It is some people that I are coming that I would seriously prefer they not!!

So here they are to the best of my ability at work:

I did this one first, yet he didn't care for the flowers on the first page, so we went with the other design.

Each ticket is personalized with each person names and origination point.

Got these pages idea from the threads of course and even 'borrowed' the wording from another DLR bride - THANK  YOU!!!

And there were 25 in total! After getting the design down, and printing beige letters on grey paper they were pretty easy.  I don't have a picture of the back of them, will have to do that when I get home.  Now on to my movie, I shall return!

LOVE your boarding passes!!!

Thank You LindsayR

Originally Posted by LindsayR 

LOVE your boarding passes!!!

girl...the boarding passes are PERFECT!!!

love..Love..LOVE em!!!

great job!!!

can't wait to follow you!!!

oh boy!!!!!

R~