Getting things done...

Last week, we picked our florist... She gave us a great bid and was very personable when meeting her. The only thing I'm kind of worried about is that she's new and just starting out. But, I'm sure I will love the flowers. She sets up EVERYTHING... so that is a plus! :)

I emailed Andrea Crosswhite about taking our engagement pics... so, we'll do that probably Jan. 10th or 11th. YAY!

We took our passport pictures today before Derik left for his flight back to Lubbock. I don't really like mine... I need to lose some weight... :(

I'll probably go get my passport this week sometime... Derik will get his next month...

Next week, my mom and I are meeting with a lady who may bake our cakes. We met her at the Bridal Extravaganza and she had beautiful cakes. I want mine to be very simple, but very elegant. Cream/White with a few icing decorations at the base of each tier, and then purple calla lilies scattered down the cake. Derik's cake will most DEFINITELY be TEXAS TECH :) haha!

Which cake is your favorite?

Here are some cakes I like...

Bride's Cake:

I think this is my ABSOLUTE favorite! :)

I'm going to order a "M" topper (similar to this) - I love it :)

Groom's cake:


This will most likely be Derik's... I found it and he likes it a lot... although there will be some things changed. Hint - no A&M - just TEXAS TECH! :) I love the bride and groom strawberries on top - too cute! :) We talked about maybe having the Tech seal on the top tier... we'll see.

That's all for now! :)

Brittney *Melton*

The Story of my New Lens!

2 weeks ago:
At Homecoming, my Aunt came to the game with a honkin' camera and lens. I was like "Aunt Cheryl this is an amazing lens!" Oh my gosh it's huge! I've been wanting a new lens for a while... but was going to wait. The lens I used on the Goodwin Sister's session was borrowed by Janeane and is much better than mine..............Ok, so anyways. :)

Today's Story:
I got a call from my Aunt at 8:30am this morning and was doing the 'ol clear-your-throat-before-you-answer-the-phone routine. I answered and she said "are you still sleeping?" - didn't fool her! :) you can never act like you're awake when you just woke up ya' know! She said that she knew I really really liked that lens and that she ended up getting another one and was going to take this one back, but thought I'd want to buy it from her. They got an amazing deal on it because they bought it at the same time as the camera. So, instead of the normal pricey lens... they got it for $200 off. So, they're selling it to me for what they bought it for. How AWESOME IS THAT!

A little later today:
Derik and I are in the mid-planning stages of our honeymoon. We probably know where we will go, but need to actually book it and get passports and such. We have enough for the trip, and for me to get the lens. But, it's still a big decision. So, I asked what he thought... this is our convo:

Derik: "well... do you really need it right now"
Me: "not neccessarily, but it'd be nice to have. I want a nice one someday, this is cheaper than it would be... (so on and so on)"
Derik: "well... what is it...?"
Me: "It's a lens...?" (what do you mean)
Derik: "Like, what's it for?"
Me: "for my camera, haha" (a little sarcasm there)
Derik: "like what kind"
Me: "a big lens... like 300mm"
Derik: "ok, well let me think about it..."

Funny boy! So, I told him to give me a call before I went to work cause my Aunt needed to know before tomorrow and I wanted to give her as much time as possible to return it!

about 30 mins later:
phone rings...

Me: "Hey..."
Derik: "ooookkkkkk... go get your lens..."
Me: "do you not want me to, it's ok if so..."
Derik: "it's fine..."
Me: "are you sure... you sound sad"
Derik: "well...... I was going to get you that for Christmas" (in a whiny little kid kind of way) :)
Me: "haha, Derik... sorry babe... I feel bad now. You shouldn't have told me that cause now I feel like I ruined it"
Derik: "well - you did - haha!"
Me: "I'm Sorry!"
Derik: "Can you make sure it won't be less expensive at Christmas time...?"
Me: "How will I know that? I don't know if that will happen Derik, I can't forecast the future... haha"
Derik: "ok, I don't know what I was thinking... you can get it, but now I have to think of something else... it was going to be good." (still a little whining) :)
Me: "I still feel really bad babe... you could've not even told me and I wouldn't have even known..."
Derik: "well... I wasn't going to get you one as good as this one, so this is a better deal I guess"

That boy makes me laugh. Especially because of the way his brain works... haha! LOVE HIM!

So, I looked up the lens online and found out more about it... and then I called my Aunt to tell her I wanted to buy it. My brother (goes to Hendrickson High School) is playing Hutto High School, which is where both of my cousins cheer, tomorrow. So, she said I could get it at the game and play around with it...

So needless to say, I'm excited! But, I still feel bad for Derik... oh well, poor guy :(
It would've been a GREAT present honey!!!

Here's the lens:

Photos from bestbuy.com

Woo hoo!

Brittney *Melton*

Goodwin: Sister Session

I know the Goodwin Girls from when we were all in church youth group. I haven't seen them in forever and was so excited when Tamara (the oldest sister) contacted me to take pictures of her and her younger sisters.

Here are a few from our photo shoot earlier this month...

Aren't they GORGEOUS!








Can't wait to see which ones they pick to print!

Crowned KING!

Ok, from the title, you obviously know... that my brother Alan got HOMECOMING KING...

Here's some pics of the royalty:

GO BIG AL! :)

The lovely Queen and King!

I was so proud! :) He also had an AMAZING game - he started QB :)

Love you Alan!

Dingbat Press - A SWEET SUITE!

Ok, so this is totally AWESOME!

I first saw this on the Budget Saavy Bride's blog and decided it's a win win! I get to look at truly amazing invitations... and can we say LETTERPRESS! I love letterpress invitations!

Dingbat Press is giving away "A Dingbat Press Wedding Suite" - valued over $900 - to one lucky bride (hopefully me)...

Also - Dingbat's Agenda Blog is offering the following: "a 10% discount to all wedding invitation purchases made in my Etsy shop through the end of the month, they just need to mention code DP10 when purchasing."

Aren't these invitations BEAUTIFUL! Go visit their blog to see more...

I love this green color - so cute!

I love the elegance of this one! LOVE LOVE! :)

A Hurricane, A Homecoming & A Bridal Show

Well, this weekend is a pretty busy one. With Hurricane Ike coming in - things have gotten busy at work. We were going to have to come in to do graphics this weekend... but I don't think that's the case anymore.

My weekend in a nutshell:

Tonight... My youngest brother Alan will be playing in his SENIOR homecoming game! I'm excited that I got the day shift so that I could make it to the game. I would be so sad to miss it BECAUSE... he's on the homecoming court. I made him a garter yesterday and gave it to him last night (haha). I know he was thankful, but he said "I have to wear that" oh well... boys will be boys. He did thank me for it... so at least there's that! :) I'll be the "official" photographer for Alan as my mom walks with him and they stand with my dad during the half time show. We'll see what happens :)

Tomorrow... my Mom and I will be doing some wedding stuff. We're meeting with another florist. We MIGHT go look at house party dresses/flower girl dresses... or other kinds of things.

Sunday... after church, we're gong to another Bridal Show. The first one was like 2 weeks after Derik and I were engaged. So, I felt VERY overwhelmed... I mean, we had JUST chosen an actual date. Needless to say, I didn't get much out of it. Maybe this time around I'll get some ideas and maybe find some vendors that I haven't found yet. Most of all - I hope I win something in the drawing - we'll see though! :) haha! I have been asking my Dad all week to come with me because he'll be able to see what we need. He agreed and said "ok, well just don't let me shoot myself in the head" oh gosh Dad! We're only going to like the last half - not the WHOLE THING. Since he's footing the bill (which I'm grateful of) he'll be able to see how OVERBOARD some other brides get.

I. am not. one of them.

I'll post pictures soon of my latest photo session... and, of course, pictures of Alan! :)

NEXT Friday - I'll get to see DERIK for the first time in a month! YAY! :)

Brittney *Melton*

Closer than You Think

I read this in my email DEVO earlier today and I just HAD to share...

Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.”

Matthew 14:27 (NKJV)

When the disciples saw Jesus in the middle of their stormy night, they called him a ghost. A phantom.... To them, the glow was anything but God.

When we see gentle lights on the horizon, we often have the same reaction. We dismiss occasional kindness as apparitions, accidents, or anomalies. Anything but God....

(now, THIS is my favorite part)

*And because we look for the bonfire, we miss the candle. Because we listen for the shout, we miss the whisper.*

But it is in burnished candles that God comes, and through whispered promises he speaks: "When you doubt, look around; I am closer than you think."

I aboslutely LOVED this... WE are looking for the BIG picture... But, God has been showing us little by little the big picture. But, since we're too consumed with looking for the "bonfire" (the big answer) we miss his "candles" and we try and listen for His loud "shout"... we miss his small "whispers"

May I never doubt God that I don't see or hear the little things He blesses me with...

Love you all! Have a GREAT Wednesday!

Brittney *Melton*

Photography and more! :)

Well,

I had my REAL first client that called (facebooked) me up and we had their session yesterday. I was in youth group with her and her sisters and they decided to do some surprise photos for their mom and dad and grandparents. These girls are BEAUTIFUL! I haven't seen them in about 5-6 years... but they have grown into some gorgeous ladies. I'll post some pictures soon! :) Get excited! :)

I'm meeting a D.J. tonight for the wedding... my dad is a little unsure about hiring a D.J. and wants to use an ipod. I think an ipod would be fine for a wedding with 150 guests... but not for a wedding that has 400+ guests being invited right now! It was really hard to have my dad understand it, but we're still not set on hiring a D.J. It's not that I REALLY REALLY want a D.J. - it's just that I think it would make the reception so much more enjoyable and make it easier for all involved... I don't want to have to ask a family member/friend to run the ipod while they're at my wedding. I don't know, we'll see what happens. Just meeting the D.J. during my dinner break to learn more and figure out some things.

Also, my flowers have been an issue... and the invoice is good until the end of this week or next (can't remember)... but, flowers are just reallly expensive!

I hope things start getting decided instead of hanging in the air.

I'm not complaining - cause a lot IS done... but, these things are pretty big things...

I'll let you know how it goes... and POST PICTURES! :)

Brittney *Melton*

Linked In!

Hey girls - check this out...

It's called linkedin.com and it's a job community where you can reconnect with old co-workers and classmates from school. People can recommend jobs for you and the more you're recommended... the higher you are rated the better employees can search your profile. You can research on companies also...

It's pretty cool... you can even search FOR jobs... and post jobs...

here's my profile - tell me what you think!

Brittney *Melton*