Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Weekends ahead!

Ok, so a fellow blogger is getting married the same day as D and I. She wrote out her weekends and I can't believe that's it... so I'm writing mine!

Here are all the Saturdays coming up between now and the wedding. AHHH!
(4/4)--Bridal Portraits in Dallas :)
(4/11)--Easter weekend (time with Family), taking my brother's senior portraits
(4/18)--more senior portraits
(4/25)--another shower (on Sunday) and my brother's HS prom (on Saturday)
(5/2)--nothing right now... but I'm sure I'll be busy!
(5/9)--making programs (possibly)
(5/16)--another wedding to attend & last minute preparations!
(5/23)--the WEDDING

Is that really it!??!?? OH MY GOODNESS!

Also, aren't these adorable....?


So fun for a photo thank you card don't you think...??
and - matches our colors perfectly!

Monday, March 30, 2009

Weekend Recap

This was one BUSY weekend!

I'm so sad it's over, but very glad to move on to this week :)

This weekend we had our tasting - and - it was good! :) We tasted the Fajitas and also the BBQ buffets. YUM! We toured our venue once again and made some more detailed plans. It made me feel a little better. But, it's coming SO quick!! I am now in crunch time!

I wish I had pictures to show you, and I will soon, but I had my shower yesterday (Sunday) and it was so fun! My church threw it for me and it was so cute! The Hostess did the coolest thing, I'll probably remember them forever. She had all the guests write on an index card their advice or their favorite bible verse that has helped them in their marriages. I read them all yesterday and it was SO sweet. I may do a post on some of my favorite and most heart-felt advice this week :)

I got a LOT of gifts. I got a lot of stuff for the kitchen and I can now say that I can make any kind of baked goods :) I got all our baking sheets and pans etc. How fun to make cupcakes now :) tee hee!

My Aunt is going to print me some pictures she took at the shower, so I may scan in some later on and do a post on that!

All in all... a very FUN and very memorable weekend. I kept thinking... is this really MY wedding shower! I can't believe it! :)

Since I wasn't able to pick up my dress last week (sad day) I am picking it up on Wednesday, dropping it off to get steamed, picking it up on Friday... and then SATURDAY... I will have my hair done and bouquet picked up in time to head to DALLAS for my Bridal Portraits! Can't WAIT for this weekend... me and my mom are having a girls weekend!

Is this all really happening??

Friday, March 27, 2009

HOT POCKETS!

sorry, but I had to share...
maybe it's because I feel badly about the way I've been eating...
but regardless, made me laugh!

Jokes.com
Jim Gaffigan - Hot Pocket!
comedycentral.com
Joke of the DayStand-Up ComedyFree Online Games

Thursday, March 26, 2009

INVITES OUT!!!!

Well, now that the invites are out... I thought I'd post about them here :) [pics included]

I worked with the wonderful Jaime Kae Paper Studios - I won a blog contest back before the Christmas season and was able to get 50% off! :)

without further a due... the invitations themselves :)

stamped and ready to go :) there's WAY too many :)

and here they are in my car... ready to be sent off :) YAY!


another giveaway!!!

Grey Likes Weddings is giving away a wonderful prize via Mia Beads

really cute and fun jewelry!!! I would love this :)


Don't you think :)

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

MARRIAGE

It's kind of becoming more and more surreal that in 8 weeks I will be a Mrs. :) woo hoo!

I'm beyond excited and just want to share something I experienced today.

I was in line at my local post office to purchase the much needed stamps ($ca-ching$) for our invitations - going out soon! There was a lady in line for her passport. She was of Hispanic decent and only knew limited English. She was confused by the "check here: Divorced/Married/Single/Widowed" section of the application. The post office worker explained that she wasn't divorced.... she wasn't single or widowed.... that she was "STILL" married. (quotations for my emphasis).

That one word STILL could mean many things... but I took it to heart. I thought "oh my gosh, how sad that you have to say STILL married, like if she's not going to stay married!" I know nothing of either ladies - the worker, or the customer - but it just made my heart break at our world. That we have to think that something would happen. She could just have easily said "you checked right, you're married" and I think it would've made a world of difference to my ears. But to say you're STILL married means that you don't believe that the marriage (marriage in general) is staying.

do you get what I mean? I believe that marriage is FOREVER!!! God says it is and I know it is. I'm sad to say that our world looks at marriage as a certificate that has an expiration date... breaks my heart. It's like... lets try this out and if in 6 months I feel uncomfortable, I'll just get out!

I'm not trying to say that divorce doesn't happen... it does... I wish it didn't. In some cases it may be much needed for various reasons... but I hate that it has to exist.

I know marriage is hard... but it's definitely something worth fighting for and that I will fight for when it does get hard. This song is a new favorite of mine and D's. Goosebumps EVERY time! It's off of the movie "Fireproof" - if you haven't seen this yet - SEE IT! I highly recommend it and have heard that it is changing marriages and lives all over our country! I LOVED IT!

"Love is not a Fight" Warren Barfield


Warren Barfield - Love Is Not A Fight from PLG Videos on Vimeo.

Love is not a place
To come and go as we please
It's a house we answer in
And then commit to never leave

Lock the door behind you
Throw away the key
We'll work it out together
Let it bring us to our knees

Love is a shelter in the raging storm
Love is peace in the middle of a war
If we try to leave, may God send His angels to guard the door
No, love is not a fight but it's something worth fighting for

To some, love is a word
That they can fall into
But when they're falling out
Keeping that word is hard to do

Love will come to save us
If we'll only call
He will ask nothing from us
But demand we give our all

I will fight for you
Would you fight for me?
It's worth fighting for

Just wanted to share something that was close to my heart to all you newlyweds and soon-to-bes like myself :)

Monday, March 23, 2009

2 MONTHS!!!

What in the World!!! How can it be that in 8 Saturday's I will be Mrs. Melton!!!!

SO MUCH FUN!

Invitations are complete :) I will post a pic sometime this week... It was actually pretty relaxing putting them all together :) D laughed when I said that...

tomorrow I have my hair appointment and I'll be chatting with the stylist about hopeful haircuts for my bridal portraits and of course for the BIG day :)

Sadly, I can't pick up my dress tomorrow and I am BUMMED out! The alteration lady has been out of town and wasn't able to work on my dress :( I can't pick it up until next Wednesday! BUT - it's ok, because I don't have to have it ready until Saturday. I'll just take it to get steamed after I pick it up :)

Oh and I've had a bad case of register-stalking. If you've never heard of this... well... it's just too easy. We've already gotten some things off our registry :)

- crock pot - CHECK!
- coffee maker - CHECK!
- couple of place settings - CHECK!

YAY! Shower on Sunday :)

Friday, March 20, 2009

DRESS... Hello!

How in the world could I have forgotten this off of my list from yesterday's post!!!!

I'm picking up my dress after my hair appointment on TUESDAY! What in the world!

That's pretty bad if I've forgotten about my DRESS! :)

HAPPY FRIDAY! thank goodness!

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Things lately...

Is it really and truly almost 2 months away! OH MY GOSH!

We have a lot to do before then! ahhh!

Here's next week (and this weekend):

Saturday: helping a friend with wedding photos - fun :) and also FINISHING invites :) Once they are all put together I will for sure put a picture on here :) They are beauts!
Sunday: Probably still inviting it up :)
Monday: appointment with dermatologist and getting organized (OFFICIALLY 2 MONTHS!!!)
Tuesday: Hair appointment to get a fresh cut and also some subtle highlights for the big day (may do it once more before the actual day though)
Wednesday: another appointment scheduled and I need to think about my bouquet for the portraits... make a simple one or have my florist make one?
Thursday and Friday I don't have anything planned right now, but I have a lot to knock off that list! I'll probably go price out candles and talk with a wedding coordinator that we know (family friend) about some vendors she can hook us up with for decor. I also need to start figuring out our wedding day schedule for programs (and for my sanity)
Saturday: I have a Senior Portrait Session scheduled for my side photography business and we are meeting with our Reception Venue coordinator to have a taste testing and also to nail down more details about seating and table placements etc.
Sunday: BRIDAL SHOWER!!!! :)

I can't go to the next week because I'm already tired :) BUT - I do have to mention that I'll be getting my bridal portraits taken in about 2 weeks :) how fun!

Can't wait for this next week to start! Come on Friday :)

Monday, March 16, 2009

to Mexico or not to Mexico???

We purchased our honeymoon package back in October!!!

Yes I know - early for May, but I thought we'd pay a better deal then than now. Boy, am I wrong. I found our trip EXACTLY (flight and all)... it was about $500 less now than then - on the same website!

Plus, with all this "stuff" going on along the Mexcian border (if you haven't heard - read/view here and here) ~ some of this is very grueling so just forewarning ~ we really were worried and didn't know what to do.

We called our rounds (the website we purchased it from, the airlines, the resort itself) and the resort actually gave us the most information. Read here.

We are still a little worried... but we feel that it is safe now that we've heard it from the resort itself and read the news update. We were thinking about changing our trip altogether!

So, going back to the $500 less thing... we called the website again. They told us that we have to pay our trip in full to make any change. Ok... we reply with "so when we pay our trip in full... can we then make changes?" and then she says - "no" what are we supposed to do?? I guess we'll have to forfeit our $500?? Her reasoning was that that rate is locked in when you book... so, for example, if you purchase your trip in October and it goes up... you don't have to pay the difference... so for us (since it went down) we cannot recieve the difference.

D thinks we should cancel our hotel/resort and rebook. We already have our flights, so it's just cancelling the hotel... what do you think?? will it work??

have any of you recently gone to Mexico or are planning on going soon? what do you think of all of that's going on??

Friday, March 13, 2009

The Knot Contest

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Who doesn't LOVE saving Money?

Have I ever mentioned how much I LOVE Retail Me Not???

Oh my gosh... it's wonderful. There are all kinds of coupon codes that you can copy and paste into tons of online websites. SAVINGS!!!

For all you brides-to-be... how wonderful would it be to get money off your honeymoon attire. (both day and night) :) They have coupons for "VS" for Old Navy... Gap... etc.

All you have to do is type in your store's website... and it will show you all the coupon codes that they have. Some are not current, so just be sure to check if there's an expiration date etc. Most work. I saved $20 off my $100 purchase for 2 bathing suits from VS. I also saved about $15-20 on my save the dates with a coupon code I found for Magnet Streets

Check it out!!!

Another fav is Beat My Price all you do is enter in the item you are looking for. Where you found it first (web page) and how much it is on that site. It'll give you a dozen other options of cheaper prices from other sites...

ENJOY!!! :)

Monday, March 9, 2009

New Blog Design (& something a little embarrassing)

Well, I'm trying a new blog design out (courtesy of smitten blog designs)

It's really cute... purple is in my wedding - so why not. But, I'm having trouble putting my blog title that I made back on. It shows, but it's like too low and not in the little { } things.

Oh well - it's cute none the less.

Invitations should be coming soon... maybe end of this week/beginning of next week. Can't wait to show you all! :)

Here's a pic of the guys tuxes:
courtesy: Tuxedo Junction
(the pin stripes in the vest are not NEARLY as noticeable as they are on here... they are more subtle and I love them!) D will have an ivory/white vest and tie)


This weekend was my 2nd and FINAL fitting... I'm being fitted early so it can be ready for bridal portraits, which is April 4th WOO HOO! I'm excited... I'll be traveling to Dallas and having a girls weekend with my mom. How fun!

I have to share some embarrassing stories. I've never had a problem with fainting until I had to do a blood test a few years back... I looked at the needle and FAINTED! I've also fainted when an old (like HS old) boyfriend broke up with me (how embarassing!) I've recently taken Accutane for my face... I am now off the medication (YAY) but... every month I have had to do a blood test and I've gotten a lot better about NOT looking at the needle - haha!

During my dress fitting... the time in which the lady was fixing my hem. She kept saying, "don't look down" cause it would cause the dress to raise a little bit... so look straight I did. Well... she does her alteratons out of her house. It is hot. I was starting to sweat. The dress was a little bit tight and I couldn't breathe very well. I looked at my mom and she could tell I wasn't feeling well. I told her to get me some water. I thought I could handle it. But, I FINALLY just told the lady... I NEED to sit down! She was sweet and brought me water and candy... haha! I THANKFULLY didn't fully faint... but I was pale and did not feel right. I was sweating and hot... I think I may have locked my legs.

LORD!!! please oh please do not let me faint at my wedding!!! I've already given D a hard time about eating the day of and not fainting... now, what if I faint. I've seen tons of those youtube videos where the groom (or even the minister) faint! oh please Lord - I pray that's not me!!!

On another note - do you remember this post? - the one where I was telling you I felt vey self-concious about a certain area. Well... now that my dress fitted to me. I noticed it EVEN more... I was a little disappointed! My mom thought it was not big deal, but I felt like I was on DISPLAY ladies! My girls were out and about and I was not having it! The lady asked if everything was ok and if it fitted the way I wanted. I told her I was really worried about my top area. She immediately went and got a scrap piece of material from my dress and showed me a picture of another girl who had a similar problem. She started pinning it to the top of my dress to make another piece. Thing is - I LOVE IT EVEN MORE NOW!!!! It added so much to the dress... kind of completed the way the top looked... I don't feel as uncomfortable... I love it!!!

Another problem I'm facing is the folds around said "area". Do you know what I mean? right where your arm folds (near your under-arms)? Do you know of any dress tape (or whatever you call it) that can pull those folds down. Am I being really really too self-concious about this? What do you think? Have you heard/used of any said tape??

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Brothers

Go check out my photography website and blog... my little brother is growing up :)

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

8-0

Is this for REAL!!! I cannot believe it is 80 days away! or even more, a little over 2 months 2 weeks!!! oh my gosh!

I still haven't even started looking for jewelry (well in stores that is) I found some great stuff online, but I think I kind of need to see it in front of my face to buy it... I don't know, maybe I'll take the plunge???

I'm going for pearl jewelry and I want something really simple but elegant! I would rather have really AMAZING earrings and no necklace... I think it'll distract from my dress if I wear a necklace... just SIMPLE!!!

What do you think?

FIRST - Go to THIS site... AMAZING...Anna Bellagio... I found WAY too much stuff there to post here... so just go check it out - seriously!!!

Here are some things I've found...

courtesy: esty shopper - Belle Nouvelle Designs
courtesy: 1928 jewelry
courtesy: Zales

Here is a ring that I REALLY love... it keeps going on and off sale at Macy's... but goodness... I love it!!

courtesy: Macy's

What kind of jewelry are you wearing in your wedding???

Brittney *Melton*

Monday, March 2, 2009

Misc + more...

Well... the tuxes are chosen :) - they seemed to be a lot more expensive than we originally thought... so that stinks...

This weekend I look forward to having my 2ND Dress fitting! It'll actually look somewhat like MY dress now... yay! :)

Weekends from here on out are pretty much BOOKED!!! I'm a photographer on the side and have senior portrait sessions booking up... I have a couple of showers planned... one in 27 days :) and one that will be 2 weeks before the wedding... I also have a LOT still left to do...

I have to work on blocking hotel rooms and also thinking of a wedding day timeline. I am making our own programs - so I'll need to know who/what/songs etc. to put in the ACTUAL day for the program...

What do you think of these pretty programs?:

1

2

3
4
5
***oh and I love this idea for our outdoor pavilion!***

don't know if i'll be able to do it though... :(

ALSO- READ THIS... how AMAZING would 30 minutes alone, on your wedding day, be... read here!

Brittney *Melton*

OH - AND 2 MONTHS and 3 WEEKS away!!! ******OMG******