Wedding wonders

Well Linda, my mom, and I went to the bridal show yesterday and had a good time. We went to all the different vendors and found a number of photographers, cakes, flowers, and more to look into. I got flyers from all of the booths so nopw I just have to figure out which ones I want to use.

I put together a huge binder with different sections in it, so as I receive flyers or business cards, I can put them into categories. That way once I am ready to look for a cake for example, I can just flip to that section and look at all the places I have something from. I also put pictures of things I see in magazines that I like into there-like bouquets and dresses. I am having a blast looking into all of these things and can't wait until the big day actually arrives. Only 411 days to go!

Wahoo for weddings!

I bought tickets for the Bridal Show that is this weekend in the Woodlands so my mom, Linda, and I are all going to go. It should be good and hopefully I will find more vendors to be able to contact for cakes, photography, etc.

I went to the Greenspoint Club this morning and looked at it as a possible reception site. It was very nice and very affordable, but with over 180 people, you have to put some people in seperate rooms. I don't like this idea and I am having more people then that, so it will not work. My mom and I went to the Tuscan Villa of Garden Oaks, but it is not built yet. They are mid construction so you can't see what it looks like except through drawings and pictures. It is going to be gorgeous once it is open, but it is in a bad area currently and not easy to get to from the church. We are going to wait until after the bridal show on Sunday to book the Houston National Golf Club, just in case there is some place we have not heard about yet.

I am starting to organize an excel spreadsheet with different vendors so once we are ready to start looking into smaller wedding aspects, we will be ready!

On a roll

So yesterday morning, my parents and I went to Houston National Golf Club, a loved it! It has a nice sized ball room and is new and pretty nice. It is not super fancy, but I think it is nice enough for a formal reception but casual enough for a party! Right now this is my top choice. That afternoon Billy and I went to the Pavillion on Gessner and we didn't really like it. It is a decent place but it could have 3 events going on at once which is not okay. So afterwards I took him by Houston National as well. That evening both of our parents and us went to dinner to discuss budget, who's paying, etc. I think it was good to have open communication. After dinner we all went back to Houston National to check it out at night while a wedding was going on. We all liked it! On Wednesday I have an appointment to look at one more place, but I am pretty sure we will go with Houston National.

Both sets of parents and Billy and I also have compiled our lists and are looking at numbers. It is hard to choose who will be invited because we want everyone there, which is not feasible. We are still working on that and I am sure we will not have a final list for another year.

That's it for now, trying to book a reception hall so we can slow down until after my brother's wedding. I am on a roll!

Already excited!

Today I lined up three more places to go visit. Tomorrow my mom, dad, and I are going to the Houston National Golf Club to see if that would be a good place for a reception. Then I am going to the Pavillion at Gessner to check it out, since I have never heard of it. Next Wednesday I am going to look at the Tuscan Villa of Garden Oaks and hopefully the Greenspoint Club. I am hoping that after checking out all these places, one sticks out that I really want to have my reception at. Just going to these places and talking about it gets me so excited! I am ready!

Reception Sites

So my mom and I went to two different places today to see if we liked them for my reception. The first one was the Hearthstone Country Club.


It seemed like it would be a nice place, but they are in the process of remodeling, so you could not really get an image of what it would look like. I am sure it will be lovely when it is done, but right now I would not like it so much.

We also went to the Crowne Plaza at Brookhollow. It would be very convenient to the church and can hold a lot more people.


I loved the high ceilings of the ballroom and everything included in the packages. Right now, this is #1 on my list, but there are a few other places I would like to go and see before I make my final decision.

Unbelievable!

I did not expect this at all. I have been engaged for less than a week and I already found my dress! Yesterday I went to Weddings By Debbie and tried on a few dresses. They were okay but nothing stood out. The next set of dresses had two that I liked but one of them just looked perfect! I was not thinking that I would be buying a dress already but there are not many out there that are my taste so when I put this one on, I knew!

The next step in my planning is still to find the reception hall and to ask my bridesmaids to be in the wedding. Once I do those two things, I can take a break for a while and feel that everything will be ready in plenty of time!

Booking the Church and more!

Friday afternoon Billy and I went to his church and put down a deposit for our wedding ceremony. Now we have an official date and I am so excited! The planning is starting fast and is a little overwhelming sometimes, but I am very pumped. We have to secure a reception site in the next few weeks because places book fast. I will probably go with my mom to look at some of the sites we have heard about on Wednesday and then hopefully Billy and I can go next weekend to find a place!

I have of course looked through wedding magazines and I am working on choosing colors. When Lauren tried on a dress on Wednesday for me, I loved the color so that might be what I chose. It was a deep dark pink and looked very beautiful. I think it will look awesome with coral and pink flowers, so that is what I am feeling right now.

This afternoon my mom, Betsy, and myself are going to look at dresses! We have an appointment at 3pm and I can't wait! When you step into those dresses, that is when it really hits that I am actually getting married!!!!

Excitement

Surprise! That's what it was, which was a shock he could pull that off with how often I bugged him. Last night Billy and I went to dinner at BJ's. Afterward we went to his house to hang out. He said he had something to show me up in his room. We went up there and when I walked in the door I saw a scrapbook on his bed. I absolutely love to scrapbook and sometimes he will even help me. It was a wedding scrapbook that he said he saw and thought it was cute so he got it for us for someday. I thought nothing of it. He tends to do random little things like that so I still didn't get the hint. He finally said, "why don't you open it to the first page?" Once I opened it I saw he had created a page to start the book. It said "Will you marry me?" and had a picture of himself down on a knee as well as a picture of the ring and some cute stickers. I turned around and asked him if this was for real and he was getting down on one knee with the box in his hand. Of course I said YES!

I am so excited! Today I went and got my ring sized down a little since it was a bit too big and then Lauren and I went dress shopping. Well it was really more just looking since I knew I wasn't going to buy anything, but it was very fun. Billy and I also stopped by his church to check out wedding dates and I think we have decided on March 14, 2009. It has already been an exciting 2008 and I know it is only going to get better.

Wow-it's January 4th!

I can't believe it is already 2008. This year has flown by and has been full of many exciting times. Billy and I both graduated from college, even though he is going right back into grad school. My brother, Craig, got engaged to an amazing Aggie that I can't wait to become my sister-in-law. I got a great job that I get to wear shorts and a t-shirt to everyday. Billy had a great football season and got to go to a bowl game. And above everything else, we made so many new and wonderful friends as well as staying in touch with the awesome ones we have had for years. I know 2008 will be just as great, probably better than 2007 and I can't wait!

New Year's Eve was so much fun! Billy, Lauren, and I drove up to Dallas for the night. We dropped Lauren off to hang out with some of her college friends and we went and met up with Marisa and Brandon. Congratualtions to them on their engagement! I am so excited! :) We all went to a college friend's wedding which was absolutely wonderful. The ceremony was nice and the reception was amazing. They had tons of food, and it was DELICIOUS! They also had an open bar and dancing. We had a good time there but we left a little early and met up with some friends in Forth Worth. We rang in the new year in downtown and had so much fun with them! Billy and I picked Lauren up on New Year's day and headed back to Houston. It was a great trip and I am so lucky to have such amazing friends!

Now it's back to work. I am now coaching a 12 year old volleyball team and I am so excited. We have our first tournament tomorrow and although they are not the best team skill wise, I know we will have a good time.

Happy New Year to all and I hope you have many wonderful blessings in 2008.