This Thing Feels Real Now

Our impending marriage feels really real now. It wasn’t the reservation with SLVW. Or the confirmation email stating our wedding date. Or the flowers and Etsy stash stockpiled in the family room. Or even all the design work I’ve been playing with for invitations. Nope, not even having the wedding dress in my closet, or attending Kim and Matt’s wedding this weekend. What made it really real and gave me head to toe goose bumps was when my mother-in-law told the waitress at lunch on Sunday, “This is my son and future daughter-in-law.” I can’t even write that without tearing up.

What made it real for you?


Also, this picture will adorn our wedding announcements. One day. Are those sent out after the wedding or before? Since we’re going to Vegas with about a dozen people and having the reception after the fact, can I include these with the reception invitations? Or send announcements and invitations later? We honestly haven’t got a clue when the reception will be so I don’t want to delay announcing things. Whatcha think?

PA Wedding: A Few Pictures

i haven't uploaded most of our pictures yet, but here's 2 of my favorites from this weekend. does anyone else see a use for the first one? like say on engagement announcements or thank you notes? cuz i totally do! ;)

i have loads more pictures, so there'll probably be lots of random picture posts in the next week or so. the wedding was absolutely gorgeous and Kim and Matt looked amazing! yes, i totally cried during the bridal march even though i'd spent the entire morning with Kim and even laced up her gown. goosebumps and tears. plus, i couldn't look at Steve or i'd have lost it even more. <3

Us at the rehearsal dinner

The Bride and groom on their pastor's motorcycle at the reception

Us at #PAwedding

Watching me try on PA wedding clothes

the last 24 hours: the amazing and the horrendous

the amazing
last night after checking times and temperatures, i reserved our wedding date. yep, it's official, we are getting married on 10-10-10 at 2pm in Las Vegas. next, we need to pick locations. well, here, this is the wedding deets copied from SLVW's site...

Las Vegas Strip, package 2 - $399

• Get married in any hotel suite, room, or condo. Ceremony and some photos will be done at one location.
• Minister – traditional or civil ceremony
  
• Professional Photographer – minimum of 30 high resolution pictures on a photo CD
• DVD of the Ceremony (High definition widescreen 1080i video quality and Slideshow of all photos added to DVD with ceremony)
• Witness, if needed
• Option to get married at the world famous Las Vegas sign, hotel suite, room, condo, or select public locations on the strip
• 1 additional public location on the Strip for 25 of your 50 photos (a minimum of 50 photos)
• A small hand tied 6-rose bouquet for the bride
  
• Groom’s boutonniere
• Courtesy Limousine transportation to and from the ceremony for the bride and groom and up to 6 guests

We are also getting 20 extra pictures for not using their flowers, and 30 extra pictures for entering a contest they have. so, a total of 100 photos minimum.

this morning, we slept late and then, as usual, he raced to work. i putzed around the house, showered, walked Lola, and prepped the steak and potatoes for dinner tonight. then at like 2:40 i headed to the Y for belly dancing class.

...and the horrendous...
we were walking out of class and my friend Carrie said something along the lines of "what are you doing here?" and i looked, and my heart sank. i knew immediately something was wrong. it was Steve. Steve who raced to get to work by 1pm. Steve who doesn't get any breaks at his crappy job, and certainly not enough time to come all the way back to Chapel Hill to sit outside my class and read the New Yorker. yeah, *sigh*

we went out to the parking lot and he told me what happened. after a few near misses with boxes flying out of his GM's hands and getting up close and personal in his face yelled at, he just handed in his keys and walked out. that's the very concise version of it. hopefully he'll have something new soon!

so now instead of the steak and mashed potatoes with lemon cupcakes just as a meal, it's a celebration of sorts. he's not going to be beat down at work anymore and can actually come with me to Pittsburgh in 3 days. yes, even 3 days away, his GM was still dragging his feet even though Steve's been constantly asking for the time off for the last few months.

and no, we can't afford our life on my salary. we can't even afford my half of our life on my salary.

i, for reals, hope that all y'all are doing better!

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Booked!

It is official.... 10-10-10 @ 2pm.

No other reason for the posting. <3

I Will Be a Fat Bride

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I recently found the blog Axis Of Fat via a link from OffBeatBride.com. I am in love. Seriously.
The initial post I read on the blog said what I've been thinking for a while now.

Here is an excerpt from her post, but you really gotta click over there to read it all and see her gorgeous pictures!
Fat Bride Survival Guide

When I got married I was a fat bride. In fact, I was fat when I got engaged - I was even *gasp* fat when Nick and I met! Despite having a well established, recognised and loved body shape before getting married I copped a huge amount of pressure to lose weight in the lead up to the wedding. For some reason, I had it in my head that my wedding day would be a celebration of love and happiness between Nick and I however it seemed that foolish me had little idea of the true wedding agenda - basically some kind of reality tv show where the ugly duckling turns gorgeous siren.

...read the rest...


And here is the comment I just made:
I will be a fat bride - getting married 10-10-10. And like most of the other posters, I've been fat my whole life. I made the mistake of buying my [wedding] gown at the lowest weight I'd been in ages, and then proceeded to gain 50lbs [in about a year]. Yeah, rather than alter the dress, or myself, drastically, I'm going to buy a new one that fits me and makes me feel gorgeous the way I look. I am so sick of friends and family telling me I need to lose weight for my wedding. My fiance adores me exactly the way I am! While I do wish I were smaller, I'm not going to hide who I am or pretend I'm someone that I'm not. I come from a fat family and will have fat babies. And I am OK with that.

You look absolutely gorgeous in your dress and the pictures posted here show a wonderful wedding day. And too true, the day is about celebrating love, not the way you look in a dress.

<3,
Becca


I will be the first to admit that I am not crazy about the way I look naked. But that's what clothes are for; they disguise our flaws and make us feel better. If they didn't, couture sure wouldn't cost an arm and a leg! I hate looking at size tags and feel horrible knowing that I cannot shop in certain stores.

But what am I doing about it? I am lazy. There, I said it. I would rather knit or, *gasp*, study than work out. I would rather knit than go for a walk. But I will romp on the floor with Lola and run in circles with her. I am also taking belly dancing class. While it's not a strenuous workout, but more like slightly faster paced yoga, I'm doing something. I have exercise DVDs that sit unwatched. Again, I am lazy.

I guess this is me finally admitting it, right? I have a screwed up body image - always have - and need to own up to it. I am getting married in *checks Facebook* 415 days. While I am going to try to lose weight, for my health, I'm not going to freak out if I can't. No one should. Stupid fashion industry and their unrealistic model body shapes.

/end fat rant

Thank you, ECU!

I feel like ECU sent me this gift basket today. Only filled with real cash. Yep, my excess loan funds were deposited and made available to me today!

Aside from all the credit cards I need to pay off and pay down, having these funds also means booking the wedding! Of course, we need to have a little chit chat and figure out a few more things before that can be done. As long as all decisions are made before the end of the month, we will still get locked into SLVW's lower rates.

Oh so happy me!

How are you today? Any fun and exciting news coming your way?


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Pittsburgh Wedding

In case you haven’t noticed, there’s not a whole lot of wedding planning going on right now. We’re gearing up for one of my best friends weddings in Pittsburgh next Saturday – holy hell it’s close enough that I can now say “next” – so that’s been the focus lately.

I have my bridesmaids dress. I am debating between 2 dresses for the rehearsal/ dinner. I’ve started working on my Maid of Honor speech. And I’ve already mapped out the trip from our house to the hotel; 470 miles on the nose. That’s going to be a seriously long drive, especially if I have to make it myself. Lola has been booked at “camp” starting Wednesday night till Monday morning to give us ample time to take care of trip stuff and leave at 4am.

Yes, you read that right. I love my Kimmie so much that I am getting on the road at 4am to drive to Pittsburgh, just in time for a pedicures & martini’s lunch session with her and the girls. Trust me... I will be a napping fool as soon as I drop Lola off at camp. Plus, I’ll get to see Virginia and West Virginia, and possibly some other states I’ve never seen. Needless to say, I’m super excited about their upcoming wedding. And I get to see 2 of my favorite girls as well!

Steve is still being screwed over at work as far as his vacation goes. He’s more than earned a week off, but apparently that doesn’t matter. Seeing as he said he needed this time off for months and, surprise surprise, he’s scheduled to work next weekend. I am going to be livid if he can’t come with, considering that his job has know for months that he’s got to go out of town. Whatever, they suck.

The picture is the inside of the Heinz Memorial Chapel on the University of Pittsburgh campus. This beautifulness is the location of their wedding! Can you just imagine the gorgeous pictures?!

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done done done!

See... I'm the knitter, not just the wedding planner :) these are my 2nd pair of socks and they only took 3 weeks to complete! (the last pair took 8 months. and the 1st pair I never even finished...)

Steve is currently working on the header for the blog and, I gotta say, it looks amazing!