Received the quote for decorations late last night. $588! A little steep in my opinion, but that does include set up and take down, and they're handling the chair rental as well (so there's an upcharge for that). Fiance says JUST DO IT, so I'm just doin' it.

You definitely shouldn't take chances with your photos. You only get one chance to take them.

I'm not really as cheap as I seem :D LOL The problem is we just bought a new house, bought a heat pump, bought a 60" TV, bought the ring - which wasn't cheap at all - and already booked the trip to Vegas. I was used to just looking after finances on my own, and always made sure I had a big cusion of cash "just in case". Now it just seems like cash is flying out the door!! I'm having a hard time adjusting to SHARING and letting go of control. :(

We've decided that my future MIL will handle the decorations, rather than hire someone. She is so eager to help out, I just couldn't say no. I think she likes the idea because it's such a small ceremony. She's already done a lot of research on decorating and menu, and she and he husband will get food and flowers and decorations all ready the day before the ceremony. This helps me a lot because one thing I don't have is time. And in the end, all we want is to get married. I really thought about the whole thing and I don't think there's anything I want other than the "I DO" from my fiance, and I don't want people to go away feeling like it was tacky at all. Otherwise, I just want our family to feel happy for us and feel like they had a fun time.

Tell your parents you'd prefer not to for your own reasons. I am having a larger wedding and I have an Aunt whom is nasty as anything. I did invite her but I figure with 100 people I won't have to interact with her much. If you do invite your aunt, just seat her at the opposite end of the table as you and your husband and be cordial at most.

My grandmother is not going to make our wedding. She was given 3 days to a week to live today. My whole familly is coming in to visit this week. I feel terrible. :( I also hate sounding selfish, but I have my dress fitting, my trial hair run and our jack & jill all this week. :( I am sooo sad about my grandmother, I can't stop crying. I want my grandmother around for 20 more years, and I also don't want to miss my wedding fun but I don't want to be partying when either my grandmother died or is dying very very shortly. ugh... ugh.... ugh! :(

((hugs)) I'm so sorry you have to deal with this now!
I'll definitely keep you and your family in my thoughts and prayers.

So sorry your grandmother is sick :( Your grandmother would want you to enjoy your day. Try and spend as much time with her as possible this week. Maybe you could ask her what her favorite song is and have them play it at your wedding as a special tribute to her? Could you also try on your dress and have someone take a photo of you in it to show it to her? Or maybe try your dress on for her so she can see you as a bride? Miracles do happen so maybe your grandmother will be there on your day.

When it rains it really pours...is Dexter doing ok? He was sick not to long ago, right?

Thanks so much ladies!

When it rains it pours, ain't you right! So get this... Dexter was sick last week, he is fine now, just one day of being sick. Sunday I brought my wedding gown to my grandparents house. I tried it on and showed my grandmother and we did take pics with her & I. That was nice! It made my heart ache to do that but I wanted some pics.
The only thing I ate on sunday was pizza at my grandparents house. There was some leftover from the day before that I had a slice at lunch, and then my aunt had pizzas delivered there later in the evening. So we had some of that. Yesterday I left work at like 1200 and barely made it home before I was throwing up. I went through all the classic signs and symptoms of food poisoning. Then I find out my other brother had it also, he had to leave work and go home where he was sick all day also. My youngest brother and my fiance seemed to be fine. My poor little brother flew in sat night to say his goodbyes to my grandmother while she is still awake, aware and coherent. He was only here until this morning. He came back to our house last night where he proceeded to get sick as a dog too!!! Somehow the 3 of us ended up with food poisoning!!! Its soooo terrible. I am working from home today because I am too sore, weak and tired to get ready and actually go in to work. My bro is flying home still super sick, poor kid!

Are you kidding?!! It is DEF POURING!!! :rain: Was there something on the pizza that could have done it? You live in NH, right? There is definitely a stomache bug going around MA where my parents live. My mom couldn't go to work because she caught it and was throwing up. My best friend in RI also had it. I wonder if you guys could have caught that, maybe?

That is so wonderful you were able to take pictures with your Grandmother!! As hard as it was that is something you will always treasure! :2hearts2:

Glad to hear Dex is doing better! Did they idenitfy what was wrong with him? Teddy had a bout of stress colitis in November and it was a total nightmare! We were traveling too when it happened (only to PA thank god!). Put him on pro-biotics and an antibiotic and he was better in no time!

Hope you feel better hun!

I guess it's a virus, so probably what everyone seems to be getting. My whole family, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc... we were all together at my grandparents house on sunday. Slowly one by one we are all going down with this thing. My brother yesterday morning, me, yesterday afternoon, my other brother early yesterday evening, my mom started last night, my cousin, her son and husband started in the middle of the night last night too. There are a few more I'm suspecting we'll hear from soon that they have it too. None of us can go visit my grandparents right now, but that's ok bc they really need a break from all the people who are in & out.

I'm so sorry things are going so badly for you!! I agree that your grandmother will want you to enjoy yourself. I'm so glad you got to see her and take pictures!

There is a flu going around here too. It has gone thorugh my whole department at work, except for me and one coworker. i thought I was getting it yesterday because I felt queasy all day. I was getting a part added on to my desk and one of the guys had really strong cologne and I just couldn't take it and had to run to the washroom! I didn't throw up but I had to sit on the floor for a good 10 minutes until I felt well enough to get up again. I hope you are feeling better soon!

Yesterday I was going to call the bridal shop because my dress is 1.5 months late coming in. I forgot to call on my lunch break so I was telling my cousin in the afternoon how I'd definitely need to remember to call today!!! Well I got home yesterday and there was a voicemail on our phone saying it's in!!!!!!!!!!! :D

Payment is due on arrival, so I'm going to call my grandma and see if she'd like to come with me to the store on Friday afternoon if I take some time off work. I'll pay the remaining balance on the dress and try it on for her since she hasn't seen it... and also because I really want to try it on in my size (the sample was too big) and I don't want to go in to try it on alone!

Awww Linz! Your grandma will love that! Post more pics!!

My bridesmaids all went for their dress fitting on Saturday. They dresses are a very dark navy blue (picture in a previous post). Anyway, I am doing pale pink and champagne roses for my wedding. I came across these shoes and thought they would match perfectly! Here are my bridesmaids shoes! ZiGi NY's Beige Chiffon - Nude for 69.99 direct from heels.com

oh those are soooo pretty!! :) Sounds like they will go perfectly!

I never picked shoes for my bridesmaids... letting them pick their own shoes. One of my bridesmaids is going to be 3 weeks shy of her due date, so she's wearing flats.

My first gown fitting is tonight! Eeeekkkk :)

I am letting my bridesmaids pick their own shoes too. There are only two bridesmaids so I don't want them completely differet, but I just told them heels (whatever they're comfortable in) and black. I later thought maybe they should be the same sort of material too, whether it's satin or whatever, so that they don't photograph totally differently! One of my bridesmaids (my cousin) does not normally wear heels so she said she would wear them for the ceremony and pictures and then switch to flats. I said if she doesn't want them later, I'll buy them off her :)

We booked our honeymoon last night!!!!!! We're going to the place where Scott proposed... Capri, Italy! I am sooooooooooooo excited!! I never thought we'd ever have a chance to go back there but Scott keeps telling me that we can afford it (and he's the budgeter in our relationship) I couldn't even sleep last night I was so excited about it!

Soooo very exciting!!!! I'm so glad you are going back there to spend more time as married people now! :) :)

My girls dresses are long, so I really don't care about the shoes at all. I told them whatever they like and are comfortable is fine with me! I did buy them matching jewelry though. Pretty pearl & sterling silver earring/necklace sets! I got such a GREAT deal on them during black friday in November! They were $300 a set and I got them for $75! Can't beat that! :)

So today I booked a facial appt for tomorrow and then another one in a month (a week before the wedding) and I am making an appt for a body scrub and bronzing about a week to a few days before the wedding, I might get a bikini wax too (I'm quite nervous about that though!). I am looking forward to some relaxation time with all going on in my life, an hour to zone out would be awesome!
I also need to get a pre wedding hair cut & color, a manicure & pedicure, eyebrow wax.... am I missing anything?

What pre-wedding beauty perks are you girls going to spoil yourselves with?

I was thinking about a couples massage with my fiance as a pre wedding present too. I guess there was never a better time or excuse to let ourselves get pampered, right?

Oh that's an awesome deal on the jewelry! I have been browsing etsy for something for my girls. Nothing has really stood out yet! I am considering wearing pearls myself.

I think the couples massage is a great idea! I may do that too! I had looked at doing spa packages with the girls the day before the wedding, because I remember doing that with my friend's wedding... we hung out in the steam room and had girl talk, then had massages and mani/pedi. I checked at local spas and it is SO expensive!!! But now that I think of it, I think we all paid for ourselves... the bride just booked the day for us. But anyways, my girls are already paying for their shoes and half of their dress cost and I don't really want to make them shell out too much money. They are both mothers (one a single mother of 3!) and have better thngs to spend their money on! Maybe we can just get mani/pedi at a salon and that's it!

Scott has now started making homemade wine for our favors! I think we will just have them at the door of the reception and ask each couple or family to feel free to take a bottle on their way home. It is not allowed to be opened at the reception so I think it would be better than putting it on the tables.

Oh yeah and I had thought of having my hair long and in loose curls... but when I was watching the Oscars on Sunday I kind of fell in love with Tina Fey's hair! I think I will do a trial and see how it looks on me! It's not extravagant, but it's very classy and elegant I think.

Nothing wrong with a bridal binder..... I have one too! helped me to remember the things and pick the right things!!!

OMG ladies!!!!!!! Got our marriage license today!!!! 24 days until the wedding!!!!!! :) :)

Woohooo!!!!!! :D so exciting!!! Ekk!

Oh just a few weeks left for you!!!! So exciting!!!

I have a binder too :D I need to go in and update it one of these days, I have more receipts to put in and things to write down! I don't know how I'd feel organized without it!!!

Tonight is our Jack & Jill!! I'm so excited! Its still so hard with my grandmother's death. I cried myself to sleep last night. But I'm looking forward to tonight! :)

Have a blast at your Jack & Jill!!! So exciting!! :)

I have an idea. Is there anyway you could sew a little piece of something of your grandmothers on the inside of your dress? That way a little piece of her is with you throughout your entire wedding day?

A Jack & Jill is a party thrown by the bridal party (and anyone else who wants to pitch in) where people (normally guests of the wedding) come and pay to get in and they do raffles, all the money goes to the bride & groom towards the wedding or honeymoon! We made $1000 from the Jack & Jill.... and considering we are paying for our entire wedding, that helps a lot!!! We were originally going to have it Feb 18, but we had to reschedule it 4 days before it because my grandmother was terminal and she actually ended up passing away 2 days later. We reschedule it to March 2nd and I'm glad we did, it took the pressure & guilt off of trying to party when your grandmother is so ill.
Unfortunately a lot of the people who were going to make it, didn't end up being able to because of the date change, but it still turned out really well!! We had a great time, danced our butts off!
So the wedding is 19 days away now! YIKES!!!!! :) Our calendar is booked solid with all the last minute confirmations, details and meetings with vendors. We have a bunch of things to still do, but we are doing very well and ahead of the game, so thats great! This weekend I'm getting my hair trimmed & colored for the last time, 2 weeks prior, and I'm doing my hair trial run. Next weekend is the bachelorette party, this weekend might be the bachelor party, I'm not sure.
We are still picking songs and we meet with our DJ on weds night. Its been REALLY hard to pick single songs for the special dances and other things during the wedding! I picked a song to dance with my Dad to and now I might be changing my mind on it.