Taking the time to breathe

Edit: This was written Saturday morning and I guess I forgot to hit 'publish'. I've been sick the past few days so I'm going to attempt to get my second bridal shower post up asap because I leave for my bachelorette party tomorrow! But, if not, next week will be jam packed. :) Happy Wednesday!

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As I sit here getting ready for my second bridal shower I can't help but think of how fast time passes. Soon I'll be Mrs. TG and the wedding will be a vivid memory. All of these things are happening! I remember thinking wow, my bridal shower isn't for another 2 months, that's foreeeeeeever away. Well guess what. It's here. And in 22 days I will be walking down that aisle as I have imagined time and time again over the course of our 9 month engagement.

Some of the best advice I've received from people includes enjoy every minute and don't sweat the small stuff. I can now tell you from experience that if you do these two things, stress will not play a role in your wedding day. I have yet to let stress take over. I've had moments of panic, sure. But I've kept in mind the big picture: I'm marrying my best friend, my other half, the one and only. Then the butterflies take over and the stress just melts away.

I also had my final dress fitting this morning. The dress is gorgeous and I can't wait to put it on again... on the big day. :)

So here's to enjoying every second as the next two and a half weeks fly by!

Music for Everything :: Revisited

Decisions have been made! We changed it a lot since my last post. Here goes...

Pre-Ceremony: We gave our DJ an overall feel of what we wanted and he will choose this. I'm totally ok with it, takes the load off of my shoulders! hehe.

Seating of the mom's: Canon in D.

Bridal party processional: Canon in D. Bridesmaid D teared up when I played it for all of them. She may cry more than I do.

Bride processional: Your Song by Vitamin String Quartet. I know, changed my mind again. But this one is perfect. Absolutely perfect.

During ceremony: N/A.

Recessional: Never Gonna Give You Up by Rick Astley. Tyler's choice and I love it.

Reception entrance: The beginning of Final Countdown by Europe. Again, Tyler's choice... he thought it would get some laughs. :)

Wedding Dinner: We will play our slideshow as soon as everyone has their plate so there won't be too much time for music, but our DJ will select songs based on the overall feel we discussed with him.

Slideshow: The slideshow will be split up in to four parts...

• Growing Up Tyler: Garth Brooks: The River.
• Growing Up Brittany: 10,000 Maniacs: These Are the Days.
• A College Romance/Us With Our Friends and Family: Tom Petty: Learning to Fly.
•  A Forever Love: Michael Buble: Everything.

Cake Cutting: James Taylor: How Sweet It Is. Cliche, yes, but we need a little cheeeeeese with our cake.

First Dance: Katherine McPhee: Terrified. Done and done. Our choice was reaffirmed when our DJ searched for it in his 96,000 song database and didn't have it... so we will be the first couple to dance to it...ever...or so we like to think. :)

Father-Daughter Dance: Tim McGraw: My Little Girl. My mom had a big impact on this decision... she suggested it and started crying as we listened. How could I say no to that?!

Mother-Son Dance: The Commodores: Three Times the Lady.

Anniversary Dance: N/A.

Bouquet Toss: The Weathergirls: It's Raining Men.

Garter Toss: Michael Jace: Bad Things. If you watch True Blood, you know.

Last Dance: Taylor Swift: Today Was a Fairytale.

Dancing! (Must Play): We put down a wide array of slow/fast songs ranging from romantic to silly to just plain fun. Oh, and lots and lots of 80's!

Getting Showered :: Part I

I had my first bridal shower on Saturday and it was fabulous! It was thrown by my boss and she invited all of the people I work with plus my mom and MOH. To be honest, I had no idea what to expect. I was nervous because being the center of attention is not my idea of a good time. I had a blast though and realized that it's just like spending time with good friends...and lot of smiling...seriously, my cheeks were sore by the time I got home. :)

Here are a few highlights...

The desserts!

The cake: homemade and SO delish

:)

I had to slow down on the champagne consumption ...
don't need to be a hot mess at my shower ;)

don't ask. ha.

my pink apron!

some of the group :) love these ladies

And if you're wondering why my boss is dressed the way she is... it's because she found an old bridesmaid dress, from the 80's no less, and decided she would wear it. Love her.

Where does the time go!? And some beauty stuff.

One month to go. Wow. I remember this like it was yesterday. And boy, did it really fly. 30 days to go and remarkably, I feel on top of it. Cross your fingers this doesn't change.

TheKnot.com suggested I should of started my Wedding Beauty Plan about a month ago...but what does that even mean??? Sometimes I think The Knot is straight crazy. Ha. Here's my take on it.

• Crest White Strips :: Gotta have those pearly whites for the wedding day. Tyler is joining me with this.

• Tanning :: I know it's awful...but I'm doing it anyway. Call me reckless. 

• Deep conditioning mah hairs :: Once a week from here on out.

• Working out :: every damn day ... and it's hard!

• Stop biting my nails :: Trying so hard to drop this dirty habit.

• Facials :: Weekly at home regimen...I'm too cheap to go anywhere else.

• Final cut and color :: September 29.

• Waxing :: Eeek. I'm scared.

• Manicure and pedicure :: The day before the big day.

So, tell me future and past brides, what beauty plan did/will you implement to get ready for the big day?

Dress-ing for the occasion

I'm the type that feels like she needs a new dress for everything. Ask Tyler, it drives him nuts. But since it is our wedding and many of the events, I have to be the center of attention, I've talked him in to letting me feed my addiction...in moderation. :)

For my work bridal shower:

Macy's

For my family/friend bridal shower:

Macy's

For the bachelorette party:

Macy's

For the rehearsal dinner:

Lulu*s

I still need one more dress for bachelorette weekend but I may have something that will work. Gotta love shopping sprees. :)

The Guestbook

After going back and forth about what to do for a guestbook, the final product has finally arrived.

Not going to lie, my heart skipped a beat when I saw Brittany Garner in writing.

I like that it allows our guests to write more than just their names, much less boring and it will be fun to read afterward.

Candy Buffet :: A Work In Progress

Candy Buffet to do list:

• Buy containers for buffet - done!
• Buy candy - done!
• Make containers pretty - done!
• Assemble candy containers for guests

I spent a good 4 hours last weekend getting my hands sticky with super glue putting the containers together. But I think they turned out pretty good. 

I also received the first round of candy I ordered, now I have to hide it from myself and TG so we're not tempted to eat it! :)

I ordered half of the candy from Candy Warehouse and the other half from Bulk Candy Store -- which should arrive Tuesday. 

License to Wed

It's official! ...well, almost. :)

We went on down to the county courthouse and got our marriage license! All I keep thinking is, ONE STEP CLOSER. Woo!

My Headpiece Dilemma

I really don't want a veil. But I want a statement hair piece that's beautiful and will work with my dress. There are intricate little details on my dress that incorporate tiny pearls. Here's what I've found (all from Etsy).

I'm leaning toward the third or fifth one...or second... It's so hard to decide!Thoughts?? Opinions??

Wedding Day Schedule

...also known as My Type A Personality on display. I'm embarrassed to admit that this shouldn't of been as much fun as it was. I created my 'Day of Schedule' in Microsoft Word with the hope that all of our helpers, bridal party, parents, and more awesome people who are lending a hand the day of will know exactly what to do and it will run smoothly.

It's still tentative but this is how it's looking...

I have four bridesmaids and myself, is that enough time to get ready? Also, I know there's no way in hell the ceremony will last one hour...we will be lucky if it lasts a half hour...but I factored in that time because I'm sure we'll be running late, so that's where we make it up.

Did you do anything similar?

Reception Layout

It's done, decided, finished! Woo! After having our final consultation with our caterer, I was able to put the final touches on our layout for the reception. 

Ignore all the crap on the right. 15 tables with 7-10 guests per table. If I had the ceremony part attached we would be getting married pretty much where I'm typing this. So our guests have to travel a grand total of 24 steps to get to the num-nummy food after they watch me cry like a baby at the alter. Tears of joy, of course. :)

Now, I'm going to attempt to get a head start on the seating... wish me luck!

Shot to the heart

Well, it was bound to happen. Just experienced my first Marriage Skeptic. As soon as my boss announced to her visiting friend that I was getting married in a little over a month I felt her wrath. 

"When I hear people are getting married, I usually say ARE YOU SURE?!"

Pretty darn, lady, thanks.

"Oh, my boyfriend and I are getting promise rings... Promise-to-never-get-married rings, that is."

That's great for you. Have a nice non-marriage.

But now, this encounter is bugging me. What happens in someone's life that makes them so jaded? Good lawd, please don't let that happen to me.