Puppy Potential?

We have a puppy. His name is Teddy. Middle name, Ruxpin.

He is our baby and we are completely obsessed with him. 

For me, this is the first dog I've ever had. Growing up I only had cats so I had no idea what it was like to have a "best friend." But I do NOW!!

That being said, Caleb and I are contemplating having Teddy in our wedding ceremony. I've seen it done before and thought it was so adorable. He just turned 1 year and is still in his puppy stage of being very energetic and wanting to run up to every stranger possible. 

Maybe by April he will be more mature...ha!

Pros:

1. Dressing him up in a cute bow tie and decorating his collar and leash in our colors.

2. Having all our guests say "awhhhh" as he walks down the aisle with my nephew (ring bearer).

3. Incorporating him into pictures to remember our first dog together.

Cons:

1. The stress of hoping he'll cooperate and not bark or try to jump on our guests as he walks down the aisle.

2. Figure out what to do with him after the ceremony and who we'll designate to do that.

Has anyone had their pet in their ceremony? Thoughts, suggestions, comments?

Of course I have to leave you with Mr. Teddy himself...

The B Word

I've grown to hate this word. 

Unless I win the lottery, I will just have to deal with it.

Budget. Ours is very limited. My family is helping out a bit (which I totally appreciate) but we are mostly doing this on our own.

That being said, we are trying to be realistic with things. It's harder than we thought. We are both shopaholics when it comes to anything. I bet I could spend a million dollars within a minute. However, in the end, it all comes down to one thing...being married. I have to keep that in mind every time we get frustrated when we realize we like something we can't afford.

As I was playing with our budget today, I was trying to guesstimate and total things we've found. Welp, we're already over like 2k.

Caleb came up with a 10k budget. At first, I was like "no way jose." Then I found must needed inspirations from this lovely girl. I don't know what her total ended up being (congrats btw) but I bet it was pretty close.

I was watching a wedding show and they said whatever your initial budget is, ADD 10% so you aren't in shock when you go over.

The moral of this blog is: I'm going to try and save up as much as possible (and still be able to eat everyday). 

But, in the end, we will be married and that's going to be better than flowers, a DJ, cake, decorations, etc.

Colors & Theme

This was one of the first decisions after I got engaged. It was really hard to even concentrate on coming up with ideas with out a color decision. 

After many weeks of google-ing and searching through color boards, we decided on light yellow and pewter gray. 

I absolutely LOVE this color combo. I think it's perfect for the type of (spring) wedding we're having. I definitely did not want normal spring colors: aka Easter eggs.

I haven't made any decisions on what colors will be what. Like bridesmaids dresses. Is putting my girls in yellow dresses cruel? I don't think so. Especially if it's light. Mustard or florecent, well that's another story. Is gray too boring? I don't know, I've found some amazing pewter dresses from Jcrew. I might just take a vote to see which they prefer.

Theme. Does every wedding have to have some sort of a theme? I would prefer mine not to. I want to stay away from everything cliche and "oh I've seen that done so many times." However, if I did have to pick one, it would be "spring garden." It doesn't get anymore cliche than that!

My goal is to find some really unique/modern ideas with a touch of tradition. 

Like these:

Something simple but fun for ceremony decor along the aisle.

I absolutely want to be wearing yellow heels!

These crazy yellow Mums would be so funky everywhere!

The Big 3-0

My fiance turned 30 yesterday and I had a whole day of planned surprises for him. First, he got a little spa treatment at a "men only" salon. They cut his hair, gave him a facial and a hand parafin wax treatment. Next, we had lunch and did a little shopping. I bought him a really nice pair of AG jeans that looked fabulous on his booty.

Next, he had a 1-hour massage appointment at Massage Envy. He loved it!

Lastly, I planned a group dinner with all his friends and family at this really fun 

Tex-Mex restaurant. It was a surprise and when we got there he was shocked to see everyone. I think everything turned out fantastic and he told me it was the best birthday he's ever had (yay!).

It was a really nice break from everything (especially all the discussion of wedding planning). I suggest taking a day off from wedding stuff once in a while and just go do something fun as a couple. It reminds you exactly why you're getting married!

I'm Back

It's been months. Several months. I literally have not had time to blog at all! What have I been so busy with? Well, I quit my job in Chicago. I was there for about 2 years, learned a lot but was tired of being a "professional slave" (a.k.a personal assistant).

So my fiance and I decided, "hey, let's move to Texas."

Dallas to be exact. He's from and grew up here so he has adjusted well. Me? I'm slowly getting used to it. Being from Pittsburgh and living in Chicago for 4 years; it's a big change. I start my new job in 2 weeks. Doing the same thing as I was in Chicago but NOT a slave this time!!

Wedding planning? It's taking over my life! I love it and am addicted. But, it's all I do all day long now that I'm not working at the moment.

We've established a number of important things since we moved here:

1. Set a date!! It's officially 4.10.10

2. Location & Venue: Winfrey Point at White Rock Lake, Dallas

3. Wedding Party

4. Colors: light yellow & pewter gray

Not really a big list of accomplishments but I think that's an OK start for all the chaos that's been going on.

My list of top priorities are:

1. Find and hire a photographer

2. Find and hire a "day of" wedding coordinator

3. Find and hire a DJ (really want a band, especially for how our venue is set up with a stage, but NOT in our budget)

I think these are the only things that I need to book asap??

First Look-Wedding Dresses

Ok, so I am officially obsessed with these wedding dresses!
I haven't looked at them in person or tried anything on yet but I love the designer.
In particular, I am looking at styles: 3966, 3909, 3609, 3916
I have no clue about buying a wedding dress. How much time does it take to come in, how long do the alterations take, etc???
I guess the first step is actually going to try them on. The main problem is, all the people whom I want to be there live in different states! This might be a bit complicated...
Wish me luck!
Have a good Thanksgiving everyone!!!!

Our First Dance

Caleb and I are both huge music fans so I thought it was going to take forever to find our first dance song...until we came across Mr. Jason Mraz.

His new album is amazing (We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things).

I have always been a fan but this song he did with Colbie Caillat is so sweet and the words are absolutely perfect!!

Listen here if you've never heard!

Let me know what you think!