Ceremony Programs & MOH Visit

This time next week we'll be hectically loading stuff into the car to head for Weatherford  -- OMG I'm so excited!!!!  There is still a lot to be done before the wedding, however.  The biggest thing left is probably the ceremony programs, which I have been successfully avoiding all week.  Last night I spent 3 hours on them & only managed to cut out 15 & tie together 10... I'm going to have to try to get at least 10 done a day for the rest of the time remaining...

In happier news, Ashley is coming again today!!  She is still trying to get off work, but she should be leaving soon (it's a 4-5 hour trip).  Tomorrow we're heading to a fancy hotel in Dallas for our bachelorette weekend.  There is a beautiful rooftop pool & a wine bar -- can't wait!!

DJ Meeting & Wedding Decor

Today Daniel & I had our final meeting with the DJ before the wedding!  We decided on a wedding itinerary which will look something like this:

Wedding Itinerary - April 17, 2010

 

Pre-Ceremony

2 PM - bridal party arrives at Clark Gardens dressing room for hair & makeup

3 PM - vendors may arrive & begin setting up in ceremony/reception areas

 

Ceremony (starts at 7PM in Channel Garden):

Prelude (Air in Water Music)

Processional (Canon in D/Here Comes the Bride)

Handfasting Ceremony (solo by Grace Babcock - Come What May)

Recitation of Vows

Exchange of Rings

Pronouncement of Marriage

Butterfly Release

Recessional (Crazy Little Thing Called Love)

 

Reception:

7:30 PM - guests make their way to Rose Pavilion for cocktail hour; wedding party takes pictures

8:15 PM - grand entrance of wedding party

8:20 PM - first dance (All I Ask of You)

8:30 PM - dinner begins/pre-wedding video plays

9:15 PM - cake cutting & toasts

9:30 PM - father/daughter dance (Landslide), mother/son dance (You'll Be In My Heart), brides of the ages dance

10:45 PM - bouquet/garter toss

11:35 PM - song plays to wrap up the night; guests make their way outside of the pavilion for grand send-off; Daniel & I dance to our last song (What a Wonderful World)

11:45 PM - grand send-off

I'm happy with how everything is scheduled & can't wait to see how it all plays out. 

Daniel & I also went to Joann's fabric store & bought six 15 foot panels of white organza for the swag in the gazebo, as well as four 15 foot panels of white satin to hang in the ceremony area.  I have ordered some Christmas lights online (I couldn't find anywhere else to buy them this time of year!) to wrap around the gazebo.  I hope we got enough of everything & it looks good...

Another concern I'm having is the weather forecast for April 17.  Right now they're calling for showers pretty much all weekend :( I'm hoping so much that the weather is nice, or at least nice enough for us to still have the wedding outdoors.  Clark Gardens does have a white tent available as a back-up plan, but I will be so disappointed if we have to use it...

Bridal Portraits Ready!

My photographer sent me the link to my bridal portraits!! YAY!   See them here!  I love them!

Bridal Portraits

My best friend, Ashley, came down this weekend to help me with bridal portraits!  We went to Alfred Angelo on Friday so that she could learn how to lace up my gown.  After that we went to the dog boutique that I ordered the wiener's tux from so that they could get some accurate measurements -- he's going to be adorable in his little suit & bow tie!

On Saturday, we got up early & headed to Chick-fil-a for a quick breakfast before my bridal hair & makeup.  I think it turned out even better this time, it was very piecy & sultry looking!! :)

We made the long trek to Weatherford after my hair & makeup were done & got there around 3 PM.  Ashley helped me get in dress (carefully so we didn't mess up my hair & makeup!) & we met up with my photographer.

Have I mentioned how much I LOVE my photographer?!  She is AMAZING!!  We had so much fun going through the gardens & she snapped pictures everywhere!

On the way back home, Ashley & I stopped at BJ's for dinner (my favorite!).  I can't wait to see  how the bridal portraits turned out!

DIY Bride?

I’m not much of a do-it-yourselfer.  I’ve found that other people can generally do things much better than I can if I just pay them to do it.  I decided that I did want to do at least one home-made thing for the wedding, however, & have now chosen to take on the ceremony programs.  After a long period of playing around on the computer, I’ve finally finished designing them.

Tada:

I wrote the butterfly release poem myself… it’s pretty cheesy, but Daniel liked it:

Today we join our lives together,
A transformation of our souls.
The intertwining of our hearts,
Into a chrysalis of love.
So that, in time, we may emerge,
Greater than ourselves.
Today we send our hopes and dreams,
Riding in the skies,
Upon the gentle gossamer,
Of sweet devotion’s wings.

Now I just have to cut, hole punch, & tie 100 of these—guess I know how my next several weeknights will be spent!!

Wedding Party Presents

With 17 days to go before the wedding (eek!), I’ve finally picked out the gifts for my attendants & for Daniel.  The gifts for the bridesmaids will be a silver monogrammed compact inside these adorable personalized makeup bags:

I thought a long time about what I wanted to get Daniel.  I wanted it to be something small, but meaningful. Since he’s so crazy about guitars, I finally decided to order him some personalized guitar picks (in green) with this written on them:

I really hope he likes them!

Monogamy

Monogamy.  Not the idea of ‘only having one spouse at a time’ (definition.com!), but the WINE.  After much consideration we decided to change our wedding wine to the superb Target brand Monogamy.  Although the wine IS delicious, I will admit the main reason I decided to change it is because of the absolute irony of the name.  It’s perfect for a wedding wine!

We got 30 bottles of Monogamy wine in today from Target (15 cabernet, 15 chardonnay).  Now if only I can keep my hands off it until the wedding….

I’ve also finally come up with wedding music for the ceremony & reception.

So far:
Prelude… Air from Water Music – Lumiere String Quartet
Processional… Pachelbel “Canon” – the exact version from Father of the Bride :)
Solo (performed by my mom during hand fasting)… Come What May – from Moulin Rouge
Recessional… Crazy Little Thing Called Love – Queen
First Dance… All I Ask of You – Phantom of the Opera
Father/Daughter Dance… Landslide - Fleetwood Mac
Mother/Song Dance… You'll Be in My Heart - Phil Collins

I have these songs in a Wedding Music playlist on my iPhone that I listen to over & over.  Plus I’ve changed Daniel’s ringtone to All I Ask of You & my generic ringtone to Pachebel’s Canon—I’m definitely NOT obsessed at all!!!

I’ve also been thinking about how to tell the makeup/hair artist to do the bridesmaids hair.  My MOH & I have been thinking about a low side ponytail, I think that may be my final decision.

Like so: