T-Minus 5 Months and 2 Days!

Hey ladies,

I know...I've been slacking in my bloggerly duties.

So since the 1 year mark I have done quite a few things:

Videographer
Engagment pictures
Changed the colors of the wedding (Cognac, Wine, and Truffle)
Picked out the flower girls dresses
Lost 7 lbs!
Found out we are moving to Louisiana
Finished my last semester at a MS university
Decided to be a Sociology major
and lots of other stuff!

I'm just extremely happy. My relationship with Scott is amazing. Really superb. My FSIL (future sister in law) is having her first baby in June so we are extremely excited about that. I'm also having my first bridal shower on July 10th and my second on August 1st.

So, basically that is it. My little update. =)

One Year...

Until the big day officially!

Wow! The time is flying by. I can hardly believe it's already October 10, 2009. It doesn't seem like February was really that long ago!

To comemorate to the day I decided to tell you about my search for "THE DRESS."

I started looking for a dress almost immediately. I can honestly say it was my favorite part of the planning process. I have dreamed about the dress since meeting Scott. I always imagined I would wear a dress like Julia Roberts wears in Runaway Bride: The bell dress. Honestly, it's basically impossible to find a picture of this dress.

I found a dress I absolutely loved on a mannequin in the main street dress shop however I was not yet engaged when I found the lovely thing. Scott and I went into the store to find out how much it cost and who designed it but I cannot for the life of me remember and now it's been too long. =(

I had quite a few almost moments. Two dress I actually though were "The One" but then I would overthink it. Thankfully I didn't rush into a deposit.

I decided to go back to a dress store one town over to see if they had any new dresses. I knew what I wanted from trying on so many different dresses: Strapless, white, buttons down the back, beautiful flower detailing, and I wanted my waist to be nonexistent. The moment we walked into the store and saw this beautiful dress on the manniquin I knew. That is my Dress!

I tried it on and it fit like a glove. They had just gotten it in the day before and no one else had tried it on. I truly believe it was fate. I bought it the very next day.

Becca

Quick Update!

Since I'm pretty bogged down with life and school and whatnot I'm giving a quick update:

My grandmother is doing our invitations (she works as the design person for a printing press) so here it is!

Our colors are purple and light gold so the invitation colors will not be pink but we can rearrange everything and change the colors. This is just a general idea of what it will look like.

For our save the dates (need to order those soon) I couldn't really find anything but I knew I wanted magnets because you could simply put it on your fridge and not lose it. I wanted to go with the 123print.com website because the prices are affordable and i've seen the quality of their work but couldn't find a design I liked and I wanted my invites and save the dates to match but then they added an upload your own design to it so...problem solved!

The one year marker is fast approaching!

Becca

Finding The RIGHT Florist For YOU.

I decided to call this post "Finding the RIGHT Florist For YOU" simply because many brides go with a florist they feel pressured into using. My FSIL (future sister-in-law) was married this past January and her flowers were lovely and not expensive. She spend about $1400 altogether for her flowers. I don't recall there being flowers at the reception now but the ceremony had very nice flowers so perhaps they all went there. I became engaged in February and decided, "Why not use her florist?" After booking the reception hall and deciding on my colors (then dark blue and brown) I made an appointment with the florist. She was based out of her home so we met at a local starbucks (a common theme you'll notice when I post about the photographer)

She was a very nice woman and brought plenty of books with her. She walked me through all the flower choices and in the end we were 100% sure we were going with her. She told me to give her 1-2 weeks to get together our quote. After the third week we still hadn't heard a word about the quote so I decided to call her. She was nice but it was obvious that she had forgotten although she gave us a very sorry excuse about her daughter's emergency surgery. (This may have been true but I don't think it was.) She sent us the quote and it was about $900 so we were very excited. I had to change a few things on the contract and asked her to send us the corrected contract.

She never got back with me. I could no longer get her on the phone and she was not responding to any of my phone calls. I consider myself a very laid back bride so I have no clue why we are getting the cold shoulder! After visiting another florist recommended by FMIL to disastrious results I decided to try one more time. We had changed our colors to deep purple and light gold so obviously the flowers agreed upon at the last meeting wouldn't work so I left a message on her machine (a very nice message she didn't deserve) but to no avail. This woman has dropped off the face of the earth. (Figuratively speaking.)

I decided to research florists in the area and had a few hits and quite a lot of misses but when your planning a wedding for a city about five hours away this is usual.

My two finalists were Bella Blooms and Tracy's Flowers. Our first appointment was with Diem Vu of Bella Blooms and she is just adorable. She truly loves what she does and is so excited about flowers and everything involved. She is also very knowledgable of flowers and what will and will not look good. By the time we sat down and began talking I was convinced we were going with her. She practically finished my sentences in what I wanted. Our budget was $1000 for flowers which since then I've realized is unreasonable but we didn't tell her our budget. I wanted to know what my dream wedding flowers would cost. With my 12 person bridal party (bridesmaids and groomsmen), the two flower girls, the one ring bearer, both sets of parents, both sets of grandparents, my beautiful bouqet, and FH (future husband) boutinierre, as well as flower arrangements for all the tables (take home) and flowers for my cake it came out to $1500. $500 over our budget but Scott could tell this was what I really wanted so he said it wasn't a big deal! What a great guy!

I had all but signed a contract with Bella Blooms and absolutely did not want to go to the next florist but Scott insisted. Upon arrival we enter into a boutique of sorts that managed to shove a flower shop into the very back room. Our appointment was for 2:00 p.m. but we got there at 1:45. No big deal. I can wait 15 mins. We were greeted by a very rude shop boy and were told we'd have to wait as Tracy was with other clients. Again, not a big deal other than the fact that he was rude. 2:00 roles around and she's still not done with the client despite knowing we were there. 2:10 and she's still not done. If 2:15 comes and she's still not done we're walking out the door. 2:13 and she's finally done. She ushers us into a tiny cramped office (again, obviously an afterthought) and the phone rings. She tells us to look through the pictures provided and she'll be right back. The pictures provided are obviously from her son's mafioso wedding and have barely any pictures of flowers but tons of her 'growing up gotti' family. She spend about 10 minutes on the phone (not talking about flowers) before she comes back in without even apologizing. She asks for our budget and I tell her $1500. She scoffs as if it isn't even possible! She then barely listens to anything I say, suggests flowers I hate, and then rings up our quote. It comes to $1300. Finally, it's over!

I am having my flowers done by Bella Blooms. Even though she's more expensive I'm getting flowers I love and someone who will listen to me. That's worth a heck of a lot more in my opinion. I probably met with a total of 10 florists and only met one I connected with. It's worth it to go to many different florists. Eventually you'll find the one that you just know is going to do your wedding. Very much like finding your guy! (at least you don't have to pay for him.)

becca

It's My Birthday!

Because I turn 20 today I decided to dedicate a small portion of the blog to me.

I started my 5th semester of college yesterday and had to be up at 7:00 this morning to make my 8:00 o'clock class. CPR & First Aid if you're wondering. I also found out that my college does not want to cover the $30 cost of cpr certification that unless I want to stay after class or come early I will not be CPR certified. So of course I'm going to have to do that. =)

I'm planning on going to nursing school and so far it's just been a pain in the ass. I really wanted to attend MUW (it's a university) for nursing but was wait listed and can't reapply until next august. Then, EMCC (community college) opened the associate program for nursing in the spring (2010) so I'm applying for that in October. (Fingers crossed) If that doesn't work I'm also applying for the LPN program in the summer and if that doesn't work then damn it.

The fiancee started school a year before me in 2006 but he is also getting two degrees and applying for his masters all in 4 years. I feel like I'm waisting my life away. So dramatic. I just turned 20 and already my life is pretty much over! =)

I wish I could just stay in the now and not worry about the future but this is my freaking CAREER! I just want the assurance that I'm accepted into nursing school...

Anyways, I had to work 11-1 and I went into work miserable but the coworkers cheered me up just by being happy and fun. The flowers that were delivered to me mid shift didn't hurt either. Scott's a sweetie pie.

After work I took probably the nicest nap of my life! Then my family came over. I wasn't feeling great so having my brother and sister argue almost the entire time just cut into my mood.

It was nice having them over though. We live in the same town but don't see each other that often (at least not all together. I see my mother and grandmother almost every day.)

Well, It's been a rough, amazing, wonderful, awful 20 first years and hopefully I'll have quite a few more years left in me.

Becca

Venue?

Scott and I decided that we would be getting married in New Orleans, Louisiana despite the fact that we live in North Mississippi. Why? you might ask. Scott is from New Orleans and it has played a special part in our relationship and has truly brought us closer together.

Now, planning a NOLA wedding while living in North Mississippi is difficult but not impossible. The internet becomes your very best friend! While researching venues I had a few requirements. The ceremony and the reception had to be at the same place. The main reason, money. Having the ceremony and the reception in the same place means that people don't have to travel as far, your florist doesn't have to deliver to two different places, and your photographer isn't going between the church and the banquet hall.

We decided on Taravella Manor in Marrerro, LA. If you've ever been to New Orleans with a local the locations tend to blend together so despite the fact that it isn't "New Orleans" it's still "New Orleans." (taravellamanor.com)

The ceremony will be in the outside garden at 1:30 and the reception follows inside! We're having about 100 guests and as the wedding falls on a sunday and during the day we're saving about $1, 500.

For the price of $5,200 we get the ceremony, the bride's cake, the groom's cake, the D.J., an open bar, chair covers, ect. See how that takes care of almost everything?

Taravella Manor handles all of the above. We simply have to meet with the D.J. to provide our music choices for the ceremony, first dance, ect. and we have to meet with Haydel's bakery for the cake tasting!

It took me about two weeks to find the venue and sign the contract. Wedding planning doesn't have to be stressful. Simply remember your budget and don't go over it. It's all about compromise.

Becca

The Proposal: February 7, 2009

As I said before in my previous post, I've known Scott for a good bit so I can tell when some thing is up. Scott was riding in the Morpheus parade during Mardi Gras so we decided to go to the Morpheus Ball. (Yes, a real Ball with a King and Queen and pretty dresses, free liquor and great food!) Two of our friends were going to the Ball with us and decided to get a hotel room in the French Quarter. Scott had the not so bright idea of dropping them off at their hotel and then going back to the west bank (20 minutes away) and getting ready then going back to the middle of New Orleans for the Ball. I quickly threw a kink in that plan by telling him it would be simpler for all of us to just change at our friend's hotel room. We dropped our friends off in front of their hotel and went to find a place to park. (If you've been in the French Quarter during Mardi Gras season then you know how hard it is to find a parking spot) I didn't think of it at the time but the hotel had a parking garage.

Anyway, We circled the block a few times and then got to a parking garage a few blocks away from our friend's hotel. The garage manager told us that it was the Hotel Monteleone's garage and we had to be guests. Scott told the manager we were guests and I glared at him for lying. The manager told us the garage was full but there was additional parking on the other side of the hotel. We stopped in front of the Monteleone and Scott says, "Surprise!" At that point I realized that this was the reason he had been acting strange. We checked in and got our bags upstairs and then Scott went back to park the car in the garage.

The room was amazing! It was on the fifteenth floor and overlooked the City and the Mississippi River. It also had a HUGE king sized bed! I got into my dress around the time Scott got back into the room. He pulled me over to the window so he could get a better look at me. (Lightening in an old French Quarter hotel is notoriously dim) I do a little circle and he said he noticed "something" on the back of my dress. After "getting it" I turned back around to find him on one knee holding a little white box.

"What are you doing?" (cue high pitched nervous voice)

"Rebecca, I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?" (picture Scott on one knee sweating bullets)

"YES!!!"

He then opened the box (clever boy) and I was still in shock (pictures below) Lots of hugs and kisses were exchanged.

I then spent the next 45 minutes alternatively crying and calling family and friends before dancing the night away!

Becca