For Laughs.

I decided to google "ugly wedding" and it brought up some pretty horrible stuff. I decided I would add the worst of the worst so you could enjoy!

This is creepy, even to me. 

I'm really not sure what's going on in this picture. I think they're being attacked by an animal. 

Yes, this is real. This is a bikini wedding dress. How proud their kids will be someday.  

I had to double check that this happened. It did.  

(Silent stare) 

 Fancy.

This picture is so horribly embarrassing! That's her bouquet that's supposed to be hidden.  

Sorry Kim K., this ring is horrible. Who REALLY needs a diamond that big? 

 ...

Fluffy. 

From Russia, With Love. 

Yeeeah... 

The Final Count Down.

In approximately 4 days I will be waltzing into the Pythian Castle and getting hitched. As we come down to these last few days I manage to get sick. All I know is that I am miserable right now and can hardly swallow my own spit. If I'm sick for my wedding I will be mad!

The Mr. and I will be going out to dinner after the wedding and cake with the family. I didn't want to wear my wedding dress to dinner in case I got it dirty. So I went on my favorite website (JCrew.com) and found my wedding night outfit! Best part? All on sale! Like, significantly on sale.

My mom got me this necklace from KateSpade.com. I absolutely love it! In real life it's pretty small and is not as easy to read. It's kind of like a little secret. I love love love it and will never take it off. EVER.

The Dress and a Couple Changes...

I found out yesterday that my dress was in early and ready for me to try on. I was on my way to St. Louis and seriously considered turning around to go get it (not really...I was going there for work). Anyway, tonight mom and I went in with my accessories and shoes! The dress fit PERFECTLY! I couldn't believe that I didn't need it altered at all. I was so happy when I tried it on. The length is perfect, the size, everything! My new thicker sash looks fantastic with it. The only thing I was disappointed about was my veil.

Earlier I mentioned I had gotten a black birdcage veil. This seemed perfect at first. Then I started thinking about how I didn't get a very traditional dress and wearing the black veil made me feel even less like a bride. So when I went in to try it on I looked around for another veil. I was worried since my dress is not white or ivory. The sales person pulled out this absolutely perfect one that was the exact length I had seen myself in and the trim on it matched my dress perfectly. What luck! I could have hugged that lady! I put the veil on and got a little teary... that was it.

This is my veil, only the trim is more of a dark ivory/champagne color instead of white. I'm in love with it!

Next was my shoes. I tried on the black ones I previously mentioned with the sparkly bows on them. I wasn't digging the shoes with everything else. I felt like it didn't match and was too much with the bows. So...I came across these beauties on Nordstrom.com and I had to have them.

Are these not absolutely the most amazing shoes you've ever seen!? I can't wait to get them! They're made by Steve Madden. They also come in black. And I am so wearing these everyday after the wedding.

I wasn't entirely sure what I wanted for jewelry on that day besides my rings and a diamond bangle I have. I found these at David's Bridal randomly and they looked really great with the color of the dress...

I'd still like another bracelet but we'll see. I like things simple.

Well, Johnny comes home in 5 days and the wedding is in 7! I can't wait!

Final Details.

I'm ironing out the final details of the wedding this week as I have time. I don't really have a lot of that stuff (time) but I somehow find planning this relaxing so I have been doing it to unwind. This week I have figured out my hairstyle, makeup, and that I need a cake topper or something. At first I wanted roses on the top of the cake (real ones) but after thinking about it I would really like something special as a keepsake. Sadly for me the kind I like are all hand done so it's a little short notice to be ordering it. Perhaps I'll be able to find something this weekend here in town. Anyway, here is what I have come up with...

 I couldn't figure out if I wanted my hair up or down, messy or perfect. This messy bun is absolutely perfect. It's pretty clean and put together but has the mess added to it. Awesome. I am going for the one on the top part of this picture.

 I love smokey eyes and originally thought that's what I wanted. After purchasing a black birdcage veil I decided adding smokey eyes to that would be too dark. I'm opting for this very simple but glamourous look. Perfect foundation, fake lashes, semi-thick eyeliner, white shadow, nude lip.

 I found this idea on Pinterest and fell in love with it. What a perfect way to keep the cards that family and friends send after the wedding. Just make a cover with some thick scrap-booking paper and put some personal touches on it!

This is the most perfect cake topper ever. They are handmade from this gal on Etsy. I would totally make the male bird brown and the bride bird's flowers to match mine. Sadly, it's too late to order this since it is handmade.

Maybe we will get these for when we have our reception after Johnny gets home. Until then, I will continue to admire them online.

Nine Days.

In nine short days I will be a Mrs. How weird is that? I'm really excited! It's going to be a great day! And it's going to be a great Christmas!

Speaking of Christmas... I should probably start Christmas shopping. I got my dad's stuff done but really need to work on everyone else. Leave it to me to do it last minute. I swear I wouldn't get anything done if I didn't do it at the very last second. Working under pressure does me well.

I finally decorated.

That would be my weird white Christmas tree. I got it about three years ago when we lived in the loft. I was trying to do a retro/modern look for Christmas so I got a white tree and used all black and red decorations. I think it goes okay in my little bungalow. I wanted a real tree but opted out of one because I could not handle taking care of one more living thing right now with everything going on.

Here is a sneak peak of my veil (I really hate how it looks on this model). My dress is on Pinterest but I refuse to put it on here in case Johnny looks.

I had Johnny try on his wedding band this past weekend when I went to see him. I thought I was so clever in figuring out what size it needed to be. Turns out, I was wrong and it's a whole size too big. Now to find time to exchange it (it's titanium).

My mom told me something weird the other day... apparently at one point in time titanium was much more expensive than gold. Pretty sure his band was about $300 less than what it would have been if I had chosen a gold one! The rings are super important but who knows what's going to happen to his while he's at training!

I'm going to try to update this more often. It might be after finals (this week!) that that actually happens.

Until then...

Day Two...

It's only day two of wedding planning and I'm almost done! Today three things got accomplished...

1) Mom ordered the cake! It's going to look just like I want it to! I'm fairly sure I'm the only bride who didn't go order her own cake...I feel like cake is cake.
2) Got my dress ordered! Absolutely LOVE it! My mom surprised me and paid for it. Apparently she tricked me by saying I had to buy it so that I would stay in budget..it worked! So that left me with more money for my third venture...
3) Got the wedding bands!

Engaged!

I haven't written in a while. I feel like I've been running all over the place but I'm not entirely sure what I'm doing or what I have gotten accomplished. But, I'm back now!

My now fiance and I have been talking about getting married for a while now. It wasn't until I went to see him for his BCT graduation that we started talking seriously about it. We chatted about eloping during his Christmas break but nothing was ever set in stone. I was able to go see him the following weekend and we talked about it more. Then we talked about it more on the phone for the rest of Thanksgiving week. We decided on Sunday to make it official. We are engaged and we are eloping on December 22, 2011! That's in like two weeks! EEEK!

Why so soon you ask? We could have put it out a little further into his two week break but we wanted to spend time together married before he departed again.

It's weird because growing up I never really envisioned my own wedding. I feel like I thought about it a couple of times but not like a normal little girl might. I have always known that I never wanted a big wedding. To me weddings are very special and should be shared with people who are VERY close to you. I don't want to feel like I'm on display. But, there were certain things I knew would be important to me for tradition's sake. Things like a bouquet. I really wanted a bridal bouquet. Not a big one but just something special and pretty. Every girl loves flowers, right? I knew I wanted a cake. Nothing is better than a pretty cake made especially for you. And I knew I'd want a dress. I love clothes and LOVE most wedding dresses. I only plan on wearing one (maybe two if we ever re-do our vows) but I want it to be special.

With all of that being said, I wasn't about to buy all of this for a trip to the court house. So, we are "eloping" (as in getting married spur of the moment) at the Pythian Castle! I am so excited about this! We love the Pythian Castle. It's absolutely beautiful. My mom and I went to look around at it today and see where we wanted the event to take place. We chose the lobby (which sounds odd but I promise it's big and very beautiful). It's also decorated already! And the decorations match my random color scheme (dark red, black, off white). Me and my mom loved it and I know Johnny is going to think it's amazing! So I got my location secured today! During my lunch break!

This is the outside of the castle. I get to get married in a castle! I'm REALLY hoping it's snowing outside so we can get some good pictures outdoors too! Now all I'm waiting for is the officiant to call me back!

I also ordered my bouquet during my lunch hour (yes, it was literally an hour! I couldn't believe it!). I wanted something simple. So it'll look something like this with a black ribbon instead of a white one...

My idea for the cake is the following but with red roses that match the bouquet instead of the white flowers...

Simple but pretty. :)

I'm VERY lucky because my brother takes AMAZING pictures. He'll be doing all of ours!

Now for the dress... mom and I are going to look for one tomorrow, well I have an appointment anyway. I'm hoping I can find something I like that I can actually afford.

I AM going to do this wedding for under $500! It's going to happen! And it's happening in two weeks! Seventeen days to be exact!