Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Is that what you wanted to do?

Something a little bit funny happened to me yesterday, and I had totally forgotten that it had happened until this morning when I remembered to tell Brad about it....

Yesterday afternoon, I was seeing my 1 oclock patient. It was right after lunch and I had forgotten to put my "work" shoes back on (those are a pair of plain black flats that I keep at work because I wear flip flops in and out of work and in between patients).
He noticed my flip flops and said something to the effect of "oh, you have your sandals on, are you going to the beach?"

It took me by surprise for a couple of reasons: 1) I have forgotten to change my shoes before and the patients have never made a comment, or probably even noticed! and 2) I felt TERRIBLE for wearing open toed shoes in a clinic setting.

I digress....I replied "No sir, not headed to the beach any time soon, I just got back actually"

To which he stated, "Well, did you have fun?"

(Here is where it got strange....)

I said, "We had a great time. I actually got engaged while we were down there."

AND HIS RESPONSE WAS...."You got engaged? Is that what you wanted to do?"

(Pause for a moment for impact)

WHO SAYS THAT?!?!!?!!? Most people say things like "congratulations"....or "when is the wedding".....not "is that what you wanted to do?"

I would have been LESS offended/shocked if he had said "Congratulations....marriage is a bitch"....or something to that effect....LOL

I guess people have differing views of marriage, and unfortunately, I have noticed a pattern in marriage with my different aged patients.....the 70 and 80 year olds still love their wives (or they have been trained to act like it) and the 50 and 60 year olds are usually divorced and on to a second wife (which is fine, I am not here to judge...my parents are divorced).

It just boils down to a difference in generations....(my patient was 55 years old)

That is all I have on that story...

Wedding updates....my videographer is free on October 16th....so I am hoping to make a deposit soon and get him scheduled away for that day!!!

Hopefully meeting with a photographer soon to talk with her about pricing and see some of her other work....and then get her scheduled away!!!!

I CANT WAIT....381 days to go!!!!

Monday, September 28, 2009

Goin' to the Chapel....

Well, it is official....WE GOT OUR CHURCH!!!!

As you may know, we were hesitant about having to wait a whole year (and some weeks) to get married....but that was only because we are just ready to Mr. and Mrs. and begin our lives together.....but I met with the church last Thursday afternoon, and I now have a peace about it. Brad also is pleased with the church and seems to be excited to be having our ceremony there.

We are going to be married at Fellowship Bible Church....which is what I consider my "home" church. It is where I went as a child up until I left for college and I have returned a few times, but have not gotten truly plugged back in for various reasons.

They are a HUGE (literally, HUGE) non-denominational church now located off of Rahling Road. They are one of those big, overwhelming churches that has a HUGE sanctuary that would NEVER be feasible to get married in....but since they have relocated in the past few years, they built a chapel that is used for Deaf Ministry on Sunday mornings and also doubles as a Wedding Chapel on Saturday evenings...

It has a high ceiling with wooden beams, a stage and plenty of seating (400+)....I wish I had taken pictures so I could post them....

So...it is now official.....OCTOBER 16th, 2010 will be the greatest day of my life....I will be marrying my best friend and the type of man I NEVER thought I deserved to be with...

For several years, I have always said I wanted a man named Popeye to do my videography at my wedding....I have known him for several years (through RimRockers, his daugther-in-law was one of my pledge sisters, and he is an acquaintance of my dad)....and I emailed him this past week and HE IS AVAILABLE ON OCTOBER 16th!!!!! It is all coming together and I am so pumped....

Once my BIG details are taken care of, then it will be time to worry about the little ones, and those are the ones I tend to stress about....oh well, take it all in stride and they are just little details.

I really want to enjoy my engagement and wedding planning and try to avoid any and all drama that could break out....i know that is wishful thinking, but drama is only dramatic if you make it that way....otherwise, it is just an issue to deal with!!!

The current check list is as follows....
Reception site (check)
Ceremony site (check)
Pastor (check....if scheduling permits)
Videographer (check)

I have to brag on my fiance for one minute....he is more attentive about this wedding planning experience than I EVER expected....He asks me how meetings went, he wants to know what they told me or what thier answers were to our questions.....He also will sit with me and flip through our planning book and occasionally asks questions. I am very impressed....I am also not naive....I KNOW he doesnt care what our color scheme is, or what the bridesmaids dresses look like....but he will sit and listen to me talk about those things, and then will put in his opinion about other things. I am so lucky!!!

That is all the updates I have about the wedding planning....STAY TUNED!!!

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Wedding Update

Well....Brad and I really want to get married in May, and after looking at the feedback from some of you...May seems like the best time....BUT (isnt there always a BUT?!?!?!)...........

The church we want to get married in/at (Fellowship) is booked for May 15th, 2010....but it is available October 16th, 2010.....

Our reception site has us penciled in for both of those dates....so we are good to go for a reception site....but what it comes down to is the church.

Fellowship has 2 chapels....The Chapel and the Glass Chapel...apparently the Glass Chapel only holds about 50 guests....so that is something else for Brad and I to think about....do we want to have a small wedding with CLOSE friends and family and then invite everyone to the reception?!?!?!

We are planning to drive around this weekend and see if we can find any churches downtown or around that we could maybe get married in on May 15th....we are not opposed to RENTING a site, but that would also include RENTING chairs and decorating it, etc.....we are trying to budget!!!

Do you guys have any ideas of churches that may allow to non-members to marry in their place of worship???

Some things I am looking for....
*A single aisle, right down the middle....its the way i have envisioned it for as long as I can remember.
*A lenient policy on "secular" music....I would like to have a cd playing of love songs while my guests are being seated...some churches dont let you play "secular" music
*Allow visiting pastors to officiate the ceremony....I have a pastor in mind for the ceremony, and we would like for Brad's gpa (who used to be a Baptist minister) to do our vows....so we need a place that allows other pastors/ministers to participate.

That is all I can think of right now....If you guys have ANY suggestions what-so-ever....i would GREATLY appreciate it!!!

Monday, September 21, 2009

October or May

Brad and I were originally discussing having an October wedding, but seeing that October 16th is over a year away....we are rethinking our original decision.

We sat down this weekend and discussed/wrote down the pros and cons of getting married in either October or May.

Pros of October are that we will have a year to plan a wedding, we can enjoy our engagement, we will have more paid off individually so when we join our debt wont be so awful, plenty of time to look for a house and buy one, etc.

Cons of October are that we have to wait that much longer to be married, its FOOTBALL season, it would link a big day into a series of others (my bday, thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Valentine's Day, his bday) creating a VERY expensive Fall/Winter season, its close to hurricane season (aka rainy honeymoon), "small room" at reception site, etc

Pros of May are that we will be married sooner, no HUGE sporting events are occuring that we would miss, we have the "big room" at the reception site, etc

Cons of May are that I will be STRESSED to get it done in 8 months, tends to be rainy, we won't have our tax money back to pay for the honeymoon, etc.....

We had decided this weekend to stick with October....but I just have a hesitant feeling about it for some reason and I re-brought up the topic this morning....so we are in discussions....

Did you guys have long engagements or short ones??? What are some of the pros and cons???? HELP A BRIDE OUT!!!

Monday, September 14, 2009

Proposal

Ive had NO time to update with pictures and stuff since we were packing up and cleaning up the beach house PLUS driving 10 hours home...

Then on Sunday, I had to do laundry all day and visit with family AND THEN drive back to Memphis...

Now I am at work (boo...id rather be on the beach), but I have two pictures to upload of Bradley and I's engagement!


The first picture was taken by Cara Beth (Walker) Buie...one of my best friends and a MAJOR player in the proposal...Bradley had asked her to take pictures for us....



The second picture was taken on my Iphone...lol...its of the ring!!! He did an AMAZING job picking out EXACTLY what I wanted...and I LOVE my ring...

I havent even started to plan or make stuff official because I keep getting distracted by the shiny thing on my left hand...lol...

Hopefully I can keep a detailed blog diary of the wedding planning process, but we all know that is not going to happen!!!

Can not wait to see the other pictures CB took of us....but she is a very busy lady with other photos to edit....she is an AMAZING photographer so if you ever need ANYONE, let her know...

Friday, September 11, 2009

9-9-09

On September 9th, 2009....my AMAZING boyfriend (who I do not deserve) proposed to me!!!

We were at the beach and I am still here currently....he flew out this morning to go to drill in Arkansas so Alicia and I are driving back tomorrow morning.....but I digress....

The point is.....WE ARE ENGAGED AND IT WAS THE BEST MOMENT OF MY LIFE!

I AM GOING TO BE MARRYING THE LOVE OF MY LIFE AND MY BEST FRIEND! MORE TO FOLLOW...I HAVE ONE MORE NIGHT AT THE BEACH AND A LONG DRIVE TOMORROW...SO I AM HEADED TO BED SOON AND VERY SOON!