My fiance and I have been together for about 4years now. We just recently got engaged last saturday. (8/1/09)  He took me downtown (chicago) to buckinngham fountain. We sat around for awhile and I could tell he was very very nervous.

After about 45 minutes he told me we had to leave to make our dinner reservations. We had dinner at Rosebud on rush st. It was a great place! I had never been there before.

Then he surprised me with a horse and carriage ride through downtown chicago and the lake. After 10min on the carriage he got down on one knee and proposed! It was awesome! I was so excited when I saw the ring I should yes and grabbed the box from his hand and put the ring on my finger! He laughed and asked, "aren't I supposed to do that." I couldn't believe I had just yanked that out of his hand. I quickly took the ring off and handed it to him. He just laughed and put the ring on my finger!

Here is my baby....it looks exactly like this!

My colors are chocolate brown, champagne and eggplant

Not yet booked! But this is where we are planning to have it! Just have to finalize our date and give the deposit! It is exactly what we wanted!

Update: We booked our venue! Yay! I am so excited! We will do our first food tasting Nov 25th!

There aren't any pictures avaliable of our ballroom! :(

Found one!

I got these super cute DIY inivitation kit from target. And I am adding more stuff to them! SOme of the things I am adding is a purple flower on the inside and a purple ribbon to tie the outside.

I also bought these envelopes to mail them out in and I am going to write the addresses in white ink! Ill post pictures soon!

So we took the envelopes from the DIY kit and ordered invitations from weddingpaperdivas.com

Too much work to DIY.

Bridal Shower Invitations!

Aren't these the cutest? My MOH/sister ordered these for my shower! This is a copy of the sample they have online!

I can finally say I am extremely happy with my dress! I can't wait to get her! This is the 3rd dress! But its for sure this time! Promise!

Maggie Sottero-Rhianna Royale

This is me in my dress the day I picked her up! I am so excited to alter her to fit more of my style!

I really have to pick my hair up because it is so thin that any curls will fall. so here are the looks I am leaning toward. i need hair extensions regaurdless. so I think I can pull these looks off.

Here is my makeup inspiration..

Bridesmaids Goodies

Monogramed tote bag: Vistaprint $2.00

Slik Robe: Marshalls $16.99

Makeup Case: Bath and Body Works Outlet $3.00

Flip Flops for day of: Hobby Lobby $1.00

Personalized Pen: Vistaprint $1.00

Magnetic NotePad: Michaels $1.00

Luggage Tag: Michaels $1.00

Not Pictured: Ivory Pashmina- Ebay $5.00

Here it is all together! I got the basket at Michaels during their after Christmas sale for $3.00.

Here is the tag on their gifts:

Grand total= $34.99

My MOH's basket includes all of the above along with the following items:

Personalized NoteCards: Vistaprint $2.00

An apron that reads, "Housekeeping can't kill you. But why risk it?" Michaels $5.00

Her day of bracelet: Mall Jewelry stand $18.00

Her day of earrings: Carson Pirie Scott (on sale!!) $3.00

Here is her basket all together:

MOH grand total: $62.99

Groomsmen

The guys received their tux kit: $30.00

I am also giving them a pair of black dress socks and I am still debating on another item.

So I will be having 6 bridesmaids including my maid of honor! I want them each to have a different dress in a different shade of purple. These are the ones that have been purchased so far...

So these are are GM choice for their tuxes..

So here she is...OUR wedding cake!

This cake will be 4 tiers. 2 tiers will be of the traditional mexican tres leches cake with kauhla! Mmmmm!

And my favorite will be of chocolate cake, cheesecake and fresh rasberries!! mmmmmm

Here are my table numbers that I made. I will have 2 alternating brooches.

Centerpiece Inspiration

Here are my DIY mock-ups that I will be making the day before our big day!

All Roses were ordered from global rose. For my review, please check out my post... http://www.projectwedding.com/post/list/my-globalrose-com-diy-creations

And here is my escort card table mock-ups...

Here is what I have ordered for the big day!

Boutonnieres for Groomsmen...

Bout for Groom...

Corsages for my mom, FMIL, grandma and godmother...except all white!

 For my girls....There bouquet will consist of lavender roses, purple mini cala lilies, lavender freesias and white sweet peas.

For my MOH- Except the calla lillies will be purple.

Cremony Deco

Something similar to this...

MY BOUQUET! ALL WHITE! It will consist of white roses, white calla lilies and white tulips!

So our engagement session is not until April because we want to weight until the weather gets warmer! My sister grabbed my camera and my fiance and I to take some pictures for our website! They turned out pretty good for DIY!

So FI and I are pretty much paying for this wedding ourselves which is going to be tough. I am still in school and working as a teachers asst making nothing an hour! He is pretty much taking care of this huge cost! We are really trying to keep the cost down and stay within our 15k budget. Its really tough. Here is the breakdown so far.

Venue and Catering- Hilton Oak Lawn. 150 people. Our reception is a Saturday in July, since it is a hot day the prices are a little higher! This includes food, alcohol, limo and centerpieces =  $9,400

Church- Mary Queen of Heaven, Cicero. http://maryqueenofheaven.e-paluch.com/We are having a traditional Catholic ceremony. Our fee = $450.00

DJ- Mike Huerta. Mix Music. htt-p://www.mixmusicent.com/ This was actually one of the easiest things to book. We went with a DJ who has worked my cousin and sisters wedding. He was a huge hit at both events so we knew were were going to book him= $800.00

Photographer- Dulce M. Rodriguez. http://www.dmr-foto.com/ We were referred to Dulce from a friend who had booked her for their wedding. She is very talented and is just starting to branch out as an independent photographer. She is very patient and friendly! Plus we got a FREE engagement shoot! Her package includes all day coverage and a Hi-Resolution CD to print our own pictures. She has packages that include an album= $800

Dress- Eva's Bridal of Oaklawn. I bought my Maggie Sottero there. The staff was helpful. I actually changed my mind on my dress and they let me change my order.=$1400.00

Invitations-Wedding Paper Divas. We thought about going the DIY route but we got lazy. We bought 75 invitations, response, reception cards=$230.00

Shoes- DSW Warehouse. I got my shoes for $20 off the clearance rack!= $20.00

Bridesmaid gifts- Silk robe, personalized tote and pen, slippers, lotion and body wash, luggage tag and magnetic note pad = $180 for all 6 girls

Groomsmen-JcPenny. Tuxedo set. =$180

Groom's Attire- Tuxedo set and suit =$200

As of right now we have $1340 left for our other expenses. Rehersal dinner and other accessories we may need.

Items that have been gifted by family and friend

Cake

Wedding Bands