Hi Everyone!

To start - a bit about my fiance and me.  I was born and raised in TX.  I moved to NYC after graduating college and have been here EIGHT years now. My fiance was born and raised in NJ.

We met one cold March day in Hoboken, NJ at the annual St. Patty's Day debacle.  For those of you that don't know, Hoboken celebrates St. Patty's day the first weekend of March.  The whole town turns into one big party, with the roads closed and people wandering the streets wearing Green.  It's fab!  I was there with some girl friends and because of all of the drinks festivities, I couldn't remember the address of the party we were supposed to go to.  We were wandering up and down the block when a group of boys approached us and invited us to their party.  Of course we went!!  My fiance and I met at this party - within 10 minutes of meeting, we left together to get pizza.  We've been together ever since!!

We just celebrated our 33rd Month anniversary - silly, but we get each other an anniversary card every month on the anniversary of our first date.  We've been doing this since our 3rd month together.  Yes, that is A LOT of cards!!!!!

We now live together and have an amazing dog, Sienna.

We are getting married on 09/05/09 outside of Philly, which is where my parents now live.

We're getting married at the Abington Art Center, a modern art museum set in a very old manor house. 

Our colors are copper, sage, and hints of brown.

We have a modest budget but I'm trying to keep the costs as low as possible, even when my efforts are thwarted by my FILs... My honey and I refuse to go into debt for our wedding.

Still figuring out the bridal party....which is a source of stress.  =/

Here are a couple pics of the Abington Art Center, outside of Philly.  Our ceremony and reception will both be held here...

The ceremony will be outside like this:

and here is the pavillion area set up for someone else's wedding - with all of the concrete, I will have to do a lot to soften it...

Here are some things I love and which I'm planning to incorporate into our day.

Bouquet - love that it's wrapped in burlap...

Even though my fmil says they will look like "potato sacks" and that it's my decision of course as to whether or not I want the tablecloths to be "scratchy," I'm planning on using burlap table cloths, similar-ish to what is seen here, but without the fringe on the ends:

Since our dog can't come to the wedding, we will have to have her there in spirit (the venue doesn't allow animals)...the idea is to make table numbers similar to these:

I've been collecting jars from goodwill and aunt sal's so that I can do my own flowers, inspired by this:

and since our ceremony will be outside, I plan to line the aisle with Shepherds hooks, inspired by this photo from sav-on-crafts.com:

20 bucks - found them on etsy  - they are vintage, and I can't wait till they get here!

I finallllllly decided on a dress for the bridesmaids...I had narrowed it down to 5 (yes, 5!) choices and then emailed all the girls to get them to rank them...There wasn't a clearcut favorite, but everyone loved 2 of them better than the rest.  The final choice is this dress, from J Crew:

I'm really excited about it!  It's a color they will all look good in, and it seems to be in a style they might actually be able to wear again.  Yay!

Finally decided on our 2 readings!!  The first will be read by my fiance's uncle:

Love Is Friendship Caught Fire - by Laura Hendricks

Love is friendship caught fire; it is quiet, mutual confidence, sharing and forgiving. It is loyalty through good and bad times. It settles for less than perfection, and makes allowances for human weaknesses. Love is content with the present, hopes for the future, and does not brood over the past. It is the day-in and day-out chronicles of irritations, problems, compromises, small disappointments, big victories, and working toward common goals. If you have love in your life, it can make up for a great many things you lack. If you do not have it, no matter what else there is, it is not enough.

The second will be read by my grandmother - my grandfather is now gone, but they shared an amazing love for over 50 years:

The Beauty of Love - Author unknown

The question is asked, "Is there anything more beautiful in life than a young couple clasping hands and pure hearts in the path of marriage? Can there be
anything more beautiful than young love?" And the answer is given. "Yes, there is a more beautiful thing. It is the spectacle of an old man and an old woman finishing their journey together on that path.  Their hands are gnarled, but still clasped; their faces are seamed, but still radiant; their hearts are physically bowed and tired, but still strong with love and devotion for one another. Yes, there is a more beautiful thing than young love. Old love.

I just bought a dress for my shower!  It was on sale too!  My shower is in 2-wks!!!

Front:

Back:

Now I just need to figure out shoes!!