As the last couple of years have gone by watching my friends and sister plan their weddings I was convinced that I was going to elope. However, after Nate proposed I soon changed my mind. He became so excited on planning our wedding together I began to think it might not be so bad planning a big party. I guess my biggest fear is turning into one of those girls on TLC's Bridezilla's because I would be so stressed out on every little detail. Thankfully Nate has been right there next to me to help with all the decision making. I do take care of most of the research and creative ideas. But every detailed decision has been a joint one. I'm so glad to say I am enjoying planning "our" wedding not "my."

After shopping for 10 months we might finally have a house. It is a short sale. We looked at the house right after another set of buyers backed out with one week to close. Because it is a small bank, not Bank of America or Wells Fargo, they told the selling agent that if we closed by the end of March they would pay for our closing costs. Which we need for more money to pay for the wedding. The sellers accepted our offer last week. We are suppose to hear from the bank by Wednesday. Fingers crossed. Can't wait to be a home owner. 

So we are closing on our first house tomorrow. I have been on Pinterest like crazy trying to find inspirational ideas. I keep finding paint idea I love however because we are paying for the wedding ourselves we can't afford new furniture right now. Which is fine. I remember growing up in the 80's and my parents being borderline breaking even. They had the brown flower velvet living room set with wood trim. Anyone remember that? Orange shag carpeting? It's funny how my parents 2 bedroom 1 bathroom was the perfect starter home for them. Now-a-days it's a minimum of a 3 BR/ 2BA in order to have any kind of resale down the road. My FI and I don't have a lot of furniture to move thankfully. I just hope our house doesn't feel too empty these next couple of years. 

Last night was our first night staying in our new home. The moving process has definitely have test both of our patience with each other. But we always go to bed happy with each other. All the unexpected expenses to get us into the house is over with. Now back to paying off the wedding. We got our new quote from our new florist which came in way lower than the first. Relief! Here is to the Month of living and getting physically lean in May. 

So needless to say no exercise thus far in May. My FI and I have been so busy with working full-time and coming home to rip up carpet, paint, and clean our first floor of our house. This last Thursday I finally had my first trial fitting. It felt perfect except a little snug in the butt. I expected that after all the takeout food during the move and the stress on top of that of getting settled in. Overall not bad and I left so excited about my dress. I purchased Jillian Michaels workout series on Groupon and it's on it's way. So I will be busting it up for my 100 day countdown. Next will be trying to get my FI to join me. 

My FI and I registered for our honeymoon because we have all of our small essentials, ie. dishes, glasses, linens, etc. But my MOH, my sister, insisted on having a bridal shower for me. My only suggestion was to have a "Stock the Bar" party. At first my sister was intimidated about the idea not being a traditional shower but it turned out great. 

When entering the shower we were greeted with a glass of wine, socialized for a bit, and then began eating a nice spread of finger foods. Our server created four classic cocktails; Kir Royal, Tom Collins, Side Car, and a Classic Vodka Martini. We were suppose to end with a Manhattan but after four cocktails we all had our fill. 

In between cocktails, I opened gifts focused on preparing my FI for a well rounded spread of a bar for entertainment. We received a variety of liquors along with wine. I grew up in the Finger Lakes region of Central New York so I anticipated a lot of wine. I am very excited to have so many local wines from my home region to entertain with down in Virginia. I am very proud of my roots and love to share one of my favorite aspects of the area.

My sister did a phenomenal job putting together my bachelorette party. I had girl friends fly from Orlando, Detroit, and Canada. The rest were all local. My out-of-towners came in the night before so it gave us ample time to catch up. 

When my sister/Matron-of-honer, asked what I wanted to do for my bachy, she initially was skeptical of going to an 80's cover-band versus the traditional bar hopping in a big city. I took her to the show for NYE with her husband and my FI and she immediately changed her mind to an absolutely have to do this attitude.

So we began with dinner at a nice resteraunt down the street from my house. Came home to quickly get ready for the show. Hope all of you enjoy the pictures. Some are kept private for PW friend FYI. And maybe find some inspiration for your own 80's bash. 

So I am doing my reviews but not all my vendors are on PW. I do want to give creidt where credit is due. 

Venue:

Logan Ridge Estates http://www.loganridge.com/

3800 Ball Diamond Road  

Hector, NY 14841

(607) 546-6606

This venue has amazing views of Seneca Lake. There is a lot of history to this building and totally complimented my romantic vintage theme. There was plenty of room for our 120 guests. There was good flow from the outside ceremony to the cocktail hour to the reception. The owners are very friendly and helped make setup for the rehearsal and reception very easy. 

Flowers:

Buds-n-Blossoms http://www.budsnblossoms.com/

160 Village Square  

Painted Post, NY 14870

(607) 962-0245

Ray did a great job on the flowers for my bridal shower, ceremony, and bouquets/boutonnieres. I wanted to incorporate feathers from our centerpieces into the bouquets and boutonnieres. He was more than willing to take on the challenge, having never worked with feathers before, and did a phenomenal job. Will have pictures posted later once the photographer is done uploading and editing.

Baker:

Sugar Mountain Bakery https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sugar-Mountain/279501101095

309 Third Street 

Watkins Glen, NY 14891

(607) 535-6684

Donna's cakes are mouth watering. She makes them fresh the day of or before your event. No stale fondant or dried out wedding cake here. Her cake speaks for itself. 

Photographer:

Jessica McCormick Photography http://www.jessicamccormick.com/

242 South Main Street
Canandaigua, NY 14424
585-760-9366

Jessica is fun and has a great eye for a photo opportunity. We are super excited to see our final photos post her editing. We love our engagement photos. And had some very creative locations for our prewedding shots. Check out her website. The photos are amazing. 

Makeup:

M A C cosmetics http://www.maccosmetics.com/index.tmpl

So I had went in one day after work with a picture of what I want to recreate for m our wedding day. The make up artist did a great job at picking out colors that complimented my skin tone and found a red lipstick that didn't make me look like a street walker. (I have many unsuccessful self attempts to find a red that looks good on me...fail.)