Saturday, December 20, 2008

Please stand up.

To be quite honest, I'm a little bit nervous about starting a blog here. I've been on Live Journal for awhile ( check it if you'd like ), but there were so many ads and my account constantly was being hacked into so my entries weren't as updated as often as I had hoped when I hopped onto the blogging bandwagon.

I miss writing. It used to be the one thing that I really excelled at in school. I hated numbers and couldn't wrap my mind around scientific theories long enough to take interest in them. My teachers always praised me on my
writing abilities and skills, but I'm afraid that what "they" (who is "they"??) say is true-- if you don't use/fashion a skill or ability enough, you will lose it. I'm hoping that this will become a regular journal for me as I begin chronicling everything that's going on with our wedding planning and then even stuff that has nothing to do with our wedding. I don't know who will stumble upon this blog or if in the end, it's just for me. I do know that I want to learn from what seems to be a great many who are perhaps in a similar boat as me. And also, in stumbling upon a few blogs already, these are some pretty fabulous people that I can learn and aspire from. In the process of all that, I hope my writing skills are sharpened and I'm back to being a confident writer.

I used to want to be a magazine editor and a part of me longs for that, still. If anything, I suppose I half-heartedly gave up on that dream because I figured it was such a competitive market to get into. Don't get me wrong, if the opportunity presents itself, I won't say no... *sigh* I don't know. I've been in and out of school as far as college. I've transferred 3 times-- CCU to Crown to Century... changed my major 3 times--- youth ministry, communications/journalism, & now public relations. Indecisive much? Much. I did "manage" to get my Associate of Arts degree (does that really count anywhere?) and hopefully after Chris and I get married and I make the move out to SoCal, I'll be able to buckle down and finish my 4 year degree. For awhile there, I felt so unfulfilled and maybe even moreso, like I had failed because I changed my mind so often and in turn, never graduated college in the intended 4 years from 1 institute. Those days come and go still, and I know this might sound kinda stupid, but I think God really taught me patience and my significance and worth though this whole thing of waiting for what I really feel is "my area." Chris tells me to not worry about it whenever we talk about it-- apparently, it's better that I didn't get through the entire program just to figure out right before graduation that I hate what it is that I'm going into or graduating with. You think he only says that cause he "has" to? I kid, Baby.

Today marks 9 months until I officially become Mrs. CJG. We start our pre-marital counseling on January 9th with Pastor Sid. We have our ceremony and reception site reserved at Faith Alliance Church. Tell me, is it tacky to hold our reception out back behind the church we're getting married at? It'll be a late afternoon wedding and an evening reception with hanging lights and candles everywhere behind the church-- the back dips down and has this little area where we could set up tables and a projector with mics and stuff. Is that tacky? My sister had her wedding at the same church and her reception back behind the church as well and it was pretty nice-- and it was during the day. I'll have to get pics posted as some point and maybe I can get a few pointers. My wedding coordinator, by the way, is my older sister and her/my assistant in wedding planning is my younger sister. Did I mention that they're both my matron and maid of honor? Is that too much? I do have a 2nd coordinator which is Malee, but I've avoided putting too much on her yet, since it's still pretty manageable and also, she's due with baby #5 at the end of January! She'll be my day-of coordinator for sure and once she's kinda more settled with the babies, I'll be meeting with her regarding my ideas and stuff too.

Photobucket
This is the inside of Faith Alliance. Doesn't it look so warm & homey?? *love*

We've started our Save the Date cards and have also started cutting & folding our wedding invitations-- I'm a DIY bride, for sure. Chris works at a photography studio so he's printing our Save the Date card photos at the studio... we have to order the paper ourselves, but it saves us lots of $$. Also! Because Chris works at a photography studio ( eye-magic ), we're getting Jethro (the studio's photographer) and his fiance Theresa as our photographers and they've only asked for travel & accomodations as our fee. Of course, we'll throw in something extra for them, but it's a steal and Jethro is pretty good and I've also seen Theresa's shots which are pretty nice as well. I have to tell you, photography was my #1 item that I wanted to splurge on, but when we set our budget and saw that the one photographer I wanted was wayyyy out of our price range for now, I was bummed. But Jethro offered his services with hopes that he'd be helping us out and I saw his portfolio and he's pretty awesome, too. So. Stoked. Chris and I have decided that on our 1 year anniversary, we'd take a trip down to CO and book a session with the photographer I really wanted ( *LOVE* ) complete with our wedding attire which in turns, forces me to *not* gain the newly wed 15! I told Chris we'll have to maintain our weight from the wedding. haha.

Oh! **Important news** I do have my wedding dress and it's supposed to come in January or February. It wasn't the first dress I tried on. I had started out at the Priscilla of Boston boutique and had fallen in love with one of the gowns there and was on my way talking myself into spending a ridiculous amount on the dress while my mom and sisters-- though they loved the gown on me-- shook their heads and were like "No freakin way." hehe. I was pretty bummed and headed to another boutique and tried on another dress and liked it, but wasn't WOW!ed by it. A couple weekends after that, after much debate with my inner demons, (haha) I decided to pass up the Priscilla of Boston dress and head back to the previous boutique and try on the dress I had tried on previously there. This time, with my head a little clearer and the disappointment of the Melissa Sweet dress falling through further at bay, I actually fell in love with the dress. I requested a few changes with help from my sisters in envisioning the final dress, but it was lovely! The designer, I also found out, would make those minor changes for me without the extra charge. I, then, later found out that the store I bought the dress from is the *only* store that carries that designer and the store hasn't sold that particular style before. Score! I am one of a kind. haaaaa. Chris is a lurker, I think, (omg, he was so like "Please tell me you're kidding." when I told him my new blog name. hahaha) so I won't be able to post dress photos or give any details. But there will be lots and lots of photos to come in 9 months! teehee!

We've a couple things lined up for when Chris is here. We're opting to have the guys wear suits rather than tuxes. I'm thinking that the guys will really only have to worry about buying the jacket. Chris and I will head over to Men's Wearhouse when he's here to scope out the place. Oh, did I mention, Chris lives in SoCal and we've been long-distance since "us" began? And yes, I am moving away from MN to SoCal when we get married which is scary and nerve-wracking and crazy all at the same time (my entire family lives here and I am obsessed with my nieces and my nephew!). I miss him and I can't wait to see him! 3 more weeks!!

So anyway, I'm here at work just typing this whole introductory entry up. LONG, I know. The ones to come won't be so long, I promise. I just needed to intro-post myself.

Toodles kiddies!

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