To Do Till We Do

Today marks the nine-month mark. Yup, in 276 days we'll be tying the knot! I made a to-do list of all that I could think of that I need to take care of before the wedding, so I thought I'd share it. Feel free to let me know if I'm missing anything!

The Look:

• Dress DONE! (Brides by Demetrios)
• Engagement Ring: DONE! (Blue Nile)
• Veil:
• Garter:
• Ceremony shoes:
• Bride accessories (earrings, necklace, etc.)
• Bridesmaid dresses:
• Flower girls dresses:
• Groomsmen suits/tuxes:
• Rehearsal dinner dress:
• Something old
• Something new
• Something borrowed
• Something blue
• Talk to custom jeweler about creating my band:
• My wedding band:
• His wedding band:
• Find MUA:
• Find Hairstylist:
• Makeup trial:
• Hair trial:
  

Pre-Wedding:

• Wedding website DONE!
• DJ: DONE! (my brother @ Tuffersound
  
• Photographer: DONE! Kim Jackson Photography
  
• Pre-wedding photographer:DONE! Don James
  
• Videographer DONE! my cousin @ Kiko Productions
• Engagement pictures DONE! (ask for link)
• Wedding Planner: DONE! Karen with Celebrations! Style
• Get e-ring insured
• Check with fire marshal to have candles at reception
• Guest list
• Design Save The Dates (Laura)
• Make/print Save The Dates
• Send Save The Dates
  
• DIY Invitations
• Send out Invites
• Registries
• Block rooms at hotel
• DIY Programs
• DIY Guestbook
• Have our Tasting
• Find a florist
• Decide on Honeymoon
• Rehearsal dinner location
• Book Honeymoon
• Pickup Marriage License
• Gifts for BM and parents
• Family must-take photo list

Ceremony:

• Ceremony location: DONE! (Hotel Albuquerque in chapel)
• Ceremony music:
• Pick “readings”:
• Find faux petals:
• DIY Pomanders for aisles:
• DIY flower girl baskets
• DIY Table Runners
  
• DIY Labels for wine bottles (if venue allows it)

Reception:

• Reception location: DONE! (Hotel Albuquerque in the Franciscan)
• Music
  • First Dance:
  • Father/Daughter:
  • Mother/Son:
  • Bouquet Toss:
  • Garter Toss:
  • Cake Cutting:Sugar Sugar, Pour Some Sugar on Me, How Sweet it is (to be loved by you), Build Me Up Buttercup

• Get coffee beans for centerpieces:
• Get square vases for centerpieces
• Get flowers for centerpieces
  
• Cake:
• Groom’s Cake:
• Cupcakes:
• Photobooth (?)
• DIY cupcake/cake flags
• DIY crossword puzzle:
• DIY photo upload cards:
• DIY Centerpieces
• DIY Napkins (?)
  

GET MARRIED!!!

The Pain Game

I'm possibly being the laziest person ever right now. You see, as I type this—from the couch—there's an extremely fit woman hosting a Comcast OnDemand Bridal Shape Up on my TV. Yup. I gave up on it, so here I am.

(Side note: I wasn't completely lazy today, I even did this workout before I clicked for the bootcamp, and you know what? It was freaking hard - seriously, watch that segment and then try doing it! I hate how these trainers make it look like a piece of cake!)

I think I forgot to mention that I hurt my knee about two weeks ago, and the back story to that is that it's the same knee I had surgery on several years ago. My knee has never given me trouble before, but the second I felt—and heard—a not-so-pleasant feeling I knew I did something bad. Luckily it only hurts if I put a lot of strain on it (i.e. walk up hill, downhill, do jumping jacks, squats, lunges, etc.), so I'm still continuing with training for my half marathon (16 days away!!!).

But here's the crappy part.

A couple days before I hurt my knee I kinda sorta ordered my wedding gown (WOOTY WOOT!!!), but I may have ordered it in not one, but TWO sizes smaller than what I am right now. Yup.

Ding! Ding! Ding! Hello, my name is Jessica and I just became a crazy bride. So now you can see why a knee engery is kinda cramping my style - literally. It hurts to do cardio and I need to do cardio because that, combined with my healthy-eating lifestyle, is how I will lose weight.

These are some of the videos I've been using and actually enjoy working out to, but I think I may need to take up swimming again until I get this knee problem under control. It's really a gigantic inconvenience because I actually like working up a sweat in the mornings. Lately I've been working a lot on strength and sclupt using hand weights, but I can only do so many arm work outs. If you guys can think of any other low-impact way to get my cardio in, please let me know.

THE Dress!

The title of this blog may be a slight teaser, because you see, you're not going to see any pictures of "The One." Kenny sometimes stops by here and I'd hate for him to catch a glimpse of the dress.

(I know you all must be SO disappointed I'm not going to wear the one on the left...I kid, I kid!)

But! I am so giddy and excited over this gown. I didn't have the magical moment when I first tried it one, and it certainly wasn't the first one I tried on, but after I put this one on and "sat on it" for a few days I knew it's the one I wanted to wear. I know it's silly but I think about it often throughout the day and I'm really sad I only get to wear it for one day.

So far my mom, Laura (maid of honor), Natalie (bridesmaid), my dad, and my grandma have seen the dress on me, and I think I'm going to keep it that way. I want people to be surprised at the wedding.

Anyway, I decided to write about it today because I'm going back to try it on again and get the size to order. We already paid (half the cost) a week and a half ago, but now I need to go and sign the contract and all that jazz!

Did you (or are you planning on) show your fiance The Dress before the wedding?

Someday My Life Will Begin

Some day my life will begin, but just not at this moment.

I'm so ready for my next chapter to begin that I can hardly stand it. I just watched Grey's Anatomy tonight and it sure reminded me of what love is.

Love is wanting to still touch someone even when they're dripping wet from humidity.

Love is making new friends with strangers even when the thought of "people" scares the heck out of you.

Love is putting up with families that are as different as night and day.

Love is moving across the world to follow someone because you can't stand another day without them.

Love is finding comfort in an email or a text when your significant other is thousands of miles away from you.

Love is being patient when she doesn't understand how to make gravy or how to hang curtains.

Love is realizing that someone is just as beautiful after waking up or after working out than they are when they get all dolled up.

Love is having durn good inside jokes to make each other laugh.

Love is understanding two people are different by finding balances between the two.

Love is taking naps on his lap when you know he'd rather be doing anything but wasting an hour of his day.

Love is feeling your heart ache, because it's missing its other half.

Love is giving up your dream of eloping in Vegas at a drive-thru chapel because your fiance has a dream of wearing a gorgeous dress.

Love is always saying goodbye, but knowing there will always be a hello.

Love is all around.

Love is.

Engagement Photos!

Last week I gave you a sneak peak of our engagement pictures, so today I wanted to tease you with even more! Check out the end of this post for the link to see all 53 of them if you so desire. If you can't tell, I'm pretty darn excited about these, so I hope you enjoy them as much as Kenny and I do!

All photos by Kim Jackson Photography.

If you can stand to see more of us, head over to our SmugMug for 48 more.


P.S. you only have until tonight to vote on the Twitter poll on the right!

The Way I Always Look

This song just popped up on my iTunes and I immediately thought it'd be a great First Dance song.

The Way You Look Tonight - Frank Sinatra

But then I started really listening to the lyrics:

Some day, when I'm awfully low,
When the world is cold,
I will feel a glow just thinking of you...
And the way you look tonight.

Yes you're lovely, with your smile so warm
And your cheeks so soft,
There is nothing for me but to love you,
And the way you look tonight.

With each word your tenderness grows,
Tearing my fear apart...
And that laugh that wrinkles your nose,
It touches my foolish heart.

Lovely ... Never, ever change.
Keep that breathless charm.
Won't you please arrange it ?
'Cause I love you ... Just the way you look tonight.

Mm, Mm, Mm, Mm,
Just the way you look to-night.

I think they're really nice and would be great for a first dance, and as much as I want Kenny to remember what I look like on our wedding day, I want him to remember that he loves me even on the days when I look like crap, when I'm feeling sick, or when I just got home from running eight miles.

I don't want him to love me based on how I look on our wedding night while we're dancing the night away; I want him to love me just the way I look tonight...

Possible Centerpiece?

I took a quick trip to Dollar Tree today to see if they have square vases, because the price for vases from fancy schmancy stores want to charge me mucho. I decided I'd like my centerpieces to be in square vases filled with coffee beans and have poofy light pink flowers. Something like this:












Since real flower centerpieces cost way more than I want to pay, I thought it'd be a better idea to try to make my own. Yup. I'm going to attempt to Do. It. Myself. Well, it won't be all DIY, in reality I'll need help from my mom and friends!

Okay, back to my quick project (seriously, it was quick. This took me MAYBE 15 minutes). I got a square vase ($1), two bunches white carnations (1 dozen, $2), and two bunches of light pink roses (1 dozen, $2 - but I only used six of them, so really it was $1 for that). So. The grand total for this centerpiece? Four bucks. When/if I do this for real I'll probably get some flowers from Hobby Lobby, because I don't really want white flowers. BUT, what do you think of the carnations? I think it gives it that soft, poofy look I like! The vase is also a little small, I think, so I'd need to see what it looks like on table set for ten people.
Just squint real hard and maybe you'll see coffee beans in the vase, and all light pink flowers. So what do you think? Seriously, honest opinions!

Friday Poll

source

Here's a sneak peak of our engagement photos! I'm just waiting to get the CD of them so I can get them all online. That's one of my favorites :)

Based on my very un-scientific poll, I'm willing to guess that most of you live or are from the West side of America. I, personally, can't handle the taste of sweet tea. No sugar in that refreshing drink for me, thank you very much!

As for this week's poll, I wanna know if you Tweet!

Do you Tweet?
* I have twitter, but don't tweet
* I can't stop tweeting
* No, I refuse to sign up
* Other (leave a comment)

All Smiles

Talk about a whirlwind last several days! Kenny flew into town Wednesday morning and I’ve been attached to his hip ever sense. (Okay, in all actuality, I’ve been attached to his thigh since he’s a good foot taller than I am). I’ll spare you the hour-by-hour schedule, but it’s safe to say we got a lot of wedding “stuff” done and I’m feeling a lot less stressed about things. This is the only time he’ll be in town before December rolls around, so I thought of the things I wanted him here for and we went to town, literally.

Here’s a brief recap:
* Signed the contract for our ceremony and reception venue
* Checked out rings, tux’s, and started a brief registry
* Had a blast taking our engagement photos (we should hopefully get them back by this Thursday!) (We were originally going to take them at the airport, but after realizing the Sunport isn’t exactly photogenic, we opted to shoot them in Nob Hill. I really can’t wait to get them back.)
* Went over possibilities for a First Dance song, but that's still up in the air.
* And most importantly, I’ve enjoyed seeing my fiancé every day.

When you’re in a long distance relationship, it really makes you appreciate the time you have together.

I know I slacked on getting my regular poll up on Friday, so I’ll put one up today. But first, the results from the last poll!
It looks like the overwhelming response is that you all like Christmas/Hanukkah the best. I put my vote towards New Years. That’s when Kenny and I first met and I really like the traditional meal my immediate family has that night followed with a celebrations with my friends!

For this week’s poll, I want to know what you like to drink:

Which do you prefer?
1. Sweet Tea
2. Unsweet Tea

I still need to get my photos of the day up, so keep an eye out for those!

Engagement Shoot Inspiration

Kenny and I are taking engagement pictures next Saturday and I managed to get the location for the shoot at the Albuquerque Sunport Airport. Do you see the connection? Kenny and I have been long distance our whole relationship, and with him being in the Air Force and all, well, airports have some significance in our lives!

So with that said, I went out into the world of the Web and found some other airport engagement photos. These are some of my favorites and I wanted to share it with you. Now, I'm almost positive there won't be any airplanes in our photos (just part of the deal I worked out because of silly liability reasons, but if you all cross your fingers and send us good vibes next Saturday, maybe they'll appear!

I'm really anxious to see what our pictures will end up looking like; this definitely isn't your traditional engagement shoot, but hopefully it'll all turn out great. Our photographer, Kim Jackson, possibly sounds even more excited about this than us, and I'm taking that as a very good sign!

So what do you think of our shoot! I also numbered these photos because I'm interested in which are your favorites (I have a few that really stand out and I'm in love with). Without further ado, here are a roundup of my favorite pics:

1:2:

3:

4:

source for above four

5:

6:

7:

source for above three

8:

9:

source for above two

10:

11:

source for above two

12:

source

So that's all of 'em. What do you think?

Is This It?

It seems that everyone—from my day-of coordinator to people I randomly meet—must know what my colors are for the wedding. I know I should just buckle down and pick them, but I've just been so indecisive. Well, tonight I think I'll just go ahead and pick them. I worked on this inspiration board all nigh, and it was surprisingly fun.

Dun...Dun...Dun...

sweet pink and brown by jesstagirl on Polyvore.com

Pink and Brown will be the inspiration for our wedding...

...I think.

No Foolin'

I've never been good at playing practical jokes, so instead of foolin' you guys I'll treat you to a double post today, how's that sound?

This is was the quote welcoming me into the month of April this morning. Now, I get how it's supposed to be Spring related with the blade of grass reference and all, but I think it's a pretty lame quote. I'm sure I'm being to logical about it, but I really think it's stupid. What do you think? Does this inspire you? Because honestly, I'm thinking of putting up another quote in it's place so I don't have to stare at it for the next 30 days.

So I guess this could also be considered a triple post for today. I know, I know, I'm stretching it now! My mom came home with these lil fellas today. Now I'm not a fan of mice; it doesn't matter if it's Gus Gus from Cinderella or even a baby mice, but these are seriously adorable - and they taste even better than they look!

It's made out of a Hershey's Kiss, an almond an a chocolate-covered cherry. Apparently a woman at my mom's work makes them (and possibly other objects/animals?) an creates them often for weddings. She'll see the woman again on Friday and is going to get more info out of her.

If I could get these in any shape, object, or animal for the wedding, what would you suggest?

Pint-sized Cupcakes

Fact: I love all things tiny, cute, and not overly sweet.
Fact: Putting on my adorable apron doesn't make me a whiz in the kitchen.

But sometimes if I see something I REALLY like I'll be more inspired to stay motivated in the kitchen. Well, I think these little bites are cause to keep my drive alive. Seriously, how cute are they? And they actually seem pretty easy to create.

When a recipe begins with the word "easy," as in these Easy Cupcake Bites by Bakerella, it means there's actually a fairly good chance I can follow the recipe. AND, when that recipe has step-by-step photos to accompany the easy recipe (like here at The Pioneer Woman Cooks), it means my chances of screwing up decrease even more!

Now I'm not expecting my bite-sized cupcakes (cuppies?!) to ever turn out looking like the very first picture (shoot, I'll be happy if you can even tell they're supposed to look like "cupcakes") but I think these are too adorable to not attempt to make.

Before I bust out the apron, the next question is what flavor of cake mix should I buy?

Training Recap

my walk team from Sunday

I know I've been preoccupied with wedding plans on here, but I wanted to give you an update on my marathon training with TNT. This past Sunday I walked six miles and I'm gearing up to walk eight this coming Sunday. I'm really enjoying walking. I feel like I'm exerting less energy by walking, but I'm going faster than when I ran so I end up having more energy in the long run. Granted, now that we're getting into the longer walks I'm getting tired after, but I feel good. I've also been averaging 2-3 miles three days a week at the gym.

Now that it's getting warmer I'm going to start walking outside. I've been getting several checks in the mail, and hopefully those numbers will be reflected on my web site soon. I have a couple fundraisers coming up and I'm excited to see what type of money they bring in.

Now for wedding stuff! I'm meeting with my future mother-in-law today for lunch (La Salita!!!) to go over the wedding plans. I think we're getting really close to signing for our ceremony and reception site; I'll be sure to post about it when that happens. This afternoon after work my parents and I are meeting with a potential photographer...keep your fingers crossed that I won't have to sell my arm and/or leg to have them shoot our wedding!

In sad news, my camera is still MIA. I know where it is (left it at the house in the photo above), but I haven't had time to take pictures. I was doing so fantastic with taking a photo everyday, too! I'll pick back up when I get it back.

Inspired!

I think I found my inspiration for this wedding, and I think Kenny may approve, too!photo from Mrs. Lovebug over at weddingbee
If you can't tell, L.O.V.E. is spelled out with typewriter keys!

I stumbled upon this over at Weddingbee (my new hangout) and I immediately fell in love. This is was the inspiration for her wedding: It pays tribute to her love for writing - or let's be honest, it was probably her love for typing (!!) - combined with liking all things vintage (that's where Kenny would come in) and then she tied it all together with hues of light pink, black, and cream. Like I said, I think I'm in love.

I've always loved vintage typewriters, and I especially like the way the type looks on paper. Wouldn't it be cool to have vintage-looking invitations and/or a typewritten guestbook?

It wold also fit in perfect, because Kenny's been attempting to make me a Steampunk Keyboard for the past year and a half. One day he may actually finish it...

A little romantic, a little vintage, and (hopefully) pretty unique! So what do you think?

My Big Fat Hispanic Wedding

Sorry I've been MIA lately, I've wanted to take a teeny break from all this wedding talk. Okay, truth be told - I may have stopped the talk online, but it hasn't slowed down outside the blogosphere.

On the docket for today's blog is the guest list. Oh. My. Word. I've always known that my family resembles that from My Big Fat Greek Wedding, but after putting together a very rough draft of our guest list it's confirmed.

Let me just lay it out for you. On my dad's side of the family I'm the fourth fifth youngest out of 27 cousins, and most of these cousins are now married and have kids of their own. Now add up all the aunts, uncles, friends of the family who are like family, my friends, coworkers...and you get the idea. Easily, without even trying to contain numbers, my side of the list is well over 125 people. This would be a great time to mention that Kenny and I wanted a "smallish" wedding - 150 people max. Kenny's side will probably barely hit around 50 people, and that's with him trying to scrounge up people.

Since I'm not willing to part with some of the names on that list, I think our "smallish" affair is turning into a mid-sized event. I'm okay with it, and as long as Kenny is okay with it. Now we just have to try to get the price down on the venue we're eying, because fifty bucks a head plus everything else for this wedding comes out to a pretty hefty number!

At first I was a little worried about my side having three times as many people as his - I didn't want this to turn into "Jessica's wedding." I want it to be "Jessica and Kenny's Marriage," and that's when I realized that yes, I do have a large family, but they're all going to be part of his family, too!

So, how do I decide who makes the cut and who I have to cut out?

Pink and...?

Since I'm now addicted to anything and everything related to weddings, I found this site called Polyvore that lets you put inspiration boards together. What's an inspiration board, you ask? Well, it's basically a collage of images to inspire you.

I'm considering having pink and brown as my colors, so these are some of the images found on the internet that I really like (if you click the image it'll show you the sources for all the images). I wish mine looked as fun as the two below, but like I said, it was my first time!

As for the other colors I'm debating over, those are light pink and black:

Source: Snippit & Ink

Source: Snippet & Ink

Now head to the right, take the poll, and tell me which you like best!

Possibility

I was at Whole Foods today and they had Gerbera Daisies in several vibrant colors. These are the flowers I'm thinking of having at our wedding. They just seem like "happy" flowers!

I'm still debating what my colors will be. I think I'll have light pink for sure, but now I just need to figure out what color I want with it. I paired these lovelies with some dark red daisies, but I don't know if I'm feeling it now. I may just stick with pink and brown as my colors...

Rings 'n Things

I've been wearing a very sparkly ring on my finger for exactly two weeks - give or take a few minutes - and I'm still not used to it being there. I've noticed different lighting makes it bling like nobody's business, and sometimes while I'm driving I get distracted by the reflection it makes on my car.

Before I got engaged my my mom was sneaky and mentioned that I should get a manicure while I was out getting a pedicure with a friend. My hands looked polished and pulled together after that, but now they're starting to head back to their normal, boring digits. Since I'm on the computer the majority of the day, the polish is chipped and peeling, and my nails have grown too much.

I never used to even notice my nails before. Sure, I'd cut them when they got to be too long, but that's as far as my primping would go. Now that my left hand is the subject of admiration (I know, I know, I may be taking this "ring" thing a little too far, but it's by far the prettiest thing I've ever owned!) I feel the need to get a manicure all the time. I mean, if I have this shiny thing on my finger, the rest of the hand should be just as pretty, right?

Alas, since I'm cheap and rarely have time to do anything these days, I think I'll resort to giving myself a manicure every once in awhile and treating myself to a professional one every few months. I think that seems like a fair deal.

Choices, Choices

Well, it's about that time again; I'm getting tired of this template/background, so I'm on the search for something different. If you have suggestions, feel free to share them. Should I go with a wedding theme? Something generic? Simple?

I have lots of things I want to talk about, but don't want to bore you so I'll list my topics and hopefully get to them sometime soon.

• Rings and Things (Hands On!)
• Training
• Colors

Ok, so there aren't too many, but I'll get to them in due time.

As for now I'd like to talk about ceremony locations. In an ideal world, Kenny and I would like to get married outside, but seeing as how we have a February wedding and there's no way to predict the weather, picking an outdoor local is kinda silly. With that said, we're considering finding a venue where we can have both a ceremony and reception at the same location.

We both like this and I think my mom sees where we're coming from, but my dad will have nothing of it. He doesn't understand why we can't get married in the Catholic church - Kenny's family isn't religious and doesn't feel comfortable with it, and since he doesn't have many opinions about the wedding, I'm taking the things he requests very seriously.

I'm trying to talk him through reasons why I'm doing the things I'm doing (e.g., It's not just my wedding, it's Kenny's too; this is a celebration for us and our relationship, not about you), but I alos need to remember that A) he's paying for it and B) I want to respect him.

He also doesn't understand why a priest won't be marrying us (see reason above about the Catholic church). We don't have an officiant yet, but Kenny and I want him to reflect us and to be lighthearted and funny. I believe that God will be present at our wedding whether I get married at the Vatican, on top of a mountain, or in a hotel lobby. And as long as my friends, family, and Kenny are with me then that's all that matters.

It's still early in the planning process, so I'm sure things will all work out!