3 More Days Until Mr. & Mrs.

Hey everybody!

Since I have a seasonal job at Phantom Fireworks and have been working near 50 hours each week, I have hardly noticed how close the wedding is getting! I will admit, it has been a very welcome distraction, but I've been swamped with preparations this week, that's for sure! (And I haven't had much time to write to all our guests here, which kind of bummed me out a bit.)

I finally got my dress back the other day with all my alterations finished. I got it hemmed up a bit, since I am a shorty and I also got a unique side bustle put in. It makes my dress so beautiful! I think I am most excited about showing off my dress since I have definitely managed to put my own spin on it. Last night, I dyed my slip orange to match our wedding color exactly. 

Right now, Jared is out in the middle of a huge thunderstorm to get his hair cut and to pick up my engagement ring. I had it re-rhodium plated so that it looks as good as new on Saturday. I can't wait to wear my beautiful rings as a full set this weekend and forever. =)

As you can tell, Jared and I have been pretty crafty through this whole wedding thing... We even made corn hole boards to bring with us to the reception! Well, he made them, I just helped paint them!! Big thanks to Mama Sowash for getting us corn bags to match perfectly! <3 

That's it for now!! Jared and I can't wait to see you all on Saturday!! Only 3 more days!

The Final Stretch!

Whew! Now that invitations are out, I feel like a HUGE weight has been lifted from my shoulders. Make sure you all remember to RSVP by July 1st, so I can get all my final counts to my vendors! I tried to make it really easy for everyone - you can send the postcard back to us, visit the home page of the website (there's a BIG link you can click on), or scan the QR code using your smart phone. Fill out the survey and you're done!! 

You should have all gotten something a little like this: 

Anyway, now that I am done with most of the major stuff, I have had some time to focus on my favorite part, the details. I have had a lot of fun working on our guest book. I used pictures from our engagement shoot with Jessica Birchell to create it and it came out so much better than I expected! (Perhaps I am a little biased?)

I have also been working on lots of super secret gifts for my groom, groomsmen, and bridesmaids. They are all going to be so shocked and surprised, but it's the least I can do for them helping me out on the best day of my life, right? 

Now I need to decide where everything will be going and make sure I have all the arrival, delivery, and more of everything all straightened out. I think I will be the most excited when everything comes together the week of the wedding and I can see how beautiful our ceremony and reception will be. =) 

I hope you're all getting as anxious as I am!! <3 

47 Days

Hey All!!

Well, I hit my first major snag in the wedding plans, but I am going to brush it off and keep moving! No need to get hung up on things I can't control! I have so much more on my plate to worry about. 

I am chipping away at my to do list. I have a LONG page of stuff to do listed on a GoogleDoc. So convenient that I can share everything with the bridal party and parents and eliminate them when they're complete and/or share changes instantly!! Props, Google!! Big thanks to those of you checking them out and giving me feedback or taking things off my plate - it is appreciated more than you know!!

I have been contacting musicians to play at the ceremony, so I am looking forward to getting replies. I have gotten a few regrets, but each contact has been able to point me in another direction, so I am going to get somewhere, I'm sure of it!

For my birthday last Monday, Jared and I went to Dunkin Jeweler's to pick out wedding bands. Mine is beautiful and perfect. A white gold band with princess cut diamonds to match my engagement ring. (I am so spoiled!) I can't wait to put it ON MY FINGER for good!! =)

I also received my shoes in the mail and went for my first dress fitting a few weeks back. I should be getting a call anytime to go in for another fitting so she can add my bustle. The dress looks more and more beautiful each time I put it on. =)

I have been working on the invitations with the help of Jared. He did an awesome job finding different templates we could use and various wording styles. Nice to have his help and input on something too, not that I usually ask! Haha! =)

To top it all off, we got our engagement pictures taken last weekend. They are SO WONDERFUL!! Jessica was a friend our ours at OSU-Mansfield when we were in the Education program together. I plan to use the pictures to create a guest book for the wedding, so you will be able to see all the pictures then!! I do have some on Facebook and the wedding website if you haven't noticed already! =)

That's it for now!! I will continue to keep you all posted!! <3

Jessica Birchell Photography

The Blueberry Patch

I had the most amazing time at my second bridal shower!!

It was held at The Blueberry Patch in the Mansfield/Lexington area. I had never been there before, but my future mother in law, Sandy, loves it there and thought it would be a wonderful place for a shower. I would have to agree she picked a great location!

There was so much to see and look at. They had many plants and flowers available for purchase. Their whole gift shop was full of random odds and ends, from clothes, to purses, to knick knacks and other home and gardening items. 

We started the bridal shower by enjoying some food in the tea room, decorated with beautiful chairs, tables, and complete tea settings. We had lots of various finger foods - fresh fruit, sandwiches, scones, and breads. The blueberry iced tea was also fantastic, as well as the wine we were allowed to bring in with us. =) 

Once we had eaten our fill, we played a bridal shower bingo game. I won the first round and got a gift certificate to the shop. =) We played a few more rounds before beginning another game which involved the guests taking a quiz over some information about Jared and me. Most of them only got around 5 or 6 questions right out of 10!!

Once I opened gifts, we packed up, looked around the shop and talked for a while before heading home. It was delightful to see everyone and I thank you all from the bottom of my heart for coming! To those that didn't, we certainly missed you!! =)

Some Pictures:

 Jenna, Caelin, Nichole, Lisa, Heather

Aunt Diana and Aunt Ellen 

 Sue and Gina

 Me and Missy

Aunt Lisa and I

Huntsburg Bridal Shower

I had my first bridal shower last weekend, April 27th, which marked....

Jared and I were so overwhelmed by all the friends and family that came to show their support!! My cousin, and bridesmaid, Sarah, made a beautiful bouquet for our wedding rehearsal out of the ribbons. Nichole also did a wonderful job of keeping track of everything for my thank you notes!!

My bridesmaid, Sarah, Me, and Maid of Honor, Nichole

I loved the games we played, the word scramble and gift bingo.

Plus, the Newlywed Game was just hysterical! 

I now have proof, Jared KNOWS what he is getting into! No excuses!

We also had some fantastic food and champagne punch! =)

My Aunt Val made these gorgeous, colorful, and delicious cupcakes too....

Big thanks to Amy, Nora, Nichole, Grandma Roach, Aunt Val, Kimmy, and Ashleigh for helping to set this up and making sure we had tasty food, drinks, and decorations!! It was beautiful!

More Highlights:

 Aunt Betty, Aunt Nancy, Nancy, Me, Grandma Roach, and Aunt Val

Ann, Heather, Nichole (Maid of Honor), Me, Sarah (Bridesmaid & Cousin) 

Kimmy and Ashleigh

Jared, Me, Jim (Dad), Amy (Mom), Joey (Brother)

Spring Break

Sheesh!!

My Spring Break from school went very, very quickly since I spent much of my time at home getting things accomplished for my BIG day with Jared. 

I met with the florist and got a quote on flowers and picked everything out!! Beautiful and BRIGHT flowers. They are going to look so amazing! A little something like this:

I also met with the caterer to see what kind of variety we can get for a meal. The best idea we heard was to include a full salad bar with the works!! Yum!

Nichole, Mom, and I also visited a few parks in the area. And I FOUND MY SITE! A beautiful part of the Geauga Park District, Elder Russell Park, has a riverside pavilion that looks PERFECT for my wedding ceremony spot. I just can't say no to getting married near the water! =)

I also got to have a ton of fun working on Jared's super secret wedding gift! He is going to be so blown away - I can hardly keep it a secret myself!! =)

I am also happy to announce that a majority of my rentals will be able to come from the same place. Thank goodness! That will save me a lot of headache. Now, if only I knew the specific details in order to get my order in for all my tents, tables, and bright pink tablecloths! 

More later!!

<3 Mandi

Full Swing

It's been a little bit since I have posted, so I figure I should say something. 

With the weather getting nicer, it's hard to focus on planning since Jared and I would much 

rather be outside in the yard. =)

I am getting very excited to go home during my spring break to get in touch

with all the proposed wedding vendors and get everything set in stone. 

I am also very excited to see the shoes my girls have picked out since they all seem 

very eager to go shoe shopping! I picked up some swatches for the wedding colors and I think

all my bridesmaids did too!

Begonia & Tangerine

I am also looking forward to the bridal showers.

Just a reminder to all that the bridal shower in Huntsburg will be April 27th, while

the bridal shower held in Crestline will be May 18th. Keep your eye out for invitations with specific details! =)

So far the only problem I have encountered is that I cannot get ahold of

a seamstress I was referred to. The e-mail address I have for her doesn't work or isn't real. Who knows!? Either way, I hope to look at the bright side. If this is the worse I have experienced yet, 

my wedding day and remainder of planning should be a breeze!!

<3

Mandi

My Dress!

I said "Yes!" to the dress today at David's Bridal!! =)

I am super excited to have my beautiful wedding dress picked out, complete with my bridal headpiece. It fits wonderfully as well! I just have to get in touch with a friend of a friend to do some alterations so it's not too long. Stupid short legs!!

Neither is my actual dress! =)

We also picked out bridesmaids dresses. A nice cotton dress with pockets to hold all my, er, their stuff! My maid of honor will be in tangerine (orange) and my other bridesmaids will be in begonia (hot pink).

Obviously NOT in the right colors!

Now we have to figure out what the moms will wear (hopefully within the same general color family) and get the boys in gear to start trying on tuxes with American Commodore!! It's getting real now that we have gotten dresses picked out!!

Planning Away!!

Hey All!!

Nichole, Jared, Joey, and I went to the Today's Bride Bridal Expo last month and it was a blast! We got to try lots of different foods and meet with many many vendors and get discounted rates and coupons good through the 2013 wedding season. We also signed up for a ton of giveaways. (I won two contests so far! But it's a big secret, so I can't tell!) 

I also received a wedding issue of the Oriental Trading Company magazine. I have to make a list of things I need so that we can get a big order ready! I was SUPER thrilled to see all the pink and orange candies they had so I can stock my candy and dessert bar for the reception! =)

Next, I have to get guest lists to the family for Bridal Showers and the girls and I will be trying on dresses! That is when the real fun begins, or so I am told!!

Hey everyone, it's Mandi.

I wanted to start this blog so that anyone curious can stay updated with wedding plans. I also tend to write more when I stress out, so I am assuming I will need it too! We all win here!

Anyway, I have gotten quite a few things done in the past few days and I am kind of disappointed I have to sub tomorrow. We have narrowed it down to two amazing locations for our ceremony. The first is the Observatory Park and the other is the Scenic River Retreat. Jared likes the first, I like the second. Naturally!

The Observatory Park has a lot of neat sculptures and artwork along the paths and is obviously used for a space education program. We visited during their grand opening and thought it was pretty neat. The only problem is, we aren't sure of any details yet because the park just opened last year and they don't have any policies set in place yet for hosting weddings! I will hear from them by the end of this week - fingers crossed!

The Scenic River Retreat is simply gorgeous. A beautiful lake, surrounded by trees, in wide open country air. It takes your breath away. There is also a nice pavilion so we have shelter in case it would rain or anyone needs to get out of the July summer heat for a bit. 

We also, very surprisingly, have all our wine and champagne for the wedding already! Big smiles for that and a big check off my to do list! The MIL found a great deal and went with it.

I've also checked on my photographer and DJ and they are both super excited and eager to get things moving. I am hoping to have an engagement photo session soon so I have some more pictures for the site and to make my guest book for the reception. My DJs have been hard at work making sure he gets all my requests (because there is a ton), creating mixes and playlists, and making note of all my crazy ideas. I am also dragging one of my DJs with me (my younger brother) to the bridal expo this weekend to help me find rental dance floors and do some taste testing for caterers. =)

So far, so good! Still have a lot to do, but I am slowly chipping away and making progress!