Wedding!! We begin to plan ...

I'm not sure anyone will care to read this, but now I have something else to blog about: Weddings!

Confession: I LOVE weddings. Always have. When I was little, I would dream of weddings and when I got older, I would plan weddings. Yes, I love all those wedding tv shows. I love 'My Fair Wedding' and 'Platinum Weddings' - and yes, even occassionally I will watch 'Bridezillas' :( (By the way, you all have my permission to slap the tar out of me if I ever get that bad). So, I'm legit now! I can plan with no guilt!
Now I have the guy:

Ahren and Me at the 'Midsummer' opening party

Just in case you are wondering: we're not sure about a date yet. It will be at LEAST a year, if not more. We're going to be working on saving, so we can have the kind of wedding we want, and not just the cheapest thing we can do.

With that being said though, we're looking at an early fall wedding. Something after the wedding season rush, and before the snow falls in MN. But we're unsure about this. Our biggest concern is that we have as much of our families there as possible. It really is very important to have everyone there.

Essentially, we are thinking: simple, classic, practical. Of course, with a dash of beauty. Of course, anything can change at this point, so everything here is just tenative. We're more concentrating on a conceptual look rather than just colors, but we do have colors picked out: emerald and purple. Granted those colors don't exactly fit with a fall wedding, but since leave colors are so unpredictable and we're still unsure about when we can do the wedding, we didn't want to plan around that.

Wanna see the visual concept? Here:

This picture has all of my favorite elements in it. What do I love about this? MUCH! I love the simple flowers, homespun country look of it with a touch of antique. Its soft and sweet and simple. I like the use of burlap and lace. Rustic, but chic, country and antique. My favorite flowers are alyssum, and I love the mason jars. They're cheap and fairly easy to find, and they can be dressed up with a little ribbon, or beautiful enough on their own. They're perfect for vases or candle holders, as well as other things:

I kinda LOVE the antique pictures in the mason jars, I don't know why, but something about this really struck me. Probably because I love antiques, and especially vintage pictures.

I love this idea of holding cards. A lot of what I like for this wedding has a crafty feel. I guess more accurate would be "something old into something new" Vintage is popular, and I love it! Kinda has a "good ole days" feeling to it.

Like? Opinions, please. I do welcome them. Especially later on in the post :D

Good news! I have had my first wedding wish granted. I only have 2 "impossible" wedding wishes - for now ;) And one came true! Long story short, I have an ex-roommate from college who is my best friend - although it has been years since we have seen each other and she lives in NY, I still REALLY wanted her to be my Matron of Honor. Ahren told me to take a chance, so I did, and she called, and we talked, and she AGREED! I can not begin to tell you how excited I am about that!!! Ahren was pretty ecstatic about it too. He was so happy for me - although he has never met this girl at all. Although, I am sure he has heard enough about her by now. So - YAY! With this addition, we are almost done with our wedding party. We're sticking mostly with immediate family, and a couple very dear friends. We're definately going for a non-traditional view of flower girl and doubling up in order to include both sides of the family. The ring-bearers are still undecided. We have 4 options, and need to narrow it down to 2. Mostly I just don't want to leave anyone out, or make anyone mad (parents or kids). So, I will announce that when we've made some decisions.

Now on to:

The Dress!! Here are some of the pictures I have come across. I don't think there is a single one I am 100% in love with, but I love them all in their own ways. Really, what I am looking at is something simple. Nothing fancy - no intricate beading and rhinestones. No trains, or a very short one. I don't want my dress dragging on the ground, and sometimes busseling the train can be a big pain. Big thing: need straps of some kind. Obviously, I need the support. Plus, I don't look good with bare shoulders, or almost bare shoulders. Spaghetti straps look terrible on me. Thinking of going with the tea length look, which is gorgeously vintage, and perfect for an outdoor wedding with a lot of dancing afterwards. My only worry with that is: what if I don't feel like a bride when I wear that? What if it just seems like any other nice dress I have? I have always heard that is the biggest worry that brides have. I always thought that was silly, and logically, it is. But sometime after this whole thing became a reality, logic took a flying leap out the door.

Again, please let me know what you think!

The Hemp dress - It's simple, and a little sexy with the low back and deep v-neck. At this point, I'm not sure about that. I'm not the sexy type - but the simplicity of the dress kinda off-sets that, so this type is still in the running.

The Quilt Dress - Again, simple but beautiful. I think this one is cotton. I love the bottom of this dress. It gives a little something to the dress without it being too intricate.


The Tea Lace 3/4 dress - another thing I am thinking: I'm not all that thrilled with my arms, so sleeves are a possibility. I like the 3/4 sleeve look. This dress has a lot of gorgeous lace - perfect for the burlap & lace aspect.

The Epitome dress - I'm kinda in LOVE with this dress. Especially with the concept of the colored petticoat. Won't that be awesome when I swirl on the dancefloor? It's got a gorgeous vintage look to it, tea length, lace, a dash of color. I've even seen a version of this with sleeves. One of my very favorites!

the simple with sash David's Bridal dress - this is my practical dress. Based on budget, this is one of my best options. Simple, with a dash of color and cheap. Problem: no straps or sleeves. Other problem: it just doesn't excite me. But that doesn't mean that this won't be it.

the Overly Elegant dress - Too much train, but it's so pretty! Again simple with only a floral bow and sash for decoration. It says elegant to me, but it also seems like it wouldn't quite fit with the rest of the wedding. Although, I will say this: goes wonders for the curves!

The Oddball dress - this dress took me by surprise. Okay, it's simple and there are straps, but I didn't think I would like something like this as much. I was not into the gathers with most dresses. It's too much of a fad, and most of the time, its just too much, and usually the gathers have rhinestone (again, something I didn't want) But this one didn't. Really, I don't know why I like this - and I guess I don't because: I LOVE it!

Well, I better quit for now. Look for updates and pictures as Ahren and I make some decisions. We'll also be looking for some imput too - so feel free to comment and let me know what you think about all of this. Suggestions are also welcome.

There is one more thing I should mention Ahren and I are thinking (we're not sure if this is appropriate or not) of asking certain family and friends to donate time and talents in lieu of gifts. Since we know that we're going to have to DIY for a lot of this wedding, we're seeing if anyone would be willing to pitch in. Like what? you ask. Like baking, photography, music, craft stuff (designing save-the-dates or putting together programs or favors) things like that. Do you think that is a terrible idea?

Okay - really, I am going to stop now.

'Til next time, then!

I was going to do this quietly, but ... I'M ENGAGED!

I know I am very behind and need to update with a lot of other things, like the first PBP show of the summer, where I am living at now, Stephanie's wedding, and a couple different other things, but I can't wait:

I'M ENGAGED!

I haven't been able to stop smiling since yesterday.

I actually have to get going to a meeting this morning, so I don't have time to write a full report, but here are the quick and dirty details:

went to Northhome to meet Ahren's grandparents who are visiting from Indianapolis. He took me on a walk to a little secluded wooded area and got down on one knee. To be honest, I can't remember exactly what he said. My mind was racing.

Of course, I said yes.

I don't think I will ever forget the look on his face. It was almost the same look he had on his face when we shared our first kiss.

You know the best part? Its not the ring, its not the idea of the upcoming wedding, its that he asked me to spend the rest of my life with him. He wants to share his life with me. I never thought I would be so lucky to have anyone want this, but someone does, and its someone I love very much. I'm so happy; I feel like crying!

One of my favorite lyrics from my favorite show says "to love another person is to see the face of God" It's true. In my love for Ahren, and in his love for me, I have found myself closer to God - and I can't thank Him enough for bringing Ahren into my life.

I promise more will follow, but I just need to get some work things done before I have the time to update everyone on the rest of it.

Hope everyone has a wonderful day!