All Hail, Mindy!

Another day, another surprise wedding package in the mailbox! My great friend MII sent along a wedding planning survival kit of sorts and it's been helpful right out of the box.

Included in the package were: Bridal Bargains by Denise and Alan Fields, The Wedding Book by Mindy Weiss, and The Ultimate Wedding Planner and Organizer.


I had recently griped that wedding paraphernalia was all discombobulated and I needed to get organized. PRONTO! Like the great friend she is, she listened and acted! And she was right on time!

Bridal Bargains is so easy to read and finding ways to save money on every aspect of the wedding is a snap! As you can see I have already gone through and tabbed ideas I liked!

The Ultimate Wedding Planner and Organizer is a binder with slots for business cards and separated folders for all the planning aspects from flowers to food. It also includes several pages of wedding advice and pages for notes. It even includes a hole punch!

But the best of the bunch is this momma right here!


I.LOVE.THIS.BOOK! I have seen many a wedding planning book, website, and magazine in my day. If you read enough you realize that a lot of them include the same information - timelines, dress advice, blah blah. But this book is different. Yes, it includes your typical advice but opens your eyes to things you probably haven't considered. More than a planning book, it's an idea book. It tackles the ins and outs of renting a tent and getting a dance floor. It helps you consider your vision AND your guests when choosing your wedding elements. There is real planner advice from a professional who has been there. It is the BEST.

I'm so happy to have it and I am sure it will be a beat up, marked up, post-it-noted mess, when I'm done with it.

Engagement Bliss

There is definitely something that comes over you when you become engaged. Some call it bliss. I'm not sure what it should be called, but there is a certain giddiness that happens. Even couples like us, who have been together for a while, living together even, get giddy. The argument could be made that we knew it was coming and that's true. I knew it was coming someday. But once you become engaged, someday is today - and just like that, it's different.

I wasn't surprised so much by our giddiness, it was the happiness displayed by others that I found not so much surprising but so heartwarming. People have been genuinely excited, elated, and overjoyed for us. No one cares how I'm doing anymore, they want to know how the wedding's doing! And, I love it.

When my 11-year old niece called to check our wedding colors because she had fallen in love with a dress and wanted to know if it would match, I realized, "we're engaged!" How cute is that!? Nevermind that it had only been 3 weeks. I have gotten several emails from my cousin V (the fashion maven) pointing me to bridal lines that I should check out. FB friends check in on me and offer suggestions. We've gotten several cards and one special package.

I was only able to see one person's reaction to our engagement. Unfortunately, I don't live near my loved ones so the announcements came via phone and email. If I had it to do again, I would wait till I could see their reactions in person. Luckily for me, one of my cousins didn't get the memo and I was treated to her totally spontaneous reaction - sweet!

A few days later, I received this in the mail from said cousin J. It was so special and it made me so emotional about the planning that lay ahead of us.

A completely personalized card front and back offering well wishes and advice. I love the quote she included - "Marriage is that relation between a man and woman in which the independence is equal, the dependence is mutual, and the obligation reciprocal." - Anspacher.

Two wedding mags complete with a note.

She actually went through the mag highlighting things and offering me ideas along the way. So sweet!

And...the most important note on the back.

Thanks, Jenny. Your gift was so thoughtful. I was so touched by the personalization, and the time you took to think of us. What a way kick off our planning!