Amy Jo On The Go!

Failure turned Success

Amy Jo — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 12:55:58 +0000

I’m 37 days away from the wedding and it seems like everything that “can” go wrong, IS!!

In the past week we had to “let go” of our current pastor and find someone else, the hotel that we are using to block rooms is not being cooperative and has changed the pricing on me (dramatically), my DIY bouquets for the bridal party were a complete failure and I failed to make the final payment to our photographer by the due date because I have somehow LOST our contract and didn’t know it was due!

I’m emotionally drained. I have never wanted to give up on something so badly as I do this wedding! Why didn’t we go to the courthouse or elope?

But, I can see light at the end of the tunnel….. Our new officiant is so totally cool. She understands our “vision” and hasn’t tried to push us to do something we are uncomfortable with. Not to mention that she has such a great personality. She is funny and a bit of a wise-ass just like my fiance! What a perfect fit!

Yes, the hotel has raised their prices but they are at least working with me on other areas. Originally, as most hotels do, I had to block rooms and whatever rooms were not used I was responsible for payment. They are now letting me block rooms and whatever rooms are not booked they will just open back up to the public a couple weeks before the wedding and I will not be responsible for the cost. The downside is still the fact that I have to make sure my guests book their rooms in the next couple weeks as the blocked rooms are only good up until a certain date.

After giving up on the idea that I would make all the bouquets, I finally broke down and went to a florist. I’m in L-O-V-E with the bridesmaid bouquets that we picked out.

Inspiration picture:

: Bridesmaid’s

And here is the inspiration picture for my bouquet:

: Bride

And lastly, I spoke to our photographer yesterday and explained how sorry I was about missing the payment and she was totally cool. A check went in the mail and all is right with the world again!

Now if only I could make some progress on our rehearsal dinner…….

Bridal Shower Success!!

Amy Jo — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 14:02:04 +0000

My bridal shower was last Saturday and I can honestly say that I couldn’t have hoped (prayed) for a better party! My sister (matron of honor) should be an event planner. Our wedding colors are black & white damask with red accents and she pulled off this theme like it was nobody’s business!!! The RED everywhere was so awesome! Even the bridal party dressed accordingly. You will even notice that we had RED food (salsa, watermelon, strawberry-pretzel salad, meatballs, oreos with red centers dipped in red chocolate, red punch and even red velvet cupcakes. You will even notice the red candy on the tables)

I was a little nervous going into this because I’m not to fond of being the center of attention. I tend to blend in with the crowd rather than draw attention to myself. But, I can honestly say that there was not a single moment that I felt uncomfortable….well, except for when I opened a gift from my aunt and I wasn’t quite sure what it was (and to be honest, I still don’t really know what it is. Something to “beat” meat with??? I don’t eat a lot of meat so I’m clueless)

A BIG thank you to my sister for such a wonderful party and thanks to my bridesmaids for pitching in and being there to celebrate with me. And now I will let the pictures do the rest of the talking…….

Arriving....don't you love my balloon corsage on my wrist!

: My totally awesome sister and I

: Bridal Party

: Fountain and RED velvet cupcakes

: Bottled water, plates, napkins

: Tables….don’t you just love the balloon flowers!

: Gift table before it was covered in gifts…love that photo!

: All of the yummy “RED” food

: My mom’s side of the family

: My Dad’s side of the family

: “Soon to be” In-Laws

: My girlfriends (and some)

Countdown

Amy Jo — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 12:27:32 +0000

I’ve got wedding countdowns going on everywhere….my screen saver at work, my blog, my facebook page, my phone! But the weird thing is, not all the countdowns say the same thing. Like today some of them are saying 73 days until the wedding and some are saying 74 days! How is that possible….and which one is right? I’m going to have to get out a calendar and count for myself.

Update: I counted on the calendar and I would say we have 73 days until the wedding. The countdowns that say 74 are counting today and I just don’t think that’s how a countdown should work. We are already on today so wouldn’t you start with tomorrow being day 1?? I’m so confused. And yes, the wedding has gotten to me so bad I’m totally freaking out on whether the wedding countdown is accurate!!

Wedding Day Weather

Amy Jo — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 17:08:53 +0000

Since my wedding is taking place outdoors I tend to worry about the weather for that day. Granted, we have tents so if Mother Nature decides to not be cooperative, we’ve got it covered. But, as all brides, I want a gorgeous, sunny day with little humidity and a slight breeze.

weather.com has a wedding planner where you can track your wedding day weather. You can also look at typical weather for that day and past history.

The average temperature for July 10 is: High Temp:82°F and Low Temp: 59°F

Over the last 3 years, this has been the weather on that day:

2009 Partly Cloudy High 82/Low 63
2008 Mostly Cloudy High 80/Low 58
2007 Partly Cloudy/Wind High 93/Low 71

I must say, I’m pretty happy with these results. Although, I could definitely do without it being cloudy.

85 Days…

Amy Jo — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 17:15:06 +0000

So we are 85 days from the wedding and to be honest….This is the most stress I think I’ve ever endured!

One minute I feel like I’m right on track and the next minute I’m fighting severe anxiety knowing that I’m knee deep in shit (pardon my language). I’m in the final stages of the wedding planning process and I can honestly say that this stage IS NOT MY FAVORITE!

A few months back I had that revelation that I think all brides eventually have, where you start to “scale back” and only concentrate on the things that actually matter. But, I still feel like there is so much stuff (and truly I think of it as “stuff”) that I’m so worried about.

Whenever I start to question myself I step back, take a deep breath and try to find the “sane” bride that I know is hiding somewhere deep inside.

What if no one likes the music I picked for the DJ to play? To be honest, my fiance and I like the music and I know my friends like the music so even if we are the only ones on the dance floor it will still be a blast
What if my dress doesn’t fit after alterations? I’ve lost 30 lbs in the past year, I think if I need to lose 3-5 lbs the last 1.5 months before the wedding I will be fine. I’ve got the resources and knowledge to do this so calm the F down already
Are we giving our guests enough choices in the booze department? People like free booze and after enough time passes they will be too loaded to even care
Are guests going to be upset that there are no chairs for the ceremony? Young people can stand and the older guests get a chair with the family. If you don’t like it, plop your butt down on the ground
What if any of our relatives/guests start “acting up”? We are going to ignore them or ask them to leave
What if the guests don’t like our casual buffet? We are serving food that fiance and I both like and it tastes amazing. Everyone else can swing through McDonald’s when they leave.

These are only a few of the items that I battle everyday. In the end, the “sane” bride always pulls through and makes sense of it all, but it’s those few moments when I feel like the earth is slowly giving away under my feet that I could do without.

Did any of you “graduate” brides go through this the last few months before the wedding or am I really going insane?

DIY Wedding Photo Booth

Amy Jo — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 18:01:57 +0000

I can’t remember if I told you about our DIY wedding photo booth. Actually, I know I haven’t told you because my sister reminds me about it quite often….Thanks Rach!

After getting engaged I went to my first-ever Bridal Expo! It was so overwhelming….But, nonetheless I walked out of there knowing I wanted a photo booth at our reception. Well, come to find out…photo booths are freaking expensive!! And then I fell upon the following pictures and knew that a custom photo booth was the answer.

Having a photo booth at our wedding reception is going to be a fun way to get guests to interact with each other. And since there was no room in our budget we had to “do it ourselves”. I bribed…errr, I mean begged my brother in law to help me and we (he) was able to bust out this project in one afternoon.

We simply purchased a piece of plywood and made a freestanding wall to be used as the photo booth. It will be covered in Damask fabric and the frames will then be (re)attached. Voila….

A big thank you to my sister, brother in law, brother and nephew for assisting with this project….I think it’s going to be my favorite part of the wedding

Ring Success

Amy Jo — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:13:22 +0000

We finally had some “ring” success. I took mine last week to a local jeweler to get re-sized and I’m having some of my diamonds replaced and Don finally picked out his ring this past weekend (see pic below). It is a tungsten carbide and silver with 1/4 ct. round diamonds. It looks so good on his finger

My ring should hopefully be done in the next day or two….I can’t wait to get it back. Most importantly, I can’t wait to wear it and not worry about it falling off my finger a dozen times a day.

Engagement Pics

Amy Jo — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 18:21:55 +0000

After 17 months we finally got some engagement pictures taken. The weather was horrible as Michigan got hit with another major snow storm on Friday night, so that put a little kink in our plans, but I still think they turned out totally awesome. Here is a sneak preview….

As you can tell, the dog was much more cooperative then the cats….It was so much fun. And I’m so impressed with the Mister. He hates his picture being taken but he did really well. He even impressed himself! I think he feels better about our wedding pictures now. He has been so stressed about being in front of a camera.

Thanks again Rachel….the pics are awesome and you are awesome!!

DIY Success

Amy Jo — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 15:37:49 +0000

So, yesterday I posted a little DIY project that I wanted to try and I must say….it was a total success!! The bummer part about it is that we have decided not to use these.

And worse yet…the “good” pictures I took were with my iPhone and I don’t know how to upload them to here. So here are a couple pics I took with fiance’s phone.

It took me about 2 minutes total to make this….why can’t all DIY projects be so easy?

DIY Wine Glass Candle Lampshades

Amy Jo — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 13:30:52 +0000

Fiance and I were just talking the other night that we need some “fillers” for the tables and we would like to somehow utilize candles for that romatic feel. I found this DIY Tutorial today to make these and I think this just might be what we were looking for.