My mother surprised me with a wedding coordinator! This was something I was strongly against, mostly for the monetary repercussions. However, my mother assured me that because it is a dear friend of hers, she will only ask for margaritas at our meetings and a good party at the wedding! My mom also said that she'd take care of giving her a little reimbursement for her time working with me. I was also somewhat hesitant because of my lofty ideas for the wedding that I had high hopes of being able to pull off myself! This is a budget conscious ordeal, but I still have large aspirations for my big day!

Now that I have said my piece about wanting to do this myself, and not wanting to spend money on a coordinator, I can tell you how amazing she is! As I have said in my other blogs, I have had so many friends in so many areas of expertise, my wedding planning has gone quite smoothly thus far. It is nice, though, because with Lisa all of the pictures in my mind are becoming reality. And, since she is doing most of the leg work, all I have to do is dream!

So, although brief, the point is this: a wedding coordinator can be a large relief in a small, affordable package! I was blessed to be "gifted" this piece of my wedding planning, but you can also work with someone on a resonable budget. Most coordinators will do as much, or as little, as you'd like them to which makes you able to be flexible in the cost. Lisa is making it easier for me to know I am going to have the wedding of my dreams while still puting 100% into teaching this year! What a huge weight off my shoulders knowing I can do both, not sacrifice one for the other!

Oh how good it feels to have things quickly and smoothly coming together! Last week, I was stressed about many things: colors, catering, save-the-dates, pictures, and the reception. Now, thanks in large part to friends and family, all of these are off my list of serious stressers.

First, my color scheme finally is working flawlessly! As you have read in a prior post, I added sage green to my color scheme. I did this for a couple of reasons: 1) it helps bring spring into an otherwise fall color scheme 2) you can actually find green/purple color combinations when  you shop for decor.

Second, my catering dilemma is over! This, again, is with help from family. I have talked time and time again of the importance of asking family and friends what they may be able to do to help, and it has paid off ten fold. If you would like to refresh the other help I've received from friends and family. My post about catering issues told the problems I was having finding someone to provide the guests with a meal at the reception. Originally, I came up with a plan to make our own lasagna. This was definitely compromising what S and I had wanted at our reception: prime rib and potatoes.

My dad suggested that I call my second cousin (his cousin), Jeff, and find out if he would be up for doing the meat since they make prime rib every Friday at his restaurant. He emphatically said 'yes' and offered up many other services he may be able to provide. He said that depending on the cost of the meat, he may be able to get me the dinner for under $20 a person! He said if we are willing to be patient and wait for sales to come through, we can have a choice beef for cheaper than market price (wonderful to live in cattle country!). He also agreed to supply the kegs of Coors Lite at cost, and bring his portable fridge to keep them in until they are used. Additionally, he is going to talk to the guy who drives an old limo for him on Thursday and Friday nights (for those who enjoy the pub a little too much), and see if he'd be willing to come down and help my guests get safely to their hotels! He was also full of suggestions for how to set up the buffet and keep everything hot/cold. Excellent!

Finally, the invitations are made and off to the printer. Yes, off to the printer, not ordered online. One of my wonderful friends happens to be a graphic designer out of work due to the economy. When we were chatting about wedding plans, I told her the invitations were becoming a little daunting for my budget. She reminded me that she was a graphic designer and could probably produce what I wanted. We collaborated over Chinese, and she put together some beautiful samples for me. The save-the-dates are off to the printer and will be sent out shortly with my engagement pictures (also taken by a friend, Brown Road Photography). Although my friend insisted that I am doing her a favor by improving her portfolio, and that I wouldn't owe her anything for her time, I plan on giving her a fair cut for her work. I actually prefer paying a friend over some internet company.

If only my friends could help me figure out how to de-stress my life as a Middle School teacher!

I see many engagement stories on bridal blog after bridal blog. I figured, although 3 months after the fact, I would share my own!

The Picture is my own, personal, cheesy picture!

Now, if your first date with your future husband is in an helicopter, flying over the beautiful Baker valley, can you imagine the engagement!? However, as the man asking, how do you out-do your first date?

So, I've been throwing the idea around in my head for a while, and I've finally settled on changing my colors slightly. I was stressing about the change for quite some time because I thought there was NO logical way I could change colors NOW!!! Then, I remembered that I have over 6 months left, and no real decorations or stationary bought- what do I have to lose?

My colors have now shifted from eggplant and champagne to eggplant and sage with accents of champagne. The color champagne was just too difficult to find anything in!! Instead of continuing the stress over this color, I decided that I really liked the combination of purple and green, and, even better, the combo is all over the place! This makes invitations, decorations, and all other coordinating features of my wedding much easier. Now, the stress is in the creation of everything, and not in just finding the "stuff" to make the creations out of- MUCH BETTER!

I am including some samples of this color combination. Also, the sandals from Sseko Designs are in the mail!!! Pictures to follow :)

Photo Credit: Modern Girl Invitations

Staying with the budget-savviness (just made that word up!) I was planning on making my own invitations. My plan was to have my maid-of-honor visit this huge paper warehouse in Hillsboro, price out paper and supplies, and have a big "invitation-making" party. Then, I realized that for the money I save, I will be putting in quite a few hours; hours that I don't currently have available! So... here are my top two choices for invitations (already made). Both are very affordable!

Photo Credit: Wedding Paper Divas

What is nice is that I will be able to mimic both styles pretty well, and incorporate them into the theme of the rest of the decorations. The first style goes very nicely with my pomanders I made (pictures to come), and this is the one I am leaning towards. Both would work wonderfully, and I don't mind spending the money on them. After all, I have saved EVERYWHERE else in this planning process. Why not save myself some time and get the invitations all ready to go!?

So... as I have mentioned many times, I am having an atrocious time finding catering! This is seriously the one sore spot in my wedding planning. I have even gone so far as to take this as a bad omen on the whole day! One night a couple weeks ago, I called S (as I do every night) and we were talking about wedding planning. The food situation came up, and I started in on how difficult it is to find someone to do what we want for a price that makes sense. From this, I broke down into a blubbery mess. I was telling him that I didn't think the colors would work, that the decorations at the reception would be horrible, that the flowers wouldn't be nice because it wasn't a professional doing them, and that the DJ probably wouldn't show up.

He, of course, reminded me that all I was really supposed to be worrying about at this point was the fact that there does not seem to be a caterer in the area willing to make meat for a fair price! In fact, adding to the story about the horrible meeting with one potential, economics is actually thrown out the window for some of these rednecks (no offense, I take pride in living here!). I was informed by one, who will remain nameless, that in the restaurant prime rib costs $22 for the dinner. So, Eastern Oregon redneck economics enter stage left, that means the wedding (a guaranteed 150 people!) will be $25 per person. WHAT!!!? How does that even work!? Are you serious!? Sir, I have a degree in Accounting and Finance, and I would like you to know that it just doesn't work that way! If I can guarantee a number much greater than the two people who eat a prime rib in your restaurant any given night, your cost drops drastically; thus, the price per person should DECLINE, not increase! Crazy!

Needless to say, I have began to seek alternatives. One such alternative was cooking up my mom's great lasagna in mass quantity and freezing them about a week before the wedding. I would then hire a few good Young Life girls to throw them in the oven at the reception venue an hour before, and "viola," a meal everyone likes. But, I was concerned that freezing the lasagna would ruin the homemade taste. The only way to know was to try it!

I made up a lasagna and threw it in the freezer for a week, planning to thaw it and bake it- a test run so-to-speak. Tonight, was the moment of truth. I took out the lasagna this morning, and baked it this evening with my mom, sister, friend, and myself ready to critique the results. It was perfect, just like it had been made up that day.

This is great news! Now, the stress of finding a caterer is off my shoulders. At least I know I have a good fall back plan. I can make lasagna, and everyone likes lasagna!

There is always a lot to be said regarding a honeymoon. I have received advice ranging all over the board on where to go, when to go, why to go, etc. In fact, the one thing my mother told S when he asked if he could marry me was that we needed to take the time to go on a honeymoon. She told him that if you think you can just do it later, you won't. This tidbit is convenient when S starts dragging his feet about going! I kindly remind him that it was my mother's one request. Besides, I think he's just huffing for my benefit! :)

I have spent many hours researching various locations from Europe to Tahiti. It is important to note both the high and low seasons of a particular location. These seasons are mostly structured around weather, so finding great deals in Tahiti during the monsoons may not actually be worth the savings! It is also important to remember that the "deal" rates that you see listed on certain resorts are probably posted for the off-season. Be sure to look into the exact dates the deal is good for, don't just assume that will be the price you will pay all year round! Another thing to avoid (unless you want to be there) are the large holidays in certain countries. For example, you may want to avoid going to Hong Kong during the Chinese new year!

Based on high/ low seasons, S and I chose to go to either Greece or Fiji (very different, I know). May is a relatively easy time to go just about anywhere as it is usually categorized in the "middle season." Typically, prices are still low, but rising sharply depending on your destination. In Greece, May is arguably one of the best times to go. The rainy season is well out of the way and all of the spring flowers and color starts to arrive. It is still a month or so off from the high tourist season, so there is just a slow trickle of people into the country. May in Fiji is, again, a "middle" or "shoulder" season. It comes between the end of the wet, typhoon-ridden October to April, but before the hot, dry June to August. Fiji, however, has a very short, almost non-existent "low season" as it is a desirable place to go year-round.

One piece of information that came up quite often when looking at honeymoon tips was the benefit of knowing someone whose "been there, done that." This seemed reasonable to me; of course it would be easier to know what to expect and where to go if someone had already been there. Then, someone else could make mistakes for you to learn from, not do! They would also be able to let you know where the best bang for your buck will come from. Knowing that having a friend "in the know" would be helpful, S and I chose Fiji as our destination. S has a close friend who was raised there, and lived there for many years in his adult life before moving to Washington state. We called him and asked for suggestions for resorts and he listed a few of his top picks.

So, at this point, we are looking at Tokoriki Island Resort or Matamanoa Island Resort. Both of these resorts were recommended by our friend because of their secluded setting. Each is a small island with little family tourist activity. They both would be fantastic for a honeymoon! Check out the links to the websites! Here are a few of the pictures from the Tokoriki site:

And from the Matamanoa site:

In telling the stories of my planning journey, I have left out one of my favorites.

As I have continually stated, I am trying to keep my wedding within a modest budget. One of the best ways I have found to do this with the reception decorations is DIY. Additionally, staying away from multiple flowers and heavy arrangements can save you a ton! I just discovered that 200 tulips in shades of white and purple will only cost me around $130 if I order them through Albertsons!

I have been excited for this idea since I first saw it on Style Me Pretty. As guests file out of the ceremony, they will be encouraged to grab a bell and line up to greet us. Each bell will have a tag that says "Ring the Bell for a Fond Farewell."