Oh gees! The time has really flown and I'm getting married in 26 days. Is it normal that my knees feel a little wobbly? Or maybe alot. Well an update on my venue. I found a quaint manor up in Monroe, GA that is perfect for what I have been looking for. My DF and I went up there for a looksee months ago and fell in love (actually, I did, he just humored me).  It has a grassy area in front of a gazebo for the guests to sit and then the reception is in a enormous tent outside the manor. We will have the "run" of the manor with the exception of the upstairs private area. 

One of the things I really love about this place is the affordability it offers. When I heard that most weddings cost over $25K, I almost fainted and then almost eloped.  Instead, with a little bit of research, I have pretty much kept this under $10K.  The food is not the bar style food one venue was offering--instead it's what you would expect-fruits and cheeses and what you wouldn't expect-gritini's and chicken on a stick. I can't wait.

We have also chosen to do the rehearsal dinner at the manor and are going to have a "southern" style BBQ. Since most of the DF's family are from up north, I'm really looking forward to this. I thought about adding a vat of boiled peanuts but realize that's overkill.

So that's where I am this week. I'm still struggling with the groomsmen gifts, still have no idea how to decorate the gazebo or the "alter" and still need advice on both. Thanks to all!

Ok, so my DH is having a slight problem deciding what to get his groomsmen. He doesn't want to go the traditional route and get flasks, koozies, beer steins etc. Does anybody have any cool ideas they can pass along. Thank you so much!

So I'm sure there are plenty of other posts about this idea I had, but I also wanted to blog about it. I was in Michaels today, looking around when I wandered into the scrapbooking section. I was in unfamiliar and uncharted territory.  I'm not really into scrapbooking, although almost every other female friend of mine is enamoured with the art.  However, I started thinking, What if I used a scrabooking album, complete with different pages, stickers, pens etc. to make my guest book? The more I thought about the more excited I became. It would take away from the boring "sign on the line," and instead offer up a wonderful keepsake that I can proudly display as "The Day My Wedding Guest Scrapbooked For Me."

I found a really nice album that had a picture frame in the front where I am going to put a pic of my fiance and I--in case somebody is at the wrong wedding! I then bought several wedding themed bubble stickers to place on individual pages.  My hope is that people will do more than just sign his or her name--I hope to see funny comments, memories, advice, suggestions etc plastered onto those pages. 

My Maid of Honor/Sister came up with the idea of getting a Polaroid camera and snapping the wedding guests as they doled out sage advice and glue dotting it next to it.  Instead of the Polaroids however, I'm thinking of using my own little mini printer and having smaller more economical pics posted. I'm not sure on that idea yet. I have over one hundred people attending and only 20 standard scrapbooking pages.

So that was my great idea! Sorry if it's a duplicate but I did want to share.   

Fellow blogger brides, today my fifteen minutes have begun! I was asked to come into the Get Married studio to be interviewed by DeAnna regarding my experiences planning my wedding.  The interview will be posted on Getmarried.com in the very near future so please keep a lookout.   

One thing that I really appreciated was DeAnna's stage prescence. I was sooo nervous I thought I was going to faint or even worse, disgrace myself in the worst kind of way, but she is so fun and easy to talk to that I found myself laughing and acting the fool, even though three camera's were trained on us. The questions that she asked were based on things all brides have faced. By nature, I'm a talker, so to actually have a venue to let it all out, so to speak, with somebody that was willing to listen was a great release.  Finally, somebody that wanted to hear about my problems with my over the budget wedding, my deployed fiance and my out of state relatives. It was GREAT! 

It was really fun to come in and discuss what was going on in my bride world because DeAnna took note of things that I had said during my interview and then we discussed problems and solutions afterwards.  I gave Bloggerbride's a shoutout because without the advice of my fellow ladies in the trenches, I would have had a much more difficult time with the planning. When Dave, the founder of Get Married, gave DeAnna extra questions to ask me, I was secretly thrilled because I have so much to say and it's going to viewed by an audience that can empathize with the good, the bad and the Somebody Help Me!

 Honestly, I think Get Married should bring in more brides like me to discuss what's going on, difficulties they've faced, solutions they've masterminded etc. It makes one feel as if she's not the only bride wanting to pull her hair out and it gives a face to the countless brides out there, pulling this together, vendor by helpful vendor. 

So anyway, I just wanted to let you all know a new interview will be posted here on Getmarried.com.  I hope you like it, I hope I wasn't too goofy, but if I was at least my real personality shined through!

I am having my wedding at a castle that has an affordable "all inclusive" wedding package. It's a beautiful location, I love the idea of getting married in a castle, but there is a little snag. I am not happy with the food that is being offered.  The majority of the items are what I would call bar food: chicken wings/fingers, weenie snacks, cheese sticks etc. I am not interested in a sit down dinner but would like to do heavy hors d'oevres.  Does anybody have any suggestions concerning fun, innovative food items I can request the chef to cook, that won't bounce my budge sky high? Thanks all!

I just wanted to show off one of my really cool engagement pictures that was taken at Stars Mill in Fayetteville, GA.  My sister took the pics, edited and then presented them to my FH and I on three cds.  This was by no means the best, just one of my faves.   

I am one of those rare women who never gave much thought to planning a wedding until suddenly, BAM! I'm engaged. I don't really know how it happened. One moment I was single and happy go lucky, the next I was dating this wonderful man and now, I'm planning a wedding. And I'm totally clueless. A friend turned me on to this site and I'm actually suprised at how helpful it is. I resisted coming here for awhile, but I am calling her tomorrow and thanking my lucky stars for her!

Everytime I start to work on the wedding process I get frustrated and overwhelmed. I feel like I'm throwing a huge party, but it's not nearly as fun as the other parties I've planned. So, I'm starting to take things one step at a time, and when I get overwhelmed, I take a step back and do something else that makes me relax.  It usually involves a glass of red or a quick run with the ever accomodating pooch. 

If I truly get to a breaking point, I call the fiance. After all, he got me into this mess, he can help me out! That man deserves all the kudos and accolades there are. He calms me down, helps me out and generally knows the right things to say (aside from a few obvious blunders--he put his foot down on the writing of vows I proposed.)  When all else fails, he talks to me about the honeymoon. What can I say, the boy knows my weakness for vacations. 

For now, I'm getting things done at my own pace, which isn't the same pace or even the same order as the wedding guides suggest. But I'm my own Bride and this wedding is going to be GREAT (and if not, there's always the honeymoon!)