Looking Back

Remember when I wrote this last year? I hate to say I was right but boy was I right. 2013, you were indeed not a “lucky” year as I suspected. However, when I was reflecting back and flipping through photos of this year, I see you were pretty kind until October. October 21 to be exact but I promise to try not to focus too much on the last 67 days. I want this posting to be a recap of all the great things that happened the other 298 days. If you remember, I also wrote this in September about how this year (meaning my 28^th year on earth) would be the year of focusing on the blessings in my life. So yes, enough with the bad. Let me make room to reflect on all the good.

 

 

1.       We moved AGAIN! Yes, call us crazy. In short summary, we received a notice in January that a 300+ unit apartment complex was going to be built in our backyard. We loved our home and had been in it exactly one year but we did not want that many neighbors behind us. We decided to stick a for sale sign in the yard to see what happened. Well we sold our house in 13 days. We found our new home in which we love even more.

2.       2013 was the year of weddings. Three of my closest friends got married. Lara married in April and I was honored to serve as her wedding coordinator. Rachel married in June and I was honored to serve her as one of her wedding photographers. Then Andrea married in September and I was honored to serve as her matron of honor.

3.       My childhood dog Missy came to live with us in June. We thought Missy’s time was coming to an end so my dad brought her to me this summer for me to take to my brother-in-law who is a vet. Well wouldn’t you know it a week here with me with some baby aspirin as prescribed by Michael was all she needed to be back to her ole self. Sweet Missy turned 16 in October. I absolutely love having her with me again.

4.       Greyson and I did a lot of fun stuff this year. We celebrated our third wedding anniversary with our friends, Andrea and Steve at Lairdland Farms, where we got married. We also went to the beach twice this summer. Once with his family to Pawley’s Island, SC and once to Saint Simons, GA with our friends, Trina and Marshall. We were able to celebrate Trina’s 30^th birthday while we were there. This fall we went to a University of Tennessee vs. Auburn football game in Knoxville. This was the first time our teams ever faced each other since we’ve known one another. We had a great time (expect for all the walking but that’s another story) especially since Auburn won.  

5.       Professionally it has been a great year. I exceeded all of my sales goals for the year. I also had the privilege of serving on the Chamber of Commerce’s Business Women’s Council again and Murfreesboro Young Professionals as Director of Membership/ Chair- Elect.

These things and all the other great things that happened are the things I want to remember about 2013. Am I sad to see 2013 go after my time of reflection? Heck no. You still can go and don’t let the door hit you on the way out. However, I do hope that in years to come when I am reflecting back on this year that these things come to mind long before the memories of the heartache.

Speaking of NYE. How about a blast from New Year’s Past. Looking forward to carrying on the tradition another year.

 

 

A Bridal Tea

I hosted a bridal tea for my best friend Andrea last Sunday. It was the first tea that I've ever hosted. I had three teas when I got married (one from my church in Florence, one from Greyson's church in Hartsville and one given by my bridesmaids in Murfreesboro). I've learned that bridal teas are not as popular here as they are at home in Florence. I've found myself having to explain the difference between a tea and a shower to a lot of people the last couple of years. Here are the main differences in a nut shell.
1. For showers there is normally a set arrival time but at a tea it is flow event. Teas are usually an hour and half to two hours. That is why tea invitations have a start time and end time listed and showers mostly have just a start time.

2. The honoree doesn't open her own gifts at a tea. The hostesses unwrap the gifts as they come in (typically in another room) and records the gift and who it is from and then takes the gifts in the main room and displays them on a table.

3. My favorite difference. There are no games at teas! Sorry gals, there is no toilet paper bride or how well do you know your groom games. I know, I am no fun. Your time at a tea is just spent visiting with guests and eating.

So now about Andrea's tea.

I absolutely loved her invitation. Ignore the black line, I had to black out my address. 

Now my favorite part... THE FOOD. Her menu was as follows.

I worried myself to death about coming up with the perfect menu and the perfect recipes. I am not sure if it was perfect but it was pretty close in my "humble" opinion. A huge shout out to my mom for coming up early to help me prepare all the food. 

In typical Amy fashion I used several recipe specs to come up with my very own and great chicken salad recipe.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup light or regular mayonnaise

1/2 cup light or regular sour cream

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 pounds skinned and boned chicken breasts, cooked and chopped

3 cups red and white seedless grapes, halved

1 cup chopped pecans, toasted

½ cup celery finely sliced

Directions:

Stir all ingredients together adding the grapes last. Refrigerate at least one hour before serving. We scooped the chicken salad into little puff pastries. 

I also found this amazing recipe for chess squares. They were a hit at the party. We actually followed this recipe exactly how it is listed. 

http://www.kevinandamanda.com/recipes/dessert/chess-squares.html 

The last recipe I want to share with you is Almond Tea. I fell in love with this stuff at my bridal tea in Hartsville. I think it is a must to any bridal tea. 

Almond Tea

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar or Splenda (I’ve used both)

1 gallon water

8 tea bags

2 TBSP almond extract

Directions:

Brew tea, add sugar to warm tea to dissolve and add almond extract

 

There you have it folks. It was a great tea for my best friend. Let me know if you decide to host a tea of your own. 

Cranking Out More Designs

I am having a blast designing invitations and custom prints for friends and family, in addition to making more samples. Here are a few of my latest projects. Please remember custom designs just start at $5! Please contact me for more details.

Rachel & Nick's Wedding

My dear friend from college, Rachel got married this weekend in Louisville, Kentucky. Nick and Rachel's wedding was by far the sweetest and most relaxed wedding I've ever been to or have ever been a part of. Take notes from Rachel. Less really is more. It was simply perfect. Their wedding ceremony and reception was held in a private room at the Bristol, which is a local restaurant in the heart of downtown Louisville. Our friend Trina married them! And yes, the ceremony was legit. She did an incredible job. I was so proud of her. The food was amazing! It really was the perfect day. My favorite part though was having the opportunity to be Rachel's photographer for large portions of the day. I am rather proud of my growing photography skills. Watch out Sara Rose.... ha ha! I may have found my new hobby and part-time job. Here are a few of my favorites from Saturday.

 

To end the perfect weekend, we continued to celebrate the union of Rachel and Nick with a second reception in Nashville at Trina and Marshall's house. Unfortunately, I was a little too busy with assisting play hostess that I did not get to take many pictures.

 

Congratulations again to Rachel & Nick. I am honored to have been a part of your wedding weekend celebrations.

 

3 Years

Tomorrow is our third wedding anniversary. I guess this means we are no longer newlyweds. I cannot believe it has been three years since we said I do. Three years ago was by far one of the best days of my life. We were surrounded by family and friends. We had a wonderful time celebrating our union. The greatest part of the day is I had someone commit to stand beside me on this crazy trip called life. To me, the most beautiful thing about our marriage is, it is a partnership. It is in no ways all rainbows and butterflies. Marriage is tough. If you say it is not you are lying. It is also a beautiful thing. I cannot imagine where I would be today without my G to cheer me on and fill in where I fall short. We definitely married our counterpart. It makes life interesting at times but it is also why we make such a great team. I love you, G. Thanks for standing beside me the last 1,095 days and the thousands more to come. I hope I can be everything that you are to me.

Roden Tidwell Wedding

This weekend my dear friend, Lara got married. I was honored to serve as her wedding coordinator. Lara is the girl that keeps up with all the happenings of her friends (and this girl has a lot of friends). She also has a gift of making everyone feel special. She is by far the most thoughtful person I know. I was actually thankful to have the opportunity to give back to the girl who has given to so many, including myself.

Here are a few pictures that I managed to take during the hectic day.

 

I was reminded this weekend of why I love weddings so much. It’s all the love and excitement…. And not just between the bride and the groom. I love that friends and family come together for two people. I always tell my brides at work to cherish their entire wedding weekend. And that the next time all of their friends and family are together celebrating them will be their funeral so soak it all in. It sounds a little harsh but it is so true. I love the closeness of everyone. I can honestly say that Lara and Tim did take the time to cherish everyone who attended and one another. So brides and grooms, take note. Walk around and talk to all your guests. Take moments to steal away with one another and your loved ones.


Mother Nature wasn’t very kind to Tim and Lara on their wedding day but seeing her and Tim’s love for one another definitely shined through the rain clouds. Lara selected some amazing vendors. I honestly have nothing but great things to say about them all. So here’s the scoop on her wedding day. E-mail me for any of their contact information.

Venue: Belle Meadow Farms, Lascassas, TN

DJ: Live Media Relations

Florist & Decorator: Emily Beals Moshopoulos

Bakery: Cedar City Cakes

Rentals: Stewart’s Special Evens

Caterer: Slick Pig

Bartender: Jesse George

Photographer: Rebecca Walker Photography

I can’t wait to see more pictures from Rebecca Walker Photography. Oh and if you Instagram check out the #tidwellweddingtn . So many great moments and details were captured.

Lastly, I leave you with this picture that I stole borrowed from one of Lara’s friends. It flash flooded all day on Saturday so it was pretty muddy plus it was sprinkling when it was time for Lara to walk down the aisle. I couldn’t let her dress get muddy so I carried it in the back. I love this photo. I actually, kind of, blend in.

Tips from This Event Pro

I’ve wanted to do this post for some time now. I just haven’t had the time lately. On average, we plan about 24 weddings a year. I’ve worked at DoubleTree now for three years. That means I’ve oversaw over 70 weddings. Whew, I am tired just thinking about. Over the past few years I’ve seen mistakes that my brides often make. Some of these mistakes I made as a bride. So here are some of my top wedding planning tips. I plan on doing a series of wedding and event planning tips. I hope they are helpful to you.

1. After you determine your budget, rank items in order of importance to you. Let’s face it weddings are expensive. You can try with all your might to be as conservative as possible but there’s not a bank account that won’t feel the impact of a wedding. My top priorities planning my wedding were a great band, unique location, and wonderful food so that is how I prioritized my spending. I also booked those items first. I spent more on my band than I did on flowers and decorations. By starting with what is most important, you are more likely to stay within your budget because you are more willing to compromise on items that aren’t as important to you. If I had picked out my flowers before booking my caterer, location and band, I would have blown my budget.

2. Have a timeline for everything. And yes, I mean everything. There is so much to get done the day of the wedding. Start a timeline for the day before and day of the wedding. Weddings involve lots of people and people need structure. Share these timelines with your bridal party, close family members and friends. If you want to make mom mad then cut your cake while she is in the bathroom. (I have seen this happen twice.) Make sure all your key people are aware of the timeline of the pre-wedding activities, pictures, ceremony and reception. (Reminder to myself: post wedding planning timeline template.)

3. Take pictures of you and the groom before your wedding. I would have never believed I would be saying this three years ago. G and I were adamant on not seeing each other until I walked down the aisle. Everyone told us to do pictures before but nope we weren’t doing it. I had this fairy tale pictured in my head. I would walk down the aisle and G’s lip would tremble as he saw me for the first time. It would be a magical moment. Then we would go to the reception and our guests would let us eat and then we would have a wonderful time visiting with everyone there. That’s not how it happened….at all. G’s lips didn’t tremble. I don’t think he shed a tear when he saw me. He actually looked away a few times. I think it was his tactic for his lips not to tremble or to cry. I guess he didn’t know that what I wanted. By the time we got married, I had already planned a few weddings at the hotel. I had seen how guests get restless without food so in order to not have any hungry guests and to appease my mom because she hated the idea of pictures afterwards, I decided to let our guests go ahead and start eating without us. The entire time our photographer was taking pictures, we were rushing her because we wanted to get to the party. By the time we got to the reception, everyone had finished eating dinner so we decided to cut the cake. You don’t want to keep a bunch of Baptist away from their wedding cake. Therefore, we never ate. And to add to this never ending point… a bride drinking wine on an empty stomach can be a not so great combination.

4. I am so glad Pinterest didn’t exist when I was getting married. It would have been the death of me. Ladies, if you are planning a wedding get off of Pinterest. While there are some great ideas, I keep seeing brides get caught in a Pinterest fog. They are so focused on the details; they forget the big picture and forget logistics. So don’t waste your time on the favors that will go into someone’s junk drawer and that’s if the favor makes it home.  Focus on the big items and the flow of the day, then add those finishing touches and personalized details.

5. The best piece of wedding advice I was given was once you make a decision about something move onto the next item. Don’t second guess yourself or nothing will get done.  

Pace Wedding

This past weekend, I went home for a childhood friend’s wedding. Brant has been like a brother to me for nearly half of our lives. His family has become family to my family. And even their friends and extended family have become our friends and extended family. Over the years, we have spent holidays and vacationed with the Pace family. They’ve always had the philosophy of there is always room for one more to love. I don’t know of any other family that is so welcoming and loving. The entire Pace crew (family and friends) have brought so much love and joy to my family’s life. I’ve said this several times but there really is no greater gift in life than friendship.

I had the privilege of playing photographer at Brant and Megan’s wedding reception. It kind of rekindled my love for photography again. I hope to get out my camera more often. Here are a few of the shots I am happy to show off.

This free digital collage generated with Smilebox

Happy 1st Anniversary

The clock just struck midnight so that means we made it to our first anniversary… ha ha!

I cannot believe it has been one year already. I still haven’t done anything to preserve my wedding dress. I now understand how a couple can feel like they turn around and all of a sudden they have been married 30 years. I’ve been reminiscing all weekend about our wedding and what I was doing this time last year. Although being sick has thrown a little kink in our plans I refuse to let it get to me. I guess when you have the wedding of your dreams then you don’t get the perfect first anniversary as well, ha ha. But we do have some special things planned for tomorrow night (well tonight now) which includes eating a replica of the top tier of our wedding cake. Our top tier is in my mother-in-law’s deep freeze an hour away and I am going to get it on Monday so since it will be a day late I decided we should order a new one. Plus, I’ve heard way too many horror stories from people about their cake on their first anniversary. So yay for Publix for saving the day!

I titled this blog when I made it during wedding planning, “The Start of Our Journey”. And oh what a journey this first year has been. I remember right before I got married telling my boss I didn’t foresee many changes after we got married because we had been together for so long. She just smiled and said something along the lines of, “oh you just wait”. And boy was she right. From learning to pay bills and manage our finances together, to just learning more about each others’ personalities, to two promotions, it has been a challenging year.

I am not trying to paint a doom and gloom picture because that is not what it has been. It’s been a year of building a firm foundation in Christ and in one another. Just as much as our love and understanding has deepened for each other so has our love and understanding of Christ. That excites me! I know we are going to have more growing pains in this life and both of us had a lot of growing up to do this past year. (Neither one of us had ever paid for our own cell phone, people!) But if we continue with each phase to draw closer together and even more importantly closer to Christ than hopefully we can keep an eye on the prize.

Cheers to my G and our first year of marriage and to many, many more. I love you!

11 Months

Can’t believe it has been 11 months since our wedding. It is also the day of the Royal Wedding. (Wasn’t she beautiful!!!)

Now’s the big question, and it’s not when to start a family but what should we do to celebrate! We don’t have time for a weekend away but I feel like we need to make it special. The first anniversary sets the precedent for all the other anniversaries to come. Please send your suggestions our way. I can’t wait to celebrate our first year as husband and wife. Plus we get to sample our cake. But we’ve decided we are going to order a small replica just in case it is freezer burned.

After watching all this footage of the Royal Wedding, I want to get married all over again.

Wedding Video

Wedding Pictures

Our wedding pictures are up! I have spent countless hours looking at them and I am so proud to share them with you.
http://www.photoreflect.com/store/thumbpage.aspx?e=6904847

Wedding Recap and SO MANY THANK YOUS

I have to admit I feel a little lost not planning for the wedding but all my planning definitely paid off. I got pretty much everything I have ever dreamed for. The wedding weekend started on Friday with my bridesmaid luncheon at Arrington Vineyards. For those of you who are not familiar with Arrington it is a beautiful vineyard located between Murfreesboro and Franklin. It is owned by Kix Brooks of Brooks and Dunn. We had a great time. Newk’s ,one of my favorite restaurants, catered. We enjoyed a wine tasting; my favorite part and I presented the girls with their gifts. After lunch, we caravanned to Lairdland Farms. I showed the girls around and we unpacked and got settled in our cabin.

I then got ready for the rehearsal and walked over to my parent’s cabin which was located next door to the Lairdland Farm house where we got married. As soon as I got over there, it started storming. I kept trying to tell myself that is was just a small summer pop up storm and it would be finished before 5:30 pm when the rehearsal was suppose to start. For those of you who do not know, this was an outside wedding and reception. Unfortunately, the rehearsal never happened. Half of the guests were at my parents’ cabin and half of the guests were at the Farm House. At about 6 pm, I started to get upset. There were no tears yet on the outside. Everyone was asking me what I wanted to do and I had no clue. So I turned to the only one who could help me. I went upstairs where no one was, shut the bathroom door and dropped to my knees. I prayed for good weather the next day, acknowledged God was in control and found comfort in knowing God knew the desires of my heart. I went and got my little cousin Gabriel and asked him to go get Greyson for me who was on one of the two porches with his groomsmen. Greyson came upstairs and I grabbed his hand and we then prayed together even though I struggled to get my words out because I began to cry. I knew though that I didn’t have to say my prayers out loud. We had a backup plan for the ceremony, a small country Presbyterian Church down the road. Greyson tried to talk me into going down there and rehearsing there but I would not hear to it. In my mind going there to rehearse meant I was giving up on having the outside wedding of my dreams. Around 6:40 the rain slacked up and everyone gathered at the huge covered front porch of the farm house. We still were not able to rehearse because it was still storming but I tried to tell everyone what their roles were and how the day would play out. We then left for our rehearsal dinner in Lewisburg at Russell’s Catering. The food and fellowship was wonderful. My advice for any bride to be is make sure you take your time to go around and visit with each of your guests at your rehearsal dinner because you will not get a chance to do so at your wedding reception.

From there I went back to Lairdland with my bridesmaids and parents. My bridesmaids were in one cabin and my parents were in another. I stayed over at my parents’ cabin for a while talking to my dad. I started to breakdown. I didn’t know what we were going to do about the reception if it rained the next day. We had spent so much money and I was so afraid I wouldn’t get to see everything I had worked so hard pay off and have the wedding I had been dreaming of. Once I calmed down I went over to my bridesmaids’ cabin. My head was throbbing when I arrived so I took some Tylenol and sat up for a little bit laughing with my girls. I loved how we were able to have “one last slumber party” as Andrea called it. After a little while Andrea and I decided to go to bed while the others stayed up and talked.

The next morning when I woke up in the tallest bed in the world (seriously it took 3 steps to climb up into), I was able to see the sun trying to peak out through the overcast skies. Andrea sat right up and said, “It’s wedding day”. I got my stuff together and went back over to the my parents cabin to eat breakfast and then I instructed the delivery guys from our rental company where to set everything up and then my bridesmaids came over and helped with the centerpieces and putting out all the decorations. I don’t know what I would have done without them, my great aunt Mary Anne, my cousin Carla, Deanna and the Pace Family. They all helped decorate and get everything in its place. At this point it was still a little overcast but we had not seen a drop of rain all day. I also want to thank my prayer warriors who were texting me and reassuring me everything was going to be ok.

Before I knew it, it was time for me to go have my hair done. I was at such peace while I was getting my hair fixed. It was just like another day but it could be that I am very much like my Aunt Michelle in the fact that I love someone to do or play with my hair. It relaxes my body like a glass of wine. I still had one eye on the skies though. I was so relaxed there I asked if they minded if I did my makeup there. I was afraid there would be too many people getting ready and there would be too much going on for me to concentrate on myself. But it was there at the hair salon that it hit me. I was getting married that day. I kept telling people it had not sunk in and there it hit me right before I left.

When I got back to Lairdland my photographers were there and were ready to start taking some bridal portraits of me and then pictures with my bridesmaids. Before long it was time for the guys to arrive and me to go up to the bridal suite. Greyson and I did not want to see each other before the wedding so we had pictures made separately before. The guys took some pictures before the guests arrived where I hung out with my bridesmaids while they took care of last minute touches on themselves. I just sat back and tried to stay cool and enjoy my time with my girls. I also had a glass of champagne to cool me off and to keep me from getting nervous. I will admit that I thought this would be the longest part of the day because we were supposed to be up there for about an hour and half but it wasn’t. I don’t know that any part of the day was long. Then my wonderful wedding coordinators, Jennifer and Cindy came and got us and told us it was time. We walked over to the side of the house where the guests could not see us and where my family was. It was great getting to spend some precious moments with Greyson’s family and my grandparents. Then the music started. I selected the song “Your Love is Extravagant” to be sang by my lifelong friend Timmy Ray. I had such a joyful and worshipful spirit because it was here that I reminded myself of God’s great love and as much as I love Greyson. God is my number one love and He had blessed me with the wedding of my dreams. The skies were clear and the sun was beaming down. It gives me chills just thinking about that moment. Then the wedding processional began. I kept thinking of my dad and how hard it must have been for him to give me away. I had been his pride and joy for the last 24 years.

Greyson and I had waited to see each other partly for tradition and partly because I wanted to take his breath away. But as I was walking towards him he was looking off and not looking at me. Once I got to him I realized he was fighting back tears. I am proud to say our ceremony was center around God, whom we want to be the main focus in our marriage. Yes, there was some hiccups during the ceremony like the unity candle being blown out, some issues with the prayer circle and the preacher forgetting to tell Greyson to kiss his bride but don’t worry, I reminded him. I thought the ceremony went by quickly until we watched the video the other night. We did not realize how long the ceremony was. He had told our pastor that we wanted it to memorable and we didn’t want to walk down the aisle and turn right back around like some weddings so I guess we got what we asked for.

This is where it all gets blurry and it is like a series of snapshots in my mind. Everyone told me it would be that way but until you experience it, it is hard to believe it will truly be that way. We took a few pictures with our family and then bridal party and then we took several pictures by ourselves while the guests enjoyed dinner.

We were announced by our friend Marshall and then our friends Andrea, Ashley and Parker all gave amazing toasts. Probably the best ever! They all moved me to tears and laughter. We then cut our cake. I had planned for Greyson and I to eat after the toasts but by the time the toasts where over all the guests were finished eating and if there is anything I have ever learned from being a wedding coordinator it is DO NOT make your guest wait for cake. Afterwards we had our first dance, father daughter dance and my sorority sisters sang to me. I was honored by so many of my sisters who traveled to be with me on my special day. I then was able to spend a little time visiting with our guests. And then it seemed like I blinked and it was dark and it was just our close friends and family left. We danced and we danced and danced. I don’t know that I have ever had any more fun in my life. Then it was time for us to go. I couldn’t believe it was over and I was so sad to leave. I think I would have done anything to make the night last a little longer. I had already bribed the band to play five more songs. We were sent off with sparklers and with Greyson’s car decorated and on my side of the car it said “the boss”. I still can’t believe the day is over but I am so blessed to have had so many months celebrating our marriage with showers and teas and to be surrounded by all of our closest friends and family as we committed to be husband and wife.


Sorry it took me so long to update! I actually worked on this post for 3 weeks while I had down time. I hope to do better!

TWO DAYS!!!!!!!!

Wow, just the title of the post is a little surreal to me. I don’t know how in the world my wedding is two days away. It’s almost like you spend all those months planning and counting down that you never really expect it to be here and then it is. I am working today and going to try and have a normal day but I don’t know how realistic that goal is for me. As much as I would love to be at home just hanging out with Mom by the pool work has been a great distraction for the most part. Amazingly everything is crossed off my to-do list except just a few minute last things. I need to transfer some songs onto my i-pod for when the band takes a break, pick up my prescriptions, manicure and pedicure tonight, finish packing for the honeymoon and pay bills before I leave town.

Beside the threat of a few pop up thunderstorms, I have a great peace about everything. I am looking forward to spending some quality time tomorrow with my bridesmaids. We are having a bridesmaid luncheon at Arrington Vineyards and then a slumber party last night at the cabins at Lairdland. It’s kind of funny one of my bridesmaids texted me last night and said I can’t believe Friday night is our last slumber party. I replied back “says who”. I love each of my bridesmaids so much. They have all blessed me so much. I am honored to have them in my wedding and more importantly my life.

I am also excited about the love we will be surrounded by on Saturday. I contemplated going off to get married but I kept going back to the fact that when else in life are you going to have all your loved ones in one place. We both are going to have so many people who have traveled near and far to be a part of our special day. It overwhelms me to think about our guest list and all the love that will be present on Saturday. I am actually tearing up as I write this. We both have cousins traveling over 12 hours to be with us.

With all of this emotion hitting me now, I know I will probably need my makeup touched up or redone after the ceremony. If you know me you know I am a crier. I cry when I am sad and even more so when I am happy. I thank God for these emotions though because there is no greater feeling than to be loved and surrounded by love.

Well, the next post I’ll be a married woman. I will be sure to blog about the big day when I get back from my honeymoon!

Where Have the Days Gone?

Wow, I didn’t realize it had been so long since my last blog until one of my faithful readers, my aunt, messaged me on Facebook. Sorry it has been a while. Well, we are now 31 days away until the big day. As always we still have a to-do list hovering over our heads but it is a manageable to do list. Hopefully I won’t let the next 32 days sneak up on me.
A lot has happened since I wrote last time. I had a bridal tea in Hartsville, Tennessee on April 11. It was absolutely gorgeous. The ladies from Hartsville really put on the Southern charm and everything look like it was out of Southern Living magazine. We drank almond iced tea and it was wonderful! The tea was hosted by family friends of the Painter’s. I had a great time and got so many lovely gifts.
Then on April 20, my co-workers surprised me with a shower after our daily staff meeting. Unfortunately, for them I walked into the room while they were still setting up. They had brought in all my favorite breakfast foods: sausage and egg breakfast casserole, bagels from Panera Bread with most importantly Honey Walnut Cream Cheese. Again I got so many nice things. Some of them I didn’t even register for. Funny story time: So while I was opening my gifts one of my co-workers asked me why we registered for so many DVDs. I thought she was making a joke at first that I wasn’t following and then I told her we didn’t registered for any DVDs. She said yes you did. Sandra and I both printed out your list and it had 4 pages of DVDs on there. As it turns out they had looked up the wrong name and got me stuff off someone else’s registry. So I got a bright red toaster that some poor bride has always wanted and some Pyrex dishes (which I kept). As for the toaster the lady who bought it took it back to Target and it exchanged it for something that was on my register.
On April 25, my bridesmaids hosted another tea that could be featured in Southern Living magazine. It was beautiful and perfect. The colors on my cake matched my wedding colors 100% which isn’t something that is easy to do. It was so nice having all of my Boro friends at one place. I only wish I could have spent more time talking to some of my sorority sisters that I never see. It was so good to see them and so nice to know that our friends really are for “today and forever”. Again, I got so many time things. My bridesmaids gave us an outdoor umbrella for our patio furniture. They most really know my tastes because it is exactly what I would have picked out. They also got me place mats and cloth napkins and napkins rings to match. I can’t wait to have people over this summer. We are planning a shrimp boil for sometime this summer.
Greyson and I have so much to be thankful for. We have so many friends and family that love us. Even though I do have hand cramps some nights for writing so many thank you notes. I have written 100!!! That blows my mind. I haven’t even had my tea in Florence yet.
Unfortunately, this time has not been as joyous as I would have hoped for. My mother has been sick since Christmas and has missed two of my teas because of her health. She’s had numerous respiratory infections, sinus surgery and issues with her blood pressure. Please keep her in your prayers that she is well by the wedding!
And I promise to blog more often…. Well at least try to.

All About the Invitations

This week has been all about invitations. I set a goal for myself several months ago that I would send my invitations out on Monday, March 29. And I think I am actually going to make my goal. As I mentioned before I purchased my wedding invitations at Michael’s. They were made by http://www.gartnerstudios.com/ . They ended up being about a dollar a piece (this includes the envelope, return envelope and RSVP card. But not the printing). I had them printed this week at FedEx Office (aka Kinkos) for $30. This also included my direction cards. Can we say good job Amy?

The invitation company has a web site where you could download templates for the invitations and RSVP cards. I couldn’t believe it though, there were multiple spelling errors. They were even on the example invitation in the package. I was able to overlook that since it was just an example and I could change any of the wording and I was impressed with the cost.

Unfortunately, FedEx Office does not print envelopes of any sort so they are at another printing company as we speak. I am sending out 240 invitations which means 480 stamps (one for the envelope and one for the return envelope) which equals over $211.20 in postage. I thought about doing the RSVPs online through theknot.com but I decided that wasn’t the best avenue to take since a lot of my wedding guests are elderly and not internet savvy.

I’ve been working on my invitation list forever but I still had some last minute updates. So on top of all this work I also had to tie a purple ribbon to every invitation. I had originally planned on having an invitation party and having some friends over to help me but I’ve been sick the past two days so Greyson and I just did it ourselves. I think we both had finger cramps. I will be so excited to put these in the mail. I think it make it feel like our big day is really approaching.

So be watching for your invitation next week!

Progress Report

Things have really started to come together the last month. All my vendors are booked now except my bartender but I am hoping to get one of my banquet staff members to work that night. I am very pleased to announce that we have booked our band! And it’s not just a band it’s my favorite band in the world…. The Brandon Pruitt Band. We weren’t sure if we would be able to book them at first but we got them! I could not be happier. If you would like to hear a few songs visit their myspace page http://www.myspace.com/BrandonPruitt.

On March 7, I had my first bridal shower. It was so much fun and I got so many nice things. It was hosted by my aunt and my mom’s first cousin. All my family from both my mom and dad’s side was there. That was the greatest gift of all. I got to see many of aunts and cousins that I never see.

I have three teas planned for me: one in Murfreesboro, Hartsville and Florence. I am so excited and I just have a few loose ends to tie up and I will be ready for our big day.

UPDATE

WOW- Where did February go? But I am definitely glad it is gone. I am tired of the cold weather and ready for spring and more ready for May 29. This past weekend was another rollercoaster ride of wedding planning. My Aunt Debbie recommended a lady that does cakes in the area that we are getting married at. Greyson and I made an appointment to meet with her on Saturday with my uncle’s business. The lady forgot about our appointment that I drove over 70 miles together. We then waited an hour for her and she still had not shown up. I called the lady to let her know I was leaving. I couldn’t trust someone who forgot an appointment and then made me wait over an hour to make my wedding cake. It may seem a little bridezilla of me but I just wasn’t able to put my trust in her.
We then left there to meet with our caterers. They amazed me from the beginning. Awaiting for us in the room we met in was appetizers and every requests I had they were more than happy to accommodate. They even offered to do things the day of the wedding that go way beyond their job duties. I feel so blessed that they are going to be such a big part of our big day.
From there, we went to Publix in Spring Hill to order the wedding cake and the groom’s cake. Greyson and I came to the conclusion that it was too hard for us to coordinate with one person and we don’t know when we could find someone else or make the time to drive and meet with them. Publix was very accommodating. I would definitely recommend them to anyone. You can get a beautiful cake customized at fractions of the costs as most bakeries.
The only thing left on our to-do- list is the band and bartender. And I have prospects for both. So as for now, wedding planning is at the top of the rollercoaster.

My "First" Wedding

I survived my first wedding on Saturday, February 6. No, Greyson and I aren’t having multiple ceremonies. I help coordinate my first wedding at Doubletree. February started in full force and I feel like I am just now getting a moment to breathe. The week of the wedding I had my first session of premarital counseling (which I have to spend 2 hours in the car for, one hour there, and one back, and over an hour of counseling), hosted a small dinner party, had back to back functions and went to the Chamber’s Annual Banquet. Right after the wild wedding weekend, Doubletree hosted Business After Hours and my boss Stephanie and I oversaw the whole thing. It was a successful night but it’s been nonstop since the beginning of the month.
My first wedding will be something to remember even during all of this madness. The bride had a very sweet spirit about her and had every detail of her wedding down in her head from my first meeting with her. I will always remember that about her. When working with brides there are a lot of uncertainties. Major decisions have to be made like first dance or cake cutting first. Who should they include at the head table, and the list goes on and on. Not this bride she knew exactly where she wanted everything and how she wanted everything to look. But the most memorable thing about her won’t be her ability to envision every moment of her big day, it will be snowflakes. And I am not talking about all the snow we’ve received outside. I am talking about the snowflakes that hung from the ceiling at Target during the holidays. This bride and her mother saw them over Christmas and knew they had to have them at her wedding. So Target gave them to her. So the Friday before the wedding in midst of sales visits and the Chamber banquet my boss and I hung 6 foot long snowflakes from the ballroom ceiling at Doubletree. I’ve never laughed and griped about something more in my life. It was a hard task and so was overseeing a wedding where the bride knew exactly what she wanted and nothing else would do. But it was also very rewarding. When we got ready to leave the wedding the bride hugged me tightly and thanked me for making her day “perfect”. I left feeling like I had provided a real service to someone even if it meant hanging snowflakes for the ballroom ceiling. I helped make her special day “perfect” just like she planned. It reinforced that I had made the right decision in making this career move to the hospitality industry. I will forever be a part of this couple’s special day and for that I am beyond grateful to have that opportunity.

Lairdland Farm House

This past weekend I went to my wedding venue site to plan the layout of the ceremony and reception with my good friend, Trina and my future mother-in-law, Nancy. It was a very productive day. We met with my florist. It was nice to finally meet a florist who was price conscious. I am very fortunate though that my wedding site is covered in flowers in the spring so I am purchasing minimal flowers. This way I can spend more money on things that are more important to me like good food and good music.

Our wedding venue is very unique. It is an old farm house dating back to the civil war called Lairdland Farm House. There is a lot of history there. The owners are a precious elderly couple who are the biggest history buffs I have ever met. It’s been a dream of mine for quite some time to get married outside of an old southern home and I am so excited my dream is getting to come true. Lairdland Farms fits me but many people have asked about the location of it. Lairdland is located in Cornersville, Tennessee. Very few people know where this is because they have one red light. Think Mayberry with rolling Tennessee Hills and you’ve got Cornersville pictured. It is actually a perfect location for us. Cornersville is located one hour south of Nashville and Murfreesboro, two hours from Hartsville where Greyson is from and an hour and a half from Florence which is my hometown. It is two miles off of Exit 22 off of Interstate 65. Also, majority of my family (besides my mom and dad) live within a twenty mile radius of the farm. (I can’t tell you who many times I have explained this. Maybe writing about it will save me from saying it a few more times.)

We both immediately fell in love with the place back in September when we first visited and I fell even more in love with it this past weekend. One of the big sellers for us was that there are two cabins adjoining the property that we can use. My bridesmaids and I are having a slumber party the night before. I can’t wait.
We are working with the caterer and the rental place this week getting all of the details nailed out. After this week the only big item left on my to-do list will be to find a band. I am still working on this one. If you have any suggestions please let me know.
In the mean time check out Lairdland Farm House at http://www.lairdlandfarmhouse.com/