Proud of My Man

I could not be prouder of my future husband. This weekend he graduated with his Masters in Business Administration with an emphasis in finance from Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville, Tennessee. We were very fortunate that we got to go to Cookeville on Friday and go to our favorite places. Greyson lived in Cookeville during the first four years of our relationship. Over those four years it became another home to me. We made a lot of good friends there. We went to our favorite Mexican Restaurant El Tap and then met up with some of our good friends at Spankey’s, which is by far our favorite bar. However, we didn’t stay long. We must be getting too old. The band on the patio was too loud so we decided to venture over to Venny T’s where we could actually hear each other talk. We had a great time catching up and we ran into some more old friends there too. And the night ended on the best note, a pizza roll from T-Mart. HA HA!

The next morning Greyson had to leave early for graduation. His mother met me later that morning. When we got into the gymnasium I felt like we were on the scene of Forest Gump where he is on the school bus and the kids are yelling “seat taken”. We were there an hour early and apparently that was not early enough. I think every family sent one family member at 7 am that morning to stake out there spot. We finally found a spot and we were very close to Greyson. By the time Greyson’s name was called the graduation ceremony had been going on for three hours. Greyson snuck out the back after his name was called because he had to be at work that afternoon.

This week Greyson has another milestone. He is playing a qualifier for his first golf tournament as a professional at the state open in Dickson. He is worked so hard for these things and I am so proud of him. I know God has great plans for him and I am honored that I get to be a part of those. My prayer right now is that God opens the doors that He wants open for us and He closes the doors He doesn’t want us to go through. And that no matter what we give HIM the glory.

19 DAYS!

Preparation for Marriage

So much time and energy goes into planning a wedding but I’ve lately wondered how much time people actually prepare for marriage? I know if were able to compare the hours Greyson and I planned our wedding verses what we planned for marriage, we would be horrified at the difference. How ironic is that? Our wedding will last one day and our marriage is a covenant with God that is to last a lifetime. Hummm….. which one sounds like a bigger deal to you? I know which one means more to us and that is our covenant with God.

I will say however I am so thankful that we have both come to this realization and not just me. We’ve both done a lot of preparation both individually and collectively. For any of you in a serious relationship or who want to be in a serious relationship one day, I would encourage you to read “The Love Dare.” My mother gave it us for Christmas and honestly I had no intent on ever reading it. We had both already watched the movie and yes it did have a great message but it was cheesy and reminded me of movies that my Bible teacher made me watch in Middle School. I also thought it was a book about troubled relationships. I wondered what type of message my mom was trying to get across to us. Yes, G and I have had our share of valleys and mountaintops but who hasn’t. Although I had no intention on reading it, I put in on my night stand. About a month later I picked up and I was amazed this wasn’t a book about troubled relationships; this was a book about how to love and glorify God in your marriage. I was hooked from the introduction. The truths were simple but they were revolutionary to me. My entire life I have expected perfection out of everyone and it was no different with Greyson. But this one line of the book changed my perspective. In describing marriage the author writes, “This powerful union provides the path for you to learn how to love another imperfect person unconditionally.” As I said before the truths were simple but this was revolutionary to me. For so many years I had demanded perfection from Greyson, yet I didn’t demand it from myself. I don’t know where this came from. I guess in some weird way I thought your perfect mate was a perfect person. Yet, I am not perfect and if you know me well enough you know there are areas in life where I don’t try to be perfect. So how can I expect perfection from my mate?

I also loved how the book took the attributes from 1 Corinthians 13 and broke down them down. I learned how God wants us to love our spouse. This book has been a huge tool in helping me prepare for marriage.

Greyson and I prepared for marriage together through four sessions of premarital counseling with Greyson’s pastor. I had heard many horror stories from friends about their premarital counseling sessions but ours was wonderful. We learned so much and were provided tools to lay a strong foundation for our marriage.

Although I think we could have done more to prepare for marriage, I am so proud of us both for taking it so seriously and taking time to prepare. We’ve already made a very important decision to keep Christ at the center of our marriage.

25 days!

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.