Not I'm I only thinking, planning, & dreaming weddings, I'm also reading weddings! The hubby got me a Sony E Reader, a prize he won from work (one of his many perks) and I love it! It's so compact and easy to bring with me everywhere, I can stuff it in my purse and it even fits in my work lab coat pocket! Anywho, I've been in a reading rut lately, I hadn't found anything I was remotely interested in reading, then I came across a Bride Quartet series by Nora Roberts. I figured that I can start with the first book, Vision in White, and see how it goes from there. Well I'm a romantic, so this book was all me! The love story and the wedding planning are all things I could relate too. After reading the first in the series, I quickly purchased and uploaded the next 2 books into my E Reader, Bed of Roses & Savor the Moment.
I don't know if having the E Reader makes me read faster or if it's because I love the books, but I read the first 2 books in 2 weeks! That's a record for me, especially during last minute wedding planning. I was trying to hold out and not read the last book until we travel, but I couldn't help it! This series is so good and I can't wait for the 4th, Happy Ever After, to come out in November!
What books are you reading while planning your wedding?
I sent out little reminders, in the form of a brochure, for all our guests traveling to Aruba. I'm such a DIY junkie that I wanted to let our guests know how excited we are and to keep them informed about the happenings. I have a huge scrapbooking supply so this project was inexpensive (I just had to by the linen paper). When you open the brochure you'll notice a thank you note (left side), a packing list (middle), and a house checklist (right side). On the back side, I listed several means of transportation to and from the the airport so that the guests wouldn't feel at a lost when they walk out of the airport. Lastly, I listed the itinerary of our wedding events (welcome dinner, wedding day, snorkeling cruise, & farewell breakfast), so that our guests can plan their trip accordingly. Here's a close up of the packing list! I was trying to be funny and told the guys to pack their speedos & told guests to pack "sleeping clothes or not." In the brochure we also made it a note to tell the guests to not bring gifts- them being in Aruba was GIFT enough for us! Doing this project got me even more excited about the trip! Several of our friends and family received them and loved them, so they too got super excited. What did you do to keep your guests informed or get them hyped about your upcoming wedding?
I'm a MRS!!! It truly was a wonderful weekend, full of family and love! It started Thursday evening when our parents came into town, staying up late chit chatting about our excitement! Our ceremony was very small, 13 people in attendance (our parents, my sissy and niece, Gigi-Zoe's other grandmother, our Godparents, my BFF & her hubby, and our marriage mentors showed up too! Father Dan did an amazing job! He got me crying during our homily, he's so good! After the homily, Jeff & I said our vows, Jeff started crying then it got me crying, then soon after, EVERYONE was crying! The words are so powerful that it just touches your heart! We made a promise to each other that we will uphold for MANY YEARS TO COME!! Father Dan pronounced us husband and wife, and here was our FIRST KISS as newlyweds! Introducing MR. & MRS. MADRIDEJOS!! Thanks Father Dan for everything! You made this an unforgettable day!! Here we are with our marriage license...we're legal now! It's a beautiful day to get married! Check out our new bling!! I have to be honest, I'm not wearing my new bling yet, cause I don't want it to get scratched for the real ring photo shoot in ARUBA! Sometimes being traditional isn't so bad! Jeff actually carried me through the threshold of OUR HOME! Doesn't our face say HAPPY all over it! So now that part one of our wedding celebration is done, we can't wait for part two!! Sharing it with ALL our friends and family in ARUBA, 2 weeks left and counting!
Did you have small ceremony before having your BIG DAY with everyone else?
I have less than a month left until OUR BIG DAY! It's approaching quickly, but I have to say, I'm not as stressed as I thought I'd be! I definitely think that planning a small destination wedding is less stressful and the one thing that has calmed my nerves is adding HOT YOGA to my busy schedule. I tried it for the first time with my BFF last weekend and now I'm addicted. I've done it 4 times in week! My only gripe is that it's pretty pricey financially, but the feeling afterward is totally worth it! So if you want a change from your usual gym workout, I totally recommend doing hot or bikram yoga! It will totally ease your stress and calm you down! I'm so wanting to do a class now, but my schedule is so crazy!! What are you doing to clam your nerves before the big day?
The fiance had a craving for chocolate chip cookies and had the brilliant idea of making them instead of buying them from Whole Foods like we normally do! So we found a chocolate chip cookie recipe from Food Network, noticed that we had all the ingredients and it was listed as "easy," so why not! This also gave us a chance to bust out our new registry gifts that we accumulated from our wedding shower! I did the mixing (thanks Carl & Charisma for the mixer), so that I wouldn't get my hands dirty. Can't mess up the manicure (I know, so girly right?!) I left the messy work to Jeff, he molded the dough and placed them on our new Calphalon cookie sheets (thanks Joyce & Paul)!
It only took about 12 minutes and they were done! The whole house smelt of sweet heaven! The cookies were calling my name as they sat on the new cookie rack (thanks again Joyce & Paul)!
After cooling off, Jeff and I indulged in a couple of cookie goodness! YUMMY! Baking together was actually fun, but not the cleaning up part!
Did you use your wedding gifts prior to your wedding?
A couple of weeks ago, my mom called to let me know that she received our rings! My mom's BFF is a jeweler, so we purchased our bands through her! Jeff got his white gold milgrain band and I got TWO pave diamond bands to match my e-ring! Little did I know, she'd be giving us a HUGE discount! We only had to pay a third of the original costs and she said she would just "GIFT" us the difference! OMG...that saves us lots of money, we are so grateful for it, THANKS AUNTIE MARIA!
We can't wait to sport our new bling! Jeff says I have to wait until our one year anniversary to get the second band! SHUCKS! I was hoping to get one for our church ceremony and the other for our beach ceremony! Doesn't that sound like a better idea? Who's with me?!
Where would we be without these wonderful women in our lives!! Meet our Mamas, mine is on the left and Jeff's mother on the right! We owe them so much more than we can ever give back! Thanks moms for always being there for us when we need you ladies! You've always been that supportive rock in our lives and without you both, we wouldn't have grown up to be the loving, caring, successful people we are today! You both have been so wonderful during our wedding planning and we are so thankful that you have helped us along the way, with no stress I might add! Thanks Mom for throwing us a beautiful wedding shower, your hard work didn't go unnoticed! We enjoyed every minute of it! Thanks Mama Josie for preparing an at-home reception for us in June! We know it'll be fun and fabulous! You ladies have gone above and beyond anything we could have asked for! Thanks for everything you do and for your continuing love and support! We love you both so very much!!
We know that Mother's Day is coming up, so to all you ladies (and gents), don't forget to show your mamas some appreciation and love! They deserve it, EVERYDAY, not just on Mother's Day! So what will you do for your Mom to show your love?!
Trivia cards! My fiance is gonna kill me, but maybe I might try to pull this one out! I was thinking about doing some sort of ice breaker game for our guests at our Welcome Dinner and perusing through Wedding Bee today, I found this... Created by Mrs. Kitten Wouldn't that be fun!? I can create questions based on the fiance, myself, and our relationship. It'll be kind of like our Wedding Shower game, "Who knows the Bride the Best!" We could just place the cards on the tables during the Welcome Dinner so guests can get to talking and get to know each other. Mrs. Kitten also put their engagement picture on the other side, sort of a business card type created by Moo. But instead of having them made (I'm a little inpatient), I can just create it myself, another DIY project! I was thinking of maybe printing out wallet size engagement pictures and mounting cardstock on the back, what do you think?! Yea or nay!? Well I'll see what my DIY list looks like now and maybe I can pull this off, if not, I hope it was an inspiration to you too!
Not only has it been a busy year planning a wedding for Jeff and myself, but it's been a busy year for all of our closest friends! It's been one wedding after another for our RIC FAM (our Richmond Family-a family away from home). First it started with my BFF, Jen and Kipp, who had a winter white wedding in February in Virginia Beach.
photo taken by my talented Fiance
Next were my dearest friends, LB and Mandy, who had their nuptials at a Charlottesville Bed & Breakfast in March!
And just last weekend, our friends Ed & Abby had their Big Day in Virginia Beach as well!
photo taken by my talented Fiance
So as you can see, its been a big year for all of us, but its nice to know that we'll all be sharing the same wedding year! So in the years to come we'll be celebrating one anniversary after another! source
So can you guess who's next?! I'll give you a hint...the wedding will be NEXT MONTH in ARUBA!!!
During our Engaged Encounter weekend, one of our last assignments was to write a Betrothal Pledge for our significant other. You might wonder what a betrothal is (I know I was), in our booklet it was defined as, "...a public pledge of love and commitment to take practical, concrete steps to prepare for the Sacrament of Marriage. Betrothal is a deeper part of engagement, one that focuses on your own relationship and how it relates to God, Church, and family." After reading the meaning, I clearly understood what it meant and I knew exactly what I wanted to write in my betrothal to Jeff. So now I share it with you all, a public pledge of my commitment to the Love of my Life!
"Because I love you, I plan to work on deepening our relationship between now and our wedding day by always standing by your side and being the listening ear that you need. I'll also be the supportive fiance you've continued to love. Know that I am always here for you even when you fear failure because in my eyes you can never fail. You have not failed me once, because I believe you are a strong person who is highly motivated. I see you differently than you see yourself, you are a kindhearted, loving person and I will continue to remind you that everyday from now and until the many days of our married life together.
We will deepen our relationship with each other and God by being thankful to Him in prayer and service. Without God in our lives you and I wouldn't be as strong as we are now and will continue to be in our life ahead. I have a deeper love for God and our faith because of you. You have helped me to be more life giving by making the Catholic Church prominent in our lives, so thank you for that! I'm glad that He has brought you into my life at this time because timing is everything and you couldn't have come at a better time, you and I are now more mature and ready to take on the task of being husband and wife (or mom and dad hopefully soon)! So that is why I thank God frequently! I am a firm believer in 'Everything happens for a reason,' and if God brought you into my life at this late stage in our life it's because he knew we were ready to take the next step in our lives together as ONE! I love you Bubba with all my heart and I promise to be the loving person and soon-to-be wife that you deserve!"
So there it is folks, my promise I made to my loving fiance during our EE retreat. Let it be known that while I read this to him, I cried like a baby, it just goes to show my love for that man and I can't wait to take on the role as his wife! How did you publicly display your love and promise to your hubby?
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