The Final Countdown

Well...here we are...the beginning of what will be the week I get married!

we've picked a reading...finally

Mr. G's cigars are ordered
we've sent out the last round of thank you notes before the wedding
we've wrapped all the gifts
I've made the list for Saturday of what needs to be done
we've made direction signs for those who are diving
I've made the final confirmation calls to all vendors

we've bought magazines and games for our travels

and best of all...we've started to pack for the honeymoon!!!!

I can't believe the time has come for me to say this, but with such a busy week ahead of me...I'll see ya'll on the flip side! I'll be back in a few weeks with some pictures!

Weather stalking

I can finally see my wedding date in the 10-day forecast...low 90's!! Whoo hoo...I was hoping it wouldn't be 105 like it was last weekend!

I can't believe I'm saying this but...

I'M DONE, I'M DONE! I can't believe it...with 10 more days to go, I have all my projects done and just a few loose ends to tie up this week and next! I finished my table nubers this afternoon and got everthing packed up (and labeled) in my "wedding" room. I set a goal to have everything done by the Monday before my wedding and I can safely say...I did it!

Oh and here's all our wine!

I dropped off the vases to the florist today, I wrote our welcome letter, Mr. G needs to look it over, Mr. G needs to order his cigars, I need to finalize the Saturday To Do list for my friend who is acting as our day-of coordinator, and...we still haven't picked a reading, but other than that, the only thing that still needs to be done are just some confirmation phone calls and that's it! Pretty small things right?? Whooo...such a good feeling. Bring on the wedding!

Honeymooners!

So I realized that I haven't blogged much about our honeymoon. We are so excited to be spending a week on the beaches of St. Lucia! We are headed to Sandals Regency St. Lucia for 8 days and 7 nights! I can't wait to see this view...

and this room...

So of course I had to go shopping for a new swimsuit...or 2!

1 piece in "oasis green"

And 2 piece in black...

These are in black to match the top of course...but they are sold out online in black so I must settle for a picture of them in green!

Not to be forgotten...Mr. G also got a new pair of board shorts and some new clothes to sport on the beach!

We'll be leaving Sunday night after our wedding. Hopefully we'll have enough time to come home and finish packing before we head out! We can't wait!

Seating Chart is D.O.N.E

I'm so happy to be getting things checked off the to-do list! My seating chart has been the biggest headache yet. I have 260 guests and 27 tables...a lot...I know! It has been a nightmare to make everyone happy, but in the end, I just can't make everyone happy and that's just the way it is!

I used Martha Stewart's seating tool on her website, which proved to be the most helpful way for me to do this. I was able to import my guest list and then you just click and drag people to tables. It lets you name tables and arrange them in the "room" and it keeps track of who is seated and who is not seated. In the end, you can print out a list of everyone's seats! You can also print a layout of the entire "room".

Once I was done with that, I started working on the display seating chart...here's what I came up with!

I left table 27 blank for a reason...we have several people who have changed their minds since RSVPs were due...if they come...they sit there! I have no more patience for people who can't mark their name on something that is already addressed and stamped and put it in the mail on time!

Onle a few more things to do! 11 more days...

Favors are D.O.N.E!

Whoo hoo...my favors are done and packed up to take to the wedding site! After finishing the adults favors I headed to Target to put together the kids' favors. Here's what I ended up with:

Contents (packaged in a green tin can from the dollar bin!):

• mini coloring/sticker book (older kids got a sudoku book and pencil instead of crayons)
• package of 8 crayons
• glow-in-the-dark bracelet
• animal crackers or teddy grahams (sp??)
• fun size skittles and starburst
• box of raisens
• package of crackers filled with peanut butter

I also put together a full size skittles and starburst for 3 older kids who aren't yet 18 as we are giving away lottery tickets to the adults. I tied them all together with a glow bracelet.

And while I was at Target, I couldn't help but put together a "survival" kit for Mr. G.

Contents include:

• white undershirts
• black dress socks
• tide-to-go pen
• gum
• rolaids
• lint roller
• trail mix
• reese's peanut butter cups (his absolute favorite)

Today's agenda includes finishing the seating chart and table numbers. Wish me luck!

Busy Day!

My goodness where does the time go? I woke up this morning and had a little panic attack when I realized I'm under 20 days...so I decided to get right to work. I woke up at 9 and didn't look at the clock until 2:30! 2:30?!?! I didn't eat breakfast...I didn't shower...I was still in my PJs! (Don't worry, I have since taken a shower and eaten...)

Here's my accomplishments for the day!

Step 1: Trace the G onto cardstock and cut out. (The same G that I've been using for everything else)

Step 2: Trace G onto styrofoam. (I purchased a piece from Michael's)

Step 3(not pictured): Use a skewer or chop stick to poke a hole through the top. Fold ribbon of desired length in half and use skewer again to poke all the way through the hole. Tie a not at the bottom so the ribbon won't pull back through the hole.

Step 4 (not pictured): Pull stems of silk carnations off and dip in hot glue. Stick into styrofoam, starting around edges and working your way around. (I bought 100 carnations for $20 from ebay seller roseys_garden)

Step 5: Use scissors to give the flowers a "haircut", especially in between the edges!

Finished product! I LOVE it!

It will hang from the front of our sweetheart table and I can't wait to see it hanging there...in 19 days!

I also started to tackle the seating chart today. What a process...ugh! Martha Stewart's seating tool has been the most helpful, but for some reason it won't save my work as I'm going. I seated everyone but returned (after my shower) to find that it had only saved half my work! Good thing I printed it! Still a work in progress...but...you get the idea!

The Full Recap

The girls showed up in pink and green to match my wedding colors with food, appletinis and cosmos to get us started! Oh...and penis straws...

After a few drinks here at the house we headed to the bowling alley for a few games before venturing downtown to the bars.

Eventually the bowling alley turned the lights off and it turned into glow bowling!

After 2 games of bowling (one of which I bowled a 135 by the way!) we said good bye to my sisters and headed into downtown to continue the party.

All in all we had a GREAT time and I'm so lucky to have my girls!

Bachelorette (Mini) Recap

So last night was my bachelorette party and let me just say that it's taken me until about now (4pm) to actually feel normal again! Remember when you could go out every night in college and never feel a thing? Yeah...not so much anymore...blech!

Anyways...I did not have my camera so I unfortunately have not seen any pictures yet (maybe this is a good thing?) but we did have a blast! I promise a more lengthy recap once I have a few pictures!

So I'll leave you with this...my accessories for the evening...


How cute is that sash!?!

New rehearsal dress...and shoes!

Soo...I changed my mind *not the first time*! I had purchased this dress back in March for my rehearsal dinner. I tried in on a few weeks ago in hopes of wearing it to a friend's wedding. Wellll...I decided I didn't really like it anymore. So last week I set out to take it back and find something that I liked even better. Turns out I was successful (which is crazy because you know what happens when you go shopping for something specific...you never find anything!)! I ended up with this cute Gap number that was about 1/3 of the price! Whoo hoo for that! Nordstrom took the original dress and the shoes back and I was able to get a new dress and a new pair of shoes for half the price!

Whaddya think?? (sorry for the crappy e-bay pictures...I can't find it anywhere online!)

It looks purple but it really is a very royal blue. I plan to dress it up with some fun jewelry.

And here's the shoes...

I'm not so sure the shoes match, but I had seen them on JCrew months ago when they were full price, but as always with JCrew...they went on sale AND I got an email for extra 20% off and free shipping...I couldn't resist! If they don't look right with the dress, I have some other shoes that I'll wear and I'll wear these with my wedding gown for the reception...

A few random projects

So I have been plugging away at the projects on my list. Here are the reserved signs for the family chairs. I love the ribbon...makes it look so pretty!

I also made this paper monogram in hopes that I would like it enough to use it instead of a flower covered monogram for our sweetheart table...no such luck. Soo now I have these to use *somewhere*...don't know where yet.

25 more days...

Sweet Flowergirl

Here is my adorable flowergirl (she's 4) trying on her hand-made dress. My favorite was when she said "It really looks like a wedding dress!". Melted my heart...

Isn't she the cutest!?!