You've Got a Friend: Picking the Brides Maids

Everyone says, and by everyone I mean a lot of brides, that you can't pick your bridal party right away. However, since I knew who I wanted in my bridal party right away, and I like to go against the grain, I chose my party pretty early on.

The man wanted to wait a little while. He was having a hard time deciding exactly who he wanted/how many groomsmen he wanted. So I waited... and waited and waited for what felt like forever but in reality was only a few weeks! BUT then I couldn't wait anymore. I needed to ask my girls, and since I knew I wasn't going to change my mind, I began asking away.

The man and I decided we had a lot of friends and family who we wanted to stand by our side and it was so hard to cut that down... so we didn't!

The Girls:

My Matron of Honor is my best friend from College.

We met when I was a freshman and she was a Sophomore. She is originally from -----, NY and I convinced her to move to Saratoga Springs, NY after finishing Student teaching in Saratoga. We have been friends for *gasp* 10 years now! I can't imagine anyone else being my Matron of Honor. When we were in College, we took a James Finnamore Cooper class together. One day, after I got back from a class, I found that she had covered my whole door with pages that fell out of one of the Cooper books we had been reading, and for that reason we will call her "Cooper" or "MOH Cooper" and so far, she has been a Fantastic help. Seriously, best Matron of Honor, EVER.

My little sis, we will call her "mini-me"... is one of my bridesmaids as well. She was super excited when I asked her because she didn't think I would (like I wouldn't ask my sister--puuuuuuuuulease). Mini-me and I have become closer as of recent, but we were never super close. I know some of you are thinking that you can't believe I didn't have her be my Maid of Honor, but I knew I wanted Cooper to be the Matron of Honor. Mini-me is 10 years younger than me, which is why we aren't super close. We are from different generations and when she was old enough to grow close to me, I was in college so that is why we are lacking. BUT we ARE getting closer. I know she is a perfectionist and strives to be perfect. She was entering her first year of college this year and I didn't want to add any more stress to her already full plate... so I asked her to be one of the Maids and she couldn't have been happier. She didn't want to be Maid of Honor anyway, so I made the right choice.

One of my other Maids, "Partner in Crime," was also an easy decision. We have been friends for about 20 years now. Yep, 20 years. I call her Partner in crime because in high school we were always getting into these weird situations and she was always there with me through everything, my partner in crime. Partner in crime has Mad phtoshop skillz, yo.

"Flirty" is another college friend who I am very close with.

We haven't been friends for quite as long as the other girls, but have been friends for a good 8 years. I couldn't not have her by my side when she was by my side through all the college drama and boy situations that always occur. I asked Flirty to be a maid and she couldn't have been happier.... then she moved to FL. So she is going to be traveling quite far to be in the wedding. I'm a little worried about the cost for her, only because I know how much she is going to have to contribute now(flight, hotel, dress), but I told her to let me know if she needs help with anything. She assures me, that she'll be there, no matter what.

"College" + "Hot Mama" are the last 2 maids and they are The Man's sisters.

(Hot Mama is the one on the right)

College:

Hot Mama is a few years older than the Man and she is super fabulous and College is The Man's younger sister (10 years younger to be exact) and she is Fab. also. She is also exactly like mini-me which is SOOOOOOOO funny. I couldn't imagine my wedding without my new sisters being in it! I love them both so much and they are such great girls and I am so lucky to get along so well with them. They were BOTH so surprised and super excited when I asked them to be in the wedding.

So there you have it... my 6 girls and I wouldn't change them for anything and I won't be changing my mind. The man also picked 6 boys-- so there you have it--we have quite the party!

How did you go about picking your bridal party?

Becomming Wed-sessed

As soon as we picked a venue and a date for our wedding something happened to me. I went into Major wedding mode and all I wanted to do was plan the wedding. We had over a year when we began planning so it was hard not to do everything as soon as I had an idea.


I immediately joined the Knot I heard several of my friends had. The knot is great in some ways. I love the boards and how you can ask local brides for advice on vendors and they will give you their opinions. I like the checklist which tells you basically where you are in the planning process(it has helped me to not get too ahead of myself or too far behind). BUT the knot was lacking in one very important area.... I was looking for real people, real weddings, real projects. They have the "real weddings" section but I found it annoying to search through there. Or you could look through people's Bio's, but again, it was annoying to do that. I needed a bunch of stuff in one areas. I wanted some DIY ideas and projects to look at which I couldn't find unless I looked at people's bio's, and even then, there were no instructions on how to create the project.

I knew I would be crafting some things for the wedding, and I couldn't wait. But I did want some creative ideas, and I didn't find that at the knot.

And then it happened, I stumbled across my favorite wedding site ever, Weddingbee, by accident. It was everything I wanted and needed. I stalk it quite regularly. I think the bees are great and they have fabulous ideas and it was right up my alley. I spent several hours a day reading the bees blogs, looking for cool ideas and for inspiration. If you haven't checked out weddingbee, go and check out what the bee's are up to. Make sure you have plenty of time, as you will get sucked into the fun projects and tutorials they blog about.



That is where I found out about Gocco. I saw Mrs. Cookie's blog about it first, and then Mrs. Penguin and then I was hooked. I needed a Gocco to make all things paper for our wedding! Okay, that's NOT true, I could easily make them on a printer (which I didn't have)

orrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr I could get a Gocco.

What is a Gocco? Only the coolest little contraption ever made- okay really, if you don't know already, it is a self-contained compact color printing system invented in 1977 by Noboru Hayama. It uses special flash bulbs to thermally imprint images on a master screen which you then place gocco ink on and use to "stamp" your image onto your paper/project. It's wicked cool, and totally not as easy as it sounds.

Printer?Gocco? Printer?Gocco? hmmmmmmm, I could have gotten a printer for cheaper, but I really wanted a Gocco. So much in fact, that I began having dreams of me Gocco'ing projects.

I found out it had been discontinued but that supplies were still being made for it and sold in the US. I neded a Gocco. I kept imagining (dreaming about) all the pretty invitations and paper products I could create with my much needed Gocco. I had the lust really bad. So I decided, although it had been discontinued, the projects I could create using it would be worth the money spent on it.


I found some Gocco's selling on ebay and began bidding-- and then one glorious day, I won one.


Did you obsess over something specific that you found and thought you needed in order to make your wedding better? Have you dreamed of Gocco like me?

The Hunt for the Perfect Date

Ever notice that once you become engaged everyone becomes obsessed with their wedding ? Well, I wasn't going to be one of those brides who was obsessed. But then it happened. People kept asking us about the wedding and I had nothing to tell them, because we hadn't begun planning anything.

It began as a slow obsession ...... wanting to pick a date. We had decided that we wanted to get married next summer, but hadn't decided on an exact date. To be honest we didn't have a "special" date we needed to have, our only requirement was that it was in the summer and in Lake George, NY.

I was thinking June would be a nice month... not too hot and before (Horse Racing)Track season began. The man agreed that June would be good.

I tried to convince The man that we should have our wedding at The Sagamore which we always passed by when out on the boat. And we looked up their website thinking, maybe, just maybe, it would be a possibility. All hopes of this venue were tossed right out the window when we saw the prices. We wanted a small wedding, (although it's not looking too small now), but in order to afford The Sagamore, it would have to be a lot smaller than we wanted. So it was immediately out. But how pretty would this have been?

The Sagamore

We began scouring wedding and reception sites in Lake George. I went and looked at several places without The man as he was away for work and I knew we would have to pick a site fairly early on in the game of wedding planning. I wasn't going to pick a place without his input, but it was nice to get a head start.

I looked at several places in Lake George. And I liked them all. The first place I looked at was Dunhams Pond, and I have to say, the owner, Mark, was fantastic. He showed me the reception room witch was long and pretty. I saw the wedding site which was across the road on the lake. We talked prices and then he even showed me the rooms guests would stay in. It was a nice place, but I knew it wasn't exactly what The man would want. He wanted the place to be right ON the lake and it was ACROSS from the lake. I thanked Mark for his time, and took his card and had full intentions of having The man go look at it too, because I thought it was a contender. Sorry, but I didn't get a picture.

The next place I looked at was gorgeous. Absolutely Gorgeous. It was The Inn at Erlowest. Breathtaking and stunning. BUT I knew right away that it was out of our price range *sigh* and that it wouldn't even be a contendor since they only had 10 rooms for guests to stay in. We knew we would need something that had rooms for our guests, or that there were rooms somewhere close by (there wasn't anything really close by for our guests to stay in) so that our guests wouldn't have to travel far to get to. So as much as I would have loved to have gotten married in a castle, because of those two very important aspects, it was out.

Erlowest

The boathouse restaurant was very pretty but we also had the same room challenge. There were these pretty cottages people could stay at across the road, but they were very very pricey and we wouldn't ask our guests to pay that much after traveling so far, so that was out too.

I visited The Georgian by myself and I liked it and had The man go visit it too. It looks a little ghetto from the outside, but it's very nice inside the banquet room and the wedding would be out on the terrace right ON the lake. Stunning and nice. It included table linens, chair covers (score!) and the price was within our range. I wasn't sure how nice the rooms were since she wouldn't show me one (and that was a concern as it was an older place). I told the Man it was somewhere he should take a look at too. The Man wasn't impressed with the wedding planner. He thought she was very rehearsed and he wasn't a fan of the banquet room (which I thought was very nice and it had a 180 view of the lake). He also pointed out that people staying there could easily view our ceremony, which is something we both didn't want to happen. *sigh* It was out and we kept looking.

The next place we went and saw (we actually had the chance to go together this time) was The Fort William Henry Resort. It was everything we wanted. The price was in our range, the ceremony site was outside at a gazzebo and private, there were tons of rooms there and it was on the lake and had a great view. The banquet room was quite lovely. It comes with white table cloths but no chair covers (boo). However, I wasn't overly impressed with the wedding planner as she came across as very gruff (I have since changed my mind about her and LOVE her). We decided this was the place. It was perfect.

The fountain outside

The ceremony location

The reception room


Photos cuortesy of the Fort William Henry Website.

I took a few photo's aslo, but the lighting is dark and you can't see the details.

We asked about availability in June, and there was ...none. Seriously? July?.... Not an option either. really? So then we asked about August, and we lucked out here. There were two dates to choose from for a Sat. Wedding which we wanted. So we chose one of them, and that is how we got our wedding date.

I really hadn't wanted the wedding in August as I thought it would be too hot, and have since wondered why we didn't just push it back until September, but I am now at peace with the fact that our wedding is during Tourist Season in Lake George and Track Season in Saratoga (which has definately proven to be a challenge). I have decided we are crazy.

I am sorry that I don't have my own pictures of the sites I visited, but I wasn't thinking when I went there to take pictures. Silly me.

How did you decide on a wedding date? Was it something near and dear to your hearts that you wouldn't budge on, or was it decided by availability by your venue?

The Engagement: Who Knew?

Like I previously said, I had no idea the proposal was coming, but I sure was hoping for it. I knew right away that The man was the one, I just wasn't sure if he felt the same way especially with all of his non-marriage comments he was making.

I knew that if The Man planned on asking me to marry him that he would first ask my dad. Of course with my birthday quickly arriving, I asked my mother if she had heard anything that would lead us to believe that a proposal was coming (one can dream right)? and she said she hadn't... she even asked my father and he said nope, no news.

I was convinced that The man would never propose to me without asking my father for my hand in marriage. I'm not really sure how I knew this other than I knew The man and it seemed like something he would do. Little did I know....that he HAD asked me father the week before.

The week before my birthday we were at my parents house setting up for my younger sister's graduation party. I made the decorations for the tables and they came out so NICE and my mother asked me to come early and help her get ready for the party. Of course I dragged The man along and he was SOOOOO helpful. He helped us blow up balloons and set up the tables and then he even went and helped my mom cut up little rolls. I was so proud of him for being so helpful and not even complaining about it.

Once the party got underway, The man was hanging out with my dad all day like they were best friends. They had some beers together and just chatted all day. I had no idea that this was the day he asked my father for my hand in marriage.

Once he popped the question on the boat and I said yes, I wanted to call my parents and tell them. He said they already knew. So I called them anyway. The man had asked my father the week prior and my father didn't tell my mother because he knew she'd tell me. He told her that day, after we had left the house, so she knew too, but not early enough to tell me.

I'm glad I didn't know ahead of time. It made for an excellent birthday and a fabulous surprise.
Were your fiance's willing to ask your parents for your hand in marriage first? Did your parents keep the secret or spill the beans?

If You Like it Then You Better Put a Ring On It: The Engagement

The man and I had been dating awhile. He often spoke of the future, "our future" and plans for us. We shared our hopes and dreams and goals with each other. And The man bought a house 2 years ago in the area I lived in... for "our future." As often as he used the term "our future" he never mentioned wanting to marry me... he eluded to it, but never came out and said it.

It happened on my birthday. The man shocked me and surprised me with an amazing proposal.

I should preface this with the fact that The man CAN be romantic when he wants to be, but is not often.

It was my birthday (July 4th) and he had suggested we take his boat(yes, his boat) up to Lake George and watch the fireworks over the lake this year. I thought that sounded like a lot of fun. So he planned a whole little night for us, after all, it was my birthday.

We stopped at my parents for lunch and birthday cake and then headed to the lake for the afternoon. The man wouldn't give me my present- which is so not like him who always wants to give it the day before, but I just thought it must be something for the boat and he's waiting 'till we get out there. He also likes to torture me so I thought he was enjoying making me wait all day for my birthday present.

We got out on the lake late and it was crazy busy with boats. We found a spot and hung out there for a few hours and then The man took me to dinner at a restaurant on the Lake. I still wasn't aware of what awaited. I thought he was just taking me to a nice birthday dinner. We went to this restaurant on the lake which had beautiful picture windows and a great view over the lake.

He made reservations for 5pm and since it was early, we had the whole place to ourselves for most of dinner, which was totally awesome.

After dinner we went back out on the boat and lake. The man was trying to find a little cove to hunker down in until the fireworks began. Once we found a spot, he asked me if I wanted my present and of course, I did. I had seen in in the cuddy cabin when I was changing for dinner--- a weird sized box, somewhat smaller than a shoebox, unwrapped, tied up with electrical tape, and really heavy. I was hoping THAT wasn't my present. After all, don't I deserve wrapping paper? seriously.

He pulls out the box wrapped in electrical tape and plops in it my lap and says, "happy birthday. Guess what it is." Everyone who knows me, knows I like to guess my gifts, and I'm usually right and it makes them mad. I shook it and having no clue what it was, guessed that it was a box of rocks because that is what it felt like when I shook it.

I couldn't open it due to the insane amounts of electrical tape on it. and he asked me if I needed help. I stood up and handed it to him and told him yes. He plopped it on the ground, kneeled down to open it and sliced it open with his knife. I looked in the box and sure enough it was just rocks! What a mean thing to do!

What I didn't see was when he opened it he took the little jewelry box out and had it in his hand. I looked over at him, and there he was: on one knee, with a small jewelery box in his hand, a huge smile on his face, looking up at me. Then he opened the box asked me to marry him.

I said yes.

It was perfect. He had originally wanted to wait 'till the fireworks went off, but then thought it would be too dark for me to see the ring.

I love my proposal. Did your fiance plan something special in order to ask you for your hand in marriage?