Something Interesting...

So I was browsing online the other night looking for wedding deals, and came across these two things:

A memorial Frame

and

A memorial Candle.

We aren't sure yet if we are going to do both or one or the other, but know that someway we want to incorporate those who are no longer with us in person, but still very special in our lives into the wedding. It is something that we also have to work with Dwight (the pastor) to figure out the ligistics of doing so. We'll see what one we choose to use, or both...

Just thought it was something interesting, and thought I would share it with all of you!! :)

The inside

I have found more pictures of the Hall where the reception will be held. These are from a friend's of mine wedding that I stole from her MySpace page ;) It is during the decorating stages, but gives an idea of what the inside will look like. We aren't sure on table arrangement so you can ignore the way they have them here.

Dress on the Runway!!

I found this, and hopefully it will post. Earlier I gave a sneak peek of the dress, well now there is a runway video of it that I found, and thought I'd share with everyone.
http://www.davidsbridal.com/images/video/cy516.wmv

Less than HALF WAY THERE!

So I of course have a cute little ticker that is my signature for my message board posts of a countdown to the wedding. It tells how many months and then in () how many days. Today there is 180 days...not bad...which is equal to....5 months!!-> HOLY COW!! Where has the time gone?! Honestly? I saw that and got a lump in my throat and sick feeling, because of how close it is. I mean we are really prepared and ready, esp. for that honeymoon afterwards (lol), but wow!!! It's just amazing. I guess I better get my butt etching some vases, otherwise I'm gonna be one crazy lady come closer to the wedding!

Jewelry!!!

So I had my lia sophia party a couple weeks ago, and got the jewelry on Wednesday. The whole reason for me having the party was to get my bridal jewelry (or at least necklace) for free or $20. I opted to pay the $20 and use my credit for other jewelry, but that is neither here nor there. Because I'm very anal about appearances, and matching I of course had to try it on with my dress. OF COURSE!! ;) Today I went down to Pat and Terry's and got my dress out, put everything on (minus the veils) and I must say...WOW I'M ONE HOT LADY!!:p I love the necklace with the dress. The earings, well they work, but I have my eye on ones that match the necklace a little better. So want to see what necklace I'm talking about???!!!

Here you go....


The necklace and earings are what I have. SOOOOO gorgeous in real life!!!! I love it! :)

Honeyfund

Well Nick and I have been trying to start our registries, but haven't gotten very far. (We're trying to stay on task with theknot.com checklist) But we have one semi completed so far! We came across the idea by accident, then did research and found the one that best suites our needs. What is it you ask? A honeymoon registry!! We think it's really cool, because we already have a lot of life's essentials, and so it offers people the option of still buying a gift for us that we will surely use rather than simply giving money. We'll see how it works out in the end (if others thought it was as cool as we do) :)

Bridesmaid Dresses

Yay! So we ordered the bridesmaid dresses! What a mini fiasco that was! We were going to go through a local bridal shop, but I found a place cheaper online to order them from that offered free shipping to EACH BRIDESMAID!! I couldn't refuse! SO..we had to get the girls measured. I got their measurements and was trying to figure out what size to order off the size chart, and was utterly confused!!! It isn't that I am incapable of reading a size chart, just the measurements didn't always match up. So I called up the company and they helped me, but the sizes they gave seemed a little big, so then messaged Sue and she gave me her opinion, but still it seemed strange. So I ended up calling the local shop, giving the measurements, and asking what sizes they would have ordered (of course pretending that I was still going to use them to order the dresses from) and they matched what the company said!! Go figure, lol. So I called up the company and ordered the dresses!! The girls should be getting them around the end of Feb/beginning of March!! YAY!!!!

199

I was getting ready for bed, and going through my ritual of compulsive email checking when I happened to notice my countdown to the wedding on my igoogle page. 199 days left. Finally under the 200 mark! I can't believe it!! Next big marker is 150. Nothing really special about it except for the number sticks in my head. It's coming, and keeps coming faster and faster. We are pretty well set though. I am ordering the bridesmaid dresses either Thursday or Friday this week so they will be all set. Once the holidays are over Nick and I are going to check out tuxes, and from then on it's all the little details that have to be taken care of, but are already well thought out and accounted for (for the most part). Smooooooooth sailin :)

Just thought I'd share my moment of excitement and pure love with everyone! I truly am the luckiest girl alive!! :)

"Shopping"

So it's 7:32 and Nick went to bed about an hour ago. Yes 6:30pm-he has to wake up at 3am, so I can't really blame him. But that leaves me awake with nothing to do... Well, I could do homework or... I could do wedding stuff. I chose the latter. I was online and found an awesome deal on the bridesmaid's gifts. I'm so excited. I bet you can't guess where I got them from...AMAZON! (of course) But seriously, I wanted the girls to be as matchy matchy as possible, and I wanted to get them something nice, but every place I looked was too expensive. Then I hit the jackpot! I can't disclose what they are because the girls read the site.

So now I'm "shopping" or should say browsing for reception and ceremony details trying to get ideas so I can show Nick tomorrow or sometime to see what he thinks. And I've been hunting for flower girl and ring bearer gifts, which I think I might have figured out what to get them. I know it's early to be doing all this, but if we can get it out of the way now it's one less thing to worry about later. (that's become my mantra) I am thinking backpacks with their names embroidered. I thought it was practical and cute (because you can choose different colors, and any little kid with a backpack is adorable). But I have to see what the posse thinks about it, because not everyone thinks what I think is cute or a good idea. We'll see...

I'm off to "shopping" again, wish me luck!!

Officiant

We have our officiant!! Many of you probably know him or know of him. It is Rev. Dwight Edwards. He used to be the pastor at the Readburn Assembly of God church, and his wife used to babysit Austin and I when we were little. We are so excited that he said yes. He's even excited about the Elvis Costume & wig we asked him to wear!!! (just joking!)

Wedding Website

We created an official wedding website. I know you're probably thinking, what's the point you already have the blog?! But we figured the website is a good thing to have for all the final details of the wedding to be displayed, whereas the blog is all the background mayhem of the wedding details is posted. So here is our site it's not much different from this webaddress, only shorter: www.crystalnnick.com . We are still working on it, and will continue to work on it as time goes by. So it's just another thing for you to check (if you're that interested). The really cool thing about it though are the sub-pages (wedding party, RSVP, Directions, Out of Towners). I think they will be helpful when it becomes closer to the date. Let us know what you think though!

Stencils!!

I finally received the stencils to being etching the favors/centerpieces. And with this I have come to the realization that THIS IS GOING TO TAKE FOREVER!!! They came too long so I had to cut them and then place each piece (3 for one side) on separately to etch. The end result is really nice though, just very time consuming. Does this mean I'm going to give up and not do the idea? Nope; it just means that you will have to appreciate them even more when they are at the wedding :) All in the name of love I suppose.

Waste of Time...Sorta

Today we went down to AfterHours in Middletown so Nick could check out the tuxes that they had. We get there and the lady says to us, "what did they tell you on the phone? Well we are being bought out and will have much more in January, so come back then." Of course that is a very shortened version of the conversation. She was very polite, and everything. So we are going back around January to get the tuxes all figured out. So that was a waste of a trip (it is like 2 hours from the house!!) But it wasn't a total waste, we went to AC Moore's and Michael's, and bought some things for the wedding. Things like favor ideas, and a wax sealer (very old world-ish). We had fun, so that's all that matters. It was just annoying because we drove that far, someone could have called us (because we had an appointment) to let us know, but oh well. :)

Photog. & Caterer

This weekend was pretty busy. Saturday we went down to Peckville, PA to meet with the photographer & videographer (one company). They are SOOOO nice, which is good! We were about 20 min late, but no big deal.

After we had our meeting and we went to Honesdale to look at four wheelers, snowmobiles, and motorcycles. We started at Rusty Palmer's and just looked around, but didn't really find anything. Then we decided to go to Baer's. We went in to check out the nightrod, and ended up coming out wanting to buy a touring bike. We even test drove the General Manager's bike (a ultra classic electraglide)!! It was like riding on a cloud through heaven...seriously! So what does this have to do with the wedding you might ask??? Well we are considering buying one (probably used) and riding around the country (1-2wks) for our honeymoon. We'll see what happens with it...

Sunday we went down to meet with the Caterer with Nick's parents. We tasted stuffed chicken breasts, mashed potatoes, and pasta salad. Everything was good except for the pasta salad..it was way too oily. So it was a good thing that we tasted it even though it seems like a pretty generic thing. But other than that everything was great! The guy, Mike, is really nice and seems like he will be super easy to work with! We have to call him back in Jan/Feb to schedule a meeting in April to go over the menu a little more (we already have it decided, but around that time we will have more of an idea of numbers and things).

So that was our weekend of wedding things. I don't think there is much else coming up, except on the 20th. Nick and I are going to Middletown to see what kind of tuxes they have. We'll definitely keep you updated on how that goes.

Bridesmaids

Well today Jen and I went to try on bridesmaid dresses. We found the dress, of course it wasn't any of the ones that we went up there to try on. (Seems to a be a theme..) But the dresses are really nice. They are simple, but just enough character. The best part is that the girls can wear them again for a party or whatever. It looks really good on!! It's so cute!!! Of course I can't post on here without showing a picture ;)

Picked up dress & more..

Thursday mom and I went down to Middletown to pick up my dress. We left the house early so we wouldn't be gone all day. When we got down to David's Bridal it was 10:20 and we walked up to the doors and tugged...but nothing. They don't open until 11:00. (Maybe we should have checked that before going down, lol) So we went to Burlington and wasted some time there. I went and picked up my dress, which being a dreamer, thought it would fit PERFECTLY! Of course it didn't, and so I will have to have alterations done (which I've already scheduled..april 26th). Then we headed back home stopping in Wurtsboro for lunch. Lunch was good, and right across from the dinner there was a little bridal store "Crystal Vision Bridal Shoppe" or something like that. Of course we went in after lunch....mom tried on a BUNCH of dresses-some for her and some for me (so I could see bridesmaid dresses). We had a lot of fun, and by the time we left and got home it was 4:30! So much for not spending the whole day down there, huh? It was fun though!! And my dress is "home". It's at Nick's mom's because my closet is too short for it!!

ADORABLE!!!!!

So I was online looking for flower girl dresses a couple of weeks ago, and WOW DO U KNOW HOW MUCH MONEY THEY COST?! RIDICULOUS!!! So I searched something like "cheap flower girl dress" or something to that effect and came upon a WONDERFUL WONDERFUL WONDERFUL website!! The dresses are JUST AS NICE as other places but 1/2 the price or less!!! I KNOW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So of course this is where we will be ordering these dresses from!!! (the dresses will have a pink sash & roses)



We are getting the ringbearer tuxes from here too. They have a lot of dresses to choose from, and even have holiday ones too. So if you or someone you know is looking for a pretty little girl's dress or flower girl dress, then let me know and I will send you the website!!

Centerpiece/Favors

So let me explain this a little bit. The centerpieces are made up of 9 square budvases. There will be 8 persons at each table. Each of the budvases will be etched with a poem written by Nick and I on one side, and a Monogram-thingy on another side. They are serving as both centerpieces and favors (because well, let's face it...people usually take the centerpieces too). So this way it kills two birds with one stone, looks good, and is functional. Now to explain the pictures...some of the centerpieces will be together some apart (as shown) [this is still debatable though], and some of the centerpieces will match the bridesmaid bouquets (example shown) and some will have three *WHITE* calla lillies (not like the pink shown).


I know it's stunning with the calendar backdrop! Be expecting that at the wedding too...Every table with their own HUGE calendar, because we never want you to forget what day it is :)

Flowers

Here is what the bridesmaid flowers should look like:
I am going to carry a Calla Lilly bouquet (my FAV. flower in case you didn't know already). I'm not sure if they will be white or pink callas though.

Should it be this easy?

Ok so I know that I have a lot more things to do, and a lot of time left to do them in, but I am beginning to wonder..should it be this easy? I mean really. I know what flowers we are using, where we are going to get them from (fake, but look SUPER real), I am getting my dress tomorrow, the flower girl dresses are picked out,the ringbearer tuxes are picked out, centerpiece/favors are taken care of (except for ordering all of them & the etching), & the poem is written.

I am pretty sure on the bridesmaid dresses, food is pretty well taken care of (meeting next week to discuss it more in detail), photog & video (meeting next weekend) but am pretty sure we will go through them, cake (still have to do that, but know what we want it to look like), know what invitations. Nick and I go the 27th (of OCTOBER) to see tux options for him and his mens. We already have our wedding rings (got them a few months ago).

I mean not to sound crazy, but most of the stuff is taken care of already or being taken care of within the next week/month.

So it makes me wonder...if it seems this easy...what am I forgetting? and...if it seems to be this easy now, how's it really going to play out when it gets closer? It should make it as little stress as possible right? Let's hope so, otherwise why am I trying so hard to get this all done now!! :)

Dress & More

Well I got a call on Thursday saying that both my headpiece and dress are in and I have to come pick it up in 5-7 business days. What happens if I don't? I already paid for it, so what?! (Yea, I'm feeling a little sassy tonight) I haven't called them back, I should probably do that tomorrow and go down on this Thursday to pick it up, so hopefully the plan will work out like that. It actually caught me by surprise because when I ordered it the lady said it wouldn't be in until almost Thanksgiving. So I was like great! Because if I have it here, guess what I am going to be wearing 24/7?! Or at least gwaking at, which wouldn't be good considering we have two dogs which shed like it was going out of style!! (I've started collecting it to spin, and will be taking orders for dog scarfs, hats, & sweaters, etc.-JUST JOKING!!)

Tomorrow is the day the girls come up and meet each other (all but Michelle in AZ-she's here in spirit though), so that is exciting. I was just working on the food for it, but it's late and dark and I'm a baby...I kept hearing a thumping and the dog started to growl so I hightailed it out of the kitchen and am now ready for bed. :) I still hear the thumping, but it's not as scarey up here with Nick in the next room (even if he is sleeping). Yes, I'm a scaredy cat of the things that go bump in the night.

I'll be sure to check in tomorrow and let you know how that went.

AMAZING DEAL!!

Wow, did I surprise myself today! I was taking a break from the homework, and was searching on amazon for really nothing. I decided I would try and find something for an idea of what to get Nick for my gift to him (b/c I had NO idea). I am searching, and then all of a sudden it hits me- I'll get him a .... (suspense-you'll have to wait until the wedding, I can't give everything away!-but keep reading) So I'm looking through the items, and there are some really good sales going on. I find one I like and add it to the cart, but it's a little too expensive for right now so it will just have to sit there, and I go back to looking..LOW AND BEHOLD... a couple more pages of searching and I find the *PERFECT* one. The style, the colors, the PRICE, everything was right. So I put it in my cart it's on sale for $89.99 FROM...drum roll.........................$475!!!!! I couldn't believe it! Trust me people, if it was any more than $99 I wasn't buying it, I just can't see paying that much for a .... (ooo- I bet you really want to know now :p) So it's in my cart and I go to check out and I get 20% (& they rounded up to the nearest dollar amount- $18!!) off the sale price b/c of another sale that's going on! So I got it for $71.99!!!! I saved $403.01, and I didn't have to pay shipping because the order was over $25!! I think this is THE best deal I have EVER gotten in my entire life!

So that's my story of SUPER savings, what a rush! I feel like I stole it!!!

Hidden Valley/Lake Charolette Estate

We will be getting married in Equinunk, PA at the Hidden Valley Camp or Lake Charolette Estate. We will have there ceremony by the waterfront:

And will be having the reception at the hall/pavillion, the picture below. The interior is all wood-beamed with a HUGE stone fireplace.

I do appologize for the quality of the pictures. I didn't take them, I actually found them on myspace from one of the girls I know that was married here also. But at least it gives a little idea of what to expect and look for.

Sneak Peak

I thought I would give everyone a sneak peak of the dress. This way I won't have to try to describe it, because my words just don't do it justice. Here it is...

(Nick doesn't really check this so I don't have to worry about him seeing it.)

Photographer, Videographer & Maybe Funny Story

So Nick and I are looking for both a Photog, and Videog. which the growing trend seems to be super high prices, because everyone is a millionaire these days (or at least think they are), but reality check...WE AREN'T!! So if you know of ANYONE who does EITHER please give us their information so we can check them out and compare them with the people we have found already.

So now the maybe funny story...We got a DVD from a company that does photog, videog, DJ, live bands, and photo montages. So of course I watched it, and then the next night watched it again with Nick (he was too tired & interested in 'Trick My Truck' the night before). While I must say we were overall pleased with everything we saw, except for the live band. So the DVD is over and Nick looks at me and says "wow, this is coming up really fast. We are getting married SOON. Now I'm getting nervous [bc of all the people]" and I was like "well compared to 3 years, yea I'd say 9 1/2 months is pretty soon, but at the same time-not really". But it was more funny in real life because you could see the look of shock-like whoa it hit him, & how scared/nervous he is about having to be in front of all those people and DANCE, lol. (His biggest anxiety!!) I just thought it was funny that he was sorta freakin this far away, and wonder how he'll be when it gets even closer...oh no! lol

The Dress

I went dress shopping on Monday (the 13th) with Terry (Nick's mom) and I thought it'd be so easy, go there try on dresses and bam that's the one. Well it sort of went like that. I got there with my list & tried on I think 3 or 4 from it. I knocked out a few in no time, and some without even putting them on, then decided I wanted to try dress A and dress B which were shown on a mannequins. Here's where it got sticky. I try dress A on and was floored; I loved it!! But I figured I might as well try dress B just to see what it looks like (never should have done that). I put that one on and... I loved it! lol. So the next 45 minutes was spent walking around in each dress, trying them on and off, and finally I decided to go with my first impression of both; I went with dress A. Although it wasn't as easy as I thought it was going to be, I still had A LOT of fun & can't wait to go pick it up around Thanksgiving!!!!!!!

We are trying to get as much as we can done now, so that the months before aren't insane & I'll be able to focus on school more than the wedding (at least in theory that's how it is supposed to work). I'm super excited, & Nick- he's playing it cool.

Change of Plans

We have once again changed our minds, but this is the FINAL decision. We are going to have the wedding here. With Nick starting his new job there are a lot of uncertainties, and this will ultimately make things less complicated; plus we've come to realize that some very important people in our lives would be unable to make it to Hawaii. Sorry to keep changing, but like we said earlier, this is the final decision. If you've already researched, don't let it go to waste use it for a vacation!! We are going to try and honeymoon there still.

More Places To Stay in Waimanalo

Here are some more places to stay in Waimanalo. Most of them are beach houses/cottages. Some have really good rates! I am emailing the ones with the already good rates to find out if we could get a discount for wedding guests who choose to stay there also. I'll let you know how that goes.
http://www.bedbreakfastbeach.com/
Studio $85 a night!!!! (I'm not sure if they offer anything besides a studio though)
http://www.hawaii-beds-beaches.com/hawaiibedsbeaches/rooms.htm
Looks nice, seems comparably reasonable.
http://www.waimanalobeachcottages.com/site/1/home.aspx
Nice looking cottages, studio-3bedroom. Cheapest I've found so far!!
http://12hawaii.com/
Best for people who don't mind sharing a house with other family/person(s).

Here are some hotels: (These were given to my by Capt. Howie [wedding officiant])
http://www.hiltonhawaiianvillage.com/index_flash.asp

http://www.kahalaresort.com/

http://www.preferredhotels.com/values/hotel_descr.asp?id=55443&travelAgentId=09546386&src=tig2_google_HNTLB_brand2

Map

We thought it might be good to show a map for reference. This is the island of Oahu. The arrow points to where the wedding will be taking place.

BOOKED! (AM not PM)

The date is official, June 17, 2008 at 8:30am. We are sending out letters that we have already typed up that say a midday wedding, please note that this is incorrect. The afternoon was already booked, and so we took the morning. The owner said that for the best pictures and privacy the morning time is the better anyway. There is a time difference of 6 hours, so waking up for it shouldn't be that bad. Just thought we'd let you in on our excitement that it's BOOKED!

Activites

We have found some really fun sounding activities that take place on the island of Oahu. They range from low-key to xtreme activities. Some of the things that Nick and I will definitely be doing is renting a motorcycle and driving around the island, snorkeling, luau's, bicycling 5 miles down a mountain, and I'm trying to talk him into diving underwater in a cage to see the sharks swim by and taking a helicopter ride. I have plenty of time to work on those two. There are TONS of things to do, and if you are making this a vacation (GOOD FOR YOU!)-we thought you might be interested in some of these.

Below are the websites where we found these activities (some are repeated), along with the general prices for the activities:
http://www.alohavip.com/index.cfm
http://www.allhawaiitours.com/

Of course you can always relax on the beach, worshiping the fiery blaze in the sky while watching the ocean waves, for free.

Accomodations

I have been looking online and have a few options for places to stay. There are vacation rentals in Waimanalo (where we will be married) as well as in other places on the island. I thought you should know though, that most of the activities that take place on the island do so from Waikiki and Honolulu (which is about 20 min away from Waimanalo). I haven't looked for vacation rentals in either of these places, but I am sure that they have them.

Here are some websites for:
(1) rentals in Waimanalo http://www.beachhousehawaii.com/beachhousehawaii_c/index.cfm?fuseaction=sitecontent.default&objectID=498&parentID=498
and (2) all of Oahu Island:
http://aoahuvacationrental.com/

I think that some of the deals are pretty good especially if you don't mind sharing a house with another family or person.

Also-I have been looking at cheaptickets.com (b/c they seem to be the cheapest) vacation packages (not for exact dates yet b/c can't yet) and find that you can get a pretty decent deal for a hotel room in honolulu with a plane ticket. It really is up to whichever you would prefer, but I'd be happy to help along the way.

We've Decided....

We've decided, and despite the out-numbering of votes for New York, we are having a very intimate ceremony in Hawaii, because ultimately this is what we both want: very private, intimate, and special. We are having the wedding on the island of Oahu at Waimanalo Beach on June 17, 2008(well this still has to be made official). Yes, we realize it is a Tuesday, but it's been our anniversary, and we don't really want a different date. If you have any questions please feel free to ask them. And now the biggest obstacle is trying to figure out trip expenses (but we can't yet because flights only show 330 days in advance).

Payment Plan

We found a company that will help us and our guests arrange travel details for the wedding (flight & rooming) that offers a payment plan. The payment plan holds your reservation, and you can make monthly payments up to 30-60 days before the date of the wedding!!! Their services are free, and the payment plan is interest free so all the money contributed goes towards the travel package!! We thought this might be a good option for some people! Let us know what you think!

Hawaii Sites

Here are some of the places we are thinking of using in Hawaii for the wedding. We have found these two so far:
www.hawaiiweddings.com
www.hawaiiwedding.net

If you know of any sites or places please let us know, as we are still looking.

Thanks!

Here or There?

Well we have our first wedding dilemma: to have a traditional wedding here, or to get married in Hawaii. When we got first engaged we wanted Hawaii, but over time we have leaned towards a traditional here wedding, but now we are leaning back towards Hawaii. If we chose Hawaii we will get married and have our immediate family, (and whoever else wants/can come) and then have a "reception"/BBQ when we return. The price is about the same for both.

So I guess my main concern would be: would people come to the very casual "reception"/BBQ? and if we had it streamed LIVE through the net would people watch it (or is that a waste of money)?

We really need some input, so any ideas/advice is welcome!!

Where should we have the wedding
	Hawaii
	New York