Tomorrow is the day!

Thats right, tomorrow is finally March 23rd 2013, I can't believe the day is almost upon us. Its hard to describe how I am feeling today, very excited, a little nervous, a little scared and very tired. Even though I left as little as possible to the last week, its still tiring, people still ask you question after question, people still tell how they would have done things differently, the mental exhaustion is definitely apparent.

We started this morning nicely with getting pedicures and nails done, there is nothing that I like more than having nails, although it is making it hard to type this up today haha! Then the ladies came back to my place to try on their dresses so they all fit and look great, and i cant wait.

But now I am exhuasted, think I might have a shower and a lie down until 3pm, I am catching up with  friend and then its hair wash and tan times woohoo! I love being brown!!!

Anyways I am sure I will fill you all in next time xxx

2 days to go

So there are only two days to go! Today was a fairly busy day, and things were getting pretty crazy! Lots of questions for all directions and a few last minute purchases but hey whats a wedding without some last minute drama.

There was some confusion with our venue, I had called quite a few months ago to find out if they serve drinks as part of the venue hire if we provide the drinks, however apparently I misunderstood and they stated they wouldn't do that. So today I had some last minute plastic wine glasses purchasing, so at least that is taken care of now!

Last night was also the rehearsal and the rehearsal dinner. We got to run through the ceremony, everyone found out where they stand, we had a crack at walking up the aisle, and worked out where everyone will be sitting. After the rehearsal, one of my lovely bridesmaids had organised our dinner, she also organised some date nights for us. She got everyone at the dinner to write down what there idea of a date was for us to complete, there were some great ones, so we have them all to go through again once we are newlyweds.

I spent this afternoon putting some last minute things together, getting the dresses and everything together, making a few last minute payments, and then spent some time on my own relaxing, ran myself a bath and prepared my skin for tomorrows spray tan.

So tomorrow is the fun day! We start the morning with getting our nails done, I am really looking forward to it, I love getting my nails done, and I really enjoy just having time to sit around with my favorite girls. We have a little bit of time in the middle of the day, this should give us time to organise the girls bits and pieces and give them a chance to try their dresses on again. Then the girls will have some time to go home and do their own thing, Then I have a friend to catch up with at 3pm before heading off to get a spray tan and my hair blow waved. Then tomorrow night we are gonna have a small dinner and watch some girly movies.

I must say, I am already worrying a little about being apart from Daz for the night, I always struggle to sleep away from him. But lets face it, I probably won't sleep anyways!

2 days to go!!! woot woot!

Just 4 sleeps to go

Ahhh its nearly here!!! The weather forecast is looking better, everything is confirmed and falling nicely in to place! Work is done, two weeks off now yippee!!!!

Tomorrow is the time for the fun to start, well after I clean the whole house, I can't concentrate without a clean house, and also for the photos, I want everything to look good. So the washing will be done, the house will be dusted and vaccummed and hopefully will be looking sparkling clean still come Saturday. Then I am going to do the shopping for the girls for tea, brekky and lunch for the wedding eve and wedding day, then its off for the fun to begin. The Rehearsal out at the venue! I am also paying the venue, the celebrant tomorrow to get that out of the way. I am also taking out the refreshments for the ceremony. Wine, Beers and Waters ready to go. Mum has the ceremony decorations which are only small, a couple of candles and the word "love" to sit on the signing table!!! After the rehearsal we are off for dinner and some catch up with the bridal party and our immediate family.

Thursday is time for a massage, I can tell you I need one already!!! Move all of the bits and pieces from my parents house to my house. Organise Taxis to pick everyone up from the venue and relax!!! I think Thursday night and afternoon I will just be hanging around, maybe confirming a few last minute things, but as far as I know most things are now sorted.

Friday is pamper day!!! It starts with getting mani's and pedis, we have a break in the middle of the day, not too sure what we will do, will probably get the girls to try on their dresses before they get their tans, then we have tans later in the day, then back to my place for dinner, movies and a sleep over!!!

How quick do you think Saturday is going to come? I think its absolutely going to fly!!!

4 days...eek!!! xoxox

One Week To Go....

7 days, its a figure that seems so small now. This time next week I will be at the salon getting my hair and make up down. I will already have enjoyed the rehearsal dinner with my family and the bridal party, everything will have been put into place at the venues, I will have had my massage, my nails done and my tans. So I am hoping by 11:30am next week I will be feeling like a princess.

The weather forecast has tipped slightly in my favour, forecast in the twenties with showers, showers I can handle, its rain that worries me! So now that nearly all plans and payments have been made, we have practiced our first dance, everyone know what they need to do on the day, its time to sit back, relax and joy my last 7 days as a Miss!

So whats the plans as my last weekend as a miss? I will be trying to relax and rest as much as possible, I am thinking a pamper day try on my dress, a hair treatment, do my nails, a facial, or though I do have to go into work for a little while. Tomorrow I am starting the day with brekky with a friend, then off to do some last minute wedding and honeymoon shopping.

Then there are only 2 days of work left, then I can enjoy Wednesday, Thursday, Friday putting everything into place! I cant wait for the next 7 days to play out!

Please Don't Rain!

So as March 15th rolls around, we are only just over a week away from the big day! Its such a surreal feeling, all this planning, and all this time waiting, and waiting for a day that seems like it will never arrive, yet here we are, 8 days out from what will be one of the most special and memorable days of my life. I must say I am starting to get a little nervous about walking down the aisle with everyone staring at me! I have chosen a fairly upbeat song though so I am hoping that will help out with the nerves!

As for the planning, on the easy weddings checklist I am now 97% complete...whats left on the list?

• Have your rehearsal and rehearsal dinner
• Pack for honeymoon (which we have started but not finished)
• Arrange refreshments and food for the bridal party (we have organised refreshments, still have to do the food)
• Double check we have all accessories (I have them, they just need to be moved to where I will be getting ready)
• Prepare Wedding Speech and Thank yous (We have written down who we would like to thank, but haven't written an actual speech yet)
• Organize Cash for anything to pay on the day (Still a little early to do this one)
• Check that all formal wear has arrived and is the right size (The boys are doing this on Thursday night)
• Check that all wedding bills have been paid in full (most have now, we just have to pay for the suits, my tan and nails, DJ, Photobooth, Celibrant, DJ and ceremony venue).

So slowly but surely the plans are falling into place. The only thing that may have to be added to the list is call everyone and tell them we have moved venues due to rain! But with positive thinking I am hoping that won't happen. Lets just say this doesn't look good high chance of rain!!! But it doesnt seem likes itas going to be cold which is a plus! 23 degrees!!!
http://www.weatherzone.com.au/long-range-forecast/28-day-rain/vic/w-and-s-gippsland

So everyone please start doing whatever is opposite of a rain dance for me! I really picture myself being married in a garden!!!

Until next time xoxo

10 days to go...

Coming a long way away from the 500 days to go when I first started writing this blog, and in that very first blog, I wrote what I had accomplished in the last 500 days.... So what have I accomplished in the last 490 since then?

Well it was November 2011 when I first started posting. Lets look at my career first, I was working in advertising as a campaign manager, I had given notice at that job, because I hated it, I felt belittled, bullied and like I was being used. Working crazy hours, travelling to Melbourne everyday just to be abused, it really isn't worth it. So I got out of there and started at a new job in the same role, just as a contract though, then come January the offer to go back to my old job in food science came up, so I jumped at it, I was back to shift work, but in a job I loved and surrounded by amazing staff who are friends of mine. It was great. Unfortuantely when the full time opportunity came up there, I wasn't the right fit. But everything does happen for a reason, because now I work in Quality role, in a food company, in the town I live in! They have invested a lot of training into me, and I do really enjoy the job that I do, very different from this time a year ago. Not to say there hasn't been moments, but I am sure every job has those!

Lets look at the house, we had been in our home for a couple of months, we had done some painting and a few bits and pieces, but since then we have cleared the garden, pulled down a fence, painted the toilet, created a new room, pulled down sheds and made plans for what is next for the house, when we have the money of course.

Then its the wedding, its fair to say the whole wedding has been planned in the last 490 days, and it was the perfect amount of time, it gave me time to really investigate and research into what options we had, what prices we had, it gave us lots of time to save on things and pay off things like the honeymoon. Now we are only 10 days off the wedding, and I couldn't be more excited, I feel like everything has fallen into place perfectly, There isn't anything I can do to control the weather, so I might as well forget about even checking it. Everything is in place, we have the money to pay for everything, so its time to just sit back and relax!

I have also learnt a hell of a lot about myself in the past 490 days. I learnt that so many people will leave your life just as quickly as they came into it, and I finally had to learn within myself that not everyone is like me, not everyone cares how others feel, and in a way I also had to learn to be more selfish. Not just in regards to the wedding but with everything. If I dont want to do something, I dont have to do it, and I shouldn't be made guilty to feel this way. When this happened I used to go to people and try to fix things, or find out why, but now I say screw them, if people want to me immature, if people want to stop talking to me, then lets face it, Im not 15, why would I want to hang around people who act that way? And I don't and because of that I am happier. I will never again apologise for being me, doing the things that make me happy and being good at things even if it makes others jealous.

So its fair to say a lot has changed in the last year and a half, but I think every single thing that has happened has been for the best. But for now I am focused on getting through the next 10 days until I get to marry my best friend and celebrate with the people most important to me. Sometimes its nice to relfect back and see all of the challenges you faced, all of the good times and the bad because it all contributes to the person you are today. Make sure you are happy with being that person, and you aren't just being that way because you feel like you have to.

Til next time xoxo

11 days to go...

Well the count down is well and truly on now, actually it feels like the days are coming and going so quickly that I don't have any time to count at all!!

Well under two weeks to go, so pretty much if you have been organised then this is simply the confirming and paying part of the wedding planning, and lucky due to my slightly OCD personality, that is the stage I am at. We have now fully paid our photographer, our wedding cars, our decorations, the candy bar which was a DIY I have set up and taken a "mock" photo of, our honeymoon has been paid for, for quite some time now. We have a few big chunks to go though, namely paying for the reception, our ceremony venue, our celibrant, DJ, Photobooth and rehearsal dinner. But we very luckily have the money sorted now, phew!

There certainly were times in the past 19 months where I wondered how we were going to manage to pay for the wedding, I thought we were going to have to go into debt to pay for it, and even though it has made things very tight, and we did get approval for a loan, it turns out we haven't had to use it, well not yet anyways. Its been a massive effort and something I think we can both be proud of. Our parents helped a little of course too.

In saying that we did have a "relatively" small wedding budget and we managed to stick to it. Its a bit hard to imagine we have managed to get everything for $15k when I know others have paid upwards of $50k! One girl I know had an $80k wedding, seems a bit OTT for me though. So how did we do it?

• Start early- it makes it a lot easier to shop around, recieve and compare quotes and see what you can get for your money.
• The Dress- if the dress is important allow budget to ensure you can get. I only had a style in mind, not a designer so it made it a lot easier for me to find a cheaper version of what I was already looking at.
• Keep it small- remember the less guests you invite the lower the cost. I also like to think it is more intimate this way. You might actually have the chance to talk to everyone.
• Dont waste money on invites- most people throw them out anyways. Most quotes I got we $10 per invite, I ended up paying $4 which was great!
• Photography, unless you feel you lack all creativity, don't get a wedding album for the extra $1500, spend $150 later once you have your images on disk and jump online to snapfish or something similiar and make your own. At least you will pick the photos you like the most!
• Stick to your budget- if your dress ends up being $500 over budget, find somewhere else to cut $500 from, maybe it means cutting 5 people off the list, buying a cheaper bombiniere....

There are lots and lots of tips, and so many sites that will offer more than what I have stated above, but research is the key, look at as many blogs, as many magazines, as many websites and ask as many people as you can. It will definitely be worth it!!

I think I could have easily spent $50k if I hadnt shopped around!!!

Not long now!!!!

15 days to go...

Wow time really does fly doesn't it? Only 15 days to go now. I think this time in 2 weeks I am going to be a nervous wreck, well anxious wreck. I always get anxious over big events. Have to remind myself to breath all the time. So thats something I am going to try and put in my head....

So two weeks out as a soon to be bride, whats been going on?

• Confirmation of the flowers. On Wednesday I met with our florist. Discussed the exact flower colours, the arrangements, delivery times and when payment needs to be made.
• Confirmation of the cake. Confirming the final numbers, delivery time, delivery location and making the payment.
• Collection of the alcohol for the after ceremony drinks.
• Confirmation of ceremony location dates and times for both the rehearsal dinner and for the wedding day. I have also confirmed that I will be bringing drinks out on the rehearsal dinner night to be served on the day and making the payment at that time.
• Confirmation of hair, make-up, nails, tans, has all been set in stone. I have seen all bookings written in the books. I have also got each of my bridesmaids a $50 voucher to put towards their hair/make-up and tans because lets face it, it all adds up and I wanted to help them out, for all the help they have given me.
• Buying of more jars from op shops...argh the DIY candy bar! Making sure you have enough jars is hard, especially when its still too early to measure out any lollies. I think I could start doing the jars that have lids though. I imagine the lollies will stay fresh for two weeks in a lolly jar. I still have to add ribbons to each jar, and take a photo of the set-up to make it easier for the family members setting up on the day.
• Dropped off the engagement ring for a bath so its super shiny for the day! It is super weird not having it on my finger, I have replaced it with my old committment ring for the week that the fiance gave me back at our 2 year anniversary. So I'm not feeling too lost anymore.
• Created a list of what needs to be set up at the ceremony and sent it through to our family members so everyone knows what needs to be done on the day. Hopefully making life easier for everyone.
• Photographer has already been settled and confirmed, just have to make the final installment of his payment next week.
• Still have to re-confirm the cars, times, pick up and drop off locations and make payment. I am hoping to do this next week at some stage.
• We still have to burn our wedding CD and trial it for the ceremony.
• We still need to organise for someone to return the suit hires on the Monday after the wedding
• We need to practice our first dance!
• We have to organise someone to collect the presents at the end of the reception
• I have to contact the ushers at the reception and let them know what they need to do when they arrive at the golf club.
• I need to complete the girls bridesmaids packs, and put everything together for them

So there is a lot going on, and still a lot to do! Next 14 days you are going to be busy!!!

Nearly 5000 views

When I started writing this blog, I thought maybe by the time we get married I may have 1000 pageviews. but 5000 is mind blowing. Growing up I always had an interest in writing. I think it comes from my grandfather who was a sports journalist. This was one of the reasons I studied journalism at school. However in doing so I found how incredibly hard it is to break into the journalism field, so I ended up in Advertising instead. And not copy writing either, the behind the scenes uploading of advertising and running of campaigns. So to be writing something that people actually find interesting enough to come back and read is very humbling.

So it is now less than 3 weeks to the big day, so its full on organising now. I think everyone knows what they need to do on the day and where they need to be so thats a good thing. Nearly all of our services are confirmed. Some are even paid for!!! So the next couple weeks will be finishing that off as money comes in, and last minute details are finalised.

My reccomendations for getting through the next couple weeks would be:

• Have a to do list and make sure you check everything off- I use www.easyweddings.com.au and find that it has guided me through every step of the way
• Also have some form of budget, what the quote was, a deposit you have paid and what is still owing, again I love www.easyweddings.com.au
• Ask questions! Dont feel like your suppliers are getting frustrated when you ask questions. They want you to have the perfect day, but try and put all questions to them at once to save continuous emails or phone calls. It helps with the stress.
• Go for a long walk/run and do something not related to the wedding
• Think about after the wedding, think about the honeymoon, what project you are going to take on once the wedding is over and done with
• remember to thank people who are helping you! great for you and great for them!!!

Today I am trying to have a relatively wedding free day. Work, sports massage at lunch time, dinner and a run tonight, probably followed by some gossip girl! Try it! 19 days to go!!!

its been 9 years in the making, and only 22 days to go.

Well this day 9 years ago, I was a fairly timid, fairly shy just turned 15 year old year 10 student. The now fiance had just started his VCE. I was a little scared to talk to now fiance that day, because lets face it, we both knew where things were headed but we will a little too scared to do anything about it. We had had a few texting conversations the weeks before saying how we didnt want to wreck our friendship and all that jazz. But on March 1st 2004 at about 9:30pm we started texting again. The now fiance sent me a text saying I really want you to be my girlfriend, and finally I managed to not freak out and said yes!

The next day was the most surreal day, I remember waking up and thinking I have a boyfriend! Walking to the bus stop I certainly had an extra spring in my step. I remember sitting on the bus with the biggest smile on my face. But then the nerves set in when the bus rolled into the bus loop at work, The now fiance was standing there waiting for me, I didn't know what to do, I went bright red and walked over to him. Said hello and gave him a hug, probably should have at least gone the kiss right? Ah well haha! Anyways the first few days were a bit awkward, mostly due to my shyness. But we got there, Hanging out with the now fiance and his friends at lunch time made me a much more out-going person, It gave me more confidence to make more friends, talk to people more and expand my horizons.

9 years has gone so fast from that day, and I don't regret any minute of it. Its not like we are perfect of course we have had ups and downs, but the thing that I pride myself on more than anything, even on a bad day, or a day we have had a disagreement, everynight we still said good night and i love you, every day for 9 years we have spoken and I wouldn't have it any other way. He is my best friend, he is the one that knows everything about me and he is the one who I know I can trust more than anyone else in that world! So in 22 days when we have a new anniversary to celebrate, I know it is going to be the best day of my life!