So it has been a while since I've updated this blog. That will not be the case as time goes on and we get closer to the wedding date. This will be a good place to obtain any information that is needed.
Let me give you a rundown on what has been going on with us since my last post.
We had our engagement photo's done, and I will eventually (hopefully sometime this week) post a few of them here.
We moved.......again. When I was transferred from the property in Tempe, to the property in Mesa, we decided to move to the new property. We are very happy here, and plan to stay for a while--hopefully.
Jim and the kids spent roughly 3 weeks in Louisiana helping Matt move his shop.....it was nice to have some time to myself, but I missed them tremendously, and I am really glad they are home. They all seemed to have a good time though, which is good....they played with sparklers on the 4th of July, and were able to set off their own fireworks, since they are legal in Louisiana.
Also, I have been promoted at work to an Assistant Manager position.......YAY! It was something I have been working towards for several months, so it is nice that it has been accomplished.
Weston and Korin started school, Weston is in the 5th grade, and Korin has started Kindergarten.......can you believe it? They both seem to be enjoying school, I know that Korin really likes the ability to make new friends her own age. Weston has made some new friends too which is nice, since most of the kids around here are younger than he is.
Since returning from Louisiana, Jim has been really busy with work, and is enjoying that. He has also decided that he is going to teach me to golf, when it gets cooler so that he may be able to play more often, since he likes to have company when he plays.
I have also started taking classes at the local college, I have two marketing classes,two nutrition classes, and one computer information systems class.
The wedding planning is moving right along, I met with our decorator and the florist, so I have a very very real idea of what work I have left to do.......A LOT! It will so be worth it.
Thanks for taking the time to read this, and if you ever need anything feel free to email, call, or comment here.
Until next time......
Stephanie
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Thursday, March 26, 2009
The point of no return......
So much to update.......
The date and place are set.....contracts have been signed......non refundable deposits have been placed......no turning back now (not that I would want to) and no changing the date or place again.......we are getting married January 27, 2010 at Aldea at Tlaquepaque in Phoenix. The place is GORGEOUS!!! Check it out at www.aldeaweddings.com the people there are awesome to work with.
The bridesmaids dresses have been selected.....and they are beautiful, black and white.....they are hanging next to my wedding gown at this very moment.......I'm so glad that my dress won't be lonely any more.....I guess it really wasn't lonely, since Korin's flower girl dress has been hanging in the same dress bag for the last several months, but now there is more company. I need to find a seamstress.
The wedding band has been designed. We left my engagement ring with a jeweler for a couple of days, and he designed and carved a wax ring to compliment my engagment ring, and it is absolutely stunning. The jeweler did a really great job, and I can't wait to have it cast.....I am so glad that we went and talked to him. If you are in need of custom jewelry, go see OT Jewelers off of Alma School and Baseline, he is great and the prices are SUPER reasonable.
The tux's have been narrowed down to 2 choices, we will make a final decision in August, after wedding and prom season, that way we get the best rate possible.
The song that we will dance our first dance to has been selected.
The song that I will walk down the aisle to has been selected.
We have selected our photographer, Ila Ross, we will be scheduling our engagement photo session with her in April, so I will have some new pictures soon.
I am in the process of designing our wedding invitations.
I really feel like I have accomplished a lot, in just a few short months, and time seems to be going by so fast. It will be January before I know it......so much still to do, and so little time.
The date and place are set.....contracts have been signed......non refundable deposits have been placed......no turning back now (not that I would want to) and no changing the date or place again.......we are getting married January 27, 2010 at Aldea at Tlaquepaque in Phoenix. The place is GORGEOUS!!! Check it out at www.aldeaweddings.com the people there are awesome to work with.
The bridesmaids dresses have been selected.....and they are beautiful, black and white.....they are hanging next to my wedding gown at this very moment.......I'm so glad that my dress won't be lonely any more.....I guess it really wasn't lonely, since Korin's flower girl dress has been hanging in the same dress bag for the last several months, but now there is more company. I need to find a seamstress.
The wedding band has been designed. We left my engagement ring with a jeweler for a couple of days, and he designed and carved a wax ring to compliment my engagment ring, and it is absolutely stunning. The jeweler did a really great job, and I can't wait to have it cast.....I am so glad that we went and talked to him. If you are in need of custom jewelry, go see OT Jewelers off of Alma School and Baseline, he is great and the prices are SUPER reasonable.
The tux's have been narrowed down to 2 choices, we will make a final decision in August, after wedding and prom season, that way we get the best rate possible.
The song that we will dance our first dance to has been selected.
The song that I will walk down the aisle to has been selected.
We have selected our photographer, Ila Ross, we will be scheduling our engagement photo session with her in April, so I will have some new pictures soon.
I am in the process of designing our wedding invitations.
I really feel like I have accomplished a lot, in just a few short months, and time seems to be going by so fast. It will be January before I know it......so much still to do, and so little time.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
And the decision has been made......
Aldea at Tlaquepaque is the location. The date is January 27, 2010. We will sort out the rest of the details in the coming months. All I have to do know is sign the contract, and leave the deposit........I know I've been in this same spot before with the whole Vegas thing and all but, this time it's for sure.
We have also decided on a few key and FUN elements for our ceremony/reception. We really are wanting something that is mostly modern, with a few traditional elements. I also want something that really showcases our personalities and lifestyle. We met the Photographer that we want to use, she was so incredibly sweet, and her photos were incredible. We met a really talented Florist that does amazing things with white flowers with different textures with a really wintery feel to them.
Anyways, I have all of these ideas swirling around in my head, so much of it I want to share with the world, and well that same stuff I want to keep as a surprise.
Until next time,
Stephanie
We have also decided on a few key and FUN elements for our ceremony/reception. We really are wanting something that is mostly modern, with a few traditional elements. I also want something that really showcases our personalities and lifestyle. We met the Photographer that we want to use, she was so incredibly sweet, and her photos were incredible. We met a really talented Florist that does amazing things with white flowers with different textures with a really wintery feel to them.
Anyways, I have all of these ideas swirling around in my head, so much of it I want to share with the world, and well that same stuff I want to keep as a surprise.
Until next time,
Stephanie
Monday, January 12, 2009
Falling into place.....
The getting married in Hawaii has taken a detour. I was having nightmares about hiring vendors for things like photography, food, flowers, and signing contracts as well as leaving deposits and then getting to Hawaii 3 days before we are getting married and no longer having one or more of the vendors as well as not having any time to find new ones. So we've talked about it and have decided to get married in Arizona. We are then heading to Hawaii for our Honeymoon with the kids :).
Since the wedding will now take place locally, I attended the Bridal Expo yesterday at the Phoenix Convention Center. Oh my gosh was that place packed......TONS of Brides, TONS of Vendors, and surprisingly TONS of Grooms. Bonnie and I got to talk to Daisy at Aldea at Tlaquepaque for about 30 minutes about their venue, the pricing is FABULOUS, I checked out some more pictures online last night and the place is amazing. Jim, Jacqueline, and I are going to go to the Village Affair on Sunday, January 18, 2009 to scope it out in person, as well as meet with the vendors that come with the package (ex: photographer, DJ, officiant, and wedding coordinator) as well as look at the centerpiece and floral options. I am so so so so excited. We would have to find a videographer, and I met a really nice one at the Bridal Expo as well, possibly a florist for bridal party flowers, and I think that is it. I would need to find out if we are required to hire a bartender and security, or not. The greatest thing about this place other than the absolutely phenomenal price tag is that we can bring in our own food and alcohol, my mom is looking forward to doing the cooking for the reception. I can't wait until Sunday! My favorite part is that we can have 10 guests or 200 guests and the price doesn't change.
I will post pictures from our visit next week, until then if you want to check out their website it is www.aldeaweddings.com. I think the only downside is that it is in Peoria. I was noticing that the majority of the venues on the West Side were a better value and THOUSANDS less than that of the majority of the venues on the East Side PLUS you get better deals.
Oh and we changed the theme and color scheme too.....it's going to be a winter theme with Snowflakes and the colors are going to be Black, White, Silver, and an Ice/Tiffany Blue.
Until next time,
Steph
Since the wedding will now take place locally, I attended the Bridal Expo yesterday at the Phoenix Convention Center. Oh my gosh was that place packed......TONS of Brides, TONS of Vendors, and surprisingly TONS of Grooms. Bonnie and I got to talk to Daisy at Aldea at Tlaquepaque for about 30 minutes about their venue, the pricing is FABULOUS, I checked out some more pictures online last night and the place is amazing. Jim, Jacqueline, and I are going to go to the Village Affair on Sunday, January 18, 2009 to scope it out in person, as well as meet with the vendors that come with the package (ex: photographer, DJ, officiant, and wedding coordinator) as well as look at the centerpiece and floral options. I am so so so so excited. We would have to find a videographer, and I met a really nice one at the Bridal Expo as well, possibly a florist for bridal party flowers, and I think that is it. I would need to find out if we are required to hire a bartender and security, or not. The greatest thing about this place other than the absolutely phenomenal price tag is that we can bring in our own food and alcohol, my mom is looking forward to doing the cooking for the reception. I can't wait until Sunday! My favorite part is that we can have 10 guests or 200 guests and the price doesn't change.
I will post pictures from our visit next week, until then if you want to check out their website it is www.aldeaweddings.com. I think the only downside is that it is in Peoria. I was noticing that the majority of the venues on the West Side were a better value and THOUSANDS less than that of the majority of the venues on the East Side PLUS you get better deals.
Oh and we changed the theme and color scheme too.....it's going to be a winter theme with Snowflakes and the colors are going to be Black, White, Silver, and an Ice/Tiffany Blue.
Until next time,
Steph
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Change of Plans.........
So we narrowed down the Casino choice to Mandalay Bay, beautiful, amazing chairs, it is modern and perfect. All I had to do was reserve the date.........NO PROBLEM! Everything is ready right? Wrong!
Jim spent a manual labor filled week in Hawaii, on the island of Oahu. He was there working with Matt and a couple of other guys installing a bunch of bubble walls, bar, and VIP acrylic tables in a club called Oceans 808. He'd spend his days/nights working with acrylic, and then spending time at the beach (I think he is still cleaning sand out of his ears :) ) and he fell in love with the place. The owners of the club said that we can have the reception there, and the beach house that they stayed in has like 8 bedrooms, so we are thinking about renting out the house and having everyone stay there and splitting the cost instead of everyone renting hotel rooms, plus it's ON the beach, can we say perfect?? I will post some of the pictures that he took soon, the place is gorgeous, I haven't been there yet, but I'm ready to move there :).
So we are postponing the wedding ONE year, and the new date is January 27, 2010 the location is TBD for right now. We are heading to Hawaii in January to price out getting married on the beach there, if that is a no go, we will get married in Arizona, and head to a Hawaiian filled Honeymoon with the kids :). Rest assured, the details will be provided here. I am also going to put together a wedding website after the holidays.
I am not sad, I am not disappointed, in fact I am excited. I am starting the whole wedding planning process all over, and I am excited. While I would have been happy getting married in Las Vegas, I think we'd have looked back and felt that we had settled on something less than what we wanted.
Why wait you ask? Hell, we've been together for almost 6 years.........one more isn't going to change things......especially since we are planning to spend the rest of our lives together anyways. I'm not going anywhere, and neither is Jim........I can wait another year to change my last name ;).
We are planning on hosting an Engagement Party, probably the 1st or 2nd week of February, we will have a better idea of what the final plan is going to be then, as well as a couple of amazing tans :). I will send out the invitations as soon as I'm sure of the exact date.
I have a whole year to plan the wedding of a lifetime, and a lifetime to be married to the man of my dreams.
Steph
Jim spent a manual labor filled week in Hawaii, on the island of Oahu. He was there working with Matt and a couple of other guys installing a bunch of bubble walls, bar, and VIP acrylic tables in a club called Oceans 808. He'd spend his days/nights working with acrylic, and then spending time at the beach (I think he is still cleaning sand out of his ears :) ) and he fell in love with the place. The owners of the club said that we can have the reception there, and the beach house that they stayed in has like 8 bedrooms, so we are thinking about renting out the house and having everyone stay there and splitting the cost instead of everyone renting hotel rooms, plus it's ON the beach, can we say perfect?? I will post some of the pictures that he took soon, the place is gorgeous, I haven't been there yet, but I'm ready to move there :).
So we are postponing the wedding ONE year, and the new date is January 27, 2010 the location is TBD for right now. We are heading to Hawaii in January to price out getting married on the beach there, if that is a no go, we will get married in Arizona, and head to a Hawaiian filled Honeymoon with the kids :). Rest assured, the details will be provided here. I am also going to put together a wedding website after the holidays.
I am not sad, I am not disappointed, in fact I am excited. I am starting the whole wedding planning process all over, and I am excited. While I would have been happy getting married in Las Vegas, I think we'd have looked back and felt that we had settled on something less than what we wanted.
Why wait you ask? Hell, we've been together for almost 6 years.........one more isn't going to change things......especially since we are planning to spend the rest of our lives together anyways. I'm not going anywhere, and neither is Jim........I can wait another year to change my last name ;).
We are planning on hosting an Engagement Party, probably the 1st or 2nd week of February, we will have a better idea of what the final plan is going to be then, as well as a couple of amazing tans :). I will send out the invitations as soon as I'm sure of the exact date.
I have a whole year to plan the wedding of a lifetime, and a lifetime to be married to the man of my dreams.
Steph
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
the next three....
So back to the Pro's and Con's....
The Luxor
Pros-
The wedding packages are reasonably price
Almost all of them contain the specifics I am looking for
It's shaped like a Pyramid :)
Cons-
I don't like the chapel or the chairs
The chairs are HIDEOUS....
The Mirage
Pros-
NONE
Cons-
I'm not sure how this casino ended up on my list, I don't remember what it was about it that I liked.
Planet Hollywood
Pros-
All of the wedding packages are named after movies (okay so not really a PRO, but a cute fact)
The packages all are reasonably priced
They all come with 7 days of webcasting the ceremony
Cons-
The webcasting quality isn't that great
There are no pictures of the chapel on the website, and the view in the webcasting doesn't show much
The female minister irritates me
So there are the next three, all thats left is Circus Circus and Mandalay Bay. We should have a location by the end of the week. Yay!
Steph
The Luxor
Pros-
The wedding packages are reasonably price
Almost all of them contain the specifics I am looking for
It's shaped like a Pyramid :)
Cons-
I don't like the chapel or the chairs
The chairs are HIDEOUS....
The Mirage
Pros-
NONE
Cons-
I'm not sure how this casino ended up on my list, I don't remember what it was about it that I liked.
Planet Hollywood
Pros-
All of the wedding packages are named after movies (okay so not really a PRO, but a cute fact)
The packages all are reasonably priced
They all come with 7 days of webcasting the ceremony
Cons-
The webcasting quality isn't that great
There are no pictures of the chapel on the website, and the view in the webcasting doesn't show much
The female minister irritates me
So there are the next three, all thats left is Circus Circus and Mandalay Bay. We should have a location by the end of the week. Yay!
Steph
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
And the search begins....
So like I mentioned before, I have 8 casinos that I'm checking out wedding packages at, they are in no particular order:
The Stratopshere
The Monte Carlo
The Luxor
Circus Circus
The Mirage
Planet Hollywood
Hard Rock Hotel
Mandalay Bay
So what I am going to do is list out the Pros and Cons as I get through them.....
The Stratosphere
Pros-
I'd get married on the 103rd floor with a view over most of Las Vegas.
The photography and DVD of the ceremony are included with the package price
The wedding cake and champagne toast are included in the package price
Cons-
I don't like the pictures of the chairs in the chapel or the chapel itself
I have a limit of 25 guests including the wedding party, or there is an additional fee
Did I mention I don't like the chairs???
The Hard Rock Hotel
Pros-
I LOVE the Rock n' Roll wedding theme
They have a whole brochure of chairs in various colors to choose from
The wedding coordinator I spoke with was a LOT of fun to talk to on the phone.
The guest list limit is 100
Cons-
Almost nothing is included in the package price
The package prices are EXPENSIVE, like seriously EXPENSIVE
I have to hire a photographer, videographer, and officiant
The Monte Carlo
Pros-
Reasonably priced
The photography and DVD is included in the package price
The guest list is a limit of 100
Cons-
I really don't like the chapel or the chairs (the chairs are a big deal for me, don't ask, I don't know why)
The wedding coordinator I spoke with was kind of rude, and short to answer questions
Their reception brochure pricing is misleading
That is all I have for today, hopefully I will get through a few more tomorrow.......I'd really like to get through the list this week.
Until next time,
Stephanie
The Stratopshere
The Monte Carlo
The Luxor
Circus Circus
The Mirage
Planet Hollywood
Hard Rock Hotel
Mandalay Bay
So what I am going to do is list out the Pros and Cons as I get through them.....
The Stratosphere
Pros-
I'd get married on the 103rd floor with a view over most of Las Vegas.
The photography and DVD of the ceremony are included with the package price
The wedding cake and champagne toast are included in the package price
Cons-
I don't like the pictures of the chairs in the chapel or the chapel itself
I have a limit of 25 guests including the wedding party, or there is an additional fee
Did I mention I don't like the chairs???
The Hard Rock Hotel
Pros-
I LOVE the Rock n' Roll wedding theme
They have a whole brochure of chairs in various colors to choose from
The wedding coordinator I spoke with was a LOT of fun to talk to on the phone.
The guest list limit is 100
Cons-
Almost nothing is included in the package price
The package prices are EXPENSIVE, like seriously EXPENSIVE
I have to hire a photographer, videographer, and officiant
The Monte Carlo
Pros-
Reasonably priced
The photography and DVD is included in the package price
The guest list is a limit of 100
Cons-
I really don't like the chapel or the chairs (the chairs are a big deal for me, don't ask, I don't know why)
The wedding coordinator I spoke with was kind of rude, and short to answer questions
Their reception brochure pricing is misleading
That is all I have for today, hopefully I will get through a few more tomorrow.......I'd really like to get through the list this week.
Until next time,
Stephanie
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