Our Flower Trials

I mentioned a while back how our friend, Sarah is going to be making our flowers! We are so excited about this and happy to have such a close friend helping us with such an important wedding detail. We decided a few months back that in order to take all of our ideas and purchase some flowers from the WONDERFUL Harold's Wholesale in the famous St. Louis Flower District, and do some trials of our boutonniere and bridesmaids bouquets. 
Here's what we came up with. :)

Boutonnieres for the guys

And our Bridesmaids' Bouquets! 

Save Our Date!

So I have awesome friends! My best friend, and (now) Matron of Honor is so creative and incredible! She actually designed and created our save the dates and invitations! We used www.vistaprint.com for all of our printing of our stationary. I decided that it would be easiest if we just ordered EVERYTHING all at once and that way we would only need to stress out, make edits, and pay shipping once. We ordered our save the date postcards, invitations, reply cards, return labels, and envelope seals for under $200!!
 However, when I received my lovely little package in the mail Michael and I were less than pleased with the colors and image quality of everything besides the save the dates. After a not-so-fun conversation with the Vistaprint people, they refunded/credited my account in order to reorder everything! Oh well. 


But here are the save-the-dates that we just finished sending out this past weekend :) Enjoy

Troubles

Have you ever had those weeks or days that just completely lay you flat on your face and make you feel awful? Well it has been one of those weeks for me. Michael and I have been making pretty good headway with all the wedding plans, but have pretty much put them on hold until the end of the month and after my best friend has her wedding. But even with this I have felt extremely discouraged and out of place.


Between family issues, wedding mishaps (even with the planning on the back burner), preparing for student teaching attempting to budget, working, school, graduate credit and extra projects...oh and trying to hang out with Michael in between all of this. As well, he has had a rough few weeks. Between his grandma's increasing health issues, working 35-40 hours a week, trying to keep me sane and not crying, school and student teaching preparation. With all of this being said, it has been a really rough past few weeks.


However, today I have realized how much I truly do complain and focus on my first-world issues and i want to stop... or at least tone it down a bit. I need to not let me emotions control me so much all of the time. For anyone that knows me, I am VERY emotionally driven, and that isn't a bad thing if it is controlled. Sometimes its just needed to get this stuff off your chest and write it down.


PS. Thanks for listening :)


Coming Soon Wedding Post: Save the Dates and Guest Book!

Engagement Photos

Last Month, Michael and I were able to take some engagement photos with our photographers. Here are a few of my favorites. :)

Flowers

So I am not sure if you all know how expensive flowers, especially wedding flowers, can be. The average cost for flowers for weddings can run between $700-1,500! For a bride on a tight, cost effective budget this can be a  nightmare and a budget breaker! However, breaking the budget on flowers that will die in about 24 hours is NOT an option for me. 


In comes ... Sarah :) 

Sarah is a friend of mine who I have known for 5 years. She is a sweet soul and a burst of fun-loving energy. She also happens to be a wonder at flowers and making pretty things out of them. :) I had asked her if she would help design and create the flowers for Michael and I's wedding. She was ecstatic and eagerly agreed! We then began plans to go to the Flower District in St. Louis and let our imaginations and creative juices flow! Harold's flower market was what was HIGHLY recommended to us and we agreed that this should be our first (and hopefully last) stop in our search to find some pretty flowers for the wedding. 


We were happy to find that there are so many pretty yellow flowers! I wanted my bouquet to be mainly white, with hints and spots of bright yellow. Here is what we found for my bouquet. 

Beautiful white roses, yellow freesia & white hydrangeas

For the Bridesmaids, this is what we have come up with;

White daisies, yellow roses, yellow mums & white dahlias

For the Groom :) and Groomsmen, I wanted something traditional yet modern boutonnieres. We found these button mums and berry greenery for them.  

One of the best parts about all of this is that we are doing, 1 groom, 5 groomsmen, 2 fathers  2 grandfather 1 pastor and 1 attendant/ring bearer boutonnieres , 1 bride, 5 bridesmaid, 1 flower girl  bouquets, 2 mother, 1 grandmother, 1 sister corsages all for a grand total of around or under $300!!! Needless to say I am very proud of this and know that, once again, you can be cost efficient and still make a wedding beautiful! 


Bouquet and boutonniere demos to come! 

Lately

So it has been a long time since I have posted on here and it somewhat makes a little sad. Life has gotten so crazy and time has truly gotten away from me. Ya see, there is this event at school/work that I am in charge of that has recently taken over my life... enter Welcome Weekend :)

Anyways, I am pleased and very excited to catch you all up on our wedding plans. 


First off, after 12 stores and over 100 dresses I found MY dress!!! I am so excited and am honestly sad that it won't get here until January. I can not wait for it to get here and to be able to put it on again! 


Secondly, we have started working on our wedding menu and guest list which is still ongoing. 


Thirdly, Michael and I have decided to go with Hendri's banquets for our wedding reception. :) I am really excited to be working with them and for them to help Michael and I make our day special. 


Fourthly, we ordered sparklers! :) This is sooo going to happen and it makes me a little giddy 

Lastly, we have also booked our honeymoon! We are soo excited for this and I truly can not be on the beach with my husband! We are going for 7 days in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico at the Grand Mayan Resort. 


I can not wait to keep planning! Only 9 months until I am Mrs. Schultz!

We found them!

So after months and months of debate, research and meeting with various photographers, we have found our photographers! *drumroll*


Meet the Rasers! :)
http://therasers.com/index2.php?v=v1#/home/

They are a perfect blend of Michael and my styles and likes. It has taken a lot to find a photographer that we both like and are equally as enjoyable in person. Lisa and Derren Raser are a married couple that live in Illinois just across the river. They are the mirror image of Michael and I. She is native to San Diego and he is from Kansas City. Derren went out to a small private school in San Diego and they met shortly after, fell in love, got married and moved to Southern Illinois! How crazy is that! 


Another plus is that they are very flexible and reasonably priced, which is a TOUGH thing to find. Michael is eclectic and artsy, while I am traditional and appreciate capturing candid moments with details. 
Check out their work because they are awesome! :)

Through it all...

Recently, life has beat down on my groom-to-be and I. In the past 3 months, we have battled many issues within our personal, work, educational, spiritual and relational lives as well as tackled problems within ourselves and our relationship. It has been a lot of hard work and change...which if you know me I am not a fan of change. There have been many uncertainties and doubts flooding my mind recently and he has without falter reassured them all. He has stuck by me and fought hard with me through everything and affirmed me the entire way that I was loved by him and Christ. 


I truly am in love with this man and so happy to be his. God has blessed me with a man that even when I become 'PMS crazy Jessica', he still finds a way to make me laugh and tell me I'm beautiful.  I think I am one lucky and blessed chica to have been given such a wonderful man that takes such good care of me.

   
   

Do It Yourself: Table Numbers

I love this easy and inexpensive idea for table number holders. Also a SUPER fun idea for 'dressing' up the numbers. 


http://www.projectwedding.com/blog/2011/04/15/diy-friday-wire-table-number-stands/



http://www.projectwedding.com/blog/2011/04/13/diy-watercolor-magic/

More Dresses... Possibly Bridesmaids/Honeymoon/Rehearsal :)

All of these are from Zara.com. They have some SUPER cute dresses and clothes that are very fairly priced! 


$80



$60



$80



One of my Favorites! $60



$60



$50

Pretties

Just a few for today :)

Updates

I just realized I haven't blogged in over a week and I must tell you... I am disappointed in myself. Between work, finals, papers, projects, family issues, Michael starting a new job, life is just feeling a tad bit overwhelming at the moment.


To catch you up on what happened at my dress appointments last weekend, well I did not buy anything, which I wasn't planning on finding 'the one' in one day anyways. I have almost always been one of those people that must  continue to explore and look into things before I make a solid, final decision that I am happy with. I was like that with my engagement ring and I certainly intend to be just as picky if not more with my wedding dress. But anyways, I found what kind of styles that looked the best on me and that I liked which is definitely a step forward. Unfortunately, other than that no real new progress has been made. Michael has told me that after tonight we will kick wedding planning into high gear and I am hoping he is right. :)


But as for right now, I need to finish my last and final project and begin to pack and do laundry for my mission trip to Haiti in 5 days.


PS. Michael was so sweet today and cheered me up by surprising me at work with flowers! :) I love him!!

Saturday

Needless to say I am pretty excited about going dress shopping on Saturday. Here is the days schedule of events and it is out to be one heck of a long day!


10:00-11:00 White Traditions 
11:30-1:00 David's Bridal 
1:00-1:30 (I am thinking Bread Co or Chick-Fil-A :))
2:00-3:30 Karen's Bridal Boutique 
(the last 2 are right across the street from one another)
3:30-5:00 Blossom's Bridal 


TOOO excited! 

Some Progress :D

Here is what has been happening on the wedding progress... 

1) I have been searching for photographers like a mad woman 

- Michael and I met with a photographer a couple of weeks ago and liked her but want to see what other options we have 

2) Michael, my mom and I checked out 2 possible reception sites today!! Both venues presented pros and cons. 

Hendris: http://hendris.com/

Pros- All-inclusive price, Flexibility, Willingness to help with centerpieces, Provides tablecloths and centerpieces, Set-up, Close to Ted Drewes

Cons- Location, Parking in back, Would need to rent chair covers 

Schlafy Tap Room-The Club Room: http://www.schlafly.com/breweries/private-parties/ 

Pros-Parking, Downtown location, Provides tablecloths, Charisma, Historical Site, Outside area for guest book, Brick walls and windows 

Cons- Extra fees, Would need to rent chair covers, Price for product, Restaurant (and possibly live music) would be downstairs

As you can tell I am personally torn about if I had to choose today, which one I would prefer (PS. All advice or opinions are welcome). We are planning on looking at a few other places for sure though before deciding anything. I am also currently in the process of collecting some additional venues to contact.

3) I have 4 bridal boutique appointments for next Saturday from 10:00-5:00! Needless to say I will be beat after this day! But I am SOOO excited :D 

Disappointment...

I miss blogging. :(


School and life is currently kicking my butt.


I will blog again soon...Promise.

Like Mother, Like Daughter

So as some of you may know my mother is... 'thrifty' and has always been. Well I am sure that she thinks that none of that has rubbed off on me, especially when it comes to my wedding, but that just simply is not the case. My parents have generously agreed to pay for our wedding and although it is no where near the 'average' cost of a wedding nowadays, I still plan on having an incredible time and creating an incredible wedding! P.S. if you did not know the average cost of a wedding is $25,000!!! Which I feel is INSANE! 


But anyways, here are some things that we have talked about and I plan on trying to incorporate into our wedding.


1) DIYing: I am in love with this budget friendly idea! Below is one of the things that I plan to DIY... with a little help of course :)
- Favors/ Place Cards  http://www.marthastewartweddings.com/recipe/mint-lemonade

I am IN LOVE with this idea, especially for a may wedding! Plus the straws are only $7 for 150 and the bottles are as low as $.50 a piece!


2) Use my resources!
- I know 2 people in particular that make cakes from home and are very reasonably priced. Plus my fiancée and I are not fancy with our wants in the cake department (he wants red velvet and I want funfetti). 


3) RESEARCH!
- A lot of the 'budget conscience' bridal magazines and blogs that I have seen have all encouraged that researching and pricing things out BEFORE you commit is a sure fire way to save money and get the best deal. Plus, since we have over a year until our wedding, I get plenty of time to negotiate and try and find the best deals around town (especially on reception sites).


4) Go for the clearance section!
- Like my mother, I love a good deal! One of the most budget savvy things that I have learned from my mom is to go for the deal! Thats how I found my invitations after all. :) 

Exciting!!

We have set a date!!! May 11, 2012 will be the day that Michael and I are getting married! I am so excited that we finally decided. We have been going back and forth on May 11 and May 18. What tipped the scales was that flights and honeymoons are cheaper earlier in the month and we would prefer that Michael's parents not have to stay out in St. Louis for 4 weeks just to wait for us to get married. 


Other good news! We are meeting with a potential photographer on Wednesday! I am really excited to meet her and see if she and her style mesh well with Michael and I. Check out her website and let me know what you think! 
http://www.lauraannmillerphotography.com/index.html

Dreaming..

So about right now when it is yucky, raining and 43
degrees on top of which I have an excessive amount of stress and homework that I am currently ignoring... I would really much rather be on the beach right about now. So this is in honor and hope of being on the beach sooner rather than later :/


   

Pretty Things

                                      Sparklers :)

  
                                                                                                 I'm pretty sure Michael is going to LOVE this idea


That's all for now! I love researching and planning!

I found another one...

:) I couldn't resist when I saw this.

Things I Love for: Bridesmaids Dresses

I am not opposed to all of my girls matching, but I think it would be fun if they maybe all wore different dresses just in the same color. Here are a few styles that I like.

          

  

All for under $150 at David's Bridal! :)