stupid blogger!

okay, for some reason I have drafts in both this blog and my main blog but whenever i go thru blogger.com to edit them and hopefully post them, my browser runs like a snail and I get too frustrated to get anything done. SO quick update:

Wedding is on. Set for May 5th in Elizabeth Park, Trenton, MI
Reception set for Harry LEster Hall in Southgate MI later that evening
groomsmen (Jose, Tre, Bob, Joey, Keith) wearing black gambino shirts from http://www.davincishirts.com
bridesmaids (velisia, angie, Jen, Heather) wearing black cherry swing dress from http://www.daddyos.com
already bought the maracas for reception and cactus shot glasses for reception favors
today received 15 black 4.25" mint julep cups for centerpieces for reception
Sent out guest list to mom and dad&denise for the once over so they can see who they want to add to the list (currently at about 60 invitations)
Chatted with Jen on the phone about her wedding...they invited 200 people!
Chatted with Kevin about the food and liquor situation...we're gonna have it covered...still need a bartender for our reception tho. Thinking about putting an ad on a couple groups I'm on.
Almost finished my first "noncho" for the bridesmaids...not too sure how happy I am with what the final product is going to look like.
Moose lodge was cheeper to rent than Harry Lester...by $50...but alcohol (drinks in general) would have been close to twice or three times as much as we'll pay for the HL hall...no brainer!
Putting deposti down on Elizabeth Park by end of the week.
Ordering invitations next week once we get guest list semi-finalized.
Chicken(a.k.a. Heather) is supposed to come visit the weekend of March10th. We're going to get my dress out and do lots of wedding stuff that weekend if we can! (like making the soaps and putting the "shake me for a kiss" tags on the maracas)
Not going to be able to afford getting my tooth permanently fixed before the wedding...gonna be $1000 for the bridge...so I'm going to see about a cheepr temp fix called a "flipper" which is pretty much a fake tooth on a retainer...wish me luck....
And i think that's it. I'm off to make myself presentable as when Kevin comes home he wants to go out for a drink (been a long day for him) I feel like crap so it's gonna take some work lol.

And I want to thank all 5 of you (lol) that read this blog and give me encouraging words. You are the best friends! I was talking to my sis in law Jen tonight and she told me how impressed she was that I'm hanging in there and not breaking down. She said when she was this close to her own wedding to my brother she was crying practically everyday. And I have to thank my purkle friends most of all for your love and support and giving me a venue to vent in. I couldn't be this "together" (which i'm not lol...trust me) without you all! Thank you all from my whole heart!

ONLY 3 months to go!!!!!!!!

My wedding Veil

I got my veil in the mail yesterday. It's less sparkly than i had anticipated, so I'maa little disappointed. Them's the perils of buying online...but it's an easy fix. I'll just go buy some more sparklies and glue them on myself. Should make for a fun project.

And the red on the veil might be too red for my dress...but I wonlt know that until we go for the final fitting. I'm gonna try and get my friend Chicken here for that so she can help me tho.

And now I have to get ready for work. Tomorrow I"m calling around to halls cuz we're making the final decision this weekend so we can order the invitations and get those out ASAP. Wish me luck

ooops

I posted about my new parttime cat by accident...it's now moved to where it should be on my real blog.

To update you...I was pretty upset the other day...this is what I posted in my favorite group online:

I'm sorry but I can't get stupid blogger to work right now and I really need to vent. (but I plan to copy it to my blog asap so sorry for the repeat)

So, I've been planning my wedding over a year now. Things have been going good...kinda. But truthfully I don't even know why I've bothered planning anything at all. It's all falling to crap and personally i'm about 2 minutes away from telling kevin to just forget it all and go to Vegas to elope. At first people were coming out of the woodwork offering to help...I had someone offer to help with my dress...well they're gone....someone to sponsor my lazzo...they dropped off the face of the earth...the only one still willing is my friend making the cake.

Then there's the dress I really wanted...which was discontinued...which led me to my gorgeous dress I just put a payment on...which doesn't match the shirts I planned for the groomsmen...(there's red in my dress...it's not the same red as in their shirts....thank the gods no one bought it yet) ... so I choose a new one which appears to be okay (for now...I"m bracing myself)

OH! and let's not forget the fact that my dad said we could be married at his house...he lives about 40 minutes from us on the water. It woud have been beautiful. And my brother tells me he can get us his local union hall for $75 for the night. a bargain! Well xmas rolls around and we find out my dad has decided to start construction on a new garage SMACK DAB where we were planning the ceremony to be. so we suck it up and say "okay...we can find someplace else...I mean with the $$ we're saving from the hall what's a little on the wedding site" We find one that's about 15 minutes from the hall in a local park that's only gonna cost us $50 for the day (plus rental expenses like chairs and a tent etc...) ... then tonight I get an email from my step mom ...first of all telling me i have to choose between my grandmother and one of my aunts...cuz if my grandmother shows my aunt won't ... first of much drama on the guest list I'm assuming....but then also telling me that the hall my brother told me in october was going to be $75 is now going to cost us $400.

So I'm thinking of just getting my dress paid off...sending back what I can of what we've ordered...and buying 2 round trip tickets to vegas and be done with it.

*hugs*
a tired and furious Jaz

So I emailed my step mom that we prolly couldn't afford the hall now with everything else and I had a long talk with my mom when she came over thursday. She was telling me how much my brother paid for his hall...$4000!!!! His entire wedding cost him $8000!!! So i kinda feel like a cheap bastard for complaining about $400...but his hall included the catering and the liquor (which my dad paid for the liquor) ours is just the hall. We still have to supply the food, the alcohol, the decorations, the entertainment....pretty much it's $400 for tables and chairs and use of the place.

My mom suggested Kevin and I go to Ohio and get married this year and have the party next year when finances are a little more stable...but the point of this isn't to get married...we don't NEED to get married...I am already on his insurance, we already live together (in sin *gasp*) we want to get married and have the whole party and celebration. So to get married this year and celebrate later defeats the purpose. It may not make sense, but it's how we feel.

The solution...my mom offered to pay for half of the hall and later that evening i got an email from denise (my step mom) offering to pay half...actually the $250 more it was going to cost us for it....so the hall is covered. That's if we still want it.

We're actually looking for places around here to see if we can get it for around the same price with more included.I don't think we will and my friend Ricky made a good point in that most of our friends and family are downriver so they might not be so willing to come all the way up here for the wedding and reception. We'll make the decision by the weekend. That way I can order invitations and get them sent out ASAP.

Which reminds me...I need addresses. I'll be sending out emails soon for addresses...so be on the lookout!

Let's see...nothing else exciting on the wedding front. I ordered my wedding veil which should be arriving in the next few days. I'll post a pic of that later or tomorrow.

UH OH! I hear the star spangled banner being played! Time for football! GO STEELERS!!!

So we had a dilemma. The dress I chose has red on it. But not a true bright red. It's called "apple" ... kinda like a wine or burgundy. It's really pretty. But it doesn't match the shirts we originally picked. So I had to pick new ones. (That and the shirts on a RL model (as seen on a website selling the shirts) weren't as attractive as I had hoped...I'll try and get that pic posted tomorrow) so after much googling and surfing I found this little beauty. The guys are just gonna wear black slacks and black shoes and a single red rose boutineer for a splash of color. Plus it's really nice that it's kinda shiney since the shawl I'm making for my bridesmaids is black and silver ribbon. I'll post a pic of that when I'm done with the first one (hopefully in a couple days) 

This is pretty much the lazzo I'm going to have for the wedding. It's silver not gold however. But the same pretty crystals. What you do is each side is a rosary so extended it forms a double circle joined in the center. You slip one circle over the groom and one circle over the bride and it symbolizes the joining of two into one (or something like that lol) it's going to be GORGEOUS!!!!! 

These are the black mint julep cups we ordered. We got the big size but looking at them they appear to be too big for what I envision, so we're sending them back in exchange for the smaller 4.25" ones (the big ones are 7") I found a great centerpiece idea which is simply silk roses...some flower foam in the cup near the top hot glued in place...some green moss hot glued on that...6 rose leaves hot glued around the moss and 3 silk roses trimmed to 4" stems stuck in the foam with a ribbon tied around the outside of the vase (prolly burgundy or silver), rose petals strewn around (prolly black and deep red) and 6 votives in a circle around that...i have a pic of that somewhere...I have to find it. 

Another wedding shipment

Today the black plastic julep cup style vases were delivered. They are HUGE! Each one could easily take aprectically a dozen roses i think! I'm gonna have to show them to Annette. I have to give her a call tomorrow to discuss the flowers anyway.

I am so hoping we get everything organized and mostly cemented down by Feb 1st...get invites sent out shortly after that...and we can slightly relax before the melee the end of April

Dress Shopping part deaux

So Saturday we went dress shopping. I woke up a little later than i wanted, but I showered and got ready and we were still there on time @ David's Bridal for my appt. The first thing they did was give me a catalog and told me to pick out 3 dresses I liked. I did and we (my mom and cousin Angie) looked around some while we waited for my "consultant". She asked me my size and gave me a bra corset type thing and a crinoline skirt and I changed while she got some dresses. I ended up trying on 5 total. Like i said, I fell in love with 3 of them. the other 2...one was way too informal for me and one made me look 2times the size i am...which i pretty hbard to do since I'm a big girl anyway.

And it's amazing how much a veil makes a difference in your wedding attire. I mean, i put some dresses on and they were okay...but when the veil came on it was GORGEOUS! I did learn however, that I think I prefer a different style veil than I originally wanted (the mantilla) I tried the mantilla on and it looked nice, but the poofy double tiered elbow length veil was a thousand times better.

I say i fell in love with 3 of the dresses...and I did...but ultimately it was down 2 two contenders. A strapless red accented ivory number I tried on first and a champagne coloured strapless with a lace coat with long sleeves. The red one was about perfect..but the lacey one reminded me so much of my grandmother's dress! And it had the sleeves which i loved cuz my arms are big and poofy fat sausages lol. But surprisingly my arms didn't look as bad in the strapless as I thought they would. And it looked so good on me. We took pics of all of them. I must admit i didn't photograph nearly as well as I thought I would in the champagne lace one.

While I was there checking myself out in one of the dresses, one of the other consultants came over and asked if I would mind staying out in the mirror area. She had a bride that was self conscious about how she looked and thought if i was there it would help. I didn't mind..altho looking back on it i suppose I should have been a little insulted (j/k) I'm a big girl...and all the other women inthere saturday were about a size 2...so I understand about being self conscious. Hell I was crying about it the night before. I was certain I wouldn't find anything that looked good on me.

Instead of making a decision right then i told them I would come back later. I made an appt. for 6pm and we 3 left to go to Mexican town in search of a lazzo for the wedding. Joe's gonna sponsor it (since Martin seems to have fallen off the face of the earth) We went to one place and they had corded lazzo...which is fine i guess but they're pretty ugly if you ask me and they all had pearls on them. So we went a little further down the street and as we were turning around we saw this tiny little religious shop. So we stopped in for the hell of it. They had EXACTLY what I was picturing! A simple crystal rosary lazzo. So Angie bought it (for Joe) ... We also bought some other stuff...they had a whole bunch of Virgen de Guadalupe stuff ... and while I'm not Catholic, I'm a sucker for anything Virgen de Guadalupe. So my mom got me a Virgen necklace and a rose scented candle and little roasries that were made in Mexican coloured beads (red, white and green) and Angie got us all St. Christopher medallions.

When we left there, we dropped Angie off @ her car cuz she had stuff to do and my mom and I went to grab something small to eat (I was famished...altho I don't recommend eating or drinking when dress shopping) @ a mexican restaurant...talked about wedding stuff...she seemed to be a bit more excited about the whole thing which made me happy. She hasn't seemed too into it since we announced we were getting married. Maybe finally seeing me in wedding dresses made it a bit more real.

We checked out another shop in Dearborn, but i only saw one I liked. It was the same price as the lacey one @ David's and not nearly as pretty, but it was flattering to my figure...and strapless again! I can't believe I liked myself in strapless! I wasn't pleased with the service however. They pretty much left me alone to try and put on and take of the dresses myself...vs. David's Bridal where the "consultant" helped me get them on and off each time...each dress change took me roughly only about 2-3 minutes.

After that dress shop I was exhausted and she had to go get ready for a date, so I called and reschduled david's bridal for monday. She brought me home and I uploaded the pics here...sent them to a few close friends to get opinions...most of them chose the same dress. I had two who chose dresses no one else did.

SO, after mulling it over and spending seriously about 2 or 3 hours looking at the piccies of me again and again in my dress I chose one. We went to the shop today and originally I was going to try the top 2 contenders again to see which one I liked most but when I got there @ 1pm they weren't ready for me. So i resch. for 5:30pm and when i got there I had pretty much decided which one for sure. I was already looking at accessories to match this particular dress. I even found a purse that matches it. And a veil which goes perfectly HOWEVER the veil was 70$....plus another $20 for the blusher. HELL NO! I can make my own damn veil lol.

So Kevin went in with me and we put the down payment on the dress!!! It was $480 total with the dress (on sale) and the slip. I still need a corset type strapless bra thingy and shoes before I get alterations fdone...but I have until the middle of March to do that. I'm so excited! And don't worry...Kevin didn't see the dress.
In case you saw the selection of dresses...I chose the red one. In case you didn't and want to see them...email me magikjaz@gmail.com and I'll send them to you.
*hugs*

Dress Shopping

Well I went dress shopping yesterday. We were gonna check out a couple places. Ended up spending most of the time @ David's Bridal. There I found 3 dresses that were definite contenders. A lace covered one (which had pearls...not happy about that one) an embroidered one and one that had red accents on it. IT should have been a no brainer. I've always wanted to get married in red and I don't want pearls in my wedding at all. So why did i even consider the lace covered one? Cuz it's GORGEOUS! It is so pretty and it reminds me of my Mama's wedding dress so much! It made me feel pretty and elegant. but it's about $150 more than the red accented one (the embroidered one is the same price as the lace one...it's not as stunning but I like the cut...it's very flattering on me)

The red one would fit PERFECT into the clean lines we have going for us so far. It's definitely the most flattering to my figure...except that it's strapless. Which means starting today I'm working on my arms. I hope I can get them into decent shape for the wedding. I can always try and get something to drape over my arms like a shawl or something I suppose.

Here's the other dilemma. I think the lace one would match my grandmother's veil which my aunt suggested i borrow from my Papa...and I don't think it would match the one with red accents...but i don't have to use my Mama's veil if i get the one with red cuz it's so much cheaper I could get the coordinating veil with red trim.

Anyway I have until Monday (tomorrow) @ 1pm to make my decision. I've gotten feedback from some of my friends...they all pretty much say the same dress (I won't say which yet) and I'm leaning towards that one myself...i think i may have to try them on one last time before I make the final decision. And once I do that...it's workout and diet time. I don't have any preconceived ideas I'm going to miraculously lose 50 lbs before the wedding, but it would be nice lol.

I have much more to say about the whole experience, but right now I'm missing a football game *hugs*

Kevin has committed

We got Kevin's suit for the wedding Monday at the mall. Cecil B's @ Fairlane. yes it was at the mall...no it wasn't cheap. $300 for the suit and a blak wook fedora to go with. OMG he looks so frigging sharp in the suit. If i weren't already engaged to him I'd be all over him like white on rice. He is gonna be hot hot hot!

I'll take piccies of the suit soon so i can share. I made hi preomis i get to spend at least as much on my dress as he spent @ cecil B's ...hopefully more.

I go dress shopping saturday. Not so good cuz it's that time of month and i'm all bloated....but it's just me and my mom so there's not alot of pressure. wish me luck.

It's officially official

Well, i made my first order of this and thats for the wedding today. I ordered my maracas, the cactus shot glasses, some personalized stickers for votive candle holders and a banner that says
"To have and to hold
Jazmyn & Kevin"

Next Saturday I think I"m going dress shopping and Feb 1st we're going to be sending out invitations (gods be willing) I'm getting nervous!

SO little time left!

So I've been looking @ wedding stuff today. I'm going dress shopping this month (chunky tho I am) and I'm getting together with some friends to discuss the feasibility of all my plans. We're changing our venue to either Elizabeth Park in trenton or Bishop Park in Wyandotte cuz my dad's getting work done in his yard in April which means the yard will be a big mud pile in May. My bro is getting the hall for us...still gonna be discounted even tho not free...cuz Kevin's dad has flaked out on us about getting the damn place. Ummm... I think I've decided to go with brightly multi coloured roses in mint julep cups for centerpieces with jasmine scented votives all around. I've actually found these cute champagne glasses for favors (i'll post a piccie later) but I'm thinking i could also use those cactus shot glasses as favors as well.

okay i gotta go *hugs* gonna update more tomorrow. I'm getting excited again