Wedding post #1

Hello, mother of the bride here!

I can't believe I am saying that. But yes it's true, last June our eldest child got engaged to a young man she was dating for just over a year. I haven't posted anything pretty much since then, but I plan on fixing that.

Within the first week, Justin and Brittany had registered and she had bought her dress!

If you ask my husband he thinks the "wedding industry" this country has created is insane. We determined from the beginning that we would not get caught up in the commercialism of weddings but rather focus on the fact that the most important thing is for this young couple to be married at the end of the day.

here's some of our journey so far:

Britt always wanted an evening wedding, first step, pull out a calendar and pick a date.

Knowing that this would not work for everyone we invite, but caring about what worked for them. Friday October 16th 2009 5:00 p.m. Hoping to get some sunset pictures.

Dress shopping: headed to Minnesota where there is no tax on clothes. Went to David's Bridal and she found her dress the first time we went. I have to say that they really try to suck you in for every penny they can. They had her decked out in jewels and a little tiara not even asking her if that's what she wanted. In the end, we left with her dress, the undergarments and a veil. Randy despises this store as they had her come back for alterations that cost a hefty amount added on to what we had already spent. Of all the wedding vendors, the wedding dress shop is his least favorite!

Registering: Justin and Brittany went out immediately and registered at Target and Macy's. I think they preferred Target but I encouraged them to give people two options.

Rings: they went and picked out wedding bands from the same place Justin got Britt's engagement ring from. Her ring is a simple, princess cut solitaire in white gold. They had to size it and change the setting to have it fit in her wedding band, but after a few weeks of being ringless, she has it back and is happy with the final results. This is one area that we had them pay for. We felt that was right.

Flowers: thankfully we have a wonderfully friendly and knowledgeable florist in town. We met with them twice and picked everything out from corsages to the bridal bouquet. So excited to see the final results.

Caterer: this was the area that I stressed out about the most, I think. I just didn't know what we would do. We sorted through many options and ideas. A secretary at the church, recommended a caterer her daughters had at their weddings and so I called. They had two weddings on Saturday the 17th but agreed to take ours for Friday night! Thank the Lord. I know it was a huge relief to me. I have heard great things about her and it's a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. Now it's just the bill paying that remains! :) oh besides picking out the menu.

Cake: there are not a lot of options around here. But we decided to go with a small wedding cake and then have two large sheet cakes ordered from Festival ( a local grocery store that makes THE best tasting cakes around). We will have one chocolate and one vanilla.

Favors: I did a lot of online research for this one and found that our budget didn't really allow for $3 a person. They were all really nice but with a wedding the size of Britt's it's just not feasible. So as with most things, I started thinking, "I could make it for less" That's like the philosophy of my life. I am all about money saving! Why should a wedding be any different? So I found a cute idea that I am not going to put in this post, let it be a surprise!

Photographer: this was the last major vendor we booked. I had THE hardest time finding someone. If you have a daughter I would suggest you start saving now! If you have any skill in photography I suggest you start doing weddings! the price they charge is astronomical, in my mind. Even the most casual hobby photographer charges $100 an hour! Well, it was weighing so heavy on me and I was praying and trying to think of options that would work for us. I asked a friend to do it. She didn't feel like she could do a good enough job. This is such a long story but let's just say God provided a photographer for us, who is traveling from the east coast. I am so excited! I personally love photography and so it is something I am VERY picky about. I trust she will do a great job. And she is a former Master's Commission student, so I believe this is a God thing.

This is all we have done to this point. Next post, decor.