Wedding Courses

Time for another round of wedding voting! We need to figure out what we are serving for dinner at the wedding; therefore, please help Chris and I pick out the best dinner option that will please all of our guests, young and old.

Dinners include: One (1) entrée, One (1) salad, Two (2) sides, Bread/rolls 

Additional side items add $1.50 per person.Additional entrée (of equal or lesser value) add $3 per person. 

Entrée Items $12/person 

Beef

Beef Tips in Mushroom Gravy Meatloaf

Chicken

Apricot Ginger | Asian Sesame | Herb Seasoned | Lemon Pepper

Pork

Pork Tenderloin

Molasses Glazed | Mustard Herb Crusted | Oven Roasted w/ Red Onion Marmalade

Pasta

Five Layer Lasagna

Chicken Milano Penne

Roasted Vegetable Penne Alfredo 

Chicken Tetrazzini 

Salads (Choice of One)

Cranberry, Walnut & Feta Salad 

Fresh Garden Salad

Italian Salad

Parmesan Caesar Salad 

Pear, Walnut & Feta Salad 

Side Items(Choice of Two)

Baked Potato

Barbeque Baked Beans 

Bowtie Alfredo Pasta 

Butter & Herb Steamed Baby Carrots

Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes 

Coleslaw

Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes 

Potato Salad 

Rice Pilaf

Roasted Butternut Squash 

Roasted Corn and Red Peppers 

Rosemary Garlic Roasted Potatoes

Sautéed Green Beans

Spanish Rice

Steamed Broccoli

Steamed Rice (White or Brown) 

Dessert Items [+$1/person]

Apple Spice Cake
 Chocolate Chocolate Cake
Chocolate Mint Walnut Brownie
Vanilla Coconut Cake

Fruit Cobbler
Fruit Crisp
Frosted Lemon Cake Bread Pudding

Alright, so these are our options. What are your thoughts?? We'd like to keep it around $12 a head, if possible.

 **sorry for the fact that this post has no pictures**

Sweet Pea's Party

When my bloggy friend, Lauren, emailed me about doing a product review of one of her new Important Dates Customized Chalkboards, I jumped at the opportunity. She recently opened an Etsy shop called Sweet Pea's Party and they have TONS of cute stuff. 

How cute is this?! I mean, for real! Despite Chris' face, he even said that it will look great at our wedding. In addition, Sweet Pea's Party has several other items in their shop that are just adorable. One of which, is a wreath for the door. I will probably be buying this one soon for Chris and my new apartment together.

Seriously y'all, just imagine this with a custom frame.  It will be perfect on one of the tables at our wedding reception! I have seen projects like this on Pinterest, and know that I couldn't make my own and it turn out this good, so if I wasn't doing a review, I would have definitely ordered one anyway. You can't really see this from the picture, but around the sides it lists all of the places Chris and I have been together!  After the wedding, you best believe this bad boy will be hung up somewhere in our house.

If you haven't already checked them out, you should do so! Oh and by the way, just for being the lovely readers that you are, Sweet Pea's Party is offering all of you 10% off any purchase using the code: jaime10. 

What's your favorite thing from their shop???

I Don't Mean to Brag But...

I don't mean to brag...but, I've pretty much figured out this whole wedding thing. 

Alright, so I figured it was about time to do another wedding update. Chris and I have found our "destination wedding" venue. It's called Avondale Chapel and it's in Northwest Arkansas (halfway between our two families). It's perfect.

Not only does it provide that cute southern, plantation look that I have always envisioned, but it's also all-inclusive. What do I mean by all-inclusive? I'm glad you asked! Check it out:

Regal Wedding & Reception Package

Wedding Coordinator

Additional hour of use (5 hr total)

1-hr rehearsal**

Private dressing rooms for both the bride and groom

Ceremony setup and cleanup

 Ceremony CD Music

Minister (optional)

Candelabras with candles, signature flowers and greenery

Aisle candelabras

Aisle runner

Reception Coordinator
Reception setup and cleanup
DJ (during reception)
Draped service tables
Wedding cake
Groom’s cake
Punch, coffee, nuts, and mints
Servers
Hors d’oeuvres
Champagne flutes (couple only)
Wedding Bubbles
Tableware, glassware, silverware and serving pieces
Printed napkins with names and date
Cloth napkins
Round tables with floor-length tablecloths (black, white, or ivory)
Colored tablecloth overlays (optional colors)
Deluxe Centerpieces (with custom colors)
Chairs
Custom Lighting

So, basically the only thing that isn't covered with this is the photographer, wedding attire (bridal party, bride, groom, etc.), invitations, and alcohol. For the alcohol, we have decided to just buy in bulk from Sam's Club and hire someone for about $100 to bartend. This package says hors d'oeuvres, but we actually upgraded to a plated meal (stay tuned to help us choose which meal to serve) to serve for dinner. 

The only thing we have to do for this package is meet with the wedding coordinators 3 months prior to the wedding and tell them exactly what we want--table cloth colors, etc.--and select the cakes, flowers, etc. The whole meeting should only take about two hours. How easy is that?! I know, I told you to be jealous. But here's the best part: the entire package only costs $4250 (for 50 people...we are paying about $2000 more to include meals and factoring in about 150 people). Yeah...I've managed to plan my entire wedding for under $10,000.

What do you think? Did we do good? What are your thoughts on "all-inclusive" weddings? 

Wedding Weekend Update

Yet again, I'm needing your help. I know, I've been needy in this whole wedding process, but I'd really like some non-bias advice on this entire thing.

So, I've posted pictures of potential wedding dresses, and as you can see, I decided to go with the one above! Loved the pockets and the price was unbeatable. With this dress in mind, we went bridesmaid dress shopping this weekend. 

After trying on several, I think I've decided on the dress pictured first. The help I am needing is deciding which color should I go with. The suits will be grey and the two swatches I need to choose from are shown above. 

Left side is Cantaloupe and the right side is Rose Petal. The Pinterest images are similar to the theme I'd like to go with. The rose petal might match a little better but the cantaloupe is more of a summer color.

Alright, now that you have a picture of the theme, which color do you think I should go with??? Cantaloupe or Rose Petal?

Don't forget to enter to win a custom blog design and $350 cash! Stay tuned for a HUGE announcement and giveaway tomorrow!

Linking up for I Love Bloglovin', Monday Mingling, The GFC Collective, and Weekend Shenanigans. 

Wedding Favor Advice

A couple of weeks ago I was contacted by the lovely, Ms. Debbie, who asked if I ever allowed guest writers to post on my blog. After considering her offer for a guest post and the topic she wanted to write about, I was game.

Today, she's offering a little piece of wedding advice for all of you engaged gals- myself included. Check it out below. 

Don't forget to enter to win a custom blog design and $350 cash!

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How to decide on your wedding favors

One of the most fun parts of planning a wedding is picking out the favors! While I am researching ideas for my wedding, I want what I pick to not only reflect who we are as a couple, but I want it to be something my guests will really enjoy! Here are some points I am keeping in mind while deciding on my wedding favors.

First, I am thinking about the favors I have received while attending weddings of family and friends. What did I think of the favor and what (if anything) did I hear from other guests about the favor? One wedding I attended gave what was similar to a Christmas ornament with the couple’s names and their wedding date. It was cute, but this was a summer wedding and Christmas was the furthest thing from my mind. Also, as a friend, but not a close friend, why would I want a Christmas ornament like this? Like I said, it was cute, but would not have been my choice. So I am looking at favors that can have both a “neat” factor reaction from my guests, but could be something that will actually be useful.

Our wedding will be during the summer and we are heading to Florida for some beach time as our honeymoon. So one item I am considering is this starfish wine bottle stopper as a wedding favor from Wedding Paper Divas. To me, this is something that shares our honeymoon plans with our guests. Plus, it is something, I hope, our guests will use long after our wedding day is behind us.

All our friends and our family know that my fiancée and I enjoy the outdoors. So another favor I am considering is this tree saplingfrom the Arbor Day Foundation. Our guests can bring this sapling home and plant it with their family. Hopefully, it will take and they will have something that will truly last a lifetime! Plus, it will help support the efforts of the Arbor Day Foundation and work to preserve nature.

The final favor I am considering is something that will, just like the Arbor Day Foundation, help support those non-profits we donate to whenever possible. So we are thinking about picking one or two organizations and taking the money we would’ve spend on favors and make a donation to those organizations. Right now, my fiancé and I are thinking of donating to a local animal rescue or our local food bank . Then, we will put a personalized note at each guest’s seat to let them know what we did. Hopefully, if we decide to go with this option, our guests will appreciate the thought!

What wedding favors have you thought of? Which wedding favors, if any, did you go with?

Cast Your Vote: Wedding Dresses

Round two of voting!

Cast your vote for dress one, two, three, or four. I'd love your feedback on all of them! 

Sorry for the poor pictures (i.e. I wasn't prepared for half of these).

Linking up with Just Because and Anything & Everything.

Marital Monday- Registering for Gifts

This weekend Chris and I went to register for our wedding gifts at Target. We were each supplied with a scanning gun. We took off through the store, each going our separate ways. Two hours later, this is what we logged on to find...

 

(our explanations of each found below)

1. Alright so there may or may not be two cruiser bikes on our registry. I'd like to think that we would both get a lot of use out of these couples bikes, but let's get real. How much would we actually take these little beaut's out for a casual date on Saturday?...Answer: probably never. Will they remain on our registry?...Answer: Heck yes they will.

 

2. Who doesn't put a Kitchenaid mixer on their registry?! I'm no chef, but I'd really like to have a bright pink appliance to display as accent décor in my kitchen. Plus, when I have guests over, they might actually think the cupcakes I catered were handmade with that mixer. We call that a win, win.

 

3. Okay, this is a legit registry item. The Ninja blender is awesome. I know this because my parents have one. What makes it different, I'm not sure. What I am sure of is that when I try to blend a smoothie in the morning, my current blender smells like rust and I'm pretty sure I saw smoke coming out of it the other day.

 

4. I love this comforter from Target. It's simple and I can choose any accent colors to go along with it. Problem- I have two cats, one of which has chronic bowel problems. Poop on white doesn't make for the color scheme I'm going for.

 

5. Chris- "I don't need luggage, I already have my duffel bag."

Me- "I'm putting luggage on for the both of us."

Chris- "Why, I already have one?"

Me- "Your bag is fine, but I don't think customs would like a body sized duffel bag coming in and out."

 

 

 

And here's what Chris wound up with...(disclaimer:he wrote/posted this on his own) 

 

 

1. I put the iron on my side of the registry for two reasons: (1) my iron broke in an unfortunate laundering accident three months ago, and (2) being in law school has made me realize that I will most likely have to iron my work clothes everyday for the rest of my life and dry cleaning bills add up quickly.

 

2. I put a Samsung 40" LED TV on my side of the registry mainly because it would be stupid not to. Everyone could use a new flat screen TV...when was the last time you heard someone say "damn, I have too many 40" flat screen TVs." The answer is never.

 

3. The first item I personally added to our wedding registry was 4 rolls of contractor strength duct tape. This is because during my short time on earth I have discovered a universal truth: if you cannot fix it with duct tape, you're not trying hard enough. Also, Jaime's crafting projects use an ungodly amount of my duct tape supply.

 

4. The reason for my addition of an X-box 360 is simple: I am a huge closet nerd and occasionally like to come home and de-stress by playing Call of Duty and killing some zombies.

 

5. I added the grill because living with male 20-something year old roommates my entire adult life, has made me realize that grills are awesome for two reason: (1) they require no clean up, and (2) usually involve the drinking of beer. Two things I'm always okay with.

 

 

 

Married? What did you put on your registry? Not married? What would you put on your registry?

Linking up for I Love Bloglovin', Monday Mingling, The GFC Collective, and Weekend Shenanigans. 

 

Marital Mondays: Custom Wedding Planning Binder

 

 

 

Sara, over at PerfectPlans, was kind enough to send me a custom wedding planning binder, equipped with a lightweight, wedding planning notebook. 

This binder came included with the following pages:

* Wedding Events at a Glance
* Vendors at a Glance
*12 Month Planning Timeline
*12 Month Blank Calendar
* Budget Worksheets
*Reception and Ceremony Considerations
*Vendor Payment Schedule
*Registry
*Reception Music
*Wedding Party Information
*Wedding Day Timeline

In addition, there are business card sheets, eight pocket dividers, sheet protectors for contracts, and an envelope on the inside of the cover--to hold pens, swatches, receipts, etc.

This binder is perfect for my jotting down all of my wedding planning notes. I am a huge paper printing fiend, so having somewhere to organize all of my notes, receipts, menus, contracts, etc. is a blessing! Sara was awesome too! She was quick to respond to any questions I had for her and she had my binder sent out within 2 days. Great turn around and even better customer service.

For all of my engaged readers, or those with friends/family members that are newly engaged, Sara is offering one lucky reader a free, custom wedding planning notebook or $10 of store credit. Make sure you go check out her shop for examples of other custom binders she's done.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Linking up for I Love Bloglovin', Monday Mingling, The GFC Collective.
 

Wedding/Weekend Recap

Dress #1



Dress #2



Dress #3



Dress #4

 

This weekend I went and tried on a couple dresses. The designer, Jenny Yoo, isn't sold anywhere in Arkansas or Kansas, so I needed to try it on this weekend.

 

Please cast your vote on your favorite! I was liking the last two, but I'd really like to hear your thoughts. The wedding will be in a little southern chapel and will be centered around family and fun (a little less formality).

 

Which one will it be? Dress 1, 2, 3, or 4?

 

Linking up for I Love Bloglovin', Monday Mingling, The GFC Collective, and Weekend Shenanigans.

 

He Asked, I Said Yes!

Hey awesome followers!

Sorry that I've been a little M.I.A. lately, but I'm confident that I've left you in capable hands. (Allison and Beth's guest posts.)

 

Anyway, I went home this past weekend to help my sister get ready for her prom, and to visit the fam and boyfriend. On Friday I drove up to Fayetteville to see Chris's new apartment. After I drove three hours, I really had to use the bathroom. I walked up to his apartment, opened the door, and there were candles everywhere. The walls had pictures of us and notes, that we had written each other throughout our relationship, all over them. There was a huge bouquet of orange and white lilies, along with a rather large bottle of Arbor Mist (inside joke). The best of all, Chris was down on one knee with the most gorgeous ring I had ever seen. He asked me to marry him and told me exactly why he wanted to marry me and how he felt. I said yes and his response was "ok good, you can go pee now." Story of our lives.

It was perfect!

Basically, I had the most amazing weekend and I just wanted to share with all of you! I'm sorry that I've been M.I.A., but please mentally prepare yourself for tons of wedding planning posts!

In honor of our engagement, I'd like to offer all of my readers 50% any ad space! Just use the code "TobyForHire"!

Linking up with Just Because and Anything & Everything.