Registry!

Cole and I just completed our first real registry! A couple months ago we started one on a whim at Crate & Barrel and scanned about 15 items. Today after church our goal was to go to both Macy's & Bed Bath & Beyond to register. However, the service at Macy's was really poor--couldn't find anyone to wait on us so we left for Bed Bath & Beyond. Much better service where Ian helped us walk through the whole store. What I love is that he helped us envision our fine table goods place setting (see picture)- love love LOVE it! :) Got a little tired walking through the store after an hour or so, but it was fun! There are still several things I need to put on there because I either couldn't make up my mind in the store or they weren't available (e.g. fiesta ware, martha stewart fluffy towels).

Anyway, I hope that I will get to update this more regularly now that I'm more settled here in Georgia :).

A few more things checked off the list

I've fallen back on my blogging, but I have good reason as there have been some exciting changes in the past couple of weeks... I'm moving back South to start a new job in Alpharetta, Georgia! I'm super excited about this because it means I get to be closer to family and friends. :)

Anyway, in wedding news I've got the following tasks completed:

• Booked a videographer
• Booked a photographer (Cole and I had the best experience when we met Justin for our consultation :D )
• Tasted cake and food, but no decision yet
• Bought my garter and some wedding fun stuff from Etsy
• Started a wedding website, but it's still very much a work in progress

I'm most excited about my videographer and photographer because these were 2 of my 3 most important things for the wedding (the other is the location). So check out their work--I go to their blogs every day to check for new entries as part of my wedding routine.

Next up: Picking a caterer and florist

Got the dress! :)

Here's a sneak peek at my wedding dress! I bought it from the sample rack at Priscilla of Boston in Ardmore, PA. What I love about it is that it made me feel like a princess and I didn't have to spend a fortune. This dress fit me and my budget perfectly.

Now let's rewind a bit to before I bought the dress.

A couple Sundays back (January 31st to be exact) my friend Remy and I went to Priscilla for my second round of dress shopping. We picked out several dresses from the sample rack before Remy saw this particular dress. I took a look at it and thought, "why not--it looks pretty good." It ended up being the first of 5 or 6 I tried on that day and the one I loved the most. I knew I couldn't buy it then because my sister was coming up in a few days to go with me for more dress shopping. However, I was very concerned at the possibility of the dress being sold before I could make it back. Nonetheless, I left without making a purchase.

Prior to my sister's (and adorable nephew) arrival, I made a total of 4 appointments for Friday (2/5/10) at salons all around Philadelphia and shared a map/itinerary of the locations with Grace.

1. Sample Rack on Pine Street in Philly 11a
2. Philadelphia Bridal Loft in NW Philly 1:30p
3. Sabrina Ann's in Ardmore 2:30p
4. Priscilla of Boston in Ardmore 4p

In total I probably tried on around 30 dresses that day and ended up liking just a few of them. There was even a dress named "Glory" that I liked! In the end, the dress I found with Remy's help was still my favorite so that's the one I ended up with! :)

It was exhausting going all over the place, but it was lots of fun and I was so happy that Grace and Graham could go with me. Graham, by the way, behaved very well the entire day despite the fact that he didn't get his usual nap! It probably didn't hurt that everywhere we went all the consultant ladies loved him :). Here's a picture of him playing while I tried on dresses at Priscilla.

Next on my bridal attire purchase list are the garter and veil! I have a couple picked out so I just have to make my final decision!

Date & Dress

The date is set! After a few mini panic attacks, ordeals, and several phone conversations with Shené, the rental coordinator at SBG, we have decided to get married on October 2, 2010! Isn't it such a nice even number?

Also, this week I had my first go at dress shopping! Rebekah (and baby Adelaide) and I went to David's Bridal to take a look at a few of the dresses I had seen online. I think I tried on about 10 dresses, most of which I didn't like very much. However, I did find one that I really really liked. That being said, I'm not nearly done with the search! Grace is coming up next month and we're going to make it a wedding planning/dress shopping weekend. I have a list of stores I want to get check out to find a beautiful dress which fits my budget.

Other things I did this week:

• Looked at more vendors--primarily caterers
• Thought of ideas for the ceremony exit (SBG has lots of restrictions), reception decorations, and things to do during the reception
• Gave Cole some homework--reviewing photographer/videographer websites so I can get his input on which ones he likes

And things I look forward to doing now that the date has been set:

1. Create a wedding website
2. Order a few wedding things from Etsy (ring pillow with the date on it, stationary??)

More to come! :D

And here is the Chapel!

Here it is! The lovely Day Chapel at the State Botanical Gardens in Athens, Georgia.

Ever since Cole and I first visited the gardens, I knew this was the place I wanted to get married!

And now an update on the wedding planning:

I have created an excel workbook containing several different sheets to help me stay organized as I plan this wedding from over 750 miles away! The different sheets are: Guest list (which will turn into my RSVP management), Budgeter, Vendor Inquiries, and Event Schedule.

I have emailed about 11 vendors now (photographers, videographers, DJs, and caterers) trying to whittle it down so I can just meet with a few of them when I fly back down to Georgia for in-person meetings. Whenever I receive their responses on their rates, I enter it in my excel work book so I can compare them all on similar criteria. For example, for the photographers, I enter in how many hours of coverage, the number of photographers, whether or not they include an engagement session, etc. :)

The event schedule is a simple timeline (I create lots of timelines as a project manager) of the different activities that will take place the day of the wedding (the date shall be revealed next week!) such as getting ready, photo session, ceremony, and reception. I may even go to the extent breaking out the reception schedule for first dance, speeches, etc. later on too.

Now, the color scheme/theme. I'm pretty sure that the color scheme will be a mango-yellow (yummy), silver, and cream/white, and there will be a theme around love birds (notice the blog design). I'm picking out invites, programs, and a ring pillow from Etsy which all have birds on them. There are more wedding details that I have been working on too--I may share them in a later post.

One thing that I always keep in the forefront of my mind is the budget, which is why I'm going to set up a Smarty Pig account to help me reach my goal. If you haven't heard of it, it's a pretty cool savings tool that I found in one of the wedding magazines I perused (it's not just for weddings though). Once I have my account set up, I will try to post my goal so you can follow along to see how I'm doing. And if you are feeling generous, there's even an option for you to contribute to my savings goal! (Just don't use a credit card because they'll charge you a 2.9% fee)

I'll wrap up this post with another picture of the beautiful chapel.

The Proposal

**Welcome to our blog! This is the space I will use to share our wedding planning journey, so please follow along. **

The Proposal:

• Date: 12.30.2009
• Place: Philadelphia International Airport
• Ring: see pic :)

• Story:

Note: As you read this, keep in mind that I am notorious for ruining any surprises for me. Also, this story has a lot of background info which are vital to the whole

I first suspected that Cole would soon propose after he mentioned that the next time we see each other (following the holiday season) I may have a ring on my finger. We saw each other for Thanksgiving and a few days before Christmas--but no proposal! I flew back up to Philly after Christmas kind of disappointed, but I still believed that we would be engaged soon.

Cole was coming up to Philly to spend New Years' with me, but for some reason I did not consider this as part of the holiday season and was not expecting a proposal around this time--that is until my suspicions were raised by a couple of things and confirmed by 2 more people. First, which turned out to be pure coincidence, my sister told me that I had to get a pretty dress for New Years. I thought to myself, "Why is she so interested in what I wear for New Years? Is something going to happen??" Then Cole suggested the Sean and Jess come spend New Years Eve with us. My thoughts, "Oh, he wants to propose in front of friends!" Now, the events that sealed the deal...

1. Part of the phone conversation with Cole as he drove to the Atlanta Airport:

Cole: Is Rebekah coming to the propo... new years?

Gloria: What did you say?

Cole: Hm? What?

Gloria: What did you say???

Cole: What did you hear?

Gloria: You said, "is Rebekah coming to the propo..."

Cole: I didn't say that, you're making that up.

Gloria: Nope, you said "propo!"

Cole: Oh, you were looking around every corner for it anyway.

:D

2. A couple hours after the above conversation my dad sent me an email. Here's what he wrote:

"Cole called me today to ask for my blessing, because he would like to marry you. I did give him my blessing. He told me that he bought a ring and was going to present the ring to you when you land at the airport in Atlanta. I am sure you already know it before you get this email."

My reaction to this: Shocked, Happy, Confused. "What does he mean when I arrive in Atlanta? How did he not know not to send an email like this??" Turns out, he was a bit confused on what Cole said. He thought that I was flying to Atlanta (which he knows I did several times in the last 2 months) and Cole was going to propose then. He also thought that by the time he sent the email, Cole would've already proposed. Oh, daddy...

By now, I was pretty certain that something was going to happen on new years eve, but this airport thing threw me for a a bit of a loop. Finally, it was time to pick Cole up at the airport. Prior to this visit, I had always parked to pick him up even though the Philadelphia airport parking is a little expensive ($3 for half an hour, $5 for one hour). Well, this time I suggested that I could just pick him up without parking so I could save that $3 (it adds up!), but Cole persuaded me to come in and get him because he always parked when he picked me up (it's only $1 for ONE hour in Atlanta--can you tell this is something that really irritates me about Philly?). However, there were some miscommunication, timing messed up, and I drove to the departures section instead of the arrivals and I told him that it was pointless to park for 2 minutes and spend $3. He kept insisting that I come in, which made me a little angry because I really did not want to spend that money. Well, I relented, parked, and made my way into the busy airport to find him.

When I finally found him, he told me that he was really hungry and needed something to eat (this was one of the many reasons he had for making me park) so we walked over to where there was an Auntie Anne. Just before we walked over to get him some food, he said, "oh my parents wanted me to give you your present straight away" and began looking through his bag. He got on his knee and rummaged through his bag for my present all the while asking, "you still love me?" (because he felt bad for somewhat ruining the surprise). I decided to help him look since he looked like he was having a hard time... then he stopped held out the ring!

Even though I was semi-expecting it, I was still shocked mainly because I couldn't believe that it was actually happening! There was a part of the proposal that completely surprised me. Cole had enlisted the help of my friend Rebekah in video recording this event. She did an awesome job at not being seen and filming! Thanks, Rebekah!!! I'll post the video here soon :)