Checks & Back to Work

Okay, well it was back to work today! Yes, let's moan together in unison.....AAAAUUUUUUUGGGGHHHHHH!!!! I felt that way when I hit the snooze button twice. I would have done it the usual 4 times, BUT, I didn't want to be late the first day back. Tomorrow morning might be another story. Although, I had the BIGGEST headache going back to work with all those crazy, loud, kids-I came home and slept for 3 1/2 hours!!! Man, did it feel good. I woke up just in time to realize "OH SHIT - We have that meeting with the photograher!!!" Whoops-I had just enough time to stuff my face with something to eat and then head out to meet Charlotte with number9photography.

She was absolutely A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. We walked in and wasn't expecting a young fun outgoing lady sitting there. She had to have been about my age or maybe a little older. We talked about the package that she has to offer. That in itself sold me. She offers SO much for so little that it was just absolutely perfect. I am a bride on a budget, but I really wanted nice, awesome pics to show our special day. I was beginning to get nervous because it felt like we were NEVER going to find someone we liked.....much less afford. I stumbled across her website on Craig's List and immediately sent an e-mail. This was back in like uhmm...July or August. She wasn't one to say...."Oh you're getting married in July....like a year away July?" I didn't really set up an appointment with her, and really forgot about her. I was going through my e-mail inbox and came across her message again. I contacted her and it was probably the best wedding decision EVER! This is what she has to offer:

• 8 HRS of Wedding Day Coverage
• 1 HR Engagement Session
• 1 HR Bridal or Budoir Session
• 1 Photobook 13x11 Hardcover
• 2 Parent Photobooks 8x10 softcover
• 4 Wedding Party Photo Books 7x7 softcover
• Basic Photo Editing
• Photo DVD with Copyright Release
• Online Hosting

I LOVE everything she showed me and those little wedding party books were cute! They looked so professional and a nice little present for whoever we choose. The best thing she told us was that she would probably take around 2,000 pics and we get every single one of them on the dvd! I'm excited to just spend hours scanning through them. :)

I also got an e-mail from the Cake Lady that we wanted to go with but never sent our deposit in on time. She said as long as we get the deposit in by January 15th she will still keep the old prices. I also wanted to just drop the Grooms cake and just get our regular wedding cake and she said that was fine as well. We're still deciding if we want the Groom's cake or if We want Amy's ice cream. I think the ice cream would be a cute Austin-y touch. We'll see.

Edgar actually did some checks as well-which surprised the crap out of me! He called his Aunt and asked her about our wedding rings that they are paying for. He also called his other Aunt and Cousin that are paying for our cake, and they said they would let us know when they would be able to send the money so we can pay for the cake. Then, he called his Aunt and Uncle that are going to be our witnesses at the church and are paying for the Church and they will be sending that money our way. It's excited to see everything beginnning to come together!

Photographer, Cake & Thoughts

Okay, so The Longhorns won their Bowl game!!! Wahoo!!! It was a close one though....almost too close for comfort but I loved the excitement. I just LOOOOOOOOOOVVVVVEEEE Colt McCoy....he's going to make some girl very lucky!
Edgar and I have a meeting with a potential photographer. This is her website. www.number9photography.com and their package is only $800. This is totally alot more reasonable and I don't think I will have to sale my soul to get good pics. She will be at our wedding for 8 hrs, and I get ALOT of good things on the side. I will update tomorrow about whether or not it was too good to be true. Hopefully I'm satisfied. The only iffy thing is that the deposit is $300. While this is okay, I don't get paid until the 15th and we're kind of low on cash right now. It would be more reasonable to pay the deposit in February. The only problem with waiting that long is that it will be less than 5 months before the wedding and I don't really want to risk the chance of losing her. I think we will meet with her, talk it over, and possibly pay the deposit after Edgar gets paid on Friday. ::Crosses fingers everything turns out fine::
I also talked to the Cake lady from last year. We met with a couple of cake makers last Summer because I wanted to do it before school started. One lady never even got back to me until about a month AFTER she said she would....which was an immediate red flag. Another lady never got back to schedule the tasting. We went to another lady which is about 30 minutes away and she charges $125 to deliver the cake. It was kind of pricy, but we let Edgar's parents know, unless they wanted to go and pick the cake up and risk it falling over and us being pissed at them for forever it-will just get paid no questions asked. :) We never put the deposit down because Edgar's aunt said she found someone that would do it for us (her friend) for only the cost of ingredients. I was okay with it, we tasted the cakes and they were alright. THEN, she says she can only do fondant....umm no thanks! I don't want fondant, I want yummy icing. So I e-mailed the original nice cake lady to see how much her prices went up for the new year. She said they went up to 2.10/serving instead of 2.00/serving and her deposit was still $100. I was excited because she said it was only an $18 increase, and if we went ahead and paid the deposit by the 15th then she would just surpass the increase and give us last years prices. YEA! Then, Edgar and I talk about not getting his grooms cake, which was all chocolate, and shaped into an igloo ice chest with beer! lol Sooo cute, but we decided to just get the main wedding cake from her for 180 servings. Hopefully she doesn't get fed up with me changing stuff....and just accepts me with open arms! haha I'll wait until I get a response from her to update.
Well, it's back to work tomorrow. Augh! 6:00 AM, here I come......

A Few Checks & Update

Okay, Well first I love all those hairstyles above! The one in the board of hairstyles is really just supposed to be the Jordan Sparks one...but I didn't cut it out. Anyway, you get the idea. The only thing is...my hair needs to grow another 5 or so inches. I think it will, my hair grows pretty fast.

I talked to the lady that is going to do my hair for my wedding and she told me she would do mine and all my girls hair as her wedding gift! Are you serious!?!?!? There really are good people in this world. I'm really thankful because I wanted to give that to my girls as a gift but Edgar and I have been so strapped for money I didn't think I was going to be able too. I sent them all texts and so far 1 has responded. I asked them to e-mail the pic so I can show her and we can make a timeline of what time each girl will get their hair done and how long she thinks it will take.

I'm getting really excited, and we are about to hit the 6 MONTH MARK!!!! I can't believe it, it realy feels like just last week we were excited about the year mark. When 2009 came, I just couldn't help but think "I'm getting married THIS year..." No more..."no, not this July, next July" or "I know it's kind of far away, but It's July of '09" It's amazing. I'm just kind of like uhhh okay Laura it's time to stop procrastinating and get your ass in gear!

For January I really need to focus on finding a Photographer. Especially one that won't ask for BOTH my arms! lol I realize you get what you pay for....but really. And I shouldn't be really complaining because Edgar's family is paying for ALOT! I really should be thankful the only thing Edgar and I are going to be paying for is the hall $2400-Which includes the tables/chairs/security/chair covers/chair ties/table clothes/arch/full use of kitchen/clean up/8AM-Midnight. The beer/coke(includes all types like dr.pepper, sprite etc.)/water. I'm thinking this is going to be anywhere between $500-$800. The photographer if and when I find one and then also a videographer depending on how much money we have and if we can afford one. So all in all we're probably paying for like $4,000 out of our $10,000-$12,000 wedding. I still can't believe it's so high! I always thought I could get away with having a wedding for like $5,000.....but man this wedding industry told us otherwise!

I also need to decide on our cake maker...which I think I have. I e-mailed her and hopefully her prices didn't jump much higher than what we talked about when we met in like August. She told me her prices were going to jump up in 2009, but hopefully not that much.

I had the rehearsal dinner sight on my list of to do's this month but we already decided. We decided on a place called Duke's BBQ in a town about 30 miles away. The website is www.dukesbbq.com and we will be getting the all you can eat buffet for $15/person. This includes all the food/drink/and 1 hr service from the staff. I'm not sure how many people we are inviting, but I think we are going to probably open it up to anyone that wants to go but only pay for those in the wedding. I'm thinking of making a ticket or something that they can present....which is another thing Edgar and I will be paying for.