It's been a while.

I am currently sitting in the Philadelphia airport waiting for my connecting flight to start boarding (I still have about 45 minutes) and realized I haven't updated in a while. A lot seems to have happened since I last updated, but at the same time none of it has really been on the wedding front.

 

This was probably one of the greatest moments in my life! Six months of separation and I finally got to wrap my arms around him. I didn't want to let go! I missed him so much and I'm so happy to have him home safe! I got to spend 2 full days with him, which was not enough! I am currently on my way back to Virginia Beach so I can spend even more time with him.

When he takes leave in about a week we will be doing more wedding stuff, meaning my updates will become more wedding oriented again. I'm so excited about the cake tasting it's ridiculous. 

Well off to catch my flight. Hope everyone is doing well.

45 Weeks 1 day 15 hours and 22 minutes

Just in case you're wondering, that's approximately how long there is until mine and Josh's wedding (give or take a few minutes). 

However, the more important number right now is 5. There are 5 days until I leave for Virginia Beach. And very soon after that I will get to see Josh. The emotions I am feeling are overwhelming. I am happy, excited, overjoyed, nervous and anxious. It has been 6 months since I've seen Josh and it feels like forever. I am so excited that it's been difficult for me to fall asleep. I am surprised that this has started already but it just means it's getting closer. When I talked to Josh yesterday he also shared some wonderful news. He doesn't have duty the whole time I'm down there. This made me so happy. I don't get that many days with him so the days I do get with him I want to spend every possible minute with him!

There isn't much to update on the wedding front. Three of the bridesmaid dress have come in and the one I saw I absolutely love! The color, which I was nervous about, looks so great! It's not to dark and the dress is so beautiful. When Samantha was down here we were able to go to the bridal store so I could show her my dress and see the two dresses next to each other. They look so good together. They are just similar enough that they don't look out of place.

I will meet with the decorator again after I get back from Virginia. I'm very excited to see what she's come up with.

Well that's all for now. I am excited because my next blog should be after I see my fiance :D

Excitement

<3 I know I'm still young
But, I know how I feel
I might not have too much experience
But, I know when love is real.<3

 It's so close I can feel it. It can't get here quick enough, but the few days I have with him will go by so quickly I won't know what hit me. I can't believe it's already been almost 6 months. Looking back over the months since January it seems to have gone by relatively quickly. In the moment though those months dragged on and I thought they would never end. This deployment was harder then the first. There were longer periods of not hearing from him and more dangerous locations. They were all over the news and I watched with the rest of the country. But it's close now, I will get to see him and hold him and kiss him. I will be so incredibly happy that even him having duty the day they pull back in will not ruin it =).

 As the number of days there are until Josh comes home grows smaller, so does the number of months until our wedding. There is less then 11 months now and it still feels surreal. Maybe it's because Josh hasn't been here to give his opinion on things or for me to be able to take him places and show him, that I feel like I'm a little girl planning my dream wedding when I grow up. However, the deposits that I have put down on things definitely lets me know that it is real :)

Saturday I met with a decorator. The meeting could not have gone better. The lady was so incredibly nice and got exactly what I was trying to portray. She gave me opinions and feedback about how things would look and work, but she didn't try to push me into what she thought was best. She actually liked my ideas.  It was pretty cool because she brought her husband with her and while we discussed the decorations, he took measurements and drew a really accurate scale drawing on graph paper. She's going to draw up a layout and write a list of supplies that we'll need and get back to us. I'm so incredibly excited and I can't wait! I hope it turns out as beautiful as I imagine it. The theme is "A Spring Evening". There's going to be tealight lanterns and paper lanterns and I even want a rod iron bird cage to hold the cards.

As for the wedding party, all the bridesmaid dresses have officially been ordered. It is such a relief  knowing that they won't get discontinued before one of the girls have a chance to order them. The next big thing is getting all the guys measured for their tuxes and getting the groomswoman a dress, even if it's not the same one the girls are wearing. Last but not least is finding the dresses for the flower girls. It will be a little while before they go try those on but it's still very exciting!

Dresses - Check

*SWOOSH*

In case you're wondering that is not a basketball flying through a hoop. That is the sound of the worry and stress of bridesmaid dresses being lifted off my shoulders, finally (only because I don't know what other sound it might make).

It only took a few trips to David's Bridal, the first dress I chose to get discontinued and much frustration with myself trying to figure out what in the world I wanted. But I have finally decided, THANK THE LORD.

My number of bridesmaids are now up to a fantastic five (not to be confused with the fantastic four, they don't have super powers...that I know of). It's pretty cool because my five bridesmaids are all of my girl cousins that are related by blood. I'm very excited and I can't wait for us all to be together. It seems fitting for them all to be bridesmaid because they are honestly the people I'm the closest with.

Saturday I meet with a decorator. I am hoping that 1.) I'll be able to afford her and 2.) That she doesn't try to hijack my ideas and twist them. I guess we will have to wait and see though. So for now I will just gather all my ideas and keep them together to show her.

Progression is the best

Today I paid the deposit to reserve the florist. I ended up choosing Connell's Maple Lee in Grove City and I am very excited. I actually met with the lady there a while back but just hadn't gotten around to going in and reserving it. The lady was so nice and had great ideas, not just because her name also happens to be Jill :). She was the second florist we had met with and definitely the best. The first lady was very full of herself and kept trying to push me the direction she thought I should go. For the most part I know what I want to do and the fact that she wouldn't listen to me just rubbed me wrong. So then we went and met with Jill, who was also less expensive then the other lady (who claimed she'd be the least expensive in town).

The picture above is what I envision for the bridesmaid bouquets. I haven't decided on what colors they're going to be yet, but I'm thinking each girl will have a different color. My bouquet is also going to be Gerber Daisies but it will also have Tulips incorporated and some greenery to add shape. I am very excited about the flowers I think they're going to look fantastic.

This picture is generally what the boutonnieres are going to look like. I'm thinking that the color of the boutonniere on the groomsmen will match whatever color the bridesmaid has he'll be walking with. It should look really good :).

Also, today we went to Springfield and had dinner at Rudy's Smokehouse which is who is catering. I definitely remembered why we chose them, they are delicious. I made a payment on that and was happy to know that the total amount owed is slowly getting smaller. I am so excited to take Josh there, I think he's going to like it. Of course he said that we could have pizza at the reception and he'd be happy, but that is sooooo not going to happen.

Less then a year!!

By now pretty much everybody knows that Josh and I are engaged. He proposed New Years eve and it was amazing :). He is my soul mate and I can't wait to spend my life with him. We're getting married May 19, 2012 and it's hard to believe that there is less then a year to go. What's even harder to believe is how much I've decided without him being here.
Josh was deployed about 2 weeks after we got engaged and I have to say planning this wedding with him gone has not been easy. In the beginning I doubted every single decision I made (not my dress though, that I found two weeks after we got engaged and was sure about). When I found the hall, I doubted it. When I found decorations I liked, I doubted them. I didn't want to make a decision and have it be the "wrong" one. But Josh has been great. He has been very supportive and has told me that no matter what, I won't make the wrong decision. And besides he'll be home in plenty of time before the wedding that if we need to adjust something we have time. Plus my parents have been great and have been helping me through my many meltdowns :).
I have some of the major decisions down. I've booked the church, the hall, the DJ (my wonderful cousin), the photographer (thanks Steve) and the caterer (OH MY am I excited to eat that food!!). I've picked the bridesmaid dresses and then picked them again when they got discontinued. We have the general theme, spring.
Now everything that's left to do is a bunch of little stuff. I'm hoping it all comes together and that the wedding as beautiful as I picture it. But even if everything falls apart I know there is one important thing, in the end Josh and I will be married <3