My sister had her baby shower yesterday (Feb 7) and it was great.  I still had bronchitis and was a little bit out of it, but as the day went on, I was ok.  The baby shower was held at my house.  There were about 30 guests.  I was so shocked that everyone fit!  My sister knew the date (we had to tell her so that she could take the day off from work) however, she didn’t know where her baby shower was going to be.  We did a scavenger hunt.  Her best friend gave my sister’s husband an envelope for her and it said “Do not open till Feb 7!” He was in on it too!  The day of her baby shower she opened the envelope and there was a puzzle.  When she figured out the puzzle, it said to go to a certain restaurant.  She thought the baby shower was there.  When she got to the restaurant, her best friend’s husband was there and he had another envelope for her   She opened that one and it gave her directions which let to my house.  It was great!  She had NO idea!  We had a ton of balloons, a baby shower banner, little baby feet soaps for favors – All of the food was catered and we got our cakes from Wright’s Farm in North Smithfield, RI.  Everything just turned out great!!!

Another step in wedding planning is wedding invitations.  Before you send out your formal invitation, you should send out Save the Dates.  This is so that the people that you are inviting to your wedding do not plan anything on that date.  My wedding date is October 9 2010.  That is Columbus Day weekend.  A lot of people go away on that weekend, so I wanted to make sure that they know when my wedding is before they make their plans.  We haven’t sent out our formal invitations yet.  I found a great site which you can request samples of up to 3 invitations.  The site is www.123print.com. This link will bring you straight to wedding invitations.  I highly recommend this website for wedding invitations!  That is where we are purchasing ours!!!

My sister Stacey is pregnant and is having her baby in march of 2010.  My step mom and I are having a baby shower for her this Sunday (Feb 7).   My step mom is getting stressed with the planning.  We decided that I am going to make a peanut butter cake and get cheese and crackers.  Stacey’s best friend is going to make a salad and bring salad dressing.  Stacey’s mother in law is making potato salad.  Pat is doing a lot of stuff.  She is ordering a second cake for those who are allergic to peanut butter.  She is getting a ton of food catered.  She is getting chips and veggie dip, a white dining room cloth and a centerpiece.  She is getting napkins and cups and so much more stuff.   I wanted to help out more so I am going to get the balloons for her.  She decided that she wants a blue and white theme.  Stacey is having a boy so that will be nice.  So need to get 15 helium balloons that are blue and white and some that say “baby” on them.  The baby shower is going to be at my house, therefore I am going to have to clean my house so that it is spic and span.  Most of the people that were invited haven’t seen my house since it was built.  Hopefully this baby shower will go smooth!

When I was young, my mother collected tea cups.  They were all different and very valuable.  The designs and art work on them made them different from any tea cups you could ever imagine.  I am 28 now and I hadn’t seen those tea cups since I was little.  My dad came over today with a big box and said “I want you to have this”  I opened it and it was all of the tea cups that my mom collected.  I cried!  They are so special and very sentimental.  I put them in our hutch and they are beautiful.  I miss my mom so much, and after her death I really had nothing.  Now I am wearing her engagement ring and I have her tea cups.  I am SO happy!!!

This is a picture of the tea cups.

Jeff and I decided that we want to go to Aruba on our honeymoon.  We have been there before and we LOVED it.  We went to Travel Connection in Cranston, RI to talk about what packages are available for a honeymoon in Aruba.  The first time we went to Aruba, we spent SO much money on food.  This time, we wanted prices for all inclusive.  We went to the travel agency and everyone looked at us like “what do you you want?”  It was very awkward.  The girl that I made the appointment with finally stood up and said “Hi Kelly and Jeff, come on over here”  Finally!  We sat with her and she was already ready for us.  She had Aruba options on her computer and all different price options.  She seemed very professional.  We had a lot of questions for her.  After about 15 minutes, she seemed like she wanted us out of there.  She started talking over us which was very rude.  We were still asking questions and she got up and said it was a pleasure.  Huh?  Ok.  I guess we are done?  What just happened here?  We left and we were so confused.

When we planned for our vacation for Aruba the first time, we went with AAA.  The girl there was VERY nice and knew what she was talking about.  She planned our vacation beautifully.  Our vacation to Aruba was the best vacation ever.  We went to the Travel Connection because we wanted to talk to a different agency and see if they could be better than AAA.  They werent!!  I highly recommend going to AAA to plan any kind of vacation.  They are very professional and will make your vacation a dream vacation!

Q: Where do I get my bride’s dress?  Also, how do I get a good price?

A: I went to David’s Bridal.  They have beautiful wedding gowns for a great price.  I got my gown there because they had great sales. My gown was originally $600 and I got it for $300.  It is a beautiful dress.

Q: How to I start looking for a wedding photographer? Also, what should I ask them?

A: You could first go to a bridal show and check out some photographers and see what they can offer.  I actually went on Face Book and asked  if anyone could recommend a good photographer whose prices are not sky high.  This is how we found our photographer.  What you need to ask is “Do you offer more than one photographer?” “What are your prices and what does that include?”  “Do you use digital or film cameras?”

Q: Good flowers are hard to find.  What should I do to make sure I get exactly what I want?

A: What you should do is go to more than one florist. I found a florist online that had good prices.  I met with her and she priced out all of the flowers that we needed and her price were in our budget.  She was very good, however we wanted to meet with one more.  The second florist was OK, but her prices were SO high.  We booked the first florist because she was very committed and had a great passion for flowers.

Q: Do I need a limo?

A: Yes!  You do need a limo.  If you are the bride and you are getting ready at your house, the limo will pick you and your bridal party up and bring you to the venue.  Also, if you have a poofy dress, you want to be able to get out of a vehicle that with be as easy as possible.  Wouldn’t it be great to show up in a limo?  You would feel like a princess on your special day!

Q: Should I attend bridal shows?

A: Yes.  You should go to at least one.  You can get so many discounts and deals from vendors and so many ideas!  They have a lot of contests too.

About 3 weeks ago, my eyes started to get really dry, red, itchy, and crusty.  They were bothering me so much that I had to go see my eye doctor.  When I got there, he did the normal exam and then he flipped my lids and and he said they look like cobble stones.  Yuck.  Well that explains the pain I was having.  He told me that it was a chronic infection and he prescribed me eye drops that I had to use 4 times a day.  They were working great!  My eyes felt good again.  Then about 2 days ago I woke up and the lid of my left eye felt so tender.  I couldn’t even touch it because it hurt so much.  I just thought maybe that is one of the side effects of the drops.  When Jeff came home from work, I had him look at my eye because it really hurt.  He said it was black and blue and swollen.  No wonder why I could barely open my eye.  As the night went on, it got more and more swollen and red.  I called my eye doctor to make another appointment.  I went today.  He said my right eye looks beautiful, but my left eye got a different infection than the first.  S0… he gave me a different drops to put in my left eye four times a day and he wants me to continue using the other drops in my right eye…. four times a day.  That’s eight drops in my eyes.  I do not know how this happened, but it’s really not fun.

Jenn, who is one of my brides maids, came over my house last night so she could show me the dress that I chose for the wedding.  She had tried it on at David’s Bridal, but the color wasn’t the color that I chose.  They didn’t have any at the store.  So we had to order it.  The dress is SOOOO beautiful.  I still had the flowers that the florist gave me, so we put them up against the dress.  They were perfect.  I was SO happy with what I chose for them.  This is the dress that I chose  -

http://www.davidsbridal.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplayView?storeId=10052&catalogId=10051&categoryId=-49998974&currentIdx=19&subCategory=-49998976|-49998975|-49998974&catentryId=6142398&sort=

I have to give the link because the picture is in flash.  Sorry!  The dress is going to be in the marine color which is a navy blue color but with a tint of purple.  It is very pretty and perfect for an October wedding.

There is one problem with the dress and that is the zipper.  I had the same problem with the dress that I had for my sister’s wedding which was also from David’s Bridal.  It zippers up half way and then when it gets to a certain spot, it is very difficult to get it all the way up.  You have to force it to the point where it will rip the dress.  I went to a tailor shop in Cumberland, RI and the put a whole new zipper on the dress.  They were so processional with what they did.  I recommended her to go there and they also could alter the dress.  She is short and the dress is way too long.  I can’t wait for the wedding!

I found that lately we have been spending a lot of money on stuff that we could prevent.   So we started thinking and we are planning or budget by leaving some stuff behind.

• First is going out to eat.  Why not make the food in your kitchen.  That way it is cheaper and you know what you are putting in your food.  Going out to eat will make you spend more money and usually overeat because they give you so much food!
• Second is if you are a coffee drinker, make your coffee at home.  If you keep going to Dunkin Donuts or Honey Dew every morning, it adds up!  Brew yourself some coffee in the morning and take it to work with you.
• Third is STOP SMOKING!  Cigarettes are so expensive now.  I used to smoke and the price of cigarettes when I first started was about $1.00 a pack.  Now I think they at $8 a pack.  That is ridiculous .  You can try and get hypnotized to quit smoking or do what I did and quit cold turkey.  Smoking is SO bad for your health too.  One of my friends really wanted to quit smoking and she got a DVD and listened to it at night and she has been smoke free for 4 years now.  If anyone wants to know what the DVD is, let me know and I will get it for you.
• Four is stop going out to the bar and have drinks.  It is ok to go once in a while, but you end up drinking more that you expect and the prices are a lot more than going to a liquor store and buying drinks yourself.  At the bar, you also have to leave a tip!
• Five is clip coupons!  It is old fashion, but you can save a lot of money if you bring coupons to your grocery store or department store or where ever you shop!  You can find coupons on websites or in your local newspaper.

Just consider these things.  I am getting married and the cost of a wedding is sky high.   I have used these tips to save money, except of the cigarettes because we don’t smoke.  You will see how much money you save!

Your Wedding rings!!!  Don’t forget about them!  And make sure that whoever is gong to hold them for the ceremony does not lose them!!!