Wow. I haven't pulled out my wedding to-do list in like, 4 days. I just yanked that notebook out and felt like I was opening up an old school annual- something I once looked at a million times and felt a bit of familiarity to its oldness. Then I said, "I should blog." So I closed that notebook back up and thus, here I am. :)
What's new in the wedding world for me? Well, I have officially one last paycheck before the wedding to cover the expenses left over. And after budgeting, I find out that I have JUST enough! WoooooOoOo, let me say that was a huge relief! AND, I get to feed my shopping addiction by spending my paycheck, but on things I actually need.
Ya know, I have to throw Matt under the bus here- and myself, I guess. This process hasn't exactly been a 'couple's' journey. Let's face it, this isn't Matt's thing at all- AT ALL. Maybe, just maybe he'll take interest in the music portion of the event but even that is like pulling teeth. Sometimes I step back and get 'envious' of those cutesy couples who sit down over dinner discussing wedding plans and building their moment of a lifetime. I can't get Matt to help with anything. And I guess I finally approached him about it the other day... to which he replied with a little something like this:
Matt: "I'm going to answer this the same way now as I will for the rest of my life when you hold this over my head."
Chelsey: "Oh yeah, what's that?"
Matt: "Did you have the wedding exactly the way YOU wanted? Exactly the way you grew up imagining? Did you have YOUR dream wedding?"
Chelsey: "................" <-- yeah.. that's right. I said nothing. He got me there. I mean, of course I'm stubborn and I think I said something like, 'well yeah but your input could change my mind about things' blah blah... Let's be real, I just wanted to win the argument.
I guess in the larger picture of it all, his answer was pretty cute. That, or it was just a brilliant way to not have to involve himself in the process WHILE seeming like prince charming.
Either way. Matt: 1 Chelsey: 0
Oh, how could I forget, my $118.00 worth of reception candles came in the mail yesterday. I unpacked them all, (not really needing to since they have to travel to South Carolina anyways) but I just wanted to see what they looked like. Well, all I will say is they didn't look like they cost $118.00. I'll always resent that purchase; hopefully they will look good enough on the day of to where I don't want to chuck them out the window afterwards.
I had this brilliant idea the other day. I realized, while helping a new bride make some wedding decisions herself, that I have basically planned an event for 200 people! Woah. Have YOU done that? Have you organized such an event with a D.J., photographer, caterer, ceremony, including and bringing together two different families, accommodating guests and party participants, planning meetings and finalizing menus, gathering gifts, and notifying participants....
I mean... it just hit me the other day and I literally had a light bulb pop on. I said to myself... and maybe even out loud, I can't remember, "wow, I'm putting this on my resume!"
Is that outrageous? I think it could bring a little laughter to any potential jobs. But really, why not? This is a huge deal. I LOVE TO PLAN things, events, vacations... but this... this my friends has blown my mind. If I can do this, then I'm preeeetty sure I can control a large amount of emotionally damaged children. just sayin'.
Things I've learned about my fiance' since the last time I blogged:
-if I want him to look nice at the wedding shower and rehearsal, I'm going to have to go buy the clothes myself: navy blue polo- CHECK
-he knew more about American Idol then I gave him credit for
-he hasn't even applied for the vacation days for our wedding and honeymoon yet. great.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Friday, May 20, 2011
Chitty, Chitty, Cake Pops...
I find it funny that everyone I come across lately says to me, "getting close! Not much left to do, huh?" To which I quickly whip out my 2 page to-do list. They read over it briefly, trying to help me mark things off. Then they realize, yeah, there is still A LOT to do and not much of it can be done right now. Which only leads me to believe the week of May 30th will absolutely, with out a doubt, be the most stressful in all 8 months of planning!
Today, I shipped a bridesmaid dress to Ryde, Australia. Yep. Freakin' $71.75 to send that lil' booger half way across the world by next Wednesday. But totally worth it considering one of my good friends will be flying from Aussie-Land to be apart of the festivities! Get in line to hear that accent!
Other gals are coming from Canada, Missouri, Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia!
And then of course I've got my sweet sister as the Maid of Honor and my long-time best friend Logan Collins Greene as a bridesmaid too!
I have to admit though, its been almost more stressful trying to accommodate to all the girls' and make sure everything is *perfect* for them than it has been stressful to get this wedding right. I hate when anyone has to go out of their way for me. I feel awkward and severely indebted. I can't quite wrap my head around the fact that people 'want' to do nice things. There's even one bridesmaid that's getting her ears pierced for the first time in her life JUST to wear earrings at our wedding. Talk about dedication! OUCH. Should I tell her now that it hurts? Nahhh.
In other unimportant and rather boring wedding news, my D.J. sucks at returning phone calls, my bridal portrait hair stylist won't answer my messages, I've gone 3 days without receiving any RSVP cards, and I find that I'm spending money on wedding things that aren't even on my 'to-get' list; which is putting me much further behind on my budget. Eish. I just get all these ideas and I want to buy everyone the BEST gifts for helping us out through this process in even the smallest ways!
Dare I spoil the surprise, but one daunting task on my to-do list is....
dramatic drum roll please....
.......
....
..
.
-Make CAKE POPS!
Oh Lordy Lord, this will be a blog post in itself when that process begins. My director at work was telling me how she make 100 for her daughter's birthday party not too long ago!
"oh, how long did that take?" ...... "5 HOURS? FOR 100? WE WERE GOING TO MAKE 400!!"
Shet.
So daggumit, if you come to the wedding and see two cake pops sitting at your table, you better enjoy the heck out of them. That is if I make it out alive through that process.
What I've learned about my future fiance since my last post?
- he knows every word to 'chitty chitty bang bang'.
- he can cook pretty good spaghetti, just always acted like he didn't know how.
- he stopped watering the front yard grass on his lunch break a whole 4 weeks ago. No wonder it was dying even through my fruitless efforts to water it every morning before work and every day after work.
Thanks Matt.
Today, I shipped a bridesmaid dress to Ryde, Australia. Yep. Freakin' $71.75 to send that lil' booger half way across the world by next Wednesday. But totally worth it considering one of my good friends will be flying from Aussie-Land to be apart of the festivities! Get in line to hear that accent!
Other gals are coming from Canada, Missouri, Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia!
 |
| All the bridesmaids and one honorary traveling from far away! :) Minus Betsy in the front with the brown belt. She couldn't make it! boo. |
And then of course I've got my sweet sister as the Maid of Honor and my long-time best friend Logan Collins Greene as a bridesmaid too!
 |
| Logan and me at her wedding almost 3 years ago! |
In other unimportant and rather boring wedding news, my D.J. sucks at returning phone calls, my bridal portrait hair stylist won't answer my messages, I've gone 3 days without receiving any RSVP cards, and I find that I'm spending money on wedding things that aren't even on my 'to-get' list; which is putting me much further behind on my budget. Eish. I just get all these ideas and I want to buy everyone the BEST gifts for helping us out through this process in even the smallest ways!
Dare I spoil the surprise, but one daunting task on my to-do list is....
dramatic drum roll please....
.......
....
..
.
-Make CAKE POPS!
Oh Lordy Lord, this will be a blog post in itself when that process begins. My director at work was telling me how she make 100 for her daughter's birthday party not too long ago!
"oh, how long did that take?" ...... "5 HOURS? FOR 100? WE WERE GOING TO MAKE 400!!"
Shet.
So daggumit, if you come to the wedding and see two cake pops sitting at your table, you better enjoy the heck out of them. That is if I make it out alive through that process.
 |
| shet. they're so cute here. don't judge if mine look like a trashy mess. kthanks. |
What I've learned about my future fiance since my last post?
- he knows every word to 'chitty chitty bang bang'.
- he can cook pretty good spaghetti, just always acted like he didn't know how.
- he stopped watering the front yard grass on his lunch break a whole 4 weeks ago. No wonder it was dying even through my fruitless efforts to water it every morning before work and every day after work.
Thanks Matt.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Norris, like... Chuck Norris
Well, I guess I'm starting a little late in the process to really blog about the 'wedding planning' but geez louise this might be the most stressful part yet! But hopefully this blog will prove to be useful in the future to all our friends and family who live so far away and may wonder how the new happy couple is doing?!
Oh yes, is this the part where I introduce myself? Or should I assume you know who I am if you stumbled upon this blog? Well if not, I am Chelsey Morgan Allen... have been all my life. But in just 33 days I'll be marrying by boyfriend, fiance, friend, and lesser half ( <-- ha) of 9 years... Christopher Matthew Norris. Yep, that deserves a smiley face :)
Planning started kind of difficult, mainly because I probably broke all the new bride rules in planning a wedding. I first was more excited about finding a venue... way before I even considered how many guests we might potentially have. I decided on the Cleveland Park Event Center in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Not only would it hold 200 people but I loved the atmosphere and surrounding area. We (Matt and I) scrounged up all the change in the sofas and put our down payment on that to hold our date.
Then I contemplated guests, dresses, caterers, decorations, invitations, bridesmaids, and a million other things. Whoever said planning a wedding is fun must of had a never-ending bank account! Ugh!
Then, Christmas Eve of 2010, my sister and I went to a brunch at the Piedmont Club in Spartanburg, SC. We were so graciously invited by our grandparents who we are currently rebuilding our relationship with. It blew me away when they offered to have the reception there, at the Piedmont Club! I can't tell a lie.... I was staring at the walls, tables, curtains, rooms, chairs... everything... imagining how much I would love to celebrate there of all places.
Now I better shout out to the sis. She really stepped up as my Maid of Honor and just blurted, "THIS would be a PERFECT place for a RECEPTION!" Thanks Britt, that worked.
Now, nearly 5 months later.... I am astonished of what has unfolded into, without a doubt, the wedding of my dreams. :)
There were many times where I just had to move something on my to-do list to the VERY last page because I wasn't sure how it was getting done! Matt has been so calm and reassuring throughout the process. He doesn't seem to worry about much, and I'm so sure that, to him, whether or not we got navy blue table overlays or just went with the white, was not truly as much drama as I was making it.
In fact, while I sit here blogging about wedding crud just to ease my mind, blaring potential processional music through my headphones, he's playing 'Crackdown' on XBOX 360. Yep, I knew what I was getting myself into!
Truth be told, the saying is true... if there is anything throughout the process of your planning that you couldn't stand to have it done differently, then put your foot down. Make priorities, breathe, be creative, and remember... at the end of the day... you should be able to say "whew, we did it right."
Some of my favorite things through the planning thus far are:
-our navy blue table overlays (that I most definitely need to sell afterwards $$)
-our pulpboard personalized coasters
-hand making our unity candle
-booking the honeymoon
-getting excited with my bridesmaids
-receiving RSVP's in the mail
-watching my bustle be tied up for the first time
Things I've thoroughly disliked:
-tying ribbons on 200 bubbles
-tying ribbons on 200 invites
-budgeting
-stressing over whether there would be a honeymoon or not
-waiting on RSVP's
-deciding ceremony music
-budgeting
-going to dress fittings alone
-budgeting
After all, it was just last week I snuck on my wedding gown and waltzed around the hallway, standing on the edge of my bathtub just so I could see a full view in the mirror. I'm still nervous... I hope I feel comfortable and I hope I wear it and it doesn't wear me! I think Matt made me nervous when he said,
"So, if I don't like it, do I tell you right when you walk down the aisle to me or do you want me to wait and tell you later."
ha, that's my fiance'!
So today's to-do list consisted of making a final appointment with the D.J. (Carolina Party Professionals) whom of which provided me with a full print out of an order of events for the reception. That really cleared the muddy waters! I mean, I think I've been to only 2 or 3 weddings in my life! One of which, a song was played by none other than THE Celine Dion, and in the program, I read her name, looked over at my mom and excitedly asked, "Is Celine Dion going to be here?" Hey, I was a little girl- give me a break.
But for real, wouldn't that have been awesome?
I digress. Truly, all I want, is to walk away thinking that I wouldn't have changed a thing. Thinking that I'm the new Mrs. Matthew Norris and after 9 years of waiting to hear that, I'm just as thrilled as I thought I would be. Hoping that my new 'husband' (woah, gonna hafta get use to that one) is holding the hand of the woman of his dreams. Hoping that my guests believe in love a little more just by witnessing our event.
Oh. and thinking, that Jamaican sun sure is going to feel good after all this planning is finished! Wooooo!
What do I look forward to most? When helping people understand my new married name, getting to say, "Norris, .... Like Chuck Norris."
If this wasn't enough to make you puke, visit our wedding website.
love and stress,
an anxious bride
Oh yes, is this the part where I introduce myself? Or should I assume you know who I am if you stumbled upon this blog? Well if not, I am Chelsey Morgan Allen... have been all my life. But in just 33 days I'll be marrying by boyfriend, fiance, friend, and lesser half ( <-- ha) of 9 years... Christopher Matthew Norris. Yep, that deserves a smiley face :)
Planning started kind of difficult, mainly because I probably broke all the new bride rules in planning a wedding. I first was more excited about finding a venue... way before I even considered how many guests we might potentially have. I decided on the Cleveland Park Event Center in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Not only would it hold 200 people but I loved the atmosphere and surrounding area. We (Matt and I) scrounged up all the change in the sofas and put our down payment on that to hold our date.
Then I contemplated guests, dresses, caterers, decorations, invitations, bridesmaids, and a million other things. Whoever said planning a wedding is fun must of had a never-ending bank account! Ugh!
Then, Christmas Eve of 2010, my sister and I went to a brunch at the Piedmont Club in Spartanburg, SC. We were so graciously invited by our grandparents who we are currently rebuilding our relationship with. It blew me away when they offered to have the reception there, at the Piedmont Club! I can't tell a lie.... I was staring at the walls, tables, curtains, rooms, chairs... everything... imagining how much I would love to celebrate there of all places.
Now I better shout out to the sis. She really stepped up as my Maid of Honor and just blurted, "THIS would be a PERFECT place for a RECEPTION!" Thanks Britt, that worked.
Now, nearly 5 months later.... I am astonished of what has unfolded into, without a doubt, the wedding of my dreams. :)
There were many times where I just had to move something on my to-do list to the VERY last page because I wasn't sure how it was getting done! Matt has been so calm and reassuring throughout the process. He doesn't seem to worry about much, and I'm so sure that, to him, whether or not we got navy blue table overlays or just went with the white, was not truly as much drama as I was making it.
In fact, while I sit here blogging about wedding crud just to ease my mind, blaring potential processional music through my headphones, he's playing 'Crackdown' on XBOX 360. Yep, I knew what I was getting myself into!
Truth be told, the saying is true... if there is anything throughout the process of your planning that you couldn't stand to have it done differently, then put your foot down. Make priorities, breathe, be creative, and remember... at the end of the day... you should be able to say "whew, we did it right."
Some of my favorite things through the planning thus far are:
-our navy blue table overlays (that I most definitely need to sell afterwards $$)
-our pulpboard personalized coasters
-hand making our unity candle
-booking the honeymoon
-getting excited with my bridesmaids
-receiving RSVP's in the mail
-watching my bustle be tied up for the first time
Things I've thoroughly disliked:
-tying ribbons on 200 bubbles
-tying ribbons on 200 invites
-budgeting
-stressing over whether there would be a honeymoon or not
-waiting on RSVP's
-deciding ceremony music
-budgeting
-going to dress fittings alone
-budgeting
After all, it was just last week I snuck on my wedding gown and waltzed around the hallway, standing on the edge of my bathtub just so I could see a full view in the mirror. I'm still nervous... I hope I feel comfortable and I hope I wear it and it doesn't wear me! I think Matt made me nervous when he said,
"So, if I don't like it, do I tell you right when you walk down the aisle to me or do you want me to wait and tell you later."
ha, that's my fiance'!
So today's to-do list consisted of making a final appointment with the D.J. (Carolina Party Professionals) whom of which provided me with a full print out of an order of events for the reception. That really cleared the muddy waters! I mean, I think I've been to only 2 or 3 weddings in my life! One of which, a song was played by none other than THE Celine Dion, and in the program, I read her name, looked over at my mom and excitedly asked, "Is Celine Dion going to be here?" Hey, I was a little girl- give me a break.
But for real, wouldn't that have been awesome?
I digress. Truly, all I want, is to walk away thinking that I wouldn't have changed a thing. Thinking that I'm the new Mrs. Matthew Norris and after 9 years of waiting to hear that, I'm just as thrilled as I thought I would be. Hoping that my new 'husband' (woah, gonna hafta get use to that one) is holding the hand of the woman of his dreams. Hoping that my guests believe in love a little more just by witnessing our event.
Oh. and thinking, that Jamaican sun sure is going to feel good after all this planning is finished! Wooooo!
What do I look forward to most? When helping people understand my new married name, getting to say, "Norris, .... Like Chuck Norris."
If this wasn't enough to make you puke, visit our wedding website.
love and stress,
an anxious bride
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