Magazines and wedding shows!

The last few days I have surrounded myself with bridal magazines and watching wedding shows. I've been tearing out tons of pages with ideas I like, money saving tips and of course dresses! My stack of pages is getting pretty thick- but I want to get ideas for everything and put it into a book so maybe I can show Sam one day- send it with his Mom when she goes to see him or something. Just a thought...

So far I like way too many different things and I don't know how I'm going to put it all into the perfect dress. I think I'll just have to get into those dressing rooms and try some on-- but that won't be for a while.
I've set a goal that I get to try on bridal gowns after I lose a few pounds. I want to be in great shape for my honeymoon so I figured I might as well start now while my life is not too hectic. So, I started my Bridal Bod wedding diet and work out regimen today. I'm using the weight watchers program. I've done that before and it has worked well for me in the past. I've also got some work out dvd's, I'm going to walk the dog and I bought a pair of those new Reebok easy tones- so we'll see how all that works out.
Wish me luck!

And so it begins!

After months of being engaged- the process of actually planning the wedding has begun!

When Sam proposed, he asked that I not do any real planning until after I finished school and since I graduated last weekend I can actually start planning (despite the fact that I have done quite a bit of internet surfing during school- but its so much fun, can you blame me?)

As such I have created a vision of what I want my wedding to look like- I want the ceremony to be outside with a very natural and green backdrop and then the reception to be inside. We would like to do this at the same venue but its not necessary. I want everything to have a light and airy feel, but it should be elegant at the same time.

So anyway- last Tuesday, Keeley, my mom and I went venue shopping! We visited 3 venues in Central Texas and got some serious prospects.

#1 Old Salado Springs

- Pros: cheap! lots of space! comes with tables, chairs, ect.

- Cons: not exactly the vision I had- a little more country than I had been thinking

#2 The Inn at Salado

- Pros: Everything is included in the price

- Cons: WAY over priced for what is included! Too small, guests would be uncomfortable, smells weird

#3 Earle Harrison House (Waco)

- Pros: Exactly the vision I had: big white building with columns, beautifully landscaped grounds, very green! Comes with a lot of decorative material included in the price!

- Cons: The reception space is under a tent outdoors (could be hot!), not cheap

So far #1 is in the lead because it makes the most sense and we can really customize it, but we're going to look at a few more around this area. We had her hold the date we've been thinking about for 3 days so we could think about it but still no decisions have been made.

Will post pictures later!