So if you know me at all or follow me on twitter, you’re probably aware that I have been laid off for the better part of a year. I was let go from my job last year during this lovely economy and struggled to find something new. Finally I have landed a new gig that promises to be challenging, fun, creative, and incredibly rewarding. I am the new Web Content Producer at ThisWeek Community Media. I’m on my second week and already my head is spinning with possibilities and new information! I love what I’m learning and all the people I work with. This job is exactly what I needed and have been hoping for. I’m so excited to do the things I love everyday as a career.

I also just turned 25 on February 3rd. I’ve heard turning 25 scares a lot of people but this was a birthday I was ready to embrace. It was a quiet and contemplative day and I tried to reflect on what I learned in the last year. This has been a year of exciting events as well as complicated challenges. But overall it was a year of growth in all areas of my life and I am extremely grateful for it. I have wonderful people in my life and overall I am the happiest I’ve ever been. My mind has been opened to possibilities and opportunities that I never thought possible both personally and professionally. I’ve made some great new friends and have been overwhelmed by the community support and encouragement I’ve received from people I’ve never even met. (Twitter rocks!) I’ve gotten rid of some toxic friends and improved my other relationships with those amazing, one of a kind type friends. (Marissa and Miranda- I’m talking about you!) I also feel that my relationship with my sister has grown stronger over the last year and I’m so lucky to have her there for me. But most of all I’m so excited to marry my best friend and love of my life. Chris impresses, amazes, and infatuates me every day and I truly can’t believe I will get to spend the rest of my life with him.

Not to mention that having this new job also makes wedding planning a little easier considering I will actually be able to contribute to our budget. I feel strongly that all couples should contribute something to their wedding budget and I was worried that I might not have been able to. Planning a wedding is really stressful and this new job actually takes some of that stress off of me. (Yeah- a job that takes stress away- how cool is that?)

I wanted to take a little time as well to thank you. I have a wonderful loyal readership and the people who send me emails and ask questions and tweet me are some of the most genuine, awesome people I’ve meet over the last year. Especially you Columbus peeps and the people who helped encourage me to never give up over this tough year. I have found support in people I’ve never met (and some I have briefly) and yet you have been so kind and helpful to me. When I announced I’d finally landed this new job, the flood of congratulations and well wishes I received was overwhelming. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it.

Seriously- thank you.

I found some incredible wedding invitations at WeddingPaperDivas.com a few months ago and I check back every so often to see if they add anything I might like even better. Well after checking out the site today I found they are having a site wide sale until the 16th of February! $15 off a $99 purchase, $30 off a $199 purchase, and $50 off a $299 purchase. The code to do this is FEBSALE. You can also get free shipping on your order with the code FREESHIP. You can also combine those two and get both offers which is awesome.

WeddingPaperDivas not only does wedding invitations but shower invitations, save the dates, anniversary, birthday, and any other kind of party invitation you could think of. They have beautiful modern, traditional, formal, casual and everything in between for any kind of stationary you need. And they are incredibly reasonable for brides on a budget. (I found everything I need for under $300 which included invitations, envelopes with liners, reply cards with return envelopes, and place cards for the reception!)

Here are some examples which all have different color options as well:

Go check it out and save some money!

I’m happy to say that my dress has finally come in. Well, I should say it finally came in for the second time. This wait was much worse than the first considering the disaster that unfolded the first time around- Manufacturing problems all over the place and so small I could barely zip it up. A serious blow to my self esteem. Anyway, the dress was shipped to my house and I sat and stared at the box for about an hour, scared to open it. Too much was riding on this dress. Will everything be fixed? Or was I going to have to go out hunting again for the perfect dress that I thought I already found? Ugh.
So I got up the courage to open the box. At first glance things looked ok. Certainly much better than before. Next step… put the dress on. Slowly step in. Zip up… pause. It fits. Holy crap it fits! (Pretty sure there was a chorus of angels singing in the background at this point.) I walked over to my mirror and started to scrutinize. Everything was better. I no longer looked like 10 lbs. of potatoes in a 5 lb. sack. I actually looked good. In fact, I looked damn good! The color and fabric is perfect. Definitely still need alterations like most wedding dresses, but it fits exactly the way a wedding dress should fit when you first put it on.
I’m so happy. I’m thrilled because this is absolutely, 100% my dress. I got those feelings again. Those feelings that make me so excited and anxious to walk down the aisle towards Chris in this dress. He’s going to love this dress. I’m going to feel beautiful wearing this dress. I’m marrying the love of my life in this dress.

So I have spoken of my love for anemones as wedding flowers. I love the white ones with large black centers. I think they are totally elegant and striking. However, being that my wedding is in Buffalo, NY, we have a problem with anemones. Though everything I’ve read says that anemones are in season November-April (perfect for my January 1 date) apparently this isn’t always the case depending on your location.

Now everything can be done for a price… so if I wanted to spend a small fortune to have white anemones grown specifically for me in Holland and then shipped to Buffalo… well then I could probably have my anemones. Sadly- I do not have a small fortune to spend. When using only one kind of flower, you also run the risk of something bad happening to the batch and then you’re stuck with no alternatives. It’s a risk that I don’t think I’m willing to take.

This is why I’m very happy I have a back up flower choice. It’s called a glamelia. I found it while reading about celebrity weddings and learned that Katherine Heigl had glamelias for her flowers. A glamelia isn’t actually a type of flower- it’s more of a technique. You start with one flower such as a rose and then you take individual petals and slowly sew them together build them around the original flower. You eventually get the effect of one huge single flower which looks something that looks like this-

Stunning, no? I’m thinking of doing them all white with touches of hopefully black petals randomly placed throughout the large flower. For my bridesmaids, they would just get an all white smaller version. I love things that are just slightly off the beaten path. Something that not everyone has seen before. This huge flower could be the wow that I’ve been looking for.

Depending on the type of flower you start out with, you’ll need one with pretty sturdy, meaty petals, but this can be relatively inexpensive because the florist doesn’t need thousands of flowers. I’ve gotten quotes for $60-100 per bouquet. There are a lot of factors that can go into pricing such as type of flower and size of the glamelia, etc. So call your local florist for an estimate. I also recommend bringing pictures.

A lot of people have been asking me- so how do I start planning? There’s so much to take in and where do I even start? Well here’s some sage advice from someone who’s been there, didn’t listen, and wishes she would have.

First thing is first- set your budget. This number will drive your entire wedding. Ask (politely) who can and will be able to contribute to your wedding. Will either your or your partner’s parents be able to help out or will you be funding everything on your own? Get as close to a solid number as you can from everyone who will be contributing. Once you have a set budget- don’t waver. Unless you come upon a large windfall of cash or find a long lost millionaire relative- stick with your budget. Budgets can be a nasty point of contention on your otherwise happy engagement especially if you start to get eyes for 14k gold edged place settings, Vera Wang dresses, and Rihanna as your wedding band. There are great budget calculators on WeddingWire.com and TheKnot.com where you can input your entire budget and break it out amongst all the different vendors. You can then customize them as needed. So that’s priority one- set the budget.

After you have a solid budget set- sit down with your fiance and make a list of 3 things that are the most important to the both of you on your wedding day. These are the areas where you are willing to splurge a little. For example, the must haves for Chris and me were venue, food, and photography. These were areas which were most important to us and we are willing to sacrifice in other areas to have better quality. These “deal-breakers” will help keep your budget in check but also allow for some leeway in what you feel is important and special. Make sure you and your fiance agree on your deal breakers. Maybe you each choose one and then decide on the third together. This ensures that you both are getting what’s most important to you on your wedding day.

Next decision you’ll have to make is when and where. Are you set on a specific date or a specific place? If the date of your wedding is most important then start searching for venues right away and put a deposit down as soon as you find one you love. If you’re more interested in the venue then do some research and take your time finding a great place. If you love a place that’s out of your budget, try asking out about off season dates. Friday and Sunday weddings are also a great way to save money but still keep your favorite place. Once you find a place you love, figure out the season you’d like to get married in and find what dates are available. I love our venue, so we chose a date in January, during the off season to save half the cost on the site fee.

Last big decision regards your style. Your venue can help influence this aspect of your wedding- indoor/outdoor, formal/casual, contemporary/vintage, etc. Do you have funky style or classic? Consult your fiance on this and come up with a plan about the type of affair this will be. His opinion is important and though he might not care about the tiny details like you do, he’ll probably want a small say about the style of the event.

Remember you’re getting married and compromise is going to be the newest and most frequent word used in your vocabulary. Compromise really starts with planning your wedding. Most people don’t have an endless budget so you’ll have to decide on what’s important and what’s not.

Either way, you’re getting married and that’s pretty awesome. And if all this is too much for you… just elope!

So now tell me- what are your 3 most important areas for your day?