Ball -n- Chain

Last minute details

2006-07-28T01:23:00.000-05:00

I cant believe it is so close. It doesnt seem like it is already here and that all of my planning and work it about to come to an end. As of now I feel very calm and organized. With some amazing help from anessa, aunt linda, and of course my parents, everything seems to be coming together. Anessa has been a super help with organizing everything. Together we have everything timed and even have a master schedule for Wednesday through Sunday. I have even typed everyone involved in the wedding a detailed personal schedule so that everyone knows what is all going on and what is asked of them. Where anessa has been my coordinator, my aunt has been my decorator and florist. Together we have decided on all of the floral arrangements as well as all of the decorations needed for both the ceremony and the reception hall. Not only have we been deciding on decorations, many of them are being made by us so we have been super busy getting them all together. My parents of course have also been enourmously helpful. My mother and I have been running all over the place buying all the last minute things needed and taking care of all the last minute touches. Where my father has been doing all the heavy, and difficult work, and most importantly watching the budget!!! All together with all of the help Ive been given from these great people and so many more, things are all on track and everything seems to be going well - for now. When the last week gets here who knows how I will feel because there is going to be so much to do. Starting on Tuesday it will all begin because the rest of my immediate family, my grandparents, aunt and uncle, will be arriving to help with all the work that will be taking place the remainder of the week. Starting Wednesday night we will begin decorating the reception hall and then thursday will be devoted to decorating and arranging and then of course Friday is all the last minute details and rehearsal. I cant believe how time is flying by but I am excited to see how all of the work will pay off on the wedding day!

Last Wedding Shower

2006-07-28T01:10:00.000-05:00

On July 15th I was given my last wedding shower. There were 10 host, yes 10, Hilda, Rhonda, Judy, Peggy, Alma, Harlene, Johnnie, Cheyenne, Vicki, and Linda! They did a great job. This was my largest shower only because it included a larger list of invites. All of my family, G's immediate family, the local community and my church memembers were all invited and nearly all attended. It was a great turnout and G and I received some fantastic gifts. I wish I had some pictures to post but they were not taken on my camera so I have to get pictures from other people (which I obviously havent done yet). So thank you to all who attended the shower and all those who were responsible for the shower. It was a huge success and was so much fun!

Second shower, invitation party and Bridal Portraits - all the same weekend!

2006-07-03T18:46:00.000-05:00

On June 24 we had a very, very busy day. At 11 that morning I had a hair appointment to do a test run. It seemed to take forever, my mother and Anessa must have really thought it was taking forever, while they sat and waited. It was all worth it though, the outcome was exactly what I asked for.

After that was over we headed back to my soon-to-be MIL house where my soon-to-be SIL's hosted a shower for the grooms side of the family. G got to sit in on this one, with a little protest from some, but I asked him to and thought he would enjoy it being that it was his family. He had a blast sitting up in the front and getting to open gifts. We got some great gifts from those who attended and had a great time. Thank you to everyone that made it and shared in the occasion with us.

G and I opening gifts with the help of our junior bridesmaid.

The shower attendants.

After the shower and the guests left, G fixed some tasty fajitas for the family and his mother again hosted wonderfully with a full spread. Of course the night didn't end with this. A group of super supportive family and friends stayed around to help with the 'invitation party'. It was a chore, we were busy stuffing, addressing, sealing and stamping for approximately 3 hours. Seriously thank you so much to my mother, my maid of honor, her boyfriend, G's sister, his mother, and G's god-mother. You all were a huge help to G and I.

The very helpful crew all hard at work.

The following day, the craziness didn’t end. I was having my bridal portraits taken. I had to be back at the hair salon by 9, and from there traveled to Anessa's house were she did my make-up and got me all glamorous. My mother, grandmother and maid of honor met us there and we all went to the imax-museum district in Houston. It was really fun, a little too hot but so much fun! Before going to met the photographer we got a quick bit to eat. Of course, I’m all done up with a tiara and veil and then just shorts and a button up shirt on. But everyone made sure to stare and the best question asked was "Did she just get married?" I had to laugh and think to myself - yep I just got married in shorts and just a few of us women (no groom) decided to celebrate at the Luby's! WHOOHOO! After eating we went to met the photographer, but I still had to get dresses. So being the modest person I am, my maid of honor and soon-to-be SIL help me get dressed in the parks parking lot. No it was all fine, nothing was shown, were amazing at being girls. The only creepy part was when an older man came up and asked if we needed any help - we replied that we had it handled. From there we walked all over the place and took alot of pictures. It was really HOT and we were all sweaty, but again we are amazing girls, we were prepared for everything, and I never looked bad because they were on top of things. I am so thankful to everyone that went that day and endured the heat just for me, I am so lucky to have such wonderful people around me. I cant wait to get the pictures back and see how they all turned out.

Well as far as that weekend goes that was the highlights, I had a wonderful shower and super helpful group with the invitation party, and an exciting, yet hot day of picture taking.

C's take on the first shower

2006-07-03T18:21:00.000-05:00

G covered the first shower info so well, but I thought I should get on (finally) and give my thoughts. My aunt threw a wonderful shower for me in Laredo, hosted at the coyote creek restaurant. She put a lot of work into it and made it look fabulous. We occupied time by playing some really funny games, one of the funniest was where you had to walk with a lime between your knees and drop it into a glass - there are some really funny pictures and video of this. I must admit that I was overcome by the kindness of all of these women that came and shared in this wonderful occasion, many of whom I had not previously met. So again, thank you aunt and relay my thanks to your family and friends, it was a great event.

Heres a picture of me and my aunt...

Most recent news and our first shower

2006-06-22T21:14:00.000-05:00

Okay so maybe not OUR first shower because apparently the guys don't get to participate in the shower itself, which I guess is okay because I get to hang out with the guys and drink some brewskies and stuff, the word brewskies is so under used so please use it at your leisure. So this past weekend was the first of the showers, in Laredo, and I am so thankful for C's aunt and uncle because C's aunt threw her this amazing shower and it was spectacular, or so I hear, I did however get to hang out with C's uncle and papaw which is always very fun, I truly enjoy getting to spend time with both of those guys, they are incredible people. I even learned the rules of soccer while watching the world cup and who would of thunk it, I like soccer now, thanks to C's uncle, even though the US lost I am now going for Ghana, but that's a whole different subject. So we ended up getting a bunch of great things from the shower and C had a lot of fun. This weekend we are having my side of the family shower and then on Sunday C gets to get her bridal portraits done, so that's pretty exciting. Other than that nothing new has been going on, C has 2 more weeks of summer school and I am anxiously awaiting my next interview with Austin PD. So until the next time we find time just remember that I am the coolest thing....probably in the world.

C before the shower......she's hot

The shower attendants

A 5ft rattler that C's uncle killed with a stick....He's pretty Bad Ass

The most exciting post ever

2006-06-01T20:44:00.000-05:00

Okay so for the millions of people that read this daily I realize that ya'll can't wait to see what has been going on since we decided to go to Cabo.....well this is whats been going on. We, okay C, has been finding decorations and trying to finish up some loose ends for the wedding. We still have a long way to go but we are ever so closer everyday. C just started summer school at UT and at about the same time her laptop decided to give out on her, luckily we have two computers so she shouldn't miss a beat with school. Hopefully it can get fixed instead of us having to buy a new one. I myself have been staying busy with the great flea battle of 06 with the petting zoo that is our house, allbeit similar to the great possum kill of 06, I am having a harder time with the fleas. So that is about it for now we promise to post more often for our needy public. O ya C's bridesmaid dresses came in they are very pretty...

Fleas love me

Fleas love us more.....Hooray Fleas

And The Winner Is.........Cabo San Lucas

2006-05-17T13:27:00.000-05:00

So I said somewhere in the Caribbean but we found this great spot in Cabo that will be awesome, I have to say thanks to nessa for working so hard to get it as well, so thanks. C and I are going to leave the day after the wedding and stay for 5 days on the beach. Which apparently means that I need to go to the gym or something.... The resort is secluded from the town of Cabo but it is only a 10 min walk to the center of town or a few second drive. The resort is Sol Mar and you can visit the website at solmar.com if you like. We like the idea of it being secluded b/c we can relax in peace without being surrounded by the town's upbeat environment, and then when we get tired of relaxing we can go hit the nightlife or do a number of daytime activities. Of course you have to ask "will we get tired of relaxing?" or "will we even relax?"

View of one of the pools

The resort

More Things Completed

2006-05-15T08:34:00.000-05:00

So we have more things complete now. We have selected the tuxes and we got our wedding bands in and today I get to pick them up. Who would have known that titanium doesn't weigh anything, I think that a post-it note weighs more than my ring, C's is a different story..... C is finally done with the spring semester and we are both glad b/c if you have ever planned a wedding then you know how hard it is, especially when you only have about 3 months left. C has done a fantastic job so far... it is almost like she has done this before.......:) C is spending the week with her g-ma and aunt to get flowers and more decorations done and she will also be making a trip to nessa'a for more planning and scheduling, so she continues to stay busy. While I am currently dealing with my dogs that all of a sudden have flea colonies on them and all they do is scratch and spread fleas to the cats, so I get the less glorious job of killing fleas while C has the more stressfull job of more planning. The next stage for me in this process is to find plane tickets that are cheap to one of our hopeful honeymoon destinations, nothing is concrete yet but I am thinking somewhere in the Caribbean....I know what your thinking...The Caribbean..... for the honeymoon... how original....no one ever said that I was original. No matter where we go I will be with C so it will be great. And we get to stay for free so that's even better......

A Tribute to My Beautiful Fiance

2006-04-27T13:11:00.000-05:00

I noticed that C had not posted in a while and so I figured I would. She has been so busy with trying to balance wedding plans and school while keeping me in-line that she hasn't had a chance to update. I am probaly not good at this but here we go, we ordered our invitations and they look really neat we both liked them a lot, paper is very expensive apparently. We are going to pick out tuxes as well as our wedding rings within the next week, well I guess we aren't picking the rings out because we already know what we are getting, apparently metal and diamonds are expensive, but titanium is not:) So thats what is going on with the wedding, now, C is the most hard working person I know, I don't know when she sleeps or if she does. Being able to balancing the load that she takes with the strict demands of UT's engineering program really speaks toward her character. She is so persistant in her pursuits in life that she has and always will be an inspiration to me and others. I don't know if she realizes how much I look up to her but I do, a lot. I can honestly say that I love her more and more everyday and I can't wait until she becomes my wife. I love you C AMATSITSATSITS

My dress is in!!!

2006-03-24T20:12:00.000-06:00

Yes, already...my dress wasn't supposed to come in till late April even May but apparently they stitch quickly. So while I was home over spring break taking care of all sorts of other wedding day planning, I made a trip to the boutique for a fitting. It fit perfectly! I love it soooo much! While I was there I took some time and looked at the new dresses they had on display and out of all the dresses there I still thought that mine was the best by far. I am so glad I went with the dress I did. I want to go try it on again - right now! Soon I will go again but I need to take my maid of honor with me so she can learn all the tricks of putting it all together for me.

Im ready for my close-up

2006-03-24T19:11:00.000-06:00

I think the hardest part of planning this wedding (well so far) has been trying to find a photographer. Granted I have been procrastinating but not really...I mean there is this thing about taking engineering classes that seem to preoccupy my time. And G of course is always working and for the most part leaves all the planning up to me. Either way, I probably looked through a hundred or more photographers websites and tried to print out all the ones that seemed to have reasonable prices and good pictures. From there I just kept thinning the search. Of course when I finally got down to the one I wanted, I called and found out they were booked on my date! So I had to go back through my list to figure out who had the next best deal. Luckily they were not book so to make sure I didn’t miss out on them I sent in my deposit right away. So now my photographer is booked and we'll be taking our engagement pictures in one week - Woo Hoo!

Mmmm Fajitas!

2006-03-24T17:48:00.000-06:00

Yep, fajitas that what were having! Why you ask, because G and I LOVE Mexican food and so do many other people. Also, since it will be buffet it should make the lines move quickly because no one likes to wait in a long line. Plus Im just tired of bbq at weddings. Dont get me wrong, I love bbq but I like to do things different so I thought fajitas were pretty different and still really good. So fajitas it is! Caterer is booked and the food is now scratched off of my list of things to do! Oh ya and there will be chips and salsa for snacking! If you dont like fajitas there will be cake! Oh and dont worry the theme wont be mexican or anything...just the food.

Bridesmaids Dresses Ordered!

2006-03-24T14:47:00.000-06:00

I finally took care of ordering the bridesmaids dresses, which is so not an easy task. I collected the measurements from all of the girls and had to go and order the dresses all at once. It was good because it gave the girls a 30% discount which saved them each about $40. The bed part was that I had to try and figure out which size to order everyone from their measurements. Does anyone’s measurement ever fit perfectly with a size chart? Let’s just say I was on the phone with a few of them so that I wouldn’t make the wrong decision about a size.

I also had a shocking surprise when I went to order them. Previously, I had been told by another store that the dress I wanted came in junior sizes (since I have a junior bridesmaid). However when I went to order the dresses I found out that it did not come in junior sizes. So I had to change the dress that the girls will be wearing. Luckily my second favorite (which was also favored by all the girls) did come in junior sizes. Looking back on it I am actually glad that I had to change the dresses because I think that it will match my dress better.

So I am glad that I finally had that taken care of. The dresses are set to be shipped on June 10 which means that wont get here till June 15. That is perfect timing, it gives each girl just over a month to have any adjustments made if necessary. Here’s a early peak at the dress (click on cobalt to see the right color).

Our 6th year 'dating' anniversary

2006-02-04T22:46:00.000-06:00

So today, February 4th, is our 6 year 'dating' anniversary. It is hard for either of us to believe...6 years! Where does the time go? It is weird to think about it, this is the last 'dating' anniversary we will have. We're closing a chapter of our lives and starting a new one come August. Throughout it all we have shared a lot of time and even more memories together, and I am excited to think of our future together, hand in hand.

What's going on...

2006-02-04T22:31:00.000-06:00

Well classes started in January and I have been busy with homework and such already. So as far as wedding planning goes, it has been put to the side unless I find free time. However, I think I am beginning to feel the pressure, I only have 6 months left...sounds like a lot but it will fly by! So here recently I have been searching for a photographer. I found a lot of really good ones, so I need to start narrowing my selections. I have been calling around trying to find a caterer that has reasonable prices, so if you know someone in the area that is a good caterer drop me their name and number so I can get a quote. Also I have been trying to look around at invitations. I actually have an appointment Tuesday night to flip through endless amounts of samples, maybe with any luck I will be able to find the right one and scratch one more thing off of my list. And the last thing that I am currently focused on is ordering the bridesmaids dresses. That actually wont happen till March, but I am currently gathering all the appropriate information from my bridesmaids so that I can get the dresses ordered on time.

Bridesmaids Dress

2006-01-09T14:24:00.000-06:00

Sorry I havent been on lately. I recently was swamped with finals and then the holidays and then back home at my parents' (who only have dial-up, so there was going to be no updating there). Well now I am back in Austin and preparing for the semester to start back up again.

Over my winter holiday I did try to get some things taken care of. I grabbed up one of my bridesmaids and I hit the dress stores to find a dress for them. Man there are some ugly dresses out there! Out of all the dresses she tried on we narrowed it down to 4 types that I emailed to all of my bridesmaids to see which one they each liked. It was pretty surprising that everyone seemed to like the same ones. Out of the 4 it was narrowed down to 2. So of the two I have decided to go with the one that is CHEAPER and is a two piece. I doubt they will really ever have the chance to wear the whole dress again but they may be able to wear the top with bluejeans when the go out. So I really like the dress and from the reactions of my bridesmaids they do to! Since it will take 12-14 weeks to order the dresses I will be ordering the dresses come mid March.

The top is not the correct blue but it was all they had to try on, the skirt is the blue that I like, but I want the one that flows more...

I also realized how close August 5th really is and how much I still need to do. I can feel the pressure coming!!!

Check out my other site:

2005-12-04T19:48:00.000-06:00

So if you didnt already know, or if you had not noticed the new link over to the right, I also have another website on The Knot, just search for mine or G's name and you can find it! It has some additional information about the wedding and it has a guestbook. If you haven't already signed it, please do, I love to see who is looking at the sites. So go over there and sign! Also if you have any recommendations, information, or just want to say hey, leave a message in my comments on here.

Reception band: Check

2005-11-23T10:42:00.000-06:00

Woohoo, one more thing taken care of. I sent the band I want to book an email and they already replied say "consider it booked".

So I guess your wondering-who is playing. Well considering that DJ's are great and all, but a band makes it special I decided I wanted a band to play. Then taking into account that both G and I are big polka/waltz/two-step fans and considering that more people will get up and dance to that type of music, I asked around (my grandmother mostly) to see who was recommended. She is the one that recommended that I look into the Bobby Jones Czech Band. So together G and I went to a local dance in our hometown and decided that we really like them. They are a full band, with all the instruments: accordion, trumpet, sax, trombone, fiddle, guitar, clarinet, tuba, button accordion, steel guitar, drums and Bass Guitar. Granted some of them play more than one instrument, but it keeps the music interesting.

They play it all (basically) waltzes, polkas and two-steps, from Cajun to country to swing. I really liked them because of that, they can play just about anything you request, granted if they are not 100% sure about the words they will incorporate their own, but it is actually really funny when you catch them changing words! Plus I really like that they are a czech band, both G and I are ~75% German and ~25% Czech, so we get to 'kinda' represent our heritage also. So when you come, bring your dancing shoes because I expect everyone to dance. Also bring a few special requests because they normally play off of requests. If you have any song recommendations you can let me know because I will most likely need to send a song list to them, and I have a few songs I know I want. It’s so nice to have one more big thing off of my list, now just to find some invitations and caterers.

Heres a picture I stole off of their website:

Mark your calendars - Aug 5!

2005-11-22T20:22:00.000-06:00

So the official wedding date is August 5, 2006. The first saturday in August! Mark your calendars!

The groom

2005-11-22T19:54:00.000-06:00

Just a quick little insite of the groom. A few weekends back (considering that I am really bad about updating on here) G and his close friend, the best man, cut down the dead tree in his back yard.

Then the next day some of his friends stopped by and we all got together for a back yard BBQ. First let me say that he didnt cut the entire stump down on purpose. But if you dont know G, let me just say that there is rarely a dull moment around him. So for a fun little laugh here is just one of the many crazy things he did that day to keep us all laughing. Plus it is the only thing I took a picture of.

One thing I know is that, even in our old age, I will never know what to expect next out of G, thus making life interesting. I think it is his joy for life and laughter that I love the most about him, his personality is what truely made me fall in love with him!

Countdown~ 255 days!

2005-11-22T19:47:00.000-06:00

Yep, I have 255 days of being 'single' left! Sounds like a long time but that is just over 8 months from now!!! I need to get busy planning this thing.

Reception Hall: Check

2005-11-22T18:11:00.000-06:00

So now one more important task is checked off of my list. The reception hall is now rented! This thing is slowly coming together. Granted, it is slow because of me, I havent had much time to do anything else with school. But I only have about 2 more weeks before I am out for christmas break so maybe I can accomplish more then. Any way back to what I have done: reserved the reception hall. It is incredibaly HUGE, I am actually kinda worried about decorating it and not having the place look empty. It is pretty neat because the stage is movable so I can set up the place however I want. Now to start thinking up decorations and arrangement so the place looks great!

What do I have left - everything! Important things: invitations, caterers, photographers, musicians (ceremony and reception), bridesmaid dresses, and so so much more!

So I have a little .mpg video of the hall, but I dont know how to upload on here. If anyone knows could you let me know?

I think the date has changed...Aug 5, 2006

2005-10-19T21:56:00.000-05:00

So I think I have found the perfect reception place - large, air-conditioned, economical, decent location. Sure all sounds great right- so what's the catch? MY DATE IS ALREADY BOOKED!!! I was shocked. How could a small town building be booked so far in advance? So all I can do is change my date. The weekend before my date was open. So if I can go ahead and get the deposit in I plan on reserving that date. Considering that I am away at college and can't just drop in and reserve the date, I have asked for a huge favor from my MIL-to-be. She lives the closest to the reception site, so I asked if she could sign the contract for me so that I can get the date reserved. So as soon as I hear from her that it is reserved then the date will be set in stone!

It's no big deal for the date to change. The original date was chosen because:
*I knew I did not want to wait till I graduated, with my degree who knows where I will get a job right out of college. I knew for sure I wanted to be married in my hometown, but who is to say I will be living anywhere close. It would be very difficult to plan a wedding, have a new job with no time off, and live far away.
*I didn't want to get married right after I graduated because - well that just wouldn't be all that fun for me.
*I knew I couldnt get married while taking classes -obviously

So basically even if I took summer classes in 2006 I would be finished with them by mid July and fall semester never starts till 30/31 of August. So, early August was the best time - giving me roughly a month of dead time to get last minute stuff all together, and a few weeks after the wedding to have an enjoyable honeymoon and a week or so of rest before classes start.

With all of those stipulations we just went with August 12, because it was the second weekend of the month and it seemed like a good time. So changing it to August 5, no problem! I just hope I get the reception hall booked soon so I can get that behind me.

Here are some pictures from the website, I need to go and take some pictures myself so I can get some decorating ideas.

I feel so behind!

2005-10-19T16:52:00.000-05:00

I have been swamped with so much class work and for the past few weekends I have been busy with other obligations. I keep thinking that I have plenty of time. But seriously I only have 10 months. Sure that sounds like a lot of time but can anyone tell me when October started? I can't believe this month is already nearly over. Let's see what have I been doing in preparation of the wedding -hmmmm? For the most part I have been trying to come up with a reception location that agrees with all of the requirements. I think I have found the perfect place, I need to call and get all of the info but we will have to see. So that is about all I have done. I haven't booked anything but at least I am narrowing my search.

So here are some fun things I have been doing lately:

Three weeks ago I hosted a lingerie shower for my 'soon to be aunt'. The wedding for my uncle is actually this weekend! Exciting! Here are some of my favorite pics:

a quick peek at the cake. Thank you, again, to my anonymous friend for baking such a hilarious cake!

Me and the honoree of the party

My brother getting his leg rubbed while she decides which leg belongs to her man.

Last weekend was a whirl wind of busyness. I had a friend's wedding and then my soon to be Mother in Law's 'BIG 50'(I mean 39, as she puts it) surprise party. Sillynessa, Andevine (my soon to be sister in laws) and I hosted the party. But I have to say that Sillynessa is an awesome party planner so Andevine and I basically were there for help. Here are some great pics from the party.

This is right when she walked in the door. She was definitely surprised. It turned out a little dark, so click on the picture to see it a little bigger.

Its the birthday girl! Happy Birthday!

Bridal Extravaganza!

2005-09-26T12:37:00.000-05:00

On sunday Austin hosted a bridal extravaganza. I was worried that I would have to miss it, like I have missed so many already, but luckily G and I were both able to go! G had to go to work that evening so it gave us only a few hours to spend at the event. It was really fun. We walked the whole event and stopped at all of the photographers and most of the invitation booths. Since were having the wedding back in our hometown, the majority of the booths at the event were of no use to us. We were able to see all of the booths but I wish we were able to stay longer and watch some of the shows they had. Although, since I had already bought my dress I was not too disappointed. I think the best part of the day was that I was able to spend time with G. Between his work and my classes we catch each other in passing and it has been a while since just the two of us went out and did something new and interesting. I was really surprised how G was so interested in going and had a good time while there. I havent had the chance to go through my bag of goodies yet but will soon.

320 days to go!

The First Kiss...

2005-09-16T22:01:00.000-05:00

G and I had been 'hanging out' for a few months at this point. Basically we were still in the 'just talking' stage because both of us were still a little unsure if the other really did like us (we were young give us a break). The day was my closest cousin's wedding and I was one of the bridesmaids! (She will be one of mine too!) So the entire day I was swept away in all of the excitement of being in a wedding. G did attend the wedding, all by himself, and sat in the back. It was a beautiful wedding...

My cousin and I right before the big 'I Do'. Ignore the mouth full of metal I have.

At the reception, G stayed mostly with his extended family and I of course sat at the head table. The reception was a lot of fun, everyone was in a great mood there was a lot of dancing and of course a lot of drinking! Most important to me was that G actually danced a few times with me. This from the guy that wouldn't dance with me at my birthday party.

G and C at the reception. We look sooo different! G actually used to keep this picture in the display in his truck.

It was a Sunday night (long explanation of why, but it was a good one) so many people could not stay very late because of work the next day. This included G because he had to get up at 5am to get to work, but he actually stayed as late as he possibly could. When he finally had to leave, I walked out to his truck with him and we stood around talking for a little while. Finally he really needed to leave so we slowly wrapped up the conversation. It was a great night completed when G slowly leaned down and gently kissed my lips. For the next few days I was on cloud nine. There was a lot of memories from that day but my first kiss with G was the highlight of that night for me.

Ok so obviously this is not from that day, but it is a really cute picture of us, and I thought it fit well with the story.

Classes have started...

2005-09-02T19:45:00.000-05:00

So I have officially jumped head first into the fall semester. August 31st was my first day of classes and I can already tell that this semester is not going to be very fun. So as promised all wedding planning is postponed unless I actually have no homework, reading or studying to do. So far in roughly 2 weeks I have already managed to get behind. With so much homework, studying and reading to do I have only had time to focus on the homework. This approaching weekend I already have planned out...machine elements homework, materials processing homework, communications presentation, and reading for all of my 6 classes so I can try to get a better understanding. Oh yeah somewhere in there I will try to find some time for myself. It will most likely be when the Texas vs Ohio State game is on! Hook 'em! With any luck I will also have time to post a fond memory of G and I. I promise I will try and update randomly, please don't give up on me.

I fell in love ~ With A Dress!

2005-08-29T18:49:00.000-05:00

So on Friday morning I left Austin and headed back home. I grabbed up my mom and my grandmother and we went dress shopping in Houston. Since my fall semester is starting Wednesday, I wanted to get some shopping in so that I could know what style of dress I want and even which stores to shop at. The first store we went to we were there over 3 hours and I tried on so many dresses, all of which I thought were fabulous. Well in the event of trying on dresses, I found THE DRESS. Yes you heard me I found the one! Not only did I find my dress, I also went ahead and bought it! It was such a huge event. Just the day before G asked me if with all of the dress shopping I had been doing did it seem more real that I was actually getting married. I was like 'well I guess so, it's fun trying on dresses.' Trying in dresses really is a blast, you get to feel so pampered and pretty. But it is such a big event to buy the dress. When I said that it was definitely that dress I wanted, my stomach became one HUGE knot. I mean that is like one of the biggest parts of the wedding, everyone takes special note of the dress. Not only that, but to know that it is a non-refundable, non-exchangeable things, makes it where you had better be 100% sure that you want this one. But there was no contest, I had been looking around and there had been several dresses that I really liked and considered buying, but when I tried on this one, I knew that it was for me. So I have to say thanks to my mother and my grandmother for going with me and helping me with such a huge decision. It was so nerve racking for me to decide on my own, but to know that they both loved it, reassured me that it was meant for me. But most of all I have to say 'thank you' to my mom for whipping out the ol' credit card that bought it, and to my dad who didn't flip out when he heard the price!

I've been dress shopping!

2005-08-25T17:07:00.000-05:00

On Wednesday and Thursday I decided I should get out there and start seeing what style of dress I may want. So I grabbed up my list and maps and hit the road. I must say that trying on wedding dresses is SO MUCH FUN!!! I had a great time, and I have already found some keepers. Of course the ones that I absolutely LOVE, cost way way too much. Who knows, with any luck we'll win the lotto and then it wont matter. (I can hope right?) I have been to a few of the specialty bridal boutiques and then some of the larger nation wide boutiques here in Austin. I took my trusty digital camera with me so that I could keep track of which dresses I like and may want to go back and get. I would post some of the pictures but that would kind of ruin the surprise. Also, G may not ever post but he does check it sometimes so I cant have him seeing what I may buy! Friday morning I am driving back home to go dress shopping with my mom in Houston. I am looking forward to that, I trust my mother's opinion and have missed her not being with me these past two days to tell me if it really does look good or not. I thought that I had more than enough time to dress shop but I've learned that it takes around 4 months for the dress to be ordered and come in. Plus I have to allow around one to two months for alterations. So I guess it is a good thing that I am out looking already. I think that if I find one that I cant do with out, for a reasonable price, I will go ahead and buy it. Otherwise I think that January will be when I buy my dress, just so I know I will have plenty of time for it to come in.

Do you know any locations?

2005-08-23T21:12:00.000-05:00

So I really need to start looking and even soon booking a reception location and considering that this is all taking place in a small town, I have limited options. I have only a few places in mind but with any luck there are more places out there that I don't know about. So I figured I could ask and see if anyone may be able to help. I need a reception location large enough to hold more than 300 people, has amble room for dancing (my family loves to dance), is air conditioned (August in Texas!), allows me to supply my own alcohol, my own food, and lets me have it for more than just a mere 4 hours. Yeah I know, picky, picky! Here's the tricky part, since the ceremony is in Hempstead the reception shouldn't be more than 15 minutes away (give or take). So any suggestions? If you do, leave me a comment, or email me or talk to me/my family. Please if you think of anything let me know, I may have overlooked it or not have know about it.

Scouring the internet gets boring!

2005-08-22T18:05:00.000-05:00

So considering that I am still in college I made a vow with myself, and my family, that all wedding planning would be postponed while I am taking classes. So for the past few weeks, between summer school and the soon to start fall semester, I have been trying to get as many ideas and planning done. Being so early still, there really isn't much that I can set in stone, but at least I can draw ideas and themes and such from the multitude of wedding websites. Lately I have been going through my massive amount of wedding magazines and finding all the bridal gown websites and then looking up the locations in Austin and Houston that sell dresses. Also while at the websites I have to take some time to glance through the dresses. There are so many dresses to look at, but the more I look at those tiny little pictures the more my eyes start going crossed! So I have all these stores all mapped out (literally) and have plans to grab up bridesmaids and shop soon! Hopefully Wednesday I will get a little Austin shopping in and this weekend maybe a little Houston shopping. Of course I have no plans on buying a dress but I would at least like to see what is out there and have an idea on what I may want to buy. As for now, I like nearly every dress I see! Not good, I definitely need to narrow my idea of what I like.

Also while online I thought maybe I would start comparing prices on invitations and get rough ideas on the total cost. Holy Cow!! How can some paper cost so much, seriously?! And it is not like I will be having a small wedding, I have been trying to type up an invitation list, I will need ALOT of invitations. I certainly don't want to cut anyone so there may be some invitations by mouth. Or maybe I just won't get the chance to be so picky, and will have to go with more basic invites. My other idea is to recruit crafty friends and make them! But I know I am not that crafty so that thought may just remain in my head.

The other thing I have been trying to find is a nice location for the reception. But since the ceremony is taking place in my small hometown there really are not many places to have a reception. Wait scratch that, there are not that many nice, reasonably priced, locations that hold over 300+ people. So if there are any ideas out there please let me know. Remember people, G just graduated and I am still in college, basically that means- LIMITED BUDGET!!! Pretty soon I guess I will have to start driving around and hoping I see something I didn't already know about.

Well that about sums up the internet searching I have been doing, doesn't seem like much but trust me, I have seen too many tiny dresses, too many over priced invitations, and way too many wedding favors and decorations. Why can't the websites have larger pictures? So glad there are free catalogs you can request instead so that I don't have to click around constantly, the mail man should love bringing me all those!

The Ring

2005-08-15T12:01:00.000-05:00

So for all you out there dying to know what the ring looks like I thought I would post a picture I have. It is absolutely magnificent, it literally took my breath away when he opened the cherry wood ring box.

I know what you're thinking, I had to have helped him pick it out, but no. Like I told you before I wanted to be completely surprised when he proposed and did not even want to talk about getting engaged, let alone look at rings. So while he was down on one knee holding this ring in front of me I was in awe at it. It was very funny to talk to him about his proposal, he told me how the entire day at the gardens whenever we were walking around he would always make me walk on his left side and always tried to hide his right side from me since that was the side that pocketed the ring box. I am very impressed by his ability to pick out gorgeous jewelry. He could have bought me a simple band and I would have loved it, but you know I'm not one to argue so I will keep this one. :)

Engagement Photos

2005-08-10T23:23:00.000-05:00

To take some engagement photos we enlisted the help of one of my close friends. I didn't want some 'studio' pictures so we hit up some really neat places around Austin to take pictures. First we made a trip to Zilker Park, and took pictures that had incredible views of the lake and the park in the background. After that we went over to the University of Texas' campus. The tower was still lit orange with the number 1 in it because the baseball team had just won the national championship. So there were some nice shots we were able to get with the lit tower in the background. Enjoy the pictures that I have selected as those I like the best...

I have to give credit to my friend Shelley, she is the one that was a huge help by being our photographer. I will tell you more about her in a following post.

Graduation/Engagement Party

2005-08-08T16:51:00.000-05:00

The party was meant to celebrate G's graduation from The University of Texas in May of 2005. Since he is so close with my family as well, we invited many of those from my family that live close. The party was very fun. It was a little warm out considering that is was July in Texas, but everyone seemed to have a great time. Some played volleyball, others played dominoes while most just sat around talking. The meal was great homemade BBQ compliments of G's Uncle G, cousin J and great uncle S. The party was thrown by G's father and hosted at G's cousins J&B's house.

During the gathering G opened gifts and thanked everyone for comming. After he finished, his father grabbed up G and I and announced that not only was this a celebration for G's graduation but also a way of bringing to two families together and thus having an engagement party. It was very touching how excited G's father was to announce our engagement formally to the two families.

Playing a little volleyball!
The families enjoying the day!
G his Father and C, announcing the engagement

If you would like to see ALL of the pictures from that day leave me a comment or send me an email and I will send you the link.

The Engagement

2005-07-28T20:52:00.000-05:00

In late May of 2005, G and his father had decided to go on one of their father/son golf trips to Louisiana in the small town of Florien. There is a local resort called Emerald Hills that is a hotel with a golf course and directly across the road there is a Lake and Gardens campsite named Hodges Gardens. The plan was to go on a Monday and stay till Wednesday. So when they asked if I would like to join in on this trip I thought, sure why not, I was just finishing up classes so I would have the time to go. We left, earlier than I sometimes go to bed, on Monday morning. So of course I slept the majority of the ride there. We checked into our cabin and G and his father were ready to go chase the white ball. So I decided to tag along as a rider and enjoy the day. It was fun, it was HOT, but it was fun. That night we went out to grab a bite to eat and enjoy the town. Of course we made it an early night since the morning had been so early. On Tuesday morning G and his father decided to go out for a round of golf early so that the heat wouldn't be as bad. Having my fill of sitting in a golf-cart for 4 hours the day before I opted to stay in and enjoy some extra sleep and cable.

After lunch we were ready to visit the gardens. We drove across the road to the neighboring lake/garden campgrounds. It really was a beautiful spot. We drove the paths they have available to see the entire park. We stopped and viewed the outlooks and the lake and moved on to view the gardens. At the top of a hill there is a nice gift shop and outlook tower that overlooks the garden and the paths. We decided to walk the paths and enjoy the blooming surroundings. Right as we were walking G's father said that he needed to go to the restroom, so he would just meet up with us in a few minutes. Whatever, everything seemed normal to me. So G and I started walking and looking around. We came up to a beautiful waterfall and stream that we stopped to take in. I even walked up to the water to take a closer look. It was actually a perfect opportunity for G to ask me because I was actually quiet for a second. But then we just moved on.

It was really hot out and not to mention humid so when we came up to a nice wooden bench under a canopy of trees, G suggested that we sit for a little while. Well I am really hard headed and decided I did not want to sit because if I sat I would feel even hotter because when you stop moving you realize how hot you are. Well at least it made sense to me. So G tried with all he had to make me sit, but I was stubborn and refused to sit, instead I just looked at flowers. G finally gave up and we kept moving along the paths. In the woods we came up to a stack of boulders. Jokingly I told G to climb up on them, so he turned it on me and asked me to climb. Well you already heard my theory so I again said that I would rather not. Talking and moving constantly, G tried endlessly to make me stop and catch my attention. He made comments like, 'I am really glad you were able to come with us' and 'so do you like this place?' I would reply briefly with, 'yeah me too' and 'yes this is nice, but man it’s hot'. Finally very annoyed that I wasn’t cooperating with him, he said -
'I am so glad you were able to join us on one of our trips, we can now say that the gardens is a special place for the two of us, because this will always be the place that I asked you to marry me.'
Well that comment made me quickly stop and turn around to him with a baffling response of 'Huh?'
G continued on with 'We have been dating for over 5 years now and I love you very much and want to ask you to marry me'
Or at least he said something like that, I cannot remember everything he said because after is first comment, everything slowed down and I was in total shock. With every word he said I stood there with a blank face saying 'Shut-up, are you kidding me, shut-up' Somewhere in the mist of his speech he got down on his knee and pulled out the ring, and in between my 'Shut-ups' I did say 'Yes'. The ring was shockingly gorgeous and as he held it out in front of me I removed it from the box and put it on my finger. G says that he only held it in front of me for a few seconds but it seemed like forever and I figured he wanted me to take the ring, but he really had wanted to put it on my finger himself.

It was exactly the way I wanted it to be. I knew that one day he would propose, we had already invested 5 years into our relationship. But I never wanted to talk about the possibility of him asking because I wanted to maintain some of the surprise, and I did. When he asked me I was taken off guard and completely surprised. I remember thinking while we were walking around, wow this would a great opportunity for him to propose, but never actually thought that he would. We walked out of the garden to meet back with his father, who did not have to go to the restroom, but was waiting for G to propose. After taking some pictures and talking about it we left the gardens and went back to the resort. A nice surprise was waiting for both G and I. G's father had secretly spoken to the resorts manager and arranged for the marquee to read:
Congrats Courtney and Garrett!

I immediately called my mom and told her, and after that the phone never stopped ringing, apparently nearly everyone knew that he was going to ask. We ended the evening with a nice dinner out. The next morning we left for home and then made out rounds announcing our engagement to friends and family nearby.

Our first real date~ what we base our anniversary off of.

2005-07-25T19:16:00.000-05:00

So it took a very long time for either of us to start even flirting with each other. But when my birthday came around, I had a party which I invited G to. He did come to it a brought a card with him, but he didn’t stay very long. After I opened my gifts the card he left had written in it… “An open invitation for dinner and a movie whenever you are available. Call me.”

Within a few weeks I took him up on the invite and we went out to the movies. From what I remember there wasn’t much showing so we were stuck watching Scream 3, the bad thing was I had never seen Scream 1 or 2. His sister Andy and her then husband met us there also. For the most part I remember the night going well. Of course, I do remember it being very cold out that night and I did not bring my jacket, and G never offered his to me, of course he doesn’t remember that happening! (I had to throw that in)

After my party I sent out thank you cards for the gifts I was given. His card said... “I’m so glad you made it to my party. I just wish we could have danced some more. I really enjoyed the dinner and the movie, we should do it again.” Wow how cheesy were we!

Geeze It seems so hard to believe that that happend over 5 years ago!

2005-07-14T18:28:00.000-05:00

G & C

How we met:

2005-07-14T14:31:00.000-05:00

You have to start at the very very beginning when I was just tiny infant and G was only a few years old. Our families attended the same church in our hometown. But G's parent's unfortunately divorced and G was moved to a neighboring small town. It wasn't until G had graduated and moved back to the hometown with his father that he again came to the hometown church that I was still a member of. Supposedly he spotted me long before I noticed him. It took a proactive effort from his oldest sister, Nessa, to bring the two of us together.

As a way of saying 'thank you' for the help I gave Nessa at a church function, she took myself and another girl to the movies. When G found out about his sister taking me to the movies, he asked her to take him along as well. With no hesitation on Nessa's part G was along for the ride.

On the day of us going out, Nessa informed us that we would be picking up her brother to go with us. G had thought that his sister had decided not to come pick him up so he had decided not to get ready and instead reclined in a chair in front of the TV wearing only some leisure shorts! Unfortunately, I was unable to see that, because as soon as he heard us opening the front door he high-tailed it to the bedroom.

There is not much to say about the day, we went to the movies, (he ended up sitting next to me) and then we grabbed some lunch (he again sat next to me). But being the naive person I am I never even considered that he liked me and really just figured that he was there to spend the day with his sister.

And that was about it for the day. Well I guess I really should include the main event of the trip. After dropping off the other girl at home, G and Nessa decided to put in a CD of NKOTB(for those of you who don't know what that is, New Kids On The Block) and insisted on singing each song at the top of their lungs. It is a memory forever burned in my mind because seriously how do you forget someone singing NKOTB - it was definitely hilarious.

Our First Post

2005-07-06T23:03:00.000-05:00

This is C and I's first post and you can follow us on our journey toward our wedding in August 2006.
We will both be posting at random times with updates of our lives leading up to our big day.

G.