The Date Is Set - October 17!

The date is set for October 17, 2009 - the next big day! Emily and Bill will be tying the knot.

This day in history the following events occurred:

Events
539 BC - King Cyrus The Great of Persia marches into the city of Babylon, releasing the Jews from almost 70 years of exile and making the first Human Rights Declaration.
1091 - T8/F4 tornado strikes the heart of London.
1346 - Battle of Neville's Cross: King David II of Scotland is captured by Edward III of England at Calais, and imprisoned in the Tower of London for eleven years.
1448 - Second Battle of Kosovo, where the mainly Hungarian army led by John Hunyadi were defeated by an Ottoman army led by Sultan Murad II.
1456 - The University of Greifswald is established, making it the second oldest university in northern Europe (also for a period the oldest in Sweden, and Prussia)
1604 - Kepler's Star: German astronomer Johannes Kepler observes that an exceptionally bright star had suddenly appeared in the constellation. Ophiuchus, which turned out to be the last supernova to have been observed in our own galaxy, the Milky Way.
1610 - French king Louis XIII is crowned in Rheims.
1660 - Nine Regicides, the men who signed the death warrant of Charles I, are hanged, drawn and quartered, another is hanged.
1662 - Charles II of England sells Dunkirk to France for 40,000 pounds.
1777 - American troops defeat the British in the Battle of Saratoga.
1781 - General Charles Cornwallis offers his surrender to the American revolutionists at Yorktown, Virginia.
1797 - Treaty of Campo Formio is signed between France and Austria
1800 - England takes control of the Dutch colony of Curaçao.
1806 - Former leader of the Haitian Revolution, Emperor Jacques I of Haiti was assassinated after an oppressive rule.
1814 - London Beer Flood occurs in London killing nine.
1860 - First The Open Championship (referred to in North America as the British Open).
1888 - Thomas Edison files a patent for the Optical Phonograph (the first movie).
1907 - Guglielmo Marconi's company begins the first commercial transatlantic wireless service between Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada and Clifden, Ireland.
1912 - Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia declare war on the Ottoman Empire, joining Montenegro in the First Balkan War.
1917 - First British bombing of Germany in World War I.
1931 - Al Capone convicted of income tax evasion.
1933 - Albert Einstein, fleeing Nazi Germany, moves to the U.S..
1941 - For the first time in World War II, a German submarine attacks an American ship.
1945 - A massive number of people, headed by CGT and Evita, gather in the Plaza de Mayo in Argentina to demand Juan Peron's release. This is known to the Peronists as the Día de la lealtad (day of loyalty). It's considered the birthday of Peronism.
1956 - The first commercial nuclear power station was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II in Sellafield,in Cumbria, England.
1961 - Scores of Algerian protesters (some claim up to 400) are massacred by the Paris police at the instigation of Nazi collaborator Maurice Papon, then chief of the Prefecture of Police.
1965 - The 1964-1965 New York World's Fair closes after a two year run. More than 51 million people had attended the two-year event.
1966 - A fire at a building in New York, New York kills 12 firefighters, the New York City Fire Department's deadliest day until the September 11, 2001 attacks.
1970 - Montreal, Quebec: Quebec Vice-Premier and Minister of Labour Pierre Laporte murdered by members of the FLQ terrorist group.
1973 - OPEC starts an oil embargo against a number of western countries, considered to have helped Israel in its war against Syria.
1977 - German Autumn: Four days after it was hijacked, Lufthansa Flight 181 lands in Mogadishu, Somalia, where a team of German GSG 9 commandos later rescues all remaining hostages on board.
1979 - Mother Teresa awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
1979 - The Department of Education Organization Act is signed into law creating the US Department of Education and US Department of Health and Human Services. Both replace the Department of Health, Education and Welfare.
1983 - Grateful Dead played for their one and only appearance in Lake Placid, NY
1989 - Loma Prieta earthquake (7.1 on the Richter scale) hits the San Francisco Bay Area and causes 57 deaths directly (and 6 indirectly).
1998 - At Jesse, in the Niger Delta, Nigeria, a petroleum pipeline explodes killing about 1200 villagers, some of whom are scavenging gasoline.
2000 - Train crash at Hatfield, north of London, leading to collapse of Railtrack.
2003 - The pinnacle was fitted on the roof of Taipei 101, a 101-floor skyscraper in Taipei, allowing it to surpass the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur by 50 meters (165 feet) and become the World's tallest highrise.
2003 - Eunuchs in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh float the political party Jiti Jitayi Politics.
2006 - The United States population reaches 300 million.
2007 - The Dalai Lama receives the United States Congressional Gold Medal.

A Wedding and a Barbie Continues with a new Bride!

I wondered what I would do with my blog... It is entitled A Wedding and a Barbie and the wedding is over... What is a girl and her barbie to do?

Be a Bridesmaid of course! Over the Christmas holiday, my dear friend Emily got engaged. She asked me to be a Bridesmaid in her wedding and I am truly honored! She was a Bridesmaid for me so I am looking forward to being there to support her during this wonderful but stressful time in her life.

Emily and I as Bridesmaid and Bride...

Over the next 10 months, I will be blogging about my experience as a Bridesmaid. It's going to be a wild and crazy ride! One I am definitely looking forward to blogging about!

Check back in 10 months - tentative October 17th for a photo of me and Emily, Bridesmaid and Bride! I can wait and I look forward to this journey with her!

Wedding Details Coming Soon

I have been such a slacker on posting all of my wedding details... but I really do "plan" on getting around to it soon. I need to figure out how to get the photo files from the wedding smaller before I even attempt to post the details! Keep you fingers crossed or feel free to enlighten me on changing the file size!

But... I can post that FABULOUS picture of my FABULOUS shoes! I recommend these shoes... They are lovely and are comfortable. They were perfect and I couldn't have been more happy with them.

The designer is Pura Lopez and the shoes are called Alis! You can check them out at www.footlux.com. They are amazing and we will make you feel like a Princess on your special day!

Wedding Photos - It's about time!!!!

I have my wedding photos in hand and they are truly all I could have ever asked for... Amazing! If you are getting married and need a photographer... you just simply must use Fleming Photography - Todd and Tara are the best! Check out their website: www.tflemingphotography.com

The photos are high resolution (and I am not tech savvy enough to be able to make the files smaller) and I am unable to post more here, but here are a few of my absolute favs! I have posted more on my Facebook... Check'em out!

Honeymoon - El Dorado Seaside Suites

We honeymooned at the wonderful El Dorado Seaside Suites in Riviera Maya Mexico. It was recommended to us. We spent 8 beautiful days on the beach. Here are some of my favorite pictures!The resort had several pools and lazy rivers running through it. Here is a photo of one of the many wonderful swim up bars. The scenery is amazing and brilliant colors. We were lucky enough to have one of the lazy rivers run by our private patio allowing us swimming access to a near by swim up bar.

Sitting pool side drinking a cold frosty beverage at one of the many pool side bars. There were many seculed spots where you could enjoy the peaceful atmosphere of the resort.

Joseph enjoying wearing my sunglasses and drinking a nice refreshing beverage. He didn't believe me when I told him I would post this picture on the blog! The building behind him was the main restuarant and bar.

The coral reefs and wonderful beach outside our room! Very nice! They weren't perfect for playing around in the ocean, but the water was refreshing. We spent an afternoon snokling around the coral reefs.

We enjoyed this resort, but I don't know if we would recommend it. I think there are better resorts in Riviera Maya. It was beautiful, but everything is gorgeous here.

The Truth About Weddings Revealed - Delusional Bride

A friend passed this along to me just a few minutes ago....

Check out the WorthALaugh.com website... Very funny stuff.

On October 1oth, they posted the attached fake magazine cover for Delusional Bride... Under the posting "The Truth About Weddings Revealed".

I enjoyed it and it brought a smile to my face. Something not easy to do with I am in the last two weeks of my wedding!

Anyway... Hope you enjoy "Delusional Bride" and Thank You WorthALaugh.com.... It was worth a laugh!

Panic, Panic, Panic!

Invitations... what do you want to know?

When I started planning my wedding in January, I thought I would only have to worry about the wedding invitation! Oh no... there are other invitations you will need to consider if you chose to go a bit overboard! I do love getting invitations in the mail. Of course, I won't be receiving any of these invitations. Guess I love sending them as well.

Here is the list of invitations I have sent so far:

Engagement Party

Save The Date

Wedding Invitation

Rehearsal Dinner

Bridesmaid Luncheon

The Engagement Party invitations were hand made by one of my bridesmaid and myself. Very cute and easy to make. I would recommend making them for at least one of the events you will be hosting. They are especially nice if you party is small. Don't recommend making over 100!

The Save The Date cards were purchased at Target for a reasonable price. The were a bit plan so I added a piece of card stock in a complimentary color. I actually printed on the card stock instead of the actual invite. I tied the card stock to the invite with a cute ribbon! I got tons of feedback. Everyone loved them.

The Wedding Invitations were the hardest for me. I spent months online looking over hundreds of websites. I thought I had found the perfect invite and it was within my price range! How perfect, right? Thank goodness I had taken the advice of a friend and ordered a sample! It ended up being not what I wanted. I ended up spending a bit more, but getting exactly what I had envisioned! I had the invitation designed by a local stationer. If you can't find the perfect invite, look to small up and coming stationers for help. You might get a good deal!

The Rehearsal Dinner are the absolute cutest! Entitled "Extreme Pig", they are die cut invites. Die cut means the card (or part of the card) is a method for punching or cutting out any special shapes by using a metal form that is called a die. This invitation has a paper pig attached with a bow to the invite. Love it... Love it... Love it! The die cut invites are very very cute. I would have loved to use all die cut invites, but I think one is enough. They are truly special and not to be over done. (See Rehearsal Dinner invite posting)

The Bridesmaid luncheon invitation is again a mix of a pre-made invite with added details from me. I ordered this invitation online and printed it at home. I added a bow AND an envelope liner in a matching color. The envelope liner is an easy way to make if you have a paper cutter. Kinko's also has paper cutters along with a wide selection of colored card stock. The liner is a nice touch and can be cheap to do (a few cents an invite).

FAVORITE ONLINE STATIONER: www.paperstlye.com

Dress is finished and hiding in Bartlett

The alterations to the wedding dress are complete and the dress is hiding in Bartlett with my MOH. Here's where the bad, but could be good news comes in. During my last fitting for the dress, it was still about an inch to big. I asked (what was I thinking) could you take it in more. I want it really tight. My dress is basically strapless and it weighs a ton! Ms Koulu took me up on it and shaved another inch (if not more) off my dress.

When I tried to on the last time to view her work, I had to suck in and hold my breath. Luckily, they did get the zipper up and the fit felt good. With the bodice tight, I hardly noticed the extreme weight of my dress! It also made me look thinner and flatered my figure. You know... the one I have been working on at the Gym since March. The dress is perfect! Good news....

Bad news.... There will be no room for any "enlargements" on my part.

Can I just say.... "Don't feed the Bride!"

Final Meeting with The Florist

I had my final meeting with my wonderful florist. What was suppose to be an hour meeting soon turned into 2 hours of flower shopping and brainstorming in the cooler of a local wholesale florist. Note: bring a coat if you ever do this!

The posted picture is one of the inspirational photos and represents the look we will be going for in regards to the floral arrangements.

I wanted a rustic, but elegant look. We will be using jasmine and corkscrew willow branches from my yard to make the arrangements complimented by lots of greenery from my yard as well. This has enabled my floral budget to go quite a bit further than it would have been able to go.

So if you are getting married and you have a green thumb, definitely mention it to your florist and invite them over to your yard for a sneak preview of what you will be able to provide.

The flowers for the wedding have been a big priority for me. I have spent more time with Susan than any other vendor and I truly feel it will pay off in the end.

If you are getting married in Memphis, you simply must give Susan's Florals a chance. Susan is the best and she has a great eye.... and the most important thing... She's loves what she does and she will make you feel like you are her only Bride and only worry in the world! Love her!

Victorian Cake Charms

A Victorian Tradition, to make your wedding grand. In days of old, charms of luck and good fortune were placed into the wedding cake. The custom of "Ribbon Pulling" dates back to the Victorian England when the bride hid small charms attached to ribbons within the layers of her wedding cake. The tradition has made a "charming" comeback with recently and I couldn't help but include them in my wedding planning.

With the help of two of favorite friends, I will be hosting a Bridesmaid Luncheon to thank my Bridesmaids and the other wonderful females in my life that have helped me through this hectic time in my life. It is at the Bridesmaid luncheon I plan on having the cake charms inserted into the cake.

Prior to the cake cutting, everyone will gather around the cake. Each person will get the chance to pull a charm from the cake and find out what promises are in their future. Each charm has a special meaning. I plan on printing out the meanings of each charm on card stock and have them available for everyone. No matter which is chosen, the future does look bright! I hope this charming 'ribbon pulling' will add to the day's delights!! Did I mention they are just too adorable! Love them!

Heart (true love)
Ring (next engagement)
Four-leaf clover (good luck)
Flower (blossoming love)
Wishing well (a wish will come true)
Anchor (travel and adventure)

Signing Back On... Maybe?

Can't believe it's been almost 3 weeks since my last post! Shame shame shame...

I am going to make an honest effort to try and post at least once every day up to the wedding...

Which is TWO WEEKS away!

I have thought about my blog several times a day since my last post, but I almost feel like I didn't want to share the fine details I had started to get into... I wanted there to be some sort of surprise. Why now? I haven't kept anything secret up until recently.... seriously why start now?

Things have started to feel different... more serious, a bit more real. I have always felt the blog needed to be light and a bit airy which is not how I am feeling right now... 4:17 am in the morning.

Maybe blogging is what I need to bring back the fun of getting married. With that said, I will make the effort to blog more and give more juicy details on the wedding.

Final dress fitting... Stop feeding the bride

Tomorrow is my final dress fitting....

So... Stop feeding the bride!

Yet Another Bridesmaid Shoe

I think we found THE shoe... well... Emily found THE shoe at Dillard's. The shoe is by Nina and the style is Kyleen. This shoe is specifically made for long term standing and is re-enforced and has extra padding for the ball of the foot... It's actually squishy and has a lot of give! Not to mention it is a perfect match for the dress which I verified today with the scarf from the dress!

The shoe is so cute... you know you can pair it with a pair of jeans and a sassy top for any night on the town.

I am almost sad that I won't have a pair of these to wear in the future but I do have a pair of fabulous Bridal Shoes that I am sure will provide comfort! They are sooooo great lookin!

Hopefully, everyone will approve this 3.25 heel in satin and I will be a happy bride that gets to check off yet another item on my list! Keep your fingers crossed... things are looking good for a positive outcome on this shoe!

Ring Purchased

Check off yet another item on the list... Groom's wedding ring purchased!

Mother Daughter Brunch

This past weekend, we had a Mother Daughter Brunch and big fun was had by all! It was a very special day for me and I felt like a Bride (not just a wedding planner!) Thanks to all who took part in the planning! It was a wonderful day and I am so happy that all the moms had a chance to meet.

Here is a picture with all the Mothers and Daughters!















And of course... the Mother of the Bride and the Bride (that's me!)





















All the bridesmaids and the bride in front of Owen Brennans!


















Another great pic... after we had all over eaten!