How's this for wedding stress?

I'm about to call off the reception! (Keep in mind I'm just venting here and will get over this in a few minutes/hours/days/weeks?) I just found out that the person I wanted to do the cake is not going to be able to do it after all. (unless of course someone would like to help take up a donation of over $500 to replace his mixer) Arthur and I have already been stressing over what to do for the food for the reception for the last few months anyway and now I get to go back to square one stressing over the cake too. So, if there are any volunteers out there who want to cater, decorate, or bake for a reception as merely a favor for a deranged bride, I know of one who needs some help!!!! Or if anyone can come up with a plan for us to have a couple of thousand dollars more to spend on food for a reception, I might be game for that as well. But as my dear friend Carol always says, "This too shall pass." I just hope it passes quickly!

Monogram Competition

How would you like to see your creative handiwork on display at our reception? Arthur and I would like to use a specially designed monogram for some of the reception favors. So, we decided we would hold a MONOGRAM COMPETITION! We would like to encourage/invite/welcome you to submit your ideas for a monogram to us by February 14. After Valentine's, we'll post all the choices on the blog and let you vote for the winner! You may email your submission to arthur@arthurmclean.com I am so excited about the ideas people will have and which one you'll pick! If you need help learning how to design your own monogram, there appear to be plenty of instructions on the internet and it looks simple enough that even I could do it! :) But I know we have plenty of creative, artistic friends out there who will make it extra special for us by putting their talents to work!

I think it's safe to say

We finally paid the deposit on the Champion House. And just in time, too. There was someone else who had plans to mail in their deposit and snag it out from under us! So, I think we can start spreading the word that the reception will be held on Sat, May 31 at 2 pm at the Champion House in Thomasville. No invitations will be sent, so it's up to you to remember! :)

2007 was a heck of a year

Arthur fussed that I hadn't blogged enough in the past month, and here I go blogging everyday!

The Thomasville Times has changed their setup so that unless you have an online subscription, you can't view a full article on the web until it is at least two weeks old. So, for those of you who can't pick up a copy of the Times and can't wait another two weeks to see what Arthur wrote, I was allowed to have a copy of his column for this week. Somebody please tell me that I'm not the only one who cries when I read these things!!

2007 was a heck of a year.
It started with my father lying in a hospital bed. He died 12 days later.
And what else can I say about that? I've known I was going to write a column like this for a couple of months now, and the words are no easier to come by now than they were then.
He was my daddy. I loved him. He loved me. He was a good man, and I still want to cry when I think about him. I know I'm no different from you for feeling this way.
It's been hardest on my mother. The two were inseperable. My sisters and I have tried hard to be there for her this year, but as anyone who's lost a family member knows, the road beyond a loved one's death is an individual one.
And yet, despite this shattering loss, something else was slowly at work in my life.
During that difficult time, I was receiving the love and support of a special woman. Over the ensuing months, we grew ever closer and she's had a profoundly positive impact on my life.
With Bridgett's help, I kicked the smoking habit in April of this year. And again, with her taking on more roles than I can count, we opened a photography studio in August.
In November, we became engaged and now we're planning our wedding.
In between there's been the usual ups and downs of life like any other year, but we've been through them together.
And as if to bookend the year, Bridgett lost her grandmother just last week.
The only constant is change, they say. And I have no doubt 2008 will offer still more change in our lives. Thankfully, at the start of 2008, I am hopeful for the future.

It's official

Well, we can't back out now. I just paid for airfare and hotel for us to go to Montreal. We fly out of Atlanta on Thurs, May 22 and return on Wed, May 28. I don't know if I should provide too many details on here, so we'll leave it at that! haha I may not want EVERYBODY knowing how to reach me during my honeymoon! ;) Now maybe I'll start making more decisions since the big stuff is finally nailed down. Ok, am I the only one getting nervous here?????

wedding trends for 2008

Art said I needed to write something in my blog, so he suggested I talk about something I pointed out to him today. I was reading an article on the wedding trends of 2008 and boy are we on top of it! Antique heirloom rings are all the rage---guess what! I have one! Using the internet for blogs, polls, websites---you've got it! Wine and cheese stations are popular for the reception---we'd already thought about it! Metallic is still a hot choice-but steel gray is the new brown/black.....can you live with silver? White is also making a comeback (check!). And the number one trend-switching up your clothing and hair between the wedding and the reception. Well, I can guarantee that since the wedding and the reception will be on different days that there will be some differences! But of course the chances of you seeing me both days are slim to none! So, in case you were wondering if this truly would be the wedding of the year in Thomasville, according to the trends, we'll be close! :)