Sorry its been soooo long since I've updated my bridal journal. Wedding plans kinda got put on hold for Zoey's big 1st birthday extravaganza. I had to devote all of my time to that being as it was another big DIY project since her favorite show is Wonder Pets and they dont sell any WP's merchandise. So I made all the decorations myself and all the treats for the goodie bags. Luckily "Bumpy" came through with the life size flyboat that was a hit and mom busted out an amazing flyboat birthday cake!

I am so happy to announce that we finally got the whole reception venue thing figured out! You have no idea how much that was stressing me out. Its kinda hard to plan a wedding when you have no place for the reception. Anyways, its at the Quality Inn in Gainesville, a short 8 minute drive from the ceremony site. Gainesville residents might know it as the Ramada or the old Holiday Inn. Anyways, its mostly paid for, we're getting the whole ballroom area (63 feet by 41 feet) and the board room (which is like 12 feet by 14 feet). The board room will be used for the kids, we are going to have two babysitters on hand to watch over them and they'll have their own food and drinks, toys, coloring books and movies. This way, their parents will be able to have fun and not have to worry about the kids too much. More info is on the reception and directions pages.

*sigh* I am just really really happy about that right now. Now I can start planning what I am going to do with the space and prepare for it. And I really wanted the kids area, so that is also a big happy. Plus, there is enough space to do the ceremony there in case of rain. So it all worked out very nicely. Another perk is that we were able to get a discounted quest room rate of $49.99 plus tax for anyone that wants to make a weekend of it from out of town. Thats for a single king bed or double full or queen beds, up to 2 adults and kids are free. Pretty cool hunh? And even those who get too drunk can have a decent price to pay to not chance an accident.

Another thing to be excited about is I finally got my rings! (Although I still cant wear them because I *still* haven't been officially proposed to. Which is really driving me crazy now because I want to wear my GORGEOUS engagement ring.

Other than that, things are going as smoothly as possible. The budget is probably going to have to be streched to accomodate for the higher reception venue space, but I think we'll be able to manage it. I am still planning to do as much as I can myself to cut costs at every corner I can. Speaking of which, I've really got to get on the ball with my Save the Date cards. ORDER CARD STOCK. Check. On my list! lol!

Alright, love to all! I'll try to post more often! ~Jess