The Blog of Amber

Dress and Dog Shopping

Saturday I went Asheville with my mommy and Sheena to try on some wedding dresses. For some reason, I was nervous at first but then found it to be really fun! They were all so beautiful to me, it was hard to choose which ones I liked better. I got alot of pictues that I have been looking at everyday since and it's helping me decide which ones I like and absolutely do not like. There's one dress that snuck up as one of my favorites which is one I didn't give much thought before. After almost getting one, we decided to not rush into anything and go back a second day. I'm glad my mom and Sheena were patient enough to be there with me because I had lots of fun. Sheena will probably have more fun when it's time to go bridemaid dress shopping! After dress shopping, we ate then went baby shopping, which was surprisingly fun. Might have been a little crazy..oops.

On Sunday Ryan and I went down to Buford, Georgia for some shopping and good food. We bought some things for our new puppy who will be joining our family this weekend! I'm looking very much forward to meeting him!

Venue

We have booked a venue for the wedding! The most difficult part is over (I think)! As soon as I saw the website (and the prices) I knew it was the place. The reception will at "The Lodge" right next to where we will be saying our "I do's", which is in front of this beautiful creek:

 

Ryan and I both loved this place and knew we could not get better for the price so we booked it in a hurry. I am very happy with our decision. :) I do have some small worries but I'm sure everything will come together when it is time. It is hard to picture everything in my mind so I'm sure there will be lots of trips up the mountain to plan out decorations and such.

It is such a relief to have the place taken care of so now I can concentrate on other and more fun things. I'm going dress shopping with my mommy on Saturday!!

Highlands Wedding Blues

We are running out of time to pick a venue for our wedding. So today Ryans mom and I took a trip up to Highlands to go on a search for some locations. First we stopped at a restaurant called "On the Verandah" which could be a possible reception site. It was cute and had a nice view of a lake, however it was closed for winter so we couldn't get any information. We grabbed a menu to take with us..I don't see anything on the menu that I would eat, it is too fancy for me.

We stopped at the visitor center to get some more information then we went to the Old Edwards Inn, which would be my first choice of location! The lady showed us the rooftop terrace and wine room and gave us a book of information. We went out to the truck to look over everything and that's when I decided Old Edwards Inn is out. $95 per person for a meal?! $4.5o per person to cut their piece of cake?! That is just ridiculous.

Originally I decided I did not want to get married in a church. After getting some prices on different locations, we are now discussing a church ceremony..it would save us alot of money. Two of the churches in Highlands that I was interested in requires you to be a member but there are plenty more to look at. After checking with one of the churches, we checked out "High Hampton Inn" which I thought was a good possibility until I did some math and saw it would be 3700 just for the location and food.

We didn't get anything accomplished today but I got alot of books to look at and I had a really good burger and fries. This is all so hard. Highlands is expensive so we may just be stuck with Franklin. However, our budget has increased a little. This makes me feel a little better.

Wedding thoughts

I'm starting to stress out a little. Weddings are expensive. Really expensive. So I'm in a dilemma about the size of my wedding.

I am considering having just family to attend. I think a small intimate wedding would be nice and easy and not so stressful. It would include 2o guests and would not have random people that I don't care to be there or don't even know. I thought it would cut down on expenses but as I am doing some research and figuring out average prices, I see that it would still be pretty pricey.

On the other hand is the regular size wedding. It could be fun and it will be a once in a lifetime opportunity. There would be about 50-60 guests - seems like alot of people to me but Ryan has alot of aunts and uncles. I've only so far been figuring out what a small wedding would cost, I can't imagine the price of a larger wedding. I don't know if I should even be considering it because there is simply no way we would be able to afford it, since we would barely be able to afford a small wedding.

There is lots of thinking to do. Planning a wedding is haaaard. But it's kinda fun. :)

 

I love being married. It's so great to find that one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life.

-Rita Rudner

 

Happy New Year!

Last years New Years Resolution has successfully been achieved. It took about half a year but I met my goal which was to be happy. This year I will focus on not caring about what people think about me, exercising more and eating better, and saving up money. I have a wedding to save up for although this wedding will be as cheap as possible. There's alot to think about on that subject which I don't really feel like thinking about..mostly because of the money issue.

I had a lady rudely yell at me at work today. Now she probably feels like an idiot. And apparantly the flu shot hurt the bih. That makes me happy. What a great start to the year.

Christmas

I don't really like updating my blog anymore but I suppose I still will.

This Christmas has been the best one I can ever remember having. I'm not used to such large get togethers so it was fun to have so many people there. I enjoyed myself very much on Christmas Eve and loved having everyone there to enjoy the day with. I also loved all of my gifts but I think I like watching people unwrap the gifts I give them more that unwrapping my own. I wish I could have gotten everybody better stuff but I suppose I did okay for the little money I had to spend.

On Christmas day, Ryan and I spent some time with his family and their new puppy (who I am in love with). We opened presents and had a yummy breakfast then went out to play in the snow! That is the first time I can remember actually playing in snow and sledding down a hill. It snowed allll day and was really beautiful, except for when my car got stuck...that was not cool.

I get depressed after family goes back home, I wish everyone lived here. :( However, I am lucky to have the ones who do live here! I am hoping they will keep me lots of company for the next four months while I am missing Ryan bunches.

 

Life is too short, so kiss slowly, laugh insanely, love truly and forgive quickly.
- Author Unknown

Bother Bother Bother

I'm getting bored of checking Danielles blog and seeing nothing new so I decided to post one myself.

I decided I worry about little things way too much. I knew I worry too much but it can become overwhelming at times. Whether I'm worrying about having two blue rooms or about flying into a ditch or about what  people think about me...it's become too much. So I'm attempting to be more worry free. I'm also attempting to not get annoyed by stupid people so much. That one may be a little more difficult to achieve.

My biggest worry is school. What the heck am I gonna do! I feel okay with just working until I figure out what I really want to do but I'm afraid that it is unacceptable to other people. Of course, this is just more worrying about what people think. Ho hum...

 

I never think of the future - it comes soon enough. 

-Albert Einstein

 

 

Help me!!

I don't know what to do about school! It's driving me crazy!!

 

I wish Kmart paid me more!

Engagement

It sounds weird to say this but I am engaged. I still feel like a little girl at times so it's strange to be thinking of weddings and such. Ryan and I often talked about getting married but I could never picture having a wedding, I don't like all that attention. However, now that I have a ring on my finger, it has become a lot easier to imagine. I have already though about buying wedding magazines and making lists! I will need alot of help though, since I have no clue what I'm doing.

I knew something was up when Ryan starting making plans for Saturday. He mentioned going on a picnic or going somewhere pretty and different and this just did not sound like him so I had a feeling what was coming. We decided to go to Tallulah Gorge in Georgia in hopes that it might be a little warmer there than it was in Franklin. We stopped in Clayton and walked around downtown then headed further south to find the gorge. We stopped at a restaurant close by called Tallulah Grill or something like that. It was horrible and expensive. Do not eat there. But that's ok, the whole time we were eating I sat there wondering if what I thought might happen was going to happen. On the way to gorge, I got another hint from Ryan in the car while he was driving. I asked if he had cash for parking so he dug his wallet out of his pocket and I went to take it from him so I could look since he was driving but he snatched it away from me. At the time I was wondering if he was hiding the ring in his wallet, come to find out later the receipt was still in it. I didn't say anything about the snatchyness, I didn't want him knowing I was onto him.

We then got to the gorge and hiked around to all the overlooks. I was getting super tired since we had to climb this big mountain to get to the second one but Ryan kept wanting to go to one more overlook. We were at the last one, which was alot less crowded than all the others, and I think Ryan was relieved by that. We went down the path a little ways and sat on a bench and talked for awhile. He tried distracting me by telling me to look at the trees behind us and when I looked back he was pulling a ring out of his pocket. He said "You knew this was coming, will you marry me?" I suppose I said yes, that part was a blur. It was not so suprising but it was exciting! And the ring is so pretty, I can't stop looking at it.

I imagined being engaged for a year and a half to two years, but I think we are leaning towards next October. We shall see, we shall see.

 

SAD

The leaves are quickly leaving us. I've been taking time each day to really appreciate the season and the weather, for it will be gone before we know it. Next is the holidays which is equally as fun as fall but on Demember 26th, my depression will start to set in. I think I have "Seasonal Affective Disorder". I am hoping to fight it this year though. I don't wanna be sad. I want to be happy. :) Too bad I won't see Ryan much from January to April. :/ That's not gonna help me...