This is inside the church where Kevin and I will be married. It's hard to tell very much from it. There are actually three center isles and four rows of pews. There are several stained glass windows. I just took a picture of one so you could get the idea. The carpet is the same color as the girls' dresses. Of course most of the furniture on the stage will be removed and there is a large center stair that will be added to the front of the stage. I was so excited when I got to go back inside the church to take pictures this afternoon. I just sat in one of the pews for a little while and imagined the whole thing. Only 80 more days!
Kevin and I ordered our wedding invitations today. I am so excited! I think they look simple and elegant, much like my dress. We chose them a while back. In fact, they were the first thing we really decided about the wedding. I still need to finish logging all of the addresses for the invitations, though. The last time we visited Kevin's mother in Tupelo I went McRaes to register for all the folks there. They don't have a Dillard's or a Bed, Bath, and Beyond (where we're registered in Alabama). Mrs. Riley went with me. Well, the whole thing was a little overwhelming for me. So, I told her that I'd just finish it in Alabama. At the time I didn't realize that the McRaes in Montgomery had closed. So, today, when I took Kev to the airport in Birmingham, I went to Galleria where they have another McRaes. Only when I got there I discovered that it is closed for the week because there is a Profits (owned by the same company) opening at the Galleria as well and they're moving merchandise around. Lucky me...On to plan C...Kevin has promised me that we will go to the McRaes in Tupelo next weekend when we go to the Jack Riley Charity Golf Tournamentto help raise money for a sanctuary for the Hospice House.
I cannot believe there are only 84 more days until the wedding! This week I met with the florist and ordered the flowers for bouquets, boutineers, corsages, and the like. I can't tell you how relieved I am to have that out of the way. I hope they'll look nice. I have no doubt that the arrangements will be beautiful, because Dunn's always does a fabulous job when Kevin sends me flowers from there. However, they can only do what I tell them to do, and making up my mind was the hard part. Now I know why so many people get married in the spring...there are so many flowers in season to choose from. I wanted fresh flowers and that's exactly what I got. The bridesmaids will have dark red classy roses and white roses. My bouquet will have white roses (like I originally wanted) and red and white minuette roses with Christmas greenery and sweetheart roses. I decided not to go with the stargazer lilies because they're so expensive. Kevin is still taking it all in stride. He's excited about the wedding too. He even acts interested when I show him things. Tonyell, my "mintee," at school came into my classroom the other day and I was dusting. I told her since I didn't feel like I could get all my teacher stuff done, I'd demoted my self to cleaning lady. That just felt more manageable at that particular moment in time. She said, "Well, Cindy, you've go a whole lot going on right now. " I asked her what she meant. T said, "Well, you know, with the wedding and all." I said,"Girl, I am not worried about that wedding. Worst case scenerio...the punch will spill, the cake will fall, the flowers will be ugly, but in the end I'll still be Mrs. Riley." I don't want to jinx the wedding, but I truly meant that. I'm so excited!
Monday, September 20, 2004
Saturday, I went to David's Bridal with my mother, sister, and niece. We ordered Katelyn's flower girl dress and Amanda's maid of honor dress. Katelyn was especially precious. She was on her best behavior. She calls it her "princess wedding dress." Of course, all the women in the shop made a special point to tell the precious 4-year-old how beautiful she was. She ate it up, just loved all the attention. I can't wait for the big day. It's getting closer and closer. Kevin and I tried to scale down the invitation list this weekend, but we just couldn't. I guess it's a good thing to have that many friends and family. Amanda was beautiful in her dress as well. I am really happy with the color I chose. I think the girls' dresses look very feminine. I even tried one on myself. I ordered a veil for myself and bought my shoes. Stopped by Chocodelphia to find out if they can order chocolate pine cones for the groom's cake. They are supposed to call me back. I also need to get the cake topper, and some other things for the reception. I'm meeting with the florist after work on Wednesday. I have to call about the bridesmaids' luncheon and decide on music. I still have so many things to do.
As I sit and wait for Ivan the Terrible to visit. I think about the unofficial plans Kevin and I have to go to New Orleans after the wedding. Right now, I'm glad they're unofficial. I hope there is still a N'Orleans after the hurricane. We may have to change our destination to something else, though. Of course, we're still hoping to go back to St. Kitts in Jan. I was supposed to meet with Patsy the Florist after school today to discuss flowers. Decided to cancel for now, too many other people out running around for hurricane necessities. This week is the deadline for my girls to go in and order their shoes and dresses. So, by Monday, that'll be another check. Still need a volunteer to video the wedding. Haven't found anyone yet, of course, haven't looked very hard either. I have purchased candles for the reception lately, another check. I've also made some final decisions about the Bridesmaids Luncheon. Now, I just have to call and make the reservations. My neice, Katelyn, is still excited about her "princess" dress. She's also excited about the hurricane. On the phone today she said, "Aunt Cindy, somethings coming, and me and bubby have a bed in momma's room with snacks!" Bless her little heart. I don't know if she's more excited about sleeping in her mothers room or eating snacks. Ahhh, the life of a 4-year-old. Can't wait until Kev and I have one of our own. Between the two of us she won't be able to sit still or be quiet. :)
Today we secured a block of rooms at a nice nearby hotel for out of town guests. I'm so excited...another check off our list. I also talked to the photographer this afternoon. I'm not sure what package we'll get, but at least we've got the date reserved on his calendar. That makes me feel better. Flowers...those dadgum flowers. Still not sure what to do about them. I haven't been able to talk to any other florists yet. I really need some ideas. At this point I say do without them. I know I like starfighter lilies and calla lilies, but I'm not sure what else goes with them. It's only 108 days away; I can't believe how fast the time has flown by since June 24th in the Big Apple. We've still got so many things to do before the the big day. No matter what happens, as long as Kevin's there I'll be happy.
Upon reviewing various examples of wedding ceremonies, Kevin is a little disappointed...It appears as though women are no longer required to obey their husbands...imagine that...tsk, tsk, tsk...I wonder why he's so concerned that I won't obey...I really hate that for him...He's got a long road ahead of him.
We have been so incredibly busy these last couple of weeks. Last week was the first week of school with the children. Kevin was out of town on work business. So there hasn't been much time for wedding planning. We're just struggling to get through daily life right now. We have been tossing around a couple of ideas about a honeymoon. We may take a short trip for our honeymoon right afterward and then take a longer one in January. We want to be back in town for our first Christmas together. We are looking at different wedding ceremonies that can be performed and trying to decide which one best suits us. I'm still trying to decide about wedding flowers. I think David and Katie Hagood of Hagood Photography in Millbrook will do the wedding pictures and portrait. So that's another check off of our list. I haven't found anyone to video the wedding for me. I'm hoping to find someone for cheap or free. My uncle use to do that kind of thing, but he has aged and can't hold the camera steady. We are also reading some books about marriage and relationships right now recommended by the pastor who will marry us. I plan on ordering the invitations this week. We're both still so excited about being engaged. We had an engagement announcement photo made for the papers. We're trying to decide on music for the ceremony as well. Sometimes it seems as though all this will never come together. I would have been perfectly happy just going away somewhere to get married, but since Kevin wants a wedding I want it to at least be a nice one.
The cool thing about being a teacher is that when you get engaged over the summer, it still takes a couple of months for everyone to find out. I'm still enjoying sharing the news with all my coworkers and students. A little boy in my class said the cutest thing to me today...He said, "Ms. Miller, le me see yo ring....Is that yo Will you marry me ring or yo kiss the bride and say I do ring?" Ah the teachable moment. I explained that my Will you marry me ring is called my engagement ring. I told him I'd be wearing two rings in January and I'd show him my Kiss the bride and say I do wedding band then. Love those ten-year-olds!
I went shopping with my mother yesterday. We went to Southern Homes and Gardens to check out the Christmas in July sale. We did find some snowflakes we want to use as decorations and a couple of small trees we can use at the front of the stage to decorate with lights. We also went to David's Bridal where Mom purchased a tiara, gloves, stockings, and ballerina slippers for Katelyn, my flower girl. We continued to look at veils and such for my dress. Still haven't settled on anything particular. I did see a veil I really liked, but it was in white and I need ivory. I think we're gonna look at A Touch of Class in Wetumpka before we buy anything.
I am having a terrible time deciding what kind of flowers I want the bridesmaids to carry. I know I want fresh, hand held flowers; but I can't decide exactly what. The girls are wearing a dark red color. The church has red carpet. I think I would like to see them with dark red, pinks, and whites mixed together. I think stargazer lilies would be beautiful, but I'm not sure how expensive they would be. I would love them to hold just the plain roses wrapped in ribbon, too. I think that pink and a few white poinsettas would be beautiful in the church. Does this sound crazy? Should I just stick with the pink poinsettas? I think the red poinsettas are too bright for the bridesmaids dresses. I'm open to suggestions.
Yippee! We finally have confirmation on the church. Kevin talked to Rev. Al at the church today. We will be able to have the wedding at Millbrook Presbyterian Church. We will meet with him Monday afternoon to discuss the details and fees....another check on our list. Things are starting to come together for us.
Well, here we are...five months away from the big day, December 18, 2004. I'm so excited! I can't wait to be the next Mrs. Riley. When we set the date, it seemed so far away. Now I think about all there is to do and I wonder if there is enough time. As Kevin would say, we've got a lot of checks:
I have found and ordered my wedding gown. It's ivory....a great big thank you to my friend Robin Harp who went with me and forced me to try on countless dresses, some I even hated, until we found the right one. It turned out to be the 3rd dress I tried on at the first stop.
My bridesmaids will be my little sis Amanda, high school friend Joannie Garner, teacher friend Robin Harp, and partner in crime girlfriend Carolyn Ford. The flower girl is my 4-year-old adorable curly headed niece, Katelyn Mitchell.
I found the bridesmaids dresses at David's Bridal. They're very feminine. I chose apple for the color. It's a deep red color, appropriate for the season. Katelyn will wear an ivory colored dress like me, complete with tiara, gloves and ballerina slippers, of course.
Kevin has chosen his groomsmen, brothers Tim and Mike Riley, good buddies Kevin Egan and Joey Morris. The ring bearer is my handsome 7-year-old nephew, Christian Mitchell.
The tuxedos are standard without tails and will come from Afterthoughts. Kevin will wear a platinum 4-hand tie and vest. All the other men and ring bearer will wear apple ties and vests.
We found a cake lady. Diane will make the bride's cake and the groom's cake. You'll have to come to the reception if you want to see it. It's definitely worth the calories!
We found a church we like and are just waiting to hear from the minister of the church. He had to petition the church elders for permission. This seems to be taking longer than we expected it would.
We found a reception place we think we like. We've scheduled a meeting to discuss the details on Monday afternoon. We'll know more then. I've discovered it's not easy finding a place in December, especially one that will allow you to serve champagne. Cross your fingers and pray for us.
We have a minister, Ron Prevatte of First Baptist Church in Prattville. I taught his two youngest sons and feel very close to him. I'm honored he's agreed to perform our ceremony. We begin meeting with him Tuesday afternoon.
I told you we had a lot of checks. Right now the big hold up seems to be the church. I'm very nervous about that. It's not easy finding a place to wed in December. I wonder how much more I can get accomplished before school starts...
