First Day of School

Today marked the beginning of another school year.  It is hard to believe that this one will be my fifth!  Time definitely seems to go by faster as you get older!  Days are always jam-packed full during the start of school - and this year is no exception!  The best part of today was thinking that this will be the last "first day of school" with my current last name ... next year I will have Mr. BB's last name on the all of my papers, my students' schedules, and each and every time I sign a pass!  With a marriage, it is undoubtably always exciting to gain a new last name (especially when it is a good one!) - but with my job as a teacher, it will definitely impact my life in a big way.

What are the "little things" about getting married that excite you most?!!!

Save-The-Date/Invitation Plan

I am so lucky to have many talented people around me ... one of them being my bridesmaid, Niki.  She has always been a fabulous artist and currently teaches Art at an elementary school in Virginia Beach, while producing inspiring art work for various shows in our area.  Along with art education, she majored in Graphic Design in college and has designed graphics for WRV, every one of the fashion shows I have produced to date, and even wedding invitations!  So lucky me ... guess who has agreed to design my wedding invitiations?!  (Actually - I don't know that she ever had a choice?!!)  My mother and I met with Niki today to tell her about our ideas and can't wait to see what she comes up with!!!  Stay posted for the results.  Our goal is to have the save-the-dates ready by the beginning of November! :)

TGIF!

Any fellow teachers out there?!!  You guys know how CRAZY the first week back can be!  I just finished mine ... and I haven't had time to think about what I was going to eat for dinner, much less ANYTHING about this wedding!  I guess it's a really good thing that I got a lot done for the wedding this summer ... sometimes over the summer I forget how crazy the school year really can be!

So my plan for the weekend ... finish the chalkboards I started last week & get thinking about the save-the-dates!  If this is how crazy my school year is going to be ... then my weekends are going to have to be dedicated to my upcoming June wedding! 

How do you balance work and planning for your big event?!

DIY Friday

Perhaps the greatest perk of my job as a Fashion Marketing teacher (other than the satisfaction that I get from changing young people's lives ... one student at a time ... ) is the LUXURY of having my summers off.  And since this is the only summer that I will have planning for my June wedding, I have made it a goal to get as much done as possible!  Over the last couple of days, I HAVE gotten a lot done in the form of TWO DIY projects ...

1 - Homemade Apple Butter My mom's idea ... Each table at the wedding will have a picnic basket in the middle with that table's plates, silverware, napkins (wrapped in rafia), and a jar with apple butter for them to take home!  And since canned foods can last - we decided to knock it out now!  We used our crock pot recipe (cut apples, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, all spice, and cloves) and after simmering all night, got to canning!  The house smells delicious and next we are going to decorate the jars!

2 - DIY Vintage Chalkboards Like many other DIY/vintage/fashion-inspired brides ... I plan on having various chalkbaords at the wedding that will list items such as the menu, guest book, signature drinks, esc. ... So rather than buy them (and where would you buy a vintage chalkboard?!!) ... we decided to make them ourselves!  My mom found a bunch of old frames at a local thrift store, we spray painted them all white, had Mr. Burgundy Bride cut masonite board to put inside, and painted two coats of chalkboard paint on.  SUPER excited about the final result!  Pictures to come ...

It feels good to get things done (OURSELVES ... and for cheap!) and to feel like we are progressing towards our final goal:  the wedding!  What DIY projects can you do in advance to the wedding to free up some time for other tasks closer to your big day?!!!

Busy, Busy, Burgundy Bride ...

So even though this blogging thing is therapetic through the craziness which has now become reality ... it is that same craziness that has made it hard to keep up with!  However, I am back, and promise to be a better blogger over the rest of the week and the weekend.  Since I last wrote, I have been able to check off a couple bullets in my ever-expanding TO-DO list for this vintage wedding that will take place EXACTLY 10 months from today.  I wanted to share one of them with you ...

Without a doubt ... one of the most important aspects of the wedding to me is the photography.  After months of inspiration from engagement posts on wedding bee, green wedding shoes, and style me pretty ... we scheduled our enagagement photo schoot for this past Saturday.  In keeping with the theme for the wedding, we wanted an informal, vintage-inspired vibe to our shoot.  I think we definitely achieved that ... the evening of the shoot was definitely an artistic, creative, bonding experience for Mr. BB & I, as well as our amazing photographer and my dedicated mother.  I feel lucky ... and hope you will enjoy the final result when I am able to share them next week.

Day Two ...

I have to say that I am happy to now be a "blogger" and really have looked forward to adding a new post today.  As soon as my fiance came home yesterday (Mr. BB), I couldn't wait to show him my new hobby.  It didn't surprise me that his first question was "What is blogging?" ... and immediatly following my explanation, his second question was "What is the point?".  I don't know that my answer to the latter satisfied him, but at this point in our wedding planning, I am pretty sure that anything that provides me with an outlet to express my wedding thoughts, hopes, woes, esc. .... makes him happy.  It isn't that he isn't excited to marry me, because, despite a couple comments I seriously did not mean, I do know that he is - it's more that he is having a hard time with the fact that this one day celebration has now consumed our lives (i.e, conversations, money, free time) and most likely will until it actually happens in June 2011.  I don't think I understood the magnitude of what I was getting myself into either - when deciding on having an "informal, vintage-inspired garden party" in my Great Aunt's backyard.  More to come on the wedding details tomorrow ...

First Time Blogger ...

I have to admit that despite being around approximately 150 technologically savvy high school juniors & seniors on a daily basis (through my job as a Fashion Marketing Teacher) ...  if you had asked me what blogging was a year ago, I couldn't have answered.  I would, however, now call myself a blog addict, and at the moment, more specifically, a wedding blog addict.  After discovering http://www.weddingbee.com/ (thanks mom!), I have found myself wrapped up reading riveting wedding details, tips, and diy projects from brides across the country.  I now cannnot resist the urge to share my own wedding planning experiences on my own blog - although I am unsure if anyone other than my mother will read it.  This is partly for the sanity of my fiance, friends, and family, who could not possibly begin to understand the upmost importance that these wedding details (such as table linens, rehearsal dinner invitations, and bridesmaid accesories) now have on my daily life ... and partly because I know I will only get married once (that's right, honey!), and I want to fully indulge myself in the whole experience.

So here it goes ...