Rainy Monday

Mondays are undoubtably hard for everyone ... but being a high school teacher with a first block that begins at 7:25 AM seems to be, at times, almost unbearable.  Each and every time I walk in the room and ask "How was your weekend?", I look back to 28 super sad faces staring back at me, while feeling my own pain that I can read on their faces.  After approximately one week of continuous rainy days - this Monday was definitely no exception.

On a more positive note - just like every other Monday thus far - I made it through and am that much closer to another weekend!  After all of this rain though - I couldn't help but think about my outdoor June 25th wedding.  What would we do if it rains?!!  We have yet to think about a "Plan B", or rain plan, and we (by we, I mean my mother and I, the major planners in this process!) just keep trying to put the possibility of rain on June 25, 2011 out of our heads.  Cross your fingers for us!  We need it! 

Do you have a rain plan for your wedding?  Do you believe in the tale the "if it rains on your wedding day, it means good luck for your marriage?"

Neglectful Bride

I admit that I have been neglecting my blog for the past month - this is in part due to the fact that I have been extremely consumed in beginning of school activities, in part because I have been attending many events for my good friend Sara's pre-wedding festivities (her wedding is in TWO WEEKS!), but mainly, because my laptop has been broken and at the repair shop.  It wasn't until I took it there a month ago that I realized how much a part of my life it had become ...

It would be impossible to update on everything that MY MOTHER has been busy doing over the last month (Don't know what I would do without her ... seeing that, as previously mentioned, I have had no free time for wedding planning recently) ... but I will share that this weekend we made major strides towards our save-the-dates.  After meeting with Niki, our "invitiation expert/bridesmaid" and sharing our vision, she definitely fulfilled everything we had hoped, AND MORE!  I am super excited about the final result of the save-the-date card - and am anxious to get the labels, envelopes, esc. so we can actually get them in the mail!  Then we will have one more item to check off our "wedding to-do list", and only 302,467,535,667 things to go! :)

Stay tuned for pictures of our final save-the-dates ...

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.