wedding wednesday's

268 days to go..

I mentioned a few posts back about how big of an auction junkie I am. Well, a few weeks ago I purchased "all that's left on the table".. which consisted of several picture frames, all brand spankin' new. I ended up with 8 gold colored wallet sized frames, two picture framed book ends, three hanging or standing magnetic frames, and several others. My price? $2.00 for it all.

I spray painted the 8 gold plated frames chocolate in color. More than likely I will end up either placing various photos of Cliff and I in them, or use them as table numbers. The same night [at the auction], I purchased an assortment of easels. I also spray painted each of them chocolate. Not sure if I will definitely use them to go along with the frames, or use them elsewhere. 

  

I believe it was the same night again... I purchased these two woven wooden baskets.

I'm going to have two young girls carry these and pass out our programs for the ceremony.
With these, I also bought 4 (or 5, I can't remember) brand new shepherd hooks.
For both baskets + 4 (or 5) shepherd hooks, I paid $15.00.

Last Wednesday after clinicals, Brooke and I ventured over to Walker's Pharmacy in town. I found this awesome cake stand on the clearance rack!

It had been marked down from $42.95 to $10.74!

And the really cool thing about it... you can flip it over and use it for chips/dip, fruit/dip, bread/cheese, etc.

I plan on threading a ribbon around it to look something like these:

Groom's Cake?

I have been contemplating continuously for weeks now over Cliff's cake. I just can't come up with anything "special" so to say. I want it to be original, but also something that represents who he is and what he enjoys.

This is him in a nutshell:

• loves anything hunting [#1 fav. thing- especially deer!]
• enjoys football [former local high school/UGA/Colts]
• enjoys running heavy equipment [tractors]
• has 20 four-legged friends that go hunting with him [walkers/beagles/pointers]
• drives an old Chevy hunting, owns a 09 Tacoma for daily use, and wants a Ford F150.
 

Here are a few I've come across thus far that would go along with our woodsy theme and fit perfectly into Cliff's personality.

Any ideas?

Also, I stated in yesterday's post that I would be elaborating on the save-the-date postcards that I ordered from VistaPrint. I've decided not to show any pictures simply due to the fact that several hometown friends and family keep up with our blog and I want them to be a surprise. However, do know that you are fully capable of designing your card in various programs and then uploading it to VistaPrint! You don't have to choose from their pre-made layouts! I used Adobe Photoshop Elements 6.0 for ours and they turned out great!

Hope y'all have a great Wednesday!

free custom postcards + other specials.

100 Free Custom Postcards from VistaPrint

You can get 100 custom postcards for free right now. Just go here and create your postcards and you will only have to pay shipping (around $6). There are a lot of great designs to choose from, and here are a few ways to use them:

• Save the Date Cards [which I chose!! I'll share details Wednesday!]
• Small Businesses (jewelry parties, spa parties, lawn services, salon services & more)
• Invitations
• Teacher Gifts

{via}

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Georgia Southern's bookstore hands out these coupon books with every purchase. The coupons range from hair & tanning to oil changes and restaurants. Go here to see if there are any coupons near you! You can even order food from local business straight off the internet!

{list of all participating schools}

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For those of you who enjoy a good Zaxby's meal every now and again, sign up here to receive one FREE Meal Deal. [It may take a few days for you to receive your post card.] I just got mine in the mail yesterday!

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I picked up my free 25 4x6's photo order from Walgreen's on Friday evening. I was really impressed by the quality of the pictures! I also received an e-mail regarding the shipping confirmation on my SnapFish order [50 free prints] yesterday! They should arrive within 1-3 days. I'm thrilled! This is the first time I've printed our engagement pictures since we took them...last MARCH. Sad, I know.

save when you can, spend when you should.

Being a full-time nursing student, there is little room for a social life, better yet to find time for a J-O-B. Lately I've been clipping coupons every chance I can and trying to limit "eating-out" as much as possible. Not to mention, I'm planning a wedding for next June. Spending less, saving more is a must. I've come across some awesome websites that have already done the saving homework for you! Just sign up for their e-mail subscriptions and you too can join in on these great savings. I actually made an additional e-mail account solely for coupon purposes. Best decision. You get a ton of e-mails daily so it really floods your important e-mail account. As I find good deals, I'll be posting them for you too!

Type in your zip code here to see if there are any great coupons for local restaurants or services in your area. These are the coupons which also print on the back of receipts at some stores.

Speaking of local deals, don’t forget to subscribe to your local Groupon email list if it’s available in your area.

75 FREE 4x6 prints

FREE Prints~

Who doesn't like FREE stuff?! Take advantage of these offers!

When you set up an account with Walgreen's online, you earn a credit of 25 free 4x6 digital camera prints! Walgreen's will send an e-mail to your account within a few days letting you know of this free offer! [It took about a week for mine to come through.] You can pay for shipping [0.9 cents per picture] or pick them up for free at a nearby store!

Through September 11, 2010, Snapfish is offering free shipping on all orders when you use coupon code FREELDSHIP. If you’re already a member, login to your account to see if you have any free credit in your account. If so, you can use the coupon code to get the items shipped for free!
If you’re not a member, you can sign up here to get 50 free prints added to your account. Then, just use coupon code FREELDSHIP at checkout to get free shipping, too!

wedding wednesday's:

Happy Happy Hump Day!

Here is September's TheKnot checklist:

Catering: we are in the process of setting up a "taste testing" date with a local caterer.

Florists: we recently dropped off several pictures/ideas along with a variety of vases and such a local business. we should be hearing from her soon to see what she has come up with! 

Tent rental: as of YeStErDaY, we have "officially" booked our tent, tables, and chairs! 

Linens: as of late last week, we ordered our linens from CV Linens.

FYI: they have FREE ground shipping on orders over $75. We saved tons of $$$ by purchasing them ourselves rather than renting through the tent place. 

Photography: not completed.

Registry: a few months back I swung by Bed, Bath, & Beyond on the way home from work and spent hours amongst hours traveling down every.single.aisle. I have a few more places we are wanting to register at. And possibly, after we make the final decision on our honeymoon destination...we may decide to have a "honeymoon registry".

Registry Central and GiftRegistry360 are really neat websites. 

Invitations: two weeks ago, Mom and I found a really good deal on an invitation kit at A.C. Moore. We are still going to customize them to our satisfaction and according to our woodsy theme. But, we figured we could save a little bit of time doing them this way rather than completely hand-making them.

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on another note. 

I took advantage of VistaPrint and their FREE deals.

Last week, I spent $11.43...solely on shipping

and,

I received:

-140 return address labels

-1 small rubber stamp with my name & address [personalized however you'd like]

-250 personalized business cards

that's $21 in savings! ***

250 business cards= $14.99

140 return address labels= $5.99

1 small stamp= $9.74

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totaling= $32.87 [plus tax but withOUT shipping]

here is a sample of what the return address labels look like!

And the customized rubber stamp:

As for the business cards,

I saw this cute idea on A Classy, Southern Bride a few weeks ago..

Thanks for the inspiration & awesome idea Christin!

I too have created a cutesy little note to attach to our favors via this FREE offer.

Next items on the checklist:

• select cake/caterer/florist and sign contracts
• create a guestbook
• choose a veil
• select dresses for the bridesmaids/junior bridesmaids/flower girl
• book the honeymoon
• decide on ceremony music

tuesday three [labor day weekend]

Long time, no talk! School is full swing. So, I'll just go ahead and apologize for these past few weeks and probably for the next couple coming up [until I can get back into the groove of things]. I had a FABULOUS weekend and I hope you all did too!  

  This weeks Tuesday Three,
share THREE things you did over the weekend that you really enjoyed! 1) If there are any Georgia hunters out there, you all know that noon on Saturday marked the opening day for dove season. Whoop-whoop! Cliff and his Dad host an annual dove shoot on their plantation. We gathered around noon to feast on hamburgers before hitting the HEAT, ...I mean field. It was H.O.T. We only get to shoot a few times out of the year, so opening weekend is not only the very first "hunting" day of the year, but also one of the best shoots! Here are a few shots from the day. Don't laugh at my attire.. like I said, I was HOT!

2) After cleaning the doves Saturday evening, Cliff and I hook up my jetski and head out to Elijah Clark State Park [in South Caroline] to meet my family. We go to the lake every year, usually for both Memorial and Labor Day. We finally pulled in about 11o'clock and ended up sleeping the night in the truck because we didn't want to wake the rest of the family. Sunday we woke to a rather cool morning [66 degrees] and enjoyed each others company, eating breakfast and preparing supper until about 1ish. We then decided to take a joy ride to a nearby "rock"... what we thought was going to take about 30 minutes to get there, actually took about 2 hours it seemed. It was neat, but not worth the butt cramps from bouncing around on the ski. Sunday night we threw the kabobs in the grills and met the rest of our crew underneath the pavilion for supper. Things began to get a little crazy once we brought out the karaoke!

Pausing just a moment. Let me give explanation for the next picture...

Like I mentioned above, Saturday when we arrived everyone was already nestled in snoozing away in the camper so Cliff and I decided to catch a few zzz's in his truck [which was the LAST time I will do that]. Anyhow, about 5:30ish Sunday morning, I had had enough of his passenger truck seat. I marched right on in the camper and climbed on up into a top bunk. Meanwhile, Cliff & my brother wake and decide to go ahead and unload the ski. They do so and let it be until we come down to ride to the rock about 1ish. We jump on and push off, noticing the back of the ski is lagging.... these tards forgot to put the plugs in! My ski had about two feet of water in the hull!! The first object in sight is a hand-held air compressor lying on the bank. We sneak over and grab it, and the boys go to town. Hey, it worked!

this was the rock!

and here are our kabobs!

{take 1}

{take 2}

{take 3}

{take 4}

the family.

and here is where things start to get a little crazy.

T and Cliff dancing to "Party in the USA" -Miley Cyrus

he then hollers for our camping neighbors to come and join.

so they join and play us a few songs on the guitar!

3) Coming home to some gooooood home-cooked country food prepared by Cliff's Dad and Step-Mom. We had barbecued chicken, yellow rice, green beans, mac & cheese, biscuits, with sugar cookies and yellow cupcakes for dessert! After getting our bellies full, I stayed up cramming until 2:30am for my first pediatric test today. I woke back up at 5:15 this morning to review one last time! Needless to say, I'm exhausted. That was definitely the downside to my entire weekend. Gotta ♥ nursing school!

Hope you all have a WONDERFUL holiday weekend! :)

wedding wednesday's: a guest blogger

A Follower Becomes a Blogger

As a close friend and an avid follower of Caitlin’s blog, she has volunteered me to be “guest blogger” of the week. This is my first blogging experience and I hope to not disappoint those of you that stop by each morning or afternoon to see what cute new posting she has added. :) I want to first thank Cait for allowing me to share my proposal story with all of you. She mentioned myself (Brooke) and Joe several weeks back when we first got engaged. I am also going to be standing by Cait's side as a bridesmaid on the happiest day of her life, June 10th, 2011! Caitlin and I have now known each other for approximately 2.5 years but feel as if we have been lifelong friends. She has been a blessing in mine and my family’s life. I love the quote, “The best of friendships don’t just happen. But they fall into place naturally and easily, as if they were always meant to be.” Our friendship is a gift from the Lord and something I will forever cherish. Now, let’s get into the subject of “WeDDiNg WeDnEsDaY!”

On July 14th, 2010 around 11:00am, I said “YeS” to one of the most important questions a girl will ever be asked. “Will you marry me?” finally came out of the mouth of my future hubby, Joedee. After dating for almost 4 years, it was no surprise that rings, proposals, and weddings were on the brain and had been for quite some time. We had been looking at rings for a while but seriously began looking at the beginning of the year. As the months went by, I waited and waited and waited...it wasn’t very patient waiting might I add. :) May rolled around and I was a bit disappointed that it still hadn’t happened but I was CERTAIN that it would happen this summer, if I had to force him to do it! Just kidding, ha! I moved home for the summer and each day I woke up with the thought, “today will be the day!” but it never was. June came and Joe had planned a weekend in Atlanta for the two of us. Hmmm….perfect opportunity! Nope, didn’t happen. He had stressed to me that he would not be doing it when I expected it but I still had hope that just maybe, despite his stubbornness, he would succumb to my desires. I tried to explain that he would not be able to surprise me with a proposal due to the fact that we had been talking about it for so long, he said otherwise.

--Okay, so FINALLY we get to the proposal!-
Joedee had the day off and really wanted to go fishing at Paradise Lakes in Tifton. This is a PFA and has about 30 different ponds. We were up around 5:45am and headed to Tifton by 6:30. I, of course, am wearing no make-up, running shorts, and an oversized t-shirt. I thought that not in a million years was the proposal happening on the morning we go fishing. We stop and get a bag of ice and pull into "Paradise" around 7:15 and put the boat in for what I thought would be a long day of fishing, one of our favorite pastimes. It was overcast most of the morning as we slowly made our way around the pond, stopping once for 45 min to talk to an elderly man who wanted to tell us how to fish, where to fish, and what to fish with. The sun began to peak out from behind the clouds and you could tell it was going to be a beautiful day! We weren't even worried about fishing, we just talked and looked at lily pads and Joe was even picking me some of the pretty flowers that were on top of them. It never once crossed my mind that today was THE day! So around 10:30 Joe decided he wanted to go from Horseshoe 5 to Lake Patrick & have a picnic with the lunch we had packed. We loaded up the boat and headed down the dirtroads to the other pond. He pulled over in the shade where there was a nice breeze blowing & we had a wonderful view of the huge pond that I thought we were going to fish. We got out of the truck, put down the tailgate & pulled out our lunch of ham sandwiches, BBQ potato chips & Cokes. As we finished up eating, Joe said that he would put on my favorite Lime Green Trick Worm (my favorite lure!) for me to fish with (I had been asking him to do it all morning). He pulled out one tackle box and I sat and watched him dig to find them. He found the pink ones but I insisted that we use GREEN. Which he must have known I would do because he then hands me another tackle box and tells me to look for them in it as he looks through his third tackle box. The first thing I see when I open the box are the Lime Green Trick Worms. I pick them up and hand them to him. I look back down to see if there is anything else I want to fish with & THERE IS THE RING BOX! I look at him with my eyes huge & ask "what is that?!?" even though I already knew! He then picks up the box, opens it, and proceeds to ask if I am certain I want to spend the rest of my life with him, mushy stuff about his feelings for me, and then THE question!! Of course I say YES & am so happy I think my heart is about to pound out of my chest! We sat around being captured in the moment for another 30 minutes then decide we must start the calling to tell everyone! I couldn’t have asked for anything better or more perfect. Joedee later informed me that he purchased the ring back in March; however, he had been waiting for the right time. July 14th, 2010 was absolutely the right time.


My beautiful ring

The two of us before a small engagement party thrown by a close friend
One of the many engagement photos my mom will take