Build Me Up, Buttercup

Look how happy the people are in that photo!

The one very sad, very dark part of this whole wedding thing is that I'm doing it without that support system. The friends that I've always been closest to have never been in the same place as me, life wise. When they were finishing college and going to parties, I was taking care of babies. When I was single, they were meeting the men they would eventually marry. Now that they're starting to have babies, I have a 9 and 7 year old and am enjoying the fact that my kids are pretty self-sufficient.

I feel very alone sometimes.

It is natural for people to drift apart as the years go by, to end up in different place and many miles apart. But I can look at it logically all day long, and it doesn't make me any less sad.

So there will be no bridesmaids at my wedding, no troop of laughing women filling the chairs at a salon,no haze of hairspray mingling with their joy and anticipation of the day ahead. It will just be me.



The dresses may hang empty, but my heart will still be full. Even if they won't be by my side, the treasured memories I have of our past friendship will always be with me.

Pin-Tastic! Pin-Mazing!

Pinterest has got to be every wedding Belle's dream come true. Having all the pretty pictures right in front of you...the sparkling fairy lights, the mason jars, the lace, the burlap, the vintage touches...Well, that's what's on my wedding board anyway.

When I first started down the aisle of wedding planning, I didn't think I had any certain style or theme in mind. I just wanted it to be pretty, for people to be happy, and to make it legal with my man. Oh, those were simpler times...

Then I started a wedding board on Pinterest.It opened up a whole new world to me. Flipping through a wedding magazine has an appeal. I like holding it and seeing the glossy photos up close and dog-earing the pages showing the dresses I love. But Pinterest. Oh boy! Never before have I had such a display before me. Soon I was a pinnin' fool, and that's how I figured out that I do, in fact, have a preferred style. It turns out lots of brides share my style too. If that is true, is it even MY style anymore? It is if I make it my own!

I'm going to call it vintage rustic glam. Isn't that a mouthful?? But I have hopped on the burlap and lace train and I'm riding all the way to the station. How could I not fall prey to the charm? Just look at this cake!



I can't resist the charm of the simple cake mixed with something special, like sparkly shoes

and a glamorous gown, like this one: Egypt by Enzoani Blue
The simple touches of burlap and twine are balanced beautifully by the glitz. I never would have thought these two elements would blend so well. I tend to get bogged down by all the things that have to be done to plan a wedding day. I feel like it should be simple, and I hate timelines. You know what I'm talking about? The little wedding planning timelines that say you're pretty much supposed to have your dress and venue about 5 years before you are even in a relationship, let alone engaged? I'm feeling the time crunch now. The wedding is in March, and the dress shop says it takes four months to get the designer gown, so to get it in time, I only have about three weeks to find and purchase a wedding gown. Pinterest offers an escape from the stress, and for that reason alone I will give high praise.

This Time Around

A long time ago, in a far away land called Ten Years Ago, in a kingdom named Age Twenty, a girl got married.( Because she was three months pregnant, and her family insisted. ) Two kids and three years later, she moved to a new kingdom called  Single Parenthood and lived very happily for a time...

In 2009 that woman reconnected with the man who took her on her first date (to see Titanic in the movie theater) and they were instantly inseperable. Three years later they were engaged...and so begins this blog.

That's right, people! I'm getting married!! (Just like thousands of other women around the world!! Woo!!!)

When I got married the first time I was young, knocked up, and not very happy. The only things I picked out were the cake and flowers, carefully copied from a Martha Stewart magazine. My dress was a $60 clearance special at the local dress shop, and there were goldfish in bowls on the reception tables. I just knew those suckers were going to die. Well-meaning (ahem) family members sort of steamrolled over me and planned the whole thing. I didn't care too much. I really just wanted it all to be over. And it was three years later. Thank God for small favors.

But now...NOW is the time for me to be a real bride. Glowy and joyous and tremendously happy. I've found a man who is an amazing father to my children because he genuinely WANTS to be. I've found a man who really and truly loves me despite my many faults. The feelings are mutual, and I. Am. Grateful.

I really consider myself to be a first time bride. Kind of like how people say they "got their virginity back" by being celibate for a really long time. I'm really excited! And also scared to death. Planning a wedding freaks me out! And it's expensive! I mean, I watch all the shows on TLC and I read magazines...I know people really shell out the dimes to put on a wedding. It's always boggled my mind. Now I am one of those people. And dollar signs make me want to vomit.

We have decided where we want to have the wedding. It's going to be rustic and adorable, just like everyone else who's in on this trend. But the difference is, ours will be rustic and adorable and in a THEME PARK! We're having it in the Wilderness Church at Silver Dollar City in Branson, MO.

This photo belongs to pottedfrog.wordpress.com. I hope it's ok that I borrowed it!

This is a place near and dear to me, where family vacations took place. I rode my first rollercoaster here at the age of five (Fiiirreee in the hooooolllllee!!!!) and I love taking my boys and seeing the joy on their faces when we walk in the front gate.

The one thing that I'm most nervous about is picking out a dress. Specifically, trying on a dress. The thought of it terrifies me, but I guess I'll have to get over it, as my first appointment is next Wednesday at a cute little local shop called She Said Yes. I'm sure the post that day will be interesting...

I hope I can meet some other brides through this blog, share experiences, ups/downs, etc...Let's have fun!! Let's stand our ground!!!

...and live happily ever after this time around.