Yay!

Ok so today is the first official step to making it all come true: we are putting the down payment down at Mavris and securing our date! So it's official 9.25.2010! Seems so far away, but a year from now I will be sending Save the Dates! I had to make some concessions in order to get such a lovely venue, like making my own invitations, maybe only hiring a florist for my bouquet, etc. I do feel bad that it's not in the budget to pay for the bridesmaid dresses, so I might just save my pennies and do that myself.

Josh gets to see Mavris for the first time today, I will be interested in whether or not he likes it. Interested, but it's not really a deal breaker ;) I just really think that he and my father (who has not seen it before either and will be joining us) will like it.

Oh and yeah, I suggest that if you are getting married in the near future to check out catering... it's unreal. I was literally in tears the other morning (yes I know I am a baby) due to the catering proposals I was getting. Most of them were well over what I wanted to spend on the reception as a whole! With the lowest catering bid for 150 (I drastically reduced the guest list) at $13,000 I was convinced I was going to have to cook myself! But luckily I met with Tania at Pipers, and I am able to get everything I want, including the sit down meal, for exactly what I budgeted! She was great to work with, and their food is awesome (www.piperscafe.com) so I am really excited. I suggest them to any Indianapolis bride. I have heard nothing but good things, which is really re-assuring.

Oh yeah, and it turns out since so many of the girls that I go to school with are getting married I am getting some awesome free advice! My friend Kathi has already given me some great ideas, as well as her friend Katy who is getting married in May. It's great to have sooo many free resources at my fingertips!

All in all I just really appreciate how wonderful my parents have been about this. I think that they recognize that I am compromising on my dream wedding (bc that would cost more than most people's houses!) and so they are really bending over backwards to help! We had a meeting with my Dad since we really didn't feel comfortable committing this kind of money without him knowing. Originally he had told us to just let him know the amount and when we needed it, but i think he was estimating the cost of a wedding to be about $1000, which it's def not. After I told him about the numbers he said the sweetest thing! He said, "I know that I am a man, and this seems ridiculous, but I am your Dad and I know that this is important to you, so it will be just as important for me to make sure you have a nice wedding." How sweet! I feel very blessed to 1) be the only girl in my family, and 2) have such a wonderful set of parents! Even with his promise though, I am still going to try to save as much as possible!

Well like always it's time to get back to work, but at least I get off at 1:30 today! Have a great weekend!