Regitries, etc.

I ordered my wonderful, fabulousity-in-fabric dress about four weeks ago, and it had already arrived last week! The benefits of being one of the first (if not the first) ever women to order it, I suppose: already in stock. Nice. I picked it up, turned down a $500 flat rate for alterations (I felt like that was a bit of a rip, was that a mistake?) and now, I am in desperate need of a tailor. Aah! I thought I had 3 more months to find one, this all happened so quickly, and I wasn't ready to lock myself in to $500 when I hadn't done my research yet. And they wanted me to come get the dress within the week. What was I supposed to do? Oh well. We'll see how that turns out.

The FFG and I registered at Target and Bed, Bath, & Beyond a couple of months ago and let everyone know that what we really, really want for Christmas are things for the apartment. We already know that all of our siblings have foregone that advice for some entirely different - Lord knows what.

I hope my sister-in-law didn't get me another purse.

Is it wrong/ungrateful for me to be disappointed if people buy me things we really don't need/probably don't much want in lieu of the necessities we've registered for?

Is it wronger/ungratefuler if I take back the new purse and buy a toaster?

Great Things Are Happening

Friday: ordered my dress.

Sunday: booked our church.

Life is getting sweet.

Purchasing my gown was an incredible experience. I had tried on a number of gowns during several visits and found a few that I liked, all by the same designer. I knew two things going in to the store this time around: 1) I would order a gown before Thanksgiving (so, within the week), and 2) it would be an Allure Bridal. I did not know several things going in to the store, e.g.: Allure Bridals was having a trunk sale at the salon that weekend, Seth Kruger (from the design team) was there to represent, and his plane had landed within the hour. Our timing couldn't have been more perfect.

Racks of new gowns cluttered up the salon, something I had never seen in the quarter mile long building. So, with my older sister in tow, I dove in head first, bound and determined to find something better than the mediocre dress from my last trip that I was about the settle on. Sure, it's lovely - it looked even better on me than it does on the model. But, it wasn't "it." Something was still lacking. Still, I needed a gown fast, and if nothing else worked, it would do in a pinch. One thing I was sure of though: this label designed gowns with my body in mind.

As we tore through the racks, Brenda (our designated consultant for the day) and Seth pulled gowns that I asked to try on. I got to the end of the racks and was about to stop (I had four gowns already) when one more caught my eye. It reminded me a bit of a dress that Carrie wears in all of those Sex and the City promos, and when I commented on that to my sister, Seth snagged it from the rack and took it to my dressing room. I tried on the four other gowns, fell in love with the first one, and finally I tried on the "Sex and the City" gown. I was so in love with gown #1 that I almost took this one off immediately. But, I gave it a fair shot, and it kind of grew on me. Not wanting to be so torn at the last second when I almost thought I had picked one out, I decided to try #1 back on, so I could prove to myself what a statement it made in comparison.

It was a flop. It was as if it wasn't even the same dress anymore, like someone had switched it out. Dumbstruck, and a bit bewildered, I tried on the "SatC" dress again, and - voila! Instant glow! My sister actually started to cry when I came back out in it. I couldn't believe the complete 180 I had just done. When Seth and Brenda came to see, they both agreed that they favored this one over #1, and Seth insisted it was the better choice of the two because it drew the eye up to my face rather than down to my feet (where the bubble hem was). But here's where the story gets good...

The "SatC" dress is a Fall 2010 model, so it won't even be available until after my wedding. You can't even find a picture of it on their website yet. Most likely, I was the first bride to order it, and when I walk down the aisle with it on, no one will be able to say that they've seen it before. Plus, I found it at a trunk sale, so that = instant 10% off. And, of all of the gowns I tried on and liked to date, it was the least expensive one before the discount. Do I feel smug, or what??

Okay, so by now you're wondering what it looks like. Well, I don't want to post pictures of me that we took in the salon, and I could only find one professional picture of it from a runway show, since it isn't available yet. And, since I have a certain fiance who views this blog from time to time, I certainly can't just post the picture here. So, instead I'll give you a link to the photo so you can go see it for yourself, though I fear it may kill the FFG not to peek.

BTW: the "Sex and the City" link was made in reference to the flower on the shoulder.

As for the church, the exterior is but a shadow to the beauty that lay within...

photography i dig

We did our engagement photos this past weekend, which would have been a thoroughly enjoyable experience, had I not suddenly come down with the flu the day before and been retaining water at the same time. As it was, I was miserable and have been miserable since because I don't feel like I gave my best for these pictures. Paul is a friend of the FFG from college, and he's a wonderful photographer, so I trust him implicitly with the finished project. I just wish I had been feeling up to giving more energetic and creative poses.

Because I am a control freak, I feel the need to prevent this calamity from happening again in the future in whatever way I can. Now, there really is no way to predict or prevent a sudden and unexpected illness, but I feel like if I do enough research and record it all down, it will make me feel like I've accomplished something and at least give me the illusion of control. Natch.

I love these. But I worry that I love elements of the wedding, not just the actual photography. And, again, my fear is that even good photographers need something to work with.

These guys are darling, and totally exactly what engagement photos should be. I, unfortunately, am a little too tall and curvy to be this cutsey-buttons.

Thanks to the $10,000 bride, I do love this guy, however I sometimes feel that he could back off the filter usage a notch or two. I doubt she would agree.

Cutest. Picture. Ever.

Making Progress

It's been a little cold in this blog this summer, but like the temp outside, things are finally going to heat up for a while...

We're making progress with the reception site. We're still planning on Shinto, and - now that we have the guest list under control at around 80 - they're going to come in right on target. That includes food, drinks, and rentals - woot. We're still in the process of finding a church in the area. I'm thinking of becoming Catholic again.

What? I dig stained glass.

Seriously though, there has to be something around here with a classic church look that doesn't cost a small fortune. Do you know how out-of-place prerecorded Liturgical Latin sounds at a Non-Denominational church?

So I'm a music snob. Sue me.

Okay, but moving on... the Frugal Fabulous Groom and I are slowly, but surely, checking things off the list. Recently, we were able to tentatively secure the talents of a friend of his who is somewhat of a shutterbug. He's not a professional, but he's done photography for a few of his other friends' weddings in the past year, and they've all been quite happy with the results. He's promised to send us some of his work so we can talk. Admittedly, as much as I obsess over a pretty picture (I'm very visual), I'm sort of not picky when it comes to photos. I appreciate artistic vision in all its forms. And I'm excited to see what his particular form is. :)

I've made some headway on the dress. My mother and I are going shopping this week (after I get my hair done, of course) to see what we can find, but after being out a few times already and doing a lot of research online I'm finding a lot of promising options. My current love is just a touch above my price range, but it's hard to find glamour for $700. I may not mind spending the extra hundred bucks, if nothing else turns up. Looky! --->


Really, you should see the whole thing in person; it's to die for.
On a more vain note: for the first time in my life, I've been working out regularly without fail. I'm going on 7 weeks. I've never been over-weight, but there are certainly areas I would love to see with a little less shape to them, if you know what I mean. And, let me tell you: 20 minutes a day, 4-5 days a week will perform miracles. I've lost about 6 pounds, and my pouch is finally flattening out after 11 years. Snap.

Re-vision

Wow, things have been rough lately.

The Frugal Fabulous Groom and I have been tired and depressed lately. We've had a hard time realistically planning a wedding for 100 people, and it just doesn't look like it's going to happen at this point. His dad is still without a job, my dad is only working 3 days a week starting in August, FFG was recently promoted but that just means his commission goals are going to be harder to reach, and I still only work 9 months out of the year. So, $10k is not only hard to come by for us, but it hasn't looked like it's going to be enough.

So, we've decided to pair down the guest list. This really is the easiest way to make things affordable. We are now planning to pay for 80 people for less than $10k. And when I say, "less than," I mean that the budget is $10k but there are certain little extras that we are willing to do without if push comes to shove, and that I have over-budgeted for a few items, should we so happen to come in to the money to pay for said items - but they could certainly be done for a lot cheaper. All that to say: we may be able to scrape by on $8500, if need be. And wouldn't that be wonderful? Let's give it a try, and not sacrifice our relationiship instead, shall we?

On a lighter note: one of my Frugal Fabulous Bridesmaids was in town this weekend, and we had a blast together! She got a chance to see our venue, and we went dress shopping together, during which I may have found my dress! Also, my Matron of Honor called me yesterday, and I have been informed that we will need to add one more "little person" to our guest list...

*Yay!*

A Blogger Darkly

Hey everyone.

I know I've kinda gone dark lately. It's not on purpose - mostly I just haven't had the time to blog, nor anything to blog about, since I haven't made much progress on anything lately. The FFG and I met with our premarraige counselor on Saturday morning for the first time. That was a lot of fun. Beyond that - nada.

But, here's a little treat for you: our reception venue has posted a couple of videos to their website! One is a commercial, which gives you a really good idea what the place has to offer. And this one gives you a sense of what it's like to be there. It's done in slo-mo at first, so you can actually see the tricks they perform, but then they speed it up. If anyone is a pyro like me, there's lots of fire (lol). Watch for my favorite part: the onion volcano...

Oh, the budget...

I may rip my hair out.

The FFG and I sat down over the weekend, all twitter-pated and ready to look over the menu that Shinto gave us. We have some big dreams for what to do. Unfortunately, we've hit a snag.

I need to get more definite pricing on what an open bar for one hour would cost, but as it stands, we cant' afford this place. *smacks head* Are you kidding me? Dirt cheap, and we still can't afford it? Something's got to be off.

So, I'm reworking my budget and trying to figure out where the heck I've gone wrong. *le sigh*

Honestly, right now, my $10k budget for 100 people is looking more like a $12k budget. And on top of that, my parents (who are going to have to be the biggest contributors to this wedding, since we have no money and his dad is out of a job) have a mile-long list of people they want to invite that exceeds our 100-person limit. Which means more money. And we're already over.

Ps: these people that my parents want to invite are people I don't know - never even heard of - and who have no vested interest in myself or the Frugal Fabulous Groom. Is that normal? Because, honestly, I'm a very private person, and I feel uncomfortable saying my very intimate and personal vows to my groom in front of a group of strangers. It cheapens it to me, somehow. Is anyone else going through this? Because I feel like this is a normal thing and I'm just over-reacting.

I've got to figure this out. There has got to be a way to make this work. I'm already planning on buying an inexpensive dress, we've thrown out all flowers but what important people will be carrying with them during the night, we're not having a videographer, I've settled for an iPod instead of a live band (which we'll still have, if I can just find an extra $500 in the budget)... there has got to be some other place I can cut back to make this work.

contests and giveaways and etsy (oh my!)

First off: if you're in to giveaway contests and big sales, go to snippet&ink and check out their latest post. There are a few links to check out - specifically the ones for the 4 pashminas giveaway, and the etsy lotus necklace giveaway. End plug.

I've become an etsy stalker, it's official. Last night, I was looking for wedding gowns on etsy, and I found the most beautiful designer: bellinabridal. Her dresses are all gorgeous - I love her vision! I rarely find a designer that just sees beauty the same way I see it, but we're definitely on the same page. I specifically love one of her older designs, Laurel, and have fallen madly in love with both the dress AND the price. Who can go wrong with such luscious fashion for $600 + free shipping?

I would, of course, ask if she could add straps. I'm worried though - can I buy my wedding dress off of etsy? Is that safe? She says she has a shop in Italy (where she lives) and one in NYC (she's American) but on etsy, she has no buyer reviews. She seems legit for everything but that. I could ask for referals and testimonies, I guess. What do you guys think? Is it safe to buy a wedding gown at etsy?

Shinto? Or shit, no?

Well, the FFG and I met with the Event Coordinator from Shinto this evening.

The manager was wrong about their prices. He told us they were in the $35-$85/per range, so we talked about it and decided we couldn't probably safely budget for $55-$60, tops. Anymore would involved the sale of our first-born.

But when we got there tonight, the EC showed us some quite different figures. They have 3 main packages, priced as follows: $35, $45, and $55.

You heard me. $55 was their expensive one.

What does that include? Appetizers and sushi, dinner, one drink from the bar, champagne toast, and dessert. Plus, exclusive use of the facilities. The only other costs would be taxes, gratuity, and a small compensation for any profits they would miss out on by not having the restaurant open while we are there (a figure based on the average of the date from past years, amounting to a couple hundred at most).

Um, hello? Have I died and gone to Affordable Heaven?

We're thrilled about the $45 pkg, which includes an upgrade to some of the nicer, pricier menu options and a choice of two entrees instead of just one. The $55 pkg is even more of an upgrade, but to things we don't even care about. Saving money already! Oh, and since they're a restaurant and not an outside caterers, our guests will have a menu with about 8 selections to choose from. Not just 2, and not to be picked 2 months before.

So that's what is all included. In addition, the EC is willing to work with us w/o charging a dime more, ie: we can have those appetizers and sushi during cocktail hour if we like, then dinner later. We can have cocktail hour at the bar or on the patio, and the dinner area will be curtained off during that time. She's totally flexible on presentation. We can bring in our own centerpieces, our own cake - we can even bring in our own food from outside for those who just can't stomach Japanese, and we still only pay for those who eat. So the FFG's father who eats nothing but steak and potatoes wil be taken care of.

That's right: if we tell them 100 are going to be there, and only 90 show up to eat, we pay for 90 people.

We're discussing the option of an open bar during cocktail hour, which we understand will be extra. But when we sign that contract, she charges us a flat rate on the alcohol which we decide upon ahead of time based on how many and what kinds of drinks we think will be consumed, and if we go over our limit, they pick up the tab.

They require a 50%, non-refundable deposit one month b4 the wedding, the rest of the balance is due at the end of the night.

Music, live or prerecorded, is an option. A dance floor can be done. Even my mother said the idea sounded like a good one, and she seemed excited.

I'm just not seeing a down-side here...

A Big "Thank You!"

Thanks for the advice and the shared excitement over my venue, everyone! Your response has been an amazing encouragement!

I have been tremendously disappointed as of late, as day after day over the last two months of searching for a venue has proven itself fruitless. And this after three years of doing my homework! Lest any of you should despair as I did - be encouraged! Sometimes, even all of your hardwork is not the answer in the end. Sometimes it's just keeping your eyes peeled for any opportunity. Sometimes, it's using the resources around you and talking to friends and family.

And sometimes, it's just dumb luck. (Me.)

Keep a stiff upper lip - it's not as hopeless as it seems, I promise. =)

WestsideWedding: normally, Shinto closes early on Sundays, so instead of turning business away for a night, they're just staying open a little longer. More cost effective. In fact, they even told us up front that if we held it on a Friday or Saturday night, it would take a lot more to justify it.

The greater Cleveland area is not a happenin' place on Sunday nights.

chicncheap: I will definitely keep an eye on that bar tab when we talk to the EC on Wednesday. Thanks for the heads up!

Cross your fingers for us, and pray this won't cost more than we've been led to believe!

My Advice? ALWAYS Ask!

SOOO much to update today! I'm so behind!

First of all: new survey today! Look at the tool bar to your right. I'll probably try to post a new one every Monday, so keep your eyes peeled. Survey ends Friday night.

Okay, on to more important topics: VENUES!

Thursday was our 3 year dating anniversary, so we spent the weekend celebrating. We had wanted to go to Shinto for a while, but never had the time.money.excuse. The FFG called to make reservations for Saturday night, but we were told that they were closed for a wedding reception. Bummed, b/c that was the only night we had available to go, we decided to stop by for lunch instead.

First impression walking in the door: ...whoa. Amazing. Beautiful lighting. Modern and chic lounge/bar area. lovely fountain running in to a koi pond. A bridge with a clear floor, so you can see the koi swimming under your feet. You'll have to see for yourself.


The food was the best Japanese I've ever had (and that's saying something), and the show that the hibachi chef put on - entertaining? Absolutely!

So, as we sat there, thinking about the trouble we've had finding an affordable venue, I said, "Wait... did you say they're closed for a wedding?" I swear I saw a lightbulb turn on over his head. We started dreaming waaay more than we should have, and probably got our hopes up a little too high. We asked our server, who referred us to the manager, who referred us to their event coordinator, and presto-chango! We have an appt. Wednesday evening to talk about specifics!

Our server, Chris, said if we do it we should request him as a server - which we'll totally do. The manager quoted us a loose range of figures on packages anywhere from about $35/head to $85/head, depending on what we wanted. I almost exploded, and the FFG said "Where do we sign?"

I can't wait for Wednesday night! I'll let you know all the details when we find them out.

Of course, this blows away most of the ideas we had originally come up with (coffee house theme and all) but we're entirely ready to do that! I want to share with you all of the ideas we had that we probably won't be using, now that we're changing our theme. Maybe you can put some of them to good use!

More to come, people! Stay tuned, and stay classy!

FFB

The "One"

O. M. G.

I think we've found it...

Midsummer Eve

I showed my last color board to my bridesmaids yesterday. They all loved it. A few of them even started fighting over who gets to wear which dress. Totally awesome.

I thought I'd find something else that inspired me and try to create a color board for it. So I did that today. But I'm a little disappointed in the results. I think it looks good... but it's not me. And it's not my fiance, either. I'm just not sure that it fits into our genre of frugal fabulousness.

But I still like it. I still think it's good.

If you like it and think it's good, you're totally welcome to steal it. It's based on the painting "Midsummer Eve" by Edward Robert Hughes. What? I told you, I'm taking Art History.

Color board

I attempted to put together a color board of inspiration for a color scheme that I may or may not choose for our wedding. The FFG is really fine with whatever, has a few ideas and preferences, but really just wants it to look good, so he'll go along with anything I come up with. I showed him this color board this evening when I finished it, and he really liked the scheme.

It's different than what we originally had in mind, but I think it's pretty, and it's at least a) something physical [well, digital, but visible] that I can actually see, not just in my head, and b) a starting point to get my creative juices flowing about this. Maybe tweaking a few things here and there will help with finding the right venue to hold it.

My inspiration came from a few things, but mostly my love of all things Pride and Prejudice and Jane Austen as a whole. I'm not the type to go so crazy over a cliche like this and make my bridesmaids all wear Edwardian period dresses with cap sleeves and empire waists that make them look prego.

I'm in to inspiration, not imitation.

But, as much as I *heart* Colin Firth, I've been known to say that the newer P&P on screen with Keira Knightly is like a moving art piece. With it's visually stunning use of color, and (sometimes unneccesarily impressive) staging and scenary, as well as a soundtrack to melt one's stubbornly Elizabeth Bennet heart, it always seems to bring out the romantic in me.

Like I said: I may or may not make use of this color board for my wedding. That being said, regardless of what I choose, I encourage anyone who may find this to be inspirational to them to go ahead and use some (or all) elements of it for their own. Someone ought to get some use out of it.

I will, of course, be working diligently on my next color board: Pride and Prejudice... and Zombies.

Venues

Finding a rental hall is next to impossible in this area.

Oh, don't get me wrong - it's not that they aren't available.

But, even if they weren't all booked up 2 years in advance, they're all way out of my price range.

About a year ago, long before we were engaged, I checked out a place called Windows on the River. It's an old converted powerhouse building. It's just the type of setting the FFG and I would like to have this little shindig - brick walls, city view, even a great spot on the river that spills out in to Lake Erie. It'd be perfect for an urban-jazz coffee house. Good news: they cover everything - food, rentals, bar, centerpieces, cake. Bad news: it's still out of our price range.

But, ever since my mother attended a wedding there about a month ago she's been obsessed. I mean obsessed. She spends every conversation talking about what a great deal this place was. I even diplomatically tried to direct her toward researching some other details for me before she drove me nuts. No dice.

So, I finally emailed them. And, sure enough - even after asking them if they can give me any breaks by excluding some of the extras or changing the menu - they can't budge much on the price.

So, after close to two months of engagement, I am no closer to having a venue booked.

So what's next? Well, we have a friend who is an ordained minister and has offered to officiate our wedding. We're going to talk to him in a couple weeks in our first pre-marital counseling session and see if his church has a place where we could hold a reception. That would kill two birds with one stone: ceremony and reception site (both of which are still in question).

Wish me luck... this is going to be tough.

Pretties!

Je t'adore! This jewelry from made by moe (coursety of something old, something new) is so refreshing! And at an average price of around $30? Makes wedding jewelry totally affordable, not to mention bridesmaids gifts! Still too pricey for each of your 10 bridesmaids? No problem - with at least a dozen pieces $15 and under, you can find something special for each of them, and still keep it Frugally Fabulous. I'm in!




In case you didn't catch it, that's a working compass necklace up top - how original! And I would totally wear these down the aisle, I'm not even kidding:




Wouldn't that look so fantastically quirky for pictures?




There's even a necklace that bears my name. What could possibly be more perfect? I think it's a sign...

Budget goodies for my lovelies!!!

If you are anything like me, you might find this helpful. I looked around at SOOO many websites trying to find a realistic budget to work from, and all I found were calculators that told me to plug in a grand total and they'd tell me what to do with it. This did make things easy since I:

a) wasn't planning to use many items they included
b) had no idea what was a sane number to use.

Never-the-less, as I researched, I found out how much some expenses would reasonably be in my area, and I kept plugging in figures until it gave me that number for that item. Here's a list of some of the calculators that I found most helpful. I highly recommend these - they're not law by any means, but they give you such a good place to start:

Our Dream Wedding
This tool is my favorite one because it has all of the features I could hope for: you enter a budget, total guests invited, total guests expected to show, bridal party size, AND your area code; you can eliminate any fields you don't want to include in your budget and it automatically recalculates the remaining balance in to the rest of your budgeted items; and if you want to spend more or less on an item, you can change it manually and it will recalculate the rest. It also has a fairly inclusive list, so you won't forget anything. I <3 The Knot
If you have an account with theknot.com, try their calculator. I'm not a huge fan of it - you can eliminate any items you don't want to budget for, but it won't recalculate the remaining money back in to your budget, and it doesn't let you manually change any of the figures - but you can keep track of your spending as you go along. Convenient, if you already use them for other features.

Out of the Ordinary
With this calculator, you can change the percentage that you want to spend on different items, instead of the dollar amount, but it can be a little frustrating to navigate sometimes. Still a worthwhile tool, though.

I could list a few others, but they're actually pretty lame-o.

So, I know I just told you that using budget calculators sucked, and led you to believe that I'd give you something more useful. Well, they do (kind of). And, I will.

Use the calculators... they are your friends once you know what the hell you're doing. But, in addition to that, I'm going to provide you with something to help you even more:

My own budget.

But, not today. I'm still working on a realistic figure, and I eventually have to present this figure (with the FFG) to our two sets of parents and see if they think we're sane. Then, once everything is etched in stone, I'll share all of the dirty details and let you in on every gruelling moment of trying to stick to it. If all goes well, I'll share a final total with you in about a year. If not, I'll share a much smaller final total with you in a few months, once the FFG and I get home from Vegas.

I'm kidding. He hates Vegas. We'd find somewhere more romantic to elope.

invitation station

This was posted at iDiY - isn't this brilliantly personal? The groom actually put this together himself. Holla for creative geniuses! The FFG and I are thinking about doing our own invites, and I'm pretty sure we could put something like this together if we tried. It'd totally rock our guests' faces off. Courtesy of Talda over at it's love actually....Go check it out!

More inspired ideas to come... stay tuned!

FFB

Sweet.. like candy

*unnecessarily loud intake of breath*

Pardon my gasping.

I could just DIE over the deliciousness of this entire wedding! Granted, the photography is half of what makes it... but isn't it drop-dead worthy?

Oh, wedding envy. Take thy dagger from out my heart.

Is it possible that these people had a budget under $15k?

What if I said "pretty please?"

*le sigh*

Sometimes, the Frugal Fabulous Groom says things that make me want to burst in to a million little golden pieces of light and scatter about the universe like marbles on linoleum.

Yesterday, while we're watching tv and just trying to relax after a stressful day, he says this to me: "You're very relaxing to come home to."

me: really??

ffg: yeah. It's nice to just bask in your presence.

me: *melting into a puddle* sigh.

***************

Edit (10:45 PM): I'm pretty sure, if I ever have a baby girl, I will design her bedroom around this painting by Edward Hughes.

Coffee? Tea? Me?

Have I mentioned our "theme?"

No, we're not having a "themed" wedding. But everyone needs a starting point.

Perhaps I'll call it our "vision" instead.

The Frugulous Groom and I are combining two things that are important to us: his love of coffee, and my love of jazz. He was a barista at Starbucks before he landed a job in the Plain Dealer's advertising department last month, and I majored in music for 5 years before I realized my talent was mediocre and I should do something I actually thought I could get good at (hence my returning to school as an interior design major this time).

It seems only fitting that we should crank out a wedding with an open espresso bar (in lieu of alcohol?) and a four-piece, live jazz band.

Now if only we could find a caterer who has an espresso machine...

She said "Yes!... but what exactly do I do with this?"

My engagement ring is a thing of beauty. Even more so because it was free.

Years ago, a married-couple-friend of mine from church came to me and told me that God had told them to give me a carat-and-a-half, princess cut diamond ring that the wife had lying around the house. Well, it wasn't exactly lying around the house. It was actually her favorite ring above anything else in the world (including her husband - now you see the problem), but... po-tay-to, po-tah-to.

Hey, who am I do say "no" to God... especially when there's jewelry involved?

I promised myself that if I ever got married, that would be "the one ring." Not like Frodo's "one ring"... but close, when you think about my friend. Anyway...

Years later, my Frugal Fabulous Boyfriend-at-the-Time and I had a rough go of it at first. I had baggage like anyone else and was having trouble trusting this poor, honorable boy who just wanted to make me *deliriously* happy. (Was that so much to ask?) After about 2 or 3 months of indecision and gastro-intestinal distress (I have issues you're not prepared to deal with), I visited him at college and took him a care package with the usual stuff: homemade cookies, handwritten letters, a diamond ring, ramen...

The ring about floored him. But it was one of the best things I ever did. It took that big of a gesture on my part to let him know that I was taking a leap of faith on this one and I was willing to risk being hurt if it didn't work out, because - he was worth it.

Over two years later, he had it cleaned up and sized down a bit... and gave it back to me.

I'm thrilled to have it (and the promise that came along with it), but why didn't anyone ever tell me how awkward it is to live with? How you ask yourself silly questions about wearing it in the shower, or to bed, or when you wash your hands, put on lotion, do the gardening, pee... you name it, I've asked it. It's been over a month now, and I'm still wondering:

What exactly am I supposed to do with this?

Genesis

We've been planning this wedding for about 2 1/2 years.

We've been engaged for approx. 1 month.


Obviously, things haven't gone as we originally planned.


Now, with a ring finally on my finger (although the jeweler seems to have it in for that) and our finances in order, the Frugal Fabulous Groom and I are forging ahead at a steady pace!

But just because one of us has a new better-paying job doesn't mean we can afford to go broke on this wedding. With his father between jobs and my parents feeling the squeeze of an unstable economy too, it's going to be tough to pull off the wedding of our dreams with the budget of our nightmares.

But you know the old saying: when the going gets tough, the tough spend hours researching online to find the best deal.

And so begins my journey to plan a Frugal Fabulous wedding in one year. You're all invited to come along for this crazy ride.

Wish me luck!