T-Minus 120 days...

Okay, so it is a little ridiculous that it has been since February that I have blogged. That was not at all my intention when I first started this blog. I had hoped that I would blog at least once a week about the happenings and journey to becoming Mrs. O'Conner. Well folks, I hate to break it to ya, but when you are planning a wedding and commit to a year and a half engagement...you sort of hit a brick wall when it comes to the planning. I feel that I have been a VERY prepared bride and that, in a sense, I have been TOO prepared. I was able to get so much done from the get go that I hit a bit of a slump where I had enough to think about, but nothing to do yet because it was all still so far away. However, we are now at the 3 months 27 day mark until the BIG DAY which means that I am close enough to start working on some major things! Woo~hoo! So no more wedding day slumps...from here on out it is going to be work, work, work to get things done and PERFECT!

To catch you up to speed on the things that I HAVE been able to do during this "slump" please read the following:

*We took and received our engagement pictures! YAY! We took them in Parkville where we had our first date. Thankfully it was a beautiful evening and our photographer did a great job! Brian and I were a bit nervous and unsure how being photographed for 3 hours would go, but it turned out pretty well. I'm not gonna lie...but the end of the "photo shoot" we were exhausted, cranky, and hungry! It was hard work, but the pictures turned out beautifully! You should definitely check out our photographer at www.carterkc.com
Here are a few of my favorites:

*Brian and I completed our Pre-Marital Counseling with Jerry Purviance graduating in just 4 sessions with our counselor stating that he had "no reservations and had complete confidence in us as a couple". Not to gloat, but it is super nice to hear how AWESOME you are as a couple?!? Am I right? ;)

*Brian completed planning our honeymoon and I got my passport! We are going to be staying 7 days at a 5 star, all-inclusive, adult only resort called the Valentin Imperial Maya just outside of Cancun, Mexico. We plan to eat, drink, and be pampered as we celebrate being newlyweds! 147 days until we leave on that adventure! You can check out their website here: www.valentinmaya.com

*I managed to find a super cute bridesmaid dress online from some company in China. Best thing was that the dress was only $39.00!!! Reason being is that the shipping was $37.00. Still finding a "bridesmaid" dress for under $100 is a deal! I decided to order one of the dresses in my size to see if I liked it. It arrived 3 weeks later and fit like a glove...the only problem was that their version of burgundy was cherryapplefiretruckengineblood RED and I HATED it! After trying to speak with their customer service rep I e-mailed them pictures of the dress next to a shirt that was red showing that the dress matched exactly. They stated that what I received was their version of burgundy. I was told that if I wanted they could send me some material samples in the mail, but that it would take 20 days. I said sure, but then decided that I wanted to keep looking....so....

*I ended up choosing a bridesmaid dress at none other than...DAVID'S BRIDAL. I have always SWORN that I would NEVER give them my business as a bride, but unfortunately desperate times call for desperate measure. haha. Fortunately for me they had a dress that I liked at a reasonable price in the EXACT color I wanted!!! (Which is wine, not the sea blue that you see above). And the dress looks better on my girls than it does on this model! lol. I even found a Jr. Bridesmaid dress for Emme Jo and my mother picked out her dress as well! All dresses have been paid for and are ordered! Thank goodness...oh, and I'm still waiting on those color swatches from China. haha, not gonna happen!

*We picked out the tuxes for the boys....I blocked out a complete hour of time in our day to do so. I even called to make an appointment to make sure they had time for us. The gentleman reassured me that an appt was not necessary and to just come by anytime. That was absurd to me because as a woman you must ALWAYS have an appointment to do anything! Look at dresses, try on dresses, buy a dress, and pick up a dress. Surely we would need one for Brian as well, right!? WRONG. We were in and out in 11 minutes. I was shocked! But I guess that is a man for you...they don't typically like to shop around! At least Brian and the groomsmen have been low key...so far. ;)

*I have managed to make a FINAL guest list for the wedding. It was incredibly hard for me to do this because I know and work with so many amazing people! I'd love to be able to invite everyone, but our venue is only so big and so is our checkbook!

*My Maid of Honor, Iris, made the MOST AMAZING bridal shower invitations and sent them this week! She is SUCH a trooper considering I had her mail 70 invitations...which meant she hand cut and made 70 invites! I am so grateful for her time, talent, and especially her friendship!

*We have officially registered at Bed, Bath, and Beyond and Target. Although I find registering quite exciting...I also find it overwhelming! There is just too much stuff to choose from to have in your home! But, it is kind of fun to pick and choose! Brian really liked playing with the scanner....haha.

*Our engagement announcement was put in the Pleasant Hill paper. As a small town you must always put things in the paper. It is rather funny, but I have always looked forward to the day that I would get to put my engagement announcement in the paper for everyone to read. It turned out very nicely and I was so excited to see it there!

*I have been working towards collecting all of the addresses that are needed for the bridal shower and wedding. It takes a lot of organization, but it will be totally worth it! Speaking of which, I had our RSVP's reprinted to our new address (as we are moving in July) and as soon as they are in I will get to start stuffing and addressing our invitations! My goal is to have them sent no later than July 30th! Which is quickly approaching!

*I am currently working on my bridal bouquet made out of brooches. I have been collecting them and working on it slowly. I think I have decided that I would like to incorporate some flowers too. It has been really neat though because I have received brooches from my great great grandmother, great grandmother, grandmother, mother, future-mother-in-law, and future-grand-mother-in-law. How SPECIAL is that? I am super excited to see how it will turn out!

Somethings to look forward to in my future posts will be....

*Invitations
*Decorations
*Flowers
*Hairstyles/Make-up
*Music
*Center Pieces
*Bridal Shower Fun
*Work out routines/pounds lost as the countdown continues!
*Bridal bouquets/boutonnieres!
*and much, much more as the days get closer and the stress makes life CRAZIER!!!!

I am starting to wonder if we should have ran off to somewhere tropical and gotten married a long, long, long time ago...but alas, that ship has definitely sailed! Our special day will be here before we know it and it will be AMAZING! :)

~Amanda~

Time is a ticking away....

Holy smokes folks! It has been a longggggggg time since I've posted anything on here! Well, we are officially down to 8 months and 11 days! Can you believe it?!? We have been so busy with our trip to Florida, celebrating Brian's birthday, celebrating Christmas, celebrating my birthday, and spending time with my sister during her visit here from Hawaii that the last few months have just zipped by! We are almost down to crunch time people!!! :)

So, here is what has been worked on since I last posted!!!

Our invitations arrived! I know it seems wayyyyyyyy early to be worried about invitations, but I got an awesome deal on them and figured they can sit in the "wedding closet" until they are ready to be sent! I worked with Midwest Marketing and they did a fabulous job! I am very proud of how simple, yet beautiful our invites turned out to be! JUST what I wanted!

We officially have a DJ! woot*woot! This is something that I had been trying to find since we started in on this journey. I had contacted about 10 different DJ's with only two responses. One was too expensive and the other one was already booked! Luckily I have a co-worker who is getting married in June and she suggested that I check her guy out. So Brian and I met with him and booked him immediately. He is young and seems super relaxed, yet professional and organized all at the same time. His name is DJ Ricky and I am so excited to see how AWESOME of a party we will have! Our package includes unlimited hours of music, dance floor monogram, and up lighting among other things! Oh, and did I mention that he has been to the Red Barn Farm before!?? That takes a lot of stress off of me worrying if he will have everything he needs....so yeah, so happy to have that checked off the list! If you are in need of a DJ, let me know and I will get you his information!

Our flowers are booked and are going to be done by Iron Rose in Weston, Mo. She not only has worked wedding at Red Barn before, but is such a lovely lady! I am so looking forward to creating some gorgeous floral arrangements for our big day!!!

Over Christmas, two of my bridesmaids and I went to look at bridesmaid dresses!!! After debating between two of them...we have finally picked the one! Here are each of them:

I loved the style of the first dress, but it didn't come in the wine color that I wanted my bridesmaids to be in. So, it came down to color vs. style and in the end color won! So, the winner is the 2nd dress! I also took a poll from all of my bridesmaids and they loved this dress the best! I am now on the hunt to find this dress at the best price! Wish me luck!!!

While shopping on my birthday, I happened to go into Express to use a gift card I had been given over Christmas. I wasn't actually looking for my wedding shoes, but I am relieved to say that I found them!!! I had been thinking about how I wanted some height in my shoes, but I didn't like the idea of being in heels. If you know me, you know that I'm a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl....and that I'm NOT so big on heels. Not only am I worried to fall over in them and get blisters, but I'm also concerned about my heels sinking into the ground since we are getting married outside! So, as a sweet compromise, I decided that I wanted to purchase some wedges! But I didn't want just any wedged shoes, I wanted them to be a royal blue..."something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue". And as luck would have it, I ran across these beauties:

I might jazz them up a bit with a jeweled broach for the front of the shoe, but I absolutely love them! They are super comfortable too and I feel like I can walk in them! hooray! I figured I would go fancier, but I'm BIG on comfort...plus no one will really see them under my dress. Speaking of my dress.....

IT CAME IN!!!!! As I type this, my beautiful dress is hanging in my closet!!! I went to get it and tried it on for the first time and it fit like a glove. I have a few lbs to loose until I feel 100% in it, but I absolutely love it and can't wait for Brian to see me in it. We ordered my veil that day as well and bought a beautiful jeweled comb to put in my hair. So my look is almost set! :)

So my goals for this next month when it comes to wedding stuff is as follows:

*Buy Brian's wedding band

*Get Bridesmaid's measurements and figure out where I'm buying dresses from

*Secure someone to do my hair/make up and bridesmaid's hair/make up

*Book Honeymoon (which is really Brian's assignment)

*Apply for a new passport

*Finalize guest list/start to get addresses

*Schedule Engagement Photos

*Schedule Pre-Marital Counseling Sessions

*Look at/Pick out Tux's for the guys

And anything else I can do! :)

I can hardly believe that we are almost down to 8 months until the BIG day! It is so exciting to me! I can't wait to marry my best friend! Time is just a ticking away....

~Amanda~

Less than 365 days to go!

Okay, so I'm a little late on this post, but we are officially a year (360 days to be exact) away from the BIG DAY! Guess who's EXCITED?!?!? This girl! :)

To celebrate our future nuptials, Brian and I decided to have a special date night on October 13th! We went to dinner at Em Chama's (which Brian likes to call the "meat Christmas" restaurant) and it was delicious! After stuffing our bellys full, we embarked on the journey to find our halloween costumes. Originally we wanted to be Batman and Robin, but after a failed costume we decided on Maverick and Goose from Top Gun. I must say that we look pretty legit, especially in the aviators! Pics to come...promise! After finding our costumes we needed to waste time before our movie...so of course we wandered around Wal*Mart! While there, Brian happened to find the Farmer's Almanac for 2012....we immediately turned to October of 2012 to see what the future will hold for the weather on our special day.

It said "Oct. '12. Temperatures near normal and precipitation near normal.Temperatures should average from 59 in north to 67 in south. Coolest October 4-8, 16-20, and 29-31; warmest October 2-3, 12-15, and 23-27. The best chance for showers and thunderstorms Ocotber 3-6, 15-18, and 28-30. The storm at month's end will likely be the strongest. It turns very cool at the end of the month."



Most people aren't too concerned about the weather...but our ceremony is going to be held outside, so knowing that our date of October 13, 2012 falls into the warmest and driest category is pretty awesome and puts me at ease! A little bit anyways....haha.

After exploring at Wal*Mart, Brian and I went to see "What's Your Number?", a romantic comedy of sorts. It turned out to be rather cute and really funny....so all in all, we had a great year-to-the-wedding-celebration! 

Alright, well now I must brag on Brian just a little bit because he is just so incredibly good to me! I came home a couple weekends ago to find a surprise on our kitchen counter. There was a very sweet card from Bri and at the bottom it said to enjoy some chocolate flowers in the fridge. I was curious what he meant by chocolate...but at the same time, I didn't care! Who doesn't love surprise chocolate flowers!?!

He had taken oreos, kit kats, and reese's peanut butter cups and made me flowers out of them! I think he's so stinking cute...and defnitely a keeper! Oh how I love him!

The next couple of weeks are keeping us busy with work and soccer...especially for Brian. He is taking his team to Joplin, Missouri to compete at the State Tourney! I'm very proud of him and excited to see how the team plays! There is a light at the end of the tunnel...or at least at the end of this VERY busy month!

Brian and I are planning a trip to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida from November 1st through November 6th! We will be visiting Brian's Papou and will be soaking up the sun, laying on the warm beaches, reading, working out, eating, and just enjoying a slower paced life for a week. I am so looking forward to this break and the time that we'll get to spend together. With working two jobs and having Brian work and coach, we haven't gotten to see each other much. I'm very thankful for the occupations, friends, family, and opportunity for B to coach....but it's always nice to get away and re-charge your batteries, ya know? This is also a bit of an early birthday present for Brian...he'll be 27 on November 12th!!! YAY for birthdays and YAY for Florida! :)

Stay tuned for another blog post soon...we've gotten quite a bit done over the past few weeks and I can't wait to share it all with you! But for now, I'm off to catch up on my Grey's!!! Sweet Dreams Everyone!

~Amanda~



Engagement Party!!!

It's been a while since I've blogged, but I finally had a day off to blog. YAY! I wanted to be sure to write about our lovely engagement party that Brian's Grandpa and Grandma hosted for us. It was held in Weston, Missouri at their home which is also the Weston Bed and Breakfast! Here's a pic:

It is the most amazing house and it was perfect for all of our family members to gather at. Our families hadn't met yet, so this was a rather big night for me and Brian. We were both excited...and I was, umm...a little nervous! lol.

Of course it all went extremely well! No one got lost or said anything embarrassing....that I know of! ;) Here are a few pics from the night:

Brian and I in front of our beautiful tort!

It was a work of art!

There was A LOT of food!

Of course we had an awesome display of pictures starting with baby pics up until now. Brian was the cutest little kid...and I was told that I look exactly the same! haha.

We had a picture frame for our guests to sign and thank you cards for them to take!

The "oh~so~famous prom pose" pic!

We had a very sweet and genuine toast from Randy.

Then it was time for the "how well do you know the couple" game. Our moms both came close, but my mom won by 1 question!

My Grammy and Papa!

They gave us matching t-shirts. For as long as I can remember they've always worn matching t-shirts out in public. It's so they can find each other if they're ever separated! I've always told them that when they pass away I'd like to have their collection of t-shirts so that I can wear them with my husband when we get older. They decided we needed to start our collection now! Such a cute gift!

Brian's Grandpa Richard and Grandma Dorothy who hosted the party for us! Thank you so much!

My Cousin Lane, Aunt Kelli, Uncle Chris, Uncle Jason, Grandma Linda, and Dad with Brian and I at the party.

Bride, Groom, and parents!

Grandpa Richard, Brian, and I after we asked him to be the officiant at our wedding! He was thrilled!

Tempting...very, very tempting! lol.

oh, Love Sweet Love.

As you can see it was a great party filled with many people we care for and love. It was such a great feeling to have all of those people in one place celebrating our engagement. We are so blessed to have such supportive, kind, and loving families. Thank you to everyone who came out!

~Amanda~

I said Yes to the Dress!!!

Okay, so I didn't make it all the way to Kleinfeld's in New York to say "Yes to the Dress", but I did find an awesome store in Shawnee, KS called Bridal Extraordinaire. I have just been doing research trying to find the different shapes, styles, fabrics, colors, etc that look good on my body. I originally thought I might want a ballgown style due to the fact that I dreamed about a princess-y dress to get married in since I was a child. I've always been drawn to them in magazines, however as my wedding became a reality it came time to get serious.

I started my dress journey at The Gown Gallery in Kansas City, Mo. I tried on three dress that I liked while shopping there. I tried on all Maggie Sottero dresses, but my favorite there were the Sandrina and the Victoriana.

Sandrina

Victoriana

Then, a couple weeks later, I traveled to Bridal Solutions in Lee's Summit. I tried on the previous two again and then found the other dress that had been on my mind. It is also a Maggie Sottero dress...see a pattern here?!? It's called the Prestyn and looks like this:

Prestyn

Then a dress caught my eye and it was completely different from all three of these dresses. It was a by a different designer named Casablanca and it's name was the 1995.

1995

After seeing the beautiful mermaid lace gown, I was started to change my mind about what I thought I had wanted afterall. I started researching mermaid lace gowns and came across some REAL beauties!!! Here are a few of the ones I liked:

So, as you can tell, I've fallen madly and deeply in love with lace!!! I have also figured out that I really like the mermaid/trumpet style of a dress! Those styles of dresses really take well to my curves, which I love. I ended up calling around to a billion stores asking for one specific designer! I was dead set on trying something on so I would KNOW wither or not I could really truly fall in love with this gown. I made an appt at Bridal Extraordinaire and wouldn't you know....they had the exact two dresses I wanted to try on! Even more awesome is that if I ordered a dress on my first visit I'd get 15% off my dress...I was REALLY hoping to find THE one on this visit.

And guess what?!?! I did! And here it is....









HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! You didn't REALLY think I'd post it on here, did you? ;)

Alas, I found the perfect dress to wear on my perfect day marrying the perfect man...ahhh, I love perfection! lol. Now, of course I realize that I've ordered it a tad bit early, but you can't beat the perfect dress...especially on sale!

I plan to have a "Reveal Night" with my close loved ones once my dress arrives! I want my mom, Grandmas, Dad, Sarah(s), Maria, Daphne, and G-ma Dorothy to be there if possible. It will be a fun evening showing off my dress and perhaps doing dinner afterwards. I love that I'll be able to share a special moment with all of them!

YAY for saying Yes to the Dress!

~Amanda~

Love to Love the Love Songs!

I have a few songs that I'm currently listening to on repeat...all three make me think of Brian. Of course, we don't have a song that's "our song" quite yet. We have certain songs that make us think of eachother, however they are fast and silly songs like "Forever" by Chris Brown or "Black and Yellow" by Wiz Khalifa. Clearing these are not "first dance" kind of songs, but they are just examples of what kind of fun stuff we like to jam to in the car.

This is a bit of a random post, but I can't get these songs out of my head tonight and felt the need to share them with you. Whomever you are that actually read this blog! LOL. ;)

Take a listen to each one. All three are potential wedding music to be used at some point either during our ceremony and/or reception! Enjoy!

Song #1: "Home" by The Magnetic Zeros.
Cover done by Gibson2128 on Youtube

http://youtu.be/5uCM5uJUNJQ

Lyrics:

"Alabama, Arkansas, I do love my Ma & Pa
Not the way that I do love you

Holy roly, me, oh my, you’re the apple of my eye
Girl, I’ve never loved one like you

Man, oh man, you’re my best friend, I scream it to the nothingness
There ain’t nothin’ that I need

Well, hot & heavy, pumpkin pie, chocolate candy, Jesus Christ
There ain’t nothin’ please me more than you

Ahh, Home
Let me come Home
Home is wherever I’m with you
La la la la, take me Home
Baby, I’m coming Home

I’ll follow you into the park, through the jungle, through the dark
Girl, I’ve never loved one like you

Moats & boats & waterfalls, alley ways & pay phone calls
I’ve been everywhere with you

That’s true

We laugh until we think we’ll die, barefoot on a summer night
Nothin’ new is sweeter than with you

And in the sticks we’re running free like it’s only you and me
Geez, you’re something to see.

Ahh, Home
Let me come Home
Home is wherever I’m with you
La la la la, take me Home
Baby, I’m coming Home"

Song #2: "You are the Best Thing" by Ray LaMontagne

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJ3xTjvj9tw

Lyrics:

"Baby
It's been a long day, baby
Things ain't been going my way
And now i need you here
To clear my mind all the time

And baby
The way you move me, it's crazy
It's like you see right through me
And make it easier
Believe me, you don't even have to try

Oh, because
You are the best thing
(you're the best thing)
You are the best thing
(you're the best thing, baby)
You are the best thing
(you're the best thing, oooh)
Ever happened to me

Baby
We've come a long way
And baby
You know i hope and i pray
That you believe me
When i say this love will never fade away

Oh, because
You are the best thing
(you're the best thing)
You are the best thing
(you're the best thing, baby)
You are the best thing
(you're the best thing, oooh)
Ever happened to me

Both of us had no love before
(to come on promising like a spring to walk on out the door)?
Our words are strong and our hearts are kind
Let me tell you just exactly what's on my mind

You are the best thing
(you're the best thing)
You are the best thing
(you're the best thing, baby)
You are the best thing
(you're the best thing, oooh)
Ever happened to me"

Song #3: "Love Never Fails" by Brandon Heath

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nQy-aP_Koo

Lyrics:

"Love is not proud
Love does not boast
Love after all
Matters the most

Love does not run
Love does not hide
Love does not keep
Locked inside

Love is the river that flows through
Love never fails you

Love will sustain
Love will provide
Love will not cease
At the end of time

Love will protect
Love always hopes
Love still believes
When you don’t

Love is the arms that are holding you
Love never fails you

When my heart won’t make a sound
When I can’t turn back around
When the sky is falling down
Nothing is greater than this
Greater than this

Love is right here
Love is alive
Love is the way
The truth the life

Love is the river than flows through
Love is the arms that are holding you
Love is the place you will fly to
Love never fails you"


Awww, all of these make my heart happy! Are there any Love songs that you Love to Love?!?


~Amanda~

Mason Jars!

Hey gang!

So, I've started my collection of mason jars and I'm very excited at the results so far. My mom  has found two boxes of them at a thrift store for 20 cents a piece! They range from large to small in size and have a variety of designs on them. I'm also fortunate enough to have a friend that is going to give me 25 or 30 mason jars that are left over from using them at her wedding! I'm so thankful to have great family and friends that are willing to help out and be so generous! Here are some pics of the ones I have so far:

A few of the smaller jars. Love the details with the designs on these.

The medium sized jars.

The large mason jars.

All of the sizes put together...there are probably 40 total jars in my collection so far. These are just a few of them.

These are pictures of the different things that I want to use my mason jars for when decorating!

I'd like to use them as vases.

I think it would be neat to put flowers in them. Better yet, cranberries and floating candles!

Of course, I want to take on the DIY project of making them into lanterns! :)

I absolutely LOVE this idea...I'm going to ask our families to contribute a pic of them on their wedding day and display them in mason jars, or even vintage frames! TBD, however I think having the neat older wedding photos will add to my vintage vibe. Also, I may display some photos of us in mason jars!

I think this is a super nifty idea...using mason jars to hold the flowers that decorate the aisle!

It would be an amazing thing to give out apple butter to our guests in small mason jars that says "Spread the Love. Brian and Amanda. 10/13/12"

Oh mason jars, how I loveeeeeeeeeeee thee! There are so many amazing things you can do with them to give your wedding that extra special touch. I can't wait to collect more and try out some of these ideas myself!

If you have any mason jars or know of anyone that would like to get rid of them, please let me know! I'll gladly take them off their hands!

~Amanda~