three times a bridesmaid

I haven’t posted in over a month. Last time I disappeared on you, I came back with big news, my engagement. This time I have even bigger news. I found out I was pregnant on Easter Sunday. Which means my wedding which was scheduled for fall of 2010 is now this fall, I’ve been beyond busy.

We found a place near my hometown in Fort Wayne, Indiana called the Lakeside Rose Garden. It’s gorgeous, and cheap at only $40. We’ll be rushing this and skipping some traditions and keeping only those we both really like.

On top of everything else, I am incredibly tired and without about 11 hours of sleep, I can’t function at all. I’m going to be in my second trimester come early June and am hoping to work like crazy to get things done then.

A few weeks ago I shared my excitement at opening my mailbox to a book I ordered to review on this blog. In typical me fashion, it’s taken a couple of weeks to get to the review. But, to anyone feeling the effects of the recession on wedding plans, or just hoping to have a super customized wedding, the book and the review are worth the wait.

“The DIY Bride: 40 Fun Projects for Your Ultimate One-Of-A-Kind Wedding” by Khris Cochran is my newest bed time read. I’ve always wished I were crafty and plan these big elaborate projects, but something always seems to go wrong. The book includes step-by-step directions that seem detailed and easy to follow.

I also liked that there were multiple examples of different projects, for instance, more than one save the date cards were included. This means there is something in the book for probably everyone. I liked about 80 percent of the projects, and the others just weren’t my taste.

Another cool feature was the comparision between the DIY price and the store bought price. Sometimes in my limited crafting history, I felt like I was spending more making something than simply buying it. This break down will motivitate me to do more at home.

While writing this post, I check out the DIY Bride Web site and was excited to see an upcoming workshop about using Photoshop to create your own invitations. I’ve been shocked at how much invitations run, so I’ve signed up for this one and will let you know how it goes.  Registration for the workshop is free and is a self paced course.

And, to tie into my original theme of being a bridesmaid, I definitely hope to hook my bridesmaids into helping me with some of these projects.

What were some of your favorite DIY projects?

A few weeks after bride no. 2 got engaged, I remember her coming to me and venting. Apparently, she’d woken up in the middle of the night to her first ever panic attack, couldn’t breath the whole works. At the time, I was supportive of my friend, but in the back of my mind thought, “Can planning a wedding really be that hard? Find the man, pick a spot, and just do it.”

After being engaged for about a month, I now understand.

The relationship part of being engaged is awesome. I still love using the word fiance. But, everything else is too much. Too many decisions. Even starting to plan is too much. I’ve found about a bazillion wedding sites with planners and can’t settle on one because I like aspects of all of them.

I’m glad we aren’t getting married until probably fall of 2010. My family couldn’t understand why I was waiting so long. Saving up the cash was my main concern. But, now I’m glad I have the extra time to plan. (Or try to plan. Planning isn’t my strong suit).

My game plan for now is to find a few sites and stick to them. Here’s what I’ve got so far.

I found a great wedding checklist at Offbeat Bride with the basics.

I’m using Wedding Wire to save stuff I like in their binder, do a budget and guest list and build a wedding site for my guests only.

I started a personal Word Press blog to share ideas with my bridesmaids, who I haven’t asked yet. They live across the country so I need an easy way to get help. Besides not being able to plan, I’m also indecisive.

I found a site with about 20 planning templates for the super organized. Because my wedding isn’t going to be traditional, I’m debating using them. I’m afraid my wedding will become too cookie cutter and not use, but on the other hand, I could use some planning help… Hey, I said I was indecisive.

My first contest closed last night and midnight and I just headed over to random.org to pick the winner.

Congrats to Michelle M for winning the $25 Target gift card.

I was blown away by the response to my contest, there were a total of 315 entries. Michelle blogged about my contest and subscribed to my feed, so it went to show those extra entries were worth her time. For anyone interested in my methodology. I kept a spreadsheet with each entry, as there were multiple ways to rack up entries. I then used the widget at random.org that chose luck number 261, which happened to be Michelle. I just wish I had more gift cards to give away.

Thank you to all those who subscribed to my feed during the contest. I hope you’ll keep your subscription A. because I keep you entertained and B. because I’m planning another contest within the next month or two.

Any other wedding bloggers want to jump on board to team up for a wedding blogger giveaway? Or, if you sometimes blog about anything wedding related, I’d love to join together. I have a couple of ideas in mind about how to set this up, but would also be open to other ideas.  Send me an email at threetimesabridesmaid@gmail.com if interested.

After a 12 hour day on campus and running errands, I was ecstatic to come home to some good news. My first book for my first book review came via UPS today.

“The DIY Bride: 40 fun projects for your one of a kind wedding,” by Khris Cochran caters to brides like me, DIY wannabes. From the looks of it the artistic among you will also gain something from this one. I’m planning a longer review over the weekend, but wanted to share my happiness at opening up the book

I breezed through briefly, and was glad my fears of the book being over my none artistic head were unfounded. The very first line says no crafting knowledge is required.

If you don’t want to wait for my review, and I do hope you’ll check it out, you can check the book out on Amazon. I’ll be posting the review Monday, and yes, there will be DIY projects included.

I haven’t had time to post as much this week thanks to another of my blog firsts, my first contest has had awesome success. If you haven’t entered for your chance to win a $25 Target gift card, please do so here.

In fact, I’ve been so happy with all the visitors and comments, I’m planning another contest soon. I want to team up with some of my fellow wedding bloggers. So, if you’re a wedding blogger interested in teaming up, send me an email at threetimesabridesmaid@gmail.com.

I took about two months off of this blog and to make up for my lazy ways, I’m holding a contest. We’re also celebrating my recent engagement.

What: three times a bridesmaid relaunch contest. Winner gets a $25 Target gift card mailed by US postal mail.

When: Enter by midnight EST on March 2, 2009.

Where: Leave a comment at the end of this post. Keep reading for entry info…

Why: I was a lazy bum, and I got engaged.

Who: three times a bridesmaid, and I’d be glad to partner with other great sites with prizes to give away. Email threetimesabridesmaid@gmail.com if interested.

How to enter: Lots of ways to rack up points. You don’t have to do all of the below, just a quick comment or subscribe to my feed via email and you could be shopping on me next week.

Write a post about this contest for 5 entries, paste the URL into the comments below.

Subscribe to my daily feed by email 3 entries (make sure you let me know you subscribed and write the email you used below).

Check out the blog I just launched, Weight Watching, write a comment over there and post the user name you used in the comments in this post for 2 entries.

Write a comment on any post besides this one found on my blog, and then come back to this post to tell me the user name you used and where you posted for 1 entry.

I’ll be keep an excel spreadsheet with everyone’s entries, I’ll then assign each entry a number and use random.org to pick the winner. Everyone has a chance to win, but more entries means more chances. For example if you write about this contest and subscribe via email, I’ll enter your name 8 times on the spreadsheet.

Leave a valid email so that I can contact the winner to send the prize. Good luck!

Important Update: Because I’m a nice person, I’m giving out 1 entry to anyone who simply comments below, but to reciprocate my goodwill karma, please follow the instructions above and comment on another post, then leave a comment here so I know you did so. And, to clarify, you don’t have to do all of the above to enter, but the more you do, the better chance you have of shopping for free at Target next week!