saying i do

i am determined to transform my frustrations, advice, and hope to help a bride out there.

i recently married the love of my life in a gorgeous, yet affordable, outdoor evening ceremony. the day was a blur because there is so much to get done i.e., makeup/hair/photos/dress/drink fluids. so to help out any bride who may stumble upon this post i hope i can help.


blake and i had a year and a half engagement, which left plenty of time to get anything and everything complete... or so we thought.


first, find a photographer, if you plan to have one, and go over EVERYTHING, including what you want, when the photos will be ready to be viewed and settle on an appropriate time frame. i have been married for 55 days and still do not have my photos. my photographer says 10-12 weeks is standard. hmmm, don't remember having that conversation with her at our first meeting. i live in boerne, here are a few suggestions west vita, he is excellent and timely, urbane photography, and rachel russo. check out their websites.


secondly, your food menu. decide on something the yes you and your groom like but also something that almost everyone likes. we decided to go with don strange, a local caterer who customized our menu to perfection. we served mini sliders (hamburgers) both vegetarian and  slaughtered animal (ha!), mini french fries both sweet potato and regular, mini grilled cheese sandwiches, a mashed potato bar that allowed you to choose what you wanted in them and then they were served in martini glasses. there was also a carving station which featured pork pulled something, i honestly wasn't a fan of that part. continuing with the theme of home  and feel good foods we had fresh steamed veggies, a salad bar complete with fresh local grown vegetables and choices. also adding to the homey feeling was a macaroni station at this station you could also pick and choose what you wanted in them and the chef made it right there in front of you. i couldn't have been more happy with how the food was presented and how it taste.
my only upset was that we found out after the wedding they just threw away ALL of the paid leftovers! blake & i would have much rather had our families take leftovers or to have had them donated to a homeless shelter.
the stations were unique and customized to my vision. we had old luggage cases that held various plates, the silverware was mix matched and i collected it all summer from various thrift stores and antique shops. i had them arranged inside of drawers that i customized with crystal, glass, and brass knobs; none of them were the same.


next i want to talk about a wedding planner. hire one. now. i recommend lisa newburn. who ever you chose is completely worth the money. i promise.


the dress. i unfortunately picked mine up about 6 months prior to the wedding, never tried it on, didn't check for any imperfections and when it came to the 2 month mark, i tried it on. the zipper was broken. the boutique where i purchased it from said because i took the dress from them it was no longer their problem. eek! we had our local tailor make the corrections, $300 tagged on to the original cost of the dress. so when you pick up your dress, try it on, have them keep it in the boutique for you. schedule more than one fitting.


shoes. i wore custom made cowboy boots. my designer was my amazingly talented cousin her name is lauren bates, her company is called born again boots. fantastic.


i want to advise each and every single bride out there to be a bridezilla. do not stop that voice inside you from saying what you want or how you feel. take a deep breath and let it out. my wedding was wonderful, everything i dreamed and hoped it would be, but i had to be a b!tch. things had to be delegated to people and the only one who did that was ME. it's only one night of your life, but it is YOUR night so it should be how you & your groom want it to be.


something i did along the way to keep others in check and to have documentation was to print off all emails between venders and to also use the 'lock' feature on my phone to save any text messages. it was easy to do that because if i had a tiff with any of the people involved i had proof of what they promised. don't settle.


if you are wondering where we had our wedding, both the ceremony and reception were at cibolo nature center. a gorgeous spot and completely unique.


we also built our own photo booth and then donated it to the center, which has become a fun spot for hikers, visitors, and locals to take goofy photos.


a lot of the wedding was DIY, my idea, and i wouldn't have traded it for anything else. i have had so many gracious people tell me how unique and special the event was. my mother told me that my vision was complete and everything was 'so you'. blake's original thoughts were that it would look like a giant garage sale, he was quite happy with the result, no garage sale at our wedding. although we had a few guests steal extra champagne bottles on their way out (tacky!) which were to be used for my parents brunch the following morning.

our guest tree. we asked each guest to 'leaf' their thumbprint and sign their name

is this a helpful post?
or is this just the result of a bride who wants what she was promised?


you be the judge.


more to come later....