So is everything ready?

With the wedding approaching, Brandon & I are always being asked "So is everything ready?"

Well... Is everything ready???  AHHHH, not exactly!  But we have gotten a lot of things taken care of... Brandon has been amazing at helping me out.  But I am realizing just how difficult it is to plan a wedding by myself, without help from family (due to the fact that we live so far away from ours)... its a lot on our plates!  But God has been providing so much!

First, we have seen the Lord provide so much of our finances needed for the wedding... we are working off a very small budget, and we almost have all that we need.  So thank you to all of you who supported us!

Well, lets see, what IS ready....  we've locked in the locations for the ceremony and reception, with a backup plan or two in case of weather or other unforeseen circumstances.  I have my beautiful dress, but am still in crisis about how and where to get my alterations done without going over budget.  I found my shoes, FINALLY!  We had a stellar wine tasting party to pick our reception wines, yum!  And I am almost done making all of my jewelry, YAY!  By the way, for all you ladies... if you have the ability, d.i.y. stuff really makes the wedding preparations FUN!  I made/am making all the invites by hand, the seating cards, the programs, the center pieces, the bouquets, decorations, my jewelry, favors, and all the food too!  Well, that last part will most definitely be a combined effort of friends mostly, not myself, but you get the point.... by doing all these things by hand, I feel like we are making our wedding more personal (as it should be), and saving A LOT of money. :) 

There is still so much to be done... so after returning home from our April 28- May 12 outreach to Nicaragua... my main focus will be to complete everything!   I know that the last month will just fly by... so be praying that we can finish everything in time!  We both would like to relax as much as possible the week of our wedding...

But you can be praying for...

-I still haven't found flowers or figured out how to get them wholesale for a great deal....

-Alterations for my dress... it only needs a couple inches hemmed up, and a small tuck in the back, but I know that prices can run high for these type of things...

-Logistics of the day.... we are still trying to figure out how to get the ceremony set up, then torn down, and transport things to the reception...

-Music!!!... we are taking any suggestions... we'll be doing an ipod dj, so if you have any favorites, let us know :)

-Our ceremony location may be changing...

-Some very important people can't come (my niece and nephew, who are suppose to be IN the wedding) due to finances... so pray that God buys them tickets out here!

-We need to raise our monthly support so that we can cover the rent increase of living together...

-Lastly, but most difficult to ask for ya'll to pray for... I am at a loss of my hair, makeup, and other beauty prep... we didn't budget for these personal care things... I can do without, but there are a few things I'd like to do the week before our big day.

And lastly... I'll leave you with some pictures... ENJOY!

The ceremony and reception locations...

Making the invites...

The wine tasting party...

Groomsmen's ties...

My lovely shoes...

-Kirsten