Go go gadget wedding planner!

I am now 129 days away from being Mrs. Carmund T. White, Jr!! Wow! That was weird to say.LOL Anyway, I've been planning our wedding for months. Yes, before I got the ring. Who says you have to wait? I don't have that kind of time, money, and clearly patience for that!

I recently attended the Bloomington Bridal Show just to see what and who is out there in B-town in the bridal industry--quite a bit! It was quite a nice show with LOTS of free food and drinks and giveaways galore. I don't think I won anything but I did get something even better. After attending the show and talking with different vendors while I was there I realized that I had everything planned for my wedding! Talk about a relief! It was very reassuring to walk up to a vendor and they ask me, "Do you have a caterer? A florist? A cake? A location? A gown? A photographer? A coordinator? Invitations? Colors picked out?". My response to ALL those questions is YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, and YES!! Man oh man, it doesn't get any better than that!

I'm a true planner at heart and I knew I needed to jump on a lot of those things early on and the other stuff just kind of fell in my lap and so I took it and ran with it. My hope is that everything I see in my head will come to full fruition on Sunday, June 5, 2011. I think it will. I will be a proud lady that day because not only will I have the man of my dreams but the wedding as well. This wedding will be PAID IN FULL before the wedding date. Carmund and I have worked really hard to make sure that happens and I see it happening right now. We desired to go into our marriage with no wedding debt and that's exactly what's going to happen!

Planning this wedding has been lots of fun. Of course, there have been and probably will be challenges along the way but that's life--the good, bad, and ugly. God has been providing quite well thus far and well, he can't stop now! I've got lots more to do but I'm so happy about knowing what the end result will be. If you ever need a wedding coordinator I'm your girl. Just remember, I don't work for free! LOL That's just the way it is...

"Sweetheart", "Be Mine", "Forever"

Thursday, December 30, 2010 Carmund and I went to have drinks with friends, The Riddicks, at The Capital Grille Restaurant around 6pm. There was much fun and laughter and great food (if you're ever there get the calamari--DELICIOUS!). Chris and Lauren had to leave because they had dinner reservations elsewhere so that left me and Carmund to go walk to the US Capitol building (as we did around the same time the year before). As we leave the restaurant and head towards the Capitol, Carmund hands me a sweet little heartshaped rock that has "Sweetheart" engraved on it. I gladly accepted it, placed it in my coat pocket, and thanked him without thinking much else about it. He gives me little things all the time so nothing out of the ordinary. We're walking and talking and again he hands me another rock that says "Be Mine". A big kiss for him and into the same pocket it goes. Our conversation continues and we're reminiscing on the same walk we made a year ago to the steps of the Capitol. The weather was so lovely. It was dark out but the moon was shining, the sky was clear, and it was just a nice stroll. We finally made it to the steps of the Capitol. This big beautiful building is right behind us and in front is a big Christmas tree on the lawn, the mall, the Washington Monument, and the Lincoln Memorial peeking from behind. Carmund and I admired the scenery and talked about the distance between the two monuments. He reached into his pocket...AGAIN...and hands me another rock that says "Forever". I kind of wondered if he was going to propose right then but dismissed the thought rather quickly. Only a few seconds later he reaches back into his pocket (I'm thinking he's about to give me another rock) but instead he places in my hand a ring box. Tears immediately start to roll down my face. I look at Carmund and the first thing out of my mouth is, "Are you serious?" LOL I know, I know! Anyway, I see Carmund smile as he gets down on one knee. He looks up at me and with a smile says, "Well, there isn't much else to say but will you marry me?" I cried and cried and tried to nod my head "yes" but somehow I guess got lost in translation (apparently I didn't move at all). I finally say YES so he stood up and opened the box. I was excited to see such a perfect ring for me. He puts it on my finger and the rest is history!! We then go have an engagement dinner at Eatonville with Carmund's mom, sister, godfather, dad, and stepmom. It was a perfect way to end 2010 and start 2011.

On June 5, 2011 I will marry the man of my dreams. You don't get any better than that! That's just the way it is...

Also, check out our wedding website here.

Hair be gone!

Soooo...a lot of things have happened since I last blogged. Where do I begin?

Let's see, Carmund and I grow more and more in love as the minutes go by. At least that's how it feels to me. I'm quite sure no one else in the whole entire world has found love like I have. Nope, don't even try to convince me otherwise. (I'm NOT stubborn!) Seriously, we've got something good going on and I can't fully describe it. I do know I love it!

On April 10, 2010 at around 8:15am I did my Big Chop (BC). For those of you who don't know what that is, it means that I cut my hair down to my natural new growth and rocking a little fro. I decided along with my hair falling out to go completely natural. At first I was just thinking I'll do this little natural thing for a while and then go back to relaxers aka creamy crack. It's funny how sooooo many Black girls are going natural in Bloomington. You wonder why that is? I'll tell you what I think. It's because there are no real Black hair stylist in the area. The closest is Indianapolis and who really wants to go that far?!?!?! I can't lie, I am traveling to Indy faithfully to see my stylist and barber and wouldn't have it any other way. Now I am realizing that being natural is more than just a hair change, it's a state of mind/being. I'm very proud of my heritage and how God made me. Natural it is...all the way! Anyway, after I rocked the fro for about 2 weeks I decided I didn't like it anymore and to cut it down even more. Well, what do you know?! I got it cut and hated it!! I've had my hair very short for years but somehow this seemed a bit extreme. I was practically bald in my eyes. Everybody who saw it loved it but I'm thinking it looks ridiculous. Now I love it and want to keep it short at least until the end of the summer. Let's just say I now know how bald people feel especially when it's cold...

Besides the big hair change I really haven't done much. I went to Boston last week (May 12th - 16th) for Carmund's best friend's wedding. It was a great trip! I told Carmund I wanted to go back to last week. The food was great, the drinks were on par, the people were fantastic, and I looked fabulous! LOL I got to hang out with Carmund's mom which is always fun and educating because I'm always learning something new about her. The best part of the trip I got carded once and asked by the nail tech if I was getting ready for prom. LOL I thought this haircut made me look a bit older but instead I've been mistaken for a teenager?! WOW! I had a great time hanging with Carmund's friends and spending more time with Carmund than I normally would. The wedding was absolutely lovely. It was definitely one of the best weddings I've been to and was executed perfectly (at least from my view as a guest and not as the planner as I would love to be). :-)

Oh wait, I just remembered I did accomplish something. On Thursday, May 6th I completed the Event Planning Certificate Program IU's Continuing Studies Dept was offering this past semester. I'm quite proud of myself for doing something I wanted to do and finishing it! Cheers to me!

I'm living and learning and when life throws you lemons I say not only make lemonade but spice it up with a little rum or something. LOL That's just the way it is...

Going to the chapel and I'm NOT gonna get married...

Ha! I'm not getting married...YET! Anyway, that's not what this blog is about.

FYI, I love planning weddings. Not sure when I discovered I liked it. Anyway, I'm on a quest to get my life together and make a living out of it. I've got a few things under my sleeve for pursuing this endeavor. In the meantime I've decided I'm gonna make my own reference book for wedding planning.

I recently got a free subscription to Elegant Bride magazine. As I was reading through the magazine and liking a lot of the tips they were giving I thought I should make some sort of reference book. As I get more ideas and information I would just keep adding to the reference book. The book isn't just for me when I start to plan my own wedding but whenever someone may want/need an idea for anything dealing with a wedding or any event I can just go to my trusty reference book and give them a tip...at a price. :-)

I've found different websites that have been useful for wedding planning besides The Knot. It's a great tool for wedding planning but there are soooo many other websites to visit as well. One of my favorites is Brides.com. It's similar to The Knot, but it the webpage seems to be a bit more organized and easier to find info. There are also a few blogs I follow like Classic Brides and my FAVORITE is Preston Bailey. This man con transform any room and make it something special - OMG! He's a genius.

Anyway, I'm excited about making this little notebook full of goodies. Carmund and I went to Walmart this past weekend and I bought most of the stuff I need to get started. I'll probably subscribe to a couple more bridal magazines. As I see things I like or find useful I'll cut them out and put them in my book. The book will reference things about budgeting, contracts, colors, themes, flowers, linens, guest count, dresses, honeymoons, and on and on. I want to deal with every detail dealing with a wedding in my book. If you have any tips or ideas you would like to add to my book just let me know.

I'll keep you posted with the progress of my book. I'll also blog about some of the things I find as I go on this endeavor.