Photographer #2

This morning we met with our second possible photographer (also a craigslist find).

We were in his studio for a grand total of 20 minutes... that should say plenty in itself.

He refused to honor the pricing in the craigslist post because that price was for their "off season" (even though the post didn't specify that). For a summer wedding we'd pay an additional 50% of the CL quoted price.

The pricing is still pretty cheap and budget friendly, however is now out of the price range that we were considering, Plus, as much as I liked the work that the studio produced, the photographer himself didn't really "mesh" with Jacob and I myself personally.

However, do take a look at their work. Like I said, the price is still good and their portfolio is nice, just be leery of any "specials" you see for them on "the list".

Cherished Moments: Elegant Affordable Wedding Photography

Changing My Name

When my mother got married she kept her maiden name as her middle name. I have a cousin whose husband took HER last name. It was really never a question for me if I would take my husband's last name, I always just assumed that I would (unless the last name was REALLY weird!). Fortunately Jacob's last name is pretty normal (Corey) so I lucked out. However, the question now stands of whether I want to "honor" my maiden name by retaining it in some way.

My MOH sent me a HUGE box of books when I broke my engagement news to her. One of the books had suggestions on how to incorporate the bride's former last name into the new one.

For example, the book suggested (as my mother did) using the maiden name as the new middle name. However, when I say this out loud I just don't like how it sounds. I like my middle name and I think I want to keep it.

Another suggestion was to hyphenate the two last names. I don't like this one. I want my name to show some kind of unity with my husband. I don't want to have two "different" last names.

The next suggestion was for both the bride AND the groom to change their name to a combo of the two last names. This one intrigued me a bit. ;) A year from now we could be the Boreys, or, we could get a bit of a hip-hop inflection going and be the Boy'eys! lol

Another combo idea I came up with was to take the first three letters of Jacob's last name (Cor) and the last three of mine (Yer). If you flip my three around, put it after Jacob's and combine the two "r"s, you get "Corey".... lol... I think I may just go with that! =)

What do you guys think? Is it a jab at your family and "where you came from" to just DROP your maiden name when you get married?

First Dances

Was perusing wedding blogs this evening and ran across this post with videos of unique first dances on Earth Friendly Weddings. These pretty humorous... take a look! =)

Jacob and I have talked briefly about our first dance and we do want to make it unique, but the extent of originality that I think we'll take will probably be limited to a non-traditional slow song. lol We don't have a "song" that we consider ours' (except for "Get Low" by T-Pain/Flo Rida**... but that's not exactly appropriate for a wedding dance I don't think! lol). We do have a song tentatively picked out for our first dance already, but that's going to stay under wraps for now. =)

** I still not sure what this song is actually called or who to attribute it to as I see it online with about three different titles and either attributed to both artists or one or the other... someone wanna help me out here? lol

Here's a few other "unique" first dances that weren't included in the blog post mentioned above:

Photographer #1

Jacob and I met with photography candidate #1 this evening. It was kind of weird interviewing someone for the wedding... it was our first experience with it and I wasn't really sure what to look for or what to expect. We are on a VERY tight budget, so we are looking to get the biggest bang for our buck while still finding a photog that we are comfortable with and who produces good work.

Overall, we really liked this guy's enthusiasm for the craft (rather than the money) and liked the work that he showed us. Photography is more of a "hobby" for him at this point (I say that because he did it professionally for years but now has a "day job" and does wedding photography on the weekends) and he does it because he loves it. Which, in turn, I love. My only beef is that he talks a bit much... but, he's trying to sell himself, so it makes sense. =)

Here's a sample of a wedding slide show that he produced and has up on YouTube. His name is Guy Perkins, I recommend contacting him if you're a bride in Oregon looking for a cheap/good photography... just don't book him for my wedding date! ;) You can find his advertising on Craigslist!



One down... four more to go! lol

The Story of Us...

So someone posted this survey on Myspace... generally I wouldn't fill my blog with fluff like this, however this particular survey was interesting to me as it asked questions about the relationships between couples and I thought it was relevant... plus, for those who don't know our "story" it will fill in the blanks for you! =)

In The Beginning

Your name: Brittney

Your mates name: Jacob

How we met: via a personal ad on Craigslist (mine)

Where we met: In an e-mail message. lol

What attracted you to each other: I described myself as the "girl next door" type and he said, "I'm looking for someone to spend time with that is open to change and can make me laugh"

How long before you went out: About 5 days =)

First Date: We met at Shari's for a late-night dinner

When: Jan 9, 2008

Where: Shari's in Eugene, OR

Who asked who: He suggested dinner, I suggested Shari's... I had a craving =)

Best part about the date: The fact that he was so nervous he couldn't finish his dinner! lol

Most nervous about: I was surprisingly o.k... he was the nervous one!

Who called whom first: I think he probably did

FIRST Kiss

When: our first "at home" date at his house

Where: his house while watching "The Kingdom"

Who kissed whom first: He kissed me

We will always remember: my response, "It's about time!"

Saying the LOVE word: kinda scary... didn't want to get hurt again

Who said it first: I did

When: Within a couple weeks of dating... we moved pretty fast in that area I think

Where: lying in bed

His reaction: He told me that when I said it, everything in the room stopped and the only thing he heard was my voice. =) (he meant this in a good way!)

Your reaction: Nervous... Excited

First Trip: The Oregon Coast

When was it: Valentine's Day, 2008

Where was it to: His parents beach house

Did you buy any souvenirs: Don't think so... not much shopping on the ocean

Have you been back together: A number of times

Tokens of affection: Photographs of the two of us together

First gift he gave you: I have no idea! lol We don't give a lot of gifts, we're more interested in experiences than material things

First gift you gave him: See above

When was the last time you bought or received flowers: He's never given me flowers =P

What did or will you do for Valentines day? The last two we've gone to the coast... it's a nice tradition that I'd like to continue =)

Feast on this

First meal he cooked for you: I not sure, but I'm going to guess the usual... steak and mashed potatoes =)

First meal you cooked for him: I cooked a Papa Murphy's pizza that he brought to my house before a movie... lol.. believe me, I've cooked better things since!

Foods you introduced to him: Vegetables! lol

Foods he introduced to you: A LOT of steak

Nights at home: TV... him computer games, me homework

Favorite meals: Steak and potatoes for him... (see a trend!), I like a lot of different things... from fried chicken or pork chops to sushi to pizza

Favorite treats: ICE CREAM

Favorite things to do: Take trips, explore.... even if it's just areas of our own neighborhood

Favorite Ice Cream: chocolate peanut butter I think

Out on the town: Movies, bowling, pool

Favorite restaurants: He took me to this really nice Italian place when we first started dating... we haven't been back since! lol

Favorite dance club: As a couple we don't have one... he's not a big dancer =)

Favorite theatres: Any with nice seats!

Favorite activities: Movies, dining out, exploring

Our future holds: marriage and a family

What he wishes for: To be debt-free

What you wish for: To be debt-free with a family and a good job!

Random

Our Differences: I'm more of a social butterfly, I enjoy going out and get really antsy if I'm alone for too long. He's more of a homebody and enjoys solitude and playing computer games. I drink socially and love to dance, he doesn't drink at all and will only dance on rare occasions =)

Our Similarities: We are both Virgos (birthdays 3 days apart). We are both confident, mellow, intelligent people who picture the same kind of future for ourselves.

I have always wanted to tell you: Nothing... I speak from my heart often and tell you I love you daily... I can't wait to be your wife!

Mushiness...

If you don't like mushiness, read no further! lol

Jacob is on his way up to BC to help me move. We haven't seen each other in almost a month and I am SOOO looking forward to being back in the same country as him! lol

He just sent me a text message saying that he'd gotten to Washington. As he is driving from Portland, I sent a sarcastic message back that, seeing as WA is only about 5 minutes from Portland, that distance so far isn't a huge feat. He responded back with the following, that put the biggest smile on my face:

"Every minute north is a minute closer to you"

OK... I'm happy now =)

Engagement Party

My fiance and I are thinking about throwing a very simple engagement/housewarming party in a couple of months when we are moved and settled into our new place. I googled "engagement party" to see what is out on the 'net regarding this and ran across this yahoo question and answer . I was a little taken aback at the negative feedback that this question asker received concerning having an engagement party.

So, I ask, engagement parties... yes or no?

Getting Antsy...

Jacob and I have been engaged for almost two months now... and those two months have been spent, pretty much, apart with me in Canada and Jacob still down in Oregon. This has been hard enough for me, being alone (and lonely) for so much of my summer, however what has been equally frustrating is that I am so far away from the scene of the "big day". I have been doing SOO much Internet research on venues and such for both our ceremony and your reception, but I haven't been able to physically SEE anything because I'm in a different country... it is REALLY getting on my nerves! lol

We have decided that we're going to go over to the coast for a few days around the Labor Day weekend to take a look around and (hopefully) reserve venues. I will be SOOO happy when that is done! But, for now, I must try to keep a grip on my (im)patience and think about the couple busy weeks to come (moving, meetings with photographers, etc.)

An Oregon Coast Proposal

Recently I've discovered that a couple of my high school classmates got engaged this spring. Jake, the groom to be, has a blog where he posted a video of him proposing on April 1st on the Oregon coast. I absolutely LOVE this video... it reminds me of home. lol

Jake Asks Holly from Jake Donahue on Vimeo.

Eeny Meeny Miney Moe...

Are five possible photographers enough to shuffle through, or should I be looking for more options? And then, how do I pick?? What kind of questions do I need to ask? It seems like all the info I need is in their "package" descriptions and rate info...

Help!

Hiatus

Just wanted to let everyone know that I am in the process of packing my life away and moving (again) next weekend, so I may be pretty sporadic with any blog posts until I get myself settled in back in Portland... but then the fun will begin since during the month of September Jacob and I are taking a trip to the coast to find a venue for our reception/ceremony as well as have about 3 appointments with possible photographers... so hopefully we'll get that squared away soon, too! I'll keep you posted =)

For those of you who like cute pet pictures... here's my cat helping out with the moving process... =)

To Be Or Not To Be...

So another wedding blogger at And Stanley Makes Three posted this on her blog... I couldn't believe it myself, so I had to post it again. Apparently 50% of Americans feel that it should be a LEGAL REQUIREMENT for a woman to take her husband's last name upon getting married... reasons include such things as:

"They said that women should lose their own identity when they marry and become a part of the man and his family"

AND

"They said the mailman would get confused"

Good grief... You can read all about it here

Pre-nniversary Present!

I got my first Pre-nniversary Present! lol.... Thanks so much to Rachel Jasper and the Thirty-Something Bride! =)

Pre-nniversary!

Today is Jacob and my one-year pre-nniversary!* One year from today we will be walking down the "aisle" and getting hitched! =) I can't wait!!!

*This term was coined by another bride blogger. I read it the other day and thought it was funny... however I can't remember WHICH of the blogs I read it on. So, if you're reading this and it was you that used this in your blog... here's your credit! lol Sorry!

SEXY Bridesmaids!

So I just subscribed to The Budget Bride Handbook and was reading through some of their recent posts. One was for inexpensive bridesmaid's dresses on sale at Butter By Nadia. So, I took a look... and found THIS winner! lol

Now Ladies, tell me, would ANY of you put your bridesmaids in a dress that looked like THIS? lol

And, for my bridesmaids, what do you say? Wanna live on the wild side? ;)

Busy Year For My Name

An old friend of mine is getting married this September and I'm planning on attending her wedding and pre-wedding parties. Today I took a look at her gift registry online for Target. There were 20 results for her name! Granted, she has a somewhat common name, first and last, but it got me thinking... So, I typed in my own name, which is a little more "unique". And sure enough, there are FOUR of me getting married and registered at Target! One bride in Indiana even spells her first name the same as I do, making us a complete match! (Most people spell it with an -any rather than an -ney).

Now I"m curious if these same named brides have blogs that I can stalk... plus... I kinda wanna look at their registries and see if like-named people want the same stuff! =)

Sparky the Fire Dog!

It's a small, small world! lol Yesterday my facebook account suggested a "friend" that I may know... this friend was my former RA from the dorms in college. I check out her list of friends to see who we had in common, and I ran across a TON of people that I went to school with and have since lost touch with. I "friended" a bunch of people and most of them have accepted. One of them, my former roommate, Jenna, took a look at my pictures and sent me a message that she knows my fiance! lol Apparently they went to high school together, and she sat next to him in band class... but my FAVORITE part was when she told me that she had been his escort at the Children's Day Parade when he dressed up as Sparky the Fire Dog! LOL

That little bit of info made my entire day! ;)

Missing Him...

So Jacob and I are currently separated by about 300 miles... we have been that way for the past 13 days and I still have to make it another 12 before he comes back up for "the move".

I'm up in BC finishing up my summer term of classes, meanwhile, he is staying with his brother down in Oregon while he takes a summer term of classes. My schedule this summer has been pretty lax, I've been able to take a couple weeks here and there to go stay with him, but August is a tough month and so we have to battle out the long distance thing.

I miss him so much though! I can't stand being up here by myself (the cat doesn't count) and I miss having him here... even if it's just him sitting at his computer playing a game while I'm in the living room watching a "Friends" rerun... just having him in the same house is so comforting.

Last night, when I couldn't sleep, I started to wonder if I still had the first e-mail that he sent me. I met him when he responded to a personal ad I posted on Craigslist back in January 2008. Sure enough, I had it. I reread it; it was nice. So, today I started to wonder if I had our "chats" from the first two weeks--from our first date to the day we decided to be "exclusive". I do. =) So I re-read over all of those... hours and hours of getting to know each other. I laughed, I smiled, I just miss him more now! lol But just reading things that he'd written to me, and being able to "hear" his voice in my head saying those things, put me in such a good mood and reminded me how simple it actually is to fall in love with a person.

Birthday Lore

So, it's about 2 AM and I can't sleep. This happens to me more often than I would like to admit. So, I'm up, surfing around the Internet trying to get sleepy, and I ran across this "Birthday Lore" thing on the Farmer's Almanac website... it's true enough to the extent that it kind of creeped me out a bit! lol

According to my birthday, Sept. 17, this is what it said about me:

You consider both sides of a question before making any decision, because of your analytical turn of mind. Painstaking, reliable, and competent, you will be successful in whatever you do. You enjoy traveling and good literature and strive to better yourself. Your home life will be happy and contented.

For Jacob's birthday, Sept. 20, it says:

You are individual and original. You always do the unexpected in an unusual way. You are welcome in the society of cultured people. You like personal attention and can be led by someone who understands you.

I just thought I'd share =)

Save the Date Contest!

Check out this contest on "The Thirty-Something Bride" to win 100 Save the Date announcements!

Bride as Frankenstein

I love Dave Barry =)

Bride as Frankenstein

New Photo Website!

Jacob just finished my new website for my photography advertising... it looks great! I'm so happy!

So... if anyone needs any engagement photos taken let me know, I'll cut you a deal ;)

Very Creative Spin on Reception Speeches! =)

I know it's long... but it's worth the watch!

The Date

The Oregon coast is not known for it's excellent weather... in fact, more often than not you wear sweatshirts with hoods and people look at you funny if you even attempt to go for a "swim". However, there are those random days when the sun is shining, the sky is blue, and the ocean sparkles. This is the day I want to get married on! However, predicting it can be the problem! lol

I pretty much knew that you can't count on a good day at the coast unless it's during the late summer.... so we decided on August. Ok, so, then what day in August? We wanted a Saturday, which left us with a few options. I started at the bottom. August 28th. Being the super-obsessive planner/organizer that I am, I visited the Farmer's Almanac website and went back year-by-year for 10 years to see if they'd had rain at any point on that day. Yup... rain! August 21st? Rain. August 14th? NO RAIN! I then told Jacob that was the day we were getting married! lol

I've been watching the weather forecast for this August 14th to see if the rain will stay away for another year. I got worried for awhile! Earlier this week it had rain in the forecast, but as of today, Weather.com is predicting "party cloudy" for our area! Yay! =)

I know there are no guarantees. The "smart" bride-to-be may be considering back-up plans (which I am, to an extent), but I REALLY want to get married in the sand! Then I saw this picture a fellow blogger posted. This made me happy... and, if the infamous wind can hold off too, this may work! Now I'm starting to wonder where I could find about 30-50 white and/or blue umbrellas? lol

A Rose By Any Other Name...

I'm working on revamping my photography website a bit. It's senior photo season and I'll be back in the U.S. by the end of the month, so I thought I'd do a little advertising and see if I could get a couple jobs. Jacob put a website together for me and I created a header logo thing with my name in it. It occurred to me that my name wouldn't be my name for too much longer, so I made an identical one with what will soon be my name so that I have it when the time comes... But it just LOOKS so weird to me! lol I've had my name for 26 years, I'm use to it! I've got my signature DOWN! lol

All you married ladies out there.... how long did it take you to get use to seeing your new name? Or even writing it without having to think about it?

PERFECT!

I nearly shouted out loud to anyone who would listen that this was EXACTLY what I had envisioned for my wedding bouquet (with maybe some white thrown in there, too)... and then I realized that I was all alone and I don't think the cat would fully appreciate my excitement. So... I'll share the picture I found here! =)

Can Anyone in My Wedding Party Sing?

I LOVE this! People are getting so creative with these things... I love it!:

Familiy Affair

At the beginning of my wedding planning I was dead set against family DOING anything at the wedding, i.e. I didn't want to have someone related to me in charge of anything that one usually hired a vendor to do. I wanted this for three different reasons, 1) I wanted my family to be guests at my wedding and not sitting through the ceremony stressing about some aspect of the reception, 2) when a vendor messes up it's o.k. to get mad, when a family member does you just have to grin and bare it, and 3) vendors WORK for you. Therefore you can easily tell them what you want and what you don't want. With a family member sometimes this gets a little tricky when they have a "good idea" or something that "they" would like to do.

But, after price checking different vendors it became quite obvious to me that I may need to relax this wedding desire and think about making it a "family affair".

Jacob has a small family. Himself, parents and a brother, who will be one of his groomsmen. I, on the other hand, have myself, my parents and three brothers (no sisters to be bridesmaids). So, we decided to incorporate my brothers into the wedding in a unique way. My media-arts brother is going to do the videography, my guitar-playing-cattle-rancher brother is going to play some ceremony music, and my baby brother just got ordained online and is going to be officiating the ceremony!

Additionally, Jacob's parents pulled some strings and reserved some cheap beach house accommodations for about half of our anticipated guests.

I know the wedding is still a year out... but I"ve always been one to plan ahead. I'm kinda super organized in that manner. lol Plus, after this summer I'll be doing the full-time school/work thing until next April... so, I gotta get it out of my system now! =)

Sand Castle Anyone? =)

Ooooohhhh! I SOOOO want one of these! =)

Ph.D. in Religion

Is this for real?? lol

Cheap Dress Ideas

Contest Winner on Cheap Chic Weddings...

Can you tell what it's made out of? lol