Bridesmaid and Groomsman?

Deciding who will be involved in the wedding has been one of our biggest challenges. We started off wanting a smaller wedding party, however we ended up with 5 bridesmaids and 5 groomsman. That’s not to say a wedding party of 10 is large by any means, but it did take us quite some time to make this decision. In the end, I am happy with our choice, although we are changing the traditional rules of bridesmaid and groomsman. We have created what we like to call a “Bridesman” and “Groomsmaid.” To prevent from hurting any of our friends feelings and for our entire family to be involved in the wedding, we have ask my brother Jeffery to be a “Bridesman” and Becky (Mike’s sister in law) to be a “Groomsmaid.” They both happily accepted! We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family! Feels good to have this part of the wedding checked off the list! Wedding Party ….CHECK!

Bridesmaids

Mallory Tudor
Brittany Tudor
Brittany Coss
Kassi Neff
Jeffery Tudor (My brother)

Groomsman

Steve Carroll
Matt Costello
Dan Vergara
Kirk Okenquist
Becky Carroll (Mike’s sister in law)

Jr. Bridesmaid
Natalie Tudor

Flower Girl
Allyson Carroll

♥morgiegirl6@blogspot.com ♥

Wedding Venue / Sun City Roseville

When we got engaged I went into instant “To Do List” mode. There is so much to plan for and I wanted to be prepared. The date is officially set for Saturday September 25, 2010. We got engaged in June and have more than enough time to plan a wedding. (15 months to be exact.) I did a lot of research on potential venue’s in the Roseville area and found that weddings are not cheap. A couple of our friends got married at Sun City Roseville, so I decided to check out their website.

As I was looking at their website I found what my dad would say, “A Killer Deal!” The website was advertising their “Bridal Bail Out For $500” I thought to myself, to good to be true. There must be a catch, right? Maybe it’s only available on Fridays or Sundays, or maybe it was only to rent the ceremony site. I had a lot of questions so I though it would be best to contact the representative listed on their website. She sent me the following list of items included in the $500 package:

Wedding Ceremony

Ivory Chairs
Gift table with tablecloth and table skirt
Guest book table with table cloth and table skirt
Easel for engagement photo
Ceremony rehearsal time
Dressing room for bride and bridesmaids
On site complete wedding ceremony coordination

Wedding Reception

Use of Timber Creek Ballroom
Complete coordination of reception
Round tables that seat 10 guest
Large dance floor
Table clothes and variety of napkins to coordinate
Ivory China, glassware and silverware
Head table for the wedding party with tablecloth and table skirt
Cake table with tablecloth and table skirt
Buffet table with table cloth and table skirt
Portable Bar with professional bartenders
Complete serving staff

I couldn’t believe what I was reading. All of this for only $500! The package was available for the entire year of 2010. I asked what was available in September and all she had left was the 25th. I immediately had her book us on that date. At our appointment with the wedding planner we picked out our table linens, napkins, menu, alcohol, ceremony arrangement, reception arrangement, guest book location, gift table location, etc...

We decided to have a buffet style dinner instead of individual entrees. Like I mentioned before, Mike and I had already been to a couple wedding there before, so we know the quality of the food will be great! With the cost of everything combined such as food, alcohol, Bridal Bailout Ballroom Rental, 19% gratuity etc...I was very please with the price! Exactly in our budget! I am so pleased with the service we received from Sun City Roseville and can’t wait for the big day!

&hearts morgiegirl6.blogspot.com ♥

Wedding Check List

Since there is so much to plan for, I thought I would put together a list of things to do. Below is a check list of completed/non completed planning items. I know many of you have already planned a wedding so I was wondering if anyone has any advice or suggestions? Let me know what I’m missing or should be prepared for.

Complete

Location for wedding (x)
Location for reception (x)
Rehearsal dinner location (x)
Wedding Party (x)
Guest list (x)
Engagement Photos (x)
Menu (x)
Drinks (x)
Wedding Dress (x)
Wedding Shoes (x)
Bridesmaid dresses (x)
Linens (x)
Table settings (x)
Center Pieces (x)
Invitation (x)
Toasting Glasses (x)


Not Completed

Save the Dates
Wedding favors
Wedding Party Gifts
Photographer
Florist
DJ
Cake
Veil
Arch
Glower Girl Dress
Guest Book
Limo/Transportation
And of course, some one to marry us :)

San Francisco Fleet Week

I didn't know much about Fleet Week until recently, so here is a little background. Fleet Week originated in 1908 and became a San Francisco annual tradition in 1981. Fleet Week is now the Bay Area’s opportunity to pay tribute to the men and women of our nation’s Navy and Marine services. Fleet Week features Navy ships dock-side, while the Blue Angels and other aircraft fly above the San Francisco Bay.

Mike and I made a trip to San Francisco to visit a friend and to attend Fleet Week. Below is a picture of us on top of Kirk's building's roof that over looks the Bay! So awesome!!


It was pretty cloudy that day and unfortunately we were only able to see the Blue Angel's make 2 or 3 passes. I was however able to take an awesome picture of them flying in front of the bridge.


Below is another picture I took. I can't begin to explain the sound and feeling you have as they fly over you! It's insane!!


Over all, very fun trip and I'm open to going again next year :)

♥
morgiegirl6.blogspot.com

Old Friends and Fun Times!

I recently got together with a few of my old friends. Although life has taken us all in different directions, we recently started getting together again. The five of us met in high school and shared some of the most wonderful memories. I want to take a moment to look back.

Below is a picture of the 5 of us at Marine World. This picture was taken our Senior year of High School. We were all around the ages of 17 years old.


Below is a picture of us at Brittany’s house ‘Twirling’ our hair. We spent many days in our PJ doing nothing really. Looks like Julie was taking this picture.


Below is a picture of our Senior years‘Saidie Hawkins’ dance. Don’t ask me why we thought these outfits would be a good idea. For some reason we collected clothes like these. We all had our own pair of animal print pants and thought they were awesome. This already is that high school picture you look back on and cringe cause you can’t believe you wore that in public.


Below is a picture on our graduation day. As you can see, we were really big fans of this pose!


And finally, a picture of us all today. From left to right, Morgan, Julie, Brittany, Mallory, and Amanda. We all did different things after high school and continue to keep in touch. Some of us moved away, some graduated college, some are married with kids, and some are engaged. “I Had the Time of My Life” with these girls and I’m enjoying catching up with them all!!



♥
morgiegirl6.blogspot.com

Engagement Party

It was a Sunday afternoon and we all met up at the Carroll home…or I guess I should say, “The Focker’s” This is a picture of my future parents in law, Char on the left and Bruce on the right. They thought it would be a clever way to break the ice and have a chuckle.


We spent most of the day swimming and eating EXCELENT food! If you know Mike (or the Carroll’s) a day of swimming and excellent food is not uncommon. Below is a picture of Mike BBQ-ing.



My sisters and brother did our usual “Recite every line from every funny movie we’ve seen.” Today the funny movie was “Borat.” Here is a picture of my sisters and I. Mallory and Brittany, and a picture of my brother Jeffery.





My future brother and sister in law, Steve and Becky spent the day sharing their child Allyson with my family who adores her. Here is a picture of Steve, Becky and their daughter Allyson in the pool.





Bruce and Char were so kind to have bought us a gift. They got us Bride and Groom champagne glasses for the weeding. Of course we will be using these for the wedding and the many toasts. The bride champagne glass is shaped like a wedding dress and the groom champagne glass is shaped like a tuxedo. It’s really starting to dawn on me that I’m getting married. It’s crazy!!



We weren’t the only ones enjoying the pool!! The (second) love of my life Cooper took advantage of all the new people and played ‘Fetch’ in the pool for hours. Here is a picture of him pouting because no one wanted to play any more.



While everyone mingled and got to know one another, I thought it would be a good opportunity to listen in on the conversation. As I walked past my mom and future mom in law I heard comments like, “I always knew they would end up together” and “I will never forget the look on their faces when they told us the news!” Below is a picture of Char, me, and my mom Sabrina.



As I walked by Mike and his brother I hear, “Mini Sirloin Burger!” An inside joke between those who were on the Van Dame camping trip. The clever Jack in the Box Mini Sirloin Burger jingle caught on (thanks to me and my obnoxiousness) and to make a long story short became the anthem that weekend in Mendocino. Below is a picture of Mike and his brother.



That pretty much sums it up. It was a great day and I am so blessed to have such a wonderful family.



CHEERS!

Patrick Swayze...

Patrick Swayze stared in my ALL time favorite movie, Dirty Dancing. The film was released in 1987 and I was a whopping 4 years old. I don’t recall watching the movie as a 4 year old, however at one point in my early childhood my sisters and I got a hold of the movie. To say the least, we watched the movie repeatedly. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen the movie, and how it NEVER gets old. We would stop and rewind all the dance scenes and learn the moves, including our favorite, ‘The Lift.’ Every summer, and I mean EVERY summer, we would do ‘The Lift’ in whoever’s swimming pool we were in. When we wore dresses we would spin in circle so the bottom would flare up like they did in the movie. And I can’t tell you the times I’ve utter the words, ‘Nobody puts baby in the corner.’ The sound track is one of a kind, ‘Time of my life’ and ‘She’s like the wind.’ As a child, you don’t completely understand certain aspects of movies, especially if they are rated PG 13. But as I grew older and continue to grow older, I watch the movie and it seems different every time. I’m sad to know that Patrick Swayze died, but glad that the movie gave me so many great memories. Below are some of my favorite quotes:

Well, it looks like I picked the wrong sister. That’s okay, Baby, I went slummin’ too.

Look, spaghetti arms. This is my dance space. This is your dance space. I don't go into yours, you don't go into mine. You gotta hold the frame.

Me? I'm scared of everything. I'm scared of what I saw, I'm scared of what I did, of who I am, and most of all I'm scared of walking out of this room and never feeling the rest of my whole life the way I feel when I'm with you.

I'm gonna do my kind of dancin' with a great partner, who's not only a terrific dancer; somebody who's taught me that there are people willing to stand up for other people no matter what it costs them; somebody who's taught me about the kind of person I wanna be.

The proposal!

After discussing marriage for a year or so, Mike told me to start giving him ideas of rings I might be interested in. I wanted to look at rings together, however Mike is pretty old fashion and wasn’t interested in my non tradition approach to our engagement. In the end we compromised and agreed that I would choose a few rings and he would make the final choice. I decided to go ‘browsing’ for potential engagement rings with my sis and one of Mike’s friends. After looking at a few jewelers it became very apparent what style I was interested in. With all the excitement I was able to convince Mike to come look at rings with me. In the end, we agreed on a ring and he picked out the diamond. Mike was still concerned the proposal would lose the element of surprise since we practically chose the ring together.


A few days later, at the end of my work day, Mike IMed me and asked if I wanted to get Mini Sirloin Burgers from Jack in the Box for dinner. Mike and I have a sort of inside joke about these Mini Sirloin Burgers. We went on a camping trip to Van Dame earlier in the year and the catchy jingle caught on (thanks to my obnoxiousness) while we drank and sang around the camp fire. To make a long story short, the jingle became the anthem that weekend in Mendocino.



By the time I got home from work, dinner was there and ready. I opened the bag and started pulling out food, and as I opened the box I found my ring perfectly placed in the bun of one of the burgers.



I was certainly shocked to find this sparkling piece of jewelry in a burger bun, however it was it was exactly our style, creative, unique, and funny as hell!! I was extremely surprised and had no idea he was planning on doing it so soon. He told me he knew I would never expect a proposal out of dinner at Jack in the Box and he was right. All he wanted was for me to be surprised…and I was!

My thoughts about blogging.

Blogs...?

Everybody knows what they are. You can’t go any where without finding one. What is a blog? Since I’m a beginner I’m still learning. I’ve read that a blog is, ‘A place where you can share your thoughts and experiences with the anonymous public about anything you wish.’

I never really kept an official journal, however as I grow older I find that writing (or typing) my thoughts, seems to keep my mind clear and focused. I think blogging can be considered a journal kept on the internet. I frequently see others using a blog as an online journal or diary where they post messages and photos to their own mini website. However, this seems to defeat the purpose of a journal….right? Isn’t a journal suppose to be a safe place where you can express your personal self with out anyone knowing or judging? Below is the definition of the word ‘Journal’ according to ‘dictionary.com’

A daily record, as of occurrences, experiences, or observations:

For now I look forward to blogging as a way to share my thoughts and experiences. It seems to be an outlet to dump my thoughts about regular life experience and to share with those who choose to follow. Keeping a log of my thoughts, work, and events, seems to be the easiest way to store memories and remember how I felt, and how I've grown and changed. If there is something to discuss or share I find useful to record.

Thanks for reading :)

♥

Morgan