Busy Little Wedding Bee!

My mom was in the hospital so I came home to NY to put my OT skills to work and spend some time with her. My family has finally caught up and now all everybody wants to talk about is the upcoming wedding. Mind you, I have been talking about the wedding with my friends and other people for a while now. Since I'm not in rotations right now, I have some free time to do "wedding stuff". I've been online looking up stuff for what seems like forever.
Keep your fingers crossed but I may have found my videographer on craigslist. His quote is really inexpensive but fits right into my budget. So we'll see how that goes. His videos were not perfect but I'm sure I can provide him with constructive criticism. My main concern is the photographer, I love pictures and want mine to look amazing...I stumbled across this site Kiss the Groom. The pictures are amazing, I am really impressed.
I also found this site called Egala and it features real couples and their weddings. I am all about real life weddings!
I am meeting with the church where we are having ouir ceremony on Friday. Our date is open and its a beautiful church. Hopefully all goes well! My father and I have not sat down to talk about my wedding but I have discussed it at length with my mother. I'm not scared anymore so I am welcoming the conversation. I know this blog is about not being a bridezilla, but in his case I have to be one to get what I want.

Not sure if you all knew but I am having a Nigerian-Haitian wedding. I saw my first Nigerian wedding last weekend and it was a lot of fun! I got to wear a traditional outfit and everything! So we are in the process of trying to incorporating both cultures into one seamless, elegant, and fun wedding!

Save the Dates?

I went home this weekend and when my fiance came to pick me up, we sat down with my parents and told them about our wedding plans. My parents are super picky and difficult and want to have control over the entire wedding. Thank God I am marrying someone who is not afraid of my father. I got strength just by sitting there with him. I really want to enjoy my wedding day and the only way to truly do that is to put my foot down.
For the first time my father was speechless but really what can he say?
Now I can go full force with the wedding plan now that everyone is privvy to the information.
First things first: Send my security deposit to our reception place. I really hope our date is still available. The ceremony place is right across the street so we just have to coordinate and make sure everything is on the same page.
I've been thinking a lot about Save the Dates. I really like the idea of sending one but as we are on a budget, I'm not really sure it is necessary. It does help create the air of anticipation and I like creating the buzz around my wedding. I actually have an idea for our pictures and can do it myself to save money. So we'll see.
Here are some tips on Save the Dates from The Knot. I wanted to post a few save the dates I found online but felt weird posting people's names. Here are a few I found on WeddingpaperDivas so are having a sale until June 1st!
Are anyone of you doing save the dates?

Meeting the Parents

So...I took my hubby home for the second time and this was the first time as an engaged couple. My parents LO-OVe him! My dad gave him this huge hug when he saw him. It was sooo cute! It is a load of my shoulders that they love him almost as much as I do. FI and my dad just sat at the kitchen table eating bouillon and talking for a long time. I was talking on the phone, harassing my sister, and watching some television. It went well I thought. My mom even blew him a kiss goodbye when we left. So i'm excited to bring him back again, plus he has to meet the rest of the family.

We hung out with one of my bests and it was her first time meeting him also. We grabbed some drinks and appetizers at Fridays. FI could not persuade her to get a "drink". Big surprise there. LOl. But it was great and she said she liked him.

Our one year anniversary is coming up and I am super excited about it. It comes in a bad month though, my birthday and christmas...so we'll celebrate all three, i'm not picky. I'm still looking for a dress though...lol...I did find the cutest boots!!...ok i'm getting sidetracked. I'm so glad the semester is over, I dont even know what to do with myself. I just joined the gym and we have been there literally everyday.

Since I am done with school, its back to wedding planning full time. Time to start calling the reception sites and making appointments! AHHH..

Oh and on a different note, I decided to whittle my bridesmaids to just three. Simple and minimal. Just my bests and my sister. I like that and I dont feel guilty about it. Still looking for the perfect dress though I may have found the perfect designer and just have everyone pick their own dress from there. Have to visit the store and see what they look like in person though. So much to do...Considering a wedding planner but I don't really want to hire someone to do everything for me when I am capable of doing it myself. Plus I have people to help.

Alright back to work. Until next time.