second dream wedding dress

pretty sure had i found this:





prior to the wedding i would have been wearing it on my wedding day. it is FABULOUS.

loved my dress~still see it in my closet every day. but this is soooooo cool!

Honeymoon in Pictures

Real updates coming, I promise.

For now, the honeymoon photo book. Because I spent 8 hours today making it. Geez.

Click here to view this photo book larger

Created here.

Lacking in Updates

The wedding was beautiful and was nearly 6 months ago. I have done a poor job of updating this thing with all things post~wedding~related. I'm going to recap the wedding so I have this to look back on to read about, and anyone else that wants to may :)

Wedding Summary

Since April has came and went, I should maybe change the name of the blog...

I didn't post about the actual wedding. It was wonderful~anything that wasn't perfect didn't matter (that day) and everything else was. Everything we dreamed of and more.

In summary:

~The weather cooperated! Mildly cloudy but not hot and no rain!
~I managed not to cry at all during the ceremony, etc. Right before my Nana walked me out of the house and down the aisle, as I told her I loved her, I almost did.
~My sister dropped the ring, which was fantastic. We cracked up the whole ceremony.
~My preacher handed David his ring instead of mine to put on my finger. After a lot of "wrong ring Jerry" being whispered into a microphone, he finally realized it. More laughing.
~I tripped all the way up the stairs after the ceremony. My crinoline in my dress kept getting caught in my shoes!
~David was sweet and did not smash cake in my face. Nor did I him.
~Our first dance was beautiful, to LeeAnn Womack's "some things I know." Which is the same thing I had engraved into his wedding band.
~Our friend Tamekia worked her arse off for our wedding. Anything we needed, she took care of. A big fat THANK YOU to her for that!!!
~My bridesmaids and flower girls and ring bearers were awesome. I have the best friends.
~Our cake was gorgeous and tasted yummy!
~Our caterer did provided great tasting food, but not enough of it. This was entirely not ok, but did not ruin our night. We simply filed our complaint after the wedding and the catering company immediately compensated us for their mistake.
~I didn't cry until my sister opened her mouth with her speech during the toast. And then I
bawled.
~The bridesmaids and I climbed in the fountain in our dresses for fun pics while the DJ played "U Can't Touch This." Yes, the MC Hammer song.

I married an amazing man and we had a beautiful wedding. I hope that anyone getting married in the future that reads this has as much fun as we did and are as happy as we are.

Honeymoon Pics

public links to honeymoon pics on facebook :)

Album 1

Album 2

Album 3

Album 4


(Albums 3 and 4 may have duplicate pics from albums 1 and 2, but they are David's that he set up on facebook and include pics that I don't have on mine yet. )

Europe rocks. Enjoy!

Name Change

Is not nearly as hard as google will have you believe.

Google 'name change after marriage.' There are tons of hits that offer you options to change your name and all these forms to fill out to do so, for about an average price of $25-$30.

Seriously?

It's not that hard. You go to the courthouse and get a certified copy of your marriage certificate. Go to the social security office and show them, and it takes about five minutes. Of course you have to change your driver's license as well, and call anyone that has your official name on it to let them know.

No real forms to fill out (except license and signing a lot of things at other places.)

Why when you try to find this out, there's not a website that explains it truly is this easy???

Thank you Terri (my aunt), for informing me today. It made it a whole lot simpler.

I didn't change it pre~honeymoon because it seemed like it was going to be a pain in the arse to try and get my passport changed before the trip and then I may not be allowed to get on the boat or leave the country, and it wasn't worth the risk. So we decided to wait.

As of today, is officially Jessica Freestate.

And I'm the only one in the world :)

Honeymooning...

Our honeymoon has came and went, and it was fantastic!

10 nights aboard the beautiful Celebrity Equinox. We sailed from Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy to Sicily, Italy; Athens, Greece; Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey; Mykonos, Rhodes, and Santorini, Greece; and then to Naples, Italy.

After that fabulous part of our trip, we stayed 3 nights in Rome.

We were gone 2 solid weeks and I was still ready to get back on a boat (not so much for hotels in foreign countries at this point).

Spending two solid weeks with my husband rocked. Going back to work on Sunday did not.

Professional Pic

Barry at Seaton Shoots and his assistant Jessica did a great job. We've really enjoyed their work!

Link to professional pics is now working!

Go to www.seatonshoots.com and click on previews. Type in 2010-04-19jedf as the password. Enjoy!

Wedding Album parts 1 and 2

I'm posting links to my facebook albums for you all that are not on facebook~

Stay tuned. Many, many more will come, but for now, pics from my camera and Tamekia's.

Album 1

Album 2

The Key~

A key opens many things~ doors, treasure chests, a chamber of secrets (no Harry Potter reference here), and a heart.

Two days before my wedding, my aunt presented me with this beautiful gift~
It's a Tiffany key from their Tiffany Key Collection. I had never owned and had never planned on owning anything from Tiffany because of the price~but I was so excited to see that Tiffany bag and box when my aunt showed it to me.

I had never heard of this key collection before. I tried to Google the meaning and symbolism of the key but came to my own conclusion~as stated above in the beginning of this post.

A very appropriate and warming gift~I was getting married, and my aunt bought me a symbol of the key to my heart. I love it.

April Came

(more blogs to follow cataloging the days before the wedding)


The title of my blog is April Can't Come Soon Enough.

And on Monday, April 19th, April finally came.

I walked down the aisle, married the best man I've ever met, and had a fabulous party after.

See?

i love you yesterday, today, and forever

This is one of my favorites of the whole night. It was absolutely amazing.

Welcome world, to Mr. and Mrs. Freestate.

Pre~Wedding Pics Are Mandatory

I am not a photographer (disclaimer since my new friends Mr. and Mrs. K are and they're now keeping up with my blog).

But I LOVE taking pictures. Of every significant/funny thing I can find.

I had a great camera, a nifty Kodak EasyShare z740. I bought it in 2005 and it has taken loads of awesome pictures, even with an amateur behind the shutter button.

Sunday I was in Chicago and pulled out my camera, only to find it DID NOT WORK. The lens would not come out of it at all, and I had to use a crappy disposable camera vs. my fabulous digital one. We decided then we were going to get a new camera. Tuesday David said we could get it before this weekend since this weekend is a big one and it would be nice to have before all our friends and family came in.

So the search began on Tuesday for a new camera, and I found one. But nobody had it in stock, even though tons of wal*marts had the display. Even Sony's website did not have it. I was sure I wouldn't get the one I wanted, and it would take forever to find another one I liked.

I called about 5 wal*marts today and the one in East Knoxville had it. Yay! My sister and I drove all the way over there and picked it up.

It's a Sony DSC~H20/b. It's more compact than my old one and seems to have more to offer.

I'm going to try to update the blog this weekend with pre~wedding pictures, because after all, they tell the story leading up to the BIG DAY. We'll see how that goes.

Wedding Weekend

Has officially commenced.

That is all.


BWAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!
(FOR THOSE NEEDING TRANSLATION, THAT'S AN I'M~SO~EXCITED YELL)

The Chicago Family (the part I hadn't met yet)

David and I made an emergency trip to Chicago this past Saturday to visit his 92 year old grandfather. Grandpa has been so excited about the wedding and we've received letters from him stating such, but I had no idea when I was going to meet him (or the rest of David's family that lives up there.)

Thursday Grandpa went into the hospital and they weren't sure how well he was going to do. He did get out, but who knows how long he has left? So Saturday David and I started on our 9~hour~one~way trip to Chicago to visit.

We arrived at his aunt's and then headed over to Grandpa's assisted living. Lots of aunts and uncles, a couple of cousins, and Grandpa himself. There was an awesome dinner **Chicago pizza, yay~** complete with wine and champagne, and those people are fabulous. I think David and I must have been switched at birth~they are just like me **not quiet at all** and not like him **always quiet and taking it all in**.

I'm glad I got to meet them before joining their family, and I'm glad they like me (David says they do anyway~I think he's right). They rock.

:)

Rehearsal Dinner Wear

I have searched and searched for a one~shoulder dress to wear for the rehearsal dinner.

I have lots of pretty dresses that would be great for the rehearsal dinner. However, I really, REALLY wanted a one shoulder dress. After searching since last July (literally) I found one today at Dillard's. I rounded a corner proceeding to the escalator, turned my head to the right, and voila! There it was! The last one in the store of this kind, on the sale rack. Woot woot!


It looks so good on and it's so comfy. I have these gorgeous black shiny 3" heels I plan to wear with it, so as long as it's not raining. (I busted my arse once on a cruise on the wet pool deck in those same heels~I will not go anywhere near water in them).

I love being a girl!

that piece of paper that says he has to marry me status post~ 2 year old damage...

This is what happens when your 2 year old cousin gets a hold of your marriage certificate without you knowing.

There are no gold flakes in my floor or on my furniture, which means there's probably only one more place they could be.

I'm pretty sure she ate the pieces she picked off.

At least it's an amusing story. And the idea of gold flakes in her diaper is hilarious.

that piece of paper that says he has to marry me ;)

Went this morning and got our marriage certificate/wedding license. See?

not the best pic, but you get the idea

It was relatively easy~we went to the courthouse, showed our IDs, filled out some paperwork, and that was it. Painless. .

I asked him this morning before we left if he was ready to go get the piece of paper that says he has to marry me, that I was giving him one last chance to back out. He said he was :). Technically I guess that paper doesn't mean he has to marry me until Jerry *our pastor* signs it, but I say if I got up this early to go get it then it means he has to. I like the way I think.

It's getting so close!

we're holding the marriage license, but you can't see it....bad aim with the camera

Wedding Jewelry

I wasn't sure what I was going to do with my hair, but was pretty sure I wanted something Grecian~ish and flowy with curls. Not the typical wedding updo, because while there is nothing wrong with that, it's not really me.

I looked online for something to go in my hair, and came across this headband on ebay of all places. I was really afraid it wouldn't be here in time for the wedding because it was being shipped from Hong Kong, but it showed up last night. I was so happy to see it!

The flowers actually semi~match my ring. It's really pretty.

For my necklace and bracelet, I will be wearing a matching pearl set my Nana bought me a few years ago. I was concerned with the dress change the pearls would not match, but then I googled images of my dress and saw the girls in those pictures were wearing pearls and they look beautiful. I have a nice set of dangled pearl earrings that David's mother bought me for Christmas, so between all that I guess I have "something old something new" covered lol.

Now to find something borrowed, something blue...

My photographer is British, and he believes in "and a sixpence in her shoe" added to the traditional statement, for goodluck. He gave me one that I will somehow manage to fasten to my shoe in some fashion...

And of course, the engagement ring. Which will sparkle nicely in the sunlight.

~The circle has no beginning and no end;

David and I picked out my wedding band tonight!!

And yes, I changed it from yesterday. I tried one on tonight I did not see yesterday, and after much debating, picked it.

The pictures from the website do not do it justice, so when I pick it up tomorrow I'll post my own.

Until then, pics from Jared's website will have to do...

**Custom~made only carries so much weight with shoddy customer service...

And causes people to go elsewhere.

I thought we had to go to Rick Terry for my wedding band. He made my engagement ring and it is beautiful. But the last time we went and as of today at 10:45 a.m. I decided we were going elsewhere.

He has made no attempt to contact me re: my wedding band and we dropped our diamonds off before Valentine's Day. I called yesterday and had to leave a message. Guess who never called me back?

So this a.m. I headed to Knoxville to find a new wedding band because I am done dealing with Rick Terry.

I found one. At Jared's.

So then I went to Rick Terry's in Farragut and told them that I wanted my diamonds back. He wasn't there, he was at his Lenoir City store and they put me on the phone with him. He said he never got my message **I call BS** and that if I buy a ring and have it sized, the diamonds will fall out....

I called Jared's back. They offer a lifetime guarantee with ring purchase, they tighten all the prongs with sizing, and they have no issue replacing the whole ring with a custom made one if it becomes a problem. SOLD.

I called Rick Terry back. He was nice but not happy. Well, tough luck. Probably should have thought about that before giving me such a run around since August of last year!

So tomorrow after work David and I are going to go to Jared's for my wedding band. It will be Friday before I get it since it will be late and they have to size it. I'm really happy with it.

I think. I change my mind so many times over smaller things that it will be interesting to see what I end up with...

To sum it up~

"One customer, well taken care of, could be more valuable than $10,000 worth of advertising."

It's about loving yourself...And then having someone to share the ride with

“But the most exciting, challenging and significant relationship of all is the one you have with yourself. And if you can find someone to love the you you love, well, that's just fabulous.”

If the shoe doesn't fit, must we change the foot?

I say yes.

But I love shoes, especially 3 inch heel ones, and I have mastered the art of dancing half the night in such. If I find a pair I love a pair, they get worn until they are comfortable (unless they are just unbearable). One look in my closet says how much I love shoes, especially heels.

My bridesmaids, however, probably do not agree with me. I originally said they could pick their own shoes, because I wanted them to be comfortable. One bridesmaid hates heels. Others have all different tastes.

I found a picture on my photographer's website of the bridesmaids shoes that I really loved and want a shot just like it, so it made me change my mind on the shoe thing for my bridesmaids~I want them all to match. I decided to pick them out and hope for the best.

Last week I found them. The heel is not too high and they are way comfortable. They were on sale too :)
The rhinestones are all sparkly and the shoes go great with the blue of the bridesmaids dresses. My girls haven't seen them yet but I hope they like them as much as I do.

If they don't, I guess the search will continue...

T-Minus....

30 days!!!!!

As in~ LESS THAN A MONTH!

That is all.

~how beautiful it is to have both children and love within the family~

I have two flowers girls and two rings bearers. My baby sister and baby brother, and Tabby's oldest munchkins.

In searching for outfits for them, I had decided I wasn't going to buy expensive, flouncy flower girl dresses. I was going to get something cute and spring~like from Belk or JCPenney or somewhere.

In my crazy search for my new wedding dress, I stopped in at The Gilded Gown last Friday and found they had their Alfred Angelo flower girl dresses on sale for $25. I hadn't been able to find dresses at stores for @$25.

So this dress

is what my two flower girls will be wearing, in ivory. Go here to see a better pic. They are so cute! Now to find shoes...

The boys will be wearing simple white long sleeved shirts, black pants, and black shoes. I have no desire to put a 7 and a 10 year old in tuxes...

Dress? Check. 2nd Dress to replace 1st dress? Check.

I did it. See this post to read about me getting a new dress.

I called over 20 stores Saturday to find the new wedding dress. I was ambitious.

I found one lady in Harlan, KY that had it. Out of all places!

So yesterday my wonderful fiance' drove me and my sister 6.5 hours roundtrip to get the dress of my dreams. I had asked him if he cared I was spending that money on something we didn't really need (he already sees us sharing everything, even finances) and he replied with "No, I don't mind. We can go get it, and then I'm going to lock your internet access from looking at any more!" LOL.

Lisa at Powers and Horton met us yesterday in a closed on Sunday store just so I could get my dress. She was so sweet. If you're ever in Harlan, KY and need a formal dress, go there.

I'm going to sell the other dress. I love it, but not as much as I love this one. So, if anyone is interested, let me know.

**excited squeal**

i'm a girl...and perfectly entitled to changing my mind...even if it makes me look crazy :)

I love my wedding dress. I do.

But lately I've been thinking about another one. Today I was bad and went and tried it on. And...

If I can find it on the rack at a store within a 3 hour radius for a price I'm willing to pay, I'm going to get it tomorrow. High hopes there, I know. I have a list of 11 stores I'm calling in the a.m. to see if they have it. What can I say? I'm ambitious ;)

Then I'm going to sell the one Nana bought to help pay for the new one.

::crosses fingers::

Can we say 'late in the game'????

The Interview

A year ago today, David and I had our first "interview" at Starbucks.

I knew when he asked me for dinner later in the week 2.5 hours post coffee, I was going to marry him, and I had no idea how to handle that.

I said "um, ok" with a very serious look on my face and thinking "now what?" He thought I didn't want to go...

I'm so glad I did. I can't wait to marry him next month.

See that??? Next MONTH!!! No longer "months."

**smiles**

Bridesmaids Gifts

As the tradition goes, bridesmaids gifts have been searched for and bought.

Or put together and bought, as my case turned out.

My bridesmaids **yes Tamekia, you too ;)** will receive handmade gifts as well as a rather unique bought gift.

No pics (like with everything else) because I want it to be a surprise.

Thank you all for making our day special. I love you!

Ready, Set, Assemble, Mail!

Wedding invites have been assembled and mailed.

It actually did not take nearly as long as I thought it would.

Crystal on our way out the door to the post office:














And me once we got there:

And the one pic we took together, that Crystal killed with her "make a dumb face" look:

And my show it off shot of my ring and invites together :)

I love it. I am so excited to have the wedding and the party that will follow!!!

Nobody Cares If You Dance Well...

However, we're gonna.

Bob and Cathy are paying for us to take private dance lessons for our first wedding dance.

The choice of doing it for ourselves wasn't something we were going to do.

But they are so excited to do this for us and we have found out we are really, truly enjoying learning and it is something we could get into. We're learning the rumba for our first dance, and in addition to that we're learning the waltz and some minor swing steps.

We want a big party with our friends and family where everyone dances like no one is watching and no one cares if you dance well...

But our first dance is sure going to look good, even if the rest of the night we all look like dancing fools!

Good times shall be had :).

invites and other fun stuff have arrived

Friday night I got home and saw...our invitations had arrived!!!!!!!!!

They are fold over and we're putting directions, registry cards, and a picture inside *Well, I am. Obviously he's not.*

Woot Woot!

4 have officially gone out. :)

It's hitting me that it's really going to happen. In like, 2 months and 19 days. Which is soon. I'm not stressed, but it getting closer has my tummy turning.

On another note, I've never bought any bridal magazines, but do like to look through them in the stores. Saturday morning my 3rd one arrived~and they just started showing up a few months ago after a bridal show I went to *which tells the world you're getting married and you get all kinds of free cool sutff.*


I have yet to look through them....possibly should work on that...

The Bridesmaids

Meet my bridesmaids:

*my Maid~of~Honor, *and sister, and best friend, and can't~live~without~person* Crystal:
*in Europe on the Brilliance of the Seas, June 2008

*my best friend, Erica. met at ETSU~i adopted her ;)
*in Miami, prior to cruising on the Carnival Destiny for Halloween '08

*my friend since we were 10 years old, Tabitha. we've been through a lot together...
*celebrating my sister's high school graduation, May '08

*Keissa. met in college, shared a week aboard the Carnival Valor while barely knowing each other, and had the time of our lives
*Captain's Night, Carnival Valor, March '06

*Nicole. we hated each other until 7th grade, became best friends through 10th grade, fell out, and reconnected via her mother and myspace in '06 and have been good friends ever since
*where else? on the Carnival Victory, April '07

*And:
Tamekia. not a bridesmaid but she's become such a good friend and is going to be a tremendous help for my wedding, so she's an honorary bridesmaid :) we worked together in housing at ETSU
*in Las Vegas, March '09

There they are folks. I love my friends!!! Thank you all for being such a big part of our happy day :)

just a simple invite...

Wedding invitations have been ordered and should arrive shortly.

They aren't the ones I originally thought about, but hey, a lot of big decisions are being made and I am perfectly entitled to changing my mind 1,000 times.

I stumbled across some simple yet elegant invitations tonight, picked out the font and wording, and am hoping they look as good upon arrival as they do on the internet. When they arrive, I'll post.

I just informed him I've ordered the invites **that he helped approve** and that makes it official. We're getting married, and he can't back out.

Not that he wants to.

3 months from today!!!

Meet the Blue Rose

I wanted blue roses in my bouquet and for my cake/cake topper.

However, my florist informed me that ordering those blue roses would cost me about $300. Forget that.

Soooo...what to do? Search for a healthy substitute. And I think I found one.

I'm going to take them to the florist and have him intertwine them in my white roses bouquet and construct my cake/cake topper look like the one I posted a pic of (this is optimistically assuming he likes them).

I like these~they are really pretty and not cheap looking like some silk flowers can be.

And they match the bridesmaids dresses.

Found them at Hobby Lobby after an extensive search there. Now to buy about 50-60 more, and we should be set.

Wedding Planning...Has Never Been SOOOOO Easy!!!!

My friend described my wedding as "a wedding in a box~awesome!"

I hadn't really thought of it like that, but she's right. And it is awesome. And I think even moreso after doing my planning session with my wedding coordinator today.

We set up my floor plan on her pre~printed map, talked about the details, and when I asked about centerpieces, she showed me these:


She has 5, in gold, and I just happen to have 5 bridesmaids. Whose bouquets will fit beautifully in the holders and make gorgeous centerpieces. These will go on the main seating tables.

The other tables (cocktail in style with seating) will have gorgeous amber goblets lit with tea light candles, which for all I have to provide is the tea light candles. She also is providing circular round candle holders to place on other tables wrapped in the blue ribbon I'm going to bring her.

She is also going to use ivory organza to drape across the stair railings and at the ceremony site, which she already has.

I posted the above pic to call your attention to the frogs in the fountain~and these frogs at our wedding shall wear the cutest veils! Judy has veils she made a long time ago for them and asked me if I wanted them. They will be entirely adorable.

All of this was her idea, and I am so excited because I had no idea what I wanted for centerpieces or fountain decor, or if I'd have to buy anything, and she took care of that. She also mentioned tons of other things that she wants to do, and I told her she can have free reign so as long as it fits with things I've pointed out I want (her weddings look amazing and I trust her completely).

My 'wedding in a box' has been so easy and I would NOT do it any other way. I highly recommend this place and Judy and the all~inclusive option. Email me at cuteykat18@aol.com if you want information.

Ex. Cite. Ment.

:) :) :) :)

One Year Ago~

On January 11, 2009 I met the man I knew I was going to marry, grew to love, and can't imagine ever being without. That, is a good feeling.

Yesterday he woke me up with a "Happy 11th, I love you."

:)