Things WILL go wrong!

So much for writing everyday! HA! things have been so busy this has been the last thing on my mind!

Here is another piece of advice for future brides: THINGS WILL GO WRONG!...now I know people say "oh Ashley be positive" Well..IM POSITIVE THINGS WILL GO WRONG! lol

Here are a few bloopers we've had to manage and wedding day isn't even here yet!

1: FIs custom wedding band came in the mail a week ago...and not only did FI HATE it but..it was HUGE! :que small freakin out tears flowing moment for me: but after I cried for a good 5 minutes, i got it together and we decided to just deal! We got onto amazon.com, found a ring FI liked, ordered it in the RIGHT size and requested overnight shipping. And for $63 Fi has a ring to wear on wedding day :)

2: The distributor for our keg beer for the reception sent the wrong kegs and we were notified 5 days before our wedding. To keep a long story short, we need an unusual/rare size keg for the reception. When we called weeks ago a FEW of the size and beer we wanted were available. Well. the distributor sent the size bigger than we wanted. They are re-shipping the kegs we requested but they may not be here until Thursday evening. Well...that's no good because our rehearsal dinner is on Thursday night...the final outcome of this whole fiasco is unclear even now at 3 days pre wedding! but Ive handed all this off to FI and he assures me he is taking care of it! Fingers crossed!

3. Jake and I spent the first few months of getting to know each other over chips and queso and a tall glass of Texas margaritas on the rock no ice:) So we decided that for our cocktail hour we would do a salsa bar, and margaritas! Well.. the margarita bit went out the window a long time ago when we realized the budget was getting tight. But we still wanted to do the salsa bar so a few weeks ago we start getting quotes from local Mexican restaurants and they wanted to charge us a freakin arm and leg for queso! We literally today at 6 o'clock finalized where the queso is coming from, how it will get there and now much we will get. Talk about stressing out until the last minute!

Moral of this story: Murphy is real and he will come to join you the week/day before and day of your wedding. Accept him with open arms and just be prepared to DEAL!:)

XOXO,
Soon to be Mrs. Hall!

7 days and 7 nights & I will be a MRS.

I've said it a million times "I CANT BELIEVE IM GETTING MARRIED IN A WEEK!" Its crazy to me! 15 months ago it seemed like i had all the time in the world to plan this wedding and now just 7 short days to go and Im still scrambling to get it all done! LOL

Im going to try to do a post a day for the next 7 days to document my very last few days as a single woman!

For this post Im going to give my bits of advice I've learned through out this whole process that I would pass on to another bride:

• Dont be afraid to loosen the reins and let family and friends lend a hand- Ask my mom, ask Jake, ...ask ANYONE who knows me well and they will tell you Im a DIY queen and I have a hard time trusting others to carry out my vision. Through this whole process when someone asks me if I need help with something I always say "aww thanks! Ill definitely let you know when I come across something I need help with" But in my mind I KNOW that ill end up doing it all by myself. Not because ppl werent gracious enough to ask but because Im just that stubborn! Earlier this week I had a bit of a wedding melt down (an unexpected $200 fee for the venue, a custom wedding band that arrived today and didnt fit (and cant be resized!) and an ever diminishing budget) My mom finally gave me a little tough love, told me I was being stubborn and that I needed to trust her in helping me and I finally 7 days before my wedding have turned over a few last minute details to my loving mother so that I dont have a heart attack before my big day. Moral of the story: Delegate friends/family to HELP you...if they love you, they wont mind!
• Dont over analyze and dont read too many wedding magazines. Thing I did when I got engaged was buy 5 wedding magazines, sing up for several bridal blogs/forums and started building my pinterst boards! Although all of these gave me great ideas, I found that when I loved something and either couldnt afford it or my DIY of it turned out all wrong...it was a little heart breaking...Unless you have a generous or unlimited budget try not to get your inspiration from $60,000 weddings that had a professional planning from day 1. (maybe this was just me but I wish I had watched a few less, David Tutera wedding shows because at the end I couldnt help but pout and think how my wedding wouldnt be that lovely..:/)
• Dont stress about the details....and to add to that sometimes too many little details end up being too much detail! Pick a few key aspects that will make a bold statement and go with those. Unless you are going for a VERY unique wedding, I think its best to stick with the classic traditional. Like I said UNLESS you are going for CRAZY UNIQUE!
• Try to pace yourself when planning and so that the last week of your wedding you can sit back, and marvel in your last week as a single woman and just be excited for the days to come. I wish I could just sit back and relax these last few days.....I can assure you ..thats the opposite of what I'll be doing!!!

XOXO
FROM THE (VERY) SOON TO BE MRS!!!!

in my last few weeks as a MISS

Holy Moly! I cant believe that in 20 days Ill be MRS.HALL! Its crazy! I thought this day would never get here and now its just around the corner!

People keep asking me if Im getting nervous. My answer... NO! Im not nervous at all to marry Jake! I have days where I feel completely in Aw of where I am at this point in life. Its still crazy to me to think that the guy I was praying God would place in my life was Jake all this time! I feel truly blessed! I feel like I am about to marry my best friend!

As the days tick by im trying to tie up all the loose ends of wedding world! Final touches are being put on everything, tiny flags are being made for our dessert table, a marriage certificate is in the works and ribbons are being tied on sparklers. Ive spent SO many years thinking about my wedding..even to the point of cutting out pics and sketching certain aspects (yes im one of those CRAZY girls :) But to be completely honest im SOOO ready for the day to be here! To be able to simply sit back, enjoy and know that through any detail I forgot or anything that never got done ....its all gonna be ok and it will all work out! The moment I think Im most looking forward too is that moment when I round the corner and Im headed for my Husband (how weird does that sound!?) It feels like a chapter of my life book is closing but at the same time it feels like my pen has been dipped in fresh ink and is just waiting to hit paper to start recording what comes after this! Super excited and SUPER BLESSED!

Until Im a MRS!
Ashley