The Final Countdown! 24 days

Ok, so you are probably wondering... "You only have less than a month (actually 24days), are you freaking out yet?" Absolutely not! I have great friends and family that are helping every step of the way, and I never stress. Now my mom on the other hand... she may be stressing. Benji and I both agreed that we are soooo ready to be married. We are just ready to have free weekends, not spend money on wedding stuff haha, and ready to start our adventure as husband and wife. I think every bride and groom get to the point where they are just ready to be married. I am seriously there.

I am still not done catching you up on the details for the wedding before the big day!! Let me continue...

Around 2 months to go till the wedding, I finally decided on my florist. Mimosa from Oxford will be doing the major task of tackling my ideas and bringing them to life for the wedding. We had a few problems at the beginning because I want rustic, vintage, different, classy, and laid-back floral arrangements, but they were used to the normal bride (clear vases, roses, etc.). I was completely different than what any other bride had envisioned before me. They finally tapped into my brain, and they have truly captured (well, at least just by words right now) what I have envisioned for this wedding. It speaks Benji. It speaks me. Our ceremony will be a walk in to a vintage garden in the spring. With vintage decor and draping floral arrangements, I want the guest to see things at a church wedding ceremony they have never seen before. I want the ceremony to be beautiful, classy, but continue with the vintage and rustic feel of both of us. I cannot wait to see how they coordinate the reception and put my ideas into actions!

About 2 and a half months ago, I decided on my caterer! Party Waiting to Happen from Oxford will be making the scrumptious meal at the wedding. Ibby is in charge of the catering service with her son. Ibby just simple said before we even began describing my favorite dishes that this entire wedding was about Benji and me. No one else. She emphasised to always think about our favorites and what we wanted. She was the perfect fit for a caterer because a meal that just screamed Benji and me was exactly what I was looking for at the wedding. Do not expect any tilapia or random dish that you always see at weddings. The dishes will be Delta inspired favorites of ours! You might see barbecue or crawfish, you never know! I cannot tell you every detail or there will be no surprises!!

The Invites: I finally finished the invites and most have been received... some addresses have been returning! Got to love people who have moved! haha I had a great time working with Inky Lips Press from Arkansas with my vintage, letterpress design. I wanted buttons (because buttons will be used during the wedding on many different things), and I wanted lace (well, expect lace at the reception and floral arrangements!). I also wanted a rustic feel to the invites so we added Kraft envelopes to bring in the rustic feel. Those darn Kraft envelopes.... what an ordeal!!! A few things I learned about Kraft envelopes....

1. I taught myself with Indian ink and a calligraphy pen a wonderful and fun cursive handwriting. I practiced diligently getting the cute font to fit perfectly on the envelopes. I practice on everything from a piece of paper to sample envelopes that were not Kraft. However, I did not practice on the Kraft envelopes beforehand (I just did not want to make many mistakes on the real envelopes). Bad IDEA!!
• What I learned is you must practice practice on the right envelope.
2. Kraft envelopes is 100% recycled and contains 100% Post Consumer Content. This is a great Eco-Friendly alternative to a standard Invitation Envelope. They also have fibers and are not the solid envelope. Keeping with the eco theme, we wanted Kraft. Bad idea.
• A metal calligraphy pen does not move smoothly along the fibers. Also, the fibers in the envelope allowed for the ink to literally "run all over the place". On top of these lessons learned, I also learned that a metal calligraphy pen on a Kraft surface will continue to grab the loose fibers, creating holes and tears in the envelopes. It was not a pretty site, and did not create a happy mood.
3. Sharpie is the best consumer product. By the end of the day, I tossed the hard work of learning calligraphy with my fancy calligraphy pen and Indian ink... went to Walgreens, and purchased a pack of Sharpies. Problem solved.
• Sharpies after 300 invites created a happy mood. I enjoyed the night.

In the end, invites were sent. Kraft envelopes were addressed. And a few life lessons were learned.

Lots to do.... so I am going to blog

So a little catching up is in order! A month till the big day yesterday and I have decided to blog. In true blogger spirits, time crunch of the wedding is nooooo biggie! I just realized that no one knows anything about the wedding plans that I spent months and months of research tolling over! Oh, yeah.... take a seat!!!

Firstly, I would like to thank the blogs ruffledblog.com and greenweddingshoes.com for making my life so much better. My daily routine of clocking-in for work and checking these two blogs for new posts. The daily posts have inspired me, encouraged me, and engaged me every single day since July 23rd. The engagement sessions are amazing. The weddings are exactly what I want for my own wedding. The Do-It-Yourself projects are great to know for the big day as well as for anything else. You have to check them out! Addicting! Even through my concerns with "is my wedding too weird" or "is this going too non-traditional", these blogs have inspired me to continue to make a wedding that is about me and Benji!!

The yellow and grey colored wedding of Benji and Deborah is almost here!

Let me tell you about the bridesmaid's dress....
Do not expect any at the wedding. I have given the girls the option in choosing their own dress. I love my friends exactly the way they are to me, and I wanted their personality to show in my wedding. I went back and forth on the idea of maybe a lace overlay dress for everyone, but every bridesmaid picture at a wedding that intrigued me were the pictures of mix-matched dresses. All of the girls have selected a dress that really does look like them. Even though everything is their own dress, I did pick a color swatch of grey colors (just a paint swatch from Wal-Mart), and selected from three different colors the best color that would compliment their hair/skin tone/etc. It really helped each girl select their dresses with ease.

• With the dresses, the girls are wearing amazing hair piece created by the talented Molly Gee!

• She's greattttttt!!!
• Still deciding on what type of jewelry... to be determined 
• And of course, the cherry on the top- yellow shoes of their choice!! I cannot wait!!

This is the picture that inspired the mismatch bridesmaids---- love it!!

Groomsmen: Well, they will be fashionably assembled in a grey suit from Belk. Benji wanted suits for the guys because we have seen soooooo many weddings where tuxes did not fit the guys correctly, and the guys spent so much money on just the rental. The groomsmen loved loved the idea of their own suit, and Belk had a fabulous deal on the grey suits. With their stylish suits, they will be wearing different yellow ties to bring in the yellow from the bridesmaid's shoes! It's going to look great!



Let me catch up...

So, wedding planning and graduate school has really caught up with me! I am going to take this time to catch you up on this crazy thing called life!!

So... I sent my bridesmaid cards (it was last year, but I'm catching you up!). I designed them to not be cheesy, but funny! I am not cheesy, but I did want to personalize each one with a message! Some were tear-jerkers... some were out-right hilarious! I love my bridesmaids/man of honor! There was a brunette one as well, so do not think I was bias to Blondies! haha



I'm allergic!

So every blog, advice column, wedding planning booklet, EVERYTHING says do not try something new before any pictures- engagement or the wedding day. Ha! I laughed at this. I know my body and my face better than any one. I have never had an allergic reaction to any type of make-up, cleanser, lotion-- absolutely nothing! Why would I start now? Now, that I'm actually taking the most important pictures of my life and preparing for the wedding day, why would anything go wrong? First piece of advice to any soon-to-be-bride.. listen to those crazy blogs. I should have recognized all the obvious hints of what not to do, but I did not take heed to any outside advice. So for all of you who are new to the wedding planning/engagement taking process, I will show you want hints to look for on "what not to do" the week on your engagement session.

Hint #1: If on the week of your engagement shoot you have not finished purchasing the 1st outfit out of three outfits...
Oh yes, do not make the outfit purchasing task into a one day event. I definitely should have enjoyed this part even more, but of course, I waited till the week of to make the final decision. I greatly appreciated all the girls at Libby Story in Ridgeland who stayed after closing hours to help me decide between the "really crazy" outfit or the "artsy fartsy" outfit. Those girls are amazing! The clothing in your pictures is the one of the most important aspects, and the three outfits I would chose had to express my complex personality. This is a major task for one girl! Tera, at Armosa, helped even more with just telling me three basic items: layers, accessories, and personality! Most of my normal outfits are last minute put-togethers so the part of actually making an outfit cohesive and picturesque.. sort of daunting! I chose to do a vintage band outfit (the reason why I even went to Delta State and met Benji), a more casual Deb outfit- of course ripped blue jeans, and an artsy fartsy outfit- Benji calls it unique. Benji's outfits were more conservative than mine. The long sleeve blue thermal shirt with khakis, brown sports coat with jeans, and his vintage football jersey/jacket. We had originally decided to use my uncle's 1970s jersey, but the day before we left for pictures, we discovered it did not fit Benji. We decided really quick that that jersey was a NO. Oh this reminds me of my next hint....

Hint #2: If you have ever said "I have not seen these jeans in two years", then there is probably a reason ...
Since high school, Benji has filled-out a little bit. From a scrawny boy, he is now a well-fed man. I love ALL of Benji, but he does think he can fit in his clothes from freshman year. Like any country boy, he's likes his jeans a little on the tight side, and as his future wife, I love his jeans haha! He's not a Wrangler man, but still, they are on the rather slim fit side. However, some jeans in his closet are too tight. Benji purchased some khaki jeans a while ago in the size that "he used to wear". They have sat in the closet for some time, and I thought they would be perfect for the outfit. This jean-trying-on process came right after he opted to not wear my uncle's jersey since it was a little snug. With all his might, Benj shoved one leg in the pant and then the other. I was busy trying to figure out what shoes to wear with my "artsy fartsy" outfit, and I heard the loudest sucking-in sound. I turned around, and how he did it, I have no idea. Like on the tv show Say Yes to the Dress, "it was easier to pull the banks of the Mississippi River than to zip that". All nice and SNUG, Benji fit in those pants, and with all my strength, I tried to keep a straight face. He asked what I thought, and all I could see was his sweet "muffin top". I simply said to Benji, "Let's try some other jeans on". There is a reason jeans are never worn for a few years.

Hint #3: "I've never done this before" should not come out of your mouth 2 days before pictures...

So three days before my long awaited engagement session with Armosa Studios, I decided to get my eyebrows waxed. This is the first time I have ever done this, and I was without a doubt NERVOUS!! What if the lady messed up, and I only had one eyebrow in my picture? What if I had supper small eyebrows and looked scared in my pictures? Oh yes, I thought about everything. But my stringy eyebrows needed professional help! When I arrived at the salon, the lady was equipped with a tool belt full of torture tools. I walked in this room, and the chair was vibrating and birds were on the cd player. I could not even see straight the entire time or talk without sounding like I was riding a carnival ride on that vibrating chair. Her first comment was "Yes, I need to work on you". Thanks. I know this already. She pulled out her first choice in the tool belt, and got to work on my eyebrows. In the middle of the first eyebrow, she said there was a deal on waxes, something like 3 for something- I could not hear over the vibrating chair. I was already sold when she said "DEAL", so apparently, I agreed on 3 waxes on my face. An entire face wax pretty much. Wow.. I love deals. I had now signed up for eyebrows, lips, and an entire face wax. Not good. Waxing was pretty much like having a band-aid on and ripping. I've had plenty on my face, so the ripping process was not that bad. It was the anticipation of when she was going to torture me while listening to these nice, sweet bird chirping noises on the CD player. After ripping, applying pressure, and letting me breathe, she then put the greasy stuff on my face, which I did not mind much because she massaged my face as she did it. I walked out of the salon like a new women- a rather red and hurting women, but new. A few hours later, the redness never disappeared, and bumps started popping up. I shrugged it off because I knew nothing was wrong. However, the next day I had a full out allergic reaction. Benji of course said "You have a couple of zits on your face" when we were loading up for the engagement session. The day we are leaving for the engagement shoot and my face has a temperature and bumps. Seriously. Not cool. I do not even own concealer to cover up zits let alone a whole face of redness! And on top of that, the two trips to the tanning bed I had made were instantly removed with one rip. I never knew waxing was this intense! My engagement session was on Sunday, and I just knew my face would calm down. Friday night passed, Saturday passed....Allergic reaction still present! WHYYYYY??????? On Sunday, the poor girls from Birmingham Glam came to do my make-up (since they are doing my hair and make-up on the wedding this was the "Trial" day). My first comment to them was "I'm sorry, my face is crazy". With airbrush tool, lots of concealer, and much much more.. the girls at Birmingham Glam diligently worked on my face so that not even a bump or red spot could show.

So, I have learned not to try new stuff before pictures. Not to try on things since freshman year of college. And to truly appreciate concealer- it's a miracle worker. All in all, make-up and wonderful photographers helped make our engagement pictures a great experience! Both Benji and I love our pictures because they are so us!

Engagement pics- So many ideas!

If engagement pictures were an historical art piece, it would be the Mona Lisa or the American Gothic of my wedding. I love engagement pictures. I have looked at engagement pictures since college- not neccesarily for "future wedding" plans but for inspiration in all types of my art. I love photography, and I wanted my engagement pictures to be art- not just normal pictures. Benji and I can takes pictures anytime, but engagement pictures are truly a special part of the wedding experience. I encourage any soon-to-be bride to really make engagement pictures an experience and to think outside the box. I think pictures that represent the couple are priceless. If the guy played football and you were a cheerleader when you two first met, represent that in your pictures. If you had butterflies when he sang his first song to you, have a picture that will remind you of that moment forever. Think outside the box and think about what is special to you as a couple. Engagement pictures are a moment caputured in the brief time that you and your fiance have before you become one. Cherish these moments and cherish the reasons God has put you two together.

Now, I will not pose in a bathsuit for any amount of money.. however, I just wanted to show engagement pictures can be so much more than a couple on the city square or holding hands in a field. DO it BIG!

Never dress a country boy!

So, Benji and I had our first disagreement during this whole entire engagement. Not about any wedding details. Not about him writing a detailed paragraph about why he loves me or how he fell in love. Not about who is going to move where once we get married. Our disagreement was about a navy blue long sleeve shirt from Urban Outfitters. This shirt was the most conservative but yet, stylish item I could find in Urban Outfitters that he would possibly like to wear. I mean seriously.. it's just a long sleeve thermal shirt with three buttons on top. That's all. BENJI HATED IT! His exact words were "I am not on Project Runway". If it was my choice, he would be wearing a funky t-shirt under a bright colored sport jacket with a patterned tie and some sneakers. That would be pushing it... but I held back and  picked the most "country, conservative item". Navy blue- not even a bright colored shirt. It was a negative in the store. It definitely did not help the situation when the other guys in the store picking out the same shirt had pink highlights in their hair and extremely tight pants. I stood my ground because I did not want our engagement pictures looking like an advertisement for Columbia. He had to branch out... he had to at least be more stylish! About 20 minutes later after I heard his side and he heard mine, I won the battle. His last words were "I will never wear this again after pictures". I almost felt sorry for him at the check-out counter. His face just read defeated, but we had to do it. He looked super handsome in the shirt, and he would be even cuter in pictures. This simple shirt, no sparkles, no plaid, no buttons.. nothing.. he despised more than anything. It was not Columbia, and in his mind, not stylish. However, a little gleam of hope approached later that week when the weather turned cooler. After everything he said about this shirt, he chose to wear it to his brother's football game. SERIOUSLY!?? I was in shock. Right before we left for the game, he looked in the mirror to admire himself and his wonderful comment (which was a sign that everything was right with him and the shirt) was "Hmmm... I look buff".

I, Deborah Brick, have dressed the impossible- Benji Campbell. Short term goal accomplished- many more to come.

Where's the Party at?

We're having a wedding. Now.. where's the party/reception at? This question has made me laugh for quite some time. Believe me... if there was a building, I have called about it. I have called the B.B. King Museum, Grover's Corner, Crawdad's, Cotton Gin, Warehouse, everywhere possible in Greenville. Nothing fit Benj and me more perfectly than Warehouse. We have had so many dates there it is impossible to count. It is special in so many ways, and the atmosphere is exactly what we want our wedding to feel like. Laid Back/ Rustic/ Antique/ Delta Blues fun. Does that not just sound like fun? I am definitely not the traditional bride. I do not want bunches of roses in 6 feet tall clear vases. I want mix-match glasses/antiques with billy balls and random Spring flowers. Oh... my many many ideas for the decorations!! So now, the Warehouse is where my dream wedding reception filled with my Do-it-yourself ideas and creative touches will take place!

I cannot wait!