Move Over Oprah's Book Club!

For our engagement party, Matthew's mother gave us one of the greatest gifts ever. I love it! It is an amazing book called Love & Respect. I am not usually into books with a cause (other than the Bible!), I'm more into easy reading, but I cannot put it down & even Matt has begun to pick it up and read!

What an idea this author had...to take scripture and write a whole book about how when God's word is lived out in our daily lives good fruit is produced. What an obvious idea, right!? But, unfortunately, it does take an entire book to show what a beautiful thing marriage can be when God's people are faithful to His Word.

At times as I read this book I was slightly overwhelmed to read testimonies from other couples about just how easy it is to jump on the "crazy cycle" but in the end...I am even MORE excited to become Matthew's wife, and feel so encouraged to start jumping on the "energizing cycle" and soon be on the "rewarding cycle." Read the book and see what I mean!!

Getting married? Already married? I know with 2 months until I am even married I don't have much credibility to my name as far as marriage advice goes...but I know one thing: Love & Respect is a must read!

So husbands ought to love their own wife & let the wife see that she respects her husband (Ephesians 5).

You're Invited!

Thanks to a great invitation set by BRIDES, a fiance willing to amuse me by looking at samples & styles, and a best friend willing to sit in front of a computer for hours with me making sure that everything is perfect...wedding invites have been made & are going to be sent out first thing this week! Here is a little sample of waht these bad boys look like...


This is our RSVP card. So fun!


And here is our Directions card! So excited by how great these turned out!!


Now I'll just wait to mail 'em out & start getting some response cards back!

Travel Plans

With the wedding in the works & plans coming along quite smoothly, We have now started plans for our next phase of our new life together...the honeymoon!

We first thought that we had a free three day stay at any of the Marriott hotels...unfortunately that ship has sailed and that offer is no longer available to us. This now translates into a honeymoon is TOO much money! Well...at least a "tradtional" honeymoon has proven to be quite expensive.

So...what now? I'm honestly not very disappointed...in the end we are proud to say we are paying for everything ourselves and are blessed to still have money in our pockets at the end of all of this.


So here are a few things we are considering, until we save up for our one-year anniversary and take a big vacation. (Keep in mind that Option 1 is probably my favorite!)

1. Staycation. We might get a fancy-schmanzy hotel in Anaheim (thanks to that great site from priceline!) and go to Disneyland and eat at the Blue Bayou and Ariel's Grotto,and other touristy type stuff...and the next day visit San Diego Wild Animal Park, and splurge on safari rides and backstage passes.

2. Santa Barbara. Which is beautiful and romantic, I hear. But might take up lots of ouur gas money and we'd have to get a hotel here for our first night and then there for a few more...but well worth it, maybe?

3. Stow away in somebody's luggage and head off to a beautful Hawaiin island!

I also don't really mind option 3. Sound kinda fun!

Done & Done

On Wednesday, Matthew & I had a greaaaattt day! We spent the day together and had so much fun planning our wedding for January 29, 2011. Totally amazing & what wedding planning should have been all along! Though we didn't find the 'typical' ceremony/reception spot we found something that is sure to be a LOT of fun!

So, along with an entire wedding in the works, I now offically own my wedding dress!! Not only did I buy it, I didn't need any alterations because it fit perfectly! But it is with a seamstress for the bustle which needed NINE hooks! Even in wedding-world, NINE hooks to hold up the train is A LOT! Also bought the slip & the steaming! I know this is a whole lot of nothing but it means a whole lot to me!

Also, Matthew & I picked out our beautiful wedding bands on Wednesday! They have been fitted, steamed & cleaned, and are now offically home with me just waiting to be worn! 76 days left until Matthew & I begin a life of wedded bliss. {{{LOVE}}}

So In Love...

with other blogs! Here are a few blogs that I just cannot get enough of!

ruffledblog.com

Ruffled is so awesome! A great mix of wedding pictures, vintage or classic, wedding DIYs & even wedding classifieds!

ever-ours.com

Ever-Ours is one that am newly addicted to. Totally cute.

dparkphotography.com/blog/

A really great wedding photographer who I only wish we were lucky enough to use for our biiiiig day! Drexelle & David, though I have only recently really gotten a chance to talk to (we went to HS together but she and I never crossed paths then) are incredibly talented. Not to mention, Drexelle is so sweet with a real servant's heart.

So these are the three sites I visit on a regular basis. They keep me up late at night and distract me when I am supposed to be working. I can't be blamed, seriously. These blogs are just too wedding-rific.

Wedding Madness!

So, as many people know there have been so many 'ups & downs' of the wedding Matthew & I have been attempting to plan. We at first began to plan what was sure to have been a beautiful day in June! But we quickly changed plans realizing what a circus it had become. Since then we have had so many plans that seemed so promising fall through that it's exhausting counting them all! I wonder to myself sometimes if God is trying to teach me a lesson in contentment? Patience? Faith? All of the above!? Well whatever it is I am supposed to be learning through all of this I have come to a few conclusions.
1) As corny as this may sound, my love for my future husband overshadows any plans for a wedding. We of course could have a wedding...but that would mean waiting another 6-12 months for our budget to catch up with my big dreams of the perfect ceremony & reception! In reality, my biggest dream is to marry the man of my dreams & anything else that entails, such as a wedding would just be pleasant perk.
2) Weddings are WAY TOO EXPENSIVE for what they are worth. I am quite unsure how people plan weddings without using a credit card or serious stress on the pocket books! The entire industry is filled with people trying to sell me the idea of a 'perfect' wedding & that there is no price tag for it! We would rather save up for a honeymoon, or (one day)adopting, rather than shelling out extra cash for the perfect linens and best DJ!
3)I absolutely hate the term "bridezilla" and though I may have become ultra sensitive when it comes to wedding planning I never want to be one of those awful brides who are mean to those who mean the most! I don't really understand why girls stress out about so much for just one day. I'd rather worry about the rest of our lives rather then if we should put baby's breath or greens in the bouquet!

Phew! So, in conclusion, tomorrow is the big day for Matthew & I. No, not the day we get married but the day we finally decide on some plans. I don't want to have wishy-washy plans anymore. So Matthew has happily volunteered himself to spend the day with me to finally make something happen! This means that what is decided tomorrow will be what happens! I am already exhausted just thinking about tomorrow but so excited at the same time! At the end of the day, as long as I become Mrs. O'Brien I don't care how it happens. I just want to spend forever loving Matthew as my handsome husband!!!

God Is (SO!) Good!

Okay, okay. First off here is a lovely picture of my most handsome nerd-a-riffic future hubby and I from our church "High Seas Expedition" from October 31st!




Okay, but really...what I just haaaaad to write about is how truly amazing our God is! A week ago, Matthew & I received a phone call from the car dealership saying we might have to give back our new car because the bank ended up not wanting to finance us! I, of course, unlike my sweet fiance, spent the week worrying about this...but tonight the dealership's financing department gave Matthew a call and not only did we end up finding a bank willing to take our offer but they asked for less money!!!! WOW!!! Not to mention, how good is God for giving us AWESOME pre-marital counselors? Pat & Ron are truly an amazing couple & Matt & I have really learned to trust and admire them. So, Monday night, we took advantage of their huge hearts & unloaded months worth of wedding worry! It felt so nice to be heard & to hear such loving, Godly advice. So we took the advice and are really on the fast track to a great marriage! I think I understand this whole "perfect peace" talk...and I like it. =] So, next week Matthew & I will be taking a day to plan a very small wedding. Unfortunately, the place I posted a picture up of from last post didn't work out, so it's back to square one! But God has really, once again, shown his faithfulness to me (& to us) despite my lack of trust and hope at times. I love being proven wrong and being reminded all the time that God is good.