So The Story Goes: They Lived Happy Ever After

Hello from Mrs. Burgess!

***Check out the slide show at the bottom of the page***

This is going to be my last post on my wedding blog. I will be starting a new Burgess Family blog which I hope everyone will visit as much as they can to keep up with the latest news about our family. Till then I would like to update everyone on our wedding weekend.....

THE WEEK PRIOR TO THE WEDDING
It was such a busy week. Karl and I had a lot of last minute details to work out prior to our families arriving on Thursday. On Wednesday Karl and I bought the drinks for the rehearsal island party, finished up the gifts for the wedding party and tried to get a full nights sleep. On Thursday, our families started arriving on the island, which for me was the first time I had met (in person) most of Karl's family. Thursday was also the day that the Dubose family arrived on the island. We absolutely love it when they can make it down to visit.

FRIDAY BEFORE THE WEDDING
This day was full of stuff to do with the day ending with our wedding rehearsal and island party. The day started out with Pairlon (flower girl) and I going and picking up breakfast for everyone. Next Brittany and I had to go and have our trial make-up run which was a blast. This is when things got crazy!!! While getting our make-up done, my cell phone rang and it was my wedding decorator. Evie was traveling from Lake City to Jekyll Island on that Friday to start decorating and she had arrived 30 mins early. So I had to leave Brittany at the make-up salon and I traveled to meet Evie and guide her to the reception site. When we got there I noticed that the layout of the reception location was all wrong. I left Evie to get started while I called the Events Coordinator for Jekyll Judit to have her fix it. The layout was fixed with out me having to go Bridezilla on them and then Brittany and I headed over to the island spa to work on our trial hair run. It was a success! I was able to show the hairdresser a picture of how I wanted my hair and BOOM...she rocked it and it was exactly what I wanted. We got our nails done and then headed to the church for the rehearsal.

THE WEDDING REHEARSAL/REHEARSAL ISLAND PARTY
The wedding rehearsal was the craziest hour of my life....we practiced the wedding script, walked down the aisle a few times and then headed to the island party on St Simons Island. After the rehearsal there were three things I was worried about: 1. The Ring bearer walking down the aisle-he ran up/down the aisle during the rehearsal 2. The music-we had much discussion on when I should walk down the aisle...nuts. 3. Both times I went to walk down the aisle I forgot to get my bridal bouquet.

The island rehearsal party was great! We had tons of people show up. A lot of my friends from the LC showed up and there was tons of food (which was all gone by the end of the night). We got a massive game of volleyball going on and the only reason it stopped is because it got to dark to see the ball. Everyone enjoyed themselves and really had an awesome time.

Then the guys retreated back to Karl's house for a night of poker, while the girls stayed in our beach house. We ate homemade brownies until our stomach hurt, played truth or dare, and then took a dip in the pool at 2am. We had so much fun. I didn't sleep at all. I was so excited about the wedding day.

THE WEDDING DAY
The day was amazing and so much fun. I spent the entire day with my bridal party and we had a blast! We went to brunch at Mallery St Cafe on St Simons Island and then spent a couple of hours at the hair salon. Our time at the salon was so memorable. We had the salon to ourselves until another bridal party showed up. We left feeling like divas and headed to merle norman to get our make-up done. Brenda at Merle Norman was wonderful she did our make-up and made us all look like a million bucks.

We left from there and headed to the church. There I was greeted by my grandmother (mema) who had arrived early from Lake City. I was so glad to see her....for the past few months she has been ill and knowing that she was able to make the journey was awesome. Next I retreated to the bridal room where I waited for the photographer and all my girls to get ready. I can't tell you how much fun this was. All day we had prepared ourselves for this moment and it was so close. I got dressed and then was greeted by Stacy our photographer. She started working her magic and took tons of pictures of me and my girls.

Next she headed over to see the guys and take the whole wedding party minus the bride and groom out for pictures. While they were gone, I was visited by Karl's mother, grandmother, and aunt lesley, sue, and wendy. This was a very special moment for me. I think we all started crying....then it was time...time to walk down the aisle. We were right on time. We lined up in the foyer of the church...and I started to freak out.....this is not because of not wanting to get married...but because this was "for real...the most important moment of my life..." so the music started and I started down the aisle...everything was a blur....All I focused on was holding tight to my brother's arm as he walked me to Karl and then on Karl's face. I kept thinking, "just breath...this is it"....then I lost it...when we arrived at the end of the aisle and I looked at Karl he and I both teared up....but we didn't cry...we held it together. During the vows Karl's lip was quivering his hand was shaking. It was me that fell apart....I was fine until the last two lines of my vows....I started crying because it hit me "I am marrying my best friend...this is really happening! I love him" Then we were announced husband and wife!......

We then headed on the St Simons Island Trolley to the beach for pictures and then to the reception to party with our guest. We had a blast.

and as the story goes....We Lived Happy Ever After!

Kimberly Burgess

1 Week till the Wedding: Life Happens

Hello Everyone: Well it is one week until the "BIG DAY" and everything is ready to go! This past weekend was very busy. It was the last weekend until the wedding and we had a lot of loose ends to tie up before our work week started.

Karl and I arrived in Lake City on Thursday night. We started the weekend out exhausted...which was not a good thing...but we made it through. On Friday I had such a busy schedule. I started out the day with a mission. I had to find my cousin Brittany (a bridesmaid) silver shoes to wear at the wedding. She had explained to me earlier in the week that she could not find any shoes to fit her size 5 1/2 foot..but I knew better. On Friday morning on my way to the "GREAT" Lake City Mall (yes I am exaggerating), I stopped by Melanie and Co. where my mother and brother were getting their hair trimmed for the big day. It was there that I gave my mom her "Mother of the Bride/Mother's Day" present and she loved it. I told my mom that her gift consisted of every item she would need to have an enjoyable time on the island. It consisted of a Mother of the Bride custom made beach bag, Bath and Body Works body wash and body spray in her favorite scent "Sea Island Cotton", a Mary Kay Make Up Getaway Package, and a gift certificate to Merle Norman Cosmetics to get her make-up done the day of the wedding, and finally a custom mother of the bride margarita glass. She loved it and is so excited about the wedding.

Next I headed off to the mall to find shoes and I found them in the very first store I went into at the mall....YEAH! Then I had lunch with my brother and mother and went back to the mall where my mom helped me pick out honeymoon clothes! It was such a GREAT GIRLS DAY. Then that afternoon, I got my hair trimmed and went and watched my brother graduate with his AA (Associate of Arts) degree at LCCC. I am so proud of him.

The weekend didn't stop there. On Saturday I took my mema who is still recovering from open heart surgery out to the mall to find her a dress for the wedding. Yes that's right, she received a medical release from her doctor to attend the wedding. She found a beautiful black and pink dress and she is going to look fabulous!

The weekend finished up with a wonderful mothers day with Karl's mother. So now it is down to 6 days. Karl has to work Monday and Tuesday and I have to work until noon on Wednesday. On Wednesday we are coordinating the music in the church and getting parking passes for the wedding decorator for jekyll and then it is wedding time. Our families start arriving on Thursday, Wedding Decorator Evie arrives on Friday to start decorating the reception site and the Big day is that Saturday.

To find out more about the mother of the bride goodies check out the following website: http://www.marykay.com/amandamyers/default.aspx

I will update everyone with news on the wedding after we return from Jamaica.

Love you all!

Kimberly

2 Weeks to go: It's Right Around the Corner

With the wedding less than 2 weeks away we have gotten so much done. This week consisted of the following:

• Paying our catering bill for the reception
• Ordering and receiving the the garter belt
• Getting the Mother of the Bride's Dress
• Finishing Bridesmaid's gifts
• Bought 50 lbs of sand for the reception decorations
• Purchased honeymoon attire

We changed the music for the ceremony and will be working on the wedding programs this week. It is honestly coming together better than I thought that it would at this point in the planning process. Our remaining short to do list includes:

• Packaging Groomsmen Gifts
• Packaging Bridal Party, Flower Girl, and Ring Bearer Gifts
• Get prepared for the out of town guests to arrive

Love you all!!! Can't wait to see you for the wedding.

Kimberly

3 Weeks...Couldn't Be More Excited

Hello Everyone: Well this weekend marked the 3 week countdown to the wedding and we got so much done. First, we traveled down to Lake City for my bridal shower. It was held on the campus of the college I worked at before I moved to St Simons Island. So many of my girlfriends came and we really had a wonderful time. The pictures above are from the special day.

The neatest gift I received was a "door knocker with 'Burgess' engraved on it". As some of you may recall Karl and I are looking into buying a house after the wedding and this would go perfect with our new home.

Next on Saturday, my mother and I went to Gainesville, FL to look for a mother of the bride dress. We had a great time. She tried on like 20+ dresses and we found "the dress" in the last store we visited. It was literally the last dress she tried on. After all the shopping we went to lunch and Chili's (one of my favorite places to eat). It was a great girls day.

On Sunday, we visited all the rest of family and then got on the road back to St Simons Island. We had to stop by David's Bridal to pick up Summer D's (maid of honor) dress for the wedding. We also stopped by garden ridge and pick up a few last minute things for the wedding (signature frame, tiki torches, etc).

Now we preparing for our last free weekend before the wedding. After this weekend, it's wedding time.

Till Later,

Kimberly -The Bride to Be-

Reflections of Bridal Bliss

This blog is going to be a little bit different...it's not going to be filled with updates...just simple reflections. To all future brides who read I truly believe that you will find yourself feeling the same way about your wedding as I do at this point in the whole planning process. To all the wives out there think back to your engagement period and I know you can relate as well.

So with that said: This week marks the the 3 week countdown to the big day and I am so excited. April 23rd (yesterday) marked the 1 year anniversary of when Karl proposed on Amelia Island. Karl and I went to dinner last night and we had such a good time. We ate dinner at a new restaurant on the island that over looks the ocean. It was an amazing moment hearing the waves crash, watching the sunset, and taking time to reflect of what were doing one year ago on that day. It was a priceless moment.

Also this week we received our finished wedding sermon/vows from our minister. I cried when I read them. They are exactly what we wanted and every word of them fit our relationship. Just so everyone is aware Karl and I wrote half of the sermon/vows and had our minister help finishing them. See a few samples from the vows below (some of my favorites):

-"True love is not just a feeling or emotion that changes. True love is a commitment, a sacrifice of oneself for the other. Therefore what a beautiful and godly thing Christian marriage is, a promise of lifelong fidelity and self-sacrifice."

-"In all ages and among all peoples, the ring has been a symbol of that which is measureless; and thus, in this holy hour, a symbol of you measureless, boundless devotion. It is a circle; it has neither beginning nor ending; so down to old age and to death and forever you are to keep this vow inviolate, and the sign and the seal thereof will be this ring. "

Reflections from the Bride: As the wedding vows above express love is an amazing thing. It is more than an emotion...it is a promise, a commitment, a gift. I can not believe that I am getting married in 3 weeks. I have never been more excited more ready to be Karl's wife...to be married to my best friend and soul mate. It is going to be an amazing day!

Till later,

Kimberly The Bride to Be

Day of Wedding Agenda **ATTENTION ALL BRIDESMAIDS**

Here is the agenda for the day of the wedding-all bridal party members should let me know if they have any questions or concerns.

Saturday, May 16, 2009
~THE BIG DAY~

Bridal Party Brunch

Location: Mallery Street Café

St Simons Island, GA

Time: 8:30am

Bridal Party Hair Appointment Session

Location: A New Horizon-Aveda Day Spa

St. Simons Island, GA

Time: 10:00am

Bride, Mother of the Bride, Bridesmaid Make-Up Session

Location: Merle Norman Cosmetics

Brunswick, GA

Time: 12:30pm

Groomsman and Bridal Party Pre-Wedding Photo Shoot

Location: Faith Chapel

Jekyll Island, GA

Time: 3:45pm

Wedding Ceremony

Location: Faith Chapel

Jekyll Island, GA

Time: 4:30pm

4 Weeks to Go: Couples Shower Fun

So this weekend marked the 4 week countdown to the "BIG DAY" and we couldn't be more excited! The weekend started out with me having my final gown fitting and with much relief it fit perfectly. So now it's down to me staying on my no bread and soda diet and I will be good to go and maintain my current weight for the wedding.

The next big event was our couples shower held on Saturday on Saint Simon's Island. It was hosted by Karl's supervisors Brad and Susan. I really didn't know what to expect and I think Karl was equally unsure on how it would turn out and who would come to the shower, but it turned out to be quite a good time. It was held at Susan's house and everyone who came was asked to bring a covered dish (w/recipe). We ended up having Southern Soul Barbecue Beef sandwiches, Brunswick Stew, and many other yummy sides. We received many wonderful gifts and finished the night with a chance to practice cake cutting when we were surprised with a chocolate cake decorated with white chocolate seashells.

So what's next? Well Karl and I are headed to Lake City at noon on Friday. I am having a bridal shower on Friday evening. I am excited. I can't wait to see all of my girlfriends from back home and my family. It should be a lot of fun.

Until later....Kimberly -The Bride to Be-

5 weeks to go: I have FINALLY chosen a hairstyle for the wedding

Hello Everyone....the wedding is so close...it's only 5 weeks away and we are so excited. Today I finally found my hairstyle for the wedding (see above). I will be wearing a veil for the ceremony and the group photos after the ceremony and then removing it for the reception.

So here is a brief update on the wedding plans. I finally turned in all of my leave slips for work and they were approved. For the months of April and May I am going to be taking off over 80 hours of leave time....funny right.... :) Also all of the bridesmaids and groomsmen have ordered their tuxes and dresses which is a huge relief.

We did not receive back as many RSVPs as we expected, but we are going to give a final count to the caters (for the night before the wedding & for the reception) and just go with it. Today I reserved two tables for my bridal party at Mallory Street Cafe on Saint Simons Island. We are going to have a bridesmaid brunch prior to getting our hair done for the wedding. I also schedule my practice make up session with Merle Norman for the week of the wedding. I am going to get my eye brows waxed and my trial run on my make-up on the 12th, which is the Tuesday prior to the wedding. So it's all coming together.

Karl and I have our couples shower this Saturday (18th) we are unsure on how that is going to go, but either way we are going to make the most of it. I will definitely update everyone on it next week.

Well I need to run....I am going to be contacting all of my bridesmaids this week and coming up with a timeline for brunch, beauty shop time, make-up, and photos...so I will have a lot to talk about next week.

-Kimberly-The Bride to Be

6 Weeks Until the Big Day: Sit Back and Enjoy the Ride

So we are on the home stretch now and I am so excited. Karl and I have everything set and ready. We are in the process of mailing out our final checks and then we plan on setting our lives on "cruise control" and enjoying the ride to the big day.

Just to update you on a few social events that are worth while to mark on your calendars (this is also my attempt to tell you how busy we will be as we count down to the big day:

April 18th: Karl's Supervisor from work is hosting a "Honey Dew Party" (his and her wedding shower) at her house on St Simons Island for Karl and I. We are SUPER excited about it. **4 Weeks until the BIG DAY**

April 24th: My GREAT girlfriends back home in Lake City are throwing me a bridal shower from 4-6pm. Can't for the good times to be alive again with my favorite girls in the world. **3 Weeks until the BIG DAY**

May 8th & 9th: My brother is graduating from college on the 8th and going to his senior prom on the 9th. Huge time in his life! **1 Week until the BIG DAY**

***MAY 15th the Wedding Festivities Begin****

Others things to mention:

Summer's (my maid of honor) dress came in last week. It was projected to come in *after the wedding* Huge stress relief off of the bride. Plus, now my day will be complete.

David, Thea, Walker, and Pairlon (Best Man, Matron of Honor, Ring Bearer, and Flower Girl, pictured above) are going to be able to make it down for the wedding rehearsal and party. Can't put into words how happy we are about that.

So with that mentioned.....gotta go...will update more later...

Kimberly

Wedding Readings...Make Sure You Have a Tissue

I thought that I would share the poems and scriptures that will be read at our wedding.

The first poem will be read by Karl's Aunt Lesley. It is titled "The Wedding Prayer"

WEDDING PRAYER
~ By Robert Louis Stevenson ~

Lord, behold our family here assembled.We thank you for this place in which we dwell,for the love that unites us,for the peace accorded us this day,for the hope with which we expect the morrow,for the health, the work, the food,and the bright skies that make our lives delightful;for our friends in all parts of the earth.

Amen

************************

The second reading will come from 1st Corinthians - Chapter 13 it will be read by Kimberly's grandfather.

"Love never fails". Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude.Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right.Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.Love never ends.

*******************************

Finally, the third reading is one we decided against having in the ceremony, but I must share it. It says exactly what I feel towards Karl:

MY LOVE
~ Linda Lee Elrod ~
When I met you, I had no idea how much my life was about to be changed...but then, how could I have known?A love like ours happens once in a lifetime.You were a miracle to me,the one who was everything I had ever dreamed of,the one I thought existed only in my imagination. And when you came into my life, I realized that what I had always thought was happiness couldn't compare to the joy loving you brought me.You are a part of everything I think and do and feel, and with you by my side,I believe that anything is possible. (this day) gives me a chance to thank you for the miracle of you...you are, and always will be,the love of my life.

7 Weeks...Good Things Come to Those Who Wait....I Hope

Hello Everyone!!!

Tomorrow officially marks the 7 week count down to the "BIG DAY" and more and more things are coming together. Well a lot has happened since the last time I wrote...I will try to be organized with my thoughts and not leave anything out...but I can't promise...with so little time to get everything done...I have been scattered brained lately.

So the craziness started about 10 days ago when I received a phone call from my maid of honor Summer. She called to tell me that she had encountered a problem when ordering her dress for the wedding....the problem: THERE IS NO GUARANTEE THAT IT WILL ARRIVE ON TIME!! In fact the Savannah store would not allow her to order it. I freaked out at first...didn't know what to say or do...but after talking it over with my boss (at work) I decided that we would have to just chance it. So Summer called Davids Bridal in Jacksonville and ordered her dress. We are now crossing our fingers that she gets it on time.

So Friday night came and Karl and I took a trip up to Savannah to pick up my dress. The last alterations had been finished and when I put my dress on it fit perfectly. I got in my dress and the alterations specialist zipped it right up. I was like "tell me if you need me to suck in so you can zip it?" and she was like "what do you mean it's zipped." I was surprised...pleasantly surprised.

Now skip on it Saturday...my mother, brother, and grandfather came up to St Simons and spent the day with Karl and I. We had so much fun. We got to show them the locations of the Rehearsal Island Party and the Wedding Reception...they loved them and I loved the time spent them that day.

Finally, the weekend was wrapped up with a visit from our wedding photographer Stacy Martinez. She drove down from Savannah to meet with us (Summer, Karl and I) on Jekyll. We visited Faith Chapel, the Beach Deck, and the Roof Top Garden Room and she loved all three locations. I was extremely nervous about meeting her. I wanted to get her ideas and share ours and come to some agreement on what would work best for the day of the wedding. I believe it was a great success. To see more of Stacy's work check out her website at: http://www.stacymartinezphotography.com/index2.php

Next week I am headed to LC to take Brittany to get alterations to her dress and visit with the fam....more to come...

Kimberly

Two Months To Go: Lots of Excitement

Hello Everyone:

Well the big day is almost here...and we have made a lot of progress regarding the wedding. This past week Karl and I met with both the caterer for the rehearsal party and the event planner for the wedding reception and both meetings were a success. RSVPs also started pouring in from expected wedding guests. So to put it mildly we had a lot to be excited about this week.

The rehearsal island party is open for all wedding guests arriving the Friday night prior to the wedding. It will start at 6pm and will be held on St. Simons Island at the SSI Fun Compound on Arnold St. The party will include:

1) A Low Country Boil (both seafood and non sea food-for those allergic to shrimp)

2) Music (All kinds)

3) All you can drink Margaritas (Feel free to bring other beverages of your choice)

4) Beach Volleyball, Golf Putting Green, Pool Party

To Check out more information visit: http://www.ssifun.com/ssifun.html

So when Karl and I met with the events planner for Jekyll Island, things got very interesting. First, I want to go on record and say that Judit at Jekyll has been AMAZING. She really has made the planning process easy and rather painless. She was a HUGE help when Karl and I sat down with her to set our menu. We went into the meeting with an idea of what we food we wanted to serve and how we wanted the room to be set up. She listened to our wants and needs and then worked her magic. Basically she told us, "let me work on some things" and then about 20 mins later, she had come up with a GREAT menu and a new and improved room layout. The new menu still had our original food requests listed, but there were also some added foods. We are SUPER thrilled with the way things worked out: we set the menu....the layout...and kept within our budget. YEAH!!!

Finally, we have added a new addition to our family. Karl and I are the new parents of Allie. Allie is a 9 week old American Bulldog Dalmatian mix and keeps us on our toes each and everyday. Karl and I laugh about how we believe she is going to be our wedding mascot and the life of the party the night before the wedding. It should be lots of fun.

Till later.....Love you all!

Kimberly ~Bride to Be~

Ribbons, Cards, Palm Trees, and Stamps...It's What Good Island Wedding Invitations Are Made Of...

And so the story goes.....One thing Karl and I decided early on in our wedding planning stages was that we were going to try and cut cost any way we could. Thus, there are wedding items that can be "Do It Yourself" (DIY) projects that can help cut cost and save bundles of money. One of the first things Karl and I decided to "do ourselves" was our wedding invitations. After completing a two hour wedding registry spree back in August we decided to go looking for our wedding invitations. By the way just so everyone knows, Wedding Invitation Kits can be found at target, Michael's, or walmart and run about $29 dollars for a box of 50 (invitations, response cards, envelopes and more)...in my opinion you can't really beat the price if you tried to....so needless to say Karl and I jumped on the idea of saving a lot of money on invitations...

...NOW FAST FORWARD ABOUT SIX MONTHS.......

This past weekend Karl and I decided to start designing and printing our invitations...we started on Saturday night around six and boy was I in for a shocker....Karl wanted to design them, so I let him do his thing....they turned out really good...so we printed all the invitations and now came the time to put all of the added (non-ink) decorations on them....like a thin overlay attached by a sheer ribbon....OMG...I thought I was going to lose it...by the time we started the attachment of the ribbons and such...it was like 9pm....I was tired...and DID NOT have the patience to worry with "the stupid" ribbons...so we got about half of them done and went to bed.

The next morning we woke up and finished the second half and started addressing the envelopes. The invitations are being mailed this week....YEAH....all and all the whole process was okay...fun at times...but also CRAZY....my advice to all future brides...if you can do it yourself....go for it....above you will find sample pictures of our invitations and an insert card we have for our rehearsal island party.

~Kimberly~

All Because Two People Fell In Love

Let me start out by saying that yes the above pictures are Karl and I when we were children...we were so cute!!! Well Karl and I have made great progress with the marriage counseling packets we were given by the preacher last weekend. We completed various marriage inventory type questionnaires and starting this weekend are going to search for a church that we can join and help us grow as a couple.

The questionnaires we completed were: 10 Indications Why This is the Time in Your Life to Marry, 12 Specific Reasons Why You Want to Marry Your Fiance, and the all important Before You Say "I Do". I'll be the first to say that this exercise proved to be very insightful and really eye opening to us as we completed them on our own and then discussed them at a later time. Below you will find some of questions and answers:

1. What is your definition of marriage. What terms would you use to describe marriage?

Kim's Response: Marriage is a life long commitment to someone you love. You promise to love, honor, cherish them for the rest of your life. TERMS: Loyalty, Friendship, Love, Forever

Karl's Response: Marriage is a commitment that will last an eternity. TERMS: Loving, Friendship, Partnership

We also addressed questions such as "How are you going to keep the lines of communication open between you and your fiance?" A common answer we both had was to make sure no matter what that we talk about our day....sharing not just the bad, but the good as well.

All in all, I believe we learned a lot about each other. We also reaffirmed our belief in our relationship and our unconditional love for each other.

Again I say all individuals who are getting married should consider marriage counseling. It can work wonders.

More to come....

Bride to Be

Life's A Journey...You Might As Well Travel It With Your Best Friend

Wedding Planning...well it can have it's exciting times (i.e. finding 'the dress', cake tasting, etc)...it can also have it's disappointments (vendors being booked)...but there comes a moment in all the planning where you look at your future husband or future wife and you think, "Wow...this is the man (or woman) that I am going to spend the rest of my life with...Wow." Well simply put I experienced all of these moments wrapped up into one this weekend. Karl and I met with Kenneth to start marriage counseling and to start "planning" the ceremony. We started out with the basics like when the readings would take place...etc...then came the hard part...breaking down the meaning of marriage...can you define it? Can you grasp the reality that marriage isn't about "being in love" or "finding your soul mate"...it became very clear to both Karl and I that marriage is about forming a relationship for the rest of your life with God and with the person that he created especially for you.

We discussed topics such as relationship expectations, fedelity, divorce, commitment. We left with homework. We have a packet of worksheets to complete prior to the ceremony. The packet includes "Comparison of Role Inventory" and "12 Specific Reasons Why You Want to Marry Your Fiance" just to share a few....We have to complete our packets separately and then when we are done...we share our answers with each other. All in all it should be an interesting experience.

I encourage all soon to be married couples to do marriage counseling prior to getting married. So far it has helped Karl and I feel closer and made our communication better in many ways.

Stay Tune....I will post more information as we complete more on our to do list.

It's All Coming Together

Well we have the date, time, location, food, gifts, and now decorations set...so LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL!!! Yesterday Karl and I met with our wedding decorator, Evie and her husband Robert to go over the decorations for our wedding. I have to admit I was so excited about meeting with them, but a little nervous as well. You see I have known Evie for over 10 years and have always known in the back of my mind if I were to ever take the leap and get married I wanted her to decorate for my big day. So after Karl proposed all the wedding ideas started flowing...she and I connected immediately and started talking about ideas. As time passed and e-mails were sent everything started coming together. In November of 2008 I met with Evie and gave her a sample of my base color (Watermelon Pink) and a bridesmaid bouquet. I told her to go to work and let me know what she came up with.

So a couple of months passed and we set a date for her to make the trip from Florida up to Jekyll Island to show us what she had come up with as decorations for our wedding. So yesterday on January 25th, her and her husband met with us on Saint Simons and we started out our long day with lunch at "The 4th of May" an island cafe located in the pier area. The food was amazing!! We then headed back to our house and the decorations were shown...and they were bautiful.

She has created two floral arrangements with a seashell vase to be placed at the front of the church. She also made the florals to go on the pews and they matached the colors in the bridesmaid bouquets perfectly. She also took the bridesmaid bouquets and enhanced them with more flowers and ribbons...my girls are going to love them.

We then took her on a tour of SSI and showed her where our huge fun rehearsal party will be held. She loved the location (one block from the beach). Finally we met Summer D my maid of honor over on Jekyll specifically the reception sight to go over table measurements and layout of the room.

The day was perfect...the decorations were AMAZING...and Karl and I agree we can finally see it all coming together. Our next step is meeting with the preacher next weekend in Lake City to start our pre-marital counseling.

Wish us luck!

Kimberly

Less than 4 Months...oh how time flies

And so it goes a little something like this....lol....we have been SUPER busy lately and the 4 month count down is underway. We have a really busy month planned for us and won't have a weekend to ourselves until Valentine's Day...sounds boring...well as most of you know wedding planning is anything but.....

So what have we been up to...well to start off with...my maid of honor and I ventured to our first (and probably only) bridal show together last weekend. It was a life changing experience to say the least. You see I had never been to one and Summer was a pro. HINT to all future brides...make name and address labels so you don't wear yourself out filling out all of the free giveaway cards. So getting back to it...I went to this bridal show with one thing in mind (yes I was a bride on a mission)...I was going to find myself a florist and get coupons....and guess what I did just that....I found a florist and saved some money as well....that leads me to this weekend...so I told you I found a florist right....well I gave Karl the task of calling and setting up our consultation with her...luckily for us she was able to see us the same day...so we ventured off the Brunswick met up with her gave her our list of needs and desire (regarding flowers) and she is suppose to be calling us back with our quote this week. I am praying that she doesn't break my heart and piggy bank too..

Now to tasks three the favor bags. You will see above a sample above of the goodie bags we have created for our wedding guest. We are going with a "beach theme" so we first went to the "Beach Bum Shell Shop" on the island and got 3 HUGE bags of shells....then on Sunday while watching football Summer D, Karl, and myself labeled candy, stuffed bags, and tied them off with our beautiful custom made ribbons. They turned out GREAT...I know everyone will love them....

We also worked on our wedding slide show, which we plan on showing at our rehearsal island party the night before the wedding. It should be a treat. So what's next???? Well next week our wedding decorator is coming from LC to show us what she has planned and visit Jekyll with us...we are super excited...I will write more and let you know how it goes!!!

Love ya'll,

Kimberly

Welcome 2009...It's Wedding Time

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Hello Everyone!

Well it's been about two weeks since my last posting so I thought that I would write and let everyone know how the wedding planning is coming along. Karl and I are making amazing progress with all of the stuff we are getting set....however the planning has been like a roller coaster ride...it's had it's ups and downs...where do I begin.....

The Ups

It all started on Christmas Eve...Karl and I had planned on exchanging gifts the night before Christmas since we would be traveling a lot on Christmas day. I was so excited because I love getting gifts, but I was in no way prepared for what Karl had in store for me. I let him open his gifts first and he loved his new jacket and that I got for him. Now it was his turn to give gifts...he went under the tree and came out with a small box...the next thing I know he starts going into this long speech on how he hopes I like my gift because he was thinking that it was like a Christmas and a pre-wedding gift...I unwrapped it to find a beautiful pearl necklace from Tiffany's....I tried it on...then ran up stairs to compare the color to my dress and it went perfectly....he thought that I would like to wear it on our wedding day...I was so touched...speechless would describe it best!

The Downs

So let's skip a week ahead and talk about a very stressful moment in my life. I was having a very stressful day at work when I get a phone call from Karl and he tells me that he has some bad news...so what was it....he told me that when he called to reserve the St Simons Island Trolley for our wedding day transportation he was told that it was booked for the time we originally wanted it and that we would have to to push our original trolley arrival time back 30 mins...I flipped out...Karl talked me down and then we spent that night rearranging our timeline for the wedding. I think we have worked everything out.

So what's next...well Karl and I are meeting with the preacher in two weeks to start pre-marital counseling...then we will be meeting with the photographer....and invitations will be mailed soon.

More to come from the Bride - to -Be!!