I Miss You So Much, Jax

On Thursday morning my great dog Jax pass away suddenly from what we now believe may have been a brain tumor. He was only 6 years old and full of life. Aaron and I miss him so much it hurts, as do all the people who knew him well.

He loved playing catch me if you can, so agile that none of us people could catch him. He loved chasing squirrels along the fence in our back yard, even if he never catch them. He had a big bark but, would never hurt a fly. He was always the center of attention and always willing to break dance on the floor to entertain everyone. There are too many things that Jax loved about life and that we loved about him to list.

All I have to say is that we will always love him and miss him forever.

Giveaway Reminder

My 1st giveaway is ending soon. So I thought I would post a reminder for anyone would hasn't entered yet.

Click here to enter to win a $25 gift card to Lowes.

Today is the last day to enter.

Book Review: 10,001 Ways to Live Large on a Small Budget

"10,001 Ways to Live Large on a Small Budget"
by the writers of wise bread

This is a great resource for saving money. I took this out from the library a few weeks ago and found some very helpful tips about saving money. Usually when I take books like these out, I do not really learn anything because they are filled with the same old tips; create a budget, brown bag your lunch, etc... This book is different because it breaks everything down by specific categories and tips that you can follow to really save some money that you probably have not seen before.

Here are some of the categories they cover related to Weddings:

• Resources for saving on clothing
• How to save on the cake
• Planning, so you save money
• etc...
  

Very funny wedding video, it will make you laugh.

Today, I'm taking a break from the usual post to say Happy Birthday to my husband Aaron.

Have a Happy Birthday.

Love you forever.

Show Us Your Life: Honeymoon

This post is Show Us Your Life: Honeymoon, check all the other people participating in this blog hop at Kelly's Korner.

The day after the wedding, we flew over to Europe for our 2 week honeymoon. Our first destination was Paris. We fell in love with all the site and sounds and can not wait till our next trip to the City of Lights, whenever that may be.



While we were in Paris we took two side trips one to Monet's Garden, as an artist this was an amazing place to visit.


The other side trip was to Versailles, the palace was interesting but I found the landscaping and fountains to be breath taking. We rented a golf cart that we could drive around the grounds, as well as renting a row boat that Aaron used to row us out to the middle of the man made lake.



After spending a week in Paris we flew to Venice for a few days, this is a great city to spend a few days in if you are in Italy or just passing through, there is nothing like it anywhere else in the world.



Our final stop on our honeymoon was Rome. This city was full of excitement and history, Rome is a place where the ancient coincides with modern.



I hope that someday I get to take a vacation like this one again.

Show Us Your Life: Wedding Reception

I thought I would take a break and participate in Kelly's Korner blog hop called Show Us Your Life. This post is Show Us Your Life: Wedding Reception.


Our Wedding Reception was at the Kernwood Country Club in Salem, MA


Here is our yummy cake!


We had my 2 brothers and Aaron's brother who was also the best man make the toasts.


My father sang "The Way Your Look Tonight" during our first dance.


I danced with my father to Tim McGraw's "My Little Girl" with a dip at the end.


Aaron danced with his Mom to "I Hope You Dance".


Aaron is half Jewish so we had the traditional Hava Nagila.



We partied into the into the night!!


After the reception we continued the party at my parents house. Here is the groom's cake that my mom's friend made for us.

Tomorrow I'll be showing you our honeymoon.

Some of you have probably already seen this but I thought that I should post it anyway, just in case anybody missed this amazing wedding entrance.

Check this blog out!

Eden's Echo

Eden's Echo is a blog by Erin a florist in Texas. Grab inspiration from her beautiful floral arrangements for many different brides or hire her if your wedding is in her area. Brides can also get ideas from all the weddings featured in this blog such as cake ideas, ceremony decoration, etc... Over all, Erin does a great job capturing the feeling of these weddings through her floral arrangements and photo collages that you defiantly find something that inspires you.

Check this blog out!

Check this blog out:

Project: 10K Wedding

This blog follows Jess as she is planning her wedding and trying to save money at the same time. She has lots of inspiration for all you brides out there from weddings that she attends to items she finds in magazines. I know from my experience planning a wedding it always helps to read what other brides are going through to give you some stress relief and sanity.

Moving

Today I'm moving so I will be back with more posts tomorrow!! Have a good Saturday!!

10 Great Wedding Movies

I have complied a list of the 10 great wedding movies to watch.

1. My Best Friend's Wedding
2. The Wedding Planner
3. The Wedding Singer
4. Father of the Bride
5. My Big Fat Greek Wedding
6. Runaway Bride
7. 27 Dresses
8. License to Wed
9. Made of Honor
10. Just Married
    

Great Aunt Louise

Hi Everyone,

Last Friday my Great Aunt Louise passed away at 89 years old. We all miss her greatly, she always had a way to make everyone laugh. I will be taking a few days off to be with my family. I will start posting again some time later this week.

Thank you,
Caroline

Happy Mother's Day

{A picture of my Mom, Me and my Nana at my wedding}

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there. I'll be spending the entire day with my mom (who I think is the greatest mom in the world!!) and grandmothers.

Love you Mom!!

Love you Nana!!

Love you Grammy!!

Groomsmen Responbilities

Here is a list of the groomsmen responsibilities:

• Rent tuxes
• Attend bachelor party
• Arrive early to the ceremony and seat guests as they arrive
• Make sure to seat family in the front followed by friends
• Seat the bride's friends and family on the left and the groom's on the right
• Escort the mothers and grandmother down the aisle right before the bridesmaids
  
• Escort bridesmaids up and down the aisle and into the reception
• Unroll the aisle runner before the bride walks down the aisle
  

Best Man Responsibilities

Here are a list of the Best Man's responsibilities:

• Renting his tux
• Planning the bachelor party
• In charge of the rings before and during the wedding
• Makes sure that the ushers are properly dressed
• Toasts the newlyweds at the reception
• Drives newlyweds to the airport for their honeymoon
  

Bridesmaid's Responsibilities

Here is a list of the bridesmaid's responsibilities:

• Help prepare for the bridal shower
• Responsible for buying their dress and accessories
• Help plan the bachelorette party
  
• Precede the maid of honor down the aisle
• Help the bride in and out of her dress

Maid of Honor Responsibilities

Here is a list of the Maid of Honor's responsibilities:

• Helps with planning of bridal shower
  
• Help addressing wedding invitations
• Being a witness to the marriage
• Purchasing her wedding attire
• On wedding day makes sure that all the attendants are dressed correctly
• Precedes the bride down the aisle
• Holds the brides bouquet during the ceremony
• Helps bride change into and out of bridal gown
  

Who to Tip at Your Wedding

There is always some confusion over who you should tip at your wedding. Here is a list of people you should tip at your own wedding. Of course, if the people you hire do a bad job feel free to not tip them. (you do still have to pay them though)

• The Limo or Car Driver, 15-20%
• The DJ or Band, 15-20%
  
• If you have outside caterers tip them 15% of the cost (check to see if the tip is included in the bill first)
• Wedding Planner, what you feel is appropriate
  
• The Officiant, 15%
• Wedding Musicians, 15%

This should cover all of your tipping needs, if I forgot any one please leave a comment letting me know, Thanks.

Save Money by Staying on Track

One of the keys to saving money when planning a wedding is to stay on track with the planning. Nothing wastes more money than having to do things last minute.

• Use wedding checklists available at www.weddingchannel.com and www.theknot.com
• Once a week check to see how your doing and make a list of anything that needs to get done within the next week, as you get closer to the big day you'll have to do this process more than once a week.
• Remember to delegate anything you can to your fiance, mom, bridesmaids, etc, so that you don't end up doing everything and get overwhelmed.

If you follow this process you should be able to stay on track, save money and have some time to relax while planning your wedding.

Honeymoon in Rome

If you enjoy the hustle and bustle of New York and the ancient ruins of Greece, Rome is a great place for you to go on your honeymoon.

Rome can be expensive during June, July, and September, but if you visit during winter or spring you might be able to find a great deal.

Here are some images to inspire you.

Ceremony Rehearsal Bouquet

At the bridal shower there is a tradition of creating a bouquet from all the ribbons and bows. Let me show you how to create this bouquet.

1. Start by taking a sturdy paper plate and cut a small hole in the center of the plate.
2. Have one of your bridesmaids sit next to you when you are opening your presents and collect all the bows and ribbons.
3. Gather a thick amount of ribbon and pull it through the hole in the plate and tie a large knot on either side of the hole, this will lock in the handle.
4. Final step, stick on all the bows and extra ribbons to complete the bouquet.
5. Now you can use this bouquet at the ceremony rehearsal.

Wedding Music

Let me know about your favorite wedding music.

Here are my favorites:

Down the Aisle: Canon in D
First Dance: The Way You Look Tonight
Father/Daughter: Tim McGraw - My Little Girl
Mother/Son: I Hope You Dance

Honeymoon in Venice

During part of our honeymoon my husband and I visited Venice one of the most romantic places on earth. Although it can be expensive if you are planning to visit Italy on your honeymoon try to visit Venice for a night or two.

Here are some images to inspire your big vacation.