Look, I added a countdown box!  I was pretty excited about it . .now we can see, in real time, how many days are left.

(The countdown automatically sets to 12:00 AM!)  :)

-- Jo Ann

P.S  --  I got an email today that my shoes have started their long journey to my doorstep . . . way earlier than expected!  :)

It's true: I got my veil today!  I am soo excited . . now I am just waiting for my shoes but they aren't scheduled to be delivered until sometime in September . . oh well.  I uploaded a sneak peak of my veil ... enjoy! :)

We met with the florist today, Lou-Ann from Paradise Florist in Sebastian, and got samples of our flower arrangements.  I took pictures to show you guys.

The pictures above are of the flowers that will be hanging from the Shepards Hooks outside for the ceremony . . .  originally we were going to do all white daisies in the different color mason jars, but we like the different daisies to bring more color to our ceremony.

These are samples of the different centerpiece flowers.  Here we chose Hydragneas because of all the differnt colors they come in.  The flash of the camera caused some of the colors to be washed out in the picures, but the vase has pink, blue, purple, green and white bunches in them.  The actual centerpieces will consist of vases of varying sizes with different colors on each table. 
As an added bonus, we got to take the two samples home with us today, so now we have fresh flowers in the house for the next couple of days!

--Jo Ann

Tom and I had our engagement picture taken in October. . . .the experience was a little odd . . the photographer seemed to REALLY like taking pictures of Tom (not that I can blame him, look at that handsome guy!)  and to only be able to take pictures of me with a complete shadow across my face.  :)  Oh well.
This is the first picture we took and it came out the best.  I am also going to try to scan a copy of our annoucement that was in the paper a couple of weeks later. 

-Jo Ann

Save the Date Announcements went out in the mail today . . . Yay!!

Who got theirs and found their way here to our pre-wedding blog??

At the bridal shop, I tried on a veil that I really really liked  . . and then I looked at the price . .YIKES!  I don't think my first car cost that much!  So I started looking on eBay for some stuff . . I found a really nice veil with the Alacone (?)  Lace (which, apparently, just means that it's double stitched) for about 1/6th the price. 

Then I started looking for other things . . .  I found the shoes that I originally wanted from David's Bridal but coudln't get because they no longer carried them in the store or on the website . . .(not dye-able like I thought they were however) ... and then I found purple dance shoes that I could pick the heel length in  . . and I'm thinking if they are comfortable enough for girls to do the Salsa and ChaCha in, then why can't I get married in them?  There is like 5 or 6 different ones that I can choose from and they are about 1/2 the price of the David's Bridal shoes (which are NOT dye-able, so they would just be white)  Wouldn't it be fun to have a little sparkle in my shoes?  They are hardly ever going to show anyway . . .and when  they do it would just be a POP of color!  :)

--Jo Ann

Today is exactly 9 months until the Big Day!!

-- Jo Ann

When Tom and I were dating, we joked around that he was going to propose with a Ring-Pop . . .so much so that we started buying them for each other as jokes and we ended up always having a few in the house.

Fast forward to the a few days before the propsal . . .

We were at the mall and decided to stop by the jewelry store to look at rings . . of course we found one that we both loved and Tom took a few minutes to talk to the sales associate.  He came out empty handed and said he just couldn't swing it right now . . .and home we went.

Little did I know, Tom had already made a plan with the store to come back at a later time.  After he picked it up, he took it around and showed his family, asked my mom for permission and made plans for the proposal.

Unfortunately, the plans got foiled so Tom made NEW plans.  And those plans got cancelled a random thunder storm . . .  So Tom got down on one knee, at home, with a Ring-Pop in his hand.  I actually told him I didn't want a Ring-Pop.  So he got out ANOTHER Ring-Pop and I told him I didn't want that one either.  And then he got out the ring we had picked out together . .and I was about to tell him that I didn't want THAT one either . . until I saw what it was.  And then I cried . . .  and managed to say YES at the same time!

And that's the TRUE story of the Ring-Pop!

--Jo Ann

Jo Ann Lambert and Thomas Balsamo are getting married in Port Saint Lucie, FL on April 14th, 2012!