I know I hardly get anyone to look at my page and I'm hardly on xanga as it is with all the other technologies out there yanking me in their direction. Anyway, I'm needing a blog else where that has a few more options as far as styling. I'm also trying to do a little more research as far as what to put onto my blog so hence why I haven't posted anything of substance. Then again this isn't really anyone's interest because as its stands I've only gotten about twenty views in all of my entries combined since I started this thing last year. Pretty sad. So, starting next year, I will have either vamped up this one or committed adultery on Xanga and floated to something more appealing. Any followers I have will be informed as to where to find me. If you're a photographer or weding cordinator or anything wedding related, shoot me some of your stuff so I can feature you in the future. Thanks.

So Renee got married last Sunday up in Amish country: PA, and what an amazingly beautiful bride she was. Here are some candids of her wedding:

























You can view the professional shots by Whitney Photo here: Renee's Wedding

1. Tell your parents or whomever you consider closest to your heart the great news! It would be nice if you all were in one room when you made the announcement, but I'm sure the parentals are going to be happy either way if it is somone you approve of. Then you'll want to tell your closest friends--most likely the one's you actually want to be in the wedding.

2. Get a journal! Guys this would be an awesome gift to the bride if you even documented your feelings leading up to the question and afterwards as well. You don't have to write a novel, but just note the time and emotions that were occuring.

3. Pick a date and Announce it to the world! STDs are popular and no I don't mean sexually transmitted diseases for those of you snickering. Save the dates done as postcards are probably the cheapest mailing way. Newspaper is another way, email, Facebook, creating a website. The possibilities are endless. If you do decide to announce your engagement through STDs its a smart idea to actually pick a date.

4. Set the mood. Formal, casual, in between? Will it be on a beach, in the sky, or on a train? This helps knowing this info because then you're able to make decisions on other things like attire, decorations, food, and music, not to mention invites.

5. Its all about the money! What can you afford to produce? Make sure you and your soon-to-be sit down and discuss what you can shell out. Are the parents pitching in or not?

6. The Bridal Posse. If you haven't already picked them out, its time to get your bridesmaids and groomsmen together. 2-12 is good although in my personal opinion and experience anything more than 6 gets crowded.

7. Venues. Start looking now and settle on where you're getting married and where the reception will be and book it! Also look for caterers and places to buy the attire and invitations.

I'm going to go into further detail about some of these later but for now just get at least the first six done.

Sorry folks (as if there is anyone reading this, ha! Man do I kid myself every time I write "folks") I have been nonexistent for a bit, because well I've been getting ready for Leah's wedding which has gone and passed. It was ridiculously cold outside that day and all or most of the bridesmaids had on sleeveless dresses which is what she wanted us to have. I think I ended up getting sick because of it. Carolyn and I stayed at a friends house during the draining event and stumble upon a house party they were having but were not involved with. Cat and I played on the moonbounce and almost made it topple over! That was fun! I'll have pictures up later, but I must warn you that most of the pics I have are with my eyes closed. Reception food was amazing. Leah's dad is a chef so he did everything. The rest of the reception was extremely awkward though and I was glad to leave and get some rest after standing outside for an hour waiting to take pictures with the bride. I think a little bit of the old Leah came back. She had been out of the limelight for so long that I think she missed it last week. Anyhoo--pictures later, then I will continue on from the proposal to planning. Hope everyone is doing well.

Ok so this blog is meant for me to jot down any experiences I have had or are having as a non-bride. I am going to try to keep that the focus from now on. I know I haven't talked about it in a good week or so, but given that I had a lot of everything happen unbeknownst, I thought I'd let you guys know that my life is not all veils and flowers.

Anywho, I thought I would back track and make this my first REAL entry about weddings and engagements. Let us look first at the ring. As a disclaimer, my opinions are not entirely the views of every girl wanting to get married and they are most certainly not the views of the bridal sites and magazines abroad. I have very thrifty views about everything concerning a wedding and really this blog is just for throwing out ideas and other well...options.

Rings
My biggest pet peeve is when I go on a bridal site that says "Get him to get you the ring of your dreams" or "What a girl wants she usually gets" or someone in a forum actually asked "If I don't like the ring my fiance got me, is it alright for me to return it and get the one I want". VOMMIT!!! Ladies, I understand you don't want to wear a ring that is ugly, but usually the unsatisfied bride-to-be is usually pouting because of the size of the rock itself. In this case size does NOT matter in my opinion. Also, to me, going out with your man and picking the exact ring you want to sport (like Mariah Carey prolly did with Nick Cannon popped the question with a 17 ct pink diamond. She prolly paid for it too, because I'm sorry, Cannon cannot be making that many royalties from his life on All That and MTV). Anyway, it takes the surprise out of it and it kinda says you don't give your boy enough kudos in knowing who you and what you like. Marriage is not about the ring anyway, so be happy that he even wants to marry you.

Now for the guys, if you're not sure where to look or how to begin once you've figured out that you do want to get married the best way to get an idea of what ring you want to give her is to start with her and then do a little research. If she loves curling up and watching old movies or period style movies, then look for antique rings such Edwardian rings, or Art Deco. Look at jewelry from that era and note the style of the ring. You don't necessarily have to get that ring, you could actually have one made for you (its not that much more expensive).

If your girlfriend isn't a showy girl and she likes to keep things simple, then by all means, keep it simple. You don't have to use your IRA to purchase a mega huge stone (I don't understand why a girl needs that much ice on her finger anyway). If you have a Plain Jane here's something that's subtly lavish, but still not screaming out "LOOK AT ME".

Earthy girls or the activists, who are slightly hippyish and enjoy nature or hate the human exploitation in gold and diamond mines, these are possibly the coolest alternatives. Wood Rings come in a variety of woods and on this particular website they use blown down, scraps, and bug destroyed trees as their material. So it might be safe to say that there were no live trees harmed in the making of this product. Also you can have crushed stones or shells or even sand inlayed in the ring itself instead of getting a diamond. This one I actually really like and am considering

So those are just a few examps, guys. Be creative and make the ring mean something to you as much as it will mean something to her. And when you pop the question, please don't propose like Anne Hathaway's character in Bride Wars got proposed to. That had no thought in it, and to me the thought behind it is worth far more than the ring itself.

Now I'm not going to talk about the 3 C's because, frankly you could get me a CZ and I'd be happy with it because heck! If I'm getting married to man I love, knowing that its Intentionally Flawless 5ct Canary Diamond is not that important to me. Its only important if you're going to get a real diamond, you want to make sure you're getting a good deal, but aside from that....

Stay tuned for proposal ideas next week guys where I will give you 10 proposals to STAY AWAY FROM.

For New Years I was dead sick and missed worked which I so desperately needed at this point. I had a fever that I couldn't break for two days until my friend came over and made me sweat it out of me. On top of that, my closet had a leak in it so I couldn't sleep in my room or use my bathroom because there was a dehumidifier in the closet that was trying to dry out the leak. Anyway, once I was able to stand and walk to my room, this is what my bloodshot eyes came across:



I called maintenance and waited...



...and waited...



until finally someone came to look at my ceiling which was STILL leaking. Its prolly going to be a week before I can get in my room in which case I am talking to management about discounting my rent for this month. Strangely all I could do was laugh. I've been hit with too many things to even be freaking out so much so whatever. I've decided to punch back though. With every bad thing that happens to me, I'm going to go and do one nice thing to someone I don't know that well. Yes a Happy New Year indeed.

My grandpa died today. He was the last child in his family to stay alive only having survived his sister by a few months. I am more sad at the fact that despite many efforts to get to know him, and him me, he never really made a connection. For a while I did not want to talk to him because of selfish things he did to the family. I am not mad anymore, but I am just disappointed because I won't ever know anything about him. I am sad because its so close to home. I had just hoped that he would live on long enough to realize his mistakes and attempt to be a good father and husband. If he could have only been immortal until then.

Seriously, lets not forget what this season is about and what life should about. Live, Learn, Love, and be real with each other. This life maybe the only chance you have to do that with each other.

Merry Christmas.