This blog has moved!

Hi everyone!

Because I will eventually be totally deleting this Google/Blogger account, I have moved this blog to its new home at http://southernwebgirl.blogspot.com. Please change your subscriptions in your blog reader and join up as followers on the new blog!

The reason I'm getting rid of this Google account is because it's attached to an e-mail with my maiden name, and I am trying to get a fresh start and clean up my Web presence, so to speak. I also wanted a blog address that addressed me as a whole, not just wedding planning, as I'm planning on blogging about newlywed life as well.

I really hope everyone will continue reading at the new address. All our wedding photos are uploaded on Picasa and ready to go! I am beginning work on wedding day and Disney honeymoon recaps this weekend. Brian and I don't have any big plans, other than to go see his family in north Alabama. So I should be able to make some great headway!

Hope to see some followers on my "new" blog soon!

Drumroll please....the dress!

Something I've been wanting to spill the beans about for a looooong, looooong time: my dress!



The dress is by Allure Bridals. I initially found it at Diane's Formal Affair in Jasper, Alabama. However, I actually bought it at bestbridalprices.com. I would definitely recommend that site -- the dress came more quickly than anticipated and they give you free shoes (up to $50) and a free veil (up to $120 -- ultimately I did not wear one).

Click on this link to see some skinny model in the dress, then come back here and look at the difference between the neckline on the model's and the neckline on my dress.

It's no secret that I am a D cup and the model wearing the dress on that link is an A- cup, so she gets away with the plunging neckline (and the huge 80s earrings) easily. I however, do not. So my wonderful seamstress Michelle at Ramsey Alterations in Vestavia Hills, Alabama, took fabric from the hem to create a more modest neckline. She also took in the dress at the shoulders and torso to make it a perfect fit.

-K

Newlywed loose ends

It’s hard getting back to the grind after the wedding and honeymoon. There are still loose ends to be tied up even afterwards – thank you notes, ordering photos and albums (our photo CD is being mailed out tomorrow! Yes!), returns and exchanges from our wedding registry, finding places to store all our new gifts, and of course the whole ordeal of legally changing my name.

I am waiting now for a copy of our marriage license to arrive in the mail. I know that the first thing I need to do is get my driver’s license and Social Security cards changed, then I can go from there to change my name on my bank accounts, credit cards, utility bills, etc. Do any married women out there have advice on how to go about it without going insane in the process?

Also, I’m debating on HOW I want to change my name. An option I am thinking of is turning my maiden name into my middle name, making me Kristen Maindenname Lastname. Or I can keep my middle name, get rid of my maiden name, and add my new last name, making me Kristen Middlename Lastname. Any thoughts on this? I am not totally in love with my current middle name (Kelli) and it seems like a lot of brides are choosing the Firstname Maidenname Lastname option. I consider myself to be pretty modern, and my last name is not very common, so it would be nice to include it. But I'm still wavering.

I promise that lots of eye candy is to come! I'm finally feeling back to normal and should be able to blog in full detail about the wedding day and honeymoon in full detail very soon.

-K

Wedding photos sneak peek

Hi everyone!

Well, it's all over with! We are back home from the honeymoon and today was my first day back at work.

I am still waiting on my wedding photo CD from our photographer, but until then, I give you a sneak peek:





You can view a pop-up gallery of 35 images from the wedding by clicking here.

Much more to come!

-K

3 days!!

Hey everyone!

Well it’s finally that time! I can’t believe the wedding is just 3 short days away.

Today was my last day at work, and tonight will be spent packing and running some last-minute errands before we depart tomorrow. I am driving down with my parents tomorrow morning, while Brian will arrive later tomorrow evening in my car with one of the groomsmen who is flying into Birmingham tomorrow afternoon.

After we arrive tomorrow, the plan is to get my parents checked into their condo (I'm staying with them Thursday night), then my dad will go pick up my sister, brother-in-law and nephews at the Pensacola airport. Meanwhile my mom and I will go shopping for groceries and for supplies for my lingerie shower Friday night. Then later on Brian and I are going out with the young folks who will already be in town – I foresee a trip to the Flora-Bama!

I am so excited to FINALLY meet my youngest nephew Ryan tomorrow. I can’t believe he is 10 months old and I have YET to meet him, it makes me feel like a horrible auntie. I hope that Jake, my older nephew (3) and our ring bearer, remembers me. I look forward to spending some time with him tomorrow and Friday.

It has been quite a whirlwind lately and I haven’t been able to blog nearly as much as I want. Stay tuned for lots of future posts on:

• the ceremony and reception
• the honeymoon
• and of course … my dress! So excited that I will finally be able to talk about it.

We’ll be driving back May 4 and recovering on May 5 before I return to work on May 6, so start looking for new posts then! You can also follow me on Twitter. I plan to tweet a bit over the course of the wedding and honeymoon, as long as it doesn't drive Brian too crazy. My Twitter account is private, so get your request in soon so I can allow you to follow me before we get to Disney and have to pay for Internet access.

-K

Our wedding reception timeline

I've been hard at work planning all those last-minute details. I had a GREAT phone call yesterday with our DJs, a married couple named Bill and Jeannie, who are driving all the way to the wedding from the Clearwater, Fla., area. They travel all along the Gulf Coast for weddings.

Anyhow, Bill and Jeannie suggested getting all the formalities out of the way as early as possible, which is why we're going immediately from the bridal party introduction to toasts to dinner to cake cutting to first dance and so on. This is all especially true because we only have a 3-hour long reception. Unfortunately there is a noise ordinance at The Beach Club that keeps receptions from going past 10 p.m. So without further ado, here is the plan:

Our Wedding Reception Timeline

7 -7:30 p.m.: Cocktail hour. Beachy, casual music during this time: Kenny Chesney, Jimmy Buffet, Bob Marley, Beach Boys, Jack Johnson -- “Better Together,” Alan Jackson -- “It’s 5 o Clock Somewhere.”

7:30 (give or take): Bridal party introduction ('One More Time,' Daft Punk)

7:35: Bride & groom introduction ('Beautiful Day,' U2)

7:40: Toasts: ('Stars Fell on Alabama,' Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong)

1. Best man,
2. Maid of honor,
3. Brides’ father,
4. Groom & bride together

8-8:25 (earlier if toasts are done before 8): Dinner is served. More beachy, casual music during this time.

8:25: (earlier if possible): Cake cutting (‘Lucky,’ Colbie Caillat & Jason Mraz)

8:35: Bride & groom first dance (‘I Will,’ The Beatles)

8:40: Bride-dad first dance (‘Daughters,’ John Mayer)

8:45: Bouquet toss (‘All the Singles Ladies,’ Beyonce)

8:50: Garter toss: (‘American Woman,’ Lenny Kravitz)

8:55-9:55: Open dance floor

• Motown -- Marvin Gaye, Supremes, Temptations
• ‘Feeling Good,’ Michael Buble
• ‘Twist and Shout,’ The Beatles
• Disco – ABBA, YMCA, etc.
• 80s – ‘Safety Dance,’ Men Without Hats; ‘Take On Me,’ Aha! etc.
• Hair bands – ‘Pour Some Sugar On Me,’ Poison; ‘Don’t Stop Believin’ Journey, etc.
• ‘Love Shack,’ B-52s – MUST PLAY
• Hip-hop -- ‘Hey Ya,’ Outkast; ‘Yeah!,’ Usher; ‘Golddigger,’ Kanye West; ‘Kiss Me Thru The Phone,’ Soulja Boy
• ‘Circus,’ Britney Spears
• ‘Poker Face,’ Lady Gaga

9:55: Last dance (Into the Mystic, Van Morrison)

10: Bride & groom exit; Reception ends

Animal Kingdom Lodge!

A post from Jenny reminded me that I’ve regretted to mention yet another change in our Disney honeymoon plans. We are now staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, compliments of Brian’s best man, who paid for the upgrade as our wedding gift.

What's more, Brian managed to get us dinner reservations to Sanaa, a new restaurant opening May 1 at the Kidani Village Animal Kingdom Villas, on only the third day it is open, May 3! Here is the menu ... it looks yummy and very different from the norm!

This will be what the view from our room looks like...

from allears.net

So excited!!

-K