Raging, Ranting, Raving, and Rhapsodizing

I haven't been posting because I spent Thanksgiving in South Carolina with my brand new fiance and his delightful family. That's right folks, I'm done with this dating business! I'm gettin' hitched! The proposal was lovely and romantic; on the beach at sunrise. You people are all envious of my snow and mountains, but I had never seen the ocean before, and I'm enamored. Palmetto trees (or trees at all, for that matter), and sand, and wave after unceasing wave just rolling at my feet. I'm still in awe!

Here is a really poor picture of my gorgeous ring. I took the picture with my phone while riding in the car. There's a diamond set in the middle and on each side there's two tiny diamonds flush in the setting. The fuzzy graphics do it no justice- my man has excellent taste! It's the perfect size and cut and style, exactly what I wanted. More importantly, Stephen is exactly what I've wanted in a husband. I'm so happy.

Now, the daunting task of planning a wedding on the budget my wonderful but stingier-than-average dad has given us... in 4 months. We're saving money in a lot of places. My seamstress-master grandmother is going to help me make a dress. We're making our own invitations and programs. We're not hiring a DJ or a band for the reception (opting instead to utilize i-tunes), and getting a few of our musical friends (including the previously mentioned stingy-dad) to play some worship music before the ceremony begins. We're serving hors-d'oeuvres instead of a meal. I hate cake, so we're doing cheesecake. We're not having an open bar. We'll do most of the decorating ourselves (I'm crafty and creative and have a lot of spare time).

Anyone with tips on how to have an inexpensive but not cheapy wedding (does that make sense?) is heartily invited to comment or email me!!

Stephen's brother-in-law took some lovely picture of us; this one is my favorite. What you can't see is that I'm precariously balanced on the plinth of that column behind us. With only about an inch and a half to sit on, I'm clinging to Stephen in order to keep from falling in the mud.