Time is really flying by!!

Hello all!

I thought it was about time for another update so I am typing this from my cousin's computer. I'm wrapped in a rather unattractive mass of clothing (thank goodness Grant can't see me now!) and the only part of my body not swathed (my fingers) are freezing but at least the house has warmed to a *comfortable* 61 degrees. Believe me when I say that is a vast improvement over the 52 it was when I came home and turned the heater on full blast!

Speaking of coming home, you may ask where I was coming from... well, I got a job! Woo! I was lucky enough to receive a temporary weekend position for a company shortly after my last post and they liked me so much they made me permanent! Hallelujah!!

Grant and I really haven't done much by the way of wedding stuff... unless you count both of us experiencing strange wedding-related dreams. I had a dream last night that I went to pick up my wedding dress and it was brown satin with a burgundy bodice! Quite flattering and beautiful but not quite what I was planning on for my Mrs. Paige debut. Fortunately that is the only dream I have had and I solved it in my dream by asking them to make a replica in white (Hooray for an extra dress! Haha!). Grant has had a couple more but I think it makes sense when you consider that we haven't even started looking at what he's going to wear! I think he said something about renting a tux at the last minute: 12 sizes too big and covered in polka dots. He's handsome enough to pull it off I think. :D

Exciting news: we received our first wedding gift! I was held in suspense for a few weeks as to who it could be from. A package arrived at my parents' house the day after Grant moved me up North so my dad took a picture of it to inform/taunt me. Beg as I would, he would divulge no details. Long story short: thank you Abuela Connie & Grandpa Griffin. We can't wait to open it and see what's inside in 5 months and 2 weeks!

We also received beautiful china and flatware sets that my Grandma Lee & Dave had thoughtfully been keeping for me for some time; a gift from my dear departed great-grandparents Earl & Freda. How truly blessed Grant and I are to have such an amazing and generous family. We owe so much of who we each are to our relatives -particularly our parents and grandparents. I hope that we'll make you as proud of us as we are of you (and maybe that someday we'll do as good a job!)

I also think I can speak for Grant as well as myself when I tell you how excited we get whenever we imagine celebrating our marriage with all of you. If it were up to the two of us, we'd have been married for some time now... but the thought of reveling in a day of such joy with God, one another and you is what we are most excited about!

We can't wait to see you!!

So much love!

Moving On...

Well, it's November! Grant and I have less than 7 months til "I Do" and I have to say that everyone was correct: once you slip below the double digits, the months begin to fly by!

As you probably read in Grant's last post, I've moved to Northern California. :) So far I have no major complaints... obviously I miss my family very, very, VERY much, but as long as I keep myself busy I keep the sadness away. I've already been able to spend quite a bit of time with my honey and we have plans with some of his friends this weekend. I still have not found a job but I'm devoting a lot of time to searching and submitting resume after resume. I know that everything will happen when it is supposed to happen so I am not stressed out just yet.

I got all settled in at my cousin Greg's house. He was incredibly kind in offering me a temporary home until Grant and I move in together after the wedding. Everything fits nicely and I think I am handling the weather well so far... okay, so it's been in the 70s every day since I arrived but the nights have been COLD! I think once I add another sweater or two to my wardrobe, I'll be in good shape for winter and the real NorCal weather.

In more wedding-related news, I think I found some more decor for the reception over the weekend! Grant and I had the honor of filming a friend's wedding in Orange County last Saturday (yes, that was Halloween) and had an absolute blast! Since it was a holiday, they got into the spirit just a little bit by taking some fun photos with vampire teeth and inviting guests to show up in costumes etc. (no, these aren't the decor I am talking about!) Everyone had an awesome sense of humor and were great sports when Grant or I asked them to do something strange or funny. I spent more time laughing than filming -but don't worry, Grant had that all wrapped up (like a mummy -get it?!!? Halloween joke! Hah!)

Coming back to my point: Jennifer had some beautiful glass jars that I took a fancy to (I refrained from stealing them thank goodness!) and she is going to let me have my pick of them! Fabulous news considering that that has been one of the more difficult items to procure at a reasonable price. In addition to that, Grant and I got to taste some foods that we are considering having at our wedding and gauge how well they went over with the guests. All in all, we had a fabulous time! I hope we can book some more weddings soon... I miss them already! Maybe I can get a job someplace fancy and be a wedding coordinator's assistant! There is a certain appeal you know.

Well, that's it for now... I've got to go get ready -it's dinner date night with my Grant! Hooray! Much love to everybody!!

Just about 7 months left...

...and things are still going smoothly!

Not a whole lot has happened since our last update, but we want to let everyone know how things are going.

First of all, we got our invitations! Flipping through hundreds (or thousands?) of invitation designs is not an easy task; and after hefting the umteenth gigantic book onto the table in front of us, we made our decision. I never knew that picking out the wording for invitations was such an arduous task. Luckily Megan was there to help with the decisions.

Second, and kind of wedding related, Megan is moving! After much thought and deliberation, Megan has decided to move closer to where we'll eventually call home. We still have no idea what kind of place we'll have, or even what city it will be in, but having Megan closer is going to make settling in so much easier. Let's just say that it will be nice to be able to see my fiance more than once a month.

Third, and probably even more unrelated to our specific wedding, Megan and I have started a wedding videography business! I've already shot two weddings and have another one coming up at the end of the month. It's been a lot of fun, and Megan and I have learned a lot about what we should do at our own wedding. You can check out the site if you want at www.PaigeOneProductions.com

Well, that's about it. We'll be sure to update you all when it comes to food, our own wedding video, and all the other happenings that are sure to come flooding in at the last minute.

Less than 9 Month!! Less than 9 Months!!

Oh I am so thrilled! It's true, time has flown by. Here we are a mere 8 months and too many days away! I guess it's time to start seriously looking for invitations, don't you think? Life is going well for us. The distance is trying at times but the anticipation of seeing one another in 2 weeks, -a week, -4 days, -a few hours makes the time we do spend together priceless and well worth the wait.

There has been quite a bit going on in Grant and Megan world -hence the absence of posts. Suffice it to say that we are both well and very busy preparing for our life together! At exactly 9 months to go Grant and I finalized our honeymoon plans! Up until we "signed on the dotted line" so to speak, I didn't believe it was all going to work out the way we planned. I think we planned it out pretty well -I'll have to post our itinerary a little closer to the day because... well, I just don't feel like doing it now. Hah!

I also found some pretty glass bowls to use for our reception display! Mom and I found them wandering through Bed, Bath and Beyond and the price was so great, we just couldn't pass them up. Speaking of shopping, what a challenge! It's back-to-school time and I have an overwhelming desire for freshly-sharpened pencils and pumpkin-shaped dishes. Haha! Fall is my favorite time of year because it gives me an excuse to cozy up in an over-sized sweatshirt and light cinnamon or pumpkin-spiced candles while reading myself to sleep. Thank God Grant shares a fervor for reading and being cozy -I think if it were any other way, I'd drive him nuts!

Knowing that this time next year, I'll be in my very own home with my very own husband makes me want to buy pretty decorative things that I think Grant might like. Unfortunately (or fortunately?) I have no space for such frivolous items so I find myself practicing self-control every day and avoiding Target like the plague. So far, so good! Check in with me again in 2 weeks!

As always, hope all is going well with you, our dear friends!

Only 10 Months To Go!!!

*sigh* Where on earth has the time gone?? What happened to those 16 and a half months that we started out with? Oh, that's right, they've been filled with wedding plans, school, new job training and weekends of blissful reunions. We're getting close everybody! So close I can nearly hear the chapel bells ringing!

"What's new?", you ask. Well, I've been diligently practicing my soon-to-be new signature on the back of dinner receipts and drink napkins since January 10th and I think it's starting to look somewhat natural. :) Okay, okay, so that isn't really part of wedding planning but can you blame a girl for being excited? I mean, have met/seen/heard of my fiance?!?

It's summer time and Grant and I have found ourselves plenty busy with our respective schedules. He has been learning more about financial investing than I ever thought anyone could know and I am practicing my signature -I mean studying hard and adding to my business knowledge. Between all of our newly acquired terminology, it's amazing that neither of our heads have popped from over-absorption!

In truth, we've both been working very hard during the week to save up free time for hanging out on weekends when we can see each other. Just last weekend we splurged and bought me a plane ticket to San Jose. I would say it was a sound investment as we were able to take advantage of FREE financial advice and actually see each other in person. We also spent time with quite a few wonderful people while trying to beat the heat. But of course all good things must come to an end so here I am: back in Southern California. The good news is that there is always something to look forward to!

My Matron of Honor, Wendy, is coming out from Phoenix to visit family soon. While she is here, we'll meet up with one of my other bridesmaids, Andi, to go bridesmaid dress shopping! I am amazing at how proactive Wendy, Andi and Amy have been! I thought I was moving quickly but they already have a list of dresses to try on and Wendy is (likely this very moment) planning a shopping route to speed us along. I'm excited to see what we'll be looking at and I'm hoping I'll be able to post some fun photos from the day.

Last month (I think) Grant, mom, dad and I took a trip up to check out the resort in the spring time (as my parents only saw it in March when it was covered in snow) and had a lovely day enjoying the cooler weather and imagining the big day! I leave you with a picture that I hope don't give too much of the view away. :)

As always, hoping all is well with you and that we'll get to see you soon!

-Megan

And Time Moves Faster...

...and faster and faster. It seems like yesterday that Megan and I had almost a year and a half until the wedding. At that distance it is easy to get complacent about things; but here we are, less than 11 months 'til the big day, and time is flying.

There's not a whole lot to update; but I wanted to update y'all on the new job situation. Things are going great. We have had confirmation after confirmation showing us that this was the right move. We're saving money, staying busy, and are even more excited about seeing each other when we get to (silver lining to the cloud?). The job is going great and I see good things coming from it.

I'm writing this from the airport, waiting for a plane to take me down to see Megan for the first time since the move. I am, to say the least, excited.

Thank you all for your continued support. Feel free to leave comments with anything from vendor ideas to well-wishes...we love any and all communication with our loved ones.

Alright, time to finish this up so I can get a good spot on the plane. Hope all is well with everyone!

June News

Hi everybody!

Sorry we haven't had a chance to update in some time. We've been rather busy making life choices and such. :) Grant was offered a new job last month and after the interview and 2-day trial run, we decided that it would be in our best interest for him take it. The only difficulty we had in coming to this decision is the job location. For those of you who don't know: I currently live in Redlands, California. Grant's new job is in San Jose which is about 6 and a half hours from Redlands.

I know what you're thinking (something along the lines of "Whhhhhhaaaaat?" or "Jimminy Cricket, that's far!") but we took plenty of time to consider our options and we've both committed to this sacrifice that seems huge and insurmountable from this vantage point but in truth, it's only one year out of the rest of our lives together and we're tough cookies, so don't worry!

All of last week was dedicated to packing up Grant. We spent Friday and Saturday saying farewells to friends and his co-workers and packing everything possible into the truck. We got a late start on Sunday thanks to Chad (Grant's brother) and his friend Tara who treated us to breakfast at our favorite little diner before taking off. The journey went more quickly than we had planned and without any hitches -which we took as a sign that we are definitely on the right path. :)

I was able to spend Monday and Tuesday in SJ unpacking and settling Grant in at his parents' house, who so graciously offered to have him move in to save money for when we'll need it. (Thanks soon-to-be Mom and Dad Paige!!) So when our fun extended weekend concluded, I hopped on a flight and here I am... spending my first weekend fiance-free updating our blog. Hooray!

Other than the big event, our wedding news consists of two items: (1) I found my shoes today (I know you've all been on pins and needles over that so rest easy) and (2) just before moving Grant we were able to catch the videographer that we've been wanting for the wedding to hammer out details and it looks like everything is going to work out perfectly! If you would like to check out our vendors, scroll down to the previous post "Accomplishments" -all of the terms are links which should show up as blue words.

I would finish this update with some pictures from The Move but unfortunately they currently all reside on Grant's camera. So here's a picture from our 6th or 7th date -seeing The Bravery in LA.



Much love to you all friends and family!!

Dear Friends & Family

Thanks so much for all of the positive feedback on our wedding blog! :)
Please feel free to leave comments all over the place and let us know if you think something is missing or if you have any questions.

Eventually I'm going to get around to posting pictures of our immediate family and wedding party. (My version of VERY proactive introductions!) Those of you who know me know my love for introducing people and it kills me to think that I won't get to share fun stories about everyone when all of these people I care about are brought together!! Don't worry, I won't do that here... just general bio info for fun.

I'm going to pick out our flowers with my mom tomorrow morning. I've unofficially made her my "wedding floral planner" :) She has always loved flowers and she's actually an amateur florist with a degree! Since I can't name a flower correctly to save my life (and I doubt Grant can either), I've enlisted her talents. We've been meaning to go floral shopping since January and I am glad that we've finally found the opportunity. I actually think that this is the perfect time to shop because all of the flowers blooming now will be available next year too! Woo!

Aside from that, not much to report since the last post... Grant and I have been trying to get together with the videographer that a friend of mine used for her wedding last year but so far, we've been unsuccessful. Hopefully we'll be able to meet up with him in June.

Anyhow... that's it for now! Hope that everyone has a wonderful weekend and if we don't post before then, have a fun and safe holiday weekend and we look forward to seeing you NEXT Memorial Day weekend for some major celebratin'!! Woo-Woo!

Much love,
Megan


PS. I'll leave you with a picture of Grant and I actively searching for our venue up in Lake Arrowhead in February... well, I am searching anyhow... Grant is taking a break.

Accomplishments!

This post is a little late but as of May 1, 2009, Grant and I feel that we've really made a huge dent in our wedding planning. I am so thankful that Grant has been with me through 100% of the decision-making process. I've heard from so many people that he's unique in his involvement... He's amazing and I have been blessed more than I am imagine by his love. And I have to tell you, all of the minute details are becoming harder and harder to keep track of and it's awesome to have a backup copy in someone else's head! :)

We've been planning non-stop since January in an effort to lay as much groundwork as possible so that I'll be free to concentrate on school. Our efforts have definitely paid off because in addition to setting our date, we've booked our ceremony and reception venue, a photographer, musicians, and hopefully a videographer. The most amazing part of all is that it's been so easy and fun! I know that statement may seem a bit premature since we still have 12 months and 20 days til "I do!" but I feel like now we have more months than major tasks and that feels great!

I found my dress in March and already went in for alterations... I absolutely LOVE it! I've already warned Grant that after we're married on any random Saturday afternoon he should refrain from shock when he discovers his bride all gussied up for no reason. :)

Anyhow, that's what we've accomplished so far. I'm proud of us! Yay! Go Grant and Megan!!

Count Down: 385 days -Happy May Day!

At Long Last

So we've finally settled on a date, signed a contract, and are moving along with musicians, photographers, and videographers.

Our wedding is set for Friday, May 21, 2010.

Other details to follow.

Och Tamale!

I know this isn't in the least bit related to wedding news, but incase you didn't hear already, I got into the University of Redlands' Master of Business Administration (MBA) program. :)

Tonight was orientation (mostly boring) but next week is my first day of class (hopefully more mentally stimulating). I'm somewhat stoked about being back in school! I wish that the price tag was a bit smaller but so far I'm happy with what the school has to offer.

Back to wedding stuff!! <3

February Post from Megan

So I planned on updating this beautiful blog that my fiance created on a weekly basis (if not more) but I find that I am WAY busier than I had anticipated. I guess I'll have to aim for monthly updates for now.

Here is a fun summary (wedding-related and non-wedding-related activities) of what I've done with the month and 10 days since becoming engaged!

* Plowed through 8 completely different wedding magazines from cover to cover squeezing every last drop of juciy-good wedding goodness from them. I haven't ripped any pictures out (I'm a magazine page conservationist) but I did invest about $4.00 worth of sticky notes in those suckers! Hah!

* Went on my very first wedding dress shopping excursion with mom. I have been spending every weekend with Grant (by design) to A) see each other at least once a week for some quality time together and B) commit one day a week to wedding planning. A couple of weeks ago Grant and I discovered that there was no way we would be able to spend any meaningful time together because of our work schedules so I opted to stay in Redlands and surprise my mom with an outing to David's Bridal. I hadn't actually expected to try on any dresses -just wanted to peruse the stock and say that I did something wedding-related that weekend. :)
The sales women there were incredibly helpful and efficient and I ended up slipping into half a dozen dresses. I found that my vision of my wedding dress was 100% wrong -no, I take that back, 101% wrong. I was going for statuesque and discovered, to my dismay, that one must be statuesque in the first place to pull off this look (which apparently has a minimum height requirement!) No worries though, I found many other viable options! I would love to post some of the pictures here but Grant would see them and we don't want that so instead, I'll move along!

* We got as close as possible to outlining our amazing budget from my parents (thank you Mom and Dad!!) I got a nifty little program on my computer that keeps track of (almost) everything and lets me print whatever I need to to Excel so that I can send it over to Grant for adjustments. (Note to future engaged couples: living within close proximity is very helpful when planning a wedding etc. Having to schedule weekly visits a couple of weeks out for planning details: not quite as awesome.)

* Found out that one of my Bridesmaids will become a Bridesmatron (?!?) before my wedding! Congratulations to Miss Andria Varner and Mr. Bryan Z! :) I'm looking forward to our first double date as engaged couples! Oh the free deserts that we'll reap! Muhahahaha!

* Became addicted to "Rich Bride, Poor Bride", "Platinum Weddings", "Ace of Cakes", "Iron Chef" and "Iron Chef America". My poor brother. He has been a great sport with the recent television choices... I think deep down he secretly appreciated the insane effort it took Chef Duff and the team to put together that baby toy building bloc cake. :)

* Got accepted to the University of Redlands Masters of Business Administration program (MBA). Yep, I just received official notice on Tuesday of this week. I visited the school a couple of months ago to discuss the possibility of attending and walked out with a verbal offer to enroll that day. I took my time and discussed it with my parents and Grant and decided that I had nothing to lose by applying. Long story short: orientation is next week and the week after that I start my first class. I have to admit that I am somewhat excited and nervous because I haven't used my brain in nearly 3 years... *sigh* time to dig it out, dust it off and put it to work!

* Grant and I scheduled appointments with a videographer whom we would LOVE to have document our wedding and 2 possible wedding sites. We're booked full this weekend in addition to a wedding expo that mom and I are going to in Pomona on Sunday. Grant and I are trying to squeeze in a meeting with a photographer in Riverside too but we'll see how quickly we run out of steam. (Next weekend we both get a break from wedding stuff because I am going out to visit my Matron of Honor in Phoenix! Hooray!)

Well, that doesn't seem like that much once I write it all out but that begs the question: where did my month go!?!? See you all in March!!

Progress Amidst Confusion

So here we are, almost a month after the engagement, and things are starting to get exciting. Megan and I are perusing venues, discussing colors, setting up places to register, and working on all the other billion decisions that have to be made before a wedding takes place. But there's something that nobody tells you before you get engaged...planning a wedding is really difficult!

Ok, ok, so maybe I'm just naive when it comes to this whole process; but there is so much more to do than I ever expected.

The best way I can explain it is like buying a new car. You have to decide on the right kind of car, find a good dealer, test drive a bunch of different models, haggle with the salesmen, put down a downpayment, and then freak out when you realize how much tax and insurance is going to cost you. It's just like that, only multiplied by 100 since you have to do that process with every vendor.

The nice thing is that we are making progress. And despite the gigantic task at hand, we're having fun.

We're going to start putting more info up on this site as soon as decisions are solidified; and I know that most of you won't even know this site exists until you get an invitation; but that's ok, you can read back this far if you like.

Anyway, here's to getting married.

Welcome to our wedding blog!

We're just testing out our new blog. There will be lots to see here in a while, so come back soon!