It's All Worth It

I’m back on track! I’m getting down to business and tackling some real wedding tasks.

Right now I’m dealing with quite possibly the biggest wedding challenge which as any bride knows, is the guest list. First things first, inviting all these guests.

Thankfully creating  the invitations is done, thanks to Renee Virgo (my amazingly talented future sister-in-law)  Now I’m onto  writing, stamping, sticking, and licking to get these all out in the mail on time. This part has actually proved to be quite easy and doable, mainly because the Josephs have graciously volunteered to hand deliver a great number of their invitations. In their culture it is more respectful and quite normal to just verbally invite the family to be your guests. This means they will be going around to various families’ homes and hand delivering the invites along with personally asking them to be a guest at our wedding. Though this sounds tedious and time consuming, I find it extremely personal and sentimental……Not saying that I would want to volunteer for the job, but you get what I’m saying.

Along with the invitations, I have started a few guest list spreadsheets, a mock seating chart, and my programs are finished. The slideshow is in the works and now I can focus on church décor. Yup I think I’m on track and ready for this month to be over!

Just a side note…. Any brides out there who think they have it rough? Try planning a seating chart for close to 400 people and then come talk to me!…… But seriously you can ask me for help, because I will have mastered it by then.

Lots of busy work but it's all worth it when I'm going through pictures and I see this face.

Change of pace....

This week has been a slight detour from wedding planning.

I started October in wedding mode, thinking that this would be the month that I accomplished the most. This would be the month that would change everything!

It turns out I didn’t get any wedding planning done this week. Go figure, but I did have a good excuse! I got side tracked with some major decisions.

So as of Monday, Joel and I are officially apartment renters! We found the perfect little first place for us. It’s very affordable and the location couldn’t be more perfect in my eyes, (this is because it’s 5 minutes from my work and I can go home to eat lunch everyday….selfish? yes maybe a little) None the less, we are signing the lease and I am moving in quite a bit earlier than I had ever expected, 2 weeks to be exact. This is all very overwhelming but also one of the most exciting times of our lives. I can’t wait to get in there and make it our own. I love to decorate and the best part is we can paint! That’s right we found an apartment we can actually change the boring white walls and paint ourselves (okay maybe we’re only allowed one accent wall per room BUT it’s better than nothing!) I will be sure to post pictures of our progress and reveal the finished product when ready.

Here a few of our "backyard" pictures right outside our apartment. Our patio is right behind Joel.

(The inside pictures should be much more exciting once I get them up)

On top of getting an apartment this week, I was called in by my boss on Tuesday to have a talk. Fearing I had made some huge oversight, costing the company thousands and potentially the loss of my job, I was a bit terrified. She starts off the conversation by asking, “You do have a business degree, don’t you?” My heart stopped as I sheepishly replied, “….yes.” She then proceeded to tell me that they would like to promote me to the business department and have me handle all of the accounts payable. I was floored! I had only been there three weeks and now they were offering me a huge opportunity for a recent college grad. Needless to say I accepted with much gratitude and excitement.

And there you have it, a crazy week full of God’s blessing and provisions. He is continuing to provide for me and Joel and I can’t help but to think how far He has brought us. Around this time two years ago was one of the most challenging times of my life. I doubted God’s sovereignty and His plan for me. When everyone around me seemed to turn on me, and the future seemed dismal, God had a plan. Through all of the circumstances that brought Joel and I together, God had a plan. I know now that I am more blessed than I could have ever imagined and to be where I am today is completely by the grace of God and nothing Lindsey Belanger could have ever planned. I am so thankful to God for blessing me with Joel and allowing us to share this life together.

The Rings

O Boy, 96 Days to go!

I go back and forth from being so anxious for January 5^th to just get here already! To being so worried that I am running out of time. Being less than 100 days out definitely gives me that reminder that I need to get a move on.

But for now I would like to take a break from the chaos to show you my ring and accessories. I am not a flashy girl, so the simplicity and the petite-ness of the whole thing really suits me. I love it and I could not be happier.

Needless to say I didn’t want to take it off, but Joel refused to let me wear it out to dinner the other night. Now his ring has a friend! Don't they look great together?

Here are some possible earring candidates that I found this weekend. Still can't decide if I should go with a stud or some sort of drop earring. Hmmm..... I've got time to decide, I guess.