wedding

Wedding Wednesday!

| cheriarmour

This week has been really really difficult in Weddingland.

It started with the fact that I feel like I’m behind in literally everything.  

Then my poor boss, Matthew, was sick for the first two days this week, meaning that I was left to run the office.  This would be the point at which two of my clients decide to elope from thee program, not before one literally told me to f–k off.

And all the while, I feel like nothing has gotten done.

I had a dream last night that I flipped my save-the-dates over and that they said “Happy Birthday Cheri and Austin”

Holy shit.

10177970_10100307140824303_3532745304334589648_nIn beautiful news, the save-the-dates are gorgeous, and I will do an official reveal of them once I get them all stamped and sent out.

My best boy, Michael accepted to be a groomsman.

And I look like a dream with my hair pulled up.  I think I was born in the wrong decade and I want to start dressing more like Dita Von Teese.

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Phew. I am working so hard to make sure next Wedding Wednesday, I have more to tell you 🙂

Brides, you ever have a week like this one?

The Rock ‘n’ Roll Raleigh Controversy

| cheriarmour

So, last year, when Competitor Group announced that Raleigh would be getting a Rock ‘n’ Roll Half, and Full Marathon, the reaction was surprisingly mixed.

I, an avid runner and an employee at the local Fleet Feet was elated because the majority of my fulls and half marathons required me to travel out of town in order to find a race with an expo, support along the course, well-marked pace groups and all the trappings that some of the races in the larger cities had.  I’d run the Run Raleigh Half, relayed the City of Oaks, paced the Umstead 100-Miler, and shuffled through the Greensboro Marathon, and all though all of those races had been pleasant, there were a few things that stuck out about those experiences that I didn’t love.

  1. There was not really a full expo for any of the local races.  The expos consisted of a gracious local running store, oftentimes us or Capital RunWalk opening their doors, you picking up your packet, and promptly leaving.  There was no fanfare, no booths for you to explore and discover new products, or places for you to snag some cool samples before the race.
  2. There was definitely medical support along the course, but not as dense as it was at some of the bigger races I have been to.  The Greensboro Marathon, for example, was awesome, but when I got sick, my option was to lay down and die, or finish the race.   At least at a bigger race, there might have been an option for me to rest a little bit, and then continue on.
  3. Further into fulls out here, it seems like everyone disappears.  You’re in, 17 miles into a race, and you’re alone.  That can’t be safe, right?  And it’s certainly no good for your mental status at that point in the race, to be running alone.

And then, the local newspaper, the News & Observer, and a local running retail store, that I will not name, has seemed to make it their personal mission to trash-talk this race, topped with this article, describing some level of shock that none of the races fees went to charity.  (And to keep it 100, the racers raised 250k for the V foundation, that’s not too shabby right?)

So, far all you RnR haters, a few points on the race that will have me running again and again.

  • The race was incredibly well-organized.  There was no confusion about where to go, where to park, or where we were running.  Everything, and I mean everything was clearly marked, right down to the split around mile 9 between the half the the full, and I have never been to a race where it was so clearly marked.
  • Following the race, we were given cold towels, pizza, bananas, fresh bottles of water, and a free beer, as well as a big fat chunk of a medal.  There’s a good chance some of our fees went to these perks.  And I didn’t hear anyone complaining about our beers, our medals, or our food there at the end.
  • Runners raised a TON for the V-Foundation, a local charity for cancer research.  
  • These smiles.

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  • The fact that there were a ton of people in Raleigh making a good decision for their health and well-being. 
  • Just because I ran this big monster of a race, doesn’t mean I won’t run local, which is what a lot of the arguments against this race have implied.  The races do not have to be mutually exclusive.
  • “The city cut them a huge check that they didn’t normally cut to the other local races!”  Well in addition to the 12,500 runners, there were their families.  The hotels were sold out.  ESPN Run was in town.  People ate our food.  People drank our beer.  Folks shopped at our runnings stores.  People shopped at the expo.  People filled the bars and the brunch spots after.  And Raleigh was put on the map.  Do you think, for a second, that it’s a coincidence that Raleigh is starting to make all these lists, and we just brought HUGE amounts of national attention to the city?

A few examples of our spot on some of Forbes’ lists?

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Can we just stop complaining and embrace the fact that as a growing city, that things like this, cool, awesome things like this, are gonna happen?  You CAN run big AND run local.  And that’s exactly what I plan to do.

Is the craft store dead?

| cheriarmour

I discussed this with a few friends this week, but since I decided that I’m taking on a lot of the crafting, painting, glueing, and marrying for my wedding, I’ve spent a good bit of time, and a little bit of money at craft stores.

The past two weeks I’ve hit up some weird little scrap exchange in the area, a JoAnn’s Fabrics in North Raleigh and one in Cary, and a Michaels in Cary, and all of the experiences have been similarly discouraging.

The experience goes a little something like this. I walk into the craft store, and look around for a second before I realize I’m completely lost and I don’t know where anything is.  I contemplate asking one of the old women walking around where the section is for the buttons, for the wedding stuff, and for the ribbon, but they all look pretty busy.

Okay, find someone who can help.  So I look for someone in a smock by wandering for a few minutes before I decide that I’m wasting time by aimlessly wandering, and I head to the register, where I wait for the associate to finish up before I ask where the buttons are, for starters.

“They’re on 18B”

I think to myself, where is 18b.  What is an 18b?  I look at the associate sort of desperately, and I spread my hands out, and ask, “So is that…like 18b, where would you say I should head to find that?”

The associate points, almost wordlessly, and I start to count aisles as I try to navigate the Wal-Mart of crafting.  I repeat this at every big box craft store I go to, until, horribly upset two Saturdays ago, I almost dissolve into tears.  Austin could immediately tell that something was wrong.

What happened to customer service?

I work in retail, so I get it.  You don’t always feel like helping some idiot, but guess what, sometimes YOU are the idiot.  So you treat customers the way you’d like to be treated.  When a customer asks where something is, you don’t point, you don’t ignore them, and you certainly don’t huff and puff like you’ve got better things to be doing.  And yes, I’m talking about you, rude lady at the Michael’s in Cary who couldn’t be bothered to tell me where the floral wire was without rolling your eyes.

Collector’s Corner of NC

So yesterday, totally frustrated, and not completely willing to buy everything online without getting to hold/touch it first, I went to Collector’s Corner in Wendell, NC, where a friend had sent me in order to collect buttons, brooches, and little doodads for my button bouquets.  And not only was it small, the owner/operator, Laura Wagner was actually nice to me, accommodating, and pulled out a bag of buttons, and boxes and boxes of brooches for the bouquets.

photoHere were some of my finds.  Laura is pricing them for me, and additionally, with each paycheck, I will be down at her place to give her business, and to collect little bottles, suitcases, vintages razors and other odds and ends for the wedding.  Michaels, JoAnns, and other crappy big box stores be damned, I found a place where they actually would love to have my business for our wedding.   (Also check this place out, because it’s the tits!)

 

 

Wedding Wednesday!

| cheriarmour

This is the coolest Wedding Wednesday ever, and I will tell you why.  I AM GOING TO TELL YOU WHY!  UGH I HATE IT WHEN PEOPLE TYPE IN ALL CAPS, BUT I’M REALLY REALLY SORRY, THAT’S THE LEVEL OF EXCITEMENT THAT’S GOING ON.

Okay, so I was planning for my Wedding Wednesday (hashtag Wedding Wednesday on the Twitter) posts to continue maybe only through my wedding, which is in August.  Well we get to continue these posts cause guess what?

20140412_111714 unnamedMy little sister is engaged, and I could not be more happy for her!

More posts!  More wedding stuff!  more helping her figure out the stuff that I need!  And guess what wedding nerds?  That means more posts for you! (Provided she doesn’t elope).  I’m not making any guarantees though.

Drama

I don’t think that I’m a major bridezilla, but something happened today that was no one’s fault, but I felt myself melting down a little bit.  Ladies, do everything you need to do early cause I promise you, this will happen.  But yesterday, when I called to check on the save-the-dates, a mistake had been made (not on the part of the paper shop), and the pre-invites were not ready.  And I almost burst into tears.  I don’t know why exactly, but I’d planned to have this finished weeks ago.  Why this?!

I talked to my mom, and one of my bridesmaids, and they both assured me it was fine, and that we had plenty of time.  Okay.  But it still really freaked me out.

Anyone else run into planning issues?  Also!  My sister is engaged!

 

Wedding Wednesday

| cheriarmour

I feel like time has been wearing spoilers, and I don’t know where the time is going, and how we’re on another Wednesday, on another week.  But it’s time, it’s time for another edition of Wedding Wednesday, where you get to hear about all the crap I did in the past week to make this wedding actually happen.  So, a few things, that I’ve gotten done in the time that I’ve seen you.

photo (27)So I started last week by going to the paper store for Save-the-Dates and things, and while I was there, I picked up some things to craft some little cards and treats for the Bridesmaids and Groomsmen, who don’t really know who they are as of yet, because I sent the thingies out yesterday.  The Groomsmen’s card was pretty easy to do, only took some craft paper, some blank cards, some felt-tipped pens, and some little crafty things that were groom-themed to glue onto the cards, plus some twine from the jewelry store.  These are more for my piece of mind because we gave them to one of the groomsmen and I literally saw him shove it into the pocket of his cargo shorts.

photo (26)These little numbers were fun to make, and I did them for my bridesmaids.  I sent them out today, and I totally hope that they say yes!

photo 3 (4)This project literally took forever, but I’m loving the look of what we can do with these.  This one was just a practice, and thank you Nicole from The Girl who Ran Everywhere for helping me, a complete stranger, with this.  She has been an absolute dream, and I don’t know you, but I am so indebted to you girl.  This one took floral wire, buttons, and about 5 hours to get done.  Like I said, just a practice, so I’m loving the way it’s going.  One practice down, about 8 or so more to go.  WHEW!

Fun Wedding Facts

  • Crafting has been amazing, and I love it.  I need to quit my job and blog, craft, and work out full time.
  • I had my first wedding-related sticker shock today, when I headed to FedEx to send some stuff to the bridesmaids.

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I’d really rather not get into how much all of this costed me, but suffice it to say that it cost me way too much, and I need to be super super careful about how I send stuff.  Seriously, I almost fainted in that FedEx.

Okay, so that’s it on wedding updates on this wedding Wednesday, but I’ve gotten so much done!

Now I need a favor from you guys.

If anyone has buttons or brooches around their house and they would like to be a little piece of my wedding, please contact me through here and send those buttons/brooches my way!  Can’t wait to hear from you guys!

 

Wedding Wednesday!

| cheriarmour

I really can’t believe it’s Wednesday, and I’m kicking myself trying to figure out where the time is going.  Is anyone else feeling like the time is seriously rocketing past us?  I will be middle-aged before we know it, and you’ll be there reading, and I’ll be sitting here writing about how it is to be working out as a middle-aged interracially married woman.

That will be fun.

Anyhoo, let’s chatty chat because it’s HUMP DAY.  Woop woop!  Sike, I’m kinda done with that joke.

Okay, so where are we in this Wedding Wednesday process?

Well, for starters, the fact that I started linking up with Kristyn, who is unfortunately taking a break from blogging has really kept me accountable for some of the things that I need to get done because I don’t want to show up on a Wednesday or a Tuesday night with nothing to show you guys. It’s not cool!  Also Kristyn,  I will miss ya girl, but hopefully you’ll be around and giving a lot of commentary!

So where am I with wedding stuff?

I’m at a really really good place where I’ve actually started to get stuff done and schedule some appointments that we’ve really been needing to have.  Weddings Bands:  For starters, tomorrow, me and Austin are going to go get our wedding bands tomorrow.  I’ve shown you guys what I’m planning to get…

photo (9)Ignore the fact that my nails were not painted for once, and check out my ring(s).  I’m doing two rose gold eternity bands, and they look amazing either on their own or with my wedding band.  Austin is wanting to go with a tungsten carbide ring, which I think is impossibly sexy, and I like it a lot.  I kind of want to see what a rose gold band would look like on him too!  So the appointment for that is set tomorrow at 4pm and then we’re going to sushi.  Best. Evening. Ever.

Save-the-Dates:  A newly-married bride friend of mine told me about inkinvite.com, a service that allows people to log in, put in their addresses, and for you to be able to easily and quickly compile them into an organized space.  It’s cool because I’ve had to do minimal hounding to get people to give me their addresses because it’s so easy!  Thank God for a service like this.

And finally….

The invite list:  This has, by far, been one of the toughest parts of the planning process.  So our venue can only hold 150 people, which sounds like a lot, but it really really isn’t when you include your family, his family, and then the friends and things you might share.  I’m terrified that I’m leaving someone off, or that someone may get insulted by not receiving an invite.  I assure you, it’s (mostly) not personal with anyone, and I really want to have every single person I’ve ever seen in my life basically at my wedding, but we’re not made of money, and the venue literally can only fit 150 people.  What that boils down to, is people we care about and people who are special to us.  No more, and no less.

::Deep breath::

How’s your Wednesday going?  Any brides out there doing the same thing as I am? 

 

 

The finances #weddingwednesday

| cheriarmour

I started this last Wednesday when I previewed the March of the Brides with Diamonds Direct Crabtree, and I’m keeping it going!!!  I’m essatly 149 days away from the big day (eep) and it’s time to get serious.  I think I officially got serious last week when I kind of looked at the official wedding countdown and realized that no, we weren’t throwing a Superbowl Party, but that we were throwing a wedding.

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Anyhoo, let’s move along to talk about something that’s not so fun.  And something that I probably need your help with.

The finances. 

So regardless of how you guys choose to do the money after you get married, whether you smoosh it all together, or keep it completely separate, there’s going to be some merging because you probably want to be on the same cell phone plan.  You might want to have both names on the deed when you buy a house.  You might want to buy an SUV together.  You get what I’m saying.  And then the issues of who makes how much will arise, and if you’re like me, you’ve talked about it already.

I am a social worker by day, and Austin is an engineer.  Social workers generally do not make a lot of money, and engineers make a little more.  And though Austin has never in the least made me feel this way, I fear, in the tiniest spot, hidden in the darkest corner of my brain, that because I make so little and he makes a good bit more, that I’m considered the “dead weight” in the relationship.

I know with my brain that it’s a silly thing to think, but sometimes, usually when I’m feeling self-conscious about other things, my self-consciousness about money will creep back in, and I feel the feverish need to find some crazy job, completely unrelated to my field that will make me lots of money so that financially, Austin and I will stand on equal footing.

I know that’s crazy.

But does any one else ever feel this way?  How do I push these nasty feelings away and focus on my skills, rather than my self-perceived shortcomings?

Wedding Wednesday

LINK UP!!!!

Diamonds Direct – “March” of the Brides.

| cheriarmour

I think I told you guys last weekend that I’d have to stop with these epic posts, detailing how awesome my weekend was, but I really, really can’t help it.  I have had a really beautiful set of weekends, and a beautiful new camera to photograph them on, so how can I not share them with you?

So, I’m not sure I told you guys but we got my beautiful engagement ring done by a beautiful local jeweler, when I could not find exactly what it was that I wanted at a lot of local stores, so in a large sense, I completely overlooked Diamonds Direct Crabtree.  But, I went ahead and signed up for their “March” of the Brides event on Saturday, and was picked for what ended up being a total fun, hysterical blast, and ended up being a really good way to network with other girls who were going through a lot of what I was going through.

“March” of the Brides

So after a ton of us brides in the area entered, 25 of us were selected to compete in the “March” of the Brides, which ended up being like a giant field day full of bridal themed activity with the potential of winning tons of free stuff for the big day!  Here are some of the amazing things we did that day!

DSC_0064We were greeted by breakfast, that was fully catered.  I didn’t go for anything much more than the fruit and water because my tummy was a little nervous about what we were about to do.  But not to worry, everyone was really, really super nice, and I really had nothing to worry about.

DSC_0065Funny enough, I ran into two friends (who are also getting married) there who had also gotten into the competition.  Laura, on the left, attended Elon University with me, and Kim, on the right is super fit, and teaches classes at the Y with me, and is a frequent shopper at Fleet Feet Raleigh.  Her husband is so so sweet, he carried my bags at one point when Austin was running around and taking photos for me.

DSC_0075Don’t we look positively bridely here?  That’s not a word, but I made it up.  The first even I did?  We had to fill up these champagne flutes and carry them across a finish line, kind of like a relay.  Everything was going really really well for me, until I dropped every single flute on top of myself.  Oh well!

DSC_0082Covered in water after my spill!

DSC_0089The second contest involved me dressing a mannequin fully in a tux and carrying him across the finish line.  I actually won this challenge.  And check out how good my little tush looks out in my Nike tights!

DSC_0095This one (and I absolutely adore this picture) involved us circling the differences between the two photos.  Heads up for the brides that get into the competition next year.  This one is probably the hardest one there is because our awesome photographer that organized this event is a whiz with photoshop and made the most subtle differences.  She was really sweet though!

DSC_0104The ring toss was cool, and the aim was to toss the rings into squares that would earn you the most points.  I did okay at this one, but the girl who went first beasted this event.  There’s gotta be a strategy to this…

DSC_0110Erica from a local morning show gave me a little time on the mic.

DSC_0114So I was laughing hysterically in this shot because the sweet bride from JMU threw her bouquet into the wind and it went the wrong way.  I laughed at that for literally 5 minutes.  I rocked this one, as did my friend from JMU.  I also found out that Peonies are $15/stem during their off season, so I’m gonna go ahead and let you know that we’re not going to have a single Peony at my wedding.

There was a cupcake eating contest.

DSC_0129 DSC_0130 DSC_0131 DSC_0132I approached this saying that I would not eat a cupcake because eating contests are gross and I ha to teach a Zumba class after, but my competitive spirit got the best of me and in 30 seconds, I successfully consumed 5 mini-cupcakes from the Cupcake Shoppe on Glenwood Avenue in Raleigh.  They actually were really good, and I taught my class and ran yesterday without throwing up, so I’d consider that a win.

The verdict? 

There is nothing bad I can say about “March” of the Brides.  Diamonds Direct treated ups like VIPs, and the event was well-organized, and for those of use who weren’t familiar with certain vendors, it was a really nice treat to get familiar with photography services, flower shops, and food vendors around the area.  Plus the brides were really really nice to talk to and vent our wedding frustrations to.  Sign up next year, brides-to-be!

Wedding Wednesday! “March” of the Brides

| cheriarmour

I figured since the countdown is officially on, and since I’m actually going to need to buckle down to get us married in the next couple of months, I’d start this Wedding Wednesday thing to kind of keep me on track, and let you know how I’m doing with my progress on things.

But first, my our new camera.  But what’s ours is really mine, amirite?  Happy fiancée, happy Beyoncé, ya know what I mean?

So anyhoo, with the new camera fully charged out, I set out to shooting really important things.

DSC_0007Such as my very pissed off looking cat.  Whatever cat, I bathed you for the better part of the entire fall to rid you and my home of fleas, so I will shoot you all I want, and you will deal.  He’s also not that fat, the picture is not his best angle, but I will get there.

So besides taking pictures of any and everything I come across, I’m really starting to buckle down and get serious about this wedding thing.  The reason I’ve been a little slow to really really get started (besides the venue and the invite list and a few other things), is because we really just haven’t had time, and I want to do everything myself!  But now that I have a few weekends where I’m guaranteed to be at home, it’s time to start!  And here’s what we got!

  1. Save-the-dates.  I literally don’t care if you think save-the-dates (STDs for short, lol) are stupid, they’re the way that you introduce the idea of you guys getting married to the world plus they’re a good way for you to inform all of your out of town guests that something’s going down in a little less than 6 months.   You can’t send people in New York your invite 6 weeks before and expect them to hop in their cars and book a hotel in that short amount of time, okay?  So I went to the paper store, got a quote, and the fabulous Evane Corder is drawing me up a little something for us to get printed on the cards.  So that, and I want to send them out by the end of this month.  Hold me to that, okay?
  2. “March” of the Brides.  So Saturday, Diamonds Direct Crabtree has the coolest thing going on for us brides-to-be.  25 of us were picked to compete in fun games (for some reason, I’m envisioning field day games), and I will be down there, with the support of my husband-to-be, competing for prizes and freebies for the big day.  So, I am officially inviting anyone in the Raleigh area to bring a thermos full of mimosa, and watch be elbow other brides (jk!) so that we can win free stuff for our wedding!
  3. An invite list.  I’m finally really at peace with that, because at first, the idea of inviting folks and not forgetting anyone can be really really intimidating, but I’m at the point where I’m comfortable with those whom I’ve chosen to be a part of our special day.  I actually started to recognize that it’s about us and therefore, we can have people that we like there.  That’s a nice feeling!
  4. A dress!  My mom said she was gonna go ahead and order it tomorrow, and I wish I could show it to you but nah!  It’s a secret!  But I’m so essited for you to see it 🙂

Okay ladies getting married, link up in the comments and hashtag yo tweets.  It’s Wedding Wednesday!

Wedding Wednesday