my knot bio  


"now I know all the wrong turns, the stumbles
and falls b
rought me here..." - ben folds








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i'm 27, he's 28.  we've known each other for over twelve years.  we've been really good friends since high school
and began dating in 2003.  we will have been a couple for almost six and a half years when we get married! 
we're not very 'traditional'.  we actually discuss marriage, kids, money, homes, etc. quite regularly. 
we went together to look at rings a few times because he didn't want to get something i might not like (even though
i told him i would like just about anything) and he bought a ring shortly after that.  i knew that he bought it because
he told me (see? non-traditional...) and he hid it in his house for over a year. 
(and yes, i wondered every day when and how it would happen!)


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fast-forward to over a year later..........  he knew he wanted to ask my parents for their blessing, which he says took
most of the time that he waited to propose, because he was so nervous and had a hard time figuring out how to
get them alone... (because my brother and his FI lived with them...) but my parents are cool and he's known
them as long as he's known me, so it really wasn't as daunting as he thought!


he went over to their house one night after work, meanwhile telling me that he was working late that day.  he sat
them down and told them he loved me and wanted to marry me and they both immediately started crying...  and said
"of course, yes!!!" and "it's about time!"  :)

he came home and we went to dinner at his grandmother's house that night.  he was acting totally normal, so there
was no indication to me that anything was going on...  after dinner, we went back to his house and we had to get
him packed because we were leaving the next day to go to FL to visit his mother for eight days and he hadn't even
started packing.  i went into the bedroom and started laying out some clothes and he turned on the ipod stereo
(which he always does) and he came in the bedroom and said "we don't have to do this right now..." and i started
arguing, saying it was late and we had to get him packed before i went home for the night.  he pulled me out into
the living room and nat king cole's 'unforgettable' was playing on the ipod and he started dancing with me (which
is actually not that strange, because he does that every once and a while) so while we were dancing, he was asking
me what i wanted to do while we were in FL so i started naming off places i wanted to go and i asked him what he
wanted to do and he said "celebrate" and i pulled away from him and said "what?!" and he said "celebrate spending
our lives together" and i covered my mouth and said "what are you doing?!" and he reached into his pocket and got
down on one knee (i started screaming and bawling at this point!!!) and said he loved me and wanted to spend the
rest of his life with me and asked me to marry him and i was crying so hard he had to ask me if that was a 'yes'!! 
i said yes like 40 times and he put the ring on and he started crying and we hugged for about five minutes!

we drove over to his dad's to tell him the news and quickly went to my parents' to show them the ring (it was
about 11:00pm by this time...) and we went back to his house to finish packing him for the trip!

and i had totally forgotten about how the ring looked and i also had never seen it set, since he bought the
diamond and the setting separately, so the ring was still a complete surprise!




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my parents are paying for the entire wedding - so i am doing my best to
be a budget bride!!!
so, if you're looking for low-budget ideas, please keep reading!


***official disclaimer: i've been a hugely obnoxious picture-stealer for quite a while, so if
you would like credit - please page me on the toledo, oh board and i'll throw it into the bio***





the colors will be black & white (what i've always wanted since i was little...)
with "pool" (or "tiffany blue") and damask accents.

we would like to have a very simple wedding...  
we aren't going to do a unity candle, sand ceremony or garter toss.
there won't be a best man or maid of honor.
our groomsmen are going to wear tennis shoes
(yes, even during the ceremony and pics...),
our bridesmaids are not going to have matching hair-do's
(unless they all happen to choose the same one),
no flower girl or ring bearer
and we aren't having a sit-down dinner.
we are very excited for our wedding,
but much more excited to finally be married.  
however, even though we're pretty non-traditional, we are going to use traditional vows.


inspiriation board #1


...and #2 



these are our invitations - DIY from michael's


the printing and assembly were pretty tough.  
i do not recommend this particular kit...
it took me a good two weeks of working on them
at night after work and over both weekends.


these are the wrap-around labels that i printed/cut myself.
i LOVE how they turned out!
designed by the lovely & talented willsbride52309

they were created in PowerPoint, printed on 8.5" x 11"
full-sheet labels and cut using a paper-cutter.
i had mine printed by Office Max - 14 sheets printed for $7.



all printed and ready to go OUT!



i purchased these bubble wands from michael's for the ceremony send-off.  
i'm going to tie alternating black, white and aqua colored ribbons to the tops.
i got 72 wands for $11.00, using a 40% off coupon for each 36-pack!


we really wanted a party bus for our day-of transportation
but not many companies had them available
and those that did wanted to charge an arm and
a leg - so we're going with this stretch hummer!
we're inviting our OOT friends and also the boyfriends/
fiances/husbands of our bridal party to come with us
for pictures between the ceremony and reception, so
we needed a high-capacity vehicle (18 people) and this
will work out just fine!  :)


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**be sure to register online with michael's and hobby lobby!  they send out
printable coupons
(via e-mail) almost every week and you can print as many as you want!  
you can only use one coupon per day, but what i did was go back several times a week
(and sometimes a few times a day...) to get what i needed with a coupon each time!  :)


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i told my florist that i wanted my bouquet to be huge, so i will have three
dozen white roses in a round-shaped (nosegay) bouquet and the stems
will be wrapped in black satin ribbon with the bottoms showing.
no greenery or filler and the roses will all be opened.

similar to this (only with a black wrap):


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FI's little sister passed away suddenly in 2005 at age 18 and we would like to honor her in several ways throughout
the wedding.  we miss her very much and she would have been a big part of our wedding, so we will have a "K"
(her first initial) brooch placed on each bouquet and on FMIL's corsage.   and of course, we will also have a
section for her on the memorial table at the reception. 



these are my ceremony shoes (and my something blue!) purchased on ebay for $19.99!!
we're doing outdoor pictures after the ceremony, so i'll change into the next ones right away!



my reception shoes!  there's no way i am wearing uncomfortable shoes all day!
and how many people will see my feet anyway???
i purchased them for $10.99 on amazon.com by searching for "platform sandals".




we're not doing a garter toss, but I got this detroit tigers garter on ebay and it
will be a surprise for FI later in the night!  :)



this is my veil - purchased from and made by my seamstress!
it has a thin, white satin ribbon edge and shimmery tulle.

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my e-ring (excuse my ugly hand!)


this is his "engagement ring"...  :)  
he deserved some bling, too.



my e-ring & wedding band...   :)

the band is graduated, channel-set round diamonds
halfway around - FI got them together as a set.



  
here's his ring.  it's white gold, 8mm, comfort-fit, bevel-edge
and satin-finished along the flat edge - purchased from jared.



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these are my earrings!  purchased for $14.60 from macy's after 40% off + a 20% off coupon!  



my necklace - also from ebay
(i splurged on this one... it was $50)


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alfred angelo 2009 collection - style #7026


we went to joann fabric and matched the color of the GM's ties (pool) and my seamstress,
the AWESOME pam thomas, made four of them for me (3" wide)!  they're even custom lengths
because of the drastic height differences in my BMs.  (the tallest is 6'1" and the shortest
is 5'2"...)


here's a good pic of the basic look:




the BM bouquets are going to be white roses with white hydrangea mixed in and
my florist is going to "tip" some of the hydrangea with my pool accent color.
the stems will be wrapped with a white satin ribbon with the brooch added and
the stems showing on the bottom.
they'll also be pretty big, like mine.


i got these koozies for my girls from the monogram divas store.
they're very high-quality!  each initial is embroidered.

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fi will wear a black tux with a white vest and white tie.


the groomsmen will wear black tuxes with black vests and "pool" ties.


i love orchids and my florist will do orchid bouts for only $5.50!  
so, FI's will probably have a double and the GM's will have a single (below).




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i'd like the back to look like this  



...and the front to look like this

  
     
these styles are just about perfect!



if i decide to wear a veil, i'd like to have it placed like this one
(but definitely not with my bangs pulled back!)


favorite makeup ideas:



i want to have a natural look with dramatic eyes.
i never wear foundation, blush, etc. but i always wear eyeliner, shadow and mascara,
so i think these would still let me look like "me"!  :)
   


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these are our placecards - they match the invites!
my mom is going to do the calligraphy


these are our table numbers!
i got them on ebay (custom-made) for a very reasonable price!


i created these cards on vistaprint.com for photo sharing!
they will rest in front of the favor boxes on the tables.
i got 250 cards for FREE!


i love this card table idea (but w/ my placecards above, of course)


we'll have white linens and chair covers with black sashes.


since our reception hall provides votives/candles, i'd like to have
this kind of setup for our head table.



i'm going to DIY curly ting ting branches with black and white glitter and add some clear and aqua glass
gems (6 bags, purchased from michael's for $0.99/bag)  to a 7" cylindar vase (2" wide) as our centerpieces.
(photos to come!)


this is what curly ting ting looks like!
again, mine will be black and white & glittery!
i bought 800 branches for 12-13 centerpieces - $1.99 per bunch of 100 from crafts, etc.!


our reception venue provides free use of clear votive vases with tealights, so i will put 4-5 around each vase.


the entire centerpiece only costs about $3.50!



these are our gorgeous swarovski toasting flutes - thanks to my brother and SIL for letting us use them!



we'll have this 11x14" french memo board (purchased on ebay for $4.99!),
with a few photos of us, set up at the reception.


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and this is my crude cake mock-up!
we're still working on choosing the flavors, but it will be a four-tier cake with round
layers and a 1" black ribbon and 1/2" turquoise ribbon around each layer.
the topper will have flowers (probably sugar, not real) with our monogram
letter in the center.



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(if any of these are yours and you would like credit to be
included, please e-mail me at the_boda@hotmail.com)





























(knottie MrsHoltwick2Be)

   

  

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card box:


i used two hat boxes (hobby lobby), aqua satin ribbon (crafts 2000)
and some leftover crystals from my "I DO" letters (below)
my dad cut the slot hole for me!


close-up of the slot/crystals

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"I DO" cake table letters:


here are the letters (from hobby lobby, 50% off!)  they're 3-D paper machet.


i was originally going to paint the front black and the sides aqua,
but the color came out kind of minty green, so i nixed it!
i used acrylic black paint from hobby lobby.


i bought these rhinestones in the scrapbooking section at hobby lobby, also 50% off!
to separate them (they're adhesive, single rows), i used a straight razor to slice the glue between each rhinestone.



here's one of the letters, painted completely black, as i started to add the rhinestones.
(and my straight razor)



when i thought i was finished, i realized that i wanted to add rhinestones to the centers of the "D" and "O",
since the "I" looked a lot busier...


and here's the finished products!  i'm really happy with how they turned out!


here's my cake table "look" trial using faux aqua flower petals from michaels.

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centerpieces:


here are my first centerpiece trial pics!
i used a 7" x 2.5" cylindar glass vase (from hobby lobby - 50% off!)
with black, aqua, white and frosted glass gems from michael's (also
50% off, w/ coupon) and ting ting sticks from craftsetc.com that i
painted with black acrylic spray paint from hobby lobby.
i might also add some glitter (black and pearl) to the curls of the branches.


a close-up of the vases.



these are the damask table squares that i had made on etsy by seller DarlingDamask.
(we pressed them, starched them and hung them on a hanger to keep them flat!)
they're 12"x12" and will go in the center of the tables with the centerpieces on top
and will have four votive candles around them.


and the finished products, ready to go!



we have to put plastic bags over the tops of the sticks in order to
transport them to the reception venue because if they touch
each other, the curlies stick together/tangle and it's easy to break
them while trying to pull them apart!  


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we plan to use these for our "thank you" cards after the wedding.
we bought 100 cards & envelopes for $20 from walmart.


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this is piper!
she's a boston terrier - and insane!





her first day home


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i've been battling my weight for most of my life...  from march of 2003 to august of 2005, i lost 86 pounds.  
i have maintained that weight-loss for the last three years, but i still have 22 pounds to lose to get
to my goal weight and one of the major motivations is now the wedding!  :) 

i exercise 3-4 times per week, count every calorie (EVERY calorie!) and i try to eat as healthy
as possible - although, with FI, that's a challenge sometimes!



this is my GIS inspiration board!

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i always wonder what other brides spend on certain things in their bios, so i decided
to share my budget.
we are trying our hardest to have a budget-conscious wedding, since, like i said before, my parents are
paying for pretty much everything and i am not about to make them go into debt for this!!
i'm not going to say what our overall budget is, but you will see the total once the wedding is over!

almost everything below was either purchased at a discount and/or with a coupon!

here are the items we have purchased/paid for from beginning to end:
FI and i are paying for my shoes, my jewelry, his wedding band, his tux, my hair,
my nails, my dress alterations, our honeymoon and the limo (and a few other
misc. items), which are not included below.

(FFIL paid for the rehearsal dinner and the church/pastor.)

my dress (including $10 dress bag for storage) $651.18 david's bridal
invitations $37.36 michael's (DIY kits)
ceremony send-off bubbles (72 total) $8.52 michael's
reception placecards (120) $11.19 michael's
"I DO" table letters and art supplies $5.55 hobby lobby
ting ting branches (800 total) for centerpieces + glitter & glue $26.79 www.craftsetc.com
my crinoline $25.80 ebay
photographer deposit (1/2 package price) $650.00 our photographer
faux flower petals for the cake table decor $3.84 michael's
deposit for florist $50.00 our florist
glass gems for the centerpiece vases (6 bags - blue, white, clear and frosted) $7.39 michael's
1/8" aqua, black and white ribbon for the ceremony bubbles (6 spools) $1.29 michael's
hat boxes to make the card box (one large, one small) $10.82 hobby lobby
reception hall deposit $1200.00 our reception hall
13 vases for our centerpieces (8" tall x 2" wide) $21.06 hobby lobby
deposit for the DJ $100.00 our DJ
1.5" script "K" bouquet pins (6 total) $12.53 crafts 2000 (monroe, MI)
mirror letter monogram cake topper - 4.5" $3.15 crafts 2000 (monroe, MI)
3 yards of 2.5" aqua satin ribbon (for my bouquet wrap) $5.88 crafts 2000 (monroe, MI)
4 spools of 3/8" white poly-satin ribbon (for my 100 favor boxes) $8.35 crafts 2000 (monroe, MI)
5 sets of white christmas lights (6' each) - for the head table decor $8.32 crafts 2000 (monroe, MI)
100 turquoise favor boxes w/ lids (2 x 2 x 2") $36.94 efavormart.com
spray paint for the centerpiece sticks - 1 can $5.33 hobby lobby
photographer final payment $650.00 our photographer
DJ final payment $400.00 our DJ
my veil (i traded her the one that i previously purchased on ebay) $7.00 my seamstress
two additional cans of black spray paint (for the centerpieces) $10.67 hobby lobby
OOT bags, black & aqua ribbon for the cake, 'thank you' stickers, vase gems $25.68 crafts 2000
second deposit for the reception hall $1504.00 our reception hall
florist final payment $306.55 our florist
final payment for reception hall (based on final count; our cake is included in this price) $3160.34 our reception hall
final total: $8,955.53

if you have any questions on how we found/got such
great prices on some of these things, just ask!
i'm known to my family & friends as the "coupon queen"!


**obviously, different cities/states WILL have different
prices on most standard wedding items (photogs, florists,
etc.), so be sure to "shop around" for the best prices
within your city!

again, DON'T BE AFRAID TO ASK
FOR DISCOUNTS!

the worst that can happen is they'll say "no"!



e-mail me at the_boda@hotmail.com

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excellence playa mujeres, mexico
all-inclusive, adults-only resort

we will be leaving the monday after the wedding for a week!
we booked everything through expedia and saved a bundle.
our room is a two-story suite with a rooftop terrace with our own
pool and the first floor of the suite has an indoor/outdoor jacuzzi
and a furnished balcony!










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rehearsal dinner:
Toledo Mud Hen's baseball game!
we were offered a free luxury suite and free tickets
to the game, so we're having a catered "ballpark fare"
buffet as we sit back to enjoy some baseball with our
friends and family!


ceremony location: 
park congregational church

reception location:
 hilton toledo

photographer:  jordan powers photography

flowers:  
sharry's touch (local)

dj:  ultimate nights

cake:  mary poppins cake factory

my dress:  david's bridal

tuxes:  men's wearhouse tux

jeweler (all of our rings):  jared

limousine:  birmingham limousine
stretch Hummer H2

wedding programs:  DIY

my day-of jewelry:  ebay and macy's

invitations:  
DIY from michael's

favors:  
turquoise boxes
w/ white satin ribbon bows and colored m&ms


centerpieces:
DIY from crafts, etc., etsy and hobby lobby

honeymoon:  excellence playa mujeres, mexico (see pictures above)




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mrs.pootiekins

IAM4UK

WeezerMonkey

AnotherName

wittliz

CaliopeSpidrman

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bobo...

...please don't look past this point!!!

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if i find out you saw this dress....

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...something tragic will

happen to your ipod!!!

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it's an oleg cassini (cv190) from david's bridal


the back - the train is so pretty and the perfect length.


this is the bustle i chose - a nine-point french:


and a view from the side with the bustle 
(it will lay a bit flatter than it is here).


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