Dress Situation Resolved!

Posted by: Jenna

I finally talked with my tailor yesterday and I told him I would pay him for what he's done so far if he would just give me my dress back the way it was. Miraculously, he offered to just give the dress back to me without charging me for ANYTHING! What a God-thing...wow, it's awesome to see how God cares even about the little things! As soon as I left the tailor's, I made a beeline for Rebecca's Wedding Boutique and ended up finding a bridesmaid dress (that looks just as awesome as a bridal gown) for $200! Thank goodness I acted quickly because if I had waited any longer the dress wouldn't have been here in time for the wedding. As of right now, it won't be here until July 11...and my wedding is July 31!! Yikes!! But, I am fully confident in these ladies who work at the boutique because they deal with this kind of thing on a daily basis. Anyways, praise the Lord I got all this worked out...now off to find accessories!

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Mackinac Island & Wedding Details

Posted by: Jenna in Our Travels

Our Venue: Mission Point Resort

An aerial view of Mackinac Island

This is where the ceremony will take place.

Here is where we are having our reception/dinner.

About Mackinac Island:

Mackinac Island is the truly "all natural" theme park of America. Limited to transportation of horse and buggy, bicycle or foot, surrounded by water, it has escaped the vast changes of time.

Its real Victorian image is preserved and enhanced by a small population of 500 permanent residents and scores of summer residents, maintaining bluff cottages in original state. Families, especially children, love their relatively new found "mobility", exploring the historic, natural beauty of Mackinac Island State Park, honored by National Geographic as one of the ten finest in America.

The calendar of events on Mackinac Island is highlighted by the Annual Lilac Festival, climaxed with one of the largest "All Horse Hitch" parades known. The American Bus Association has designated Mackinac Island's Lilac Festival as one of the nation's top 100 tourist attractions.

The residents are warm and friendly, even during the Island's brief but unique winter holiday and cross-country season. Prices are best in winter, spring, and fall, of course, but the enjoyment level never fails to put new perspective into the concept of relaxation.

When you step off of the Island Ferry Dock, you will be in a living Victorian village. Please cross streets on straight angles rather than diagonally and be aware of horses, bikes and people stepping off of carriages, enjoy the downtown hustle and bustle of the early 1800s but don't miss the beauty of the Island's interior and peaceful lakefront perimeter path. Once you've visited our beautiful Island, you will find that it is your Island, too. We look forward to your return many times in the future.

CEREMONY/RECEPTION DETAILS:

We have decided to take our parents, siblings, and grandparents to Mackinac Island with us to celebrate our marriage. My brother, Brandon, will be performing the ceremony and Josiah's brother-in-law, Cody, will be doing the music for the ceremony. Cody and Jessica (Josiah's sister) are flying all the way in from Sacramento, CA just to attend the wedding! We are beyond thrilled to have the support from our family during this special time. We chose Mackinac Island because I have always heard of how beautiful it was and I knew it would be halfway between my family in Louisville, and his family in North Dakota. Plus, it is the only place I know of that is not blazing hot in July! It should be in the 70s on our wedding day and breezy from being surrounded by water. We are renting a 15 passenger van and leaving on Wednesday, July 29th for the island. It is a 10 hour drive so we are splitting it up between two days. The rehearsal dinner is Thursday at 6:30pm, then the wedding is Friday, at 6:30pm. On Saturday, everyone will head home and we will be dropped off at the Detroit airport to go on our honeymoon! You'll have to ask Josiah for those details because the honeymoon is his domain...he's making ALL the plans :) We hope our extended family and friends in Louisville will be able to join us for a reception celebrating our marriage on September 4, 2009 at Wildwood Country Club. We will also be having a reception in North Dakota in October. Stay tuned for details.

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Wedding Theme

Posted by: Jenna

A lot of people have been asking me what our wedding theme is going to be. Honestly, we don't have a theme, but we do have some key colors: ivory, green, brown, and possibly a touch of hot pink. Here are the pictures I've used for ideas for our wedding.

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Engagement Photos

Posted by: Jenna

Here is one of the proof's from our engagement session...we are having a hard time deciding which ones to get...this is the only one we have access to right now, but I'm asking for permission from the photographer to get more thumbnails...so hopefully I will post more soon. If you like what you see, check out: www.kriechphoto.com.

Also, here is the link to our pictures...the photographer may lock them up soon and put a password on them, but for now they are open to the public: http://www.kriechphoto.com/photocart

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Wedding Dress Woes

Posted by: Jenna

So, when I first started looking for a dress I went to a really nice boutique here in Louisville called Rebecca's Wedding Boutique. I found several dresses that I liked but they were all over 1,000 dollars, which just wasn't reasonable to me since I'm having such a small wedding. So, I decided on a discontinued Jessica McClintock dress that was really cheap...like 360 bucks and thought I would get some fun details added by a local tailor. So, I shopped around for tailors and found one that I had heard good things about. I talked with the tailor and gave him a discription of what I wanted and he seemed like it would be no problem. Well, I went in a week ago for my first fitting and he had barely even touched the dress. He had shortened the length and added a little lace around the hem but it was exactly how I told him NOT to do it...Also, the side seams were bunching up but he swore he did not touch the side seams. Needless to say I was very disappointed and now am not sure what to do. Most wedding dresses take months to get back from the retailer and I only have 3 months...probably less by the time I see the finished product of my current dress and decide if I can live with it or not...I know if worse comes to worse and I hate my dress a month before the wedding I'm sure I can buy something off the rack...but I guess this just isn't how I envisioned the whole wedding dress process. I'm nervous, worried, and stressed over it and my tailor has not been communicating very well with me. He told me it would be ready a week ago but when I got there and asked why it wasn't finished he said, "Oh, I thought you knew this was just the preliminary fitting..." WHAT?! Are you kidding me? Plus, it was NOT what we had discussed at all! Did I mention he wants to charge me several hundred dollars for these alterations?! UGHHHH!

Maybe I am just overreacting. I keep telling myself that I shouldn't worry over something that I really have no control over for the moment....but I feel like I need a back-up. I'm going to make a trip to Lexington on Wednesday and check out Bella Rose. They have a different selection than the boutique here in Louisville and I'm interested to see if I could find something I'd want to buy off the rack.

Anyways, that's enough ranting and raving for now...just needing to vent my frustrations about the whole dress situation. Anyone have any input/words of encouragement/ideas/etc?? Please feel free to share!

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99 Days

Posted by: Jenna

We have exactly 99 days until our wedding and we are BEYOND pumped! It's crazy to think of all the things we have to do before then. I still have 3 finals to take and Josiah has 2. Then, starting mid-May, I have 7 hours of summer school to complete and won't be finished until a week before the wedding! Yikes! On top of school, I will be working full-time at CPK. Josiah has decided not to take summer school so he can work more at CPK and help cover some of our wedding expenses (and boy, is it expensive! we are just realizing that small destination weddings can be JUST as expensive as a normal wedding).

We have also started looking online for apartments in southern Indiana. So far, we've come across a couple complexes that seem promising. Josiah really wants to stay away from renting older houses/duplexes that are prevalent in Southern Indiana and Old Louisville because the utility bills are outrageous. So, we are pretty sure we want to stick with an apartment complex.

Josiah should be closing on his house fairly soon. The house inspection is scheduled for Saturday and usually the closing is scheduled soon after if all goes well. Please pray for us as we are hoping the buyer does not want Josiah to make any major repairs that would cost even more money. The house has already sucked up SO SO SO much money as it is, we are really hoping to just sell the house without putting anymore money into it.

Probably the biggest hurdle we have ahead of us is moving...UGH...I hate even thinking about it. Not only do I have LOTS of boxes in my parent's basement-- I also have a whole storage shed packed full of furniture, boxes, appliances, etc. that needs to be sorted through and moved into the new apartment. Luckily, Josiah doesn't have much stuff so I am thankful for that! Anyone who wants to help us move, please feel free!

One last tidbit-- I've been doing the Atkins Diet since Monday as a temporary way to change my eating habits before the wedding. It's been a little tough because I LOVE LOVE LOVE sweets, chocolate, chips, and crackers. In fact, I am the epitome of the classic "grazer." I have never been one to eat "real" meals, instead I tend to snack throughout the day. But, the one thing I can say about the Atkins diet is I truly don't feel restricted because I'm not obsessing over food, calorie counting, etc. I've tried Weight Watchers before and that was my main problem with it-- constantly obsessing over every little thing I put in my mouth. Even though with the Atkins I am cutting out carbs and sugar, at least I can eat protein, cheese, and greens till I'm blue in the face-- so I'm not hungry-- which is awesome! AND, the best part about the whole thing is that I've already lost 3 pounds! My total weight loss goal is 15 pounds by the wedding-- so I think I'm off to a good start. Next week I will be starting a consistent work-out routine again since school will be out and I'll have no excuses (I was working out 5 times a week for about 4 months straight, then this semester got really stressful and I stopped-- shame on me!). Anyways, I'll keep everyone posted on the weightloss progress. I have another friend who started Atkins at the same time as me so we keep each other accountable and it makes it easier.

Other updates: invitations should be coming in next week so we'll start addressing them soon. My wedding veil came in this week and I picked it up-- it's gorgeous! I have a meeting with a local hat designer on Saturday-- she's going to make me a hairpiece for the reception. Still on the hunt for Josiah's suit-- he's having trouble deciding what he wants, because he wants to be able to wear it to church, work, etc. after the wedding. We are looking at Macy's, Khol's, and Steinmart. My dress STILL isn't ready. The tailor is really backed up because of Derby...so I am hoping to get it back within the next few weeks. Still trying to decide what to wear for the reception-- several people have recommended I wear my wedding dress. What do you think? I'd love to hear suggestions and opinions! Premarital counseling starts May 5. We have 6 sessions and are going through a book together....

I think that's all for now!

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Finished Ring

Posted by: Jenna

This is my new ring setting...I am thrilled with the results!

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New Ring

Posted by: Jenna

This is what my new setting will look like (minus the sapphire). I should get it back on Monday so I'm pumped. Honestly, I've never been a big fan of channel-set rings but they look nice once you put them on...plus they are good for people like me who never want to take the ring off. I'm hoping it looks just as beautiful as the original with much more practicality!

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Good News!!

Posted by: Jenna

The first piece of incredible news is that Josiah sold his house today!!!!! We are so thrilled that we can get rid of the house and will not have to live there. It is 100 years old and needs SOO much work...basically, if we lived there it would just suck up our money until we could sell it. Praise the Lord for His faithfulness, what an answer to prayer! We are so thankful that the Lord has taken this burden from us. Now we can just be happy little apartment renters :)

On the complete unimportant end of the good news spectrum (but it's important to me!), we settled the ring issue. I decided today that I would just get my sapphire set into a more practical setting from a more reliable jeweler who will give us a free lifetime warranty and can do any repairs in-house....which means they would never have my ring for more than 3 days :) We are just going to sell the original setting at a pawn shop and pray we break even. Another good thing is that the matching band will cost less than the other bands I picked out, so we saved money in that department.

I met with the florist today, which was such a headache-- but I'm so glad to have it over. I'm not really good at picking out flowers and decorations. All I did was put down the deposit and give her some general ideas of what I wanted. My mom is WAY more into flowers so she is going to work out all those details for me...yay!

More great news is that Nick and Kyndra will be doing our marriage counseling, which we are absolutely thrilled about-- they are so awesome! Nick and Kyndra have been married for 5 years but are our age...so that is neat. We hope to not only get mentors out of this, but also two new friends.

Have I mentioned lately how much I love my fiance? He is just incredible...he's been so patient with me throughout this ring crisis. It's always a sticky situation when someone gives you a gift-- especially something as special as an engagement ring-- and something goes wrong with the gift. Instead of getting his feelings hurt, Josiah has just been so great about everything. He just wants me to be happy with it at all costs. He never thinks of himself...I love that about him. He is just a wonderful man-- period. As my mom has said, "I couldn't have picked a better man for you if I had searched the entire planet for one!" He really is that perfect for me...God is faithful and knows what we need. He certainly knows what I need and showed me by bring Josiah into my life.

We are so blessed and God is doing incredible things in both our lives lately...

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Tough Day

Posted by: Jenna

Today one of the diamonds fell out of my BRAND NEW ENGAGEMENT RING! I was just completely devastated and heart broken. The day after I picked it up from the jeweler who sized it and told me all the diamonds were secure-- one falls out! OF COURSE! After a few tears and lots of consoling from my parents and Josiah, I am still a little upset about it. We are trying to decide if we are going to return the ring and get a more simple design, or just get the missing diamond replaced and hope it doesn't happen again. Another option would be to have a local jeweler make a replica of the ring in my actual size. This way, the ring would be made to fit my finger-- instead of putting so much stress on the stones from sizing it from a 7 to 4.5.

We also bought our wedding bands today, but are now rethinking those as well. Josiah thinks his was too expensive so he wants to get Tungsten instead of the white gold. My bands matched my engagement ring perfectly, but if we are not going to keep the original ring...then that means we will need a different wedding band(s). UGH...this ring thing is stressful. I just want to enjoy it, but I keep having to give it to a jeweler for one reason or another!

Tomorrow I have an appointment with the florist, then I have to stop by the jewelers to exchange Josiah's ring and refund mine!

All the other wedding plans are coming along perfectly and smoothly. We had dinner with Brandon and Emily tonight and Brandon has agreed to perform the ceremony. We are so thankful for this-- it was an answer to prayer because we were worried he would have a church event that would prevent him from coming. Also exciting is the fact that they are bringing the kids-- James, Cooper, and Lilly Claire! It will be such a fun trip that we'll never forget :)

Next on the list is to figure out who is doing our premarital counseling. We have asked Nick and Kyndra Moore because Nick leads the Bible study Josiah and my dad attend. Nick is also the pastor of Highview's Spencer County Campus. Josiah really respects Nick and I absolutely adore his wife, so we think they would be great mentors for us! But, they are extremely busy with church obligations, three small children, and one baby on the way...so we shall see if they can squeeze us in!

Hopefully, we will get this ring hoopla figured out over the weekend and I'll have good news to add to my next post!

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April 14, 2009

Posted by: Jenna

Today I dropped my beloved ring off at the jewelers to get resized and also to get the side diamonds re-secured. I hated giving it up since I had just gotten it a few days before. But, he said he would do his best to have it back to me by the end of the week.

I also stopped by the tailor today to check on the progress of my dress. To my surprise, the tailor told me it would be ready on Saturday to pick up! I'm pretty pumped...now just waiting on my veil to be shipped. The wedding shop said it will take about 6 weeks.

Amazingly, we already got our invitations picked out and are currently waiting on the proof so we can order them. Right now, we are trying to get everyone's addresses via facebook, which has been an excellent tool for wedding planning! Once the invitations come in we'll start addressing them and sending them out to extended family and friends. We aren't sending out invitations to the ceremony, since it will just be siblings, parents, and grandparents (and my aunt Paula...she's a trooper!).

When I got home tonight I was so excited that our toasting glasses, cake serving set, and cake topper came in already! I had ordered all three online. The toasting glasses and serving set is Lenox...which I LOVE! It's all happening so quickly, but that's kind of how it is when you have 3 months to plan a wedding!

I was thinking today how cool it will be in a year or so to look back on this blog and read all the little details about our wedding planning. I know it may be boring for everyone else to read, but I'll cherish these details down the road!

p.s.- if you are reading this and you haven't sent me (Jenna) your mailing address...please email me asap! jbshields84@aol.com

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April 13, 2009

Posted by: Jenna

Today I got my ring cleaned and also got a spacer for it as a temporary fix. Apparently, I don't wear a size 5 ring as I had thought! The jeweler sized my finger today and said I need a 4.5...talk about some tiny fingers-- why can't I have the same problems with my body? HAHA...anyways...I also went to Rebecca's Wedding Boutique and found my veil. I decided against an expensive wedding dress. Instead, I got a cheap Jessica McClintock dress that had been discontinued (aka discounted!) and took it to a local tailor to add some detailing, lace, etc. Because my dress is not going to be very much money, I can splurge a little with the accessories.

This weekend, Josiah and I are going to look for his wedding band. I already got an idea of what I want when I was at the jeweler today, but I want to make sure he approves. So we are going to buy both his and my bands when we go.

For those of you who don't know, we are doing a destination wedding in Mackinaw Island, Michigan on July 31, 2009. Instead of having a big wedding, we decided to just have only our parents and siblings at the actual ceremony. On September 4, 2009, my parents will be hosting a wedding reception for all of our friends and family in Louisville. Josiah's parents are still trying to decide if they want to have a separate reception for us in North Dakota. So, as soon as we have those details...we will relay them to you guys.

We had such a sweet conversation tonight with Josiah's parents about how the Lord's fingerprints are all over Josiah and my relationship. It's just so incredible how we met and ended up together. Josiah and I were talking today about how blessed we are to have such Godly families and how amazing it is to see Him at work in our lives through our relationship. God is so good.

Praise Him by whom all blessings flow!

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For Our Friends and Family

Posted by: Jenna

Since Josiah and I are from totally different parts of the United States, many of our friends and family have yet to meet the other. So, I thought I would give some get-to-know-you facts about each of us.

ABOUT JOSIAH: Josiah is 25 years old and was born and raised in North Dakota. Currently, his parents live in Grand Forks. Josiah is the 2nd of 3 children. His older sister, Jessica (26), is married and lives in Sacramento with her husband, Cody. His younger brother, Sam (20), lives in Grand Forks with his parents. Josiah started off at the University of Minnesota but through a chain of events ended up moving to Louisville, KY in 2006. In January of 2007 he got a fantastic job at Humana as a sales analyst. In addition to his full-time job at Humana, he works at California Pizza Kitchen for "fun" because he just LOVES to work :) He is also finishing his bachelors in finance at the University of Louisville. He currently attends Highview Baptist Church and loves his Monday morning Bible study that he and Jenna's dad joined a few weeks ago. Josiah's hobbies are reading, being active, traveling, and spending time with Jenna.

ABOUT JENNA: Jenna is also 25-- only 6 months younger than Josiah! She was born and raised in Louisville, KY, where her parents currently reside. She has one brother named Brandon who has a wife and two children of his own (and a little girl on the way-- due in May). Jenna attended Boyce Bible College from 2002-2003, but then decided to tap into her creative side and go to cosmetology school. After a few years of working for Aveda doing hair, she decided to go back to college and finish her degree. She will graduate with a bachelors in Social Work from the University of Louisville in May, 2010. She also works at California Pizza Kitchen part-time and attends Highview Baptist Church (www.highview.org). After graduation Jenna hopes to do adoption casework, but is keeping her options open. Jenna's hobbies are working out, photography, creative projects, reading, cooking, and of course-- spending time with Josiah!

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Easter 2009

Posted by: Jenna

my dad, Josiah, and Josiah's dad

me and my nephew, James

Josiah and his mother

James is excited to have a new uncle...he loves Josiah

Jenna's brother, Brandon, and his wife, Emily

Josiah and I had a great time with both sets of parents, plus Brandon's family for the Easter holiday. We had lots of food and basically just relaxed and socialized at the house all day. We also had a great time looking through mine and Josiah's baby pictures. FYI: don't take pictures of your child potty training and then 23 years later show it to his/her fiance...it's super embarrassing! Haha, all in good fun, right?! We ended the day by having our engagement pictures taken at a really neat historical landmark in Louisville, KY called Locust Grove (www.locustgrove.org)

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We're Gettin' Hitched!

Posted by: Jenna

Josiah and I got engaged on April 11, 2009. It was such a special weekend for us. On Thursday his parents came in from North Dakota. Josiah hadn't seen them since October. It was so nice to meet them and spend quality time together. On Saturday I went boutiquing with my mom and then we met Josiah and his mom at the mall. It was such a fun day. Then, that night the Hellekson's took Josiah and I to dinner for sushi (our favorite). We spent hours talking and chatting. On the way home, Josiah and I were reflecting on the time spent with his parents, just having a great talk...So, I thought he was just going to drop me off at my house because it was late, but we ended up chatting some more and finally he just got real quiet and said, "I can't stand you not being completely mine...will you please marry me?" He then pulled out the most beautiful ring and I was just sitting there, in his car-- in shock! Then we ran inside and I was screaming "We're engaged" to my sleeping parents. But, of course they woke up and were ecstatic (apparently Josiah had asked my dad's permission a few weeks before). It was the most incredible night/day and what made it even more special was celebrating our engagement on Easter. We are so blessed to have found one another and it was so amazing being able to celebrate the resurrection of Christ AND our engagement with both families. Even my 3 year-old nephew gave his approval. He is excited about having another uncle and Josiah just adores both James and Cooper. We cannot wait to get married! Praise Jesus, God is so good!

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