Marraige & what I'm most looking forward to!

I know it has been a long time since I have wrote a blog but I have A LOT going on!!! Wedding plans are coming right along & mainly getting through a bust few months of work & finals at school is my priority.

Derek officially graduates on Saturday & moves back home! Thank God!!!!! I miss him!

Anyways..

#1. I am most looking forward to getting a dog.
Derek & I LOVE our dogs at home & we go back & forth daily on what type we want to get right when we get married. Derek loves small dogs so im guessing it will be no larger than a 7 pounder! Cute :)

#2. Sending out Christmas Cards.
You all have to admit getting a Christmas card with a photo of friends, family members, or little ones brings a little flutter of joy once opened. I hope to bring the flutter after we are married & little ones (wayyyyyy down the road!)

#3. Making traditions.
As I mentioned in a FB posting. I want to begin a tradition during the holidays that my late grandma started. Making Tamales.. YUM! Yes my hispanic side shows once in a while. Also, some yummy dessert creations since dessert is my favorite meal course!

I've Made Progress..

Ok so these last few months I have changed my mind about a million times when it comes to my wedding. Ive gone from vintage to timeless to classic & have MADE up my mind!

The inspiration will be:

CHIC [sheek] - attractive and fashionable; stylish

with a hint of:

Nautical Flare

Today was the first day I found a dress I loved (but didnt buy.. although inspired) had an incredible experience choosing a color palette of linens & napkins. I also am working of some really fun stylish table centerpieces.

You'll find im working with a lot of Navy, white, & surprise pops of complimenting colors. It'll incorporate straight lines & natural wood feel.

Ok sneek peak of our meeting with Elegant Designs Specialty Linens today!

Although very pre-mature!

Give me your thoughts or ideas!!! Im also totally stoked for the save-the-date cards that we will be working on in August. Mailing for the save-the-dates will be mid September. I will definetly keep up on the design work going into these cards!

A Tribute

Some of you may know that my grandmother Gloria passed away over 5 years ago. After she passed I realized I had lost a huge part of my life. I tribute most of my upbringing, morals, safety, & personality to her. She played an outstanding role in her granchildrens life. Instead of putting a career, marraige, or any other self obsorbed act she chose to devote her life to "us". For this I am forever blessed.

When she was diagnosed with cancer & given a short amount of time to live she called me into my parents room (where she stayed & felt most comfortable) & asked if I would just talk to her. She told me that she was afraid to die & felt she was going to miss out on all of the things that she was so involved in with myself, Taylor, Kelsie, & Lexie. She cried to me & asked me how is she to stay strong. This was a moment that is so near & dear to my heart. She knew I was the most strong willed of the family & knew me inside & out. Incredible. I told her before she passed away not to worry about me because I am just gonna get married & live a normal life haha! I proceded to tell her to drop me signs here & there after she passed but not freak me out like the stories the psychic Silvia chick told on the Montel Williams show we used to watch (that made her crack up)! Since that conversation, I knew she was like a mother to me.

Derek & I agreed to highlight her in some way possible during the wedding. We searched & came up with an amazing way to give back & make an impact to our guests through her.

This is a cancer pin that will be in place of our guest favors. The money my family pays for these will go strictly to Lung Cancer Research. Each guest will recieve one on their place setting attached with a card explaining the donation & in memory of "Gram". This couldn't make me happier!

( I couldnt believe the Lung Cancer Pin happened to be gold & ivory which coordinate into our wedding colors! I didnt know until I searched the pins! Its a sign & one of God's many blessings)

Goals Part #1

These are just some random goals that I would love to obtain within the next 5 years:

1. Read the Bible in it's entire & attempt to understand as much as possible.

2. Plan my very first whole wedding for a client outside of Glendora Country Club.

3. Get baptized with Derek.

4. Begin a new close friendship.

5. Go on a mission trip with Derek.. We should at least make an attempt to change lives as much as possible.

6. Graduate college with my BA in Business with an emphasis in Management (im on the 10 year plan)

7. Sponsor a child from another country.

8. Read an actual book besides school texts.

9. Take advantage of every second with family mainly parents, siblings, & grandparents. You can never have too much time with them.

10. Get married, have a child, strive to always be a better wife, buy a home, get a dog, continue to attend church & juggle home with career.

These goals may be on a large scale but definitely obtainable. Fortunately I have had a pretty good start into my 20's & it's only up from here.

A Select Few..

During my high school years I started to accept that I wasnt the most friendliest, outgoing, group of friends type of girl. I chose only a handful (it that!) to really hang out with & stick around. I get along much more with guys then girls.

When I began dating Derek I said uh oh... no sisters... but I have no sisters....

Here I am with one year away from my wedding & I need to choose 4 ladies to take part of the biggest day of my life. This will be the most memorable & I am not the one to choose lightly. I have a very demanding job & did not get the whole college roomate experience. Although I love my friends I was unable to give them all the attention that they deserve. I can honestly say the most stressful part of the 5 months I have been engaged is tightening up who will be the 4!

Derek has chosen his 4 & he luckily has his brother & mine.... oooo im jealous!

Of course there are the obvious girls in my life that have stuck with me & know exactly who I am. I love them for this & regardless if I see them everyday, week, month, or even year I know 100% they are there no matter what.

Just to give you a head start I have already chose my MAID OF HONOR.. we met December 2006! Cant wait!

My Style!

After flipping through a billion wedding magazines including the best one of all.. Martha Stewart Weddings! I found this picture & it is exactly the style I am heading toward!


I love the dress & headpiece..!!! Can't wait to search for these replicas!

Au Natural

I have been a blonde for the last 5 years! I can't believe how time flew by!!! My fiance hasn't even seen my natural hair color & I was becoming brain washed into thinking I was born a natural blonde lol... Prior to those 5 years I have had BLACK, BROWN, RED, & highlights. Lets just say I had to get that out of my system I guess.

I promised myself a couple years ago that when I get married "one day" I will marry my natural hair color. Unaware of how soon I was to be engaged it dawned on me that I promised that was what I wanted. I contemplated because everyone knew me as a blonde including a large cliental at work!

The reason I wanted to go back natural for my wedding was because I did not my beautiful wedding picture hanging in my married house one day looking like I went through a "phase" in my life & wanted to be a blonde.

So here is my new hair color & I love it! So does Derek! Im pretty sure im saving $100 a month & never going back!! Yay!

I LOVE NY

A long long time ago, when I was around the age of 16 I took a trip with my Aunt, Uncle, & Cousin & I decided I loved NY! Ever since that trip to the east coast I have wanted to return... but not only to visit but to maybe/possibly/eventually live there for up to 2 years. I am realizing I am now 23, engaged, enrolled in school, & have a great job. Hmm..

About 2 years ago I was browsing on my friends page looking at her pictures as well as her friends pictures & came across this picture that captured me.. (& at the time I had blonde hair)

So here I am today trying to put together wedding thoughts & ideas. I think I have come up with the best idea of all! Since I cannot move to NY (at the moment), get married in NY, how about have engagement photos done in NY! As some of you may know I am moving back home to save money for apparently... my crazy ideas ;) but more importantly a place to live & our honeymoon. This will just have to make its way into my budget. I am planning on visiting NY either end of April 09 or end of August 09 when Derek has his semester breaks. Hopefully I can get my parents on board to join us. It will be a visit, vacation, & one item down on our never-ending to do list!

After selling this idea to my fiancee, he decided to drop some news as well. When talking with his career placement counselor he thought Derek would be a great addition to the east coast country clubs & courses. Unknowing of my plans, Derek considered it. Isn't the first 2 years of marraige an adventure in itself? Why not through a move into the mix? Can't wait to see what the future holds, all I know is im planning a fabulous visit & banking on some incredible pictures in Central Park, NY.

The Search is Over!!

After searching for the right place to have my one & only wedding of a lifetime it has come to a close. We were engaged in October & immediatly started to look for locations. We visited places like Castle Green, Nixon Library, Vellano Country Club, and the Mission Inn. Just to name a few we really enjoyed touring! But after those being our top 4 I didn't want to give up the search just yet.. which really meant I have not found the "right" place. Derek & I decided that we did not want our guests to travel far away from home, we wanted local accomodations, & a place to make me feel like I wasn't working my own wedding.

I posted a headline on the famous Facebook saying "Taryn can't make up her mind where to get married... any ideas?" My distant cousin Kristie just happened to make a comment on my status that suggested we go visit her work as a possibility. Kristie as some of you might know is the Catering Manager at Pacific Palms Resort, yes, the same place that Derek popped the big question! Kristie met with Derek to plan that night (how sweet of her)! So I made an appointment to go see the banquet facilities... & Derek & I loved it!!!

Derek & I thought not only is it local, beautiful, is a hotel, has outside reception capability, open till 2am, but... we have a lifetime memory already made there!

Here are a few photos from our tour with my parents:

Ceremony Site

Tented Reception (the walls will be down)

Views from Tent - Below is the restaurant Red where we got engaged!

Super excited! Can't wait to transform the location into the Weickert Wedding! Stay tuned...