Jenni and Adam

I know its been a while...

2009-01-29T20:49:00.001-08:00

I know its been a while, but getting married, going on your honeymoon, and adjusting to being a wife is a difficult and busy process. So now that everything is settled I will be writing on her much more often. Starting with a blog of my favorite wedding photos.

Coming soon...so keep checking back : )

Oh yeah I almost forgot to blog that....

2008-11-07T01:32:00.000-08:00

I'M GETTING MARRIED TOMORROW!!!!!

Rehearsal and Rehearsal Dinner...

2008-11-07T01:22:00.000-08:00

Our wedding rehearsal was tonight. It was a lot different to be a bride at the wedding rehearsal compared to my past experiences of being a bridesmaid at a wedding rehearsal. Everyone had a lot of questions and wanted my input every step of the way. Our rehearsal was a four o'clock this evening and I was so busy preparing stuff for our reception that I ended up being twenty minutes late to my own rehearsal (lets pray that doesn't happen on Saturday...just kidding...it won't happen I promise.)

After the rehearsal we went out to Mira Loma to Johnny Carinos for our rehearsal dinner. All of our wedding party and immediate family members were there and it was a fun, relaxing evening. I was very happy to get to spend time with all of the people in my life that mean the most to me. The dinner started off with rosemary bread with olive oil with roasted garlic for dipping. The second course was a choice of two salads, an italian salad and a ceasar salad (I had both and they were both delicious, although I did prefer the italian dressing which surprised me because ceasar is normally my favorite.) The main course followed, which was served family style. The choices were spagetti and meatballs, chicken parmessian, lasagna, and, my personal favorite of the night, lemon caiper chicken serverd over angel hair pasta and garlic green beans (it was the perfect blend of flavors.) I, like most people there, had a little bit of everything. By the time the main course was over I was stuffed and I think everyone else was too. But, alas, there was dessert, which was equally delicious to the rest of the meal. Dessert was tirmasu from the Cheesecake Factory. It was soooo good and even though my stomach said "No more food," I went ahead and helped myself to a giant piece of it and loved every second of it.

Overall, it was definately the best food I have ever had at a rehearsal dinner (thank you Paul and Debbie...great choice) and the best time I have had at a reherasal dinner.

A Really Long Time

2008-11-07T01:11:00.000-08:00

So the title of this blog entry takes on a double meaning. One being that it has been a really really long time since I have posted a new blog entry. As time has gotten closer to our wedding date I have gotten really busy. I rarely have time to be on the internet and when I do it is to quickly check my email or pay bills and then off to do more wedding stuff. Today Karen came over to pick up all of our stuff for the reception (she will be coordinating all of the setup and decorating for our reception) and I am really excited to she how all of it ends up looking. I immediately felt a sense of relief passing piles and boxes full of stuff into her hands. It was so weird watching our living room slowly being cleared of wedding stuff that has been stacking up in it over the past several months. But I do have a huge sense of accomplishment knowing that everything dealing with the reception is firmly set in place and nothing...and I mean absolutely nothing else needs to be done.

Also, Adam and I have been engaged for a really really long time. To refresh everyone's memory we have been engaged since November 4, 2007. That is one year and three days today! That is a really really long time. It seems funny to me because you would think with a year of planning behind us that everything would have been done and over with a month or two ago. Well, it amazes me everyday what new and unexpected things pop up that need to be done. This is not at all in a negative way, simply an unexpected way.

We have waited a really really long time to get married. Like I said we have been engaged for over a year now and that is a pretty long engagement. We have been planning for our special day and now it is right around the corner. Adam and I were talking tonight after our wedding rehearsal. It is interesting because both of us feel like it is still so far off. But its not and I am wondering when it will all seem real (I am making a bet with myself that it won't until I am standing at the top of the aisle with my dad waiting for "here comes the bride" to cue my entrance.) I'll let you know in a few days if I win that bet...

Last Minute Changes

2008-10-18T23:13:00.000-07:00

It is funny how many unexpected things come up when you are planning a wedding. You go into wedding planning having certain expectation on how things will look, or how much something will be, or how a certain thing may pan out...and I have come to learn that 9 times out of 10 things don't go the way you hope or expect them to go. Now, it sounds like I am being really negative, but as our wedding is getting nearer and I have almost a whole year of experience in this matter, I prefer to call myself a realist.

I have faced more financial trials with this wedding than I have in my entire life and I have had my patience tested over and over again. However, I am loving every second of this. I know that the financial trials that Adam and I have faced together through planning this wedding are there to teach us and mold us so that when we face these kinds of trials as a married couple we will be better equipt to deal with them...although, I must be honest I tend to react in a stress and paniced manner when these kinds of trial present themselves. But it is cool to see that even in this God has molded Adam and I perfectly for one another because in the instances when I am stressing out and worrying Adam is calmly working through the situation and all the time reminding me to place my trust in God and not to worry because He has a plan to take care of us. I feel like through the experience of planning our wedding I have truely grown closer to God by having to rely on Him in almost every aspect of the planning.

Moving Day

2008-10-14T21:14:00.000-07:00

Adam moved out a few days ago. When we got approved for our apartment we decided that Adam would move out of his parents house and into our new apartment a month before we got married. We did this for two reasons: 1. Because Adam has never lived on his own and really really wanted to. and 2. Because this was we could move all of Adam's stuff, buy our furniture, and move most of my stuff before we got married that way when we returned from our honeymoon we wouldn't have an apartment full of boxes waiting for us.

We got extremely lucky with our apartment. Our apartment complex is a bit older (still very nice though) and because of that they were in the process of remodeling when we were approved to move in. The previous tenant of our apartment had lived there for ten years so everything in it was either very old or very "lived in." So, our apartment manager decided, to our benefit, that our apartment would have a full remodeling to it before we moved in. This meant new carpet, new sinks, new counter tops (one of our favorite features), new dishwasher, fresh paint, a new bathtub, a new shower, and new mirror sliding closet doors(an improvement from the old ones.) It looks so good!

We moved in on a Thursday and on the following Saturday had all of our furniture delivered. It is really starting to look like a home and we are loving how nice everything is coming together and I know I am super jealous that Adam gets to live there now, because I know I can't wait to move in : )

I will make sure to take some pictures and post them within the next few days.

28 Days Later...

2008-10-11T02:39:00.000-07:00

And we will be married. That's right there are only twenty-eight more days until Adam and I get married. We have almost all of the details done and are counting down the days...oh how they have flown by...

Coldplay...again, a random side note from the wedding

2008-10-11T02:34:00.000-07:00

Again, I have another side note from the wedding planning. Of course, it is super exciting and well worth the space here on our blog.

Today pre-sale tickets for the Coldplay show at the Honda Center in Anaheim went on sale and we got amazing tickets. We went to their last show that was at the Honda Center, which if I am remembering correctly was two loo...ooong years ago. We love Coldplay and are so excited to see their new concert because we love their new album. We have heard nothing but good reviews from people about thier new show and can't wait for the end of November to roll around so we can see for ourselves...YAY!!

First Dance...?

2008-10-01T23:26:00.000-07:00

We are having a hard time finding a great song to have our first dance to. There have been several songs that we have liked the sound of but then when we read the lyrics an automatic "NO!" comes out of both of our mouths. Then there are several songs that have beautiful and meaningful lyrics, but sound super cheesy.

Adam has drawn a thick and uncrossable "no country music" line and I would rather stay away from one of the classics because they seem to be way to cliche for my taste. We want something different, romantic, and meaningful so I am reaching out to anyone who will read this blog entry with a cry of "HELP!" Please if you have any remotely great ideas let me know because if not we will have to settle on an "ok" song to dance to and that is just no fun at all : )

I look forward to your responses...

Sneak Peak...

2008-10-01T23:18:00.000-07:00

Here is a sneak peak at what our guest's favors will look like. I did this one as an example so it is empty, but on the wedding day it will be filled with yummy goodies for all of our guests to enjoy.

A kind of theme that our wedding will carry is "our favorite things." And in honor of that theme (lol, I totally made up that theme right now, but it totally fits our wedding now that I think about it) the boxes will be filled with one of my favorite candies and one of Adam's favorite candies. But as this is only a sneak peak I had better stop typing before I give the whole thing away.

Bridal Shower

2008-09-30T00:17:00.000-07:00

My Bridesmaids threw me my first Bridal Shower. It was really really beautiful and sooo much fun. I really enjoyed getting a chance to hang out with all of my friends and the environment my Bridesmaids created was so inviting and fun.

The shower was a few weeks ago and it has taken me so long to write a blog post about it because I needed to download the pictures off of my mom's camera and have not had a chance to get it from her. There is no way I could post a blog like this without all of my pictures to show everyone ( I love pictures on blogs...they are my favorite part.)

The shower was held on a Saturday night in my Matron of Honor's (Alyssa Lee) backyard. Her and her husband Jon worked so hard to make the night super special for me (and they succeeded!) Alyssa made all of the food, Italian which is my favorite, and another of my Bridesmaids, Jana, did all the decorating. Liz, another of the Bridesmaids, made a beautiful and delicious red velvet cake (yum...just thinking about it makes me crave it) and my sister, Kodi, put together everyone's awesome favors.

We ate and hung out and played a few Bridal Shower games. Overall, it was the best shower I have ever been to. I am so glad most of my friends were able to make it out to share in that special day with me and am so thankful to all of my Bridesmaids for putting so much work into planning and putting on such a fun and special event in my honor. It was PERFECT!!

Invitations are on their way...

2008-09-29T00:36:00.000-07:00

We bought our invitations from Target (my favorite place on earth.) They are super beautiful and are actual the first thing we bought for our wedding. The invitations we chose have a green floral motif ( which actual determined the color scheme for our wedding) with a vellum overlay.

We worked so hard to collect all the address and assemble the invitations. I am going to have to say that, so far, the invitations have been the most stressful and the most strenuous work as far as wedding stuff goes. Anyway, after many days, and hours of tying bows and stuffing envelopes we are finished.

We sent out one set a few days ago, so many of you may have already received your invite...and are going to be sending out the second (final set...hopefully) within the next few days.

Here is a picture of us hard at work:

Unfortunately this picture doesn't capture all of our faithful helpers and I must give them credit for all of their hard work...so a special thanks to my mom, my sister (Kodi), Abbie, Jon, Alyssa, Debbie, Adam, and Bekah...without you guys I don't know what I would have done.

So keep your eyes open for your invite and send us your R.S.V.P. as soon as you get a chance...we love you all and look forward to sharing our special day with you.

Final Details...

2008-09-17T00:01:00.000-07:00

So a few days ago I made a list of all the things I have left to do for the wedding ( a very "step-by-step" detailed list) and I was surprised and relieved when I was done with it. Looking over it I have very few things to do still, all of which are very minor details.

This was such a relief for me because regardless of how much is left to do I always feel like there is more things to do than time will allow. So to get it all down on paper and see that I have more than enough time (and help--thanks to all my friends and family) to get everything done and still have time to relax was amazing. I felt like a weight was lifted off of my shoulders.

I finally fell like I can sit back and be excited about getting married now without the stress or worry that goes along with planning a wedding : ) . . . only 52 days left now, and counting!!

*By the way, as a side note, I chose a veil...but I am keeping it a secret so you all will just have to wait and see what I decided to go with ; )

Hair Trial #2

2008-09-11T23:05:00.000-07:00

Lately I feel like I am being too picky when it comes to a lot of our wedding details. I keep telling myself to just let things go, not everything is going to be perfect. Our day is not about all of the details, it is about us becoming one and spending the rest of our lives together.

Well, about a week ago, I had my hair trial. I had this great idea of what I wanted. I brought in pictures of what I wanted. The hairstylist looked at the pictures and got to work. Well, it didn't turn out the way I pictured it at all...it seems that having thick hair does have its down fall. So I politely told her that I didn't really like it. Not that the style she did wasn't pretty, because she did do an excellent job...I just don't think it was the right style for me.

So after a few days I finally mustered up the courage to call her and ask for a second hair trial (I hate confrontation of any kind!). She said yes and thank goodness there is no extra charge, because I am already paying an arm and a leg.

My appointment is at 9:30am tomorrow morning, and she doesn't know this yet, but we are going to try a completely different hairstyle on me...hopefully this time it works...I have faith that it will...

My Wedding Dress

2008-09-08T21:51:00.000-07:00

Ok, so remember that really cool story about how I got that awesome and amazing FREE dress. Well, it turns out that the alterations lady was unable to bring it down to the right size. So to make a long story short, I had to get a new dress.

Finding a new dress in less that three months til the wedding date is so hard. You are in no place to be picky because you either need to buy one "off the rack" or find one that is already cut and ready in the warehouse.

After trying on a billion dresses (which is an exaggeration, but it sure did feel like that many), I finally fell in love with one. It is from Alfred Angelo (the same place we got our Bridesmaid's dresses from) and I absolutely love it. And of course, God worked it all out and the dress I wanted was waiting, already made, and ready to be shipped in my size, in the warehouse. How awesome!!

It arrived on Friday and I went to pick it up tonight. I was even more excited to find out that it fit me perfectly, even the length, which never happens to me.

Now all that's left is to decide if I want the short or the long veil...any thoughts??

Our Engagement Pictures...

2008-09-02T23:06:00.000-07:00

We got our engagement shoot done last Monday...they turned out awesome. Better than I could have ever thought they would have. Dee Dee and her assistant Tiffany made Adam and I look so good (check out more of their awesome work at www.deedallas.com). Here are a few of our favorite photos...let us know which one you like the best...

We were approved!!

2008-08-29T17:25:00.000-07:00

Today Adam and I finished filling out our apartment applications and turned them into the office. About two hours later we got the phone call telling us that our credit was approved!! So, Adam and I have our apartment now.

He is going to move in on October 2nd and live there by himself until we get married. I am so excited that we have our new home together, and I can't wait to start decorating it.

In case you were wondering, the name of the apartment complex we are moving into is called Palm Central Apartments (located on Palm and Central.)

We got our first gift!!

2008-08-24T23:26:00.000-07:00

I have decided that I love getting wedding gifts. A great little girl at the daycare I work at officially gave us our first wedding gift. Without my knowledge her and her mom found our wedding registry and bought us all of our kitchen towels and potholders. It was so exciting!!

Also, registering was probably one of the funnest things that Adam and I have got to do as a couple as far as planning things for the wedding. We loved going into the stores and picking all of the different things that were going to one day become part of our home together. It was really cool to visualize what our home was going to look like...

Anyway, for those of you who are wondering, we are registered at Target and at Bed, Bath, and Beyond.

75 more days...

2008-08-24T23:11:00.000-07:00

There are only 75 more days until Adam and I get married. I am feeling a massive mixture of excitement and stress/urgency (mostly excitement...only a little stress and urgency because there is so little time left for final details!!!)

Tomorrow night at 6:30 we are heading down to downtown Riverside to have our engagement pictures shot by the wonderful DeeDee Dallas of D2 Photography (deedeedallas.com - check it out because DeeDee and her crew are amazing photographers.) We are super excited to have our pictures done and are even more excited to see how they come out.

Later on this week I will have my hair trial done. I have not 100% decided on how I want my hair done...in fact I am still deciding if I want it all the way up or only half up (if any of you guys have thoughts on that I would love to hear them.)

Finally, I recently had a wedding fiasco happen. The wonderfully perfect dress that I got for FREE from the dress giveaway is unfortunately too big to be brought down to my size without ruining the design on the dress. I took it to the tailor two weeks ago to find out that it was impossible...and with my mom by my side we calmly (I don't know how I was so calm...looking back I still wonder why I didn't freak out) decided I needed to get a new dress; getting a new dress less than three months before the wedding is so hard considering it usually takes that long to come in after you place the order in the store.

After three days of trying on about 20 different dresses, we finally found the dress. And it was totally the Lord because the dress that I ended up choosing was already cut and ready to be shipped in the warehouse and will be here by the end of September (which will allow enough time for any alterations I may need.)

Baby On The Way!!!

2008-08-11T23:48:00.000-07:00

A slight deviation from all the wedding details, but definitely well worth the space on our blog...we found out today that Adam's sister, Alyssa, is pregnant. We are so excited and shocked. I don't think even now it has fully hit home...I can't believe it!! We are excited for Jon and Alyssa...offer them an abundance of congratulations and prayers, and can't wait to be their new baby's Aunt and Uncle!!

What's for dinner?

2008-08-11T23:41:00.000-07:00

I think this is one of the things about our wedding that I am most excited about. It's funny though because when Adam suggested it he was half joking and I thought it was an aweful idea. Well, as you can tell I eventually realized his brilliance. I like the idea because it is something we both love, something everyone will remember and like, and something easy and different from the normal wedding dinner.

I am super excited and blessed to be working with Jan and Casey Meadows from the Chick-fil-a off of Hidden Valley in Corona. They are awesome and great people who are just so friendly and willing to bend over backwards to make our day even more special than it is already going to be. They are so easy to work with too.

A few months ago, we went in for a taste test...let me tell you, that was just plain fun. We took Kodi, Alyssa, Abbie, and Aaron with us and ate until our stomachs were stuffed.

I love Chick-fil-a!!!

Venue

2008-07-28T23:48:00.000-07:00

Our Reception venue is at the Sunkist Center located in the
California Citrus State Park in Riverside, CA.

We chose this place because that are very flexible with what
you can do...they do not restrict certain vendors(which
was a plus for us) and were super friendly
when we met with them.

We love the fact that there is an indoor area for eating
and dancing, but also an outdoor courtyard area that
is absolutely beautiful as it is surrounded with
the fragrant orange groves.

Here are some pictures that I pulled from their website:

Bridesmaid Dresses

2008-07-28T23:35:00.000-07:00

The Bridesmaid's dresses are from Alfred Angelo. They recently opened a store over by the Tyler Mall so I went in out of curiosity and came across this dress. Funny thing is, is that I had already seen it before in several bridal magazines and circled it every time because I liked it so much. Usually bridal magazines portray dresses and products that are by high class designers that are out of the normal person's price range...so I was super happy when I found this dress and was offered $25 off each one. It made them totally reasonable and I love them.

The one in the picture is the dress that Alyssa, my matron of honor, will be wearing. Everyone else will be wearing the same style but the colors will be reversed (celedon-green for the main color, and mocha-brown for the sash).

My Dress

2008-07-13T17:56:00.000-07:00

One of my bridesmaids, Jana, told me about an event that Deborah's Bridal (a designer bridal store in Upland) puts on once a year. Basically, because designers are constantly coming out with new designs they have to rotate out the old designs as well as and thing that a costumer buys but never picks up and all of the floor models. So, once a year this particular bridal store does a one day blowout giveaway. Since I didn't have my dress at the time I found this a prime opportunity to get a beautiful designer dress for absolutely free.

Alyssa, Liz, Jana, my sister Kodi, Abbie,my mom and I all went down to Upland the night before. We arrived at about Midnight that night and set up our tents in the already crowded line. Apparently what was to take place the next day was pretty special. Even though it was really cold that night and we all looked horrible and there were no bathrooms available we all made it through the night. The next morning we woke up, immediately found a bathroom, and pack up all of our stuff as to prepare to enter the store.

When the store opened it allowed about 25 people in for 20 minutes and those people got to pick one wedding gown or two formal gowns (like a flower girl dress, mother-of-the-bride's dress, or a bridesmaid's dress). Then the next 25 people get to go in...until all of the dresses are given away. We were in the second or third group to go in and when we finally got in it was a mad house. We were scavenging around for the perfect dress. By the time the 20 minutes was up we left with two wedding gowns, several bridesmaid dresses, a flower girl dress, and two veils.

Overall we had a really great time...it ended up being a lot of fun and an experience we will never forget. Oh, yeah, one of those dresses is the dress that I will be wearing on our wedding day...you'll just have to wait and see what a great deal I got!!

The Wedding Party

2008-07-07T21:55:00.001-07:00

Jon Lee

Best Man #1

Jon is Adam's best friend.
Jon loves long walks on the beach

and the color purple (not the movie)

Aaron Eaton

Best Man #2

Aaron is Adam's brother.

Aaron loves to go surfing and enjoys

to skateboard under the moonlight.

Arron Sanders

Groomsman

Arron is a close friend of Adam.

Likes: (actually he loves these things)

Transformers, dragons, swords,

and his wife Jana.

Randall Creasey

Groomsman

Another of Adam's close friends.

Randall loves to watch chick flicks at

night and cry himself to sleep.

Loren Ferrard

Groomsman

Loren has been Adam's friend FOREVER.

Loren loves burritos, burritos, burritos.....

burritos, burritos, burritos.....

Chris Garcia

Groomsman

Chris is Jenni's brother who currently

lives in Texas.

Alyssa Lee

Matron of Honor

Alyssa is Adam's sister and Jenni's best friend.

Favorite shows include: America's

Next Top Model, John and Kate plus
8, and any show wedding related.

Jana Sanders

Bridesmaid

Jana is one of Jenni's closest friends.

Jana is a wagering fashion enthusiast.

Liz Henry

Bridesmaid

Liz and Jenni are very close friends.

Liz is a professional rugby player,

so watch out!

Kodi Klien

Bridesmaid

Kodi is Jenni's sister.

Kodi is a professional text messager

averaging 10,000 texts a day.

Kelly Nickels

Bridesmaid

Kelly is Jenni's other sister who lives in Texas.

Kelly is in love with the Jonas Brothers

and Guitar Hero.

Abbie Eaton

Bridesmaid

Abbie is Adam's little sister.

Abbie loves to swim...she once swam

20 miles in 20 minutes.

The Ring

2008-07-06T21:20:00.001-07:00

My engagement ring is from Robbin's Brothers. It is so beautiful. Adam had is custom made for me. It originally had seven small stones in the middle which he had taken out and replaced with a solitaire.

Still after 6 months of wearing it I still catch myself starring at it and laugh...

We Are Engaged!!!

2008-07-06T20:42:00.000-07:00

Ok...I'm only six months late at declaring that one. Planning a wedding, working, and finishing school have not exactly given me the free time I needed to start a blog. Anyway better late than never.

We got engaged on November 4, 2007 in Newport Harbor. A week before we got engaged I had been complaining to Adam about how both of us were so busy that we hadn't been on a real date on two months. So I told him that I wanted to go on a date the following Sunday after church. I told him to make it a surprise(because I love surprises...well good ones at least) and that I didn't care what we did. So a week went by and Sunday rolled around. We went to church in the morning and everything was really normal. I figured after church we would catch a movie and than maybe some dinner...boy was I wrong...

After church that day we got in the car and started driving. I tried to make some guesses of where we were going along the way but was wrong every time. We arrived in Newport and parked in a parking structure near the harbor. I had no idea where we were or what we were doing there. We got out of the car and Adam started to walk down this street so I followed all the while checking out all of the stores along the way. I saw a store that looked really interesting to me so I asked it we could go in and check it out. The store was a gondola company and when we went in I grabbed a brochure and was ready to leave as the owner came out and asked us if we had an appointment. As I started to say "No" Adam interrupted with a "Yes." I was shocked! What a cool idea for a surprise date.

We got on the boat in Newport Harbor and started to go. Our driver put on some romantic music and gave us some hor dourves and a bottle of Martinelli's sparkling apple cider. It was the most romantic date ever. Nearing the end of that date our driver pointed out ( in the worst acting I have ever witnessed) that there was a bottle floating in the water and told me I should pull it out. When I did there was a note sticking out of the top of it. I pulled out the note and to my surprise was Adam's proposal written out. I read it and was taken so off guard that I thought it was a joke...until Adam pulled out the ring and looked deeply into my eyes and asked me to marry him. Of course I said yes, which was followed by hugs, kisses, and tears. It was so much better than I could have ever imagined.