money money money

I remember planning my own wedding about two years ago. I immediately hit the ground running planning and the dollars started adding up. My husband and I sat down and he looked at me straight in the eyes and said..."What are we thinking, about 200 people on the Cape, that will cost about $5,000, right?"

Oh man, I wish!

I responded with a smile and simply said, "I don't think so!" And so the money talks began.

We sat down and talked about what we envisioned, what we wanted, and what we thought we could afford. I started thinking, our wedding is about 9 months away, how could we make this "wedding money" work for us? Our solution, an ING high interest account. Mind you this was before the economy crashed but even now the interest rates are higher than a traditional savings account. Our money sat there until we needed it and it accrued enough interest for us to indulge in a few extra details! We didn't want to use all of our wedding cash, we wanted it working for us so we opened a no interest credit card for a year for all those little things that start to add up. You could even get one with miles or vacation points for that honeymoon. Anyway, we used some of the wedding cash we received as gifts to pay off the card before the no interest time frame was up.

Just a few ways to make your money work for you, happy planning!

pearls...

Recently I lost someone I love and when those things happen it makes you think about all the good times you shared. My wedding was one of those times.

When I told my grandfather I got engaged he offered the standard "congratulations" and then, he said, "you are going to wear your pearls, aren't you?" When I was born he and my grandmother started the necklace for me and for most birthdays and holidays I usually received a pearl or two to add to it. He finished it for me for my college graduation. I always knew the necklace would be a special and timeless piece, but after losing him it makes it even more special.

Of course I wore them on my wedding day, I know most likely I would have worn them whether he said it or not. Between the pearls and the dance we shared the wedding is a wonderful memory...

it finally happened

I was thinking today about the day I got engaged, 10/4/2007. It started like any other day, the alarm went off I got ready for work and Matt said to me, big day today. I just sort of laughed it off, thinking he meant we had to clean the condo because his brother was coming to town the next day. I hate cleaning, so I thought he was poking fun. Anyway I drove to school ready to teach my class of eager second graders.



The day was like any normal day, nothing out of the ordinary, just a Thursday. A student complimented my skirt, nice, a second grader thinks my skirt is pretty. It made me laugh! I was working with another teacher at the time during math, we had a great lesson on odds and evens planned that day. Suddenly Matt walked in which he often showed up unannounced to volunteer in my room, he looked normal but he had a gerbera daisy in hand (my favorite)...sort of unusual, but still I wasn't alarmed in any way that something was going on. I introduced him to the class and put him with a group.



Suddenly, he stood up and said he needed to talk to me and took me to the center of the classroom. Meanwhile all the kids are working (amazing feat in itself!) and the other teacher is just staring. He suddenly got down on one knee and said the words I was so eager to hear. There were a lot of nice things said (none of which I remember because my mind was clouded with, I can't believe this is happening) and then "Will you marry me?"

Oh wait...I forgot to tell you, I interruptted him mid proposal and asked him what he was doing and then asked the other teacher if she knew about this...what was I thinking? Clearly I wasn't!

I of course said yes, he went to put the ring on my finger and I couldn't stop it from shaking so I squeezed all my fingers together with my right hand. How was he supposed to get it on now? NERVES!

He finally put it on, the other teacher covered my class and news spread like wild fire that I got engaged! What a great day!

I drove home in shock that day, staring at the beautiful ring and thanking my lucky stars for such a wonderful man. I had him repeat what he said to me during the actual proposal and the second time around was even sweeter than the first.

Let the planning begin!

helpful hint :)

So you are engaged....

The to do list seems huge and there is no end in sight. I dove right into the planning of my wedding, we got engaged in October and then married that July. For some they may consider that a short engagement (less than a year), for me it was ideal. I knew the season and the location, and went from there. I wanted to talk wedding all the time, I am a planner so I had to know that I was going to get the things I wanted and hoped for all at the same time keeping my fiance in the loop. I wanted his input; however, I quickly realized that the talking about the wedding and making decisions every night was not going to work for him and more importantly for us. So we appointed Thursday nights as our "no wedding talk" night. Conveniently for me it was Grey's Anatomy night so I had something to occupy my time.

There were a few nights we swapped a Thursday for a night of his choice too, it was only fair!

So brides to be...a "no wedding talk" night for some is the way to keep them interested but not overwhelmed. Perhaps it helped me from being completely consumed and maybe you too!

Planning...every bride has been there or is there right now. Some love it, some hate it, and some tolerate it and everything in between! I fell in the "love it" category. When my wedding finally arrived I couldn't have been more excited, we were about to see all that hard work come together.

It was everything I hoped it would be and more (how cliche I know). I was married, YAY!!! Then the planning withdrawals set in-say what? Who knew there would be planning withdrawals?!!

I missed it, I really missed it.

I had to find a way to channel this, so I helped friends and family with their planning. It still wasn't enough! I finally enrolled in a class with Samantha Goldberg of Whose Wedding Is It Anyway? It finally hit me; suddenly I knew what I should be doing next...

Introducing, Kate O'Toole Events: