We're going to Disneyland baby!!!

Location...such a simple little word yet it holds so much stress and anxiety when it comes to wedding planning.  We have gone back and forth and then back again between so many places to have the wedding, that I think I annoyed the crap out of my friends and family for about a year. hehe...oops! =) Sorry for all that!  Miguel and I have such a magical history and we are big believers of destiny and happily ever after and all of that mushy "forever" stuff so I was determined to find the "perfect" place that was perfect for us.  I wanted it to be just as amazing as our relationship and also I wanted it to be personal and hold a deeper meaning than just a random place.

A destination wedding was in the works since the very moment Miguel proposed (I had been secretly planning our wedding since day one. hehe).  An out-of-country beach wedding was researched, Las Vegas was thoroughly planned out and a Disney wedding was looked into also but all were nixed because we didn't want to make it outrageously expensive for ourselves, let alone our guests!  No matter the location we would look into for the ceremony, we always went back to Disney, even though it was WAYYY out of our price range.  A girl could dream right?!?!...But then fate seemed to throw luck and a little understanding our way =)

I have millions of wedding people on my Facebook page.  Photographers, videographers, cake decorators, wedding coordinators, venue sites, caterers, DJ companies, flower shops....if it is wedding related I have it!  I saw a post one day from the Disney Fairytale Weddings and Honeymoons page, checked it out and BAM!--They started offering a new wedding package that was in our price range.  I immediately called a coordinator and asked a million and a half questions, which were all answered just how I had hoped they would be, and it was a sealed deal.  WE ARE GOING TO DISNEYLAND BABY!!!!

Sleeping Beauty's Castle is going to be a gorgeous backdrop on our big day =)

As most of my friends know, I'm a Cali girl.  Born and raised until I was 10 and then we moved to Wisconsin.  I grew up in Disneyland and on Disney movies and always dreamed of being married there.  What better place to say "I Do" than the place where dreams come true?...a place where magic is all around you and the girl-next-door gets to be a princess and always gets the prince of her dreams??  Plus my all-time favorite Disney princess is Sleeping Beauty and her castle is at Disneyland...HELLO PHOTO OP!!!! =) lol. For us...this is our perfect place and the fact that it will become a reality instead of just a dream is indescribable!  The added bonus with us having the ceremony out there is that BOTH our families get to be present and take part in the wedding festivities.  The ceremony and mini-reception will be in Cali so my family can come and we will have a reception in Wisconsin so Miguel's family and our friends can come...best of both worlds right here people...BEST OF BOTH WORLDS! hehe.  I was so stressed out with having to plan something where everyone could be there and try to keep the cost down and have to plan the fact that both of our families are 2500 miles away from each other..oh boy.  I cried A LOT!! lol...now it's smooth sailing!

This time next year we will be booking our wedding date for Tuesday, June 18th, 2013.  It is going to be a beautiful summer wedding and I can't wait!!!  Next summer we will be taking a trip to Cali to do some on-site wedding planning to check out restaurants for dinner the night before the wedding, after the ceremony/mini-reception the day of and breakfast the morning after the wedding.  We'll also be checking out hotels for us and our guests, ceremony locations and hopefully check out the rooms for the mini-reception, hair/make-up people, picture locations for after the ceremony, etc etc....just to do all of the hands on stuff that I want to be a part of since I can't just take a drive and meet with the coordinator like other people get to do.  Plus Miguel will meet my family in Cali for the first time ever (I'm soooo excited for this) and both Noah and Miguel will see Disneyland for the first time ever....I can't wait!  So much stuff to do and there isn't enough time. lol.  Only a year and a half til the wedding....A YEAR AND A HALF!!! oh my gosh I'm going to go into panic mode just thinking about it. haha.  537 days left to be exact and boy is it going to fly by!!

This is the location we are leaning towards for the ceremony...I LOVE the trees and the cobble-stone type floor and of course i love love love the fact that the monorail goes over the courtyard!! =) ultimate swoon!!!

The Brisa Courtyard at Disneyland =)

Another view of the courtyard...so beautiful!

Can't wait to see this location in-person this coming summer!!!!!!  LOTS AND LOTS of pictures will be posted when we get back...as if you guys didn't already assume that. haha.  What do you guys think??

Until next time my lovlies...DREAM BIG...anything can happen =)

Love--The (almost) Ninhams

Who needs a theme??!!..uhh...we do I guess

I have a million wedding people on my facebook.  Photographers, flower shops, wedding gown designers, bridal shops, the knot, wedding channel, DJ's, wedding show coordinators, venues, etc etc and a lot of them post random questions about the wedding planning processes.  One of their questions that I never understood was "Do you have a theme picked out yet?"  I always thought...a theme?? What is this, a birthday party??  HAH! Now I laugh to myself for having such negative thoughts about the idea of having a theme.  I guess you can do it and still have it in an adult manner and not 2 year old standards =) Silly me for being so closed minded about this particular idea.

I do most of my wedding planning on the computer because I can do it whenever I have spare time (which is never. haha.).  The other day I came across a wallpaper on an app on my phone and thought it was really cool.

I thought it would make a really cute (and cheap) idea for our centerpieces but I didn't think anyone else would think of it the same way.  I showed my mom the picture and she said it would be a cool centerpiece idea too, so did Miguel and, as you guys know, so did others on my facebook.  Huh!  Lesson learned about speaking up when I have an idea. lol.  Talking about various wedding things with Miguel tonight I realized...we have a theme for the wedding and I didn't even plan it. lol.

A little bit after we got engaged I was looking through a wallpaper app on my phone (they are so handy!! haha) and found this picture.  I immediately thought it was perfect!!  It fit Miguel and I's relationship and story to a 'T'!!  So this will be on our wedding invitations and maybe elsewhere throughout wedding stuff.

Also, our cake topper will be a castle made out of white chocolate with silver spires =) isn't it pretty?? hehe.

How it all just goes together so smoothly without me actually planning it that way--I have no idea, but obviously it was mean't to be this way because it's all coming together so awesomely. =)  A fairytale theme it is! =)  Next post I'll go into detail about our ceremony site and it will all make even more sense.  It is going to be so magical...I can not wait!!!!!!

Only 564 more days til we say "I do" =)

Til next time!!

Love--the (almost) Ninhams =)

Girls..Girls..GIRLS!!..and one sweet little boy

Happy belated Thanksgiving everyone!!  I was meaning to write this post over the long weekend but it was crazy busy!!  So in the spirit of being thankful...

A couple weeks ago (Nov 17) I asked my girl friends to be in the wedding and they said yes!! =)  

Sarah and I have been friends since I first moved to Wisconsin in 6th grade and she has been my partner in crime for 15 years.  Wow, now that I see that written down in front of me that is a LOOOONG time!!  haha. I remember when we were in middle school and we would plan our weddings down to the exact guest lists and pick out our kids names...OH MAN!! haha...flash backs!!  Love you woman!!

Autumn and I have been besties for a loooong time too!  We talked back in high school and started becoming friends my senior year and then after I graduated we just fell into BFF's--we were inseparable for awhile and have been through so much!!  9 years is a super long time and I couldn't be happier to have her as a girl friend. Love you! =) And Noah loves his Auntie Autumn too!! =)  

A little bit after Miguel and I got engaged my Mom, Andrea, Noah and I went out to eat at Denny's.  Of course we were talking about the wedding..OF COURSE ;)  While we were talking about all things weddings I asked my Andrizzle if she would be my maid of honor and even though she would have to wear a BIG poofy dress and even though she knew it would be PINK...she still said yes =) what a sister huh???  haha. 

That day, I also asked my mom to do me the wonderful honor of walking me down the aisle and of course she said yes.  My mom is my best friend and I couldn't imagine making that walk down the aisle without her by my side to keep me strong, keep me from falling on my face LOL and telling me to suck it up so I don't cry and ruin my make up =)  It was a very happy and tearful lunch and I'll remember it for forever =)  I love you guys!!!!!!!!!!

Now one of the three most important people of the big day...my little monster =)  Noah has appointed himself my wedding planning assistant and he LOVES everything to do with planning our big day.  He is our ring bearer and he is sooooo excited!!  He asks about his important job every week and counts down the days with me, til the wedding, everyday when we wake up in the morning =) (thanks to a hand 'days left' app on my phone)  Noah is almost just as excited about the wedding as I am. LOL.  He told my mom that she can be his assistant...HAHA...he makes me laugh!!

I am so very thankful to have all of you in my life and I'm so glad to have you all be a part of Noah, Miguel and I's big day!!

Until next time!...i'll leave you with the fact that Christmas is 26 days away...ahhhh!! I can't wait!! =)

And the wedding is only 571 days away...ONLY ;) lol!!

Much Love--the (almost) Ninhams =)

The joy of finding the perfect dress shop...priceless =)

Barely into my third post on this blog and I'm already slacking. HAHA.  I figured it wouldn't take too long for me to slack on my posts but that was a little quick...lol. oh well.

It is such a happy day for me--I found all my secret "Miguel Stay Out" pictures from dress shopping and such =) HEHE!!! Oh boy does it bring back wonderful memories!! And I also found the picture of Miguel and I right after he asked me to marry him..I teared up a little bit =)

Our first picture as HUSBAND and WIFE-to-be =) on 08-11-10

We moved all of the secret wedding pictures to walgreens.com because we had a screen saver on my mom's computer that cycled through all of our pictures on it and suddenly all of the SECRET wedding pictures were popping up for Miguel to see----NOT COOL!! So we put an end to that quickly. LOL.  Luckily he didn't see anything that he wasn't supposed to...or so he says ;)

I forgot to mention in my last post that during our trips to bridal shops we finally settled on a shop to order my dress.  It is in Peshtigo...the lady who will do the alterations on my dress is also the previous owner and she is SOOO wonderful!! She let me take as many pictures as I wanted, let me try on as many dresses as I wanted and we didn't feel rushed or pressured like all the other shops that give you an hour window to try on like 3 dresses and then they kick you out--it was awesome!  And my mom helped me into and out of the dresses instead of some commission-crazed consultant so it was awesome.  It was more personal than the other places =) After awhile mom and I were pro's at getting in and out of the dresses =)  It gave her a lot of great practice for the big day. hehe.  We also dug deep into the world of the bridal veils that day.  And oh my goodness!! ...There are so many ways to wear a veil these days and there are so many different kinds that it was over-whelming!!  I had tried on all sorts of different types and lengths of veils at the other shops but we ended up finding a GORGEOUS veil before we left that day.  December 8, 2010 I became the official owner of my very own wedding veil =D ...and it was on clearance--HELLS BELLS FOR SAVING MONEY!!!! haha. It is so pretty!! Thanks mom for getting it for me =)  I LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!! I wish I could post a picture of it =( boo!! haha.

Til next time...much love!!

<3  --The (almost) Ninhams

PS--we only have 580 days left until our big day =) .....CAN'T WAIT!!!

THE dress!!!

Now that all the background info is out of the way, it is time to dig into the fun stuff that happened after we popped the question to each other =)


Pretty much the next day I dug into wedding planning. We started talking dates, and places, and the dress....oh yes--THE DRESS!!! lol. I made appointments to go dress shopping pretty much immediately and boy was I in for an adventure! There are so many fabrics and shapes and lengths when it comes to a wedding dress.  I had an idea in my head of what I had always imagined my wedding dress would look like, but WOW did my head spin when we went shopping!!

My sister and I outside of Elaine's Bridal :: 10-23-10

Me and all the beautiful dresses at Elaine's :: 10-23-10

The first time i stepped into a wedding dress was like heaven...there is no way to describe it.  It was so magical and emotional all in the same instant. And oddly enough...we found MY dress the very FIRST time we went dress looking--it was in the FIRST shop and was the FIRST dress i tried on. CRAZY!! I had always had it in my head that I would have to try on millions of dresses to find it...but nope. And to make things more awesome...my mother picked it out...she has such great taste and knew exactly what I wanted =)  


I cried when i saw myself in THE dress...I couldn't help it.  I knew that it was the one before I had it on the whole way.  I really knew it was the one when my mom cried...that was such a crazy moment seeing her cry...I will never forget that moment...EVER!! =)


Even though the search was over, I tried on a lot of dresses after knowing I had found my dress.  I wanted to be absolutely sure it was the one, because, for me, the dress is one of the most important things about the wedding.  Funny how nothing is good enough after you make up your mind on something else...nothing came close to being as perfect as "the one." =)  


I still get goosebumps when i see pictures of my dress.  I think of how Miguel will react when he sees me for the first time...will he like it? will he cry? will it amaze him as much as it has me??...lots of things to worry about and this is only the dress!! haha.


Til next time! ... "Forever is not a word…rather a place where two lovers go when true love takes them there." (Unknown)



Love--The (almost) Ninhams <3

Yup...I finally started a blog for the wedding. LOL.

Wow...only took me over a year to start a blog for the wedding. LOL. I kept saying I would do this and I can't even begin to tell you how many times I forgot about it.

So much has happened in the year and 2ish months we've been engaged.  I don't even know where to start!! I guess I'll just start from the beginning and go from there. Plus, it will be in order for when I go back and read about all the fun things (and not so fun things. lol.) that happened during the planning process.

This blog is for family that lives on the other side of the country in California or other states and family that lives here in Wisconsin that we never get to see...It is also for friends that live close and friends that live far.  The whole point of this blog is for me to keep everyone in the loop about all things wedding, if they care to know, but first and foremost, this blog is for me to get everything down so I can vent about the stressful things, brag to the world about something I found or figured out that makes me happy, and allows me to come back and remember every tiny thing about the wedding.  I already have short-term memory loss, so I know I wont remember any of this stuff tomorrow ;) lol.


I posted the following blurb on facebook, but I shall put it in here too so those that haven't read my sappy "long story short, but kinda long in the end" version of Miguel and I's road to forever.  I will apologize in advance...I am a very long winded talker--even if I say it'll be quick.  Just know it will NEVER be quick and to the point. lol.  Just know you have been warned =)

Our engagement story I wrote for Facebook on August 13, 2010--


So for those of you who know Miguel and I...you know the long torturous history between our first relationship to our current and forever into the future one, but for those of you who dont....Here's a long story short on how we became the soon-to-be Mr. and Mrs. Ninham =)

We met the spring after i turned 18 and he was almost 20. It was love at first sight =) His tongue ring and tall, dark and handsome face caught my eye immediately during our first day on the job, at Walmart-West, as part of the set-up crew for the Super Center Remodel. Our first date was kinda a fluke. lol....i was giving him a ride home and some woman gave him Gamblers tickets at the gas station so he asked me to go. =) teehee....secretly we were lusting after eachother and thank goodness for that wonderful shove from destiny otherwise who knows if we actually would have gotten together.

We then started dating March of 2003. We were inseparable!! Deceided to look at wedding rings...actually found rings that we fell in love with and wouldn't you know...a month or so later i found out i was pregnant. To us...getting prego at 19 wasnt a set back...we were THRILLED!!!! Months went by and then a tragic accident happened and Miguel's roommate and best friend died from a motorcycle accident. (RIP Joe..we miss and love you everyday!!!! xoxo!!!) Our relationship took a turn for the worst at that time and Miguel ended up moving to Milwaukee to live with family.

As the years passed after our son Noah was born, Miguel and I talked almost everyday. Both of us still loving eachother from afar but never were able to get back to eachother. He dated and I dated...but we always thought "something is missing." November of 2009 we both had become single after long term relationships and started talking all day/everyday...we were getting closer and closer than we had ever been and he started coming to visit every weekend around December.

We started ''officially'' dating February 5th, 2010 and our long distance situation changed and priorities were switched. Miguel moved up to Green Bay to be with Noah and I in April of this year (2010). He got a great job in the career he loves and things started falling into place.

In May of this year, 2010, i got sick. It started with 'sun poisoning' and quickly worked its way to an unknown condition that has only gotten worse in the last 4 months. Test after test nothing has been figured out, ive been referred to doctor after doctor and i keep getting sicker. We had talk after talk and deceided...why wait til i get better to take the next step when we dont even know IF i'll get better or WHEN i'll get better?? So we did some looking around and without me knowing, Miguel bought the ring and secretly planned with my mother. =)

He asked my mother and my sister if he could have their blessing to ask me to marry him and of course THEY SAID YES =) Wednesday night, August 11, 2010 Miguel asked me to go for our usual late night stroll around our neighborhood (we usually take a short walk with Noah after 9 at night if im feeling up to it). Holding hands, talking about how lucky we've been in the last 6 months and star gazing in the middle of the country--Miguel lead me on our walk. When we got home, after embracing under the stars for a few short minutes, he looked at me with bright, loving eyes and got down on one knee. I INSTANTLY MELTED!!!! =) He pulled the ring box out of his pocket, took my hands, and spoke sweet nothings to me about the last 8 years of our lives apart and together and about the future we both wanted. He asked if i would make him the happiest man in the world and complete him by becoming his wife ..........and OF COURSE I SAID YES =)

After slipping the ring on my finger and embracing for a long time, we went into the house to share the news with our son and my mother. As he was retelling the "how it happend" to my mother i got teary eyed as reality sunk in...the man i've loved for my entire adult life wants me forever...WOW!!...so after the hugs and congratulations, my mother tells me..."ok, now its your turn" and places a box in my hand (its the MAN ring...lol). Through fighting the tears and hysteria i asked Miguel to be my husband on bended knee and of course he made me the happiest woman alive when HE SAID YES. =)

And now here I am...still shocked when i use the word FIANCE instead of boy friend or baby daddy (LOL) and telling all of you our wonderful story of falling in love too young and in the end...well worth the time inbetween then and now that made us realize we were destined to be together. A perfect little family that will soon grow one by one =)

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR WELL WISHES AND CONGRATULATIONS!!! WE CANT TELL YOU HOW MUCH WE APPRECIATE ALL OF IT =) AND THANK YOU FOR LETTING US SHARE OUR STORY OF LIFE AND UNCONDITIONAL LOVE WITH YOU =)

******LOVE...Lauren, Miguel and Noah

P.S.--i know i said long story short but i cant help but gush about our wonderful story lol...im a sucker for fairy tale romance =)My wonderful husband-to-be and I's engagement rings =)**You'll have my heart til death and beyond** =)

And that is how this all started =) I still get all teary eyed reading this and reliving the moments of that night.  

Now I must go spend time with my boys =) Til we meet again...just remember one thing--"Unconditional Love Will Get You Through" 

Love,

The (almost) Ninhams =)