Livin' on Arizona time!

We have friends and family coming from a few different states to celebrate our wedding with us in just a couple of weeks... 

Our invitations read that the ceremony will start at 5:00 PM...

 HOWEVER... it was not specified on our invites what time zone that would be. 

The wedding is in Arizona, so we assumed AZ time would be obvious.

But it's not. 

***

 Brides-to-be... 

My tip for you if you live on or close to a state border where people tend to ask, 

"What time do you mean? This time or that time?"

Make sure you note that on your invitations. 

You don't want to risk any number of guests showing up an hour late or early because of the confusion!!!

***

 My solution to our little time problem... 

To post it everywhere that we mean ARIZONA time. 

  5:00 PM AZ TIME

Facebook, my blog, twitter, our wedding website. 

Hopefully through that and word of mouth we'll get the word out what time our ceremony actually starts so our guests won't be confused!

And while we're talking about confusion, really look over your invitations before sending them to print! If there's a chance of ANY confusion with ANYTHING, that's the time to make a note and add a little blurb somewhere. Having your guests make it to your wedding is more important than a small note on your lovely invites!!!  

Something to keep in mind, huh... :)

Did you have a time zone issue with your wedding?? 

How'd you handle it?

Did guests get confused and show up at the wrong time??

SimplyBridal.com and a Discount!!!

Hello lovelies!!! Have I got a surprise for all you brides-to-be!!!
Check out this fabulous wedding dress site I was just introduced to!!!

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Let Simply Bridal do the work while you fall in love with the wedding dress of your dreams!

This online retailer is now offering an exclusive 15% off all purchases!!! 
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This substantial discount is offered for a limited period only. 
Ladies, here’s your chance to get a FABULOUS custom made wedding dress at a FABULOUS price!!!

With this AMAZING discount offer you can have your choice of numerous GORGEOUS wedding dresses!!!

I'm loving this Chiffon A-Line Strapless Wedding Dress with Ruffles  

Or this Satin A-Line Strapless Wedding Dress with Lace Embroidery on Organza Skirt

So pretty right!?!?!

Hope you'll check them out in your search for your dream wedding dress!!!

Thanks to Simply Bridal for allowing me to share this AWESOME discount with my readers here on My Road to Mrs!!!

I was not compensated in any way for this post!

I just wanted to share a sweet deal with you lovelies!!!

The Great Floral Debate

Remember my debate over real v. fake flowers for the wedding?

I even posted a poll where you could vote!

The results were pretty much in favor of real... 

Who am I kidding... 

It was 27 to 1 in favor of real flowers.

So I debated... I consulted... and I finally decided what would be best for US. 

Yep... we're going fake. Fake flowers for our wedding. 

***

 Do you know that when I googled "real v. fake flowers" for an image there were like three pictures from my blog not at all related to  flowers... Interesting fact. ;)

I finally decided I liked that picture of the pretty daisies... real or not. ;)

Anyway... When it comes down to it, fake will be cheaper. They were easier to track down as far as type and specific colors. 

AND we can start putting them together as soon as they come in. 

I am getting the two days before the wedding off from work. 

Barely enough time to get my behind in gear and drive the few hours to my parents house 

(where we'll be pre-wedding.) That said, trying to insert time to put together flower arrangements and bouquets just wouldn't happen.

So yesterday I finally sat myself down and ordered our flowers. 

I had been putting it off... I guess because of the debate over real v. fake... but also because I knew it was going to be a significant expense.

Thanks to Afloral.com and their free shipping promotion going on UNTIL yesterday, I knew I had to get it done. So, I did. Free shipping is a GREAT motivator. 

And it was not as expensive as I had feared! I got flowers for my bouquet, the girls' bouquets, pre-made boutonnieres for the guys and the dads and enough flowers for our centerpiece vases! I even ordered some less expensive daisies to make a toss bouquet that the lucky recipient can keep!! :)

As well as all the floral tape, wire and ribbon to put it all together!!!

Thank goodness for a horticulturally talented sister! Thanks Kayli!!!

So that's done! A HUGE to do off the list!!! 

And only... 24 days to go!!!

It's getting serious now friends... ;)

Now to find something the girls can toss from their flower girl baskets..

Any suggestions???

Fake petals aren't going to work on the golf course I'm afraid...

So what about you? Did you/will you have real or fake flowers?

Do you think it matters and if so why?

Our Wedding Invitations!

Since we FINALLY seem to have sent out all of our wedding invitations, it won't be spoiling it for any of the receivers to share them with you all here on the blog now... :)

I work next door to a print shop... I think I may have mentioned this before... 

But my boss and his family dabble in a little bit of everything. 

I actually sell accounting software, in the back office of their print/copy shop!

So it was EASY to decide where to get our invitations printed!!

I always wanted something simple. Just a card, with LOTS of pictures. 

And thanks to Debi of CMI Quick Copy, that's exactly what we got!

I simply took her our CD of engagement photos, told her an idea of what I wanted and our wedding colors and in a day or two she brought me several options! 

I looked them over, decided which one was my favorite, then took them to Mr. M. 

Surprisingly he chose the same one!

So, for your viewing pleasure... haha. 

Here is the front of our invite! 

Excuse the squiggles... Still trying to protect at least a shred of personal information. :)

*Even though I've slipped and mentioned my fiance's first name a time or two... haha. Oh well.

I LOVED that the background sort of looks like distressed black denim.

I also LOVED how she placed the wording over the photo of us riding. :)

And here's the back.

The envelopes we chose were the classier plain white ones. We didn't want to spend too much on envelopes because they just get thrown away after they're opened... 

But we didn't want them to be see through either...

Debi even printed the addresses and our return address on the envelopes for us!

They have a new printer that does it so easy! She just used the same font that is on the invites and they looked really nice! 

Plus it saved me SO much time not having to hand write the envelopes!

Instead of paying for RSVP cards and the postage to have them sent back... 

Which can add up SO quickly... 

We just included a line at the bottom that said, 

"Please RSVP at www.ourweddingwebsite.com...." 

We aren't doing a plated sit down dinner or escort cards, so RSVP's weren't that important to us. The RSVP on the website will give us an idea of how much food to have and chairs, and that's really all we needed! Saved us a bundle! :)

So... What do you think???

Did you/will you do RSVP cards? Were they important for your day?

Other ideas for handling RSVPs?

Getting a Marriage License in Arizona

Awhile back this little notice came up on my Knot wedding checklist....

 Research local marriage license requirements

Time to research how to go about obtaining our license to wed. 

Since we are getting married in Arizona, our local requirements are those of the state of Arizona obviously, so these guidelines won't pertain to you unless you are also getting married in Arizona... 

But depending on where you are getting married they might be similar.

And it's good information to be thinking about regardless... 

***

Thanks to the Graham County website, I learned a few important facts about an Arizona marriage license:

• You do not have to obtain your license in the county where you are getting married! In Arizona you can get the license in any county and it's good anywhere throughout the entire state!
  Good to know because the county seat of the place where we are getting married... It's um... about 2 hours away from the wedding location... And a good four or so hours from where we live. So a quick trip to the courthouse would have been a weekend trip if that had been the case! 
• Both parties need to be there, in person, to apply for and receive a marriage license. This seemed obvious to me and it might to you to. But when I told Mr. M we could get our license here in town, he was all, "OK, just go get it sometime then..." Um... No. You gotta come too silly. :)
• No need for a blood test or a waiting period.
  Phew!!! Blood is never a good sign for a wedding... haha. 
• The application fee is $72 in AZ.
  BUT... An interesting fact I just learned thanks to the Arizona Wedding Blog... That $72 ONLY gets you the license. To obtain a certified copy of the license (paperwork you have to have in order to legally change your name) you've got to pay $98.50! Glad I read that before heading to the local courthouse... It would have been embarrassing to have to leave license-less because we didn't bring enough mullah! 
• After you're married, your officiant needs to sign and return it to your county clerk's office to be recorded. Apparently, they provide you with a pre-addressed envelope for that purpose.

So there you have it... How to go about obtaining an Arizona marriage license!

Now to figure out a day when both Mr. M and I can go get one. 

Did you encounter any problems getting your marriage license? 

Are your local requirements similar or completely different from AZ's?

I'd love to hear from you!!

P.S. On a different note...

HAPPY HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION DAY 

to my SISTER, KAYLI!!!

Who is also my MAID OF HONOR!!! 

WHOOT WHOOT!!!