Hi all – life has been insane lately. Just a few updates before we get into things, I am now officially in Utah and have been living here for the past 3 weeks! As stressful as this move has been, I have never been in a better place both in my relationship with my fiance and my relationship with myself. I believe that this move has taught me that not everything in life will happen the way you think it will. Be still and have patience. The lord will lead you where he wants you to be.
Utah is stunning. Ever since I was a little girl, I have always wanted to live in the mountains as I have always thought they were magical. Throughout the long distance stint that Brandon and I went through, I also felt the most creative / happy when I was out here visiting him. I did not know if that feeling would stick around after I had moved, but it did. The mountains and mountain people are some of the nicest individuals I have come in contact with. I believe that the quality of life is so much better here just because there is so much exposure to outdoor activities. No matter the weather, there is always something to do. With it being winter, we have been skiing quite a bit. We have been to Solitude, Deer Valley, Brundage, and Park City. It is refreshing to have a unique workout every weekend that I would have never got living in Dallas. While I have enjoyed the skiing scene, I am WAY better at hiking. So, if you have any hikes that you recommend in Utah or the surrounding 4 hour radius, please comment them below so I can make sure to get those added to the list.
I am going on week four at my job and am finally getting the hang of their systems. I do have to say – I never thought I would be in outside sales for a scaffolding company, but it is teaching me more than I could have thought possible. My previous boss was extremely toxic and narcissistic. I am thankful to have a boss now that is the complete opposite of that. This job has been the breath of fresh air that I had been needing for months.
Now, let’s talk wedding planning. My best advice so far is know your budget and DO THE RESEARCH!! I cannot say this enough. Brandon and I walked right into the venue and knew it was the one. We didn’t waste hours touring multiple venues as we compared and contrasted venues in the area (Las Vegas) and found what we could afford. We realized that this was it and just wanted to set up the visit to ensure that everything online lived out to be true in person and it sure did. Check out the venue if you would like – it is called Lotus House!
Money is a whole different ball game when you are talking wedding planning. Depending upon what your parents give you can dictate a lot about your budget and the amount you want to spend on certain items. We are very blessed in the fact that my parents helped us out and my fiancé’s parents will be as well. Aside from that, we will still be paying for a good chunk of the wedding ourselves. We knew that we did not and were not going to go into debt over a wedding so we did the smart thing and created a budget. At first, it is important to create a budget as a whole, but then break it all down and create a budget for the venue, photographer, pictures, videography, so on and so forth. For a glimpse into what we chose to do – we booked a Friday wedding at Lotus House and paid roughly $5,600 to reserve that date and the venue. This price does not include anything else, and at first glance you may be thinking that looks incredibly high. Although, be sure to compare, as we did and found that this was the most cost effective option for our budget and what we wanted out of our wedding venue.
Once you book your venue, then you can start creating vision boards if you haven’t already. It helps that you and your fiancé are on the same page about this. Brandon and I easily made a decision and chose black and white as we feel that this color combination is classy and timeless. Although, there are many other color combinations to choose from and you can find any inspiration that you would ever dream of online. We are now at the point where we are asking our friends to be in our wedding. I have asked all my girls with flowers and Brandon is sending his guys flasks and a couple other things along with a customized note in the package.
We are currently in the process of designing our save the dates and invites. Although we are further away from sending the invites out, we thought it would be good to just get them done ahead of time and save some stress in the future. For both our save the dates and wedding invites we are using Canva. You can pull templates right off the website for free, or create your own from scratch. I would recommend finding a template (if this is the route you are taking) with a front and back so you do not have to re-do the entire save the date like I did. 🙂
We are also in the process of obtaining all of our invite lists’s addresses. This can be a pain in the butt, so I would recommend creating an excel spreadsheet and including all names so you have a total headcount. From there, you can start divvying up who lives in the same household so you can get a good count on how many save the dates you need to order. DON’T FORGET to order a couple extras as keepsakes and photo-ops for the big day. Details are KEY and something you will want to remember forever.
This weekend we are going pick out a tux for Brandon and also pick out his ring. On March 16th, my mom, mother in law, and sister in law will be going dress shopping and I am STOKED!
When we are done wedding planning, I will create a detailed wedding timeline of when I would recommend doing each item in accordance with your wedding date. For example – 12 months out, 10 months out, 8 months out, etc. This will be helpful for the beautiful bride to be’s in the future. 🙂 Keep an eye out for that!
See you next time, pretty’s!
Xoxo, Jeslee
JesVentures ☀️ 
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