Let me tell you, I never in a million years imagined how many times I'd be asked "are you changing your name?"
I shouldn't be surprised, I've been engaged since June so I've had a lot of time to be asked this question AND I'm in graduate school working on a PhD. But, still, I have no 100% answer and it seems like this is a hard decision for a lot of ladies these days.

Even if you've firmly decided to take your man's name you still have to decide if you'll keep your middle or your maiden name as your middle. I remember one conversation with Carly about this where we went through many iterations of her name. Heck, I'm not sure what some of my friends legally decided on. Many of them do FIRST MAIDEN NEW NAME on facebook but that's for searching purposes.

There are so many angles to this debate... from its weird take a new name, its sweet to take it, its practical for the sake of the children or its a feminist cause... the list could go on.

For me, most of it stems on the professional side of things. I've worked hard to publish under this name and I'm not sure I want to change it. I know some people try to remain under their maiden name professionally but legally change it, but I see this as a huge headache.

Fortunately, I'm not stuck with some awful new name possibility like Julia Gulia. So, thanks Andy for having a good last name at least. I know one option I wont' consider.... the hyphen. It just seems annoying. Then do we hypenate the kids names too? What happens if they meet hyphens someday and they get married?? Quadruple hyphen???

Or, if we get crazy I can try to persuade Andy to take my name (I'll get a PhD first, therefore I win?!). I'm not sure that's really on his agenda BUT if we want to be fair about it I feel he should consider it for more than a half second.

I also suppose I can give up my middle name (Nicole) and use my maiden name as a middle name but I don't really like that. I like Alison Nicole, its pretty. Also, what's the point of keeping my maiden as a middle, it'll never get used because middle names are pretty darn pointless most of the time.

Oh, and I can't forget about the combination last name... Millinger, Rellet?

Sooo many options! And I'm still on the fence. Anyone want to share how they decided? Are you happy with your choice? Are there other options I'm missing?

WHOA.. it's been over two weeks since I blogged. Well I have two incomplete entries in my saved drafts but its time to get back to wedding planning and blogging.

Two of my dear bridesmaids, Kelly and Carly, were in town last week and I had a chance to give them a tour of my venue! It definitely got me out of my planning rut and got me excited again!

Since I've last blogged I've firmed up things with my photographer and my DJ and I couldn't be more excited. Our photographers are friends of my parents from Michigan who do wonderful work and they're willing to travel to Alabama to photograph my wedding. I'm super excited. With something so personal as photos its nice to not go with complete strangers.

I'm also really excited about my DJ. He is really laid back and has so many helpful suggestions. Some other DJs I talked too are really in-your-face and that's just not my style. I have this deep fear that my DJ will be a cheeseball. If you hung out at the sea lab you'd understand. There's this DJ/karaoke that used to be hired by the lab and other local places and he was TERRIBLE!!

He was a greasy, short, balding man. He dresses in button down Hawaiian style shirts. He really hams it up in general but the worst is when the party gets a little slow (undoubtedly because he sucks are choosing music) he decides to sing a karaoke song himself. His choice is always a Prince song that features him singing about touching bodies. The entire thing is terrible, gross and inappropriate. This is what I fear for my wedding. Granted, I won't have karaoke but still, its a valid concern.

I still have a few big things to get done but I mostly need to start buying things. I've assembled ideas for so long that it's time to get to starting! I'm excited!!!

Well friends, as I keep saying, I'm trying to actually commit to some ideas instead of just finding more and more options. This weekend's activity is to narrow down my centerpiece options.

Our reception will be in this beautiful courtyard! The courtyard is full of those metal tables. If you look close, you'll also see some tall bistro tables on the porch. Since our reception is cocktail style, we're not having any formal place settings, etc. Instead, I'm looking for some sort of centerpiece to dress things up but not get in the way.

I'll be doing tablecloths on all the tables. I'm debating between white with teal runners or all teal. The tall bistros will definitely have teal cloths.

Our ceremony is going to take place at sunset so the reception portion will take place at night, so this is an important consideration in the type of centerpiece I do. There are pretty globe lights strung up over the courtyard that give it a nice soft glow but I think it'll be too dark to see all flower centerpieces so I definitely need some candles.  I'll also need some of these centerpieces to place on the bar, guestbook table, etc.

So here's what I'm thinking...

Floating candles. I really love the look of these tall cylinders with orchids and floating candles. I think they incorporate flowers and candles.

Or something like this (but with a few more flowers and candles, this is a little sparse I think). I know Old Time Pottery has some really affordable bowls like this one. I actually already have one HUGE bowl like this. My mom and I bought it at an estate sale because it was super cheap! I like the low profile that these will have.

Now, I love orchids but I also want to explore other flower options for submerged flowers since orchids can be expensive! Problem is, I have no clue what color I'm going for. The wedding colors are teal and black but clearly those aren't flower colors. I need to decide on one or two colors for my bouquet, centerpieces, etc. Maybe purple and yellow? (PLEASE give me suggestions!)

Of course, there are always Calla Lilies which are lovely but Callas are not exactly an inexpensive option either! But, on the plus side, Callas are very dramatic so you don't really need many to have an impact. These are lovely if I do tall cylinders but they won't work for the shallow floating bowls.

Then I found these floating gerbers! I love them. The blooms are so bright and cheerful. I also found garden roses and carnations. Oh and huge lilies. So, it seems like the possibilities are truly endless.

Step 2. Look up flower prices on Fifty Flowers. If you're not familiar with that site, its a highly rated wholesale internet flower distributor that is earning rave reviews from DIY brides.

Carnations $0.57-$1 per flower
Garden Roses $2.50-$3.50+ per flower
Gerber Daisy $1.50 - $2.50 per flower
                                                                          Orchids (loose blooms) $0.45- $2
                                                                          Mini Callas $2- $5

GOOD NEWS! Loose blooms (i.e. not on a stem) are really reasonable for orchids. 400 blooms are $179. If you buy in bulk they're a great deal. All the others I've been pricing are on stems, which can obviously be removed. Now, orchids on a stem, that's a whole other ballgame. But, seriously, what a pleasant surprise :)

Anyone have an suggestions on flowers? Colors? Tips? I love your input!!

I know I've gone on and on about my love of aquamarines and how much I love my aquamarine engagement ring but I don't think I've shared exactly how my ring was picked out in the first place.

I know ladies go to great lengths to give hints to their significant others from subtle to not so subtle. I've had a fair number of friends get engaged before me, so there was ample time to bring up the subject of rings without looking like a totally crazed bridezilla-to-be. I'm pretty sure Andy had heard me mention aquamarine once or twice while we were dating.

What I didn't know is if he knew anything about style of rings because, really, how many guys pay attention to these sorts of things. I love antique filigree styled rings. For me, if I was going the non-diamond route, I didn't really want it to look like I swapped out the diamond in the classic solitaire. Every time a friend got engaged or something wedding related crosses my path, I'd kill a few hours on the web looking for aquamarines. They're not that abundant so it always took a lot of digging. Also, many of them are cocktail style rings or birthstone rings which never screamed engagement.

One day I actually stumbled across a ring I liked on eBay! It was so pretty. I looked at it for a few days. It was filigree but not chunky like many I'd seen before. I loved it. So, in a random moment, I sent the link to Andy in an email. The subject "hint, hint". All I got in return was an email from Andy. Subject: hint, hint and a link to a $10,000 TV. Andy and I send each other random emails ALL time, so, I laughed at his response and thought nothing of it ever again.

Fast forward to June 11, 2010. Andy and I get engaged and its the same ring!!! He had bought it on eBay but first he created a second eBay account so I wouldn't recognize his username. The ring was from an online jeweler so its always on Buy It Now. He was afraid I'd had it on my watch list and I'd know when it went away! Of course, he gives me way too much credit because I had no clue and I definitely wasn't watching the ring to see if it was sold.

But here's the crazy part. When I thought I'd write this blog, I got on my good old Gmail account and did a search to find the email I'd sent Andy. I wanted to be correct in retelling the story. I quickly found the email and then I noticed the date on the email. June 11, 2009. I sent the ring email to Andy EXACTLY one year before we got engaged.

First, WHOA, was I really thinking about getting married a whole year before we got engaged? But, its so cute. I told Andy and he tried to pretend like he did it on purpose but then got on Gmail to verify himself. I'm still sort of stunned at the coincidence of it.

So, that's the whole story of how I picked out my engagement ring!

Anyone else got a good story? Do most ladies have a say in their ring choice or do you know anyone who was REALLY surprised?