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Our Wedding Reception...Part 2!

5/23/2016

Happy Monday everyone! It is a beautiful day here in Massillon, Ohio, and I am sitting here inside a Starbucks, truly thankful and grateful for my life! I am so just so excited that I get to share my life with you guys every week! I love pouring out my heart on the internet, and knowing that you are there to read it! Ok anyways! End rant! And begin blog post! I have today, another wedding post for you guys! Wohoooo!!! The last one was part one of our wedding reception, the decorations and food and all that. Today's post is all about the activities of our wedding reception, and all the special moments captured!

First off we had the speeches and toasts. I of course cried at all of them! This is my little sister giving her heartfelt and amazing speech.

My Dad saying the prayer before we ate. He of course cried also!

The Father Daughter dance!
I am such a daddy's girl, so I am so happy that we did the father daughter dance!
We danced to "My Girl" by the Temptations. We even did a little routine!
After the dance was over, the record skips, and on comes, "The Twist" by Chubby Checker. I look at my dad, and he breaks into the dance! I was shocked! My dad is not a dancer! I was impressed enough that I got him to do the father daughter dance, and here he is shakin' his booty, doin' the Twist!!! So we got to dance two dances together! His little surprise was such a hit, absolutely everyone loved it and was talking about it! He told me later that he would go outside every night, and practice doing the twist! My Dad is just the greatest!

Right as my Dad started twistin',and me losing it! I love this picture!

Our first dance
*Sigh*

We danced to our song, "Only You" by the Platters.
It was romantic and sweet, and absolutely perfect.

For the dancing we didn't want a bunch of people bumpin' and grindin' all up on each other, and plus, we wanted to keep with the 1950's theme. So! We had a professional dance instructor (above [who also happens to be our good friend, and the dj's wife]), teach everyone a couple of retro dances! It was such an amazing time! Everyone got to learn something new, and it was a blast to see the past coming to life, by people doing the twist, the stroll, and swing! Take a look at how much fun we had!

And we will end our big day with our grand exit!
We wanted to do something different than the usual bubbles or sparklers, so everyone threw sprinkles at us instead!
Me, my mom, and my sister spent hours filling plastic sandwich baggies with sprinkles, then tying them shut with pieces of lace! It was adorable, and these pictures turned out great!

And that was our reception!
All images were captured by Graham River Productions.
Thanks so much for stopping by and looking! If you enjoyed it don't forget to share it around!
P.S if you haven't seen my wedding video yet, I highly recommend it!

Peace Love and My Reception
Jess <3

6 Comments

My #1 Secret to Saving Money for Travel

5/9/2016

16 Comments

My #1 Secret to Saving Money for Travel!

I have been to 15 countries and counting.
I am no expert by any means, but I think, that I have figured out the magic formula to saving money for any vacation, to anywhere in the world! Without going broke, without having to make $100,000 a year, and without having to save for your entire life just for one vacation!
This one magnificent secret of mine will prove to you, once and for all, that in order to travel the world, you do not need to have a great paying job, be famous, or inherit a butt load of money. It will show you that even if you are working for minimum wage, have never traveled before, and have no rich uncles dying any time soon, you can still go on your dream vacation!!! How exciting is that?!! I'm excited! And you should be too!
Read below to find out my #1 secret to saving money to travel, and start planning your dream trip today!

In Australia. 2006

My #1 Secret to saving money for travel is.....

Figure out the exact amount of money you need.

In Vanuatu. 2006

Ok stay with me! Let me explain!
The reason most people don't go on fabulous vacations and adventurous trips, is because they get it in their heads that travel is a luxury they just simply can't afford. This is however, not the case, and when you figure out the exact amount of money you will need for your vacation, you will be able to visit anywhere in the world!
Just do as I say below, and it will all become clear!

How to figure out the exact amount of money you need for your dream vacation;
-Find a notebook. This is now your travel notebook! Write down where you want to go, how long you want to stay there, and what activities you would like to do while there.
-Now get online.
Search prices of airline tickets first, as this is usually the biggest expense. Write down the average price (not the most expensive, and not the cheapest, just the price you see popping up the most). Try plenty of different websites.
-Find out if you need a visa to visit the specific country. If you do, write down the price for that.
-Write down the price of hotels. If you're feeling adventurous and want to save money, use hostelworld. Write down the price of the hotels, and multiply that by the amount of nights you are staying there.
-Write down the price of food (multiplied by the number of times you will be eating), bus fares, taxis, and all of the tourist activities you want to do. This is way easier than you think. Literally type into google; Food prices in Germany, Eiffel Tower ticket price, taxi fares in Costa Rica, etc.
***Note, if you are going to an all-inclusive resort, then you won't need to write down all these things. Just the flight, any activities that cost extra, and the cost of the resort***
-Once you have all this written down (be sure to aim a little high for everything. If you have some leftover, you can simply put that towards your next trip. There is nothing worse than having to cut a trip short because you figured too low for expenses!), add it up!
This is the magic number. Most likely, it is much lower than you would have expected! See! Traveling isn't too expensive for you!
On the next clean piece of paper in your travel notebook, write this number down. Underline it. Circle it!
Next you...

In Thailand. 2008.

Figure out exactly when you would like to take this trip. 16 months from now? 10 months from now?
Take your magic number, and divide it by the number of months you have decided on.

And that number my friend, that little tiny number you see before you, is all the money you need to put aside every month, to go on your dream vacation.

Most likely (unless you choose a very expensive country, and only give yourself a couple months to save), that number is smaller than your rent! Smaller than the price of going out drinking every weekend, smaller than a $5 Starbucks a day coffee! Wow!!!

In China. 2009

Here is an example for you! I want to take a week-long trip to China. In total I need; $1,390 (an average of $800 for the flight, $120 at most [China is dirt cheap, plus I like to stay at hostels] for hotel and food, $270 for my visa, and $200 for activities).
I want to leave for my trip in ten months.
1,390 divided by 10= 139
So the grand total I need to set aside every month, is only $139!
Only $139! Less than $35 a week, less than $5 a day, set aside for less than a year, and I would be able to go on a week-long vacation to China, a vacation that most people could never dream of!
(Can you tell I'm getting excited!!!)

In Costa Rica 2001

So every month, in a separate savings account (bonus, you will be making interest on your money!), a piggy bank, or in an envelope hidden in your underwear drawer, set aside the amount of money that you need.
Now any country, any experience, any trip, is attainable.

In Fiji 2006

Ok so, what if you've read this, figured out your magic monthly number, and are saying, "I can't save that amount of money a month!"

Here is what I have to say to that;
-You're lying. Ok, maybe not. But! I do find it very difficult to believe that an adult person, with a job, can not save an extra $100 a month!
-Read my complete Money Management Series. You should be able to save at least $100 a month with most of my money saving tips.
-Give yourself longer to save. If you need $1,500, but can't save $150 for 10 months, instead, save only $100 for 15 months! Still doable!
-If after all of this, you still can't manage to scrounge up an extra $100 or so a month, then you don't want it bad enough. You would rather spend your money on cigarettes/alcohol/shoes/clothes/going out to eat/starbucks etc.etc etc. And that's ok. If travel isn't your priority, then you will not be able to save up money for it, and you don't have to. If your daily Starbucks is more important to you than travel, then continue buying your Starbucks. But, if travel is a priority, then I know that you will be able to find a way to save that money!

In The Bahamas 2005

This year me and the husband have already had a mini vacation at Kalahari Resorts, we just booked a week long vacation for our one year anniversary, to an all inclusive resort in the Dominican Republic (!!!), and we have a couple other trips in the works! We are so excited about it! And we are able to do all of this, using the secret that I just shared with you!
(Psst! If planning a vacation seems scary or too complicated for you, message me about World Ventures, the travel club that me and my husband joined. They have thousands of super affordable "Dream Trips", all around the world, and all you have to do is pay one lump sum for the already planned hotels, activities, and sometimes even food!)

I am just so excited for you! I hope this post has inspired and excited you! Let me know below in the comments what your dream vacation is, and what your magic number is for it!
I would absolutely love to hear all your magic numbers, and your plans for your destination!