Legal.

Today, Tom and I are making it legal.

We're heading over to the DuPage County Clerk's office to complete the paperwork for our marriage license!

Once we file this, we have 60 days to get married. And with 38 on the official count, I think we have a nice cushion.

So, with my lovely half-day today (and a full day off tomorrow!), Tom and I are meeting up for lunch and then we're off to file our paperwork.

We're getting SO close! I don't know how I'm going to be able to stand being in the same house as the license and my wedding band and not want to elope!! :)

The Old Hair/Veil Debate.

Here's the dilemma:

My hair is at a medium-length with plenty of layers and sideswept bangs. It's not exactly what you would call "bridal hair." It's a proven fact: my hair usually looks better down than up. Why? I'm not really sure. Fact: I refuse to wear my hair down for the wedding. Fact: I also refuse to wear my veil (if I wear one) on the crown of my head. I will only wear it at the nape of my neck, or not at all.

So how are we going to make this work? I'm not sure. I'll be scheduling an appt. with my normal hair stylist and hopefully she can figure out the puzzle. Below are pictures of how I'd LOVE my hair to be:

Ideally, of course.

June's Checklist -- Totally Successful!

In May, I was only semi-successful with getting things done on my to-do list. But, with the wedding getting closer, it was time to buckle down. Without further ado:

• Workout 5 days a week. I'd give myself a "B" on this one. I was doing this, until I pulled a muscle in my hip. Worst pain I've experienced to date. Honest. Now, I'm doing yoga until it heals. :(
• Assemble, stuff & ship envelopes. Totally successful.
• Celebrate birthday! Success. :)
• Make sure Tom gets his passport (or else I'm honeymooning by myself...) Got it! And it came in the mail last week!!
• Attend 2nd shower, write thank-yous, unpack new stuff! Finishing the thank-yous tonight and tomorrow! :)
• Confirm men's attire with the groomsmen, and hound them until they've figured out what they're doing... Done.
• Paperwork. Arrange new insurance policies, draft will, etc. Half-done. We have to wait for our marriage certificate to take care of the rest...
• Remind Tom to figure out day-of transportation... Done! We've booked a convertible to drive around that weekend! :)
• Begin working on writing ceremony and vows (!) Ceremony - done. Vows -- I still think it's a bit early, though I've been brainstorming.
• Get new accessories for Thomas (shoes, shirt, cuff links, etc.) Done!
• Finalize bridal party gifts... Almost done. Most are purchased/the rest have been figured out.
• Decide on veil...(?) Well, I've ordered the tulle to make it, and will make a final decision once I meet with my stylist this month.
• Make rehearsal dinner arrangements Done! Now I just need to let everyone know...
• Finalize wedding timeline and photographer schedule Done, too!
• Finalize floral selections & send to florist Boo. Not done.
• Draft program & get quote from printer Half-done.
• Reserve & confirm honeymoon hotels Done!

If I say so myself, that was one heck of a month! Go me! :) Unfortunately, July's going to be just as bad, if not worse! Let's take a look:

• Buy wine bottles for "guest book" & ceremony box (more on that later)
• Purchase remaining bridal party gifts :)
• Attend appt. with stylist for hair/veil
• Attend gown fitting (currently being hemmed, bustled at the next)
• Send out rehearsal dinner invites
• Trial hair/makeup runs
• Finish, print & assemble programs
• Get marriage license! (yeah! I think we're doing it this week!!!)
• Go over ceremony with "officiant"
• Wrap bridal party gifts
• Get final count for reception & confirm with Maggiano's
• Confirm & send out final payments for Czarina, Kristen & Kara
• Book airport shuttles and other tours for Australia
• Send "must-take" picture list to Kara
• Finish up music playlists and confirm equipment
• Paint flower girl wands and get them over to Kristen
• Create signs for wedding day
• Finalize after-party arrangements! Yes!!!

Anything I'm missing?? I'm sure there is...

Exhausted.

As predicted, we had such a great (but busy!) weekend.

Our shower on Saturday was fabulous, and we really got some great gifts. We have pretty much everything we need now, and are really excited to get everything organized so we can start using it! Some highlights:

• We got TONS of baking stuff this weekend! Everything from rolling pins to sprinkles to cookie cutters to cupcake carriers -- it's AWESOME!
• We have almost all of our dishes now (short 1 set) and we have all our everyday silverware :)
• We got all of our towels and a shower curtain, which looks lovely with our freshly painted guest bath!
• Pots and pans! (You don't want to know how we've been improvising...)
• A party pack, complete with cooler and tiki torches!
• A crockpot!
• A new tv!!!

Yesterday, Tom and my brother-in-law finished up the painting in our dining room and bathroom, so once we get all our new stuff washed and put away, those rooms and the kitchen should be almost done! :)

I can't believe we have less than 6 weeks to go!!! Stay tuned tomorrow to see how well I did on our checklist!

I Live for Weekends.

Words cannot express how glad I am that today is Friday. This week has just been tedious, filled with many menial tasks.

But tonight, things are a-changing. We're having some friends over for dinner, which is exciting, because we haven't really had anyone besides our families over to our house yet. Then, we're all going out to see the new Transformers movie (that part I'm NOT looking forward to). Tom and I haven't been to the movies in such a long time -- I'm glad we're going, even though I don't approve of the choice! :)

Tomorrow is our 2nd wedding shower! Yay! Tom's parents are hosting his family, his friends, and their friends. I'm really looking forward to it :)

And, on Sunday, Tom and I will be painting our dining room. Again. For the 3rd time. 1st time: wrong color. (oops.) 2nd time: spotty. 3rd time: new (expensive) brushes, new (expensive) rollers = hopefully success. I'm seriously getting tired of our furniture, as well as all the dog stuff crammed into our already packed-with-wedding-stuff living room.

Yay for weekends! :)

Just Say No.

As the days continue to drop and our wedding inches closer, I find myself trying to make last minute additions to the wedding. As soon as I talk myself out of something, I talk myself into something else.

At this point, I'm finding the tedious details to be painful and overwhelming, simply because I have no interest in planning logistics. I'm anxious for our day to arrive, I'm anxious to say our vows and exchange rings, and I'm anxious to jet off with Tom to the other side of the world. The rest is becoming one big, beautiful blur, and yet, I still feel compelled to continue to add to it.

There has to be a point where I just start saying "No." In the wedding planning world, where there is continuous sensory overload, it's tough to stop imagining small details that would "be so perfect."

Today, 200 blog posts later, I'm still struggling. And then, I came across one of my favorite bloggers, offering her no-nonsense, practical and thoughtful ideas, and it seemed like she was speaking directly to me:

"If I've learned one thing planning this wedding, its this: The times that you say 'NO, that is not who we are, that is not what we want' will be vastly overpowered by the times you say 'YES YES YES, this is who we are, this is what we want, this is how we live'." - Meg at a Practical Wedding

So true.

What a Weekend!

With just under 50 days to go until the wedding, we're racing against the clock to make sure that all the details are getting ironed out. This weekend, we knocked out some really big things. First, I had my dress fitting. I approached this with some apprehension, as there was a little concern about my dress actually fitting. And, in a moment of excitement, tugging, pulling, and some oxygen loss, it fit! There's certainly more work to be done, but this is a HUGE thing we don't have to worry about now.

After my fitting, my mother accompanied me to Maggiano's, where we met with our event manager and finalized the menu, timing, and room layout. If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times --- book vendors you feel comfortable with. I am SO pleased with Maggiano's right now. Beyond the food being fabulous, the service is just impeccable. They're so flexible and let us completely customize how the event will flow, rather than just following the typical schedule. They're even going to have waiters walking around passing drinks as people come in, rather than have people wait in line at the bar! We don't even have to pay extra for that, which is a rarity in the wedding planning world. Fresh flower centerpieces and exquisite linens are all included -- and surprisingly, they live up to my standards. Love, I tell ya. I just plain love this place.

I am feeling so much better about everything now. I feel like everything that's left undone is simply small details. If they happen, they happen. If they don't, it won't change our day.

Oh, and since writing the ceremony the other day, I read it daily. I am IN LOVE with it. It's so sweet, simple and honest. I can't imagine having anything else right now!

I know I'm rambling, but I just feel like I'm on cloud 9 right now. Everything is coming together in the most perfect of ways -- this day is simply about celebrating Tom and I, and I am so pleased that it truly reflects us as a couple.

Booked! (And a Freebie!)

Yesterday's post really did inspire to buckle down and finish up the main plans for our honeymoon.

I spent hours yesterday researching hotels, scouring the internet for deals, rating hotels on qualities, features, locations, specials, etc., and sending top choices to Tom for input.

We had originally planned on using our credit card rewards for the hotel cost, but we found out that are type of card doesn't allow transfers to our hotel rewards program. Major bummer. Despite that setback, we were still able to book five-star hotels, get upgraded rooms, and save over $400!

I'll admit that I'm a bit of a hotel snob, and I didn't want to settle for anything less than perfect. You only get one honeymoon, and in reality, probably only one trip to Australia in your lifetime. Armed with that knowledge, and a free sweet upgrade, we booked this glam hotel in the heart of Sydney:



It was originally the old post office, which was converted to super swanky rooms!

While this isn't our exact room, ours will be similar:



We're about 1-2 miles from most of the major tourist attractions (Darling Harbor, Sydney Opera House, Harbour Bridge, the Rocks, etc.). Exciting!

Halfway through the trip we fly from Sydney to Port Douglas, a resort town located off of the Great Barrier Reef.

We're staying at a resort here, so while it's not as modern and swanky as Sydney, it's still pretty awesome. Our room includes a private balcony, and a private entrance into the pool. How cool is that??

With the great deal on airfare, along with my lovely hotel finds, we've saved over $700 off of what we originally budgeted for this trip. That doesn't factor in the actual savings off of the rack rates for the hotels and plane tickets. With the current currency rate, I'd venture to say that we've saved well over $2,000.

And if that's not all, since we weren't able to use our credit card points towards our hotel program, we were able to apply half towards our credit card balance (reducing what we pay for the hotels by about $115), and use the other half to get a new camera for free! (Tom brought my camera to Colorado, and there was a baggage handling incident that caused it to die an early death).

Seriously, a money-saving day indeed! :)

I Need a Vacation.

Recently, I've had a lot of people asking me if I was nervous or if I was overwhelmed. I always say no to both (especially the nervous question!), but lately I've begun to feel overwhelmed. It's nothing I can't handle -- I've certainly planned other events that require timelines be created, speeches be written, people be directed, etc. But, now I'm finding it difficult to plan a rehearsal dinner, a wedding, a reception, an afterparty, and a honeymoon. I feel completely on schedule with the wedding stuff, but I feel like I've devoted no time to planning our honeymoon, and that is not typical of me.

When I travel, I make itineraries. Several, actually. I create budget spreadsheets, get directions to local restaurants, book excursions early on, program taxi numbers in my phone --- the works.

With 7 weeks until we leave for our honeymoon, we still haven't booked the hotels.

I know, I know, I suck. But I've been working on it.

Today, for instance, I just booked a day trip on this:



We'll be sailing the seas, or rather the Pacific Ocean, on this catamaran. We depart at 8:30 in the morning, sail until 10, and then dock at the Low Isles, part of Coral Cay and the Great Barrier Reef. We'll get to snorkel, lounge on a private island, have lunch and afternoon tea, then sail on back to town.



I want to be here, now. As in right now. Or better yet, 10 minutes ago.



Is it terrible that when people ask "Are you excited for the wedding?" I usually respond with "Yeah, but not nearly as much as for the honeymoon."

I think this post has given me a kick in the tush to go and book our hotels tonight.

Surreal...

Today, I've started working on a rough draft of our ceremony.

It is so absolutely surreal to see, on paper, our names, our vows...it's totally strange!

At this point, it's about 9 pages, which I think is pretty good. The rule of thumb is that it takes 1 minute per page to read aloud, which I think we can effectively round up to 2 minutes, to ensure enough time. Maybe, eventually I'll post this for critique, but right now, a) it's WAY too long, and b) it's way too close to my heart to let others (besides Tom and our officiant, and maybe my mom) see.

Seriously, I just can't get over how real this is all starting to feel! It's about time!!! :)

Handfasting: Yay or Nay?

*I may have posted this before, but bear with me, as I think it's worth repeating!)

Handfasting, a traditional Celtic marriage ceremony, is something that has always intrigued me. This is where the term "tying the knot" derived from, and I absolutely love the honesty and simplicity of the ceremony.

We haven't decided if we're going to do this yet, but I'd like to consider it.



Traditional Handfasting Ceremony:

CELEBRANT: [Groom's Name], Will you cause her pain?

GROOM: I May

CELEBRANT: Is that your intent?

GROOM: No

CELEBRANT: [Bride's Name], Will you cause him pain?

BRIDE: I may

CELEBRANT: Is that your intent?

BRIDE: No

CELEBRANT: To Both
Will you share each other's pain and seek to ease it?

COUPLE: We will

CELEBRANT:
And so the binding is made. Join your hands
First cord is draped across the bride and groom's hands

[Bride's Name], Will you share his laughter?

BRIDE: Yes

CELEBRANT:
[Groom's Name], Will you share her laughter?

GROOM: Yes

CELEBRANT:
Will both of you look for the brightness in life and the positive in each other?

COUPLE: We will

CELEBRANT:
And so the binding is made.
Second cord is draped across the couples hands

[Bride's Name], Will you burden him?

BRIDE: I may

CELEBRANT: Is that your intent?

BRIDE: No

CELEBRANT:
[Groom's Name], Will you burden her?

GROOM: I may

CELEBRANT: Is that your intent?

GROOM: No

CELEBRANT: To Both
Will you share the burdens of each so that your spirits may grow in this union?

COUPLE: Yes

CELEBRANT:
And so the binding is made.
*Drape third cord across the couples hands*

CELEBRANT:
[Bride's Name], will you share his dreams?

BRIDE Yes

CELEBRANT:
[Groom's Name], will you share her dreams?

GROOM: Yes

CELEBRANT: To Both
Will you dream together to create new realities and hopes?

COUPLE: We will.

CELEBRANT:
And so the binding is made.

Drape fourth cord across the couples hands

CELEBRANT:
[Groom's Name], will you cause her anger?

GROOM: I may

CELEBRANT: Is that your intent?

GROOM: No

CELEBRANT:
[Bride's Name], will you cause him anger?

BRIDE: I may

CELEBRANT: Is that your intent?

BRIDE: No

CELEBRANT: To Both
Will you take the heat of anger and use it to temper the strength of this union?

COUPLE: We Will

CELEBRANT: And so the binding is made.
*Drape fifth cord across the couples hands*

CELEBRANT: [Bride's Name], Will you honor him?

BRIDE: I will

CELEBRANT: [Groom's Name], Will you honor her?

GROOM: I will

CELEBRANT: To Both
Will you seek to never give cause to break that honor?

COUPLE: We shall never do so

CELEBRANT: And so the binding is made.
Drape sixth cord across the couples hands

Tie cords together while saying:
The knots of this binding are not formed by these cords but instead by your vows. Either of you may drop the cords, for as always, you hold in your own hands the making and the breaking of this union.

A Weak Moment...

I was having a weak moment last Thursday, trapped in wedding-land, where all I could see were artistic photos and wedding magazines, and purchased these:

Well, 10 of these, to be exact. In blue.

I pictured a fun picture like this:


(coincidentally taken by our lovely photographer).

I picture cute pictures in the garden of my sisters and I, each holding one of these, and the extras sitting in a basket for the guests who wanted to stroll in the sunny rose garden...

I admit, it might not have been my finest moment, but at $4 each, I thought it was worth it.

Besides this moment of weakness, the rest of the month has been going pretty well. Just wait until you my to-do list at the end of the month!!! I am on top of it! And really, with 56 days until the wedding, I need to be! Things are creeping up!

YUM-O!*

One of the tasks on my list that I've been putting off until closer to the wedding was choosing the final menu. Maybe fate somehow had this in its hands, because Maggiano's just updated their menu offerings, which would have negated all the hard, hard work it would have taken to choose between an omelet or a scramble :)

Upon reading the updated menu, I am once again so glad we're having the reception at Maggiano's! One thing I had stated from the beginning of this process was that I did not want to pay $60 a person for dry chicken. Tom is not a picky person, yet we somehow end up in the McDonald's drive-thru after several weddings because neither one of us could eat the chicken. I think Maggiano's offers the best of both worlds -- affordability (surprisingly) and FANTASTIC food!

Our package includes:

• Assortment of muffins
• Sliced seasonal fruit
• Croissants, Assorted Jams & Butter
• Fresh Baked Zucchini Bread
• Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake
• Assorted Fruit Juices
• Regular & Decaffeinated coffee
• Assortment of Hot Teas
• Fran's Potatoes with Roasted Peppers & Onions

Along with a choice from one of each bullet:

• Scrambled Eggs, Italian Sausage & Bacon Frittata, or Spinach & Tomato Frittata
• Cheese Crispelles, Apple Crispelles, or Cinnamon French Toast with Caramelized Bananas
• Italian Sausage or Bacon

Because a few people attending are vegetarian and one of my coworkers is Muslim (no pork products), I'm leaning towards choosing the Spinach & Tomato Frittata, and then those who want meat can enjoy the bacon. Also, I LOVE almost anything banana, and I love me some french toast, so I think that's what we'll go with in the middle category.

I do have to run it all past Tom, but I'm pretty sure he'll just shrug his shoulders and say, "Whatever. I eat anything."

So, what do you think? Put your votes in now, or forever hold your peace! :)

*normally I detest Rachael Ray, but in this case, this was the only clever title that I could come up with.

Feeding My Love Language...

Gary Chapman's best seller, The Five Love Languages discusses how people demonstrate and feel loved, specifically breaking it down into five separate categories.

I always knew that I enjoyed buying people things, more so than I enjoy shopping for myself, but I never realized that this was how I demonstrate love until I read this book. Quite an aha moment, really.

But it's true. I LOVE buying people gifts. I love brainstorming for ideas, I love analyzing them to figure out what they need or want, I love wrapping it up, and most of all, and I love seeing how much they love it (because really, I'm good at it. I'd say 98% of my gifting endeavors are highly successful).

So, I knew that I wasn't going to be gifting our bridal party and parents with standard gifts. Not an option. I also really didn't want to give them all the same gift, because that just seemed so impersonal. We are thanking these people for sharing this day with us --- does a monogrammed flask really do the trick?

I set out on a quest to find the "perfect" gifts for my sisters and my nieces. I'm 2/5 done with my sisters, and still on the hunt. I bought gifts for 2 out of 3 of my nieces last night, and I'm absolutely thrilled with them.

Normally I don't give jewelry to people. I feel that it's a very personal thing, and I certainly wouldn't expect someone to understand what I wanted to wear every day (though coincidentally, I wear my pearl earrings, a gift from my parents, every single day). However, in this case, it just felt like the right choice.

For my older nieces, one is turning 6 and the other just turned 3, Tom and I purchased lockets. Originally, I was only going to get this for the older one, but both Tom and my mother convinced me otherwise. We were able to get them engraved with their initials, which I think was a sweet touch.



I personally think they're pretty cute, and is something they can wear every day, or for special occasions, and will be pretty timeless.

It's safe to say that we have a pretty special relationship with our nieces, and Tom and I both felt strongly that we should get them something to reflect that, not just an embroidered flower girl tote or t-shirt.

Now, does anyone have good ideas for a 1 year old? (Just kidding, I've got plenty of ideas!!)

Adventures in Wilder Park

The beauty of getting married 10 minutes from where I work is that I can steal away on my lunch hour to complete wedding-related tasks.

Yesterday, I met with my lovely florist, Kristen from Kio Kreations, to view the ceremony site in full bloom and decide if we need to add any more arrangements. We decided that we really need nothing besides petals, and a piece of fabric for the arch. I'll explain that once we hit the right photo...

The entrance to the park, with the ceremony tent peeking out:



This looks like the same shot, but I really just walked to the other side of the garden (so the tent is at my back, and took a picture of the entrance.

The tent! Straight ahead is where we'll be standing, with chairs filling up the grassy area...

This is where we'll be standing in less than 8 weeks!

The black arch you see has been primed for clematis growth, but it doesn't look like it will fill up completely in time for the wedding, so we're going to secure green sheer fabric (that will match the sashes on the chairs) and stretch that across the top of the arch. It won't be draped, as Kristen thinks that will take away from the simplicity of the garden itself.

There will be large amounts of petals, however. They will line the aisle, outline the circle, and then fill it to create the "pillow carpet" that I had talked about previously.

Magic, I tell ya.

Oh, and the flowers planted behind the "altar" are white lilies, and there's a very good chance that they'll be in bloom just in time for the ceremony!

We'll just have to wait and see!

I absolutely LOVE this space!! Now, if only I can figure out the processional...

In the Mail!

On Sunday, I picked the envelopes up from the calligrapher, and surprise, they're fabulous!

Yesterday was a flurry of stamping, stuffing and sealing, but this morning, there was a stack of 100+ invitations ready to head to the post office.

Here they are, in all their final glory:



The completed "invitation suite":

You can see the DIY envelope liners that I did (with the help of my lovely sister Nicole) back in January. I think they turned out quite smashing! :)

Knowing what I do now would have saved me some time, money and aggravation, but the truth is, this probably wasn't as painful as it could have been. And, when all is said and done, the final product is really close to my original vision (and hey, maybe even better?).

I'm so glad to have this done! Now, onward to tracking the responses! I know this will be a fun task, because I was already handed back a blank one from one of my coworkers where he wrote in that there were 148 people attending...haha.

Grateful.

Today's my 23rd birthday (I know, I know...I'm young. My coworkers affectionately call me a zygote). In honor of this, I thought I'd do something a bit different. So, without further adieu:

23 Things I'm Grateful For (and a surprise at the end!)

1. Thomas. There are not enough words in the world to demonstrate how grateful I am to have this wonderful specimen of a man in my life.
2. My family. Through it all, they encourage me, keep me grounded, smile with me, laugh with me, cry with me...Whether or not it's a late night or early morning phone call because I just need to talk, or it's just a lazy Sunday morning thumbing through the Sunday ads while eating Mom's pancakes, they're always there.
3. My nieces. While certainly a part of #2, their smiles, hugs, sloppy kisses, giggles, and sweet words bring me more joy than I ever knew possible.
4. Dunkin' Donuts coffee. Starting now, these are in no particular order. But seriously, I love this coffee.
5. My job. Everyone has moments of frustration, but overall, I love my coworkers (who I'm grateful for, too! Yay for bringing me cookies today!), have great flexibility, and pretty much enjoy what I do. And I get a paycheck. Not too shabby.
6. Our house. More specifically, the whirlpool tub that I used for the first time last night. (Side note: I'm not particularly grateful for the muscle pull in my back that required me to use the tub. Stupid working out.)
7. My puppy. Once you get past his crazy barking fits and his occasional temper tantrum, he's a sweet, sweet boy who loves to cuddle with me at night. More than once I've woken up to find him sleeping on the other half of my pillow...haha.
8. My friends. I'm so very grateful that they haven't ditched me after all my hair-brained schemes...you know who you are, girls! :)
9. A sense of humor. Seriously, people are boring without one.
10. J.R. Watkins Apothecary Lemon Cream body cream and hand lotion. These 2 bottles are within 6 inches of my hands at all times at work. True love, people, true love.
11. Fresh flowers. I pick up a bouquet weekly at the store, and they just make me smile.
12. Sweet Iced Tea with Lemons. Constantly chilled in my fridge --- yum! :)
13. My BlackBerry. I'm connected ALL the time, and I love it. I told Tom last night that I would never, ever have a normal phone again.
14. My past. It's shaped me to who I am now, and brought me to where I am, and I'm always grateful for that.
15. Love Actually. If this movie had never come about, my life would be less rich.
16. The opportunity to travel. I'm so thankful that I can go where I'd like and experience what I want. Not everyone has that opportunity!
17. New clothes. I got a bunch of new clothes yesterday (an early birthday present). There's something about putting on a brand new outfit that just boosts your self-esteem. :)
18. Flip-flops. My life would not be complete without these.
19. My ability to write. Whether or not I'm making one of my crazy lists, writing for work, or just blogging for fun, writing has always been a creative outlet, and I'm so grateful I've discovered it and used it to my advantage.
20. Chocolate. What list would be complete without it?
21. Manicures and pedicures. A guilty indulgence that I'm most definitely grateful for.
22. My GPS. I'm grateful that I never have to worry about getting lost again.
23. My finished wedding invitations. Yep, you read that right. They surprised me and arrived yesterday. Ta-da!

Oh, sweet, sweet love.

Happy Birthday to me!

Shipped!

My invitations were shipped today, with 3-day shipping, which should put them on my doorstep on Friday.

What's so exciting about that, you ask?

Well, Friday's my birthday, and I couldn't ask for a better birthday present! YAY!

How weird is it going to be HOLDING my wedding invitation? Ahh...so strange!!

I just can't believe how soon everything is creeping up. It feels like just yesterday I was complaining to Tom that we wouldn't be married for another 2 years and pricing out a huge outdoor tented affair...and now it's 2 months away and couldn't be more perfect!

I still have moments where I kick myself for not coming up with clever favors, or not renting a photobooth (I priced one out over the weekend before coming to my senses), but then I have my moments of clarity, too. For being so detail-oriented, I find it funny that my vision of the wedding day no longer includes any details. All I see is Tom, waiting for me at the end of the aisle, and blurs upon blurs of family and friends smiling upon us. And then it hits me --- that's all that matters anyway.

Because I'm Not the Only Person Attending This Wedding...

The past two weekends have been fairly successful for members of my family out seeking dresses. Last weekend, my younger sister and maid of honor was able to find the cutest black dress for the wedding. It looks SO good on her (I already warned her not to upstage me!). I don't know where she got it, so I can't post the details, but be warned, it's seriously hot. And I'm jealous.

This weekend, I was out shopping with my mother for her dress. After trying on at least 20 dresses, most pretty classic mother-of-the-bride style, she found a winner. I can't really describe the dress, other than to say it's crazy, but in a really, really good way. It's certainly nothing you would ever expect as a mother of the bride dress, but it looks great on her, and that's really all that matters. I tried finding a picture of it, but no such luck. I did find a picture of her shoes, though, which are doubly awesome because they complement the dress perfectly.




The dress, a combination of black, blue and silver, should look really good in pictures (if you ignore the fact that my dad is wearing a green tie!).


In non-wedding news, Tom's back from 2 back-to-back trips, and I'm SO glad he's home! He's going to get his passport today, so we can check that off the list, too!

May Checklist - Semi-Successful!

I think I was pretty successful this month... Without further ado:

• Workout 5 days a week. Umm...I worked out 4 times this week. Does that count?
• Schedule bridal fitting for June Check! Meeting Sue on June 20th!
• Gocco the invitation suite Uhhh...let's go with check on this one. At least they're "finished"
• Address all wedding invitations Also a check...sort of...
• Paint the house! No painting, but the dining room is halfway prepped...?

Okay, so May (with all of its outsourcing) was much better than April. Here's to hoping June is even better!

June goals (and there's a lot of them):

• Workout 5 days a week.
• Assemble, stuff & ship envelopes.
• Celebrate birthday!
• Make sure Tom gets his passport (or else I'm honeymooning by myself...)
• Attend 2nd shower, write thank-yous, unpack new stuff!
• Confirm men's attire with the groomsmen, and hound them until they've figured out what they're doing...
• Paperwork. Arrange new insurance policies, draft will, etc.
• Remind Tom to figure out day-of transportation...
• Begin working on writing ceremony and vows (!)
• Get new accessories for Thomas (shoes, shirt, cuff links, etc.)
• Finalize bridal party gifts...
• Decide on veil...(?)
• Make rehearsal dinner arrangements
• Finalize wedding timeline and photographer schedule
• Finalize floral selections & send to florist
• Draft program & get quote from printer
• Reserve & confirm honeymoon hotels

Okay, so it's going to be a busy month. But I'm SO excited that we're almost there!!

Success!

The invitations are ordered!

It took a few polite but pressing emails, and then wouldn't you know it, I was quoted, checked out, and processing within 15 minutes! I was really happy with the quote, too. The paper for the white part of the invitations, the green mat, the green RSVP cards, and all the printing (both color, double-sided, and full bleed) cost me $110. Including priority shipping. Holla! That brings the total, with the envelopes and blue paper to about $140.

For comparison sake, this invitation below, along with the envelope and a response card would cost me $316.28 to order.


(via WeddingPaperDivas.com)

Despite the frustration of dealing with these, I think we have by far, still made a good decision.

I hope to have these in hand by the end of next week, which would mean that I'll be spending my birthday assembling and stuffing envelopes! :)

My Semi-Productive Weekend...

Well, I'm not going to bother copying my weekend checklist here --- the important thing is that yes, I did get all of our gifts unpacked, cleaned, and organized! It felt SO good to have that done and have our dining room back! Unfortunately, the invitation nonsense STILL hasn't been cleared up yet. I was able to get the designs to the printer, and they promised me a quote ASAP, but I'm still waiting. I sent them a polite email today asking for an ETA since this was supposed to be urgent, and I'm still waiting. (Common theme here, apparently). I told Tom that I was going to give them until mid-day today before I scrapped that and found someone else completely. We'll see. I may turn to my always trusted Etsy.com...

While I didn't complete some of the more craft-intensive projects I thought I would, I was able to get more stuff done around the house, which is more important to me now anyway. I spoke with the calligrapher today...she's making lots of progress on the envelopes, and we should have those back soon!

So, back to the waiting game. I'll update when I know more. Until then, I'll just be working out and sitting by my email...

He Did It!

First, he did this:



Then, he got this:



...and ended up here:



Three must be his lucky number...In his 3rd collegiate track season, Thomas threw 16.33', shattering his previous PR (and school record) of 6.08'. Jumping up from 11th to 7th in the nation, Tom won his 3rd All-American title in the Men's Outdoor Shot Put. With these three titles to his name, Tom is tied with one other athlete at his university to have the most career All-American titles, and he still has another year left next year (which means the possibility of 4 more titles!).

I am just absolutely bursting with pride and happiness for Tom. I've seen firsthand all the work that he's put into the last 6 months of track (and the 4 months of training prior). He spends an estimated 15 hours a week practicing, 10+ hours a week lifting weights, and another 5-6 hours a week running and doing other drills at a separate training facility. I can't even begin to count the number of times he's come home caked in mud and sweat, only to find a layer of sunburn underneath. He works so unbelievably hard, is so constant, unwavering and diligent --- I've never met another person with the determination he demonstrates.

I'd be lying if I didn't say that I'm not happy track season is over. I squealed out loud when he told me he was taking off the summer at the gym! It's just nice to have him around more. There have been a few rough spots this year, trying to balance our time together, his time practicing, his time competing, and then trying to fit everything else (school, work, family, etc.) in. But, weekends like this make everything make sense again. They make all the time apart, the 6+ hours I spend at a track meet, the strain of having another major priority in his life, all of it, worth it.

Who knows what the future will hold for us...this weekend alone he's had people approaching him about job and training opportunities...but the one thing I do know is that I'm happy to just be with him, chasing dreams together. :)

And thus endeth my sappiness. Sorry, but there has to be one of these posts every once in a while.

A Weekend of Tasks...

With the holiday weekend, I have much more spare time than I'm used to. So, I plan to take full advantage of it all and accomplish some of the smaller tasks that I've been ignoring.

What I need to do this weekend:

• Pick up and paint dowel rods and accessories for the girls flower wands
• Pick up, paint & assemble ribbon wands
• Unpack & organize all our new kitchen toys from the shower!
• Mail shower thank-yous (they were finished Wednesday, but I'm just now getting around to getting to the post office)
• Finalize invitation nonsense

This last one, the invitations, have obviously been killing me the last few days. But as always, I think I've found a solution that I'm happy with and won't break the bank.

Before I go into specifics, here's a visualization of the new invitation with my oh-so-lovely Photoshop skills.

Using the blue invitations I still have, I'll be layering green and white mats, the white containing the printing. The text will be black, and our names and the design will be blue to match the backing. I'll be returning the original RSVP cards I bought (luckily they're all still in the package!), and having the company custom cut and print the new ones to match the green of the mat. The printing on that will be black.

Despite all the new paper, and the double-sided and color printing, this will probably only run about $100 or so total. The company I've found is absolutely fantastic, and has promised me a 2-day turnaround on printing, and 3-day shipping! So, if all goes well, I'll still have the invites a week before I wanted to send them. Awesome!! :)

Even though these have ended up costing more than I originally planned on spending, when you add in the cost for the Gocco, this new route, including the professional calligraphy, will probably only end up costing an extra $50. Not too bad, right? When you take into consideration that the average invitation costs $3.50, and ours will end up right around $1.15, I don't feel so bad!

Wakeup Call.

Today marks 80 days out from the wedding (not that I'm counting or anything...).

I had a slight freakout yesterday, and somehow got it in my head that we were 6 weeks away (mathematically impossible, no matter how you calculate it!).

Then I looked at a calendar, realized I was freaking out for nothing, but kicked my butt into gear anyway.

On my way to meet the calligrapher, I called my seamstress to schedule my first dress fitting. Our conversation went something like this: (To help you visualize, picture a teeny, tiny, sweet little Asian woman)

Me: I'm calling to schedule a fitting for my wedding dress. It needs to be hemmed, I believe.
Her: When your wedding?
Me: August 9th.
Her: Oh. You come in soon. June work okay?
Me: Yes. Do you have anything available at the end of June?
Her: End of June no work. Need more time. 13th or 20th?
Me: The 20th will work fine. (Silently panicking...like one more week would really make a difference in how it fits?)

Now that there is a solid date on the calendar, I've been hit with a wakeup call. There is no more rationalizing a cookie at work, a stop at Dunkin Donuts for coffee in the morning...it's all gotta go.

1 month and this dress needs to fit, and fit well.

Before Tom left for Nationals, we decided to start a competition. Since I need to look good in my dress and he needs to shed a few pounds to help his speed in the ring, we're going to do it together. Sort of. (When I'm not sabotaging him with butter in his food! :P -- I kid, I kid.)

The goal: To obtain the highest weight loss percentage.
The prize: Winner gets to pick our annual New Year's Eve vacation spot!

Wish me luck! (Though it's certainly not helping that today is a coworker's birthday and I'm surrounded by cupcakes, chocolate covered strawberries, coffeecake, and headed to a celebratory birthday lunch, right?).

Good Luck, Thomas!

At 4 am this morning, my dear boy departed on an 8 hour journey to Marietta, Ohio.

What's in Ohio, you ask?

NCAA Division III Outdoor Track Nationals, you see.

Again, despite the odds stacked against him, Tom qualified for Nationals in the shot put. They took the top 15 from the nation, and Tom is going in ranked 11th. To get his 3rd All-American title this year, he'll need to jump to 8th place.

I like to tease Tom and call him a procrastinator. He didn't qualify once for shot put until the very last meet on his VERY last throw. Talk about a last chance! As in his nature, this throw shattered the existing the school record.

He competes on Saturday, so we'll be unfortunately waiting on pins and needles until then. I believe that if he captures another title, he'll be the first three-time All-American in the history of his college.

I am so VERY proud of him! I can't wait to report back to you all on Monday with updates! :)

Knowing When to Throw the Towel In - THE FOLLOW UP

It's official -- we're definitely going the professional route on the calligraphy.

I am SO pleased with this decision. I know it's going to turn out absolutely fabulously, and don't regret the price tag!

This is the script we're going with:

Flourished Copperplate:



Our calligrapher, Katie, of Belles Lettres Designs, is fantastic at what she does, obviously. I think it's quite a gift to be able to do calligraphy, and have always admired those that could.

We've opted to go with the white ink on the blue envelope, even though it will cost more. There are still just a few aspects of my vision that I'm unwilling to relinquish.

I'll be dropping off the addresses tomorrow, and in lightning speed, they should be ready sometime next week!! Pictures will definitely follow! :)

PS - I was able to successfully sell my Gocco, so we're not incurring any extra costs here! Holla for the budget!

Fabulous Shower!!!

Yesterday was our first bridal shower, hosted by my lovely and talented mother! Years ago, I called "dibs" on a recipe-themed shower (Hey, in a family of four girls, sometimes "dibs" is the only way to be sure you have a chance to get what you want!). My mother created these super-cute recipe card invitations, and asked the guests to send in some of their favorite recipes. She then compiled a huge book of them for me. I LOVE it! I've probably read through it twice, mentally dog-earing the recipes I want to try!

We are so very grateful to have had all the guests, gifts and good food that made up yesterday. As the very first "wedding event," it was pretty surreal, albeit fun!

It was also a major plus that we made out like bandits!! Everyone was unbelievably generous, and we now have SO much stuff, we don't know where to start the unpacking!!




Yeah, there's a table under there.

And within 20 minutes of unloading the truck, this is what Tom was doing:






He LOVES that goofy vacuum! And it really is as good as the commercial makes it look. Totally recommended! :) (Thanks again, Marie & Omer!)

He also got his vegetable peeler, which he was pretty stoked about! (Way to go, Bec!)

We also received dish towels and oven mitts...

....my favorite tablecloth (from my amazing Maid of Honor!)

Yay! My tea set (along with a date for tea from the gifter!)

And lots and lots of plates from my lovely grandmother, aunt, and godmother!

We got TONS more, too, but these are the only pictures stored on my computer :)

Off the top of my head I know we got a spice rack (2 actually), a few awesome serving sets, a coffeemaker, pasta pot, grill pan, drinking glasses, wine glasses, beer glasses, silverware, a grill (including charcoal, lighter fluid, matches, and every accessory known to man), and our Kitchen-Aid mixer!!

Overall, it was a super fabulous afternoon! Many thanks to my parents for throwing our shower, and to all who attended! We're looking forward to our next shower at the end of June! It should be a lot of fun --- it's going to be co-ed, which should be interesting! :)

Knowing When to Throw the Towel In...

So I feel pretty bad about making such a fuss about the Gocco and our invitations only to have it all fail. Or as my coworker pointed out, failed a tiny bit.

I've come to the conclusion that the amount of time it would take for me to fix the problem, however, is not worth the stress and time involved. As an estimate, the invitations and reply cards would probably take 10+ hours because of the embossing involved, and the calligraphy, because it would have to be written twice to show up, would take upwards of 15 hours.

Determined to stay on budget, I've sought out other solutions. It's tough to give up on my vision, as I've always pictured this a certain way. Below is our invite, so you all can see what I'm talking about as I reference it... (some parts of blurry for privacy sake. You never know who's out there...Be assured, however, that we do have last names and addresses on the real invitation...)





(Designed by my trusty graphic design ninja)

I had always pictured the background paper as blue, the swirl and our names in white, and the other text in green. Since white ink won't print with a basic printer (hence why I purchased the Gocco originally), I'm forced to re-think the color scheme.

What I plan to do now is print the invitation on white card stock, and mat it on the original blue invitation panels we bought. The swirl will be printed in blue to match the backing paper. I haven't decided on text yet. I'm leaning towards keeping the text black and our names in blue, but then there is no green there, and it might look a bit jarring to have a green response card...?

I might do all the text green and our names in blue, along with the swirl. I think this would "fit" better, but I just think the text would look "better" in black.

Le sigh. Any opinions?

Now, since I've decided not to do calligraphy myself, but still have my heart set on it, I've been searching for a deal.

I've found a FABULOUS calligrapher who works out of Wheaton, and is willing to give me a 15% discount, due to the recession.

Isn't it dreamy??





She's also willing to do it all in white ink!

The problem comes that it's expensive. BUT, if I sell my Gocco (and I've already had 2 offers on it) and the favor boxes that I bought recklessly (again, already had an offer on those, too!), it won't cost me anything out of pocket. It's still $250, though :(

Another calligrapher based out of Evanston would be about $75 cheaper, but I just don't think her work is what I'm looking for. I figure if I'm going to spend this much money on something, I might as well get what I want.



So, in the end, the invitations aren't turning out to be what I originally pictured. BUT, I think I may end up with something just as fabulous, or even more so! Stay tuned!

Oh, and leave a comment on which colors I should use to print -- blue and black, or blue and green?

Fail.

I'm about thisclose to completely giving up on invitations all together and just visiting people door to door informing them of the wedding.

Seriously. Thisclose.

Yesterday, I had time off work, so I thought I would utilize it by beginning the envelope calligraphy. It sounded easy enough: format the envelope, type in the address, print in a light blue, trace in white India ink. Done.

But really, nothing is ever easy for me. EVER.

I began by formatting the envelope and entering in the address. I was using my parents' address as my test dummy, because I knew (hoped) they wouldn't mind a lame attempt.

Everything was set, the printer was formatted, I hit the print button.

I heard printing. Success!! I was so excited!

Until I saw what was printing on one of my beautiful envelopes that I had spent HOURS lining:



Tom's PowerPoint presentation. Seriously?? Why don't printers automatically reset once they're unplugged and moved 30 miles?? I don't get it. But, I figured I would take advantage of the mistake to practice using the calligraphy pen and white ink.

You guessed it --- another FAIL.



Ugh. I spent $15 on 2 bottles of this stupid ink. WHY is it not appearing dark? And WHY is it so runny?

Whatever. I'll try printing another envelope and tracing it and see how it goes.



What?? Paper Jam??? You have GOT to be KIDDING me!?!?!?!?

Apparently the envelope is too thick with the liner to feed properly.

So now we have a few choices. We can trek over to my parents' house who have a nicer printer (albeit a little moody) and give it a shot there, we can buy a new printer (which we've been discussing anyway), or we can just kick and scream and cry, then pay a calligrapher $2 per envelope.

What should we do?