Dan was, ahem, conveniently sick today. So he missed out on the bridal show fun, and we didn't make it to Crate & Barrel either. Luckily, my mom stepped in and went with me to the show. We picked up some good info from various vendors, so it should help with the planning process!
We'll find out if we passed our Catholic marriage inventory in a couple of weeks... cross your fingers for us! :)
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
A Few Random Photos with My Bridesmaids
Tiffany, my cousin - we grew up together (obviously)
Ashley, my friend from Millhousen - we worked together at Stone's
Courtney, my friend from college - we lived together in Greece
Rose, my friend from college - she lived on the floor below me freshman year
Kim, my friend from college - we were randomly selected roomies freshman yearBIG Weekend
Ever since Dan proposed, it seems like all of our free time is spent planning the wedding! This weekend is no different. Here is a look at what we have coming up:
We also need to start talking with florists, and I have to start dress shopping - for myself and with my bridesmaids: Rose Case, Ashley Hermesch, Courtney Poulos, Kim Abbott and Tiffany Rambo. It will all come together in the end, I just want to get as much done as possible early on to lessen future stresses!
Have a great weekend!
- A visit with Michael at Michael's on Mass. I need a haircut anyway, but I'm hoping that we can plan out my hair's next seven months so we'll have an idea of what to do with it for the wedding. I threatened Danny that I might shave it all off, and he didn't flinch... but he did say that he would prefer to see my hair in an updo on our wedding day.
- Next up is a trip to see Father Wilmoth at St. Roch. We'll be among the 500,000 Catholic couples who take the FOCCUS Marriage Inventory. I'm a little nervous, but I think we have pretty much already discussed all the topics that we'll be asked about on the questionnaire (kids, finances, etc). We'll see how it goes!
- Sunday morning we are headed to Crate & Barrel for a special wedding event. We get to roam about the store with a scanner to register for the goodies to make our house a little more homey! We'll probably also register at Target, but haven't really got that far yet!
- Sunday is a busy day, because after Crate & Barrel, we are going to the Perfect Wedding Guide's Bridal Show. Let me tell ya, Danny is really looking forward to it!
We also need to start talking with florists, and I have to start dress shopping - for myself and with my bridesmaids: Rose Case, Ashley Hermesch, Courtney Poulos, Kim Abbott and Tiffany Rambo. It will all come together in the end, I just want to get as much done as possible early on to lessen future stresses!
Have a great weekend!
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Day 18: Update
I was feeling really overwhelmed with the entire wedding planning process up front, and perhaps I am still a little stressed, but we have accomplished so much in the first couple of weeks!
- Set a date: September 26, 2009
- Booked a church: St. Roch
- Have an officiant that we are SUPER excited about: Father Wilmoth. He's so kind-hearted, and hey, if he is good enough for Sarah Fisher, he's good enough for us!
- Booked a reception site: the Edelweiss at the German-American Klub. We couldn't be happier with our selection - the management is very accommodating, and we just tasted the food tonight. It is delicious, but the real kicker is that there will be lots of great German beer a flowin'!
- Booked an awesome photographer - Invention Pictures.
- Just about to book our DJ - The Simple DJ. The best part? They aren't cheesy and we get to put together our own playlists. Which means that there will be NO Electric Slide, but we will be doing a commemorative Chicken Dance!
Monday, February 9, 2009
We Have Lift Off!
Saturday morning Dan and I met with Fr. Wilmoth at St. Roch. Everything went really well, and no, I did not burst into flames when I walked into the church. We are both very excited to have him perform our ceremony, which will be held at St. Roch on September 26, 2009. So far, that is the only major detail we have confirmed!
This week, we are hoping to determine where we will be holding our reception. Grafton Peek ballroom in Greenwood is definitely not an option... we met with the owner on Saturday and both of us were extremely frustrated by the time we finished listening to his used car salesman style schtick. Dan confessed that he had several violent thoughts regarding what he could do with a pair of scissors on the man's desk when he refused to let me get a word in edgewise. Overall, this was the worst experience of our wedding planning so far!
After our disappointment, we decided to drop by Valle Vista Golf Club & Conference Center and had the opposite experience: the staff was very friendly and helpful. We have a follow up appointment on Wednesday and are excited about the possibility of having our reception there.
Yay, let the planning games begin! According to The Knot, we only have 229 more days to go!
This week, we are hoping to determine where we will be holding our reception. Grafton Peek ballroom in Greenwood is definitely not an option... we met with the owner on Saturday and both of us were extremely frustrated by the time we finished listening to his used car salesman style schtick. Dan confessed that he had several violent thoughts regarding what he could do with a pair of scissors on the man's desk when he refused to let me get a word in edgewise. Overall, this was the worst experience of our wedding planning so far!
After our disappointment, we decided to drop by Valle Vista Golf Club & Conference Center and had the opposite experience: the staff was very friendly and helpful. We have a follow up appointment on Wednesday and are excited about the possibility of having our reception there.
Yay, let the planning games begin! According to The Knot, we only have 229 more days to go!
Pre-Game: Dan's Side of the Story
So, here's what Carey didn't experience on Super Bowl Sunday:
After I talked with Carey’s dad, the scramble to figure out a way to create a unique, unexpected, and romantic event was all over my mind. I had to figure out some way to get Carey out of the house and put this together for under $100.
Then as luck would have it, I got a window of opportunity. Carey’s college friends wanted to meet for lunch around 11 am, and I knew that she would be gone for about an hour. I started to think about what I could do and where I could propose without raising her suspicions. How about something at the house… flowers and candles in an unexpected room of the house… or maybe some little set up with the mail… or, well, I didn’t have many ideas, but I had an hour.
So around 10 am Carey received a phone call and it did not end with her being happy. See Carey can get, how I should say it, feisty when she’s not in a pleasant mood and not eating all day is a quick path to that end. So after hearing that the lunch plans are off (and knowing she was hungry and cranky), I had to scramble once again, but I couldn’t just tell her to leave the house for an hour. So I did what most guys do when faced with a difficult situation… I got grumpy. Great, now both of us are feisty! Of course, since Carey always knows everything, she came up with the idea that I was cranky because I wanted to nap. Thanks honey, that was what I needed! So I ran with the idea and eventually talked Carey into going to lunch with one of her best friends, Rose, so that I could stay home and nap.
Now came the exciting part… I had to find a ridiculous amount of flowers and candles for under a hundred bucks… not very likely, but possible. I drove to one, two, three flower shops and they were all closed… after all, it was Super Bowl Sunday! After those failures, I decided that Wal-Mart has a flower/outdoor area and wanted to see what they had.
So I went in and… NOTHING… I mean absolutely nothing. Well, I did find some ferns, but come on, a hundred dollars worth of ferns isn't exactly very romantic. As I made my way to the candle aisle I was in panic mode. I grabbed 15-20 candles and then got the bright idea to buy fake flowers… sixty dollars worth later, I was ready to go.
Ok, now picture this. It’s Super Bowl Sunday. I’m in Wal-Mart. I’m walking around with… no, not pizza or chips or beer, but one hundred dollars worth of candles and flowers. I was starting to get really embarrassed and darted to the quickest line…turned out to be the slowest. I actually was diverting my eyes from all the other people in there in an attempt to keep my ‘man card’ from being revoked!
I made it though, and after a few beers to calm my nerves, Carey got home and it turned out really well. I did have to put blankets over the bedroom windows to soften the fake flower look! So kids, the moral of the story is if you want to get engaged on Super Bowl Sunday, make plans ahead of time. And, most importantly, don’t buy everything at Wal-Mart!
After I talked with Carey’s dad, the scramble to figure out a way to create a unique, unexpected, and romantic event was all over my mind. I had to figure out some way to get Carey out of the house and put this together for under $100.
Then as luck would have it, I got a window of opportunity. Carey’s college friends wanted to meet for lunch around 11 am, and I knew that she would be gone for about an hour. I started to think about what I could do and where I could propose without raising her suspicions. How about something at the house… flowers and candles in an unexpected room of the house… or maybe some little set up with the mail… or, well, I didn’t have many ideas, but I had an hour.
So around 10 am Carey received a phone call and it did not end with her being happy. See Carey can get, how I should say it, feisty when she’s not in a pleasant mood and not eating all day is a quick path to that end. So after hearing that the lunch plans are off (and knowing she was hungry and cranky), I had to scramble once again, but I couldn’t just tell her to leave the house for an hour. So I did what most guys do when faced with a difficult situation… I got grumpy. Great, now both of us are feisty! Of course, since Carey always knows everything, she came up with the idea that I was cranky because I wanted to nap. Thanks honey, that was what I needed! So I ran with the idea and eventually talked Carey into going to lunch with one of her best friends, Rose, so that I could stay home and nap.
Now came the exciting part… I had to find a ridiculous amount of flowers and candles for under a hundred bucks… not very likely, but possible. I drove to one, two, three flower shops and they were all closed… after all, it was Super Bowl Sunday! After those failures, I decided that Wal-Mart has a flower/outdoor area and wanted to see what they had.
So I went in and… NOTHING… I mean absolutely nothing. Well, I did find some ferns, but come on, a hundred dollars worth of ferns isn't exactly very romantic. As I made my way to the candle aisle I was in panic mode. I grabbed 15-20 candles and then got the bright idea to buy fake flowers… sixty dollars worth later, I was ready to go.
Ok, now picture this. It’s Super Bowl Sunday. I’m in Wal-Mart. I’m walking around with… no, not pizza or chips or beer, but one hundred dollars worth of candles and flowers. I was starting to get really embarrassed and darted to the quickest line…turned out to be the slowest. I actually was diverting my eyes from all the other people in there in an attempt to keep my ‘man card’ from being revoked!
I made it though, and after a few beers to calm my nerves, Carey got home and it turned out really well. I did have to put blankets over the bedroom windows to soften the fake flower look! So kids, the moral of the story is if you want to get engaged on Super Bowl Sunday, make plans ahead of time. And, most importantly, don’t buy everything at Wal-Mart!
Friday, February 6, 2009
Introducing...
BRADLEY PETE! He's our first official member of the wedding party, and was intensely excited when we asked him to be our ring bearer last night. We even told him he could wear his cowboy hat during the wedding, and when I mentioned that he would be able to walk down the aisle with a pretty girl, he responded, "Mommy?"
The Knot's wedding planning book that Rose gave me said that it is now acceptable to have a dog serve as your ring bearer. Hhmmm, does anyone really want to see Dozer drooling his slime all the way down the aisle?!
Thursday, February 5, 2009
We're Engaged!
Yay, Dan proposed on the most holy of holidays, Super Bowl Sunday! I knew he was planning to at some point soon, well at least I hoped, since we've dated for two and a half years and have lived together for quite a while now. After all, poor Dozer and Harley deserve to have legitimate parents, don't they?
The proposal was a surprise though. I was very oblivious to Dan's purpose for trying to get me to get out of the house, but I finally left for lunch with Rose. After we ate, I was on my way home and Dan told me he was really tired and trying to take a nap, but couldn't fall asleep. The nap line was believable, because he woke up at 4:00 that morning! He asked if I would come back and take a quick nap with him before our Super Bowl party guests came over. I was momentarily distracted by the dogs and Roxy when I first walked in the front door, but then I made it into the bedroom. The first thing I noticed was the smell. No, it wasn't a normal Dan smell, but the fragrance from the 30 or so candles he had lit in the room. Then I noticed all the flowers that were everywhere, and I started thinking to myself, "Hmm... is this what I think it is?" Indeed, once I figured out that he was standing up, and not laying in bed trying to nap, I knew what was happening. He got on one knee, and told me how much he loved me and that he wanted to spend the rest of our lives together. I said yes, but mostly, I giggled. Some girls cry, but for whatever reason, I was so happy and excited that I just couldn't stop myself from giggling uncontrollably. He didn't know what was wrong with me!
Everything about those moments alone together was perfect, and I was so happy that we already planned to have all of our friends coming over in a few hours... it was so wonderful to share our special day with everyone! My ring is beautiful, and was definitely worth the wait (just like Danny)!
Oh, and it turns out, the 4:00 am wake up call was so that he could go down to Greensburg to ask my dad's permission over breakfast... Aw, isn't he a sweet guy?
The proposal was a surprise though. I was very oblivious to Dan's purpose for trying to get me to get out of the house, but I finally left for lunch with Rose. After we ate, I was on my way home and Dan told me he was really tired and trying to take a nap, but couldn't fall asleep. The nap line was believable, because he woke up at 4:00 that morning! He asked if I would come back and take a quick nap with him before our Super Bowl party guests came over. I was momentarily distracted by the dogs and Roxy when I first walked in the front door, but then I made it into the bedroom. The first thing I noticed was the smell. No, it wasn't a normal Dan smell, but the fragrance from the 30 or so candles he had lit in the room. Then I noticed all the flowers that were everywhere, and I started thinking to myself, "Hmm... is this what I think it is?" Indeed, once I figured out that he was standing up, and not laying in bed trying to nap, I knew what was happening. He got on one knee, and told me how much he loved me and that he wanted to spend the rest of our lives together. I said yes, but mostly, I giggled. Some girls cry, but for whatever reason, I was so happy and excited that I just couldn't stop myself from giggling uncontrollably. He didn't know what was wrong with me!
Everything about those moments alone together was perfect, and I was so happy that we already planned to have all of our friends coming over in a few hours... it was so wonderful to share our special day with everyone! My ring is beautiful, and was definitely worth the wait (just like Danny)!
Oh, and it turns out, the 4:00 am wake up call was so that he could go down to Greensburg to ask my dad's permission over breakfast... Aw, isn't he a sweet guy?
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