right on task

A girl's best friend may be diamonds (and when you get engaged they become your best friend forever, resting peacefully on your left finger), but a girl-planning-a-wedding's best friend is lists. I recently found myself doing exactly what I had been warned would happen, keeping myself up at night making mental lists of all the things that need to happen in the next 6 months before the big day. How could I possibly #1 ever sleep or #2 ever remember all the things that kept me up all night the next morning. I couldn't. So I started to make a written list of everything. Even that didn't relieve the looming "IShouldBeDoingEverythingRightNowOrItWillNeverGetDone" thoughts. Then I realized that was exactly my problem, I was making everything a top priority and thinking I needed to get it done right away. So I further organized my list. I opened Excel, made a tab for each month from now until the wedding (including a separate tab for the week of the wedding, the day before the wedding, the day of the wedding, and even the day after), and started sorting all my to-dos. Now, I have a short, manageable list of things to accomplish each month and I never have to wonder "should I be working on 'this' or 'this' or 'this'?" And guess what I've done this week. I've gone to bed and slept wonderfully knowing the planning is completely under control.

One to-do list item I am particularly proud of getting accomplished was our save the dates. I had a specific vision of what I wanted, and while it took a few tries talking to the designer to get my vision across, they turned out exactly how I imagined. I am so happy with them.

FRONT:

The captions read: "boy meets girl", "boy and girl fall in love", "boy asks girl to marry him", and "girl says yes"

BACK:

The blank space on the back allowed for me to write a personal message to each guest. I especially loved this aspect. It gave each one a personal touch. I was able to write a special note for those in the wedding party, tell guests how much we look forward to seeing them, or simply test out my "artistic side" with some light hearted doodles. Here is the artwork for my brother and sister-in-law's save the date. They live in California and will be flying back to Kansas for the wedding.

I'm looking forward to all the upcoming to-do's in the next 6 months and I appreciate those that will be helping with any of these. It means so much to me. With each task we're one step closer to the big day!!

Short and Sweet

Here is how bridesmaid dress shopping went:

I had a dress in mind that I liked, so it was ready for the girls to try on when we got to Celebrations of the Heart (Celebrations of the Heart girls are so terrific, I highly recommend their shop). Cassie and Andrea each tried it on, Cassie also tried on one other. The dress I had in mind was a clear winner. Chosen. Done. And we moved on to a champagne lunch a few steps down the road at Dela Voce (the same restaurant Andrew took me the night we got engaged. Cute, huh?).

I'm pretty determined to not stress about this wedding. And I don't see any reason why my bridesmaids should stress either. Honestly, why should they? They don't get to take home a brand spankin' new husband that night. I do. So I actually spent more time deciding what to have for lunch at Dela Voce than I did deciding on the bridesmaid dresses. (In my defense they have a lot of really rockin choices.)

Brides everywhere, listen here! This wedding is only happening because it is a celebration of the beginning of your marriage. So let it be a celebration, not the cause of high blood pressure. Celebrate each milestone in the planning process (this can be accomplished with champagne, chocolate, listening to an N'SYNC album in full, whatever excites you most). For those of you who crave exact instruction, I prefer a 1:2 ratio, for each minute spent planning, spend two celebrating. If needed, think of it as practice. You'll be so good at celebrating by the time the wedding comes around, nothing could stand in your way of having a blissfully perfect evening.

Now on to the next task, save the dates!

D.I.Y. ---> D.I.why not?

There will be a lot of tradition at our wedding. I will be walked down the aisle by my father, given away to a groom that has not seen me that day until that very moment, be married by a minister, kiss my husband and be wisked away for a photo shoot. We'll return for dinner, dancing and good times with those closest to us. No surprises there. But a few of the details along the way will reflect a non-traditional wedding. While we will not be married in a church, I think the beauty of the meadow where our vows will be exchanged couldn't show God's presence any clearer. Now, I don't want to give away every detail of the day, but I've recently been working on some homemade items to give our wedding a very personal touch. The first being the bridesmaid bouquets. To keep with the rustic vibe of the wedding, and my severe hesitation to spend a large chunk of our wedding budget on flowers that will quickly fade, I have decided on a non-traditional bridesmaid bouquet. I purchased silk flowers at Hobby Lobby, covered the stem with brown floral tape, and stuck them into what I would call a "twig ball". The stem of the flower will be held by the bridesmaids, and on top will be a flower surrounded by a wrapping of twigs. Since this is tough to imagine through words, here is a picture of the (maybe) finished project:



I'm so excited about how these turned out and think it's a great twist on the traditional bouquet of flowers. The next DIY piece was the flower girl basket. Traditional white flower girl baskets just didn't seem to fit the look I am going for. So I found an inexpensive, simple basket and added my own touches to create the perfect flower girl basket. I added fake twig pieces to create the handle and silk flowers for embellishment.



I love this finished flower girl basket. It is exactly what I had in mind. But a white silk ring bearer pillow just wouldn't fit with this. So, I decided to make that piece, too. I sewed (thanks to my mom for the sewing lesson) a burlap pillow, sewed a coordinating piece of fabric into a sort of "ribbon" and hot glued a center embellishment. Two strings of twine are also attached to later tie on rings. I will thank Andrew for his time spent with me and my mom in Hobby Lobby picking out fabrics for this pillow. There were so many choices and I wasn't quickly decisive. He also reigned us in anytime the parts for the pillow were beginning to look too "girly" for our ring bearer to feel good carrying this thing with many eyes on him. So instead of ribbon, we chose fabric, and instead of a flower in the middle we chose a wooden embellishment. I'm so happy we had his input because there could not be a cuter (is that word too "girly" for this?) ring bearer pillow than what this one turned out to be.

I also feel good being able to say I made it myself. This turned out even better than what I'd had in mind. For the reception, one of my favorite touches is our dinner plates. Traditional options include renting nice table settings or going with plastic. Instead, we decided to start collecting mismatched china plates from second hand stores/garage sales/antique shops, wherever we could get our hands on them at a good price. We put the word out to many friends and family members and I'm happy to say we've already been able to collect around 200 china plates. Amazing. So I will say a big thank you to any of you that are reading that contributed to The 2011 Search for China Plates. I'm so excited to see the tables in the barn (our reception space) lined with an eclectic collection of china plates.

As the big day draws nearer and nearer, I will leave you with one last photo. This is a picture of the flowers Andrew surprised me with on the three month anniversary of our engagement. He chose them because they were our wedding colors. The petals are a soft ivory with a light pink inside and slightly green tips. Simply beautiful.  

313 DAYS TO GO!!



THE dress

(disclaimer: I will not be describing the dress or mention designers/styles/etc as Andrew can not know anything about it. If you'd like details I'd be more than happy to fill you in privately, so long as you raise your right hand and take oath to not mention a single detail to my groom)

I watch Say Yes to the Dress, I hear stories about finding your wedding dress and just knowing it's the one. But as an often indecisive person, I was skeptical that I would ever be sure about a dress. I fully expected to have two that I just couldn't decide between. And after finding a truly lovely dress at Celebrations of the Heart in Manhattan, then planning to continue looking in Kansas City, I was positive I'd be in love with two dresses and need a tie breaker. I was so wrong. Aside from my groom, I will not be more sure about anything having to do with this wedding. Here is the story of my completely decisive weekend:

My mom picked up my sister and I Saturday morning and we headed to the Kansas City airport to pick up my sister-in-law Andrea. She had flown in from Colorado just to go dress shopping with me. I couldn't ask for a better sister-in-law (thanks, Logan). We headed straight from the airport to my first appointment at The Gown Gallery in downtown KC. After navigating a place to park, we walked to the door where we had to call and get buzzed up to the store which was a warehouse style loft. That warehouse style filled with gorgeous gowns was really a site to see. It was a fun atmosphere. I got started with my consultant showing her designs I like. While flipping through options that I knew they carried, she noticed another that I had quickly flipped through thinking they didn't carry that designer. It was a dress that I came across online and had fallen completely in love with just from the picture. She said they had it there. I was so excited, even though my next appointment had been made specifically for trying on that particular dress. But now I didn't have to wait another minute. It was the first one I tried on. She spent her time lacing it up just right and I think the whole time she was lacing my jaw was fully dropped as I stared in the mirror. This thing blew my expectations out of the water. Standing in this dress I didn't have a single insecurity, other than the chance that the little bit of eye liner I applied that morning might run off it I started crying. I had never seen a gown so unique, so flattering, and so perfect. It was mine. I knew it. I walked out of my dressing room and turned every head on my walk toward where Mom, Lyndsey and Andrea were seated. I may have even sold that dress to a couple other brides, I may need to look into getting commission. All three of them seemed to be equally "wow"ed. We looked at the dress for quite some time, continually noticing more and more beauty to it. It was unquestionably the one. Now, remember I said I originally had an appointment with another store to try on this same dress. So we decided to go ahead and head to the next appointment and try it on there as well and compare prices. We headed out and had the picnic lunch that Mom had packed for us with cucumber mini sandwiches and crab salad pitas. YUM! I had made two suggestions for what she could make and she made both, isn't she great? Then it was on to Ida's Bridal in Overland Park...

When I got to Ida's they brought me a long stem red rose with a little ribbon attached. That was a great start. I went in to my dressing room where my consultant handed me a very soft cozy robe to put on while she went and pulled my dresses. Then we got started trying on dresses. I went ahead and tried on two others, blah blah blah. They all just seemed so silly, I just wanted to get to "mine". Finally it was time to put the beautiful dress back on. It was even more beautiful. The lighting was a little different in this shop, less windows letting in natural light, more indoor lighting. But it showed the dress off in a totally different way. This thing was incredible. The price tag was exactly the same, so now I just needed to choose which store I'd rather purchase from. I have to say I had a much more personal experience with my consultant at The Gown Gallery (first appointment). So I started to lean toward going back and purchasing there. But, Ida's is so much easier to access when it came to coming back for fittings and such and they make custom veils and are able to actually make me a hairpiece out of parts of the dress that they will cut off when they hem it. Their price range for alterations was half the price of what was quoted to me at the other store, and they offered 10% off if I ordered that day. So it was a no-brainer at that point. It was time to place my order. I was then presented with a congratulatory gift bag for finding my dress that included a little sewing kit, a small wedding planning book, a couple wedding magazines, and a note to Andrew addressed to "The Luckiest Guy in the World". They really put a lot into those little things that really make it special. As I sat in the bridal shop I decided I had zero desire to continue trying on any more dresses that I knew weren't mine, so I made a call to my last appointment for the day and cancelled, letting them know I'd already found my dress. After browsing briefly at some bridesmaid dresses, snapping a picture of the four of us outside Ida's, and grabbing some fro-yo and a bottle of wine, we headed to the Doubletree hotel where we would stay the night. We relaxed in our room a bit and made dinner reservations for an Italian restaurant across the street. Not long after getting settled, we had a knock on the door and I went to check out who it could be. It was two hotel employees, one with a bottle of wine and glasses, and the other with an impressive tray of fruits and cheeses. There was a note addressed to my mom from one of the hotel managers that she knows (we've stayed at the Doubletree many times in the past for my dad's Marriage and Family Therapy conferences every year) saying that she hoped our special weekend of dress shopping was going well. It was such a fun treat. We headed over to dinner and shared meals since none of us were very hungry after our wonderful appetizer. After dinner we finished our evening with our wine down in the hotel hot tub. I could not have asked for a more perfect day. I'm so thankful for each person that played a part in making it such a special day and a wonderful memory I will think back on forever.

Engagement pictures!!

We had such a great time taking our engagement pictures and were so excited to get to see them this past weekend. Our pictures were done by J&C Imaging and for the next month we have an online gallery to view all of the pictures. You can see them by following this link:

http://jcimaging.morephotos.com/mp_client/pictures.asp?action=viewphotos&size=thumbnails&thumbpagenum=1&eventid=44673&eventstatus=0&categories=no&keywords2=no&groupid=0&bw=true&sep=true&ckw=false

Here are a few favs:

We are so happy with how they came out. We are going to have a tough time deciding on which prints to purchase. We couldn't be happier with our photographers at J&C Imaging!!

Dress shopping, take one

A couple weeks ago I was joined by my mom, sister, and family friend Olivia to shop for dresses here in Manhattan. (Manhattan, Kansas for any of my east coast friends reading this. I was not in New York without calling.) The day started out great when we arrived at Celebrations of the Heart and the girls already had multiple dresses pulled for me. Now, over the years I have been in a few bridal shows for Celebrations of the Heart and worn many wedding dresses for that reason. Never once did I try one on that I really loved. I could appreciate the beauty of so many dresses, but nothing had stood out. So I was a little nervous going in that nothing would "speak" to me. But three dresses in, I found a true beauty. I apologize, but since Andrew has access to reading this I will be giving zero description. I tried a few others and realized that all I was doing was comparing each one to the one that had stood out. I already have a weekend of dress shopping planned in Kansas City that my sister-in-law is flying in for (how awesome is she?). There is one dress in particular (again, can't describe via public blog) that I want to try on that is available at a store in KC. And we have a whole fun weekend planned, so I want to continue looking. At that point I will see if I find another dress that stands out to me or if I continue comparing each one to my so far favorite. After we finished at Celebrations of the Heart, we got some lunch. I got a meal shake at Healthy Attitude (I got the Wedding Cake Shake) then headed over to AJs Pizzeria where the rest of our group got lunch and we sat outside enjoying the beautiful day. After lunch we headed to our next dress appointment at Weisners Bridal. I wish we had skipped this one. Their service was terrible. A couple dresses were to small for me to try on, so when Mom asked if she could have the designer/style number so I could try it on somewhere else, they told her they couldn't give that to her because they don't want anyone to purchase it somewhere else. They'd even gone far enough as to cut out the tags in all the dresses so you couldn't see the designer. That clearly gave the impression that they don't care about the brides, just about their sale. So after that I would not purchase from them even if they did have the dress I want. Since that would not have been a fun end to the day, we decided to head down the street and have a drink at Carlos O Kellys. Nothing like an ice cold margarita on a warm sunny day. A great ending to the day. The following weekend, Andrea (my rockin sister-in-law/Sister Bear that is flying to KC to dress shop with me) was in town for Andrew's graduation, so we made a quick trip to Celebrations of the Heart so I could try the dress on to show her. This way everyone I'm shopping with in KC will have also seen this dress and can help compare. Can't wait for our dress shopping weekend next week!!

First things first

Well I am starting this blog two months into the engagement, so there are some things that have been accomplished that I will update on first. The weekend after Andrew proposed (which was followed by me saying "yes") we headed up to Chicago. (Sidenote: if you want to hear the engagement story, check out the link on the right to our wedding website.) While we were there we stayed with my "summer family" the first night. While in college, I took a summertime nanny position for this family and continued for three summers. It was the best "job" ever. They are family, so it was easy for me to decide I wanted the kids, Tyler and Elly, to be Ring Bearer and Flower Girl. So I made them little cards with poems that asked them to be in the wedding, along with a cookie for each of them. Tyler's cookie had a ring decorated on it and Elly's was decorated with flowers. This bribery worked, and they said yes. I couldn't be happier that I get to share my day with these two that I love so much. And it means that their parents have no choice but to come to the wedding, too. ;) For the second half of our weekend in Chicago, we went and stayed with Andrew's grandma. I had not met her yet so it was great to finally be able to do that. Andrew's aunt and uncle happened to be visiting the same weekend from Arizona, so I was able to meet them as well. They all were so sweet and welcoming. Andrew had not told them about the engagement before we went to visit, so it was fun to surprise them and have Andrew introduce me as his fiance. We went out to dinner and they surprised us by having our waitress bring out a cookie cake for desert with two rings decorated from whipped cream on top. Little did they know cookie cakes are probably  the quickest way to my heart, so I felt like family immediately.

 With our Ring Bearer and Flower Girl

 Our cute cookie cake

 The cookies and poems for Tyler and Elly

Once we got back from Chicago, we had a little break for about a week before my mom got home from visiting her sister, my "other mother", in Arizona. Once she got back we were all anxious to get some of the major planning/scheduling things done for the wedding. We found the perfect spot for the wedding I was dreaming of, Prairiewood Retreat and Preserve. If you are unfamiliar with it, you should really check out their website and see a fraction of the beauty at this place http://prairiewood.com/  I'm so happy and excited to say that we were able to book the place for 4 days, Thursday-Sunday of the wedding weekend. The wedding and reception will be held there, allowing us to do any setup that we can on Thursday and have the weekend to really enjoy ourselves. There are four guest suites on site that will be for me and my bridesmaids to stay at the two nights prior to the wedding. And then for our wedding night, Andrew and I will stay down the street at Scenic Valley Inn. My mom made the reservation for that as well, under Mr. and Mrs. Esser :) We are hoping for an outdoor wedding and the reception in the on-site barn. The ceremony will be moved into the barn if the weather doesn't cooperate. We have hired Dave Lewis to be the DJ for our wedding and couldn't be happier with that choice. Dave did both my sister and brother's weddings as well. But as the voice of K-State, he shouldn't be surprised if one of our K-State fan guests ask him to say "Good for a Wildcat, FIRST DOWN!" Our photographers will be J&C Imaging. They did my bother's wedding and are definitely a wonderful choice. I know that I can relax on the day of the wedding and know that our photographer is going to perfectly capture every important moment. So now that those main things are booked, I feel really great about where we are in the planning process. And tomorrow is our engagement picture session and we are so excited. The weather had originally said it was going to rain/thunderstorm, but I quickly vetoed that idea and the weather is now predicted to be 80 degrees and partly cloudy. Should be a great day.

A couple weeks after our engagement, my sister (Matron of Honor) and my mom planned an engagement party for us. We had it at my sister's house and had a few little deserts and wine. It was a great chance for friends to come over and see the ring (I love showing this thing off). I had such a great time chatting with everybody. While we were there, we asked my nephew if he would be the Coin Bearer in the wedding. A Coin Bearer brings 13 unity coins down the aisle, gives the to the groom, who gives them to the bride. They each symbolize something different. Google it, it's pretty cool. When we explained his duty of carrying a little bag of coins down the aisle he said, "like a robber?". So our ceremony will be complete with a robber/coin bearer. In order for our guests to understand the meaning of the coin bearer, we wanted to have somebody read about the tradition of it and give the meaning of each coin. We asked our dear family friend, Olivia, to do this for us. We are so happy that she will be a part of the ceremony. We couldn't see it any other way.

At our engagement party

 THE RING!! Ah, it still takes my breath away

So, that's about where we are at with wedding planning. I'll have to post some other details another time. Don't want my readers getting too bored :)

Just the beginning...

Hi to everyone interested in reading about this year of graduating, job searching, moving, and most importantly, getting married. What an exciting year this will be. I thought this blog would be the best way to not only let others in on what is happening this year, but also for me to have a place to look back on and remember all the excitement. One year from today I will be marrying my best friend. Join me in the countdown.