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 :)