It's a bit chilly tonight and I finally got to wear a proper sweater. For those who don't know me, I LOVE sweaters. I tend to wear them all the time. Even though it's often chilly in my office, I tend to wear a short sleeved shirt with a sweater jacket over it. It's a bit more flexible for those times during the day when I have to go outside in the sometimes 80 or 90 degree weather. Today, though, it's cold enough outside to wear a sweater and by gosh, I'm doing just that.
This week is Applefest in La Crescent. Growing up, it was a very exciting time. Now, it's rather boring. I don't ride the rides and the games don't change much from year to year. Though last year there was a game where you could win bunnies...Kevin wisely wouldn't let me play that game last year. Mostly what Applefest symbolizes this year is how far Kevin and I have come. We were already fairly couple-y by this time last year. We went with Caitlyn and Lee and baby Savannah to the fest during the parade. It was Savannah's first trip to Minnesota. There was a bit of rain and not much to do, but we had fun. A year later, Kevin and I are engaged and Savannah is running around talking and starting potty training. This year, instead of going to the fest, Kevin and I are going to my 10 year class reunion tomorrow (Friday) night. I've got a sparkly new top and a handsome fiancee, what could possibly go wrong? It'll be an adventure, for sure, if only because we're going there together.
On the wedding front, things are slow going. We have officially nailed down our photographers, a company called Unique Touches. Exciting! The return address labels for the invitations have arrived, as well as the return address stamper that we'll be using for the Save The Dates. The Save The Dates are slotted to arrive sometime tomorrow, so in theory, we'll be sending those out in a week or so. Kevin has very generously ordered a bunch of beautiful stamps to put on them, with white roses. PRETTY! We've decided on an invitation, but we haven't ordered it yet. I need to block hotel rooms. Kevin needs to meet with caterers. Next weekend, we have appointments with two (not just one!) travel agents to discuss the honeymoon. Hopefully the travel agent will have more concrete ideas than we do. So far our idea for a honeymoon destination is "somewhere that the weather is nice, without a lot of screaming kids or really old people.". I'm sure that narrows it down. I also haven't been able to go bridesmaid dress shopping yet. EEK!
We did get to sample some AWESOME cake from DL Cakery last weekend, so that was pretty sweet. Teehee. I think we're leaning towards them for the cake, but much discussion still needs to be had.
All in all, we've got most of the big stuff nailed down, but still a lot of work to do. Just don't ask if all this is stressing me out, because then you'll get the really long version. The short answer is YES, but I'm so excited to be marrying my amazing best friend and spending the rest of my life with him.
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Friday, September 7, 2012
Cake, Caterers, and Party Time!
This week, Kevin and I have been focused on trying to get a caterer. We have several good leads and are continuing to do research into the options available. One frustrating thing (of many) is that almost all of our options want to do buffet. I really dislike doing buffet for the food at a wedding. Like, really really. It takes forever, it's very impersonal, and it's just a bit...I don't know. I just am not a big fan. The price per person fluctuates quite a bit, though the highest end would be pasta from Victoria's, which is a very fancy restaurant.
There are lots of hidden costs with caterers. Like, using plates. It costs an extra couple dollars PER PERSON to use plates. That isn't including silverware or glasses. But paper plates are free. I'm not using paper plates for my wedding. Nor plastic silverware. This isn't a picnic. I wouldn't wear that fancy of a dress to a picnic! Servers also cost extra. Some charge for cake cutting, some don't. I feel like my head is spinning sometimes! We'll figure it out, though, and end up with something great.
Two super cute anecdotes about my sweet fiancee. I have been in a Pride and Prejudice kick lately, and I was contemplating Kevin dressed as Mr. Darcy. He really does have the body type to pull off regency clothing VERY well. MMmm. So I told him that I was drooling over the idea of him dressed as Mr. Darcy, and he offered to dress that way for the wedding. How cute is that? Ok, made slightly less cute by the fact that he didn't know what kind of clothes Mr. Darcy wears, but still. A sweet offer. Secondly, I have been stressing lately about trying to find really cute wedding shoes that are comfortable and very low. I can wear heels, I just am not good at it and they hurt my feet. The problem is that I grew up wanting glass slippers to wear to my wedding. That isn't going to happen, and the plastic imitations are rather gross, so no go there either. Kevin realized I was stressed about finding just the right shoes that were pretty and sparkly, so he started trying to find pretty shoes for me. His taste in lady's shoes isn't great, but he tried and that was so super sweet!
This weekend is, thankfully, not nearly as busy as LAST weekend. As fun as it was, we squeezed a LOT into that long weekend. Tomorrow (Saturday) I get to see Kevin here in La Crosse. It's his turn to visit me. We're going to attempt to get the breaks on my car looked at. More exciting than that, we're going to my friend Sharon's birthday party! WOO HOO! She's an awesome lady and a super geek, so of course I adore her. Also very exciting, tomorrow at 6 we are going to a cake tasting!! YUM! These are the bakers that I really want to make the cake and they say that they can deliver to Rochester. Here's hoping! It would be really nice to pin down the caterers and the bakers this week! The photographers are pinned down now too! Another big check off the list!
Only 6 months and 16 days to go...but who is counting? :-D
There are lots of hidden costs with caterers. Like, using plates. It costs an extra couple dollars PER PERSON to use plates. That isn't including silverware or glasses. But paper plates are free. I'm not using paper plates for my wedding. Nor plastic silverware. This isn't a picnic. I wouldn't wear that fancy of a dress to a picnic! Servers also cost extra. Some charge for cake cutting, some don't. I feel like my head is spinning sometimes! We'll figure it out, though, and end up with something great.
Two super cute anecdotes about my sweet fiancee. I have been in a Pride and Prejudice kick lately, and I was contemplating Kevin dressed as Mr. Darcy. He really does have the body type to pull off regency clothing VERY well. MMmm. So I told him that I was drooling over the idea of him dressed as Mr. Darcy, and he offered to dress that way for the wedding. How cute is that? Ok, made slightly less cute by the fact that he didn't know what kind of clothes Mr. Darcy wears, but still. A sweet offer. Secondly, I have been stressing lately about trying to find really cute wedding shoes that are comfortable and very low. I can wear heels, I just am not good at it and they hurt my feet. The problem is that I grew up wanting glass slippers to wear to my wedding. That isn't going to happen, and the plastic imitations are rather gross, so no go there either. Kevin realized I was stressed about finding just the right shoes that were pretty and sparkly, so he started trying to find pretty shoes for me. His taste in lady's shoes isn't great, but he tried and that was so super sweet!
This weekend is, thankfully, not nearly as busy as LAST weekend. As fun as it was, we squeezed a LOT into that long weekend. Tomorrow (Saturday) I get to see Kevin here in La Crosse. It's his turn to visit me. We're going to attempt to get the breaks on my car looked at. More exciting than that, we're going to my friend Sharon's birthday party! WOO HOO! She's an awesome lady and a super geek, so of course I adore her. Also very exciting, tomorrow at 6 we are going to a cake tasting!! YUM! These are the bakers that I really want to make the cake and they say that they can deliver to Rochester. Here's hoping! It would be really nice to pin down the caterers and the bakers this week! The photographers are pinned down now too! Another big check off the list!
Only 6 months and 16 days to go...but who is counting? :-D
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Once in a blue moon...
This weekend was a rare treat for everyone, I would say. Friday night was a blue moon (much like the ballroom we're having our reception at!), which is very cool. That night, Kevin and I had dinner with not only my parents but also HIS parents! All six of us got together at Features in West Salem for fish. Kevin didn't actually have fish, but everyone else did, so it counts.
Then, of course, we changed almost all the plans we had for the weekend. I ended up staying over at Kevin's the whole weekend, sleeping on the basement couch. I love that squishy comfortable couch and it wasn't bad to sleep on, either!
Saturday morning, the four of us got up and after Kevin made us a yummy breakfast, we headed to the Twin Cities! We went to Ikea first! We shopped and had lunch there. I bought myself a Lucky Bamboo plant. Which means it's pretty and in a coil shape. After a very filling Ikea lunch, we headed over to Mall of America! It was very fun going to the Aquarium with Kevin's parents. I always love going there. I especially like the jellyfish. They are just...beautiful and majestic and weird all at once. It's hard to explain my love for them. We did a little bit of shopping at the mall as well, mostly picking specific stores to go to. I ended up getting a cute little vase for my bamboo plant AND we saw Sponge Bob and Patrick as we crossed through the Nickelodeon park. You just never know what celebrities you'll see at the Mall of America, I suppose!
Sunday, the four of us went to Kevin's church and since Kevin wasn't doing sound OR projection, he sat next to me the entire time! We got to visit with Justin (the best man) and his wife Jamie for a while after the service, which is always really nice. They can't wait for me to move to Rochester so we can spend more time together!
On Monday, Kevin and I got to spend a bit of time wedding planning after his parents left for the long trip back to Michigan. I had to head home too, which is always hard. But alas, back home I had a bunny waiting who wasn't happy that I'd taken off for the ENTIRE weekend, instead of the one day I had promised. Much head scratching will have to take place before she totally forgives me.
This weekend will be quite a bit lighter in schedule, as will next weekend. Praise the Lord for that! I love being around family and friends, as long as it is balanced by peace and quiet...and maybe chick flicks. Just saying.
Then, of course, we changed almost all the plans we had for the weekend. I ended up staying over at Kevin's the whole weekend, sleeping on the basement couch. I love that squishy comfortable couch and it wasn't bad to sleep on, either!
Saturday morning, the four of us got up and after Kevin made us a yummy breakfast, we headed to the Twin Cities! We went to Ikea first! We shopped and had lunch there. I bought myself a Lucky Bamboo plant. Which means it's pretty and in a coil shape. After a very filling Ikea lunch, we headed over to Mall of America! It was very fun going to the Aquarium with Kevin's parents. I always love going there. I especially like the jellyfish. They are just...beautiful and majestic and weird all at once. It's hard to explain my love for them. We did a little bit of shopping at the mall as well, mostly picking specific stores to go to. I ended up getting a cute little vase for my bamboo plant AND we saw Sponge Bob and Patrick as we crossed through the Nickelodeon park. You just never know what celebrities you'll see at the Mall of America, I suppose!
Sunday, the four of us went to Kevin's church and since Kevin wasn't doing sound OR projection, he sat next to me the entire time! We got to visit with Justin (the best man) and his wife Jamie for a while after the service, which is always really nice. They can't wait for me to move to Rochester so we can spend more time together!
On Monday, Kevin and I got to spend a bit of time wedding planning after his parents left for the long trip back to Michigan. I had to head home too, which is always hard. But alas, back home I had a bunny waiting who wasn't happy that I'd taken off for the ENTIRE weekend, instead of the one day I had promised. Much head scratching will have to take place before she totally forgives me.
This weekend will be quite a bit lighter in schedule, as will next weekend. Praise the Lord for that! I love being around family and friends, as long as it is balanced by peace and quiet...and maybe chick flicks. Just saying.
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