Dwindling list

The to-do list is getting shorter for me...not much shorter, but it is getting shorter. Sorry I haven't been posting more regularly, but I have been SWAMPED. As some of you may know, Tim and I did purchase a house. We have been working hard to get everything with that worked out as well as wedding plans. Its quite crazy around here. Thanks to my mom, who is helping out alot, the list is getting shorter. I don't feel as overwhelmed.

And, if anyone hasn't sent in their RSVP yet...please call me, Tim, Tim's mother, or my mother. Please. We need to get the count ASAP to Cliffbreakers. I'm sure if you're reading this you've probably already sent it in, so thank you.

Also, we need to know about rooms at Cliffbreakers. We did reserve a block of rooms for the bridal party. If you do need one, let us know. If you don't need it and you have one reserved, let us know. We do know people who need rooms and they are booked that evening!

As recommended

I discovered this weekend that people DO actually read this!! ;-) And I was informed (in a sense) that I need to update it. So, here goes nothing. I have been pretty busy lately, so I apoligize.

This weekend was the final wedding shower. Both my side and Tim's side are done. They were both great! I really appreciate everyone who came to both and helped make those days special! I cannot wait to use all of the wonderful items that everyone got us! (They are currently sitting at my parent's house until October 1, 2007. That is when we will move into our new home.)

A special HUGE thank you to my cousin and matron of honor, Lyndsey Kaye for coming out to spend my shower and bachelorette shower with me. Also, another HUGE thank you to my Granny and my Aunt Diane who traveled from Colorado and northern Wisconsin (respectively) to come to my shower. Also, I'd like to thank Laura, Stacey, Liz, and Katie for their parts in my bachlorette party, whether it be planning, attending, or just plain making it awesome! I don't know what I did to deserve such amazing people in my life, but I really appreciate from the bottom of my heart. Thank you so much.

This past Thursday evening Tim and I attended our first pre-marital counseling session. It was a bit amusing because it felt like having therapy for an already married couple. Tim and I will have been dating for 9 years in February. Yes, 9 years. Most of our friends haven't even been married or dating for that amount of time. So, I found it a bit amusing. We will have two more sessions...let's hope we're compatible!! ;-)

I had another appointment with our florist this past Wednesday. We finalized some more details of the wedding day. Fun stuff. I hope you guys love the decorations that we have decided upon!

This Thursday I have another fitting for my dress. This is the second (and still one more final fitting!!). The dress is beautiful and I can't wait to put it on again with my purty shoes.

And...here's another fun event. This Saturday, I have my trial updo. :-D I am excited! ...guess I need to pick out a hairstyle, huh? Hehe....

Good job on the men who have gotten fitted for their tuxes. Tim and I really appreciate it and it is less of a stressor to know that things are getting done.

The flower girl dresses are complete and the 3 girls did have a "try on session". It did come complete with pictures...but, I won't show you. You'll have to wait until September 15th, 2007 at about 2:03 pm. ;-)

Finally!! Done!!

All of the invitations are FINALLY out. ALL OF THEM! Whew. I mailed the mistakes and final additions today. So, please, if you don't get one, let me know. I know I made more mistakes than I know. And apparently, we know of at least 2-3 incorrect addresses that will come back to us anyway. You guys like them? Honestly, this invitation process has been the longest and maybe most stressful part so far. But good luck ever, ever finding an invitation like that again. ;-)

Band-band-band

Yesterday evening Tim and I finally checked another item off of our list of to-dos. We picked out and ordered our wedding bands. Tim got a nice Tungsten Carbite striped band. I got two rings actually. My nice one (you'll get to see in soon enough!) and a plain jane one that I can wear everyday because I have dirty jobs! So, yea, another off the list!

I should be getting my invitations any time now. Literally, I keep on looking out my window. They were supposed to deliver them to me at work, but they couldn't make it by the time I left. So, they are dropping them off at the apartment for us. Woo hoo! So, we're sending those out tomorrow....so start checking the mail guys!

Finally! Invitations!

I'm finally receiving the invitations (yes, the real ones!) on Friday. I do not know for sure when they are going to be sent out, Saturday or Monday. Probably the sooner the better! We don't have inside and outside envelopes like most invitations do, so I'm having a difficult time deciding on how to address these invites to let people know who is actually invited to the wedding.

Florist

Today was the second appointment with the florist. We also made a stop by Clodius to go pick out wedding bands. I hate the Chicago bridal botique hours. That is, closed Sunday and Monday. So, they weren't opened at we didn't get that done. For some reason I don't feel like I got anything done today!! I'm supposed to get so much done on Mondays! Arrggg. After that appointment, I actually feel like there is more to do. We will do Clodius sometime this week though. So, along with looking at condos and work sucking, I feel SO busy. Not a good time for all of this, huh?

Oh, and also, Sunday Tim and I registered at our last place, Bed Bath and Beyond. I then came home and tweaked them all to get correct amounts and I am happy to say after many hours of work, our registries are done! Woo hoo! So, we are registered at Target, Kohl's, Macy's, and Bed Bath and Beyond. Whew....what a relief.

Engagement Photos

WOOOOO! We have finally gotten our engagement photos. Legally, I now have pictures on my computer. But we have plenty of some of them. IF you want one, we can get you one. I don't want to force pictures on anybody. But...I will post them on my other wedding site. http://johnsonandmilroy.weddings.com/ They turned out pretty well, minus it being probably the second windiest day of the year that day! Enjoy!

Announcement(s)

Just as a heads up to those of you who may possibly get these papers. Our announcement for the wedding/engagement was listed in the Freeport Journal-Standard on Friday. Maybe Friday, but I think it runs continuously for a week or so. And then our announcement for the Rockford Register Star runs on Thursday, the 26th of July. I'm sorry there are no pictures. We are cheap and seriously, who wants to pay $36 just to put a stupid picture in the paper.

Tuxes

Just in case Tim doesn't tell you guys (who read this actually), the fitting for the tuxes has to be before August 31st. And that is at Mens Wearhouse. And, the pickup date is September 13th at any Men's Wearhouse. ;-)

Honey

Hm...so what should I tell about next? After figuring out that the part that I'm the most stressed about is the decorating, I'm feeling a little bit relieved. I guess I feel relieved that I have the rest actually under control and just that little bit of out of control makes the rest feel worse than it actually is. I know everyone has had that feeling before. Whether it be something at work affecting your personal life, a death or sickness affecting your personal life, etc.

This is a minor accomplishment, but today I made a stop at David's Bridal to pick out a shoe color for the bridesmaids shoes. Yeah, just in case you guys didn't hear, its honey. I attempted to look at shoes for myself for my fitting coming up on the 26th, but they really didn't have a selection in my size. Yes, size ogre.

Tomorrow is the appointment with Deb, the florist. My mom is going to try to talk her into decorating for the reception, but considering for Danielle's wedding they made the family set up themselves, I don't think its gonna happen. But Deb is really nice and funny, I like her. It should go well tomorrow.

And we still don't have invitations. Peggy, our designer is still making the sample. It is designed, but she's making the hard copy. I don't know if I mentioned this already, but I am IN LOVE with the invitations. They are perfect!! I hope you guys feel the same. I emailed Peggy and hopefully we'll have that sample this week as well as have the invitation production started.

Hopefully, that should be it for now. Tim's bachelor party is this weekend. Should I be worried? ;-) Nah.

Mandarin

So, now we have two more advancements made. We have tuxedos done (thanks Tim) and the menu for Cliffbreaker's picked out. Unfortunately, an hour and a half before the Cliffbreakers reservation was the reservation for the florist. A multi-car accident on I-90 westbound made the highway a parking lot. I know that's something you hear a lot...but it literally was. I shut off my car and sat there for an hour and a half. I'm not joking. It blocked all three lanes. And, I almost picked the Cliffbreaker's appointment also. But, that menu is all picked out. We have open bar time all set up, the menu 97% picked out, and I even got some photos of the room for Tim who hasn't seen the place at all yet. The tuxes are all set, as well. Tim went with Mike (the best man) on Monday to Men's Warehouse. They picked out mandarin for the groomsman and ring bearers, black for the fathers, white for Tim, and silver-ish/black for the ushers. The only color he really knows for sure from the website is the mandarin. Sorry I couldn't be more help! So, after a small hiatus for the wedding I'm in this weekend, I'll be right back in the game planning away.

Slowly minimizing the list...

Hm...what do I talk about now? This week I have accomplished some tasks, but not nearly the amount I'd like. We did meet with the event decorater. I really don't know what will come with that. My mom is still uncertain. I think I would feel more comfortable with someone that decorated for a living to help us with the reception. I also met with the cake woman, Patricia. I picked out my cake flavors all by myself, with no help. ...who honestly trusted me to do that? ;-) Nah, it'll be fine. I believe everyone will be happy. But guess what, I'm not telling the flavors! You'll have to find out at the reception! I also informed her of our choice for Tim's groomscake. People that really know Tim will get a kick out of it, I think.

I got our pdfs (electronic format) for the invitations. I'm really excited about it! I told her which ones I loved today and they'll be making the proofs this week! So, I should have proofs in my hand this week. Now I just need to get the rest of the addresses. I doubt they read this, but thank you mom, Granny, Dar, Stacey, and Laura for getting me many of the addresses. I appreciate it. It feels like I tell Tim over and over and over to get addresses and he always forgets or says he'll do them later. But he finally did get me about 13 coworkers addresses today. That brings the invite list to 292.

I finally got the info to The Experience for the salon appointment for the morning of the 15th. Whew. I feel much better. Now I have to come up with a trial makeup and hair run appointment, then schedule the "2-7 days before" appointment. That'll be fun though.

Oh, and then on the 2nd (July), my mom and I have Cliffbreaker's menu tasting at 2:00 pm, then the florist appointment at 12:30 pm. I guess this florist works with our cake woman and with the event decorater that we met with.

And we did register with Macy's. I wasn't thrilled with them. It seems like having that nationwide ownership brought it downhill. Marshall Fields has always been top of the line. A bit dirty in places and very limited selection. I'm thinking about also registering at Bergner's or Bed, Bath, and Beyond.

I think that's it. I did update the "The Wedding Channel" website that we have. It gives more info on the times, locations, etc. I wish I could put more on there!

Closer and closer

So, it is June 17th, and September 15th is getting closer and closer. I feel very, very unprepared...maybe because I am! Things that have been accomplished since my last blog:

1) I have a ceremony musician picked out and his deposit has been paid. Now I have to pick out mi musicia.

2) We have registered at Kohl's, and our last stop is Macy's. Kohl's was a little disappointing for a registery, in my opinion.

3) We have decided to scrap the old invitations. Now its back to square 1, which is pure frustration. We have a place picked out, and a guideline. Now we have to cater it to our needs...but we must hurry!!!!

4) We have an appointment tomorrow for the cake decorater. We will taste cakes, pick out flavors, and decide on a grooms cake. An hour and a half after that we have an appointment for the event decorater. Woooo!!!

For now, that is it. Things will be zooming along quickly after this point!

Changes

Is it normal to have second thoughts on things like your invitations? Not that I actually have them ordered, but I think they look tacky and cheap. Its frustrating, because this will be the third round of changes if I decide to make the changes. And I have a feeling it won't be the last...

Registry

We registered at Target on Sunday! Granted, its very tentative and we plan on editing it much more. But...how fun! We plan on doing Macy's and Kohl's also. OOooooh...Macy's is going to be fun!

Engagement Photos

So, finally about 9:00 the photos came up on the photographers website. I was going to let you guys see all of them....but, I changed my mind because we look SO stupid in some of them. What I'm going to do I think is just pick out the photos we want and then show everyone those. He took 380 pictures! Whew...yeah, we were tired of smiling. So, I should be picking them out on Friday and then from then it will be 2 days or so for delivery. ;-) Yea!

Engagement Photo

We did get to see one photo from our engagement session. This is the only one so far. The rest are supposed to be up on the website today, but they aren't up yet, but its only 5:15 pm. I'm very anxious to see them!!

Pretty bridesmaids all in a row

Yea! We have the bridesmaids dresses ordered today! I'm so excited! They are so classy and elegant, but SO beautiful and they look good on EVERYONE! I have swatches ordered, so if anyone needs one for flower girl dresses (Granny), table covers, shoes, etc, etc, please let me know. They will be here in about a week! Yea!!!!!!!!

Windy City

We got our engagement photos taken today. The city truly lived up to its name because it was horrible down on Navy Pier! It was super, super windy and very cold. Our photographer arrived at 4:00 pm and we didn't finish up until 6:30 pm, whew...long day. I am exhausted. We didn't get home until 8:30. The photos are supposed to be up on his site on Monday. I will keep you guys updated on that.

Been a Long Time

So, for the 2, maybe 3 people who read this, I thought I'd give an update on what is done and what needs to be done, and what is in the works. We have, I believe like 4 months or so. I don't remember what the last thing I reported on was, but I'll try my best and oh well if I repeat. The invitations are almost done. I think she has a very bad memory, because every time we get back the sample something is not right. For example, the paper we chose was supposed to be a different cardstock and she gave us the wrong one for the second time even though I told her what we wanted both times. My mom actually wants to tweak the invitations. They are fine to me, but if it makes her happy, by all means. But...the invitations are pretty much close to done. They are different and I think everyone will enjoy them.

The bridesmaids dresses (yes, and the 2-3 people who read this are all bridesmaids I think...) are pretty much done. 2 of the 4 have their orders submitted. The due date for those is May 14th, so...yea! And the flower girl dresses are being made by my cute Granny in a couple weeks. She did find the silk duponi fabric too! Any opinions for hair, boquets, or shoes for them??

The ceremony musician is about...75% complete. I have two guys that I want, but Tim may work with somebody that can play at our ceremony....but I don't think we know for sure yet.

Obviously, these are only the very large things. There are so many teeny tiny things that need to get done. (ie- menu selections, hair/makeup, centerpieces, etc, etc)

Quickie

Quick update just in case maybe one person reads this. Last night we had the appointment for our invitations. Yea! We have invitations. I'll have a "prototype" sent to my home and then we'll go from there. The cool thing about these invitations is that they are NOT ordered from a book. We sat with this woman, Amber, and designed our own invitations. No one will EVER have invitations like ours. We picked out the font, style, design, colors, etc, etc, etc. I'm VERY excited. I love them, Tim loves them, and my mom loves them. I would show everyone...but I want you to get them in the mail and be surprised! Everyone will love them. And the funny thing is, they are cheaper. I can't wait!

Secondly, the bridesmaids dresses are coming along. I went and tried on some (yeah, me) last Saturday, the 3rd with only my mom. Ironically enough, my cousin Lyndsey also went that same day. I called her to tell her my progress and she told me hers to my surprise. She sent me the pictures and showed me some (all that I didn't try on) and I am in love with one of hers. So, this Saturday I am going again with Stacey, Laura, and Tim's mother and I am going to have them those dresses on. I can't wait. So, after this Saturday, the dresses will probably be finalized hopefully. That's another thing on my list checked off.

Eeee.....6 months left!

McDonald's vs. Cliffbreaker's

I know, I know, I haven't updated. But honestly, nothing has happened lately. I've been extremely lazy. Well, I guess we've been extremely lazy. Tonight was another show at Giovanni's in Rockford. Last minute my mom and I decided to go. And when I say last minute I mean about a week prior. We forgot about the show completely. This show was like comparing McDonald's to Cliffbreaker's in terms of the Tebala show. This one was so much better. I don't care if you had to pay, it was so much better. They had horderves (kind of), a chocolate foundation (by Giovanni's, not a vendor), and champange at the door. The fashion show was a little weird, but I wasn't concerned with that. Only my cake lady was there, everyone else was absent. The tuxedo vendors were abnoxious and annoying as always. Good news is, I may have a great invitations lady. I know its not much, but that's one of the things I've wanted to get done. Oh...and possibly table linen toppers. A sheer topper that is. Really nice looking and this cover could add a great warmth to my room. That is all the news for now. Thanks for reading and as always....feel free to make suggestions and/or comments!

Tebala and DJ Normal

This past Wednesday, the 10th, Tim and I took a trip into Rockford to visit yet another DJ. We both really loved this guy. He was professional, nice, complimentary, we liked his philosophies and training, yada yada. So, everyone will be seeing company in September. There is a DJ and an MC. We liked that idea. We need to put a deposit down, but otherwise, he is a go.

Sunday, I am visiting the Tebala show in Rockford. That should be fun and different. As always, my best friend and bridesmaid, Danielle, will be in the show as well as attending. They give away door prizes and I hope to win something!

DJ Weird

Last week (Thursday I believe), Tim and I went to visit a DJ up in Gurnee. I will not give any names, because he didn't have a problem doing that and then proceed to put them down. I do not want to sink that low. But, he seemed really nice and friendly. His sales strategy was to be buddy-buddy with us. In my opinion, not really professional, but some may love it. He had previously been a radio DJ, which is an advantage. The music preferences/favorites of an individual are important to me. And it is okay if they have a preference, but respect a wide variety. He did not. He prefered rock, but hated people like Elton John. How can you hate Elton John? I don't really want to tell the DJ what to play. Good music is good music. What is good now, should be good 20 years from now. That's the kind of music I want played at my wedding. There was only one DJ that does the wedding. I kind of want 2. With this other company we are looking at, there are 2 individuals. One is a DJ, the other is the MC. We will have a meeting set up with this company this coming week. Let's hope we like them! I really want to get a DJ soon!

In other news, I called up my cousin, Ben, last night and asked him to officiate my wedding. He agreed. This is my mom's sister's son. They all live up in northern Wisconsin.

As for music, we are currently looking into different songs to choose for fun stuff like bridal party introductions, the toast, cake-cutting, boquet toss, dollar dance, garter removal/toss, etc. Any suggestions I'd love to hear them!!