Pre-Anniversary

Yesterday, James and I celebrated our "pre-anniversary" - perhaps an event that I made up, but I love it!  We are 365 days away from our wedding!  After a few days of worry (more about that in a second), we headed to Richmond for an afternoon and evening of fun!  We headed to the Science Museum of Virginia for the BodyWorlds exhibit.  A bit nerdy, sure, but I loved walking around, playing with the different exhibits and re-connecting with the medical side of me!  It was great.  I highly recommend the exhibit.  We then headed to Havana 59 for happy hour drinks then dinner.  This place was phenomenal!  I can't say enough about the drinks, food, and service.  We truly enjoyed every minute of our experience there and would recommend it in a heartbeat.  An interesting ending - they give you your bill with a postcard that you can fill out and they'll mail - for free!  What a cute little extra.  


So, what made us worry this week?  It's the church.  We still haven't gotten our official confirmation from the pastor at our church.  I thought perhaps they forgot to notify us that we were good to go, so I just emailed to check in on it - it has been about 8 weeks since we requested the date!  Well, we got a response that our marriage has not yet been signed off on by the pastor.  Nothing wrong with us as a couple, but there were "other factors" that were being considered.  That was as detailed an answer as we got...  I panicked!  What could these "other factors" be?  A double booking?  Church construction?  A church festival?  ...something else????  Of course, by the time I received this email, the church office was closed.  I could ask no more questions (well, I could ask questions but not get any answers)  I was left to ponder this for a whole day!  My mind was everywhere...will we need a new venue?  A new date?  
Finally, the next day, we were told that as our priests are being transitioned, one of the new priests will have to agree to preside over the ceremony.  The church can't officially approve the wedding ceremony until there is someone signed on to perform it.  Makes total sense and seems more like a technicality - in all likelihood one of these two will be available and there will be no issue.  On the off chance that neither can preside, we can provide our own officiant from a neighboring church.  So, after much worry, I feel better that we will not have to start over at square one!


So, we are now less than a year away!  I am excited to continue planning...We're in the middle of shopping for DJs; I'm thinking of some centerpiece and decor ideas.  What to tackle next?  

Keeping myself busy

I have been in a bit of a stand-still lately...we're a little over a year from the wedding (the Knot tells me 372 days!!) so there isn't much to decide about right now.  I have been thinking about a lot and looking at different websites, but no decisions have to be made this far in advance.  Still, I'll share some of the things I have been pondering lately:

• DJ - James and I have been researching and starting to meet with potential entertainment groups. What equipment do we need?  Subwoofers or no?  Uplighting, stage lighting, dance floor lighting?  Fog machine?  Bubble machine?  (Ok, I am not even considering a fog machine, but a bubble machine appeals to me...)  There are so many options and we are trying to decide what we want and what we can afford.  Also, what do we have already available to us from the reception venue.
• Bridesmaids dresses - it's just so much fun to look!  A lot of designers have started to put out their new fall collections so I have been looking at The Dessy Group just loving dress after dress.  Here are a few of my favorites, although none in what I think is my favorite purple shade:

I'm liking lace:

What about a mix and match of (BM choice):

(or any AlfredSung...love his collection!)

•  Reception - We are going to limit the children attending our wedding reception to those 12 and older.  We made this decision for numerous reasons - cost, chaos, and parent enjoyment (we want this to be an opportunity for our friends to really celebrate with us and not have to leave early or worry about their kids), etc.  What is the most tactful way to get this information to our friends and family?  Put adult only reception on the invite?  Put it on the website and hope people see it?  Add an additional information card in the invitations for those families to which this applies?  I am going to offer help finding childcare for those from out of town - how will they know who to call for a responsible sitter?  So far, it's on the website (not yet ready for public viewing) and I think I like the additional insert idea for those invitations.  We'll see...
• Transportation - I know we need to have transportation for us and our wedding party, but what about our guests because the ceremony and the reception are in different locations (about 5 miles apart)?  I am particularly concerned about this because of the number of out of town guests I foresee coming to the wedding (ie all my family and friends from WI).  Some of my friends have told me that it is nice, but I need to stop trying to solve everyone else's "potential" problems for the weekend...  I just can't help it.  I am a "red-flagger".

So, those are the top few things that have kept my mind busy the past few days.  I am looking forward to going to a bridal show in Richmond on Sunday.  I anticipate an update after talking to some vendors, entering for a few drawings, and watching a wedding fashion show!

Picture Proofs!

We got the proofs from our engagement pictures and they turned out great!  Here are a few of our favorites...  (photos courtesy of: Gene King, creativeworth.com)

Now how to decide what to use for Save the Dates and newspaper announcements...  :-) 

Engagement Pictures!

James and I took engagement pictures tonight!  We had such a fun time.  We spent about an hour with our photographer and took a number of what I hope to be great shots.  We posed, smiled, laughed, and kissed.  Our photographer, Gene King, was great.  I have been a bit nervous about our choice because he is an older, more experienced photographer, and I didn't know if he'd be more traditional and posed rather than creative and natural.  We did take some posed shots, but he was creative, thoughtful, and relaxed too.  He gave great direction and seemed to be having fun right along with us.  That's one reservation I had that I can let go of.  We'll have wonderful photos to document our wedding day.  I can't wait to see the online proofs and choose our Save the Date photo!  And get prints of the best poses to have in our home, of course.  Not sure what I'll be working on next, but with school ending I'm sure I'll fill my free time with wedding ideas, phone calls, and planning.  James asked when we get to start the fun stuff, like cake tasting...maybe sometime soon!

Save the Dates

My wedding planning focus this week has been on choosing our Save the Dates.  My thoughts have been focused on two things:  matching the invitations and being memorable and creative.


I know Save the Date cards don't have to match the invitations, but I do like that idea.  The thing about going ahead with that plan: I need to know what we want our invitations to look like now...far before we'd have to order them.  I have been looking at a lot of websites for designs and prices (man, these can get expensive - and don't forget all of the inserts that need to be ordered as well!)  I have come back to the same design a couple of times so I think it is a front runner but there are just so many options out there.  And of course, we could have a graphic designer create something just for us.  But that just makes me think $$$.  The worrier in me thinks we will choose one and then find another we like better.   


I have decided that I need to shift my thinking.  No one will see the ones we didn't choose - so they can't compare and wish we'd chosen something else (and yes, James has been giving his input on designs that he likes and doesn't!)  And really, would anyone do that?  People will come to our wedding to celebrate our lives and our love - not our choice in stationary.  So, it looks like we are deciding and going to pull the trigger and order the Save the Dates.  They are ones that match the invitations we like.  If a few months from now I change my mind, no big deal because the Save the Dates and the invitations don't have to match anyways!


Now, making them memorable and creative...  Our photographer includes magnets with our engagement session, so we will be using those as part of our Save the Date.  But what to do that would make our photo fun, memorable, and creative - and represent us?


Make and bring signs?

Writing on the bottom of the shoes is cute....

Simple banner

Sidewalk Chalk?

Ok...probably not the sidewalk chalk but these and others (many found on Pintrest) have got me thinking.  Our final decision?  You'll have to wait and see when they're sent out!  Now to decide on outfits for the photo session....