2 State Bride

What's next?

2010-03-05T10:35:00.000-08:00

As you've probably realized, I haven't been posting very much. One big reason is that the wedding is over and I really don't have much else to say about it! I can't believe we're nearing the 10 month mark! Some days I think it was just yesterday and other times it seems like a lifetime ago! Another reason...I'm burned out...of weddings that is! I don't watch wedding shows anymore (that fact still frightens me) and as I stated before, you've heard all about my wedding! As of now, we have 2 weddings this year. I'm in one in June and my brother's in October! Although I'm excited for these, its hard for me to really get into them since I'm still burned out from ours! Does that sound mean? I really don't mean it to be!

I feel like now is a good time to cut ties with the bridal blog and move onto what my life is like now...which is not very exciting, but will give a better insight of who I am and what life is like...post wedding! This will be the last post here on 2 State Bride, but I'm just beginning at Heidi's House. I've decided to start a new blog that encompasses just about anything! I hope I haven't lost all of my followers due to my lack of posting. If you're still around, come join me! I feel that I have a lot more to share and it will be fun...I promise!

Thanks to all of you who have stuck around (for reasons I'm not entirely sure of!) and I hope you'll join me as I move on to being a newlywed and a wife!

Honeymoon Cruise...Part 5

2010-03-04T10:00:00.000-08:00

I'll give an overall review of our cruise at the end, but I had to share our towel animals with you!

Elephant

Dinosaur

Rabbit

Monkey

Walrus

Heart

The next pictures are my favorites from the trip!

First formal dinner night (I'm not fond of how I look in the picture, but its a decent one of the two of us)

Sun rising in Cabo

Sun rising in PV

The view of the afternoon sun on the water from our balcony

Sun rising over Long Beach the day we returned

We lucked out the day we got back and self disembarked (we took our own luggage off instead of waiting for our number to be called and having to pick up our luggage once we were off the ship). We were off the boat at 8, to the Long Beach airport at 8:30 and on an early flight home at 9am (we almost didn't make it...as in announcing our names over the load speaker because the ticketing agent sent us to the wrong gate and we had to go through security twice). We were back in our apartment at 12:30 when our original flight left at 1! So nice!

Overall, we really enjoyed ourselves! Neither of us had been to Mexico before, so it was a good way for us to see so many places. We liked being on a cruise for that aspect...going to more than one place on a vacation. Will we cruise again? Not sure! We had, what I like to call, cruising hangovers. Mine lasted for 3 days, Mr. 2SBs lasted for 5. What does the hangover entail? You still feel like your on the ship. Apparently your equilibrium works so hard to keep you balanced while your on the ship that it takes a while for it to "even" out once you get off. We never felt sick on the ship, but I almost lost my breakfast my first day back at work. Its not fun and there is NOTHING you can take or do about it! The Splendor ship was beautiful and is still fairly new. It is very pink, but didn't bother me. The food was good! We paid a little extra our last night to eat at the steak house they have on board. It was delicious and I highly recommend doing it if you get the chance! Service was great too! There was always someone wanting to get you another drink or bucket of beer (extra charge of course), but it wasn't annoying (for the most part)!

If you want a more detailed review or have questions, just send me an email or leave a comment with your question!

Have you been on a cruise? Did you have a "cruising hang over"?

Tomorrow's post will be the big announcement!

Missed something? Catch up!
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

Honeymoon Cruise...Part 4

2010-03-03T10:00:00.000-08:00

Our 3rd and last stop before sailing back to CA was in Cabo San Lucas. I'm not an expert on this next part, but this was my interpretation. In PV & Mazatlan, we were docked on a pier. Meaning we could walk on and off the ship and be on land. In Cabo, we anchored and had to take tender (smaller boats) from our ship into the pier to be on land. Our shortest port time was in Cabo, which also made the tendering process seem worse than it actually was. We had planned a snorkeling trip, so by the time we waited to get on a tender boat, got to the pier we had to immediately jump on our catamaran to go snorkeling. As soon as we got back from snorkeling we had to get in line to get on a tender boat to get back to the ship. Overall, its a long process especially when you have 3,000 on a ship and 10 or so tender boats that hold 50 people.

Anyway, here are the pictures!

Sun rise over Cabo

This ended up being our tender boat right under our balcony. This was a supersized tender that took 200 people instead of 50.

A beach only accessible by water taxi...we didn't go there!

Rock formations

Us by the infamous Arch

3rd and final whale siting...on our way to go snorkeling. These were the most active whales we saw and we were very close to them! I think this one was waving Hi!

Big fin...little fin...

make a big splash!

My favorite of all my whale pictures...whale tail!

Sea of Cortez...where we went snorkeling

I'm ready to go!

We used a disposable underwater camera, but the pictures are not that great. We did see a lot of cool fish and an eel! I also drank lots of salt water...yum!

One the way back to the pier...lunch and cocktails were provided! Yay for more rum punch!

Passing our ship on the way to the pier. We tried to get our captain to drop us off at our ship, but he said no!

We got back to the pier at 2pm, which was also when the "last" tender boat was supposedly leaving. The line for the "last" tender boat had at least 500 people in it. So we took some time and walked around, bought a couple souvenirs and 2 Coronoa's each before standing in line. The line was 2 Corona's long by the time we stood in it! There was probably around 200 people in line after us, so we weren't worried about not getting on the ship. From what I remember (rum punch, Corona's and Mojito's will do that to ya), we set sail around 3. I have a feeling our departure time has a little wiggle room due to the tendering aspect.

We LOVED Cabo! From what we saw of it anyway. We definitely want to go back, but at this point it would probably be at an all-inclusive type place. Which seemed to be all over! The weather was the best in Cabo too, so maybe that was part of our decision of why we liked it the best. It also seemed more modern, less street vendors and a lot cleaner than the other 2! Who knows though, since we really just saw the pier.

Have you stayed in Cabo before? Did you love it or hate it?

Next up - final Honeymoon post!

Missed something? Catch up!
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Honeymoon Cruise...Part 3

2010-03-02T17:44:00.000-08:00

Our next stop was in Mazatlan. We had booked a site-seeing, Mexican show and shopping tour. Although we were the youngest people on the tour, it was a really good experience and we felt that we saw a lot of city and some great sites we probably wouldn't have happened up on our own.

1st site - the 2nd highest natural lighthouse in the world

White Rocks (from all the bird do do!)

Cathedral Basílica de la Inmaculada Concepción
I "stitched" two photos together, so that's why it looks kind of funny.

The Cliff Divers are the next 3 pictures:

Our next stop was a Mexican show that included various dances and clothing.

1st set of dancers

There was a group of these guys. They did a dance and joked around.

These guys were dare devils! They danced around this pole, climbed up, wrapped rope around their waists and eventually "fell" down. The head guy stood up and danced around the top of this pole.

And they're falling!

Almost to the bottom!

The Pacifico Brewing Company. We didn't tour here...maybe next time!

View of our ship! We had to take shuttle rides from where we got dropped off near the pier to the ship.

Overall, we enjoyed our time in Mazatlan. Probably another place we won't go back to, but it was nice to see it. The street vendors were all over the place and relentless. It got very annoying, but I know its their livelihood. I just wish they would sell better stuff!

Have you been to Mazatlan? What did you think?

Next up - stop #3 - Cabo San Lucas

Missed something? Catch up!
Part 1
Part 2

Honeymoon Cruise...Part 2

2010-03-01T17:24:00.000-08:00

After being on the ship since early Sunday afternoon, we were anxious to get off and check out Puerto Vallarta on Wednesday. We got into port fairly early. I went for a run that morning (2nd of the trip...I've never exercised on vacation before, but that's for another post!) and then we took our time getting ready and getting off the ship. This was our longest day we had in port (12 or so hours), so we weren't in a rush. We had planned a sunset cruise that left around 4, so we set off on our own. We walked around the downtown area and did some shopping, site-seeing and eating!

The sun rising over Puerto Vallarta

The most obnoxious pirate ship! They were docked right outside our balcony and were very loud! When I was running that morning, they had set sail with their first group. As I was running along, they fired off a cannon...scared me pretty bad, but I ran a little faster!

The private boat we bought...haha...not really!

Happy to be on land!

Walking along the coastline!

Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe - it was beautiful inside, but my pictures...not so much!

Self explanatory!

We got balloon hats also where we ate lunch! If you go, the guacamole they make table-side is DELICIOUS!

This shows my maturity level...sorry!

2nd whale siting on our sunset cruise!
There was a momma and her calf and a small pod of dolphins!

They were very close, this isn't zoomed in all that much!

This was the calf!

The dolphins are on the left and the calf is in the middle!

There's just something about whales!

I took so many pictures of the whales that our camera battery died (advice: charge your camera battery every night on vacation even if it doesn't need it!), but Mr. 2SB was able to catch this picture. Since it was cloudy the sunset lasted about 3 minutes...I know because I missed it since I was in the bathroom!

Overall, we had a nice time in Puerto Vallarta. We really enjoyed the sunset cruise, mostly because of the whales and dolphins, but the crew was nice. The appetizers were good and the rum punch was delicious! We don't feel the need at this time to ever go back to PV, but I'm sure the all-inclusive resorts offer a different perspective of the area.

Have you ever been to PV? What did you think?

Next up - stop #2 - Mazatlan

Missed something? Catch up!
Part 1

Honeymoon Cruise...Part 1

2010-02-28T17:14:00.000-08:00

We made it back safely from our cruise! We had a great time and I'm gonna tell you all about it this week! Starting today...Sunday night?!?! Weird I know, but Mr. 2SB is stuck at work tonight, so here I am! Once these recaps are done, I have an announcement (no, not pregnant), so sit tight and enjoy our cruise!

We were packing all our stuff up on Saturday night when our house phone rang (which rarely happens). It was the airline...our flight had gotten canceled due to weather, not the weather in CA, the weather on the East Coast. This was one of the major storms they were having and the plane we were supposed to be on was coming from the East Coast and that flight got canceled. After 2 hours of waiting, we were put on an earlier flight. There were a few more problems with this, but I don't want to go into detail. We made to Long Beach and at the time, that's all I cared about! If we couldn't have gotten on the earlier flight, we would have had time to drive, which would have worked too.

So we boarded our ship on Sunday, February 7th, which was also Super Bowl Sunday. The following pictures are from around the ship from our sailing days (when we didn't get off the ship...which were Sunday, Monday & Saturday).

Our Ship...Carnival Splendor

Our view of the Super Bowl

Some of the guests at our Super Bowl Party...I'm standing on top of where the screen was

The infamous Carnival Funnel

Standing near the back of the ship looking towards the front

Standing near the front looking towards the back

The water slide we never went down...boo!

Our slice of heaven...our balcony off of our room! Worth.Every.Penny!

1st whale siting from the ship. We were near Cabo on day 2 of the cruise.

I felt safe!

The wake the ship made

Next up - we dock in Puerto Vallarta!

Have you ever been on a cruise?

Honeymoon...Take 2

2010-02-05T16:35:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure why I thought this, but I figured that time would slow down after the wedding...wrong! I can't believe its been almost 2 months since my last post! Not sure if anyone is out there anymore, but hopefully you are!

Christmas and New Year's was good! Saw lots of family and friends, got stranded with my family due to snow so we didn't celebrate Christmas with Mr. 2SB's family this year, but overall it was a good trip!

Remember that honeymoon cruise we were supposed to take and then we went to Vegas instead? Back in November, we re-scheduled our cruise! And guess what? We leave on Sunday! I know...bad blogger! I think I'm actually more excited (and prepared) to go now than I was in May. Since neither of us have cruised before, the delay awarded me the time to do a lot of research (that is a good and bad thing...trust me!) and watch some funny YouTube videos! (This one is my favorite...this shouldn't happen to us! All our shore excursions were booked through the cruise line...more expensive, yes, but the ship will wait if we're running late!)

For some odd reason...this song has been running through my head for the last month!

I promise to tell you all about our cruise when we get back! (I still haven't watched our wedding video...I should probably show you that too...huh?)

I hope you all forgive me and I'll be back posting after we return from Mexico!

Bon Voyage!

And I'm off...

2009-12-18T16:32:00.001-08:00

I know, I know, I just got back, but we leave for MN tomorrow. We'll be there until the 26th where we will separate. Mr. 2SB has to come back to work and I will be heading to St. Louis to visit BM C and FINALLY meet her 1 1/2 year old daughter...oh and hang out with her husband too! I'll be back in CA on the 30th and back to work on the 4th. It will be a whirlwind adventure, but I'm looking forward to it!

Thank you all for you kind words on my last post! It was very therapeutic to FINALLY get that out! I do feel much better about it all and that's probably good since I will be seeing the infamous brother's a lot...starting tomorrow!

If anyone of you or your family is traveling, I hope you get to where you need to be and the travels are uneventful! And most importantly, I wish you all a

Merry Christmas

and a

Happy New Year!

See you all in 2010!

The BIG Disappointment of our Wedding Day

2009-12-16T16:33:00.000-08:00

Enough teasing...the biggest disappointment of our wedding day was my brothers...yes, you read that correctly. Let me give you some background first. My family (me included) like to have a good time, which usually involves alcohol. We love family functions, especially weddings! We all tend to drink a little too much as well, but never usually make fools of ourselves (see where this is going yet?). In the months leading up to the wedding, my parents talked with each of my siblings (emphasis on the brothers) and let them know that no excess drinking would be tolerated. We as a family were hosting this wedding and we all needed to present ourselves in a respectable manner. Easy enough...right? Yes, you guessed it...wrong!

As with the other bridal party members, there was no drinking until after the ceremony. When we all got in the limo, the best man had purchased some champagne and we also had some beer. I think everyone had two drinks in hand at one point, so I'm not sure how my brothers pulled off what they did. I think I had 3 glasses of wine all night, but probably only finished 1 full glass, so needless to say...I didn't have time to babysit them...no one did or should have needed to. I wasn't aware of any problems until the garter toss. I think the DJ forgot to do it earlier, so when someone reminded him...it was pretty late in the evening. So, I sat in a chair on the dance floor, the guys started singing...and that's when this picture happened.

My brother M was so drunk that he was trying to get the best man (way left) to take my garter off. In this picture you can see Mr. 2SB (white vest) and GM J listening intently to me telling my brother he had no idea what was going on and that the groom takes off the garter. The rest of the garter toss went off with out a hitch (until the guys realized it was a Buffalo Bills...then no one wanted it..haha).

Not sure if this is a regional thing or not, but the DJ had announced the last dance and it was to be "The Circle Dance" where we dance in the middle and everyone forms a circle around you and every once in a while they all swarm in around you. It all started out great, but I was noticing that when certain parts of the circle would come in one of two things would happen. 1) We were showered in various beverages and 2) We were getting ran into to the point we just were hanging on to each other. So as the song was coming to an end the part of the circle with really drunk brothers and cousin were coming in. They came in so strongly that they knocked us onto the ground. The beverage covered, dirty ground...in my white dress. As you can tell, Mr. 2SB is not a small guy, but he couldn't even hold himself up...let alone me too. So, I made the cut gesture across my neck, started crying (and am tearing up as I type) and pretty much stormed out of the reception. Didn't say bye to anyone, just left. Mr. 2SB had went outside, so when I got out there he wanted to go back in and say good bye to his guys, so I just waited in our shuttle for him. As I was sitting there, pissed as all get out, I realized that neither of them danced with me during the Dollar Dance (controversial topic I know) and that hurt me even more than pushing me over at my wedding dance.

The next morning at brunch at my parents house, brother M and FSIL B arrived on time...they looked "under the weather", but so did a lot of the other people. We all had breakfast, we opened our gifts and then everyone started to get ready to go. Then Brother J finally decided to show up. He looked like $hit, I told him he smelled bad in front my new MIL and that was about it. He had "tripped" getting into his house the night before and had some pretty serious cuts and was pretty sure his nose was broken, but I considered it Karma.

I didn't say much to them that day, just wanted to leave. I was thankful that by the time we were getting ready to go, they had already left. I really didn't want to see them (can anyone blame me?). In the days after we got back from Vegas, I received various text messages from Brother J saying he missed us and seeing if we had a good time in Vegas, blah blah blah. I didn't return any of these messages. I'm not sure if he was seeing how I would react or generally thought everything was ok. Either way, he got the hint (or my mom told him) that I was none too thrilled with him. He made several attempts to call me (I drug this out...he needed to feel guilty...right?) and I didn't answer or return the calls. When I felt that he felt guilty enough (misery needs company), I finally called him back. I let him know how I felt, he apologized, I accepted his apology and said that I did forgive him, but wouldn't forget what happened and at this point we were good to go.

Now for Brother M. He and SIL B had been house hunting for around a month or so before the wedding. They were fairly consumed with this the week of the wedding and afterwards. However, this was M's excuse for taking so long to call. I really don't remember how long it took him to call, but I would guess around 2 months. It was smart of him to wait because although I was still mad and hurt, I just wanted to get it over with at that point and didn't make him suffer as much as J (sorry J). Maybe he was doing some self-torture during those 2 months, who really knows, but the conversation was very similar to the one with J's.

So after that, its all water under the bridge. You still remember the water, but I'm refusing to hold it against them for the rest of their lives. I'm not good at holding grudges (good for them) and I don't think its worth it. We all said our peace and its done...right? Well, maybe not! I don't hold grudges, but I don't mind getting revenge (insert evil smile and laugh here). Although I do not know what this will entail yet, I can guarantee you that it will be nothing like what they did to me. With M & B's wedding less than a year away, the only thing I know is that I will not be dancing with M that day. Immature...yes! Harsh...yes! Letting him know how that feels...yes! Do I care about the first 2...no! Will I dance with J on his wedding day...no. Its just how it has to be. They made that decision, not me.

You can judge me any way you want, but while you're judging, please try to put yourself in my shoes. I might be over-reacting on the revenge thing, but it has been 7 months since this all (we) went down and you can see how it still affects me. I feel good in my decision to have them both feel a little of how I felt and how they let me (and pushed me) down.

So, that was the biggest problem/bad thing we had happen all day. In the end, I keep telling myself something we were told at our Engaged Encounter weekend. It was something along the lines of how your spouse will be your #1 person in life. Your kids will move on with their lives, your parents will pass on and your siblings and friends will also move on with their lives. When all those people are gone...your spouse will always be there!

Source

The secret of a happy marriage is finding the right person. You know they're right if you love to be with them all of the time.
~Julia Childs

Post Wedding Summary...Part 2

2009-12-14T14:52:00.000-08:00

*Sorry for the long hiatus! No excuses...just apologies! As I promised before Thanksgiving, I'm going to finish up before we leave for MN on Saturday! So, watch out...there will be another post this week! Maybe 2...if you're lucky! The next post this week will be the biggest upset from our Wedding Day!*

Things I would have added/changed (a.k.a regrets)...

Videographer - Although we have video of the ceremony (I have the video but haven't sat down to watch it yet. I plan to do so soon and will share after the new year), there is no video of the MOH and Best Man speeches. I really wish there was because although I remember them being fantastic...I don't remember what was actually said. My plan is to get a copy of each of them for a scrapbook that I'll eventually put together, so at least we'll have that.

Time - I realize there is nothing you can add or change about time, but I do wish that time would have been slow enough for me to manage my time that day a little better at the reception. There were people I didn't even get to talk to and I feel really bad about that. I know people understand, but if people didn't come through our receiving line or didn't make it onto the dance floor, I probably didn't talk with them. It is true what everyone says...the day goes by in warp speed...so unfair!

Photobooth - I know they are trendy right now, but I think I could have had a makeshift one for fairly cheap, but by the time I really decided I wanted it, I didn't want to handle the stress of putting it together. In the end, the pictures would have been worth it!

None of these on their own or combined ruined the day at all! Am I over them? For the most part...yes! We all have to make decisions and in the end, you'll know if you made the right ones or not!

Be sure to make out with your future husband in a limo on your wedding day when the entire wedding party is standing outside!
*Picture from our photographer*

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-25T11:28:00.001-08:00

Anyone still around?

I'm still alive, but have just been really busy! My goal is to finish up the recaps before we go to MN for Christmas on Dec 19th! Hopefully I can get them done and then maybe my wedding dreams will stop. I'm not kidding...still having dreams about my wedding! The kind that make it seem that it hasn't happened yet...not cool!

Anyway...my sister and brother are boarding a plane in an hour or so to spend Thanksgiving with Mr. 2SB and me! I'm so excited to spend this holiday with family! I can't wait!

We'll be doing a lot this weekend...but here's a preview of where you might be able to find us!

Thanksgiving weekend by hbowar on Polyvore.com

Items in this set:
Undercovertourist.com
Panoramio - Фото пользователя...
E.&J. Gallo Winery -...
1 CYPRESS POINT-PEBBLE BEACH
A Well-Planned Thanksgiving |...

Top left - Winchester Mystery House
Top right - Alcatraz
Center - Turkey...lots of eating!
Bottom left - Wine tasting
Bottom right - Pebble Beach

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving! If you are traveling...be safe!

Post Wedding Summary...Part 1

2009-10-09T15:58:00.000-07:00

***I've decided to break this up into the little things that went wrong, things I would have added/changed (don't like the word regret), the big thing that went wrong and an overall summary of my thoughts of the day. I'm going to add one of my favorite pictures to each of the posts because looking at the pictures keeps it all into perspective for me.***

The little things that went wrong...

The Ties - So, our tux rental order got screwed up. I did not (and still do not) let this bother me because besides us going through the entire order the day we stopped by, there was nothing that could be done. We used what we were given and in the end, it looked fine. I don't think anyone noticed the different ties either...and if they did...congrats! I'm not sure if I would have noticed if no one had told me! In the end, we received a refund for 1 tux. Didn't change anything, but was a good peace offering.

My Shoes - They were great for most of the day, but I made the mistake of taking them off for a little bit at the reception...my feet were really hot...and I forgot to bring flip-flops. Once I took my shoes off, there was no way they were going back on. Even the next morning when we got picked up from our hotel...I was barefoot. Lesson learned - always bring flip flops!

My Bustle - My bustle technically broke twice. I did a lot of having it bustled and then not, so it was partially my fault, but there were only two buttons to hold it up. And while it looked good when the buttons were apart of the dress, I think the weight of my train was too much for the poor guys. We tried to used large safety pins, but they couldn't handle it either. So in the end...my train was a cape! Not sure how anyone else can prevent this, but after talking to some other brides...this is a very common problem...so be as prepared as you can! Maybe I was just dancing too much! Nah...no such thing!

I think that's cover the "little" things! Nothing that ruined the day, just added some extra thought into how to work through it.

Next up...things I would have added/changed!

You can find the recaps here.

Wedding...MN Style: The Details

2009-10-09T15:31:00.000-07:00

I apologize if some of these are repeats, but here are some shots of the details at our wedding! I'll let them mostly speak for themselves!

***All pictures courtesy of our photographers***

First up...the flowers!

my bouquet...which I loved!

My bouquet with our rings and charms

Close-up of my bouquet charms

Bridesmaid bouquets

Bouts

Pew decoration with program

Full view of pew decoration

Side view of pew decor

There was a screen behind the head table at the reception, so I bought some "S" shower curtain hooks and we re-used the pew decorations at the reception. I was happy to be able to use them in two different spots!

Memorial Piece for our family members who were watching over us

The beautiful roses we gave to our mom's...my mom said hers lasted for over a week!

The cake we cut...only the top tier was real

Top view of our centerpiece cakes (which everyone loved)

The next two are picture frames we had by the guest book. We had a picture of our parents wedding day in the middle and then the respective grandparents wedding picture on each side. My family is the first picture...Mr. 2SB's family is the 2nd.
The rounds show the name of the couple and their wedding date.

Alright, so that was our wedding day...in pictures! If there is anything else you want to hear more about or see more pictures of, please let me know. I'm trying not to bore you all to death! Next week I'm going to finish up the re-caps with my "what I would change/do differently/regrets" post and then just a final summary. Those just might be combined into one post...I'm just not sure yet until I start writing it. I left out our "hick-ups" from that day, because in the end...that's all they really were! I'm not going to lie, I still unhappy about a few things that happened and I will get over them, just not sure how yet! You will learn what happened though...next week!

Previous Posts in the Wedding...MN Style Series:
Rehearsal & Dinner
Girls start their day
Guys start their day
Girls Beautify
Our First Look
I Work It
Guys Work It
Wedding Party Works It
We Work It
Ceremony Processional
Me & My Dad
We're Married
Gettin' the Partay Started
The Reception Starts
Kisses, Speeches & Cake
Slide show & Dancing (pt 1)
More Dancing (pt 2)

An Open Letter to My Knees

2009-10-08T14:10:00.000-07:00

Dear Knees (specifically the right one),

Wow, what we have been through together! You've always been so strong and have never caused me any pain...until now! I'm not sure if my recent desire to run outside and build up to a 5K has freaked you out, but I really wish your ability to help me with my re-found joy of running outside was less painful. I don't think I started out too fast and I always made sure to stretch you before and after each run, but I guess that's not enough. I'm not sure what is going on with you, but I'm not giving up. Although I've been taking it easy and not running since Saturday, when I probably shouldn't have finished that run, but I hope you've been enjoying the cold ice I've been using the last few days. Oh and the Tylenol must not hurt either! I know we can get through this together and enjoy our runs outside again some day...hopefully soon! In the meantime, I'll be strengthening your upstairs neighbors, the quads, in hopes that will relieve some of the tension my running puts on you. I'll probably need to get you checked out by a Doctor too, so if you feel some poking and prodding in the next few days, I apologize in advance, but it is for your benefit.

Let me know if there is anything else I can do to ease your pain as I do value you as an important part of me and I want us to be together forever!

Yours truly,
Heidi

***So, that's my way of telling you that I'm sidelined from running until further notice. I like to self-diagnose and believe I have a case of "runner's knee" and am doing what I can to get back outside. I hate going to the Doctor, but Mr. 2SB is concerned, so I might give in soon. Re-caps will be back tomorrow!***

Any other runners out there suffer from knee pain? What did you do to get better?

Wedding...MN Style: And they danced!

2009-10-06T13:49:00.000-07:00

So, I showed you the PG dancing photos...and these are still PG, but they show more of how the reception really was! People were drinking and having a good time and most ended up on the dance floor. All these pictures were taken by various guests, but I hope you enjoy!

Dancing w/ Brother J

Dancing with Cousin D

Doing a jig with Brother M

Dad's side of the family dancing away

Mom's side of the family dancing away

After my bustle broke (twice) my train became a cape!

Breakin' it down with my sister

A bunch of drunk guys singing "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" to me before the garter toss

So those are my favorites that I've seen of our guest photos! There are a lot more, but these are the best of the bunch! Seeing people on the dance floor was so fun! I definitely was on the dance floor a lot and had a great time with our guests!

Next up - pictures of the details!

Was your dance floor full or do you expect it to be?

Previous Posts in the Wedding...MN Style Series:
Rehearsal & Dinner
Girls start their day
Guys start their day
Girls Beautify
Our First Look
I Work It
Guys Work It
Wedding Party Works It
We Work It
Ceremony Processional
Me & My Dad
We're Married
Gettin' the Partay Started
The Reception Starts
Kisses, Speeches & Cake
Slide show & Dancing (pt 1)

Wedding...MN Style: Slideshow and Dancing

2009-10-02T14:37:00.000-07:00

***All pictures courtesy of our photographers***

I was really anxious and nervous for everyone to view our slide show, but I guess in the end, I had nothing to worry about! We got a lot of great feedback on it, so that made me feel a lot better!

Picture taken once the slide show was over

Then...it was time to dance!

We had our first dance...

I made Mr. 2SB grab my butt! Oops!

I danced with my dad and he danced with his mom...

Then it was time to get the dance floor full! The floor was packed for most of the night (of what I remember anyway!) and it seemed like everyone was having a good time! Here are a few of my favorites!

Twirling my 2nd cousin

BM R smacking my butt

Some of my relatives wanted to make sure that two of my cousins who couldn't be there, were included in some pictures (yes, they are pictures of them on rulers...it was funny!)

Another 2nd cousin who was crying because he had to wait for the dollar dance. I danced with him early so he didn't have to wait...it was too cute!

He really wanted to dance with me all night...so precious!

We did the longest married couple dance where all couples started dancing and then had to move off to the side after the number of years they had been together got called. Mr. 2SB's parents, my aunt and uncle and some family friends were out dancing the longest.
(Not sure why brother J and BM B are dancing during this...they aren't a couple...Oh well!)

Those are the PG dancing pictures. There were a lot more posted on Facebook, which I'll share with you next week! They are non-pro and really funny! The photogs left soon after the last picture was taken, which was good!

Was your dance floor packed or are you expecting it to be?

So next week, I'll share our guests dance pictures and show off our details (including flowers, etc). And stay tuned...the end of the reception didn't end so well, but you'll have to wait for that story!

Previous Posts in the Wedding...MN Style Series:
Rehearsal & Dinner
Girls start their day
Guys start their day
Girls Beautify
Our First Look
I Work It
Guys Work It
Wedding Party Works It
We Work It
Ceremony Processional
Me & My Dad
We're Married
Gettin' the Partay Started
The Reception Starts
Kisses, Speeches & Cake

Wedding...MN Style: Kisses, speeches and cake!

2009-09-30T15:43:00.000-07:00

***All pictures courtesy of our photographers***

We allowed the "glass clinking equals us kissing" game to only happen once or twice. After that, the DJ "randomly" chose from our RSVPs on who would kiss. I was more than happy to kiss Mr. 2SB, but I also wanted to eat!

We kissed...

My parents kissed...

Mr. 2SBs parents kissed...

The newly engaged couple kissed...

There were some more couples that kissed, but I know you don't want to see all of those!

While getting this re-cap ready, I realized I don't have any pictures of the food we served! It was served buffet style, except of the head table and the two reserved tables that had our immediate families. After our priest lead everyone in a prayer, the head chef came out and stood off to the side while 12 servers stood behind each person at the head table. He said some command and they all lifted our plates above their heads and after another command they placed our plates in front of us at the same time! I had no idea this was coming, but I thought it was an awesome way to get dinner started! I heard no complaints about the food (I thought it was delicious) or the guests having to go through a buffet line. It all seemed to work out well!

Then it was time to cut the cake!

Since we did centerpiece cakes, only the top tier was real...can't tell, can ya?!?!

It was really yummy, but ended up being the only bite I had all night (but I did enjoy a piece the next day!)

Then it was time to hear some lovely speeches by our MOH and Best Man.

My sister went first and did an amazing job! What she said...I have no idea! (Note to self: Get a copy of both speeches for the scrapbook I anticipate making!)

What better way to end a speech that with the bride having an ugly cry?

The best man also did a great job...he had everyone laughing! (Like how I'm checking out my bling in this picture...oops!)

Both speeches were great and you could tell that they both put a lot of work, thought and effort into them! Their delivery was also great! I knew my sister was very nervous, but I think the champagne and wine gave her the boost she needed!

Now that everyone was full...it was time for the slideshow and then some dancing...which will be next up!

Have you ever given a speech at a wedding? How did it go? How did the speeches go at your own wedding?

Wedding...MN Style: Reception Begins

2009-09-28T14:29:00.000-07:00

***In the interest of getting these re-caps done...the next few posts will be picture heavy, but I hope to be fully done with all re-caps next week! Woo hoo!***

Well, to be honest, the party was already in full swing by the time we showed up! It was definitely a good thing that the entire bridal party was able to get some liquid courage (aka alcohol) in their system before being announced. Once we arrived at the reception hall, we lined up outside (as it started to sprinkle) and we all made our grand entrance. (Notice the difference between pre-alcohol pictures and the ones below are post-alcohol...they are having a much better time, don't you think?!?!)

***All pictures courtesy of our photographers***

Ushers/Brothers hamming it up for everyone

GM A & BM C

GM E & BM L

GM S & BM B

GM J & BM R

Best Man & MOH
(This is one of my favorites for the day, especially since they met less than 24 hours prior)

Waiting for our turn...the DJ made the crowd be really loud!

I didn't want to have the above pic, but it happened! Call it caught up in the moment!

Wow...look at all those people!

Walking into the room full of love

We high fived the entire bridal party...not sure how that happened but it was fun!

Mr. 2SB gave a quick speech thanking everyone for being there and to be safe and use our sober shuttles!

Before you see the next picture, I need to fill you in on how this happened. During our rehearsal, the priest said that if any of us messed up during the ceremony, we owed him a bottle of champagne. However, if he messed up, he would buy us champagne. (Do you see where this is going?) So, at one point during the ceremony the priest used my sister's name instead of mine. I don't really remember where it was, but there were lots of giggles coming from the bridal party because we all knew there was some champagne coming to us! So the picture below is the priest giving us our champagne! I wasn't mad that there was the one mistake...he is human! It did only happen once and it wasn't when we were reciting our vows, so that was the good part!

Did your priest/officiant make any mistakes in your ceremony? Was it noticeable? How did you handle it?

Next Up - Kissing, Cake & Speeches

Previous Posts in the Wedding...MN Style Series:
Rehearsal & Dinner
Girls start their day
Guys start their day
Girls Beautify
Our First Look
I Work It
Guys Work It
Wedding Party Works It
We Work It
Ceremony Processional
Me & My Dad
We're Married
Gettin' the Partay Started

Wow! Where did the time go?

2009-09-24T16:00:00.000-07:00

Did you forget about me? Because I almost forgot about this blog! Not really, but man have I been busy since my last post! I'm going to try to get another re-cap done tomorrow, but here's an update on my work-outs!

Couch to 5K
After completing Wk1 Dy1, I took 2 days off to recover. My quads were extremely sore and I needed the extra day so I could complete the rest of Wk1 with little pain. I completed Wk 1 successfully on Friday the 18th. I was so into my running that day that I didn't hear the guy say I was half done (which is my cue to turn around to go home) so I did 2 extra intervals with no problem at all! I jumped right into Wk 2 Dy 1 on Sunday. It was a little more difficult, but no pain no gain...right?!?! I completed Wk 2 Dy 2 yesterday and will finish out week 2 probably on Saturday. I don't need the extra recovery day, but my schedule keeps getting moved around, so I'm learning to just adapt my work-outs, not quit them!

100 Push-up Challenge
I completed week one successfully last week, but have not continued on to week 2. I'm not giving any excuses, but Mr. 2SB's parents were visiting from Sunday afternoon and they just left this morning, so we were busy showing them around. Plan of attack is to re-start week 1 next week but also add in some weight lifting, which should help my running too!

So there you have it! I'm staying focused and getting my work-outs done. I found out that one of my friends is also doing the Couch to 5K program...she's a few days ahead of me, so that's a lot of motivation because we talk about it every time we see each other now and I can't get too far behind her! We're going to do a 5K together once we complete the 9 weeks too! Mr. 2SB mentioned starting it too, so that would be even more motivating!

Anyone else start the Couch to 5K journey after I did?

Wedding...MN Style: Gettin' the partay started!

2009-09-15T15:41:00.000-07:00

***All pictures from our photographers***

After the ceremony we did a receiving line with our parents. We saw most of the guests at that time and it went by fairly quickly (who am I kidding...everything seemed to go quickly that day). When we were making our exit from the church, most of our guests were already making their way to the reception, so there was no bird seed, confetti or bubbles. Just our bridal party waiting by our decorated limo with drinks in hand. We were more than ready to join them for some drinks!

We had about 45 minutes before we were to be introduced at the reception, we made one pit stop where Mr. 2SB and I did some post wedding portraits (can be seen here - time stamp 2:01-2:19) and we took the long way to the reception. Once the ceremony was over, the bridal party loosened up and started smiling (since they weren't before)...I think they were happy they could start drinking!

Once we got to the reception, we lined up and waited for our grand entrance!

Funny story - Mr. 2SB had no energy after the ceremony and was already exhausted (much to do with the drinking the night before) so my cousin and my brother M's roommate were given a special mission...buy some 5 Hour Energy and wait for us outside the reception. Needless to say...those little things allowed Mr. 2SB to enjoy the entire reception and to not get in trouble! ;) It is true...I was not mad one bit that he had a little too much to drink the night before. He rarely gets to see his buddies and I wanted him to have fun with them. Regardless of how he felt, he was gonna have to push through the night...and I think he knew that!

Did you have a grand exit from your ceremony or are you planning one?

Next up - our grand entrance!

Life after the wedding: Jump starting my workouts

2009-09-14T14:23:00.000-07:00

Since the wedding re-caps are coming to an end...yes, I will finish them, I figured I'd start the slow transition into life after the wedding! Which, in short, has been amazing! I can't wait to share with you all what we've been up to the last 4 months...crazy that we've been married that long (tomorrow).

I didn't talk about it much before the wedding (only here and here), but I was doing really well with my workouts. I didn't ever finish the push-up challenge, but started lifting weights instead. I felt really good about how I looked at my wedding, but then it happened...my motivation to be fit was gone! I had already had my wedding and I'm embarrassed to say...didn't work out once after the wedding. I no longer feel good about the way my body looks. All the hard work I put into it before the wedding is now unnoticed. I know I am my worst critic, but my clothes used to look better on me...I swear!

Finally, yesterday, I had had enough! I can no longer feel sorry for myself because I wasn't doing anything to change it. I was in track in high school and don't mind running, so I thought I should start there. I found a program online called Couch to 5K (aka C25K) and started Week 1 Day 1 (W1D1) yesterday. You can read more about the program on the website, but in short, it gets you running 3 miles in 2 months. I also found a podcast with music that also tells you when to walk and when to run at the right times which totally helps, so I can just focus on what I should be doing and not how long I've been doing it. There are lots to choose from...I used this one yesterday and am going to try this one tomorrow.

Running is a great workout, but I also re-started the 100 Push-up Challenge this morning. So, I think I have my bases covered, but may also need to throw in some sit-ups at some point too. When I was doing the push-up challenge last time I was also doing sit-ups and ended up pulling something in one of my stomach muscles, so we'll start off slow and see what kind of results I'm getting and go from there!

So why am I telling you all of this? I need to hold myself accountable. My plan is to do a weekly post with a summary of what my work-outs consisted of. I'm still working out what my schedule will be, but this week my run days are Sunday (yesterday), Tuesday and Thursday. Push-up days are Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Next week might be a challenge since Mr. 2SB's parents are coming to visit on Sunday, so I'm gonna do what I can next week, but get right back on it as soon as they leave! (They've never visited us before, since we weren't married. Not sure what they plan is while they are here, but I'm hoping it goes well!)

If any of you decide to do any of this, let me know! It would be great to have some buddies to lean on but to also keep each other focused! So that's where I'm at and I apologize if that was boring, but I need to find something (or a combination of things) that will keep me accountable and I feel like putting this all out there was a step in the right direction!

Anyone else feel the same way I did after their wedding? What got you motivated again?

Re-caps will be back tomorrow!!!

Wedding...MN Style: We Get Married!

2009-09-10T11:28:00.000-07:00

***Good news/Bad news - Good news - I'm back and had a wonderful time with my parents. Bad news - no video...hopefully in a few weeks.***

Sorry about the picture heavy post, but I'm gonna load this post up to include the entire ceremony so we can move onto the reception!

I'm skipping the actual church readings part because we were really just kneeling during that whole part and that's not all that exciting. In a Catholic Wedding Ceremony there are some readings, then the vows, then communion and then the kiss. Yes...you don't get to kiss right after your vows. It's ok though...gotta love the anticipation!

We went with traditional vows...nothing out of the ordinary. Mr. 2SB held his composure very well, however I did not. I got through them, but my voice was very shaky! Once I get the video, you'll be able to see!

All pictures taken by our photographers

Mr. 2SB saying his vows (and forcing my ring on my finger...it was a little tight that day!)...

Me saying my vows (his ring slid right on!)...

We lit our unity candle...

Gave my mom a rose...

Gave Mr. 2SB's mom a rose...

We were given a blessing...

We sealed it with a kiss...

We were announced as husband and wife...

and we lead the recessional out of the church!

So there's the short version! Hopefully you get the idea of what happened, but I understand that too much church stuff can be a little boring!

Overall, I'm very happy with our decision to go with a traditional Catholic Ceremony. I know they can get long, but we were done by 4:45...under an hour is good in my book!

Was/is your ceremony traditional and religious or something else?

Next Up: We get the party started!

Previous Posts in the Wedding...MN Style Series:
Rehearsal & Dinner
Girls start their day
Guys start their day
Girls Beautify
Our First Look
I Work It
Guys Work It
Wedding Party Works It
We Work It
Ceremony Processional
Me & My Dad

Wedding...MN Style: Here Comes The Bride (and her dad!)

2009-09-03T14:59:00.000-07:00

Everyone was in their places and it was time for my dad and me to make our way down the aisle. The ring bearers had just begun their walk when my dad looked at me (I was looking forward) and said, "Are you ready?" I looked at him with a smile and this is what I saw:

My dad and SIL C after the ceremony

My brother's/ushers were right there and we all had a good laugh.

Not sure if I was crying because I was laughing or because I was just about to get married, but I shed a few tears and kept a big smile planted on my face. Then the pianist had begun "Cannon in D" by Pachelbel and we made our way down the aisle.

We finally made it to the front.

This picture makes me cry...just speaks volumes

And the ceremony began...

*All photos taken by our photographers*

While walking down the aisle, I looked at Mr. 2SB the entire time. I didn't look away from him once and it really made that long walk a lot easier. At that point I had no clue who any of our guests were...didn't see one person in the pews! Funny to look at that way, but it was true!

Next Up: We exchange vows

For you married ladies, what did you look at on your way down the aisle? For the almost married ladies, what do you plan on looking at while making your grand entrance?

Side note - my parents are coming to visit tomorrow (Friday) and are leaving Tuesday morning, so I'm gonna be absent until at least Wednesday. Although they should be bringing video, so I'll finish the ceremony re-caps and hopefully can dive into video sometime soon! Hope you all have a great weekend!

New Look

2009-09-02T12:16:00.000-07:00

Recaps will continue either later today or tomorrow, but the blog has a new look!

I've been really jealous of people with customized headers on their blog, so I took it upon myself to learn how to do it! I threw the current one together in less than an hour and am pretty happy with it! I'm gonna keep playing around, but let me know what you think! (All Google readers will need to actually visit the blog...sorry!)

Wedding...MN Style: The Ceremony Begins

2009-09-01T14:27:00.000-07:00

While our my brothers/ushers were seating our guests, the rest of the wedding party was holding out near where I got ready. If guests came in the back door, they could see us, so I tried to hide underneath the stairs...it didn't really work all that well!

A few minutes before 4, we all started making our way to the back of the church to get lined up. Once we got to the top of the stairs we noticed a problem...my poor brothers/ushers were overwhelmed with guests and there was a line for people to get seated...Oops! (Guess we should have had that 3rd usher!) Thankfully our groomsmen know how to multi-task and 3 of them stepped in and helped my brothers finish up! However, the processional started right at 4PM...I'm still not sure how this happened, but I was glad we were on time! Although some of our guests weren't glad as construction season already started in MN and some people got stuck in traffic. Too bad for them!

(I just realized that I didn't share our ceremony music with you...sorry about that...I'll tie them in to the pictures! Click the links to listen to the songs.)

Our musicians had just finished our prelude of "I Will Be Here" arranged by Steven Curtis Chapman and the pianist had started "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" by J.S Bach when the processional began.

My brother's escorting my Grandma...the only surviving Grandparent Mr. 2SB and I have...I wish I knew what they were laughing about!

My brother's escorting my mom...I think they were more holding her up!

Mr. 2SB and his parents...I think he might be nervous here!

Then the bridal party made their way...not sure who told them not to smile, but most of them are not!

GM A & BM C

GM E & BM L

GM S & BM B

GM J & BM R

Best Man C & MOH A

Ring Bearers E & A (like the pillows?)

Then the Priest said "All Rise" (or something like that)...the music changed and it was time to walk down that long aisle with my dad!

Next up - my dad and I head down the aisle, but he had a secret to make my laugh/smile first!

Did your ceremony start on time? If you're not married yet, what are you doing to make sure you start on time or doesn't it really matter?

Previous Posts in the Wedding...MN Style Series:
Rehearsal & Dinner
Girls start their day
Guys start their day
Girls Beautify
Our First Look
I Work It
Guys Work It
Wedding Party Works It
We Work It

Things that make you go Hmmm...

2009-08-26T14:59:00.000-07:00

I apologize for interrupting the re-caps, but something is bothering me today and I'm curious of your opinions.

Let me give you some background information first.

Mr. 2SB took a new position with his company at the beginning of the month. Since starting 3 1/2 weeks ago, he's had 2 days off total and has been working really long hours. I knew this could happen and thought I was prepared for it, but nope, not the case! The first week I ate dinner by myself, which typically doesn't affect me, but as I was eating and watching So You Think You Can Dance, I just started crying. Pretty much just feeling sorry for myself. After the first week was over, I was feeling much better about everything and knew (hoped) that after a month or so things would get better, he would work less (which still hasn't happened) or I would just learn to deal with it, which I am. I can eat dinner alone and not burst into tears...woo whoo...go me!

So anyway, the other day That Wife (aka Mrs. Avocado) wrote this post about her husband working longer hours and such and how hard it has been on her and their relationship. The post really struck a chord with me. Do you ever read a post from another blogger and think you could write the same thing? It was one of those posts that I could copy and paste into my life. I commented and told her I knew what she was going through and that it can only get better. As I was reading through the other comments one got me really worked up, which usually isn't normal.

Here's what it said:

Amy says:

August 25, 2009 at 1:57 pm

Oh, btw- if a man can’t do his job in 40 hours, maybe he isn’t the man for the job. Just a little food for thought…

It really caught me off guard and I had to reply to it after being through the last few weeks.

Here was my response:

Heidi Reply:
August 25th, 2009 at 5:31 pm

Are you serious? I only work 40 hours, but my husband put in around 80 for each of the last 3 weeks. He works in a retail setting, so his long hours benefit his customers. Might be time to take off your rose-colored glasses and look into the real world!

A little harsh, yes, but oh well! I didn't think anything of the comment until this morning and went to see if there were any replies. Just my luck...there was!

Amy Reply:
August 25th, 2009 at 6:00 pm

It’s good that hubby’s customers are so much more important than you are. Seriously, I’d take a good look at why strangers are more important than you are to your husband. I’m so sorry for you that you have had to endure that the past three weeks– and for the furtherment of capitalist greed nonetheless.

I was completely shocked! By what I said, I can't imagine that someone would really job there. (On a side note, it seems that That Wife's blog has had some followers who are jumping to some very wrong conclusions...if you read these posts - 1, 2, 3 - you can get the drift.) So, I shouldn't have been surprised by the comment, but I still felt (and fell) attacked. I could never imagine judging someone's entire relationship based on one comment. My comment could have seemed like an attack to "Amy" but I can't think of very many of my friends and family who only work 40 hours a week and I know they all work hard. "Amy" made some other comments that you can read through, but I just had to respond today.

So, here's what I said.

Heidi says:

August 26, 2009 at 4:44 pm

Wow Amy…you are so right! His customer’s are way more important than I am and if he had a choice to spend time with me or work more, he would definitely work more. Since you know everything about relationships, you have to tell me what to do! I was hoping you would have a blog or something so I can strive to have a life exactly like yours! Since your all aspects of your life seem perfect, I can think of no better thing to do than to live my life according to Amy. Please tell me you have a blog or a book or something! I’m not sure how I’ve made it this far in my life with out you!

I hope you picked up my sarcasm.

I am making no further comments to "Amy" ever, but I just can't get over some people!

So that's where my head's been at today! I know I shouldn't let this affect me the way it is, but I have a hard time believing "Amy" would say this face to face...but then again maybe she would. The internet is just a strange place!

So, what do you think? Was I completely off guard? Its really ok if you think I am! I know I stooped to her level, but what can a girl do? Have you ever felt attacked in the cyber-world? How did you handle it? (Hopefully better than I did!)

Wedding...MN Style: Our portraits

2009-08-24T15:13:00.000-07:00

I have another slide show for you! I know you're excited! Here are the pictures of us! I'm really happy with how our pictures turned out! I know they are kind of hard to see since the video viewer is so small, but I will probably posts my favorites before we order anything (yeah...we haven't ordered 1 print! Oops!) and get your opinion of what we should order!

Most of these were taken before the ceremony, but the pictures of us on the bridge at the end, were from after. We made a quick pit stop on the way to the reception (yes...we were still running ahead of schedule) and then the sunset ones were taken while our guests were finishing up their meal!

With out further ado...here we are...just over 3 months ago!

Song in the video is "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" by Lady Antebellum (umm...yes...I love them!)

Next Up - The Ceremony Begins (I do have some video coming of the wedding, but the earliest I'll be able to post it is the 9th...so I'll try to get caught up to that point before then! My plan is to re-cap the ceremony through pictures and then show the video at the end. I haven't seen the video, so depending on the quality is dependent if its posted!)

Previous Posts in the Wedding...MN Style Series:
Rehearsal & Dinner
Girls start their day
Guys start their day
Girls Beautify
Our First Look
I Work It
Guys Work It
Wedding Party Works It

Wedding...MN Style: Wedding Party Portraits

2009-08-20T14:54:00.000-07:00

Sorry for my short absence! I know portraits are boring, so I decided to switch gears and do them slide show style instead! Some of these are doubles from my last post, but you're gonna have to deal!

These are my favorites of the wedding party and I hope you can see why!

The song in this slide show is "Home is Where the Heart Is" by Lady Antebellum

I'm going to do the same for the pictures of just me and Mr. 2SB. Hopefully they'll be a little less painful to look at!

Previous Posts in the Wedding...MN Style Series:
Rehearsal & Dinner
Girls start their day
Guys start their day
Girls Beautify
Our First Look
I Work It
Guys Work It

Wedding...MN Style: The Guys Pose

2009-08-13T14:57:00.000-07:00

***I appologize in advance for the portrait posts because I know they can get boring, but hang on as I work through these as fast as possible!***

We ended up taking group shots in a few places - a park, outside the church and formal shots inside the church. We had the whole bridal party together for some, separated for others and just Mr. 2SB and I for even more.

Here are some of my favorite poses from the guys. Can you tell they've all been in a lot of weddings? They were good sports, considering I told them they all couldn't have any alcohol until after the ceremony. I think some of them were hurting from the night before as Gatorade was flowing pretty heavy that morning! Silly boys...they just never learn!

*All pictures courtesy of our photographers*

To get these pics, the guys had to do some light hiking...well worth it in my book, but I didn't have to hike!

This one make me giggle, because these guys are never that serious...EVER!

Yes, Captain Morgan was invited to our wedding

I almost cut this one out, but all the guys look good, so I had to show you!

Time to get a little more formal at the church

Me with the guys

And another!

So there are our guys in their finest! I know all of the GM pretty well and never worried that they wouldn't cooperate with pictures! They weren't enthusiastic by any means, but they played nice! We included our ushers/my brothers in all of our pictures. I don't think this is normal, but I wanted them to be a part of our day and not just show up at the ceremony to seat people. There were only a few group shots where they were not included, but they were really good sports about it all!

Did you/do you plan to include your ushers on your wedding party pictures?

Up Next - The Girls Pose

Previous Posts in the Wedding...MN Style Series:
Rehearsal & Dinner
Girls start their day
Guys start their day
Girls Beautify
Our First Look
I Work It

Wedding...MN Style: Just me...workin it!

2009-08-11T11:11:00.000-07:00

Since we were still running ahead of schedule, the limo still had not arrived. I had no concept of time the entire day, but I knew the guys were supposed to be at the church by noon and the limo was to arrive at 12:30. I think they guys were early (they listened so well!) which left us waiting on the limo.

Along with the new addition to the church, there is a beautiful staircase with exposed brick! Since we had some time, the photographers and I took advantage of the space and I whipped out my inner model! It was really fun to do these and I just took the direction of the photographer (i.e smile, now stop smiling, look over here, now over there...you catch my drift!). Here are my favorites from my impromptu photo session!

***All pictures taken by our photographers***

The last one was edited by the photographer, but I absolutely love it! I actually like all of these and think the show off my dress very well! I don't foresee my modeling career going any further, it was really fun to pretend that day!

Did you feel like a model on your wedding day? Did it make you uncomfortable or did you love it?

Next up - pictures with the bridal party...I'm still trying to figure out how to break these down!

Previous Posts in the Wedding...MN Style Series:
Rehearsal & Dinner
Girls start their day
Guys start their day
Girls Beautify
Our First Look

Wedding...MN Style: First Look

2009-08-07T14:19:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I changed my mind about showing you our flowers first, because if I did it now, I would have to show you so many pictures from through out the day, so I think I'll do the details (flowers included) at the end. You'll get some sneak peaks at the flowers, but some of the close-up shots you'll have to wait for!

Our first look is more exciting than the flowers anyway!

We did our first look reverse of most other couples...I was standing at the front of the church facing forward and Mr. 2SB walked towards me. Our photogs set it up this way and I didn't really think it was off until after it was over! The effect is definitely still there and that's all I really wanted! There isn't much else to say with these, so I'll let the pictures speak for themselves!

WARNING - LOTS OF PICUTRES AHEAD

***All pictures courtesy of our photographers***

"Umm...he's here, right?!?!"
I really had no doubt that he was there, but my face obviously didn't get the memo!

Mr. 2SB starts he journey down the long aisle

I think we were talking to each other

Hurry-up please!

Does it really take that long to get down the aisle?!?!

I guess so!

I think he approves!

Kissing in the church before our vows...oops!

One of my favorites from the day!

He was a lot more happy than this picture shows...I swear!

This is after we walked out of the main part of the church...after the previous pic, the photogs left! Then Mr. 2SB filled me in on the tie drama and we had a few minutes alone, which was really nice!

Everyone was hanging out downstairs...so we got to look down on our peeps!

Can't was just do this all now? I'm ready!

I know the first look creates some stress on brides - do you do it before-hand or do you wait until you're walking down the aisle? It wasn't a hard decision for us and its just easier to do it before hand. I also get this nerve "rash" on my chest and neck when I'm experiencing any kind of extreme emotion, so I knew that the likelihood of my "rash" being present when walking down the aisle would be less extreme if I had the comfort of already seeing Mr. 2SB. We were able to get most of our pictures done before the ceremony, so the stress factor was really low through out the entire day! Did we make the right decision, for us, to see each other before the wedding? Yes! Is it right for everyone? No! Do what's right for you!

Are you seeing each other before the ceremony or are you waiting until you're walking down the aisle?

Next up - the closest I'll ever get to becoming a model!

Previous Posts in the Wedding...MN Style Series:
Rehearsal & Dinner
Girls start their day
Guys start their day
Girls Beautify

Wedding...MN Style: The Girls Beautify

2009-08-04T14:05:00.000-07:00

While the guys were getting ready at the hotel, the girls and I were hanging out in the church basement. There was a new addition put on our church a few years ago and with that came a wonderful room for us to get ready in! It was really just four walls and a table and some play toys, but with a door we could lock (if necessary) it worked out great!

While we were finishing up at the salon, FSIL/Personal Attendant B was hard at work! After she got her hair done, she picked up my dress from the cleaners and then took all of the dresses (mine and all the BMs) and all of our bags to the church. So, when we got to the church, all we had to do was get ready! It was great!

My sister/MOH had done her make-up at the salon because we knew that as soon as we got to the church, she needed to get to work re-creating the look from my makeover in Chicago (see picture here). We got some music going and my sister got down to work.

I was never the least bit worried about having my sister do my make-up! She's the one that turned me on to MAC and has a very large collection of their products. Her make-up always looks great and I knew she wouldn't make me look bad! She also stood right by the make-up artist when were in Chicago, asked lots of questions and took lots of pictures. We even had the artists phone number in case we ran into any problems!

I'll let the pictures tell the rest of our getting ready story!

All pictures from our photographers.

We started with the eyes...

My sister/MOH blowing on the fake lash glue to make sure it was dry

BM C, BM L & BM B look on (some of them had on teeth whitening strips...they were hard core!)

Disco fever anyone?

FSIL/PA B helping BM L with her necklace

Giving the photog some sass before we kicked him out so we could get dressed

BM C getting zipped into her dress
(I hadn't seen the actual dresses until 2 days before the wedding...I loved them however!)

Loading on the deodorant

Bracing myself to get tied into my dress

almost done

doing a little shimmy to make sure my dress could withstand some dancing

One bow...

And I was dressed!

Some finishing make-up touches

a little more help with the lips

and I was ready to see my groom!

While we were getting ready the flowers came and looked amazing! I got wind of the tie fiasco but with little cell coverage in the church basement FSIL/PA B took the call and I brushed it off. The guys showed up and everyone left me in the room alone while they went to pin on the bouts for the guys. My mom finally realized I was alone after a few minutes and came back in with me! I have to say though, it was nice to have those few minutes alone that day! I gathered my composure (even though I was pretty calm all day) and just gathered my thoughts!

When I walked out of the room, I saw the groomsmen, who all looked great and was ready to see Mr. 2SB!

Did you get left alone at all on your wedding day? How did you take it?

Next up...the flowers...then our first look!

How about that for suspense!

Previous Posts in the Wedding...MN Style Series:
Rehearsal & Dinner
Girls start their day
Guys start their day

Wedding...MN Style: The Guys Clean-up Well

2009-07-28T14:15:00.000-07:00

After we were done at the salon, our photographer's split up - one with the guys while they got ready at the hotel and the other with the girls as we finished getting ready at the church.

As with most wedding parties, the guys didn't start getting ready until well after the girls. However, the extra time our guys (including Mr. 2SB) got, probably saved their lives. Apparently they were out until bar close and some weren't exactly feeling all that great (again...including Mr. 2SB who told me later in the day he made himself sick so he would feel better...if he wouldn't have told me, I wouldn't have known, so he did a good job covering up)!

One of the days issues arose when all the guys started getting dressed. Remember in this post where we had diverted one tux crisis? Well, it seems like the shop was so focused on getting the shirts right, they forgot to look at the ties. Here was the break down of what should have been - Mr. 2SB black shirt w/ ivory tie and vest; groomsmen - black shirts w/ solid green ties and vests; dads & ushers in white shirts w/ black ties and vests. Easy right...especially since it had been written down in DECEMBER? Apparently not! By Friday morning, everyone had the correct color of shirt, but two of the groomsmen ties were green and black stripped. Mr. 2SB, my brothers/ushers and dad did all that they could with the tux shop to get this fixed, but it was too late! (While I was getting my make-up done, I got wind that something was not right, but knew that Mr. 2SB would handle it...and he did!) So the guys came up with the best option - groomsmen 1, 3 and 5 would wear the solid ties and 2 & 4 would wear the stripes. So it went every other and to be honest...I don't think anyone noticed and it still looked fine! If I wouldn't have been told about it...it's highly possible that I wouldn't have noticed!

Here are some pictures of the guys getting ready!

***All pictures courtesy of our photographers. Some of these have some black dots, which I believe is lingering hair spray, but I'm hopeful that they will be photoshopped out if we choose to order any of these.***

I can't tell if this is staged or not, but I like how they are all doing the same thing!

Mr. 2SB getting his cuff links on

The guys taking turns checking themselves out in the mirror

My brother helping Mr. 2SB with the final touches

Almost done

Whipping out his inner GQ

Looks like the best man (on the left) is giving a pep talk

I think he's ready!

Once the guys were ready, my dad and cousin drove them to the church, since that's where the limo was picking us all up for pictures. I tried very hard to make sure that the bridal party didn't have to ditch their cars all over and I think it worked out!

Did your groom have to deal with any problems on your wedding day? How did he do? If you're not married yet, do you think your guy can handle a problem if it presents itself?

Next up - the girls get their make-up done and get dressed!

Previous Posts in the Wedding...MN Style Series:
Rehearsal & Dinner
Girls start their day

Wedding...MN Style: Girls & Hair

2009-07-21T14:36:00.000-07:00

I don't even know how much (or how little) sleep I got the night before the wedding. I remember seeing Mr. 2SBs text at 2:30ish and was already awake when my alarm went off at 7:30 the next day.

My sister/MOH, BM B and I had to shower and dry our hair. Since my sister/MOH and BM B have thick, long hair, they showered first (only one shower at my parents house, but it worked out well) and then it was my turn! It was really nice to just shower, get dressed, dry my hair and be done with making myself ready for the day! I wish everyday was like that!

Once we were set to go, FSIL/Personal Attendant B had came over in the meantime, so we were off to pick up the three other ladies. First, BM R, who was staying at her parents house then BM L & C, who were staying at the same hotel.

Something weird was going on this day...we were running ahead of schedule! Good in my book! Our hair appointments started at 9am and we were at the salon by 8:50am! The shop didn't technically open til 9, but they let us in and got started almost right away!

I went first along with my sister/MOH , BM C, and FSIL B. We had brought the ingredients for mimosa's (a must have in my book) and my mom dropped off some bagels around 9:15. I had told the photographers to come around 9:30 or 10. They arrived promptly at 9:20 and started snapping away. By that time, my hair was pretty much done and it was time for veil placement. There was some debate about whether to go above the curls or below. I prefered below, and that's what it was! The salon we went to do an amazing job and we were out of there just after 10:30. Needless to say...were were still running ahead of schedule! Gotta love that! Here are a few pictures from the salon.

All pictures from our photographers, unless otherwise noted.

I think this is when it really started to sink in

Ok...I can do this (just need some make-up)

The end result

The closest I got to being a Bridezilla during the whole wedding planning process

and there were a lot of laughs!

me with BM L & C (just to show that my BMs were there)

Once everyone had their hair done, FSIL B drove us to the church so we could finish getting ready (i.e make-up and getting dressed). My goal was to be there by 11, but we were there by 10:45...still running ahead of schedule!

Did you run on schedule or late on your wedding day?

Next up...the guys get ready

Previous Posts in the Wedding...MN Style Series:
Rehearsal & Dinner

Wedding...MN Style: Rehearsal & Dinner

2009-07-16T14:51:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all that voted on the title for the re-caps. It was a close call, but you can see which one won!

When we left off, I was on my way to rehearsal with my parents, sister/MOH and BM B. When I sent out the itinerary to the bridal party and families, it said rehearsal was at 4:30, when it actually didn't start until 5. I told most of the BMs the truth, but the guys were not lead onto the secret!

I was very surprised when I walked into the church because we were only missing 2 attendants (and they were BMs)...all the guys were there! I was completely shocked, but I gave them all a hug and said hi. Once everyone had arrived, which was by 5, we were on our way.

We didn't have a DOC and to be honest, we didn't need one. Our Priest is awesome and he held everyone's attention very well. All of our wedding party had been in other weddings, so they paid attention and did what they were told. Were they smiling the whole time...no, but that's ok! The first run through went fairly slow as we were all being told what to do and where to go. The second time through we were accompanied by the musicians. When my dad and I were walking down the aisle, I lost it. Not really bad, but was definitely teary eyed! I used the very popular choice of Cannon in D as I couldn't imagine walking down the aisle to anything else!

Here are some pictures from rehearsal. All courtesy of SIL C.

A nervous (or tired?) Mr. 2SB

Mr. 2SB and our priest

At the end of the aisle with my dad

Practicing the hand-off

To the Alter we go

Paying close attention

Practicing our vows (I don't recall if we actually said them or not)

Telling us what to do with the Unity Candle

And we're married (practice wise)!

Rehearsal lasted about 30-40 minutes and went very well! After that, we all headed to our Rehearsal Dinner. I can't remember (and don't fee like looking) if I told you about our RD. My parents friends have a lot of experience in catering. We asked them to cater our RD and just rented out on of the meeting rooms at the hotel. We brought in our own beer and soda. Including everything, we spent $500. We wanted it to be laid back, which it was; for people to have good food, which they did; to quench their thirst, which they did; and to be fairly short in length, which it was!

We passed out the gifts. I told my BMs the story about their necklaces and everyone opened their gifts at the same time. No speeches were given, we just all hung out and mingled. A lot of the beer was gone, but the GM kept most of the rest. I said goodbye to Mr. 2SB and his crew and headed back to my parents house.

Once we got there, we put on comfy clothes, opened a bottle of wine and my mom, sister/MOH, BM B and I watched the season finale of Grey's Anatomy, that we had DVRed. (If you watch GA, umm...holy crap what a finale that was!) Shortly after, we all turned in. I tossed and turned a little, but fell asleep shortly after 2 when I got a text from Mr. 2SB. I was glad to know he was also going to bed (they were talking about hitting some bars when I was leaving).

Overall, rehearsal and the dinner went really well and was very low-key! It was great to feel relaxed...even if it was just for a few short hours!

Next up...the ladies begin our day

Don't worry...

2009-07-14T16:30:00.000-07:00

voting is still open! Click over to the right to vote on the title for my re-caps! Voting closes at 5PM PST tomorrow!

Your opinion matters!

2009-07-13T12:20:00.000-07:00

Hey Guys...I need your advice!

I want to title my re-caps (a la Weddingbee bloggers), but can't decide! I've come up with four options and have a poll over to the right. Please vote! Voting closes on Wednesday at 5PM PST. If you choose other, please leave a comment with any suggestions! Re-caps will begin Thursday!

Hurry up and don't wait! (If you're reading via Google Reader, its just a quick click away to voice your opinion)

I'm finished...

2009-07-12T11:00:00.000-07:00

with lying to all of you! I'm scanning our rehearsal pictures as I'm typing this! Re-caps will start this week...I promise! I hope you all are still interested in seeing how our day played out! Sorry for stringing you along, but its been very hard for me to find motivation when it comes to wedding stuff. I'm just over it all, but I still want to share our day with you all, so hang on...things are about to get fun around here!

One last teaser from the reception. We had just finished our first dance and were moving into the bridal party dance. I just like the picture!

Picture from our wonderful photographers.

Psst...

2009-06-30T16:19:00.000-07:00

Remember me?!?!

Hopefully so! Just checking in! I'm still sorting through our pictures, but I have good news...I'm almost done! I plan on using my day off on Friday to scan our rehearsal pics. My goal is to start re-capping next week! I feel good with that time frame too! I hope you all get a long weekend and are able to enjoy it! Here's another pic to tide you over. It's my bouquet, showing off the charms and our rings!

Picture by our wonderful photographers

Changing My Name...Step 2 & 3

2009-06-16T16:28:00.000-07:00

First off, I've sorted completely through one of our CD's of pictures and am on to the 2nd one! I'm hoping to finish this weekend, so hopefully recaps can start next week!

Alright, so after taking care of my name change with the SSA, my next step was the DMV. I headed to the office that's the closest to my work yesterday during lunch. I was assigned my number at 12:55PM. I sat and waited until my number was called at 1:40PM and I was happily walking out of the office by 1:45PM. Yes, it really only took five minutes once my number was called. The process was fairly easy. I gave her my filled out form, which I received along with my number, our marriage license, paid my $22.00, got a new picture taken and that was it! I should have my new ID within 30 days! I'm really glad I got that out of the way, since I was dreading that step the most!

One tip - before you start doing any of these things, practice signing your new name. I felt like an idiot and like was back in 2nd grade learning cursive! My signature is pretty rough, but I'm sure it will get better with time...hopefully!

My next step is bank and credit cards. We have a joint account, but I still have my own account open for easy money exchanges with my family (there's never any money in here, but its my old account that's the same bank that my family goes to). I had to go to USBank (where our joint account is) today, so I decided to kill two birds with one stone and attempt to change my name there too. I wasn't sure if I needed to wait for my new ID, but since I have a temporary (piece of paper with the changes) slip with my ID, I was good to go. The helpful teller entered all my information and said new cards would be mailed out, but my current ones will work until I get the new ones...good news there! Not sure what I'd do with out my debit card!

So that's where I am with that! Seems like its getting easier as I forge ahead, but we'll see! I still have quite a few more places to change my name - work (sent an email today, so kinda started), passport, credit cards and one more bank. I'm sure more little ones will pop up, but I'm hoping to knock out the big ones fast, otherwise, I won't get it done!

Here's another teaser for you! It's my favorite picture so far of me dancing with my dad!

Picture by our wonderful photographers

Changing My Name...Step 1

2009-06-10T14:03:00.000-07:00

I'm going to try to keep you entertained until I sort through our pictures. I started on Friday, but haven't looked at them again since...so it might be awhile, but I promise they will be coming in the near future! :)

With not much to think about anymore (i.e - wedding planning), I swarmed my brain with all the potential ways I could change my last name. I knew that I would always change my last name, but I was struggling (BIG TIME) with dropping my maiden name...FOREVER! I had come up with the following options.

Heidi Marie MaidenName HisLast - thus having two middle names
Heidi MaidenName HisLast - dropping my middle and using my maiden as my middle
Heidi Marie HisLast - the traditional route

Well we were driving to dinner last Friday, I brought up my indecisiveness to Mr. 2SB and gave him the options. He said either 2 or 3 and thought I was kidding with option 1. I talked to two of my recently married friends (who were also my BMs) about what they did. Both went with the traditional (number 3) route.

After doing some research, I found that Option 1 gave a lot of newly-married ladies some problems (with Social Security and DMV). A lot of places give you a hard time unless you go the traditional way. I was willing to fight my way to have the name I wanted, so I went back to being in 5th grade...I signed all my potential names (you know like you did with your 1st bf back in the day...don't kid yourself, you know you did it!). I decided I liked Option 3...the traditional route the best. Done and done!

Its been fairly slow for me at work, so I left early to get the process started. (Every state is different, so make sure you do your research to figure out what you need to do first.) In CA, you have to go to the Social Security office first. I was not looking forward to going to this office, but I drove a little out of my way to go to an out of the way office...hoping it would be less busy. Turned out, I was right! I arrived at the office at 2:45 and was out by 3:20...not bad at all! I was anticipating at least an hour!

Here's what you need to bring to the SSA:

Current SS card (this is not listed on their website, but you forfeit it when you apply for your new one...at least I did, so I hope that's normal)
Photo Identification (I used my passport and didn't need to show any other proof of identity)
A copy of the Marriage Certificate
This form - filled out

They take the form, verify your information, have you sign a piece of paper (with your new name) and with in 2 weeks, you (and I) should have your new card. You probably also want to bring something to pass the time...I brought a book, but didn't really need it, but you can never be too sure!

So, that's that! My next step is going to the DMV, but in CA, you have to wait at least 48 hours from when you want to the SSA because the DMV verifies your information with SSA. I'll probably hold off until next week beacause I hate going to the DMV (I have never experienced a worse DMV then the ones in CA...last time Mr. 2SB was there, it took him 2 hours to change his address), but I'll get there and be back with Step 2!

Just cause I like to...here's another teaser! I think its self-explanatory and I realized I never showed you my veil (probably because we, I mean my dad, bought it when we were home for Christmas and I didn't see it until the week before the wedding, so I forgot what it looked like)!

Pic from our amazing photographers

The Last 6 Days Before the Wedding...Day 6

2009-06-04T15:15:00.000-07:00

Previous Posts in this series:

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5

I knew for most of this "Day Before The Wedding" Day that Mr. 2SB and I would be a part, which was ok. Three of his groomsmen, 2 of my uncles, my 2 brothers, my dad and Mr. 2SB were having some sort of golf tournament (if you remember, I was sick of hearing about). By the time they got done golfing, the remaining groomsmen and Mr. 2SB's family would have arrived. So, all the guys were going to get their tuxes after golfing, but before our rehearsal. (Got that...yeah, it was crazy!)

My mom, sister/MOH and FSIL B had made appointments in the morning to get our nails done. I think they were all fairly relaxed, but I had a million things running through my head! While my mom was finishing up her appointment, the three of us went to UPS to pick up a package that was the wireless adaptor for my parents picture frame. After that we went back and got my mom and headed to Target for some last minute things (waterproff mascarea, shower curtain hooks so the pew decorations could be hung at the reception venue, etc)...I think I was at Target almost every day while we were in MN, except for the day of and day after...didn't have time! After that we headed to get the beer for the rehearsal dinner on ice. We stopped at the liquor store and got the cooler and ice, then headed to the rehearsal dinner location to get it loaded up. After that, we dropped off FSIL B so she could get ready and my mom and sister/MOH dropped me off because they had a "secret" errand to run. I got the soda on ice while they were gone. When they got back they informed me that they saw Mr. 2SBs family downtown (its not very big), so I was relieve that they had made it!

We had a little down time before BM B was meeting us at my parents house before rehearsal. So we just kinda relaxed and the replacement glasses were delivered. My goal was to be ready to go when BM B showed up, yeah, that didn't happen. Mr. 2SB got back from golfing, got his stuff ready for the night and he was out. I was helping him and pretty much just wanted to take a nap, but no time for naps! BM B showed up and I threw on my dress, touched up my make-up and brushed my hair (I decided not to curl it), so I guess I was ready soon after she got there.

We loaded up the gifts and everything else we needed and we were off to rehearsal! And that my dear friends is where this stops! I think the rehearsal and dinner is a part of the wedding, so that's where my offical wedding re-caps will begin! We received some pictures from my SIL (how fun...I have siblings-in-law...yeah, I'm a nerd...I now!), but I have to scan them first. I will try to get that done this weekend, so I can start my re-caps soon!

I wish I could tell you that my re-caps will start next week and be done short lythere after, but I can't! We got our pro-pictures yesterday (which are great by the way), so I need to sort through 3000+ images...no that's not typo...three thousand! A lot are duplicates, so I need to pick the best ones and get them in order. We have 2 DVD's full of pictures from two different cameras, so I need to make sense of them. Trust me...they are not all keepers and I wish I could remember what was going on in some of them, but I can't!

So that was most of our craziness in the days leading up to the wedding! I left out all the times we were drinking because I don't want you all to think I'm a lush...that week, I was, but I needed to sleep people! I highly recommend drinking in the days leading up to your wedding...it helped me relax! The craziness is definitely not over...we had some "things" come up the day of the wedding...which you'll have to hang tight to hear about!

Here's the last teaser before the re-caps...

Me and my maids...how hot are we?!?!
Pic by our fantastic photographers

I'll be back to start re-capping ASAP, but give me at least a week...I'll try to pop in, but no promises! I plan on starting the name changing process next week, so I'll keep you posted on how that goes!

The Last 6 Days Before the Wedding...Day 5

2009-06-02T15:35:00.000-07:00

Previous Posts in this series:

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4

We woke up on Wednesday and I immediately asked Mr. 2SB how his foot was. He was feeling good and ready to get out of my parents house. Not in any part due to my family, just that he's a busy body and being down for the count for an entire day, is just not his thing. I wished it would have been me...I would have milked that!

Both my parents had taken the rest of the week off, so before we all parted ways, we discussed where we were going and what needed to be done. Mr. 2SB and I needed to get the beverages for the rehearsal dinner. Being from a small town has its advantages, so my dad took care of the alcoholic drinks and boy did he score...big time! He got 5 cases of beer for about $90 plus the use of a cooler large enough to hold said beer and the ice to fill it. In case you're wondering...that's $1.33 per can! My kind of deal!

While he was doing that...here's what Mr. 2SB and I did.

Went to bank to get cash for ceremony musicians
Went to Target so Mr. 2SB could get a nice belt...he left his in CA
Stop by the florists to drop off ribbon for BM bouquets and bouquet charms

We also stopped by the local suit shop. Mr. 2SB's tux was free, but since both of the ring bearers came from the same family, we decided to pay for one of those since the little tuxes were the same price as the big ones...something that still doesn't make any sense to me! We walked in and the owner was there, same guy we dealt with in December. He said that they had just gotten our order together. So we walked over to take a look, but something was wrong. Mr. 2SB's shirt was ivory, when we had ordered black. And the groomsmen shirts were alternating between ivory and black...something was off. So the owner re-checked the order and low and behold the company that sends them the tuxes had sent 6 ivory shirts and 4 black ones, instead of 6 black and 4 ivory. The owner assured us it would be fixed by Thursday...since everyone would be in to pick up their tuxes. We paid for a little tux and we left...feeling very happy that we had stopped in.

We grabbed some lunch and headed home. I think my dad and Mr. 2SB went golfing again (I clearly can't remember how often they went...I was kinda glad to just have them out of my way!) and my mom and I headed back out to our reception venue. I had to drop off the card box, picture frames, slideshow DVD and guest book. We talked over some other details (like using the pew decorations) and talked with the head chef. Everyone was in good spirits and we were off!

Back at home, the guys were getting ready for "Man Cave" which involved grilled meats, poker, cigars, drinking and probably some other stuff I could care less about while us ladies were headed for a fun night out. We met an assortment (mom's friends, aunts, family friends, etc) of ladies out for dinner. Then my mom, FSIL B and I headed over to the bowling alley (which has a very nice bar) to continue the evening. My sister/MOH was meeting us out. While we were waiting on her, my friend C also came out. My sister came and informed us that she was running late because she had missed her original flight out of Pittsburg that morning. I was glad she didn't say anything earlier because I'm not sure if the stress level could have handled that! She got there and that's all that mattered!

We headed home and broke up the "Man Cave", which by the looks of things, was probably a great thing! We all enjoyed some more talking, I had a minor freak out and then people started to call it a night. My freak out was completely warranted...at least by me and my sister. The guys were golfing the next day and had been talking ALL DAY about how they were going to do it. I was sporting a pretty nice buzz and I said that if they talked about the golf game any more, I was going to get violent and leave marks. I didn't say it that nicely, but you catch my drift. The talk had been swirling all week and I really just didn't care to hear about it anymore. Since all the golfers weren't there, I didn't think any decisions should be made until that next morning. And then it was done. Being a bride does have its advantages...you get to freak out on your entire family and they just sit and take it! Hehe...it was kinda fun though!

So that was day 5! One tux crisis diverted...but were there more?!?! You'll have to stay tuned...the fun is just starting!

And to keep you interested...here's a pic of the bridesmaids bouquets...pic by my sister/MOH!

You can find our florist here.

Hair Today....

2009-06-02T10:10:00.000-07:00

Gone tomorrow!

So my big surprise is that I got my hair cut...or chopped! I was so excited through out the entire wedding planning to be able to cut my hair again! I was proud of myself for growing it out longer than it had ever been, but my locks were in dire need of a good, healthy chop! Here's the before...

And one after

I not sure how much was cut off, but I would guess a good 6-7 inches! I love it and it looks so much better! (Sorry for the lack of after shots...I broke my camera on Saturday. The screen is not working. I can still take pictures, but I have no idea what they look like until I look at them on the computer. The breakage happened in a drunken stupper so I'm still mad at myself because I don't know how it broke...grr!)

I have some work to get done, but then I'll be back to continue the pre-wedding re-cap!

Gifts for the Important People

2009-06-01T14:14:00.000-07:00

***I can't tell you my news yet...I forgot one aspect of it, so you'll have to wait until tomorrow...sorry!***

I interrupt this regularly scheduled pre-wedding week recap to show you the gifts we got for the groomsmen and ushers and our parents. (You can see what I got the bridesmaids here and here and what I got my personal attendant here.)

Mr. 2SB struggled a lot with what to get the groomsmen and ushers. He thought of the following - open bar for them, but then they would probably be "buying" for everyone; NFL tickets where he would go to a game with them, but they would mean he would have to fly to 3 different cities to go to games with all of them. There were some other ideas, but he finally decided on some Pebble Beach gear. Mr. 2SB is a big golfer and not all of the guys are, but even if you don't like golf, Pebble Beach is still a great place! Trust me...I know that from experience! He decided on these two items.

Pilsner Glass - because all the guys like beer (two of these were shattered when we opened the box, but replacements arrived early Friday afternoon)

Paper Weight - Not sure why Mr. 2SB picked this, but all the guys seemed to be happy, and that's really all that matters!

My parents are pretty difficult to buy for. They just buy what they need or want, so I usually have to think outside the box. We decided to go with a digital picture frame. I think its like this one...I can't remember the exact model.

Pandigital 10.4" picture frame

We also got them the wireless USB adapter so they can download their pictures from online right into the frame...without connecting directly to the PC. I kinda want one for myself now!

Mr. 2SB's parents are very simple people and we don't want to blur the thin line of offending them with a gift they should have gotten a long time ago. Mr. 2SB's mom loves to take pictures and they were still using a 35mm camera, which is fine, but they couldn't get the pictures developed in their small town. So, we bought them this...

Cannon PowerShot

We also got them a memory card and extra batteries! They were very excited!

I almost left out the ring bearers (who were absolutely wonderful)! They are 7 & 9 I think, so we got them these...

iPod Shuffles (the older one already had one, so I'm not sure what he was going to do with it, but they were both really happy...we also gave them $15 iTunes gift cards)

So, that takes care of everyone! We didn't hear any complaints, so hopefully everyone was excited and will at least some what enjoy their gifts! (My BMs loved their jewelry...which they should...haha!)

The pre-wedding week re-cap will continue tomorrow (and hopefully my surprise too!)! On a really exciting note...our pro pics are in the mail! We should have them by the end of the week! I'm so excited! I should be able to finish up the pre-wedding week this week, so we can move right into the actual wedding re caps next week! Eeek! I'm so excited...hopefully you are too!

The Last 6 Days Before the Wedding...Day 4

2009-05-29T15:10:00.000-07:00

Previous Posts in this series:

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3

This day technically started long before I was awake enough to realize it! Mr. 2SB had woken up at 3:30AM because his ankle hurt so bad. I woke up and asked if he was ok, he said he was going to go lay on the couch and ice his ankle. I was 1/2 sleeping and said ok and watched him hobble out of the room (Yes, my parents let us sleep in the same bed before we were married). I woke up around 8:30 and proceeded down stairs. I thought Mr. 2SB was joking around with the blanket over his head by pretending to sleep (this happens regularly in our house) so I pulled the blanket off his head, but I woke him up. I asked how he was doing and he said not good. Mr. 2SB is not a big doctor person, so I asked the dreaded question, "Do we need to go to Urgent Care?" When he said yes, I knew he was in a lot of pain! I hurried and got ready. He crawled up the stairs and some how made it through a shower and off we went.

They just opened a new clinic in my hometown and they are still doing some construction on the outside, so we went in the one open entrance and had to walk to the opposite end of the building to Urgent Care. Filling out the paperwork took the longest, but once that was set, Mr. 2SB was taken to the back. He didn't want me to go with him, so that's when I was text blogging for ya! He was only gone a few minutes when he hobbled through the waiting room on his way to Xray. Once he hobbled back, his name was called again right away. Not too much longer he came out walking a little better. He had sprained his ankle and was in an air cast. The doctor was confused because usually sprains are in the front of your foot, but his was in the back. We had orders to ice for 20 minutes every hour and to keep taking Tylenol. We went home, got Mr. 2SB back on the couch with some ice. He was quickly falling asleep, so I headed out to get my nails done before we had lunch with my parents and brother J.

Nail appointment 2 went way better than the first one! I was happy with the results, since this was the same place we were going to be getting petticures at on Thursday morning. I headed home and Mr. 2SB declined lunch since he had been sleeping since I left. I met my family and told them all the news. I then asked my mom if she would run errands with me that afternoon. She was excited that I had asked and didn't want me to do them alone!

This was our game plan:

Find gift bags for gifts (found at the $1 store...spent $27 on a lot of gift bags...score!)
Get frames for guestbook table (we had one of our E-Pics and then 2 - 3 picture frames with our grandparents and parents wedding pictures in them)
Get styrofoam board & large permanent marker for signs leading people out to the reception. Last minute decision, but easy to do!
Print pictures for previously mentioned picture frames
Pick up programs (turned out great)
Find unity candles (just bought 3 separate candles in our wedding colors...easy and cheap!)

I think that was about it, but we were all over town...good thing its a smaller town! We were gone for a few hours! When we got home Mr. 2SB was feeling a little better. We decided to get all the gifts ready to go. (I forgot to share the gifts with you...which I'll do on Monday for a Day 4a post!) We got the groomsmen and the ushers the same gifts. They were shipped to my parents house and while we were wrapping, we found out that two of the items had shattered. A quick call to the company we ordered them from and we had replacements on Thursday...just in time!

We finished the night up by watching "The Biggest Loser" finale (my mom and FSIL B watched it together all season...I could have cared less) while my dad and brothers were golfing. I wrote out notes to all the bridemaids and felt pretty accomplished with what we had gotten done!

The plan for the next day ~ Mr. 2SB and I had a few more little things to do, my mom and I were going to finalize design details with our reception location and we were set to have an evening a part - guys at my parents house and the ladies out on the town.

On Monday, I'll let you in on the gifts we got for everyone and then Tuesday I'll go into day 5...do you think we were back in Urgent Care? You'll just have to wait and see! (Monday might be a 2 post day because I have some exciting news to share...and no, I'm not pregnant!)

Hope you all have a great weekend, but to tide you over, here's a sneak pick at some of our flowers, which were amazing!

These were our pew decorations and were later used at the reception. Picture was taken by BM C. If you need a florist in Southern MN, make sure you check out Cherie! In case you forgot, we went with the above picture instead of another DIY project...so glad we did!

The Last 6 Days Before the Wedding...Day 3

2009-05-28T16:22:00.000-07:00

Previous Posts in this series:

Day 1
Day 2

We woke up at a decent hour and Mr. 2SB got the rental car and we were on the road by 10:30. I had been talking to my family most of the morning. People were very anxious to see us! We got to my parents house and my dad had stopped in from work. We unloaded, chatted a bit and then my youngest brother, J, came over. Although we had our meeting with the reception location at 7PM, my dad and Mr. 2SB some how persuaded me into allowing Mr. 2SB to go golfing instead. Mr. 2SB and I discussed a few last minute things and I gave him a free pass!

J, Mr. 2SB and I went to lunch and then we met my mom back at their house before my fitting. I grabbed all my necessary items (corset bra, shoes, purse, etc) and we were off. My personal attendant/FSIL, B, met us at the bridal shop so she could practice lacing me up and bustling my train. The appointment went well and fast! My mom and I parted with B (she had to get back to work) and we dropped my dress of at the dry cleaners to get steamed. We then headed home. I was going to get my nails done, but opted for a nap instead! I woke up feeling really refreshed! So, my mom, Mr. 2SB and I met my dad for a few quick drinks before they headed out golfing and we out to the reception site. We split ways after that. My mom and I were going to have another drink, but she decided to leave her keys and cell phone on the bumper of the car my dad drove to the golf course! We drovely slowly to the course and when we got to the parking lot her keys and phone were exactly where she left them...don't ask me how...it just was!

We had a good laugh and were off to the reception site! I had a check from Mr. 2SB's parents for the alcohol, my parents were covering the food and we had a check for the rest (decorations, security, clean-up fee, etc). We ran into an issue with my parents debit card since their daily spending limit was lower than what they owed. The site trusted us enough to take care of it and come back later to settle that part. We discussed music selections, introductions, speeches, etc, and we were out of there! I talked to the other owner, who wasn't at our meeting, the next day and we were going to go over design details with her on Wednesday.

We met the guys back at the house, my brother M was now with Mr. 2SB and my dad. B joined us for dinner. This is when Mr. 2SB decided to tell me that was walking along the cart path, looking at some new townhomes and talking at the same time, when he rolled his ankle and fell down. He fell so hard that he grass stained his pants. He said he was fine and we all had a good laugh! We all chatted until way to late in the night and eventually turned in. I was ready for a long night of good sleep because the next day Mr. 2SB and I had a lot of errands to run and he was supposedly subbing in golf league for my dad.

If you have ready my text post from May 12th, you know how our day 4 started, but did it get any better? Was Mr.2SB limping or walking fine the day of the wedding? Well, you'll just have to stay tuned!

And another pic to keep you interested.

With my sister/MOH - it was her camera, but I don't remember who took the picture!

The Last 6 Days Before the Wedding...Day 2

2009-05-27T16:33:00.000-07:00

Previous Posts in this series

Day 1

(I forgot to mention in my post from yesterday that while I was getting into bed our last night in CA, I slammed the top of my foot into the corner of my dresser drawer. It hurt really bad. I woke up limping, but I think the adrenaline healed the rest.)

The day had finally come...we were leaving for MN! The week or two before this I had been sleeping well, but when I woke up in the morning, that was it. No more sleeping! As soon as my brain realized my eyes were open, it started spinning with lists upon lists! I was up and ready to start the day around 7AM. We had breakfast and finished packing. By 10:30 we were out the door and to the airport. I was really excited about our flight since my sister had upgraded us to 1st class! This was a first for me and I was pretty excited! We got to security and our carry-on bag (which was full of presents for everyone) got pulled to the side. I had packed this bag early in the week and couldn't figure out why they had pulled it. It was because of this...

Source

It was for my personal attendant and one of the items listed on the outside of the package was a "cutter". Which I believe is the middle round thing on the bottom of the picture. Since neither Mr. 2SB, the TSA agent or I couldn't "find" the cutter, they let us through. Still trying to figure it all out, but whatever!

Once they announced that 1st class passengers could board, we went on! We found our seats and got comfy and started to drink! We weren't necessarily trying to get drunk, just taking the edge off! We both started with a bloody mary (which was mostly vodka). Once we were in the air we both got a Mojito, which was even stronger than the 1st drink. Mr. 2SB had one more drink after lunch (I had a greek chicken salad and he had a rueben sandwhich). He took a nap and I started watching Bride Wars.

We landed and since we were in 1st Class our luggage was priority so it came out right away! That might have been the best part of flying that way and not paying for luggage helped too! My sister/MOH picked us up. We grabbed some dinner and headed to her house for the night.

She had called earlier in the week and wanted to do a make-up trial since she wouldn't be in our hometown until Wednesday night. She did a fantastic job and we were done in a lot less time then we figured...which always helps! We tried to go to bed early 10:30 CST which was 8:30 for us. We tossed and turned a lot, but eventually made it to sleep!

Our plan for the next day was: get a rental car, drive to my hometown (only an hour), my dress fitting & meet with the reception site to settle the bill. Which will be in tomorrows post! Do you think we stuck to the plan?

Since this post was a complete bore...here's another teaser picture from our lovely photographers!

This was taken after the ceremony, but before the reception

The Last 6 Days Before the Wedding...Day 1

2009-05-26T14:17:00.000-07:00

I've been struggling a lot at where to start in telling you all about my best day ever! I quickly realized that I need to share our journey in the 5 days we were in MN before the wedding and our last day in CA. It was not all fun and relaxation.

I'm gonna start on Saturday, the 9th. We started the day like any other Saturday with running some errands, doing the laundry but we were also starting to pack. I knew I was going to get acrylic nails put on for the wedding because my nails just aren't that great. I thought if I could do it before we left, they could grow out a bit and look more natural. So, off I went! I first went to the nail salon that I had been to before. There was an hour wait, so I thought I'd go check another place and if there was a wait there too, I'd go back to the 1st one. There was no wait at the 2nd one, so I sat down. Well...they turned out horribly! She used the white tips, which is fine, but she put them 3/4 of the way down my nail bed! I left fairly pleased and figured they would grow out in time and look fine. When I got home, Mr. 2SB said they looked bad, which got me thinking. There was no way they were going to grow out enough to look good in 6 days. So I went back to the salon. After a long and loud discussion with the nail lady, all she would do was take them off. She wouldn't give me a refund nor re-do them at no cost. She also wouldn't call her manager, but later gave me her cell phone number.

By the time she finished, I figured my poor fingers had had enough and decided to wait until we got to MN to get them done again. The whole situation had me in tears because I was so frustrated! I told the lady I was getting married and my french manicure was mostly white! I'm not a nail technician, but I do know that it was wrong! I still have yet to call the manager and might just let it go, because in the end, it really doesn't matter. Mr. 2SB was really great through it all and probably just wanted me to stop crying...which I eventually did! I'm sure the stress of the wedding didn't help this situation either!

We ended the night by getting some pizza and having a few beers! In other words....a perfect ending!

I hope these posts don't get too boring, but I'm still waiting on our pro-pics! Even though this day was bad, I didn't realize it was just the beginning! ***Gotta love cliff hangers!***

To keep you interested and coming back...here's a picture from our wedding day! This was taken while I was getting laced up into my dress. This was probably one of the few times I wasn't smiling the entire day!

Picture courtesy of my sister/MOH

When bad pictures happen to good people!

2009-05-22T15:46:00.000-07:00

A lot of our guests are on Facebook and they have been uploading pictures like crazy! I had over 300 emails when I got to work yesterday and about the same items in Google Reader! I guess the world doesn't stop when you get married!

I hope to start some re-caps next week, but wanted to share this "ugly cry face" picture with you...because that's how much I like you! This was during my sister/MOH's speech...which was fantastic, by the way! Hey...at least my make-up looks good...right?!?!

I hope you all get a long weekend and the weather is nice for you all too! Happy Memorial Day and I'll be back next week!

Teaser!

2009-05-16T22:06:00.000-07:00

If I had to use one word that described our wedding day I would say...AMAZING! I can't wait to tell you all about our week and of course, the wedding! Not everything went perfect, but in the end it really doesn't matter! I got three pics this morning from our photogs...so check this out until we get back from Vegas!

2009-05-12T08:01:00.005-07:00

for now I'm just laughing!

2009-05-12T08:01:00.003-07:00

did something to his foot and can't walk. He just walked through to get an x-ray so we'll see what happens but my groom is limping! It could be worse so

2009-05-12T08:01:00.001-07:00

We made back to MN with no hassle and first class was great! However I'm currently waiting in the urgent care lobby! Mr. 2SB went golfing yesterday and

And we're off!

2009-05-08T14:55:00.000-07:00

I remember starting this blog and wondering how I would feel when I sat down to write my last post as a single lady. I couldn't imagine that it would feel this way! Before I get too sappy, a lot of crap happened this week...aka fires! Here's what's been going on behind the scenes.

My biggest stresser has been money. Both of our sets of parents and ourselves are contributing to the wedding. We didn't have a set budget in mind, but we weren't going to go overboard. My parents initially gave us a set amount, but when my mom and I have been talking about certain things, she'll say, "Oh, we'll pay for X." Not realizing that all those x's greatly go over their set amount. They are covering the food and at least one other thing. They still haven't completed decided (does not make me happy!). Mr. 2SB's parents have always stated they'd cover the grooms dinner (which I apparently didn't tell you about...but its just at the hotel where everyone is staying. We rented out one of the meeting rooms and some family friends will be catering it for us). They have recently upped their offer to include all alcohol and the DJ. This is way more than we were anticipating, but we accepted! I also got the bill for our reception place today and I was so excited (funny...huh?!?!). Since we signed our contract early last year, we locked in the old prices. Our total bill is at least $1000 less than what I expected! How awesome is that?!?! So, I guess its true...sign the contract early! Woot woot!
My 2nd biggest stresser has been the wine. We're offering x amount of beer and wine. I was not happy with what our reception location was suggesting and we went back and forth at least 20 times...this number is probably low too! We finally decided and I'm really happy with what we chose. And since I was factoring in current gratuity and not our contracted gratuity, we'll be saving some money there too!
We booked our mini-moon to Vegas! We'll be flying out Sunday morning and leaving Wednesday afternoon. We got our round trip airfare and hotel for just over $600! Obviously this was an unexpected cost, but decent cost for last minute! I'm excited to go to...I've only been to Vegas once and it was for about 24 hours, so I'm excited to get the full experience!
Weather - I've been looking since Monday and the forecast for Friday changes everyday. It has gone from 50 and rainy to sunny and 70 and now it's at scattered thunderstorms and high 60's. Whatever...can't control it, but like to stalk it!

I guess that's about it, but it seemed like a lot to handle! We fly out around noon on Sunday. Here's what our schedule looks like, in case you're wondering what I'm doing next week...cuz I know you have nothing better to do...haha!

Sunday - fly into MSP. My sister/MOH picks us up. Head to her house for dinner and make-up trial #1.
Monday - rent a car. Drive to my hometown. Dress fitting at 1:30 (hoping this goes well). Finalize details and settle bill with reception location at 7PM.
Tuesday - go see florist to pay bill and give her green ribbon for BM bouquets.
Wednesday - get in make-up trial #2. watch mom and FSIL B play volleyball while I enjoy some drinks (hopefully my sister/MOH will join me)
Thursday - mani/pedi's with mom, sister/MOH & FSIL B in AM while boys golf. Early afternoon family and bridal party start to arrive. 5PM rehearsal. 6PM dinner. Hang out with other out of town guests afterwards. Try to get some sleep.
Friday - Wedding Day - 9am hair appts. 11am to the church to get dressed and meet with photogs. 12PM guys show up - see Mr. 2SB. 12:30 - limo shows up so we can go take pics outside. 2:15 - family pics at the church. 4PM ceremony. 6ish reception. PARTAY!
Saturday - 10:30AM brunch with family and bridal party. 2ish leave for airport. 8:30 get back to CA.
Sunday - 10AM leave for Vegas and get back Wednesday at 6ish.
Thursday - back to work and reality....big fat BOOO!!!

So that's it! I'll try to send some text posts next week to keep you posted on how its going!

Thank you for following me through this planning journey! It has been fun to have some people to plan with and bounce ideas off of! I know I haven't meant any of you, but you have all helped in getting me to this day and I can't thank you enough! I'm excited to see what its like on the other side! I just need to remind myself to stop, breathe and take it all in next Friday! I can't describe how I feel right now because it is constantly changing! Overall, I'm excited, nervous, anxious, relieved (more-so next week at this time), and stressed! I know the day will go exactly how its supposed to and I know it won't be perfect and that's ok!

Thanks again my lovely readers and I'll be back in full force as a Mrs!

Showin' some leg!

2009-05-08T10:28:00.000-07:00

No, I didn't run off and become a short dress bride! It's garter talk time! I have never worn a garter...ever! I think high school girls are now wearing them to prom, but that wasn't the case when I went to prom.

When I thought about my garter, I didn't know what to get. There are some very pretty options. Mr. 2SB is Buffalo Bills (football...in case you didn't know) fan and I thought it would be fun to incorporate that some how. I headed over to Etsy and my search was over very quickly!

I came across GartersByKristi and saw this lovely set of garters!

Image and item can be found here

So, I placed my order for one set - minus the white poof on the top one. In a few short days, they arrived. I was going to try to keep them a secret from Mr. 2SB, but he was with me when I went to the office. He thought they were silly, but liked them at the same time! I think they're growing on him though! We had some people over a few weeks ago and he made me show them to them...just from the box, not on my leg!

Here's what I saw when I opened the package:

I'm really happy with how they look! Anyone else think garters are uncomfortable? I'm thinking of not wearing them until after the ceremony. Think that's ok?

Check out Kristi's store if you need a garter! Good price, fast shipping and no hassles! Can't beat that!

Do you make your garter personal? What does yours look like?

***We're leaving on Sunday for MN, so I'll be back later today with a recap and my last big post before the wedding. I'm going to try to send some text posts next week, but they'll be short. I've got some great news to share with you later!***

Programs

2009-05-06T15:55:00.001-07:00

I almost had my post ready to tell you about my bouquet charms, but my camera battery is dead, so you'll have to settle for seeing our programs instead!

I looked around at different blogs, but based the inside of ours after Amber's, which you can see pictures of here. For the mass part of the inside, I looked at some examples from family friends who were also married in a Catholic Church. For the outside, I wanted to incorporate our other paper products (invitations, thank yous) which were resembled off of the cake stands. I designed the programs on GIMP, same as the STD, invites and thank you cards.

I'm way too lazy to blur out our information, so know you'll know our full names. (Just an FYI - I'm having one of those days again...this wedding needs to be done with...ASAP!)

They will be printed in full color and just folded in half. No inserts, no ribbon, just folded paper! As my mom said, "People will just throw them away anyway!" Yes, mom, you are right! So imagine these are folded in half and you'll get the general idea.

back cover & front cover

inside pages

If you click on the pictures, you can see a larger picture.

We decided to go with printer in my hometown. My mom should be seeing a sample tomorrow, but I'm not too worried (something will happen with these now...I just know it!). They are printing and folding them for $0.60 each. We are having 150 printed, so total cost is $90 (plus tax I'm sure).

Another thing off the list! How did you handle your programs?

Bouquet Charms

2009-05-06T15:29:00.000-07:00

When I started thinking about how I could include my grandparents who have passed on, more than just mentioning them in the program and having a memorial floral piece, I saw other brides using bouquet charms! What a great idea! I initially had asked my mom if she had a locket I could "borrow" (borrowed, blue, old, new thing). At that time, just my grandpas had passed on, so a locket would have worked. When my Nana passed away in July, this changed and I don't know that they make a locket that holds 3 pictures. So I was on the hunt for something else!

I came across this picture frame charm online at Joann Fabrics, but as with most things online, I couldn't really tell what size they were and couldn't find the dimensions online. Since they were $1.99 for a package of 3, I knew they couldn't be that big. Remember that wedding focused weekend we had, well part of that entailed going to onee the Joann Fabrics in the area. It's not the closest to our house, but its the biggest and has the best selection! It took me a few minutes to find these because I wasn't exactly sure what size package I was looking for. When I finally found them, I thought they were a little on the small side, but once I thought about having three on my bouquet, I thought the size was perfect!

Here's what they look like straight out of the package.

I thought I would be able to use the pink ribbon I already had, but it was way too wide. So, I got creative! While looking at the ribbon, I noticed that the edges of the ribbon would be the perfect width. So I cut two strips and applied FrayCheck to both sides.

Once the ribbon had dried, I cut the edge off.

Since I didn't have any flowers in the house, I decided to see what they looked like, so just tied one around the plant I have. I liked what I saw and completed the other two. (Yes that's an AquaGlobe on the right!)

This weekend, I finally added the pictures of my 2 grandpas and my Nana. Here are the end results.

The left two pictures are my Grandpa and Nana, my mom's parents. In the picture, I'm actually in the middle of them at my high school graduation. It was unfortunately the last picture I had of the three of us. The picture on the right is my dad's dad. He passed away when my mom was pregnant with my sister, who is the oldest grandchild on my dad's side. His picture is from their wedding day. I thought it was appropiate!

How are you planning on honoring your family members who have passed on?

Reception Slide show

2009-05-05T14:22:00.000-07:00

One thing I forgot to mention yesterday, but had mentioned before was how I was slaving over was our slide show that we'll be showing at our reception.

We decided to have three songs for ours - 1 for pictures of me growing up; 1 for pictures of Mr. 2SB growing up and 1 for our pictures together. We chose our own songs and decided on the 3rd together. It is fairly long - about 11 minutes, but hopefully it will keep guests entertained. I used One True Media and I don't think this could have been any simpler! I uploaded our pics and arranged them how I wanted. I paid one month of the $3.99 premium membership and then paid $27.63 for a DVD (including tax and shipping). One True Media is with in an hour of where I live, so I had our DVD with in a few days. The quality is great and I'm so excited for our guests to watch it!

No one has seen this but me and Mr. 2SB, so please take a look! The last 19 slides are my absolute favorite...watch and you'll see why (at time stamp 9:25)! It was Mr. 2SB's idea to add the pictures of our parents and grandparents in...I take credit for the quote!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

What do you think?

Wow

2009-05-04T13:44:00.000-07:00

...so much has happened and gotten finished/decided over the last 24 hours, I could write enough blog posts for 2 weeks! Since I don't have two weeks...we'll do a recap!

We decided our our first dance song and the song that we'll dance with my dad and his mom too.

Our first dance

Dance with me and my dad and Mr. 2SB and his mom

Menu choices were decided. We'll be serving roast beef, chicken with some sort of gravy, baked potates and a mixed vegetable. It also comes with salad and dinner rolls. Fairly standard, but hopefully most people will find something that they will like...if not...too bad!
Our reception location suggested we use their centerpieces with fake flowers. In other words, all my time, effort and money that went into the cake stands would be thrown out the window. They don't know it yet, but this will not be happening. Oh, and she brought this up to me last night...lady, it's less than two weeks before my wedding and I am not going to be changing the entire look of the reception now...too late!
We bought our guestbook this weekend. It's fairly standard...nothing too special. I can't find it online, but it will serve its purpose!

And the biggest thing...our honeymoon is postponed. After stalking the Carnival website for the last week, they have re-routed all ships that were supposed to go to Mexico through the middle of June. We could have kept our cruise and gone to Astoria, OR, Victoria and Vancouver, Canada. Like I side before, nice places to go, just not for our honeymoon. We'll be figuring out tonight what we'll do. Right now, we are thinking of going to Vegas from Sunday through Wednesday. Just to get away for a few days and then take our cruise this fall.

Alright, I think we're all caught up! I still have more to share with you this week (programs, garters, bouquet charms...to name a few)! Barring any other world wide pandemics, we should be good to go!

One of those things you can't control!

2009-04-30T15:44:00.000-07:00

So I made it back from my work trip safe and sound! I'm still catching up on work, but I needed a little break!

Unless you've been living in a box for the past week or so, you've heard about this....

Source

The Swine Flu aka H1N1 Virus

Since you are reading this I'm sure you have been bombarded by the news and everyone else regarding this, so I'm not going to tell you about it. I'm just gonna tell you what this has to do with our wedding.

Remember our honeymoon cruise I was so excited about? I was even going to tell you about the excursions we booked this week! In case you don't remember, our ship ports in Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, and Los Cabos....MEXICO! Yup, you read that right...we are supposed to be going to Mexico in just over 2 weeks.

I have been watching the news and checking the Carnival website like a mad women, but I'm not sure what else to do at this point. Ealier this week, Carnival had cancelled all Mexican ports. The next day they had a revised port and yesterday they had a revised itinerary. If we were on the ship that's leaving this Sunday, the new ports are San Francisco, Victoria (Canada) and Seattle. Don't get me wrong, this would probably be a very nice cruise but I have a few problems with it.

I can be in San Francisco with in an hour by car. No need to fly to Long Beach, get on a ship and cruise there.
I've never been to the two other ports. I'm sure they are lovely and I would like to visit them some day, just not on my honeymoon.
These places are not warm right now...not bikini weather or laying on the beach in the hot sun weather. Not ideal for my honeymoon.
I paid to go to Mexico, not Northwestern US and Canada.

As of right now, we are still going on our cruise...only if it goes to Mexico. Carnival is offering the passengers who don't want to go to the revised ports a full credit towards a future cruise. We booked our cruise through Costco Travel and we bought the insurance, so I believe we can still cancel and get a full refund (I need to read the fine print though). Worse case scenario is we postpone our honeymoon cruise...probably until the fall. We can't do anything yet becuase the ports are only changed for cruises departing before May 4th...we depart on May 17th. I understand that things could change before then, but I'm not too hopeful at this point.

So, what are we doing for now? Watching the Carnival website for information for cruises that sail after May 4th. Make a plan of attack after we know what we can do. If we do postpone our cruise, we will probably take a mini-moon somewhere. Right now we have our sites set on Vegas!

I am definitely bummed that we may not be able to go on our cruise right away, but know that everything will work out in the end. If we have to postpone, then no big deal! I would rather be safe and healthy then risk getting the swine flu just to go on my honeymoon...no that its up to me anyway!

I'll keep you all updated on what we end up doing...that is if I have enough advance notice to tell you about it! In the mean time, I finishing up our last minute projects and errands this weekend. And we're off to MN next Sunday (I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they don't shut down the airlines for travel with in the US otherwise we'll be driving 2000 miles to our wedding...not fun)!

Anyone else's wedding or honeymoon effected by the swine flu?

***Don't worry...I'm still in good sprits and have some more fun stuff to share before we leave...so sit tight!***

See ya next week!

2009-04-24T13:26:00.000-07:00

This weekend is going to be fairly busy with lots of errands to run. Most are not wedding related, but life goes on even when you're planning a wedding!

I thought I'd give you a couple updates on some recent posts:

Seating Chart - Thank you, first of all, for all your opinions. However, we are going against most of your suggestions and not doing one. We'll have two reserved tables for immediate family members, but that's it. After discussing with our venue, we decide not to do it. Most weddings I've been to (which are about the size we're having) don't have them and I haven't been aware of any issues, so hopefully this decision works out.
Fires - Another one is out and I hope the other one is out next week. I'm having a small one with my parents right now regarding who is paying for what (we should have done this earlier, I know, but once the fires is out, I'll tell you more details).
Shoes - I'm wearing them again today with Heavenly Heelz and my feet are happy!
RSVPs - Due today and we still need 54 cards. We're going to wait until after we get the mail on Saturday, but I already have the lists of who needs to call which guests ready to go.
Work - I'm flying out to Baltimore on Monday morning and will be flying back on Wednesday. Hopefully my over posting this week will compensate for my low posting next week. I'm not looking forward to the trip because last time I had to visit this supplier, it got ugly and will probably be even worse this time. However, I do get to have dinner with BM R on Monday night, so that should make up for it!

That's all for me for this week! I hope to post on Thursday, but we shall see!

I've been working/slaving on our slide show for the reception lately, so I'd thought I'd share this cute little photo with you to tide you over til next week!

Yes, that's me. I'm guessing I was around 6ish, so approximately 22 years ago! I guess I always wanted to be a bride and have been practicing since I was 6!

Have a great weekend!

Don't forget about the little guys!

2009-04-23T15:14:00.000-07:00

After we got engaged and started planning the wedding, we kept running into the same problem...we couldn't think of anyone to be our flower girl. BM C had a little girl almost a year ago, but she will be visiting her Grandma during our wedding. My cousins have some little girls, but I didn't feel comfortable with that option because we don't know them that well and if I can prevent any breakdowns the day of our wedding (any that I have are ok...j/k), then I will. Mr. 2SB has 5 nephews and 1 niece. His niece is in 8th grade...too old for a flower girl. I had considered having her be a junior bridesmaid, but would we then need a junior groomsmen?

It's aware to everyone in Mr. 2SB's family that he (and now me) are partial to his two nephews, which are his sister's (he is closer to her than his mom...long story) two boys. With out much more thinking, we decided that we'd have two ring bearers. We talked to Mr. 2SBs sister about it back in August when they came to visit. She wanted to make sure it's what we really wanted (they are 7 and 9, so in that wild, hyper stage) and when we confirmed, she talked to them about it a few months ago. E & A have played this role in at least one other wedding, so I am confident they'll be great. And they are uber adorable (you'll just have to take my word on it)!

A few weeks ago I started thinking about how we were going to utilize both of the little guys. The easiest option again...2 ring bearer pillows - 1 for my ring and 1 for Mr. 2SB's ring. Obviously my ring deserves it own pillow...right?!?! I knew I didn't want the traditional white satin and lace get up, but wasn't sure of my other options. A few Google searches didn't turn up much and I didn't feel like going to a bridal store to see what they had, because I was pretty sure they would have all white satin and lace pillows. Not to mention, have you seen the prices on these things? Anywhere from $20 and up. When you need two, I was not going to hand over $40 for two pillows that didn't look like any other part of our wedding! The only white is really my dress and some flowers.

So after I finished the card box last Saturday, I looked at my extra black fabric and thought, "I'll make my own pillows!" I had a good amount of fabric left and had enough to cut 4 pieces of black fabric that were 15 inches on each side. When I got up on Sunday morning to join Mr. 2SB in the living room, he asked what my pinned together fabric was for. When I told him, he was very skeptical, mostly because I don't own a sewing machine. It's not like I was going to make 100 of these. I can hand sew 8 - 13 inch lines!

Here are my steps, with pictures of course!
(All pictures by me...please link back if you use them)

Step #1 - cut fabric to desired measurements. Pin two pieces of fabric together.

Step #2 - with chalk, draw a line on each side to sew on. (This probably wouldn't be necessary if you had a sewing machine, but since I didn't, I wanted the seams to be somewhat straight! I also marked the middle on two opposite sides. I added some green ribbon that I had from the cake stands and wanted to sew it on at the same time. I fed the ribbon through the inside of the two pieces of fabric and pinned them in place.)

Step #3 - sew along each chalk line. Leave an opening on one side.

(Sorry...no picture, but imagine the one above stitched with black thread)

Step #4 - Turn fabric inside out through opening

Step #5 - add filling (I obviously bought WAY too much, this picture was taken after I stuffed both pillows)

Step #6 - Pin opening closed and sew shut

(I know...not pretty, but they're closed...and remember this was by hand)

The pillow part was technically done at this point, but with a green ribbon running on both sides, I still needed a way for these to be ring worthy. So, I added another strip of ribbon.

Step #7 - Place 2nd piece of ribbon where you would like it (mine was centered)

Step #8 - Sew ribbon pieces together and to the pillow (so the ribbon stays put - looks don't matter since the ribbon will be tied over this part)

Step #9 - Use second piece of ribbon to tie a pretty bow around ring (I need to practice this one)

Step #10 - Admire your beautiful work

Mr. 2SB was really impressed...I have to be honest...I was too! They are a bit bigger than normal ring pillows, but since the boys are older, we didn't think it would be a big deal. I'm glad I was able to pull this off because I didn't have a back-up plan!

The cost was very minimal. The only thing I had to buy was the filler. That huge bag that's pictured was $6. I had all the other supplies, but if I had to guess, I would say that I made them for around $5 a piece. I could have gotten a much smaller bag of stuffing too, but I guess I'll have to make more pillows! (If anyone wants me to make you one, I'd be more than happy to charge at cost, but I won't be able to have anything completed until the beginning of June.)

What are you using for ring bearer pillows?

I'm a firefighter...Fire #1

2009-04-22T14:00:00.000-07:00

Source

I'm obviously not a real firefighter, but when it comes to putting out wedding "fires", I'm doing a pretty good job! Remember how I mentioned yesterday about our problems coming up, well, I'm now calling them fires and when I resolve them, the fire goes out! Fighting "fires" sounds better and less bridezilla-esque than having problems or issues with vendors.

So our first fire, I brought upon myself, but I'm glad I did! Remember our Pre-Cana requirements and how we had fulfilled everything that we needed to do? After we met with our local Priest to go over our FOCCUS test results, he said he would submit all of our paperwork to the local Diocese who would then forward it to our Diocese in MN and then it would go the the church we're getting married in. It was a lot of exchanging of hands, but since our local Priest said he would submit it in the begining of March, I figured that over 2 months was long enough.

It's be fairly slow for me at work, so I've been "multi-tasking" my actual work with wedding "work" (aka - not doing work work, just wedding work). I got to thinking last week, I wonder if our paperwork with the church is good to go? I'm going to follow up on that. So, I sent an email to the Priest that's marrying us and he gave me the person to contact back in MN. I sent an email to him Thursday evening. I didn't hear back from him until Monday morning and he said that he had not seen our paperwork and that he would be the person who would need to see it. (Que fire here)

When we left our first post-FOCCUS test meeting, the Priest said we should come back but didn't need to. Mr. 2SB was over it and we overall didn't find it necessary to go back. However, neither of us were comfortable calling our local Priest to ask about our paperwork and not schedule the next appointment. So, I called our local Priest yesterday morning and left a voicemail (he doesn't work Mondays or Tuesdays AM), so while I was pulling back into work after lunch he called me back. He stated that he sent our paperwork off to the Diocese here on March 3rd and the Diocese mailed it to our Diocese in MN on March 9th. He had copies of everything, so we did have a back up, but our church in MN would eventually need originals. He then stated that we didn't need to meet up with him again if we didn't deem it necessary. I told him that we were implementing what we talked through last time and it was helping. So, we will not be meeting with him again (Mr. 2SB was happy about that).

Once I got back into work, I called the Priest who needed to receive our paperwork and left a voicemail about what I had found out. I then emailed the Priest that's marrying us to keep him in the loop. After I got back into our apartment this morning from working out (oh yeah...I'm back on the work-out train...woot woot!), I had a voicemail from the Priest stating that our paperwork was sent directly to our church and not to the Diocese. He bestowed the decision onto the local Priest who stated that we had everything accomplished and in order. So in other words, we are all set to go to get married in the church!!!

Since our paperwork had to go through a lot of hands, I knew this could happen, but the chain had to be followed. I am glad that I checked and that everything was eventually where it needed to be.

Lesson Learned - Follow-up with people and make sure they are doing what they said they would.

Right now, I'm working on 2 other fires, which will hopefully be put out soon, so be on the look out for my next fire (anyone else watch Rescue Me? If you don't, you should. If you do, aren't you so glad the new season finally started)!

Card Box

2009-04-21T14:28:00.000-07:00

***Warning - picture heavy, long post ahead***

Remember the project that I kept talking about that kicked my butt (here, here and here), well I finally finished it. As I stated earlier this week, we had a very wedding focused weekend, which has run into this week and probably will continue until the wedding. (We've had a few problems come up, but I'll tell you all about them when they're resolved...hopefully before May 15th) This weekend was pretty typical for us, lay low Friday, run errands Saturday (depending on if Mr. 2SB works or not...he did this weekend) and lay low again on Sunday. Well, after working for 5ish hours on Saturday and the running errands for around 5 more, Mr. 2SB was done for the day and was in bed and sleeping by 8PM! I wanted to get some wedding stuff done, so it was a good time to get focused. Project #1 - finish the damn card box!

I started this project on March 15th and didn't touch it again until Saturday! Nothing like cooling off for a month to get it figured out!

I knew we would need a card box for the reception. I'm not a big fan of the bird cage idea and didn't really like anything in the stores. I thought about my dad making something out of wood (he's handy like that), but since that would be out of my control, I was too fond of the idea! As I was reading my daily blogs, I came across a post by Angela at The Bona Fide Preppy Bride. Her card box look amazing and I figured I could do that too!

As I was wandering around Michael's one day (how easy is it to loose an hour or more in that place?!?!), I came across a box that I thought would work great! When someone says box, I think square, but our "box" is round (kinda fits in with the cake stands). I'm writing this as a tutorial so if you want to attempt this, you'll have some direction. It wasn't as easy as I thought!

(All pics taken by me, so if you steal them, please link back)

So here is the "box" straight from the store.

Side view

View from the top

I went to JoAnn Fabrics and purchased some black fabric (I don't remember what it is or how muchI paid...bad blogger, I know!)

It was a nice day here on March 15th, so I was working out on our deck. I was going to use some spray adhesive, so it was definitely important to be outside.

Step 1 - Cut fabric to desired size (for the base I decided to use a long strip and roll the fabric around the "box".)

Step 2 - Iron a creased edge and the rest of the fabric so you don't have any fold lines

Step 3 - spray fabrice with spray adhesive and roll the "box" over the fabric

Step 4 - enforce seams with hot glue gun

Step 5 - for the top of the base, fold fabric in and use hot glue gun to make fabric stay

Step 6 - Trim access fabric from the inside

Step 7 - Repeat 5 & 6 for bottom, but since you can't fold the extra fabric "in" just fold and glue down (like my jammie pants?!?!)

Step 8 - take a new piece of fabric and trace the bottom of the "box" using chalk

Step 9 - cut circle out and use hot glue gun to glue onto the bottom (I had the "box" upside down and would put a little glue on the bottom and then place the fabric on the glue. Repeat until you go all away around!)

Now for the lid

(I made one mistake on the lid...can you figure it out from this picture?)

Step 10 - take a piece of fabric and trace the lid, and then add an inch to the drawing. Spray fabric with spray adhesive and place lid on the fabric

Step 11 - glue "extra" fabric down. Cut a strip of fabric, iron a crease, spray fabric and wrap around the side of the lid. Reinforce edges with hot glue.

Step 12 - fold and glue the extra fabric on the bottom into the top of the lid.

Step 13 - admire your covered "box" (see the problem yet?)

Step 14 (which should have been step 10) cut a slot in the lid for the cards (this took me forever and was a part of my major frustration with the project. I think it would be easier to cut before you have the fabric on the lid, but hindsight is always 20/20...right?)

Step 15 - decorate as you wish. I modeled our after the cake stands, so here is my ribbon after putting it through my Xyron.

This is where I stopped for the first day. I had added the ribbon and the slot was half-ass and I was frustrated, so I knew it was time to walk away!

Here's where I picked up on Saturday night.

Step 16 - even out slot and make edges somewhat straight

Step 17 - add black fabric with hot glue over slots to make the slot appear smooth (mine isn't but oh well!)

Step 18 - add more ribbon to the top to cover up step 17

Step 19 - admire your completed card box again

Overall, I'm happy with how this turned out. Is it perfect? No. Are there lumps in the fabric? Yes. Do I care? No! It will serve it's purpose and look pretty good while doing it! If i remember correctly the "box" was $13, but I used a 1/2 off coupon. The fabric was around $6 (and had plenty left over for another project). I already had the ribbon, spray adhesive and Xyron. For estimate purposed, I would guess I spent around $15 to make this.

So there it is...the project that kicked my butt!!! Did you have a DIY that took longer than expected? How did it turn out?

Seating Chart

2009-04-20T11:21:00.000-07:00

To have a seating chart or not have a seating chart...that is the question!

We were very "wedding" focused this weekend, which is good! I finished my pain in the rear project (I have pictures, but my camera is at home, so I'll try to remember it for tomorrow), started and finished another little project, started another project and discussed a lot of details!

One of the things we discussed is a seating chart. We are all aware of the pro and cons for these and with our confirmed guest count at 190 (RSVPs are due this Friday), I'm not sure what to do. My biggest reason for not doing one is very selfish...I just don't want to do it. I think it will be very stressful. However with 190+ attending, I don't want the seating to be pure chaos!

Mr. 2SB and I were torn on the idea. We went from no, we'll do open seating to we'll just reserve tables for immediate family to open seating. We didn't decide on anything! I asked my sister/MOH for her opinion and she said to do one.

What do you think we should do? (FYI - if we do one it will be by table number only, not exact seat)

Wearing wedding attire to work

2009-04-17T15:41:00.000-07:00

It's true and yes, I am wearing one piece of my wedding attire to work today! What is it you ask?!?! Well, it's just my shoes. I had originally left them in MN so I wouldn't have to pack them, but then I got to thinking. New shoes need to be broken in! I recently bought my first pair of ballet flats (I know, I'm behind on the curve), but the first 3 times I wore them, I had so many band aids on my feet that it looked horrible. However, they are now really comfortable.

Since my wedding shoes are flats, I didn't want to end up with a million band aids all over my feet on my wedding day. It would have really pissed me off. So, my wonderful mom mailed them to me and I'm wearing them today. How's it going with them? NOT GOOD!

I'm really glad I decided to wear them before hand. I don't do much walking at work (yeah for desk jobs), but we had an office lunch today, so I did a little more walking than normal. I had band aids on my heels by 11AM. They have since rubbed off, so now I have huge patch like band aids covering my heels (they are saving my feet) and one band aid on each foot on that bone under your big toe.

Plan of attack with the shoes:
1) Wear them until they are comfortable without band aids.
2) Buy some Heavenly Heelz ASAP
3) If both of the above don't help make the shoes more comfortable, then I will probably be wearing flip flops for my wedding and I wouldn't really mind that too much!

Hope you all have a great weekend! I'm gonna suffer through breaking in my shoes...at least they're cute though!

Time flies

2009-04-16T13:51:00.000-07:00

even when you're not having fun!

Today's a big day over here! I no longer have months until my wedding...just days. We have reached that point. In 30 days, I will be married!

How do I feel about this?

I'm all over the board and it changes on a daily basis! Last week was really bad (chalk that up to PMS...sorry if that's TMI, but PMS and wedding planning/stress do not mix well...just ask Mr. 2SB!), but this week seems to be going better. We don't have a bunch of vendors, but two in particular seem to be taking their time to get back to me. I understand you're busy, but so am I and I would like for you to get back to me! That's really been driving me crazy! How long do you think I should wait until I bug them again? The two vendors are our photographer and our reception site (which includes all catering, decorating & DJ). I did hear back from the photographer last week, so I feel good about that. The reception site though, is freaking me out a little bit. We still have some decisions to make, like what we're serving and how much alcohol they need to get, so hopefully she'll get back to me soon. I sent her an email last Wednesday, so I guess if I don't hear from her by Monday, I'll send another email. I would call, but they don't have regular business hours and most messages go un-answered.

So that's kinda where I'm at! Just tying up loose ends and getting as much done as possible. I have a project I'm hoping to finish up this weekend. I was originally going to have to ship it back to MN, but my sister/MOH used some of her thousands of frequent flyer miles and upgraded us to 1st class for our flights to and from MN! I'm mostly excited because I've never flown 1st class, but we can also each check 3 bags at no charge! Woo hoo!

I might be back tomorrow, but next week I have some fun stuff to share with you...my garter, more on MAC and hopefully the project that I finish! In the mean time, I'll be on this end counting down the days...because frankly...that's all I got left!

Bachelorette Weekend...Round 3

2009-04-15T13:34:00.000-07:00

Previous Posts in this Series:

Round 1
Round 2

So we all had our make-up done and it was time to freshen up our hair and put on our going out clothes! I was really excited to wear my new dress and the patent yellow peep toe pumps I finally found to wear with it! (I can't find them anywhere online, but you can see them in black here)

Here are some pictures from the hotel.

My sister/MOH A, me and my mom

Sister/MOH A, me, BM C & BM R

We had dinner reservations at Vermillion. The food was great and we had an awesome waiter! We all definitely got our fill! We didn't have set plans after that, but there was a dueling pianos bar a few doors down. When we tried to bi-pass the line, it didn't work and the line was too long to wait outside (it was cold and two of us were in dresses!). So we next door to Rock It. With a little sweet talking by my sister/MOH, we were able to bi-pass the line if we'd have two drinks downstairs (the restaurant part) before heading upstairs (the more clubby part). We sat down and got some drinks. We sat for a little while before heading upstairs. Once upstairs, it was jam packed with people. We hung around a little bit before realizing this was not the best place to be! We thought we'd check the dueling pianos line, if it was too long, we'd go to the Irish pub across the street.

The line for Howl at the Moon (dueling pianos bar) was only a few groups deep, so we decided to wait. We put in a request for "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" and were up on stage dancing in no time. Here's the pic to prove it!

It was a really fun atmosphere with lots of other Bachelorette's. We sipped our way through a bucket Hurricane (see below) and headed back to the hotel around 2.

The most fun you can have with your clothes on! (yes, that's my thumb)

I don't think anyone drank too much, but we were all at a good stage! It was a great night and we had fun!

We got up on Sunday and had brunch at the hotel. We then sat in our hotel room and watched Transformers and people left when they needed to, to catch their flights. It worked out great and everyone got home safely!

That was my Bachelorette weekend...nothing too crazy, but a good time over all!

Was your Bachelorette party out of control or was it just perfect?