One Month Anniversary Surprise

Today is Joe and my one-month wedding anniversary. We never celebrated anniversaries when we were dating, but I am LOVING celebrating each tiny wedding milestone that comes our way. If you remember, I rushed home at 6:00 a.m. on Halloween from out of town so I could spend the day with Joe... it was our three-week anniversary, after all. :)

Anyway, Joe and I plan to have a romantic homemade dinner in tonight to celebrate. Little did I know, Joe was going to up the celebration anty today. He sent me these at work:

Daisies, my absolute most favorite flower ever. They are perfect and beautiful and smell delightful. They make me smile just looking at them. (Don't you think daisies are the friendliest flowers?*)

This husband of mine.... I think I might just keep him.

*Name that quote and you rule in my book. :)

My Cousin Weds in the Rain

On Saturday I had the honor of attending one of the most beautiful and personal weddings I've ever seen. My cousin Bruce married a wonderful woman Grace, at their home outside of Wenatchee. These two are a beautiful couple and a community filled with all walks of life came to celebrate their big day.

The live on a mountain off of a very narrow and bumpy dirt road, so only a few hearty vehicles were allowed up. Everyone carpooled to get there.

My crazy family, waiting to be allowed up the mountain.

Me with my nephew (his mom is in the background). It was a very casual wedding and very cold out and this little guy rocked his Halloween costume. So cute!

We made it up the mountain in the capable hands of my father and his big heavy duty truck. (We also made it back down in the capable hands of my father, which was a bit scarier, but my dad did a great job!)

As I said, it was cold out and on top of the mountain it was extremely foggy. But it was a gorgeous setting and the fog made it feel like this couple had the world all to themselves in that moment. And when it started to rain, no one cared, not even the bride, who was absolutely glowing.

My sweet cousin Bruce tearing up at the first sight of his bride.

A beautiful song by Grace's brother and sister-in-law.

A cleansing ceremony for not only the bride and groom, but the guests as well. Very cool.

Vows. (I bawled my eyes out. Seriously.)

It really was a beautiful ceremony with a variety of readings and stories that really spoke to the couple's lifestyle. They exchanged handmade wristbands instead of traditional rings, and were pronounced husband and wife. Then, they walked up to their home, where Bruce carried Grace across the threshhold. *love*

The reception was held on the other side of the house and included the most amazing food put together by the community of guests. There was also a huge bonfire to keep us warm and several live bands that kept the energy up!

My dad and me at the reception.

Me with the bride!

Congratulations Bruce and Grace! I wish you a lifetime of happiness, honor, and love!

Hurricane Honeymoon: Sunday Night & Monday

Sunday, October 10 & Monday, October 11, 2010

Our wedding was fabulous and soon I'll get up some of the many wonderful pictures my family and friends took during all the festivities. But for now, we'll have to start with the honeymoon. (Why we're calling it the "Hurricane Honeymoon" I'll get to in another post!)

For the night of our wedding, we chose to stay in a nice hotel in downtown Seattle - the Alexis. Although we were only there for about 9 hours total, it was worth it to be pampered in style that night! I would definitely recommend the Alexis. It's a nice hotel, so it's pricy, but it's amazing and dog friendly!

When we got to our room (a Spa Suite), we were greeted by a plate of chocolate covered strawberries and a welcome note from the hotel, congratulating us on our wedding. It was so nice!

So yummy - thanks Alexis!

The room was gorgeous - a long hallway leading to a nice big bedroom with an armoire, table and chairs, and lounge. It was simple and elegant. The bathroom had a huge jacuzzi that sat up high - you had to walk up a few stairs to it. A huge framed mirror took up the entire wall where the jacuzzi sat. Just gorgeous.

We ordered room service for dinner and opened the scarily-overpriced bottle of wine in the minibar. (Never would do that normally, but threw caution to the wind that night!) It was so fun and out-of-the-ordinary for us.

I refused to take off my wedding dress for the longest time, knowing I would never wear it again. I loved that dress and wanted the feeling to last as long as possible.

I'm hesitant to post the next picture, because when people see 'honeymoon' and then a bed, they think dirty thoughts, but I promise you that is *not* what was happening here. (I do keep some things private!!) But I love this picture because I think it's so pretty and I thought the bed was so pretty. :)

Love that dress! :)

We went to bed early, knowing we had a very early wakeup call to get to the airport on time. I had thought we were to get up at 3:30 a.m., but apparently, as I was fast asleep, my mother called Joe to tell him that the flight was actually an hour earlier than we thought, and that she'd need to pick us up an hour earlier. Joe didn't tell me that until we were on our way out of the hotel. That man woke me up at 2:30 in the morning that day after our wedding! The horror!

Anyway, both my mom and my dad picked us up to see us off at the airport. I asked them to bring the dogs as well, since I hadn't seen them since that previous Friday. I missed them! She agreed, so we were picked up by a full house!

We got to the airport and said our goodbyes, then grabbed our luggage to go. Ooops - Joe's backpack was missing! And his backpack had our passports in it! My mom had forgot to bring it along, so she and my dad jumped back in the car and rushed back to retrieve it. An hour later, they were back and we rushed to get checked in and get to our gate. (Joe loves to rub it in that it was a good thing we got up an hour earlier!)

We made it in plenty of time, so no worries there.

6 hours later we got off the plane in sunny Cancun, Mexico!

We're Back!

We completely unplugged for the two days before our wedding and the week of our honeymoon. It felt goooood. But now I'm back and I know a lot of you want to see pictures and hear stories from the wedding and honeymoon. I'll see what I can do! Hopefully I'll have time to download some pictures tonight and get something up tomorrow.

I'll just say that we couldn't be happier right at this moment. I love my husband. :)

Some Thoughts at 10 Days to Go

When Joe and I got engaged, I had no idea the roller coaster we would be on over the next ten months. I thought it would be easy and fun and that everything would just go along as it went along. I had no idea what went into planning a wedding - the money, the stress, the highs, the lows, etc. But the main thing that has really hit me lately is how people really surround you.

It's really humbling the outpouring of love that we have received since getting engaged. We are so lucky to have family and friends who are so happy for us, as I know not everyone has that support. For one, my parents have been so incredibly generous in helping to fund my perfect wedding. When I told them I fell in love with a wedding dress that was a feeew extra dollars over what I originally told them I would spend, they didn't bat an eye. I think my dad said, "Do you love it? Then it's yours." My mom has also talked me down off the ledge more than once. I think she has gotten good at that. I can be a tad bit emotional.

Also, I can't believe we have been given three different wedding showers. The first thrown by my bridesmaid and good friend Heidi because she wanted me to have the experience of celebrating my engagement with the people I loved, since I was so far away. The second thrown by my cousin and bridesmaid Christi, who wanted to bring my side of the family together to celebrate. And the third thrown by my future in-laws who wanted to usher me into the family in their own special way.

Speaking of my in-laws, I don't think they could be any more welcoming and excited about this wedding. This is even more important to me because Joe has been married before. They don't treat our wedding as anything other than the most exciting event in Joe's life - which I really appreciate. They are so excited and happy for us and that means so much to me.

My cousin came to my rescue in a very important way during this wedding process and we have become much closer because of it. I couldn't be happier about that.

Everyone in my wedding party have helped me put this shindig together, which has created a huge network of people involved that all come back to a shared core. My photographer is Christi's good friend. My hair stylist is Heidi's mother-in-law. My iPod DJ is Heidi's sister-in-law. My second reception photographer is Stuart's brother. Not to mention friends of ours who are participating in big ways - our officiant was Joe's classmate and our florist is an amazing friend we made in Maryland. People are stepping up from all ends and creating this huge community that will be our wedding. I can't tell you how much I love that, and how lucky I feel that people want to be involved.

I will admit, I've had my highs and lows, I've laughed, I've cried, I've yelled in happiness and yelled in frustration. I know our wedding is not going to be perfect, things will go wrong, it won't meet everyone's expectations of how a wedding should go, but it will be ours. And we will get to share it with all of these people who love us. And that is perfect.

Thank you, everyone, for being there and helping to make this wedding what it is. 10 days to go. I'm ready.

Showered with More Love

After the hair trial and after Joe got off work on Saturday, we drove down to Portland, where Joe's family threw us a wedding shower!

The shower took place at Joe's parents' house, and Joe's sister and niece helped host. They are so creative and covered these chairs with white tulle so Joe and I would have 'bridal seating' when we opened gifts. So sweet! Of course, Ava thought that since they were so pretty, they MUST be for her:


Over 25 people showed up to celebrate with us - we were shocked! The family provided gobs of awesome food (Joe's mom made these veggie meatballs that were sooo yummy) and it really seemed like everyone had a great time.

We played a few simple games that were really fun - the funniest being a game called "Draw the Bride-to-Be". Let me tell you - Joe's family and friends are NOT artists! They were hilarious! I will be posting pictures of some of these drawings - they are too good not to share. Joe got to pick the winner. He picked his neice, Sam, whose drawing was very sweet and one of the only ones that didn't make me look like a goblin or zombie. hehe

There was also a jar full of gold rings and everyone had to guess how many rings were in the jar. I wasn't surprised at all when Joe won that game. He is really good with numbers. I was over 200 rings off.

Everyone was very generous, and we received a lot of wonderful gifts - some off our registry, some homemade, some gift cards and money. Joe's parents definitely broke the ice with their gift to me, which had everyone laughing and me with bright red cheeks. I'll just leave it at that.

Anyway, it was a great day and we are very thankful for everyone who came.

Ava kept a close eye on her grandpa.

Samantha, Shane, Joe

Zach, Annette, Ryan

Joe, Bryan (best man), Alena, Ryan

Our cake - it matches our invites!

(More pictures to come. I didn't have time to take many with my own camera, so will have to get more from Joe's sister.)

Thanks again for a great day, Kalinowskis and friends!

Hair Trial - Check!

Saturday I had my hair trial! I didn't really know what to expect, but I really had such a great time. The person who will be doing my hair for the wedding is Heidi's mother-in-law, Pat. She has been in the industry for over 20 years, and really knows her stuff. I was so honored when she agreed to participate in our big day.

The trial was such a fun experience. When I got in the chair, I showed Pat the photos I had brought along with me, showing what I thought I might want to do. I wanted an up-do, but a little 'messy' and not so sleek and formal. We chatted a bit about my pictures, and then she got to work.

When she looked at my hair, I think a heard her squeak a little in despair. "When was the last time you got your hair cut?" she asked. "Well, my mom trimmed it about 6 months ago," I said. She laughed a little nervously, and said, "Yes... you need a cut. I'm cutting it. Is that okay?"

Of course that was okay! I got a fabulous cut along with my trial, and my hair now feels healthy and awesome.

Anyway, while she was playing with my hair, her daughter showed up with her new week-old daughter, who was so tiny and sweet! Heidi showed up as well (she was getting her hair trial after me) and all four of us had such a fun time chatting. Girly girl time is always fun.

And when Pat was done, I was so happy. I loved how it turned out and I felt so beautiful. Here are some pictures I took when I got home:

Super close-up of the back.

Jack - "Hi mom, hi, hi, hi, mom? mom?"

What do you think? I'm so excited!

Wedding Shower Fun

What a weekend! We were in Wenatchee this weekend and we were going non-stop from the moment we arrived until the moment we headed out of town!

One of the events Joe and I went to was in our honor - a wedding shower hosted by my cousin (and bridesmaid) Christi! She definitely went above and beyond, making amazing appetizers that were all vegetarian and chocolate cupcakes from scratch.

Delish.

My whole family attended and Joe and I were just blown away by everyone's support and generosity. The theme was 'honeymoon' and everyone donated to our honeymoon fund so we can have an amazing week's stay in Cancun, Mexico. I know that once we say our 'I do's' we will be ready for a nice beach vacation to relax!

Joe, Aunt Kathy, and my dad

Our two under-age attendees, Emily and Mason. How cute are they?

My cousin had us all play this great game as well. She placed a bunch of stuff related to the honeymoon in a pillowcase and tied the end. Each person had two minutes to feel the outside of the pillowcase and write down what they thought was in there. I would definitely suggest this game if you are throwing a shower. Everyone got really into it! And then I got to pull each one of the items out of the bag to keep!

Me playing the game. I totally thought I was going to win, but my neice (in pink, behind me) and my cousin's fiance were the winners, with 7 correct guesses. Impressive!

My dad, me, and Joe. I love this picture because it shows off my shoes. I love those shoes. ;)

Me with the planner extraordinaire!

Digging through the pillowcase.

Opening cards.

One of the items in the pillowcase - a shirt for Joe. As you can read, it wasn't very nice. haha.

mmmmm.. cupcake.

This is a terrible picture of me because Joe kept asking me to scrunch down because in my kick-ass shoes, I was taller than him. But it makes me look like a squatty weirdo. Lesson learned.

It was such a wonderful celebration and I can't thank everyone enough for their generosity. I am very lucky to have the family I do (even though they are complete wackos, let's be honest) and am so happy that they have accepted Joe with open arms.

The All-Important Marriage License

Yesterday morning Joe and I woke up early and headed into downtown Seattle to apply for our marriage license! We got to the office 15 minutes before they opened, and I admit, I actually felt giddy. The act of applying and receiving a marriage license just makes everything so.... real. And wonderful. And yes, I was that silly girl who walked into the government office snapping pictures. And I may have even dressed up a little.. so? ;)

Sure, we could have filled out the form, mailed it in, and waited for the license to be mailed to us. We wouldn't have had to get up early and make the traffic-laden drive into downtown Seattle on a busy weekday morning. We wouldn't have had to pay for parking. I wouldn't have had to be slightly late to work, and I wouldn't have had to wait to be picked up since Joe took the car.

But we would have missed out on this very special moment together, where they handed us our license and said, go forth and get married!

The (amazing) woman who helped us was very proud of her easy button. ;)

Joe filling out all the deets.

And it's official!

My Niece's Wedding

I can't believe my niece is a married woman. I remember when she texted me to tell me she was engaged. In this day and age, hardly anyone makes actual calls anymore, but when I got that text, I called her right away! It really doesn't seem like that long ago, but I guess it was. August seemed like so far off back then, but it sure snuck up fast.

Anyway, on to the photos of the day.

My family all met up at my cousin's house before heading to the wedding, since we were all carpooling with each other. We had a toast to the couple and then headed out.

Me and my dad (the birthday boy!)

Me and my mom

The wedding was held in Ohme Gardens in Wenatchee, an absolutely gorgeous venue. The wind picked up a little, but the weather held out for the happy couple!

Me with my brother, the father of the bride! (I totally look like his 'little' sister in this picture!)

The bride walking down the rock path to the ceremony. I don't think I've ever seen a more beautiful entrance.

My niece with my brother and her biological father walking her down the isle. (How gorgeous is that dress??)

The happy couple, making their grand entrance at the reception.

Cutting the cake.

My cousin and his family at the reception.

Joe and I at the reception.

Everything went off without a hitch and my niece and her new husband just glowed with happiness. It was such a fun night, and I hope they are enjoying themselves on their honeymoon in Disneyland!

Wedding Shoes!

The shoes for my wedding never really felt like that big of a priority for me. I just didn't see the reasoning behind paying $200 for a pair of shoes that you don't really get to see, because they are hidden under a big beautiful dress.


When I went shoe shopping yesterday, I admit that I started getting that 'spend, spend, spend!' feeling as I was looking at all these gorgeous designer high heels. But I'm happy to say that I didn't give in. I think most girls love the way they feel in high heels, and I'm no exception, but I knew from the beginning that I was going to wear flats so I didn't tower over my husband-to-be.


This is what I decided on:




They are simple, very inexpensive ($20!!) and I happen to think they are perfect. They are very comfortable and so cute and don't make my feet look like the huge behemoths that they are.

My mom happened upon these frilly little cuties while we were at the store:

At $9, I couldn't help but buy them as well. How perfect are they going to be for the pre-wedding festivities? I love them!

So, I stayed under budget and am really happy with my choices. What do you all think?

My Gown-Shopping Weekend

I'm sorry to get this post up so late. Since my mom has been here, I've been slacking on keeping up with my online responsibilities. :)

My "gown-shopping" weekend was totally crazy!

First, my mom and my cousin Christi were supposed to fly into Boston around 5:15 p.m. on Friday. They were going to take a shuttle to the hotel and I was going to meet them there as soon as humanly possible. Well, around 10:00 a.m. I got a call that their plane had broke down and the airport staff searched and searched for another flight to Boston and could only locate ONE ticket that day for ANY airline. WTH?? When does that ever happen? I guess it was spring break and everything was booked. So, my mom got the ticket and my cousin had to stay home. I was soooo bummed she couldn't come. AND my mom wasn't going to get into Boston until midnight!

So, I took my time getting up there and when I got to the hotel, I was feeling kind of bummed, so I ordered a martini and turned on Comedy Central. I felt a little better. :)

FYI, the Chelsea Windham hotel serves the BEST dirty martinis!

When my mom showed up at the hotel, it was after midnight, but of course we started chatting and didn't go to sleep until around 3:00 a.m.!

We begrudgingly woke up the next morning to start our busy day of shopping.

The first place we visited was Vows.

Starting my gown shopping!

This place was highly rated on The Knot, but when I went in and looked around, I only found ONE dress I even wanted to try on! I tried on a few others, too, but didn't find anything that really wowed me.

Next we went to The Bridal Secret (no picture, sorry). I had high hopes for this place. I read through the website and the owner seemed like she really knew what she was doing. She emailed me a bunch before our appointment and she just seemed very friendly.

Well, she didn't really understand what I was going for and I didn't feel very happy there. I found a couple dresses that looked 'okay' and she kept telling me that she could tell I loved them. Yeah, I didn't.

We weren't planning on going to any more places that day, but I was feeling pretty anxious and decided to stop by a high-end shop in downtown Boston called "Pricilla of Boston". We didn't have an appointment and when I asked the sales lady if there were any dresses under $2,000 available, she basically turned her nose up to us and said we were in the wrong place.

When we left there I was convinced that I was never going to find "the one" (or that "the one" was going to cost me $8,000 custom made, which wasn't going to happen) and I found myself thinking I would either have to go back to The Bridal Secret and buy one I didn't love, or fly back to Seattle and get one of the super-expensive ones I found there that I did love. Neither option was ideal.

Both my mom and I were feeling kind of down when we went back to the hotel, so we went down to the bar for drinks.

Yum.

THREE ROUNDS LATER (which is a TON of alcohol for us two lightweights), we stumbled back to our room and I fell asleep as my mom scoured the internet for other options.

The next morning we both woke up with hangovers and my mom announced she found a great bridal outlet.... in Ohio. We were actually contemplating how we were going to get to Ohio as we got ready to head out to our fourth and final store.

The final store we went to was The Wishing Well, in East Providence, R.I.

The BEST gown shop in New England!

As soon as I walked into this store, I saw a gown hanging up that actually looked like what I was looking for. When I went over to that one, I found two more that were my style. I started shaking because at that point I KNEW I was finally in the right store. It sealed the deal when I came across my pipe dream dress - the dress I found in a magazine when I first got engaged that I fell head over heals for and placed in the front of my wedding binder. I never thought I would get to even try on that dress, let alone think about purchasing it!! I was elated!

I tried on several dresses and can you believe it - I found a dress EVEN BETTER than my pipe dream dress! It's the same designer (Maggie Sottero) and very similar, but with just a few details changed that made it so 'me'. As soon as I put it on, I knew - I had that amazing, enchanting feeling and knew I found "the one". It was even in my price range. My mom was crying, I was crying, and everything was wonderful.

What a relief!

We put half down and they ordered it. So exciting! (And now we don't have to drive to Ohio.)

I know you want to see what it looks like, but I don't want Joe to see it until the big day. So, I'll have to send you all individual links. Just don't show it to him!!

Such a big decision out of the way. It feels good.