Cheese!

Last week I got the stands to create the aisle for our wedding. They are these little hook thingies that we can run tulle down & dress up with flowers or wreaths or something...they are sitting in the floor of my office because I haven't found the fortitude to load those bad boys into my car.

I also put the deposit down on our photobooth. The picture on the left isn't the actual booth, but you get the idea. I booked the booth for two hours, which makes me a little nervous time-wise but that's what the cash flow allows. All our guests will get the opportunity to take pictures in the photobooth, and will recieve their pictures as a favor. We'll get a copy of the pictures as well and I will have someone getting personal notes from our guests to put together with our copies of the photobooth pics to use as our guest book.

We now have less than a year until the wedding date and with each day that passes I get a little more excited and a little more blown away by the fact that we really are getting married. I say things to Steve like, "Do you realize that next year at this time we'll be married!?!" He tries not to look at me like I'm crazy because I'm pretty sure he was clear on that fact before he proposed but I'm just in awe of the whole thing. I find myself trying out the words: married, husband, wife, and spouse. I really had given up, and I am so happy God and Steve hadn't. Sniffle.

jennifer and steve stamps!

It's just silly how the little things for the wedding get me so excited. Today I got to work and the stamps I'd ordered were in. (Please forgive the photo, I left the cord to my camera at home so I had to use the camera phone instead.) It's like every little package that comes, every puzzle piece that gets put into place, and every day that passes makes all of this more real.

On Friday, Steve and I had a backyard picnic to celebrate the fact that it had been a year since he sent the first message to me on myspace. I kept tearing up everytime I would think about how it was such a small thing but as a result of that little shot in the dark, our lives are completely different. There are times when I feel like this was so rigged and other times when I think about how very random it all seems. Steve and lived virtually across the street from one another for YEARS and had no idea. I walked around the restaurant where he was the executive chef every morning day after day, week after week, month after month and we never had any idea. Yesterday I was playing around and I asked Steve if he'd love me forever, and he said, "I already have." I am so marrying this guy! I needed every minute of these twenty something years to get ready for this kind of love and to know better than to take it for granted.

This weekend Mom, Anna & Sofia and I went out to Myer's Park for an event they were having and I was so excited to see the pumpkins and mums. There wasn't a great deal of color on the leaves but God and I are talking about it. I am so glad we decided on a fall wedding. What the heck was I thinking when I thought July might be good???

More Wedding Crafts

These are altered barn stars. The second star was my inspiration, and the first is the one I made to hang from the openings in the gazebo where we will have the ceremony. I may decide to layer more patterns on mine to give it a smidge more umph...I dunno. I also made one of these for my sister where I added family photos that I printed in sepia. It turned out very cute. I suspect that's what I'll do with these after the wedding. BTW I got these at a place where they sell Mexican pottery and such. It was $10.

I am waiting for several deliveries of wedding goodness. I bought a thing you can use to cut a hole in baby pumpkins or apples or pears or small gourds, so that you can put tea lights in them and I have ordered several personalized stamps that I'm using to make seals for my wedding invites and such and the other that will be used on our favors and napkins. I will also use that one as the model for our aisle runner. I am starting to get very excited. We put the deposit on our wedding spot in McKinney and we have an official date of October 24, 2009!

The Question Game

These are some pretty good questions to ask and answer when planning a wedding. I was pretty happy that I had the answers to most of them a year before our wedding date!

Decision Topics:

Do you want to send engagement announcements? No

Do you want to take engagement photographs? Perhaps next spring if budget allows

How much are you willing to spend on invitations? $150

How important are creative or unique invitations? Made them myself

How important is the quality of the invitation paper? N/A

Response cards or email and phone calls? Email/phone

Do you want to include photos in your invitations? No

Do you want to set-up a wedding website? Done

Pre-printed or print your own invitations? Print my own

Do you want to use photo stamps? Undecided

Indoor or outdoor ceremony? Outdoor ceremony

Indoor or outdoor reception? Indoor

What time and on what day of the week do you want to have the ceremony? Saturday around 6 or 6:30

Do you want the ceremony and reception at the same place? Yes

Are you going to rent or buy table linens? Buy (cheap!)

Do you need to rent tables, chairs, and possibly a tent and dance floor? No

Do you want the same number of bridesmaids and groomsmen? One attendant on each side

Who do you want in the bridal party? Matron of Honor-Jill Grozev, Best Man-Boyd Kelley
The rest will be done by a committee of angels!

Are you going to help pay for bridal party expenses? Yes

How many ushers do you want and who? Four? Mike Sims, Bryan Piccola, Spencer Ramsdell, and Seth Pentecost?

Do you want a flower girl and ring bearer? If so, who? I want two little leaf girls: Lexi & Audrey

Who do you want to perform the ceremony? Undecided

Do you want programs for the ceremony? Yes

Are you going to purchase or make the programs? Make

How long do you want the ceremony to take? 30 minutes

Are you going to have any special music such as soloists or congregational hymns? Yes, Tarina & Chrissie

Are you going to light a unity candle? No

Are you going to take communion? No

Are you going to write your own vows? Undecided

Do you want live music during the ceremony? Yes

Professionally catered food or do-it-yourself? Undecided

Dinner or hors d’oeurve and dessert? Dinner

Served dinner or buffet? Buffet

Served buffet or self-serve buffet? Self-serve

Meal cooked on site or cooked off site? Undecided

Wedding cake or dessert? Dessert

Do you want to serve alcohol? No

China or paper or plastic plates and cups? Plastic

Silverware or plastic eating utensils? Undecided

Cloth or paper napkins? Paper

Are you going to rent or buy your china, silverware, and cloth napkins? N/A

Live music or recorded for the ceremony? Recorded

Live music or D.J. for the reception? Friend

Music style? Eclectic

Are you going to do your own flowers or pay a florist? Myself

Are there particular flowers you do or do not want to use? Fall flowers

Are you going to hire a photographer? Just for reception, candid shots during dance etc.

Are you going to videotape the ceremony? No

Are the bride and groom going to see each other before the wedding (affects photography schedule)? No