Shower recap - Way late

Saturday morning we woke up and ran a few errands including stopping at Ida's so Shirley, Bart's mom, could see my dress and we could pick up my fabulous veil! Then we headed over to Lee's Summit so I could get have my hair and make-up trial run at Salon Ahloe.

Shirley had a pedicure. Isn't she cute as a button?


Next we were on to the main event of the day. The shower!
We had a nice turnout including my 92 year-old great-grandmother, Grannie P.


We played 3 games. The first one we all had balloons that we popped and inside was a slip of paper with an event that occurred on May 9th. The winner was the person who's slip said that Bart and I get married on May 9th, 2009. Grannie P. won that one! Did you know that the beer pump and the first contraceptive were patented on May 9th?

For the next game they set out jars of spices and we had to guess what they were. I won that one with 3 right. It's a lot harder then it sounds!

For the last game they sent me out of the room and everyone had to write down what I was wearing. My bridesmaid, Stephanie, won that game. She did kind of have an unfair advantage though. We bought the same dress for the shower!! We didn't discover it until the night before and she had to get another dress. I told her she didn't have to, but she insisted. So I think she totally deserved to win that game!

The food was delicious. My sister made some amazing cookies. We had a nice cheese and cracker tray and an awesome shrimp c*cktail with mango salsa. For drinks they served a champagne mixed drink with grape juice ice cubes that had strawberries and starfruit frozen inside. Super cute!

It was really nice to have my friends and family all together. I got some really nice and thoughtful gifts.


By far though this is my favorite gift. A handmade quilt from my Grandma.

(I'm tearing up now just thinking about it.)

I really have to give major props to my dad. My mom and sister have many talents, however party panning is not one of them and they'll be the first to tell you. Dad and I have always been the party throwers of the family. So when my dad caught wind of what Mom and Sis originally planned he sort of took over behind the scenes. He basically took care of all the menu planning and most of the prep and also did the decorations and favors. Then he stepped back and let my mom and sister take all the credit. My dad is really an amazing guy and if you can't tell I kind of put him up on a pedestal.

So while we were doing our girly thing Bart took Dad suit shopping for the wedding. They picked out a nice suit and then went home to watch the game.

I think they really have some nice man bonding time. I really think my dad is enjoying this since he's never had son to hang out with. Getting to enjoy sports is a little new for him. He's been kind of used to tea parties.

After the party we went back to my apartment and I gave my sister a thank you gift for hosting. I think she really liked it!


As cliche as it sort of is right now, the card says "I hope your next shower is as wonderful as mine was."



All in all the day was just wonderful. I couldn't ask for better family or friends and this is one memory I will always cherish.Four generations: Great-Grannie P., Grandma, Mom, Me, and my Sissie

From left to right: My mom, me, and Bart's mom

The whole gang!

Cheers!!

Beauty school drop-out - Thank goodness I can pay to have someone else do this for me!

I should be crunching numbers right now, but when faced with the task of widdling down the national deficit blogging about things like hair and make-up sounds so much less stressful. And apologies for the delay in posting, but I've been one busy bride with the countdown under a month now!

So on to the good stuff.

Saturday, April 4th was my bridal shower. More on that later. I decided to take full advantage of the picture taking I knew would occur and have my hair and make-up trial runs. OK, let's be honest, I needed something to occupy me while my mom and sister set up the shower. Otherwise I would have driven them batty.

I had the hardest time finding an inspiration picture. I had seen a gorgeous bride on one of the many blogs I follow months ago and said to myself "Wow, her hair is stunning. I wish I could pull that look off." Then I dismissed the post and moved along to the 101 others in my reader that day. The hairstyle apparently stayed in my subconscious because as decision time for my hair came near I thought about that post more and more. "Alright," I said, "maybe I CAN pull this look off. In fact, I think it would be perfect with my new brunette locks and vintage style dress." So for weeks I searched for that elusive post to no avail. I gave up hope and decided to try another route.

Finally, in the final hour, quite literally as it was midnight on Friday, I found my inspiration! It was not the original blog post but better. It was Kiera Knightly in Atonement. And it was perfect.

So this is what I took my hairdresser, Leigh:


And this is what she gave me!


I have a few adjustments to make but overall I love it!

As for the make-up I had fortunately been smart enough to pull out a picture I had seen in a magazine a month or two into our engagement. It was dewy, golden and very natural looking. The end result is this:

Last vendor booked!

Finito! It's music to my ears. Quite literally in fact. Today I booked the incredibly talented Jim Lammers to play guitar for the wedding. I had to go solo to this meeting and I was a little nervous meeting a strange man at his house so I emailed my friend Marcy to make sure he didn't give off a creepy vibe. She assured me that, although having never met him herself, he was perfectly safe and that her future mother-in-law lived next door so if I needed anything just to knock on the door of the white house with the red shutters. I'm happy to report that he is a very nice man and in fact not at all a serial killer. Or if he is I apparently don't fit his victim profile.

Having very little direction when I arrived I was glad to see that he was full of helpful advice. The few things that I knew I wanted he was very happy to accommodate. Together we have decided on a classical mix for the prelude. The mothers will be seated to "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" by Bach. The attendants will walk to "Here comes the sun" by the Beatles. And me? Well, you'll just have to wait on that one. I want to surprise Bart with my choice. :)

We'll exit to "Love and Marriage" by James van Heusen and then Jim will stay for about an hour and play for our guests on the lawn.

Jim was even kind enough to give me one of his cd's which I'm enjoying now!

The wedding night (que "sexy music")

Mom, close your eyes. ;)

Colton informed me last night that after our amazing (read exhausting) wedding day we will be crashing in this swank downtown hotel!!



I've been (not so subtly) hinting for months that I'd love to stay at Hotel Phillips for our wedding night and he listened! Of course, what do you expect from a man who learned calligraphy for me?

Not only did he book us a fabulous hotel, but he even booked the romance package!!

And they're off!!

Today was a great day in the movement towards wedding day. Bart and I went down to Westport to partake in arguably Kansas City's best burger and a refreshing adult beverage. Afterward we wandered through the Flea Market and Urban Mining. We went without any purchases. Unproductive towards my teacup collection project but enjoyable nonetheless. So what is so exciting about the non-productiveness of our morning you may ask yourself? Let me tell you. It geared us up for our very fruitful afternoon and evening.

Today the invitations were assembled and hit the mail!!

The invitation...
We also included a matching bookmark with our wedding date and various quotes about love and marriage. (Anyone else not able to say that without busting out in song?)

For example:

"Don't marry the person you think you can live with; marry only the individual you think you can't live without."
James C. Dobson

"A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person."
Mignon McLaughlin

"Chains do not hold a marriage together. It is threads, hundreds of tiny threads which sew people together through the years." ~Simone Signoret


"I love being married. It's so great to find that one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life." ~Rita Rudner

"Here's to matrimony, the high sea for which no compass has yet been invented!" ~Heinrich Heine

"Like good wine, marriage gets better with age - once you learn to keep a cork in it." ~Gene Perret


"By all means marry; if you get a good wife, you'll be happy; if you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher." ~Socrates


"Marriage halves our griefs, doubles our joys, and quadruples our expenses." ~English Proverb

"For two people in a marriage to live together day after day is unquestionably the one miracle the Vatican has overlooked." ~Bill Cosby, Love and Marriage

"To keep your marriage brimming,
With love in the loving cup,
Whenever you're wrong, admit it;
Whenever you're right, shut up."
~Ogden Nash

"There is no more lovely, friendly and charming relationship, communion or company than a good marriage." ~Martin Luther

"Men who have a pierced ear are better prepared for marriage - they've experienced pain and bought jewelry." ~Rita Rudner

"When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible." ~Nora Ephron, When Harry Met Sally




Bart hard at work...


We needed something to keep our minds off the tedious task at hand so we enjoyed one of the best romantic comedies of all time.What do you think of Herbie our pet hippo? He's in the lower right corner. This is what happens when I ask you what you want for Christmas and you say a pet hippo. Never let it be said I don't deliver!


When that movie was over, and we were stiiiillllll working on the invites, we enjoyed some delicious bass. (Those of you who know the story of how we met will appreciate this inside joke a little more. Those who don't, just smile and nod.)



Finally! The fruits of our labor!!


At last, a grand farewell! Yes, it's well past dark by this point. And yes, I'm kissing them goodbye.


So that's it. It's official. The invites are in the mail and there's no backing out now! It also means that it's crunch time. So if I fall off the face of the Earth, I'm sorry. And I'm especially sorry if I bite the head off of some unknowing bystander. It's not my fault really, it's the wedding.

Long time no see

So it's been a while. Things have been hectic/stressful/productive in the wedding planning department lately. So just a short list of accomplishments...

Tried on wedding dress, fell in love again!

Picked up Natalie's dress

Bought wedding shoes

Booked rehearsal dinner at Cafe Verona in Independence, MO. Mmmm - delish!


Ran into a dead end with our preacher, started new search and have an appointment to meet a new one.

And the big accomplishment of the day which deserves a post all it's own so I'll be working on that next.

Flowers everywhere

Alright, where's my Staples easy button? Because after meeting my florist, that's exactly what I needed. Today I met with Flowers by Emily. She's the first florist I interviewed and quite honestly the last. Maybe it's the fact that I'm getting closer everyday and all the wedding planning has exhausted me of vendor meetings. Or, perhaps it's that flowers aren't my biggest priority by a long shot. But I like to think it's because Emily was so nice, so cute and so helpful. I just felt like she got it. Her shop is adorable and the music she was playing, well, right up my alley. Overall, I couldn't be happier with our meeting. After our brief, albeit productive, meeting I walked away with this as my inspiration.