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!

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.

We have STD's!!

Save the Dates, Silly! Why? What were you thinking? Today was a milestone day in the wedding planning process. Today things became a little more real. Today we mailed our save the dates. And tomorrow morning 57 green and yellow little birdies will be on their way all over the country to announce our impending nuptials. Can I get an "EEEEKKK" ?

"EEEEKKK!"
(thank you for obliging)


And this is what our nearest and dearest will be receiving in a few short days.

Sorry about the really horrible image quality. It's the best I got.






And they're off! Mom, just so you know, that's yours in my hand. It was the first to go. :)























I love the look on his face. You know, the look of "Seriously? I can't believe you're making me take a picture of this. I hope you know how much I love you." Yeah, that look.

I'm a weeeener!!!

I hate competition. I never win. Ever. And that is why I hate ebay. I know others get a real thrill from the "sport." I get sweaty palms and my heart feels like it might pop. But when I saw this deal I put my comfort level out of mind for the sake of the wedding.

AND I WON!
I realize to most of you this is no biggie. If so that's because you're winners. Give this regular loser her moment. And now for my conquest...

I was able to procure 72 tartlet tins for only $15 + FREE shipping! I plan to set tealights in them and place them around the centerpiece trays. OR, if I can find more to match at a reasonable price I may use them as tea trays for people to place their used tea sachets on.

Stick thingies as promised

Well I'm sure the employees at Michaels are having a good laugh at us, but I don't care! We had coupons and I'm a sucker for a coupon. With Mr. Bart in tow I managed to get all of our ceremony decor 40 and 50% off! We had to go everyday for a week and a half but I just think this is a great example of how teamwork and perseverance will pay off in the end. :)

Our ceremony site




All our our work paid off with these arrangements. We'll place them flanking the end of the "aisle". The candle holders were actually our first wedding decor purchase months ago and will go in the front corner of the ceremony site.

DIY Bout's

Ok, so in anticipation of the upcoming bout/corsage get together I went to the craft store and bought supplies. Well, the anticipation was killing me so I had to assemble one. I didn't want to look like I didn't know what I was doing at get together where we're going to learn this stuff

Anyway, final product of Colton's bout.




....and me trying to imagine what it'll look like on him!




P.S. It was sooooo easy, and TONS of fun. To the point that I'm thinking about selling some on etsy just so I can keep making them.