The Glass Slippers

So, as much as I feel like a girl should have some secret weapons on her wedding day, let’s face it I just don’t work that way. I am so excited for the shoes which I plan to wear all day with my dress. Really, I feel like a kid that can’t wait for the first day of school so I can wear my new shoes.

The shoes are still “in production” but once they arrive I will have a hard time keeping them off my feet. Maybe I should strike a deal with the delivery guy and have him keep them until the week of the wedding!

Chad and I are big Iowa State fans so after the wedding I will have some sweet game day shoes!

Better Late than Never

I know, I know. It has been a really long time. We did so much right off the bat so we were able to slow down a bit. Also, my sister got married last month and I guess time just flies when you are having fun.

We are now nearly two months away from the wedding. Here is what we have been up to!

The shower is on August 13^th. It will be held in the new Student Center at NICC. Invites will hopefully go out next week but here is a sneak peak. Letterwerks has been doing all of our printing and designing – they are so easy to work with and very accommodating. (See invite above)

I found these awesome green buckets. Happiness Is only had one in stock but they were able to order two more for me. We will use two of the buckets at the buffet lines for the reception and one will be filled with snack mix for guests to enjoy. FYI, you can get nice scoops in several sizes in case you are curious. And again,

Letterwerks did the lettering on the buckets. I think this is my favorite thing so far! Somewhere along the line I thought it would be nice to wrap the silverware – probably because I found these awesome buckets. We ordered a case of napkins from Bargain Outlet and I got the ropy stuff from The Country Garden. The kids and I wrapped 150 pieces of silverware one night at home last week. Yesterday, my mom came to our rescue and took us out to her place and we finished wrapping and tying all the silverware.

And, last night Sister Amy came over and we were able to get our “place cards” done. Since we have ample access to rock Chad and the guys went to one of their quarries and picked out the rocks. As I sat wiping them off they guys suggest using the air compressor to blow the dust and dirt off them. I had picked up some paint at Ace Hardware and put Amy to work. I had purchased brown and green paint but as you can see we just used the brown. No little pieces of paper telling you where to sit at our wedding – look for your rock. Well, the head table and parents anyway.

Our cake was ordered a while ago from Pinter’s. I just got the glass cut for the cake stand last week. The cake is a bit larger than the stand thus the glass. Chad’s mom, Dianne, had this plant stand that she let me paint and it will be topped with a three tier cake. Lemon and Chocolate are the flavors.

Most important, and exciting – all the dresses are in. My dress fits really well and I have already had it on twice. I’ll try to stay away for a while now. Though the girls at Bridal Productions are pretty accommodating. The bridesmaid dresses were ordered by picture only since they did not have what I was looking for in the store. Boy was I glad to see them and even happier to know that I liked them in person as much as I liked them in the picture. Trisha – our usherette sent me this text yesterday. “Just picked up my dress and I love it! Fits great, covers nicely and I love the color.” As an usher her dress is brown and the bridesmaids are green.

Chad and I also went and ordered wedding bands. What girl doesn’t love a jewelry store?? The Wiltgen’s are good friends with the owners of Mark’s Jewelry in St. Lucas so that is who we have been working with.

Old, New, Borrowed, Blue

So my first question is – do people still do this?

I have no idea what I will do for any of it other than the new. Of course the dress, shoes, and whatever I decide to put in my hair will all be new – that’s the easy one! I've joked about getting blue contacts for the day but I am kind of partial to my green ones even if they are not quite normal.

I have a necklace that belonged to my great grandma Inez Harvey. The necklace was given to her by my great grandpa Warren on their 25^th wedding anniversary. They were married for 75 years before grandpa passed away. I am honored to have the heirloom. I have taken it to a jeweler who informed me that it was basically costume jewelry and therefore not worth much other than sentimental value. Which I am more than ok with.

I have not had the opportunity to try my dress on with the necklace myself but I am already contemplating if it is a suitable combination. I am contemplating having the necklace made into a bracelet. The up side being that I would wear it more the down side being I am not sure how I feel about altering the original piece.

I’ve been trying to think of some clever ways I can help my sister with her June wedding old, new, borrow, and blues. She has had a pair of shoes dyed blue to match her bridesmaid dresses, of course her dress is new but that leaves open the old and borrowed. I offered the necklace to Bre Anna for her wedding but she is not happy with the way it looks with her dress. She is contemplating a set of pearls from KD Rae Jewelry and even without seeing them I think they would look beautiful with her dress.

In other wedding news we have finalized the tux choices. We are getting the tuxes from Amundson’s and they will be brown. While there we purchased a pair of brown socks for everyone on the tux list (except for Carter because he is too small.) I have gotten a lot of flack for doing so but at least everyone will be well coordinated.

We have also pretty much secured wedding party gifts. The ladies will be getting hand crafted jewelry from KD Rae Jewelry and embroidered travel bags. The guys will be getting embroidered travel bags, socks, and possibly one other item that is still a work in progress.

We met with Elisa Pinter at Pinter’s Gardens and Pumpkins about the cake on Saturday morning. Guests will be enjoying lemon and chocolate cake. We opted for a three tier cake and 7 sheet cakes. We will serve the top layer of the cake to the head table rather than freezing it for a year for us and testing our memory a year from September! Oh, and we can also order the burlap I have been wanting from them too!

We are registered at the Perfect Edge. I love the work they do and I know I will want wedding pictures framed. We have other plans for registering as well but that is as far as we have gotten.

Save the date magnets have gone out and continue to go out. I had several typos on addresses and too many of you have moved around! And Chad comes home about every other night wondering if so and so was on the list. When the magnets are gone they are gone! I told him we should have just run an ad in the local papers.

I have added (or will soon add) a few boxes to the right: Wedding party and Registrations.

I welcome input on the old, new, borrow, blue stuff!

How I Met...

This is a blog about meetings.

First of all my dad and his wife Kwang met Chad’s parents last Friday night. We had a nice dinner at The Oak’s – the fish soup is amazing, you must try it! Those of you that follow me on facebook may have seen my post inquiring on dinner suggestions. Dad is new to facebook and when he saw my post he called and said that I had put his fate up for vote on facebook. Of course he was laughing, he finds facebook to be a little surreal at this point. He referred to last Friday night as “meeting the Fockers” though trust me there were no incidents and it was a nice night.

Now, as for the night that Chad and I met. Some of us were planning a night out for a local comedy night. I was the only “single” so I bought two tickets insisting that I was not going alone. The week of the event I was still dateless and not happy about it.

I met my mom and sister at Barney’s one night and while we are all chatting with Trisha I expressed my frustration. I was asked if I was willing to go on a blind date and thought what the heck. Trisha texted a friend and asked if he was available and willing to go on a blind date. She took my picture with her phone and sent it to him. His reaction was any relative of hers is good enough for him. And so I had a date.

When Friday approached I must admit I was a bit nervous. And I had a horrible headache all day and was taking aspirin every time the clock allowed me to. After work I went to Nikki’s – oops Thing One’s – house to get ready. You know how girls are! At some point Trisha informed me that I had to call Chad. So I worked up the nerve to call him and I was actually a bit relieved when I got his voicemail. (Knowing him now I would expect to get his voicemail!) A few minutes later he called me back and confirmed our plans for the night.

Nikki and Brandon and I went out for supper at Americana Grille before comedy night. As we were finishing up eating Trisha and Chad arrived. Chad was very handsome in a red plaid shirt and jeans. We shook hands and I remember feeling like now what? We found our seats at Club Pyramid and settled in for a fun night. We all had a few beers but they were not going down too smoothly for me. When the comedian was done I ended up going back to Calmar with Trisha and Chad. We went to Tanks and I felt like I was the new girl with the local yocals Trisha and Chad.

We were at a table chatting and I had a water – which I spilled all over the table. Chad jumped right to action and cleaned it up. Suddenly I leaned over to Trisha to tell her I did not think I was feeling very good. And I was right. I ran up to the bar to ask Tank where the bathroom was and made it there just in time.

Night over. Fun over. What a first impression! Trisha and Chad took me back to Decorah to my car and home I went. I have since learned that taking aspirin all day means I should not partake in alcohol that night.

Neither Chad nor I remember who called who after that first date. We met in Burr Oak right away Saturday night. It was crowded and I remember anxiously waiting for Chad to arrive.

Second meeting successful.

Turns out that Chad and I had enough mutual friend that we joke it was just a matter of time before we met. And as they say the rest was history. In just over five months I get to marry my best friend.

Decoration Detail

Mason has been busy working on some decorations for the wedding. He has done a great job too!

This sign will be put in a pail full of sand and wrapped with burlap.

Chad and I will hang on to these signs so we can pose for a picture for wedding thank yous.

We have more wood to work with so there are more projects in store!

Who Gives This Woman...

Mason. My oldest and growing way too fast. He has always been a considerate, kind, smart, and a fun kid. He does not look a thing like me but his behavior is definitely modeled after me. He is 11 years old and finishing up 5^th grade. I am not ready to say that he will be in 6^th grade as I nearly choke on the words. I really enjoy watching him grow and learn, I just wish it would slow down. I think he will have many opportunities in life. He is almost as tall as me so I am going to need to start wearing higher heels.

Carter. The baby. Carter is a fun loving, high spirited, creative child. I think we will have many adventures together. This one looks like me but I don’t think he gets his attitude from me. Carter will be 8 in May and I still tell people he is in first grade. Then I stop and no indeed he is in second grade. Wow. Carter is a smart creative child and he too will have so many opportunities. Or this one might just blaze his own path in life.

Terry. I am one lucky girl. I am fortunate to have a step dad that took us on like his own. While our family is not a traditional one it is a good one. Family is so important to Terry and I often wonder what he did before grandkids. They all have him wrapped around his finger. I appreciate everything mom and Terry did for us as kids. I enjoy the relationships we have as adults even more.

Dad. Dad. I almost don’t even know where to begin. We talk almost every day and I feel like I learn more about myself after each chat. Just the other day I told Thing One and Thing Two that if they spent just 30 minutes with my dad they might understand me better. Or at least know where I get it from. We have not always been as close as we are now and I hate that it took cancer for me to gain some perspective on things. All that aside dad is one of the strongest and most caring people I know.

As a bride to be where do you begin to involve all these men in your special day? Really, how lucky am I to have so many great people around me and in my life? Well, this is the plan. Mason and Carter will walk me down the aisle and give me away. I must admit I was a bit nervous to talk to dad about this. But dad in his rational thoughtful way said it was the right thing to do. He felt that it was a good way to allow the boys to express their willingness to invite Chad into our lives and our family. And dad says he will still be there front and center.

I think Mason is a bit nervous about this arrangement. He kept pointing out that it was Grandpa Courtney’s job to walk me down the aisle. Too bad the church aisles are not wider so we could all walk together!

This is a picture of the boys at Kory and Amy's wedding. It has always been one of my favorites. I hope to recreate this pose at Bre Anna's wedding. They have changed a little since this one.

The Other Bride to Be

Well until I can get Chad to sit and help me write a blog about the groomsmen you are stuck with me.

Actually today, I want to talk about my sister and her upcoming wedding a bit. Bre Anna is getting married on June 11^th and I think she will be a very beautiful bride. Over the past couple of weeks I have enjoyed spending time with her getting manicures, pedicures, and our hair and make-up done. She had a very nice shower on Saturday with many family and friends.

We had our hair and make-up done before her shower. It was so nice to get up on Saturday and just get dressed and let Eclips take care of the rest. Here are our “before and after” pictures. I don’t think I have ever had my make-up done before but was very relaxing and it felt amazing. My brushes I use at home don’t feel like that on my face! Kaijsa took care of me at she was great. I am the girl that will walk in and say – do what you want. I did not care if my hair was up or down and had no preference on make-up color. I think Kaijsa thought I was a little crazy but she rolled with it.

We were at Eclips a bit longer than we anticipated. Bre Anna got a hold of one of her other bridesmaids to let them know she was pulling and Elizabeth Taylor and would be 15 minutes late to her own party.

Bre Anna’s bach party was…crazy. I was behaved and felt like an old lady in the group. Sometimes 8 years makes a big difference. We did the responsible thing and rented a bus to take everyone around for a bit of a tour.

Her bridesmaid dresses came in yesterday and mine actually fit perfectly (though I am pretty sure I was a bit smaller when I was measured.) No alterations needed if I find the right shoes. She also got her dresses at Bridal Productions. They have done a great job helping with both of our weddings.

I have added a text block on the right with important dates related to the wedding. I know it is hard to read. I’m trying to figure out how to fix that.

We have ordered our Save the Date magnets. Chad really wanted to send these out and I think they turned out great. Thank you to Letterwerks for their design help and of course for offering a great product line. Coming soon to a mailbox near you...