The Snowflake Wedding

Our first Valentines Day as a married couple

2010-01-27T12:56:00.000-08:00

Generally, I don't go gaga over Valentines Day. It’s always kind of been a thorn in my side.

Background: When my ex-husband and I decided to get married, I thought Valentines was perfect – turn a kind of crappy holiday into a special day. I was SO wrong about that (please listen to me and NEVER, NEVER schedule your wedding for Valentines Day. Yes, my ex was pretty scummy and I should have known he’d leave me – but do you know how BAD Valentines Day was for a few years after the divorce?!)

Anyway, so even though I got over hating the day, I still wasn’t too excited about it, even when Mr. S and I got together. Our first V-Day, he was really sweet and went all out. Last year I got roses, and a diamond bracelet, but then since we had kids it was a “crowded” dinner out at a family restaurant (I know, I really shouldn’t complain).

This year, I felt like I should step it up, do a really nice “wifey” thing and plan the day. Although because of a STUPID wrestling tournament for the boys scheduled on the 14th (who the heck does that?!), we’ll celebrate on the 13th.

No, peeking honey....
To start, I’ve signed us up for a 1 hour private dance lesson at the Omaha Ballroom. Then, we’ll head over to a spa and get a 1 hour couples massage. After that, the dinner plans are his to make.

Now, I need to come up with a creative way to gift it to him. Any of my crafty ladies out there have ideas?

What are you planning for your special honey?

Budget

2010-01-11T09:31:00.000-08:00

I know that in my grandmother's age, it was rude to talk about money. But this day in age, I think information is the key. So, to help those of you out there planning a wedding and who want to know how much things cost, here is a budget I submitted a while ago to Weddingbee for Real Readers's Budgets, but it was never posted. Hopefully it will help you out in your planning process.

The Snowflake’s Budget
Date: 08/29/2009
City, State: West Lake Okoboji, Iowa
Budget: Fluid, estimated approximately $20,000
# of Guests: 75

When planning our wedding we wanted to have something relaxing and fun for all of our family and friends that would be making this a summer vacation since this was semi-destination for most people. We threw in a lot of additional activities and I think everyone had a great time.

Wedding Day Costs
Ceremony/Reception Site Fees/Type of Venue: $250 rental + $50 deposit (budgeted $1000 for original hotel/resort location)
Gull Point State Park Lodge
The Lodge was originally our back-up rain location. Once we started getting into planning with our wedding coordinator, we decided this place fit our personalities/style much more. We had our ceremony outside by the lake and our reception inside the lodge. We had planned on having the dancing and mingling outside, but the weather didn’t cooperate and it was a COLD August night.

Caterer/Food/Drink (per person if available):$5132.00, per person: $68.43 (Budgeted $6000)
Caterer/Bar was provided by Yesterday’s, a local Lake Okoboji restaurant. Dwayne created a custom-made menu for us that turned out so yummy!

To try to save a little money, we purchased our own non-alcoholic drinks for $85

Service Charge/Gratuities: included in above

Bridal Gown & Alterations: $299 from David’s Bridal, no alterations needed. (Budgeted $500)
Although it was my first wedding, it was my second marriage and I didn’t want to go too overboard with my dress. My dress was a David’s Bridal style T9168.

Bridal Accessories (Veil, Undergarments, Shoes, Jewelry): $151.99
I did not wear a veil, but I bought flowers for my hair that matched my dress and added blue dragonflies (something blue) that I already owned. All of the jewelry I already owned. I found my tulle slip on Craig’s List for $10 (score!). My shoes were from David’s Bridal online (style Grace – which is my youngest daughter’s name).

Groom’s Attire: $250 + $40 alterations (Budgeted $500)
Mr. Snowflake bought a suit on clearance from JCPenny. We figured he’d be able to wear it again in the future. He looks so handsome :), I couldn’t stop looking at him all day.

Kid’s Attire: $260 (Budgeted $500)
Because we have five kids between the two of us, this was an added expense to our budget.
Jr. Miss. S got a Jr. Bridesmaid dress that matched the “big girls” dresses (she was totally bummed out that she couldn’t have hers in a strapless style too – yikes!).
Little Miss. S’s dress was the first thing bought for the wedding. I was going to go with a lighter green (more like Tinkerbell green), but Mr. S didn’t really like it. Since it was such a good deal ($25 at a bridal show), I figured we’d just tie it in by adding a sash.
I also bought little dragon fly barrettes from an Etsy seller for their hair.
For the boys, I let them go completely comfortable (although, they were all for dressing up too – I thought it’d be too much for Mr. S though trying to get ready too). They wore simple outfits purchased from JCPenny.

Stationery/Postage: $310 (budgeted $500)

Photography: $1700 (budgeted $3000 with original photographer)
I LOVE our photographer. Laura at Laurelle Photography was awesome to work with and really captured our day.
Her fee was actually less than what is stated above because we had another photographer originally booked, but we didn’t work with her and lost that deposit. That photographer also printed our signature frame used for our guest book which is included in the above cost.

Videography: $0 none
Ceremony Music: $0 – used pre-recorded music that the band played on their equipment.
Reception Music: $1800 (budgeted $1500)
The Mighty Nish Band did a great job. They played for our cocktail hour and for 2 hours during the reception. They did a great job keeping our guest entertained. They also played at the Barefoot Bar the night before during our RD (a coincidence – but they did ask permission before accepting the gig).

Flowers: $307 (budgeted $600)
Ordered bulk flowers from Sam’s Club and I made my bouquet and my daughter’s pomanders out of fake flowers.

Favors: $225 (budgeted $150)
Since we were going to be at the lake all weekend, I thought the koozies would be nice for keeping drinks cool. I ordered them from www.KustomKoozies.com

I also had a ton of flip-flops for men and women to relax their feet (although only the kids took them).

Cake: $222 (budgeted $150)
The cake and cupcakes were done by Cakes By Sara, a local baker. I sent inspiration photos and this is what she came up with:
Also, I ordered the cupcake tree and decorated it myself from www.cupcaketree.com
The dragon flies were from an Etsy dealer

Officiant: $100 (budgeted $150) Justice of the Peace
Coordinator: $1000 (not originally budgeted)
Hair/Makeup: $125 (budgeted $200) Included the trial and day-of services
Wedding Party Gifts: $75 (budgeted $100)
Transportation: $0 none
Hotels: $325 (budgeted $600)
Misc: $900 (budgeted $500)
This includes all the decorations and rentals for the Lodge. Sadly, I bought tons of decorations that were not used (was originally going to go with a more beach theme and they didn’t fit in with the Lodge), but I will try to sell on Craig’s List & Wedding Bee Classifieds to recover some of these costs.

Some of the stuff from the kids table (the glow bracelets and bubbles were a HUGE hit).
I love candles – can’t you tell?

WEDDING DAY TOTAL: $13,378.00
TOTAL COST PER PERSON: $178.29
(divide wedding day total by # of guests)

All Inclusive Costs:
Wedding Bands: $3600 (not budgeted)
Rehearsal Dinner/Day After Brunch: RD $1125 (budgeted $1500); DAB $351 (budgeted $500)
Boat rental/Cabin rental for the wedding weekend: $1300
Honeymoon: $4500 (Budgeted $6000)
Boudoir Pics for Groom’s gift: $270 (not budgeted)
Laura was originally only my boudoir photographer. She did a great job and Mr. S loved his album 

ALL INCLUSIVE TOTAL: $11,146.00
GRAND TOTAL: $24,524
(wedding day total + all inclusive total)

Vendor Review

2010-01-04T09:01:00.000-08:00

I had my wedding in Okoboji Iowa, but I used many local vendors in Omaha while planning.

Venue: Gull Point State Park (Lake Okoboji) Super simple to work with and a beautiful location. It is self service though, so unless you have a wedding planner, you’ll have to do all the set-up/cleaning yourself. A+

Caterer: Yesterday's (Okoboji) So, So GOOD! Dwayne was so much fun to work with and he and his staff did an EXCELLENT job. A++

(Dwayne is standing behind me in the kitchen)

Coordinator: Brandy at Okoboji Weddings and Events (Okoboji) She pulled it off – that’s about all I can say about it. Overall, her grade would be like a C-. If you want more details PM me.

Photographer; Laura of Laurelle Photography (Omaha) She did a wonderful job. Her pictures speak for themselves. A-

DJ: We had a band - The MightyNish Band - they play at many events in Omaha and Okoboji. They were EXCELLENT! They were so easy to work with. They were fun and kept people entertained. To this day, my daughter still sings “Jason’s Girl” instead of the real song because they changed a lot of lyrics to fit us. A++

Florist: Sam's Club.com The flowers that came were beautiful and SO big. A lot of them even lasted until we got home from our honeymoon a week later. A+

Cake: Cakes by Sara (Okoboji) Very yummy and turned out nice. This was a vendor my wedding coordinator hired and maybe it was due to her, but there were some disappointments. A-

Officiant: A Local Okoboji JP, Diane did a great job and was very easy to work with A+

Dress: David's Bridal (Omaha) Mary was my saleslady and she was the BEST! She was always accommodating when we came in and was so helpful when I came in all alone in February because I still hadn’t picked a dress and I need to pick one right then! A+

Shoes: davidsbridal.com A

BM Dress: David's Bridal (Omaha) Again Mary helped us. A+

Hair Stylist and Make-up Artist; Bella Via (Okoboji) She did a fabulous job figuring out exactly what I wanted and it turned out beautiful. A+

Invitations: American Wedding and Papersource A

Rings: Borsheim's (hers) (Omaha); Eweddingbands.com (his) eweddingbands was excellent – good quality, fast service A; Borshiems in the end did a fabulous job. Yes, they did break my e-ring when re-sizing and soldering together, but they got me a replacement promptly and when I decided to keep the more expensive ring, they altered it to match my e-ring – all of this for free. See Jessica if you go into the store. A-

My "stand-in" rind arriving

Rehearsal Dinner Venue: Barefoot Bar (Okoboji) They did an excellent job of setting up and preparing food. Everyone loved it. Will and his staff were great. A+

Hotel for wedding night and Day After Brunch: Arrowwood Resort and Conference Center. (Okoboji) I LOVED the upgraded room we had. The tub was literally as big as the boat. They were very sweet and left us champagne and chocolates with a note in our room. A+ The brunch was nice, but we were a little disappointed in the room the put us in. B+

Other: Vista Print (for photo upload cards), Candels4less.com (decorations), Hobby Lobby (decorations and $1 flip flops), Save on Crafts (decorations), KustomKoozies.com (favor koozies), Shutterfly.com (for coffee table book), Laurelle Photography (boudoir pictures), Cupcaketree.com (cupcake stand)

Who are some of your favorite vendors for your wedding?

Sugardoll Award

2009-12-30T13:24:00.000-08:00

I started browsing new blogs and found this:
Mireya over at :: Pearls and Such:: has given me the Sugar Doll Award (almost two months ago)! I just found her blog, but she’s been following mine for awhile. She has a great blog and tons of yummy recipes I’ve found (there goes my new year’s resolutions)!

The rules are: Post this award on my blog, write ten interesting facts about myself, and then pass it on to ten other bloggers, so here goes!

1. I love cuddling with Mr. S, it’s my favorite time of the day when we finish dinner and other stuff and we just cuddle on the couch. I don’t like it when he picks on me while doing it though (chewing on my hair, messing with my clothes, tickling me), he does that a lot, why are boys like that?

2. When Mr. S is away or I’m working out downstairs, I like to catch up on “girlie shows” like Gilmore Girls, Desperate Housewives, Veronica Mars, Kendra, Sex and the City, and Alias (I realize most of these are cancelled now, but I can watch the DVD’s over and over again).

3. I refuse to clean toilets in our house. I’m outnumbered by boys and they’re the ones that are gross and pee all over the place (okay not ALL over the place, but still), so cleaning toilets is Mr. S’s job and I nag him until it’s done to my specifications. (Boys are SO gross!) But, I HAVE to do all the laundry. When he does laundry, he just throws everything in until it’s full – whites, darks, everything. Again, boys are so gross – I HAVE to have my whites in HOT water and a ton of color safe bleach.

4. I could eat Mexican food every day of my life (well almost). In High School I only dated the Mexican boys and that was only so they’d take me home to their mom’s cooking. It’s a good thing I learned so much. Living in Nebraska and Iowa you NEVER find the authentic stuff (people try to convince me there’s really authentic restaurants here, but there really isn’t).

5. I was a cheerleader for 13 years. I started when I was 5 and cheered my way all the way to college.

6. My favorite part of my job is to go to the landfill every day and take H2S odor readings. We have a client that had H2S issues in their industrial landfill, so they have meters that need to be downloaded every day. I love that I get to wear jeans and boots (we have a very formal corporate office unless you’re working in the field) and get out of the office for a few hours every day.

7. I turn 30 in a few months and I’m really dreading it. My 20’s were rough and I feel like I had to grow up way too fast, mostly due to having a children young and a crappy ex-husband that put a lot of burdens on me. I want to enjoy life, even though I have the five kids, and this number looms over and makes me feel old. Probably because that’s all my mom ever said when she turned this age.

8. Here’s one I never tell people, when I was divorced, I had a “goal” in my head that I HAD to be remarried by the time I was 30. Everyone kept trying to cheer me up and said I was still young, I had plenty of time. In my head I didn’t – I only had 5 years (got divorced in 2005). It’s probably just another thing from my mom – I’d be too old and not good enough if I married after 30. Oh well, I met the “goal”.

9. My biggest fear is that something will happen to one of my children and I won’t die before them. I could never go through the death of a child, it would probably kill me.

10. I have a really, really crappy ex-husband. It took me a long time to learn that though. For some reason when you’re in love, you’re blinded and you also like pain and heartbreak by those crappy people. I’m glad I FINALLY learned my lesson.

I pass this on to the following fabulous girls:

Brook @ Claremont Road
Encore Bride & Georgia Belle
Jessica @ Jesstagirl and her officer
Newlyweds Next Door
Edmo @ Our Life Experiment
Pirate Sam @ Pirate Bride
Stephanie @ The Life of a Husband and A Wife
The Roddy Bride
Marisa @ Not Quite Betty Crocker
Sandy @ Lucky Thirteen and Counting

Thank you Mireya!

Honeymoon: Days 4 and 5

2009-12-30T11:03:00.000-08:00

The fifth day was hard, for a few reasons. The first was that we knew it was our last full day there (we wanted to stay SO bad – forget the kids and our jobs). The second was because I woke up with a full-blown UTI. I’ve had a history of really bad ones and for a long time I was on a daily antibiotic to fend them off. I hadn’t renewed my prescription and I left what I had leftover at home. Grrr… I was in a lot of pain, but finally broke down and called room service (one perk for Concierge Level – fee room service) and asked for three large glasses of cranberry juice. I downed all those and kept going to the bathroom and I finally got it flushed out enough so I could walk without cramping over and didn’t have to pee anymore every five seconds. Whew! I wasn’t out of the woods, but at least it was somewhat better. Lesson learned: NEVER, NEVER leave your home without ALL your medications!

Anyway, we walked to breakfast; it was pretty humid out that day, as you can tell from the pictures.

After breakfast, we decided to hang out at out beach and relax for a little while. After a short nap on the chairs, the sport’s director came over and asked if we wanted to join him with a group to snorkel in the lagoons. After swimming in the lagoons all week, I was so surprised to see all that they contained that we never noticed before, it was really cool.

After lunch, we had our second massage (another perk for the concierge level – an extra free massage). That helped a lot when I wasn’t feeling so great. After the massages, we hung out at the pool with a bunch of couples we had met during the week.

For dinner we ate at the Mexican Restaurant again and then checked out the bazaar shops that were set up in a big plaza that night (it was Mexican Fiesta Night). We decided not to go to the show, but picked up some Cuban cigars and a new chess board for Mr. S and a pretty silver bracelet for me.

The morning we left we started out pretty slow. We got packed and had them pick up our bags and then went to breakfast. Again, I wasn’t feeling very well, but knew we’d be back to reality that night and wanted to enjoy what time we had left in Mexico.

About 11, our driver picked us up and drove us to the airport, I really hated the driving through Playa Del Carmen to pick up another couple, the streets were nuts. We got all checked in fine (we upgraded our tickets to first class again – it was nice because then we didn’t have to stand in line for 45 minutes at the Cancun airport), did a little shopping, and then waited for our flight. As much as I wanted to stay, I was happy to see the girls waiting for us and excited to hear about the trip.

It was a wonderful honeymoon. I’d LOVE to go back as soon as we can.

Did you have anything go wrong on your honeymoon?

Honeymoon: Days 3 and 4

2009-12-30T07:21:00.000-08:00

Our third day of our honeymoon started off pretty slow. We took our time that morning getting started out for breakfast and then wandered around the resort checking out the shops and other things going on.

(Mr. S floating in the lagoon)

(Relaxing on our private beach)

In the afternoon it was really hot though, so we checked out the indoor pool for a while. It’s super cool since it’s in the shade and then there’s three tubs at the back that mimic the Spa’s tubs (there’s a super hot one, a really cold one, and then a semi-hot one – it’s for your pores).

(Looking out at the Gulf from the indoor pool)

(Zen Garden)

Once it clouded over (it would storm every day in the Gulf and the Jungle behind us, but never on us – it was so cool) and we were cooled off, we headed back to the main adult pool where they had started playing Pool Pictionary (we had great entertainment/recreation guys at our pool, they were really fun the whole week). I talked Mr. S into playing and we had a lot of fun with all of the other couples. I made the mistake of ordering tequila shots though and things kind of went down from there. This Snowflake does not do well with tequila. When I’d had too much, we headed back to the room, intending to get ready for dinner, but FELL ASLEEP! We woke up at about 7:45, only 15 minutes before the Fire Show that we really wanted to see. We rushed and got dressed and headed out.

While Mr. S was getting me a bloody Mary for the tequila headache, I was volunteering him for the pre-show entertainment. They pulled several guys up to read something in Spanish (one guy had to sing it in opera, one had to say it like a pretty girl, Mr. S had to say it angry, I’m not sure what the others had to do).

The Fire Show was really neat and they did a really great job.

We had a late dinner that night at the Italian Restaurant and then headed to bed – I needed to sleep off the rest of the tequila (and wine we had at dinner).

I was REALLY excited about our fourth day. This morning we went to Delphinus Park (The Dolphin Park). I was going to get a WHOLE hour in the pools with the dolphins. I tried to talk Mr. S into doing it with me, but he said he just wanted to watch. Our driver picked us up and we only had a short 20 minute drive. When we got there we had a little hike through the jungle before we actually got to the buildings and got to see a few really neat cenotes (A cenote is a kind of cave or hole which is flooded. They are natural pools of groundwater).

I had SO much fun learning about them and getting the interaction.

When we did the foot push (that’s where two dolphins push you by the feet across the pool – like you see at Sea World or something), they didn’t get my video or something, so I got to do it twice!

After the dolphins, we headed back to our hotel and had some lunch. Then we headed to the indoor pool to cool off and Mr. S took a nap.

(This is what I do when I’m bored)

(ceiling of the indoor pool)

(Mr. S sleeping - ouch, look at that sunburn)

(The pools - and my feet)

(Self Portrait)

When Mr. S woke up, we headed over to the pool where the entertainment and recreation guys were setting up a water polo game. Mr. S volunteered to play and I was going to cheer him on.

After spending a few hours in the pool, we headed to our room to get ready for the Honeymooner’s Cocktail Party. Usually they have it outside, but there was a lot of lightning in the area, so they moved it inside. It was pretty fun and we met some really nice couples.

After the party, we had dinner at the Chinese Restaurant and then headed over to the Family side for the Las Vegas show that night.

(I look like I have no make-up on, I swear I really did this time)

We had made plans with some of the other couples to meet back up at the pool that night (we had told them how nice it was to swim at night), but decided we were too tired and headed to bed after the show.

What excursions do you have planned for your honeymoon?

Honeymoon: Days 1 and 2

2009-12-29T14:48:00.000-08:00

Our honeymoon to Riviera Maya, Mexico started VERY early on Monday. We got to the airport about 4:30 AM. Mr. S upgraded our flights to First class when he checked us in so that we didn’t have to worry about baggage fees and so that we’d have a little more comfort for our special trip. I’m so glad he did. Our first flight was on a little plane though, so no first class and it was delayed because of an engine issue. We were nervous because our next flight was only 50 minutes after our scheduled landing and we had to get across the airport. The stewardess assured us that we could probably make it and since there were 18 others on our flight going to the next flight, they’d probably even hold the plane. When we landed in Houston, we jumped off the plane and ran with some other couples to the next one; luckily we got to the next plane just fine. We had a really yummy breakfast on the plane and tried to get a little cat nap in, but we were too excited.

When we landed in Cancun, we had to look for our bags, get through customs, and then find our transportation. I strongly recommend private transportation if you can, we had to sit on the stupid shuttle for TWO hours while our driver dropped off others at their resorts. We FINALLY got to our resort: Adventura Spa Palace.

It was so beautiful. We were greeted with cool wet towels and a nice fruity drink. They gave me a flower and took us to the front desk. We got checked in and then they sent us to the honeymooner’s desk. There we got some t-shirts, reservations for dinner, and they told us about the cocktail party they have every week for all the honeymooners. Then we went to the Spa office and got our Couple’s Massage scheduled (we had a spa credit with our reservation).

Next, we were driven to our room for the week. After “checking” that out, we got ready to go find some lunch (finally!) and the beach.

We didn’t find lunch, but Mr. S got us some yummy nachos from the pool bar and we scoped out our “private” beach for the week.

(Yes, I'm that much of a dork that I took a picture of our nachos)

If you ever stay at the Palace Resorts, you MUST upgrade to the concierge level, it was so worth the extra attention, nicer beach, private dinner, extra massage, and everything else we got. I say we had a private beach because we also went at their low time of the year when their bookings are really low and hardly anyone was ever down at our beach. We also never had to wait for resturants and we always had seats at the pool and beach. Mainly it’s because it’s hot/humid there and hurricane season, but I’m so glad we went when we did. We lucked out with no hurricanes (originally we thought we’d go to the other side of Mexico or St. Lucia and that’s where all the hurricanes were this year). Yes, the weather was hot and humid, but between the water and cool drinks and it storming in the Gulf and in the jungle everyday (it mainly only rained late at night at the resort), we enjoyed ourselves perfectly.

Anyway, back to the relaxing…

Fish in our lagoon

Waves in the Gulf on the other side of our lagoon

Mr. S swimming in the lagoon

Our first night there we had our Honeymooner’s dinner at the Mexican restaurant. At the end of the dinner they brought us out this cute cake:

After dinner we walked to another restaurant for some drinks. It was swarming with all of these wild cats. It was funny watching the waiters and staff chase them off.

After a couple drinks, we called it a night and got some rest.

The next morning was beautiful. Once we woke up and found some breakfast, we started walking around for a while checking out what was at the Lobby we were in (there are two lobbies – one for the adult only side and one for the family side. We could go to either one, but families were not allowed to come to our side). Mr. S bought me a new swimsuit and dress. Then we went upstairs for our couples massage. It was SO nice.

Veiw from our room

These were all over the grounds. Mr. S kept trying to catch them.

After our massage, we walked over to the family side lobby and looked around there for a while since we had to wait for the American Express guy to schedule our trips and transportation back to the airport. Check out this guy:

He would walk around all day trying to take pictures with people and either his parrots or iguanas. He was silly.

Us relaxing - you'll have to excuse all the no-makeup pictures.

After lunch, we went back down to “our beach” and relaxed. Sadly, we missed the whole afternoon because we both fell asleep on the chairs by the lagoon! The good side is that obviously our massages worked wonders and we were truly relaxed. After a couple hours of sleeping at the beach, we walked to our room and slept a couple more there! We got up for dinner and then went to the magic show that night that the resort puts on. Since we had rested so much in the afternoon, we still weren’t tired, so we decided to get our swimsuits on and we swam in the pool. It was so nice and warm and peaceful.

Where do you plan to go on your honeymoon?

Honeymoon Packing

2009-12-29T13:46:00.000-08:00

Since I had to pack really quick, I had a list that I had compiled over a few months all ready to go. It really helped my packing to be already. This is for a tropical/beach honeymoon. I’ve also made notes about what I SHOULD HAVE done too.

Must-haves:
• Airline tickets or e-ticket confirmation
• Passport/visas/driver's license
• Credit cards (take only those you'll need)
• Hotel/transportation reservation fax confirmations
• Traveler's checks
• Prescription medicine (in the original bottle) (DO THIS! Even prescriptions you don’t take on a daily basis. I left one home that I take only when I get a UTI and guess what, I got one on the trip)
• Travel locks (combination lock recommended -- no key to lose!) and ID tags for luggage (inside and out)
• Camera and camera charger

Her Stash for a Week:
• 1 pair jeans or khakis (for cold airports and the plane)
• 1 light jacket or pullover (take one that can be tied around the waist or stuffed in a backpack)
• 1 nice sundress
• 1 little black dress
• 1 cardigan (for chilly restaurants)
• 4 play shirts (T-shirts, tank tops, short-sleeve button-downs)
• 2 pairs shorts
• 2 swimsuits (bikini for the beach, one-piece for water sports)
• 1 swimsuit cover-up
• 1 pair walking shoes/sandals
• 1 pair evening shoes/sandals
• (1 pair of tennis shoes if you’re doing anything active (we didn’t so I didn’t take them)
• 1 evening purse
• Extra socks and underwear
• Bras (strapless and otherwise)
• Accessories (scarves and jewelry to "stretch" your wardrobe)

His Stash for a Week:
• 1 pair jeans or khakis
• 1 pair nice slacks
• 1 light jacket or pullover (take one that can be tied around the waist or stuffed in a backpack)
• 4 play shirts (T-shirts or short-sleeve button-downs)
• 2 pairs shorts
• 2 polo or button-down short-sleeve shirts
• 1 sports jacket (for nicer restaurants)
• 1 swimsuit
• 1 pair walking shoes/sandals
• 1 pair lace-ups
• Extra socks and underwear

Pack Here -- Don't Buy There:
• Insect repellent (and anti-itch cream for the bugs that break through)
• Sunscreen and lip balm
• Sunglasses
• Sun hat or baseball cap
• Aloe vera
• Band-Aids
• Aspirin
• Antacid
• Antihistamine
• Diarrhea medicine
• Motion sickness medicine
• Paperback books (you can leave them in the hotel library once you've read)
• Deck of cards
• Canvas tote bag for beach or pool (also good for carrying souvenirs home)

Bathroom Basics:
• Travel-size toothpaste
• Toothbrushes
• Deodorant
• Cosmetics
• Comb/brush
• Hair gel/spray
• Nail file/clippers
• Razors
• Contact lens and re-wetting solution, storage case
• Hair accessories

Optional Items (your hotel may provide):
• Shampoo and conditioner
• Body lotion

Handy Extras:
• Extra pair of glasses/contacts and the like
• Ziplock bags (all sizes; use for packing wet swimsuits or protecting camera and film when it rains)
• Shout Wipes (instant stain-treater towelettes)
• Anti-bacterial liquid or lotion
• 1 pair old sneakers or Keds that can get wet or ruined (if you're traveling to the tropics)
• 1 pair workout sneakers and 2-3 workout outfits if you plan on visiting the resort's gym or jogging on the beach

What else do you think you'd need for a week in the tropics?

The Day After

2009-12-29T09:21:00.000-08:00

The morning after our wedding Mr. S and I were able to go across the hall for our Sunday Brunch. I was a little disappointed with this since it was something we planned pretty early on. The food and the service fell a little flat, but at least our tummies were full for the long day ahead.

We had planned a yummy menu of:
Scrambled Eggs
Served with Choice of Hollandaise Sauce or Shredded Cheese Blend
Sausage Patties
Potatoes
Biscuits and Sausage Gravy
Assorted Baked Goods
Assorted Juices
Fresh Brewed Coffee

It was nice to see the people that stuck around one last time and say good bye.

After that it was work, work, work.

We rushed over to the cabin so we could get it cleaned up and packed up. Mr. S moves fast though and thanks to my fabulous sister staying up half the night, most of the cleaning was done and we were ready to hit the road in only about 45 minutes.

It was a long drive home, I was totally annoyed with my parents and brother following behind because they kept making side trips and stopping for stuff even though they didn’t know the way to the house grr… In the end we all made it back to our house and then it was time to unload a MILLION things.

My first concern was getting mine and Mr. S’s laundry done because we needed to pack up right away for our honeymoon. We ordered out for pizza and after a little relaxing, Mr. S and I went to bed early to get ready for our VERY early morning.

So, that’s pretty much it. That’s the end of my wedding recapping. I don’t know why I procrastinated so long since I had such little left. Thanks for joining us.

What will you do the day after your wedding?

Reception Fun

2009-12-29T08:55:00.000-08:00

I’m a really bad blogger. I’ve had a ton of fun with my new blog and between that and being a little sad about actually putting a final stamp on this one, I’ve been procrastinating. I even fell off the wagon and quit going to WeddingBee.

I got good news yesterday though; I’m now going to be a Hostess on the WeddingBee Boards so I guess that means I need to hike myself back into the wedding saddle. I also have a goal of wrapping up my own wedding recaps, honeymoon recaps, and a few other posts by the end of the year. I’ll still be around though like I said on WeddingBee and I may bring some topics here. Also, a cousin of Mr. S is getting married next year, so I may have some more posts about that.

So, without further ado, here is the rest of the reception…
After our first dance, the dance floor was opened up to everyone and the band played some really fun songs. Not only did they play songs like YMCA, but they changed some of the lyrics to songs so they fit us, such as “Jason’s Girl” instead of Jesse’s Girl, “Blue Eyed Girl” instead of Brown Eyed Girl (I have blue eyes) and for part of Sweet Home Alabama, they changed the lyrics to Sweet Home Iowa (doesn’t have the same ring, huh? It was still fun though). I think everyone had a really good time as you can tell from the pictures:

Jr. Mr. S needs to learn some "moves" before high school :)

My parents

Mr. S and his grandma

I love the way he's looking at me in this picture :)

For the father-daughter dance we did something a little different. My dad wanted Stevie Wonder’s “Isn’t She Lovely” and since we didn’t want to make the band learn another new song, we decided to have this play during their break. We also invited all fathers and daughters to dance with us because I didn’t want my dad to have to be in the limelight dancing and worry about his disability, this way we were able to just have fun.

Mr. S dancing with one of my daughters during the father-daughter dance

It was a long night, a few needed a little color break for a while.

People got to catch up with people they hadn't seen for a while.

At the end of the night, everyone had fun and we lasted to the end. I liked being there last in a lot of ways because we were able to thank everyone for coming and thank all of our great vendors (and not so great ones).

We drove to the hotel in our own vehicle. It was fun walking into the lobby with my new husband and the front desk and guests greeted and congratulated us. Mr. S carried me across the threshold and that’s where I’ll leave you….

What are your plans for leaving your reception?

First Dance

2009-12-07T10:24:00.000-08:00

After the cake cutting, it was time for our first dance. The band played "Someone Like You".

I love this picture of Mr. S over my shoulder. He looks happy.

Once that was over, the dance floor was opened up to everyone.

What song will you use for your first dance?

Cake Sweet Cake

2009-11-30T14:26:00.000-08:00

I'm really not a sweets person, so cake was on my lower priorities. I also agonized for weeks about what cake to have. I finally settled on a cupcake tree with a small cake for the Mr and I to cut and save.

My other problem was that Mr. S would not PROMISE me that he would not cake smash. I was so nervous about that. I think it's really rude in my opinion, I know others think it's fun, but unless you both want it, it should be avoided at all costs. On top of that, after all the money I spent on my hair and make up to make it look the way HE wanted - there was NO WAY I wanted it ruined.
So, I made the wedding planner put out forks to feed each other.
One thing I really regretted was not getting to try our cakes ahead of time - we just ordered from someone our wedding coordinator knew and then they arrived the day of. It also gave me a huge shock of them being $50 more expensive at the end of the night...I can't express how important it is to get it all figured out ahead of time AND have a GOOD coordinator - mine was not.
Anyway, back to cake....

We cut...

I fed him...

He fed me...

And we successfully made it through the cake cutting.

From what the guests said, the cupcakes were really yummy. I'm glad they liked them. I tried them after our honeymoon, they were good, but getting a little old. Oh well.

Will you do a cake-smash at your wedding, or feed each other nicely like us?
Next up, First Dance (Second Dance)

And the food keeps coming

2009-11-30T14:16:00.000-08:00

In honor of the Thanksgiving holiday and just getting through eating a TON of food this weekend, I thought I'd share our wedding dinner menu.
After a quick blessing by my dad...

(Isn't Little Miss Snowflake so silly...)

We had:
Caesar Salad

Assorted French, Multigrain, and Rye Breads served w/Salt-free Whipped Butter
Baby Red Roasted Potatoes Sautéed w/Fresh Scallions, Olive Oil, Coarse Black Pepper and Sea Salt
Grilled Fresh Summer Vegetables: Asparagus-Corn on the Cob-Red and Green Peppers-Onions-Mushrooms
Chef Carved Tenderloin of Beef Served w/Béarnaise and Horseradish Sauces

Chicken Marsala
Seafood Linguini

It was SO yummy. Dwayne and his employees really outdid themselves. It was the best!
What will you serve at your wedding?
Next Up, Cake....

Cocktail Hour

2009-11-24T11:08:00.000-08:00

Cocktail hour was very improtant to Mr. S and I when we were planning. Originally, we had planned on doing cocktail hour before the ceremony (Mr. S's idea), but when we realized that was screwed up by our band contract, we decided to have it after the ceremony. I think it might have actually been better before for one reason...there was SO much food! And yes, I did get to try it out (I even had my mom sneak up and get me seconds). Dwayne and his group at Yesterday's did a great job of keeping us fed.

Okay, that's not any of the appetizers, silly kids loved the goldfish on the Kids Table over my expensive food. Oh Well!

We had: Bacon Wrapped Sea Scallops w/Cucumber Wasabi Sauce, Cremini Mushrooms Stuffed w/Spinach, Crab, and Cheese, Fresh Melons and Seasonal Berries served w/ Honey Yogurt Dip, and Wheels of Imported and Domestic Cheese, Cheese and Herb Spread, Pineapple Cheese Ball, and Spinach Dip w/Grape Garnish and Assorted Crackers.

They made the bar look great too.

While people were eating and mingling, the band started up and a few "kids" started dancing.

This picture always cracks me up. Mr.S's little cousin was so curious about the band.

Our photographer also pulled us outside so that we could grab some great sunset shots.

This is probably my favorite shot of Mr. S and I.

Are you going to do a cocktail hour?

Making it Legal

2009-11-24T10:42:00.000-08:00

Now that the ceremony is over and we've (I've) greeted all the guests, we need to make it legal. Our JP pulled us over behind the bar and we signed our marriage license.

My sister and Mr.S's grandfather were our witnesses.

I love how we chose someone young, without the experience, but who is a great friend and we chose someone with tons of marriage experience.

Don't those hands tell the whole story of Mr. S's grandparents? I love it.

After that our JP, Diane, headed out. She did a wonderful job.

Did you have certain people sign your license for specific reasons?

The UnPlanned Greeting Line

2009-11-12T07:24:00.000-08:00

After the ceremony and our surprise first dance, I pulled Mr. S to the front of the Lodge so that we could have a few minutes together. He thought I was nuts, but I was adament that we needed to do this since so many other brides on WeddingBee had said this was something they really cherished.

Us coming back inside

He followed along and then he said he needed the men's room - my husband is SO romantic.
At that point our guests realized I was back inside and I was flooded with people and their congratulations. It was actually very nice to be surrounds by so many friends and family and love and support. I did not originally plan to have one since my plan was to just greet guests at tables and mingle, that's the beauty of having a smaller wedding. I'm glad it happened though.

And where was Mr. S? Back to the bar and checking out the appetizers we were about to serve.

Since the band was playing, I started getting my "groove on" after everyone had headed for the food tables. Yeah, I'm a dork like that.

Next up, making it official - signing the license.

Will you have an official greeting line, or just wng-it like me?

Mr. Snowflake's Surprise

2009-11-10T08:51:00.000-08:00

After we kissed and turned to walk down the aisle, we had no music. That was weird, I had given the band the disc and they had tested it before the wedding. Oh well, I shrugged it off, all our guests laughed and we walked down the aisle music-less.

That was until we got to the back and the band started singing "I'm a Believer", you heard me - the "Shrek Song". Yes, I know this is sung by Smashmouth and was originally done by The Monkeys, but the only reason he chose this song was because he loves Shrek. I SO love this man :)
When they started playing he pulled me over and we started dancing - it was an impromptu first dance.

While dancing he told me this was the surprise he had been planning all along and kept teasing me with. The band did not have this on their original play-list and learned it special for us.

Do you or your fiance have any surprises planned for your wedding?

Our Wedding Ceremony

2009-11-09T14:46:00.000-08:00

It was finally time...
Mr. S took his grandparents to their seat and then he and our officiant waited at the front.

The band started playing the CD I burned with Norah Jones singing "Love Me Tender".

The Juniors started walking down the aisle, followed by my two bridesmaids.

The little kids came out and then it was my turn with my parents.

I was so excited. I hardly even remember any of this. It went by SO fast.

Before I knew it, my parents and I were at the front and handed me off to Mr. S.

(Mr. S seeing me walk out...see, even if you do a first look, you can still get a great groom looking down the aisle picture)

I felt like we walked SO slow. And my mom and I were so worried about tripping.

I wrote our ceremony by pulling bits and pieces from places.

Welcome! Good afternoon, family and friends

We have come here today to celebrate the wedding

of Mr. and Mrs. S

On behalf of Mr. and Mrs. S, thank you for joining us

They are delighted that you have come to share in their joy

During this special day

By your presence, you celebrate with them

The love they have discovered in each other

And you support their decision to commit themselves to a lifelong relationship

Today represents not only the joining of Mr. and Mrs. S

But also the joining of their children families and friends

Marriage is a bond to be entered into only after considerable thought and reflection.

By making this commitment today, Mr. and Mrs. S’s relationship

will become stronger, better, and deeper

Today, Mr. and Mrs. S demonstrate their devotion to each other

By dedicating themselves to a life together

And they show their respect for each other

By setting forth to honor the vows they have created

Today, their lives, which began on separate paths, will be joined as one

A Special Reading Before Vows:

You have known each other from the first glance of acquaintance to this point of commitment.

At some point, you decided to marry. From that moment of yes to this moment of yes, indeed, you have been making promises and agreements in an informal way.

All those conversations that were held riding in a car or over a meal or during long walks - all those sentences that began with ”When we’re married”” and continued with “I will and you will and we will” - those late night talks that included “someday” and “somehow” and “maybe” - and all those promises that are unspoken matters of the heart.

All these common things, and more, are the real process of a wedding. The symbolic vows that you are about to make are a way of saying to one another, “You know all those things we’ve promised and hoped and dreamed - well, I meant it all, every word.”

Look at one another and remember this moment in time. Before this moment you have been many things to one another - acquaintance, friend, companion, lover and even teacher. For you have learned much from one another in these last few years.

Now you shall say a few words that take you across a threshold of life, and things will never quite be the same between you. For after these vows, you shall say to the world, this is my husband, this is my wife.

I (name), take you (name) to be my (husband/wife), my partner in life and my one true love. I will cherish our union and love you more each day than I did the day before. I will trust you and respect you, laugh with you and cry with you, loving you faithfully through good times and bad, regardless of the obstacles we may face together. I give you my hand, my heart, and my love, from this day forward for as long as we both shall live.

For thousands of years,
Lovers have exchanged rings as a token of their vows

Let these rings be a sign that love has a past, a present, and a future

Through you and within you

Mr. S, take Mrs. S’s ring and place it on her finger and repeat after me:

I give you this ring as a sign that I choose you

To be my lover, my partner and my best friend, to the end of my days

Wear it, think of me, and know that I love you

Mrs. S, take Mr. S’s ring and place it on his finger and repeat after me:

I give you this ring as a sign that I choose you

To be my lover, my partner and my best friend, to the end of my days

Wear it, think of me, and know that I love you

Mr. and Mrs. S, we have heard your promise to share your lives in marriage.

We recognize and respect the vows you have made here this day

Before each one of us as a witness.

In the honesty and sincerity of what you have said and done here today,

And in accordance with the laws of the state of Iowa

It is my honor and delight to declare you henceforth

To be husband and wife

You may seal your vows with a kiss

(I was a little over excited about the kiss)

That was our ceremony. Now it's time to PARTY!!!
Will you write your own ceremony?

Killing Time

2009-11-05T12:12:00.000-08:00

Once the pictures were over, all there was left was to get the bar opened and kill time before the wedding.
Some people played...

Others watched the wedding coordinator still setting up (grrr...)

Some people checked out the kids table and all of the activities that they'd be able to do after the ceremony.

Others grabbed a quick drink...

Some people were eyeing the cake...

Some people hung out waiting for guests to arrive...

Others chatted...

(This picture cracks me up the way Little Miss S was standing behind me)

Some people took a nap...

While others grabbed a quick picture or two...

(Quick note about these guys...I spent most of last summer and all of last fall with these guys in Minneapolis and Chicago working countless hours on a project. They are they reason my wedding was not planned sooner, but to work for such great guys, I'd do it again. I was so glad that they and their wives were able to join us.)

Some people signed the signature frame and looked through our album...

(Best signature of all - by Jr. Miss S)

Others were getting after the bride to go potty before the ceremony (yes, I realize I shouldn't have to be reminded)...

So there is what happened in the time before the ceremony (sorry for the children's book wording - we've been reading a lot of Dr. Suess)

For the life of me, I can't figure out why there's no pictures of Mr. S - I guess he was just busy with the band and other stuff. Maybe we was hiding from me...who knows?

Okay, it's time...everyone find your seats...

Yikes! It's time!

All of the family

2009-10-30T13:49:00.000-07:00

The majority of our wedding guests were family, so of course we had to take pictures with these wonderful people that have supported us all of our lives. Sadly, there was one side missing which was Mr. S's mom's side. Her wonderful brother and his wife did attend and we're so thankful that they did.
First up, my side...

Sadly, my grandma was not able to make the trip out due to health reasons, she was really missed too.

Next, Mr. S's grandparents on his dad's side showed up.

His grandma was so sweet, she was so concerned this spring about picking a dress to match the wedding. I think she looks wonderful.

After this, the rest of the family showed up...

Then we decided to get creative...

Let's take pictures on the rickty dock...

Mr. S's cousin was so cute. We kept trying to get her to go to the end with her husband, but there was no way she was moving.

Smile!

Did you try to get a big group picture in of your family?

Cute Candids

2009-10-28T08:25:00.000-07:00

As we were taking pictures, the photographer also caught some cute candids.

My mom helping one of the twin snowflakes with his flower.

My dad and brother watching Mr. S and I take pictures. Mom and SIL are helping the kids get ready for their close-ups.

Me and the boys hanging out.

Yikes, Little Miss S is T-R-O-U-B-L-E...Look at that cute smile :)

Don't forget your deodorent and perfume ladies...I forgot and realized it halfway through pictures. Oh well.

Junior Mr. S hanging out...

Brother and SIL, too cute for words

Not sure why my mom was running...

Jr. Mr. S helping my sister with her dress.

Okay, enough cuteness from you two...

What were some of your favorite candid pictures?

"Bridal" Party Pictures

2009-10-28T08:12:00.000-07:00

As you know, we didn't have a traditional bridal party. Mr. S decided that he didn't want anyone standing up there with him, but I really wanted my sister and sister in law to have a role in the day.
First up, pictures with my ladies...

As we were completeing these we had to run off another bridal party that was trying to get shots at our location. Sorry to be a b*tch, but the beauty of the place is why I PAID to rent the place. They were upset when we told them they needed to go farther down in the park to get their pictures. Oh well.

Anyone else have picture-crashers at your ceremony/reception site?

Pro Pictures

2009-10-28T07:59:00.000-07:00

Now that we had the first look over with, it was time to get more pictures taken care of.
First off, a few of just us...

Packing that sheet at the last minute was one of the best decisions I made in the rush of packing. I was so glad we had those pictures on the grass and I didn't have to worry about the dirt or grass stains. Just something to think about future brides.
After our pictures, we did some "family" pictures of our NEW family...

The kids kind of got sick of all the pictures. Oh well. We made them take a few more...

If you have kids in your wedding, how did they react to all the picture taking?

My New Blog

2009-10-27T11:29:00.000-07:00

I know I still have recaps to finish, but I feel like it's time to move on from the wedding world and start a new blog about our family and things on my mind.
I'd love to have anyone intersted start following there: http://bunchofsnowflakes.blogspot.com/
I've really enjoyed sharing with all of you and I promise I'll get the rest of the recaps and honeymoon posts done soon.
What's next for you? Will you continue to blog too?

Our First Look

2009-10-23T09:25:00.000-07:00

Now we get to the wedding and pro pictures (with some of the family ones mixed in).
This was a moment that I had planned a long time. From the moment we got engaged, I knew I wanted to do this. There's no way I could have waited all that time before seeing him. It was so sweet.
We got Mr. Snowflake all posed on the dock by the Lodge and I started my long walk down. I was so nervous.

The photographer told me to start walking. Every step I got more nervous. Before I was all the way down, he turned around and gave me the biggest smile.

And a big hug and kiss...

Now we can start taking pictures...

...but I couldn't stop looking at my handsome husband to be...

Are you going to do a first look?

The last hour

2009-10-15T12:24:00.001-07:00

The last hour before leaving for the wedding was pretty busy with all the girls getting ready. I was supposed to have more time, but the photographer called and didn't know how to get to the wedding location. Since Me. S was supposed to get there early for pictures, I knew he'd be sitting there a while if I didn't get moving.
This is the only "hanging dress" picture I have. I totally didn't follow other brides advice to get a great picture and a beautiful hanger for it (Think august15bride for inspiration). Oh well.

Getting the little snowflakes ready.

Next up was me. Trying to get the corset just right took FOREVER, but my sister did a fabulous job.
Getting close... Yay! All done! Here's my "I feel like a real bride" moment.

One of the pictures I loved from my parent's wedding was my grandpa putting on my mom's shoe. Since my dad wasn't there, I asked my mom to do it for me.
Not exactly what I pictured - I wanted more of a looking at each other pic, but I guess she was just trying to do the job right. Oh well.

My daughter's decided to get into the action and my little one, put the big one's shoes on. They're too cute.

Okay, enough pictures, let's get to the first look...

The Girls Get their Pretty On

2009-10-12T10:27:00.000-07:00

After a filling breakfast, all the girls left my dad and brother and headed to the salon to get our pretty on.

Practicing their waiting room skills.
My sister with her stylist.
My sister in law with my stylist.
Doing the girls nails before I started getting pretty.
Getting my make up done.
Sister in law getting make up done.
Little girls getting their make up done by their aunt.
My mom getting her hair done.
Starting on my hair - is it just me, or does my make up look really weird under these lights?
All pretty!

After we got our hair done, we made a quick detour to check up on the wedding coordinator. I'm glad I made that stop, we had some things to hash out and she probably wouldn't have even called to ask me - ugh! I also ran into another wedding party at my venue. Did that bother anyone else? It kind of bothered me. They were there taking pictures, it's a BEAUTIFUL location - that's why I was up at midnight one year before booking the place. It bothered me that here's these strangers around all of MY stuff that I've spent tons of money on. What if they broke my stuff/stole my stuff? I don't know, maybe it's just me.
Anyway, we also made a stop for gas - no I didn't pump gas in my wedding hair - my poor sister did it for me - she's the best. We grabbed some stuff to snack on and then headed back to the hotel.
When we got to the hotel, we did the little girls hair.
Pulling out a ton of curlers.
She was so goofy about the mirror and bathtub, she kept walking around the top singing and admiring herself (it was a HUGE bathtub - could have fit a basketball team in there! hehe!)

All styled with the dragonflies I bought from an Etsy dealer.

Next up, a last minute call changes the whole schedule...yikes!

WeddingBee Gallery Feature

2009-10-12T10:05:00.000-07:00

My wedding was featured again :). This time it was adorable daughters and the DIY pomanders that I created. Check it out: http://www.weddingbee.com/2009/10/12/gallery-of-the-day-69/

The wedding day - Finally! Part one

2009-10-07T08:22:00.000-07:00

Yay! It's wedding day!
I didn't have too much of a problem sleeping, but that was partly due to me taking a Unisom. I may have been a ball of stress if I hadn't and I wanted a good night's sleep. About 6:30 in the morning, I woke up and took a long, relaxing shower. I felt bad because I woke my sister up in the process and she hadn't had a very good night's sleep.
After my shower, I tinkered around the hotel room and had my daughters take showers so I could roll their hair.

Miss Snowflake catching up on her Saturday morning cartoons

Me - catching up on my Saturday morning cartoons :) Please excuse all of the no make up pictures.

Don't these curlers take you back to when you were little and your mom did this? I love em!

About 8:30 the rest of my family came over to the hotel to go to breakfast. But first I put my brother and SIL to work on a sewing project.
The little sewing kit my sister gave me in my bridal bag came in very handy!

Proud Papa and Little Miss S playing around while waiting.

We decided to go to a small restaurant called the Dry Dock on West Lake Okoboji. They have your typical breakfast food and we all filled up for the long day ahead.
Again - too cute for their own good. These two were the hit of the restaurant. Everyone loved them running around in their little curlers. They were so cute explaining that it was for their mommy's wedding day.

What is your plan for your wedding morning?

Next up...the girls get prettified..

The rehearsal

2009-10-05T14:06:00.000-07:00

We had the rehearsal at the outdoor area next to our cabin because the lodge was rented that day. It worked out fine, but I wish my planner would have been more proactive about it. I felt like most of the time I was directing it and that was her job. Her husband also came to pick up all of the decorations and stuff and I didn't feel like he was treating MY stuff very nicely - just throwing it into his Suburban - yikes!
As I mentioned in my last post, right before the rehearsal, I got into a huge fight with my sister and mom, so the half smiles are because everyone was a little butt-hurt still. I did apologize for what I did in the argument, but my family holds grudges for a long time and didn't exactly "get over it" too fast. Whatever, this is my rehearsal and I'm going to enjoy it. Okay, drama over - moving on...

I don't have any pictures of the rehearsal, but it was over in about 20 minutes. Then we loaded up the boat and rode over to the Barefoot Bar.

Unfortunately, this is when the wind picked up for the weekend and we had a REALLY bumpy ride over. I was pretty sea-sick by the time we got there, at least it didn't last long. The Barefoot Bar isn't a very serious place, which made it perfect for our rehearsal dinner.

(women's restroom sign)
(men's restroom sign)
("parking lot")

ugh-too cute for their own good :)
Mr. Snowflake's adorable grandparents

The Barefoot Bar offers very yummy drinks and appetizers. Will and his staff did a fabulous job. The kids really liked the fruit, but we also had crackers and crab dip and meatballs for appetizers.

The dinner menu was just as great. Caesar salad, Island chops (huge pork tenderloin slices), rolls, cheese pizza, and pie for dessert. Yummy!

After dinner, we moved downstairs to watch the band and some got their groove on...

About 30 minutes before Mr. S and I parted for the night, the band played a slow one and we were the only ones on the dance floor, it was pretty sweet and romantic for us to have these few minutes. Our group took so many pictures of us, here's just one image of many.

About here is when I'm asking Mr. S what my chances are of him actually showing up. Throughout the planning phases he kept teasing me about actually showing up on Saturday or not - maybe he'd just take off to Canada. Unfortunately, my fears were not totally put to ease. He's answered that it's about 90/10 he'll show up. Here's my WHAT! face and he replied with it was a better chance than it raining tomorrow (which was about 30%). I GUESS, I'll take those odds - ugh! men!

Anyway, it was a fun night by all. Sadly, we parted that night about 10:30. It was hard to leave each other. My sister, my daughters and I headed to the hotel. How did I know everything was going to be okay when I woke up the next day? For one, he told me he couldn't wait until tomorrow and he missed me, and two, because my bedspread in the hotel had dragonflies on it...it was just meant to be :)

Are you doing anything outside the box for your rehearsal dinner?

Last day of being single

2009-10-05T13:44:00.000-07:00

Now that I'm finally finished with a big company party I can move on to wedding recapping. Note for future brides: DO NOT plan a major event only one month after your wedding - you will have planning/event burn out. I literally had to just do NOTHING this weekend to recover from the hectic week and party.

Friday was a beautiful day. We started out the day the same way as Thursday, but since I had no errands to run - thanks to my wonderful sister and SIL, they did them for me - I was able to enjoy the day boating and spending time with my fiance - the clock was ticking down on that word :)

Towing Mr. S - sadly he had to warn me about not pulling him over 30 mph - like I'd actually do that!

Mr. S's cousin - he was so cute, he had so much fun, but I think at one point he fell asleep in that position while we were speeding around.

Only my family will probably find this picture funny - it's just so out of character for my brother. Also, how in the heck do you stay that WHITE in AZ?

Fun was had by all, well maybe not for Mr. S's cousin's cell phone...it fell in the lake while he was tubing - he forgot to take it out of his pocket before jumping in the tube - whoops!
I have a confession to make though, I went bridezilla on my sister before the Rehearsal Dinner. There was a confusion when I was packing up for checking into the hotel. She was supposed to go with me and we were going to get ready for the RD. Instead, she took off to help my SIL with something and we got in a fight. I committed the biggest sin of texting while angry and instead of sending a really angry text to Mr. S about my sister, I sent it to my sister. Yikes! In the process I also screamed at my mom because she wouldn't listen to me either and I was stressed out because no one understood what I wanted even though I was clearly stating what I wanted. Not good. In the end it worked out, but I think they are still a little mad about how I acted. Oh well, you can't win them all, huh?
How did you spend your last day of being single?

My wedding cake holder

2009-09-30T11:03:00.000-07:00

After the boating and before our party, my sister and I assembled the cake/cupcake holder that I purchased from http://www.cupcaketree.com/. Before we left, the weekend before the wedding, Mr. S and I spray painted the cardboard with the same paint we used on the hooks. This way it will be sturdier and it can be used more than once. My sister and I hot glued ribbon around each layer after assembling.

Then using some dragonflies that I bought from an Etsy seller, we hot glued them around the layers. We also connected a few to florist wire to that they looked like they were flying.
This was our final product. I think it turned out really cute.
Are you doing anything different for displaying your cake/cupcakes?

Pre-wedding party

2009-09-30T11:02:00.001-07:00

One of the many aspects of our wedding was making it a family event for the whole weekend. Since everyone had to travel, we wanted people to know how much we appreciated the effort. On Thursday evening we planned a pre-wedding party at our cabin. Everyone in town came over for a bunch of yummy food:
Tortilla Roll-ups (Strawberry, Jalapeno, and Chives - surprisingly the Jalapeno were a HUGE hit)
Chips and Dip
Chips and Salsa
Beef Brisket
Rolls
Baked Beans
Strawberries and Cantaloupe
Veggie Pasta Salad
Smores for dessert
It was nice sitting around eating and enjoying the company.

(He's not amused that I'm making him take a picture while he's cooking)
The kids had a blast roasting marshmallows.

We even went for night time boating.
(She's upset - she missed the boat - that and she's SUPER tired)

What pre-wedding parties do you have planned to help kick off the celebrations?

Happy 1 Month Anniversary!

2009-09-29T09:19:00.000-07:00

Today is our 1 month anniversary. I can't believe a month has already flown by. It's been a good month for us, however very busy with the kids and work.
I mentioned it to someone yesterday and they laughed and said, well, if you made it a month you'll make it forever. :) I really hope that holds true.
I love you Mr. Snowflake - here's to making it forever, honey.

Taking time to chill out

2009-09-28T16:55:00.001-07:00

Once we had the ring, all my troubles melted away. For the next few hours we boated and tubed on the lake.

(My sister is such a dork - she made fun of me for peeing in the lake! Isn't that where the fish pee? Why can't I? The lake is too big to wait and go back to the cabin.)

(Getting back at dad for throwing him in the lake earlier)
Did you do anything before your wedding to chill out and relax?

The ring comes!

2009-09-28T16:30:00.000-07:00

First of all, I've been a bad blogger, but to my defense I was waiting for the pro pictures. That and life catches up to you very fast - especially when you have the gall at work to actually take two weeks off. Please forgive me...pretty please...
Okay, now on to the recapping.
So if you remember, the jewelers broke my ring a week before our wedding. As a compromise, they were going to order the head to my engagement ring, cut one of their solid bands, mount my diamond, and solder my wedding bands to it. The problem was that the ring would not be ready before we left for our semi-destination wedding. It had to be overnighted to the hotel. So about 10 am on Thursday, my mom, sister, sister in law and I settled into the hotel's front lobby. The front desk people were very nice and offered many refreshments while we waited - patently.
(No ring - yet)

Funny story - At about 11:30 still no ring - however the Budweiser delivery man showed up for delivery and went to the front desk for signature. My sister or sister in law asked me if I was disappointed that it wasn't the FedEx delivery man. I thought about it a moment and said "No, I'm not disappointed. If the ring doesn't come - we'll need his delivery." At this point, the Bud guy turns around and looks at us with the REDEST face! I felt so bad and totally had my foot in my mouth. I tried to explain that I totally just meant the alcohol he was delivering - but I swear that guy ran out SO fast!
Needless to say, I felt like I was too much of a troublemaker at this point, so we moved to the restaurant that overlooked the front desk and went for drinks. Before the drinks had time to come, the FedEX deliveryman ARRIVED! I ran out and grabbed the box.
I was so excited I could barely get it open by myself.

Yay! I have a ring!
Did you have anything happen during your wedding/planning that was really bad, but ended up turning out well?

Weddingbee Gallery Feature

2009-09-16T10:29:00.000-07:00

I got featured today on Weddingbee! Well, not exactly me, but my cake did, see here: http://www.weddingbee.com/2009/09/16/gallery-of-the-day-47/. I know it's kind of dumb, but short of being a Bee, it's an honor to be featured among so many other creative brides.

Ringless...again

2009-09-14T12:37:00.000-07:00

I'm ringless again. It really sucks since I had the rings taken in before the wedding to avoid this. I miss my ring :(
If you remember, my ring was broken by the jewelry less than a week before my wedding. I had a designer engagement ring, so they couldn't just order it and it would come in the next day. To solve the wedding day issue, they changed a plain band, put a head that matched my old ring on that and soldered my wedding bands to it. They overnight shipped it to my mom's hotel and we picked it up two days before the wedding (cutting it close!). It looks beautiful and all, but I know it's not the ring that my HUSBAND (I've had the hardest time using that word) lovingly picked out all by himself. So, today I went back to the jewelry store to decide what to do. The band they gave me appraises at about $3000 more than my old one (can't figure out why though), so there was an incentive to keep it. The new band though is all flat and my wedding bands and my old e-ring was rounded - I think it would look better all rounded rather than the flat sides sticking out. They also had soldered one of the wedding bands just slightly lower than the other and while no one else noticed it, it bugged me. So, they're in the process of polishing the middle ring round and re-soldering the bands so they're even. I really hope I don't have to go ringless again.
Has anyone else had to go without their ring/rings more than once?
P.S. I know I left off in the recaps, I'll start those again soon, I'd really like the pro photos though.

Hair and Make-up trial

2009-09-10T17:28:00.000-07:00

Because we don't live in the same area as the wedding, the salon suggested that I wait until the last few days for my hair and make-up trial. This way they wouldn't forget what they had done and it would be fresh in their memory - plus they can never get things the same twice, but this gives us a little better chance of getting it close. I was a little nervous about that, but Heidi at Bella Via in Okoboji was AWESOME! Mr. S wanted LOTS of curls. I wanted my flowers and dragonflies. She did great.

The make up the salon used is like Bare Minerals. We didn't do a full make-up trial, but we tried out colors. I think it came out nice.

What would you have changed with my hair trial?

Pack it up, move em out

2009-09-10T16:20:00.001-07:00

I picked up my sister on Tuesday before the wedding. She was so nice to come out early to make sure that Mr. S and I had the help we needed with packing and the kids. When we got home from the airport that's when the work started. We loaded up the majority of everything we were taking to the lake in the van, truck, and boat. Even though we got all that work done it still didn't stop me from not being able to sleep the night before. This is basically when I had my jitters I guess. I woke up about 3 in the morning with an upset stomach worrying about things. To bide my time until I woke everyone else up, I did something a little bridey and watched Bride Wars and 27 Dresses. Surprisingly, this helped me to relax. :)

Before we left town we had to make a stop and my sister took a bunch of pictures of ALL of the stuff.

Crazy - right?

After our stop we headed to the lake! My sister had to deal with my stress the whole way there, but by the time we got to the lake, it was oddly strange - my stress all slipped away! It was so wonderful to finally relax and realize that there really wasn't much I could change at this point, this was our vacation and I was going to enjoy it.
After we unloaded a MILLION things into the cabin, we took a break and rode around in the boat.

Remember my post about out justice of the peace not knowing ANYTHING about our wedding? Funny story...
After boating, we went back to the cabin and were resting before my hair/make-up trial. Mr. S got a call and it was Diane again! The night before we left she confirmed everything was fine - we're good to go, what was she doing calling to say she still hadn't been emailed?
I was so annoyed and asked, "Is this Diane C?"
She replied with, "No, this is Diane W."

Oh---there's the problem--

Apparently last fall when Mr. S was doing all the wedding planning and I was working in Chicago, he contacted someone about our ceremony. He must have forgotten because in Jan. he asked me to contact a JP to do it and that's when I hired Diane C. Ugh! It was such a HUGE relief to know that my JP was not that clueless (not that this woman is either - it was just a total mix up).

After resting, I left for my hair trial and Mr. S and my sister warmed up the enchiladas and other yummy food I pre-cooked.
Did you have any weird mix-ups during your wedding planning that resulted in a funny story later?

Let's go back in time...

2009-09-08T16:56:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry, I don't mean to tease, but I want to wait for the pros pics before I start recapping. Trust me, I have plenty to start, but it's only fair if I have hers first - from what I've seen in the previews, they're awesome.

So we'll go back to the weekend before the wedding (cue the music that makes you spin and go back in time...hehe)

The weekend before the wedding was SO busy. One of my major wedding projects was to get my bouquet done. I only tackled this when I had to cancel my florist order (long story), but I was determined. I'm a bad blogger and didn't take detailed pictures for instructions (I basically used the instructions on Wedding Bee and modified them to suit me), but here we go:
1) I decided to use fake flowers because this way my flowers are already preserved and I have something to keep. I originally was going to use white calla lillies and roses, but when the order was canceled, I decided to use the GREEN calla lillies I had already bought (and had no idea how to use them anywhere else in the wedding) and white roses. My suggestion for step one is to "play around" a lot before you make any cuts and decide how you want it to look. At first I played around with some cheap ivory roses with the calla lillies just to get an idea of what I wanted and then later I bought the "real roses" from Hobby Lobby to use for the actual bouquet.

2) After you "mess around" with deciding how you want your bouquet to look, that's when you start cutting things. I estimated that I needed to hands length at first, so that was my cutting length - I was better to cut things too long than too short. I started by cutting about 3 callas and 4 roses. I decided I wanted it more ivory than green so the rose was in the middle as the base.

3) After you create the "middle" you start wrapping the other flowers on singly with florist tape so that you have a nice circle (if you're just doing a basic bouquet). This step took me a long time to get to look just right - I pulled it apart at least once (maybe more).

4)I used 12 ivory "real" roses and 10 green calla lillies to get my bouquet to look like below. After all the flowers were attached, I hot glued rose leaves to wire and attached those to the bouquet to give it a little more "reality" and greenery.

5) After I got it all wrapped up, I decided it need to be slightly shorter and that's when I trimmed the stems.

6) Then I hot glued ribbon that matched everything else to cover the florist tape. This took some time to make sure it was absolutely smooth.

Whew! In all, it took me about 3-4 hours to complete. I liked using the fake flowers because then I had room for mistakes since I'm not exactly a pro when it comes to flowers. I also had all the time in the world (ha ha) to finish.

What do you think?

I also decorated a vase I already had with a ribbon for it to sit on our sweetheart table. I followed the same instructions I used for the jars to get the ribbon on there.

(This is my mess after I finished)
Will you try to tackle something like this? Who is doing your flowers?

Getting back into a routine

2009-09-08T16:47:00.001-07:00

Do you know what happens after you wedding is over and you've gone on your honeymoon and then loaded a MILLION pictures over your free two days over the weekend? Nothing...you gone on like nothing has changed. But TONS has changed. Although it's not official I have a NEW last name, trying to think of the millions of places I have to change it makes my mind explode (cell phone screen saver - check; Facebook - check), oh - it makes me exhausted just thinking about it. The fact that I have a HUSBAND is huge. When we were just engaged, I didn't really let him "rule" my life or my daughter's lives. Last night he put his foot down about one of my daughters and although I wasn't exactly happy about the punishment (it wasn't harsh or anything) I still upheld it because not only is he my husband, but right now, he's the only father my daughters know (their father has skipped out of their lives once again (maybe for the last time - I'm sick of his crap). It makes me proud that he feels the responsibility to step in (when my father and I did our father-daughter dance - Mr. S danced with one of my daughters like she was his own - AWW).
So the whole getting "back into a routine" is not exactly the same. Yes, I feel pretty much the same about Mr. S (I love him to death), but really...things are different and I'm excited about the change.
How did you feel about the change from fiance to husband? Or if not married yet, what do you think will change?
P.S. I promise, I'll start recaps soon!

Well, we pulled it off

2009-08-30T14:41:00.000-07:00

It's over, it's done. What everyone says about your wedding day flying by is all true. Remember all you can because it FLASHES by! It was a beautiful wedding. Most everything I fretted over the last week worked it's self out or didn't matter in the end.

Now we're leaving for the honeymoon, so I'll have to start recapping things when we get back.

Thank you for all of your comments.

Here's a sneak peek...

So long, farewell...

2009-08-25T11:47:00.000-07:00

This will probably be my last post as a Ms. We leave in the morning for the lake and with everything going on I'm not sure that I will have time to blog. I do plan on coming back after it's all over and showing you the last of my projects and the recaps of all the events. Thanks for following us and for your comments.
See ya on the flip-side!

Busy, busy weekend

2009-08-24T17:53:00.000-07:00

This was probably one of the busiest weekends I've had in a LONG time. Friday evening I had to take my car in for repairs (ugh - sucks), Jr. Mr S had a football practice, and I worked on my bouquet. Saturday, I had to get my hair done, go to Jr. Mr. S's football scrimmage, go grocery shopping, pick up my car, clean house, start laundry. Sunday was super-long. I couldn't sleep, so I got up early and finished by bouquet (I'll post later), finished cleaning house, made sure the boat was ready to go, took the boat out to make sure it was running correctly, finished laundry, started packing for the wedding and honeymoon, painted the cupcake holder, cooked for three hours, and cooked dinner.
Except for the boating, I was on my feet ALL DAY LONG! Ugh!
What did you/plan to do on your final weekend of single hood?

Is this a dream?

2009-08-24T14:03:00.000-07:00

I don't think so, because usually I'm naked in my nightmares...

Please tell me this is the worst it's going to get.

Our Justice of the Peace called Mr. S today and asked about the ceremony and the times for things. It confused me at first because I emailed her in MARCH with the ceremony and once a month have asked if she needed any other information. Last week I CONFIRMED she was coming to the ceremony and rehearsal. When I called her back it was clear that something was wrong with her - She slurred the whole time and had NO recollection about our emails. Seriously - I have copies in my inbox! Ugh!

The worst of it was when I went to pick up my ring.

They called Saturday late afternoon and said to call them back. I called first thing this morning and the service dept said it was back downstairs and I could pick it up any time. I went in over lunch and when the girl came back with my repair envelope and went to dump the rings, my heart went to my stomach when it came clattering out...in five pieces. At the worst it should have been three (engagement ring, two bands), but no...FIVE. When they went to re size the ring, the head broke on my engagement ring. My engagement ring is a designer ring so they don't keep it in stock. The soonest they can get my ring is Sept. 11th. After a lot of crying and frantic calls to Mr. S, our solution is to use a stand-in ring that will have my solitaire and the bands soldered to it. They'll have to overnight it to my mom's hotel at the lake since it won't be ready before we leave. When my ring comes in, they'll redo the whole process. Mr. S wanted me to just walk out with a new ring from the store today and be done with it (they were willing to do an exchange), but this is the ring he picked out for me. I love this style and the fact that he took the time to chose it without any input from me. I didn't think i really felt like this about it, until this happened. I was too stressed out to pick something new. What if I settled on something and then HATED it the rest of my life? Hopefully it will work out...stay tuned.

What would you do in my situation?

Love Survey

2009-08-20T17:07:00.000-07:00

I totally "borrowed" this from a fellow blogger, at TheRoddyBride. She totally said I could - so I did.
♥ What are your middle names?
Me: Elizabeth
Mr: Daniel
♥ How long have you been together?
Will be 2 years on Sept. 5th.
♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating?
no time - we met online and started dating right away.
♥ Who asked whom out?
He asked me - he was quite pushy.
♥ How old are each of you?
Me -29
Mr -33
♥ Whose siblings do/did you see the most?
It's about the same. Even though his sister lives close by we hardly ever see her. My sister has come out several times this year. We've only seen my brother once though in the last year.
♥ Do you have any children together?
No - kids from previous marriages
♥ What about pets?
Whiskey - his hunting dog
Nessa and Elphie - kittens I adopted since they wandered into our yard
Peanut - another kitten that has just become ours
♥ Did you go to the same school?
No.
♥ Are you from the same home town?
No
♥ Who is the smartest?
Probably him - but don't tell him I said so.
♥ Who is more sensitive?
Me definitely.
♥ Where do you eat out most as a couple?
Fernando's (local Mexican restaurant)
♥ Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?
San Diego, CA
♥ Who has the craziest exes?
Hmm..that's a toss up. I'm going to say him since I'm completely ignoring mine right now.
♥ Who has the worst temper?
Me, I flip out all the time. He is more laid back.
♥ Who does the cooking?
It's about even - although lately I've had to do all the cooking :(
♥ Who is more social?
Me. He's totally anti-social
♥ Who is the neat-freak?
Me, but I've gotten way more relaxed about it since combining our households and having five kids running around
♥ Who is more stubborn?
Probably him, but it's a pretty close race
♥ Who hogs the bed?
Him. I usually have to push him over so I get more than 3 inches
♥ Who wakes up earlier?
Me.
♥ Where was your first date?
Lunch at the Ice House (a bar)
♥ Who has the bigger family?
It's about even
♥ Do you get flowers often?
Yes, he's so sweet about keeping me in flowers
♥ How do you spend the holidays?
Xmas Eve: his dad's side of the family
Xmas: just us
T-Giving: both sides of his family
♥ Who is more jealous?
Neither. Well, him more than me, maybe
♥ How long did it take to get serious?
He jumped right in head first. It took me a bit longer.
♥ Who eats more?
Him but I can keep up
♥ Who does/did the laundry?
Me - I get mad if he does it - seriously, you HAVE to separate the clothes!
♥ Who’s better with the computer?
I would say I am when it comes to working with documents - him when it's software
♥ Who drives when you are together?
Him - he hates the way I drive

I'm naked!

2009-08-19T18:09:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I dropped off my rings at the jeweler to get them soldered together and re-sized (since the ring will be wider, it has to be bigger). I feel so naked. I've reached for my ring so many times and I freak every few minutes when I can't find it.

Anyone else feel naked like me without your ring?

My bridal shower

2009-08-19T17:53:00.001-07:00

I work with some really fabulous ladies. Even though this is my second marriage, they were adamant that I was having a shower. I was really nice and simple. Cake, punch, and presents. I love me cake. It had icing as think as 1 1/2 inches in places :)

Mr S and I mainly registered for our honeymoon, but when they asked me to have the shower I also registered at Bed, Bath, and Beyond and Williams Sonoma. We haven't gotten anything for the honeymoon, but we got some nice things from the other registries. One of Mr. S and I's favorite gifts was the Swivel Sweeper - now the kids can totally clean up after themselves - Yay!

I also got some really pretty cereal bowls for the kids and gift cards :)
Did you get showered by some unexpected people?

Flowers - should I really take this on?

2009-08-18T11:58:00.000-07:00

I made a decision a few weeks ago to cancel my florist order. Costs were getting out of hand and this was an easy chop for me. First of all because I already have flowers incorporated from my Sam's order and secondly because they just weren't that important to me. The little girls will hold pomanders and I had also bought them parasols, but I'll give them to the big girls to carry. Mr. S kept trying to talk me into just getting my bouquet - we could then preserve it, but at $180 for just that, it seemed excessive. The decision was made.

When I started organizing everything into totes though, I realized I had a bunch of flowers at the house that could be used and I actually wouldn't have to buy much if I went with fake arrangements. Plus, this way my bouquet is already preserved. I had a ton of energy last week, so this is what's done. I'd really love comments.

Mr. S's Boutonniere.

All of the boutonnieres

I also made corsages, but the pictures are just on my camera phone, I'll have to take pics later.

I haven't completed my bouquet yet, but here is two different versions:
Mostly green (I bought "real" roses after this that I will use instead of the bulk flowers that I mocked it up with)
Mostly white (using the "real" roses)
Which bouquet would you go with for my green and ivory colored wedding? What do you think of my DIY-boutonnieres?

Weather Stalking

2009-08-18T11:28:00.000-07:00

I've started...I'm now weather stalking. Our wedding day doesn't show in the 10-day forecast yet, but we leave on Wednesday, so that whole week also matters to me. So far the weather outlook doesn't look to bad, in fact it may be downright COLD for the Arizona people coming in:
Will you start weather stalking as it gets closer to time for you?

2 weeks - oh my!

2009-08-15T11:25:00.000-07:00

I just posted for august15bride and it made me realize that in two weeks I'm going to be sitting in her shoes. At the moment I write this - in two weeks - my hair and makeup will be done and I'll be waiting to don that pretty dress. Wow!
Good luck to all other brides getting married today and to all those freaking out about the last details like me.

Congratulations august15bride!

2009-08-15T11:24:00.000-07:00

Good luck and congratulations today. I hope it all goes well and I'm sure you'll look so beautiful.

In the final stretch

2009-08-11T11:25:00.000-07:00

We're in the final stretch and I'm trying to get things done. One of my major tasks the last couple of days was to create setup directions for the wedding coordinator. I also included a site map to show her where things should go. I have posted it on google docs to share here. The other document I created for her was a schedule for the weekend. There's some great ones on wedding bee wiki which is what I used. I'm very anal about being on time and on schedule, so hopefully this will help me stay sane.
What are you doing to make sure your wedding is set up the way you want it or to stay on schedule?

I only really have 20 days

2009-08-06T10:14:00.000-07:00

How do I figure out that math when there's actually 23 days left? We actually leave for Lake Okoboji on the 26th. Everything has to be done, or the project has to be forgotten by then. That's one problem with having a semi-destination wedding.
I don't have a ton of things to get done, although last night instead of helping my to-do list, I've decided to add to it (I'm making my own bouquets - crazy, I know). I just need to stay on top of my list and TRY not to add to it. I think I can get it all done.
Anyone else have weird math when counting down to your big day?

Getting things accomplished

2009-08-05T10:32:00.000-07:00

This week has been very productive. Last week I wrote about how much I still have to do and I realized today that between what got done this weekend and during my daughter's sick day I was able to get half of the items checked off in addition to some that were not on that list (Yay me!). We're coming into the last days (24 now) and I'm not going to have as much time to dedicate to the wedding because of life going on. This weekend is full because we have to clean the stupid rental house that the last renter destroyed (ugh) and I have to take my daughters school shopping (I can't believe the summer flew by so fast), next weekend is Mr. Snowflake's and Twin Snowflake's birthday, so that means I really only have one more weekend to get things done - the last weekend bore the wedding - of course that's already full of last minute food shopping, my hair appointment, and packing. In the middle of all of that I still have work, school registration, back to school night, first day of school, and my work shower. Whew! Sounds like I need another sick-kid day (kidding).
How are you coping with getting everything done right now if you're close to your wedding date? If you're not, do you have a plan in place so that you can get it all done when the time comes?

An Illuminating Project

2009-08-04T08:00:00.000-07:00

I LOVE candles. We don't use them a whole lot around the house, but I do love them. We're using candles in a lot of places at our wedding and at least our venue doesn't have a restriction on them. I already showed you the candles I created for the hooks which I think will look really pretty lining the lake shore at night (plus it's a safety thing for our guest, they'll know where the edge is).
I'm also putting some citronella candles on the cocktail tables outside: (The light green pail)
Then I want these on the buffet table (May have to move somewhere else if they don't fit - we'll see)

We'll have two different table designs for the dinner tables (I'll explain the second one shortly). One will have two jars of flowers (the ones that will hang on the hooks during the ceremony) and two jars with candles. Late last night I put together the candle jars for the table:
Started with a wide mouth mason jar.
Put a little bit of hot glue just under the lip.
Attached the ribbon - the trick is to fold the ribbon in half and then press down so that it comes out even when you tie it.

I turned it over and put a little hot glue under the lip on the other side and tied a ribbon on top of that to hold in place.

I put in a candle.
and I added river rocks and pebbles around the candle.
My final project of the night was for the second table design. We're going to put a net down on the table, put floating candles in the center, and then spread 24 candles across the table, like this:

I bought 144 candles and votives on Candles4Less.com. The votives and candles are packed separately though and instead of having the wedding planner assemble and have to light all of these on the day of, I saved her one step.

All Done!

How will you be illuminating things at your wedding/reception?

Saving the toes

2009-08-04T07:23:00.000-07:00

Since our venue is mostly on grass and we're dancing outside I thought flip flops sounded like a perfect gift for some of our guests. I debated buying enough for everyone, but that seemed like a bit much, plus I couldn't find any in our wedding colors and it was hard enough to find the ones I wanted in the alternate colors. I was also going to attach the size with a monogram sticker, but since I'm trying to get as much done as possible and not stress about the details, I just labeled the buckets.
(This is what I wanted - didn't Jess from Project: 10K Wedding do a good job?)
The buckets were also something I bought last year on clearance before the "theme" was decided, but I think they came in handy.

First, Little Miss S helped me sort them into sizes and we put them in the appropriate buckets.
Then, Miss S and Little Miss S took off all the tags and stickers.
I turn the flip flops so they the kind of hooks on to each other and then I tied simple gift wrapping ribbon on.

One down
One completed bucket...
...four more to go.
Are you planning on saving your guests' toes by providing flip flops or slippers?

Bathroom Baskets

2009-08-04T07:12:00.000-07:00

Another project that is almost complete is the bathroom baskets. I just need to add a couple more necessities and I'll be done. I bought these containers last year on clearance before I had really perfected my "theme" and I didn't really know what I was going to use them for (favors, just for looks?). Here's what I have so far:

In the woman's one there is tampons, maxi pads, Wet Ones, sunblock, Off Wipes, Kleenex, cotton pads, Scope mouthwash, antibacterial gel, hairspray, a brush and mirror, bandaids, and Tums. The men's basket has all the same, except the feminine items. I still want to pick up some single packs of Advil and Tylenol.
What else would you add to your baskets?

Creating the card box

2009-08-03T21:49:00.000-07:00

I had an original plan to create a fish like our bathroom baskets, but that went to the wayside. I thought about just using a basket, but since our wedding is in a public state park and just anyone could walk through, I decided I wanted something more secure. I ended up going simple and created this for our cards:

How did I get here?
Step One: I started with a box big enough to hold several cards and cut a hole in one side (not the top or bottom since the four flaps would be in the way):
(this was actually the box our wedding invitations came in)
Step Two: I wrapped the box in some wedding paper I bought for a friend's wedding.
Step Three: Re-cut hole in paper and tape back.

Step Four: Trace the thank you message on paper from printer with a sharpie that will bleed through.

Step Five: Re-trace the message that bleed through.

Step Six: Color in the message and tie on ribbon.

What are you using to secure cards that your guests bring?

For the hooks

2009-08-03T21:18:00.000-07:00

I'm finally getting things done and Mr. S is helping out a lot (Jr. Mr. S is too). To start with, Mr. S painted our hooks for us:

(I'm weird, they need to match wedding colors and our house for later - they're half done in this picture and for future reference, it takes at least 3 1/2 bottles of spray paint to cover 12 black hooks)
To start the ceremony, we'll have flowers hanging on the hooks. Jr. Mr. S and I worked on these this weekend:
Step One: Cut all wire to a length so that it wraps around jar and creates a hook.

Step Two: Wrap the wire around the lip and create the first side of the hook.

Step Three: Push wire under the other side to complete the hook.

Step Four: Wrap wire around the wire around lip so that it creates the hanger.

Step Five: Jr. Mr. S would twist the wire for me.

Step Six: I'd finish twisting the wire so that it didn't poke anyone - especially clumsy me.

Step Seven: Tie ribbon on - I'm anal so I measured each ribbon so it was the same length.

These will go on the tables after the ceremony and in their place the wedding coordinator will hang candles.
They couldn't just be any candles though - they have to be pretty and functional. I used citronella candles to help with the bugs. I didn't take pictures of each of the steps, bit basically I measured each of the ribbons to the same length, hot glued the ribbon to the back (because otherwise the ribbon slipped down and fell off) and tied a bow.

How is your FH helping out with your DIY projects?

When Mr. Snowflake is away...

2009-08-03T21:00:00.000-07:00

...Ms. Snowflake gets A LOT done.

I really. really love Mr. S, but the problem is that I just don't get as much done with him here. On top of him being gone today, I took a sick day for my daughter (secret for future parents: kids sick days are so awesome - well as long as its not serious - I always get SO much done). Example: Today I worked 5 1/2 hours (real work), went grocery shopping, worked out for an hour, balanced my checkbook and filed stuff, cooked dinner for tomorrow night, BAKED (I never bake) Miss S and Little Miss S muffins, cooked tuna casserole for tonight, AND COMPLETELY organized the wedding totes and put several DIY things together (seriously - this is going to be like a five post day)
I went from this:

(all of this was carried up by me and the little snowflakes from the basement)
to this:

(Not only did we carry all the crap up from the basement, but we carried it to the second floor bonus room once I got it organized - Geez - I'm exhausted)
I'll detail this more in the next post but it was a really busy day.
Are you able to get more done when your FH is away?
(Seriously - I NEVER bake. Little Miss S was so impressed she made me take a picture)

(oh and that's make up under the eyes that she got into - she said she was practicing her look for the wedding day - silly girl - maybe I need to add teaching her to apply make up correctly to my next sick day)

One Month!

2009-07-29T12:05:00.000-07:00

In one month (or 31 days to be exact) I marry the love of my life.

The whole wedding process has taught me a lot about us, some good, some not so good, but hopefully with the whole wedding behind us and the marriage spread out in front of us, things will be better. The last few weeks have been a bit of a strain on us.

No matter what we've been through though in these last few weeks, I'm still entirely sure that I want him to be mine for the rest of my life. I love him. He loves me. We're good together. All of these little things can be figured out from here.

So with a month left, I'm sad to admit that I still have a lot on my to-do list, such as:
Make the card box for reception
put together flip-flops
finish mason jars and hooks
decorate cupcake stand
put together bathroom baskets
buy Mr. S's necklace
Finalize rehearsal dinner plans (pretty much done - but not confirmed)
Confirm all appointments and vendors
Sign pre-nup
Do name change forms
Finalize schedule

These are the major things, there's several other "little" things.

Has anyone else experienced wedding strain in your relationship?

Hair and Make-up inspiration

2009-07-28T11:53:00.000-07:00

Time is quickly running down on our wedding clock (32 days now).
I thought I'd share what I have in mind for hair and make-up. I don't get to have my trial until we get out to the lake for the wedding (they thought they'd forget what was done if I did it in July). I bought flowers that match my dress to go in my hair. Mr S really want a curly down-do (he's very opinionated about my hair). And since I'm adding little dragon fly touches now, I have some little blue/silver clips that would fit in too (Something old/Something blue). So here is what I'm using for inspiration:

As far as make-up goes, on a daily basis I don't use too much (anyone else only have a 5-minute make-up routine in the morning?). Even when I dress up it's not too much different than my normal routine. So for the wedding, I don't want too much, but I also want enough that I look fabulous. Here is my inspiration for that:

What inspiration are you using for your wedding day beauty?

Check, check, and CHECK

2009-07-22T13:41:00.000-07:00

Even though today has been somewhat disappointing with the whole photographer thing, I have motivated myself to get some things done.
First off, I ordered the loose flowers from Sam's Club. Earlier this spring, I scoured the internet for cheap loose flowers. I'm not very confident about designing arrangements for the bouquets, but I wanted to save some money on the flowers that didn't need florist arranging. From all of my research, Costco and Sam's Club were the cheapest for what I was looking for. I ordered 35 Calla Lily Stems and 125 mixed green and white Ecuador roses for under $200. What a deal? And they look great, this was an order someone took pictures of:

My next task I got done was ordering something to put the cupcakes on. I was thinking of renting something, but my wedding planner never got back to me on that, plus I'm kinda sick of writing checks for rentals. I thought about designing something myself, but that just seems like too much work right now. What I did order will require some DIY-ing. I ordered it from a company called CupCakeTree. They're pretty simple and come like this:
How would you decorate this? You can pretty much do anything and they can end up looking like this...or even better:

The last thing I got checked off was finalizing the band play list. They emailed me a list of their musicbook songs and I crossed off about 15 that I absolutely don't want to hear and highlighted about 14 that I really like. That still leaves them a lot of room to design a playlist that is all their own.
We're at 38 days until the wedding - Yikes - and I'm feeling pretty confident about getting things completed. I'll have a lot of DIY stuff this weekend, so we'll see how that goes. What are you working on right now?

Friendor - NOT!

2009-07-22T10:52:00.000-07:00

Friendor - Definition: a friend who is a vendor that provides services for your wedding (hopefully free, but at a good cost/value).
I've mentioned our wedding photographer was a "family friend" before and how although I knew it was important to Mr. S to use her, I still wasn't comfortable. I met her for the first time at a consultation in January. One of my biggest questions was about acquiring the rights to our photos, mainly because of all the family not attending, so that we could post on the Internet for their viewing (and of course for my blog sharing). She said she didn't do that and when I and Mr. S pushed a little more she said she could "work with us". Obviously I really only want these for sharing with the family, if I want one for the house, office, etc I'm going to go to her so that the printing is high quality. On top of the not willing to share the photos, we're not getting a good deal (over $3000 for our wedding coverage, an album, the signature portrait, and a "father's pride" thing we're not using). We went for our engagement session last month and then she posted some pictures (about 30) on a website for like 15 days (Remember I tried to post them here? They were so hard to see and did not copy over for saving). We picked one for our signature portrait and then I asked what the cost would be to buy three of them digitally for our wedding announcements. First she offered me her announcements (25 for $45 - seems high compared to other prices I saw). I explained that I wanted the pictures for both the announcements and for web posting, so please send me a price.
Her response:
"The cost for a copyright release is $1000./image. If I can be of service let me know."
Are you kidding me?!? I nearly wrote her back in my angry state, instead I forwarded it to Mr. S and when I got home last night we drafted an email together (of course he kept tight control on the keyboard).
His email:
Thank you for placing the engagement pictures on line for us to view. That was good way for us to make our selection. If possible we would very much like to have a cd with 3 engagement pictures (not previews) and 25 wedding pictures (not previews). We have a lot of family from out of town that are not attending the wedding and we are going to need to be able to post the pictures of our day on our website. We don't feel this is too much to ask, we did some pricing of other wedding packages and it averages 50% of what our cost will be with (her xyz studio)and the rights to the pictures are included.
Everything has been great, pictures have been beautiful, and we are looking forward to the pictures from the wedding day. Unfortunately due to the family being out of town the cd with pictures is going to be a must.
Let me know what we can work out.
Her response to his email:
The images of the wedding will also be posted as the engagement portraits were. Your out of town guest can view them all or we can post a selection for just the guest to view. If they would like to order their own prints they have that option as well. You can post the link to your website so they can visit this site for viewing.
During our consultion we discussed the cd of images and that is not my policy.
Hmmm...so much for "working with us".
Although in my anger I did not email her, I did email my boudoir photographer and asked about her availability. Even though Mr. S wanted to try to work things out, I knew I needed a back up plan and that I needed to do my research if I wanted Mr. S to be persuaded. It looks like she and her assistant are available (not to mention for a 1/3 of the cost) which I'm kind of excited about, I really loved working with her. If something can't be worked out, I also got a business card from a co-worker for her son that does photography. Sounds like I'm covered if we do decide to take a different approach.
So, in the end our friendor did not work out. I'm hoping this doesn't affect Mr.S and his friend's relationship, that's what I'm most worried about. Mr. S wrote the friendor and told her of our decision to go with someone else, I haven't heard anything else. I guess this is a lesson for others when it comes to using friendors in your wedding - sometimes it's worth it to say thanks, but no thanks. I'm sure in the end her story will be that I was "too difficult to work with" or that I'm many other things, but hopefully we handled it with enough tact that his friend doesn't see this as a snub to his mother-in-law, just her business.
How has your friendor experiences worked out?

Ignoring my to-do list

2009-07-20T10:54:00.000-07:00

Is anyone else ignoring their to-do list? It's not terribly long or anything, but I just don't have the motivation to get things done right now. Part of it was because I have been really busy with work and the kids/family. Part of it was because I was REALLY sick last week with some summer cold/allergies/swine flu (jury's still out one what I had) and at least it's finally subsiding slowly. I know the wedding is in only 40 days and that's NO time in full-time job-mommy world, but I can't help but just want it all over, to-do list done or not.
Granted I have done a couple of things, I paid for the florist flowers last week with my credit card over the phone and sent two checks to the Wedding Coordinator for rentals (yeah 'cause she can't just send me one email when I ask for it). I also sent the photographer an email today to pick out our signature portrait and asked some other questions (something I've been putting off). I also finally emailed the band for a new playlist so I can finalize music.
This weekend, Mr. S and I were talking about "after the wedding" and how he felt about us finally being official. In a lot of ways he's perfectly happy just having things the way they are, marriage scares him he says. I guess I don't understand that, I look forward to making it "official" that I'm him and he's mine. Anyway, we both agreed that we'll be happy when it's all over, we're both completely over planning for it.
Anyone else in our shoes or are you feeling sad about all of the work/planning being done?

I LOVE this picture

2009-07-14T10:30:00.001-07:00

My awesome boudoir photographer had a sudden death in the family at the end of last month so she hadn't completed the retouching on my pictures yet before she left for the funeral. She just got back and has started completing them so we can sit down and design the book for Mr. S, but in the meantime she sent sent me a few more teaser shots.
This was my favorite, I just have to say - I need to lay around in bed naked more often if this is the way I always looked:

I think Mr. S is gonna LOVE this one as much as me. I loved the ones I posted before, but this one makes the WHOLE process (the workouts, the dieting, the photo session, etc) worth it for me - 1 awesome shot where I look really hot. I can't wait to get the book put together.

What would your FH think about you doing a boudoir session?

Ceremony Music

2009-07-14T10:21:00.000-07:00

I wanted something creative for ceremony music instead of the normal "here comes the bride" or Canon in D songs. There's absolutely nothing wrong with those songs, they're just not really us.
I kicked around a lot of ideas, but this is what we're going to use:
Processional - Love Me Tender by Norah Jones: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QBICzk3Ihw
Recessional - Ever, Ever After by Carrie Underwood: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nRGC720Qak (I a huge dork - but I LOVE princess/happy ever after movies)
We're not doing any other ceremony music, Mr. S wants the ceremony to be as short as humanly possible - he gets anxious in front of people.
What unique songs are you using for your ceremony?

Some bling and a trip

2009-07-12T13:55:00.000-07:00

Mr. S got some things checked off of our to-do list this week (isn't he such a good fiance). First, he picked up my wedding bands and then he went to our travel company and picked up our travel vouchers and other information for our honeymoon. It seems so real now.
First off, this is what my completed ring will look like - sort of: I love it. It's so pretty :)
And because I'm a dork, I took pictures of the vouchers:

And because I'm REALLY a dork, I love the bag and the cute little zipper pull:

What events/purchases made the wedding/marriage more real for you?

Yummy Cake

2009-07-09T10:28:00.000-07:00

I finally decided on a cake design and flavors - yummy! This is the cake we're going to replicate:

We're going to do our cake (the little top one) with Chocolate flavor cake with Chocolate Mousse filling and White buttercream frosting. For the cupcakes: 25 white flavor cake with chocolate mousse filling and white buttercream frosting; 25 white flavor cake with chocolate mousse filling and chocolate buttercream frosting; 25 chocolate flavor cake with chocolate mousse filling and white buttercream frosting; 25 chocolate flavor cake with chocolate mousse filling and chocolate buttercream frosting.
Instead of butterflies, I need to find some cute dragonflies (my favorite bug). I need to find some for my daughter's hairclips too. I was disappointed by and Etsy seller - she designed some clips for me - I sent her money through PayPal - and then she never sent them. At least I got the money back - oh well.
What are you doing for your cake?

Picking THE Song

2009-07-08T08:53:00.000-07:00

Hi there...remember me? I hope everyone had a great 4th of July weekend. We had fun going to hang out at Lake Okoboji and not have to worry about wedding planning (well, we did some thinking about it - but not much). Anyway, we got back to the grind Monday and have been really busy.
For Mr. S and I picking a song that is "us" is very hard. We have COMPLETELY different views in music. I like things he dislikes and he likes things I dislike. It's been very frustrating. Yes, we COULD compromise, but then it wouldn't be an "us" song. I previously posted some options here, his favorite was the Jason Marz song and mine was the Rascall Flatts song. I disliked the Jason Marz song only because I didn't want a song that everyone else was going to have at their wedding this summer and because I don't really like the boppy-dance move he'll do to it (he's a total white-boy when it comes to dancing). He didn't like my choice because it's a country song. My next idea was "You Had Me at Hello" since he said that when we met that's when he melted, but again since it's a country song, it's out (I'm using it pre-ceremony though).
When he nixed all my ideas, I started breaking down and saying this was too difficult and I didn't even want a first dance anymore - it's stupid. Fortunately he's a very good fiance so he started sending me mass amounts of emails with YouTube links to songs. We went through all kinds of music (more "boppy" songs, Sinatra and the other good ol' boys, and many others), in some ways it was exhaustive.
We still don't have an "us" song, but we have some that would be acceptable. So we're down to three finalists:
Someone exactly like you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EL23cb5SaBg
Crazy little thing called love: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrelPOP518g
Can't take my eyes off of you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzpWKAGvGdA&feature=related
Which one would you chose? Was this decision as hard for you as it has been for us?

Does this change my plans?

2009-07-02T15:54:00.000-07:00

My parents gave me some really sad news last night. My dad is getting laid off from the job he's been at for ten years. It seemed so secure since it was a government job, but it's not. I feel horrible for his situation, I know many others all across the nation are also facing this situation, but it really hits close to home for me now. I guess I'm being a little selfish too - does this change my plans? The main reason we're having the "big" wedding is because I shut my family out the last time. I want them to be a part of this one and if he loses his job, does this mean they can't afford to come out? My invitations just went out - had I known earlier maybe we could have scraped the big wedding and gone to Tucson for a "quickie" wedding and then gone on to Mexico - now I feel stuck and obligated to have the wedding out here. My parents haven't said anything about not coming, they're in shock and trying to do damage control so I don't want to bug them, but what would you do in my situation?

Dress Fitting, Marriage License, and Invitations...oh my!

2009-06-29T08:28:00.000-07:00

It's been a really busy couple of weeks and I've finally uploaded my pictures.
First off, the dress. When my sister came out for a short visit, I finally had someone around that could help me with my dress. I had a fitting scheduled for a few days later so this was my opportunity to see how much work I needed. After trying it on though, I cancelled the appointment, I think the dress fits fine (with a little more weight loss so I can actually breath in it). Here's how it looks:
Little Miss S like it :)

The next thing was picking up our marriage license. We went over our 3 day waiting period and picked it up at our convenience, which also meant Mr. S was out of town on his bachelor party trip. So I had to take the obligatory cheesy smile by myself. In Iowa you get two important pieces of paperwork, your marriage certificate and a licence to marry (woohoo - we're LICENSED!)

And last, but not least, this weekend I got my Invitations OUT! YAY! This has been such a thorn in my side. I knew it would require a lot of work and I HATE my home printer. I really should have listened to Mr. S and outsourced to either Staples or his printing lady for work, but I was stubborn. Oh well, they're out. Little Miss S helped me get them all finished up:
(She couldn't figure out why we didn't use the big sticker on the stamps - but was happy that when we were all done she got to keep them to decorate her papers)
One more happy thing - I went to my trainer yesterday (I skipped last weekend with everything going on - Mr. S out of town, boudoir pics, etc) and I lost 5 POUNDS - Yay me!
As of today we have 2 months to the wedding and are approaching the 60 day mark. I'm sure it just gets busier from here.
What is keeping you busy right now as your wedding date approaches?

My first award!

2009-06-25T10:21:00.000-07:00

The lovely Amber at Two Kids and a wedding has given me my very first blog award! So cool! It's especially nice since I love to follow a wedding from my hometown. Now I have to pick 6 other lovely bloggers to pass the award to. Hmm..this is going to be hard.

1. Let's start with I Do From the Zoo. I love this one because one of my first ideas was to have our wedding at the world-class zoo here in Omaha. Unfortunately the Mr. doesn't want a wedding here so that was nixed early on.

2.Next, the Encore Bride. I love her Southern charm and we both share a deep love for Dorothy of the Wizard of Oz. We're also both encore brides and it's nice to hear about others go through some of the same things.

3. The Roddy Bride for her crafting inspiration

4. The Pirate is Marrying a Pear because you have to love the name alone.

5. Pirate Bride because I just LOVE pirates, can you tell?

6. and last but not least jesstagirl and her officer. This is a new find and I really like it.

I have to mention august15bride because she is in the top three of my favorites, but since she gave Amber the award and then Amber gave me the award, I thought I'd share the love around.

The preview photos

2009-06-24T12:40:00.001-07:00

My boudoir photographer just sent me some previews of my boudoir shoot this weekend. I'm hoping several of the other outfits/poses that I liked come out well, but this is what she sent me so far.

Granted these are not in final editing, I guess the only thing I'm most disappointed about is that I couldn't lose my weight. Oh well, hopefully Mr. S finds them sexy - that's all that really matters, right?
Are you going to/did you do boudoir photos for your honey?

The Bachelor Party Trip

2009-06-23T08:41:00.000-07:00

The Bachelor Party has been the one thing more guys look forward to when it comes to weddings (well that and marrying that fabulous, wonderful girl he proposed to). Recently a new trend has started - the Bachelor Party TRIP - because of course one night is not NEARLY enough. Mr. S joined the band wagon.

He decided to take a trip to Denver with some friends and I was hoping it'd be pretty tame since he was also tying in the trip with a Shriner meeting he needed to attend (what was I thinking - these are the people with a TRAVELING BAR - they have bars at the circus, parades, everywhere - have I NOT learned my lessons from my own drinking stories there?).

The first two days of his trip were pretty tame - lots of eating out, enjoying the mountains, and golfing. Saturday came around though and all heck broke out. Needless to say, I ended up getting a call late Saturday evening about his friend getting in an argument with someone else about monkeys in a suitcase - YIKES!

Early the next morning they came home and Mr. S had some strange girly fake tattoos on his body in various locations (not - girly like naked girls, we're talking flowers and butterflies), worn off writing down his arms, and a major hangover. I was pretty glad he was home, but I have yet to get the full story about his trip - I really don't think I want to know. I'm glad he had fun and at least his trip didn't end up this crazy:

How do you feel about getting the details of your FH's party/trip?

E-Pics/Signature Portrait

2009-06-19T20:28:00.000-07:00

We had our session with the wedding photographer last weekend for our signature portrait. While I had some doubts about our photographer, I think she really listened to my ideas and tried to capture what I wanted.
These aren't the best, but these are from the preview site.

We took several at the studio and outside of the studio, but this is the only one we liked. For a more personal touch, we decided to move the location to our house.
Front of the house (This could be a good picture if cropped right.)

By Mr. S's flowers - He LOVES his flowers.

Over looking the valley below our house.

In the grass

From the deck

The "walk away shot"

The kiss shot

This is the one she did as an example of our guest book/signature portrait.

Which photo would you use? How did you incorporate something personal into your e-pics?