To have and to hold....

Tonight, Gordon and I worked on our vows. We are going to have a non demoninational ceremony and a friend's husband is going to marry us. He is a pastor and regardless of our church status he has faith in our love for each other. We are eternally grateful for his kindness and willingness to see over our union and put his trust and belief in our marriage.

Gordon and I have written our vows so that we repeat the same thing to each other. They are dear and personal words that I think we will hold to our hearts for the rest of our lives. Its so hard to put into words how much you care for someone or how they make you feel. Right now we are 900 miles appart, Gordon in Philadelphia and I in Chicago. I came home a few days sooner than Gordon to try and finish up all the little things that needed to be taken care of. This distance made it especally hard to write our vows, because it brought up all the memories of a long distance relationship we once had. Ten years later everything has come full circle and we find ourselves apart making decisions that will last us the rest of our lives.

I know that I am lucky to have spent so many great years with someone that loves me and that I love so dear. I cannot wait to spend the rest of my years with this same person because I know in my heart that our love and friendship will grow as we continue to age together.

4 days to go!

Its all happening at once. Today I did the final walk through with the venue and caterer. Tomorrow I have my hair appointment and begin decorating all of the cakes. Everyday there is an appointment or a place to be or something that needs to be done. The days are going to fly by and all I can hope is that I remember every moment of it.

I am so looking forward to being married!

Stressed

My hair is not blue. I am not dealing with bridesmaid drama. Gordon and I are not fighting. Basically, everything is going as planned. Honeymoon tickets and passports... check. Wedding dress fitted and ready... check. Tuxes ordered... check. Gifts for bridal party and parents...check. Menu and seating chart finalized...check.

So why am I so stressed out? One word.... BUDGET. I wanted a small wedding, something simple with our close friends and now it is way bigger than that. And, as I'm sure you all know, more people means more money. We are a week away from the big day and all payments are due. I cannot wait for people to stop asking us for money.

Let them eat cake

The wedding cake is very important to me. I make wedding cakes for other brides all the time and I finally get to make one for myself. We know that we don't want to go the traditional route for our wedding cake.

Here are a few cakes that were a bit different that caught my eye:

Gordon proposed on a Scrabble board so this would be really cute, but its a little too whimsical for me.

Every one loves rice crispy treats! I think this is so awesome, but I think people will be looking for some cake too.

Cupcakes are great, especially when they are done right. I think that its cute and fun but again, not for us.

The wedding is being held in down town Chicago on a Friday evening. So the bright lights of the city would be a great thing to show off on the cake, as well as the the beautiful iconic skyline of Chicago.

This is it! People always ask, "what is your favorite kind of cake?" Well, its different all the time. I LOVE spice cake with caramel icing. I also enjoy moist chocolate cake, and red velvet, and coconut.... ok, truth is, I really like cake. So we're going to have a variety of cakes at the wedding. Cake for everyone!!

1 Month to go!

One month from today I will become a married lady. I am beyond excited. Gordon and I have been talking about how quickly time is going by and that all our planning is almost done and the big day is almost here. Three months ago I made a check list for the wedding and I am happy to say that the list is almost complete.

New list of things to accomplish in the few weeks that remain:

1. Write our vows- we talked to Dan last week and now have a better idea of what is going to happen during the ceremony.
2. Figure out how to get our car back to Philly- I am going to drive to Chicago a week before the wedding with my dress, all the little things that I have been working on, our luggage, gifts for our family and most importantly the wedding cakes. We will be leaving straight from Chicago to go on our honeymoon in England and Scotland and need someone to drive our car with all of our stuff back to Philadelphia.
   
3. Start baking the wedding cakes- Yes, I said cakes. Cake is what I do for a living and its the first thing people ask me about when wedding planning comes up. There will be more than one cake served at our wedding, 15 to be exact.
   
4. Get our Marriage License- A dream of mine is to go the court house in down town Chicago and get our license. The law is that you have to get the license in the county that you are getting married in. Gordon thinks its fine to just go to the clerks office out in the suburbs, but I want that City of Chicago stamp on it. So, the day that Gordon gets into town I will pick him up from the airport and we are going straight to the court house to get our license. He's getting into town 2 days before the wedding, I get butterflies in my tummy just thinking about it.
   

List is a lot shorter than last time and totally do able in 4 WEEKS! Woo hoo it's almost here!!!

5 1/2 Weeks to go!!!

Today was a very big day. We sat down and talked with our friend Dan who will be preforming our ceremony. We went over everything he would say and what we would say and how it would all go. He is so great and we are so thankful that he will be marrying us.



We also went ring shopping. It was so much fun to look at all the rings. We got everything picked out and I am having some family heirlooms sized so that I can wear them on the wedding day as well. Gordon's ring is 'indestructible' and had a lifetime guarantee so he is going to be stuck with me and that ring for the rest of his life. They will be ready in about 10 days. I don't want to wait that long; I want to wear it right away.

Everything is coming together really nicely. We are getting response cards in the mail every day and its exciting to see that everyone is looking forward to coming to the wedding. YAY!!

Engaging

We just got our engagement photos back from our photographer and they are fabulous! We had a great time taking them even though it was raining. I have to say I was a little worried because Gordon had Lasik eye surgery a week before the shoot. He wore contacts when we first started dating but for the last 8 years he has worn glasses, and I loved his glasses. But, regardless of my worry on how he would look, I am happy that he got the surgery and that he no longer needs glasses to see. Glasses or not, we look really good together.

Thanks Tasha!