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!

Showerd

We went home at the beginning of June to take care of a number of things for the wedding. One of those things was my bridal shower. It was thrown by Katie, my sister/maid of honor, and she did a spectacular job! We got a lot of wonderful things and I had a very lovely time. Thank you to everyone that was there and to everyone that could not be there but sent cards, gifts, and recipes.

Stacey and I are playing the great games that my other bridesmaid, Maria, made for the party.

All of the questions had an answer of 'Sarah' or 'Gordon'.

Kate, Marge, and me

Katie made wonderful favors for everyone to take home. They are cupcakes in a jar! Vanilla cake with chocolate icing and spice cake with cream cheese icing, so cute and sooo yummy. They were a huge hit.

Let down.

Way back in November I was surfing Etsy for bridesmaids gifts. I came across a necklace that I loved. It was a lovely engraved locket with a Czech glass flower beads. The seller was having a bogo sale on all of her necklaces so I was hoping I could score a good deal on the gifts. I contacted her about the locket.

This is the original locket. Cute right? I explained to the seller that I was getting married and that I would love to give my girls this necklace as well as wear one myself. I asked her if she could make it in silver and if she could do Kelly green and Navy flowers. A few days later she got back to me and seemed really excited to fill the order. She said that she had to do some looking around to find matching lockets.


She came across these. She wasn't able to get all 4 of them to be the same but we decided to give the girls the smaller matching ones and I would get the larger, slightly different one. I asked if they could be ready by Christmas. I didn't find out till the last minute that they were not ready yet. I was planning a trip home in February and I asked if they could be ready then. She said she would probably be able to do that. Once again, they were not ready. Easter? Nope. She finally emailed me back shortly after Easter with photos of the finished necklaces. The pictures were little thumbnails and I could barely see them. But, from what I could tell they were exactly what I was looking for. I got so excited I emailed her back to find out the price and asked to set up a delivery. I didn't hear back from her. I emailed her again 2 weeks later. I waited another 2 weeks, nothing. And another 2 weeks, not a single response. At this point I have emailed her 4 times with out a response. I know that she has been on her site because she has updated her page, adding new items, posting new sales, etc. It has been almost 2 weeks since my last email.

I asked my friend Kathryn what she thought. I never put down a deposit or paid for the lockets. Kathryn agreed that I should just walk away and find something new. I sent the seller one final email. I explained that I was upset that I was unable to contact her for almost 2 months and that my wedding is about 2 months away. I stressed that I was disappointed I would not be wearing a locket on my wedding day.

Time to move on and find something new. Sorry girls, I really wanted to get you something special and I thought I had found it. I will do my best to make your neckline dazzle.

Weekend in Chicago

This past weekend Gordon and I went home to take care of wedding stuff. We had a million things to do and only a few days to get it all done.

Things to do while at home:

• Get my hair done, last time it will be colored or trimmed until the week of the wedding.
• Have dinner with our whole family, both sides, to discuss rehearsal dinner and open house during the wedding weekend.
• Engagement Photo session with shots in the city and out at Toyota Park (where the Chicago Fire play).
• Soccer Game!! Chicago Fire v. Philly Union (Fire won!!).
• Bridal Shower.
• Pick up veil from veil maker.
• Wedding Tasting, and pick out linens, tables, furniture, bar, etc.

Some how we did all of this and went to Q101's Jamboree, hung out with friends, and had time just the two of us.

Here is a sneak peak at our engagement session by our wonderful photographer Tasha. We cannot wait to see the rest of the photos.

Lots of things happen in 10 years

There are all kinds of things that have happened in the last 10 years. For example:

• 2001 a man paid $19million to become the first space tourist and board the International Space Station
• Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France 6 years in a row
• Al Gore won an Oscar
• Our country unites as we watch it fall apart from terrorist attacks and natural disasters
• Britney Spears shaved her head
• Carrie and Big finally get married
• Girl pop singers go from innocent, nice girls next door to girls that kiss girls (and like it)
• iPod. iPhone. iPad.
  

One of the greatest things that has happened in the last 10 years is my life with Gordon. Today marks our 10th anniversary of being together. When I met Gordon I knew he was something special. After a few months of spending all my free time with him I had hoped that he was the one that I would be with forever. Through all the ups and downs and miles apart Gordon is the one person I want to go home to every day. Wrapped in his arms is where I have always felt safe, happy, and at home. He makes me smile, he makes me laugh, and he always seems to make me cry when he gives me a card. I love him more now than I ever have, and I can only hope that our love will continue to grow as our family does and as we age together.

He is the best. He is my favorite. He is all mine.

Tic tock goes the clock

Only 4 more months till we say 'I do'! We have accomplished a lot but there is still so much left to do. When I stop and write everything down it feels a little daunting. Why does it take so much to make a wedding?

The check list:

Venue- Check
Photographer- Check
Wedding Cake- I'm making it! Gordon keeps hinting for a tasting
Bride's Dress-Check (first fitting this week)
Groom's Tux-
Bridesmaids' Dresses- Checkish (they've been found and bought, still need fittings)
Groomsmen's Tuxes
DIY Projects- In the works, my sister and I are working on the little details that will make the day extra special
DJ- Check (I think... this is Gordon's job)
Welcome Bags- this is a process because we want to make them extra fun for our out of town guest that will be visiting Chicago for the first time.
Hotel Blocks- Check (we still need to book our room though)
Engagement Photos- Check, we are going to have them taken while we are home in June.
Guest book
Save the Dates- Check, they were sent out and look awesome
Photo Wall
Invitations- Check (part 1.. I bought them now we have to print and assemble them)
Registry- Check, this was a lot of fun I'm super excited to see what we get for our honeymoon and for our home.
Honeymoon- Check, the tickets were bought yesterday, we are going to London Baby!
Passports
Favors
Menu- Check, this is super secret, we are going to do our tasting in June and I'm so excited
Play list- this is one of Gordon's jobs, we need to choose our songs to walk and dance to plus the overall feel of the whole night's dance party
Decor for the space- this is a bit of a process as well, some will get chosen when we have our tasting and some is being done as diy projects I hope my vision comes true.
Officiant- Check, this was a huge relief when he said yes. Our wonderful friend Dan is going to do us the honor of marrying us.
Transportation
Rehearsal dinner
Open house
Gifts for Bridal Party
Flowers
Wedding Bands
Marriage License
Write our vows

We'll get through the list and it will be an awesome wedding. Because event though all these little things need to get done and I have no idea when I will have time to do most of it, but, at the end of the day Gordon and I will be married. I get butterflies in my tummy each time I say it out loud.

Wedding dress woes...

I've had some wedding dress issues in the last week. Issues that I can't really get into because Gordon reads this and I don't want to ruin any elements of surprise for the wedding day.

Here are a few pictures from when my sister, Katie, and my friend, Liz, went wedding dress shopping with me. It was a trial run to see fabrics, neck lines, and embellishments that I may want to add to the dress I, at the time, was going to make. We came across 2 dresses during that trip that I fell for. One was out of any kind of price range I'd be willing to spend and was taking away from the dream of making something. The other was similar to what I wanted to make and because it was a bridesmaids dress and therefore more affordable, there was no way I could have made a dress for less. I went for the less expensive, less stress alternative to making my dress. I ordered the bridesmaids dress in a 'wedding dress' color.

These are the dresses that didn't make the cut. Some I tried on just for fun, others were contenders. This was an option if I were going to go with a short dress. They didn't have many options for short wedding dresses so I had to try on a few short bridesmaids dresses. Use your imagination... picture an off white... cute right?

Here is my 'America's Next Top Model' pose. It got some laughs, I think Tyra would tell me not to smile though. Tyra, tell me the last time you saw a bride that wasn't smiling.

This is my Sense and Sensibility option, perfict or a period, English Garden kind of wedding... not at all what we are having.

What doesn't this dress have? There's lace, ruffles, pleats, beading, and layers... a bit too much if you ask me. I look like a wedding cake threw up on me.

This is the 'princess' look. Not at all what I asked for. The sales woman was insistent that "Every bride wants to look like princess". I do not, never did. The worst part about this dress was that once it was bustled my ass looked 20 times larger than it actually is. I can guarantee 'every bride' doesn't want a huge ass on her wedding day.

This one had a nice back, but not a nice front. I have been growing my hair for the last 4 years and I am planning to wear it down for the wedding. It would be a total waste to cover the back of this dress with my hair.

This was vintage inspired off the shoulder dress that would look perfect with a string of pearls. It was just a little big and overwhelming for my taste.

Again, a beautiful back but the skirt was a little too flowy and it said beach wedding to me.

This one was really pretty, fit perfect (made my boobs and butt look awesome), and it was on sale. Downside, it had been tried on by tons of brides. It was filthy and had tears in the lace so it would have cost an arm and a leg to get it cleaned and fixed thus losing the charm of the small price tag.

This was the first one I tried on with a veil. It was awesome to feel like a bride. This was one of the dresses that made me really think about buying one versus making my own.


So many options and so many decisions to make. I'm happy with the purchases I have made... yes purchases, I found a dress on-line that is almost identical to the one I had originally wanted to make and I got it for a great price. Now I have to make one of the 2 dresses I have work. It was fun to go dress shopping I loved all of it.

Save the Date SUNDAY!

This past Sunday I made Gordon sit down with me and work on Save the Dates. I wanted to get them out a little earlier than usual because most of our guests are coming from out of state and I wanted to give everyone enough time to plan. We designed them ourselves and had ordered them from moo back in February. We got them a week later and they have just been sitting on the couch taunting me saying "mail me please". I wanted to do post cards and save a little on postage. Gordon didn't want "all our information floating out in the world".... We are posting everything on the internet and we are both on my space, facebook, and twitter.... its out in the world, people know we're getting married.

We did end up getting post cards but we got envelopes too. The stuffing of the envelopes wasn't the hard part. It was the narrowing down of the guest list and the typing all the addresses, then transferring them to a label program, and then going back and making sure everything was spelled right and had all the info in the right places (those of you with zip codes that start with zero... you were the most difficult). But, now I have all my address safely saved and it will make it much easier when it comes time to do invites as well as thank you's.

So here it is in all its glory.... I know its not the craftiest or flashiest little save the date but its simple and its very us.



The back simply states: "Cancel your Labor Day weekend plans because... Sarah & Gordon are getting married!"

I dropped them off at the post office on Monday afternoon and by Tuesday most of our friends here in Philly had already received them! I was shocked as to how fast they got out. We are starting to get word that people back home in Chicago got them today so they should all be out there by tomorrow at the latest.

I'm so happy with the way they came out. I love them.

J'aime les fleurs

I love flowers. I worked in flower shops through out high school and college. One of the ways I'm trying to save money on the wedding is to do my own flowers. I've done the flowers for countless weddings when I use to work in flower shops, and I've done the flowers for friends of mine.

I've been searching out interesting bouquet ideas because as much as I love flowers I really want to do something that is a little different.

These flowers are made from ribbon. Martha Stewart always has good ideas.

This one is a bit of a sweet treat but I'd worry about it getting sticky in the heat and getting all over my dress.

Beads are pretty and there is a wide variety of colors available. But I think it would be a lot of work and a little old fashioned.

Felt and buttons make a cute combo in solid white and in color. But it's a little much for my taste.

Now this is a bouquet I can get behind. Add a few colored spatulas and it's totally me. I don't think it will tie into the rest of the wedding but it expresses who I am for sure.

It aint easy bein' green....

Or in my case, it ain't easy bein' tall.

I have been tall my entire life. Don't get me wrong I love being tall. I actually wish I was a little taller. I know it sounds silly but, I always wanted to be 6 feet tall. This is the only case in life where I fell short, pun intended.

When I was born I was 22 1/2 inches.... that's almost 2 feet when I was only a day old! By the time I was 2 years old I was 3 feet tall. My doctors told my parents that I was going to be at least 6 feet tall by the time I was done growing. (this is where my dream began) Growing up I was always taller than my friends and the kids in my class. In the 6th grade I was as tall as my teacher.

The 7th grade was a real struggle for me. Not only was I a 13 year old girl who was starting to like boys but I was also taller than all the boys. When I started basketball in November that year I had a physical at the beginning of the season. I was 5'1'' and the tallest girl on the team. I complained all season about my legs bothering me. My coaches and my mom just thought it was from the conditioning during practice. In January I got injured during a game and spent the rest of the season in a brace protecting my sprained/slightly torn ACL. When I was finally cleared to return to gym and sports the doctor gave me another physical just to make sure I was ok. I was 5'8". My doctor did a double take and looked back into my chart. I grew 7 inches in 4 months. That's why I was in so much pain all the time.

I stopped growing my junior year of high school at 5'11'', one inch shy of having the dream. le sigh... I guess it wasn't meant to be. It wasn't till my senior year that guys were finally as tall or taller than me. Unfortunately none of those guys were the guys I liked. In my whole life I have only had 2 boyfriends taller than me. I was made to slouch in dance pictures because once I put heels on I was 6'3''.

Here I am with 2 of my good friends from HS. I look like a giant in every picture of us.

But, like I said before, I love being tall. At fancy occasions when everyone else is wearing heels, and I am not, I feel so short. But I'm not short, everyone else is finally as tall as me or at least close to being as tall as me. I'm the tall one; its what I know, its who I am. I learned that tall is beautiful and its nothing to be afraid of... unless I'm towering over you and I'm pissed off... then, be afraid. The height thing has never been an issue between Gordon and I. Gordon is about 2 inches taller than me. He'll just make a comment here and there when we go out and I dress up or when we go to a wedding. "Its hard to dance with you because you're too tall."

We didn't dance a single slow dance at Kathryn's wedding.

I am wearing flats here and Courtney is wearing heels.

My new issue with height is all this wedding stuff. I don't want to wear flats because I want to be tall. But, I don't want to wear heels over 3 inches because I want to be comfortable all night. I also want Gordon to be comfortable. I really don't want to be taller than him on our wedding day. There is also a problem with the dress. Extra fabric, hems, making sure I have the right shoes when I get alterations. Blahh. I know it will all work out. I'll get to be tall but not too tall. Its such a silly thing to worry about.

I'm seeing green.... and navy.

Its like I'm color blind and I can only see the colors green and blue. Everywhere I go, green and blue. Who knew that color could be so bewitching. Reading a ton of wedding blogs doesn't help either. Inspiration boards, dresses, shoes, flowers.... these colors are ALL OVER!!!


I LOVE those green shoes... too bad they're not on the JCrew website. SOOO frustrating! The red dress is cute too... I could see it in navy. And Lord knows I love me some red velvet cake.

The post that these dresses came from says that they are black and white. I see navy... what do you see? The bouquets are cute and very simple.
Whats not to love here? Great shoes. Fun cake. Vintage cake stands. And, that dress would be perfect for an engagement party.

We're not 'bird' people but these love birds are adorable. They would make a great custom stamp for our thank yous.