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.