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.

It's a date!

I have been planning this day for what feels like forever, even before he asked me to marry him. When you've been together as long as we have and have been to as many weddings as we have you start to get an idea of what you want.

We had discussed wedding dates. I wanted Memorial Day weekend 2010. It's the weekend after our 10th anniversary. I thought it would be romantic. It would also be easier on our out of town guests because it would be a long weekend and there wouldn't be a rush to get back to work. When we looked at a calendar it kinda freaked Gordon out. May was only 8 months away. We weren't financially ready to get married that quickly. We went back and forth about it. I did not want a long engagement. We settled on Labor Day weekend 2010. It was still less than a year but it was in a more doable time frame.

I spent 2 months looking at venues on line. There were a lot of really awesome places but they wouldn't have worked out because they couldn't hold enough people, were too far away, were way too expensive, or were already booked. Some of the venues at the top of our list included:

A New Leaf
Byron Colby Barn
The Redfield Estate
Salvage One
Cafe Brauer

While we were home for Christmas we looked at three possible venues.

• The first was the Cheney Mansion. It was great. It had a homey feel. We could have the ceremony on the lawn and it was close to the city but still in the burbs. There were a lot of positives to this space. The negatives were that our guests would be spread out over a few different rooms for dinner and dancing would be on the 3rd floor. Unfortunately, the only way up to the 3rd floor is by stairs which would be difficult for some of our older guests.
• The second place was Prairie Production. My friend Kathryn had been interested in this space but it wasn't large enough. The space was great. Big, open, blank canvas with a nice court yard with a view of the sky line and free parking (always a plus in the city). The problem was that it was a big empty space and it would take a lot to decorate it. There was also an Adult store right on the corner.
• The third place was Gallery 1028. I found it by sending an email to someone about another space. She wrote back saying that they didn't manage that space anymore and to check out this space. I love it. Its a loft space like Prairie Production but it has a much warmer feel. Its in the middle of the city with easy access to the highway and free parking and they take care of all of the rentals (big plus since I'm far away and it eases the stress of long distance planning). Down side is they have an exclusive caterer so they are a little expensive.

We decided to go with Gallery 1028. I am hoping that they can work with us on the expense of the catering. I'm going to be doing a lot of things myself to try and save some money. When we made that decision it really hit Gordon that this was actually happening. Not that it wouldn't but now there is a space and a date. Yay!

So kids, we are getting married Labor Day weekend 2010! We talked about Save the Dates today. Hopefully we will have them out by the end of the month so that all of our guests from out of state can start planning.