Paper Balls and Margaritas!

No, I'm not referring to my bachelorette party... but a get-together for wedding crafts!

Last Saturday, some of my favorite ladies came over to help me 629 of these:

What are they?  Well, a flower petal, of course!  It takes 5 petals to make a flower, and 12 flowers to make this:

My "Pew Markers"

So we made about 10 and 1/2 flower ball's worth of petals... and I'm thinking I need around 30 balls.  Yay for being a third of the way there!  Those of you that couldn't make it need not worry... there's plenty of folding and glue sticking opportunities ahead!

Thank goodness my teacher's aide enjoys cutting pink paper into 4 inch squares!  That saved me a lot of work last week! :o)

And Thank You SO MUCH for all the help I got on Saturday.  It was fun to see everyone, catch up, watch some college football (including victories by both Nebraska and Pitt State!), and drink some margaritas!

Man, I wish all my wedding to-do's were that much fun!

Picture PERFECT!!!

I know, I know... you don't have to say it.  I've been a bad blogger.  I've let the craziness of 2 weddings and a 3-week cough/cold/yuck keep me from even turning on my home computer!  I promise you'll have another post by Sunday!

But what better way to come back into the blog world than with a pictures post!  And what pictures do I have to post?

Our WONDERFUL Engagement Pictures!!!

A couple weeks ago (right before the cough set in), we went down to the Liberty Memorial to take pictures.  We got some GREAT ones!  Check them out (and let me know which is your favorite... because I just can't decide)!



One of my fave's



I love the angled pictures!



It's a weird angle for my neck, but I like the picture!



LOVE the sky in this pic!

Holding Hands with the "enemy"



"Kris Kross will make ya wanna... "



This was so fun to take... we had to throw the leaves in the air and hurry to kiss!



Even at this angle, you can see whose team is on top!



Possibly my favorite



This is one of those pics that just looks like "us"



LOVE!



I really do love this guy!



Like the skyline in this... wish we could have a little more!



LOVE what happens with the sun!



AWE!



So Sweet!



FUN!

And I insisted on having some "family" pictures.



Looks like Ossie is trying to jump out of our arms!



LOVE this family picture!

To see ALL of the pictures, check out my facebook album.  Ahh... LOVE THEM!!!

Now to decide which ones to print!  I'll probably take a couple to school, and I think I'll blow up one of the "family" pictures to put on our wall (much to Jason's dislike).  And I'm sure we will have a few of them framed for the wedding... Man, I love 'em!!!

All photos taken by Angie at Design and Capture Studios.

"Casey"

Guess what we did last weekend???  Registered!  It's like creating the ultimate Christmas list!  I'll do a separate post on our adventures in registering, but I have a funny post to share first... 

Of course after getting home from registering, I wanted to find our registry online.  When searching for "Jason Becker" there were 5 or 6 that came up.  No surpise there.  Jason and Becker are both fairly common.  But here's what you get when you search for "Casey Kuhn."

There we are... the 2nd one listed... But do you notice anything out-of-the-ordinary???  Well, take a closer look:

Yep... two Casey's getting married.  WEIRD!!!  "Casey" isn't even that common of a name!  And they think people from Kansas are weird...

Mail Time!

There's nothing better than getting some honest-to-goodness REAL mail (intermixed with the bills, junk mail and credit card offers)... Unless it's getting a package delivered!  And look what was waiting for me at home!!!

Ignore the camera cord... sorry!

 What's in this box???  Well, besides all of this fun:


There's 2 smaller boxes... containing what???  These beauties!!!

Colors look funny in the picture... it's a dark gray with metallic pink print

Pink with silver metallic print

We ordered 200 of them... I figured I'd use these and intermix them with some solid ones (black and/or white).  Don't know yet if I'll put them out on the tables, or at the bar, or where... but we got 'em now! :o)

See how awesome they look together???

...swoon...

A Little Something for the Guest Room Closet!

Yesterday was another big expensive day in the wedding planning process.  What did I buy???

MY WEDDING DRESS!!!

Remember the dress I liked from our shopping extravanganza???

I was really struggling with buying the dress.  The dress I fell in love with more than I wanted to spend.  It was at the top end of my original price range... but with Jason getting laid off, I just couldn't justify spending that much on a dress I'd wear for one day.

This dress isn't one I could find used online either... it was a private collection made specifically for/by the dress shop owner.  It wasn't a common designer with a style number I could just google... so I started looking elsewhere for a new dress.  But I just couldn't find anything I liked in my new price range. :o(

Then I got an e-mail (or rather, 12 e-mails because the wedding world believes in selling your e-mail address and sending you multiple e-mails over the same thing).  The email???  Well, it was informing me that the dress shop was having a sample sale.

The good news: I'd be saving 25-75% off the price of the dress!

The bad news: The sample was about a size too small.

After the first e-mail, I got excited!  I called my mom to tell her about it... unfortunately, she would be on the sandy beaches of Florida the weekend of the sale.  Bummer.  Well, I mentioned something about the sale last weekend when we were in Pitt, and Jason's mom decided to come up!

After the twelfth e-mail, I was worried... was this going to be a normal day of shopping, or would there be a two-hour line outside the door, our would it be like the running of the brides craziness you see on TV?  How crushed would I be if someone go the dress before I did?

So, Jason's mom and I got to the dress shop about 45 minutes before they opened.  NO ONE was there! :o)  So after a quick coffee run, we were back at the dress shop waiting for the doors to open.  We were the first ones there, I tried on the dress again, and it *almost* fit (I've lost some weight since this summer)!  They will need to move the panel behind the corset strings over a little (it's got 3 inches and needs to go over an inch-ish).

What was my response?  Debit or Check? :o)

So now, there's a pretty white dress hanging in our guest bedroom closet (don't worry, it's in an opaque bag, and Jason won't care enough to look at it).  HUGE relief to have my dress!

(Wo)Man's Best Friend... an uninvited wedding guest

Or the ring bearer that never was...

Meet Ossie (Sir Thomas Osborne Kuhn).  The little guy in my life.

Baby Oss... Just 2 months old! (so sweet and innocent!)

After playing fetch in the backyard

His favorite spot... the end of the bed

He's a Bichon-Poodle.  He will be 3 here in a couple weeks.  I couldn't ask for a better fit of a dog for us.  He can be obnoxious sometimes, but he's the best.  He's always happy and smiling.  He out-smarts us all the time.  He's great at tricks... when he chooses to be attentive.  He enjoys curling up in the crook of my legs while I'm napping.  He loves baths... until I'm washing/rinsing his head.  He's great at cleaning up after us as we are cooking and eating.  Oh, and we can't even spell (let along say) the word WALK anymore with out him spinning circles!

As much as I want to have my little man with us on the big day, it just doesn't seem feasible.  You know those people who talk just to hear themselves talk?  Well, that's Oss, but with a bark.  And he doesn't do well with new people.  And LOVES to say "hi" (by jumping and playing) to people he knows.  I just don't think it would be a good idea to have him there... as much as I WANT him there, I just can't have him.

So... Maybe I'm just torturing myself, or maybe it's a coping strategy to get over the Oss-withdrawl I'll be going through, but...

5 reasons why I wish Oss-Man would be able to be at our wedding:


Oss only behaves this well when treats are involved! from One Fine Day

Cute Suit! from Intimate Weddings

A Jaunt down the aisle from WedLoft

Awe!  I want this! from The Vegas Wedding Planner



Playing Chase! from P + K Photography



Well, I guess Oss will be making a small appearance at our wedding:



8 Months minus 1 day

Yesterday we had reached the 8 month mark!  We just switched over from the Twelve-to-Eight Month To-Do list to the Eight-to-Six Month To-Do list.

Yesterday I posted our progress on the 12-8 month list.  And here's what we should be working on from the 8-6 month list...

• Plan details with floral designer. Kristin's got her own wedding to get through... we can plan the details after that!
• Order invitations, announcements, thank-you notes and save-the-dates. Save the dates are half done... guess I should finish them up. I have the invitations planned... I'll order the paper eventually.
• Have a map to the reception designed and printed. Need to do this... I've seen people do this with PowerPoint. I'll have to try my luck at it.
• Reserve limo to transport bridal party. I think we are going to see if we can get a trolley or "party bus" to take everyone to-and-from the venue.
• Reserve rental equipment (tables/chairs).  Thankfully these are included with our venue.
• Find a new place to live.  No need.  We are staying here until we are married!
• Finalize honeymoon plans.  I think we've decided to wait and book it last minute... A little nerve-racking, yes, but worth the savings?  We think so!
• Reserve accomodations for out-of-town guests.  I need to do this.
• Book engagement portrait session.  It came with our picture package... we had talked about doing it this fall.  I'm thinking I want to wait until after the first freeze the pictures don't have me with allergy eyes. :o)
• Hire stylist for wedding hair and make-up.  I know where we will be getting our hair done... but I don't know that they take reservations 8 months out!
• Hire a day-of-coordinator.  DONE!!! :o)
• Get into a consistant exercise routine.  This will happen AFTER tennis!
• Send out Save-The-Dates!  Really?  I can send them out now???  Guess I need to order them and get them out!

So... pretty much everything I need to get through before the holidays.  Geez.

8 Months & Counting!

I got an e-mail today (along with all of my wedding spam) reminding me that we are 8 months out from the wedding!  Wow... can that really be?!?  Only 8 months???

According to The Pink Book (a great site to help stock your wedding-planning notebook), here's where we should have done by now (and where we are really at one each one):

• Order the gown and accessories.  Plan is to buy it SATURDAY!!!
• Compile the guest list.  MY list and both of our parents' lists are compiled... still waiting on JASON'S list!
• Choose and notify attendants.  DONE!
• Select and order attendants gowns.  Not on my to-do list... they are picking their own.
• Select caterer.  Selected... yes.  Ordered... no.
• Select photographer.  Selected, ordered and paid for!
• Select floral designer.  My cousin, Kristin, will be doing some of this... she just has to decide how much she's willing to do!
• Select and order wedding cake and top.  Talked with a friend from HS about making my cake... don't know flavors, but the design is done.  Oh, and the groom's cake topper has been ordered and received!  Still need to make the B for the real cake.
• Select balloon decorator.  Seriously?  Um, no.
• Select videographer.  Still trying to talk Jason into this... maybe somethign to cut?
• Select and register for registry items.  We've talked about what we want and looked at a couple of different stores.  Maybe we will get this done on Sunday!
• Select music for ceremony.  How have I not done this yet???
• Select entertainment for reception.  We need a DJ... know a cheap one?
• Plan details of the reception.  Does this mean decor?  If so, it's planned!

Man, I think I need a day off to get wedding stuff done! :o)

Controversial Topic Tuesday: Personal Life Story

Today I'm bringing back Controversial Topic Tuesday!

Today's Topic: Money... and how freakin' expensive wedding are!

I keep getting the question, "So, do you have everything done for your wedding?"

And my answer, a definite "No."  And we've been in a wedding-purchasing slump for the past few weeks.  Why?  Well, Jason got laid off.

Honestly, he hated his job, and so it's not that bad of a deal... but it just sucks.  He's had some 6 interviews, but nothing worthwhile.

So why am I wedding blogging about this?  Well, wedding purchases have been put on hold until further notice.  I'm really struggling with what I NEED to buy, and what I just WANT.  Can I justify buying cocktail napkins?  Does anyone even care about centerpieces?  I fell in love with a dress... but is it worth $1000 to wear it for one freakin' day?

I'm such a perfectionist, I don't want to cut corners... but I'm such a penny-pincher, I can't justify buying ANYTHING right now.

So, former brides: what can I cut out?  What can I skimp on to save some money?  And similarly, where should I NOT make cuts?

Would you like them in a house? Would you like them with a mouse?

No, we aren't changing our venue to our parents' backyard, nor are we inviting Mickey and Minnie... but we are thinking about an idea that's a little "out there."

I've been looking into unique readings for during the wedding.  I'm sure we will have some Bible verses, but I wanted something other than the same ones you hear at every wedding.  I stumbled upon this as an idea... Read through it, (feeling the wedding vibe... not the graduation one) and let me know what you think.  I had never thought about it as a wedding reading until now, but I think I like it.  I might do the "abridged" version since it's a little long.

Oh! The Places You’ll Go!
by Dr. Seuss

Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.
You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.

You’ll look up and down streets. Look’em over with care. About some you will say, “I don’t choose to go there.” With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet, you’re too smart to go down a not-so-good street.

And you may not find any you’ll want to go down. In that case, of course, you’ll head straight out of town. It’s opener there in the wide open air.

Out there things can happen and frequently do to people as brainy and footsy as you.

And when things start to happen, don’t worry. Don’t stew. Just go right along. You’ll start happening too.

Oh! The Places You’ll Go!

You’ll be on your way up!
You’ll be seeing great sights!
You’ll join the high fliers who soar to high heights.

You won’t lag behind, because you’ll have the speed. You’ll pass the whole gang and you’ll soon take the lead. Wherever you fly, you’ll be best of the best. Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

Except when you don’t.
Because, sometimes, you won’t.

I’m sorry to say so but, sadly, it’s true that Bang-ups and Hang-ups can happen to you.

You can get all hung up in a prickle-ly perch. And your gang will fly on. You’ll be left in a Lurch.

You’ll come down from the Lurch with an unpleasant bump. And the chances are, then, that you’ll be in a Slump.

And when you’re in a Slump, you’re not in for much fun. Un-slumping yourself is not easily done.

You will come to a place where the streets are not marked. Some windows are lighted. But mostly they’re darked. A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin! Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in? How much can you lose? How much can you win?

And if you go in, should you turn left or right…or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite? Or go around back and sneak in from behind? Simple it’s not, I’m afraid you will find, for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.

You can get so confused that you’ll start in to race down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space, headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.

The Waiting Place…for people just waiting.

Waiting for a train to go or a bus to come, or a plane to go or the mail to come, or the rain to go or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow or waiting around for a Yes or No or waiting for their hair to grow. Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite or waiting for wind to fly a kite or waiting around for Friday night or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake or a pot to boil, or a Better Break or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants or a wig with curls, or Another Chance. Everyone is just waiting.

No! That’s not for you!
Somehow you’ll escape all that waiting and staying. You’ll find the bright places where Boom Bands are playing. With banner flip-flapping, once more you’ll ride high! Ready for anything under the sky. Ready because you’re that kind of a guy!

Oh, the places you’ll go! There is fun to be done! There are points to be scored. There are games to be won. And the magical things you can do with that ball will make you the winning-est winner of all. Fame! You’ll be famous as famous can be, with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.

Except when they don’t. Because, sometimes, they won’t.

I’m afraid that some times you’ll play lonely games too. Games you can’t win ‘cause you’ll play against you.

All Alone!
Whether you like it or not, Alone will be something you’ll be quite a lot.

And when you’re alone, there’s a very good chance you’ll meet things that scare you right out of your pants. There are some, down the road between hither and yon, that can scare you so much you won’t want to go on.

But on you will go though the weather be foul. On you will go though your enemies prowl. On you will go though the Hakken-Kraks howl. Onward up many a frightening creek, though your arms may get sore and your sneakers may leak. On and on you will hike. And I know you’ll hike far and face up to your problems whatever they are.

You’ll get mixed up, of course, as you already know. You’ll get mixed up with many strange birds as you go. So be sure when you step. Step with care and great tact and remember that Life’s a Great Balancing Act. Just never forget to be dexterous and deft. And never mix up your right foot with your left.

And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and ¾ percent guaranteed.)

Kid, you’ll move mountains!
So…be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray or Mordecai Ale Van Allen O’Shea, you’re off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So…get on your way!

One of my FAVORITE books! from Good Reads

Wine Box and Love Letters... Jason and Casey style!

For our family and friends who will be at our Rehearsal Brunch, if you want to be surprised, stop reading now!

For the rest of you...

We are planning a Wine Box and Love Letters ceremony.  What is that?  You've never heard of that?  Well, I hadn't either until I stumbled upon it on the WeddingBee site.  Man, I love me some WeddingBee!

from Nicole Bertucci

Here's the ceremony in a nutshell:
We will each write a love letter to each other before our wedding day.  It will say all the reasons we love being with the other person, why we want to get married, etc... You know, all that sappy, mushy stuff. 

from Doodle Dog Blog

We will each seal our letter, not letting the other person read it.  Then, you put your letters, along with a bottle of wine and two wine glasses into a box.

from Marvelous Girl

As for the "ceremony" part, you would seal it during your wedding ceremony (nail it closed).  The thought is that you don't open it until either a significant anniversary (I've seen both 5th and 10th) or if you are considering ending the marriage, it's a good reality check to help you remember why you got together in the first place.

from Wedding Channel

Very sweet, but too corny for us... So we are adding a little fun to it:

In addition to our love letters, wine, and wine glasses, we are going to give our guests a chance to add their own items to our wine box.  We will have 4 types of cards:

Cards were my own creation

(The last one is my personal favorite!)

We will add these items to our box and make it almost "time-capsule-esque."  I think it will be fun to read through these in 5 years (...if I can wait that long!  It'll be like Christmas... I'll just want to open it right away)!

I'm thinking we will have it out during our Rehearsal Brunch, and encourage everyone to fill out one of each.  Then we can just leave it out during the reception if anyone wants to add anything to it.  Maybe put a few of each card on the tables (?).

So, what do you think?  Would you add your own Advice, Well Wishes, Predictions, and Random Thoughts/Quotes/Drawings to our wine box if you were at our wedding?  Or is it still too cheesy?

This DOC makes WEDDING calls!

It just hit me... how did I forget to blog about this?  Seriously, I'm so excited for this part of my wedding!  What is it?  Well, my wedding DOC!

No, not this kind of doctor...

Image from The Process

This kind:

Not the groom-stealing kind, the wedding planning kind!
from IMdb

She may as well be my doctor for all the help my Day-of-Coordinator will be!  For those of you NOT planning a wedding right now, a Day-of-Coordinator (a DOC) is the greatest idea ever for the bride that wants to plan her own wedding.  Basically, it's your go-to person on your wedding day.  They don't plan the entire thing, but they can help with the set-up, make sure all the vendors arrive (and deal with it if they don't), deal with last-minute issues... Basically someone I can trust to take care of everything that day so I don't have to worry.

So I knew it had to be someone who LOVES weddings, is super organized, and someone who I can trust... truly trust so I get to enjoy the day and not spend it worrying about those all the little details.

Well, my co-worker Sarah fits that perfectly!  Her wedding has been one of the weddings I look to for inspiration and ideas (check out her gorgeous wedding pics here).  She's very organized (you should see how clean her desk is!) and she enjoys weddings as much as I do!

I'm so excited for her to help with the big day!  YAY!!!