Welcome!

Many of you may be new to the site, so feel free to browse around and stay for awhile. All the important “day of” details are listed in the upper right hand corner (Church, Reception, Hotel, etc.) and the rest of the site is simply our online diary of the wedding plans dating back to last November.  From time to time I post wedding updates, thoughts, inspiration, seek advice and very rarely…obstacles we encounter.

Feel free to leave us a message (comment) as we love hearing from family and friends. We look forward to seeing many of you in a couple months!

Operation invitation complete

At last. I’m missing a few addresses but I would say I’m about 99% done. Whew!

They’re coming!

Address, Stuff, Stamp, Seal, Repeat

Address, Stuff, Stamp, Seal, Repeat

Address, Stuff, Stamp, Seal, Repeat

I call my little assembly line “operation invitation”. :o)

I’m actually enjoying the anticipation of sending out the invitations, as  I realized how blessed we are to be surrounded by so many friends and family! Writing each name and address brings me back in time and I’ve enjoyed this trip down memory lane.

Bronze metal goes to…

…my brother Kevin - the one that lives down in Tennessee! He has rented both his tux and hotel room. Man, you guys are on a roll. I’m running out of awards. Thanks for being on top of everything!

First bridal fitting

Today I went in for my first bridal fitting. Believe me, I wanted to do this first fitting way before now but all the different seamstresses I “interviewed” all suggested to wait until about two months before the wedding,

For once it was just me in the fitting room with the seamstress, not 10 other brides-to-be playing dress up at the store. Nope, this one hour was all about me…

staring at myself in a mirror…
on a pedestal…
in a wedding gown…
veil…
and wearing my new shoes.

I had one of those “moments” again. It’s all coming together.

Online deals

If you do a lot of online shopping, you’ll notice when checking out that the order form usually includes a space for “promotional code or coupon”.  Chances are, if you Google for the promotional code, you’ll find it online. I saved us a substantial amount of money this week simply by doing this extra step. These same discounts might come in handy for a few of you!

(Example: Google “Shoes.com coupon” or “Shoes.com promotional code”)

Shoes.com What woman doesn’t need another pair of shoes?!
Coupon Code: ENTSHOES09 for 20% off and free shipping. (Spend $100)
Coupon Code: ENTERTAINMENT for $10 and / or free shipping.

Stamps.com For Custom Photo Stamps
Coupon Code: “tenoff” for 10% off your order
Coupon Code: “gen1″ for free shipping

Shutterfly Photo Book
Coupon Code: VS09-VISA for 15% off your order

Candles For Less.com Great for bulk floating or votive candles
Coupon Code: MC1907 for 10% off $100 order Expires 09.22.08

Sources for the Coupon Codes:
MyCoupons.com
MomsView.com
RetailMeNot.com
XPBargain.com
Hope this helps at least one person. Let me know what deals you find!

Oh how I love online shopping!

I am an old fashion - gotta touch what I buy type of girl..who can never make a decision. However, in the past week,  I ordered my shoes, photo guest book, special stamps, and candles for the reception all online!  I’m about to place another order for the favors, however I  should probably run that by Alex first…and then check my bank account. :o) What else can I order online to save time? It’s been fun shopping from my desk!

Wind storm

Did everyone survive okay? The damage caused by the gusty winds threw off our day and we were not able to accomplish as much. Luckly our house and cars are okay, unlike some of our neighbors’.  I heard way too many stories today of unfortunate situations. Alex and I are blessed that only a few roof shingles flew off…and the large broken branches that fell did not hurt anyone, or anyone’s property. Needless to say, wedding planning was put on hold today.

Wedding hair styles

Yes, another no-so-serious topic. This is not like me to focus on myself but I’m running out of big things to do (which is nice!)…just lots of little details.

By the way, there are more wedding hair styles than shoes! Why didn’t I start researching this stuff months ago!? Check out all the accessories and flowers brides are using. The only thing I didn’t like about these photos is that they don’t do a good job of showing you how to wear the veil (above the bun? below the bun?)  I think it all depends on the hair style. Since I chopped my hair around New Year’s, I’m afraid it won’t be long enough to leave down in November. As for the bridesmaids, they can wear their hair however they chose (same for their shoes - any style they want is fine with me…as long as they are black).

Seriously, open or closed toed?

Yes, this is by far the LEAST important topic/question raised thus far on this blog…but it is top of mind as I need to go buy shoes this week! I go in for final dress fittings and they want me to bring my shoes with me. Look at all these options! Considering 4 out of 6 of the images shown are peek-a-boo, I think you might have an idea of what I like. I just hope I can wear peek-a-boos in November, however I know it totally breaks the “no open toe after Labor Day” rule.  Thoughts?  :o)  Bridesmaids can wear whatever style they want as well. They don’t have all to match…as long as they are black dress shoes, that’s fine with me!

Bridal shower photos

These just don’t do the party justice. I’m trying to showcase the amount of detail that went into center peieces, food, games, custom water bottles, and gifts. I think I’m missing a few photos of the delicious kabobs, Bon-Bonerie cake and cookies, time capsule and family photos with cousins and aunts/uncles. Thanks again to the entire family for a wonderful party!

Bachelorette party

Over the weekend, I received my invite to attend my last big night out as a “Miss” and celebrate becoming a “Mrs”.  I am really look forward to a girls night out and seeing everyone again! Thanks ladies for planning this!

The spark is still there…

Yesterday Alex’s mom’s side of the family threw us a very heart warming family bridal shower / celebration. I can’t even begin to describe how much thought, detail, and time his Aunt Kim (and honestly the entire family) dedicated to make this event extraordinary (insert tear drop #1).  Julie and Bob provided a delicious dinner and even my parents were able to travel to Cincinnati to attend. I can’t wait to share photos and more details with you in my next post!

Let’s just say the night included a FIREWORKS display! At some point in the past, Alex had mentioned to his mom & grandma that he wanted fireworks on his wedding day. Since our parish will most likely not allow fireworks on church property, his family thought a fireworks display would very fitting at the party.  Alex’s cousin Clinton and Godfather Barry set off a spectacular show that couldn’t have been more perfect  (insert tear drop #2). After the fireworks, we played with 3 feet long sparklers (which I LOVED!). Alex and I lit ours first…and then we lit the rest with our “spark”.

To top the evening off, the Backscheider family created a TIME CAPSULE for us and packaged it in a luggage trunk (about 2 feet by 2 feet). No one but Aunt Barb knows exactly what is all in this time capsule, other than it is full of surprises and memories that we can’t open until our 10 year wedding anniversary…in 2018.

(insert a sobbing mess of tears for so many reasons)

I have 10 poppers left over from the party that I’m going to hold on to for when we open the time capsule… to signify that “the spark is still there”.  May our next 10 be has joyous as our first.

Please bear with me

…as this site goes through some design changes over the next couple of weeks. This blog started out as a work project that I eventually rolled out to all of you. My goal is to match the design colors to our wedding and personalize the site theme a little more. I’m getting there…but there are still a few things I plan to tweak (font sizes, image size, navigation, etc.).

Silver medal goes to…

…my younger brother John for not only renting his tuxedo…but also booking his hotel room. I figured he gets the Silver since Brian got the Gold. 

Honestly, I take that back, he was the third out of four brother’s to book their hotel. Sorry John, you might get a bronze medal instead. Liz - that means the Silver is yours for being the 1st bridesmaid to book your hair appointment! 

Honestly, John is a great brother! He is always calling and asking…”What can I be doing? What do you need help with? When can I order my tux? When can I meet the other groomsmen?” He’s already reached out to Alex’s brothers (best men Aaron and Perry) to see what he can do to help plan remotely from Columbus. 

Just him calling and asking how things are going and saying that he wanted to be involved means a lot. Thanks for looking out for your older (but wiser) sis.

More photos