Note to self

This is why I am getting married in a church.

Clumsy Best Man Ruins Wedding - Watch more free videos

Meet our wedding party

Silver sixpence in her shoe…

Today I came home to yet another sweet surprise in the mail from my brother’s friend Carol.  It was nicely wrapped silver sixpence coin and personal note.

A few months ago, I wrote a post about Something Old…Something New...and wrote about how there is a last line that says “and a silver sixpence in her shoe”.  Carol’s note stated that the “sixpence” must be worn in the left shoe as the bride goes down the aisle to insure wealth and prosperity in the marriage.

My favorite line from her note was…”Michelle, when I found this, I thought of you and hope it brings you and Alex lots of wealth in your marriage…What the heck, it already is creating wealth in your marriage because the sixpence is no longer minted therefore it can only go up in value. he he
Hugs,
Carol

Very thoughtful..and witty. Thanks Carol.

Something Old

This past Tuesday, Alex and I received a very special gift from Alex’s grandparents. It was a delicate, white lace handkerchief with a hand written note that said:

For all the future Backscheider brides to borrow for Something Old. This handkerchief belonged to Grandma Catherine (Lipps) Backscheider who carried it on her wedding day, which was June 20, 1931.

The handkerchief was still in its original box! I don’t believe we have many family heirlooms from the Prenger / Rodeheffer side of the family, so this gift is extremely sentimental for us.

I look forward to seeing Alex’s younger sisters and cousins carry on this tradition …as Something Old “must be something which has belonged to a happily married woman. The wearing of such an item insures a lucky transfer of happiness to the new bride and signifies a series of  continuity, tradition and represents the link to the brides old life and her family”.

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Backscheider.

Bachelorette Party

A couple weeks ago I enjoyed a night out with my best gal pals here in Cincinnati. Roughly 25 lovely ladies met up at Justine’s downtown apartment for appetizers and drinks, and then we headed out on a “Tour de Mitch” bus pub crawl …strategically going to areas of town that have significant meaning to Alex and me.

Examples include:
* Clifton (University of Cincinnati’s campus)
* Mt. Adams (where I used to live)
* Newport (where Alex always makes me go)
* and the “Lodge Bar” because my first house at UC was called “The Lodge” because it had a wood cabin feel to it. “The Lodge” (house) is not only where I met Alex, but also where I met most of the girls in my wedding party…a little over 10 years ago.  How thoughtful!

Throughout the night the bridesmaids continued on with cute games and presented me with very creative, thoughtful and personal gifts. All of our friends even wore feather boas…as they know that is my favorite party accessory!

Thanks Team Bridesmaid!
(pictured above)

Last priest meeting

We finally had a chance to sit down with Father Bolte and talk through the rehearsal and ceremony details. There are lots of little details to complete and/or bring with us to the rehearsal…church donations, server gifts, marriage license, our written petitions, aisle runner, flowers for sign of peace & Mary, unity candles, confirm readers, offertory and communion distributors…and attend confession within two weeks of our wedding date. I’m sure I’ll think of a few more…

Now that both the music and readings have been finalized, we can also start to create our ceremony programs.

Lots to do!

Family visit

Last night my Dad and brother David made an impromptu drive to Cincinnati to check out the hotel, reception hall and get fitted for their tuxedo. I was fortunate enough to be able to meet up with them and show them around the area and get their opinions on a few things. They are also trying to help organize some sort of central meeting space at the hotel for Saturday afternoon and post reception. We are exploring a few options and will inform those staying in the hotel where they can gather for refreshments. Should be a good time!

Ceremony meeting

Tomorrow we meet with Father Bolte to finalize our vows, ceremony time line, music, and readings.  Alex and I still have a lot to read and talk through tonight before our meeting but we are pretty much in agreement of what we want, so that is good.

There are a lot of decisions to make!

Girl bonding

This weekend I received a much needed break from wedding planning. I was whisked away to Chicago to see the New Kids on the Block reunion concert. So, while Alex was out of town for his bachelor party, I was in Chicago reliving my pre-teen years with 5 of the cutest boys I have ever met (well…until I met Alex of course!). We had a blast!

Over the past month, I have throrougly enjoyed “my girl time” with some amazing ladies. The bridesmaids threw me a very thoughtful and creative home organization/home improvement bridal shower in July, an over the top bachelorette party last weekend, and four of us traveled to Chicago for a girls weekend.  Even though I’m getting married, my friends will always be an important part of my life and I “vow” to still make time for them. I know Alex feels the same way about his “dudes”. We both value our friendships and respect each others time apart…and I think that I key to our relationship and what keeps us strong.

Photo guest book

Yes, once again, I’m breaking the rules. Instead of a traditional guest book with lines where guests sign their names, I created a “photo book” using our engagement photos. This book serves as both our engagement album…and our guest book. Guests can sign between the photos in the “white space” and blank pages.  Yes, guests can write on the pages of the book. :o)  Not only can they sign their name, but they can also leave us a message if they so chose. Love it!

And…since I’m so excited with how it turned out, I want to share it with you now instead of waiting until the wedding.  (For the few brides-to-be that have been following my blog, I used Shutterfly.com and highly recommend this service! I simply uploaded my photos, created the page layouts and received it in about a week).

Click to view book.

We have candles

…and lots of them! I came home today to two large boxes containing 144 white round floating candles on my porch. So, what is the first thing I did? Tested to make sure they floated!  Well, they passed!

I was extremely nervous about ordering these online but I must say that I am pleased with my decision. Our reception will now be completely illuminated as I had envisioned.

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).