Sunshine to having ABSOLUTELY NOTHING going on this weekend. We have not had a weekend like this since last winter.
Sunshine to all the changes we’ve made for décor in our house over the past two weeks: new bookshelves for the living room, organizing and displaying some wedding gifts, new bedding in both guest rooms, new rug in one guest room, new shower curtain in guest bathroom, and lots more. Our house isn’t much but I really love it.
Creep to my insomnia last night. I woke up at 2:37 and never went back to sleep. So no run for me today - sad face :-(
Creep to being SO close to my goal weight (yes, I’m still trying, even though the wedding is over). I’ve been stuck at this plateau since the wedding and I am only .4 lbs away. GRR!
Sunshine to my shopping spree yesterday. Thank you, Banana Republic!
Sunshine to getting Michael a new blazer (for $575 off – thank you Nordstrom Rack) and some cowboy boots this week. Yes, my husband owns (and now wears) cowboy boots and I totally love it. They look great on him :-)
Creep that. all of the sudden yesterday, one of the guys on my morning radio show is no longer on it. On Wednesday, everything seemed totally fine and he was on. Yesterday, he wasn't on. And then today, they announced he was gone for good. I know this is a dumb thing to be bummed about but I really am.
Sunshine to yoga this week with one of my coworkers. It's our new Tuesday ritual and I love it.
Sunshine to booking appointments at several wineries for our honeymoon. We leave three weeks from today and I cannot wait!
Creep to raking the yard. That is my least favorite chore.
Sunshine to some good book suggestions.
Creep to never sleeping in. When you wake up at 5am on the weekdays, you’re lucky if you can sleep until 7 on the weekends.
Sunshine to my biggest work event of the year almost being here. It’s next Fri-Sat and I really cannot wait for it to be over.
Sunshine to getting our marriage license in the mail this week. First stop – Social Security Office (and from what I have heard, it sucks going there, so Creep to that).
Sunshine to the beautiful fall weather. What a gorgeous weekend ahead of us!
The night before our wedding, I didn't sleep at all. Not even for a minute. I got out of bed and paced (I've never done that before) from 3-4am, then tried to lay back down. At 5am, I said "Screw it" and showered. By 6am, most everyone was up, since the guys went Pheasant hunting the morning of the wedding.
After the guys headed out, the girls went outside to finish some decorating. I was obsessively checking the hourly forecast on my phone and trying to gauge what it would be like at 4:30pm. Our "uninvited guest" was definitely going to make a statement appearance - the wind was supposed to be gusting at 25-35 mph. We decorated what we could, knowing that things were probably going to have to change as the day went on.
By 9am, our hair and makeup people had arrived. They set up shop in the living room of the cabin and got to work. My hair and makeup artist, Katie, was awesome! She did my makeup first and I loved it. I am not super confident in my ability to do eye makeup and I thought she hit it out of the park. And luckily, I had already decided to wear my hair up so the wind would not affect that. Michael's sisters made a playlist for us to jam to as we got pampered.
By 10:30am, the guys were back and outside setting up. Our cake arrived and looked awesome. Our photographers arrived and started snapping photos. My personal attendant Michelle and wedding coordinator Laurie were rockstars who did a ton to help out that day - decorating the trellis, finishing details in the tent and with the cake display, setting up chairs, etc.. Seriously, I do not know what I would have done without them.
When all this was going on outside, I was stuck inside. I didn't want Michael to see me so I just looked out the window and watched. I was surprised by the amount of "downtime" I had that day. I thought I would be frantically moving from one thing to the next but I had about an hour to just try to relax. Thank you Michelle for making me eat and helping me do this.
At 1pm, I put on my dress and by 1:30, Michael and I had our first look. I was surprised that neither of us cried. I thought I would for sure. Instead, I was so giddy that I practically jumped into his arms. We took our pictures and the wind started to pick up. A LOT. My veil was everywhere so tried to find good shaded places to take photos that were protected from the wind. Luckily, it wasn't that cold - about 70 degrees. By the time we were halfway through pictures, I made the decision to not wear my veil for the ceremony (BEST DECISION EVER!). I should have taken my veil off sooner, as it was in my face a lot.
Our caterer arrived around 1:30 and went to work getting all the food and drink ready. The catering manager, Lisa, was awesome. If you are looking for a caterer in the Twin Cities area, I cannot say enough good things about ours - Design Cuisine by Macy's. They were professional, attentive, kind, and best of all - the food was freaking amazing!!!!!!!!!
We took photos with our wedding party, our families, and then it was inside to wait for an hour. That was a hard hour. Things were not going as planned - our DJ was late and then blew a circuit, there were some people who showed up that we were not expecting, and the wind was really blowing. I could tell some the guests were really uncomfortable with the amount of wind - they did not have good poker faces. I knew there was no way we could do our cocktail hour outside like we planned. I was in the living room watching all this happen and started to freak out a bit. Not in a "I don't want to get married" way but in a "I cannot wait another minute to get married" way. I wanted to ceremony to start, but we still had 30 minutes. Michael and I ended up hiding out in his parents' room to try to calm each other down, which helped. At 4:25, we said "See you soon" and parted ways.
The grandparents went first (to the wrong song -they left before their cue, but whatever), then the theme from Forest Gump started and Michael, his groomsmen, and the officiant went out the side door, and Michael's parents went down the aisle. The bridesmaids walked down the aisle alone to a piano version of the song "Dream" by Priscilla Ahn. People either love or hate when bridesmaids walk alone. I personally love it. I also hated the idea of Michael standing up there alone, waiting for his groomsmen to join him, and the best man arriving last. I wanted those four important people up there with him the whole time.
The song changed one more time (I walked down the aisle to Edelweiss - I got that idea from my friend Becky two years ago) and I started walking out with my parents. I was doing fine until I made eye contact with Michael and the guests stood, then I started to cry. Only one tear made it down my face though!
The ceremony was about a half hour. Michael and I worked with our officiant, Jill, to write the entire thing. We wanted to make it as personal as possible. I could not have been more pleased with how it went. I was continually flattered during the evening as many guests told me how much they loved the ceremony, our vows, and our wine ceremony, or that it was the best ceremony they had ever been to. That meant a lot to us, as we worked really hard on it.
Michael and I wrote our own vows to each other, independently, but they were very similar. We talked about a lot of the same things, which I thought was funny but so true for us. Those moments, those memories, the "what is to come" is so similar for us because we both relish in those things, we talk about them all the time, and they clearly made an impact on both of us. I cannot say it enough - I married my soul mate.
The only other time I cried was when we went to hug our parents, and that was because I saw Michael's dad crying. There was a sweet moment when Michael wiped my tears for me. I wish someone would have got a picture of that.
I am so thankful that we asked one of Michael's friends to tape our ceremony. Much of it was a blur the next day, until I watched the video. Then it all came back to me and it was so wonderful to watch. I have probably watched it 10 times :-)
What struck me as I watched the video the first time was just how INCREDIBLY windy it was. I didn't notice much during the ceremony but when I watch the video, I cannot believe I didn't notice it. The bridesmaids' hair was everywhere (so was Michael's :-)), you can sort of hear it on the microphone, and all the guests, especially the ladies, were shifting a lot, trying to stay warm under their pashminas. THANK YOU to everyone who was there and put up with the wind. I know the weather was not ideal but we appreciate you letting us have our dream ceremony, outside by the lake.
That's it for today. More about the reception and our invited guest next week! And pictures to come! We are waiting for our CD from our photographer, and then I'll be able to blog about some of the details I didn't tell you before.
Sunshine to it FINALLY being Friday. Was this not the longest week ever???
Creep to a sucky work week. Everyone is crabby and stressed out, our database was down for two days, and I am not motivated at all.
Sunshine to keeping up our running schedule (and continuing to shed a few more pounds, even after the wedding).
Sunshine and good luck to my sister on her job interview today.
Creep to sucking at this whole name change thing. I guess after calling myself by the same name for 29 years, it’s going to take some time to call myself by a new name.
Sunshine to yoga this week with Michael. It felt good to sweat!
Creep to all of the things we want to do this weekend – I know we won’t be able to do them all.
Sunshine to my parents’ visiting this weekend.
Sunshine to my friends Lara and Jordan, who got engaged last weekend. Congrats!
Sunshine to apple picking on Sunday with friends.
Creep to the crappy book I just read. I skipped about 150 pages in the middle and skimmed the end, and it never got better. I need a recommendation!
Sunshine to an awesome dinner last night. If you ever want to make some authentic and delicious tacos, try these. SO GOOD!
Creep to not having our wedding pictures back yet. I know our photographer is crazy busy and I am trying to be patient, but I want to see them so badly!
Sunshine to some quality time with my hubby this week. I am one lucky woman.
It’s going to
take me a few weeks to do recap the wedding. It would be way too long to put into one
post. Today, I’ll cover Thursday and Friday’s events.
Thursday
Michael and I
got up ran early on Thursday morning, then I headed to the cabin with his dad
and he went to work for a few hours. We were at the cabin by 9 since we were
told that the tent set up guys would be there around 9 or 10. Well, they didn’t
show up until 2. I was pretty annoyed, mostly b/c I made sure I was there in
time and would have loved a few more hours at home to get things ready. Once
they arrived, they were efficient and really nice. They were gone by 5 and I
pretty much spent the entire time watching them set up. It was fun to see
backyard as a blank canvas, then transform with the tents. Based on some trees
in the backyard, we had three different tents, but I thought they blended
together pretty well. It was kind of like having “rooms” and I liked that vs
having one giant tent.
Before the tent
Setting up
That would be the roof of the main tent
Roof up on one of the side tents
Getting closer to being done
I love this view from inside before anything else was in there.
All of the tents are up!
After the tents were up but before the sidewalls were put on.
I had been
checking the weather report for the past week (ok, three weeks) and today, I
noticed a new prediction for Saturday: wind. A lot of wind. They were predicting
gusts of 20-30 mph. I immediately starting hoping that would go down (spoiler
alert – it didn’t).
My family arrived
that afternoon as the tent guys were finishing up. My parents and Jami had
stopped by the tuxedo rental place to try on and pick up my dad and nephew’s tuxes.
Michael had been there at the same time with two of the groomsmen so they all
got to meet. Michael and our best man, Patrick, arrived at the cabin in the
late afternoon and everyone relaxed by the lake before the delicious lasagna
dinner prepared by my parents. Then we had a fire and some smores. It was a nice,
low-key night.
Hanging out by the lake
Jami and Kynleigh
Self-portrait time!
My nephew Kaden LOVED the lake. He could not get enough of it. He just kept wanting to wade in and pick up rocks and throw them. Unfortunately it was a bit cold so we had to take him out after awhile and he did not enjoy that.
My dad and Kaden
Dad pointing out something
Precious
Auntie also spent time with Kaden down by the lake
Friday
My mom, sisters,
Michael and I went on an early morning walk before the decorating began. The
tent decorating crew arrived around 9:30am and while they got to work on the
lighting and draping, the rest of us did some decorating – hanging signs,
placing wine barrels, arranging tables and chairs, setting up tables in the
garage and inside to save time the next day, etc. It did not take nearly as
long as I thought it would, which was nice. The lighting and draping, however, took the entire day. No wonder it had to be done on different days!
As the day went on, it got cooler
and cooler. And windier and windier. By the time the afternoon rolled around
and we had the rehearsal, we were zipping through it so we could go back
inside. We worked out a few kinks during the rehearsal and then it was time for
the rehearsal dinner. All of Michael’s family and most of mine joined us in a
town about 20 minutes away for the rehearsal dinner. We hosted the dinner at a
golf club and the chef there was really accommodating to our group. We were
able to have the whole restaurant to ourselves and he let us plan the entire
menu. Michael’s parents had come up with the idea of having a “family” theme
early on and we all liked it. We gave the chef several family recipes and he
made them for the dinner, then we gave away recipe cards with all of them. It
was fun to see the blending of two families in this way. For the main dish, we
had a pig roast and it was quite good. It was a bit unconventional but a lot of
fun. Unfortunately, we didn't get much for pictures. Thanks to my uncle Christoph for taking the few we have!
The pig
Michael's cousin Lauren handing off the bud vase to us. It is supposed to sit on my nightstand throughout the first year of our marriage. Each month on our anniversary date, Michael is supposed to out a fresh flower in the vase. This tradition and vase have been in Michael's family for 42 years.
Only picture we got together the whole night. At least it's a good one :-)
I haven't done a weekend recap in a long time. All of my weekends over the summer were the same: go to the cabin and prep for the wedding. But this weekend, our first after the wedding, was a nice opportunity for us to slow down a bit and be more "normal."
Friday, I got home for work a little early and Michael was already there. He had ordered a baker’s rake from Amazon earlier in the week and had already put it together by the time I got home – best husband ever!
I never thought I'd be excited about something like this...
Then we headed to a local sports store for their annual clearance event. We went to check out the skis for me. I have skied the last two winters and the first time around, I borrowed or rented everything. Last year, we outfitted me with everything but skis and boots. We bought boots last spring and Friday, we found a great pair of skis at an amazing price! I am SO excited to use them this winter. We plan to ski around here at least once, and then we'll go on Ski Trip with Jami and Chris again. Location - TBD but we're considering the following: Whistler, Vail, or Big Sky.
Me and my new Volkls!
Then we came home and made our favorite dinner: homemade ravioli. We love using our pasta maker and we finally used some of our wedding gifts that have been sitting in boxes too: KitchenAid mixer (which made making the dough so much easier), All-Clad pasta pot, and new dishes. We completely gorged ourselves on wine and food and it was a fantastic night.
New All-Clad Pasta Pot
Our yummy cheese ravioli
Sauce #1 - my dad's red sauce
Sauce #2 - Olive oil, red pepper, and garlic. I prefer this sauce on ravioli. It's so light and delicious. So light that we made and ate a record amount (more than 30)
Saturday, we went to the cabin but not for long. We left at 10 and were home by 2:30, just doing a few quick things out there to prep for the winter. When we got home, Michael and I decided to tackle half of our returns on duplicates and get some of the things we really wanted with some of the money/gift certificates we received as gifts. We came away with some great stuff from Crate and Barrel and Williams-Sonoma. Then it was home to make homemade pizza. We changed it up a bit and tried a whole wheat crust. I couldn't taste much of a difference but the texture was a bit chewier. I think we’ll alternate between all white flour and whole wheat flour in the future.
Wheat pizza crust
Before baking
And after baking (and obviously some eating!)
Sunday was a semi-lazy day. Michael slept in so I honeymoon planned/researched. I discovered a Pinot Noir wine festival near where we are staying so we bought tickets to that. I can’t wait to go – it will be so much fun! Then we went on a long bike ride on a new (to us) trail and watched the Vikings game on the DVR. We organized some more kitchen stuff (and there is still a bunch in the basement!) and then called it a night.
I can’t wait until next weekend, as we plan to hit up Macys to do some more registry fulfillment (surprise, they are having a big sale :-) ) and go on a long run. On Sunday, we are going apple picking with a group of our friends, which should be a blast, especially since one of the couples just got engaged last weekend! Only 4 more days!
I'm sorry for the lack of posts lately - I guess I'm just too busy ENJOYING MARRIED LIFE! That's right, last Saturday (as if you didn't know since I've been blogging about it for 9 months) was the BIG DAY!
I have so many things I want to tell you all about over the next few weeks but for now, I'll just share this photo that my cousin took and tell you it was the best day of my life.
Everyone who is married has told me, from the get go, to plan for the unexpected the week of the wedding. So far, they were right. There have been a few last-minute wrinkles, but nothing we couldn't handle.
First, I found out yesterday that, while the tent is being delivered tomorrow, the draping and lighting won't be installed until Friday. Not the end of the world, but since we've been working with them since January, you would think they would have told us that by now.
Then, last night, we went to pick up Michael's tux, which came in a day early. Thank goodness we did - it wasn't pretty. I hate to say "I told you so," so I haven't said it yet to him, but I have been thinking all along that I didn't love the jacket Michael choose and it wouldn't look good. Well, I was right. It did not look good. I thought he looked like an orchestra conductor. Michael thought he looked like a carriage driver or a character on Downton Abbey. So 45 minutes later, we reordered new jackets for everyone (8 people) and they should be here today. Yay! Hopefully this more modern jacket looks better.
My family thinks I'm a total stress case about "big" things (and I'll admit, my track record makes me come off that way), but I feel totally relaxed right now. So we have to work around some people on Friday and order new jackets - no big deal. I am not sweating the small stuff b/c, by 5pm on Saturday, Michael and I will be married. And that's all that matters.
Michael and I got up at 5am to run this morning and I have a lot to do today so I am using this early morning time to get some of my things done, like blog :-)
I had a lot of wedding goals this month and if I didn't achieve them, well, then they just were not going to happen. Here's to hoping for more "regular" goals in the coming months.
Purple Bold = complete Black Bold = incomplete
Professional Goals – August 2012
Update reunion info on website. Done!
Execute successful golf event in two weeks. Pretty successful - still room for improvement.
Update my calendar. Not yet. Why is it so hard for me to do this?!
Update the strategic plan. Need to do that when I get back.
Recruit AF volunteers. Done.
Personal Goals – August 2012
Weightlifting three times per week. I actually did this.
Cardio four times a week. We ran 5-6 days a week!
Establish weekly "to do" lists to help make the wedding to-do list more manageable. Done. It helped.
One new recipe every week. Not so much. We did try a few new things.
Eat really healthy this month. I could have done better but the scale dropped quite a bit so I'm happy with where I am.
Finalize ceremony with Jill. Done.
Follow up with rental vendor. Still doing that :-)
Follow up with caterer. Done. Everything is finalized there.
Follow up with bus company. Michael's dad took care of that.
Utility site visit. Done.
Re-sand beach. Done - it was easier than I thought.
Finish DIY components of centerpieces, ceremony, reception, etc. This is about 10 things... Finished yesterday. Let me tell you that ribbon tying is not my forte.
Finish all stationery. Noticed a weird error on Sunday when printing so waiting to hear back from graphic designer on the fix.
Wrap all gifts. Done (and by wrap, I should have said Gift Bag).
Update timeline. Done, but still doing so every day.
Make signage. Done.
Apply for marriage license. Done.
Follow up with those who haven't RSVPed yet. Done.
Write my vows. Done, but I probably need to edit just a bit.
Professional Goals – September 2012
Get a "Look who's coming" page up on our website.
Meet with rental vendor and chef for Reception.
Follow up with reunion volunteers once a week.
Update my calendar.
Update the strategic plan.
Finalize AF volunteers.
Finalize young alumni giving program.
Personal Goals – September 2012
Weightlifting three times per week.
Cardio three times a week. We are going to keep running at 5am. As much as I hate it, I also love it.
