Cake!

YUM.

We had our final meeting with Annie O. last night to decide our final flavor choices (which meant we got to sample MORE CAKE!! :D )

If you don't remember, here is the inspiration picture for our cake...

Except ours will be 4 tiers, they will be off-set, and the flowers will be gerbera daisies.

And for our flavors we chose....


Drumroll please.....










The bottom layer will be white cake with a fresh strawberry filling. This. is. the. best. If you had any of Matt's Birthday cake, this is what it was. This will also be the flavor for the very top tier that we will save (or eat once we get to our hotel... ;).









The second layer is for all you chocolate lovers out there (ahem, Dad...) It will be chocolate cake with Oreo filling. Delicious. Let me tell you.










And the third layer will be Annie's delicious Marble cake, with a vanilla buttercream filling.

As you may have guessed, each layer will have chocolate buttercream on the outside, since that is what will make the cake brown :)

So, if you are one of the lucky ones on the guest list...get ready. You are in for a tasty treat. If you're not...sorry. :P Enjoy the pictures and just imagine the goodness that everyone else at my wedding will be eating. :)

DIY Programs...& more from the bridal shower!

Well here we are, less than 3 weeks to go!! HOLY MOLY! I'm doing well, though, not too stressed out (yet)... ;)

This weekend was another productive one! (I don't have much of a choice with only 3 weeks to go...I have to be extra productive these days!!) On Friday, Mom and I had a meeting at Evergreen Events with the coordinator, Julie, to go over final details and choose our table linens. It was all set up for another wedding this week, and it was kind of surreal walking around in there imagining it set up for OUR wedding! But the place is just gorgeous, and every time I go there I'm reminded of that. So we decided on the ivory table linens with chocolate brown napkins. I think it will look FABULOUS with all the coral in my centerpeices. We also put together our game plan for the ceremony music, and talked about lots of other small details (most of which I've already forgotten about...good thing Julie wrote everything down! :)

On Saturday, the family and I made our 10 millionth trip to craft store central. :) We started at JoAnn's, where I had an entire list of things to get, and then went to Hobby Lobby as well since I didn't quite find everything we needed at the first stop. My uber-crafty Aunt Terri and I had our wheels turning with ideas for my DIY card box (I will post pictures soon, it's not quite done yet!) and the programs. My original plan for the programs was to design them and have them printed at Kinko's or Office Max, but after getting my first quote of over $160 for 50 of them, I changed that plan. It is now my current DIY project. :) I found ivory paper at Office Depot, and will just print them at home. While at Hobby Lobby we found brown cardstock for 50% off (so $0.15 per sheet!) So I snatched up the 25 sheets there, and then we teamed up to hit the other Hobby Lobbys in town and got the rest! I got another 50 at the Olathe store, and Aunt Terri found 30 more at her store in Merriam. We also found a great paper puncher (not sure the technical name...) to use for the cover, and some awesome "love" quotes stamps. So now I just need some ribbon, and then to put them all together (that's going to be the hard part!!) All in all it's going to cost us about $60....much better than the original quote! So here is a picture of my first attempt at putting one together (sorry, fuzzy cell phone picture)

What do you think?? I love them. I need to get a smaller width of ribbon to use so the bow looks better, and I'm also on the hunt for a 2-hole punch. I think they're going to end up looking really cute though, and so much cheaper than paying a printing company!!

So that's where I'm at...still a lot of little things on the to-do list, but nothing huge. Like I said, I'm still not feeling too stressed, more excited than anything!! I really want to finish up all of these last projects so I can move on to getting ready for the honeymoon!!!!!

I'll leave you with a few more pictures from the Bridal Shower. These are some my mom took, and she uploaded to our FLICKR site... (ahem...anyone else who took pictures feel free to upload!!)

A better view of the table set up...wasn't it just ADORABLE?! And yes, those are Aunt Terri's 2 cutie pie doggies in that framed picture on the wall :) (check out this post on my photo blog to see them in real life...)

And this was our little ladies man...Bryce. He is my friend Brandy's son. What a cutie, huh!?Jess (my lovely Maid of Honor and best friend since pre-school :) and IMe & my beautiful bridesmaids!! From left to right: Caitlin, Jess, Me, Ash, Shelley. That's 4 out of 6, Elaine and Jessie live out of town so couldn't make it (but we know you were there in spirit girls! :)Like I said before, my bridal shower was absolutely perfect. I wish I could do it all over again!! A huge thank you to my family for putting it all together for me, and to all the ladies who came!!

Well, 3 weeks to go...keep your fingers crossed that this one is super-productive! I'll try to update this week, but no promises because we're headed to the lake on Thursday (WOO HOO) and then it's the 4th of July (which means the wedding is 2 weeks away!!!!!!!) But I'll catch up when I can :)

P.S. This is your last reminder for RSVPs. Our final count is due this weekend, so if you want to come, and haven't sent your RSVP back...DO IT!!! Otherwise there will be no food or alcohol for you :P

My Bridal Shower!

Well, it's official...the first wedding event has come and gone!

Saturday (June 20) was my bridal shower. I can't believe it's already come and gone, but it was so much fun! My aunt Terri hosted it, and probably around 15 or 20 lovely ladies joined us! I am so greatful that I have such wonderful family & friends! It was a great time, and I got an insane amount of awesome gifts. My kitchen will now be fully stocked!

All together Saturday was a great day. We started off going to Mama T's (my grandma) for lunch, like we do every Saturday. We were all so excited to set up and get ready for the shower! ("We" being my aunts, cousins, mom & I :) We have been planning this event together pretty much since last June :) After lunch, we headed over to my Aunt Terri's house to get set up...

This was Terri's gorgeous centerpiece. (If you can't tell - or couldn't have guessed - we had a gerbera daisy theme :)

Caitlin & Shelley both did a great job helping us set up. :) Shelley and I made the punch...it started out a little lumpy but luckily it ended up being really good!

This was the table set up...how cute was it!

And the fantastic cupcake tree...Handmade "G" toppers by Aunt Terri. :) I'm pretty sure this idea was Martha Stewart inspired...

Caitlin enjoyed some R&R while waiting for everyone to show up. If you look on the table you'll see the adorable favors.

Aunt Terri & I

Aunt Rhonda & IMom & I

We only played 2 games (I'm not a fan of cheesy shower games for the most part...) they were really fun! One was using this board, the guests had to guess how old I am in each picture. The winner was Cassady, one of my bridesmaid's little sister, with 4 out of 8 correct!The other game consisted of each guest asking me a question that had previously been asked to Matt, and I had to guess his answers. I was less than stellar at this one, but it was still fun. :) And the prizes were scratch-off tickets.I jokingly told everyone that all the winning tickets had to be given back to me :) but they all went for it! So I got like $10 in winners. (Where's that big $1,000 winner when you need it?!)

Like I mentioned, I got a ridiculous amount of gifts. I am so thankful to my friends and family...they spoiled me!! I couldn't possibly list everything I got with a picture (you would get bored..) but here are a couple highlights-

Matt's mom gave me a basket to "stock the pantry" with. What a great idea! It was full of all sorts of good stuff from spices to noodles to soups- all the essentials. I am ready to cook now! (something other than mac & cheese that is...)

I got the entire set of everyday dishes we picked out!! I can't WAIT to bust out those puppies. They aren't very exciting, but so much better than what we have, and nice and neutral. :)

The gifts I was most excited about came from my mom (not that I wasn't excited about all the gifts...they are fantastic!!!! I was red in the face and sweating by the time I got through them all...it was so much fun!). The reason I'm so excited is because they will get used at the wedding!

She got us our cake serveware set and toasting flutes that match our china pattern!!

Close up of the cake server...

Just can't hide my excitement over the toasting flute! :)

That's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to all the gifts I got. My kitchen is seriously stocked now...I have it all!! I sure wish I had a big 'ol brand new kitchen to put it all in...but ya can't have it all, can you?! :) Once we get back from our honeymoon, I will be doing a COMPLETE overhaul on my kitchen. All the old, hand-me-down, mix-match kitchen stuff is coming out, and I'm stocking up with all of my new fancy stuff. :)

Oh, and also of note - Matt's bachelor party was on Saturday as well! He of course took one whole picture, and it was of the golf course...go figure. But the guys had a busy fun filled day - golfing followed by dinner at Jack Stack, and then a short break before hitting the boats and the bars. It sounded to me like they had a great time! (But what would I know...) :)

So here we are, just a few more events and then it's the big day!! I can't believe we're less than a month away now...yikes! I'm getting really excited! I really need to finish up all these details so that I can enjoy the anticipation...rather than stress about it. :)

ONE month to go!

Holy Cow.

One month to go.

AHHHHHHHH!!



I can't believe that as of today we are officially one month away from our wedding day! The time has gone so fast! It seems like just a week ago I was coming into work showing off my ring, and the next day I was going on all the vendor meetings, trying on dresses, making a million decisions, and then all of a sudden here we are! I'm feeling pretty good, though, nothing major left to do. Other than mentally prepare myself for the biggest day of my life!!! EEK!

My bridal shower is on Saturday, as is Matt's Bachelor party. So I will have lots of pictures to share soon! I am also planning to finish up my DIY projects and our programs this weekend. Hopefully I'll have lots of updates come Monday. And after that it should be smooth sailing!

Just one more month until this happy couple becomes MR. & MRS.!!!!

P.S. If you got one of those pretty little invitations in the mail, and have yet to send back your RSVP card....Shame on you! Send that puppy back!! :) please.

Show Me Some PICTURES!

Have I mentioned how much I love VistaPrint yet? Well, I do. :)

Just today I ordered some sweet cards which I will have at all of our wedding events (shower, rehearsal, wedding, etc.) telling the guests how they can upload their pictures to our site on flickr. I saw this idea on a couple of other bride's blogs (but I couldn't tell you which ones...I've seen waaaaay tooooo many). Originally I wanted to have disposable cameras for guests to use, but was soon informed how "old school" that idea is. *sigh* It is a good point though, who actually uses film anymore?!

Anyway, I took advantage of VP's free 250 business card deal, and now these bad boys are on their way to me:

front

back

Pretty nifty huh! I designed them myself (I know, pretty stellar design...) using my wannabe photoshop program.

Now I just have to (A) remember to have them at all our events, (B) ensure that people actually take one home, and (C) pray that people will actually upload their photos. :) If all goes as planned, we should end up with a sweet collection of wedding photos from all different perspectives. I can't wait!!!!

I also plan to upload to this site...I'm going to start with our engagement pictures (as if people haven't seen enough of them already ;) and then as each event occurs I'll add my own pictures in hopes that others will follow (hint hint)

Productive weekend!!

Now that "summer hours" at work have officially started (I work an extra hour Monday thru Thursday and get Friday afternoon off...sweet, I know!) I have devoted Friday afternoons to wedding stuff, and it's really helping me to be more productive. FINALLY.

As of Saturday, we were offically 6 weeks out. HOLY COW. As I say every week, I really need to get my butt in gear!! Well, I did just that this weekend, and finished up most of the DIY projects I had started, and then started a couple more. (Go figure)

I finished the 2nd flower girl basket, so those are officially done now. Here's a picture of them both-

And one of a single basket so you can see the whole thing...

I also finished the basket which will hold the programs. Matt is awesome, because he just walked by and gave me the greatest idea for decorating it!

See the flower? Yeah that was all him. I couldn't figure out where to put it, and all he had to do was walk by and say "well what if you put it here?" and I said PERFECT! So I told him he had to help with all my DIY projects from now on. He's just thrilled... :)

I also got a basket for the Koozies we will be giving out at the rehearsal. I have yet to order them, but Mom and I were discussing it on Friday so when I was at Hobby Lobby and saw 50% off baskets, I had to take advantage. We have decided on our Koozies (I think), so I hope to order those this week.

Also while at Hobby Lobby, I found the perfect box to use for our card box! That's actually the whole reason I made the stop...even though I almost left without it, hehe got a little distracted. I had found some really cool ideas for making your own card box out of picture frames, but wanted to see if there was an easier solution before diving into yet another huge DIY project. So I found a box that was the perfect size, spray painted it brown, and viola! Just need Matt to help me cut the hole in the top, and it's done! Much easier than the photo frame idea, but still cute! I also found a huge "G" a few weeks ago (I think at JoAnn's...one of the million craft stores I frequent...) which I also spray painted brown on Friday. I have no idea what I will do with it, but it's really cool!

In this pic you can see the card box and "G". And yes, I know the G is backwards, but it was drying, cut me some slack.

So as you can see, I had a fun-filled DIY spray painting weekend. By the way, spray paint is my new best friend. That stuff is awesome!! I have turned so many previously boring things into Chocolate Brown Beauties!! :)

This week Matt and I have to nail down all of our song choices so we can send our "worksheet" in to the DJ, and finish up the programs. I've been putting this off FOREVER, so wish us luck!! Like Matt said, Looks like we'll be having a date night with the iPod...

Check your mail...

And look for one of THESE!!


Yep, that's right, I FINALLY got the invitations in the mail. You have NO idea how big of a relief that is. No, really, you have NO idea. I have to extend mucho gratitude to my best friend (since pre-school), and MOH Jess. She was my saving grace when it came to these... she ROCKS at calligraphy!! I also must extend some props to Ash, one of my awesome bridesmaids, who was essential in stuffing and stamping. :) We had a great time, and most importantly, the invites are DONE!!! WOO HOO!!!



As you probably know from my other "freak out" posts, there were several issues with these. All of which were my fault, of course. Who doesn't think about the size of the cards going into the envelope, and whether or not they will fit? Me. Who doesn't proofread the card to check for typos after the last revision? Me. Who doesn't wait until they KNOW it is correct before ordering replacements? Me. So 2 extra sets of map cards and an extra set of envelopes later, here we are. At least VistaPrint has a rush-shipping option, and lots of 50% off coupon codes floating around... :)

I think most people have gotten theirs in the mail by now (I dropped them off at the post office on Friday), at least those who read this have (I'm hoping!) so I'm going to go ahead and let the cat out of the bag and give a preview.

Here is the front of all 3 items...

And here is the back of the 2 cards...

please excuse the random splotches on the pictures...I attempted to cover

our last names, but Photobucket got a little crazy on me...

I love them!!!! It took a lot of work to get them to this final stage, but we did it! I have to thank my designer as well (Realie: Bridezilla411, aka Ashley) for all of her patience and wonderful talent! You wouldn't believe where we started with this design! But it all came out perfectly and I couldn't be happier.

It's a bit surreal, now, thinking that this whole shebang is actually happening!! EEK! Less than 2 months out now.... holy cow!! But this is the last "big" thing checked off the list (how many times have I said that now?! ;) so on to the details. This Friday I plan to have a "DIY day" and work on the bazillion projects that I have started but never got around to finishing. So wish me luck!