Flowers and Photos

Karisa met with the florist today to decide on, well, flowers. Below is a preview. The camera on my phone isn't too good, but it gives you an idea.



We have also lined up a photographer. We made decisions! Yay us!

Tuxedos

Here are the tuxedos we decided on. The green ties are to match the bridesmaids green dresses.

T minus 20 days

Just under 3 weeks. So much to do. And I want to get it all done in 2, because I just know that the week before the wedding will be packed with all kinds of things that haven't even made it onto my list yet. Trying not to panic. Must keep moving.

Some big things have been checked off the list recently... Todd and I went to Rosewood Bridal and chose tuxedos for the guys. We didn't really want tuxedos, mind you, but gray suits are apparently not something that you rent. Black, yes. Brown, navy, or "Oatmeal," yes. Gray, not so much. ("Oatmeal?" Seriously? It's tan. If I told you that the wedding party is wearing oatmeal, you know that the first thing you're picturing is a disgusting sticky mess.)

Gray tuxedos are not plentiful either, in case you are curious. Men's Wearhouse has one style option in gray. Rosewood Bridal also has only one - which we preferred over the MW option. Technically, Mr. Formal has one gray option, but it is charcoal (so really, it looks black) and has tails... so as far as I'm concerned, Mr. Formal does not have a gray tuxedo option at all :)

Todd and I went to Rosewood Bridal on Thursday to get the ball rolling, and went back Saturday morning to finalize our order. Brad, Tyler, and my Dad all answered the call to get themselves to Tigard for measurements, pronto. All three of them, plus wives, plus Todd and I, showed up at Rosewood Bridal around the same time... completely unplanned. Go team! I'm sure that Tim, Trevor, and Dallas will get their measurements soon as well. So, I can check "choose and order suits for Groom, Groomsmen, Ring Bearer, and Dads" off the list, with "make sure all suit measurements are in" soon to follow. Although I will probably edit my list to say "tux" instead of "suit," because that's how I roll.

Another big thing that's in the process of being checked off the list is the cake. My friend Missi will bake the cake (yay!) and my Aunt Pat will decorate (yay!). Aunt Pat and I are getting together this morning to go over ideas for decorating, and I am working on cake flavor options to send to Missi. Todd and I went to a cake decorator shop yesterday, and found out that we can rent a cake stand that will not require any precarious stacking of cakes, but will still look like a tiered wedding cake. I know this will put Aunt Pat's mind at ease, which eases my mind as well, since I won't be worried about her worrying about the cake. And, of course, it will look fabulous!

We took a break from wedding planning last night and watched Titanic. Todd had never seen it, and I thought it might be nice to refresh my memory on what not to do if our cruise ship starts sinking. Todd was not impressed - he is convinced that an hour could easily have been cut from the movie, without any significant loss to the story. Whatever.

Rings

We went ring shopping yesterday after work. I did some looking online in the days prior, to see what I might like, but I didn't know how hard is was going to be to pick out jewelry for myself.

In any case, I'm happy with my choice, and we left with wedding bands. Slightly over budget, but close enough so it's OK :)

Babblings from the Bride

My husband-to-be has chastised me for declaring that "we should have a blog!" and then failing to contribute anything myself. My memory of the genesis of our blog varies from his telling of the story, but I suppose that is neither here nor there. :)

Many things are happening in Weddingland, where every evening and weekend is a constant flurry of activity, and where I chant my own little mantra "must keep moving... can't stop moving" to keep pushing myself to get everything done. (Sadly, although similar to "just keep swimming, just keep swimming," my mantra is not accompanied by a blissfully oblivious sense of calm. If you don't know what I'm talking about, it's time to watch Finding Nemo again.)
Mostly, I am terribly excited to move out of Weddingland and establish our own permanent residence in Marriedland, making a stop in Disneyland during the move.

Every once in a while, though, I am enjoying my brief stay in Weddingland. Addressing our wedding invitations myself was a very important part of my "dream wedding," and I know it may seem odd to some people but I enjoyed every minute of it. :) Many other "dream wedding" details have fallen by the wayside at this point, so it was really awesome to have one thing go exactly and precisely the way I wanted it to go! (Some might classify this as "control freak" behavior. I prefer "vision-oriented.")

License to Wed

Karisa and I went up to Vancouver during lunch today to get our marriage license. $64 (cash only please!) and 30 minutes later we had the document in hand - one step closer to making this happen.



We went over to see Tyler and Alison Sunday night so Alison could help us create a game plan moving forward. While Karisa and Alison hammered out the details, I helped Tyler (well, I mostly stood around) work on getting his new workbench modified and into place. In the end Karisa and I both ended up with a to-do list. Getting the marriage license was on my list - scratch that one off!

Thanks for being the wedding coordinator Alison :)