Special Wishes & Advice (via guestbook pages)

Seasons greetings, everyone!
So, as previously mentioned, Devin and I went with a unique guestbook from The Guestbook Store for our wedding. Instead of simply signing their name in a book, each guest received a double-sided placemat of sorts, where they answered questions, drew pictures, and shared special wishes and advice.

YOU CAN'T EVEN IMAGINE HOW AWESOME THEY TURNED OUT!! Not because the artwork was immaculate or because each and every sentiment tugged firmly at our heartstrings - really, it was because of the opposite! Most of the drawings were stick figures (making them AWESOME) and we got quite a few colorful responses that made us LOL (a few of them actually couldn't be shared on here...). Oh, how I wish I could scan and post each guestbook entry we received...but, the next best option is for me to share all the wishes and advice for us, from guests young and old; single, engaged, married; hilarious, serious, and everything in between. I might also end up taking pictures of some of our favorite drawings...but for now, enjoy the gems that our guests shared with us - maybe it applies to you, too ;-)

"Special Wishes for Us"
-That you make Christ the head of your home.
-Joy in your marriage - agape love!
-That you keep Jesus Christ as the center of your life together - and may you always encourage each other!
-Happiness, joy, and all that rot. Above and beyond that, I hope and pray that in 2061, you can look back and say, "You know, it hasn't always been easy, but I'm so glad we stuck it out and worked through our disagreements. You are  my best friend, and I love you more today than when we were married 50 years ago."
-That you both continue to grow in love and happiness on your journey together.
-That the Lord will remain in your hearts and home; that your love for each other will grow.
-Many many happy years.
-May your love and joy grow every day and may God give you peace and strength for the days that are tough.
-To love & live; to care & give; to have & hold; to love ever bold
-Some babies to snuggle; and may all your life's ups and downs be in between the sheets!
-Redheaded children! (Tyler...)
-No redheaded children. (...Monique!)
-Always keep laughing! You both have such great personalities. 
-Self-knowledge; flexibility; pursuit of your passion; 10+ kids (I'm NOT kidding on this one...)
-Enjoy your many wonderful years together, you lovebirds!
-To ALWAYS be as happy as you are today; to always be quick to forgive; be a good listener; that each of you will always think of the other first, and yourself second.
-God bless you both in your new life together and your life with Him. I love you both!
-That you have a happy life (I know you will because you have a great outlook on life) and that God be at the center of it all!
-Enjoy every day together, the good and the bad. Have a blast in Hawaii/Oahu!
-May you know unbounded joy, unconditional love, and the strength to weather all of life's storms in each other's arms, eyes, and heart.
-Live long and prosper.
-Long life, full of opportunities for growth and love.
-Love God, and you WILL be happy!
-That you live the joy and love that God has made you to experience.
-My wish for you is to have a God-centered marriage and life, and a love that will continue to grow, even as it changes through the years, a love that will get you through the tough times as well as the good times - a beautiful and blessed life!
-That you love each other always and live to celebrate your 75th wedding anniversary together - I'll be watching!
-A life filled with laughter, love, and each other!
-Live long, be happy, and celebrate each and every day.
-A lifetime full of laughter, love, music, art, with good health and joyful hearts!
-Remember this day and the special memories yet to come
-No disease, & puppies, & maybe a kid or 2
-400 BABIES
-Take what you can! Give nothing back! Yo! Ho! (Capt. Jack Sparrow)
-Pick one another day after day; learning the love that comes with time
-I have no doubts that you two will make an amazing life together. Enjoy yourselves.
-I hope you guys stay as annoyingly happy as ever and as deeply in love as you are now (cause both are ridiculously obvious!)
-Have beautiful babies!
-Have a great time in Hawaii!
-I wish many special wishes that are especially special; that is my wish...
-To drink 1 gallon of milk in 10 minutes
-I wish for you to get 3 more wishes.
-Years of happiness and lots and lots of fat babies.
-A life that is full of happiness, joy, and love. I've never known a more perfect couple. I hope your life together is as wonderful as you two are.
-A long and happy life together, of course! And plenty more silly memories...and maybe some red-haired children.
-Great success!
-A lifetime full of happiness, family and friends.
-Many years of blessings, happy memories and frequent visits from Jerry
-I wish both of you a life full of happiness, creativity, love, and most importantly - sillyness! :)

"Any Advice for the Newlyweds?" 

"You should..."
- Express your thanks to your spouse when he or she does something for you; practice saying 'ours' instead of 'mine.'
- Have a date night once a week.
-Learn when to and when not to speak - and just because you think something does not mean you should say it!
-Keep God as a key member in your relationship and remain in His word; if it's late and you're tired and you still are arguing - go to bed. In the morning, it won't be as important as it seemed the night before.
-"Put on the mind of Christ." Laugh, giggle, enjoy the time - it goes by quickly.
-Be humble - humility will go a long way. Forgive each other. Think of each other first.
-Have many grandchildren for your parents to enjoy!
-Don't sweat the small stuff. PS - it's all small stuff!
-Come and visit more often!
-LOTS of communication; lots of silliness - it keeps things light; lots and lots of love!
-Laugh. Facetime when apart. Have an adventure
-Go on adventures! Also, always keep things in perspective. The stresses in life will always pass! Enjoy every moment of peace.
-Tune out everyone's unsolicited advice, especially when it begins with "you should..." (There will be a lot.)
-Never go to bed angry, never lose those 3 hour midnight conversations, and make cake for no reason.
-Follow your heart...give each other space.
-Love each other 100% all the time; be ready to say "I'm sorry;" do the unexpected!
-Make a 5 year plan, a 10 year plan, and a 20 year plan...then try to figure out what to do tomorrow afternoon! Take some chances while you're young (and old!)
-Never go to bed without resolving a fight - no, seriously. Cherish each other. Laugh - a lot. Remember that the flip side of the things that annoy you are the things you really admire. Say "I love you" everyday. Cook together. Have no secrets. Tell each other about your day. Have big adventures. Have small adventures. Have LOTS of adventures. Always remember the way the other person looked at you today. Don't forget we're always here for you.
-Believe half of what you see, none of what you hear.
-Develop selective hearing - ignore the crabbiness at the end of a tired day.
-Remain friends!
-Keep your sense of humor - you're going to need it!
-Always kiss each other when parting, waking, going to sleep...and in between, optionally.
-Respect each other.
-Keep having fun; say I love you at least once a day; laugh a lot; and, if need be, learn to COMMUNICATE!
-Do something nice for one another - even (especially) when you don't want to. You need to lose yourself to the other - hard to do, I am still learning.
-Always have a dog in your life.
-Never leave less than 1/2 cup of milk in the fridge; never leave only the crust piece in the bread; and use separate knives for the peanut butter and jelly!
-Don't sweat the small stuff; always communicate; make time for fun.
-Remember that the definition of true intimacy is honesty. Be honest, stay honest.
-Stay in touch with your younger cousin ;-)
-Cook with your stereo cranked up (adds extra flava!) Always laugh and play like kids - it slows down the aging process.
-Respect the sea or she'll gobble you up in one foul swoop (Capt. Jack Sparrow)
-Stay young at heart and always volunteer to babysit ;-)
-...could, and would. But by all means, don't worry about it.
-Keep your childhood in mind.
-Kathleen should never dye her hair (it's pretty!) but Devin should dye his blue & purple again :)
-Try to beat the Duggers and get a TV show. Don't buy your kids a pony, they are very expensive!
-Really like each other a lot...
-Learn how to "Dougie"
-Try to get self-raising children, it's lots easier.
-Diet! Don't mistake children for food!
-Don't forget to tell each other that you love each other.
-Count your blessings, and remember to fall in love all over again each day. :)
-Communicate! Don't assume they know what you're thinking, or the other way around!
-When you're mad, lay off the ginger jokes...
-Make each other laugh once each day
-Just remember you may wear the pants, but she picks them out.
-Suspenders make to outfit!
-Laugh always...and keep Jerry around!


In case I don't do more bloggings the rest of the week - I (we!) hope you all have a safe and wonderful Christmas!

The Story.

First blog as "an old married lady!" <--- my aunts kept calling me this/asking if I felt like this last Sunday...the answer is NO! :)

Naturally and obviously, time got away from me during those last few weeks before the wedding. Especially the week before, blogging was out of the question! So now I get to recap and tell everyone my experiences of my final days as a single woman...

Let's begin our story in the area of Nov. 28th. We had just finished all of our Thanksgiving travels (very fun!), and were now getting down to the wire with all the things still left to do. Because we were making the playlist for the reception ourselves, Devin had asked a tech friend in TN to come up and "babysit" the console during the night and also help set up all the sound and lights beforehand. Unfortunately, with about ten days to go, we found out that he had a work conflict and couldn't make it. ....Oh. And so began Devin's mad search for a last-minute replacement.

On Dec. 1 I agreed (along with another main member) to shoot the first TWO event assignments for IPC (Indianapolis Photography Cooperative). They were back-to-back that day and both were very successful; everyone we talked to was extremely nice and really excited about the work we were doing! Both organizations have asked us to do more, and I got to hand out several business cards to other people who could use our services! Anyways, it was nice to get out and shoot for a few hours, and focus on something other than the wedding. But then for those last 9 or 10 days, we really worked hard to pull everything together. Devin worked until the Tuesday before, but every spare moment was spent mixing the music and arranging our light n' sound rental & transportation. With about 5 days to go, he found another tech guy to help us out, which was a big relief for him (I mostly stayed out of *his* wedding business with the attitude, "it will get figured out somehow. The wedding is still happening!")

At one week until the wedding, I personally had the worst day I'd had in a long time - not at all related to any wedding/relationship stuff, just lots of unpleasantness. Devin worked most of the day, and soon after he left that morning I witnessed a man beating up a woman right outside our apartment (yes, I called the cops). Then, since it wasn't very cold out and Chewy hadn't gotten much exercise lately, I took him down the road to one of our favorite spots - a nature park with trails through tall grass and a stand of trees. We were heading back to the car (which is parked off of a rather busy road), with him straining heavily at his leash, when the leash BROKE and he tore off, full-tilt, directly towards the road. All I could do was watch helplessly because he's way faster than me..and then he turned down a  side trail. Gah! Thank the Lord! I knew I'd never catch him so I just walked in that direction, and found him cozying up to a pair of basset hounds (and their owners, who grabbed his harness) that he had to have smelled a hundred yards off where we had been walking. Nice one, Chewmeister. Let's head back to the car while my heart rate returns to normal. Oh, you're too wound up to sit nicely in the backseat? That's okay, those muddy paw prints add a rustic charm to the interior...

Several other frustrations later, my nerves were shot and I pretty much gave up on the day.

Unfortunately, on Tuesday morning I woke up with the first signs of a cold - sore throat and angry sinuses. I said NOO WAY and started taking the maximum dose of Airborne (3x a day) and stuck to it the rest of the week. I could tell my body was still fighting something, but my symptoms pretty much disappeared, so HERE IS MY OFFICIAL PLUG FOR AIRBORNE. DUDE IT WORKS.

Devin's first day off, Wednesday, consisted of LOTS of running around - picking up printed signs from FedEx, WalMart to buy food for everyone staying with us, TACA in Anderson to have our final meeting about setup...I know there was more that I'm not remembering, but the point is that this day marked the beginning of sleeplessness when I went to take a nap so I could chill, and just....couldn't. Laid in bed for 45 minutes. "Well, I feel better so I guess I'll get up and do one of the things that keeps running around my brain." Once I was able to cross several more things off the to-do list, I started to relax - in time for Devin's brother Tyler to arrive! Yay! Our first wedding guest :)

Thursday was another busy one. The boys left around 10:30 am to start collecting various lighting gear, and I headed to Kokomo around noon to begin my pampering - a bridal body polish from my sister's best friend Kristina, who works at Healing Hands Natural Therapy Spa. It was a blissful hour of full-body sugar scrub and hot towels, and I was thoroughly relaxed afterwards. aaaaahhhhh...
The evening was spent at my mom's house; she and my sister helped me put together programs and assemble the small pennant flags that we used for our sendoff. I/we accomplished everything that could be done. However, once I was in bed I was thinking of everything happening the NEXT day; long story short, I might have gotten 3 hours of sleep. Bah.

Friday morning: us girls (me, mom, sister) got up early(ish) to get pedicures together. I also stopped by the mall to get my engagement ring cleaned, pick up some more Airborne and also some bubble bath for our night in the Jacuzzi suite :) It was pretty surreal to be walking around the mall I used to hang out in as a 13-year-old, the day before my wedding. This is where time seemed to speed up considerably; suddenly I was with my sister, picking up my nephew from school, then we were on our way to TACA, then we arrived at TACA (which was already BEAUTIFUL), and then we rehearsed, and then rehearsal was done, and then we were bowling, and then I saw Devin for the last time before the ceremony, and then I was hanging at our apartment with the 5 other people staying there (yeah, it was crowded)...mercifully, I was able to sleep, but woke up about an hour early and just laid in bed in varying states of nervousness.

By some miracle of wedding day fairy magic, everything that morning ran on time. I walked into my hair appointment at noon - Angelica, a friend from high school, works at Bab & Co Hairdesigners in Carmel, and she did an awesome job on my hair and managed to finish about 5 minutes early. It was great to hear "We're all ready!" when I called my sister to tell her I was on my way back.

HOWEVER.

We ended up behind schedule because of a last-minute Wendy's run, where, naturally, the order got screwed up and the whole process was slow to begin with. Oh, well.

When I got to TACA, it was 2:30 - only about 15 minutes late. I already had my dress there, and in my dress bag had I also stored my shoes, jewelry, and warm comfy wrap to lessen the chances of forgetting anything important. All the bridesmaids still had to get their dresses on, but they had all at least prepared by wearing all the necessary *undergarments.* The additional complication came when my sister's zipper broke, and my aunt had to emergency-sew her into her dress, with her wrap attached (good thing she was matron of honor...it was okay for her to be different...) I didn't get to see this process because my mom and my bridesmaid Kate were lacing me into MY dress, but I did get to hear the delightful exclamations of "Shit!" coming from their general direction...at one point Uncle Tim, our officiant, popped his head through the door to ask if we were ready, and the resounding unanimous response he got was "NO!"

So, dear guests, I really have no idea just HOW late we were in starting the ceremony, but now you know why it happened...

And then it was a crazy wonderful blur of gettin' hitched and taking pictures and a brief but AWESOME limo ride with our wedding party, and the toasts were AMAZING and the food was AMAZING and then baby Andrew knocked over my Irish coffee and then we danced to a song that I didn't know would be our first dance until we were in the limo and then I danced with New Dad and then my mom and then everybody partied and there were family and friends and hugs and kisses and love and more pictures and champagne and other drinks and pretty lights!

Yay!

And then the night ended and our 45 minute drive to the hotel took about 3 seconds and then we arrived

and stuff :)

and then I woke up married to my one true love.


So begins our new life together.  S'wonderful.


...I noted earlier tonight that our marriage has already lasted longer than Kim Kardashian's. Score!

Coming up next: the delightful tidbits we received from our guestbook pages :)

A real post?

Okay, okay, okay. I've become a terrible blogger. I guess I just got a little bored with all the posting of every minute wedding detail, plus life itself is keeping us plenty busy! But, at 4 weeks out, here's the standings:

TACA is paid in full.
The menu has been set with MCL. They just need a final head count.
I have all jewelry and makeup, and my dress is currently at the tailor's, to be picked up next Friday.
My shower and bachelorette party are on Saturday!
Devin has his suit, but it still needs to be altered (mostly just a hem).
I've started paying obsessive attention to my skin and have made several (non-expensive) purchases of items that will hopefully ensure its PERFECTION.
Guestbook has been purchased and delivered from The Guestbook Store (previously mentioned - I decided not to DIY because, well, this was just way more convenient!)
Devin's Uncle Tim will be our officiant, which is just solid awesome.
My former guitar teacher, Gary Rhum, will provide our ceremony music, and that's LIQUID awesome (which is better? You decide!).
Cake design is taken care of. Thanks, Aunt Rita!
Honeymoon is booked for Hawaii, Jan 24-Feb 1, 2012. Thanks, Amy & Travis!


...and there are quite a few more things that could go on this list, but you're probably bored by now. We definitely still have some to-dos, but they're pretty minor and will get taken care of in time.

In non-wedding news, The Chewydog has been neutered, fully vaccinated, and microchipped, and is happily munching on a giant rawhide bone behind me. He has become quite the goofy cuddlebug and we love him dearly. We've taught him to shake, speak, stay, and wait. He's such a quick learner on top of being adorable and happy-go-lucky that I think he'd make a wonderful therapy dog. We'll just have to wait a few more years for him to chill out a little bit...
Here's a more recent picture - we've done a lot of trimming on his face and ears!

LongDog says "whatevs"...love this photo by Devin!

I now volunteer at the Humane Society of Indianapolis for 2 hours a week as a Canine Companion, but I'm going to try to switch to photography soon because, hey, they need some good ones. We'll see how long I can resist bringing home a new addition...

Speaking of photography, I'm also getting involved with a new organization called the Indianapolis Photography Cooperative. The goal is to provide volunteer photography services for local non-profits as well as photography workshops. It's hard to balance everything right now, but I hope with the new year I'll be able to do some great volunteer work, get my name out there and maybe even do some teaching! Not to mention the great benefit of being a "founding member" and helping to build from the ground up - could lead to a (dare I say it?!) real career...

I'd say that's enough for now. Will I manage to post again before I'm a married woman?! We'll see :-p

LANDMARK

 

IT HAPPENS IN ONE MONTH.

Welcome Chewy!

As promised, here is a post dedicated to our adorable new dog, Chewy!

Earning his name ;-)

For awhile we've been talking about starting a "family" - with a dog or two, that is! We'd been keeping an eye on several rescue sites to see if a possible "perfect" dog would come along (NO WAY will we ever buy from a pet store/breeder).  Our apartment complex doesn't impose size restrictions, but we knew we didn't want something TOO big, because we don't have a lot of space. We do have to deal with breed restrictions - no pit bulls, german shepherds, dobermans, rottweilers, or akitas, or any mixes thereof (though I'm totally into having 3 of those 5 breeds at some point!).

Anyway, so we kept an eye out, and only about 10 days after we moved in, Chewy came to us via craigslist. I'd been watching posts on there, and it isn't always the most reputable site for getting a pet - people will post wonderful things about a dog for "rehoming" and then when it's picked up, it's emaciated or sick or something else tragic. But in Chewy's case, he was found out n' about by a nice young guy and taken in by his girlfriend and her sister. They had already posted about him once, and had also put up fliers in their neighborhood (he was found with a collar, but no tag or microchip. Gah.) Unfortunately they already had dogs AND cats, and were unable to keep him; basically they were giving him away as "free to good home," and were nice enough to include a leash, some food, and a few rawhide chews. So his temporary owner brought him over and we liked him right away! He's a very cute corgi/terrier mix, happy and full of energy - without being hyperactive. He's about a year old.

Note the wistful look in his eyes - he sees a treat!

So after hanging out with him for a few hours, we took him to the vet. He had a whopping case of fleas, so they gave him a pill that started working in only 30 minutes. We gave him a bath that night and there were quite a few in the rinse water...blech! He was also tested for heartworm and intestinal parasites (mmm, the bright side to his dropping a deuce in the vet's office...) Both of those tests came back negative! Hurrah! And now we have him on a monthly preventative that handles heartworm, fleas/ticks, AND intestinal parasites in one pill for $15 a month. Not a bad deal. Earlier this week I took him to get his shots at the Indy Humane Society (where I'm soon to start volunteering) so now he's all caught up!

Doll baby!

Personality-wise, he's quite a pistol - he's learned several tricks, but totally calls my bluff when he knows I don't have a treat for him! Hopefully that will change as we build more of a relationship. He loves to chase squirrels and chipmunks, enjoys most people and children (though if there's something interesting to sniff, that's trump), and doesn't bark inside....much. Exceptions to this being if he hears another dog barking, certain loud noises, and a few times when he's been frustrated during training. He's learning to enjoy cuddling with us in bed and on the couch, and most mornings he gets an adorable case of the hiccups. :) In other quirks, when he's left alone in the apartment for more than a few minutes, he likes to grab random belongings of ours and deposit them on the floor of our bedroom. No chewing or other damage...just moving. Shoes, socks, my pocketbook...it's always interesting to come back to! He DOES have an issue with aggression towards other dogs, but he still needs to be neutered and we hope that will help to curb it, at least somewhat. No matter what, we will work with him to make him the best dog he can be!

We have him mostly crate trained at this point, and he's getting better about walking on a leash. One of the most important things (especially with a smart, confident dog like him!) is to make sure he knows you're the boss. So in addition to setting the pace for his walks, we make him "work" for just about anything he wants - he sits before we go out the door for a walk, we're working on getting him to "wait" for his food, and when he jumps to greet us when we get home, we don't pet him until he's sitting. He's also been getting more and more responsive to his name, and even though it's a simple thing, it's one of my favorite parts of owning a dog (this is my first dog EVER, btw).

He does this more than you might think ;-)

Getting a bath from "Dad" :)

So that's Chewy! If you haven't had a chance to meet him yet, we plan on bringing him to the bridal shower :)

In wedding-related news, MY DRESS ARRIVED! I tried it on and it's ALMOST perfect (there's a little bit of weirdness where some of the different fabrics join, but it looks like it will be a simple fix at an alteration place).

Devin is currently in Chicago until Sunday, designing for Core Project (dance company) and it's been a bit lonely without him...but I am glad to have Chewy to keep me company. Can't believe we'll be married in just over 2 months!

The whirlwind, as of late.

WoooooEEEEEE it's been a crazy month!

Devin has started his new job as Assistant Electrician for Carmel's Center for the Performing Arts. Carmel is a well-to-do town directly north of Indianapolis. This place is kind of a big deal - there are 3 performance spaces, the largest of which is The Palladium, and everything is completely state-of-the-art. It's great for Devin because he gets to learn some new things and be a part of this place as it grows (it just opened in January and still isn't completely finished). He has a steady (weekly!) paycheck and a flexible schedule - their approach seems to be "as long as the work gets done, you can do it when you want." So some days he goes in at 9, others not til 10 or 11, and he's usually home by 5 (except, of course, on show nights).

And with him getting this job came the apartment search. It wasn't a huge deal because, if nothing else, we could have stayed in my apartment and renewed the lease with both of our names, but we looked around to see if we could find something closer to Carmel. Nothing was looking very promising (my old place had the extreme convenience of good square footage, affordability, and all utilities paid except electricity), but then we found a loft apartment at Woodlake on the northwest side! The ground floor (which is still 2nd floor of the building) has the kitchen, living room, bathroom, and a big bedroom with a walk-in closet, and the loft is a 10x13' space with a skylight, accessed by a spiral staircase. Yep, it's pretty sexy! We looked at it on Tuesday the 6th, applied for it on the 7th, went up to Wixom to rent a truck and grab all of Devin's stuff on the 8th, and signed the lease and moved in on the 9th. Whew! With the exception of a few leftover possessions at my old apartment and some remaining boxes of Devin's random stuff, we're all settled!

Another draw for us with this particular community was their pet policy - $150 refundable deposit and only $10 a month per pet, with no size restrictions (whereas one place we looked at had a $300 non-refundable, and $30/mo. This place also made you pay for all utilities, water, and trash pickup. The $710/mo rent they were advertising could have easily ended up over $900. No thanks!!). This was important to us because even though we didn't bring any pets with us, we have both wanted a dog or two for quite awhile. Which brings me to the next awesome thing, if you haven't seen on facebook - WE GOT A DOG. We named him Chewy and he appears to be a 1 year old corgi/terrier mix. Basically a big bundle of adorable. However, as this post is looking pretty lengthy already, I think I'll devote a separate post to his story :) I will be posting pictures of him and the apartment soon though!

Small bits of news: one of my good friends is having a baby and just found out it's a boy. She wants me to be one of the godmothers (two godmothers as opposed to mother and father). :-D Even MORE happiness at being close by, now there's another kid that I get to see grow up.

I bought us our wedding insurance yesterday, as we're required by TACA to have a property damage/liability policy. $95 from Wedsafe.com.

My dress has been made and is now on its way here!

We're about to send out invitations - should be happening today or tomorrow.

Actively searching for an officiant. 

Happy. :)


Amount spent: $1,008
Amount left: $3,992

Back in Indiana!

We are back in Indiana (that's right, the man followed me home!) and gettin' thangs done! We're just a little more than 3 months out, and things are pretty dandy. Here's what's happened:

Devin accepted a job with Carmel's Center for the Performing Arts! YAY! This means 1) we will have a steady income, and 2) we'll be close to family. All good things! It's been a busy couple of weeks between job stuff and apartment stuff - we're waiting on a phone call today that will determine if we move or renew my current lease. If we move it will be into a supersweet loft, so we're hoping for that one! Either way, we are DONE with any long-distance shenanigans. Whew! Now we can be excited about getting our first dog...not sure when exactly that will happen, but we love scouting our favorite pet websites.

I bought Holi paint powders (a $25 splurge), to be used kinda like this for our engagement shoot. Not only is this pure awesome, it also ties in wonderfully with our unity paint pour for the ceremony and the prints of famous paintings we plan to have at every table. Yes, ours is an artists' wedding. Ahhh...

I bought my dress ($220, including the fabric swatches I also bought to help me decide between white and ivory). I went through JJ's House, and was even able to give them my exact measurements - hopefully the only thing that MIGHT need adjusting will be the actual length of the dress itself. It should be here in about six weeks, and I can't wait! My bridesmaids are also ordering through this site, so when all is said and done I will be sure to post a review of how everything turns out. Money saver: I've decided to wear a pair of shoes I already own. They're stylish and since I've already worn them for another wedding, I know they won't totally kill my feet! 

I also went on Etsy and bought wraps for me and my girls to wear for any outdoor photos that we take ($62). Indiana in early December can be kind of a crapshoot - it might be 25 degrees, or it might be 65. I'm certainly hoping for the latter...

We've decided on a honeymoon location (HAWAII!) and are hashing out the details thereof.

We officially booked our caterer (MCL) after a very tasty tasting. Having never done anything of that nature before, I wasn't sure what to expect, but basically it was a free meal. Score!

We scouted photo locations. This was an especially important step for us because a) we are both photographers, and therefore quite picky about what our photos will look like (more on my philosophy later), b) Anderson is a small town, and so the cool, unique little spots are not always obvious/marketed, and c) with the wedding in December, we won't have any added beauty from flowers and other foliage. This was where Google Maps' street view was very helpful! I looked at their regular map of Anderson and found the names of businesses that seemed photo-friendly, then switched it to street view to get a good look at them (and visited in person, of course). We came away with a few spots that will look amazing, even in winter. It just takes a little bit of vision and creativity to know where to look ;-) And so, I give you a few wintry/grungy/urban wedding photos to serve as eye candy, and a lesson that things don't always have to be "pretty" to be positively gorgeous. Thanks for reading!

Having a Charitable Wedding

Here's one of those long-and-involved posts that will cover several aspects of our wedding. I hope readers can get useful information and good ideas...please feel free to share any thoughts in the comments!

It's always been important for me and Devin to have a wedding that we can afford, that doesn't waste a lot of resources and that can actually accomplish some good in the world. For almost a year I canvassed for Grassroots Campaigns to raise money for the ASPCA and Save the Children, two very reputable and amazing organizations. This line of work opened my eyes to all the world problems around me (even more so than usual) and how effective it really can be when many people just give a little of what they have. As a couple, we have a goal to give 10% of our monthly income (similar to an expected tithe at a church), and we plan to begin our charitable giving with our wedding. It's actually very easy to help the world and give back with a little bit of research and creativity.

General Purchases
We all know that weddings cost a ton of money. We will be spending more on this than on anything else thus far in our lives. So why not try to spend it in places where profits are donated to charity? Just today I purchased all of my bridesmaids' gifts (their jewelry for the wedding, plus some body stuff and some food stuff) as well as my (possible) bridal jewelry on thehungersite.com. I spent $194 and with that, funded FIVE HUNDRED cups of food. This site is amazing because you can shop for just about anything you could ever want - they have GORGEOUS jewelry, cool clothes and accessories, and some great deals - but you can also make donations for specific purposes and just click on a link to fund food for Africa. Pretty sweet! And if you have another issue that's close to your heart, they're part of a network that supports things like education, animal rescue and autism research. Mmmm, are you feeling more virtuous yet?

Another way we're being charitable that I've mentioned before is buying from Goodwill. It's super cheap and supports a good cause! I've bought several centerpiece items there, and once the wedding is over, all remaining centerpiece items will be re-donated. Who needs that stuff lying around anyways? ;-) I like to go there to shop for clothing and other household items pretty regularly as it is. Depending on the area, you can get barely-used brand-name stuff, and even some fabulous surprises. My favorite Goodwill find is a huge framed print of one of my favorite paintings, Kandinsky's "Yellow, Red, Blue" for $20. It made my heart sing! So the moral of the story is that Goodwill is awesome all the time, and you should probably shop there once a week. Just sayin'...

Gift Registry
Okay, so not only do YOU spend a lot of money, but when you get married there is a lot of money that is spent ON you, for gifts. So I'm glad I heard of this one before we were engaged - the I Do Foundation.  This site allows you to create a registry for charitable donations. You can choose the organization(s) so that your guests know what charities are important to you, and they can donate in lieu of purchasing yet another blender or duvet cover or towel set. But the awesome thing is that if you do still need stuff, you can register with several of their partner retailers (like Target! Heck yes!) and a portion of purchases will also be donated to charity. Win-win, I'd say, and there's pretty much no reason NOT to do this. Give me one, I dare you!

Favors
If you want to physically give something to your guests, then by all means do so. My favorite favors that I've seen are made of plantable paper. It's creative, meaningful, and good for the environment, and anything else along those same lines gets a big thumbs-up from me. However, what's even better IMHO is making a donation on behalf of your guests, which is what we're doing. The hardest part is choosing a charity - whether you want to give to an organization that you've personally been involved with, one that has a huge impact in a lot of areas or something that is significant for many members of your family (a donation to the American Heart Association in memory of a loved one who suffered a heart attack, for instance). Bonus: it might take a total of 10-15 minutes to do an online transaction and print and frame a note stating where you've donated. Compare that to all the time (and tedium) of stuffing 200 bags of jordan almonds... ;-)

THE DRESS
Unfortunately I'm not able to use my own recommendation on this one, but Oxfam actually runs an online store that includes designer wedding dresses - the bummer for me was that they only had one of each, and nothing under size 12. But hey, it will work for some people. Again, wedding dresses also tend to end up at Goodwill. Usually they're straight out of 1984, but you never know when something amazing could appear (I might even end up donating mine...we'll see!).

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So other than giving to charity, another way to just help out on a smaller scale is by making purchases on Etsy - for awhile I actually considered having a dress custom-made by someone, but then I decided there wasn't really time - but you'll get great handmade items, usually at a lower price than what you'd find in stores, and of course you're supporting a small business owner. Ka-chow! If you've never visited Etsy before, go now. So much great art stuff! Clothes-jewelry-housewares-decor...and PIE.

Well I think this has gone on quite long enough. Thoughts, feedback and other ideas are welcome in the comments. There's billions of dollars in the wedding industry, why not send a few of them to those who need it most?

Still here!

Hello, friends and family...

Posting will be at a minimum for the next couple of weeks...zoh noes! Last week Devin and I were moved out to the cabins to finish up our contracts - so we have more space, but no internet. We've been having a great time the last few days with a light work schedule, so we've been going through music, finding possible ceremony selections and having random dance parties...not to mention lots of cuddling :) His parents were actually able to come up this weekend, and we talked about many details of the wedding. His mom happily agreed to take on the task of assembling centerpieces - she had just bought a lot of pieces from garage sales that fit with the vibe we're going for, and she's crafty like that - so that's a big weight off my shoulders! When we're up here all by ourselves it's easy to forget that there ARE people that will take care of these things for us.

One idea that I just came up with yesterday that I'm totally stoked about is how we're doing the "unity" portion of the ceremony. Of course, the tradition is to light a candle. Others I've seen are pouring sand and braiding pieces of rope. All wonderfully symbolic for sure, but none of them really seem to be right for us. Then it came to me - let's pour PAINT! YES! Totally fits! We'll be in an art gallery, we're both artists (though I am more so in the traditional sense, while Devin's art of choice is lighting design), and now this can be the central element that inspires the motif for the invitations, programs, and whatever else we choose. AH. I love finding things that make sense like that.


In other news, Devin had an interview yesterday that went VERY well (it was a phone interview so I got to hold his hand the whole time :-p) and he's working on getting another one lined up. Hooray for progress and hope and change!

That's all for now, as my time on the internet is about to come to an end...stay tuned for more updates!

Time for an update!

Hello, all! Sorry for the temporary absence, things get pretty crazy here for the first week of August! But we have been able to secure our hotel and took the first steps toward booking our caterer.

The hotel we chose for our group is actually 20 miles from our ceremony/reception site; that's quite a bit further than what I was hoping for, but it was by far the best deal at only $50/night (and our jacuzzi suite will only be $80, or FREE if we get 30 rooms booked!). I used a priceline service called FindGroupDeals, something that I just happened to find during a Google search, and it took about 5 days but then this hotel finally came through. The way it works is similar to priceline's Name Your Own Price. You enter your location, the number of rooms you want for the specific date, and the max price you're willing to pay. Your request gets sent directly to hotel managers in the area, so if you want to follow up on any offers, you know where they came from and already have that line of communication started. Added bonus: Once you book a hotel, they give you your own page online where guests can add themselves to the rooming list. From there, they only need to call to confirm!
Just so ya know: The first 4 or 5 bids I got really didn't fit my criteria - they were too far away, cost too much, didn't have the amenities I requested. That was a bit frustrating, but obviously it did pay off eventually! Patience seems to be key with this service.


To get the ball rolling on catering, we looked at a few of the caterers on our venue's preferred list. Without going in-depth on all of them, MCL seemed to be the best fit for us. They offer buffet service and their most expensive package is $15.95/person. After seeing some other caterers listing prices at over $30/per, this seemed more than reasonable! I will need to meet with the manager once I'm back in Indiana, but after the initial phone call we have been penciled in to their schedule. Yay!

If our venue hadn't required that we use one of their preferred caterers, we would more than likely be using Gordon Food Service. This is a great way to feed lots of people for a relatively small amount of money, exponentially cheaper than professional catering, and they have tons of options. If you're into DIY food, this is definitely the way to go.

We've also been considering a splurge on a ceremony musician...if we do book him I want to keep it a secret, so I won't really go into detail, but it is difficult deciding if we can really afford him or not :-/ I will also be purchasing (and blogging about) bridesmaid gifts and wedding insurance in the near future...so much to do! Stay tuned :) 

Taking care of small details

Yesterday I managed to cross quite a few smaller items off my list. In order:

1. Bought ties for the guys (Men's Warehouse, $19.99 each).
2. Found a few more centerpiece items at Goodwill.
3. Called my aunt Rita and *officially* asked her to make our cake (she said yes, of course!)
4. Arranged to borrow my cousin's veil (which has also been worn by my sister) as well as her cake cutting set. (What can YOU borrow from a recently married friend/relative?)
5. Put out feelers for guest lodging through FindGroupDeals, a priceline.com service. This allows you to name your desired number of rooms and price, and negotiate directly with a hotel sales rep. We'll see if we get any good responses; otherwise, there is a hotel we have in mind that we will contact next week.
6. Sent pictures of my top 4 dress choices to my VIP ladies for final opinions and advice.
7. Just finished designing our Save the Date! It will be emailed out in the next few days (yay for saving postage/trees!) Looks like this:

I will happily design your Save the Date, too ;-)

And just today I discovered a really cool guestbook idea at The Guestbook Store. Each guest receives their own page to fill out, front and back - things like where they're from, a memory of the bride/groom and any advice for the marriage. Personal, detailed, and keeps guests occupied during the potentially boring and awkward ceremony-to-reception transition. This especially works for us because we're having everything at one location.

Naturally, Devin and I don't want a "traditional" guestbook format (truthfully, our entire wedding isn't all that traditional, because we ourselves are oddballs...), so now we get to decide if we want to order from this company or MAKE OUR OWN in a similar format. Chances are we'll DIY to make it as personal as possible.

That's all for now!

Total spent: $410
Total remaining: $4,590

Flowery goodness

Another big hurdle cleared: our wedding flowers! We're lucky enough that Devin's aunt has a great deal of floral expertise, so she is providing our flowers as her wedding gift to us. Huzzah!

My favorite! (from The Knot)

Even though most people will end up paying some amount of money for floral decor, there are some easy and creative ways to significantly cut those costs. In order of least cost-saving to most cost-saving, we have:

1. Use less flowers! Instead of having entire bouquets made for bridesmaids, have them hold a single flower with one ribbon. For groomsmen boutonnieres, use less expensive "filler" flowers, or even just greenery, instead of roses/cala lillies/etc, and save the expensive stuff for the most important guy- the groom!

2. Consider taking care of some of the flowers yourself. If you have a particularly green thumb, you could even GROW them yourself. The next best thing would be to buy them as-is from a florist or grocery store, and arrange them yourself (at least half the cost of florist-arranged flowers comes from labor). At one wedding I photographed, this was done completely on the fly about an hour before the ceremony! The bride had a bouquet of all yellow roses, and her bridesmaids each carried a single yellow rose with some greenery and a ribbon on it. Only the mothers' corsages and the guys' boutonnieres were done by a florist.

Simple and classy. (photo copyright Kathleen Grady)

3. Don't use flowers AT ALL. That's right, I said it! My friend Julie over at Fun With the Future Mr. and Mrs. Fitz is having a flower-less wedding by making all her flowers out of fabric (and paper?) and she even wrote a tutorial for the process she is using. This is certainly the most time-consuming option, but the lowest cost, and the possible combination for colors and patterns is pretty much endless. Use paper and you'll probably save even more - just make sure you recycle! ;-)

Or get SUPER creative with buttons and brooches (from The Knot)

And in closing, I'd like to remind all current and future brides out there to use WHO you know. I'll be writing more about this, but in addition to Devin's aunt we have 4-5 other friends/family who are using their talents to provide major services for us, and it's literally saving us thousands. If you know someone with a wedding-friendly skill, don't be shy about asking them to use it! Like your wedding party, the people you ask to help out with your big day will be more than happy to lend a hand and make your wedding awesome.
Etiquette tip: don't ask for FREE swag/services, especially if the person is a professional. As a photographer, even if my best friend did this, I'd be put off. Let them offer, and if they don't, ask how much they'll charge. If they do want to be paid, but it's substantially less than their normal fee, no complaining!!!

Once again, thanks for reading. Party on, y'all!

Save some dough, yo! (on venues and vacations)

Wow, what a busy week it's been! I would have written this post sooner, but between working, a quick weekend in Indiana to shoot a wedding, and then doctor visits (more on that later), this is the first chance I've had to write.

So we cleared a big hurdle in wedding planning - we booked our venue! Initially we wanted to find something in Indianapolis, but between not having a church (we usually live apart, and don't attend regularly anyways) and the crazy-high prices of EVERYTHING ELSE WE LOOKED AT, we had to expand our search. Right around that time, I saw a new album on facebook from The Anderson Center for the Arts in Anderson, IN (NE of Indianapolis, where a friend from college is now a curator) and it was WEDDING PHOTOS. Inquiries were made, phone calls and text messages were exchanged, and on Friday, this engaged lady put down her security deposit. Pricing gets sort of complicated with time limits and using 1 or 2 rooms, but no matter what, we're saving at least 50% from the other places we looked at. TACA is also a rather small venue, so it's perfect for our small guest list (and our creative, artistic personalities!).

Here are some photos I took while I was there. It was built in 1903 and was originally a library:

The outside (says "PVBLIC LIBRARY," love it)

Entryway

The Grande Room, set up for reception

Side gallery, probably where our ceremony will be

The view as you walk in - but for our wedding there will be a big Christmas tree set up in the middle.

So what have we learned?

-Think outside the big city. A smaller town 15-45 minutes away could offer a fabulous venue at half the cost. Guests who live in the city won't mind the drive, and anyone who flies in will also be within a reasonable drive from the airport.
-Look for non-profit places like this one. Prices will vary, but you'll get more personal service AND the knowledge that your money will be used wisely.
-Places like Lions Clubs and Knights of Columbus are also very affordable, but can sometimes be lacking in aesthetics. What you save on the rental fee might all end up going towards extra decor to spruce the place up.
-THERE IS NO REASON TO PAY OVER $2,000 JUST TO BE IN A ROOM (imho)

Part 2: Vacations!

Another major part of getting married is planning THE HONEYMOON. Everyone wants an amazing honeymoon location, but the airfare gets expensive at best and completely prohibitive in some cases. One easy way to alleviate those worries is by using airline miles. If you aren't already signed up for a frequent flier account with an airline, CHANGE THAT. Devin and I (and his whole family) fly United whenever possible, and on top of miles earned from actual trips, the company gives many award miles for things you do anyway - buying Mother's Day flowers from FTD and signing up for Netflix, among other things. Sometimes they just give you more miles for flying during a certain time - for instance, one offer I took advantage of this past winter was an additional 2500 miles for trips taken December - February, up to three trips. I took two trips, so I received 5,000 more miles. No complaints here!
If you really want to make a HUGE dent in your honeymoon costs, sign up for an award miles credit card. I just activated my United Visa, and received 25,000 miles after the first purchase (which covers a round-trip ticket in the contiguous US by itself; a round-trip ticket to HAWAII takes 40,000 miles with United, and they allow you to use a combination of miles and cash to purchase tickets). I plan on using this card for as many wedding-related purchases as possible to rack up even more miles - they give 1 mile per every dollar spent. I also used it for my doctor visits yesterday ($250) so at least I'm earning miles on my medical problems! (It appears to be a thyroid issue. More testing to happen on Friday. Doc assures me I'm not going to die.)
If you're one of those types who deals all in cash, then I have mad respect for you. But if you use credit cards at all, and are getting married, there's no reason not to sign up for an awards card with an airline. If you both get one, you could save over $1000 on your honeymoon!

That's all I've got for now, kiddos. The next step for us is finding a caterer and a hotel for our guests. Stay tuned!

Total spent: $350
Total remaining: $4,650

Introductions

Well hello there, pretty people, and welcome to our blog! We are Devin and Kathleen, we started dating May 20, 2010 and got engaged June 17, 2011. We are planning our wedding for December 10, 2011, and we're freakin' stoked about it. I wanted to start this blog for short-term wedding planning documentation (and advice for anyone else planning on a budget), and for the long-term sharing of our marital adventures.

So here is the current state of affairs: We are both on summer contracts with Interlochen Center for the Arts in Interlochen, MI (1/2 hr outside Traverse City) until the end of August. We are getting married in central Indiana. We have "VIP's" (immediate family and wedding party) in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Tennessee, and Colorado; and because the lease on my Indianapolis apartment ends in October, I'll be moving in with Devin, location TBD, wherever he gets a job, and finishing wedding planning from there. Probably Tennessee. "Shenanigans," indeed!

On top of crazy locations, we also have finances to consider. I've read that the average wedding costs $20,000. We say: NO FREAKIN WAY! If you have that kind of cash, by all means, go for it; it will be gorgeous and spectacular (and will still only last a day!). But many of us don't have that luxury, and there are all kinds of creative ways to cut corners while still providing a great, memorable time for everyone. We are depending on the time and talent of many friends and family members (as well as our own skills) to help us have an awesome wedding UNDER $5,000, and that is a big part of what we'll be blogging about.  

Our first wedding-related purchase was an online half-off deal ($57) for premarital counseling videos. The deal actually came up in an email from The Wedding Channel before we were engaged, but because we'd been talking about marriage for...just about our whole relationship, we went ahead and bought it to save some coin. It's a series of 8 videos...so far we've only watched 2, but we have until September to finish the series. More on those in a later post.

Today I did some shopping with friends and found the first few centerpiece items. I've promised to myself to buy all centerpieces at Goodwill (or at an insanely good deal elsewhere). And after the wedding, we'll just donate everything back (I'll be posting more on how we're being charitable with our wedding as time goes).We're going for sort of an eclectic vintage vibe, so the items I bought were clear and colored glass bottles along with some figurines in our wedding colors. Every table will be different. I will definitely want to pick up some ribbon eventually to beautify and add color to the clear and white objects, and some flowers will be added as needed also. Anyways, the total cost of about 8 or 9 items was $12. Score! Then we went to the mall, where I actually found some PERFECT lingerie at Charlotte Russe (we'll stop the descriptions there) and spent $31 (would have been more exact on the dollar amounts had I remembered to bring my receipts in from the car...). It's not the cheapest, but it was definitely a step down from, say, Victoria's Secret, and it fits my style better that most VS merch anyways.

So now that we're up to speed, I'll just keep posting as things happen. Comments welcome!

And to the end of every post, I will add:
Total spent so far: $100
Total remaining: $4,900