Boys are more difficult than girls?

This Sunday all of the groomsmen, Michael and I piled in the car and made our way to Salem to find some suits for the boys!  When we started the journey I didn't expect it to be difficult at all, my only specifications were:

It has to be medium gray

You all (the boys) have to agree on the price

If you want accessories (other than a tie because I get full control of that!) you need to decide as a group

Shouldn't be too hard to find right? Especially since all the boys are essentially the same shape just with height differences. Wrong. It was exceedingly difficult to find something that everyone liked, that fit everyone properly, that was wool (that was the boys aka. my brother Ryan's specification) and that was in stock.  We started out at Burlington Coat factory and found a lot of options there that were okay, but only one that we found that was wool so we decided to continue on.

After getting into a parking altercation with a grumpy family we grabbed some lunch at Red Robin and then left for Macy's.  I would have assumed that Macy's would have a wide variety of suits (like they normally do) however, that was the exact opposite of what we found.  So off to JC Penny we went assuming the same thing.. of course they will have suits, its a big store and it always does. False.  Same problem, there were only a few suits and none of which were right for the occasion.  

Finally since I had to go pick up my wedding dress in the same area, we decided to go to Mens Wearhouse to check out the situation.  We found a lot of good suits, but they were really expensive (until I found out that I get 50% off all suits!)  

Finally we decided to meet back to Burlington Coat factory after Ryan and I picked up my dress! (YAY) and try on the ones that we very first loved.  All the boys like it and it was a good price, and then we found out a problem.  They can't get any other sizes, what is there is what they've got.  So much for that.  

So after a whole frustrating day of un-opinioned boys trying on suits we left empty handed.  Who would have thought that finding gray suits for four tall thin boys would be more difficult than finding a dress that fits four very different shaped, sized, and height girls?? 

not I... but heres some funny pictures from the day!

All about cake.

If you know me at all you probably know about my love of cake.  I love making cake, I love decorating cake, and I love eating cake.

So on Saturday we did something that I was suuuppper excited about. Yes. We tasted cake.

The baker met us at my parents house in Corvallis and brought all sorts of flavors from white chocolate to pink champagne to chocolate hazelnut to lemon and more! She also brought a variety of different fillings to mix and match with cake flavors.  

And we were off, cutting the cupcakes, tasting fillings, changing filling flavors with different cakes, eating frosting and everything delicious that you could imagine.  Between my mom, dad, Michael and I we devoured about ten cupcakes... with frosting.. and fillings...

Our favorites ended up being the white chocolate (my personal fave), pink champagne, and lemon (each with a different berry filling, but not too much, just enough).  There was also a delicious whipped cream cheese filling that I loved so much that I may or may not have just eaten it with the spoon... but I got overruled so it didn't make it into the favorites list.

We also discussed the design of the cake which I'm very excited about, but just like the dress its a secret until the day!

Asking the Kiddos

Keaton and Ella are my parents best friends kids that Michael and I have known since they were born.  We have babysat them more times than I can count and have watched them grow up.  Although both Michael and I have cousins that are the perfect age to be a flower girl and ring bearer we decided that Keaton and Ella were the right choice.  They are wonderfully behaved and the sweetest kids that you'll ever meet.

We decided to make them each a little box (in our wedding colors) and write them a note asking them to be our flower girl/ring bearer.  On Sunday morning (2/3/2013) our families went out to lunch where we gave the kiddos the boxes we made them.  They are in 1st and 2nd grade so they are both in the process of learning to read which made what happen next even better.

As they were sounding out the words to their notes they both reached the words "flower girl" and "ring bearer" at about the same time.  Ella's face lit up so bright it made my heart so happy!  Keaton was a little more vocal with his acceptance of his new job by yelling "I GET TO BE THE FLOWER MAN!" 

I wasn't expecting them to react in the way that they did. I figured Ella would be excited because she got to wear a pretty dress and hold the flowers, and I kind of thought that Keaton wouldn't even really know what a ring bearer was.  Their elated responses seriously made my wedding planning a thousand times better!

The Saturday of Checking Stuff Off the List

On Saturday Michael and I had two very important meetings which led us to drink a lot of coffee!

Our first meeting was at 10:30 at Coffee Culture (which makes a mean black and white mocha!) with our pastor Randal. I don't know why I was as nervous as I was since Michael and I have known Randal the majority of our lives, but I was so jittery!! Randal is the youth pastor at the church we have attended forever (I came there in 2nd grade and Michael was there before me) which is why he seemed like the perfect person to ask to be our officiant. He said that he would be happy to be a part of our wedding, and we discussed some preliminary details. 

Officiant: check!

The second meeting was at Starbucks (seeing caffeinated theme here?) with a wonderful photographer that was recommended to us by a family friend.  When we walked in I wasn't sure what to expect, there were all sorts of people sitting in the room.  An older man with a computer who didn't look too friendly (I hope its not him), a young unprofessional guy eating a pastry and staring aimlessly out the window (not so sure I trust him with the most important pictures of my life...) a couple of young women sitting and chatting over coffee (well thats obviously not him) and right in the center a young blonde man wearing a well fitting sport coat (yes.)

We sat down and started chatting about the different packages he offered and looked at pictures of weddings he has done in the past.  As it turns out, it is only his 4th year doing wedding photography (which you would NEVER be able to guess by looking at the pictures) and because of that, his prices and options are perfectly within our budget!  After talking it over with Michaels mom and my mom (who met us there) we said yes and signed the contract!

Photographer: check!

I am so excited that we can mark two really important (and time sensitive) things off our (long..) list of things to do!

How many dresses can you put on until they all look the same?

How many dresses can you truly put on before they just start to look like white dresses? ... some.

With only 6-7 months until the wedding, I had to start dress shopping ASAP so on January 19th my mom and I went on our first dress shopping expedition!  It was totally spur of the moment, but we ended up getting an appointment at one shop and on the waiting list at another.  

We drove up to Portland where Michael's mom and aunt met us to look at dresses.  I loved the very first dress I tried on and to this day I'm still in love with it BUT I was kind of alone in the feeling and I wanted to try others on to see what I actually liked on me.  I ended up trying on about seven dresses at the first place we went.  

After the first store, my mom and I decided to drive to the store where we were on the waiting list just to poke around and see what was there.  To our amazement there was an open appointment right when we got there and I got to try on dresses! I tried on about seven more at this store and my mom was head over heels in love with a tea length dress.  Although I loved it, it was a little to Alice in Wonderland/Princessy for me.

By this time it was about dinner time and we called it quits for the night and decided to grab some dinner and head home.

The next weekend was the second expedition that turned into a crazy experience.  Saturday morning mom, dad, Hannah and I drove up to Salem for a wedding expo that we thought would be fun and give us some good ideas. We looked at photography, dresses, ate all the food samples that we could shove in our mouths, and all the cakes!  There was so much to take in but it was so much fun! There was even a wedding fashion show!

Well after the expo we had an appointment at a bridal shop to try on dresses.  My bridesmaids Cassie and Nehala met up with us at the shop, and dad left to go back home. We tried on a ton of dresses and couldn't figure out what exactly I wanted until finally I found one that everyone fell in love with.  It was beautiful.  White charmeuse with a blingy belt a fit and flare skirt with a ruched sweetheart top. Lovely. 

Unfortunately I am a terrible decision maker and couldn't actually "say yes to the dress" until I was absolutely positive about it.  We ended up leaving it there and heading to a different store where Michael's mom Kathleen and his sister (and bridesmaid) Alaina met us.  All the girls tried on bridesmaid dresses and we actually ended up making a decision within an hour or so of them trying them on!

I only tried on two dresses at the store since there wasn't much time left in the appointment but I am incredibly happy that I did because thats when I found my dress!  I didn't know it at the time but the second dress I put on was the one that I would have for my wedding.  

Mom and I decided to go back to the store on Sunday to try it on again and when I did, I never wanted to take it off, sooooo I said yes to the dress!  No pictures of that one though, its a secret for now!

Drama of date changing

Previously you may have read about our decision on date and venue.  August 24, 2013 at the Hallmark in Newport.

Well there was a change of plans.

I got a call from Jeff who informed me that a couple had just cancelled and that August, 10th was available and if Michael and I wanted the date it was ours.

So after a whole weekend of debating back and forth about changing the date, writing pros and cons lists, freaking out, and having small panic attacks, we finally decided to go with August 10th because:

1. It wasn't that much sooner than the 24th
2. Three of our good friends (including the maid of honor) would for sure be able to attend (rather than a gamble if they would be there)
3. It would interfere less with my (potential) future job as a teacher

It was dramatic and frustrating and strange but we have OFFICIALLY (contract and everything) moved the date to August 10, 2013!

When and Where is this shindig going down?

When we got back from Maui, Michael and I were elated... until we actually had to start planning.  We had to start making decisions, the first being when did we want to get married?

I had always wanted a fall wedding at the coast because I liked the idea that it wasn't in the dead of summer but it was still nice weather.  That brought us to the choice: do we want to get married in 7-9 months? or 17-19 months?

After much deliberation and wayyyy too much input from family and friends,

We decided on 8 months.

You may say that we are crazy since Michael won't be done with school until June I won't be finished with school until August and crazy we may be! But that was our final choice.

The first thing we did was research venues on the coast.  The first place I fell in love with was at Cannon Beach.  It had a lovely ballroom with vaulted ceilings and a great view of Haystack rock.  My other love was in Lincoln City.  A big room up a bit from the beach with floor to ceiling windows and panoramic views of the ocean.  Then I found the Hallmark in Newport.  Right below our favorite restaurant, floor to ceiling windows, right on the beach.

After driving my best friend, and maid of honor, Kelly to the Portland airport Saturday (1/12) morning, Michael and I began our trek to actually visit these venues. We started out by driving straight across to Cannon Beach where I expected to immediately fall in love with the venue and everything about it.

When we arrived however, I realized that the pictures were quite deceiving! The ballroom (although gorgeous!) did not look out at haystack rock but into a nearby parking lot.  The event coordinator was uppity and acted like we were wasting her precious time, SOO we said goodbye to my supposed venue love.

Well Cannon Beach was a lot further from Newport/Lincoln city than we anticipated, so instead of visiting other venues then, we contacted the event coordinator at the Hallmark in Newport who got us a screamin' deal in a fancy room on the top floor with a balcony, where we stayed Saturday night. Point 1 for the Hallmark!

When we arrived, our fireplace was turned on and there was a bottle of champagne and a hand written note waiting on our table.  Point 2 for the Hallmark!

After dropping our stuff inside, we immediately went on a scavenger hunt to snoop inside the "Sunset Room" (the even room) before going on an actual tour in the morning. 

It. was. perfect. (At least from what we could tell in the night!)

In the morning (after we ordered room service... hum croissant french toast hellooooo yes.) we were greeted by Jeff, the super enthusiastic, friendly, and wonderful event planner.  My family showed up right on time to go look at the ceremony and reception area which, as I previously thought, was pretty dang perfect.  The ceremony cite is outside on a bluff above the ocean with a view of the Yaquina Head lighthouse and the reception is indoors about 100 yards away on the bottom floor with floor to ceiling windows, no wild carpets or paint. Just a blank canvas.  Points 3 and 4 for the Hallmark.

However, unable to make a snap decision, we decided to visit the two other venues in Lincoln City, The Inn at Spanish Head and The Chinook Winds Casino Hotel.  Both of which we found underwhelming (not in general, just in comparison to the Hallmark).

SOOO Long story short, Michael and I decided on the drive home that the Hallmark was perfect for us.  One hour from home, a fantastic view of the ocean, catered by our favorite restaurant, a reasonable price, and a great event planner to help, and availability on the 24th of August!