Posts tagged wedding
Another catch up post
Aug 26th
We’ve been busy lately. First we went camping with my family down at a “park” (I use the term loosely) out in the country near my hometown. It was a lot of fun, even though it rained off and on all weekend.
My nephew kept making this face all weekend, any time we pointed a camera in his direction. He cracks me up.
I love my nieces and nephews. Here are a few of them. There are about 6 missing.
My dad won the fishing tournament's "rough" fish category (not Northern or Walleye). Nice trophy, huh?
We had a wedding to attend this past weekend. It was FABULOUS, as is the couple that got married. We didn’t take many pictures (too busy having fun!), but we had a great time.
The core group of friends I hung out with in High School - aka the Fab Five.
Holy cow! We remembered to get a photo of ourselves! Together, even!
And finally, after spending yesterday evening cleaning the kitchen and bathroom (they are about 99% better – we are just waiting for the ceiling to be fixed in the bathroom), we test drove and then bought a pickup today. We knew we were going to need a 2nd vehicle by the time the baby arrived, and since Ryan lost his company vehicle (since he doesn’t go out of the office much) having only one vehicle was going to get annoying pretty quickly. We’ve wanted a pickup for a while, just for the convenience of being able to haul stuff, and also because in case you didn’t know, Duluth is built on a huge hill. Have you seen pictures of San Francisco? Yeah, like that. But with Northern Minnesota winters. We live only 1 block up from the bottom of the hill, and yet there were still a few times last winter when I didn’t think my car was going to make it up the hill. And we had a couple mornings when I had to hike up to the bus station because I couldn’t get my car out of the lot. That’s ok when I’m not pregnant, but I do NOT want to be hiking up the hill to the bus stop when I’m 7, 8 or 9 months pregnant. No thanks. So we kept our eyes open and looked around on the internets and found this truck. It’s a 2001 Ford F150 extended cab with 4-wheel drive. We got a good deal on it, and it’s got lower miles and is in better shape than most of the other trucks we saw in our price range. It gets TERRIBLE gas milage (less than half of what I get with my car), but we won’t be using it to regularly commute, and we’ll take my car on trips whenever possible. So yah. We are very excited. And don’t worry, we already have a request for help hauling some stuff. But, like I told a friend on facebook – we have received help so many times from other people with pickups that we owe it to all of them to pass it along. At least for a while.
So, here it is! Our “new” truck!
The new truck!
We are already planning a trip down to the twin cities and Ikea to put this thing to good use. Of course, thinking about the gas costs of going even that far are kind of overwhelming, but it’ll be worth it!
Whew…I really need to get better at updating this stuff more often. It is DEFINITELY time for bed now. I’m wiped out.
It was wonderful
Jun 17th
I realized this morning when I read Shauna’s comment that not everyone who reads this blog is a family member or friend that we talk to on a regular basis. ;-) And so some of you have no idea what our wedding was like or what our honeymoon plans were. As far as what the wedding was like, I don’t really know how to explain, other than to say it was wonderful and direct you herefor pictures. We gave the guests at our wedding the login info, so they can add photos that they took, which is great since I obviously was not carrying a camera around with me all day. ;-)
All of our vendors were fabulous – the Holiday Inn, the Flower Cart, Julia Cheng and her assistant Kourtney, Deacon Tim, and our DJ, Ryan’s cousin Mike. They were all so great! I couldn’t believe how perfect everything was. Our friend Greta loaned us her Volkswagon Bug convertible (Green!) for a ride after the ceremony, so Ryan and I sat on the top of the back seat while our maid of honor and best man drove us down to Canal Park for some pictures. Two of the big ships came through the canal while we were down there, and so I cannot wait to see the photos that Julia got with the ship and the bridge in the background. It was a beautiful, sunny day also – the nicest one we had so far this summer.
As far as our honeymoon goes, Ryan and I went up the North Shore of Lake Superior to Lutsen Resort. We stayed at the lodge for 3 nights – Monday through Thursday. It was great to go up there and relax. We did a lot of hiking on some of the shorter trails that branch out from Highway 61, and the rivers were all completely full of water, which made for some amazing waterfalls (we’ll upload photos to the flickr site soon, I promise!). We also bummed around Grand Marais for a while, and picked up some souvenirs, including a church christmas decoration that Ryan’s aunt and uncle requested we use their wedding gift to purchase. Our first married christmas decoration! Other than that, we just hung out, ate dinner at the lodge and played a lot of cribbage. It was so relaxing and so much fun.
Well, I should get back to work, but I just wanted to give a short but real entry, instead of the stuff you’ve gotten recently – sorry about that!
The time! It is flying!
May 28th
10 days left. And still so much to do. And we are having people stay at our apartment this weekend and it’s still full of boxes and such (although when Ryan’s desk gets here that will help).
I apologize for the lack of posting lately, but you’ll have to forgive me. Apparently I’m getting married in 10 DAYS!!! And there is a lot of stuff to do to get ready to get married. Especially when moving TAKES OVER YOUR LIFE for like 3 weeks. I’m so over moving it’s not even funny. Thankfully, I think we are done. Ryan has to go back and take down the internet (hahahaha….Ryan is taking down the internet…like it’s a tube that you can take down….shut up. I thought it was funny). And he has to take down the christmas lights that have been attached to our upstairs deck for a year and a half (oops).
Well, it’s time to head to work. Only 3 days left including today. Which would be awesome if I didn’t have SO MUCH WORK to do. And if I knew how to prepare for being gone for 2 weeks. Yikes. Any advice, internets?? I’ve never missed this much work in a row….especially not at a real job that has actual work involved that can’t just be taken over by someone else easily.
If I don’t get back here (although I hope to, but the way things are going…probably not so much), I will talk to you all after I become Mrs. instead of Miss. Yay!
10 DAYS!!
For Serial
May 9th
Ryan and I went to the courthouse today over our lunch break to get our marriage license. I was uber-prepared (unsurprising, I know). I had the whole form filled out except for the one piece of Ryan’s information I wasn’t sure on. I had our pre-marital counselling certificate from the church. I had my checkbook. I even decided on what name I’ll have after we are married (Tawanda. What do you think??). AND I brought a camera to capture our happy faces after getting the license (Shut up. I saw other people’s and it looked like a cute idea). And then, in a matter of seconds, we were shot down. Apparently, the church put my name down as Becky instead of Rebecca on the pre-marital certificate. And because it is the government receiving this very un-official document it must match EXACTLY. I guess I understand. But seriously…is there really a Becky VeryUniqueLastName out there that they think took the class for me??
Anyway, I already called the church lady (who is very nice, by the way, even though she apparently doesn’t realize the importance of using a person’s legal name on certificates going to the County). She is sending us a new certificate, so we should be able to go get 1-step-closer-to-legal next week. I’ll report back sometime after that to let you know how exciting I’m sure it will be. If I figure out how (last time I tried it told me that I wasn’t allowed) I’ll even post a photo of Ryan and I after we get our license. But we’ll see. That would be very ambitious of me at this point. ;-)
Pictures!
Apr 24th
I got photos from the shower last weekend uploaded to our site. They can be found here.
As I mentioned in the update, the shower was wonderful. Ryan’s family was very kind and generous to us! And I already got thank you notes sent out to everyone! Maybe this wedding is going to be good for my relationship with the post office.
As you can see in the pictures, I was grinning or making silly faces all day. Apparently I am very frightening when I’m talking. I’m sorry to all of you that know me in real life. ;-) Seriously, though, I’m going to have to work on that whole keeping my eyes open and even before the wedding. I don’t know what the deal is there. Maybe I have one exceptionally strong cheek muscle???
Anyway, it’s almost time to go home. Unfortunately, today is not nearly as beautiful as yesterday was. I was finally able to get out and use my new rollerblades yesterday, which was awesome. Mike and I went the whole Lakewalk and back, and I only fell once (and it had nothing to do with my skating on the trail… Have you ever tried to get in and out of a porta-potty in rollerblades? It’s not easy – let’s just leave it at that.).
Tonight I need to run some errands, possibly start packing (did I mention we are moving…before the wedding??? Bring on the insanity). And then I’m out of town this weekend. Oh, and our landlord asked if we could be out by the 15th…or he told the new people buying the house that it might be a possibility (I don’t really think it is – not for us, and especially not for Sam who won’t have a place until ((hopefully!)) the end of the month). So yah…we’ll see how that all works out.
Gosh I’m rambling a lot. Oh well. Have a great weekend, everyone. And if you have hints on how to fix my eyes, let me know! ;-)
I’ve got the shakes.
Apr 19th
I’m sitting here at Ryan’s parents’ house down by the cities, waiting for him to get ready to head down to his aunt & uncle’s house. Today is my first bridal shower, and I’m super-nervous! I know it will go well – I love Ryan’s family, and my mom and my friend (and personal attendant for the wedding day) Adrienne will be there, so there’s not really anything to be nervous about, other than the fact that this is a party for me. And that means I’ll be the center of attention, at least for a bit. Bring on the uncontrollable shaking! LOL.
On the plus side, I think I look really cute today. And for anyone that knows me, that’s a big thing for me to say. I got my hair cut and styled yesterday, and she did it in a way that would carry over to today. So my hair is cute, and I have a new dress that’s all springy (too bad the weather isn’t agreeing with the whole spring thing). It makes me feel good. Especially since Ryan was obviously a big fan of the look. :) I’ll make sure to post photos online after the party.
I needed a good look today, but not because I’m super-concerned about how I look (although the fact that I’ll want to keep these photos for a long time as wedding memories is in the back of my head). The reason I needed to look good was to make me happy after the stupid SPEEDING TICKET I got this morning. Way to go, Becky. I don’t feel bad for anyone when they get cited for breaking the law, and I don’t make exception to that for myself. It was my own fault. But I am pissed at myself for doing it (and getting caught). So be warned: if you are taking the Taylors Falls exit off of 35N, watch out, because the cops will be waiting to bust you.
On the plus side, the ticket was only for 10 over (he said I was going 65 in a 55 – I honestly don’t know, because I was in the process of slowing down before I even saw the cops). So it won’t show on my drivers record, and it won’t increase my insurance. It would be hard to live that one down, since I work in an insurance agency.
Well, I should get going. Ryan’s friend Trent should be here anytime, and then we will head down to the shower (the guys are going to a Twins game). The day can only get better, so I’m happy about that!
Have a great weekend!
Update: As I knew it would be, the shower was excellent. I love Ryan’s family, and it was nice for my mom and Adrienne to get to meet a bunch of them. Also, I like presents! ;-) Now to work on the thank you notes.
The procrastination has got to stop.
Apr 16th
So I’m kind of a procrastinator. When I was in college and had a big test or paper due, my roommate Alyson would lock me in my room and make surprise visits to make sure I wasn’t chatting online or cleaning (my personal favorite form of procrastination. “Look! I’m being productive!”). I do work well under pressure, and so during school it usually wasn’t a big deal. I don’t think I ever had to actually pull an all-nighter. But a wedding…it’s a little bigger than a paper on the theories of Nietzsche. And so it takes a little bit more in the advanced prep department.
I haven’t been horrible about procrastinating…I mean, the fact that I am VERY VERY happy to be getting married to Ryan is incentive to keep things moving forward for the most part. And the big things are done. We have a church, officiant, reception location, dresses and tuxes, a photographer, and flowers. But there are a lot of little things that are left (like, perhaps, a CAKE??). And that is what I’ve been putting off. It’s not so much that I don’t care about the other stuff. I do. I just got a little overwhelmed with all the phone calls that this is taking (FYI, I really dislike talking to strangers…especially on the phone…especially about things I know nothing about – like wedding cake). And so rather than tackle one small thing at a time, like a normal person would, I’ve kind of let it all go for a couple weeks. I mean, I’ve been looking for ideas and taking mental notes, but I haven’t actually done anything lately.
So I told myself that this week it needed to end. I needed to get my butt in gear. We have just over a month and a half left until the wedding, and there is a lot to do, but it’s not so much that it can’t be done (although if I don’t get a call from the music lady at the church heads are going to roll soon. 3 phone calls – 2 to her home number and 1 to her work number – should be enough for her to give me a call back, don’t you think?). So far this week I have called the church lady again, resent a couple invitations that had the wrong addresses, opened the RSVPs we’ve gotten so far and set them aside to log into the computer, and…um…I don’t know. Cleaned the house? I am planning on testing out an idea I have for escort cards though. Does that count? And I’m getting a haircut before my first shower this weekend! Eek! Oh, and I may have found a foundation to use for the wedding (I don’t normally wear any).
Yah…I’m a slacker, I know. Apparently I need to be locked in my room with no computer access and a stack of wedding projects. :-P
update: Cindy from church called, and we have a meeting on May 11th after the 10:00 Mass. It’s Mother’s Day, I know. But it’s also the first Sunday we will be in town between now and then! Yikes! Now just to find a pianist (or organist).
And They’re Off!
Apr 8th
The invitations have been mailed. It’s now official. No backing out. (Not that either of us would ever want to, right, honey?) What a relief to have them done and mailed. I even came into work a little late just so I could make sure and get them to the post office this morning. Now they are off my mind. I can’t imagine how really creative types do all that DIY stuff. It must take forever! I have the utmost respect for them. Unfortunately, Ryan and I are a little lacking in the “creative” department. We are both more heavily gifted with the “organized” or, as I like to call it, the ”it should all look the same…no, we aren’t obsessive!” department.
As you can tell, I didn’t have much follow through on my last post. I got some good suggestions from Shauna from Pickles & Dimes (if you haven’t read their blog, go now! Seriously!). But for some reason we chose a theme that doesn’t let me edit that stuff on the right. And so I will just have to live with it until we pick a new theme and get this all figured out. With the amount of free time we’ve had lately that should be sometime around October.
So, back to work. I’m trying to do up applications for a new business quote, and am having trouble getting some of the information I need from the sales person on the account. I love my coworkers, but sometimes they drive me crazy. I need at least the information requested in my notes, but more is better. Less is not acceptable. Oh well. It will all work out.
ps. My friend Terry from my freshman year of college is supposed to be coming to town tonight! I haven’t seen him in about 8 years, and he’s been overseas in the military most of that time (he just got home from Afghanistan 2 weeks ago). He should have some good stories. Yay for meeting up with old friends!
It’s Friday! *doing the happy dance*
Mar 28th
I love Fridays.
I am reminded of a Douglas Adams quote. “I love deadlines. I love the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.” hehehehe
Totally random, I know. But I love Douglas Adams too. Can you see a theme? I love EVERYTHING!
We are getting company this weekend to celebrate Sam’s birthday. He’s going to be a quarter-century old on Monday! Woo hoo! It should be good times.
In other news…I don’t really have other news. I talked to my mom and my maid of honor last night, which was fun. It had been a while since I’ve talked to Mom, so it was good to chat about stuff while she was waiting for her flight at the airport in Minneapolis. PS – you know the state is big when your company will fly you to a different part of it rather than having you drive. Or you are very important. I think my mom is important AND the state is big. ;-)
I got an email from my aunt Marcia (Hi, Aunt Marcia!) today detailing the plans for “Ladies Culture Day 2008″ and I am so excited! Jesus Christ Superstar at the Orpheum, with dinner afterward and a shower (bridal, not wet)! It shall be swell. I love my family.
Anyway, I should get going. Work is short-staffed today because Dinny the plague-monkey* got sent home (she really is a plague-monkey – she’s been hacking a lung up since Wednesday and she looked and sounded awful when she came in this morning). I’m sure she was relieved to go home, but she’s such a worrier. It’s cute, but sometimes you just need to let it go and take care of yourself!
*Plague-monkey is a term Ryan came up with for people who are obviously sick, although not necessarily with the plague. But maybe.
