Christmas Break?

Christmas Break is a time to relax, but not for us!! I have decided to rename Christmas Break to Wedding Catch-Up!

We have registered somewhere else!

Ben and I have always talked about registering at Target but after researching it a bit I wasn't too happy with their return policy. Well they have recently changed their policy so last week Ben and I registered there! Kohl's is great for their bedroom/bathroom/kitchen selections but not much else. At Target we can find a lot of other things that is on our "wish list."

The Wedding To Do List:

Put together invitations... check

Design invitation inserts... 3/4 are done!

Design, cut and mount monogram for invitations... check

Design table markers... check

Design program cover... check

Wedding favor design... check

Still on the list for the next 2.5 weeks:

Pick up my wedding dress

Keep plugging away at invitations

Start making the table markers

Bridesmaid dress shopping with 4/5 bridesmaids

1/2 Bridal showers! Yeah!

2/4 premarital counseling class

I am never bored that is for sure! This whole process has been a blast so far and this next week is going to be so much fun! It will be a busy one filled with family and fun activities so I wanted to touch base quickly on the blog because I'm not sure when I'll be on next. :)

Blizzards, Invitations and Cutting, Oh my!

This is what I woke up to on what was suppose to be my last final of the semester.

This is my window!

I had to walk through this numerous times and some is past my knee!

Today, December 9th is our first snow day!

The only thing to do on a day like this? Get back into my PJs, throw in a movie, and work on a wedding project. Since invitations are going to probably take the most time, I've decided to get a head start. So far I have scored and folded all of them and am now in the process of cutting them and taping them together. The perfect project for a Snow Day? I think so! :)

Just after scoring and folding the invitations.

About 60% of them all ready for the next step!

Before & After cutting

All taped up!

The bottom is a pocket for all the reception and hotel information.

The middle is for the ceremony details.

The top is the fold that lays on top.

Now all I have to do is cut all of the invitations and tape them together!

Happy Snow Day!

Meet the Groomsmen!

Here they are!

Best man, Eric
with his wife (my bridesmaid, Lauren a month before Addison was born!)



The Groomsmen!

Jessica's brother, Justin




Ben's brother, Casey

Friend, Lance





Friend, Rich

It's HERE!

I ordered the paper for our invitations on Monday night and got it today!! The paper came in a hefty box and I was too excited to wait longer then .2 seconds after FedEx dropped it off! Everything looks great! Here's a glimpse!

In order to get the paper size that we needed they had to use REALLY long pieces of paper so they gave us what they didn't use. That paper is going to be used for SO many other aspects of our wedding.

Here is the paper we are using for the invitations!
In a few weeks they will be transformed!! :)

Busy Busy Busy

We have been so busy that our blog has been neglected a bit. Here is an update on our planning!



Paper and ribbon for our invitations were ordered on Monday! We ordered the paper from Anchor Paper (http://www.anchorpaper.com/) and ribbon from http://www.save-on-crafts.com. Those will be constructed over our semester break.



Our cake topper is ordered! Ben picked it out and it represents us as a couple quite well! :D We received it in the mail but Ben opened it and found they sent us Christmas ornaments instead so we are currently waiting to get our cake topper.



Bridal Showers are being planned! My first one is being planned by Ben's Aunts Ju and Addi and will take place on December 29. It is happening so early so Ben's older sisters can attend. My mom is making the trip down and I am really looking forward to everyone getting to meet her. My mom (with help from my aunts and Grandma) are planning a shower in my hometown on April 17th.



Save the Dates are here and stuffed into their envelopes! They are ready to go out in the mail soon! And the most exciting news that I have to share is... I said YES to the dress! Along with my mom, two aunts, cousin, my Maid of Honor and Grandma we traveled to David's Bridal where I tried on quite a few dresses but when it was all said and done #3 was the magic number! No behind the scenes look on the dress though! I want to share details with all of you but this is one I'm trying to hold back on a bit! But we did purchase a dress (thanks Mom!) and we are picking it up on December 23rd. What a great Christmas gift! I'm bringing it down state with me when Ben and I head to his house for Christmas so I can show his family! I can't wait to share this with them! My Maid of Honor (MOH) also tried on dresses and we choose a dress. She will be in Marine (Dark Blue) and the rest of the bridesmaids will be in Truffle (Deep Brown). They are going dress shopping in December.



There is a quick update!! I'll try to update a little more often, once the semester is over I hope to be on here more!

Meet the Bridesmaids!

Maid of Honor - Ashely


Bridesmaid - Lauren


Bridesmaids - Alyssa, Eryn, Raena (left to right)

There are my beautiful ladies! I can't wait to marry Ben with them by my side!

(Still To Come: The Groomsmen! Ben still has to talk to two more before I can share them! :D)

Engagement Pictures (Part 1)

We asked a friend of ours to take a few pictures of us. We had a little photo shoot this past Sunday and they turned out great. We still have a ton more to take but it was too cold and windy to stay outside for too long. Here is a sneak peek of some of the fun we had. The numbers are going to be used for a future project. Enjoy!

Save the Date!

June 12, 2010

Service will be held at Redeemer Lutheran.
Reception to be held at Marquette Mountain Ski Lodge.

After a few weeks of frustration, everything has finally worked out! Now unto the photographer! :D

Save the Date (Almost)....

We have decided we are going with Marquette Mountain Ski Resort as our reception location (see previous post). We talked with Pastor Weber at Redeemer Lutheran Church this afternoon and will know in about a week if we can get married there. He has to speak with the Church Elders before we can say for sure. Pastor Weber has a conference to go to early next week but hopefully before next weekend we will have a date (finally!). It has been a long road to get to this point and we are so thankful that things seem to be finally working in our favor! The next post we'll announce the date for our wedding! Keep checking in!

Reception Site Inspection

The buffet and bar area.

Part of the reception area with a deck on the left side and the dance floor in the back.

Rest of the reception area with the gigantic wood beam that we will have
to find a way to work around. The head table is closest to the right.

Buffet Table: two lines and it takes around 25 minutes to get 150 people through.

Area behind the bar/buffet area for socializing.

Head Table: set for 18! Yikes!

There were four TVs around the room to use during the reception.

Ben and I went to our local ski resort, Marquette Mountain as a possible location for our reception. It was recommended by my co-worker because he had a great experience there when they got married. Overall, we were happy with it. There were a few issues that kind of bothered us but we'll work with it if needed be. There were two big wooden beams that made it difficult for everyone to see the head table. Also the chairs were quite small and plastic. They don't look very comfortable especially for the guests who may remain seated for most of the evening.

Some things we liked: we don't have to clean up! He will package everything up for us and we can pick it up on Monday. All we have to worry about is taking the gifts and the left-over food. In most cases we should be able to decorate the day before. So far only one date is chosen for the months of May and June which leaves a lot of options open. We can be penciled in for a date until we decide for sure if this is where we are going to hold the reception which is also a great option.

Overall, the guy who helped us was very accommodating. He made us feel that whatever we wanted to do he would find a way to make it work. He does alot of the work himself: cooks, set-up, take-down and helps us out during the decorating. We are going to do a little more researching and we'll let you all know soon what we decide!

Scene 2: Two most important questions of our lives!

A few weeks after we met Ben, his roommate and I went to a local "hotspot" called Little Presque Isle. We walked through Lake Superior to get to this island where the boys went cliff jumping. It was on the way back through the lake when I realized how much I liked Ben. I slipped on the rocks and Ben touched my back to balance me - needless to say I was filled with butterflies! It was this trip were Ben realized he liked me too! A few weeks passed and Ben asked me to be his girlfriend! Of course I said, yes! This question was such an important one but it doesn't top....


The BIG QUESTION!
Ben lived in Marquette this summer and I had to come up for the night to take an education exam at NMU. The night started off by hanging out in his room listening to music, I remember Ben playing this "great new song" with the line"I gotta feeling that tonight’s gonna be a good night." Little did I know how good the night was going to be. Ben took me to HotPlate where we painted a mug and plate. Then out to eat at our favorite restaurant, Aubree's. Then we drove out to Little Presque Isle, "our spot." We explored a new part of the island and then I mentioned I was getting cold. We continued walking down the beach when all of a sudden Ben let go of my hand and stopped. When I turned around he was down on one knee sinking into the sand. He proposed with a ring box that he made out of the same material he used to make my jewlery box. After a few tears Ben asked me to marry him. More tears were shed all around and then I said yes! We spent some time together and watched the sunset at Presque Isle and then made a lot of phone calls to share the wonderful news! Now the fun of planning has begun!

Scene 1: The Meeting

I thought it would be fun to go into a bit of "our history," starting with how we met! I met Ben through his roommate. We were in a cluster of classes with the same classmates. There were about 15 of us who had every class together. We would all spend time together outside of class so when Ben's roommate told me he was going to be selling grilled cheese (a fundraiser) with his roommate I told him I'd stop by and visit them. He had been talking about his roommate, Ben, and how much he loved to watch the Tigers and eating oreos with peanut butter so I was interested to finally meet him. So my friend from high school and I wandered over to see the boys and to meet Ben. We planned on hanging out for a bit and keeping the boys company but that all changed!

My friend, Matt, and I each bought a grilled cheese from Ben's roommate. Then he introduced me to Ben. Ben was in charge of flipping the grilled cheese and he took about two seconds to look up and say hi. That's it! I was instantly left speechless (for anyone who knows me this is difficult to do). I got all tongue tied because Ben was so different then what I was expecting. The first thing I noticed was his pierced ears. What a surprise! Matt realized how nervous I got and made the move to say goodbye and walk away. So even though we planned on staying for awhile I had to leave. The whole way back to my dorm room we talked about Ben.

A few days later I received some treats from a family friend at home (Pat Wirtala) and I brought some over to Ben and his roommate. Instantly Ben and I struck up a conversation and it wasn't long until we found something we had in common, High School Stage Crew. We both could be found behind the scenes in our High School Plays. Ben did Peter Pan and I did West Side Story, South Pacific and Brigadoon. He then introduced me to peanut butter and oreos and the story only continues from there. We found ourselves spending every day together and staying up til 4am for numerous days in a row in order to be with each other.

Sharing the fun!

Since our families live so far from us we wanted to include them in all the fun that is taking place as we plan for our wedding! E-mails are great but this seemed like too much fun to pass up. We are looking forward to sharing all the details about our big day with our family and friends!