Proof!

(Click on the image for clearer quality)

I kinda wanna e-mail this to everyone I know... lol

Now that I'm done with the Masters, it's going to feel REALLY weird in 40-some days when I'm done with the wedding planning, too! I don't know what I'm going to do with all of that extra brain-time! lol

Thank God for Winco

What's a beach wedding without 20 pounds of taffy? =)

Sunshine

Got some wedding related stuff done yesterday (shopped for a few odds and ends), but the highlight of my day was the sunshine and the beauty of the Columbia Gorge:

With my soon-to-be niece, Sophie

Jacob and nephew, Aiden


Being the goofy guy I love. =)

TGIF!

I am SOO excited that it is Friday... and for more than the normal reasons.

1) I went in to work early every morning this week so that I could skip out at lunch time today.

2) It has been sunny for THREE DAYS STRAIGHT! And in the 70s! We've been living in a rain cloud for the last 9 months! I want to take advantage of the nice weather while we have it!

3) I don't have anything I HAVE to do this weekend! I have not had a free weekend in... SIX WEEKS! I am sooo looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow... in my own bed! We plan to spend some time with family and friends, but there are no hard-fast plans or appointments... woo hoo!

and, doesn't really have anything to do with it being Friday, BUT:

4) I bought a new dress today... it was a size TEN! I haven't worn in a ten in a VERY long time! (I'm pretty sure the size runs a bit big, but I am still loving every minute of it! lol).

Have a fantastic weekend, y'all!

Awkward!

Oh. My. God. Do I have a story for you! lol

So, you all remember how I posted that I found out (via craigslist) that our event coordinator at our reception site moved on to a different job, right? WELL, I've been trying for the last couple of weeks to contact her replacement, however the e-mail address I had kept bouncing back e-mails, and my calls weren't getting returned (I was told she was on vacation). I was getting a little annoyed, but I understood that summer equals vacations. Plus, I've been SUPER busy at work these last few days, so I haven't had the chance to call during normal business hours. Today I asked Jacob if he could call on his lunch break and try to check in with this woman and see if we could schedule a time on July 5th to meet her and check in about some details (we're going to be at the coast that weekend... probably the last time before the wedding).

So, he did... and I got this note in an e-mail from him at work today:

Apparently she went to high school with you.

What?!?! We are having a DESTINATION wedding.... the destination town is small (only about 2,000 people) and is about two hours from the my home town, which was also quite tiny. My high school only had about 600 students total. The fact that my new event coordinator at my reception site went to high school with me is just bizarre in itself... but it gets worse... read on.

I only knew this woman's first name. I asked Jacob if he'd gotten her last name... he hadn't, but told me that she'd been a year behind me. Bingo. Lights flashed, sirens went off. I knew EXACTLY who she was... and I wasn't particularly over joyed.

Don't get me wrong, she was VERY nice! We had classes together and got along really well. However, her senior year of high school (my freshman year of college) she was dating this guy we had gone to school with... who I started dating very shortly after they broke up.

I dated this guy for YEARS... and, in the end, found out some not-quite-so-nice stuff about him (pretty much, discovered he was a lying, cheating, scum-bag who lived one of those crime-drama-tv-show-double-lives). After discovering this, I worried that, perhaps, he had broken up with this girl in order to date me... or, and worse yet, dated us both at the same time.

I know it's been years since she dated him, but I never knew how they ended exactly... and I don't know if she holds grudges (if I was, in fact, the cause of their separation).

So... this could be a very bad, uncomfortable situation for me, or, it may be a good one (since we did have a good relationship back in high school and were friendly).

::sigh:: I guess only time will tell...

But still... how f'ing weird, huh??

Done and Done!

So, really felt like I got shit accomplished this weekend! Or, at least, closer to accomplished.

Last Monday I drove down to Salem and picked up my wedding dress from the boutique that was holding it for me. On Saturday I had my first fitting/alteration appointment with my seamstress, Lois. I was not able/willing to have the bridal boutique do the alterations, so I went to an independent woman who was recommended to me. I was a little nervous when my mom and I walked in and were playfully attacked by a couple of little dogs (last thing I want is dog hair on my dress), but then I saw that her hall closet was covered in wedding dresses and I felt a little bit better! (Plus the house was REALLY clean... yay! lol)

My mom helped me into the dress... which took about 15 minutes. I think you should be required to take a class on how to lace up a wedding dress before you're allowed to leave the shop with it! Finally, Lois came in, put two pins in my dress, and that was that. I got redressed and we were off! VERY quick! But it was a confident quick; I did not leave questioning anything...

At least, not with the dress. I was able to quickly try my veil and necklace on with the dress... and I think I'm having second thoughts. I think my necklace is a little too shiny. I haven't decided yet... it will probably be one of those last minute decisions, but I'm starting to question whether I want to wear it, or wear a faux-pearl necklace that I already have. I have beading on my dress and I'm starting to think maybe the "pearls" will look better with the beading than the shiny-ness of the jeweled necklace... hmm... I'll guess we'll have to see. =)

After my fitting I met my bridesmaid, Jessica, at Joann's to take a look at some patterns for the ring bearer outfits. I was having a really hard time finding a little boys vest to match the groomsmen (and didn't come in some obnoxious slack and tie set). Thankfully, Jessica graciously offered to sew up a couple of vests! I found this pattern (check out the vest... gotta love the 1970's pattern art, eh? lol) and bought the fabric, buttons, etc. I can't wait to see how they turn out! Our boys are gonna be stylin'! =) Plus, with all the fantastic sales and coupons I had, the vests will come out to less than $10 each! Woot!


Finally, on Sunday, while my father lounged around watching golf and enjoying "his day", my mom and I spent some time in the kitchen working on our wedding favors. They are ALMOST done now! Would have finished them had I not forgotten one box of supplies at home... bah =P

Oh well, it's just a matter of hot gluing now... I can't mess that up, right? =)

Our Wedding "Map"

So, I JUST wrote a post a mentioned at the end that I should map out where all of our wedding stuff is coming from... so... I did! lol

In order to find the best deals for our budget, we had to widen our "net" a bit and search around. Pieces of the wedding are coming from numerous places throughout the western side of Oregon. When Jacob and I, our wedding party, and our parents make the trek out to the coast for the wedding, we will be picking up bits and pieces along the way.

Click on the picture to see it bigger!

Portland: Our Home.

Hillsboro: Our photographer's home base.

Estacada: Family friend doing our flowers.

The Dalles: Ceremony music (my brother... forgot to put it on the map... it's a little easy of Estacada on the river).

Wilsonville: The bakery that is making our cake.

Salem: Where I purchased my dress.

Lebanon: Where I'm getting my alterations.

Corvallis: Rental supplies (chairs, couple tables, etc.).

Newport: Hair salon.

Eugene: Our DJ (friend of mine), Officiant (my brother) and videographer (my other brother).

Roseburg: Make Up (Jacob's Mary Kay rep aunt).

Waldport: Our ceremony and reception.

So, as you can see, we really are having a DESTINATION wedding! lol