Dublin - Day 4

Today we walked around Dublin a lot. We stopped into a bunch of shops we had been passing for the last few days. We took this time to pick up souvenirs for everyone back home. It was fun looking through all the different shops where people worked so hard on the things they were selling. There was also the standard gift shops where you can find everything Irish!

We made plans with a young couple we met in the Dublin airport to hang out this night. The couple was our age and from just a few miles away from us here in Michigan. Greg and I actually met them in the Dublin airport when arriving from London. After some chatting we thought it would be cool to hang out so we exchanged numbers.

We met them in the Temple Bar district in front of the Hard Rock Dublin. We walked around a bit before we found a place with a menu that looked like something we would all like. It was great to visit with people from home! The guys talked sports and the girls talked about work and stuff.

After dinner we headed to a couple more bars in the area to listen to some great Irish music! We had a great time watching everyone dance and have fun... We also gave it a bit of a shot, but we didn't get down all that well. Must've been that Guiness!

We finally parted ways pretty late... Greg and I had an early morning the next day, but the night was worth it! We made it back to the hotel and got some shut eye and prepared for our last whole day in Dublin!

Dublin - Day 3

Today we took a half day trip to Malahide Castle and to the Howth Peninsula. It was a nice trip for only being half a day. Our tour guide was an older Irish man who was a sweetheart!

We headed out on a double decker tour bus to the Malahide Castle. It was a beautiful castle that had stayed in the family for years. The person who gave the castle to Ireland is still alive but living in Tasmania on family property there. We were not allowed to take pictures inside, but it was very beautiful and historic.

There was a small church on the grounds, a ton of flowers, peacocks, a dollhouse exhibit and just a gorgeous view.



After the castle we headed over to the Howth Peninsula. The drive there was spectacular. We drove along the coastline and just enjoyed the view of the small towns and the beaches.



Once we retuned to Dublin we walked around for the remaining part of the day. We visited Brazen Head, the oldest pub in Dublin. We explored St. Patrick's Cathedral. We watched a variety of street performers like break dancers, jugglers and mimes. It was a lot of fun to just people watch and take it all in!

Dublin - Day 2

Walked and walked and walked a little more through Dublin today to find St. James Gate. The map the hotel provided did not have the same street names as what was really there. The street signs were obviously old, but whatever – we found it! Eventually!

We went through the tour on our own which was fine, but somehow there were middle school aged kids on field trips there which made it very hard to enjoy the tour at first. Once we lost the kids, we had fun! There is a tasting section where you get about a quarter of a pint. You also get to try roasted barley which is one of the key ingredients for flavor in a pint of Guinness. We finally made our way to the top where we got our Guinness. The view of Dublin from atop of the Guinness Brewery was breathtaking. The day was beautiful and we could see all the way to the mountains!

While sitting there, of course Greg and I made a couple of new friends. Deb and Mel were here from Oxford, England for Deb’s birthday. They were a couple of really nice people who helped to change our impression of England. They were both quite clear that we experienced tourists London where the people don’t really want to communicate with the tourists. Had we went say… to Oxford – they would have been more polite and open to conversation.





























We also found two beautiful churches that we later went back to visit. One was called St. Audons, the other was also part of St. Audons, but when the Anglicans took over the Catholic churches the old mid evil one became St. Audons and when the Catholics could be Catholics out in the open they built a bigger better church right next to it, almost touching it but not touching it. They are both beautiful but we like the older one better!

At St. Audons we met Terry. Terry couldn’t have been more than 35 years old. He clearly loved the mid evil Dublin times and took us on a wonderful and free tour of the church. Greg and I were so grateful to have stumbled upon it!

Dublin - Day 1

We had to leave London today. We were alright with leaving, but we're sad that there was still so much to do! While on our ride to London - Heathrow airport we sat with an elderly couple from Australia. They were in London headed to Vancouver. Many Canadians had been in London for Canada Day Celebrations which were June 30 – July 1.

Once we got to our gate to head to Dublin, I met Kate and her husband Henry. Kate and Henry had to of been at least 70 or 75 years old. Henry sat in his wheelchair doing Sodoku while Kate told me where she grew up and how her and Henry had only been married for 7 years. They were heading to Wales where Henry resided before they got married and where they both live now. They were very cute!

Once we got onto our flight Greg and I realized we would have to sit by someone. We ended up sitting next to a young man named Keith. Keith had been traveling from Ireland via motor bike through Africa. He was trying to make his way with a friend (or mate as he called him) from the northern tip down to South Africa. He and his friend were planning the trip to be only 4 months. They found that after 6 months they only made it to Nigeria so he had to come home to Ireland to visit his mum.

Once we got to Ireland we needed to find our luggage. We were aggravated with looking for the turnstile with our flight so we went to exchange our money for a break and to gather more patience. While we were there it was obvious that the gal in front of me was from Canada or US. I wanted to ask her where she was from, but I wasn't really in the mood to make small talk. The a young man approached the girl with a ton of luggage. Looking at him I chuckled because he was wearing a Tigers hat and t-shirt!

I had to ask if they were from Detroit, they answered yes... Then I asked where, they answered a small town called Warren... I didn't want to creep them out so I shared with them where in Warren we lived and then we learned they live 5 miles away! Here we are in Dublin Airport chatting with a couple who live only a few minutes away!

We chatted for 15 or 20 minutes and then swapped hotel numbers so we could hang out during the week! Greg and I then ventured off to find our luggage. Once we accomplished that - we hopped on the express bus to the stop near our hotel. On the ride we got to get a brief tour of Dublin and see where the main shopping roads were and where the action was. We got off the bus stop at the main bus station that is across the street from the Custom House (see the image above). After a short walk we arrived at our hotel that sat right on the rive Liffey. It seemed like a very nice hotel. Then we learned they had no record of our reservation.



My initial reaction was let me go potty then I will deal with this. Greg's reaction was let me just sit down for a bit then he will deal with it. So we did that while they dealt with it. We had all of our documentation... so they took care of us nicely. We were fine with waiting 5 minutes while they did that. They were shocked by our patience and politeness, which made us feel good and weird at the same time. What type of reactions were they used to? We enjoyed our view of the river for the week and the yummy breakfasts that were included!

London - Day 4

We were both very tired this morning. After talking with the very helpful men working as concierge and Ian the door man at our hotel, we decided to do our laundry.

The Laundromat - oh I'm sorry, it's Laundrette and it was only a 5 minute walk. It was the cutest little launderette! The woman working there was so nice to us. She was older and I think she just enjoyed our company. Other people would come in and just leave their laundry to wash or dry, being a paranoid tourist, I was not about to leave my clothes unattended to. Between the woman working the laundrette and a local man from France, they both gave us all the tips we needed to get the laundry done fast and efficient. The local man insisted on showing me how to use the laundry spinner that would spin all of the water out of our clothes so we could dry them for less time and less money.

Later that evening, we took the subway over to the Tower Hill Station. It was quite an easy trip on the subway right off the Circle or District Lines. We met up with a guy named Shaughan (Shawn) who was a wonderful tour guide for the Jack the Ripper tour. We retraced the steps of Jack the Ripper and his victims. Shaughan was an awesome guide and just really got into the role. We walked all over town and then took the subway back home where we spent another evening in search of a late night dinner.

You know, 9 pm is late eating for folks in London...

London - Day 3

Time for a day trip! We booked a trip through our hotel to head out to Canterbury Cathedral, Leeds Castle, Cliffs of Dover and Greenwich. It was a nice trip. It was a good day because it rained on and off and we were able to be inside touring the various places. We were both in awe of Canterbury Cathedral and Leeds Castle. They were both breathtaking. We were grateful to be surrounded by such history and have everyone around us appreciate it too!

Later, we headed over to the Hard Rock Café London. Apparently this Hard Rock is the first one ever. What would a trip be without me randomly talking to people? We made quite a few new friends this evening. Sergio our bartender and Emily our waitress were wonderful.

Emily was trying to get us to go out in SoHo, but Greg and I got so drunk from Sergio making our drinks that we knew we had to go back to the hotel.

It was a long dark walk through St. James Park but we made it and we made it safely!

T Minus 17 Hours

In just about 17 hours Greg and I will be starting the wedding ceremony. I am sitting here in my hotel room about 2 miles away from the church. I think I finally have everything together. I have a few things to take care of tomorrow morning but I think it will be fine.

I have been very much on edge lately and I learned a lot about who respects my time and who doesn't. I planned on leaving work today at 3pm. I left at 5 pm. Those two hours were valuable to me to have for myself and it through me for a loop to not get them.

I am OK now, I just need to sleep.

So, I know tomorrow will go by so fast! I am very excited for the ceremony and to begin my new life with Greg.

I will see you all tomorrow!

The Finishing Touches

Wow. Right now there are only 4 days until our big day!

Greg and I have spent this past weekend putting the final touches on all of the little projects we have going on. The seating chart is complete, the timeline is almost finished and our wedding ceremony is planned.

We are both quite excited about the wedding, the celebration and of course, the honeymoon! Sunday we will be heading over to England for 4 days and then over to Ireland! We cannot wait for the adventure - together!

Well, with all the craziness that we have been dealing with... We have to laugh. When people send us funny things, we laugh and laugh hard!


We hope you find this just as humorous! This photo is from Greg's birthday party a year ago this past May. Someone who I am related to with really good digital imaging skills came up with this! Don't worry Greg doesn't have his tongue pierced...yet!

We will be seeing you all so very soon!

Applying for the Marriage License

Another big one is checked off the list! Thank goodness I live in Macomb County... I heard getting your marriage license in Oakland County is a bit difficult.

A couple days ago I downloaded the forms off the Macomb County website. The instructions were quite clear, but it was a lot to digest for something that seems so important! The only information I needed was both of our full names, and birth information. I also needed both of our parents full names and birth states. That was it. Then I went down at 8:00 this morning and took it to the County Clerk's office.

Before I left the house, I read over all the documents again. I had overlooked something that seemed important to me at the time. I filled out the application so carefully and neatly in blue pen. I saw this morning very clearly where it said, "Use Black Ink Only". I got a little nervous but figured I better go and see... Of course no one said a thing.

When I arrived it was quite hectic. When it was my turn in line, the woman did not seem happy to be at her job. Once I presented my documents to her she immediately changed her mood to excited! She started asking a million questions about where and when... It was pretty cute!

Once I paid my fee and swore that I was telling the truth... I was told it would go in the mail back to us on Monday! How exciting! Only 23 more days to go!

Veil Drama

What an accomplishment! After months and months of working on, ignoring and procrastinating having to work on my veil... It is almost done! There is about one hour of work left to do on it and it will be complete! It is perfect with a few minor flaws that make it home made - that I don't think anyone will notice, unless I start telling people after a glass or two of champagne!

I am so grateful to my Aunt for helping me get through a project that I really had no clue of what I was doing. I am also grateful for stumbling across a young woman's website that had step by step instructions for what to do. I thought about posting a picture, then I decided... There are only 28 days until you get to see it!

Greg and I are so excited for the wedding which is quickly approaching! We are putting the final touches on some minor plans and just making sure we tie up all the loose ends with vendors.

We cannot wait to see everyone and celebrate!!! Oh so soon!

Watch Your Mailboxes!

It is official! At about 9:20 am a very large quantity of invitations got dropped off at the local post office near my house. I am hoping that a majority of them make it to the intended recipients, but after the wedding shower invitation fiasco... who knows!

I was very nervous dropping them off. I have read and re-read these things hoping that I got them all right! I didn't see any misspellings or inaccuracies, but that doesn't mean they are there. I also had to purchase just a few more stamps because I was about 10 short for the response cards! Those will go out tomorrow - or Saturday because it is late and I am tired!

So the shower is in just 10 or so days! I cannot believe that time is moving so quickly! Greg and I are excited to get many of you together to meet and chat and enjoy a nice lunch!

See you all very soon!

Stuffing, Sealing and Sticking

The invitations, response cards, envelopes and directions are all finally printed. I am finally able to get started with the sorting and stuffing of the envelopes. Over the next few weeks I plan to take it slow and just stuff the envelopes and seal them up and get them ready to go.

I need to go to the post office with a full invitation set up and make sure I have the proper postage on the envelopes! I have read and hear so many horror stories of people not putting proper postage on their envelopes and getting them all returned to them in the mail! That would not be fun!

Only one more week left until the shower R.S.V.P's are due! After that - there is only 2 weeks or so until the shower! I cannot believe how fast time is moving! I think we are both very excited for all of our hard work and planning to pan out into a celebratory event!

Penguin Suits

Earlier this week Greg finally picked out the tuxedo that he wanted to wear and the tuxedos he wanted the guys in the wedding to wear.

We went to President Tuxedo just to price it out. We ended up getting the tuxedos from there because we felt they gave us a good deal. They gave everyone a discount and were patient with us looking and deciding.

Greg decided he wanted to have a slightly different tuxedo than the rest of the guys, but I made sure their tuxedos will still match! We did almost end up with Cornflower Blue vests and ties! I don't know how it happened except for Greg and I have a running joke that I will let him get a powder blue suit. So he was joking with the girl at the store and I think she accidentally wrote those color codes down instead of the color we asked for!

No worries though, we just called and told her about it, she checked into it and fixed it. I would have been so angry if on June 25th, the guys went to pick up their stuff and cornflower blue vests and ties would have been there... Man! Now I just have to get Greg to call the guys and explain the deal and what to do!

Guys are so lucky though... They don't have to pay all that much and whatever they get doesn't have to stay in their closet for ever never to be worn again! LOL!

We Get To Have Our Cake And Eat It Too!

We tackled yet another big one on the list this weekend! We finally ordered our cake!

I think it is safe to say that Greg and I were a little more than annoyed and suprised by the cost of a piece of cake. Never mind the tackiness of some examples and the horrible taste of others... We didn't really know what we wanted to do because we refused to pay so much money for something we were not impressed with!

After flipping through many wedding magazines and cake books we thought out all of our options. Do we want to go all out? Do we want a fake cake with a sheet cake in the back? Do we want to just forget the cake and have a dessert table? Yikes!

This weekend we had another appointment with a woman who makes cakes. We spoke on the phone a few times, I explained how we just wanted simple and it felt like no one could just do simple anymore!! She agreed and promised she could and would do simple.

Greg and I met up with her, after about 10 minutes we had our cake design picked out and she had our color samples cut from my little samples of fabric that I have. We paid her and left with the little mini cake that she made us.

Yeah.. yeah... we bought the cake from her before we even tasted it! That is because we could tell by the little cake she made us that it was the right frosting!

For less that one third the cost of a cake from out here in the city we got exactly what we wanted. Once we got home and tasted the cake... we were soooo pleased with our decision! I don't think I have ever seen Greg so enthused with cake in my life. There is hardly any left from the sample one! We may have to call her sometime in the next 110 days to get another one! LOL!

Second to Last Fitting!

Woah!

Is it almost here already? With a little over 100 days to go, I have been working on getting my wedding dress alterations done. I found a great woman a few miles from my home that does alterations. She barely charges anything and is really flexible with meeting with me to work on my dress!

I had one set of changes done to the dress already. This time I got to put the dress on and it fit! It wasn't too big and I wasn't worried it might fall off. It was just the perfect length too! We worked on how the bustle would look and work... so it will stay up and not have people trampling on it all night long.

The dress is still just as comfortable as ever! It definitely was very exciting to get to put the dress on and know that the big day is very close to being here!

The thing I like most about the dress being at the alterations place... is that I know Greg cannot sneak a peek at it while it is there!

Now if only I could find the patience to sew 9 feet of pearls onto my veil.... LOL!

One Down, Two to Go!

Greg and I have a small list of things left that we need to investigate for our wedding. We need a limo, tuxedo place and a cake.

This past weekend we finally took care of the limo portion of the wedding and it felt pretty good to check one more thing off of our "to-do" list! After calling many places within quite a large radius... we decided to go with a very local place with a wide variety of cars.

Of course, I really wanted the 1956 Cadillac limo. We couldn't get it because it didn't hold enough people. We ended up getting a pretty nice limo at a very affordable price.

We did start the cake hunting. A little bit of tasting and getting ideas on what we like and don't like from some local places. Of course that was a yummy task to take care of!!

Tasting Our Dinner

Greg and I finally had a tasting at the reception location. As a consumer, I found it so strange that venues will not let you taste the dinner you may or may not be eating until you book the hall! We had trust in the Mabry Center that the food would be just fine... but like anyone else spending a lot of money on a reception, we wanted to be sure.

Finally a date worked out that Greg and I could make it to the hall. It ended up being Saturday, February 2nd. I also timed it to have one of the chair cover vendors come to the hall. I was able to have my chair covers chosen before the tasting - which was one more thing that I didn't have to worry about!

Once the tasting started it was pretty straight forward. Get up, get food, taste it, if you like it have more... or not. Try the fondue machine, drool over and step away slowly and carefully! Like most of the other gals there, we used the excuse that there was fruit under that yummy chocolate that made it OK to eat! LOL!

In the end, Greg and I discovered a few things that we didn't like a few things we liked and even more things we loved. I am very glad that we had the opportunity to try some of the food before having to choose a menu in just a few months! I think three to be exact!

I Love Suprises

I got to put a deposit on something today that will be tons of fun for the guest at our wedding and of course for Greg and I!

It will be during the reception and will provide a great source of fun for everyone sober and tipsy!

We Registered!

Oh what an adventure that was! I do not think either one of us thought it would be what it was! We had originally decided on registering at only two places, Sears and Bed Bath & Beyond. We hit Sears up first because they closed before BB&B.

When we finally found the area that we sign up to do the registry, we discovered that people at the Sears at Oakland Mall do not know how to run the system. The girls didn't know how to set us up with the little scanning gun. Once they got that figured out, we went on our way only to discover that the scanning gun didn't want us to register for a lot of things! We would scan an item we wanted like luggage and a message would appear on the screen saying "No registerable item can be found!" We were getting so frustrated and we were warm from being in our winter coats. The staff at Sears didn't want to help us and acted as though they had never used a scanning gun! We didn't stick around Sears all that long.

Then we headed over to Bed Bath and Beyond. Talk about a totally different experience! They sat us down in the "Wedding Registry" bar set up they have. They offered us soda, let us put our jackets down and then explained how to register and what to think about when registering. The guy that was in charge of us checked on us often and answered any questions we had about anything. It was a completely different experience than the one we had at Sears!

Sunday we headed over to Target. Greg had a lot of fun there. Target was just an average experience. I think we were both happy with the prices of things at Target. We got to find a lot of things we could find at the other stores we were at...

We are both extremely glad that task is over!

You'll Hate David's Bridal...

With only 159 days until Greg and I are married, the gals and I finally were able to go out dress shopping today. I had no plans really for exactly what kind of dress I wanted them to wear. I was hoping for one of many outcomes.

What happened today wasn't really something I had even considered, but it turned out just fine! :)

Beth came by the house early and we grabbed some coffee. We headed over to David's for our noon appointment with a sales woman there. I was in no way prepared for the amount of females hormones that we were about to encounter. I had an appointment and you would never guess it. The sales woman was of absolutely no help to us. The gals and I stumbled across a cute tea length dress. It was not only cute, but had this thing that went underneath for a hint of complimentary color and also a matching sash for that "other" color. After lots of trying on and discussing... We decided to go with a emerald green and lilac color. I love the combo. The green is so happy and Irish looking.

The sales people at David's were not helpful to us at all. In fact, they were actually pretty rude. When the girls were paying, the sales person barely acknowledged us. She was so snotty when asked simple questions it was ridiculous. I shouldn't have let the girls even get their dresses there, but I didn't want to put them through another shopping day! Yikes!

Unfortunately, I did not want Terri in the same dress as the gals because I don't feel it is flattering for her. We were not successful in finding her a dress, but we are going on Tuesday after work for that.

We headed to the mall later in the day today and my mom was able to find a great deal on a dress too. So she is set as well... after her alterations are made.

Now.... Greg needs to worry about those tuxedos!

Checklist Update!

So far at the knot.com I have completed 39 items on their little to-do list. Unfortunately today I received an email telling me that I was slacking on my wedding planning. Supposedly I am over due on 13 items on their handy checklist.

• Contact newspapers to announce your engagement (you may need to have an engagement photo taken as well). Not so sure we are even doing this!
• Finalize the guest list. I am trying - really I am!!!
• Start looking into registering for gifts. Already!?!? Yikes!
• Request demo tapes from ceremony musicians. Hmmm.... Do we really want those violinists?
• Think about how you might want to wear your hair. Again, trying...
• Begin looking for a baker to make your cake. Cake tasting --- yummm...
• Brides: Start shopping for bridesmaids dresses. Does trying to schedule a date count?
• Make sure your maid of honor and best man are aware of what you expect of them. Like what? Making sure I don't go crazy?
• Register for your wedding gifts. I thought we already went over this???
• Brides: Decide on the bridesmaid dresses. Again, wasn't this above somewhere.
• Purchase and send guests save-the-dates if your celebration is over a holiday weekend or at a faraway locale. Ugh, I don't know about that one...
• Book a baker, choose your wedding cake design, and send a deposit. I thought it said to look above... We must really be behind!
• Brides: Collect necessary measurements from attendants or pass along vender information so that they can order the dresses themselves. Hopefully this is not necessary and they will get dresses together when we go shopping...

I think it is the lists like this that are stressing me out! Geesh! Hopefully this shower business will be finalized soon and more stress will be relieved!

It Arrived in One Piece...

What a day Tuesday was! My dress finally arrived in the mail via UPS from Kansas! I was able to track the shipment through the internet. It was so stressful to watch the dress move across the Midwest and not know if it was the right size or the right length that I requested until I finally had it in my hands!

When I was getting ready for work Tuesday morning, I logged on and checked the status. The dress arrived in Detroit at 6:30 in the morning and was loaded on a truck for delivery to me at 6:45 a.m. I kind of thought when I got to work it would be waiting for me, but it wasn't.

Finally around 1:30 p.m. in the afternoon the security guard called and gave me a jokingly hard time. I went down and got the dress. Once I got over the shock of how small the package was, I opened it.

I discovered that the dress was in absolute perfect condition! I went to one of the artist dressing rooms and tried it on because I had to... It was a little big but the length was perfect and fit wonderfully! The dress was exactly what I was expecting!

I am so grateful to have found the deal on eBay. I emailed the woman who sold me the dress and thanked her for the deal because without that I am sure I would STILL be dress hunting!

Whew - that is a big stress reliever. Now I just have to stare at it in the bag for 7 more months.

Another Money Saver!

I am quite determined to save money on this wedding in any way possible. With just under nine months to go I have decided it is time to start practicing with making my own head piece and veil. With the assistance of my Aunt Jenny, Greg's mom and my friend Elizabeth I have been deciding what supplies I need, how to design the stuff and what I might change to make it better.

A little over a month ago, my Auny Jenny and I went to JoAnn Fabric in Portage and bought some odds and ends to get some ideas for a veil. After lots of surfing on the web and playing around I think I know that for the cost of $20 at the most I will have a lovely pearl trimmed finger-tip length veil... Instead of a plain somewhat sparkly veil for $150!!

Then Greg's mom and I went to JoAnns in Utica. We were there a while and Greg even tagged along because dinner at Macroni Grill was involved... We found tons of things to use on a veil and head piece. I got pretty pearls, swarovski crystals, clear beads and wire. $10 and 45 minutes later I had a headpiece. A headpiece that my friend who does hair said will be perfect to use!

Bammmmm! I saved even more money! Greg does not understand. If I could rent a wedding dress and all the goods along with it for FIFTY whole dollars - I wouldn't understand either!

Finally Booked It!

I cannot believe we have been engaged for a year and two months already... Do you know what that means? In 10 months we will be married! I think it is about time we finally booked our hall in writing right? We should have done that a few months ago!

Originally we wanted to have our wedding reception at my work in one of the halls there. Once I priced out the dinner with our catering company I quickly realized the reality of it all. The catering company at my work charges way too much for food!! It is not my work that charges too much money, it is the catering company that works out of there that is a rip off!

Anyhow, quite a long time ago Greg found this hall called the Mabry Center. It is very close to the church and close to local hotels and expressways. The venue is only 4 years old and is not out dated like the other places in the area that we could afford.

It took a while to find a number to contact someone at. When I finally got ahold of them we set up a meeting and checked it out. The prices were awesome, the menu was great and from what we met of the staff - they all seemed just fine! We put our name down for our date and the sales rep told me she would call if anyone wanted our date.

We kept in touch here and there, but with time moving so quickly I wanted to just get hall finalized for us on our date. Just yesterday, I finally put down the deposit on the hall! It was a reassuring feeling to know that we can check that off the list officially and that I can tell work that I won't be having my reception there.

Things are very slowly coming together... Now... about the dress...

Get Notified!

After telling everyone and their mother about this site I realized there was a little problem.

How is anyone suppose to know when to come back and check out the site?

So... Me being the nerd I am, I went ahead and set up an email subscription for the service. I see quite a few of you already signed up after having the link up for a week or so now. That is great!

There are 40 more days of school left before this wedding begins to really get planned!

Only 450 days to go!

It seems like the wedding day is so close, but really it is kind of far away! We have 450 days until the big day. We still haven't done much planning since the last update, but I will be graduating soon and I am sure it will pick up then.

I need to schedule an appointment with the church to go over some information that we have filled out already. Greg and I also need to schedule time to sit down with a DJ in Ferndale that was recommended to us by a co-worker. With school it is just too hard to find time to meet with people... but in 47 days that will not be a problem!

Last Thursday I started an aerobics class in Warren at the Community Center. It sure did kick my butt, but it felt great! It is only 1 day a week, but it will help me to prepare for the boot camp I want to sign up for in July!

We have started the round of wedding showers and weddings for the summer. For the next 4 months or so, I will be attending other people's events and keeping a mental list of things I would like and not like to have when my turn comes around. For starters, spiked punch. My cousin had spiked punch at her shower and it definitely helped lighten the mood! :)

Another Show

The wedding planning has been pretty uneventful lately. To me that is good because I have three weeks of my semester left at school and then I start my final one!

My friend Amy and I went to a bridal show at the Troy Marriott. It was kind of crazy there, but somehow it was organized. I got more ideas and more useful information from vendors. Again, I did not win any door prizes, but my friend won a few things - so that is cool!

I did get to meet the woman who is doing the body boot camp that I want to join when I graduate school. It got me a little more excited about joining, especially when she introduced me to a girl that is enrolled in the class now. I wish I could start taking the class now!

I need to be patient. I plan on joining in July.

First Bridal Show

I bravely went to my first "Bridal Show"... And I didn't make Greg go with me! I made Jenny go with me instead ;)

A very talented photographer that I know got me passes to the Brides to Be bridal show in Clinton Township, Michigan this past Sunday. I was a little nervous about going because I didn't know what to expect and I don't like large crowds of people like that. It was hot, crowded and some of the vendors were pushy. It was nice to see ideas and things I know I do not want... My favorite thing to get to see was the centerpieces for rent that were not expensive and looked nice. I cannot recall the vendors name, but I am sure I have their paperwork in my big ol' bag I got when I registered!

We got there just in time to sign up for the door prize drawings, which was the main reason I wanted to go. I was hoping to win a honeymoon or something! :) A few very lucky girls did win.. so there is hope yet!