Holy cow...how time flies...!

So apparently I haven't updated this since the monday BEFORE the wedding? Seriously?! Well I guess by now we all know the wedding plans were completed and everything went off without a hitch (haha - get it?). Of course there were a few mishaps along the way, but nothing that had any major impacts on our wonderful wedding weekend.

Brook is working on the wedding pictures and we have a few ready to tide us over until the rest are done. Enjoy the pictures at the link below! Aren't they great?!!!

http://www.planaphotography.com/weber

I am also compiling photos that guests have been sending me at:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=hdzid81.anwjt21t&x=0&y=o31gja&localeid=en_US

Feeling somewhat better...

I made it the whole day today (Monday) without drugs (except the nyquil that was probably still in me from last night) - and seem to be doing better. Now we just have to hope Ben didn't catch it - he has been sneezing some, and claims to have a scratchy throat. I didn't have too much of any throat issues...but rest assured that hasn't stopped him from blaming me for giving it to him! Hopefully it's nothing...and we'll both be in tip top shape for the weekend!

I had a shower with some work friends tonight and it was a lot of fun - thanks for putting that together guys! I'm officially done with work now for the week - so I can concentrate on putting the finishing touches on plans for the weekend.

It's not allergies...

I have officially picked up a cold. I thought it was allergies that was causing me to sneeze non-stop, since otherwise I was feeling fine - however Friday night & Saturday made me think otherwise. I'm completely congested and if I blow my nose one more time, I think it might fall off. I'm staying drugged up and trying to take care of myself so I'll be better for the wedding. I don't want a red nose in all our pictures!! Hopefully Ben won't catch it before then either!

Wedding Weather...looking good so far :)

Click the link at the right to view our Wedding Weather page - right now Friday is forecasted to be 60 degrees and partly cloudy

Just one week!!

In just about an hour we will be exactly one week away from our ceremony beginning!! People are doing a lot of asking about how I'm holding up stress-wise. And really - I'm doing pretty well! A few friends came over to my Sun Prairie house on Thurday night and we put together all the centerpieces, the FAQ Postcards (mailed today), and favors. So that's a lot of things off the list! I pick up my dress tomorrow (Saturday), and I had my test run for my hair this past week too, and figured out (somewhat) the plan for flowers. Now it's just a lot of little things - I need to draw some pictures of the layout to get a sense of how I'll have things laid out at Devil's Lake...and figure out what I need to accomplish this weekend and next week. I really need to update my Wedding Planning Document - which sounds completely dorky, and something that looks pretty much like one of my work Project Plan Documents. It's currently 10 pages and basically summarizes are wedding weekend and has been helping me stay organized and remind me of things yet to be decided and completed.

There's no turning back now!

The booming metropolis of Portage is apparently now fully aware of our pending nuptials. A neighbor to Joe and Carolyn's Portage Farm stopped down when we were feeding the cats and mentioned he saw that we were getting married in the paper! We were both surprised, and confused...until we figured out it was in the "legal" section saying that we applied for a marriage license. Here's a link if you want to see it - I know - how thrilling :) It's under the Sept 22 date...that's when we applied for it...

Time to "Meet" the bridal party!

At Left:
Dan - Best Man

Joey - Ring Bearer

Rachel - Sister of the groom

At Right:

Amy - Matron of Honor
Gianna - Flower Girl
Scott - Brother in law of the bride

Two weeks and counting!

Well, we officially passed our RSVP date of September 30 this week on Tuesday. Basically everyone we invited except for a small few (and some children) are able to help us celebrate at the reception! With that – we’re about right on with the number we can have in the shelter…just over 100. We met with the music director over at St Joseph’s in Baraboo on Thursday night, and we’re good to go. We picked our songs…we just have a small decision to make yet on the Unity Candle song. I have a song picked out (listen to it here!) – but I can’t figure out if we should have it sung (which requires much more planning) – or just play it on CD.

Other items yet to be figured out…I still can’t make up my mind on centerpieces, I have few ideas that I’m hoping to play with this weekend. We need to put together our favors yet, and I still need to get flowers planned out. Oh yeah – and yes…we will be getting your parking stickers to you – I promise! Hopefully I’ll have them Monday and they’ll be in the mail before we know it.

Some of Brook’s Photography!
One of my posts from a long time ago mentioned that Brook Blaser (my best friend since I was 3!) is going to be the photographer at our wedding! I thought I’d share some samples of her work…she is absolutely amazing, as you'll see if you take a look at a few of her recent photoshoots!

http://www.planaphotography.com/remick
http://www.planaphotography.com/ryan/

Weber Family Shower
Ben's Mom, Sister, and Aunt (Carolyn, Rachel, and Lois) threw me a shower this past weekend and it was so very nice! Everyone is always so welcoming, and I really just can’t wait to get to know all of them better! Rachel obviously wasn’t able to be at the event, but she did plan a little game for us which was the sweetest thing – and completely made me tear up. Thanks so much for doing that, Rachel – I have actually already had a few moments (yes…since Sunday!) where I felt like I needed to read some of the messages to clear my head! ;)
Want to see more pictures? Click here!

My Bachelorette Party and Family Shower!

What a fun weekend!! I can't even tell you how awesome my sister is at planning these things - she's putting my party planning skills to total shame! I wish I could upload all sorts of pictures and share all the little details to really show you the amount of time, work, love, thoughtfulness, fun, and care both her and my Mom put into this weekend for me - it was one I will NEVER forget! Thank you!!!!

Here's a summary of the weekend:
The Bachelorette Party started in Baraboo with lunch at 11, at the Garden Party Cafe. Lunch was great - sandwiches, salads, and wraps were just enough to tide us over before a little shopping, and then our Wine and Chocolate Class/Pairing at Bekah Kate's. They were so great there - they showed us how to make a mousse, chocolate zucchini cakes, and a chocolate cookie. All three were excellent - and all three were paired with some great wines! It was a lot of fun though - and they even gave me a little gift as the bride, which was very nice! From there we went to the Dells and checked into the hotel - relaxed a bit, had some snacks (Thanks, Lisa!) and then played a little guessing game with some "special" gifts the girls brought for me (and of course Ben). We freshened up and headed to Ginza of Tokyo for a Hibachi style dinner (yum - I love that place!) and then out on the town for some drinks and fun with the girls. Nothing too crazy - and I'll leave it at that. I will say that for us being a bunch of 30 somethings - many with kids, and many of us not used to the "going out" lifestyle anymore - we did pretty good and stayed out considerably later than I think any of expected! A sign of a good time, right?!

Sunday morning we had breakfast at the hotel, and got ready before heading back to Madison for a very nice "Seasons of Love" themed shower. Amy and Mom had put together little scrapbooked mini-calendars as a favor for everyone - all unique and handmade. They were a huge hit and so super cute! Mom ordered personalized M&M's for us too - which were very cute too! It was at Cool Beans Coffee Cafe, which is a coffee shop by work that I like to go to (if you ever go - get the breakfast burrito - it's the best!). Everyone got to order from a limited menu and then we had (very cute and creative) games, presents, and cake from Carl's Cakes (by far the best cake in Madison). It was so nice to see some family friends that I don't get to see very often, and I really was truly "Showered" with love and an insane number of gifts. It's actually quite humbling and makes me feel so special to have such a great group of friends and family. Thank you, everyone!!!

We have a cake, a suit, and a marriage license!

Ben and I both had today (Monday) off of work and got a few wedding items crossed off our list. We started out by going to Baraboo for an 8am cake tasting (nice breakfast, huh?!). It wasn't at all what we were expecting - she basically handed us a 6" cake (made up of several flavors) and a bunch of little cups of filling and told us to take it with us to try on our own. Weird. We still haven't tried it yet - maybe at half-time of the Monday Night Football game I'm excitedly watching with Ben (was that convincing?)...Brett is playing after all! Anyway - we're on the books to get the cake there - we just need to finalize flavors and the design. Then we were off to the court house to get our marriage license - and no (Dad) we didn't have to do any of the blood test nonsense they used to make you do. From there we went to Mens Wearhouse and got Ben his official wedding suit! I think it was harder to pick that out than it was my dress. Our original plan was for him to get a navy pinstripe - but we ended up with a solid navy. Dan and Joey are both in pinstripes - but I think it's nice Ben will stand out a bit. As the salesperson said - we wouldn't want people to get confused and not know if Dan or Ben is the groom! Haha - what a random thing for him to say, huh? Anyway :) He has a cream colored dress shirt, a very nice silk tie, and silk suspenders to keep those pants up! I'll work on getting a pic of the tie up here so people know - but it's light colored blues, cream, and a nice light colored coppery brown/taupe that will look great with girl's dresses!

Joey's Suit!

Rachel sent a picture of Joey's Ring Bearer outfit for our big day - how cute!! It looks somewhat black in the pictures - but it's actually navy. We actually just bought Ben's suit/shirt/tie today (Monday) and he will also be wearing a cream colored shirt underneath his navy suit. Thanks for sharing the picture, Rachel - I can't wait to see him in it, what a sweetie!

Gianna's Dress!

My sister found a dress for my niece Gianna to wear as Flower Girl - and she is going to look just as cute as ever! Hopefully she'll love wearing it, and she'll have it on for both Friday and Saturday. Amy bought it online, so if it arrived in time, she was going to bring it with her this weekend when she comes for the shower.

4 weeks...yes...that is 28 days...!!!

That's crazy, I know. I'm actually not overly stressed - yet. But, I'm pretty sure it will be hitting any day now. I feel pretty good about where things are at - but I still have a lot of little details to think about. Like, hello...I just realized that I haven't thought about a cake topper in months. But anyway - it's not like that's going to make or break anything, so I'm not too worried ;)

Bachelorette party Saturday...and my Mom and Sister shower is Sunday!

My First Bridal Shower!!

I had my first ever bridal shower last night, and it was so fun! My very good friend, Lisa had a few of our girlfriends over to her place for a night of great food and conversation. Jackie took a bunch of pictures for me that I'll post online here - but in the meantime, you get a picture of the cake Lisa made :) And it actually really looked like this!


The girls were super generous in their gift giving too - we got all of our dishes from Target already (see photo below) - plus an extra set, since Target is ridiculously slow in updating their registry. Rather than return them - we'll just hang on to them and have an excuse to have up to 10 people come over for dinner some night!


Lisa - if you're reading this...thanks again!!! We were supposed to take a group photo too, and totally spaced it. Oh well - we'll save it for the bachelorette party!

Invitations are ready and (almost) in the mail!

This past Sunday afternoon was filled stuffing, stamping, sealing, and addressing envelopes, and thanks to Brook and her beautiful handwriting…they turned out great!! Now I just have to get them in the mail; which, was supposed to be today, but of course – I left them sitting on the kitchen table. Argh! So…they’ll just have to go out tomorrow instead. Here are some pictures Brook took while we were doing them…

Since Rachel and Dan’s (Happy Belated Birthday, by the way!) invitation will probably take the longest to get there…here’s a picture to give you something to watch for! ;)

7 Weeks to go – can you believe it?!

Wow – it’s gone so fast, hasn’t it?! I feel pretty good about things...the big stuff is shaping up and now maybe soon I can maybe work on the details! The invites are printed, in my hands, and ready to be addressed and mailed this weekend. Of course with the Monday holiday, they won’t go out until Tuesday – but it’s a huge relief to know that they’ll be out in a matter of days. Our (likely) caterer is Viviani’s Catering out of Middleton. I have an estimate request with them, and they’re going to pull it together this weekend. I got a haircut (trim) today and my hairdresser has a friend that just did a tasting with them for their wedding, and actually tasted of one my favorite menu choices! She said that her friend was happy with the caterer and the food, so that made me feel even better about wanting to go with them! Oh - and she said they can be kind of picky, but still liked it - so that's good too ;)

The Bachelorette Party is officially scheduled and invites are out – we’re spending the afternoon starting with lunch, shopping, and wine & chocolate tasting. Then to the Hilton Garden Inn (in the Dells) to get ready for dinner and having some fun! No crazy wild times planned …I’m just looking forward to a nice day & night with my girlfriends!

The next day is a shower that my Mom and Sister are throwing, back in Madison. So that will be fun too! I also have a shower that my good friend Lisa is throwing for me on the 10th…and then another from Carolyn (Ben's Mom) on Sunday, the 28th! How very fun and exciting…and again, weird - that these things are happening for me!

Amy's Dress!

Here's a picture of Amy's Matron of Honor Dress...which looks oddly purple-ish, but it's actually a bronzey-brown color, with the sparkly top area being pretty gold. Describing things is not my talent - but it's very pretty and she looks great in it!!!

I got shoes...they're multiplying...

Pardon the wacky headline...it's an inside joke that my friend Tricia will understand (and will subsequently have the Grease theme song in her head for the day!). But...anyway - on to the point! I had my first dress alterations appointment today, which of course made me realize (last night) that I needed to have shoes to wear at the fitting! I went to East Towne to do some power shoe shopping, and came across all of two pairs that would even be remotely possible (man, I hate East Towne!) - but I guess the silver lining is that I liked both of them, so I grabbed them and got out of there. I figured at a minimum I could use them as a guide for heel height at the fitting, and then would just have to match it down the line if I found a pair I liked better. After trying them on with the dress, I actually really liked the pair you see here. And, being the bargain shopper that I am - I was quite proud of myself after I realized they are knock off Christian Louboutin shoes that run $875. Craziness. Who knew I had such expensive taste! Not that I have any clue who Christian Louboutin is or have a clue what his shoes look like...it was on Cosmopolitan.com (shown on their website in black) ;) Speaking of - the color in the photo looks much more white than they are - they are actually a champagne beige color, and match the dress nicely.

Registry Update

We updated our registries and right now are sticking with Target and Crate & Barrel. We have tossed around the idea of Menards/Home Depot - but we'll see and let you know if that happens. I think I accidentally had the Target registry set to a "private view" initially - but that's fixed now and it should be searchable in stores and online.

Also - if entering a wedding date (Crate&Barrel requires it) - select October 18. I figured that's what the majority of people are knowing the date as.

http://www.target.com
http://www.crateandbarrel.com

A successful dress shopping morning!

The two mom's (Nancy and Carolyn), Amy, Gianna, and I went shopping this morning to find dresses for the big day....and were we successful?? I would say so! Both Mom's bought dresses, and so did Amy! Oh, and I should of course mention that (as many of you know) it's impossible for me to go shopping for dresses and not buy one for myself...it was just too cute! My justification?? I have showers to dress up for! :) And, it was a good two sizes smaller than I normally wear, and it still fit...that's reason enough, isnt' it?!

Current and/or most pressing tasks I'm working on...

• Finalizing the approvals we need for the ceremony location and presiding priest
• Finishing invites
• Shopping with the Mom's on Saturday
• Updating our registries
• Getting an alterationist

...of course there's a ton more to do, but these are my key items for the week ahead!

Invites are nearly complete!

Well, my goal of having invites out this week is seemingly still achievable! I have everything designed, I just need to get them printed, and buy some envelopes. I think they look pretty though! I have all addreses ready to go (thanks, Carolyn!)...so as soon as I have the invites in my hands, I'll get addressing and at the post office!

We started registries at Target and Crate & Barrel

We finally got some registries started at Target and Crate and Barrel! They need some work - but, it's a start! Things need to be added, deleted, and/or moved from one store to the other...but we just had to get a start and remind ourselves of things we needed to do more research on. For example - I registered for a coffee maker at crate and barrel, however...I'm sure I'll find one I like just as much that isn't as costly,or may have different features - maybe still at C&B, or mabye Target. So don't get too deep into looking at them (not to say you would...but...just in case :) ), as we still have some things to adjust before we'd officially say their ready. We've also tossed around the idea of doing something at www.myregistry.com, which basically creates a portal site to anything we might find that is available on the web. Kind of a cool idea, huh? Not sure how well it works though - and for the most part, we'll probably find what we need between C&B and Target.

Exciting news from out East!

Rachel, Dan, and Joey officially have their flights booked for our wedding weekend! They'll be arriving on Thursday afternoon, and heading home on Sunday afternoon. And then, just a few short weeks later, we'll get to spend time with them again over Thanksgiving!

We Have a Photographer!

My best friend Brook (who I've known since I was 3 years old!), has a photography business and she has agreed to give up some of her "guest" time to take pictures for us at both the ceremony and the reception! She's very talented...and not just in photography - she's also going to help me with my make-up for the weekend's festivities!

I bought the dress!!

See the post below for the story...but it's official and hanging here at my house! I need to get some alterations done on it still, but decided to find one on my own instead of driving out to New Glarus for all the fittings. Very exciting!! :)

I found my wedding dress!

Mom, Amy and I went dress shopping for the first time on Monday and went to three bridal shops - Brandi's Bridal in New Glarus, Moments to Cherish in Fitchburg, and Beautiful Brides on the Eastside of Madison. Because the wedding so soon, I pretty much have to buy one off the rack. I was nervous about what I'd find - but Brandi's had a GREAT selection! I probably had close to 15 dresses in the room for me to try on! The "Wedding Consultant" helping me was Caitlyn, and she was great - totally listened to what I wanted and was looking for and found perfect dresses as we were looking too. She actually found the one that I love the most and am going with! The other places didn't match the dress from Brandi's. I wasn't overly impressed with Moments to Cherish, and although the dresses at Beautiful Brides were gorgeous - they were much more expensive than I wanted, and I was quite annoyed with the sales lady. If she made me try on one more strapless dress...which I specifically told her I didn't want...I was going to scream! OK, I'm exaggerating...they were beautiful dresses, but not at all the style I wanted.

So anyway - back to the dress! It's a "Maggie Sottero Couture" Dress...and only requires a few alterations to the hem (of course) and some adjustments in the shoulder straps. It's a sheath style dress, that's between an ivory and a champagne in color. I can't find a picture online of this particular dress...but...I wouldn't show you here anyway in case Benny would decide to read our blog! Oh yeah...it's a great deal too - more than 1/2 off the original asking price! I'm trying it on one more time on Thurdsay evening, and assuming I still like it...I'll buy it!

The Reception - Saturday, October 18th
Devil's Lake, Red Oak Shelter

After basically planning on going to the Mecan River Lodge in Princeton, I was contacted by Devil's Lake saying that the Red Oak Shelter I had inquired about (about a month ago) was available. After much deliberation, and finally getting in to see the shelter - we decided that we wanted to go that route.

It is an enclosed shelter that isn't all that special from the outside, but I think it's very nice in the inside. Rustic woodwork and a fireplace seem to fit us well, and lots of windows overlooking the lake. I'm not crazy about the plastic tables/chairs - but ...what can I expect at a park, right?

The Ceremony - Friday, October 17
Durwood's Glen, Baraboo

We went to visit Durwood's Glen in Baraboo, and I totally loved it. The chapel is small, rustic, and seems to fit us and what we want perfectly! We pretty much had our minds made up, and then later that night we had dinner with Joe and Carolyn and found out that Lois and Mike (Ben's Godparents) also got married there! I thought that was the cutest thing and makes it even more special.

The Ceremony will be small and intimate, with immediate family and a few other special people in our lives. The wedding party includes:

Best Man: Dan Frisk (Ben's Brother in Law)
Matron of Honor: Amy Ramsay (Sarah's Sister)
Ring Bearer: Joey Frisk (Ben's Nephew)
Flower Girl: Gianna Ramsay (Sarah's Niece)