Feeling Accomplished

So this weekend I was able to get more than 3 things done for the wedding. :)

1. As I blogged about on Saturday, we finalized the menu and details for the rehearsal dinner AND we ordered rehearsal dinner invitation inserts with menu choices. This is huge. I am really happy to have this done. The rehearsal dinner can basically be checked off the list. I have a few little things to check over with the church, but the dinner aspect of the evening is dunzo! :)

2. We bought stamps for the wedding RSVP cards and rehearsal dinner invitations. I figure, postage is going up next year (a whopping two cents), so getting the forever stamps is a great way to ensure that we don’t spend anything more than we should.  See – this whole getting things done way early thing is panning out!  Of course, I got more stamps than I thought we would need, but I figured that was smart because forever stamps will always be good!

3. I made 300 little blue and brown bows. “For what?” you may ask. Well, I will tell you. Once people decide on their dish for the reception, they will be either a blue ribbon or a brown ribbon. Their little ribbon will go on their seating card. This will allow to caterer to know who gets what meal. So when a table gets called, the people will take their place card, then they will be served the correct dish. I also think it will give a little flair to the seating cards.

4. I started my must-have photo list for Cory. I broke it down into 4 categories: Getting Ready, Ceremony, Post-Ceremony and Reception. I am sure that I will think of other pictures as the wedding approaches, but this gives me a head start on making the list. Also, come to think of it, I am sure this is something that I would have forgotten to do if I hadn’t done it now!

5. We ordered our parents gifts :) We got them … Yea right, like I am that stupid. I will say though, that I am REALLY pleased with how they turned out.  Waiting for the final product to arrive is going to be very difficult.  I am just hoping that I don't cave and convince Brandon they should be Christmas presents! I think it is a very unique gift and something that both sets of parents will really enjoy for years to come. So we have almost all of the bridal party gifts taken care of. I want to get a necklace or bracelet for my bridesmaids, something that unifies them, but this is proving to be a little bit harder than I have anticipated. Why am I not surprised?

So I nearly doubled my wish list of things to complete in a weekend.  I am feeling mighty accomplished.  In shoe news, I have come to terms with the fact that my perfect shoe does not exist. I have started to accept the fact that I will have to wear some kind of pump. I guess it’s better that I accept this now and start looking for a realistic shoe than to get down on myself and the fact that my dream shoe does not exist. So now I begin my search for the perfect pump. Wish me luck :)

Rehearsal Dinner... check :)

That's right ladies & gentlemen, we are dunzo... well, with the rehearsal dinner anyways.  It makes me feel very good that we have that aspect of the wedding taken care of, especially after my weird wedding freak out yesterday.  Reflecting back, I will admit, I went a little bit crazy.  If you ask Brandon "a little bit" is an understatement.  

Anyways, last night we had a wonderful evening out... well a wonderful couple hours out anyways.  Brandon and I are pathetic and had a pretty early night.  Anyways, we went to dinner at the River City Grill in Silver Spring, which is where we are having the rehearsal dinner.  We met with the restaurant manager and finalized the details of the dinner.  We came up with a final menu and wine selection.  To top it all off, the restaurant manager, Gzim, gave us complimentary drinks and bottle of wine to have with dinner. He is absolutely fabulous.

We already have the rehearsal dinner invitations in the closet.  And this morning we ordered the menu cards to be sent with the invitations.  We also went to the post office this morning and got a ton of stamps.  So now we have stamps for the wedding RSVP cards and the rehearsal dinner invitations.  It feel so good to get these things done and I am really happy to have this stuff done.  It also occurred to me today that I am really lucky to have Brandon on the receiving end of my crazy wedding planning mode.  He just kinda lets me go and do what I think I need to get done.  I would be lost without him and I think he knows it.  So with regards to my goal of getting three wedding things done this weekend, I have one done.  One down and two to go... I hope.   (And really, if it comes down to it, I will so count this as two things because 1. we finalized the menu for the dinner and 2. we ordered inserts for the rehearsal dinner.)

Dunzo with PreCana… and Other Worries

So we survived. I cannot believe it has already been five weeks (six classes). I remember the day before PreCana wondering if we were going to learn anything, if we were going to resent the class, if we would survive and still be together at the end of it (what? Brandon had the same fear). I think the class has actually helped us and made us a stronger couple. It has definitely brought to light the insecurities and worries in the both of us and forced us to address these things and open up the communication between the two of us. I am definitely happy that we got it done so early into things. I think over all it will make things easier for us. It is nice to have something so big checked off the list so early. We are not done with our Catholic duties though. We still need to meet with Msgr. Filardi and get some details ironed out (like the massive amount of paperwork that needs to be done) and we also need to take the FOCCUS test and review our responses with the Msgr. I will say that this is something that I am actually looking forward to. The almost 200 question test, maybe not; but the final result, absolutely.

In other news, the florist gave me a small anxiety attack today. One that Brandon is going to really hate (sorry babe, your little lady is going into full wedding planning mode). So Roberta (that’s my WONDERFUL florist) emailed me requesting some information – nbd. I can give her some information. What’s that? You want to know the addresses for the locations where I want you to drop off the flowers, got it – no problem… and the estimated times to drop them off? Holy crap, I need to make a timeline for the day. How have I not thought about this? Why has this not crossed my mind? I mean, yea I have a general idea of the desired flow of the day. Oh My God. I have a million things that I haven’t done. Ok, so I need to let her know times, but in order to do that I need to come up with a realistic desired timeline for the day. I need to find out about hair and make-up and who has the best prices and who is the most time efficient. I need to finalize details with the rehearsal dinner. I need to make a list of pictures that I want taken for Cory. I need to talk to my bridesmaids about dresses and who wants what. I need to talk to the church about ceremony music. I need to decide on ceremony music. I need to think about the reception menu. I need to find out about decorating the reception venue. I need to make bows for the seating cards so that the caterers know what meal they are having. I need to - Oh My God – how am I going to get everything done?!? Then I think, “snap out of it Trotter! You have 294 days until the wedding!” Reality? Is that you? Thank God you found me! …If you’re wondering, the answer is no, that so does not get Brandon out of wife-to-be wedding-planning-mode. Sorry darling – this little lady is on a roll. I am making it my goal to accomplish three wedding related things this weekend. Hmm… what do I want to get done this weekend? Bows? Rehearsal dinner menu? I will update on Monday – if not before! Wish me luck :)

Website Change?

So it occurred to me today while I was driving home that I love to blog (probably because I love to talk about myself) and that the blog website address did not really capture the real point behind the blog.  What?  You didn't know that there was actually a point behind my incessant rambling.  Hmm, that's what Brandon always says too...  Anyways, the point is to keep friends and family and of course, my loyal stalkers tuned in to what is happening in our lives; so really simplymywedding just wasn't cutting it.  

Tonight on my obscenely long and traffic filled ride home from work, I made the command decision to change the blog website from simplymywedding to fromweddingtowife because really this blog is to keep everyone updated on this going on from wedding planning to my current chaotic life in general and in less than a year (EEK!) to my life as a wife.  Realistically, life is going to go on happening after I get married.  I mean, did you honestly think my wedding was the end of anything interesting in my life...?  Don't feel bad, for awhile, I did too.  However, in the next couple of years Brandon and I will be buying a home and having kids (ok, well maybe not the next couple of years, but definitely before I am 30), and I am sure people will still be mildly addicted to hearing about what is going on in the land of Brandon & Tori.  So I encourage everyone to sit back and enjoy the ride because while it may be bumpy, it will definitely never be boring :)

Engagement Pictures :)

So as many of you have already seen, we have our engagement pictures!  I am so incredibly pleased with the work that Cory Brodzinski did.  He is extremely talented and he was really able to capture Brandon and me.  I am really looking forward to working with Cory for our wedding pictures, and who knows, maybe other pictures down the road... :)

When we met with Cory in October, it was SO windy!  But we were not able to let that stop the day.  We were determined to get the best pictures and even with the crazy wind, Cory did an absolutely incredible job.  I mean, anyone who can make taking pictures with Brandon tolerable deserves some kind of Nobel prize.  We started our pictures at Big Meadows...

This picture was actually not posed and rather impromptu 

Cory would unknowingly photograph us and it allowed for some really great pictures :)

We then moved into a small wooded area at the edge of the Meadow.  While I was terrified of being eaten by a bear, which wasn't unfounded since I had already seen one bear, Brandon did his best to keep me distracted.

This is one of my favorite pictures of us, ever :)

 We then moved on through the meadow to find another location for pictures before we headed to Little Stoney Man Cliffs (yes, cliffs).  We were able to get some great pictures along the way...

So then the toughest part of the day, where we actually got the best pictures, came around.  Cory wanted to take pictures at the top of Little Stoney Man Cliffs.  Now, for Brandon, this was a terrible idea.  Brandon is terrified of heights.  But Cory told him how great the pictures would be and so Brandon decided that for the good of the pictures, he would get over his fear of heights for a little while.  I could not have been more proud of him.  

What you can't exactly tell from those pictures is that right behind us the cliff ends.  If we had moved back maybe 8 feet, we would fall.  Brandon handled it pretty well.  I mean, he was scared, but he doesn't seem to show it in the pictures.  The part of the day where he was most uncomfortable, got us the best results. Overall, we had an awesome day with Cory and are so incredibly pleased with the work that he does.  In fact, Cory put together a slideshow of the pictures that he took.  (I told you he was fabulous.) 

http://animoto.com/play/G01RhmWAxd9xSlkrUcGkuQ

I encourage people to check out more of Cory's work.  I love him and I know that you will as well.  http://www.corybphoto.com/

November? Already?

So it's November. Where did October go? And how do we make the time slow down? The past few weeks have been very wedding related (and not just for me!). Sometims I think that at the rate things are going, it's going to be the wedding day before we know it. Yikes. I mean seriously, let's recap the last 3 weeks:

October 16th Brandon and I had our engagement pictures done. Then, Brandon and I started Pre-Cana classes on October 21. They are five consective Thursdays in a row and then we have one Saturday session on the 6th. Truth be told -- they are not really that bad. I had decided that this was essentially going to be torture… Turns out, I was wrong. The first class we were given homework: watch a movie. Bonus: they gave us wine and candy to make it a date night. Wine and Candy at Jesus class?!?!? Those are two of my favorite things, ever. Last week at class, they had wings and other snack food. This week they are making us dinner and then we are halfway done. And the weird thing is, be careful as the lightning bolt that is going to strike me down may come through the computer, I feel like I am actually learning things and that Brandon and I are actually benefiting from this. Who knew… Anyways, the movie we have to watch is called Fireproof -- I will let you know how this goes. However, I have heard some reviews for the film and I watched the trailer - it sounds like it will actually be entertaining and enjoyable. Yep, that's right. They are giving me wine, candy and a decent flick to watch. How can I be bitter about the class? Danielle and Justin just had their Pre-Cana class last weekend, an all day event which they had to take personaility tests to qualify for… and they weren't given wine. Yikes.

The Saturday after our first Pre-Cana class, Brandon and I went to SugarBakers and sampled wedding cakes. We found our bakery :) We finalized things, put a deposit down and walked away the proud decision makers. Woohooooo. We are having a beautiful, four tiered, carrot cake and raspberry amaretto cake. The bottom and top tiers are carrot cake and the middle two tiers are raspberry amaretto for those weirdos (aka Michelle) who don't eat carrot cake. The layers are separate, so while it seems like a weird combination -- you don't get both flavors. You get one or the other, don't be greedy.

Brandon and I picked out our engagement pictures. Now we are simply waiting for Cory to finalize them and then we will let people see them :) EEK! I am SO excited about them. The unedited ones were AWESOME, so I can only imagine what Cory has in store :)

Hmm… what am I missing? Oh yea, Michelle and TJ are engaged!! YAY! :)