Is it 5 o'clock yet?

I'm on my break at work and my mind keeps drifting off to my endless list of things to do over the weekend. I have a good mix of big projects (seating chart design, DJ song list) vs. the small things (finding a prop box, gathering enough vases, etc) so it'll be nice to check some of the quicker projects off the list fairly soon. This weekend will be filled with cleaning, painting, designing, printing, planning, packing, shopping, gluing, cutting, framing, decision-making, etc. Everything BUT relaxing! I am sure Kevin and I will make some time to catch some rays by our apartment pool. Need to get a tan for the big day, right?

Last night Kevin and I spent some time looking at our baby pictures. We are going to display some of our favorites at the wedding so we were choosing the best ones. I am going to be so excited to have my own babies on day, considering Kevin was such a cute kid! Probably one of the cutest I've ever seen. His mom took the best photos of him--can't wait to show them off at the wedding :) My photos are pretty darn cute too, if I do say so myself!

Honeymooners

A recent trip to the sunglass hut made me think of our honeymoon! Karen (Kevin's mother) got me a giftcard to buy some cute sunglasses for our trip to Maui. Isn't that a creative gift for a Bridal Shower? I found some great Versace shades that 1. are to DIE for and 2. were on SALE :) Anyway, the new sunglasses made me think that we need to start thinking of what to pack. It takes me forever to pack so I need to start making a list right now! It should be interesting considering we don't really have any luggage. We didn't really need any in college :) The one bag we did have broke, so I guess we are going to search for some from Ross or just borrow from my parents. Anyone know where to get reasonably priced luggage? We looked for some at Target and they were nice. Anywhere else? Besides that, it's going to be a challenge for us to figure out what kind of clothes to take. I am a total over-packer so I am going to need to narrow it down to the essentials. For Kevin it's easy--just throw in a couple t-shirts and shorts, he's good to go! My most favorite thing to pack is going to be my large, white, wide-brimmed floppy hat. Kevin got it for me from Target. I've always wanted one but never had any place to wear it. It will be the perfect shield from the sun when we're on the beach. It's sort-of a beachy version of a chic Kentucky derby hat. Kevin is debating buying a hawaiian shirt. He says it's required to wear at least one tacky shirt to a luau. We'll see about that one! :) Overall, the essentials will be sunscreen, aloe vera, flip flops, sunglasses (or sungoggles as Kevin calls them), cheap snorkel gear and a couple underwater cameras. Kevin also wants to find some kind of ipod dock or speaker system to play music in our hotel room and/or on the beach. Anyone have any suggestions? Can't wait for those tropical drinks :)

Paparazzi

Last Sunday, we met with our photographer Kacy Kizer in Corvallis for our engagement photos. We were very excited and sort of nervous to have our photos taken. We didn't know what to expect or how our photos would turn out. We spent quite a bit of time deciding what outfits to wear and it really worked out in the end. Our photos are just beautiful! You can tell we put thought into our clothes, as all the colors blend nicely. We spent about 2 hours walking around the OSU campus taking photos. Some of our favorites were taken in the Kelley Engineering building and outside of the sculpture studio in Fairbanks hall (the art department). It was so nice to incorporate not just the campus, but our individual colleges. Now we have lasting photos in the places we spent the majority of our time while at Oregon State. Kacy did a fantastic job capturing our campus the way we were hoping to. Once we get some of our edited files back, I'll post them on the blog. If there is any family or friends that want to order some photos, you can also do that. I will provide the photo album information once they are ready to be viewed. We also plan to display a few of our favorite photos at the wedding!

Like I said, we are thrilled with our photos. Kacy explained that she normally presents about 60 engagement photos to a couple, but she provided 130 photos for us. She said there were just so many that she liked. Kevin and I feel like she captured our personalities and the essence of our relationship in the photos. We couldn't be happier with the end result. I definitely recommend her work.

Closet full of clothes with nothing to wear

Our engagement photo session is tomorrow down in Corvallis. Kevin and I both have nothing to wear! We have lots of clothes but nothing is either cool enough to wear in this warm weather or nice enough for the photos. We're gonna have to be creative, that's for sure! We are going to do one set of OSU themed clothes for campus, one set of nice clothes, and one set of casual clothes. Looks like we're going shopping today. We basically have very low funds but hope to find some good sales! We're just paying too much for these photos to take them in ugly or unflattering "college" clothes. Looks like we're destined for some shopping. I'll be sure to let you know how it goes.

We are both very excited about our photographer Kacy Kizer. We originally chose her because she was based out of the Corvallis area and was familiar with the OSU campus. Now that we are no longer getting married on campus, she is willing to make the trek up to Camas, WA to photograph us at the Fairgate. I believe she's actually shot a couple weddings there before, so that's reassuring. I have complete confidence in her abilities to capture our special day! You can check out her past work and blog HERE

Licensed to Wed

Kevin and I trekked up to Clark County to get our marriage license today. It was probably one of the most unromantic adventures of the entire wedding process. Some lady with bad lipstick wearing scrubs asks us if we're over 18. Yes. Are you related? No. Did you bring the whopping $62 bucks in cash for the license? Yes. Do you have your ID's? Yes. Once we said okay to everything, she took us into another room with a bunch of computers. She briefly explains how to work through the computerized application. Once finished, we had to go "take a number" like we were at the freakin DMV. We waited in an empty waiting room while 2 elderly people got their marriage license. They looked really happy and were really cute! Then, our number was called. We were asked a couple questions by a really cold, distant and bored-to-death state employee as he stared off into space, obviously thinking about how he hates his life. We paid the $62 fee and were given our wedding license. Very short, very rehearsed and completely nonromantic in any sort of way. None the less, Kevin and I were excited. We shared a kiss in the elevator and that was that. We are officially licensed to wed :)

Swan Island Dahlias

My original flowers chosen were mini plum-colored calla lillies, copper leonadi roses, and a mix of others incorporated. Now, since those copper roses are a whopping $50 for 25 stems and the mini calla lillies are $3.50 per stem, we've decided to go with all different types of Dahlias. The local Swan Island Dahlia farms have really great prices at $7.50 per bunch. They offer a variety of all different sizes, shapes, looks and TONS of colors to choose from.

I've decided that since my bridesmaid dresses are the deep purple color, their flowers are going to be a mix of all different shades/shapes/sizes of coppery-orange dahlias. I think the orange is really going to pop against their deep purple dresses! My beautiful flower girl Serena (Kevin's cousin) is going to drop white rose petals before I walk down the aisle.

My table arrangements have completed changed as well. The first plan was to have 3 cylinder vases in the center of the table, each filled with a different type of flower. For example, the tallest vase would be calla lillies, the middle height vase would be roses and the shortest another kind of flower. Now, we have one arrangement of mixed deep purple and coppery-orange dahlias. They will be of varying sizes and looks. I can't wait to see how they turn out! I'm sure my florist Aunt Debbie will do an amazing job! She's been putting so much thought and effort into it. Now more than ever, I really appreciate everybody's help.

Yes, it's true that the wedding is 14 days away. What's scary is not that it's 14 days, it's that it's only TWO WEEKS! Saying that the wedding is not next Friday but the Friday after is so much more intimidating. Now it's a challenge to get everything done on time. YIKES! :)

Engagement Photos

This Sunday, Kevin and I are traveling down to Corvallis to have our engagement photos done. It will be really fun to have our photos done on our college campus. We have so much history there and so many good memories. I am so lucky to have found Kevin. He and I are so right for each other. People keep telling me that we're too young to get married. Or, that I will probably be planning atleast one more wedding in my lifetime. Nobody gets it. We have talked about the divorce options. We have talked about saying our vows and our commitment to one another. I know that nobody knows what the future may hold for us. However, Kevin and I know how we feel about each other. We are going into this marriage with open eyes and a full commitment to each other. It's very real to us and we are taking this step in our lives very serious. Bottom line, we can't wait to get married. All we can do is continue to be ourselves and work at making each other happy.

Fifteen days and counting

Yikes! We're running out of time. Sorry I have not written lately. Life has been a little hectic recently. We had our consultation with the Fairgate a couple weeks ago. It went well. The venue looks so much more beautiful in this sunny weather than it did back in February when we booked it. The flowers have filled in, the grass is thick and green again, and all the flower pots are newly planted. Kevin and I were very impressed with the changes the staff have been making around the Fairgate. Guest rooms were upgraded and the gazebo was given a new treatment with twinkle lights and ivy among other things. We are both still thrilled with our choice to marry there.

At the meeting, we had to make some decisions for the wedding. For wine, we chose a Chardonnay and a red wine--not sure which kinds or brands. For beer, we chose Coors Light and Rogue Dead Guy Ale. For dinner, we chose salmon, chicken pasta, rolls, salad, fresh berries and veggies, and steamed veggies. It is going to be delicious! As for dessert, we made a decision to work with Beaverton Bakery instead of dealing with the shenanigans that Lamb's Bakery was sending our way. The cake is going to be a round, 4-tier buttercream cake. Each layer will be a different flavor. The top tier will be carrot cake with cream cheese filling. The second tier down was banana cake with banana cream filling. The third tier down is poppyseed cake with lemon filling. The biggest fourth tier is ribbon cake (one layer chocolate, one layer vanilla, one layer chocolate and one layer vanilla) with fresh raspberry filling between each layer. It's definitely going to be just as beautiful as it will be tasty! :) We are feeling very confident about Beaverton Bakery. They were professional from the very start and reassured us that we have nothing to worry about. The best part is, they deliver to the Fairgate all the time so I don't have to worry about them getting lost.

Those are the biggest accomplishments we've had lately in regards to the wedding. I made huge changes to the flowers due to budgeting. When I first decided what flowers I wanted, I chose by looks not by researching price. Once price was introduced, I realized that I have very expensive taste in flowers. We've changed the plan and I couldn't be more excited. I'll write about the details tomorrow.

Although we still have a lot to do, I feel like it's all beginning to fall into place. With only 15 days left, I am at the point where I need to decide what's most important, what's least important and what my priorities need to be.

Day after the Wedding BBQ

I figured posting on the blog would be a good way to let everyone know that we are planning to do a casual get-together for family and friends on Saturday August 1, the day after the wedding. I think it will be a nice way for Kevin and I to spend time with guests, especially those traveling from out of state, and talk about the wedding. It will probably be a BBQ at my parent's house at 14646 SE Megan Way, Clackamas OR 97015. I will post more details at a later date (once we know what the details will be). I just want you all to be aware in case you are trying to make any plans for Saturday. Feel free to give my mother Barbara, myself or Kevin a call :)