198 Days!

That's right! The countdown to the wedding is under 200 days now! I'm sure it will go quickly with the holidays upon us.

It's getting pretty cold outside, so I stopped at Andicott's this evening and purchased some daisies. I had to ask a few questions about wedding flowers, but I also wanted to bring something bright to the inside of my apartment. I used to love winter, but this year, I would be fine just bypassing the whole season. I suppose it teaches me something on a metaphorical level.

By the way, if you're looking for fresh flowers, Andicott's is great, and their staff is very friendly. I encountered 3 acts of kindness from strangers today, and it gave me hope that there are still nice people in the world! The man at the flower store let me get my daisies even though I walked in the door at 5:59, or maybe it was 6:01, and they close at 6:00. He had to get to a school event for his child but still took time to answer my questions and made sure I got a new daisy when the one I picked out appeared a bit bruised. There was also the nice woman at Target who went running after my receipt when it blew out of my bag as I was exiting the store, and then the nice woman who asked if she could close my car door because she needed to get in her passenger side. I was putting my bags in my trunk and accidentally left my door open, but she made sure I had my keys before closing it, and was very friendly and helpful. So even though these people surely don't read this blog, you all made my day!

I also stopped by Home Fabrics on 29th Street yesterday. Oh, my, what beautiful things they have. I think it's my new favorite store. Quite a few things were out of my price range, including the greatest pink upholstered chair that I've ever seen. I was drooling. Instead, I was kind to my budget and hit up Hobby Lobby for some black and white fabric. I'm either making pillows or using it to redecorate my office. Unfortunately they only had a little over a yard left, so I'm going to have to go get more if I want to use it for both purposes.

Finally, but most important, thanks to Matt for creating my wonderful new header! He's great with InDesign and even let me sit by him and say, "Can you move that a little to the left?; Can you make that line a little shorter?; Oooh, just a little to the right..." Yeah, he's a good one.

aruba, JAMAICA...

Perhaps it was prophetic when my first favorite musical group at age 6 was the Beach Boys. Matt and I have booked the honeymoon in Jamaica. No, it's not Kokomo, but who really knows where that is anyway. We will be spending 6 nights and 7 days at the Coral Cove resort--thanks to Anne and Peter for their recommendation. Starbright suite, here we come! We're both very excited for the sun, water, and meeting our driver, Richie!

lovely ladies

Kara, Nicole, and I went to Diane Keith Bridal today so they could be measured for their bridesmaid dresses. What a blast we had! The girls look gorgeous. Here is a picture of Nicole in the dress. We're going to add a white sash like the one pictured here. Kara, where are the pictures of you? I think they're on Nicole's camera.

I got to try on my dress again and love it as much as ever. I didn't want to take it off. After we finished dress shopping, we had an awesome lunch and hung out with Matt at my place. The girls even helped me color coordinate my bookshelf! (Don't ask what possessed me to do this.)

Here's a picture of my lovely junior bridesmaid too. Emily is a rockin' gymnast so she couldn't join us yesterday, but this pic is from our first shopping trip. The only reason I'm posting this pic of me is because this is NOT my dress (not Emily's dress either). But isn't she an adorable future sister-in-law?

Bridal Show Fun!

Last night Aletha and I went downtown to the Van Andel Museum for a bridal show. It was a great show with three floors of vendors and tons of free food. I think I had ice cream, cake, and chocolates for supper!

I saw Barb Hoek, the fabulous baker who is doing my cake. She had some yummy samples. I got a few other ideas, but I did a good job at avoiding all the people who want me to sign up for stuff and then call me endlessly about things I don't want or need.

The highlight of the evening was riding the carousel that I last rode when I was twelve. Aletha and I rode around with a view of downtown Grand Rapids around us.

engagement photos

Here is a sampling of our engagement photos. These were taken in downtown Grand Rapids on a sunny October afternoon by Amy Carroll. She is an amazing photographer and such a sweet and fun person. We can't wait to see the rest of the proofs!

Silly!




Sophisticated!




Sassy!




Sweet!




Seductive! ...Sort of.

This is the first blog post I've written. Seems fitting since I view so many other blogs on a daily basis. This is a place for me to post all the crazy wedding ideas running through my head. Matt and I will be married on May 24, 2008, so please continue to visit here for up-to-date information on planning, locations, and travel ideas. Thanks for being a special part of our day and our blog!