Wedding Website!

Hey all!

So I've been working (on and off) for a while on a wedding website for Matthew and me to use to promote the big day (as well as help our guests out with directions and give them some fabulous reading material). I've been working on it on iWeb on Matthew's macbook named Sheila. While I have been unable to finish it as of now (I get frustrated because I'm still mainly a pc girl and all those commands and weird 'you can't double-click anything' vibe screw me up), I feel like I should have something up to make it feel official. In order to do that, I've updated my knot.com wedding website. While it's not complete and not permanent, it was still kind of fun to do.

Here's the url if you'd like to peek at it:
http://www.theknot.com/ourwedding/SarahMarks&MatthewHill

Hint: You won't find it if you search in the Knot's website search engine... I disabled that feature to keep creepers away ;-)

ALSO- if you go there, SIGN THE GUESTBOOK! It would make me feel pretty darn special!

It's been too long!

Wow! I can't believe that it's been about 2 months since I last posted! Life just gets too crazy, I guess! Anyway, I feel like y'all need an update ;-)

Classes started for the semester, and I finally submitted my school of education application! I won't hear anything until mid-November, though, but once I get in, I'm one step closer to graduation... (and maybe a teaching job? that'd be great!)

I have also started up my running again! I have two-ish goals: The first is to lose 20lbs over the next year so I'm nice and skinny for the wedding. The second is to possibly run a 5K in the spring. Where did that inspiration come from? Well, my darling Matthew, of course! He just completed his first triathlon at the end of September, and he did really awesome! I figured that if he can do all that, I could work towards running a 5K. My weigh ins are about every 3 weeks, with the first one coming up next week. Hopefully all this exercise, calorie-watching, sodium-cutting and Nalgene water bottle drinking I've been doing starts to pay off (and show)!

With all this going on, you're probably wondering to yourself, What about the wedding? Are there any plans she's working on? Of course I have!

This past week, my mom showed me the cutest idea for guest favors (I won't tell you everything yet, but it's super yummy and gluten-free!), so I've got those spinning around in my head. Also, I found the cutest new candle holders online... lovelovelove!



I just love the three different heights. It would add tons of visual interest to the tables, as well as mix it up from boring old tea lights. Anyway, what do you think? I'd love to hear your thoughts on these :-)

I think that's all I've got going on right now... life is busybusybusy! I promise that the next time I write, it won't be two months from now!

Yum, Cake!

As promised, here is a pic from our party :-) Our cake was super yummy! (Even if it wasn't made at my store...)

Progress...

Things are starting to come together! Over the past few weeks, Matthew and I have been taking a look at possible reception venues, and we think we've found "the one!" We think it's absolutely gorgeous with an extensive menu, plenty of room for tables and dancing (or dancing on the tables, ha ha... just kidding), and most importantly, fits into our budget! More details will follow about that some other time. Anyway, we haven't signed a contract for it yet, but hopefully we will soon!

Also, I totally found my reception shoes online and bought them immediately. They are now sitting in the box in my room. Maybe I will post a picture, but maybe I won't... I really don't want to ruin the surprise!

Finally, an update on my family's get-together. Matthew and I had a small gathering in the beginning of August with our parents, siblings, and grandparents. Basically, both sides got together and met each other (since they are going to be related, and all...). Overall, it was a lot of fun with lots of food and lots of good conversation! I was nervous over nothing!


The countdown is still going! It's now less than 500 days away! How time flies!
Next time I post, I will definitely include some pictures for your viewing pleasure :-)

An Invitation...

The days are flying by so quickly! Only 537 days to go!





Ok, well maybe it is still a year and a half away, but there is still so much to do!



So what do you do before you throw a wedding? Throw another party... for our families!

Matthew and I have decided that it was about time that our parents, grandparents, and siblings all meet and have the chance to get to know each other (since they are going to be related by marriage and all) before the wedding. So in a few weeks, we are going to have everyone over to Matthew's house for a good old fashioned meet-and-greet. Obviously, this means that I have a chance to stretch my creative wings and make pretty invitations! While they are not a reflection of any type of theme or colors that I'm going to have for the wedding itself, I thought they were cute and very summer-y.

So here's the basic invitation I created! I basically stole some clip-art and then uploaded it into Picnik (I love that site!) where I tweaked all the colors and added the text. Easy as pie :-)

In conclusion, I finished Official Wedding Project #2.... I'll keep you posted on how the party goes!

Spreadsheets!

One of the things that I'm starting to realize about planning a wedding is that you have to be very, very organized with everything... if not, it could become chaotic! If papers are in different places, figures and numbers are in different folders, and things aren't generally in an orderly fashion, I could lose my mind and possibly important information.

The first major foray that I've taken into organizing my wedding stuff has been to create a giant spreadsheet! And I love it! I am so proud of myself for doing it too!

I decided that there wasn't really an easy way for me to compare the reception venue information that I had based on initial cost, so I gathered up all the info that I had and imported it into an easy-to-read format in Excel. While it isn't the most scientific spreadsheet, and it definitely isn't the most amazing spreadsheet, it got the job done. I was able to categorize everything from deposits to rental fees to average cost per plate (and what it includes!) to beverages, to any other fees that might arise. I also figured out the ballpark final price including taxes and gratuity.

Basically, I am very proud of my spreadsheet. And now I have a wonderful tool that I can use to compare all my venues.

Yay for spreadsheets! That's all for now!

About A Tux

So it's been a little while since I've written about anything. To be completely honest, nothing super-duper "wedding-related" has been going on in my life! Things have been a little crazy at my job, and the last few weeks I've been working a lot more hours than I'm used to.

But enough about that. Today I have something to write about that's wedding-related! Yay!

Ok, ok... it's not about my wedding though. This weekend my fiance's sister is getting married, and so it's about that wedding (sort of). Today I went with my Matthew to pick up his tux for the wedding. (He is one of the groomsmen.) I was so excited when I saw him. He is dang cute in a tux! I wish I had a picture of it, but on Saturday I'm sure there will be plenty of pictures of him.

Anyway, it got me to thinking. If I'm that excited to see him in a tux for someone else's wedding, how much more excited will I be when I see him in his tux for our wedding? I'm pretty sure that I'm going to geek out, because he's dang cute in a tux (like I previously said). But the question then arises: When exactly will that happen? I'm not talking about setting a date for the wedding itself (we've already done that), but rather, when should a bride see a groom in his ensemble? We all know that it's bad luck for the groom to see the bride's gown before she walks down the aisle, but is the same true for the other way around? Personally, I think that I would like to be involved in the choosing of the menswear for my wedding, just to make sure that it all coordinates with what my bridesmaids are wearing, but I'm still unsure if I want to see the future hubby in his entire ensemble before the walk down the aisle. Perhaps a good solution would be to choose the clothes (or help choose them) and then leave it at that. I should trust the people who are tailoring the outfit to do their job and resist the urge to see everything all put together before I see him :-)

It's official:

I've made a ticker for my website:




Yes, I know. I'm a nerd. But now I can rest easy knowing that I no longer have to wonder when my wedding date is.

Anyway, on to an actual wedding update. Yesterday I looked at information that I received from several possible reception venues and emailed a new possibility... There's so much to learn about! Every single piece of information from every single venue is broken down a different way, so there isn't really any easy way to compare pricing among them. Trying to figure it out is enough to give me a headache!

Not that I'm complaining, though. It's super fun to look at all the things out there, and it's exciting to start planning!

I guess that's it for now! Stay tuned for more awesomeness and randomness!

What's in a name?

You might be wondering to yourself, "Wow, that sure is an interesting name for a blog... what does that mean?" Well, I chose the title for several reasons.

First, I wanted something catchy and cute. I think that my title fits the bill pretty well. This is totally a matter of personal opinion, and so if you disagree with me, feel free to call someone who cares ;-)

Second, if any of you out there are fans of the Dave Matthews Band, you will recognize my title as a line from Rapunzel. One of the first things that I learned about my Matthew was that he is a huge DMB fan. Right after we started dating, he asked me if I wanted to go see the band with him at Alpine Valley that summer.

I told him no.

After reconsidering for a bit, I rather reluctantly accepted his invitation, telling him that he only had a few months to get me to like this band of his. Well, he took this task very seriously and proceeded to loan me all of his Dave Matthews dvds and cds. He even made me watch a documentary on them (not recommended, by the way... it was completely boring, and he wouldn't even watch it himself!). I started listening to their music and watching their concerts. It didn't take me too long to start enjoying it, and I became hooked.

But why this particular line? And what does it have to do with a wedding blog?

I think that it has everything to do with a wedding... what wedding isn't full of love? Dancing? What bride doesn't pull her hair out after getting lost in thousands and thousands of possible first dance songs, searching for the perfect one?

So there you have it. Just some of my thoughts, and a little background into why I chose the name I chose.

P.S. If you have absolutely no clue what I'm talking about and have never heard the song Rapunzel, here's a link to check it out. Listening is mandatory, but watching the video while doing so is entirely optional. Enjoy!

The adventure begins...

Well, not really. The adventure actually started a little over 4 years ago, when I started dating my Matthew. I had no clue back then what was going to happen when I said yes to being his girlfriend, and what crazy, amazing, wonderful things would happen on our journey together. What makes me even happier is that our journey is only just beginning!

Ok, enough of all that mushy crap :-)

This blog is going to be a way for me to document and remember all the craziness that is going to happen during the rest of our engagement, all that wedding planning, and whatever else life throws at me. Let me warn you though, my thoughts can be scattered, and mostly they'll be insignificant, so don't expect to read any type of literary work of genius here. (For that kind of stuff, you should check out my academic blog... there was some pretty cool awesomeness going on there... maybe one day I'll even add more genius!) Mainly, I hope that as I'm keeping records of this crazywonderful time in my life, anyone who reads this might be mildly amused.

Let the planning begin, and let the party ensue! Wish me luck!