Wow!

It is four days away from the wedding. FOUR DAYS! I have never felt such an incredible mix of stress and excitement. I still cannot believe how quickly time passes. It seemed like just yesterday Matthew and I went on our first date, and now we are almost ready to walk down the aisle! There is still so much to do, but I know we will get it all done (I might not have any sanity left to speak of, though!)

Pulling the final details together is bittersweet for me; I am so excited to start my new life with Matthew, but it's also hard to pack up everything at my parents' house and know that I am leaving. Everything I do with my siblings reminds me that it's the "last time" we get to do this before I move out. It's such a weird feeling.

Anyway, I am not sure if I will have time to post or not before the big day, so if you don't hear from me, just assume I am sitting on a beach somewhere regaining my sanity. :)

Can I be honest?

Oh my goodness... we are 17 days away from the wedding! I still can't get over how close it really is! I'm really starting to geek out about it!

But can we pause for just a moment while I'm being completely honest?



Thanks.


Ok, here goes. I really hate it when people ask me if I am stressed about the wedding. No offense to all y'all who have asked me, but it's a REALLY STUPID QUESTION!

"Why?" you may ask.

Well, because when you ask me that question, I want to smack you on the forehead and say "No duh!"

Not only have I had the MOST STRESSFUL semester in college EVER, but I also am planning the wedding of the decade (not counting the prince and Kate).

I was student teaching. I had my own classes to attend every night. I worked on weekends. And I had a wedding to plan.

You tell me if you think I should be stressed or not.

I mean really, if I wasn't stressed about it, there might be something wrong with me. Stress can be good. Stress (and about a zillion cups of coffee) has been what helped me make it through the past four months of H-E-double-hockey-sticks!

So when you ask me, "Hey, do you have everything done?", my answer will always be NO. I probably won't have things done even after the wedding is over. That's just the way life is.

I don't say this to be mean, but I'm just getting very tired of that question. It's like when we first got engaged and everyone asked the question, "So, have you two picked out a date yet?"

"Yes. But I'm not going to tell you!" is what I really wanted to answer. So I'd say, "Oh, not yet!"

These are honest thoughts from an honest, and stressed-out, bride.



Thanks for allowing me to be completely honest. Pause is officially over.

Mobile app, among other things...

Hello! I am so excited... We are down to less than 50 days before the wedding! Wow, is time going by quickly! It's almost Thanksgiving!

I've become more mobile with my blogger site; I've downloaded the iPhone app, and so maybe I can post more often!

So much has happened, I don't know where to begin!

First, Matthew and I got our engagement pictures taken. We booked the amazing A&A Photography (they were the folks who did Matthew's sister's wedding last year). They turned out wonderfully! Can't wait to show you all the pics, but for the meantime, there is a preview below.

Second, I FINALLY got my invitations out! After hours and hours and hours of work, they turned out great! We printed them ourselves.

Also, this past week was my bridal shower! My mom and sisters did an amazing job, and I felt so loved and blessed by everyone there (and even a few who couldn't make it)! Next job: finish my thank-you notes!

Finally, Matthew and I are starting to get the house ready for when I move in. We want to paint both the bedroom and the office, and so today we took off old wallpaper to get the project started. Tomorrow, we will patch the walls up and begin painting! I feel so grown-up doing house things! Yes, I know; I'm a dork!

I think that's about it for wedding updates... So many other things have happened, but I just don't have the time to tell you everything. This will have to do for now. Hope to update you soon!

So long, Summer!

The last time I posted was at the beginning of June. It is now near the end of August. I know, I know... there are three months missing! What is going on?

I've been a little busy... that's all.

For starters, I've been working almost nonstop since school ended last semester. There have been a lot of personnel changes at my job, and it's been crazy keeping up with everything that is now different than it was. There are lots of new people to train, and lots of old ones to deal with (you know who you are!).

I've also been busy working on the wedding! 142 days to go, and boy, is it going by fast! It's almost down to four months left of this craziness!

What have I done?

Matthew and I have almost finished all the "big" things that we need to plan. A few weeks ago, I took my bridesmaids dress shopping, and I picked out their dress. Let me tell you, I have the absolute BEST bridesmaids EVER! For one, they were all sweet enough to show up to try the dress on at the same time. A special thank you to my sister-in-law Sarah who came all the way down from Minneapolis to go with us! Second, my girls are the best because they all told me they liked the dress... which was a big relief! Third, we were in and out of the store within an hour! It was the most pain-less dress shopping experience of my life... I am blessed to have such wonderful girls standing up with me!

Here are all my beautiful ladies trying on some dresses:


My gorgeous maid of honor, Abigail!



This week, Matthew and I also finalized our guest list (I think!). That's a big relief! Now we just need to compile addresses....

Finally, this week, Matthew and I started our registries! It was so much fun going into the stores and picking out the things for our future home. Also, the gifts and coupons that we got for setting the registry up wasn't bad either!

Here is Matthew having fun with the registry gun:




On Sunday, we are going to go pick out the suits/tuxes for the guys, and help Matthew figure out what he wants to wear!

Also this week, I hopefully will be able to finalize what I want to do with the centerpieces for the tables. I'm working on a vase situation (will they be big enough for what I want?!), and I'll keep you posted.

That's all for now... I promise that my updates won't be so far apart from now on! The big day is coming up soon!

weddings and shoes and dresses... OH MY!

Hello everyone! It has been a busy month! I can't believe it's already June 6th! 215 days to go!

So much has happened since the last time I updated you. I don't know where to begin!

First, a huge congratulations to my friends Dana and Dan who got married over the weekend. They've been together for over 10 years! I am so happy for you two, and I hope you have a long and happy marriage! Here is a pic of me and my girls from that day...



It was a wonderful wedding, and I felt very honored to be a part of their special day!


It's crazy how time is going by so quickly... within the past month, Matthew and I have actually worked on quite a bit for our wedding! We purchased invitations (thank you Michael's coupons!), met with the photographer we want, and started counseling... but that's not all!

I have been looking for the perfect pair of shoes to wear for months.... I wanted something that was closed-toe (winter wedding!) and did not have an extremely high heel so I could be comfortable all day. Finally, I found a shoe that I loved, but it was in black in the store. So I decided to take a look online to see if it came in white. Not only did it come in white, but it was $30 less to purchase it online than in the store! Combine that with a 20% off coupon that I got for giving out my email address, and my shoes came to 50% off what I would have paid in the store... including shipping! They arrived last week Thursday, just in time for me to go dress shopping this past Saturday!

Which brings me to my last piece of big news... I found my dress!

Maybe I didn't say it loud enough...

I FOUND MY DRESS!!!!

After trying three different stores and dozens of gowns, I finally found it. It's very different than the first dress that I thought I loved, but it's so much better. I am so excited! Here is a picture:



Ha! Did you actually think that I would post a picture of my dress? You're crazy! I will tell you that the dress is under this giant white fluffy cape, but you won't see it until my wedding day! Nevertheless, let me assure you that I am so excited and happy with this dress! Once I put that one on, I didn't want to take it off! I can't wait for it to arrive so I can wear it again! I also feel a huge sense of relief off of my shoulders now that I have a dress. Everything else can fall into place.

Next on the list? Bridesmaid dresses... ;-)

P.S. Happy birthday to my bff (and bridesmaid) Lisa! (She's the girl in the blue in the first pic). Love ya!

Happy May!

Hello everyone! It's may 1! Happy May 1! The sun was bright today and it was b.e.a.u.t.i.f.u.l. outside! Maybe this Wisconsin winter is finally over! (Knock on wood!)

After several weeks, I finally have a few wedding updates to tell y'all about. Life has been so crazy lately! Not only am I in school full-time, but I am working about 36ish hours a week. I feel like between creating lesson plans, presentations, and running around at work, I barely have any time to myself!

First, I went to go try on a few more dresses. I went back to the original store where I tried on THE DRESS, but I wanted to be absolutely sure. After trying on many more dresses, I think that I've decided I still want that one. So did I get it? Not quite. But, I am able to place the order over the phone at any time, and while I was there, they did measure me and tell me which size to order it in.

Why the hesitation? To be completely honest, I'm not quite sure myself. I found a dress I love, but I really, really, really want to be sure it's still THE DRESS. I think there are one or two more stores that I want to quickly take a look at, and if I am still sure after that, then I will go through with it and place the order.

I am a weirdo. I know. But for me, the dress is the biggest deal. I want to make sure it's perfect.

Speaking of perfect dresses, I absolutely loved Kate's dress. I'd totally wear that, especially for a January wedding! If I were thinner (and if I actually knew her), I would totally ask to borrow it!

Ok, one final BIG piece of wedding news... today Matthew and I got our rings! A few days ago at work, I hit my hand on a metal drawer at work (and it really hurt!), and I took a giant chunk of metal out of my engagement ring! Since the store that Matthew purchased it from guarantees their settings, I wanted to have it checked to make sure that the stone wasn't loose or the prongs were bent. Well, today we went to have it looked at, and while we were waiting we were browsing, and one thing led to another and we got our rings! I sort of had an idea about what I wanted for my wedding band, and so when we were there, we looked at what they had, and there was one particular band that went so beautifully with my engagement ring setting that I knew it was the one! The downside? I have to wait 251 days to wear it! I can't even completely try it on, because it needs to be sized up! Darn you, fat, German fingers of mine!

Anyway, the ring is sitting in an undisclosed location patiently waiting for me. I am so antsy! I want to wear it!

Why couldn't dress shopping be as easy as finding my ring?

That's all for now! Maybe I will put pictures of my new bling next time!

It's starting to hit me...

I cannot believe how quickly time has flown!

303 days.
303 days...
303 days!

303 days until I get to marry my best friend.

303 days until I no longer have to say goodnight via phone calls every single night.

303 days until I am able to come home at the end of a long day and talk face-to-face about how it went.

303 days.

I know that the majority of the things I've written about has been about all the excitement and "hype" (if you will) surrounding the planning of my wedding. But, I really, truly, honestly cannot wait for all the days that are going to come afterward.

In less than a month, Matthew and I are going to celebrate 5 years of being together. 5 years! It really doesn't feel like it's been that long. There has been so much that has happened in that time- so many adventures and memories! It makes me even more excited to think that all those adventures and memories happened before we got married, and that there are going to be so many more! We haven't even started yet!

Much Ado...

Hey everybody!

As you can tell by my last post (and by the history of my Twitter updates), I'm a Packer fan. They're my team. While I might not be crazy enough to go and paint my face green and gold and wear a wedge of cheese on my head, I still cheer for them and watch every game. And as you probably know, the Packers won the Super Bowl! We are the champions!

What? I didn't hear you!

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!!!!

(suck it, bears and viqueens!)

Ok, in addition to watching the Super Bowl with some pretty cool people (my future sis and bro in law who were in town from MN), I also got to meet my nephew! Here is me holding baby Andrew!



So what else has been going on? Concerning the wedding, so much has been going on! Just under eleven months to go! This week, Matthew and I booked our reception site! I feel so relieved that we've locked down the place we wanted. We had gone to see it over the summer, and nothing else compared with what we wanted look-wise and budget-wise. Also, Wendy, the lady who we will be working with, is super nice. She was the only person who actually asked questions about me and Matthew when we were looking! I am very excited to have one less major thing to worry about on the wedding checklist!

Like I said before, I found my dress, but still haven't gone back to purchase it yet. Maybe soon! I'll keep you updated.

Elsewhere in my life, school started up again for the semester. (Yes, I know this is old news, because it was, like, three weeks ago, but it still feels like the semester just started.) In addition to some very interesting and informative English/Education classes, I've also journeyed into the world of online classes. I'm taking two this semester. So far, it's going just swimmingly. It's hard to remember to do the postings and tests/quizzes, but I think it can only get better... right?

Finally, I registered for the Praxis II today... I'm taking it in March, so I have a little over a month to cram! I need to take and pass this exam to be able to student teach in the fall/spring semesters of next year, so then I can graduate (finally!) and be done! Wish me luck!

I guess that's about it! Thanks for reading and at least pretending you're remotely interested in all of this!

P.S. Shoutout to Juan Carlos who always awaits my new blog posts and asks me about when the next one is arriving. Thanks dude! :-)
xoxo

Go Pack Go!

Hello from Wisconsin! If you've been following my blog at all, you may have noticed my Twitter feed to the right of the page... and if you've noticed that, no doubt you've been reading them... and if you've been reading those updates, you've probably realized that I am (like any good girl raised in Wisconsin), a Packer fan!

AND WE'RE GOING TO THE SUPERBOWL!

It's a very exciting day for me. Ever since that whole Brett Favre ordeal, I think that the Packers making it to the big show further strengthens my belief in karma... you know, "what goes around comes around..."

Brett is filing retirement papers (for the 38th time?) and we didn't need his sorry you-know-what to make it to the biggest game of the decade!

End of rant. I'm just excited. I'm sure my next blog will be nothing except wedding stuff.

P.S.- I found my wedding gown when I went shopping! I have yet to order it, but it's definitely the one!

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!

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!