Weddingmoon - the wedding

Giselle came to get us in our room around 3 pm. There were brief showers every afternoon. The only day it didn't rain all week long was the day of our wedding; Hooray for us! Our minister had such a soothing voice and our cake was probably the best cake I've ever had in my life. We had them wrap it up and we ate on it all week. Below are just a few of our photos.

That evening, after the wedding festivities, we had a private candlelit dinner on the beach. It was so romantic! My camera doesn't take good night photos but Joe got a few that I may post later. Our menu was: thai style fish cakes, crunchy garden greens, surf & turf of lobster tail and grilled chicken breast and mousse au chocolat for dessert. Yum!!

(Funny side story. At the end of our picture-taking and videotaping, they had us walk all the way down the beach so they could get a shot of us from behind walking off together...well we were already on the edge of our beach/resort and we had to keep walking...all the way past the nude beach. Maybe you had to be there but it was kind of funny in the moment. We just kept looking straight ahead!)

Teaser

Joe and I thought we'd post a teaser photo for now until we get back to Chicago this weekend. Enjoy!

Weddingmoon

Joe and I are off for our weddingmoon early in the a.m. I'm currently working on packing and laundry and can't wait to share with you all of our pictures and memories next week when we return. Thanks to everyone for all the well wishes!

P.S. I found my address book! It was lodged up underneath one of the drawers of my coffee table (where I'd checked for it no less than 20 times). Hooray!

Amber's sense of humor

Bachelorette Party

I had such a good time with the girls last night. We went to my favorite pizza spot (one of my favorite spots in general) and then out for some more fun. (Dorian has some great video that I need to get!)

It all went down hill from here.
Pretty in pink.
Sara, Amber and Diane (also known as the life of the party).
Monica and Kimmy.
Cristin and Robin.

Meagan, me and Meggan.
Me, Meera, Dorian and Ellen.

Taina and Micah.

Beach party!

My wonderful friends from church threw me a shower today. It was an island paradise and so much fun! The beautiful hostesses (Michelle, Taina, Linda and Sharita).
My sea shell cake. Check out all this delicious food!
Me and Taina
My niece, Adyson came for the festivities, too. (Check out those jellie shoes.)
Taina and Adyson

For fun

Cristin gave me this hilarious card last weekend. I thought it was too cute to not share.

She had been in New York City the day before and picked up a new driver's license for me which was tacked to the inside of the card. How fun is that?

P is for picnic

The gals at work had a get-together in my honor tonight. Check out this awesome picnic basket.
Looks like just the thing for movies in the park or other fun Chicago adventures.
Back row, left to right: Christy, Karen, Cristin. Front row, left to right: Debby, Debbie and me.

Showered with love

My friends and family had a shower for me today in my hometown. It was such a great day and I am so blessed with such true and amazing friends. Below are just a few of the highlights.
Me, my sister Cathy (co-hostess), Baby Adyson and my mom
Me and Jo Ann (Joe's mom)
Monica, me and Breanne
Me and Meagan

Amber (co-hostess) and me

Nat and me

Joe came to eat cake and pack up the car.

My first party

My friends (who also just happen to be former coworkers) decided to host a bridal shower/gathering for me tonight. How nice was that? I had an absolutely wonderful time catching up. Thank you!

Side note: It's amazing how you can spend so much time with coworkers. You will probably end up spending more time with these people than you do your other friends, family members or significant other. I have been so blessed in my life, so far, to count my coworkers (current and former) amongst my list of friends and am so pleased that we still keep in touch. I couldn't imagine it any other way!

Back row, left to right: Tiffany, Becky and Bonni. Front Row, left to right: Linda, Jennifer, Barb and me.

"Love makes a house a home" plaque from Becky. (You will have to excuse the not-so-amazing hair but it was windy!)

"Never forget to kiss each other goodnight" platter from Barb.

Wedding checklist

With just a couple months left until the big day (two months from Wednesday!) I'm starting to get lots of things settled.

• Shoes. Today I finally bought wedding shoes. I had been looking for cute ivory sandals to wear and today I found the perfect pair. Even though we're getting married on the beach, and I'll likely be barefoot, I still wanted cute ivory sandals that match my dress to wear around the resort, to dinner that evening and in any off-beach photos we take.
• Cute ivory purse. I found said purse while buying the shoes. And, yes, I needed a coordinating purse for my beachfront wedding. Why not?
• Swimsuit. About three weeks ago I bought my swimsuit. Why swimsuits are so expensive for so little fabric I'll never know. I went ahead and splurged for this one...it actually fit and made me feel (and look) thin. I am embarrassed to admit that it cost six and a half times what my shoes cost. But it is my honeymoon, right?
• Swimsuit coverup. Cute, simple, cheap. (Not the coordinating one they tried to sell me with my suit for an extra $75. No thank you.)
• Music. This is one of those things that I do NOT get to cross off my list. We have the option of having traditional wedding music played during the ceremony or we can bring our own. I told Joe today that I wanted to play the Alison Krauss song, "When You Say Nothing at All." My clueless fiance looked up the song on iTunes while we were on the phone together. Next thing I know, he was mumbling something about purple blue jeans, gun racks and the NRA. Then I told him to look up, "Feels Like Home" by Chantal Kreviazuk. After this one, he started laughing. Sigh. Any ideas? (This means you, Nichole.) I think he'd probably give into me but at this point we'd probably both start laughing during the ceremony...I also think they'll use the songs we choose for our wedding dvd.

Check

All wedding paperwork has been officially sent off and is currently en route to Florida and then once approved on to Jamaica. Sigh.

Feeling better

Already, Joe and I have finished registering, picked out wedding bands (one with lots of little, sparkly diamonds for me!) and we've had notarized copies of our birth certificates made so we can file our paperwork for our marriage license in Jamaica. We even took in a movie this afternoon and saw Redbelt. I can't remember the last time I went to a movie knowing nothing about it beforehand. I wasn't very excited to go but I ended up really, really liking it. Our photographer also called us this morning to see if we can reschedule our pictures at an earlier time tomorrow in order to try and beat the thunderstorms...I still have lots to do but I'm definitely feeling better.

Wedding plans

I'm getting married three months from today! Joe and I have set our plans. We will be leaving for Negril, Jamaica on July 26 and after obeying the two-day waiting period, we'll be married on July 28 and will come home to Chicago on August 1.

New versus old

Over the weekend, Joe and I went over items we will need and want for our new household together. In the process, I started thinking about furniture I can live without, clothes I can get rid of in attempt to scale down my never-ending closet and the items I can let go of where we already have duplicates. I’ve come to the realization about how sentimental I am about most of my possessions. I guess this is part of the reason I find change so hard – I’m so sentimental.

When people marry after college or when they are much younger I think they probably each have much less. (Joe and I both have our own houses full of “stuff”, albeit mismatched stuff, but we probably both need to scale down.) Registering for items means getting new things together that maybe you’ve never had. Of course there’s plenty that I don’t have and a lot of the stuff I do have is hand-me-downs or just not ideal. For instance, I love my dishes and there’s nothing wrong with them, I just don’t have a complete set. I guess its fine for me to have six of everything because I’m just one person but ideally, I’m told, we need twelve. That makes sense. Don’t get me wrong, thinking about the new stuff is super exciting. I just know that realistically it’s silly to keep the old stuff, too, when and where it doesn’t make sense.

I was talking to a colleague today who is kind of going through the same thing. Over the weekend she moved into a much bigger, much nicer house. She should be ecstatic about the move but she said that even though it’s just across town she found herself teary-eyed and weepy last night when she went by to see her neighbor one last time before officially moving. She told me that she started sobbing in this woman’s kitchen and she said to me as a way of explaining, “I don’t like change.” My friend told me that she’s very sentimental about her house. It was the house where her children have all come home to from the hospital. There are so many memories. Even though she may like new stuff it also makes her sad to think about giving up the old. When my friend starting explaining to me her feelings, I knew she was on to something. That’s exactly how I feel.

I like my stuff. Maybe it’s not new or ideal but for the most part I like it. Giving it away (or at least some of it) may not be easy but I know it’s the right thing to do. I want Joe and me to have a fresh start with lots of new memories to come. Nevermind, getting rid of the clutter and mismatches will be so much nicer for the both of us. And Breanne says that the excitement of getting new stuff together will help ease the pain of letting go of the old. Sometimes I just wish I weren’t so sentimental…but that’s probably a good thing. It’s probably why I feel so heartfelt about my friendships and the people and places I love. I guess it’s just what makes me who I am.

I think we have a winner!

My package arrived today and inside I think we have a winner! I think I have one dress to take back and one to keep. So far, the keeper is the most "me" out of any of the other dresses I've seen or tried on. Think simple. Think Carolyn Bessette Kennedy-simple.

Not your average girl

Some people have been surprised when I tell them I am eloping. But let's face it, I'm not your average girl. I don't like the color pink, I'm still waiting for my maternal instincts to kick in and I don't want a traditional wedding.

I want the day to be just about Joe and me. I would rather spend money on a great honeymoon and trip than a wedding. And I don't need the added stress of all the hundreds of details that go into the planning for such an event.

Don't get me wrong, I think it's perfectly healthy and normal to want a traditional wedding, it's just not for me. Needless to say, I've been thinking a lot about traditions. (And don't forget to look up the origin of honeymoon because that one is pretty barbaric.) I've never understood most of them or why we do the things we do. Feeding each other cake, garters, tossing rice, etc.

I think most wedding traditions are fun and harmless. The one tradition that I have always been adamently against is the tossing of the bouquet. Call me sensitive but I don't understand why we have to herd all the single girls together so they can catch a bouquet in an attempt that they will be the next one chosen for marriage. As a long-time single gal, I always found that one to be a little insulting and embarrassing. Even more humiliating when you're vying for the bouquet with girls 13 and under. Neither I nor any of my friends ever enjoyed that tradition. Without realizing it, it's like saying that you're not okay unless you're married.

I also understand that today's giving away of the bride represents a showing of parental support for the marriage. But the original giving away of the bride comes from a time when marriage wasn't as much of a choice but the father literally gave away the bride usually in return for something. When Breanne got married she made sure, "Who gives this woman to marry this man?" wasn't a part of the ceremony. She decided by its omission to discretely take the stance that as a mature adult she was marrying Dan of her own free will.

With all that being said, my intentions aren't to offend or to dismiss the importance of tradition and the security that comes from it. I just think that sometimes we need to rethink why we do the things we do. Most importantly, you have to be true to yourself. Sometimes breaking the mold really is okay.

More about dresses

I went shopping yesterday with Meagan, Monica and Kim (in town for a special visit!) and I think I came much closer to finding a dress...or at least a style I think I'm going to go with. I have a couple more in mind that I've found online that I want to try to compare. Supposed to see Joe in a couple weeks so I think that will be a good time for us to get the rest of this wedding stuff figured out...too hard to do it all over email or the phone.

Happy Easter and Good Friday!

The perfect dress...or not.

I just had to share this wedding dress. Seriously people. Seriously. Monica says it's the wedding dress equivalent of a mullet. I concur.

Dress shopping

I went wedding dress shopping today with my mom and sister. Let me just say I found the process to be painstaking. It was long, tedious and frustrating. All those corsets, slips, zippers, hooks and padded bras. I'm exhausted just thinking about it. And why does formal wear always have to run small? Shouldn't it be the other way around? Instead of having to go up two or three extra sizes than you normally wear wouldn't it make the bride-to-be much happier to go down several extra sizes? Someone needs to rethink that and they'd probably have the market on wedding dresses. Today reaffirmed that I'm not your traditional bride and made me thankful for not having too many more decisions to make. Groom - check. Destination - check. Date and dress - not so much.