Written by my sister and more perfectly stated than I ever could...
To my Grandpa,
The man who would show us the proper way to eat corn on the cob or crack a hard boiled egg.
Who sometimes when we were little, very rarely and only if we asked sweetly, would quickly pop his teeth out with his tongue and back again. Which would most assuredly make us burst into fits of laughter.
The man I would try to impress by taking a big sniff out of the horseradish jar every time it sat on the table.
The man who on Christmas Eve, dressed in his 3-piece suit, would come back from church and have a glass of sherry and show us how to crack nuts. That guy, my grandpa, the classiest guy I had ever met.
And the one who when Grandma and Bearnie had passed, took the reigns of pie-making like he had been doing it for centuries, combining interesting fruits to make the best tasting pies.
but most importantly the one who taught me strength and love, and who I will carry in my heart forever. I miss you and love you.
This time last year Carl and I had been dating about seven months and we decided to tackle a "real" Thanksgiving dinner...including our firt attempt at cooking a turkey. It ended up being the juiciest turkey either of us had ever eaten.
Fast forward to November 22, 2012 and our first Thanksgiing as a Mr. & Mrs. After a turkey juice spill, accidental spice overload and a few tense moments - we had ourselves an awesome meal!
Here are the recipes we used. Typically when we cook, we try to do most by scratch and with healthy ingredient substitutes. However, turkey day is our exception for healthy!
Becoming a W. Rules for Cooking
1. Recruit your husband to do all of the chopping & heavy-duty stirring.
2. Allow for messy hands.
3. Taste test, taste test, taste test!
Turkey
I found this recipe last year. If you like getting messy when you cook - this recipe does the trick. You can find the recipe here...in my opinion, the intense butter and the oven bag are the secret to the ABSOLUTELY PERFECT turkey.
Stuffing
Growing up I always detested stuffing. But now that I can cook my own, I've realized that I love fruit-based stuffings. This one is my favorite that I've tried so far. So tasty - get the recipe here.
Tator Tot Casserole
This recipe has a lot of memories behind it. It is my dad's recipe for a common dinner in my parent's household while I was growing up. I really never liked it as a child...probably because the word "casserole" was in the name.
But man oh man, Carl and I LOVED this! Here's my dad's recipe: NOTE: The dish in this photo is before it's been cooked
Ingredients:
1.5 lb ground round (We substituted ground turkey for less grease, etc.)
1 package frozen seasoned tator tots
8 ounces sour cream (We subsituted fat free)
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 can of french style green beans (We substituted fresh green beans
2 stalks of chopped celery
Shredded Mozzarella cheese
Salt & Pepper (We use just a pinch of salt when recipes call for it...avoiding salt as much as possible.)
Directions:
Brown the ground meat with chopped celery. Drain. Combine all ingredients in a large dish, saving 1/3 of the tots to top off the dish. Bake 350 degrees for one hour. Add shredded mozzarella cheese when 15 minutes remain. Eat and enjoy!
Cranberry Sauce
I always loved cranberry sauce from a can...until I began doing my own cooking from scratch. Now the canned stuff just seems wrong! This recipe is a sweet & spicy cranberry sauce. We followed the recipe and the end result was way too spicy for us - so we made another batch of cranberry sauce with nothing added and mixed it in with the spicy sauce. Now it tastes perfect and the leftovers are heavenly.
Pomegranite Rosemary Champagne
Yummo! The recipe called for Rosemary Water...we didn't have that, so we just sprinkled actual rosemary in the drink. Made the texture weird - I totally don't advise making that substitute. Other than that, it was very tasty. Recipe Here!
If you try any of these recipes, let me know how they turn out! Hope you all had as great of a Thanksgiving as I did...I mean, just look at how cute my two boys were while cooking away in the kitchen :)
It's been a little over two weeks since the "big day" and I have one hope: that I never forget the little details...including having my sister at my side through it all.
But before I get to that - let me tell you two things I took away from the wedding:
1. I FINALLY understand why all bride's dance the same. It's next to impossible to dance in that dress, especially when the corset inside is sucking you in to extremes!
2. No bride should ever sit down. Ask anyone that celebrated with us, I danced until the last song. I just kept telling myself, keep going - just one hour left. If I would've sat down, sleep would've overtaken me.
And now, onto the portion of this post that is mostly for me and my memory...hope you enjoy.
Never forget:
W. Playing bar trivia a few days before with ALL of my current and future siblings...
W. Waking up without a single nervous or anxious feeling, just excitement...
W. Saying bye to my future husband as he leaves for the hotel and giving him one last fiance hug...
W. My little sister helping me unveil my wedding dress...
W. My future brother-in-law so willingly following us girls around with a camera all day long and playing "Bike Race" on his phone during any possible downtime :) ...
W. Forcing myself to eat lunch - even though my stomach was refusing any hunger...
W. Stepping into my wedding dress and having my sister button me up...
W. Peaking out the window, watching my soon-to-be husband stepping out of the limo looking like the most handsome, sexiest man on the planet and causing my heart to jump into my throat.
W. Having the time with my sister and hoping she could feel how crucial she was to my life that day and always.
W. Dance Party USA in the back room with my sister and the cutest flower girls EVER...we call this one "Flowergirl 'tude":
W. Standing in the back room with just my dad and telling him to talk to me the whole time...
W. The feeling that I was about to enter a dream...
W. The first steps out to the crowd and the gratefulness of having my father with me as my rock and support as everyone's eyes are glued on me and me alone...
W. The immediate rush of sheer joy when I can finally see my future husband...
W. The pull of not being able to take my eyes off of him as I stand with my father...
W. The electricity that ran from me to him when I grabbed his hand...
W. My entire body literally shaking and gripping his hand so hard that he cramped...
W. The flood of emotion that ran through me when the words "Where you go, I will follow" were spoken...
W. The way my nose began to ever so slightly run when he spoke his vows to me... --weird, I know :) --
W. The moment I "accidentally" hugged and kissed him too early...
W. The sense of confidence and purpose I felt when speaking my vows...
W. And our first moment alone immediately following the ceremony - jumping into his arms, kissing him and taking our first photo as husband & wife (not exactly the best photo of us, but yet the best photo of us!):
W. The amazing food and great speeches.
W. Our first dance feeling like we were floating on air.
W. The one time in my life, not feeling like an awkward fool as the center of everyone's attention.
W. Dancing all night long, barely leaving the dance floor and loving every moment with my friends & family.
Here's a look at our wedding weekend leading up to the actual wedding ceremony. Thanks to my awesome sister, Amy, for putting the video together and my awesome soon-to-be brother-in-law, Brett, for taking all of these photos.
Brings the rush of happiness and pure joy to us all over again...
This is a week for new experiences! Having my last single moments ever, being a wifey, forgetting that I have to include the pastor's name on the wedding program..and oh, let's not forget: getting rear-ended by another vehicle.
Ah yes, amongst the final tidbits of wedding planning and wrapping up work before I'm on vacation for 7 days, today was my turn to experience a vehicle rumble. I call it a rumble because in the grand scheme of things, it could've been way worse and no one got hurt. That's what really matters. But it still irks me a bit! :)
I've always been an awkward duck. Well, this experience didn't disappoint. And one point I hugged the other driver because I didn't know what else to do. Mind you, I am not a traditional hugger like the rest of you chickies out there. I'm much better than I used to be, but still!
And then after making small talk about the wedding and her recent cruise, the cop came back from his car and pulled me aside to give me instructions. When he was done I walked over to the woman and told her it was nice to meet her. Ugh, seriously - why am I so weird.
Anyways, like I told the woman that hit me - things could be way worse and she shouldn't let it ruin her week. So that's my motto!
Hmmm...I've been wanting a new car - maybe Carl will finally join the bandwagon :)
So six days from now, you'll have a new, official Mrs. Wierer on your hands. Here's my little recap of the rollercoaster ride since January 13, 2012:
It started with a birthday.
And followed with shaky hands, kind words and a "Are you serious?! Is this for real?!"
As we basked in the Jamaican sun for the next seven days, our close friends & family struggled to keep the news to themselves.
Back in the states, the hunt for a venue begins.
Stress ensues.
And then...finally, a 2012 date at Swig!
Dresses galore leading us back to the first very first one.
Photographers, djs, dreams, reality and more.
Money worries, stress and bits of arguing.
Happy reinforcement from family and friends.
Awesome summer visits to NYC, Miami and more.
Work stress consuming time away from wedding planning.
Final meetings with Double Platinum DJs, Swig and Photographer, Mark Hines.
Lots of blog posts.
Lots of fun.
Lots of stress.
And all worth it to bring me to where I'm at this very moment. One week away from having myself an official teammember in life.
I found this the other day. It feels very fitting...no worries, Carl agreed :)
Yesterday Carl and I decided we should probably get our marriage license. Did you know that it costs $105.00 just to apply for the license?! Thank you government for finding yet another way to take our money. You know what I say to them, "Pish Posh!"
So I went online to figure out what we needed...all the basics:
1. Birth Certificate
2. License
3. Proof of Residence (mail)
4. Social Security Card
All good...except for Carl didn't have his SS card. So he had to apply for a new one and luckily they gave him a temporary certificate. Otherwise - who knows how long it'd take to receive. Then you all would be coming to a party with some weirdos dressed in a white dress and nice suit instead of an actual wedding! :)
I had never been to the courthouse - when we pulled up it was pretty impressive. Granted, if I were pulling up for different reasons, I'd probably have had an extremely different reaction.
So we arrived to the courthouse, walked through security and headed upstairs. Basically they have you fill out a form that looks like a basic job application. It was a fairly sterile process for sure.
Once the form is completed - we had to take it to the main desk which looked like a hospital office counter. The woman helping us kept chuckling. I finally said, "Whaaaat?!!" I'm sure she probably just thought we were clearly the coolest future newlyweds she's ever met. #duh
Anyways, I didn't know we were going to have to raise our right hands and "solemnly swear" already! We even had to say "I do." It was kind of cool and I felt a little emotion rising into my throat - great, just great. What does that mean for me on October 27th?!
So it's official. We signed the marriage license application & will pick up the actual license next week!
In case you didn't know, we are just under three weeks away from introducing a new Mrs. Wierer to the world. (that's me, in case you were wondering!)
The nine months since we were first engaged, we have encountered a ton of event vendors. Some good, some really weird and some just plain idiotic. I really feel like we landed on some great peeps to help make our wedding day go as planned.
Oh and if weren't yet aware...wedding's are expensive - even when you're doing it on the "cheap"!
Take a look!
Hair
I've been going to Capricio Salon & Spa for 1.5 years now and love it! If you're looking for a kick-ass stylist - try Kim. She seriously is one of maaaaaybe two stylists in my lifetime that left me loving my hair every time I leave.
I'm excited to have her style my hair for the wedding day and have no doubt it'll look great!
He's been so easy to work with and we are very confident in his making the night run smoothly. We actually have our last meeting with him Monday night. So awesome. Here's the services we selected to use:
Uplighting
Music (unlimited)
Time-lapse video of the entire day from guest arrival to ceremony to late night dancing
Monogram Wall Light
MC responsibilities
And he's offered us great advice on how the evening could run. He had ideas we are using that I would've never thought of - we really did get way more than just a DJ from them. So far...we highly recommend Double Platinum DJ.
Manscaping
After a little convincing, I was able to get Carl to agree to a manicure for the day of the wedding. My dad will be joining him as well for a professional head shave. Their appointments are at a local men's salon: Groom.
It's a salon targeting men so I believe most of the stylists are women.I've known a few people that have gone there and liked it. I told my dad and Carl "No funny business with the hot chickies!" I have no doubt it'll be a good experience for both of them.
Photographer
Our photographer, Mark Hines, is a friend of ours and a great local photographer. We are excited to have him use his creative eye to capture real emotion from the day. He'll fit in great with our guests!
Flowers
Bah humbug. So, thinking I was a money-saving genius, I decided to DIY the wedding flowers.
Well, they looked nice enough on the kitchen table...but eventually I overdid the DIY (as I typically do) and they became a big 'ole mess. I decided to march around the house carrying the "done" bouquets and flinging my arms around. Let's just say, the bouquets didn't survive.
BUT WAIT! There is a silver lining.
Carl and I met with The Flower Lady and Loreen is creating seriously gorgeous yet simple flowers. I can't wait. My brain decided to forget about the DIY mess and lost $$. These flowers are going to be really nice. We even ordered two white balloons for our flower girls to carry. Got that idea from pinterest :)
I'll give you all updates after the wedding to let you know how the final things ended up with the vendors. No mincing words - I promise :) Funny - I suppose, if you know me - then you already know I won't hold anything back...
If you or someone you know has a wedding coming up - my advice is to set up a web site with all the details. It was so easy to build and it helped manage the RSVPs without the cost of postage.
We even sent our Save the Dates via e-mail.
Things are really starting to come together! Who would've thought my goal of being pretty much done with the planning by June would actually work. Just a few little things left now.
Also...I hope you've been practicing your dance moves. Because mine look a little like this:
Yep, our adoreable flower girls are right. Exactly 30 days from today, I will be Mrs. Wierer.
Man, that statement holds a ton of feeling. I mean, come on! 32 years of my life as "Sara Krause" are suddenly in a blink of an eye changing to "Sara Wierer." Such an odd feeling.
I've always held great pride in my last name. My father is an only child - so my sister and I are the absolute last of the Krause generation. That is CRAZY to comprehend, I mean crazy!
Here's a pic of the Krause's I grew up with. I just love these old pics. The kiddo is my dad - what a cutie.
I heard a song earlier this summer that really got me thinking
(as if I wasn't already thinking about all this). It's so right on:
I hold all the pride in the world in my last name...but then I also love that Carl chose to share his pride with me. It is a great honor and I am excited to share the last name with our future children and building that pride within them. Maybe some day I'll have a daughter that will experience these feelings and will have the opportunity to tell her about the prides of my life.
However, I'm not denying this: you are likely to see a "Krause" tattoo on my body before the wedding. Dad, when can you join me?!
If you are connected with me on Facebook, earlier this week you may have seen this post:
Planning a corporate event with 1,500 attendees AND a wedding at the same time...not my best idea. Good thing I have Starbucks as my trusty sidekick :) (specifically a Grande Double Dirty Chai)
Carl & I initially decided on an October wedding date because it was after my busy time at work. However, I realize that I may have stretched even my own multi-tasking abilities this time! Take a look at the event my work team (4 of us, to be exact) has been working on since February - it's pretty awesome and something I am always proud of: www.PDS2012.com. Take a look at the Sessions page, this shows you all of the speakers I manage. A TON of work - but so rewarding once you see the conference in action. This conference is the epitomy of the definition of teamwork - however, we each have our responsibilities...one of my favorite responsibilities is the WhozNext Technology Student Leadership Program. Check out the video, it's a pretty cool opportunity for local students:
Anyways, it's not all awesome...there's times I want to pull my hair out and scream :) But, gosh - if I didn't have those feelings, I wouldn't be me. No one ever claimed I was cool and laid-back. Poor Carl, he gets to hear it when those feelings take over me. It's days like that when he usually has a homemade Pina Colada or Mojito waiting for me when I get home from work. Quick fix and I'm back to normal and ready for more planning!
Last weekend Carl had his Bachelor party in Chicago, I took advantage of the time alone and had my dress fitting. My trusty sidekick, Abbey, came along for the ride. We went empty-handed, but returned with, *gasp*...a part of my dress riiiiipped out!
Little secret for any bride-to-be: Your dress may have one price when you order it...but then they add the alterations price...and THEN if you have any "special" alterations...they add $200 more! But really, a little extra $$ to have a dress that looks like this for the wedding day? No big deal and totally worth it:
And now you ask yourself: Is she kidding or is she serious? I guess you'll just have to see on October 27th.
About a week ago, I decided I'd try a make-up trial for the wedding.
No. No. No. I looked like a drag queen.
When I described what I wanted…I told her Audrey Hepburn cat-eye - muted and not dramatic.
I also explained to her that I don’t typically wear a ton of make-up and do not want a ton on for the wedding – just want to look a little nicer than my every day.
In lovely list form I’ll tell you what she did:
1. She drew eyebrows for me so that the lower part met where my eye lashes ended and she used a super dark, dark, dark brown. It was mortifying.
2. She lined my lips with a pretty pink and then put a frosted color over the top – but leaving the lip liner on the outside…..OUTSIDE lining my lips. I looked like I was from the late 80’s/early 90’s.
3. I told her I wanted a matte, nude eye shadow with a focus on eye liner and lashes. Well, she used a dark gray sparkly shadow on the upper portion of my eyelids UP. TO. MY. EYEBROW line. Then she took a stark white sparkly shadow and filled in the rest – including down the sides of my nose. Then she proceeded to rim MY ENTIRE CIRCUMFERENCE of my eyes with black…and thick.
4. The only part I liked were the eyelashes…which I am fully capable of doing myself.
Worse yet!! My make-up chair was facing everyone. I didn’t get to see the make-up until she was completely finished. So there I am, thinking I looked great and wasn’t really all that embarrassed that EVERYONE was watching what was going on….until B.O.O.M. she shows me the mirror and it takes every mental, emotional and physical bone in my body to not cry, laugh or just emotionally explode – maybe even give her a little punch. I looked like a clown and my ego was smashed to the ground! I politely said, “it’s just a bit dramatic and intense.”
Some days it's easy to forget but then after a brief moment of reflecting...or daydreaming...or simply avoiding that co-worker's e-mail (you know, the one who N.E.V.E.R. reads your entire e-mail before replying with utterly unnecessary questions) - oops, I slightly digressed there. Anyways, after just a second of thinking about it - it's easy to remember all the awesome people in my life.
Sister, Sister! Last Thursday my sister flew in from Brooklyn for the long weekend. My world always feels perfect when my sister, Carl and I are all in the same town together. Unfortunately, I had to work Thursday. No worries though, Carl & Amy both were generous enough to send me pics of their lunch at AJ Bombers. Whatever...WHAT. EVER. Great, just thinking about it makes me hungry for their burger with peanut butter on it. Heavenly.
Friday was my Milwaukee bachelorette party. I didn't really want a full-blown extravaganza - but my friends and sister planned an evening of fun that was an exciting surprise!
Meeting at my house, we drove downtown to a surprise hotel room at The Pfister. Yeah, we know - we're fancy. After dinner at Cubanitas they surprised me with a bar crawl of all the bars I frequented as a 21 year old. #Awesome
Saturday we woke up with a bit of a headache. But nothing a little Advil couldn't help! By 9:00 AM my sister and I were dressed and driving two hours north for our cousin's wedding. It was so great seeing our entire family all together again! Very few things beat dancing the night away and laughing with family.
This is my cousin that got married. Well, it's him about 18ish years ago. Him & his sister were such cutie pies :)
Finishing the weekend back in Milwaukee by just hanging out with my sister was the perfect holiday weekend wrap-up.
Just 53 days until the wedding...suppose I should start focusing on wrapping the planning things up!
As many of you know by now, I've tried making the wedding info & RSVP as cost-effective and automated as possible. Save the Date e-mails, online RSVPs and, well, basically online everything!
There's this little item on our wedding web site that allows you to submit a music request. I know, I know...bombtastic.
We've had a few requests, however if you want to dance and don't see your favorites here - then get submitting!
Here's a glimpse at a few we've received thus far:
Bloggers get a summer vacation too, right? Ah, good - that's what I thought!
A lot has occured since my last post. First things first, congratulations to my totally amazing and fabulous sister and her new fiance. Those two are great together and I couldn't be more excited! She's my heart & soul and I'm ecstatic to see her so happy.
And now...let update central begin!
Wedding Registry
March was just the beginning. Since our initial registry day, I do believe it has evolved and will probably continue to evolve until the wedding day. And by "evolve," I mean me continually removing items and adding new items. I tell ya, it's a fun way to shop without spending any money! Carl doesn't really get it...but I know he's pleased with the fact that it keeps me from actual $$ spending :)
Dessert
After selecting our dinner menu, we had to put some thought into what we wanted for the dessert. Knowing neither of us are huge cake fans - it was easy to rule that out. H.O.W.E.V.E.R. the difficult part comes down to this one fact:
**My love in life, besides shoes & cheese, is dessert.**
Seriously, how is a girl supposed to narrow something so wonderful down to just one itty bitty thing?!! My dream dessert would actually be an all dessert wedding with no actual dinner. That would be just heavenly.
After more thought, Carl & I narrowed dessert down to our mutual taste for cheesecake. Our dessert will be set up in tiers with a 6-inch vanilla cheesecake on the top tier and mini cheesecake bites on the next two tiers.
And then...
I met with the dessert chef and discussed one of my favorite childhood memories with her and she was able to relay that into a special, unique dessert that I am so excited to share with everyone. This one is staying a surprise - but I just love it. Look for it on the bottom tier of the desserts :) Yummo!
Showers Galore
Going into this whole wedding thing, I wanted to play it low-key and that also included avoiding any type of shower charade. Well...I've had two engagement party/wedding showers and they were both very pleasant surprises. To be honest, I struggle a bit with being the sole center of attention, it's a bit awkward. However, everyone has been so wonderful and Carl & I have been super stoked to get the families aquainted. We're both so lucky to have such awesome people around us...even IF we had to feed each other cake in front of my entire family :)
Special "cheers" to all the awesome family friends I met this past weekend. Talk about a great group of people that made me feel instantly connected. So great.
Wedding Dress Worries...Pish Posh
Back in July, my wedding dress came in. So my friend Abbey, her awesome, awesome mother and I went to try it on. It had been so long since I first ordered it that I had begun to worry the dress would be too large to alter or worse yet - ugly!
We arrived in the parking lot and were greeted by the Abbey's mom's bright smile. After a few hugs, we walked in and they brought my dress out. Seeing it again reminded me how much I liked it...but then, I tried it on and decided I never ever wanted to take it off. I felt like I did the day Carl proposed to me...I hope I feel that way periodically throughout my life as Mrs. Wierer :) So happy that I can feel it in my bones from my toes to my fingers to the top of my head!
Flowers
Sooooo...I've been going back & forth on what to do about flowers. Being in October, any flower I actually like wouldn't be in season. What to do? One day I was at a craft store looking for materials to make our flower girls floral crowns. Oh by the way, we are going to have THE CUTEST flower girls ever. Hannah & Alice have adoreable personalities and add that to cute headbands, cute dresses that they are picking out and two white heart balloons and you have cute overload. I promise you this.
Anyways, getting back on topic - I was at the craft store and started playing around with flowers. By 9:00 PM that night, I had a bridal bouquet and maid-of-honor bouquet made! Saved tons of money, got exactly the type of flowers I wanted and have a forever keepsake. Done and done!
The Look Ahead
Recently, I've been concerned with my vision of the wedding. I really want it to be just a laid-back day with our closest family & friends. I decided to do minimal decorating and have mostly focused on food and music. Sometimes I wonder if it's better to be like other brides and have everyone matching, lots of decor and tons of details.
Carl assures me we will love it. Sidenote: But he has to say that! He's the fiance!
In reality, I know it's going to be a great day and, much to my dismay, I've already shed some happy tears in front of groups of peope (think wedding showers)...I can just imagine the happy tears that are yet to come. Ugh, what is happening to "tough" Sara!?!
To you, maybe May 7th is the day you decided to cook your family a homemade meatloaf. Or maybe it's the day you had to pay off that massive bill that's been annoying you for months.
Well, for me - it's the day I met Carl :) I don't get sappy much - but here you go! May 7th is what could be considered the best day of my life so far.
This past year has been pretty awesome. It definitely was more than I ever really even knew was possible. I always had this internal goal of finding someone that would duplicate the love I saw between my grandparents...strangely enough, I fell into that one year ago today.
I couldn't ask for more. I'm super happy and totally excited for everyone to join us in October for an evening of fun and great memories!
That's all for now. Just a little tidbit for those of you that care :)
NOTE TO ALL MY READERS: I was recently made aware that some of you may not know that any words that appear in green on my blog are actually links. Please remember to click the links in my posts! If you don't, you'll miss out on some awesome youtube clips and even an amazing photo of a real-life Home Depot wedding! So, remember - after reading each post, don't forget to click the green words. That's all :) Thanks for reading!
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Holy Moly! Carl & I recently agreed we've never been this busy...ever.
Since my last post, we've done the food tasting, chosen our menu, redid the entire first floor of our house, started our wedding registry, narrowed down our photographer and chose our MC/DJ!
Food Tasting Swig knows how to do a menu preview right! Not knowing what to expect, Carl & I arrived and were greeted by the event planner and taken to our own table (set exactly how it will be at our wedding)w/nametags, single-flower centerpiece and black linen atop a dark wooden table.
About 5 minutes after sitting, the servers brought each of us a full, tall signature cocktail. It was an awesome pineapple infused vodka. Kind of reminded us of our trip to Jamaica. We were then instructed to head into the front room where we could try TONS of food and 6 different wines. We tried everything...for those of you that know me, you will be shocked to know that I even tried the shrimp & mozzarella stuffed mushrooms. You will see these on the menu - they were heavenly!
I could tell you more about the menu, but then that'd be one less surprise for you later. So until then, I'll leave you with a photo to help your imagination:
Wedding Registry
This was like an ultimate shopping spree! Well, let me clarify - my ultimate shopping spree would have included a new wardrobe & shoes as well :) I never knew hearing the barcode beep of a product would ever sound so cool. I'm thinking I may start my own business registering couples all day long - it's like vicarious shopping!
MC
Tonight we booked our DJ! We started out not really knowing if we even wanted a DJ. We knew we wanted lots of dancing and a great party - but we didn't know if the $$ would be worth it. I spoke with a few DJ's and the majority of them came across extremely sleezy...picture for yourself a young male with his shirt unbuttoned just a tad too low and, for extra measure, a little shine added to his chest. I'm not kidding. AWFUL!
Well tonight we met with Double Platinum DJ Service, LLC. Right off the bat, the owner, Bill, greeted us at the door and was very approachable. Zero pressure, just a comfortable meet & greet to discuss our thoughts and his. After leaving, Carl & I decided (before we even got in the car) that we found our wedding MC!
Not only did Bill have great suggestions, but he also made us feel confident that our fun evening will run smoothly with no need for us to manage it all night long. If you want to get a better idea on what they do & their personality, check out their blog!
Over my lunch hour today, I visited a travel agent. I told her our honeymoon ideas...then I told her our budget. She practically choked on her own laughter.
Good thing I don't offend easily! Ahh yes, my imagination vs my reality is quite humbling...
On top of planning the wedding, we are also working on a few house updates. We are trying to make small, budget-concious updates that will give the house a little facelift. After all the business we are giving them, I'm pretty sure Home Depot will be willing to sponsor our wedding. Just picture it.
Here's what we've done so far:
1. Painted the master bedroom walls & trim and Carl redid the walk-in closet so it could hold my ridiculous (but clearly highly crucial) quantity of shoes.
We now have beautifully built floor-to-ceiling shelves and plenty of hanging space.
2. Ripped down the bathroom's moss green wainscoating that came with the house. I believe this was Carl's first realization that I have little fear in making home updates :) . It got to a point where Carl needed to help me. Let's just say, my wall ripping down skills aren't ready for HGTV.
Once the wainscoating was eliminated, Carl sanded the wall down and we painted it a new, cheery color and put up new light fixtures. BUT THEN! The faucet looked awful next to the new light fixtures...so Carl became a sink plumbing expert. It may have taken him longer than he wanted; but I was pretty impressed by his rugged, plumber ways. It looks great!
3. Updated the kitchen by repainting it and removing the upper cabinet doors. I saw something on Martha Stewart's web site (oh yes, I'm such a homemaker) that said you could 'open up' a small kitchen by utilizing the upper cabinets as shelving. Carl & I both really like how it's coming along.
When I was done painting - Carl was still fine-tuning his plumbing skills - so I decided I should rip off the old back splash tiles. I grabbed the hammer and flat head screw driver and began prying and smashing away! I was enjoying the process and that's when Carl decided he should come into the kitchen to see what was going on. We had discussed removing the tiles and had already bought a new backsplash - but I think he was startled by the "progress" I was making. After a few finger smashes and cuts, we managed to get the entire tiled backsplash off. Once we repaint the cabinets, we'll figure out how to get the new backsplash up...I think the word "cauk" is involved. But who knows :)
A little music to sing along with, some pizza to eat and raggy clothing all make this a very enjoyable process - even with the moments of plumbing and wall ripping frustrations! We have a lot more we want to do and are excited for the end result. I'm pretty sure Carl's brother thinks we're insane - especially right now with the mess that's in the kitchen :)
At the end of all this, maybe we'll start our own remodeling business. #Genius
This past week has been a crazy one! My sister flew into town Saturday evening for a weekend full of wedding stuff...and some annual Brewfest fun.
Day 1
Had some fun with Amy & Carl at Roots Wine & Cellar. This space is amazing and if it had a larger capacity downstairs, we would've totally loved to have the wedding & reception here! If you're looking for a unique reception venue, check it out.
Instead we settled for good company, drinks, appetizers and an engagement photo warm-up session.
Day 2
Sunday morning we got up early to begin our engagement photo shoot. Amy volunteered her expertise and creative eye! We started down by the lakefront to catch the sunrise. Then, for about 2.5 hours, we strolled around Milwaukee's Third Ward grabbing photos whenever the moment struck.
Since Amy didn't give us fancy robes --tsk, tsk Amy-- to wear between shots, Carl & I had to brave the frosty air - eventually getting to the point of numb toes & ears. It was a ton of fun and worth the icy temps! I have no doubt the photos will be great.
Day 4 NOTE: I'd offer up more detail here, however Carl will likely be reading this :)
Monday we hit the bridal boutiques. We started at the Bridal Event in Appleton. Not the best web site, but definitely a great selection and experience - Beth was amazing and made us feel incredibly comfortable. I'm guessing I tried on 15-20 dresses here; some were outrageously hideous and others were simply beautiful. We spent about 2 hours there.
After that we visited Gigi's in Mequon. Upon arrival, they asked me to fill out an information card. As I was filling in my name and e-mail, I noticed the last question on the card:
"Your dress budget is: $10,000+, $5,000-$10,000 or $2,000-$5,000."
I almost fell off my chair before I circled $2,000 - $5,000. When I went back to the waiting area, the first thing I said to Amy was, "We'll be playing dress up here...just go with it."
Needless to say, I felt like Barbie and the woman helping us was wonderful. Wouldn't you figure, I fell in LOVE with one of the dresses...even tried it on 3 times while we were there. At one point I looked at Amy and said, "What am I gonna do?" Being my level-headed partner of the day, she responded, "You're not going to get it. Let's go."
Ahh, she was right.
Next we did a quick Bing search for Milwaukee bridal salons and found a small one in West Allis. We walked in and it was incredibly small - great! More personalized attention. Nope.
Amy ended up helping me get into each dress. Once I was in the dress, she had to figure out how to clip them to be my size. You know what the store supplied us with? Chip clips. Yep, you heard me.
I wonder what the saleswoman was thinking when she heard Amy and I giggling incessantly in our dressing room :)
We ended the day with a visit to David's Bridal. Wow - I am so glad I visited the nicer boutiques earlier in the day. If I would have started with David's Bridal, I would have been so annoyed by everything. Our David's Bridal "consultant" was more like a used car salesman. She was awful! She kept saying, "I know what you want." I had to literally force her to let me try on the dresses I picked out. It was ridiculous. It irritates me now just thinking about it.
Looking at all four places we visited, we really did have tons of fun. I wouldn't mind wedding dress shopping with my sister once every year!
In the end, we narrowed it down to two dresses. Both were gorgeous yet completely different from one another - almost opposites. I was trying to decide which one made me feel the best but also would please Carl. My future mother-in-law gave me some wise words of advice: "Pick which one makes YOU feel special. If you love it, Carl will love it!"
So what we thought was the perfect venue...may not be?
We've been working with the event planner for our "perfect" venue...or more like I've been leading her. Since a portion of my day job is event planning, I have a pretty good handle of what is needed. We figured me having to take charge with this woman would be worth it since the place is so great.
Tonight we had a meeting set up with her and were ready to hand over our signatures and money...she didn't show up!
Hello woman, figure it out. With technology today, a simple text, e-mail or phone call could have made it easy to reschedule. We're probably more confused than frustrated. Well, maybe frustrated too :)
Anyways - the search continues. If anyone has any interesting loft-style venue ideas, send them our way!
Man oh man. I just started this whole wedding planning thing and I was already prepared to throw my arms in the air and elope. Like, seriously elope. I was trying to figure out how I could convince Carl to think eloping was a good idea. But, being the level-headed one (sometimes) between us, he kept reminding me that down the road I would regret not celebrating with my family and close friends. I suppose he's right...just don't tell him I said that :)
With my work schedule, work consumes my life from June - September. As a result, I really wanted/needed us to nail down a wedding venue & date as soon as possible. We both knew we wanted it this year and in October. I figured this would be simple. I feel as though someone should have pulled the whole 90's expression on me: Yo Sara, picking your venue will be a cinch...NOT!
DREAMS + REALITY
We started with these venues. Each had something we liked - but none left us feeling excited.
Coast Restaurant - Classy. Not a ton of unique character. Just classy and way out of our budget. Dang it, why are we not rich! Whatever, it was kind of boring anyways. Photo Property of Coast Milwaukee
Grafton Ale House - Lots of character...awesome wood beams, cool outdoor patio and super budget-concious. But we were a bit concerned about the casual bar atmosphere downplaying the fact that this is such a big day in our lives. Photo property of Milwaukee Ale House
PERFECTION
Today I was really feeling unenthused about the whole venue selection. My friend Abbey made a comment about her wedding and how when she visited the venue, she just knew it was the place. Well, tonight - I felt what she was talking about.
This place is soooooo amazing. It combines what we liked about all of the venues we visited! Carl & I didn't even have to discuss it - it was just apparent in both of us. Not only was the venue full of character, but it also was intimate and classy. Minimal decorations will be needed - the space seriously speaks for itself.
Here's a pic from their web site...I'm not telling you where it is just yet :)
If this place pans out...you are going to have a blast at our wedding. #Fact.
