Invitations On the Way!!

Well, we are putting invitations in the mail tomorrow. Please let us know if you do NOT receive one! Not to criticize our federal infrastructure, but I have not always had the best of luck with the U.S. Postal Service.

We have, as stated before, rooms blocked at the Best Western in Ashland. However, if you prefer something different, there are a number of hotels in town: Super 8, AmericInn, Hotel Chequamegon (a little pricey), The Crest Motel (inexpensive, but clean, if a little lower-tech), and a number of B&Bs to be had. Please try to "get a room" about a month to 6 weeks ahead of time, to be on the safe side; the hotel will only hold the rooms for so long.

Speaking of booking reservations and RSVPs, we would appreciate RSVPs as soon as possible; we have limited space at the reception hall, and if we have exact numbers, it will make decorating and buffet set-up much easier.

On other fronts, my dress is in, and it is fantastic! I actually feel kind of bad that I will only be able to (ostensibly) wear it once. I also have a lot of other small details taken care of, such as party favors, card box, cake server, and what the plans are for the "program." As with most things in this wedding, the "program" is nothing fancy, and I certainly hope no one feels obligated to keep it for the sake of posterity. Just recycle it, and we'll be happy.

Now that we are 3 months out, things are speeding up. If you have any ideas or suggestions, feel free to drop me a line. I especially would love to hear from you about music: we are doing playlists on the computer, so we have many options. Happy start of the summer!

Waiting, Waiting, Waiting...

Well, nothing much is too new. We did receive the shirts from Felipe Dover, however, I think they run a little small, so we are going to have to return at least one, and play around with the sizes for other people. This means waiting to see people and have them try on shirts, then send one back, and wait for a new one.

We can't really send out invitations until I am back from my vacation in New Mexico, so we have to wait to work on those.

I got part of what I need for the party favors our guests will get, but we can't do those until we have replies from people--so we'll need to wait until about July or August to make up those.

We are waiting on bike bells from the shop I work for--you'll know what those are all about soon :) So, I guess there is a little waiting for you all, too.

I am still waiting for my dress to come in. And I have to wait until July to meet with the woman who is going to braid my hair; she is up in Ashland, and I don't think I will have time to make a separate trip up there, so we wait until the Mellen bike race this summer (unless we can sneak away during the middle of the week sometime before then).

Waiting is so....time consuming! Ah, well...at least we can fill our time with biking while we wait--Hooray for warm weather!

More Previews...

Things are moving along smoothly--we have ordered shirts for the men (see left). I can not believe we found these! I am going to have my dad wear another shirt from the same company: http://www.feilpedoverdesigns.com/ (pic from their site). They have a lot of cool biking shirts! I know most of the men will appreciate that the necks will not be button-up-with-tie-to-choke-them.

We also have plum purple paper parasols for the women (try saying that 5 times fast...). It will add a splash of color to their otherwise black ensemble. Speaking of clothes, I actually found shoes to match the "aubergine" purple accents of the dress; the color could match better only if the dressmakers had manufacutured the shoes! So, I will be like Dorothy in her "borrowed" shoes--only I won't be clicking my heels claiming there is no place like home, and I have plum-colored suede clogs instead of ruby slippers. That's right: clogs of suede leather. I promise: it will all make sense when you see them in conjunction with the dress.

I have the official engagement ring, but if you want to see it, you might have to wait and see it in person; my digital camera does not want to seem to want to zoom in on it with any good focus. That, and the "sparkle factor" is somehow lost in digital transit.

The other cool thing we got recently was from Bicycle Paper Designs--that's right: the invitations are in! Take a look (right)! It is not the best picture in the world, but it gives you an idea of what to expect. These were a lot of fun to pick, and the woman who does them (Cynthia Martinez) was so helpful--especially when Pay Pal was being a royal pain in the nether regions.

Next, we sent in the contract for dinner at the Alley (the reception place). They have awesome food, and the cakes are coming from 1) The Roseville Bakery (the official "we're going to cut the cake now" cake), and 2) Connie Vanderveer, Al's girlfriend, who is making 9" rounds of four differing flavors for the individual tables. So, you'll be sure to go home with belly full of goodness!

Lastly, we ordered....cow bells. Yes, you heard right: cow bells. If you are ignorant to the cycling world, cow bells are frequently rung at the end of a race or at busy/important corners. So, we found a place to order them in bulk. After the ceremony, you will be free to "ring us in." When we get them & they are all decorated, we will post a picture.

As we near the wedding date, feel free to email me ideas of pictures you might want to see RJ & I pose for, or that make "good" wedding pictures (no, not those kinds of pictures!!). The photographer would like a list of shots we might want, aside from the candid photos he will take. Honestly, I have no idea what to ask for, aside from pics of family & friends.

Keep those cards & letters coming....!

A Few Fun Things

I figured I would post a little update on some of the fun planning details and such that guests get to enjoy, but never see until the actual wedding day.

1) We have a cake topper! See the picture; it is blown glass and is made by a guy who lives in CA. The website is: http://www.lymans.com/akiss/main.htm You can see all sorts of fun things he does. Obviously, we went for the bicycle theme (shocker, I know...)

2) We have a venue for the post-wedding open house. As some of you may know, my mother "thought it would be nice" to have a little shin-dig down in the Cities for assorted people who are not invited to the wedding, given its small size. Those of who who are invited to our wedding are also invited to this open house, of course (just keep that party rolling...). Anyhoo, it is going to be at Baker Park Near-Wilderness Area. This is part of the Three Rivers Park District, and is located near Medina, MN; it is actually in Baker Park, proper, off of Co. Rd. 24. The date for this little deal is October 11th, 2009 from 2:30-6:30 PM. You'll get a little reminder about this when the invitations arrive.

3) I should have the actual engagement ring (and pictures!) before the week is out. I have been wearing a temporary/promise ring for the last almost year; no, we were not technically engaged--just sort of unofficially engaged. We knew we were eventually going to get married; when was just a matter of decision. In any case, the "real" ring is a mix of locally sourced rails and stones, and the main body of the ring is from an artisan in Canada (I know...we keep getting stuff from our near-north neighbors). The conglomerate, custom job will be done by tomorrow, so I can post pictures soon after.

That's the latest. Nothing major...Only 5 months and counting (but I do hate to think of summer being over!)

Mapping it Out

New links! If you look to the right, you will see a couple new html links. I created these using Google Maps. One map shows the Amnicon Falls State Park area (just East of Duluth-Superior--AKA The Twin Ports). The other shows the precise location of the Deep Water Grille in Ashland, Wisconsin, where the reception is. If you click on "List of Details for Wedding Go-ers" you will find written directions to both of these. Otherwise, you can just click on the maps, and you have the option to get directions from Google Maps itself.

I did not post a map to the Best Western or River Rock Inn in Ashland, WI. Both of those are on Lake Shore Drive (Highway 2), which is the main drag through town. If you want to check out the Ashland Best Western, click here: http://www.bestwesternlakesuperiorlodge.com/ This is the link for River Rock's website: http://www.riverrockinn.net/ Fair warning: the entire wedding party might be taking up the rooms at the River Rock Inn; it all depends on a few external factors. But, as I have posted on the Details list, there are many other hotels in the town: Super 8, AmericInn (on the east end of town), Hotel Chequamegon, and some cute B&Bs. Just browse for Ashland area lodging, and you will find lots of fun stuff!

Being Gifted

So, my aunt calls today, and asks where we are registered. Yes, we did register at a few places (see list + "other ideas"). She said she would tell a few people who are invited. This is interesting, because I just read that the places a couple register should not be put in the actual invitations. Now, granted, this was from the Twin Cities Bridal Guide (courtesy of my mother, who got it for free, because she knows I would never buy something like that for myself. I mean, come on--it is written by "The Wedding Guys." Um....yea...that says it all right there), and they are known for following "tradition" ad nauseum.

Ok...then where should the couple put such information? The shower invites. Yea...but not everyone invited to the wedding might be invited to a shower (which, by the way, if you know me, I really don't care whether we have a shower or not--and I do mean we, since 2 of us are getting married here...). So that creates a quandry. I can put it on the blog, but not everyone invited could be computer savvy. Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb (oh, excuse me...The Wedding Guys) also suggest word of mouth. Great. Except for the fact that a great number of invitees do not live in the greater metro Minneapolis area.

So, my apologies if it offends your sense of decorum, but the fact is we will probably be sending a little note with the invitations that tells people where we are registered. Given we are both cycling addicts, you know you can't go wrong with a gift card to a local bike shop (Trailhead, Bicycle Chain, or County Cycles are preferred, since Erik's & Penn Cycles are basically local evil corporations with a strangle hold on the market); you know you can't go wrong with a gift card to Target (Boutique) (that's Tar-zhey Boo-teek to the hoity toity), since they carry everything under the sun; and, everyone knows no one can go wrong with the kindness of cash. In all honesty, we're just glad you're coming--that is a gift in itself.

The Devil is in the Details

Details, Schmetails. The nit-picky stuff is the worst. By details, I mean clothes. I hate clothes. I hate clothes shopping. I hate trying to find stuff that looks right on my body type and with my skin tone. Now, try doing that for 4 people, none of whom are even in the same size range.

I have my dress. RJ has his outfit. The "maids" are going to wear black dresses of their choosing (minus micro-mini skirts). However, the men need some sort of comfy, not-too-formal shirt. Try finding that for a 2X Long guy, a L to XL tall guy, an average sized male, and a broad-shouldered woman. Yea. And they all need to be about the same color & style. Right.

Oh well. At least I have some other details worked out. If you are checking this blog, take a look to the right, and you will see a link to Details for Wedding Go-ers. This will give you the run down of times, places, directions, etc. We will add more later as things come up. But for now, this should give you a general idea of the run down. I highly recommend making a weekend out of it; the area is a treasure-trove of fun and games!