Admission

I have to admit something. I am a full fledged blog stalker of one of the coolest blogs. I love it so much because the life this woman is leading looks beautiful, ideal, and perfect. And it isn't in that, "look at how awesome I am, my family is totally perfect" way that could be annoying. The Nielsons simply seem amazing.

I'd love to be friends with them.

The series of posts Stephanie has written over the past couple of days about the Proclamation on the Family have really moved me.

Go over and check out the Nie Nie Dialogues if you want to see how awesome it can be to have a great little family.

Engagement Photos

Our Photographer updated her blog and put our engagement pictures there!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am SOOO excited about these photos. I really love them. I am so happy we went with Amanda and her mom Debi! There are so many awesome ones just on her one post about us. Go over to Kokoro photography and check them out.

The Table Settings

Last night I put together a mock up of how are tables are going to look. That way I can give the caterer and setter-uppers a picture of what I want the table to look like. Because we are doing a family buffet dinner, I decided not to set the tables with any plates. I kind of think it is strange to go to the table, pick up the empty plate and head over to the buffet. All of the plates will be sitting at the end of the buffet waiting to be filled with the delicious food.

Anyway, the settings. The ear doctor and I wanted to used solid brown table clothes. I think the dark tables will really bring a warmth and luxury feel to the room. At each place setting there will be a white napkin with a blue ribbon wrapped around it. On top of the napkins there is a little favor box. We haven't decided yet what to put in the boxes, but I thought they were too cute to pass up.


In the center of the table there will be 9 shallow canning jars filled with water. In each jar there will be one big blue hydrangea head (I had to use spider mums for the mock up because I couldn't find hydrangeas at the florist this time of year). There will be a couple of pictures of the ear doctor and myself popping up from in between the hydrangea mounds held up on those picture clips.

I was thinking of labeling each table with a different phase in our relationship like "the first date" or "the proposal." Then, at that table we'd write out our stories so that the guests have something kind of fun to read while they're eating dinner.

Any thoughts or suggestions for what we should change or add?

The apartment

Today during lunch the ear doctor and I are signing our first joint contract. We're getting our first apartment to live in together. HOW exciting!

It's so cool to think that we will get to live together soon, under the same roof. No need to go home late at night, or to be inconvenineced when looking for a rubber band to keep my hair up at his house. It will be SO great!

The apartment we've found isn't my dream home...but it will do until we've saved up a bit. In the search for the housing over the past month I've found some really interesting trends in housing.

It seems right now, in Colorado, there is a push to develop new neighborhoods of retro-looking, small houses packed very close together. I think this new concept is ideal for starter homes. They are small, and compact but still have style. I'd much rather live in a small house that I can fill with the few pieces of furniture I have than buy a big house and feel pressured to buy tons of junk just to make it feel full. These housese are kind of like living in a condo or a townhouse but still has the individuality of a stand-alone home. Plus, these developements are much better from an urban planning frame of reference. The down side is that they do'nt really have big yards, but for a couple where both people are working I think it doesn't really make much sense to have a big yard.

Engagement photos

I thought that not taking engagement photos would be a great way to save money. I thought that since I'd received both invitations with and without an enclosed photo it would be alright to forgo that experience. I thought that since we were trying to pull a wedding together in basically 2 months, we wouldn't have the time.

I was wrong.

The more I read and talk to photographers I see that the engagement photo shoot is crucial. It gives you a chance to get to know your photographer before the big day. That way they don't feel like a stranger intruding on one of the biggest moments of your life.

Also, I realized that I would be sending announcements/invitations to extended family and acquaintances of my parents who maybe haven't seen me since I was 4. I've changed a little since then, so it seems like a good idea to send a photo to those people.

Unforch, we ran out of time to include them with all our invitations/announcements. (insert sad music here)

Our engagement photo shoot is on Friday. The weather looks great, partly cloudy only 10% chance of rain and 71 degrees.

Now the big question is: what on earth should I wear?!?!

Great, great show!

Two years ago I "met" a great fellow blogger, K. She suggested that I go check out this local Washington singer, Brandi Carlile. When she came through Boulder the tickets were cheap, so I grabbed my friend Genius and we went to the show. The entire Fox theater was vacant. There were two sad little rows of chairs. Genius and I plopped down and waited with the 4 other people there for the show to start.

She played and was really good.

Last night she was back in town and we decided to go to the show again. It was SOLD OUT! and PACKED with people. As we edged our way past the clump of tall people (why do they always stand together at shows?) we barely could catch a view of her on stage.

She was even more fabulous last night. She played a bunch of covers, which I usually get a little annoyed by. However, she shed new light on this subject. She said, if no one plays covers how are the songs of our generation going to become "standards." It really made me start to appreciate a good cover. I love all the old jazz standards and I never considered that without a good cover our songs will never be remembered like the songs of our past are. Pretty interesting.

Anyway, it was crazy to see an artist grow into such popularity. Two years ago neither Genius or myself knew a single song she sang. Last night the entire room with singing along with the exact same songs. Pretty cool.

The invitations response

Thanks so much for the great suggestions on our invites!

After looking at the comments we made the following changes:

1. Lightened the swirls. They are a lot less intense brown.
2. Re-worked the wording so the thoughts weren't split on different lines.
3. Moved the text around to create more white space on the page.
4. Darkened the blue so that it was easier to read
5. Used my full name, instead of just Katie
6. Added the date again with the rest of the particulars in the lower left hand corner.

I printed up one on the real invitation paper and they are SOOOOO cute!

We decided to print a swirl on the bottom left hand side of the envelope, and print the little flower in the design on the envelope flap.

I've never been more impressed with a wedding invitation. WOW!

Is it wrong...

So the colors for our wedding are blue and brown. Light blue and chocolate brown. I'm in love with this color combination. We're using blue hydrangeas in the centerpieces. It will look great.

However, I found this bouquet. It drives me wild with desire.

Would it totally destroy the continuity of the day to use these beautiful peonies for my flowers and keep with the hydrangeas in the centerpieces?

The invitations

Be critical! What do you think? What should we change?



FYI-That solid dark line on the left side isn't really there.

Cutest couple

I lurve this picture from my cousin's wedding last weekend!

He's so hot!

The registry

So the ear doctor and I are officially registered. Hooray! Everyone told me that registering would be awful. A pain in the neck that was really annoying.

For us, it was awesome! We had so much fun walking around and scanning for tons of awesome stuff. I felt a little strange about the whole process. Seriously asking people for specific gifts seems so foreign. On one hand, it is nice to help people pick out something, and nice to give a large variety of things to choose from. On the other, I would never want someone to look at this list and think, jeez, they're sure expecting their friends to shell out a ton of money on gifts. I would be mortified if anyone ever thought that.

Anyway, we're officially registered at:

Crate & Barrel

Bed, Bath, and Beyond

and

REI (please, someone, get that sleeping bag for me!)

Becuase she asked so nicely...

...and I'm feeling totally uncreative this morning, I'm going to do the meme that Courtney tagged me for. Here goes!

A - Attached or Single: Attached to the man who is a perfect fit for me. Really, I never thought I'd find someone so compatible for me! June 21st, here I come!

B - Best Friend: Well, I kind of think it is like elementary school to say that I only have one best friend. I've had so many awesome friends who make me feel so loved that it astounds me. Brooke in high school, Kathy after that, Anth during college, Britt after. Eleanor when I interned in Colorado, Amy when I moved here. Sarah when I got to know her. Alayne now that we live together. My sister and baby Charlotte. My mom.

C - Cake or Pie: Both! I love me some cake and with all the wedding tasting I'm starting to develop a very refined cake palate. But there's nothing better than a slice of warm cherry pie with ice cream....or a tart lemon meringue.

D - Drink of Choice: Diet coke with a lime. I'm trying to limit myself to only one soda a day.

E - Essential Item: As lame as it sounds, my cell phone. I left it in Utah for 5 days and almost went crazy without it. Trying to plan a wedding in a month is hard enough as it is, but without a cell phone it is next to impossible!

F - Favorite Color: Always has been, always will be...GREEN.

G - Gummi Bears or Worms: Worms because they get all slippery and feel cool when being eaten.

H - Hometown: Spokane, WA. Not much to say about that.

I – Indulgence(s): Lame TV. For some reason I am drawn to ANTM like a moth to a flame. I can't get enough of that dumb show. Oh, and the bachelor, which I am totally embarrassed to admit.

J - January or July*: July! Totally my birthday month!

K - Kids: Oh yes! In my dream world I'd have two little boys and then a girl. The boys would have the ear doctor's perfect brown hair and the girl would have my red curls. All three would have his deep blue eyes!

L - Life is incomplete without: Family, friends and great food.

M - Marriage Date: JUNE 21, 2007!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

N - Number of Siblings: 2. An older foster brother who lives in London and is the most sarcastic rad big brother a girl could have! A little sister who just had the cutest baby in the world!

O - Oranges or Apples: Oranges plain, but apples when paired with caramel.

P - Phobias/Fears: Ticks....yuck.

Q - Favorite Quote: How do you pick a favorite quote? Different ones have meant more or less at different times in my life.

R - Reason to smile: I don't have to come into work over the weekend!!!!!!! And I'm going to finalize the design and paper for our wedding invitations with our designer!

S - Season: Spring. Nothing makes me happier when it starts to get sunny after the long winter.

T- Tag Three: Hmmm, I think I'm going to pass on the tags...

U - Unknown Fact About Me:

V - Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animals: I like me a rib eye....

W - Worst Habit: I pick my lips when I'm thinking. After finals week they were raw and bleeding. Yuck!

X - X-rays or Ultrasounds: I don't get this question. Who cares?

Y - Your Favorite Foods: Anything with cheese, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, pesto, lemon, sausage, or halibut. Anything using the words encrusted, pounded, braised, or slow-roasted. Anything you'd find at a fair or rodeo. Anything with Cinnamon sugar on it.

Z- Zodiac: I am a cusp kid...Right between Leo and Cancer. I probably lean more to the Leo side than cancer.

The Dress: Part II

I'm just going to brag here for a second about the awesomeness of my family. Specifically, the women in my family.

My grandma is awesome. Almost 75 years old and works out more frequently than I do. She has the energy of a teenager and can do anything.

My aunt is also pretty fabulous. She worked with high school kids for 25 years and still has the energy to teach. Now she's teaching at BYU between the days she goes skiing. I think she got over 50 ski days in this season!

Then there is my mom. What can I say about my mom other than she is amazing. Full time job, three awesome kids, can do Calculus in her head and also crochet a mean baby blanket.

The reason I am bragging about these three women is so that you can fully understand how awesome Monday was for me.

In 4 hours the 4 of us started, tailored and finished my WEDDING DRESS! I've never seen a more well-oiled machine. It was truly inspiring for me to watch their expertise so clearly demonstrated. Really quite amazing! All that is left now is the hem because I haven't bought my shoes yet. So I have my designer knock-off dress that cost about $300 and is probably made out of better fabric than the original. It is beautiful and I love it!

A possible candidate for our Photographer

Last night the ear doctor and I met with a great photographer. The cool things about her:

1. She grew up in a photography family. Her great-grandfather owned a camera store. Her grandfather taught photography at a university. And now she and her mother run a photography business. Her photos have been critiqued since she was 9 years old.


2. Her price is just right and she offered to give us an extra hour for free. Score.


3. Her albums are beautiful and she really tailors the whole album to the couple. This is good because we've seen some albums that we really didn't like.


4. She's already photographed an LDS wedding and understands the limitations with regard to the ceremony.

Here is a sampling of Amanda and her mother's work:

I copied all of these images off the Kokoro website.

Hil's wedding

Well, this last weekend I got to go to my cousin Hil's wedding. It was really so awesome and showed me just how similar my cousin and I are. The weather was cold and crappy on Saturday, so pictures outside the temple didn't last too long at all. I was very impressed with the photographer they picked. He was very clearly seeing every detail of the shot. I loved that he asked my grandma if she wanted to keep her dark glasses on, and that he told my aunt to fix her hair that the wind blew up. It's really important that a photographer sees every element of the photo, not just the focal points.

Their reception was held in an old, historic hall. A long skinny room with exposed brick walls and beautiful hardwood floors. The centerpieces were simple lime/grass green runners with a very vertical arrangement of yellow and white Gerber daisies. To each side of the vase there was a patch of wheat grass with a picture of the couple springing up. Very clean looking and modern. They hung about 100 round white paper lanterns all over the ceiling, which really make a cool statement.

My favorite part was that in the middle of the room there were stairs going down to the basement. This could have been a very awkward feature of the venue, but my cousin covered the railing with ply-wood and white table clothes, so it looked like a high, large table. Then, they displayed photos that they'd taken earlier. The frames of the photos were BEAUTIFUL! My grandpa made them all by hand and the grain in the wood was really SO pretty. I wish I had a photo of them to share.

The food and cake were REALLY good. I made myself sick and the white and brown chocolate fountains. The ear doctor and I danced a little in the corner because the music they were playing was so awesome. Even my grandma and grandpa joined us in a dance.

I took a lot of great notes from their wedding that I can't wait to apply to my own!

The Music

The music at our reception is a big, BIG, B-I-G deal for us. I am such a believer that all of the senses really need to play a part in designing a great event. For instance, you could have the most beautiful wedding in the world with all the right lighting and food and if it's downwind from a barnyard, it's not going to be that much fun for your guests...trust me, I've been there.

We want some kind of music to be playing at all times during our event. Soft, quite, classical music for our intimate ring ceremony. Classy, fun, but somewhat understated standard jazz for background dinner music, and (hopefully) the gypsy swing revue to pep things up for dancing.

The ear doctor and I are heading out to a bar tonight to listen to them play live. So, so, so excited to hear them live.

Here's a question. The ear doctor and I really want to get people up and dancing at the reception. We both swing dance, and will be dancing a ton. However, we also realize that the general public may be a little intimiated to join the dance floor when the music is a littl bit specialized and there are people there who clearly know what they are doing. Would this make you hesitant to dance? If you are the type of person who isn't the first on the floor, what helps you break loose and join in the fun (sans any kind of "liquid courage")?