View Our Wedding Pictures!!

I'm so excited....they are finally ready! View our wedding photos:
go to http://www.digi2photos.com/
Click on "To View and Order Your Event Photos" button
Select our names from the list of November 2007 weddings
PASSWORD: 031007

ENJOY!

We're back from a FABULOUS Italian honeymoon!

Oh my, words can't express how wonderful our honeymoon in Florence and Venice was. We bought a journal our first day in Florence and captured the essence of our trip in daily entries. We also took a lot of digital pictures on our new digi camera (a wedding present). Here are some slide shows of our time in Florence. I'll work on putting up some of our time in Venice later (these things are time intensive!!) Our Wedding Pictures still aren't finished yet, hopefully sometime this next week...stay tuned.

Florence 1

Florence 2

Florence 3

Florence 4

Florence 5

Saving the Best for Last

Both Ed and I are working part of this week. All of our relatives have departed and last night was our first evening "home alone" as a married couple. We are beginning to organize things for our honeymoon and will be focusing more on that as the week draws to a close. Our flight out of Chicago to Italy departs Sunday (11th) in the afternoon. We'll be spending time in Florence and Venice. Hurray! When we return, we'll be opening our gifts, our pictures from the photographer and videographer should be available and we will let all of you know where to go and what to do to view the images! In the mean time, I'm posting a few pictures that I took pre-wedding of some of the flowers that I made.

My wedding bouquet which has a lot of the decorative pieces that were in my Mom's bouquet when she married my Daddy:Here is the main altar arrangement:

These are the flowers that I made for Ed's Grandpa and Grandma. We were so happy that both of them could attend!

These are the flower bracelets that I made for my reception hostesses (Kim and Sara) and for Aunt Jean Holmes (co-officiant) and Aunt Carol Flanders (soloist):

Here are some of the flowers for the gentlemen:

We're Married! [Subtitle: Forever and a Day]

Erica and I had a good time at the rehearsal. I had on my "bride to be" tiara and E.O. was "sporting" my diva tiara--LOVELY!

This is me coming into the church and heading toward the altar and my handsome husband-to-be
Here we are getting ready to exit as Mom and Ed help me put on my cloak

Words escape me as I try to describe how incredible our ceremony was yesterday. Ed and I spent so much time planning it--making sure that the feelings in our hearts, minds and souls were reflected in all that was seen, heard, and spoken. Here are our wedding vows as well as what we said as we exchanged rings:

Edward and Debra’s Vows

Ed:

Debra, today I join with you to begin our life in holy matrimony.

Since God brought us together, you have made me so happy.

Thank you for accepting me as I am—loving me with your heart, mind, and soul.

As your husband, I, Edward Russell Smith,

promise to love you, Debra Jean Kakuk,

with all that I am and all that I will become,

to honor and respect you,

to comfort and support you

each and every day,

to laugh with you and cry with you,

to grow with you in mind and spirit,

to always be open and honest with you,

and to cherish you forever and a day.
Debra:

Today I choose you to be my life partner.

I rejoice and give thanks as I declare myself your soul mate

before our Creator and our gathered loved ones.

You have given my life deeper meaning

and filled my days with more joy and happiness than I ever could have imagined.

Thank you for accepting me as I am—loving me with your heart, mind, and soul.

As your wife, I, Debra Jean Kakuk,

promise to love you, Edward Russell Smith,

with all that I am and all that I will become,

to honor and respect you,

to comfort and support you

each and every day,

to laugh with you and cry with you,

to grow with you in mind and spirit,

to always be open and honest with you,

and to cherish you forever and a day.

Debra and Ed’s Exchange of Rings

Ed:

I give you this ring as a symbol of my eternal love and commitment.

I honor you in the name of God.
Debra:

I give you this ring as a symbol of my eternal love and commitment.

I honor you in the name of our Creator.

I don't have many pictures to share, yet, but will post them as we get them. Did you get some good pictures? If so, please email them to us!

*pause* My goodness, I just realized that this is my first post as Mrs. Debra Smith! :-)

The Final Countdown

It's been a busy week. Family is starting to arrive as the days before the wedding dwindle. I took the week off to attend to last minute details and wow am I glad. My phone and email have been busy. Not only am I dealing with our vendors, I've also been blessed to receive a lot of wonderful emails and calls from my close friends and family. Thanks to all who have reached out in friendship and love. Your support is wonderful.

Yesterday Mary delivered my dress and Ed's vest. They are both absolutely gorgeous. I can't wait for you to see them! Mary made Ed take an oath (raising his right hand and the whole bit) that he wouldn't so much as peek into the garment bag to see my dress prior to when I come down the aisle. He will be totally surprised and will see it at the same time as all my guests. So, I'm telling you right now, don't just look at me...check out the look on my handsome groom's face! *happy smile*

Mom arrived today filling my house with homemade baked goods. Mmmmmm....yummy! She even made me cutouts decorated with frosting in wedding colors! Ed's Dad, Denny, wants to stop by for some of her delicious rhubarb cake. My Mom is awesome at baking! There is fresh banana bread, apple crisp, chocolate zucchini cake, 3 other kinds of cookies besides the rhubarb cake. We sent Ed out to get some groceries so that I could try on my wedding outfit for her. I was SO excited. She is the first person to see it besides Mary, the dress maker. She made me cry because she offered to let me wear her Mother's 45th wedding anniversary diamond and sapphire ring. It is very beautiful, with 5 marquis shaped diamonds and 4 marquis sapphires (that match my engagement ring perfectly). I remember how excited my Grandma was to celebrate that anniversary and how pleased she was to receive that ring. She died just a short time before they would have celebrated 50 years of marriage. My grandma lived next door to me when I was growing up and I considered her my second Mother. I will also be carrying her gold purse and a handkerchief that she gave to my Aunt Beverly, who then gave it to me as an engagement present.

So that is the latest, we've been cleaning our vehicles and the house in preparation for all of our guests (my house will be full of relatives, friends, and assorted pets), and busy with last minute wedding details. My foot still hasn't healed and I'm still in a cast but I will take it off and wear my gold ballet flats for the wedding no matter what...better living through chemicals--Motrin will be my saving grace!

Tomorrow my two wedding hostesses arrive just in time to help us decorate the church in the afternoon. Aunt Jean will also come to the church so that she can meet Pastor Jennie. Speaking of the church...Ed and I finished writing our vows this weekend. :-)

For anyone that is coming in early, some of us will be heading over to the Holiday Inn bar/restaurant at about 9-9:30pm on Friday night after the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. If you're going to be in town and want to mix/mingle/meet some fellow wedding guests, feel free to drop by!

Legal Ties

Ed and I went to the DuPage County Clerks office this morning where we applied for and received our marriage license. *smile* One more "to do" crossed off the list. The woman that issued us the license was interested in my unconventional bridal gown, and she gave me her email address so that I can email her wedding pictures! LOL We just seem to make "friends" wherever we go!

Progress!

In addition to the music rehearsal in the morning yesterday, Ed and I spent the afternoon creating a music CD for our photographer and another for our videographer. Each one is going to create a DVD for us (the photographer will put all of our wedding pictures into a "slide show" set to music that we can just pop into our DVD player and show on our TV and the videographer will create a short "highlight" video set to music in addition to giving us the footage of the whole event.) We also finished putting in all the details on our online wedding planner with our DJ service. We picked out all the songs we like, don't like, and also gave our MC all the details of what we want included at the reception. It felt good going to bed last night with so many things crossed off our wedding list!

Today we finished the favors. Here's a picture of me hard at work and another of our baskets filled with the favors, ready for the reception:

Here's a picture of a purse that two of my "divas" got me as a pre-wedding gift. Isn't it cool? The bride and groom kitties are just too cool. All of the bead work is hand done. The strap is made of braided black bead strands, the designs are beaded over denim and the inner lining of the purse is a lovely bright blue satin. I absolutely ADORE it!

We're still here!

Oh my, it has been a while since we blogged hasn't it? Our apologies. We've been a little busy on this end. TWENTY-ONE days until the wedding! Let's see if I can give you a decent update on what's transpired since last I blogged...

Janet (Mother of the Groom) and Carol (Aunt of the Groom) threw me a lovely, small bridal shower on Sept. 15. It was attended by the women on Ed's side of the family and my immediate family (Mary, my mom, and my sister-in-law, Cheryl). Here's a picture of all that attended:

Attendees: Back Row: Carol Flanders, Jan Gramley, Cheryl Kakuk, Ruth Ann Michelsen, Ayanna Gaines, Griffin Smith, Russetta Rauch, Mary Kakuk, Debra Kakuk Front Row: Grandma (Joan) Flanders, Janet Smith, Michelle Rauch

Ed and I were so happy to meet Ed's new nephew, Griffin. He had the honor of being the only male at the shower! Here's a pic of Ed and Griffin:

You can't tell from my smiling face, but I actually have a broken LEFT foot in that picture! Yup, I managed to stress fracture my left foot (I fractured the right foot and injured my right shoulder earlier this summer). The x-rays didn't show the break until just a week ago, so I hobbled around for quite some time before going into a walking cast (been in that a week now). *sigh* I'm bummed to have hurt myself yet again (and let me tell you, it HURTS!!), but really can't complain because Ed is being SO helpful. I'm determined to wear my cute gold ballet flats at the wedding and dance with my darling new husband, so keep your fingers crossed for me! Ed teases me and says that perhaps we won't be able to do our first dance as planned, but he says we'll look just as "cute" shifting back and forth to the music! HA! I'll dance, just you watch...after all, I actually did our last dance lesson WITH my foot broken! How's that for dedication?

When Mom and Cheryl came down, they brought a "mailbox" that my brother originally made 10 years ago to hold their cards at their wedding. The mailbox has been used by many family members on both sides as well as friends. Jeff had to "rebuild" it as it was a bit bruised and battered as well as paint it for me but it turned out FABULOUS. Here are some pictures of it after I decorated it with wedding flowers. Isn't it cool? My brother is super talented at wood-working. Look for the mailbox on the gift table at the reception!

We've made a lot of progress on the wedding "stuff." I'm still trying to track down a few people that didn't return their RSVPs, but the guest list is mostly set. Next step, seating at the reception! Ed and I are finishing up the favors and next we'll tackle printing the programs (which I've finished designing). I have a few more arrangements to make for the church and then all will be set. Today we had a music rehearsal with Roy, Beth and Ed's Aunt Carol. Wow, they sound awesome and the songs are perfect! Ed and I got all misty-eyed. The music is going to be lovely. We can't wait to share it with you! Each week my friend, Mary, has been bringing me pieces of our wedding attire to try on as she makes my dress, cape, and Ed's vest. Everything is turning out so very beautiful. Mary is really skilled! The blue velvet is to die for!

Now, lest you think that Ed and I are "slackers" *wink and a grin* both of us working full time, planning the wedding and doing a lot of the things ourselves, juggling my broken foot....and did I tell you that I went a lil' obsessive compulsive and knit two gift scarves in the past week or so??....well that isn't all...our GOOD news is that Ed's house sold! He closed the deal yesterday (Friday the 12th). The last few weeks have been pretty hectic as Ed emptied out the rest of his house contents to either my (now OUR) townhouse or a storage unit that we rented until we have time to sort and figure out where to put the rest of his things. Whew...now you know why we haven't posted. We've been BUSY! All of it good though. We feel blessed that his house was purchased by a really nice young couple that will soon welcome their first child to the world. It makes Ed happy to know a little baby will be in his old house.

Ed's place of work just put in a new computer system so he's busy trying to figure out what does and doesn't work (seems like more doesn't work than does). Each day is a challenge. I'm teaching an unbelievable amount of classes each day (seems like everyone wants a "piece of me" before I take off for the wedding and honeymoon). Both of us come home tuckered out each night. Still, we couldn't be happier since our big day is just ahead. Can't wait! That's about all from our end...we'll try to post a bit more frequently if time allows.

[insert clever blog post title here]

Ed and I started putting our favors together. It is really nice to work as a team creating them and I learned how to do something new. Ed showed me how to tie a square knot and he explained to me that it is also called a "joining knot" and is used to bind two ropes of equal size. Hmmm....the symbolism of it fits nicely.


Those of you who know me, know that I'm a cat fan >^..^<

Ed, on the other hand, is a monkey fan :(‌)

So here we are:
Ed has a habit of patting me on the head or, while driving his car, he rests his hand on the top of my head (don't ask me why....). *smile* When I showed him this pic, he laughed but didn't believe I'd actually post it on the wedding blog!

Reservation Woes?

Please see the updated Lodging Information section if you've encountered difficulty in making your reservations. I've spent a lot of time in the last few days straightening out reservations and working with the front desk staff at the hotel to make sure that every one's reservations are in order. The problem is NOT with the Carol Stream Hotel, it resides with a distant call center where reservation calls are routed automatically if the front desk staff is unable to answer the phone. I've added the email address and phone number of the front desk manager to the lodging information page and he promises to correct/adjust any messed up reservations. For those of you who've had any difficulty, we apologize for the inconvenience and the frustration. We'll do all we can to help you straighten things out!

Something Old, Something New

Mom came down to visit this weekend and brought her two kittens with her (much to the chagrin of my 11 year old cat, Ophelia). Here's pictures of Abigail (the bigger kitten) and Madalyn (the lil' one) and one of my Ophelia
I was scared that the kittens would wreck havoc with all the wedding stuff that I have around the house, but Mom's been keeping a watchful eye on them and they've been remarkably well behaved. Thus far, no wedding things damaged and we've had quite a few chuckles over their boisterous shenanigans. Unfortunately, Ophelia is not as pleased with the visitors as Ed and I are. She's been a bit grumpy!

We took Mom up to the Bristol Renaissance Fair on Saturday. It was a great time! She enjoyed checking out the shops and people-watching. Ed and I went in costume. Here are some pics:


Mom hasn't been down to visit in a while so it has been great to have her with us. I got to show her all of the wedding things and she brought us down our cake cutter. It is the same cake cutter that she and Daddy used on their wedding day in 1964. One side of the blade has their names engraved on it and their wedding date. She had our names and our wedding date engraved on the other side of the blade. All I need to do is create a little floral spray to decorate the handle and we're good to go! Mom also brought down fresh vegetables from her garden as well as the garden of my brother and sister-in-law. YUMMY tomatoes, green beans, zucchini, snap peas (and did I mention that she also brought us a homemade apple pie, some apple spice cake and chocolate zucchini cake? Mmm mmm good!)

I opened our mailbox today and discovered four RSVP post cards for the wedding (the first that we've received). What a thrill! *smile*

Sound of Music

So tell me, when you saw the header, did you think of Julie Andrews or the spoof version from National Lampoon's European Vacation? Which was I thinking? *Debra sings softly, "The hills are alive with the sound of Griswold, this sh*t's been around for a very long time..."*

Actually, the title represents my absolute ELATION regarding the music for our wedding ceremony! Today, Ed and I met with Roy and we finalized the musical selections. We swapped out one song, added another and discussed the "creation" of a piece to weave together our readings. We are so excited to have Roy participate in our wedding. He's not only a wonderfully funny friend to us, he's also a gifted musician and a deeply spiritual man. To our delight, he informed us that Beth, one of his praise team vocalists,--she has the voice of an angel-- has agreed to sing at our wedding too! Hurray!!! We've also selected a beautiful song for Ed's Aunt Carol to sing when we light the unity candle and Ed's Uncle Stewart has agreed to play the keyboard/piano for the family processional which will begin the formal service.

Ed and I are pumped about the music choices...we have selected an eclectic musical line-up that really suits us....there is classical, contemporary Christian, "popular" ballads, a movie theme song for my bridal procession (heads up Princess Bride fans!!) and we'll recess to a song from one of Ed's favorite musicals. It's gonna be AWESOME!

*snoopyesque dance of joy*

Nine weeks and 6 days until the wedding (not that we're counting *sheepish grin*). I mailed the invitations on Friday (the 24th). We mailed them 10 weeks in advance because we've got friends and family coming from Australia, Texas, Alaska, California, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, New York, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Virginia (to name a few). WHEW....that's a lot of travelin' so we decided to give everyone ample time to make arrangements. :-)

Gracious Gifts

Here are pictures of two baskets that I decorated for the wedding. They'll sit on the table outside the reception ballroom and will hold our "Wedding Times" scroll favors. Ed and I bought parchment paper for the the Wedding Times favors and ribbons in our wedding colors to tie them up. We also found some little gold wedding rings that we'll attach to the ribbons.

The baskets are the same ones that Ed and I received when we joined Living Christ Lutheran Church. On the day that we joined the Church, we were given the baskets (then undecorated) containing bread, religious books and other symbolic welcome gifts. Our faith is a central part of our relationship, so we thought that using the baskets in our wedding would reflect how much joining Living Christ means to us.

I had to use some of the ribbons that I bought for the favors to make the "wraps" for the wedding party flowers. Originally, I planned to buy more ribbons, replacing what I'd used. But, last week, Jean, the wonderful secretary at our church, emailed me to say that a few weeks ago someone working at our Church's yard sale set aside some burgundy and gold ribbons for us (8 spools of them!!!!) thinking that we just might be able to use them in the wedding. The ribbon is lovely, and I can use it to replace the ribbon that I used for the florals. HURRAY! What an amazingly awesome coincidence! I am so thankful for all the support we are receiving from our Church "family."

Stardust

On our first dinner date, Ed brought along a book. He didn't say anything about it, just set it off to the side of our table. I was curious why he had it. However, he never said a word as to why it was there on the table. My mind raced with possibilities. Finally, I couldn't contain my curiosity anymore. I said "Why'd you bring that book, Ed? Did you think that if the conversation lulled you might be able to eek out a chapter or two of good reading? Did you think I'd be that boring?" [Admittedly, even for a librarian such as myself, it seemed a bad sign if a date brought along a book to the first dinner date!] Ed's response stunned me. He looked surprised by my wild postulations and quickly explained that he'd taken the book from his personal collection and brought it along because he knew that I liked sci-fi/fantasy and thought that I'd really enjoy this book (one of his favorites). He wanted to loan it to me. I was STUNNED. Huh. Imagine a man willing to loan out his personal copy of a favorite book ON THE FIRST TRUE DATE (we'd had one previous meeting at a local Borders bookstore). WOW. It was one of the first signs that my Edward was willing to trust and open his life to someone.

He was right, I LOVED the book. We were both delighted when we heard that it was being made into a movie with a pretty stellar cast. We arranged a "date night" surrounding the movie this past Saturday. Ed made reservations at the same restaurant (the Weber Grill in Schaumburg--also the site of our rehearsal dinner) and we stopped on our way there to get tickets to the evening showing of Stardust. When we went into the restaurant, Ed carried a plastic bag with him but wouldn't tell me what was in it. During the dinner, he gave me a gorgeous illustrated version of Stardust (awwwwww how romantic). Then we went to the movie (which was AWESOME). Once we got home, we sat on the couch and discussed how the movie differed from the book and we took turns finding the parts that differed, reading them out-loud to one another. Awwwww.....let me tell you, THAT is the kind of activity that makes this little librarian's heart go pitter-pat! He is such an incredibly thoughtful man. And me? Well, I'm the luckiest woman in the world.

The Challenge

Whew! It's been a busy two weeks since our last post. My friend Mary has acquired the trim and fabrics for our wedding attire. She'll be starting to make our mock-up outfits in the weeks to come and once we "tweak" those, the real outfits will be made next! Woohoo! Ed and I have been VERY busy too! We've made significant progress on the wedding music, programs, favors, we've got the invitation inserts copied and all of the invitations addressed and ready to mail (target mail date: August 24), I've made major inroads on the floral arrangements, AND we had the fun pleasure of hanging out with Ed's Mom and Dad when Janet found her dress for the wedding. [Editor's note: she looks LOVELY in it]. I feel very blessed and happy about being able to be there with my Mom when she found her gorgeous outfit for the wedding and then being with Janet when she found hers too. I'm sentimental and sappy about things like that! So, now that I know the colors that the Moms will be wearing (iridescent burgundy and pale pink), I was able to create the flowers for the Moms and for the sisters (Dena, Ayanna and Cheryl). I went with three roses for each mom and a single calla lily for each sister. Each one is a little different in color but all coordinate with my wedding colors and should compliment their outfits. As you can see in the pictures below, I did a "flower wand" theme.....YIKES.....you have NO IDEA how long it took me to do each one of these! Since I've never done it before, I just looked at some pictures, adapted to what materials I had and "winged it"...not bad, huh?Today's challenge is to create the large altar arrangement. I've been avoiding this project like the plague because the basket is huge and the task appears quite daunting. However, today I woke up with a "vision" in my head and I'm ready to take on the challenge....here's a picture of my "raw materials."

Want to see the finished arrangement? *teasing grin* You'll have to come to the wedding for that! I can't give ALL my secrets away! Isn't that big basket lovely? Ed and I found it at one of the craft stores and both of us thought it was perfect for a fall-themed arrangement.

illumination

The wedding will be held in a room that has curved outer walls. There are thirteen ledges (each 7 feet long) separated with wooden support beams. I'm going to use thirteen lamps like the one in this picture as well as a garland of ivy to decorate each ledge. I received 10 of the lamps from a dear friend and coworker (she created them for her daughter's wedding a little over a year ago). All that I had to do was re-glue some of the flowers and replace a few batteries and bulbs. I have three more to make but my friend helped me gather the necessary materials as well as modify the battery-operated candles that are used to illuminate the porcelain lamps. Aren't they dainty? My friend used them to decorate the tables at her daughter's reception. They'll do an awesome job of brightening up the sides of the church during the ceremony. I plan to use some modified and enhanced white pew bows to decorate the wooden support beams. All side decorations will be light and more "traditional" wedding fare but the altar arrangements, like the flowers we'll carry, will be vibrant color.
Here is a picture of the ledges and supports: In other news, I graduated to regular shoes (of the solid sole, lace type) this past Friday and the Dr. says that if my foot holds up well, I can resume dance lessons with Ed in two weeks--HURRAY! During the time that I was in the walking cast, I had a slight mishap on my stairs (lost my balance) and fell injuring my right shoulder (yeah, yeah, I know, what an accident prone bride-to-be am I!!). MRI results last week showed that I may have a slight tear in my shoulder as well as a serious sprain. Luckily, surgery isn't the answer! I'm going to be doing physical therapy a few times a week and if all goes well the numbness in my arm/hand and pain in my shoulder will go away *fingers crossed.* Right now, I can't lift my arm up or away from my side more than a few inches. Isn't it a grand thing that both Ed and I are LEFT-handed? I managed to make all those flowers with a bum right arm!

I took Ed to his very first Renaissance Fair this weekend. We went to the Bristol Fair which is near Kenosha, Wisconsin. We met two other couples that are long-time friends of mine from Madison, Wi. I went in costume (as did several of my friends) and Ed surprised me by purchasing and then wearing a handsome hunter green ren. shirt. Go Ed!! We really had a nice time sampling the different foods, watching a juggler, a falconer, and a professional insulter as well as checking out the vendors and socializing. Ed is looking forward to going back with me (muahahahaha....another ren. fair addict is born!) [editor's note: Ed says that you won't get a picture of him in tights though, so stop thinking that RIGHT NOW *grin and a wink*]

Gun Control

Growing up in the UP of Michigan, I'm no stranger to firearms. I have many memories of drawing targets and coloring in the rings with my Dad and brother. We'd take the targets out to "camp" and practice shooting our rifles and pistols. Targets precluded hunting season and I've "bagged a buck" or two in past deer seasons. These days, however, my "weapon" of choice seems to be my handy-dandy glue gun (ah how far I've fallen!!). I guess you could say it is "open season" on the flowers tucked into vases lurking in the corners of my dining area. At least I don't have to wear bright orange, strap a license on my back and don thermal underwear in order to keep my extremities warm when doing this kind of "hunting!"

My latest project was the creation of a small altar arrangement for a stand located near where Pastor Jennie and Reverend (Aunt) Jean will sit. The arrangement is in a fall-themed, gold colored bowl that sort of reminds me of a pumpkin in shape. The first time that I brought Ed home to Michigan with me to meet my family (he'd already met my Mom once in Chicago), he gave my Mom a beautiful floral arrangement in the very same bowl! When Mom heard that I was doing the flowers for the wedding, she offered me the use of any suitable vases or containers that she had at her house. Ed and I picked that bowl because of its fall "flavor" and because we remembered what a lovely time we had that first weekend in Michigan. I'm grateful for my Mom's hospitality, her generosity in letting me "re-purpose" the bowl, and all that she is doing to support Ed and I in our wedding plans and our new life together.

Birthday Cake and Flowers :-)

I created most of the boutonnieres as well as my bridal bouquet last week. Mom says that I need to keep some things secret, *wink and a grin* so you just get to see a close-up of my flowers (they are done as a cascade bouquet) and none of the boutonnieres! I will tell you that I was able to add to my bouquet a lot of the pearl, rhinestone, and butterfly accent pieces that were in my Mother's bouquet! It is a blend of old and new.

My new "love" is the handy-dandy glue gun! But oohhhhh what a mess I'm making of my dining room area! That part of the house looks like the backroom of a florist shop. Yikes!

Ed and I traveled to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and attended the annual Kakuk family reunion over the weekend. He got a chance to meet about 80 of my relatives in 2 short days. Way to go Ed! Saturday was Ed's birthday. Here is a picture of him showing off his birthday cake surprise from my Mom. It was designed and baked by my cousin, Cathy, who owns a cake business. The cake was a big hit at the reunion--YUMMY! We jokingly told people that they had to sing happy birthday or at least wish Ed a happy birthday before eating the cake. He received an overwhelming amount of birthday well wishes and quite a few renditions of the birthday song. *giggle*

Mom had the wedding invitations all set for us to take back to Illinois. Oh my, they look so elegant! We're really pleased at how nicely they turned out. With the help of my "editorial board" (Ed, his parents, and my mom) the inserts have been created for the invitations as well. Now we just need to start addressing envelopes and putting all the pieces together.

I "graduated" from a walking cast to a "surgical shoe"--HURRAY! Hopefully, I'll be back to normal shoes in two weeks. I'm happy the fracture in my foot is healing. We can't wait to get back on the dance floor!

Airport and Cab Information

Cabs or rental cars are available from both O’Hare and Midway airports. It is about 30 minutes from O’Hare to the hotel and about 35-45 minutes from Midway.

If you take a cab, DO NOT hire a yellow cab (they'll charge you a round trip to go to the suburbs). Use a limo service or American Taxi because they are reliable and serve the suburbs. Below is a link to American Taxi’s web site, you can "book" rides in advance or call once you land and get your baggage. They have cars at the airport 24/7 so we usually just call and order a ride when we’ve landed. It should cost approximately $31 (O’Hare) or $43 (Midway) to get to Carol Stream:

http://www.americantaxi.com/Home.htm

Carol Stream, where the hotel is located, is in the "South West Suburbs" (phone for the southwest suburbs is: (630) 305-0700)

If anyone has alternative suggestions or wants to arrange "ride shares," I encourage you to post comments or contact Ed or I and we'll help facilitate communication!

Cake Topper and Remembrance Candle

Here is the finished cake topper and the little accent flowers for the cake layers:

Behind the unity candle, I'm going to place a unique tall glass candle holder and burgundy candle that I will have my brother, Jeff, ignite at the beginning of the ceremony. The candle will be in remembrance of my Dad. My mom and Ed's mom will ignite the taper candles from Dad's candle. Their tapers will represent our family and friends that cannot be with us physically but are with us in spirit on our special day. Ed and I will light the unity candle from these tapers. I decorated Dad's candle holder with ivy. The glass candle holders that we'll use for the tapers (you can see one of them in the right upper corner of the picture) belonged to my Grandma Machalk (my mother's mother).

Matron of Honor

I can't show you a picture of my dress because it currently exists only in my imagination and the imagination of my wonderful seamstress friend, Mary. However, I CAN show you the dress that my oldest friend and matron of honor, Erica, will be wearing. She's already ordered and received her dress. It is hunter green velvet with sleeves that lace on and off.

Before the pictures of the dress, a bit about Erica or "EO" as I tend to call her...we met in the 3rd grade when her family moved from Chicago to the Upper Peninsula. We've been best friends ever since riding the "highs" and slogging through the "lows" together. I love her dearly! She's married to another of my childhood friends, Stewart (I've known him since kindergarten). Many of you will get a chuckle out of hearing Erica call me "Debbie" at the wedding. Don't get any ideas though...only those who've known me since I was a "kidlet" can get away with calling me "Debbie" *shudder*

Here's a picture of Erica:

And these are pics of her dress [note that these are pictures from the dressmaker and the model is not Erica]:
First an overview of the whole dress:
Next a close up of the sleeves:

Finally, a close up of the bodice with the sleeves removed (if I know EO, she'll lose the sleeves by the time she gets to the reception!!)

Last but not least, there are definite up-sides to having a broken foot...since I can't move around too much, I'm more inclined to work on wedding "stuff!" Since our dresses are renaissance themed, I decided that instead of a traditional bouquet, I'll have her carry a grapevine wreath decorated with ivy and flowers similar to those that I'll carry and use in the altar area arrangements. Today I finished her arrangement. Here it is:

Brief Pause

We've had a busy two weeks. Ed went to summer scout camp in Wisconsin and helped the troop's new scouts learn knots and orienteering. Highlights of his trip included melty-hot weather and an unintentionally ignited tree! I flew to Washington, D.C., and attended the annual American Library Association conference. It was my first time in DC, and I was treated to a great night tour of the monuments by an old friend that joined me for dinner one evening. The downside of the trip was that I managed to stress fracture a bone in my right foot. *sigh* Dance lessons are on hold for a while until I can heal. BUMMER! At least I'm just in a walking cast right now and, thankfully, I have Ed to help me out. He's really getting a jump on the whole "in sickness and in health" bit! Not only is he being a total peach about helping me, he's also getting a HUGE kick out of responding to people that ask me what happened to my foot. With a straight face, he likes to reply "we started dance lessons." HA! (For the record, he never stepped on my feet once.)

Have I mentioned that I'm doing all the floral decorations for the wedding? My gal-pals are getting a kick out of teasing me about my newly found crafty side. *good humored smile* My dining room area is overflowing with silk flowers and a variety of crafty tools and accessories. Last week before heading to DC, I made the cake topper and floral accents for the cake layers. Traditional toppers didn't exactly thrill me, so I modified a unique ivy themed candle holder that I found and added blue hydrangea. When the flowers didn't "pop" enough, I used a hint of gold glitter spray to give them some sparkle when the light hits the petals. *laughter* Now can you see why my friends are teasing me? I've never been the crafty one and here I am converting candle holders, flower arranging and buying glitter spray to enhance the flowers. ARGH! I need to cut off a couple inches of an opalescent candle that I bought to complete the arrangement and then it'll be done. Would you like me to post a picture when it is finished?

I also found an interesting template for our wedding program. It took a bit of time, but I managed to "tweak" the fonts, borders and type-face to suit us. The first draft is finished, but I need to get the ceremony details and all the musical selections finalized before I can proceed further. One piece at a time things are falling into place!

Registry Information

We've registered at three places.

View and shop our wish lists by clicking on the linked names below:

JCPenney

Pampered Chef

Target (click on giftregistries and under "club wedd" enter either the bride's name-- Debra Kakuk-- or the groom's name--Edward Smith)

Trip the light fantastic

Ed and I had our first ballroom dance class this week. It was a good time, filled with a lot of laughter and smiles. We’re both relieved to report that all 20 of our toes are bruise free…we managed to not step on one another even once! Huzzah! We’re going to continue taking private and group lessons at the Dance Time Studio in the coming months. They also offer social dance nights, so we’re looking forward to becoming better partners for one another.

On that theme, we’ve begun to draft our “play lists” for the reception and this weekend we’ll focus on picking out “our first dance song." Do you have a particular song (or songs) that you'd like to dance to at our reception? Suggestions are most welcome (but I warn you, the “chicken dance” is OUT right along with the “Macarena!”). "Cha-cha Slide" or "Time Warp" anyone?! *grin*

Update on our wedding planning

A week ago I bought the pattern for Ed's vest as well as the cream, flower-patterned brocade that Mary will use in the inset of my dress. I must admit that, every now and again, I find myself opening up the bag to have a peak at it and imagine how lovely it will look in the finished dress. *smile* Sometime in July we'll purchase the royal blue velvet. Our latest topic for discussion is what type of fabric and trim we should use for my hooded cape. Mary and I have been enjoying ourselves coming up with a variety of dramatic options!

Mom emailed to say that she has picked up our invitations from the printer in Michigan. She assures me that we're going to love them, and I am eagerly awaiting the day when we'll be able to see them for ourselves. We'll probably pick them up when we head to the UP for my family reunion in July. Invitations will go out sometime in August.

I've continued to pick up other wedding odds and ends. When I get a chance, I'll try to take some pictures so that I can post some of the things for your viewing pleasure.

Reflections on Wedding Weekends

Rebecca and Richard's wedding was lovely. They looked so happy on their special day. It was great to meet so many of Ed's family and to see him enjoying himself with those that he loves. Here are a few pics:

Rebecca and Richard dancing together

Ed and I outside the Church

Everyone enjoyed teasing us about our coordinating outfits! The next weekend, in New York, we didn't match, although if you look closely, you can see that my handsome Edward's clothing coordinated well with Aaron and Becky's blue and black wedding color scheme! *wink and a chuckle*

Here we are in Central Park just before the wedding.

Aaron and Becky looked awesome and the ceremony was beautiful. It was a delight to be with my friends again and to attend their wedding. It sounds like they'll be able to make our wedding in November--HURRAY!

We also had the pleasure of staying with Ed's Aunt and Uncle (Jean and Stewart) as well as getting some quality visit time with their son, Russell. Our thanks to everyone for making our trip fantastic!