...And there was much rejoicing [YAY]

...but no eating of minstrels! (I know, I know...you Monty fans are groaning out there and those of you who don't like Python--what is WRONG with you???--are scratching your head at this entry title. Ah well, what can we say....we're quirky Python addicts!

[Editor's note: should you not understand the reference and want to rectify this sad, sad state of unawareness, watch Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) and pay particular attention to Sir Robin's Minstrels. The rest of the movie is a hoot too, so enjoy! It wasn't far into dating that Ed decided to see if Debra was really as "cool" and suited to him as she seemed. He dropped a fairly obvious Python quote and anxiously waited to see how his lady would react. Of course, being the hip geek chick that she is, Debra responded with the appropriate return quote and the two love birds blissfully turned dating into betrothment.]

This post is about our wedding ceremony music. We were blessed to have a guest music director at our Wednesday night "Second Chances" contemporary services for a while this past Fall/Winter. This gentleman played acoustic guitar, often played songs that he'd written himself or arranged and his passion for the music was infectious! Both of us wanted him to do our wedding music and to our delight, he agreed! A few Sundays ago, we went to the church where he has been contemporary music director for several years and listened to him perform with his praise team. Afterward we had a lovely lunch with Roy and his wife, Judi, and discussed the particulars of our service. Roy will be performing acoustic guitar, singing and playing the keyboard/organ if necessary at our wedding. He has agreed to work with Ed's Aunt, Carol, who will sing one song for us. He also is checking into whether or not his lead praise team singer can join him (she's got a voice like an angel)! We're going to have a bit different from the norm music....Roy might write something new for us or maybe he'll take an old familiar hymn and give it a new melody/tempo. He's agreed to play a favorite, "storybook love" (Princess Bride fans will recognize the tune) too, so we are very "pumped" and enthusiastic. Roy brings to his music a passion and dedication to praising the Creator through music that both of us find inspiring. We can't wait to talk further and work on finalizing our musical selections! Want to know more about Roy? Click here!

Hear Ye! Hear Ye! (in other words, our invitation details)

*smile* Relax! They aren't in scroll form (some of Debra's friends and relatives probably thought for a moment that the image reflected her actual invitations) but they are in a nice shade of ecru! Debra's renaissance tastes took a backseat to her more practical nature, and scroll invitations were quickly discounted. Besides, Ed had equal rights in the selection process, so we traveled one weekend in March to the Mother of the Bride's house and poured over a book of invitations that she'd acquired from a local printer. Mary Kakuk (the afore mentioned Mother of the Bride) has been incredibly supportive and we thank her for assisting us with the selection and acquisition of the invitations, "save the date" and "RSVP" postcards. *cheer* We decided to have our invitations prepared at a small print shop located about three miles from where Debra grew up because of their reasonable printing rates and because this will be a "touch of home" for Debra. There is much to be said for familiarity and a small town business that takes pride in its products! We decided on a simple, one-page ecru colored invitation that has a monochrome border of winding leaves. Our postcards will have the same type script and font color as the invitations. Back to the scroll theme for a minute...Debra didn't totally give up on that idea...she found another way to work them into the wedding day--stay tuned!

Wedding Dinner (victuals and libations a plenty!)

Beginning at 6pm, we will have one hour of open, premium brand bar and socializing in the ballroom.

After the introductions, toasts, etc. the bar will close down during the dinner period. Guests that would like sodas or juice with dinner should get these items during the open bar period. During dinner, available beverages will include water, coffee, Mionetto Pinot Grigio and Borgo Scopeto Chianti Classico. For toasting, Moet & Chandon Brut Champagne will be served. Non-alcoholic sparkling cider is also available if you ask! The open, premium bar will reopen after dinner for three more hours. Our thanks to Dennis Smith (Father of the Groom) for arranging the wine and bar selections!

Here are our dinner selections:

The meal will start off with minestrone soup and a garden house salad. A variety of dressings including ranch, raspberry vinaigrette, French, and Italian will be available at each table. Each guest will be served a main plate with breast of chicken in a piccata sauce, garlic mashed potatoes, and green beans almondine. In addition to this, unlimited platters of roast sirloin of beef will be served at each table. If any of our guests prefer a vegetarian plate, they will need to indicate this to us on their RSVP or contact me before October 5th and then they will be served Marinara Pasta Primavera (which is also a vegan dish).

Dessert will consist of an edible chocolate cup with vanilla ice cream served on plate drizzled with raspberry coulees accompanied by a slice of wedding cake. We selected a chocolate wedding cake with custard filling.

Mmmm sounds yummy, doesn't it? It's a good thing that we'll have dancing and DJ entertainment afterwards so that we can all work off those tasty dinners!

Tastiest of Tastings

On the eve of April 18th, we attended a "tasting" at the Holiday Inn-Carol Stream where our reception will be held. We had the opportunity to look at a variety of table decorations, review the wedding cake style book and taste all of the different food options available for wedding dinners. Hotel staff members served us and were very helpful in answering all of our questions. It was a fun night! We giggled over the fact that Ed was just plain hungry and interested in having a little bit (and in some cases, a LOT) of everything regardless of whether it would be a wedding night potential food or not. Debra, on the other hand, was all business trying to figure out what tasted good, would appeal to the most guests and fit within our budget. We truly do provide a nice balance for one another.

We got a chance to meet our banquet manager and felt hugely relieved when we discovered that this wonderful woman was willing and capable of handling ALL of the decorating prior to the reception as long we give her explicit directions and all the materials a week before the wedding date. *cheer* Now we can concentrate on getting the Church decorated (more on decorations and flowers later).

Proof positive that we have a lot in common, we both liked the same cake out of nearly one hundred different choices, AND we both wanted the same modification to the cake (removing columns inserted between the top and second layers). No columns for us--we prefer the tiers stacked together! The design that we settled upon is hexagonal in shape. Cool!

Stay tuned to the next post for our menu choices!

Lions, Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

Ok, maybe not lions, tigers OR bears, but there certainly have been a lot of crazy/scary/trying times over the past few months as Ed and I have lined up all the "essentials" for the wedding. Planning large social events has never been my "bliss" so this has been quite the learning curve for me. Thankfully, Ed has been supportive and actively participated in every major decision (and even the minor ones). This wedding will truly be a "joint" affair! Thus far we've determined the location for the ceremony and the reception, as well as identified and "booked" the DJ, photographer and videographer.

Researching and interviewing individuals is exhausting business! It has been especially difficult for me because I lost my Dad to cancer just one year ago. I wasn't expecting that at every interview we'd have someone would ask about the father of the bride speech, the father/daughter dance or mention "when your father walks you down the aisle." *sigh* These innocent yet hurtful questions really made the interview stage tough on me, and I'm honestly glad to have that part in the past so that I can look forward to our wonderful day and all the good things that will happen instead of being reminded that my beloved Daddy won't be there to see me marry the only man for me.

We ended up choosing a photographer that was first recommended to us by one of my library coworkers. The photography studio also has its own photo shop as well as hosts its own web site where our wedding photos will be posted. The fact that they do everything from take the pictures to process them and put them online means that our guests will benefit (as will we) from having low priced but high quality prints and no middleman mark-ups! If you want to check them out, they are Clark Photographics. Ed and I really liked their great customer service and excellent package offering. We got an even better deal than what they had advertised! I'm really looking forward to working with them.

I work at the College of DuPage and have had the opportunity to do several teleconferences and multi-media projects with COD's multimedia services division. When it came time to find a good videographer, Ed and I first checked out multiple wedding videographer web sites and watched a myriad of nightmarish video clips. I'm amazed that neither of us got seasick from the bobbing cameras or suffered whiplash from inexperienced zooms and camera jerks! Yikes! We didn't like anything that we saw, so I contacted my "friends" over in multimedia services and asked for recommendations. I was amazed and excited to discover that one of the producers with whom I'd worked previously actually had a wedding videography business in addition to his work at COD. HURRAY! Paul Thompson and his wife Katherine will be doing our videography. Check out their business Web site: Beautiful Day Productions! Paul and Kate are fun, caring and really skilled so I just know that we're going to have beautiful video footage of the wedding.

Paul and Kate recommended the gentleman that we eventually contracted to do our DJ work at the reception. They have worked at several weddings where he DJ'd and they were very impressed by how he tailored his "performance" to suit the tastes and preferences of the different couples. We were pleased with our interview with the company and I thought it was very nice that the specific DJ, John Ciccone, contacted Ed just a few days after we signed our contract to introduce himself, give us his cell number and assure us that he'd make our night extra special. I LOVE quality customer service! This summer, Ed and I will have the fun "chore" of going down to the company's "listening room" where we can preview and select all our wedding songs! We can also build a "must play" and a "do not play under ANY circumstance" list. HURRAY. Needless to say, the chicken dance immediately was added to our do not play list!

The engagement story and my ring

Ed searched long and hard for "just the right ring" and diamond. My input was simply what shape of diamond I'd prefer and what color the gold band should be. With that said, his choice is absolutely stunning and well suited to my taste and style! As for our engagement story, it was a purr-fect night! Ed made reservations for us at a restaurant we'd dubbed the location of our "most romantic date." It is a fondue restaurant called The Melting Pot located in Schaumburg, IL. He said we should have a special date night and asked me to dress accordingly. The night of the date (January 20th), he didn't enter my house through the garage like normal; instead, he walked around to the "formal" entrance and knocked. I opened the door to find him looking gorgeous and offering me TWO DOZEN roses (white in the center ringed by red roses). What a darling! When we arrived at the restaurant, we were taken to an intimate corner booth (the best table) with curtains hanging on either side of the booth entrance for maximum privacy. Once seated, we ordered a four course meal and began our tradition of cooking and feeding one another each and every bite. YUM! Between the 3rd and 4th course, Ed asked the waiter to give us a little break and that is when he came around to my side, knelt down, and made the most beautiful proposal that a woman could ever hear. It was straight from his heart and had tears spilling from my eyes before he was even half done! He had the engagement ring tucked into a plastic red heart and his hands were shaking as he opened it to offer me the ring. Poor Ed, he finished his proposal and looked at me, ready to hear "yes," but I was so overcome with emotion that I couldn't speak for a minute! His expression was priceless as he WAITED and waited. *chuckle* But I can't imagine being with anyone other than this man, so once I could choke back my tears I said YES YES YES and TADA, I became the bride-to-be of the most wonderful man on the planet (ok, I might be a teeny tiny bit prejudiced about this but he certainly is the best for me!) Later that night we called our immediate family and shared the great news. The engagement picture on our blog was taken the very next day, so you can probably still see our happy "glow." Of course this is my (Debra's) version of the event. If Ed has another version, I encourage him to tell it! *smile*

Lodging info** UPDATED

Guest Hotel Information

Holiday Inn-Carol Stream
150 South Gary Avenue
Carol Stream, IL 60188
Phone: 630/665-3000 or 800-800-6509
Fax: 630/665-9389

http://www.hicarolstream.com/

Contact the hotel directly 630-665-3000 or 800-800-6509 or if you get the main number, ask for In House Reservations at the Holiday Inn-Carol Stream Illinois. You can also book online at www.HiCarolStream.com using Internet Block Code- KSW. Tell them that you are booking for the Kakuk/Smith wedding and you should be offered a standard room for $84 (has fridge) or you can pick a 2- room suite for $139 (has a microwave, fridge and small kitchen area plus a sitting room) plus tax. These rates are guaranteed until October 15th.

****I just found out that even if you ask for in house reservations, the front desk staff may route you to a distant call center if they are busy. The call center CANNOT book you into the wedding block. Several people have had trouble making reservations. If you are quoted different fees for different nights, told the wedding block is full or any other weird comments, please do NOT get frustrated. Instead, ask to make sure that you are talking to the local in house reservation desk. If not, hang up and directly contact the general services manager. He will personally take care of any errors in your reservation. His name is Benjie Gallardo and his email address is bgallardo@hicarolstream.com His direct phone extension is 630-681-7331. Mr. Gallardo assured me that he can "over-ride" any mixed up reservations made by the distant call center. He can do it prior to the wedding or if you arrive and discover any errors on your bills, he can correct them at that time as well. If he doesn't return your call or email right away, he might be out of the office (be patient) but he WILL get back to you and he will correct any errors in a timely manner. Contact me if you have any problems and I'll see what I can do to help out. Thus far, I've managed to correct everyone's reservations that notified me of a problem. Remember that you must make your reservations prior to October 15th in order to receive the wedding rates.

There are directions to the hotel on the Hotel Web site: http://www.hicarolstream.com/location.cfm

An alternative hotel is located about a block from the Holiday Inn where we'll be having our reception. Here are the details:

Hampton Inn Chicago -- Carol Stream
205 West North Avenue
Carol Stream, Illinois, United States, 60188
1-630-681-9200
http://hamptoninn.hilton.com/en/hp/hotels/index.jhtml?ctyhocn=CHICLHX