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. :-)