Snow Day

Yesterday Illinois was blanketed with a heep of snow. Luckily, my job is very flexible and I can chose to miss a day at the last moment. I decided to stay home, I really dislike bad roads even if I have to drive around the block. :)

After I slept in until 9:30 I got up and started the day. I decided what better to do than wedding planning. I swear it will never stop. I was focused on a few important details, flowers and hair.
I emailed a local greenhouse/florist for information regarding what flowers can be grown locally in Nov. I'm thinking I'm going to stick to roses since they should easily be able to be grown. I'm not to concerned about fancy exotic flowers. I would rather they be grown locally than shipped in from CA or South America. I'm thinking the greenhouse I contacted should work well just a matter of getting some more detailed information.

As for the hair, I searched all over the Madison area for a reasonable place to go. My top choice is Rejuvenation Spa. They seem to have reasonable prices and is the only salon to mention hair extensions. The only downside is they are quite a ways from downtown on the west side. For a second choice and one that is located on Capital Square is Cinema Studios. The only reason this is my second choice is the prices for styles. It is a little more expensive but is more convenient. I will also have to ask about hair extensions. I do have a while before I need to decide on the stylist so I'm not too worried about choosing one just yet. Though I have to say navigating the websites for price comparisons is difficult.

I also sent out emails to the cheesecake place and to the caterer. Hopefully, Dan and I can get the dessert situation figured out. A lot of little issues have arisen with the choice of cheesecake. The most worrying is that Monona Terrace sells cheesecake by the slice and so they may not allow us to get cheesecake from another vendor. I think the only way to get around this is to have a tiered cheesecake which I'm not sure I want. I will need to figure this out a little bit more and hopefully negotiate some wiggle room. If the cheesecake doesn't work out I'll most likely go towards a dessert spread which will include cookies, truffles, candy and etc. Gotta spend some time thinking this out.

I also called our officiant and made an appointment to meet with him. He seems really nice and is incredibly accommodating. We get to meet with him in Rockford, IL so that Dan and I don't have to drive all the way to Madison. We are also meeting on a Sunday so we don't have to take time off of work. I really hoping everything goes well in the meeting so we can begin to plan the outline of the ceremony and get an idea for how long it will last. I'm quite content with a get in get out ceremony but understand that other peeps may want to see more that just the vows. I am aiming towards a ceremony between 15-30mins.

The last detail I managed to get done yesterday is the father of the bride. I called my "father" Joel Stokka and asked him to walk me down the aisle. I could tell his was caught off guard and did not anticipate me asking him though he sounded very excited and honored. To me I couldn't hope for anyone else. For those who are not familiar with the Stokka family here is a small recap. During my childhood years I was bestfriends with Betsy Stokka (MOH). I would spend as many days over at her house as my mom would allow which was at least every Sat night. Since 5th grade I have always felt I was one of the family and remember so vividly all the times Joel would call me his adopted daughter. For a girl who didn't have her father around this little gesture meant the world to me. And so with that I am very happy to bestow this honor to the only true father I have had.

Well that was a long post be back tom.