Quick update

On Sat morning Dan and I purchased our wedding bands. :)

I'm so excited because those rings are the symbol of our marriage and now we have them ordered. Its probably the most real tangible thing about the wedding so far. The dress is just a dress and the venue well thats just a big room in a building. But... the rings are so real. Luckily Dan found a nice ring that he likes. I was a little worried about that but it all worked out.

For you curious peeps out there I planning to keep my ring a secret. Perhaps I'll break down later but for now you'll have to wait for the big day.

The Ring Finger

We are getting ever so close to the big day almost approaching the 6 month mark. Its hard to believe it is coming so fast. One thing I am excited about buying are the wedding bands. Dan and I went to look at some styles a few months back. This was to help firm up the budget and to get an idea out there. The jeweler told us to come back and purchase around the 4 month mark and a little earlier if we want any special order bands.

I'm pretty sure what style I want. It is a ring with a couple diamonds in the top part of the band. I feel excited to have a ring that I don't have to wear around my neck during the day. I do still want it to have some flair otherwise I might get bored looking at a plain band. While I'm not a jewelry wearer I have to admit I have gotten very used to my engagement ring. I know once I get the wedding band I won't have any adjustment period for that. In fact I'm excited to not take it off ever. I forever will be linked to Dan and my marriage to him.

Now lets talk about him, shall we. Dan is a guy and like many guys the wedding band is the first piece of jewelry they have ever really owned. I mean no one these days gets a class ring or at least not to wear. I didn't even consider getting one and I'm pretty certain Dan doesn't have one either. So when we were looking at bands Dan got a little overwhelmed with this uncomfortable band of metal on his finger. It was effecting the way his fingers naturally touched and you could tell he was uncomfortable. It was funny seeing him continue to comment that he wanted an even smaller band and less material over and over again. I finally told him he needed to take time to get used to it and that it doesn't happen immediately. Needless to say it didn't take him long to realize that this little band around the finger can also be considered a toy. Or at least something always there that you can move and take off and put on constantly. I think everything will work out and I just hope he doesn't lose it while playing with it. I play with my constantly and totally notice when it is not there.

I'm glad that Dan and I can both enjoy our bands and I am looking forward to purchasing them. It will be the most solidifying purchase to date. Everything else is for that day only. This band will be present our entire lives and will be the one symbol that connect Dan and I together. Only one temptation that Dan already brought to my attention. When can we start to wear them. I think he doesn't want to wait until the wedding. I told him no way can he start before then. I guess its good he is so eager to wear it.

Double (not a) Trouble

I am loving the idea of utilizing certain aspects of the decorations to serve more than one purpose. Flower arrangements during ceremony can easily be placed in the reception area once pictures are over. Bridal and bridesmaid's bouquets as head table centerpieces. Stuff like that!!!

Our recent decision also utilizes this principal. While signatures in a book are so lovely, oh wait. Does anyone even know where their guest book is? I don't think 60 years down the road I will care who signed a book stuffed in my attic. I will however love to see everyone's pics in their wedding glory. I am copying (yes I didn't think of this on my own) an idea from my MOH's (maid of honor) wedding. (I know that should make her a matron but I don't like the word matron)
Betsy used a digital camera and some helpful friends to take photos of everyone as they walked into the reception. Much to my dismay, I was sun burnt from head to toe and didn't look the best. Which will be something for Betsy to laugh at years later, right? Dan and I are gonna go even a minor step further. For not too much extra money we will be having a photo booth (collective applause please).

WARNING!!!!! Every guest will be asked to use the booth once for the "guest book". You have been fore warned.

This will also allow us to have an alternative to all night dancing, give our guests some more entertainment during cocktail hour, and hopefully get some amazing and fun pics. I know I'll be using it. The best part is our guest keep a copy of the photos and we get one copy. Everyone wins and can I smell another use for the photo booth. Oh yeah those ever important favors we give to our guest. However if you RSVP with in the next 6 months we'll throw in a free gift. All you have to do is show up. Hehe

Oh wait... hmmm out of more incentives for now. Keep reading!!!

We are here!

While we are still here, we are slacking a little bit on the wedding. Luckily we have a lot already done that we can take some time off. This week we both needed to take a step away from the wedding. Work is swamping us and we are relaxing more at home.

One quick thing I determined was that in a effort to save some green, I am going to utilize this website for homemade items. Etsy.com is a place where people can post items that they craft in their homes and sell to us less inclined people. I have been searching the site and got a bunch of good sellers for stuff like veils, garters, centerpiece items, and other wedding what-nots. The nice thing is the sellers are looking to make a little money without the overhead of designers or corporations. For example a veil that I like at the Bridal boutique may run upwards of $250. They can go much higher depending on length and additional stuff. For me I really wanted this veil that is $225 retail. On Etsy I found some sellers who are making a finger-length veil for $30-90. A fraction of the cost. Luckily too, most of the sellers have really good reputations and reviews. So hopefully I should be getting a good item. Not to mention that it's made for me and so sellers let you customize. So wonderful to have exactly what I want (not what the store will carry) and for penny's of what the boutiques charge.

I need to keep looking for some good deals and make this wedding look awesome while saving money. See below post...I want to spend it on the honeymoon. :)

Relax or Play

A few weeks ago Dan and I received some sample itineraries from our travel agent and late last week we took some time to investigate some things listed. We figured why not start planning this great amazing vacation.

We decided that in order to make traveling so far worth it we are gonna spend 10-12 days in the country. Anything shorter would seem silly because we need two whole days for flights. Not to mention but while New Zealand is about the size of Colorado (103,000 vs 104,000 square miles) it is loaded with fun and interesting activities. Much more than the land area suggests.

All the itineraries contain a lot of different adventures and moving around the country nearly every day. Taking us from the northern city of Auckland all the way to the southern island and Queenstown. We can use a mix of transportation that includes inter-island flights, car or train. We are probably going to do a mix of all those. It would be fun to be super adventurous and drive the entire way but there are two problems. One they drive on the opposite side of the street (very strange) and the roads are not 2 lane divided highways. So while the distances between stops seems small ~150 -200miles it is not when you can't go 70 mph on relatively straight good condition roads. Not to mention I was warned about the sheep in the road. (Mind hops to movie scenes of cars stopped for the train length herd of sheep crossing, not fun)

One cool activity that Dan and I really want to see is the Glow Worm Caves. Nothing really more than that, you know just the average cave lit by thousands of glow worms. It sounds really cool and should be well worth the money. It is located in Rotorua a region of New Zealand that is home to thermal pools and reserves. It sounds good to go for a swim in a naturally heated pool. Also a nod to those sheep above. They are prolly crossing the road to get to the Agrodome Sheep Shows because that is also listed on the itinerary as a possible activity. I think I might skip that one.

Once we leave Rotorua is off to the capital, Wellington. I am kinda a city girl and so I'm excited to see Wellington. I find cities fascinating with all the unique architecture and organization. I wouldn't mind just walking around and enjoying some shopping perhaps. A more relax time getting ready for the excitement of the south island.

Crossing the straight between islands will take us into the more landscape rich NZ. The part that the Lord of the Rings (LOTR) movies were shot. I am excited to see a glacier and spend some time hanging out with the penguins (A fellow student at the UI said she saw penguins in NZ, woot). This is a time for a train for sure. There is a TranzAlpine train that brings us through the mountains and along the west coast.

Of course what NZ trip doesn't contain some fantasy action. Dan and I would love to engage our inner geeky-ness and go on the LOTR tour. A trip through middle earth while reliving the movies and seeing the actual places that Frodo journeyed would be epic. While I do realize that a lot of movie was staged and computer generated those landscapes are real. It should be cool to see them in person.

Well enough about this. We still have so much to do and plan. I left out so much in an effort to not make you read for hours. I'm sure we will be writing more when we finalize some activities. Until then LOTR tour is all you need to remember.

Marking the calendar

So for all of you coming to the site from our save the dates, have a good time reading. We have posted quite a bit and it may be overwhelming. If all you want to see is the wedding specific information the links are right above this post below the website title.

Dan and I laboriously worked on those save the dates with all the brain power we could muster. I do want to say they are 100% our design. If you would like to use this same design for your own contact me and I'm sure we can work out a payment schedule. Tehee just messing with y'all.

I also want to let you all know that Dan and I are running in circles, literally. We have decided that circles and spheres will be a main focus of our wedding theme. In case some of you may not know circles have always been associated with endless love and are very fitting for this occasion. Not only that but they allow Dan and I to keep the decor and overall flavor of the wedding youthful and modern. None of this overwhelming formal stuff, though I will still be keeping some traditions alive. Dan will have so much cake on his face when I have my way. :)

Let you all be warned bring your dancin' shoes and be prepared to have a good time. I know I will.

So you all figured it out, but April Fools anyway!

Yeah, so Jeni hates spicy food, and were not quite Texas style rootin-tootin people.  It will be a fun time though so be prepared, but yes the banner and message are back to normal.  Thanks for reading, more updates to come.

Big Changes!! Grandes Cambios!!

Howdy Pilgrim! We have some big changes to announce!!! We got fed up with the whole fancy wedding thing and decided to have a bit more fun with it and introduce a theme: Old Western Wedding. Complete with cacti shipped in from Arizona, and cowboy hats for all. Upon entry to our fiesta, you will be met with a decision. White hat... or Black hat. Of course to any western aficionado this means good guy or bad guy. Each wedding favor Cowboy hat will be engraved with our initials to commemorate the occasion. Throughout the celebration we will have several competitions and standoffs pitting the white hats vs. the black hats.
We will be married at high noon, and instead of walking down the aisle, we will take 10 paces, turn, and say our vows. First one to get them out wins! After the ceremony will be commence with the feast of the finest and spiciest Tex Mex cuisine. After an afternoon of sing-a-long round the fire, we will ride off into the sunset to be wed happily ever after.

Les Fleurs

We have found our florist and its not too expensive. Much less than the designer woman, she was crazy overpriced. I am very excited about our flowers and happy that we will have some present but that it will still be simple.

The florist is George's Flowers in downtown Madison. While I have not used them before I am very familiar with the name and have a feeling they have been around for quite sometime. I am also quite pleased with our wedding consultant. She made some practice ideas for us and emailed the pictures. It looks like she is very talented and smart. She understood our theme and was able to translate it into some pieces for the wedding.

For the most part we are just sticking with wedding flowers. The bouquets and alter pieces. We wanted to keep the flowers in our budget and so centerpieces are out. While floral centerpieces look amazing they also come with a huge price tag. We want to divert funds elsewhere and so we will be designing more creative centerpieces. All surrounding the circular theme and of course you'll see some red.

This was one of the hardest parts for me. I love flowers but have always thought while beautiful are never worth their cost. You spend so much money on something that dies in a few days. At least goldfish are cheap so it doesn't matter if you go through 2 per day. I embraced my inner girly-ness with the help of Dan and decided the small amount of flowers we will have will be very nice in the photos. If I have my way the roses will be super cool looking. I just gotta check it out some more before I decide.

Meet the Parents ten years later!

While the escapades of last Sat. were not as outrageous or funny than the film and this weekend was devoid of a Ben Stiller cameo the meeting of the parents is officially check off our lists.

My family (Mom, her boyfriend Dave and Rose) made the trip down to Urbana for a couple reasons. It was a mix of meeting the in-laws and also seeing where I have been for the past year and a half. It was their first trip to central IL to see me.

They got here Sat afternoon and Dan and I quickly whisked them away from their hotel to begin the tours of campus our apartment and to get a bite to eat. We ate at the restaurant Seven Saints which specializes in sliders (little mini sandwiches). It was their first time experiencing sliders and I'm pretty sure all went well. I really enjoyed mine. After that it was off to walking around. We went all over campus stopping for a little science lesson in my research lab. I showed them a little bit about what I do and answered some very good questions from Dave. He works at the UW hospital and wanted to know what some of the lab tests are that are run for him. So I explained what some of the tests did and used props and drawings to illustrate it.

One thing that was cool to see was a wedding being held on campus that day. While I didn't get to see much we did peek into their reception center to see the decorations. I really love seeing what others do so I can get ideas. Every little thing helps. One thing I do know is that I'm not spending much time outdoors if the weather is cold. Their ceremony was outdoors and it is March. Burrrrrr for the bride. I hope she stayed warm and snuggled up tho her husband. The ceremony setup did look amazing though, so it was probably worth it.

Once 5pm rolled around it was time to get down to business. We took my family over to Dan's parents house where we introduced the fams and sat to chat a little before dinner. After a little embarrassment with little kid photos (yes my mom carries then in her purse) and some story telling the mood was lightened a little. Ginger the dog also added a bit to the conversation and I think loved all the attention. Dave seemed to really like her and Ginger spent a lot of time over by him.

Once dinner rolled around we all gathered at a nice steak restaurant downtown in Champaign called Jim Gould's. The meal was delicious and gave more time for conversation between the families. Dan's brother and his fiancee also joined us so it was quite a party. After what seemed like no time at all dinner was over and it was time to go our separate ways. All in all I think the meeting went very well and luckily nothing totally embarrassing went on. So the wedding should be just another good mixing of the families.

Whew glad that's all over now I can relax. I would say the introduction of the parents is the most stressful part of the wedding planning. At least it was for me.

On a side note. My Gpa and Barb just happened to be in the area on Sun and so we traveled to Rantoul to introduce Dan to them. Just a crazy weekend of introductions.