June-uary

So, this has been one crazy weather month. We have had high temps with dry weather, abnormally rainy weather and everything in between. One day it hailed so much it looked like it had snowed. It was hard to feel like it was spring and summer was starting when you are depressed because of the rain. Even within a day the weather went from promising to depressing or even when driving from one city to the next!

We managed to get some fun in but not a lot of yard work. It's really hard to do yard work when you are busy savoring the few bits of sunshine that occurred. This month we went to Multnomah Falls, the Pacific Science Center, the Buckley Log Show, Long Lake and Putt Putt. We got a Cornhole game, celebrated Father's day a few times, and took care of wedding things. Here are some pictures of the fun!

Multnomah Falls is always fun to me. It's a bit challenging so I feel like it's worth it, there's lots of water in the spray, falls and river, and it's beautiful. I was shocked that Ryan didn't complain and powered through to the top even when he didn't look like he would. Bruce has amazing stamina and can be kind of annoying like Des with the running ahead (I still love them). I like slow and steady. It was the busiest I've ever seen because it was a nice weekend but we still had fun.

At the Pacific Science Center the Circus was the main exhibit. There are pictures of Ryan walking the tight rope. I got a standing ovation for the simulation of tight rope walking with a pole. Ryan and I squeezed ourselves into a contortionist box and we were both pretty weak in the strong man contest. Bruce did really well with the grip test ~ it said "ouch!" and Ryan played with a back-hoe type machine. We all LOVED playing with the fun mirrors.

At the Buckley Log Show it was really slow. They didn't keep the action going and it was just tooo hot (I know, I can't believe I'm complaining either). The people watching was terrific. I wish I had taken pictures of the people that were walking around. It really gave me some inspiration for the White Trash Party we're going to in July. The only pictures I took were of the Tree Topper competition in which they men had to climb up 75feet and top the tree and come back down.

We were also able to find bridesmaid dresses! Yay! Britt posted pictures on her blog which you can find on the right side of this blog:) Britt looked amazing in the dress but the picture doesn't do it justice. I didn't think I would be so excited about a bridesmaid dress but Britt had been really hard on herself and self-conscious (as all women are) about parts of her body. She had tried on something like 30 dresses from David's Bridal and Benita's in Silverdale. It was the very last dress she tried on and it was a total fluke that I pulled it off the hanger right as she was getting ready to get dressed. None of us looked at it and thought anything of it until she put it on. It was great. I don't think I would have been so excited for Britt if it hadn't been that she had tried on sooooo many dresses. We ordered it right then and there.

The rest of our summer feels like it's booked already. I hope we get some down time to spend at the lake and that the weather cooperates so that can happen!

120 Days to Go

Check, Check, Check
We have the date: 10/10/10
We have a venue: The Attic in Sumner
We have a dress: no peeking but I love it
We have the shoes: no peeking, I want to wear them now
We have the caterer: Act III brunch
We have the cake: simple cake from Act III
We have a photographer: John Nolte Photography
We have the rings: Scott Kay via EE Robbins
We have the colors: cranberry red with gold & cream
We have the theme: fall (very original)
We have a florist: J Robbins
We have the honeymoon: Aruba

So.....What else do we need to get our list completed?
Officiant
Bridesmaid dresses
Suits for the guys
Marriage license
The TIME we'll get married!
Finishing our registry (we started one at Macy's)

There's only 120 days to go. I'm glad to have all the big stuff done. Now I can focus on finding items for decorations, the candy bar, etc. I still need to find a tiara I like. Details, details, details, that's all that's left for the most part. I don't have a lot of control over the bridesmaids dresses because Des and Britt keep saying they aren't ready. Well, when will they be ready?! I won't control what mama wears. Daddy will need help just to decrease his anxiety. I'll be going with Bruce and Ryan to get a tux or suit (probably suit, I can't really imagine a tux).

So far it has been REALLY STRESSFUL planning. This is not my thing. I mean, I'm a planner. But I like to plan things I know about and understand (therapies, dinners with friends, vacations, my life :). This, however, does not include our wedding. I eat a lot when planning the wedding. This has not been a good thing. I hope that now that all the big stuff is done that I can get on with the fun little things that don't have to be completed asap.

I guess I should mention that in the midst of planning the wedding, I have been planning a work-related trip to Central America, a trip to Chicago and mini-vacations for the summer. No biggie putting all these things on my plate at once. I'm just sleep deprived, scattered, and I lose track of my thoughts easily. Can you tell by reading this? I guess this is "good stress"? Nope. It's not. Stress is stress and it's getting to me. Now that the photographer and florist are completed tasks this week, I am looking forward to the upside of wedding planning. There is an upside, right?

Photographers

This week has been busy with meeting photographers and obsessively pouring over photos they put online. After having seen so many beautiful photos, how can I just let any old person take our wedding photos?

Here's what a photographer does according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics:

Photographers produce and preserve images that paint a picture, tell a story, or record an event. To create commercial-quality photographs, photographers need technical expertise, creativity, and the appropriate professional equipment. Producing a successful picture requires choosing and presenting a subject to achieve a particular effect, and selecting the right cameras and other photographic enhancing tools. For example, photographers may enhance the subject's appearance with natural or artificial light, shoot the subject from an interesting angle, draw attention to a particular aspect of the subject by blurring the background, or use various lenses to produce desired levels of detail at various distances from the subject.

Previously, I never really thought about the expertise that goes along with being a photographer. Well.... I guess that's not entirely true. When you take a picture you don't want it to look like there is a tree growing out of someone's head or that they have no left arm or anything like that so I guess it has at least crossed my mind. Photographers really are artistic and some of them have amazing pictures and are really good at what they do. This picture demonstrates the difference between a professional and an amateur. To me this is important on our wedding day.


I think that I will have to prioritize 3 things: price, personality & style.

As far as STYLE is concerned, I wouldn't have even contacted them if I didn't like their style. Candid moments are really important to me because most people don't like posing for photos. I also want to feel a mood has been captured - not just a record of a moment in time. Most lovely of all, though, is they can edit photos! If Bruce gets a cold sore (heaven forbid), someone looks a little green from flu season, or even if Ryan gets a black eye (he's playing football this year) then these things can be edited out. Some may think this is terrible. I don't. That's what matters :) Editing really makes the photos stand out, look professional, and make you want to display them because they are so beautiful.

So, PERSONALITY-wise it is difficult because they have all been personable. Some are laid back, some are super excited about their jobs and others give a feel of trying to get everything done. They have all been really nice, though.

PRICE will likely be the deciding factor. Who will give us the most bang for our buck? Every one of them wants me to choose them for their work, not their price. However, some people have such amazing work that I just cannot afford them! If I were rich I could choose whomever I wanted, but I'm not so I'm looking for the best in my price range.

Hopefully We'll have the decision made by this coming weekend. I'm tired to pouring over these photos!