Newspaper Engagement Announcement

Keep an eye out in the Lincoln Journal Star for our engagement announcement and photo. It will most likely be appearing in the February 8th Celebrate! (but we're not 100% sure). It will also be available online at:

http://www.journalstar.com/celebrate/index.php?fc=Engagements

We had quite a successful wedding planning weekend. It started early, too. Mom, dad, Andrew, Emily and myself all took off early on Friday afternoon to meet with the caterers and decorations people at East Campus. We met the catering manager, Kari, for the first time. She was so delightful and she really made us feel confident that we were in good hands. She will be coordinating deliveries, supervising the servers and helping out on the day of the wedding. So, now we have the menu finalized for the most part.

We were also able to talk to several people at East Campus about the decorations. Dad and I have been especially worried about how we are going to do the decorations, so it was a relief to find that we can do exactly what we want with them. I really think we'll be able to make it look beautiful in the reception hall.

On Saturday afternoon we met with Meier's Cork and Bottle, who we decided to hire for bartender service. They are so friendly, professional and knowledgeable. I'm really happy that we've hired them.

Cake and Flowers

Mom and I went to pick up the new cake samples from HyVee today, and we paid the deposit for the flowers while we were there. We like shopping at that HyVee anyway, so we just did our weekly shopping at the time. (All the employees we've dealt with there have been so friendly!)

When we went to get the cake samples from the bakery, the employee who handed them over to us told us that the Amaretto we'd requested turned out incredible. She said they would need to start offering that one as an option, and that it was her new favorite. Mom and I couldn't wait to try.

The bakery added pineapple to the citrus cake, which made it taste incredible also. (Andrew's favorite cake, other than cheesecake, is pineapple upside down cake.) Andrew just doesn't care for most cakes, and when he tried the this pineapple citrus, he really liked it!

I gave out some of the samples and took votes, because I honestly love them both. I couldn't decide on my own. I like that the Amaretto was our idea, kind of like a "signature flavor." However, it's very rich, like the red velvet we're already getting. Having a fruity option with the richer, more chocolaty Red Velvet seemed more appropriate. This way hopefully everyone will like something (even Andrew)!

So, I just counted the votes to make my decision. Then, when the votes were practically even, I wasn't sure what to do. I decided it would all be up to Emily, who hadn't tried the cakes yet. I was very happy with either flavor.

She decided on the pineapple citrus and I think it was a great decision. And, as dad says, we have someone to blame if no one likes it. (Just kidding...Emily thank you for making the decision I couldn't make!)

Hotel Reservation Info

We have booked a block of rooms for the wedding at the Lincoln New Victorian Suites.

Most of the rooms in our block have king size beds and pull-out beds. We also have one double queen suite reserved. According to the manager of the hotel, it's likely that the hotel will have cancellations prior to our wedding date, opening up additional double queen suites. Be sure to check when you make your reservation, if a double queen suite would be your preference.

The rooms can be reserved under either "Losh" or "DiPaolo" and the discounted rate is $73.99 per night. There aren't restrictions on this rate when you book for the wedding, so if you plan to come up early or leave late, you should get the same rate each night.

They will hold this block of rooms for us until April 29th.

Check-in time is 3:00 PM (possibly earlier if you're arriving earlier)
Check-out time is 12:00 Noon. The indoor pool and hot tub are open 24 hours/day.

Below is the web address for the hotel chain, along with their contact information. Please let me know if you'd like further information from me or if you have any questions.

http://www.newvictorianinn.com/

Lincoln New Victorian Suites
216 North 48th Street
Lincoln, NE 68504
(402) 464-4400

Mother-of-the-Bride Dress

Well, I'm back to wedding planning. I took some time off during December to enjoy the holidays, but the time has come to get back to the task at hand.

Over the holidays, I did manage to sign the contract with Sarabande Jazz. This is something I've been working to finalize for months and it's so nice to have the contract finally signed and the deposit sent. I really think they are going to make our reception something special and it's hard for me to imagine not having them play at our wedding.

This weekend I have an appointment with the person doing the redesign on my dress (and possibly some alterations on mom's dress). Mom found her mother-of-the-bride dress on the day after Thanksgiving at Nordstroms.

After our more serious early morning shopping in Kansas City, we went to the mall to do a little browsing the day after Thanksgiving. Eventually someone suggested that we go and look at some stores to watch mom try on some Mother-of-the-Bride dresses. Cyndi was especially excited about this, so she and I started helping mom pick out some choices. By the time she had tried on a few dresses, Debi, Elly, Sharon and Heather had joined us in the dressing room to see the options.

The sales lady brought in dress after dress (not many of them were in our wedding colors, but mom tried them on anyway, for style ideas mostly). When mom put on the dress she ended up choosing, she looked stunning in it. It's as if the dress were made especially for her. Everyone agreed that it looked beautiful, even though it wasn't exactly the right color scheme for the wedding. It is a halter-top dress that is a mock-two piece. The top has intricate bead-work and embroidery in metallic shades and the bottom is floor length in a deep brown. We are hoping that we can switch the outer layer of material on the bottom of the dress to a rust or copper colored fabric to bring the colors of the wedding out in the dress a little more. I guess we'll find out this weekend!

We're also meeting with the baker and the person doing the flowers at HyVee on Saturday. I hope it all goes will, we should be starting to make some decisions about the bouquets and other wedding flowers. I know I want calla lilies and gerbera daisies, but I have a lot of decisions to make concerning the bridesmaids bouquets, the corsages and boutineers, etc. The baker and I already have a pretty clear vision of the cake, we just need to decide on the second cake flavor. I know I want Red Velvet, and I'm thinking I'd like an orange citrus cake also, but I'll need to taste it before I decide. Anyway, it will be good to get a few more details hammered out this weekend. I'm really looking forward to it.

Bridal Shower Photos

Cyndi, Elly, Liz, Grandma Eleanor, Brooke and Grandma Leona

at the shower, located in the YWCA

Mom and I, before the shower

Lynnette, myself and Liz at Valentino's (after the shower)

Ty, checking out the presents at the shower

Pam, Elly, Brooke and Linny

Myself, opening packages with the kids

Liz, handing out the quizzes

Liz, my Maid of Honor and our lovely host

Debi and Cyndi

Linny, Diane, Lynnette, Ty, Jean, Rylee, Joyce, Renita and Renee

Liz and Lynnette did such a lovely job with the decorations and the food! Liz's getting to know the bride and groom quiz was the best. I was amazed at how hard the questions about Andrew were, even for me! It was such a wonderful shower. 

Dresses and Invitations

I got a call from Sarah's Bridal on Friday, and the bridesmaid dresses are in! I'm so happy they were ordered and have arrived so far in advance. Emily reminded me that we still need to look for some orange ribbon/material to accent the dresses, and think about shoes.

I'd like to thank Liz for designing such cool bridal shower invitations! I've already gotten so many compliments on them, and they really follow the theme nicely. Great job, Liz!

Also, I owe Cyndi a huge thank-you. She started coordinating a trip to the bridal shower with the Reque girls as soon as she got the date of the shower. It means so much that she went to all this trouble for me. It's really going to make the day special.

I'm so excited!

Bridal Shower

I believe we’ve decided on the hotel. Mom, Liz, Lynnette and I looked at the rooms on Saturday. Now we just need to finalize it with the hotel manager. As soon as we do, I will post the information about the block of rooms we reserve.

I got my second round of cake samples from HyVee on Saturday as well. They are so friendly. The were both experimental flavors that we had discussed with the baker when we last met with her. They were both very good, but the Orange Champagne didn’t really have a unique flavor, it really just tasted like white cake. The Key Lime had a good flavor, but I really loved the color of the orange cake. I think I’d like to have them try an orange-citrus cake next. Emily suggested having them add some orange extract or orange zest. I think that could be really great.

We also talked about the bridal shower plans this weekend. On a very happy note for Liz, she was officially accepted into the study abroad program in Italy for the Spring semester. We’re going to miss her around here, but I know she’ll have an amazing time. She leaves in January and will return a couple weeks before the wedding. So, since Liz was kind enough to ask, I told her that I’d rather do an early bridal shower (November) than one two weeks before the wedding. I’d hate to ask people to travel up here twice in one month.

Wow, the days are getting busier and busier. I had a little wedding planning lull in August, but it’s amazing how much there still is to do. We should be expecting the bridesmaid dresses in anytime now. (I can’t wait to see them in red!)