Filed under: ceremony, organizing, planning, reception | Tags: ceremony sites, eagle pointe, officiant, reception locations, ULC.net, wedding, weddings
Well, we have our first appointment to view a possible ceremony site! Tomorrow at 10am Adrian and I are going to have a guided tour at Deer Park Manor. We are set on an outdoor ceremony (with a backup plan of course in case of inclement weather!) and could go either way for the reception (indoor/outdoor). I’ve photographed two weddings at Deer Park and love the grounds. It’s a beautiful 40-acre nature preserve with a gorgeous limestone mansion. And the entire estate would be ours for the weekend if we do decide to go with them.
BUT–it’s only ONE of our options right now.
We also love the idea of a reception at the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center Grand Hall on IU’s campus. I have photographed two receptions there and it’s just loooovely! Hardwood floors, floor-to-ceiling windows! And extremely budget-friendly ($75 per four hour period). If we do the reception here, though, we’re not sure yet on where to hold the outdoor ceremony. Adrian doesn’t like the idea of an on-campus ceremony and I’m not in any way stuck on the idea either. Eagle Pointe Golf Resort here has some pretty options and I’m currently in communications with Jake King, the director. We will likely set something up with him to view our options soon. The only issue with Eagle Pointe is that it’s pretty far from Neal-Marshall, so we’d have to keep that in mind. The Terrace at Eagle Pointe is a great place to have a reception, too, so we could do both there. So see, we have lots of options to look into. At least we have one appointment made!
As for a ceremony officiant, we are looking into the idea of getting one of our friends ordained online at ULC.net as one of the options. All in all, we want our ceremony to be really personal and reflect us as a couple, and all of us as a family. We’re still looking into officiants who do this as a living, Justices of the Peace, judges, county clerks, or even our Mayor. With all that in mind, the idea of a close friend of ours officiating the ceremony still sounds like the most personal option. And yes, it’s legal. 
I’ll let you know how tomorrow’s appointment goes! I’ll bring my camera.
Jenny
The Bride
Oh my oh my oh my did I try on a LOT of dresses this past weekend in northwestern Indiana! We went to a total of–get this–10 stores! I would guess that I tried on AT LEAST 50 wedding dresses. Yes, I said 50. At least. And I’m not even close to done!
Remember, if you want to see the photos of me in the dresses, just ask! I will not post the link here, as Husband-in-Training may run across it, but it is available to whoever asks!
All in all, I did have a great time shopping with my mom. We used to go prom gown shopping and always had a wonderful time! And now, 10 years later, here we are searching for a wedding gown. It’s a natural progression and I am so glad we get to do this together!
In other news, yesterday after dinner, I got two pieces of paper and two pens out so Adrian and I could write down our ideas for our wedding. When we were done, we traded papers and realized our lists were almost 100% the same! I guess you couldn’t ask for a better outcome. We both want the same things from our wedding day. So what kinds of things did we write down?
The words we ended up agreeing on were:
- Informal
- Small
- Inexpensive
- FUN
- Outdoors (ceremony)
- NO cake!
- Personal
- Nontraditional
- Eco-friendly
What’s that, you say? “No cake!?” That’s right! Neither Adrian nor I like cake, but I have no doubt we’ll have LEAST one other dessert option. Most likely more than one. That is, if I have anything to do with it.
Some links of interest:
(I am in LOVE with one of her dresses. Guess which one and win…my admiration!)
Bell’ancora , Encore Bridal (preowned wedding dresses)
And of course, my favorite: Ebay
Please let me know if you come across any other links of interest! Anything DIY, eco-friendly, vintage, etc.!
Jenny the Bride
Filed under: Uncategorized
This Saturday, Sunday and Monday I will be up in NW Indiana bridal gown shopping with my mom! It may not be the first time I’ve worn a wedding gown, since I used to do bridal shows with the salons I worked at, but this will be the first time I’m trying on gowns as a BRIDE! We are soooooo excited! I’m going to keep an open mind and try styles I wouldn’t have considered because that is the advice I used to give brides when I worked at salons.
And don’t forget your water bottle Jenny, or your undergarments…or your camera! Of course, I won’t be posting photos of me in the gowns HERE. No no sir, this is Adrian Territory as much as it is mine, so I will have a secret lair within the World Wide Web where all the Jenny in Bridal Gown photos will lay hidden. Once that is set up and if you want access, you may ask and you shall receive. Unless you’re Adrian. Because even though we’re quite the non-traditional couple, neither he nor I want him to see me in my gown until the day-of. And you never know….any one of the bridal gowns I try on this weekend COULD BE my gown!
So here’s to looking!!
Jenny
The Bride
Filed under: Uncategorized
May 16, 2009!
I would say “the countdown begins”, but I will be savoring every last minute of our engagement because I know how fast time flies.
Even so…
Filed under: organizing, planning | Tags: diy, real simple weddings, wedding organizing
Today I found a very helpful site for those of us building our own wedding organizers:
I was able to find all the really helpful forms in those (rather overpriced) wedding organizers you find at bookstores, print them off on my own (recycled) paper, and place them in my now-well-stocked DIY wedding notebook! It looks so official now I can’t help but be proud!
In other news, the wedding date is coming along nicely. The Husband-in-Training and I had a great conversation today about a May 2009 wedding and we are getting pretty excited!
Well it’s after midnight now and I’ve got a little more to get done (with someone else’s wedding–you know, my recently-neglected job) before bed.
Goodnight!
Jenny
Yes, we may only be on Day 3 of Engaged Life, but today I did some….what I guess you could call Wedding Reconnaissance.
I went to Borders.
I leafed through some wedding planners, list makers, etc. and took some notes. So yeah, I treated Borders like a library, but who doesn’t? It’s not like I didn’t end up purchasing lunch there and a book, but I’ll get to that.
One thing I found out by going through these cookie-cutter wedding books is that they’re all very….well, cookie-cutter. Adrian and I have discussed how we want our wedding to be an intimate, relaxed, and rather nontraditional event and none of the books Borders had to offer suited these themes. OK, I used to dream of a huge wedding with swathes of tulle as far as the eye could see. But I was 6. Now, the very thought of a bright white poofy dress, white aisle runners, and 350 guests, most of which we have never met in our lives kinda makes me want to puke. Now, if that’s your thing, that’s your thing, and it can be done beautifully (I’ve photoed many weddings like this), but it’s just not OUR thing.
So I ate my grilled tomato & cheese sandwich, drank my water and left Borders for Target.
I decided I’m making our OWN organizer. From scratch.
So I bought a 3-ring binder and dividers and plan to try my hardest to organize all the thoughts that have gone through my head about our wedding for the past 3.5 years. This is why I’m glad Adrian’s the man I’m going to marry. He is a LOT more organized than I am (the man always bought 3-ring binders for each of his classes. He even had a 3-hole puncher. I admire that.). I think we’ll make a great team organizing this wedding.
So, what book did I buy at Borders? All About Us by Philipp Keel. I’ve been eying this book for a while now and always meant to get it for us to fill out together. I figure now is the best time for that, having just gotten engaged and all. A great keepsake to have, I think.
I also got two books in the mail today from Amazon that I had ordered just yesterday (thank you, Amazon Prime) that I think WILL fit what we’re trying to do with our wedding: Offbeat Bride: Taffeta-Free Alternatives for Independent Brides and The Engaged Groom: You’re Getting Married. Read This Book. Adrian doesn’t have to read it of course, but I thought I’d get it just in case. It seems to be steeped in good humor and helpful info. Well, both of them do. I’m pretty excited about Offbeat Bride ’cause I’m subscribed to their blog and it rocks. Lots of, well, offbeat brides and grooms and weddings to peruse.
And one more thing: be aware, if you do see a post in this blog by “husbandintraining”, that’s Adrian. He picked out the name (I LOVE IT!).
Jenny
The Bride
P.S. I am in no way referring to traditional weddings as cookie-cutter weddings. I use the term ONLY for the selection of books at Borders (and pretty much every other place that sells wedding books). Just wanted to clarify that!
Filed under: getting engaged | Tags: broad ripple, comedy sportz, eagle's nest, engaged, engagement, fiance, fiancee, hyatt, IMA, indianapolis, Le Peep, wedding, white river state park
“About Time!”
This was the common phrase uttered by family and friends alike on ALL sides upon hearing the great news of our engagement. I mean, we’ve been together for 3.5 years and all, but come on, can’t a couple do things their own way without being razzed by loved ones? Haha, I’m kidding. Not like the phrase didn’t go through my own mind a few times
So the story goes as such:
April 5, 2008 (a B-E-A-U-TIFUL sunny, warm day): A rare occasion to not have Kai on a Saturday & Sunday and though I had a lovely wedding to photograph, I was to be home by 4:30pm (unusual for two reasons: I hardly ever know WHEN I’ll be home and rarely do I come home so early). I come through the door and the man was dressed to the 9s in my faaavorite of his shirts (beautiful green color button-down) and black dress pants and said “Get ready, we have reservations in Indy at 7.” What?! OK! Where? COOL! He wouldn’t tell me anything else, but that’s Adrian. The man LOVES thinking up romantic surprises (yes, I’m lucky). So I get some stuff together (apparently, we’re staying the night) and bring along my favorite dress (apparently it’s a “fancy” reservation). We drop the dogs off at the clinic and are on our way.
We arrive at the Hyatt Regency in Indianapolis and check into the most beautiful hotel rooms I’ve ever seen (yes, this is a picture of our EXACT room! Photo courtesy of indianapolis.hyatt.com):
…with HUUUGE windows overlooking the Capitol. Just impressive as all hell.
The man has outdone himself again, but I really have no time to gawk at the view, as I must get ready for our reservation (I’m nervously excited the whole time and realize I must be hungry, although I can’t feel it for the nerves).
And so we go to the elevators and I realize we’re going UP. Oh, cool, there’s a restaurant UPstairs…. Those of you who know Indy better than me must realize now where we ended up, but I’d had NO CLUE.
The Eagle’s Nest is where the elevator dropped us. SUPER WAY COOL revolving restaurant that overlooks Indianapolis. My eyes about popped out of my head! I didn’t even know Indy HAD a revolving restaurant and we had reservations here! We were escorted to our table at 7pm, enjoyed some white wine, a deeeelicious pasta dish and one heck of an amazing desert that had something to do with chocolate and hazelnuts (mmmm hazelnuts). We were there at a perfect time, too, because we got to see the skyline while the sun was up and while it set as we revolved back around at exactly the right time! Then of course, the nighttime view which was amazing. We were there for two hours and had a truly wondrous time. I never wanted to leave, but Mr. Grise said he had plans for us next and I couldn’t wait to see what it was.
A change of clothes later, we wound up at Comedy Sportz, a superfreakinghilarious improv comedy troupe bar and laughed until we were hoarse. I do highly recommend visiting this place by the way. You WILL laugh. These people are hilarious and so talented!
After this, Adrian drove us out to White River State Park. I know I had been here before during the day, mostly because Adrian told me (I don’t really recall), but during the night, the place is breathtaking. If you are familiar with WRSP, there is a gooorgeous pedestrian bridge (Old Washington Street Bridge),
…and here we walked, arm in arm, talking, taking in the view, and admiring the various sculptures along the way (LOVED the giant chinese takeout box). Adrian was kinda quiet, kinda nervous (so NOT like Adrian) and I didn’t really get it. He was concerned with there being other people (like ONE biker, two joggers) and kept walking back and forth around the center of the bridge. The man wouldn’t follow me as I tried to keep going, and I was somewhat annoyed! Finally, around midnight, there were no people, and he brought me up to stand on this concrete bench type thing.
He faced me, arms around me, and mentioned how these last four years that we’ve known each other have been the happiest in his life. He said he and Kai love me very much (he gets down on his knee, my hand goes over my mouth) and nothing would make him happier than if I were to be his wife (yes I’m crying now). His next words “I don’t have a ring…yet…but…will you marry me?” reduced me to tears as I look at him and exclaim “Of course! Of course! Yes, yes yes!!” and proceed to bawl my eyes out for the next 20 or so minutes on the remainder of our walk.
I ask over and over if he’s serious, if this is real, and Adrian exclaims, “I got down on one knee, didn’t I?!” HAHAHA! I love him!
April 6, 2008: The best breakfast in the world at Le Peep in Indy. The thing is called a “Beachcomber” and it’s a skillet with roasted potatoes, tomatoes, avocado topped with two basted eggs. Holy…….. well, you get the idea. We call our families to tell them the news and are greeted with “Congratulations!”, tears, squeals, and, mostly “HAHA! ABOUT TIME!” Poor Adrian.
We spend the day strolling the grounds of the IMA (Indianapolis Museum of Art) which are just beyond gorgeous…
…and later around Broad Ripple. We try to take a photo of us in front of the “LOVE” sculpture at the IMA and end up with something rather humorous (I’ll post later). Adrian proceeds to call me “FW” (Future Wife) and we talk about wedding dates (none set yet, we just know it will be 2009). Later, we meet up with a dear friend of ours (HI CRAIG!) at the Brewpub and tell him the news, and after visiting his new townhouse, we head back, tired and happy as all get-out, home to Bloomington.
And THAT’S the story of Jenny & Adrian’s Engagement!
