We got our engagement pictures back a couple of weeks ago!  They’re awesome and we are in LOVE with them!  Jason rocks my socks!  Here’s a sneak peek:

To see more & order prints, click here!

Now, on to the “& more” section of this post….

The list further dwindles!  To date we have now:

• Created & ordered our save-the-dates (using one of our engagement pictures)!  I’ll post a photo of the finished design (created by me and approved by Adrian) once I’m sure most of our guests have received them.  
• Chosen our invitations (will order in January).  We’re going with tree-free paper with embedded wildflower seeds from Twisted Limb Paperworks!  Again, no peeking at the design until they’ve been received!
• Our friend, Jon C., got ordained online!  Not sure which site he used, but it’s legit!  
• My wedding  & rehearsal dresses have been fitted!  And believe it or not, I performed the operations myself (eek!)!  But it worked!  Of course, were they not rather simple in design (no boning or the like), I would NOT have even dreamt of touching the dresses with a needle & thread, but thankfully it IS and I have enough experience to have fitted it myself, saving a load of cash!  YAY!  My mantra has been since we started planning (heck, since we purchased our own house):  Why pay someone else to do it if I can do it myself?  Of course, if you follow such words of wisdom, be realistic!  Sometimes it is better to trust the professionals!  
• In the same vein, I have also almost completely finished adding my own personal design aspects to my wedding gown.  I’ve added quite a bit here and there and changed some things about the design, but I am LOVING it more each and every time I touch that thing.  Which is a good sign, because I have been known to not leave well enough alone.  Thankfully with my own wedding gown I’ve done a good job of Keeping It Simple (SILLY)!
• We’ve just about compiled all of our guests’ mailing addresses.  Actually, as of now, we’re just waiting on ONE.  (you know who you are!)
• Decided on a ring holder!  We’re going to order a custom ring bowl from Paloma’s Nest!  I’m so excited because I have been wanting one of these for our wedding since I first saw them!  They’re so cute, so unique, and so reusable (another mantra: reduce, reuse, and….you know the rest!)!  We’re going to engrave it with “Adrian & Jenny / May 16, 2009″ and tie a ribbon in one of our colors through the holes at the top.  After the wedding, we’ll use it as an ornament on our tree every year OR hang it on the wall next to a wedding photo.  Kai will now be carring our rings (he wanted–and deserved–an extra, important job), so now he’ll just carry the bowl with the rings!
• I’ve ordered and received all of my rehearsal & wedding day jewelry (all from Etsy.  Yes, you remember, I’m the Etsy Freak Bride.). 
• I’ve received my headpiece from myrakim (SO pretty!!!)!  It’s made with feathers I gathered from my family’s farm in Michigan City, so it’s extra personal!
• booked a ceremony musician!  We’ll have a solo violinist, a student from IU Music School.   I’m looking forward to this as well because those students?!?  AMAZING!!!
• worked out the timeline/style of our ceremony.  Not the words yet, but the way things are going to go.  We’re doing things a little differently.  More on this later.
• Aaaand last but NOT least, I ordered the oft-raved-about work-the-hell-out-of-you workout DVD:  Jillian Michaels–30-Day Shred.  Yes, that’s Jillian Michaels from “Biggest Loser” TV fame.  Yes, she’s called the “toughest trainer”.  That’s right.  I’m getting in the absolute best shape of my life for our wedding!  

Now, let me explore this tangent a little more, do you mind?  I’m not in bad shape.  I’m a vegetarian, I eat well, I had kept up a pretty decent jogging routine in the warmer months for the past year.  When I wasn’t jogging, I was dancing.  This is the embarrassing part.  I have ANOTHER workout DVD for *ahem* hip-hop dancing *shifty eyes*.  It worked me out, though, and it was fun!  

Then I got this DVD.

I apparently didn’t know what working out was.  

Ho. Ly. Crap (I’ll keep this kid-friendly).

The workouts (there are three levels) are only 20 minutes long.  But, it’s Jillian, and Jillian does NOT mess around!  It’s true, if you want results from ONLY 20 min a day, you’ve got to WORK IT GIRLFRIEND and WORK IT HARD!  No breather allowed!  No mercy!  I’ve only done this once, just started today (in fact only an hour ago) and I can barely even type!  I thought I was in shape and BOY I must have been w-r-o-n-g!

All this is to say, if you want results, if you want your ass kicked hardcore in the comfort of your own home, GET THIS DVD.

OK I think that about covers it for now!  Be back once more is checked off the list!

Thanks for reading.

Jenny the Bride

I am happy to say the list is dwindling.

Over the past week, we:

1)  Blocked hotel rooms for our out-of-town guests at the Days Inn & Hilton Garden Inn in Bloomington.

2)  Started our registries!  We actually had fun doing this!  We went to Bed Bath & Beyond and were able to use the scanning gun to choose our registry items.  This was TOO FUN.  Adrian personally really enjoyed choosing the cutlery & cookware  We also registered at Lowe’s and created an online registry at Wishpot.com.

3)  Met with our dear friend, Jon C., and asked him to marry us.  He graciously accepted (even said we gave him goosebumps!) and is really looking forward to the “honor”, as he said.  We are THRILLED!  Jon has been a close friend of Adrian’s since high school and they lived together when Adrian and I started dating.  So he’s been there from the very, VERY beginnings of “us”.  He was there when Adrian first mentioned me as the “girl at work” he was interested in.  He was there when I used to come over, “as friends”, and help Adrian with our art homework.  He was there when we would all sit on the couch together (after Adrian and I started dating) and watch old “Friends” episodes on DVD (can’t hide from the truth, boys).  He was always supportive, always fun, always a wonderful friend, and we are so excited he’ll be the one to lead the ceremony.  He should be getting ordained online anytime now.  (Speaking of, anyone know which are the legitimate get-ordained-online sites?)  

4)  Met with our photographer and close friend, Jason, to go over some details and have our engagement photos taken!  It was great to see Jason again.  He brought his 9-year-old son Jaden with him, much to Kai’s enjoyment, and while we walked the campus taking pictures, Jaden & Kai ran, jumped, danced, and laughed around us.  We are very excited to see the pictures

That’s it for now!  We’re moving right along at a steady pace, and things are getting done!  

I’m going up to Michigan City to see my family this weekend.  I’m going to bring my wedding dress so they can see it.  I’m so excited to show it off!  There are some things I want to do to it before my trip, though, so I’ve got to get started!

Till next time!

Jenny the Bride 

IS IN!!!!!!!!!!!

Mr. Postman dropped off a rectangular box this past Friday.  I went out to meet him because I couldn’t wait.

I squealed.  I ran inside.  I promptly told the dogs that this was my dress and made them go stay in the kitchen so it didn’t get dog hair and paw prints on it. 

I tore it open.  Inside was an opaque vinyl garment bag (how nice of Amanda to send it this way!) and a thank-you card inside (how nice again!).

i quickly zipped the bag open, squealing again, and put it on.  

hmm…it’s beautiful, it’s MY DRESS, without a doubt, but it needs some alterations.  So I pulled it tight to get a better idea, put the accessories on and voila!  

I was a BRIDE!  But I was ME!  And it was AWESOME!  It was everything I ever wanted AND it’s reusable.  The way it’s designed, after the wedding I’ll be able to hem it to the knee and it’ll make a cozy, beautiful sun dress  Wow, I’m such a recycling hippie.

But seriously, I am so relieved.  Every bride, from what I hear has 2nd thoughts and the more I thought about the dress (before it arrived) the more I doubted my decision.  Don’t ask me why.  I was doing exactly what I wanted to do.  I was having my dress made out of the fabric I wanted, into the style I wanted, by a ridiculously talented dressmaker.  But still, the doubts came, but disappeard completely once I put the whole ensemble together.  I mean, completely.  I am in LOVE with my gown.  It’s so ME and it’s SO beautiful!!  I can’t wait to wear it to become Adrian’s wife

In other news, checks we have done so far:

• Ceremony site (Rose Well House on IU campus)
• Reception site (Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center Grand Hall)
• DJ (Tom Marshalek from The Dance Machine)
• Flowers (Harvest Moon Flower Farm)
• Rentals (Master Rental)
• dress (Amanda Archer handmade creation)
• Caterer (Bloomingfoods Co-Op)
• Photographer (Jason Miller with Silvertree Photographics)

I am so excited!

WE HAVE A PHOTOGRAPHER!

Adrian’s good friend from high school is a professional photographer (Jason Miller of Silvertree Photographics) and has agreed to photograph our wedding!  I am THRILLED for two reasons:

1) I know this has been something that has meant a lot to Adrian,

2) Jason is extreeeemely talented, personable, and fun (all the things I was looking for in a photographer!).  All that and he’s a personal friend, so we’ll feel comfortable around him and have a great time!

Now we’ve just gotta meet with him and discuss specifics (or really, Jason and I need to talk shop!).  We’re also thinking of doing an engagement session somewhere down the line at the IMA grounds where we spent the weekend we got engaged!  But I’m getting ahead of myself…

So what’s the ceremony site update?

All of the sudden we’re open to IUB’s campus for our outdoor ceremony.  What changed our minds?  The trouble we’re running into finding an alternative!  That and it really is a gorgeous campus, and by that time there will hardly be any students (our wedding falls after graduation on purpose), AND it’s CLOSER to our desired reception location (the Grand Hall at IU’s Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center).

Still have to talk about it and view possible locations, but I think we’re getting nearer making a decision!  We’ll, of course, keep you updated

Jenny

The Bride