Monday, March 29, 2010
Mrs Who?
Three little words gave me a bit of a fright today. Mrs Christie McIntosh. Christie McIntosh. Mrs. Mr & Mrs Travis and Christie McIntosh. Ooooh this might take a little while to get used to. I only whispered at first. I then gained the confidence to look in the mirror and introduce myself 'Hi, I'm Christie McIntosh'. I really thought I would have gotten the hang of it already... but I guess that's why there's 2 months to go
Thursday, March 25, 2010
All she wants to do is dance dance dance
The conversation went a little like this
Christie: You make me feel like dancing...Sooooooo Katie??? What happens what happens? Are they going to call us to say what to bring? Should we bring some songs? Wear our wedding shoes? Get there early for a discussion at the first lesson? Tell me! Tell me!
Travis: I wanna dance the night away
Christie: I feel like dancing…
Travis: Dancing WHooa Dancing Whooa AAAAHHHH
Kathryn: Settle down kids! Francesca will call you Christie. She’ll be your instructor for the 2 private sessions and will tell you what you need to bring.
Can’t wait can’t wait can’t wait. Every Wednesday in April we’re going to dance lessons – finally using Kathryn’s engagement gift – she knows we like to drag things out! I’m so thrilled with this gift – having something like this to look forward to when things get a little nuts is fantastic and I wasn’t sure if we’d have done lessons otherwise. We’ve picked out a few songs and there’s some great stuff on YouTube – soon we’ll decide which style to learn and then we can practice practice practice!
Christie: You make me feel like dancing...Sooooooo Katie??? What happens what happens? Are they going to call us to say what to bring? Should we bring some songs? Wear our wedding shoes? Get there early for a discussion at the first lesson? Tell me! Tell me!
Travis: I wanna dance the night away
Christie: I feel like dancing…
Travis: Dancing WHooa Dancing Whooa AAAAHHHH
Kathryn: Settle down kids! Francesca will call you Christie. She’ll be your instructor for the 2 private sessions and will tell you what you need to bring.
Can’t wait can’t wait can’t wait. Every Wednesday in April we’re going to dance lessons – finally using Kathryn’s engagement gift – she knows we like to drag things out! I’m so thrilled with this gift – having something like this to look forward to when things get a little nuts is fantastic and I wasn’t sure if we’d have done lessons otherwise. We’ve picked out a few songs and there’s some great stuff on YouTube – soon we’ll decide which style to learn and then we can practice practice practice!
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
One big lovely mess
I took a step back this morning. Operation Wedding has really kicked up a gear in the last 2 weeks and shows no signs of slowing. There’s stuff everywhere – decorations, favours, gifts, magazines and tear sheets, folders, and the paperwork Oh the paperwork! We originally started with one box of stuff, which quickly grew to 2, then three – plus everything else.
It’s hard to keep things organized as we don’t have a place for any of it – what a dilemma. I feel so fortunate to be loved by someone enough that he want to spend the rest of his life with me. He wants to celebrate this with our friends and family in our favourite holiday spot and he’s right there with me every step of the way – creating our special day together just as I’d hoped. This is the messy bit of wedding planning, we’re in the middle of an incredible adventure and we wouldn’t have all these interesting things laying around the house if we weren’t planning such a big event!
My mind would be calm and settled, not spinning and racing – if we didn’t have an exciting adventure to look forward to. Well the adventure has well and truly began – so easily we can forget about all the little changes and details that shape our lives and experiences – these things happen every single day – and this is how our wedding is also unfolding, in fact our adventure began a long time ago.
Rather than counting down days and fretting over who’s doing what and whether I’ve forgotten something, this is the time to sit back and soak it up, I’ll never get this period of time back and don’t want to fall into the trap of letting life pass by while I’m busy making other plans. All the decisions, comparisons, endless lists and schedules are part of the process, and some say that getting there is half the fun.
We can plot and plan and tick off our lists, imagining it all coming together on our perfect day, but that day is just 24 hours long, and on that day we’ll have been engaged for 2 years - 730 days (17,520 hours – yes I knew you’d ask). How fast does a normal day go? It’s important to appreciate each of these days for what they are, because come July the creative process for that one special day will have ended. The house will return to being a normal house – from its previous state as a hive of wedding activity and ideas, and we’ll sigh with contentment, thinking about all that excitement and anticipation but not quite reliving it.
Here’s one of the main reasons I’m writing this blog – it’s a diary for myself, I want to enjoy and remember every single moment as clearly as it was yesterday... all my thoughts and ideas hidden in the one place along this curious journey.
It’s hard to keep things organized as we don’t have a place for any of it – what a dilemma. I feel so fortunate to be loved by someone enough that he want to spend the rest of his life with me. He wants to celebrate this with our friends and family in our favourite holiday spot and he’s right there with me every step of the way – creating our special day together just as I’d hoped. This is the messy bit of wedding planning, we’re in the middle of an incredible adventure and we wouldn’t have all these interesting things laying around the house if we weren’t planning such a big event!
My mind would be calm and settled, not spinning and racing – if we didn’t have an exciting adventure to look forward to. Well the adventure has well and truly began – so easily we can forget about all the little changes and details that shape our lives and experiences – these things happen every single day – and this is how our wedding is also unfolding, in fact our adventure began a long time ago.
Rather than counting down days and fretting over who’s doing what and whether I’ve forgotten something, this is the time to sit back and soak it up, I’ll never get this period of time back and don’t want to fall into the trap of letting life pass by while I’m busy making other plans. All the decisions, comparisons, endless lists and schedules are part of the process, and some say that getting there is half the fun.
We can plot and plan and tick off our lists, imagining it all coming together on our perfect day, but that day is just 24 hours long, and on that day we’ll have been engaged for 2 years - 730 days (17,520 hours – yes I knew you’d ask). How fast does a normal day go? It’s important to appreciate each of these days for what they are, because come July the creative process for that one special day will have ended. The house will return to being a normal house – from its previous state as a hive of wedding activity and ideas, and we’ll sigh with contentment, thinking about all that excitement and anticipation but not quite reliving it.
Here’s one of the main reasons I’m writing this blog – it’s a diary for myself, I want to enjoy and remember every single moment as clearly as it was yesterday... all my thoughts and ideas hidden in the one place along this curious journey.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
It's not a dress, it's a masterpiece
Wow. What a week. Wedding fever hit our house last Sunday when we sat down with Deborah and planned the details for the ceremony. We’ve picked the music, readings and order of things – we now just need to decide on our vows and work out the sand ceremony details. I’ve got all our wedding music on my iPod and love listening to it on the way to work, it finally feels like we’re getting married soon!
We also arranged the reception timeline and sent out our 3 month countdown to guests. We have 30 guests confirmed so far - and I know there’s many more who have booked their flights but just haven’t RSVP’d yet. To make the most of having all these fantastic people in Port Douglas with us, we’ll be setting aside a couple of hours each day to catch up with everyone. This will be a great opportunity to show them our favourite spots and everyone will start to get to know each other too. We’ll put this info on a postcard which will be waiting in their rooms when they arrive.
I just can’t wait to start dance lessons – I’m so excited that I’ve even started learning some basics at home (slow, quick, quick, slow – back left, side right, close left, side right)! We haven’t decided on our song or dance style and we’ll have to wait until the week after Easter to begin that adventure. I think it will be a really great stress reliever as we get closer to June.
I finally tried on my very own dress on Friday night, Mum and I got from our door to Brides of Melbourne in 20 minutes. It was the last time I’ll see Wendy and her assistant Kelly who have both been so helpful along the way. I don’t think they see any Melbourne Brides quite as often as they’ve seen me (every time they’ve visited since November 2008!)
My poor dress was so crumpled, and it was strange seeing it without the lace on the front of the skirt. I was pinned into it and Wendy marked the hem and where the lace will go. I put on my earrings and my beautiful Kezani bracelet – a gift from Michelle and got excited all over again! I was still very sure of my ‘no veil’ decision, but I tried on one that Wendy recommended – just for fun and it was actually quite lovely. The difference was that it was silk tulle – so it wasn’t as stiff as the regular stuff and it was also as long as the train on my dress, which looked a lot better than the waist length ones I’d tried. They’re going to send down a sample in the right colour with my gown and I’ll make my mind up then.
It will take another month for my masterpiece to be completed and returned to Melbourne and then I’ll be able to visit it every time we go to mum’s. Travis is sure I’ll be trying it on every time! I am looking forward to trying it on with my hair all done up – and am trying to think of anyone I know with a free standing mirror – it would be very helpful to have a couple for that day. I might start checking out some op shops.
On Sunday Marian and the boys went into town to pick out their outfits, and Louise came over and tried on her dress with her beautiful new satin Sandler heels. She. Looked. Stunning. The dress fit perfectly and it was very comfortable - it’s such a relief to know I won’t be trying to return them to the store in America. Just need to pin Tamra down now.
So we’ve gotten a lot of major stuff done and have a very clear plan of what’s left to do – only 88 days to go now…
We also arranged the reception timeline and sent out our 3 month countdown to guests. We have 30 guests confirmed so far - and I know there’s many more who have booked their flights but just haven’t RSVP’d yet. To make the most of having all these fantastic people in Port Douglas with us, we’ll be setting aside a couple of hours each day to catch up with everyone. This will be a great opportunity to show them our favourite spots and everyone will start to get to know each other too. We’ll put this info on a postcard which will be waiting in their rooms when they arrive.
I just can’t wait to start dance lessons – I’m so excited that I’ve even started learning some basics at home (slow, quick, quick, slow – back left, side right, close left, side right)! We haven’t decided on our song or dance style and we’ll have to wait until the week after Easter to begin that adventure. I think it will be a really great stress reliever as we get closer to June.
I finally tried on my very own dress on Friday night, Mum and I got from our door to Brides of Melbourne in 20 minutes. It was the last time I’ll see Wendy and her assistant Kelly who have both been so helpful along the way. I don’t think they see any Melbourne Brides quite as often as they’ve seen me (every time they’ve visited since November 2008!)
My poor dress was so crumpled, and it was strange seeing it without the lace on the front of the skirt. I was pinned into it and Wendy marked the hem and where the lace will go. I put on my earrings and my beautiful Kezani bracelet – a gift from Michelle and got excited all over again! I was still very sure of my ‘no veil’ decision, but I tried on one that Wendy recommended – just for fun and it was actually quite lovely. The difference was that it was silk tulle – so it wasn’t as stiff as the regular stuff and it was also as long as the train on my dress, which looked a lot better than the waist length ones I’d tried. They’re going to send down a sample in the right colour with my gown and I’ll make my mind up then.
It will take another month for my masterpiece to be completed and returned to Melbourne and then I’ll be able to visit it every time we go to mum’s. Travis is sure I’ll be trying it on every time! I am looking forward to trying it on with my hair all done up – and am trying to think of anyone I know with a free standing mirror – it would be very helpful to have a couple for that day. I might start checking out some op shops.
On Sunday Marian and the boys went into town to pick out their outfits, and Louise came over and tried on her dress with her beautiful new satin Sandler heels. She. Looked. Stunning. The dress fit perfectly and it was very comfortable - it’s such a relief to know I won’t be trying to return them to the store in America. Just need to pin Tamra down now.
So we’ve gotten a lot of major stuff done and have a very clear plan of what’s left to do – only 88 days to go now…
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Same…but different
One thing I promised myself when I chose my Maid and Matron of Honour to be a part of my special day was to buy them their dresses and make sure they were absolutely thrilled with them – and that’s exactly what I’ve done! After changing my mind from grey to deep pink, to black, to purple, to red I’m back to ….
BLACK
I know this isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but I’m excited, and now that they’ve both tried on their dresses they’re excited too! Teamed with pale pink flowers and accessories I think they’ll look simply smashing! Check out this post over at Polkadot Brides for some more brilliant inspiration.
BLACK
I know this isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but I’m excited, and now that they’ve both tried on their dresses they’re excited too! Teamed with pale pink flowers and accessories I think they’ll look simply smashing! Check out this post over at Polkadot Brides for some more brilliant inspiration.
I'm also well aware that Louise and Tamra are two completely different people, and I wanted to celebrate that by giving them some options on the day. Afterall a girls' gotta have options!
So we all agreed on this dress all the way from Newport News in the USA - it's like 10 dresses for the price of one - great value!
Here's a little snippet of what I'm imagining our bridal party to look like on the day... pretty suave huh!
Thursday, March 11, 2010
You can go with this - or you can go with that...
After we've both agreed that we're not too interested in the bouquet/garter toss - I came across this idea when cruising through Weddingbee one day - the anniversary dance.
What a lovely way to honour those who have been married for the longest - and what a lovely thing to aspire to!
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
All you need...
On Saturday night we attended the wedding of some very close friends, we all battled the torrential downpour in Melbourne to make it to Jacques Reymond for the 5pm ceremony. I wore my newly-made creations ( dress and jacket) and I decided not to stress myself too much so I will make the little bag another time.
Let me tell you about this wedding. It was such an unfussy, elegant affair - there weren't carefully selected songs for each moment of the ceremony, there weren't pew bows or Order of Service booklets, no great formal running sheet and no bridal table - I was lucky enough to be seated next to the bride herself! I loved the sincerity of the event, it wasn't a big production - there was no bouquet to toss or garter to throw but there was a close group of family and friends there to celebrate this special event in the couple's lives. That really is all you need.
Let me tell you about this wedding. It was such an unfussy, elegant affair - there weren't carefully selected songs for each moment of the ceremony, there weren't pew bows or Order of Service booklets, no great formal running sheet and no bridal table - I was lucky enough to be seated next to the bride herself! I loved the sincerity of the event, it wasn't a big production - there was no bouquet to toss or garter to throw but there was a close group of family and friends there to celebrate this special event in the couple's lives. That really is all you need.
It's a Croation tradition for all guests to wear
a sprig of rosemary for fertility and remembrance.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
someone's trash...
...is another person's treasure. Although I just don't know how Italian Silk and French Lace could ever be trash, I really don't!
I've got some very exciting news - Marian and Susan have offered to handmake our ring cushion and was lucky enough to score some offcuts of the fabric used to make my dress! We had our monogram (painstakingly) embroidered on the silk before handing all the pieces over to the creative genius that is M&S. Apparently it was finished but now it's not anymore, they're debating over some minor additions - well I just can't wait to see it. I was also lucky enough to have a piece of the fabric embroidered with our initials and our wedding date and this sent up to Wendy Makin to be sewn into my dress. If you're looking for a thoughtful way to personalise something, I highly recommend contacting Marro and Josie of Embroid-It in Essendon, they embroid everything!
I've got some very exciting news - Marian and Susan have offered to handmake our ring cushion and was lucky enough to score some offcuts of the fabric used to make my dress! We had our monogram (painstakingly) embroidered on the silk before handing all the pieces over to the creative genius that is M&S. Apparently it was finished but now it's not anymore, they're debating over some minor additions - well I just can't wait to see it. I was also lucky enough to have a piece of the fabric embroidered with our initials and our wedding date and this sent up to Wendy Makin to be sewn into my dress. If you're looking for a thoughtful way to personalise something, I highly recommend contacting Marro and Josie of Embroid-It in Essendon, they embroid everything!
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