My wedding party

So here they are...

My wedding party consists of my closest friends, and wanting to be held up by them as they have for so long.

My Man of Honor is Chad, my best friend since forever. He is very excited, I am pretty sure we celebrated the right way the last time I was in the Bend.  He is very tech savvy but also has some great ideas.  His new thing, is calling me Bridezilla.  Which is not true, I am just OCD in other aspects of my life that I can easily go into my planning as well. 

Then of course my partner in crime Malissa will be alongside for this wild ride. Malissa and I met, if you forgot, while at Barton College in the art building. Although she too is a mid-west girl we both prefer the coast to the snow any day. And of course great shopping buddies. Malissa also makes jewelry, I own a few pieces. She is Too creative that's for sure.

My kid sis, Edina will be a bridesmaid for the first time. She and I are very similar in ways and I hope that she enjoys the whole process.  She says she is excited and wants to be in the wedding but I asked her to just make sure she speaks up as my friends are very opinionated but awesome.

Gina, a sorority sister of mine will hopefully be joining us. Currently Gina is in boot camp, she is serving our country through the Marine Corps Service. We are not certain where exactly she will be next summer but she is very dear to me and I wanted to recognize her as great sister in my life by having her at my side.  She is great, enthusiastic, fun, adventurous and my pledge sister.

To round it up, Jess- my first and last roommate out of college will also be joining me. Jess has been an ear at arms length, heard my cries and helps me pick out items when we have times for shopping trips.  We have our girls nights, great conversations and she has quite the bubbly personality.  We are both experiencing living with our significant others and have found things that we were not expecting: co-habitation with a male is so tough compared to living with a female who cleans up behind herself.  Jess cut out her boyfriend/future husband and I am certain no feelings were hurt and if they were Jess would apologize because thats just the kind of person she is. 

Save the dates, check

So we have a wedding date set.

We are going to be married July 23, 2011. Darren and I will be married here in Indianapolis.

It's become our home and it is the best choice for us for location, it's where we met, have our favorite places, and where our lives have come together. We started mailing out save the dates last week to our family and close friends. Since we started dating Darren and I have mailed Christmas postcards from some trip or another, similar to our "save the dates," we used 3 different photos. One was from being at the track for the grounds tour, a close up from our trip to California and a third from Toronto- the day Darren proposed.

We are trying to finalize our location. One would allow us to hold the ceremony and reception at the same place but I hope that we end up using Darren's church for the ceremony and a second location for the reception. Darren's church does not allow receptions to be held there but they are a more comfortable location, up to date technology, and familiarity for the two of us. By the end of this week we will have it all figured out and more things checked off the list.

We have our engagement photos next Saturday. Exciting but still have to figure out my outfits and make sure Darren is also coordinating in his choices. If not we will probably see Darren in khakis and t-shirts while I will be all dolled up in heels.

Lead Me

I love this song!  Its by a christian group, Sanctus Real- It makes me think thats for sure.

And if you have time check out there website http://www.sanctusreal.com/, they have prayers for husbands, wives, parents/grandparents at the bottom of the page.  It also talks about the inspiration for the song.

In the works

So I know I am overdue on announcing our bridal party but of course that is on hold. I am still smoothing it out for myself, Darren of course has his figured out. I will let you know that we are at 4 each on at our sides, my half of the bridal party are people who have been introduced into my life at different parts. From my elementary years through the college experience. They have managed to stay still and steady in my life when it has not been. And most of all they are ready to take another topsy turvies with me: and this is going to be quite the ride.
Next on the agenda is taking another look at the church that Darren and I believe would be best for all of our needs; with the exception of reception space. My 2 best friends will be in town for the tour & dress shopping. My folks of course will also be in town, they Are kinda paying for it. It will be a busy weekend with house work for Darren and my dad then Mrs.D will be joining us at the church and possibly to check out dresses. It's going to be the first time our mothers meet, while his parents are more reserved my mom can be loud but they are both very conservative. Either way I plan to enjoy myself, the company & the moments.