Check it off the list

Another thing to check off of the wedding list, we have a church, reception space and pastors to marry us come July.  I have my dress, I believe I stated that previously, wedding party in tow, and tons of ideas about how I would like the space to be set up- at least the reception area.

We will be getting married at Darren's church, here in Indy.  Darren and I have found it truly hard to find a space for the reception that is close to the church but also will allow us to bring our own food instead of catering.  It became a great stress in the planning.  I went in to the church a couple weeks ago to ask about the lawn, they have a nice space to the side of the church with a playground, pavilion and yard, they had never been asked about using the lawn so it had to be brought up to the church staff.  And the Monday after I had asked the secretary she had emailed me to let us know that they would allow us to use the space.  She stated that they all agreed that it was a great idea to help us out, which is awesome because I have been seeing a white tent in my mind for the reception for a few weeks before I asked. 
This also led us to start to gain ground on the ceremony and how it would come together, we met with Assistant Pastor C, I also have my Uncle who is of course a Pastor and will share duties in the ceremony.  When meeting with Pastor C we had a few questions, he addressed those and answered questions I did not know that we had.  Talked about premarital classes, Darren and I both agreed on this way before we were engaged, anyway to work on our relationship and communication is a great thing.  Pastor C helped in realizing just how manageable it will be for the ceremony, how to make it ours.  We walked through the Sanctuary which is a different set up than most traditional churches and will have to take some of my planning committee through to help with ideas, the area outside and continued to talk about how people use the space.  In the end I felt much more prepared, like a light had sparked that made things more clear on the direction we are heading in planning.  Its become less stress and more exciting!

Engagement Photos

So last Saturday my cousin Jesse, his wife Colleen with their 2 kids, Miguel and Isabel traveled to Indy to take our engagement photos.  It started off as a really dreary and rainy Saturday but by the time we were to meet at Fort Ben on the East Side of Indy the sun came out to join us with the wind as its sidekick.  Here are some photos.

*Note that I have not taken the time to photoshop any of them just yet, and this is a small selection from the 2gb disk we used.  A few will be selected, photoshopped then printed for our own use.

This hat, a Malissa find, of course I had to take a few with it on.

Laughing after I attempted to do my Mom's pose.

Being silly with Isabel.

The wind helped my hair whip Darren in the face.

This picture to me seems surreal, like we were photoshopped in but of course we were there.  Obviously I need to remove the spot from Darren's face.

If you know or have met Darren about 99% of the time he is wearing something ridiculous from Ball State and I thought what better way to represent who he is in the photos than to dress him in something that he wears way too often.

And here I go

So I made a purchase that was overdue for house/ kitchen use. This purchase will definately change a few things like easier cooking and warming of food- I purchased my very first crock pot. Watch out! We made Mrs. D's easy chili in it yesterday. In the morning I cooked the meat, Darren helped me put all ingredients together, put it on high for about an hour then put on warm before Ieft go a day out of the house. So here I come, "Susie homemaker" and all. I am looking forward to how much more I am going find in regards to recipes. It will be nice to come home to a meal rather than take another hour to get a meal in us. I bought a 7 quart pot in hopes of making meals for friends and having that ability to make more at once.