Anyone still read this?

In case by chance anyone is still checking in to our blog, I thought I would post something since it has been far too long since I was able to do so.  The final weeks of wedding preparations took over and our blog was, unfortunately, the last thing on my mind.  I know many of our friends and family kept up with our plans through our posts, but I just couldn't keep up by the end.  Thankfully, Jack seems to balance an awful lot really well, so I am glad he kept the blog going while I was entrenched in the details.

In the end though, it all paid off.  We had a truly amazing wedding weekend!  The weather was fantastic, all of our family and friends got to and from Chicago safely (as far as I have heard), my brother was out of the hospital from his lung surgery that week in time to still be with us all day and it seemed all my nitty-gritty planning worked because our day went without a hitch!  Jack and I were so overwhelmed and excited to have our family and friends with us on this day. (And thanks to those that stuck around - you turned a great day into a great weekend)! 

And although it is the guests' duty to say nice things and extend congratulations to the bride and groom, I truly felt like I was in a room packed that people that could not be more genuinely excited for Jack and me.  I don't know that I could put into words what that felt like exactly, except to say that I felt surrounded by love and support.

I told Jack that now that the wedding is over, I want to keep blogging, so we are going to figure out a place for us to continue to post as we begin our married lives together.  If you do still check this, add a comment to let us know so that we can be sure to send a link to our new blogging spot (once we figure that out).  Until then, I'll try to keep posting here for a while.

It's Almost Time

Wow, I cannot believe that we are so close now!  I'm just about to head home for the night.  Most of the gifts have been wrapped, thank you notes written, plans communicated, confirmations and reconfirmations complete, vendors paid, and so on and so on....

Mary has truly been amazing in the last week with all the details she has been addressing (of course she's amazing all the time!).  Once we get to tomorrow night, I'm hoping we (especially, Mary) can start to just enjoy the ride.  All the plans have been set in motion, now we just need to experience our masterpiece!

The Final Countdown

Yes, The Final Countdown.  And no, I don't mean the song by semi-famous '80s rock band, Europe.  I mean the final countdown until we get married!  This past weekend, Mary and I spent most of our time at Mary's parents house in Homer Glen finalizing all kinds of details.  Mary will pretty much be "camping out" there, as she says for the next couple of days.  At least she only has a two-day work week!

The details over the past few days have included the final guestlist, seating assignments, transportation logistics, photography details, place cards, menu cards, programs, and amongst all that, finishing cleaning out Mary's old apartment!  Just because we're planning a wedding, though, doesn't mean our normal activities have been put on hold.  I had to take Bentley in for a comprehensive check-up yesterday, go to the dry cleaners this morning, get a haircut tonight, and find time for Starbucks in and amongst all that.

With all the pressure we're feeling to get everything done, we fortunately have Mary's Aunt Lorrie to keep us entertained!  She came up with a really funny "what if" scenario.  What if Bentley got access to Mary and Jack's wedding blog.....?  Find out here!

Ceremony Programs

Mary and I had kind of been stressing a little about the ceremony programs.  Originally, we were going to do them ourselves, but since time is becoming rather limited in the homestretch, we opted to seek help.

My Mom has agreed to take on this challenge and enlisted the help of my sisters.  My Mom really hit the ground running, too!  I mentioned it to her last Friday night, and the next day she had bought samples of paper, artwork, designs and the like for us (mostly Mary) to look at.  We are just providing some creative insight and the copy for the programs, and they'll be handling the rest!

Not only is it one less thing to stress about, but after seeing both my sisters' programs and the rehearsal dinner invitations, I'm really excited to see the final product!

Rehearsal Dinner Invitations

By now, everyone in the wedding party should have received an invitation to the rehearsal dinner to be held at Pazzo's.  The rehearsal will be at St. John Cantius at 7:30pm on Friday 9/26.  Don't be late!  Immediately following the rehearsal, we'll be going straight to Pazzo's.  If you have any questions or feel you have mistakenly not received an invitation, please let us know right away!