Photo Preview

Our photographers have posted a preview of a few of the photos from our wedding day on their blog.  Please visit Mr. Stacey to see these pictures from our day.  We could not be more excited with how these have turned out and we cannot wait to see the rest!

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.

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!

Hotel Reservations

We probably should have indicated this sooner, but the deadline to book a room at our discounted group rate was yesterday (Friday August 29th).  If you still need a room, just let us know ASAP!!

Photo Opp

After much researching, debating, discussing, analyzing, delaying, walking, budgeting, negotiating, we have officially signed a contract with a photographer!  We decided to go with Mr. Stacey Photography.  The name may throw you off a bit, but as with any interesting name, there is a story.  Mr. Stacey Photography is really two photographers, Stacey and Yola.  Stacey is actually a guy (a pretty cool guy, too).  Due to the common association of the name Stacey to a female, they named their business "Mr." Stacey to avoid confusion.  Why not use his last name?  I don't know, but that's not too important to me at this point.

There were so many factors to consider in this decision, and while it was all about photography, it was so often comparing apples and oranges.  Some studios offered unlimited time, while others included two photographers in their prices.  So it was really difficult to effectively break down and compare the overall value for our money.  In the end, I think it really came down to the quality of their work.  Mary and I both really liked what we saw both online and in their albums during our visits.  the pictures were clear and crisp, yet exciting and truly representative of how we wanted our day captured.  We also both really like their approach to capturing multiple perspectives of our day, e.g. through the eyes of our guests as well as us.

Their service includes a photo album credit as well as a engagement photo session to help us "get comfortable in front of the camera."  Anyone who knows me knows that I like to take a lot pictures, but I'm not used to being in front of the camera too much.  With Stacey and Yola, though, I'm really confident and excited about the great pictures we'll have when all is said and done!