Tuesday, December 1, 2009
The End
Thank You!
We promise, we are working hard on Thank You Notes...
Slide Show
Enjoy: http://animoto.com/play/FTXAfq1Rz0CrAakCyqpwNw
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Pictures
He gave us high resolution pictures and we posted them to a Picasa photo viewing account. You can view the pictures and if you like any of them you just have to hit the down load button and it will save it to your computer as a high resolution photo. Then you could get the printed off if you wanted.
Hopefully these links works!
http://picasaweb.google.com/Thom.Godward/BobbyAlcottPictures?authkey=Gv1sRgCIn54P3U57nVeg&feat=email#
http://picasaweb.google.com/Thom.Godward/BobbyAlcottPictures2?authkey=Gv1sRgCMCR3e7km47W-wE&feat=email#
Friday, November 6, 2009
Sneak Peak
These are just a sneak peak of some of the pictures Bobby, Ryan, and Ross took on our big day. Bobby is hard at work going though all of the 5,000 pictures, and said he should have the first round ready for us around the end of next week. So you will have to wait until then to see all of the pictures, but in the mean time here is the link to Bobby's new website.
Under Weddings, click on Farmington Hills, MI, USA.
http://www.bobbyalcottweddings.com
All of the pictures look AWESOME! We can't wait to see the rest!!!!
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Christie's Pictures
Below the picture of Joey, to the right is a purple box that says "View album". Just click on that, there is no need for you to sign up or any of that mess.
http://share.shutterfly.com/share/received/welcome.sfly?fid=e028dfbd9eb46b02&sid=0MbNnDZo4YurA
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Some Early Wedding Pictures
http://www.flickr.com/photos/southen/4047336970/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/southen/4043773387/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rsandelius/4045369886/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rsandelius/4044624731/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rsandelius/4044624565/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rsandelius/4044624417/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rsandelius/4044624307/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rsandelius/4045369080/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rsandelius/4044623959/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rsandelius/4044403757/
Bobby and the guys took over 5,000 shots on the Big Day, so I can only imagine that it will take them some time to go through everything. Check back for a link to all of the shots from our wedding.
Awesome Honeymoon!
Super Fun Reception
Great Wedding
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Feeling Organized...Feeling Good
The rehearsal dinner tote is so big because it like Santa’s bag…full of gifts for the Bridal Party :) Then I have some colored napkins left over from the Man Shower that Aunt Ellen sent me home with. I figure the Rehearsal dinner is the perfect place to use those up.
I unwrapped all of the candles for the center pieces, and unity candle, and other decorative candles last night. That took quite a bit of time. We have a lot of candles. Then Thom and I set up an example of the candle center pieces and took some pictures. Thom printed the pics off so we can drop them off with the supplies. After all the trouble we went through to get those candles we wanted the center pieces to look good. And the hall was a little nervous to set them up with out an example, so the pictures should do the trick.
Mom and Jax are dropping off the rest of the goodies that are going into the reception tote by tomorrow. And Thom is picking up the last of the stuff to be dropped off at the hall on his way home from work tomorrow.
We are feeling really organized. Well at least for right now. I mean I am sure we are forgetting something, or something won’t go exactally as planed, but we are feeling organized enough to not be worried about anything. I am glad we are as prepared as we possibly could be! Now we can just sit back, say ‘I Do’, and party it up!
The Last of the Paper Assembly
I am going to stop at home on my lunch break tomorrow to help Mom start assembling the paper stuff. Not to give too much away, but we do have to do a bit more assembling for the paper stuff at the ceremony, reception and something else. The something else part needs to be done first, so Mom and continue her journey around town dropping off supplies.
It’s a good thing Mom had some extra vacation days to help Thom and I out. :) And when she told me she was taking all of that time off I thought it was excessive.
The Girls' Hair
Some of the girls know exactly how they are going to have their hair done, and some don’t quite know yet. Devin did a mini trial and found the style she likes. Jax has known about her hair style for a bit. Lacey found some pics she likes on-line, but is not 100% sure. Lindsay was going to wear it like she had for a wedding earlier this year, but now she is going to change it up.
I know they will all look beautiful!!!
Vendor Final Details
I talked with Bobby and he has appointments set at the church and reception site to check the lighting so he is ready to go on the Big Day. When I told him Thom and I wanted to do family pictures at the church after the ceremony, but the church doesn’t have steps, he jokingly said “well we can just have the girls sit down in the grass.” Well I was totally in planning mode and didn’t even get the joke, which just made him laugh more. Bobby will be taking pictures of me and the girls at the salon and one of his team members, Ryan, will be taking pictures of Thom and the guys getting ready at the hotel.
Fanny is ready to go, and Anica is ready to help her Mom set up the flowers. Anica dropped off the special detail to her mother that will be included in the center pieces.
Thom called the church to make sure it will be open when we need it for the rehearsal and early enough on the big day so Fanny can get in.
Getting Ready for the Honeymoon
We don’t fly out until Monday evening, so we have Monday morning and afternoon to pack everything. My goal for this week was to make sure I had everything washed that we are planning on packing. The last thing I want to do the first day of officially being a wife is laundry – something tells me I have the rest of my life as a wife to do that :)
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Busy!
We will try to post at least once more before the Big Day....
Weather
At first we had a 60% chance of rain, but now its only 30% chance of rain. Originally the rain was on Sat and Sun, but now it moved to Fri and Sat.... fingers crossed it will keep moving to earlier in the week.
We also checked the weather for Ireland. We figured it would be similar to MI weather, but we wanted to make sure. It looks surprising similar to MI weather, high 50's to low 40's.
Drop Off Stuff at the Hall
Hopefully we can fit most of the stuff into just a couple Rubbermaid totes. We need to get the stuff home from the hall to so we are thinking using the totes will be the easiest.
Printer Working
I bought the ribbon for the programs this weekend. And we have nominated Mom-Ross to pick up the programs and the rest of the paper stuff on Wednesday (her day off). She is even going to start assembling some of the paper goodies. Thanks for your help Mom!
Seating Assignment Board
We need to check it over tonight one more time. Then we will send it to the printer tomorrow morning.
Bridal Party Gift Wrapping
We are hoping to get all of the last minute things taken care of earlier this week, so we can visit with family when they get into town on Thursday... At least that is the plan. Not that the fam isn't ready to help on any random wedding assignment.
Dress Fitting #3 & #4
Larry took it in a bit more up at the top, and told me to stop in on Saturday to try it on once more to make sure. So long story short, it still does not fit!
Larry was not in on Saturday, so I have to stop back in on Monday when Larry is back to figure out what more needs to be done. The sales ladies were very helpful, and reassuring that we still have time.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Other Details
Based on Glen Oaks' opening time for Saturday, Fanny figured out her arrival time to the church and for reception setup. I also gave Anica one of the special surprise details we asked Fanny to incorporate into the floral centerpieces.
Music:
Thom and I figured out what songs the family, bridal party and us (Mr. and Mrs.!) would be introduced to. The band also asked if we wanted a few special versions of some songs throughout the receptions...of course we said yes.
Pictures:
I emailed Bobby the sweet timeline for the Big Day, and asked him to take a few special pictures.
Transportation:
They are suppose to call Thom this week.
Hotel:
We got a list of all of the rooms reserved under the wedding block this morning. Yup, quite a few people that we know have rooms reserved were not listed so I gotta follow up on that tomorrow.
Remaining Paper Stuff:
Thom and I have finalized the program and all of the other paper except the seating chart. He sent it over to Greko and I am going to run down on my lunch break tomorrow to go over yet some more details...
Linens Finalized
The new dude and I went over the final head count and how many napkins and what not it translated into. They did change up a few of the linens, and I ended up talking them down in price (pat on my back!). The new guy totally admitted to being a novice and asked one of the owners to call me back to finalize everything.
Crystal, one of the owners, and I emailed a few times about some details. If they were folding the napkins or if Glen Oaks was folding the napkins, if they would set up the other linens or if Glen Oaks had to do that. We worked out everything and finalized the order.
Rehearsal Dinner Finalized
We estimated a higher head when we first reserved the restaurant, just to cover any out of town relatives. It just so happened that the higher head count was enough for us the have the whole restaurant reserved. Carol at Cool Henry's was cool enough to still let us have the restaurant without meeting our estimated head count.
When Thom and I were first reading the menu selections we thought we only got to choose one entree and two sides. Well it turns out that we got to choose three entrees and two sides. We are going to be eating and drinking good both nights!
Maybe its a good thing I had my dress taken out a little bit.
Monday, October 12, 2009
You Gotta Go to the Next Page
Things are getting busy!!!
Band Meeting
Thom said the Band sounded super organized. They are even going to call Glen Oaks to make sure their lighting won’t blow a fuse.
They went over what we are hoping will be the timeline of the evening. Ha, TJ said they have only had two weddings actually stick to their timeline. :) Really the timeline is more of an estimate. We just want everyone to have a good idea of what is suppose to happen around when, and really what is suppose to happen is FUN!!!
Wedding Weekend Timeline
The timeline has also helped us to realize a few minor details that we didn’t consider. For example, where does the florist need to put the bridal party’s flowers since we won’t be at the Church until after she leaves… Yup, we are getting down to the nitty gritty.
The timeline has also made us realize just how much help we are going to need from our family and friends. I mean we knew we would need help, but we had no idea all of the silly little details that we can’t do ourselves. Many Thanks to all of our helpers!!!!!
Seating Chart
But we figured out a process to help us power though. Thom printed out our guest list and we cut the list into little pieces of paper. Each guest/couple got their own little piece of paper.
We invited Mom and Dad-Ross over to help arrange the family tables. Luckily Jets pizza was only a phone call away :). It took us some time, but we got everyone a seat. We even called Mom and Dad-Godward for confirmation on family seating.
Hopefully you are all next to at least one person you can have a conversation with…and if not, well you really only have to sit there for less than an hour!
Finalize Plans with Glen Oaks
I had three pages of questions to ask the poor girl, but she seemed happy to answer and made sure we had everything covered.
We finalized or menu picks. No one should leave this reception hungry that is for sure! They say the bride and groom don’t usually get to eat, but I am really going to try hard to get a few bites of what sounds like a delicious dinner!
We have a grand total of 192 people coming to the wedding! Thank you to everyone who RSVP on time!!! So that will break down into 20 tables. We got a layout of the room and had to create our seating chart and label each table, so they know just how to set up the room.
We really got a lot of detailed info from talking with her, but I don’t want to tell you everything. And I know you want to be surprised too!
Fall Leaves
Statically we should be right at the peak of the fall color season for the wedding. But then again Thom and I both just barely passed statics…
Stepke Landis Wedding
The wedding was great and the reception was so much fun. They leave big shoes to fill, especially since some of our friends are calling our wedding the ‘Grand Finally’ to the 2009 wedding season. No pressure!
We are planning on using a similar set up for our seating assignment as James and Jen. Being the super nice people they are, they are going to let us borrow their picture frame and easel. So as you are looking for your seating assignment at the reception, be sure to think of James and Jen.
Breaking in Shoes
They are feeling pretty good. The longest I have worn them so far is about an hour and my feet didn’t hurt after that. Hopefully that means I can wear them all night long!
Marriage License
Now all we have to do is sign on the dotted line and it will be official!!!
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Tigers Fans
There is no TV in the reception hall at Glen Oaks. So maybe it worked out for the best that the Tigers blew it and didn't make it to the playoffs.
But then again... there is a club house just across the building from Party Central! And there is always the updates on cell phones if necessary... Well as any good Detroit Fan will tell you, "There is always next season!"
Dress Fitting #2 = Good Luck
Funny thing about dress fitting #2... My Dress was a bit tighter than she was last time around :) I am going to blame it on the Bachelorette Party and a whole weekend of recovery :)
But honestly the seamstress did not take My Dress in where she got a little to tight! My Dress was taken in in a few areas, but not exactly in the same place where it was a little to tight this time around. :)
The lady helping at Kray Chic asked if I would "level out" back to the first fitting. I was a logical woman and thought well we have a super fun wedding to go to this weekend and then Sweetest Day the weekend before our wedding so yeah... 'you better take it out a bit!'
The seamstress marked just where to take out My Dress with her straight pens. And while I was enjoying having My Dress on, I pricked my finger on the pen. Not just a little poke, I ended up drawing blood. And of course, I got blood on My Dress!
I didn't stress out...mainly because I didn't realize I got blood on my dress until after I hung her back up on the hanger. I just calmly told the ladies at Kray Chic, and they knew exactly what to do. FYI peroxide!!!
Then Larry comes out after helping another Bride and heard the story. Then he tells me this story... Its good luck if a bride pricks her finger on a pen and gets it on her dress. Being the superstitious retired ball player that I am, I totally can dig his story!
And then Larry goes on to say that it is super bad luck for a wedding gown to burn! Bad luck for the bride herself and for the marriage. So Larry winks and tells me he will be really careful when they iron My Dress! :)
Monday, October 5, 2009
Hair Trial Goodness
There was a slight set back. My veil was in my dress bag, which was at the seamstress, not at Kray Chic when I stopped in on Friday night. Larry remembered my veil, from just the few times he has seen it, and told me to take one of his sample veils.
He picked out a veil that was very similar to Mom's and bagged it up for me. He never said a word about returning it, just wished me luck with the hair trial.
Angie totally appreciated the pictures I brought in for an example. She got right to work and did up my hair. She played around a bit, but got it figured out and it turned out great! We took pics so I can have them on the big day to help her remember.
Then there was a surprise for me at the check out desk. Julia (Thom's cousin) called the salon for Pittsburgh and order my a gift certificate. She even had the guy at the salon read me a message saying she was sorry she could not join the girls for the Bachelorette party. Thanks again Julia for the super cool surprise.
Thom's Wedding Ring
He turned it on the lathe and drilled it out with a bit he special ordered to fit his size 10 ring finger. Then he used the index table to make some details to match my wedding band. He matched it so well I had to count the number of embosses on my ring, and he cut the exact same amount into his wedding band.
It looks really great!!!
We Survived
Think if it like Vegas... what happens there stays there!
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Hair Trial
I have had a good idea of my hair style for quite awhile. I even have a couple pictures that I clipped out of magazines to take with me.
I do need to stop at Kray Chic and pick up my veil for Angie to practice with. And I have had advice from several people to take a camera, and take pictures of my hair after the trial. Then take the pictures with me the day of the wedding as a refresher for the stylist.
Thom and I are having fun seeing all of the wedding and reception details come together, but its really fun for me to get a glimpse of how I will look on the big day without Thom knowing :)
Bachelor and Bachelorette Party!
The ladies have planned a little house party/cook out to start the night off. Then we will go downtown and check into our the Greektown Casino, and take their bus to the Tigers Game! After the Tigers Game we will take their bus to the various bars downtown.
The boys are planning to start the night out at our house, probably watching some college football. Then they are going to hit up a few of Thom’s favorite bars around the area, including the Wagon Wheel – made famous by the old tee shirt Thom always used to wear.
It should be a great night!!!
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
REMINDER
We have received a lot of the RSVP cards, but there are still a few out there... Don't make us hunt you down
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Music Selections in Process
Some criteria we are considering as we are going through the list include:
- If Thom starts tapping his foot than the song is probably a yes
- If I start dancing than the song is probably a yes
- If I start singing/yelling the words than the song is probably a yes
Ha, notice the difference between our reactions :) Thom is just not a dancer. But he knows he has to hit the dance floor at our reception :)
We should be through the rest of the song list next week, in time for our first planning meeting with the band.
If you have any song requests you need to get them in now!!!
Necklaces are A GO!
Linds looked great in her dress. I am glad all of the girls like the dress! Linds tried on the third jewelry attempt during her fitting, and we both liked it! Thank goodness!
So the necklaces were finished early, and they look great with the dress. We are A GO with the jewelry!
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Details Details...
One of the details we figured out was the remaining components for the unity candle. Instead of buying some unity candle holder, that we would probably never use again, we are combining some family candle holders to make our own unity candle. I already posted about using my Grandma and Grandpa Ross' candle holders. Those will hold the taper (tall and skinny) candles. We are borrowing a pretty glass holder from Mom-Ross for the center pillar candle.
This week I got the candles for the unity candles, and a few others for some random candle holders. The random candle holders are going to be placed around the reception to add a little color.
Thom is going to dig out a box from the garage for Jax to wrap as the envelope drop box. Jax is pumped to create the drop box. She has been on the hunt for wrapping paper that would coordinate with our wedding colors. Good work MOH!
We started making a time line for the wedding day and the day before. The idea is to give everyone in the wedding party the time line so they all know what is going on and where they are suppose to be.
Today at lunch Kristan our Baker and I stopped in at Glen Oaks. Kristan wanted to see the site, and get a better understanding of were her cake would be positioned. She got all of the details she needed, including the location of a the nearest power outlet.
I am sure we will be busy with a lot more little details, and not so little details, as we get closer to the big day. It is getting closer!!!!!
Bridal Party Gifts
After searching the Internet we found some pretty great stuff. We ordered the gifts last week and over the weekend. And we are starting to get them delivered to our house. Its like Christmas here, with all of the cool gifts we have to hand out.
Everyone in the bridal party will have to wait until the Rehearsal Dinner to get your gifts.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
For Out of Town Guests
Restaurants
- Breakfast Club http://www.thebreakfastclubrestaurant.com/ Our favorite for breakfast and great for lunch too!
- Up Town Grill http://www.uptowngrille.com/ Yummy hummus and good beer selection. Lots of choices for dinner dishes.
- Sweet Lorraine's http://www.sweetlorraines.com/ Local, organic and delicious
- Beans and Corn Bread http://www.beanscornbread.com/ Good Soul Food - Amanda loves the Mac and Cheese and Thom likes the Greens.
- Cameron Mitchells' Steakhouse http://www.camerons-steakhouse.com/index.cfm?SelectLocation=2 Higher end, but the best steak we have ever had!
- Copper Canyon http://www.coppercanyonbrewery.com/ Just down the road from the hotel, a little pricey but usually has a few good special beers
- CJ's http://www.cjsbrewingcompany.com/ Great deep dish pizza, and OK beer, but only a short drive from the hotel
- Mind Body and Spirits http://www.mindbodyspirits.com/mbs/ 100% alternative power with a local and organic menu
- Arbor Brewing Co. http://www.arborbrewing.com/ local organic menu, good selection of beers
- Woodward Ave Brewers Co. http://www.thewabsite.com/ everyone calls it the WAB
- Dragonmead http://www.dragonmead.com/
- Michigan Brewing Co. http://www.michiganbrewing.com/index.html home of KidRock's Badass beer!
- New Holland Brewing Co. http://www.newhollandbrew.com/ located on the other side of the state but home to one of Thom's favorites Dragon's Milk.
- Bell's http://www.bellsbeer.com/ also located on the other side of the state, but home to one of Amanda's favorites Oberon
- Downtown Birmingham http://www.enjoybirmingham.com/ lots of cute boutique shops
- Downtown Plymouth and Northville http://www.downtownplymouth.org/ not as many boutiques but better prices than Birmingham
- Downtown Ann Arbor http://mainstreetannarbor.org/ good shopping but UofM is playing at home the weekend of our wedding so it will be crowded
- Somerset Mall http://www.thesomersetcollection.com/ HUGE mall!
- Twelve Oaks Mall http://www.shoptwelveoaks.com/ Big mall
- Glen Oaks http://www.oakgov.com/parksrec/ppark/glen.html play at our reception site!
- Fox Hills http://www.foxhills.com/
- Beacon Hill http://www.beaconhillgolf.com/
- Fox Creek http://www.golflivonia.com/
- Others http://www.michigan.org/Things-to-Do/Golf/Default.aspx
Attractions
- Detroit Institute of Arts http://www.dia.org/
- Henry Ford Mesum and Greenfield Village http://www.hfmgv.org/
- Detroit Zoo http://www.detroitzoo.org/
- Frankenmuth http://www.frankenmuth.org/ Michigan's little Bavaria
- Traverse City http://www.visittraversecity.com/ Wine Tours
- Others http://www.michigan.org/Default.aspx
If you would like any more recommendations for things to do while you visit for the wedding weekend, we are happy to help!
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Girls Jewelry Attempt Three
I really tried to talk myself into the jewelry, but it really just didn't look how I wanted. Devin agreed, so I knew we had to go with attempt three.
Since all sales at David's Bridal are final, I am going to try to sell that jewelry on eBay. Wish me Luck :). I knew I should not have bought that jewelry without seeing it in person. You would think I would have learned my lesson when I ordered the candles based on a picture...
After we left Kray Chic, Dev and I went up the road to a bead store. The ladies at Too Cute Beads were very helpful. They had crystals and pearls in tons of colors, including ones that matched the girls dresses and sashes. Devin and I picked out the beads and the ladies are going to make the necklaces and earrings based on the pattern of the David's Bridal set. With supplies and labor these unique jewelry sets are going to be about the same price as the David's Bridal sets, and they are going to be ready in two weeks!
Kind of wish I would have thought to go to a bead store first, but than you guys wouldn't have anything to read about :)
Dress Fitting #1
I tried on My Dress with the shoes and just kept smiling! Luckily the heels were just the right height, so I don't need to hem the dress. The seamstress and I did some tweaking to a few areas of My Dress.
Devin helped me choose which type of bustle. Who knew there was more than one way to bustle a dress?
My second fitting is scheduled for October 7th.
Larry agreed to take all of the girls sashes and my veil to steam them. He made it seem like no big deal, but I was really grateful that they would even deal with the items that I bought outside of their store.
Devin's fitting went even better than mine. She didn't need anything changed.
Hotel Block Price Reduction
She agreed to reduce the Block room rate to $72 a night for a King bed room, same as the on-line price. This price include breakfast and the shuttle to and from the reception. The price is still $95 for a room with two beds.
It great that the hotel is being reasonable with our block room rate. We hope you all can take advantage of it!
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Cookie Table Count
We have a total of 14 Bakers!!!! And 21 different types of cookies!!!!
Based on our estimated head count we are asking the Bakers to make about 50 of each type of cookie. That should give us a delicious cookie table of over 1,000 cookies!!!!
Yummy!
Don't worry we have to go baggies so you can take some of the great cookies home with you.
Music Selection
Thom and I quickly glanced over the songs last night. There looked like a lot of great dancing songs!!!
TJ also wants to set up a meeting with Thom or I to start coordinating the wedding reception. That meeting probably won't be for a few weeks yet. But we do need to figure out the 50 songs with in a couple weeks.
Shoes Arrived
The shoes were ready on the scheduled day.
I did have to call them to confirm they were ready, previously they called when each item that I order arrived. The sales chick informed me that they do shoes different - of course you do.
I left for the store not more than 30 minutes after I called and the sales chick confirmed they were ready for pick up. When I got there I had to wait at least 15 mins from them to find my shoes. There were three different sales chicks going between the front desk and the back storage room looking for these shoes. Another woman was also waiting to pick up shoes for her soon to be Daughter-in-law.
We both ended up getting our shoes, after waiting and repeatedly telling the David Bridal chicks our last names and the brides last names. One sales chick looked at me really funny when I said "Ross", and she asked "Yours or Bride's?" and I told her "Both!"
As this other woman and I were walking out of the store with our shoes, she was amazed at the poor customer service. All I could do was laugh and agree with her. But I did say David's Bridal has an advantage given the inventory they carry, and she seemed to understand.
All that really matters is that I have my shoes and they look great! I am all ready to go for My Dress fitting in a couple of days.
Parents Dance Songs
When we were in Youngstown this past weekend, Thom and I asked Janet about the Mother Son Dance song. She has been asking around to see what other mothers have chosen. She thinks she found one that she likes, but couldn't remember the name. Not that we would tell you the song name anyways :)
Monday, September 14, 2009
Ohio Bridal Shower
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Dress Fittings
My shoes should be (better be!) in tomorrow, so I scheduled the dress fitting appointment for next Thursday at 4:00. I figured just so I don't go Bridezilla I would give a buffer for the shoes... you are welcome David's Bridal!
I also reminded the bridesmaids to schedule their dress fittings. Devin was able to make an appointment on the same day and time as mine. It will be fun to see her in her dress, next to me in My Dress. Lacey and Lindsay are thinking of having their fittings the following Friday.
What's funny is that when we all ordered the dresses, we joked about having to have them taken in for the wedding. Now we will see if that really happens :)
Remaining Paper Pieces
Now we don't want to give too much away, by explaining all she has been creating. Let's just say there are a few small, and a few not so small paper pieces that will incorporated into nearly every aspect of the wedding weekend.
The not so small ones are obvious so I'll let you in on those. The Table Identification, and Seating Assignments are in the works, but those will have to wait to be finalized when we get the head count for the RSVPs.
OK that is all the detail you are getting, at least for now!
Ohio Shower Weekend
It is a Godward family tradition that the Bride and Groom answer questions at the shower. Thom and I were just brainstorming what questions we might be asked, and are a little nervous of how well we will answer.
Thom and I have been coordinating the logistics for the Ohio Bridal Shower this weekend. Mom and Dad-Ross, Dev, and Jax are coming down to Youngstown on Friday afternoon. I will be leaving work a little early so Thom and I can get down to Youngstown with time to visit with everyone and enjoy some local pizza!
We also had to consider what vehicle we will be going down in, to make sure we have room for the gifts on the trip back home. :) Not a bad problem to have :) Then we figured if we had to, we could send Mom and Dad-Ross home with a few things.
Cake Server
Thom and I are going to borrow my Grandma Mae's silver cake server. She was explaining to me that this silver was given to her by my Grandpa's (her husband's) Mother. Yeah its been around awhile.
I got the server from Grandma today, its very nice and will work great at the reception. Good thing I asked if she had any silver polish to go along with it, because we don't have any of that in this house. We want it shining pretty for the big "task" as a married couple.
Details...
Now the details are exactly the things we are trying to keep secret from all of your Blogers to save some surprises for the big event. Keeping that in mind, I will try to explain what we are busy with, without giving too much away.
We are trying to find candles and candle holders for the Unity Candle. We are planning to use my Grandma and Grandpa Ross' crystal candle holders for the two individual candles. We still need to find a matching holder for the center candle, which I hope I have one that works buried in a closet.
We are searching for awesome gifts for our Bridal Party! Thom and I both think we have good ideas, now we just need to make those ideas happen :)
I am trying to finalize what we are doing for guest favors.
Thom is working on his wedding ring.
We are trying to figure out what, if anything, our guests will throw when we exit the church.
We are getting crazy details (crazy because I never thought we would be spending time on small things like this) like what is the napkin size is and what will the size be when its folded.
But we know working on these details is totally going to make our wedding AWESOME!!!
Ceremony Planning and The Program
After we got the ceremony plans figured out, we started editing the Ceremony Program... Thom and I are creating the program because we wanted to surprise Devin :) Since we are two detailed orientated Engineers it is turning into quite the process :)
I created the first drafts of the program, but since we have made more detailed plans for the ceremony, Thom has been taken the lead on editing the program! I gotta give him credit for being such a big help!!!
Friday, September 4, 2009
You Gotta Go to the Next Page
Bachelor and Bachelorette Party Planning
Since Thom and I have not really been involved with all of the details, we can't tell you much. Only that it will be a super fun day!!!!!
Mom, Dev and Me Time
I called around to a few other salons, and ended up scheduling an appointment at Macy's Salon down in Westland. For those of you that don't know, I am originally from Westland and Mom and Dev still live there. The three of us used to go to that Macy's for our hair and nails, so it is kind of funny that we ended up there the day before my wedding.
I also scheduled my hair trial appointment. I was hoping to have my trial the morning of the Bachelorette Party so I could have cute hair for the night, but it didn't work with my hair dresser's schedule. Instead my trial will be the day before the Bachlorette Party.
Boys Tux Fitting
Thanks to all of the guys for taking care of that, especially all of you out of town boys!
The Ladies Outfits
Grandma found an outfit for the wedding too! Grandma was worried she would never find anything to wear, but one day while she was out not even looking for her outfit she found it. She was shopping for pants to wear for the MI shower, she didn't find any pants, but she did find a great looking outfit for the wedding!
Donna, Mother of the Bride is on the hunt for her shoes. She tired a few stores, and is planning to continue the hunt tomorrow.
Girls Jewlery and My Shoes
The necklace and earring sets look really nice. They were not exactly what I was expecting, but they still look nice and will look good on the girls.
While I was at "my favorite bridal store" I asked about my shoes. Originally they were suppose to arrive before the girls' jewelry. Turns out there was a slight issue with my order, and it kind of got lost in the shuffle. But no worries, they will have the shoes ready next week.
Since the shoes will be ready I need to schedule a fitting for My Dress :)
Florist Meeting
She built up an example of most of our flowers to give us a better idea of what our arrangements would look like. She even run upstairs to her storage room a few times to show us different vase options.
We decreased our center pieces order, since we will have the candles. But then we added some arrangements for the church. Thom just smiled when I asked if he thought we needs flowers for the church...as in he knew I would take the money we saved on the table center pieces and put it somewhere else :) But we both agreed that the flowers will add some color to the church.
All of the flowers should look great and really pull together our colors.
Invitations In The Mail
Thom and I finished stuffing envelops, putting stamps on, and licking them shut -Thom got that fun job :) on Thursday night.
We dropped off the invitations in the mail this afternoon while we did all of our running around town.
Your invitations should be coming soon!!!
Fr. Greg Meeting
We also talked with Patty, the Church Secretary. She showed us around the church and explained where the woman usually get changed. As most of you will see at the ceremony, the church is surrounded by glass nearly 1/3 of the way around...so keeping the bride hidden is going to be fun! Patty pretty much gave us the freedom to arrange the alter to fit our needs. We still need to figure out where Thom and I and the bridal party will be sitting during the ceremony.
It was fun to plan out the ceremony in the church and picture how things would work!
Monday, August 31, 2009
Meetings on Friday
Thom has arranged for us to meet with Father Greg. Father Greg took over at St. Clare when Father Fred retired. We have been to mass and talked with Father Greg briefly, but we figured it would be a good idea to meet with him before all of our family and friends fill up the church.
We are also going down to The D to meet with Fanny our florist. We need to finalize a few things with her, and she said it would be easiest to make the decisions at her shop where she could show us actual examples.
Then we will probably use Friday afternoon to take care of a few more random wedding To Do List items. Hopefully the rest of the holiday weekend we can relax!!!
Invitation Update
We are planning to have the girls over tomorrow for dinner and invitation assembly, so hopefully the envelopes arrive tomorrow morning. And the printer has time to print the return address on the envelopes before I pick them up on my lunch break.
If all goes well with the assembly we should be ready to mail out the invites by this weekend.
Cake Decisions
Kristan is getting ready to stock up her supplies in preparation for our wedding cake, so we had to make some decisions.
We have decided to go with two different flavors of cakes. Kristan is going to work her magic to incorporate our cake flavors into her beautiful design!
The rest of the delicious details are going to be a surprise!
Friday, August 28, 2009
Wedding in CA
We are hoping for a nice relaxing get away weekend :)
Invitations at Printer
But they ended up finding the files and printing them off for us to proof. There was a slight mix up with the RSVP card, but Devin was on the ball and fixed it right away.
Then the engineer in Thom and I kicked in! We noticed a few more small things while we were reviewing the printed proof, and asked Devin to make a few more small changes. Again she was on top of things and made the changed right away!
Thom is going down to the printer this afternoon to review another printed proof of all of the changes.
We are going to have an invitation assembly line party next week with Jax, Dev, and Lindsay. Hopefully the invitation will be mailed before Labor Day weekend :)
Update Our Florist
It has been a little tricky to communicate all of these changes over email and phone conversations, so I am going to schedule another meeting. I need to do some hunting for pictures of flower arrangements to give Fanny a better idea of what we are looking for.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Ceremony Planning
We got a chance to read it over a little bit this weekend and it looks like the readings we were thinking of using are actually included in the updated book. The older book, was super old.
Thom and I are planning on putting together the final outline for the ceremony this week. Then we can send it out to Uncle Eddie and the Linda and the music group.
Its kind of hard to plan the wedding ceremony and be objective reading over the vows without getting too emotional.
Just two more months until the real wedding vows!
Tux Fitting
While the boys were up for the weekend they stopped in at the Tux Shop and got fitted.
The girls came along so they could see the Tuxedo style Thom and I chose. Everyone really like the combinations we choose.
Mom and Dad-Ross are planning on stopping in at the Tux Shop this week to get Dad fitted.
The rest of you boys, you have a week to get measured in case you have not gotten to it yet.
Invitations at Printer
Since we have the green background paper, we were ready to take the invitation design to the Printer. We are using Grecko Printing, the same shop that printed the Save The Date Cards, to print our invitations.
I dropped off the data and green paper and placed the order today on my lunch break. They will have a proof ready for us to review on Wednesday evening.
They had to order the envelopes, because I asked for recycled card stock and envelopes. Maybe it’s a good sign that they didn't have any more in stock. Maybe it means that more people are requesting recycled content.
The invitations will be ready next Monday. That gives us a few days to assemble the invitations and stuff envelopes and address the envelopes. Jax is coming over next Tuesday to help on the invitation assembly line.
MI Shower!
The garden party was complete with a big white tent covering lime green tables surrounded by tons of fresh flowers. Aunt Wendy, Jax, and Dev assembled gorgeous centerpieces of watering cans with bright fresh cut flowers, and cute favors of potted herbs tied with personalized lime green ribbon.
The Bridesmaids severed delicious Maurice salads, and Mom-Ross’ homemade Sanders hot Fudge creampuffs.
The big white tent came in handy, since we had a few tears from heaven. The Army of Bridesmaids went in to instant defense mode and quickly covered the gift table. They even powered through to serve the lunch and dessert in the rain! I couldn’t ask for better Bridesmaids.
While the ladies were enjoying the amazing shower, the boys were at the Man Shower. Basically Thom’s Dad took Thom, Chris, and Dad-Ross to the bar for some micro-brew, pizza and nachos. Then Dad-Ross delivered Thom to the shower to help open gifts.
While we were waiting for Thom to arrive, I pulled from the recipe cards to give the beautiful center pieces as gifts. Each woman was asked to write a recipe for a successful marriage. One of my favorite winners, was to “Love, Honor, but NEVER Obey”.
When Thom arrived, to a round of applause from all of the ladies, we started opening the gifts. We got so many nice gifts! It was so much fun opening all of our presents. Thank you to everyone for all of the wonderful gifts.
There are so many great pictures from the shower, but these are a few of my favorites.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
MI Shower Prep Weekend
Aunt Wendy has things all planed out. The bride's maids are helping her this week with the center pieces. Then I am sure she will have plenty of things for them to help out with on the weekend.
Thanks in advance for all of the hard work ladies!!!
Thom's Mom and Sister are planning on coming to the Shower too. So we will have a full house next weekend, it will be fun to everyone stay with us!
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Tuxedo Rentals
Thom had the chick at Gerard show us a demo of each combination on the model. Then he did most of the pickings. I say most of the choices because he was a little indecisive, so I stepped in. Thom went with a tie and vest, no bow ties at this wedding. We are going to have a little bit to differentiate between The (Handsome) Groom :), The Groom's Men and Ushers, and The Fathers. But that is all of the details you are going to get. I'll leave the rest to your imagination.
This is for the fellas in our wedding party. You need to get your Tuxedo measurements taken by Monday August 31st...that's nearly 3 weeks. You can get your measurements taken at Gerard, or a Tux Shop near you. Follow this link if you are not going to get measured at Gerard, for instructions. http://www.gerardtuxedo.com/Out_of_Town_Measurements.html Regardless of where you get measured, you will need to tell them you are with the Ross/Godward Wedding on October 24th...just in case you forgot :)
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Folk Group Meeting
Linda took time out of her busy award winning morning to talk with Thom and I about our music selections for the wedding.
She said we made it easy on her by not having any idea of what we wanted. We figured she would know what would sound great, better than we would.
She gave us a private mini concert when she sung samples of her suggested songs. Hearing her sing the songs, as apposed to us Engineers just reading the words :), really help to make our decision.
Uncle Eddie Meeting
Uncle Eddie came up from his new parish in West Virgina to visit with us. We went over the "Together For Life" book that we got from our per marriage meetings. It is basically a fill in the blank book on how to organize a Catholic wedding ceremony. Uncle Eddie explained that it is more of a suggested outline, and that we can personalize it as we see fit.
It was great to talk with Uncle Eddie! Talking with him was just like having a conversation, it didn't seem like we were on trial for marriage approval (like some of our other per marriage stuff).
After seeing how great a job Uncle Eddie did at Chris and Christie's wedding, we are so excited to have him preside over our ceremony.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Flower Girl Visit
She is such a cutie pie! She is going to be a great Flower Girl!
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Girls' Necklaces
For as much as I am against David's Bridal, I sure spend a lot of time there! I was talking with my Mom about this today. Her and I agree that they can make it without the customer service since they have offer a large selection of items at reasonable prices.
I must say that this time around at David's Bridal I did have a lot of help from one of the sales ladies. She was able to answer all of my questions, and refereed me to her manager when she couldn't.
They do offer the green necklaces that Jax and I saw in a blue color that will match the girls sashes. I ordered them, and they will be arrive in September!
Paper Trail
We will need more paper for the Invitations than we need for the Save The Dates, so I wanted to get a head start on collecting. Of the four craft stores I ventured into on Sunday, I gathered less than twenty sheets of paper.
After little success on the paper trail, I finally talked with a sales associate. She informed me that the stores get their shipments of new stock in on Wednesdays. I got the phone numbers for the stores in my area and the stock number for our paper.
I'll be making some phone calls tomorrow.
Tuxes Locked In
Thom called them and locked in the summer sale rate. We are planning to stop over at that shop next week to pick out the men's tuxedos.
We think the out of state boys can just get measured around there area, and call in the dimensions, but we will confirm when visit the shop next week.
Deal On Candles
But I am getting ahead of myself. Lets start from where I left off on the last candle related entry. Thom returned the second attempt of candles I got on-line, and we decided to get them ourselves at the store. Target had the right color, but not really the right price. Then Devin remained me that Micheal's had the right color- not sure if you remember but when Jax and I first started looking for candles we found them there, but decided against them because they were scented and only came in two different heights.
The good news that Devin explained to me was that now the candles at Micheal's were on sale! But she brought up a good point when she said that they were probably on sale because they wanted to get rid of them, since they were a Easter seasonal item. I took Devin's advice and went out on Sunday in search of these illusive candles.
There are three Micheal's Craft stores within a five mile radius of my house - how is that for urban sprawl?!? The first one I went to only had 2 of the smaller size Sale Candles. But they also carry there everyday brand of candles that is offered in a similar color. Well, I had about had it with the candle search so I figured I mind as well get their everyday candles while I was there and scoop up the two sales ones while I was at it.
Then on to the second Micheal's where I had worse luck. They didn't have any of the sale candles and had an even smaller selection of the everyday candles. By this point I was really considering forgoing the candle idea.
Next to that Micheal's was a JoAnn's (yup that's four craft stores within five miles of my house). I popped in there for the fun of it and did a quick lap of the store with no success.
Instead of giving up, and going home, like I wanted to, I powered through and went to the the last of the craft stores. When I walked in, I heard a choir of Angles singing as I laid my eyes on a huge shelf of sale candles!!!! Victory! There were 20 bigger candles and 18 smaller candles on sale. What luck that I bought those two sale candles at the first store to have an even twenty of both sizes!
Just in case you can not tell through the text here, I was overjoyed and relieved all at the same time!!!
All of the sales ladies thought I was crazy with my cart full of candles, until I explained it was for our wedding, then they simply smiled... does that mean they think we are crazy?
I brought home all of the candles (we currently have nearly 80 candles in our back bedroom) and the first thing I did was create a sample center piece. Thank goodness it look as good in real life as I had pictured it through this whole process!
We are totally accepting that the candles are scented (maybe it will improve the ambiance :)), and we may combine the sale candles with the everyday candles to get more variation in sizes. Thom and I need to decide on the layout of the candle center pieces, and return or purchase any more candles we need, because right now we have an odd number of the everyday candles.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
More Pictures Posted
Limo
Bobby our photographer refereed us to a transportation service. His family has used this company for years and has been very happy with them. Its always nice to have a referral from someone.
The limo is going to take the girls and I to the church to finish getting ready, and then pick up the boys and get them to the church on time. After the service and the family photos, the limo is going to take us and the bridal party to Glen Oaks for more pictures.
I don't want to give too many details away about the limo, but I will say we should have "The Star Treatment." It will be fun!
Engagement Anouncements Published
Mom-Godward told us that our announcement was in the Vindicator, down in Ohio. She was going to get a few extra copies for us to take home when we visit next weekend.
Aunt Wendy told us when we were in the Harbor Light news. I still have not seen the actual paper yet, but she read it to me over the phone. They had a nice write up about how my Grandparents (on Dad's side) met up in Harbor Springs included in our engagement announcement.
Just today Grandma and I noticed the announcement in the Observer, the local metro Detroit paper. The Observer is delivered to several cities around the area, here is the link to our announcement from the Novi paper: http://www.hometownlife.com/article/20090730/LIFE/907300438/1106/Novi+Engagement++Ross+&+Godward
Monday, July 27, 2009
Plans to Visit Uncle Eddie
Uncle Eddie was working at a hospital in Pittsburgh, but he was recently assigned his own perish in West Virginia!
We are excited to sit down with him and hear how things are going at his new perish. It will be fun to start planning the actual wedding ceremony too. Its seems funny that we have been planning for 6 months now, but we have not even planed out the most important part of the day.
We are going down to Thom's parents' house next weekend, and will drive from Youngstown down to see Uncle Eddie in WV on Saturday.
Engagement Pics in Studio Rescheduled
Since our weekends are filling up quickly, hopefully Bobby's schedule will be open for a photo shoot on a week day evening.
At least that gives us more time to figure out what we are going to wear.
We are going to try to figure out a new date with Bobby at the beginning of August.
Bachelorette Party Planning
We came up with a few options for the night, and Jax is going to send out an email to get some feedback for all of the girls that are invited.
I don't want to give too much away, but most of the night is going to be themed after my all time favorite sport! No its not motorcycle racing, even thought that is coming in a close second these days :)
Continue Work on the Wedding Invites
Thom and I reviewed all of the drafts, and Devin made the last few small changes. We just asked her to make some tweaks to her favorite insert, and the wedding invitations should be ready.
Thom and I need to get some more supplies for when we put the invitations together. Then we should be ready to send them to the printer.
Ross Bridal Shower Invites
We look forward to seeing all of the ladies at the Ross Bridal Shower. That's right, I said we. The Big Man himself will be making an appearance. Don't get too excited ladies, Thom is only coming near the end of the Shower.
Aunt Wendy and the Bride's Maids are working hard preparing the Shower. It should be a great event!
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Getting Excited!
We went to music in the park a few weekends ago and listened to an Irish band. They were awesome! Thom even stood up and clapped along with a song… I might have had to give his arm a tug to get him goin but he kept clapping along. After the concert I bought a CD, and every time I listen to it I get excited for the honeymoon!
Thom and I have talked to a few of our buddies, and it seems like everyone is pumped for the wedding. They are excited for us of course, but they are also really excited for the reception. Thom and I are thrilled to celebrate with everyone, especially with all of our out of town relatives and friends!
Since my dress has arrived, I just get giddy every time I try it on. When Jax and I were checking out the shoes, I didn’t want to take my dress off.
We still have 90-some days until “I Do”, and I am sure as we get closer we will get more excited!!!
Shoes Ordered
Jax met me at lunch on Friday and helped me decide on the shoes. The shoes looked really great next to the dress, so I had to get them. Of course the service at David’s Bridal was not stellar, just like my past experiences, but the shoes just looked too good.
It was kind of fun to show off my dress in their store. Not to sound like a snotty bride, or anything. But all of the staff asked where my dress was from and complimented me on it! :)
While Jax and I were walking around the store to make sure the shoes were comfortable, we found some cute jewelry. The jewelry on the shelf was only in green, so I am going to check on the web to see if we can find it in blue. Hopefully we can find it because its not everyday that Jax and I agree on jewelry. :)
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Engagement Pictures in the Studio Scheduled
Not to give too much away, but I think we will be dressed more casual in these pictures - more like our normal styles :)
Bobby has finished editing our Park photos, but is have some issues with his website. These issues should be resolved in a few days and we will have access to all of the touched-up pics.
Newspaper Engagement Announcement
The engagement announcement and an engagement picture will be published in the following papers:
- Westland, MI - Observer
- Livonia, MI - Observer
- Farmington, MI - Observer
- Harbor Springs, MI - Harbor Light Newspaper
- Poland, OH - Town Crier
- Youngstown, OH - Vindicator
Most of the papers just had us fill out a template with our info, and the paper will write up the announcement on their own. Most of the papers said it would take 1-2 weeks to publish, but some said it will depend on space. I guess we will just have to keep our eyes open.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Motorcycle Wedding :)
We are off to another motorcycle race this weekend. We have a wedding to go to on Friday night for our friends Missy and Bowers, and then we are planning on heading down to the track on Saturday morning.
As much as we enjoy all things racing; the bikes, the competition, and the people, we are clearly not the biggest fans. Check out this racing couple that was married at the track: http://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?lnk=rss&article=37291
Working on the Invitations
Turns out there was a bit of a mix up on the calligraphy. Aunt Wendy's friend is in fact not in the fancy writing business. But its probably a good thing, it gives Thom and I more time to edit the invites, and we won't have to worry about getting all of the papers ready with enough time for someone else to write up the envelopes. It does mean though, that we will have to tune up my printer. Between the save the date envelopes, and all of my flash cards for the LEED exam we have run her dry.