An Open Letter

Dear Martha Stewart,

I have been eyeing the lovliness that is your tissue paper pomanders and luminaries for at least a month now. I just can't get over how something so simple brings such happiness into a room. Use some bright colors, hang from high ceilings and you've got a magical feel that never fails to make me smile.

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I've been thinking of using these tissue paper creations for my own wedding after seeing so many great detail shots of them from others' events. Although my venue has a ceiling too high to string these pretties from the top, I have been tossing around the idea of using the napkin rings as something to spruce up our favors.

Being the adventureous (and frugal) crafter that I am, I've been saving the tissue paper used in gifts given to me for a few months now so that I would have some "scraps" to play around with. Last night, I decided it was as good a time as any to give this easy project a whirl. And all I have to say Ms. Stewart, is well played ma'am. Well played.

(personal photo)

This, well, this defintely not a pretty dahlia looking tissue pomander is what I ended up with after my accordian folds and poofing. Granted, it was my first try, but upon watching several how-to videos on youtube, I was slightly miffed at how everyone was telling me just how "easy!" these things were. Of course they're easy for them, they're professionals or something. Maybe they can work magic. Cause I did the exact same steps as they had and mine turned out looking like poop while theirs were just like yours Martha.

As one who never gives up (well, as one who is determined come hell or high water that she WILL make these work), I sat down after my shower this morning, fresh for the day, and tried a smaller version. Surprisingly, it looked more like what it was supposed to and my morning was not ruined. I think with a little more practice and a few added sheets of tissue paper, I'll be poofing these babies out like a little flower factory.

If I can only stop ripping the paper...

Sincerely,

Shana

Dancing Around One Another

I've always been intrigued by the game "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon." Granted, I'm not the best at trying to bring every actor I know back to being connected to Mr. Bacon in six steps or less, but I love to hear everyone else who can. And especially see it played out in reality.

(source)

I'm pretty sure that Justin and I danced around each other for a good number of years. He and I attended the same college (he was two years ahead of me) so there's no telling how many times we probably brushed shoulders passing on campus. Heck, he may have even held a door open for me at some point (Georgetown is a small school). It was decided that his face was familiar to me because he participated in the intramural sports for the dorms quite often, and just so happens that Emily and I used to go along to baseball and dodgeball games to cheer GIA along.

Being a country boy from eastern Ky, Justin was familiar with several people that I was acquaintances with while in school. Turns out he was even good friends with the girl who would become my roommate my second semester of freshman year. Justin's roommate went to high school with her, and according to him, they would come to my dorm to hang out with her and her roomie quite often- she only lived three doors down from me. He was also acquainted with a friend of mine from high school through mutual friends dating friends. And when I was introduced to his core group of friends about a month or so into dating, I found out that I lived in the same apartments as Nick & Nicole. The fun just never ends.

Sometimes it's amazing to piece together how situations have worked out over time. So many ways that we could have met and known each other years earlier, but then again so many ways that we could have ended up not speaking today. If there was any ever need of proof that sometimes it is just the whole "right place, right time", I got it. Because I'm pretty sure me at 19 or 20 was not the same as me at almost 24. And when we did finally meet, it was magic.

(personal photo- and yes, he's eating a cookie)

Did any of you find out later on that there were only a few degrees of separation between you and your significant other earlier in life?

A Little Wedding Music Please

As an avid fan of music, and more importantly lyrics, music will hopefully play a pretty large part in mine and Justin's special day. From the pre-ceremony songs to whatever we end up dancing to at the reception, there's guaranteed to be a wide range of genres (I'm more of a country/pop/emo band kind of girl while most of Justin's music makes you think someone is gonna come at ya with a chainsaw). I've also got a few ideas floating around with how to incorporate lyrics throughout the event, but you'll just have to stick around for that.

As for now, I'll leave you with a song that I found not that long ago and of course fell in love with (I'm an emotional sap, what can I say?):

"Marry Me" by Train

Following Tradition...My Way

I've always considered myself at least a partially traditional person when it came to marriage. My boyfriend should ask my dad permission to marry me before proposal, the groom-to-be can't see the wedding dress before the big day, the night before the wedding would be spent in different locations, etc. Until I blew about 90% of those out of the water the past few years. Okay fine, weeks.

Since Justin and I seem to be going about this whole wedding planning ordeal a little back-asswards (as he'd term it), we had already confirmed the date and venues before I dropped the bomb on my dad that we were actively planning anything. While the boy will still seek permission (well, at this point I guess it'd be more like blessings) from Daddy, it kinda ruined the process. Don't get me wrong, Dad will still have opportunity to clean a gun/kill a deer/pull a tree right out of the ground in front of J to prove that he will always be the authority, he'll just get to plan ahead now (make it good Dad!).

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As far as dresses go, the thought has crossed my mind more than once that Justin should come with me to put his two cents in. For shame, I know. I think in the end that the decision he not do so will be two fold; he hates shopping for clothes for himself, so I know spending an afternoon with a bunch of women in a wedding dress store would be pure torture. And while he can have input on what he likes based on pictures on the web, I really want to surprise him the day of.

Speaking of the day of, I'm still a proponent for not spending the night before the wedding together. In my mind it helps build anticipation around the idea of the next time you see one another, it's to join your lives together. However, I do admit that I jumped on the First Look bandwagon a long, long time ago for several different reasons.

First and foremost, it will allow for us to have a moment together before the chaos begins. A moment to take in what's about to happen, to laugh with one another, to hold one another, to just be (and hopefully the photographer will capture it beautifully like this). Second, I think that it'll help take some of the jitters away that either of us may be feeling. Thirdly, it opens up the opportunity to have group pictures out of the way before the ceremony (which is important for us since it'll be almost dark at the venue when we come back for the reception) which frees up time on the other end of the schedule. Not to mention it allows Justin a moment to get all googley eyed seeing me in my dress and tell me how awesome I look :)

While this wedding will encompass everything that it's meant to be about, I feel that each person should mold the experience to make it their own. Don't worry about those who balk at some of your ideas (unless even you know that your suggestion is a little out there) because when it all comes together in the end, they'll only remember it for how beautiful and sincere it was, traditional or not.

It's Still the Darndest Thing

Being the cyber investigator (fine, call it stalker if you wish, but if the information is out there, I'm just researching) that I am, I inquired of the young man's last name from my friends the next evening, looked him up on Myspace and sent a short, yet funny, note to say hello and try to get a conversation started. We ended up exchanging quite a few messages over the next few days.

While walking the next week, Emily met a comment I made about the boy with the response "I'm not supposed to say anything because Kent and I discussed it and decided we were going to let everything happen organically." Which, translated meant "Justin asked about you at work earlier and since I knew you were interested we decided that if you two hook up, it's going to be because you all want to, not because we're pushing for it." Fair enough.

I spent the next month of my newly independent, doing things all by myself, not looking for another relationship life fighting with myself over this boy. On paper, he was everything that I had ever said I wanted in a man, and in the flesh was the epitome of what a perfect balance to me would be. I was afraid that I wasn't ready, that I hadn't lived out my freedom to it's fullest, all the while envisioning all the long nights we could have together just talking and laughing and maybe cuddling or something. I was on the edge of telling him that I was silly for waiting, that he was really all I wanted when I received flowers for Valentine's Day. A complete surprise, and at work nonetheless. I'd never been sent flowers before, and he wasn't even my boyfriend yet.

Two days later, he took me and one of my friends out to Saddle Ridge for drinks and some dancing and after staying out there with me on the dance floor for most of the night, I asked him if he would be my "boo bear" and he laughed and said yes. It was going to be the first day of the rest of my life (although I did lose my phone at the club that night, I still consider it a pretty much win-win situation).

Our first picture together! (personal photo)

Since then, I've really thought a lot about what I've always heard people say. It's when you're truly comfortable and in love with yourself, living life how you want it to be that you finally stumble across that one shining star that's been out there all along. Here's to the many years I'll have with him to always feel blessed that we met. And of course, here's to giving my first born to Emily and Kent for technically being the "middlemen" that brought us together.

It Was the Darndest Thing

It was two years ago that I was finally at a point in life that I was happy. One hundred percent, doing what I felt in my heart was right, perfectly content in the thought of living with my roommate for the rest of my life (even after she'd married).

(personal photo)

And then, it was the darndest thing. This boy came out of absolutely nowhere and pretty much stole my heart.

I was three months out of a long term relationship that hadn't exactly gone bad persay, more like I had built up to be something that I thought I could settle for in the end, all the while knowing settling wasn't where I wanted to be in thirty years. Eventually, my life started to veer one way while his stayed on the path it'd always been on and I knew things just weren't going to work.

My best friend/roomie from college, Emily, told me one day after the New Year that some of her husband Kent's (who actually introduced she and I- and will be the first to tell someone that I "was my friend first!") co-workers were going to start running a few days a week. I suggested that she and I start walking on those same nights and suddenly I had a workout plan (please don't ask about how that turned out).

The first night out, I was hanging out in their living room when one of the guys entered wearing a hoodie from my alma mater and a familiar face. I made some comment (witty I'm sure) about how we matched (I was sporting Gtown apparel as well), which led to a brief conversation about attending the same college and then we were off to perform our respective exercises. Later on in the evening I was able to ask him a few more questions about when he'd been at the college and what he did and such, and when I got home I was still thinking about him.

Luckily for me, I was feeling a bit more forward than usual and decided to make a move...

It's in the Name

Well folks, the title says it all- welcome to my modern twist on happily ever after! In the ramblings to pour out over the course of, well, goodness knows how many months, you won't really find anything revolutionary. Or earth shattering. Or rebellious in terms of tradition (okay, maybe a few hand gestures towards proper etiquette and form). You'll simply find the story leading up to and the journey throughout my happy days of wedding (and life with the boy) planning.

This past Monday was a memorable day for me. The reality behind Justin and I truly starting to plan the festivities surrounding our legal binding finally set in as I confirmed the bookings for our ceremony and reception sites. Although we'd been googling and touring and scheming for a few weeks leading up to then, writing that first check definitely made my heart do a happy dance. And therein lies rebellion numero uno: we're not officially engaged yet.

(source)

Wait, what? Yep, I said it. For all intensive purposes, we are not tangibly engaged. And by tangibly, I mean that Justin has not yet proposed marriage to me with an actual ring. Emotionally, we've been engaged for longer than I can remember now, as the "when we get married" conversations have been happening for quite some time. And to me, that's all that matters. Although there will be naysayers, I can from the heart, truthfully proclaim (and to him on multiple occassions I have) that I don't care if he doesn't slip a ring on my finger until the day we say "I do", we know we want to vow forever to one another and that's that.

So why is it that we decided to buck tradition and start planning before it's seemingly appropriate to? One, because we don't really care about following tradition (although most of Justin's knowledge base about weddings comes from tradition) and two, both of us are, by nature, planner aheaders. Not to mention the fact that anything related to weddings that needs to be booked for the event usually fills up fast once the "season" starts. For example, upon contacting our reception venue, the entire months of May and June of next year were already spoken for. And it was only the middle of April of this year. Geesh. Thank goodness we weren't really working from the "we want to get married on this date so let's see what's available angle" and more from a "let's see when the place we want is free and work around that".

Anyone else out there raise the finger to tradition and start blazing your own wedding planning trail?