Last 100 Days

Yesterday, we reached a pivotal point in our 18-month engagement: we reached the 100-day mark. I cannot wait to marry Jacob! In fact, if we could just fast forward to the day after the wedding, where we leave on our honeymoon and start our new life together, I would be happy.

But alas, there is still MUCH to do on the wedding planning front. And it is beginning to make me nervous! Especially as I sit by and watch people whose weddings are a month after mine doing things I am no where close to ready for (including invitations, etc.). A scary reality check to be sure!

I find myself reading our wedding checklist almost daily. I think the luxury of time is drawing to a close as I realize that I need to kick myself into action stat!

Current Wedding To-Do List
Locate missing guest addresses
Create a "do not play" list for the DJ
Decide on ceremony musicians (scariest thought at the moment)
Get the guys situated on the tuxedo rental
Order Jacob's wedding band
Lunch meeting with Todd Tyler (minister)
Purchase my wedding day perfume
Finalize the guest list (scary! We hit a whopping 294 last week...stomach just dropped to my feet)
Buy components of table centerpieces
Determine accessories for various tables (cake table/guest book table/etc) at the reception
Have invitation paper cut
Print invitations
Assemble invitations
Address invitations
Buy stamps (found some FUN ones at USPS.com)
Send invitations
Begin creating program

If I can get all of this complete by the first week in July, I would be happy. There is still a lot to do even after these things are taken care of! Yikes!

But I must say that I have finally come to grips with the fact that things will go wrong or not turn out exactly as I "plan." And I am ok with it. As long as by the end of the day, we are together.

I am going to leave you today with a great movie ending...Jacob and I thought it was hilarious. It is from The Graduate. We went to the Kentucky Theatre the other night to see it during the Summer Classics Series.

Now Showing! Engagement Photos!

In case anyone is interested...our engagement photo session gallery has been completed and is ready for viewing!

Here is a taste...

Take a look at the complete gallery here: http://www.pictage.com/838628.

A spring day in Keeneland

Mary posted the first round of photos from our engagement photo shoot at Keeneland last night! I think they turned out super cute! Take a look at them here: http://www.marylashbrook.com/blog/.

Strike a Pose

In just a few days, Jacob and I will be heading over to Keeneland for our engagement photo session with Mary Lashbrook. So excited!

And it looks like we may get our wish...we really wanted a cloudy/rainy day for the session (love how days like that appear in pictures!) and it looks like rain for Monday. Just praying for a little warmer than what the forecast is predicting (a cool 59 degrees), but it is what it is.

This weekend, we will be figuring out our attire. I am wearing a mauve/pink color dress that is really silky and super cute. But I still need to figure out shoes (considering some cute strappy sandals)...and now maybe even a sweater to wear over it for a few pictures. As for Jacob...that will be the real project this weekend (wish me luck!).

I have scoured the Web looking for poses and ideas for our shoot. And I found some pretty cute ideas! Here are a few of my favorites:

Photo from Image Jolie:

Image from Jennifer Creed Photography:

Image from Melanie Mauer:

So that was just a sneak peek of what to look forward to in our engagement shoot. Stay posted for how it turns out!

Time flies when you're having fun

One year ago today, Jacob asked me to marry him! So hard to believe it has been that long already. Time really does fly, eh? Only 5 months and 15 days until our Big Day...

This photo was taken on April 6, 2009 at the Melting Pot...three days after we got engaged.

If the shoe fits...

Today is exactly nine months since Jacob asked me to marry him. That is so hard to believe! (Which means that we are only nine months and 15 days away from walking down the aisle).

To walk down the aisle in style, I found (and fell in love with) a pair of shoes that I am seriously contemplating for the wedding day.

They are nothing like I was envisioning - they are silver and have lots of jewels on them. And they are not kitten heel shoes - they are probably a solid three inches in height.

I found these shoes on New Year's Eve at Off Broadway Shoes in Hamburg. The best part: they were on clearance! Scooped up these beauties for only $48.

Barring any unforeseen problem, I believe these will be the shoes I wear (to the ceremony at least). I feel that these shoes easily fit into my image of old Hollywood. What do you think of these?

Later this week: Jacob and I will make a final decision regarding florist (and flowers) and look more into our two DJ options. Stay tuned!

Taking Inventory

With a 17 month engagement, I knew that we would have plenty of time for planning...being engaged...and saving money. However, I think the extra time has made me lazy! Jacob and I have been engaged for nearly 7 months already and I feel like there is still so much to do. In actuality, we do have quite a bit to accomplish, but we are moving along at a nice leisurely speed.

What gets me are the people who have gotten engaged recently and have just as much - or more - planned for their weddings that are just as far off as mine! Makes me feel like even more of a slacker. :)

My big thing lately has been to get organized. The wedding binder is looking good, budgeting spreadsheets have been laid out, checklists created and timelines drafted. I am in a good position. I just need to move forward!!

To feel a little better about what I have accomplished, I am going to do a little inventory.

Things I have to date:

• A date/time: September 18, 2010
• Ceremony site: Southland Christian Church (where we both grew up)
• Reception site: Keene Run Golf Club
• Caterer: DaRae and Friends
• Wedding Party: Check (sans a few of the ceremonial roles/ushers)
• Minister: Todd Tyler (close to Jacob and the Kelly's)
• Color scheme: emerald green, dark orange, white
• Photographer: Mary Lashbrook

Things I have ideas about:

• Invitations
• Programs
• Centerpieces
• Reception/ceremony decor
• Ceremony components
• My dress
• Wedding party attire
• Flowers

Goals to accomplish before Christmas 2009:

• Research and hire a DJ
• Research and hire a florist
• Make a decision about a cake and hire a baker

Also along the way, I have bought misc. items that we will need for the big day. Things like crafting supplies (bone folder, paper cutter, corner rounder), dessert serving set (super cute orange/green set from Pier One), dried grasses and berries for a centerpiece at the reception, etc.

The many ideas out there are a bit overwhelming...I think it is my fear that I will get the whole thing planned and then have some totally other ideas come into mind. And then what will I do??! I think the only thing is to make my decisions and stick with them...no matter what else may come up.

One year...

T-minus 365 days...

On April 3 of this year, I got engaged to one of the greatest guys in the world. Jacob and I have been dating for almost four and a half years now. We met at the grocery store we both worked in through school. I was 19 when we went on our first date (a local haunted trail on Halloween night, 2004) and 20 when I called him my boyfriend. We've had our share of ups and downs and even did the long-distance relationship when Jacob lived in Alabama for work in 2007-early 2008. But through it all, he has been my source of support and strength and my best friend.

Five months of our engagement have already flown by, and I am seriously caught up in the whirlwind that is planning a wedding. It is insanity! I never realized how time consuming and overwhelming the entire situation could potentially be. Luckily, we set a date pretty far into the future (September 2010) and I have gotten the major things for the wedding booked and ready to go (ceremony and reception sites, caterer, photographer, minister, etc.)...but there is still a long way to go to make this the perfect day! Piecing it all together will take some serious thought and planning.

And this is where I plan to document that journey. This blog is more for myself, so that I may take some time to document my engagement period (and the planning process) and truly grasp all that is going on around me. As the wise Ferris Bueller once said, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." And I certainly do not want to look around in 6 or 12 months and wonder where the time went!

In 365 days, I will be Kristin Kelly. I'm really excited!! So much to do, but so much fun to have along the way!