28 Days

Less than a month to go (!!!) and I keep getting more excited and relaxed as our big day gets closer. Not sure what that's all about, but I've always managed to be a little backwards, so what's new?

One bad thing we just found out: Mark's brother has bowed out of his co-best-man duties. Not the one in Iraq, but the other one. I'm completely heartbroken for Mark, but his brother has his reasons. Let's just say he has some major anxiety and complex issues, and even though we've assured him that things will be fine, he's not able to move past them. Now Mark is working on promoting an usher and asking another friend to step in. *sigh* We will figure it all out, but I just feel so sad for Mark.

I picked up our cake topper from the post office this morning, and the little birds are even MORE precious in person!! Much smaller than I originally thought and very, very sweet. YAY!

Last night we went to the location of our first date - Champps - where we are holding our rehearsal dinner. We wanted to try a few options to offer our guests, and when my salad came out, it was practically as big as my car tire. I laughed, but then...I ATE THE WHOLE THING. Mark ate about 1/4 of his and claimed he was "full." When our waiter came to pick up the plates, I said, "Uh...I ate the whole thing, and I'd like to take the rest of HIS home!" At least my sweetie can't say I don't have a healthy appetite for life! ;o)

The weather is getting warmer and the sun is making more repeat and longer visits. I'm finding it difficult to focus, but also finding it quite hard to be anything but annoyingly cheery. This is the exact reason why I wanted a spring wedding; there is nothing like those first beautiful days after a long, cold winter, and I can't think of a better time to celebrate a new beginning. To say I'm happy would be a vast understatement.

Engagement Party Pics

As promised, here are some pictures from our engagement party...I just got a new camera, but these were taken with my old, crappy one. They are a terrible representation of a wonderful party, so I apologize!

The set up at Lorenzo's Bistro - My YOM/step mom made it look so pretty! (Side note: she used Hostas and Mums on all the tables, of which she gave to us to plant in our garden at home...I thought that was such a cool idea!):


Fresh fruit and wonderful baked goods table - the bistro is also a bakery:


Place-settings:


The menu (the food was A-MAZING!):


The cake, which was made to mimic the one I fell in love with in this month's Martha Stewart magazine (I'll scan that in as soon as I have more time):


Mmm...the pina colada cake right before it went into my BELLY - we now have the top half of the cake in our freezer, to be cut and eaten on June 23, 2008 - a year from our engagement date (how cheesy are we?!) :


Some of my peeps:




My little sister giving a toast (isn't she gorgeous, even though I totally took her by surprise with my red-eye reducing flash?!):


My dad (that's my YOM sitting down) giving a choked up toast - "If you know Amy, you know when she walks into a room, it lights up...and now she's met the man that makes her light up all the time..." *sigh*:


Me and that man who, indeed, makes me light up inside and out (Note: after seeing these pictures, Mark and I have decided we need to go on a diet...AND I am in desperate need of advice - before our wedding pictures are taken - on how to help Mark feel comfortable in front of a camera; I truly have yet to get a picture of him that actually LOOKS like him...):


Overall, the day was very happy and heartwarming. We got some great gifts, including The Anti-Bride Guide, the Martha Stewart Wedding Planner, gift certificates from Target, Williams- Sonoma, Linen's and Things, and several other places. We weren't expecting anything at all, so it was a nice bonus to feeling so loved and supported.

I guess the champagne didn't hurt, either... ;o)

Celebration

OK, since the last post was sort of negative, I thought I'd talk about something a little more upbeat. Tonight after work, Mark and I are heading to my dad's in Indiana for the weekend. We originally planned to go and help clean out my grandma's (who passed away in May) house this weekend - the one she lived in for over 60 years. All 8 kids and several of the cousins are getting together to get the house ready to sell. It's not going to be easy OR very fun, but to give us all something to look forward to, my step mom and little sister decided to throw Mark and I an engagement party!

This will be our first formal celebration so I'm actually pretty excited. On Saturday morning, we are having a champagne brunch at a cute bistro to celebrate the fact that I'm FINALLY getting married. Since these ladies know how to throw a party, I can't wait to see what they have up their sleeves. Aside from asking me about possible wedding colors, I have no idea what the theme is, etc...

The invite had an adorable little message and included this picture of Mark and I on the front (please note that my handsome fiance' HATES having his picture taken):



They actually put another version of this picture in the front of our invite that had been drawn on using Microsoft Paint. It was flipping HILARIOUS - I'll try to scan it in later - and I almost wet myself upon opening the card. They hid the real picture behind it so at first I honestly thought they had sent it to everyone. This is just the kind of thing they would do to me, after all.

There. Now you have proof that I'm excited about something slightly wedding-related. Baby steps, my friends....baby steps. ;o)