Calgon, take me away

So it's a little stressful planning a wedding. I have completed the online pre-marital counseling test. The results should be interesting, since sometimes it took several tries to submit my answers and other times it only seemed to take several tries. Which means I inadvertently answered questions that I didn't mean to answer. Should be a fun meeting on Sunday.

So I wanted to share with everyone how I de-stress. Besides writing in this blog, I look at LOL Cats which always make me laugh. There are also LOL dogs, if the "kittehs" don't amuse you.

This one seemed appropriate for a wedding blog.

Culture Shock

On Saturday, Tom and I attended our first wedding together. It was a wedding for one of Tom's friends from work and it had some distinct differences from the weddings I'm use to attending in Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas.

I've already realized that groom's cakes are not a tradition here, but we will have one. Of course everyone I talk to in Maryland only knows about one groom's cake- the bleeding armadillo from Steel Magnolias.

However this wedding was very different. There was a head table, which seems very common here, though I've only seen it one other time (at Buddy and Jill's wedding in 2006- btw their baby, Jack, is an adorable 1 month-old now!) However the introduction of the wedding party, family and friends by the emcee, was something I have never witnessed before- bridesmaids carried in by groomsmen, end zones dance routines, etc. I just chalked it up to being in the northeast.

Then came the tossing of the bouquet and garter. Tom kept talking about how nervous he was when he caught the garter at Dave and Rose's wedding. I thought it was sweet that he was nervous, but little did I know why he was nervous. At every wedding i have attended, the guy that catches the garter dances with the girl that caught the bouquet. When they asked for a chair, I assumed that the bride and groom were going to take a picture with the guy and girl. Little did I know what was to come. I fully understood Tom's emotions when I watched the guy that caught the garter, place it on the leg of the girl that caught the bouquet. I was shocked!!!

At least i don't have to worry about that at our wedding. Very few of our friends and acquaintances are unmarried. If there were more, I'd do cake pulls, but that's another Louisiana tradition.

and the dress

It's big, it's white and I will be removing the straps, but once I tried it on I knew it was the one for me. Plus it was in my price range, unlike the $1000 one I tried on previously.

It's from David's Bridal, Style # V9302 if you want a closer look or would like to see the back.

Of course the average high when we're getting married is in the high 50's so I may be a little chilly on my wedding day, but "I'll have my love to keep me warm." (Any ideas on where that line comes from?)

Reception

Here's where our reception will be

The church

Here's where we will get married

The Envelope Please

Today we are writing thank you notes. Tom's family threw an engagement party/barbecue for us last weekend at his mom's house in Westminster. Everyone was very nice and very, very thoughtful. It was an overwhelming success, despite the rain that kept all of us indoors, or at least in the garage. The day began with lots of food and ended with a rousing game of flip-cup in the garage.

Unexpectedly, many brought gifts for us, hence the Thank You notes, which were purchased at Target with gift-cards received at the engagement party allowing us to thank those that gave target gift-card with thank you notes they enabled us to purchase. It's the circle of life, or maybe we are just doing are part to keep Maryland's economy going, or maybe we should all just buy Target stock.

I'll post the photos soon from the party.

In the Beginning

I want to keep a record of our engagement, so I decided a blog would be a way to keep everyone informed. Tom & I met on September 4, 2006 at Hightops Bar & Grill in Timonium. Mr. Sneaky, actually suggested we go out to eat there the night he proposed. His plan was thwarted however by the large crowd there that night due to the Maryland State Fair taking place next door. He perservered however, and proposed to me in our backyard that evening, August 22, 2008. My family is quite excited, as any reader of my step-father's blog can attest.

So I hope everyone enjoys this. With my friends and family scattered throughout the central and eastern time-zone, I still want to share everything with all of you.