I'm having trouble editing the post below....so, here is what I would write in it if I could....

When we began planning our reception we wanted the same things other receptions have: cake cutting, toasts, grace before the meal, a photo-booth (more to come on this...so cool!!) and a guest book.

But come on. Let's face it. What the heck do you do with a guest book? Many people have told me that they had them because they were "supposed to" and are now sitting in a box in their closet.

Amy gave me this idea.
Amy. I love you.

I created a book on Shutterfly, with blank pages for people to sign--like a yearbook! Isn't that a groovy idea!?!?!? Best part is...I created it and ordered it Thursday, it arrived on Tuesday. The quality is GREAT! I love it, love it, love it.

So...I want your thoughts. What do you think?

And yes. Now you know the Big Guy's real name....

Wedding Idea #498--Our Guest Book

Click here to view this photo book larger

Garden Photos....
Since I live in a townhome, I can't have a traditional garden. Which is probably a good thing because I have no desire to weed a garden.

I have found that doing a container garden is my cup of tea. No weeding required.

This weekend, I took some photos of the different flowers and plants in my garden. Check out what my little point and shoot captured (keep in mind I lowered the pixels from over 3000 down to 320 so they'd upload to blogger faster)....

My cherry tomatoes are starting to come in!

I have also decided to grow heirloom tomatoes. I love this photo of the tomato blossom!

The Big Guy told me that his mom used to plant Moss Roses every summer out on their farm. I thought that was very sweet!

Then I burst his bubble by saying, "Well, you realize I bought them because they were only $1 for a 6 pack?"

This little bee was doing his thing, not even knowing I was snapping his photo for the blog world to see....

You Know I Love You, But (#4)....
Dear Big Guy....

You know I love you.
But you have a way of sneaking up on me and scaring the crap out of me that has to stop!

Including the other night. It's 2:00 a.m.. You're on your overnight shift, so I have the bed to myself. I have my earplugs in and suddenly I think I hear the shower. I roll over and see the bedroom door shut.

I sat straight up in bed. I stumbled out of it (literally), race around the bed, to the bedroom door. I peek into the hallway and yep...the shower was running. I literally stood outside of that door for a minute and debated about kicking the door open, shoving back the curtain to then do who knows what to whomever would be in the shower.

Granted, my only weapon would have been the plunger.

But I hesitated. I walked to the back door by the garage and saw your stuff. Clearly you were home.

I waited until your shower was done and while you said to me through the bathroom door, in the most childlike voice, "I came home sick from work", I still wanted to punch you in arm for scaring the crap out of me.

So, while you may be a big guy, you certainly have some stealth like ninja skills that I wasn't aware of....how did I not know this?

How about we look into a bell for your belt?
That way I can hear you coming and I won't have to grab a plunger to defend myself.

Love
Me.

A Day in the Life of a Flower Girl.....
First, you show up to the wedding with cute red flower clips in your hair.




Then you hold your basket of flower pedals and pose for your Godmother (that would be me).



Then you ask your mom for her camera because the bride is 20 minutes late and you want to pass the time until your big moment.




Then your Godfather (that would be my cousin Spencer) decides that it would be fun if you posed with your brother for a photo.



Your brother feels otherwise (guess I didn't capture any of the "bunny ear" photos! ha!).







Then it's time for the big moment! Time to walk down the aisle. Your brother is the ring barrer, but there's no pillow, so you walk down together.



But soon you're not tossing the flowers high enough or fast enough so your brother gives you a tutorial....



"Just grab a big handfull and toss them, like this!"


And soon your cousin, the bride, comes down the aisle in the dress that your aunt (my mother) made for her.

Yes. That's THE dress (read about it here).





And you stand there with everyone else, listening to the pastor.








And you wait for them to exchange rings.



And for a kiss (that didn't happen....there was no kiss! What's up with that?).



So that you can make a mad dash for the parking lot so that we could get to the KC Hall for cake.


Afterall, that's the best part!

How the Big Guy Proposed....

Over at Kelly's Korner, we are talking about proposals!

Since I just got married (you can see photos and stories, here, here and here), this is a nice way to wrap up the wedding stuff.

Ready?

He proposed in the car on the way home from Costco.
I'm serious.

We were discussing a story on the news about a woman who posted a video on facebook on the birth of her child. A full on, show the goods, video. My response was "why would you do that?!" As we were chatting about that, the Big Guy says, "you know, your Christmas list is kinda small, are you hinting at something?"

My reply was "NO! Of course not!" (it was small because, well, I couldn't think of anything!).

So, as we discussed weddings for the 800th time in our almost 5 years of dating, I finally looked at him and said, "Are you asking me to marry you?"

He said, "What if I am? Would you say 'yes'?"

I said, "Of course I would!"

And that my friends is when we laughed out loud and said at the same time..."Did we just get engaged?"

A few days later, a ring was placed on my finger and we got married on May 22nd.
And I couldn't be happier.

I know folks want the fairytale proposal...one knee, romance, flowers. Not me. I knew we would marry, and honestly, I didn't need the romance. I just needed to know he was ready.

He was.
We are.

Now head back over to Kelly's Korner for more because I'm sure there are some WONDERFUL, lovely propsals that don't take place in a car, driving 70 MPH down the interstate.

And for the record, I wouldn't change any of it.

Yes. I Talk A Lot With My Hands....
OK. So on Monday I talked about being on Mall Cops.

The episode is up.

http://tlc.discovery.com/videos/mall-cops-mall-of-america-double-trouble.html

I'm at 3:34 mark.
At least I didn't talk about manure.
And that's Tracy standing next to me. Either she's really into what I'm saying or she's thinking, "wow....you talk a lot with your hands."

Enjoy! Happy Wednesday!

Important Items to Note....
Couple of items to make note of.

1. Our Annual Online Silent Auction for my Breast Cancer 3-day team starts TODAY! Here's the deal: all money raised goes to our team to meet the walker's minimum fundraising requirement of $2300 each. See something you like? Want to donate money to a great cause? Then GET OVER THERE! Click here to see what's up for grabs....

2. TLC's how, Mall Cops: Mall of America was on Thursday night. At the beginning you could see my friend Tracy and I chatting about how we adore the Pioneer Woman. You can read about it here, or watch it online at TLC (it might not be up just yet). The episode is titled Double Trouble, and I'm at about the 3 minute mark. Oh. And one of the books she signed is in the auction!

Yes. I talk with my hands.
A lot.
Even when I'm on the phone.

3. Our new bed is divine. Thank you for asking.

4. Wedding photos have arrived and I cannot begin to tell you how much I love them. I'm also working on a Shutterfly book of our photos so that at our reception this September, folks will sign the book rather than a traditional guest book.

OK, folks.
That's all I've got.

I'm off to bid on some auction items!

Movin' on Up....
About 5 years ago, the Big Guy bought a brand new queen size bed on sale at the local furniture place. When we moved in together, my hand-me-down bed was recycled and we used his bed.

And approximately 3 days after sleeping on it I said, "We need a different bed."

We tried a memory foam mattress topper. That did the trick for a while, but once the weather turns warmer, it's like sleeping in a sauna. Not to mention the fact that I sleep next to a human furnace.

So, after the wedding, we took the wedding money my dad and grandfather gave us and we got this.


Oh yes!
A KING SIZE BED.

It's one of those beds where when the Big Guy flops around in the middle of the night, I don't feel it. THAT will be worth the cost, believe me.

Like the comforter?


I got some awesome bedding courtesy of the gift cards I got at various showers (thanks, everyone)! I got a summer comforter, a winter comforter, two sets of sheets, pillow cases and a dust ruffle. Thank you Target for putting the bedding I registered for on clearance. I am forever grateful.

Now if you'll excuse me, I plan to spend all weekend in my bed.
Get your mind out of the gutter....
I'm working on the 3rd Annual Online Silent Auction for our 3-day team. Be sure to stop by on Monday...we'll have some great stuff!

Don't you dare bid on that Goats milk stuff. That's mine!

Wedding Details #2, The Ribbon....

I had mentioned a few posts back that there was a story about the pink ribbon around my bouquet. I thought I would share that story.

When the Big Guy and I started dating, I was working full time for a summer camp as their office manager and enrollments coordinator (during the winter I worked on camp enrollment, in the summer I managed the office).

We began dating just a few weeks before I headed north for the summer. On a day off, I came down to his place as a surprise. I had already met his parents in passing prior to this day, but it was during this visit that I met his parents and chatted with them for hours.

Needless to say, I think we hit it off!

The next day back at camp, after lunch, I came back into my office where my staff were full of giggles and smiles. I asked what was going on and discovered a beautiful floral arrangement on my desk.

Wrapped around the vase was this pink ribbon.

I kid you not when I say this: when I looked at that ribbon I said, "If I end up marrying this guy, I'm using this ribbon round my bouquet."

I still had the vase (who doesn't keep a vase?) and the ribbon was still around it. When I worked with our florist, Tami, I asked her to put the ribbon around the flowers. She was kind enough not to use any double sided tape on that ribbon so I could take it off when I got rid of the flowers.



When the flowers were delivered, the Big Guy looked at the flowers and said, "Those are pretty! I like the ribbon!" I then told him about the ribbon, how I kept it and had Tami put it around the flowers.

He looked at me and said exactly what I thought he would say....

"And you call me the sap."

There you have it. The story of the ribbon around the flowers!

Wedding Details #1--The Broaches....
Thank you all for your kind words about the wedding photos! I cannot begin to tell you how fortunate I am to have found our wedding photographer--and the best part is, I work with her! Who would have guessed that right down the hall was such a talented girl.

So, many people have asked questions after seeing the photos, so I thought I would do a few posts about those! If you have additional questions, ask away. I'll address them in future posts.

The most popular question I have gotten has been: What's the story on the broach?

You ask.
I answer.

My mom made both my dress and Julie's dress. The reason was simple: my mom offered. Back in 1989, my aunt got married and asked my mom to make her dress. My mom said, "I'm only doing this one other time, and that is when you get married." Granted, she didn't anticipate my cousin asking her to make her dress.

Anyway.

After looking through patterns and trying on dresses, I settled on the strapless, t-length dress. It was going to be very plain-jane. No frills. No nothing. As I was at the fabric outlet buying the silk organza to go over the satin of the dress, the sales girl tied a pear green ribbon around the silk bundle.

It hit me like a ton of bricks. I wanted a green sash, made out of the left over material from Julie's dress. I then found the purple material, the coordinating color for my wedding, in which my mom made a sash for Julie's dress.

Everything was falling into place nicely.
Until we tied the sashes.

Needless to say, bulky satin doesn't tie real well into a knot.
Honestly....it looks awful.

My mom offered to loan me my great-grandmother's pin. The same pin that was sitting at her house in Montana. The same pin that my step father couldn't find prior to his leaving Montana to fly to Minnesota.

I needed a plan B and I needed it fast. We headed to Michael's to find a pin. We got Julie's pin there, as well as the pin holding together my little jacket (it was also my 'something blue'). But we had no luck finding a pin for my sash.

I talked to some of the girls I work with and they came through like a champ! I had 3 pins to choose from and my aunt and I decided that this one is the best.

So.
Julie's sash pin = Michael's
Kelley's jacket pin = Michael's
Kelley's sash pin = 'something borrowed' from a co-worker.

There you have it!
The story on the broaches.

What You've All Been Waiting For.....
Today at work, I got the best surprise ever.
A disk with almost 500 photos from my wedding.

FIVE HUNDRED PHOTOS.

I'm not kidding.

You want photos?
Well, here you go.
And no. I won't upload all 500.

But here they are....
Who loves ya'? I DO!
Thanks for being so patient!