Congratulations Cindy! You look so beautiful!

Thanks for the words of wisdom, some great stuff I wouldn't have thought of.

Hope you have a blast on your cruise.

Miss - It's soooo pretty, you look great! I love corset backs

Well, it's too late to change the date, I already told my family and they are buying their airplane tickets and making reservations already. BUT, I am not too concerned about it. My original idea was actually March 29th, but then I decided on March 25th (with the idea of saving money by having it during the week), and my dad suggested the 22nd because it was a Saturday, and I liked the idea of having it sooner than later, and thought it would be easier to do it on the weekend. I didn't even realize it was Easter Sunday until my sister mentioned something about it and by then I already locked in on the date. Ah well.

I will be inviting quite a few people, but I really don't expect a huge turn out, mostly just family and a few close friends. I already discussed the date with my pastor (who is going to be our officiant) and he said it was fine. We're having the ceremony and reception there as well, so that won't be a problem. We don't really have any Catholics in the family, except for John's mom's cousin, but I don't think she would mind. If she was coming and wanted to go to an Easter Vigil she should still be able to do it.

To be honest, I am a Christian but I don't really "celebrate" Easter (and neither does my church, save for maybe an increased attendance and a resurrection based sermon -- no special program though), so it wasn't really on the forefront of my mind.

How silly is this? I read Cindy's post and immediately drew in my breath at the suggestion to practice writing your new last name. I'm such a dork- I feel like that might "jinx" something! I'm sure I'll get over it but I just had to share!

Missmess- love the dress! (um, that was an unintentional rhyme!)

Rakel- For Catholics, Sunday is the main event anyway so never fear! If your location and pastor are OK with the date, you're good to go!

I'm still working on the diet thing. I had to get out of my office today at lunch so I skipped my 70-calorie soup in favor of a nice walk interrupted by a good, cheesy sandwich. I hope it evens out! Guess I'll have salad for dinner...

Cindy- CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

Missmess- I love dresses like that. What a fabulous cut- and you look absolutely gorgeous. And you are already sporting the Just married "glow"

Hey, I just miss you guys...

Does anyone have anything new and exciting to report? I'm in the wedding doldrums! I have everything done that I can do at this point... I just have invitations, RSVP's, table charts and the programs left and I can't jump on any of it ahead of time. Aaah!

Not too much going on here. We went back east for the engagement party which was on Saturday. Very lovely, our families seem to like each other so that's a good thing. Finally got to meet my 5-month-old nephew, so adorable!

We were thinking we'd use the same DJ my sister had at her wedding since we thought he did a good job for them and we'll probably get a pretty good deal, but he's been pretty bad at returning calls and messages. Don't know what to make of that, I know he's not a typical wedding DJ professional, he's more into the club and house party scene around here. I kind of like that about him (most of the DJs we met at wedding expo were some of the biggest dorks I've ever met, sorry but it's true!) but I think that also might mean dealing with a somewhat lesser level of professionalism. Don't know, we might decide to go with someone else yet.

We're scheduling our complementary engagement photo session soon, it'll be pretty with the fall colors coming out now.

We're planning to do our engagement photos soon, too. I've been putting it off in the hope that I will get a few more pounds off first. Ah, vanity!

I wish you luck with the DJ- maybe communicating your expectations (assuming you can get a returned call) when you negotiate the contract would be helpful? I did this with our non-traditional photographer and we agreed on all of the preparation as part of the contract. If she doesn't do it, I don't pay (of course, then I'll be looking for a photographer but I'm pretty confident that won't happen). In the end, it worked out for your sister so you should be good

Hi gals - we're back from our honeymoon - jet-lagged and dreading the reality of going back to work! The house is a mess - presents all over the place (yes, that's a good problem to have!), and we still have wedding stuff to unpack from nearly 2 weeks ago.

Our Med cruise was great - saw SO much in such a short time that we are exhausted. The good news is that this should make it easier for me to get back on track with my workouts - the diet is another story - cruise food is a hard habit to break! I don't even want to see what the scale has to say.

I actually did take my thank you notes with me, and actually DID write them all on the plane yesterday. I am so pleased with myself when I actually do things like that! I had pre-addressed them all, and brought the gift list, which made it pretty easy. Now that's one less thing I have to worry about doing in the coming weeks.

Heading for the grocery store today - time to get back in that kitchen and plan some healthy, nutritious meals for us.

Hope you gals are all doing well.
Cindy

Welcome back, Cindy! I can't believe I finally know someone who really is that organized! Where did you visit in the Med?

We went to Barcelona, Monte Carlo, Florence, Rome, the Amalfi Coast and Sicily. What would you like to see photos of - I took nearly 1500 in those 11 days!

Welcome back Cindy and congrats! Can't wait to see pics from the wedding and your honeymoon. Sounds fabulous, I love the mediterranean. I went to Monte Carlo once, one of the best beaches I've ever been to.

Hey girls - I thought about another tip for you all - try to have some water and/or snacks available for you and the group for during the photos after your ceremony. We had literally not eaten since breakfast, and after a 2pm ceremony my photos went until 5:30! Pete and I actually went through the Wendy's drive-thru for a soda and a small fry between locations because we were dying of thirst. Poor planning on my part, really, but I just didn't think about that part of the day!

Ok, I'll come up with some photos to share.

In Monte Carlo we only really saw the casino since we spent some time up around the palace as well. Too bad we missed the beach!

We were only in each of these places from 6-8 hours, so it was really a quick visit to each of them.
Cindy

Your honeymoon sounds like it was awesome! Thanks for the tip... we're trying to figure out how to limit the picture insanity.

I was so excited- 148 on the scale all week (I haven't been below 150 in years) and then 151 this morning!!! Ever heard of a Greek appetizer called, "Saganaki?" Basically, it's salty cheese soaked in booze and then lit on fire so it gets all good and melty. Last night, I called it dinner. Oops! I'll be drinking water today!

Quite in here these days. We had our engagement photo session on Tuesday this week, we oedered an 8 x 10 for the house and a print for each or our parents. They turned out really nice, but damn prints are expensive. I suppoese that's why they give you the free session.

I finally wrote the DJ and politely informed him that if we don't here from him within a week we'll be looking in to other options. If we have to pay more for someone reliable so be it. We're looking into getting these folks to play at the ceremony, DF made a contact with one of the members through work.

We picked out our invites, just have to figure out the wording.