IT FITS!

As I mentioned in a previous post, we recently celebrated our first anniversary and I decided that I needed to try on my dress again.  I love the idea of taking a picture in my dress every year on our anniversary.  Well, as long as it fits I guess!  I missed our actual anniversary this year but the pictures below were taken two days later -- immediately after a big haircut!

Please ignore the fact that the pictures are blurry and the lighting is terrible.  My photographer was a grumpy husband who was not amused with this exercise.

It still fits!!  And it obviously hasn't been cleaned.  You can still see where it was lifting up the dress on that fateful day by the crinkled material and extra dirt :)

First Dance Awesomeness

...and we're back! The hubster and I just returned from an amazing vacation in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. We went with his company who sponsored the trip after the team hit their sales goal for 2011. The weather was perfect, the water was gorgeous and the food and drink were plentiful. Only problem: I forgot my camera. Seriously. Who does that?! I'm gathering photos from our fellow travelers and will post a few soon. In the meantime, I highly suggest you plan a little beach vacay to PC, DR. It won't disappoint. We went to our first wedding of the season a few weeks ago here in Denver and they did something amazing with their first dance that I've never seen before. Their DJ, a radio guy, pulled them both into his studio several weeks before the wedding and interviewed them separately. They spoke about how they met, their favorite memories, their engagement and their wishes for the future. He then inserted their comments into their chosen first dance song during the instrumental periods. The couple didn't hear the finished product before the wedding so it was all a surprise. I don't think there was a dry eye in the house after that one! Take note, Brides! That's all for now... Coming up: bathroom renovations pictures (finally!), landscaping update and new living room furniture!

Best Bridal Deal EVERRRRRR

Seriously.  This post required 6 R's in the title, it's that big of a deal.

Unless you don't like pretty dresses, fashion or weddings, you've probably heard about Priscilla of Boston.  Growing up, I thought that this was THE place to get a wedding dress.  I remember making the long drive up from Colorado Springs to Denver to do some shopping with my mom.  We headed to the ritzy Cherry Creek neighborhood and stumbled upon a beautiful brick building on the corner with a wide, steep staircase leading up to a Priscilla of Boston store.  The store was closed, of course, so we normal folk weren't able to step in and have a look around so my mom and I peered through the windows admiring all of the white inside.  Isn't it funny the stories that we remember?

Well I hope you're sitting down... because they're going out of business.  Sad day in the world of beautiful dresses but rockin' news for all of you brides out there who haven't yet purchased your dress!  If I were still planning my wedding, I'd be down there in a heartbeat trying on this gown:

or this one:

or this one:

or perhaps this one:

PoB was actually the very first place I went when I started my dress search.  I tried on a lot of dresses (none of the above, unfortunately) and my mom and I felt like royalty the entire time we were shopping!

Run, don't walk.   And bring your friends because their bridesmaid dresses start at just $35!!!

Ahhhh the possibilities!

The Future of Cookies + Wedding Wrap Up (sort of)

This forum originally began as a way to share wedding plans with those who cared enough to read (thanks, Mom!).  However, I've come to thoroughly enjoy blogging.  I must admit that I've become a bit of a blog snob and love to read through other blogs that began with similar purposes as mine.  Just last night I stumbled across a blog by a newlywed couple who discuss their home decorating/improvement adventures.  They now make enough money off the ad revenue from their blog that they quit their jobs and are full-time bloggers.  Can you imagine?!  Oh, the possibilities...

I digress.

Now that the wedding is over, I've been struggling with the format of Cookies for Dessert.  Do I continue to post fun wedding link and ideas - since I am still passionate about wedding planning?  Or do I move toward a new direction of sharing our newlywed bliss?  I think I'm going to test a bit of both and see where the internet takes us... regardless, we'll still be eating cookies for dessert so the name isn't going to change :)

Wedding Wrap Up.

I promised two topics in an earlier post: What Went Wrong (that you didn't notice) and What We'd Do Differently.  Here you go.

What Went Wrong:  Between photos of the bridal party and the start of the ceremony, I escaped - which is hard for one wearing a big, heavy ivory gown to do - to the reception hall to take a peek at the setup.  The lights were glowing, the room was bustling with movement, the decor was placed on the tables and the scene was breathtaking.  Except that something didn't look right.  It took me a few minutes to place the miscue but there it was, on each and every table.  Ivory flowers.  Beautiful ivory flowers.  Except the flowers weren't supposed to be ivory.  In my recollection of discussions with the florist, the flowers were blush pink.  Soft, feminine, blush pink.  Oops.  In hindsight, I don't think this actually "went wrong."  The room still looked beautiful and there was a nice golden glow to everything.  Perhaps the lack of pink saved us from some over-the-top-girlyness and instead gave us classic beauty.  At least, this is what I tell myself.

What We'd Do Differently: Nothing.  Not a damn thing.  The day was perfect.  It was us.  It was exactly what we wanted. 

I'm still anxiously waiting for the full batch of the professional pictures so, even though this is the Wedding Wrap Up, expect The Real Wedding Wrap Up when I have more pictures to share!

Thanks for reading!

Man Lounge

I read a funny article in the Denver Post this morning that required immediate work-stoppage-for-blogging.  A popular Denver wedding showcase, one that I attended last year, has added a "Man Lounge" for bored fiance's, fathers, etc.  The article interviews several men who are all raving about the movie, Tombstone, the Wii, the beer and the food ("It's cheese, and that's always good,").

Interesting...


My thoughts:
Why would you ever bring a guy to a wedding show with you?!
If you were to bring them, doesn't that mean you want their opinion on something that you deem important?

My Groom was lucky enough to never have to accompany me to a wedding show because, fortunately, I was always able to find a girlfriend to drag along.  However, on the few occasions that I asked him to join me for wedding-related meetings, it was because I truly wanted/needed his opinion.  It is, after all, our day that we're planning.  Yes, I did most of the planning, but it was always with both of us in mind.  Case in point: The girls wore pink.  The boys did not.  They weren't even allowed to have pink boutonnieres.

I digress.

The article made for a good morning chuckle but I imagine that this isn't a trend that will catch on...

Happy Tuesday!

Lesson Learned: Bridesmaids

Blogging live from Raleigh, North Carolina...

Bridesmaids.

The word just leaves a bad taste in your mouth.  At least it did for me when I first started the wedding planning process.  Ugly dress, matching hair, tacky jewelry, chores, bridezilla fits, ... the list goes on and on but never once is a word associated with bridesmaid a positive descriptor.  Why?

We clearly always think of it from the bridesmaid point of view, which involves spending a lot of money on a friend who may not seem grateful.  Here's the Bride's point of view (that's me).

The sleepover the night before the wedding was so much fun.  I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent laughing and telling stories with 3 bridesmaids and 1 that's-why-I'm-not-a-bridesmaid! (jk, KT, I luv u).  I woke up early on the day of the wedding only to roll over and find that my east coast bedmate/bridesmaid was sticking with her timezone and was also awake.  We began giggling like school girls, well, maybe that was just me, until enough time had passed that I deemed it safe to start moving.  The day progressed complete with a bridesmaid (minus 1) brunch, mimosas and a hike up to the venue.  It was bliss.  The perfect way to start a day, any day.  They laughed with me, laughed at me and helped me begin the celebration early.  

That afternoon, as I presented them with robes, they became my (self-named) brothel.  They lounged around me.  Told me I looked pretty.  Inspired me with their own beauty.  And really seemed to enjoy the day as much as I was.  

Time flew by.  

Suddenly, pictures were done, the ceremony was over and the Groom and I found ourselves back in the Cattle Baron Room taking a breath before the reception.  Out of nowhere, my fairies appeared and immediately began bustling my dress so that I could have the dance party that I'd always dreamed about.  Throughout the night, I was brought water, my dress was fixed while I danced, and someone was always near to provide whatever it was that I needed, which was typically just a dance partner.

Moral of the Story:  I get bridesmaids now.  I understand why I asked my 5 best friends to wear a pretty pink dress.  They were more supportive than a Victoria's Secret bra.  They kept me calm.  They kept me on pace.  They made my day perfect with their unending love.  I honestly could not have done it without them.  

To: G, Yael, Sarah, KTC and Jess... THANK YOU.

Sincerely, 

A Grateful Bride

We're Still Married

I have to admit that I've been in a weird state of mind lately.  I think it's a wedding high and I sure hope it stays this way for a while.  We're going on day 10 post-wedding and, as my husband likes to tell his friends, we're still married!

I have several things that I want to blog about in coming posts - mostly wedding related - but for today I'm ready to just talk Day Of.  It was magical, perfect, amazing, better than we could have ever planned.  The day was sort of a blur but there were a few things that stood out more than the others:

While I was getting my makeup done, so sometime between noon and 1:30pm (because I had absolutely  no concept of time all day), Diane, the world's most amazing wedding coordinator/B&B owner/nerve calmer, came into the Girl's Room to announce that the ceremony was going to have to be moved to the backup location.  It had been raining on and off all day, as is typical for this region in the summer, and the doppler showed no signs of letting up.  I was disappointed but couldn't help but laugh when she mentioned that she had told the Groom first and his only concern was that he NOT be the one to pass the news on to me!  I knew that it would still be beautiful, this is why we had picked the venue after all, so the getting-ready process resumed with the hope that we could take some pictures outside before the ceremony.  I think that this was a blessing in disguise.  The ceremony was perfect and the space on the outdoor covered deck fit our group a little better than the original hillside location.  We were still outside and the views of the mountains behind the Chuppah were unreal.  And yes, we were still able to take our pictures outside.  Any doubt we had about the location of the ceremony was officially erased when, 5 minutes following the end of the ceremony, the weather turned to a complete downpour.  I thought it was beautiful :)

Another moment that I'll never forget was standing behind two closed doors with FOB, after the Bridal Party and Groom had walked to their ceremony places, waiting to take our walk down the aisle.  I was shaking.  Like, seriously, shaking.  I wasn't nervous but it was a feeling that I've experienced before.  Crazy adrenalin, perhaps?  My dad was whispering calming words and Diane threw out a few bits of advice although I don't think I ever comprehended what either of them were saying.  The walk down the aisle... well, did I even walk down the aisle?  I certainly don't remember it but somehow I made it to the Chuppah.  I don't remember seeing or hearing anyone else there except for me, my Groom and the Rabbi.  It was magical.

Someone came up to us during the reception and asked, "What were you two talking about during your first dance?  You looked so involved in a conversation."  Well, funny you should ask because that was another unforgettable moment.  The dance started off with lots of I love you's and you look great but quickly turned into a conversation of look, everyone is either in line for the bar or the dessert table! which then led into didn't we tell him to shorten this song to 2 minutes? why is the music still playing? I'm going to give the DJ the cut-off signal behind your back.  True story.  I wish I could tell you that we were whispering sweet nothings to each other but we weren't.  We were ready to get the real party started.

Coming up:
Lesson Learned: Bridesmaids
What Went Wrong (that you didn't notice)
If We Were To Do Things All Over Again...

PS.  Dear Friends, If you have pictures, please, pretty please, send them to me!!

We're Married

...and the day was PERFECT.

4 Days

It's been an abnormally long time since I've posted a blog update.  Please forgive me.  It's just that, well, our wedding is in 4 days.  Four days.  Grandma Sperr was the first to arrive last Friday and MOB and Joe-BOB have been staying with us since Monday.  Four days.  We've been entertaining and hosting pre-wedding festivities since last Saturday.  Four days.

Let me tell you how I'm feeling:
excited
the dress is too tight
ready
nervous
the color scheme doesn't match
I can't wait to finally be married
not ready
anxious
the dress fits great
it's going to be beautiful
I don't want the wedding day to be over
it's already been one year?!


Yes, all of these emotions at once.  My body is going nuts.  We have the marriage license, the caterer and DJ have added additional, unforeseen fees, flowers have been finalized, table assignments have been set... we're ready.

Side note about the marriage license: not only did The Groom tell the lady at the DMV that I, his bride, "just arrived in the mail yesterday!" but we proceeded to demonstrate our political differences while paying for the license:

I fully support this :)



FOUR DAYS!!!!!!!!!

I Am The Luckiest

First things first: I survived the tri.  No injuries, no limps, no drowning.  #Success.

The weekend before the triathlon was one of the best weekends of my life but I have been on a high for so long that I haven't had a chance to blog about it.  My dear, sweet besties:

(dear, sweet besties)

threw me the world's most amazing bridal shower!  As corny as it sounds, I have never felt so loved.  After I got over the weirdness of the fact that all of my good friends where in one room together, it was the most wonderful afternoon.  We decorated cakes and cupcakes, ate cake and cupcakes, drank champagne and laughed! 

MOH Sarah even made aprons for all of the girls as party favors.  Yes, you read that correctly.  She made 20+ aprons, all with different, beautiful fabric for the girls to take home (as modeled below by hard-at-work cake decorators, Yael and Lindsey):

Following the shower festivities, we were off to Downtown Denver for a *surprise* bachelorette party!  BFF Kari surprised me first with a videotaped interview of my Fiance answering questions about me, him and our relationship.  It was so much to watch and guess his answers ... we've re-watched the video at least 3 times this week :) 

The rest of the evening went by in a blur...

Dinner at The Ninth Door

Statue Imitating

A "dance party!"

There was also some fist pumping but unfortunately that picture came out a little blurry!

After a full day of recovery, the parents, in-laws, Fiance and I were off to E.P. for all of the final wedding prep.  Everything went so smoothly and all parties involved now have the needed confidence that the day is going to flow like wine!  We even learned how to use the self-timer!

Next time you see this background will be for the Welcome Reception/Rehearsal Dinner/BBQ!!!!



Lesson Learned: Don't Do A Triathlon Weeks Before The Wedding

Oy vey.  I have never been so unprepared for something in my entire life.  I'm a planner.  I think ahead.  Case in point: I signed up for a triathlon last December.  I did not, however, plan ahead in terms of my training schedule.  Who knew that buying/fixing up a house and planning a wedding would conflict with regular gym time?!  I, clearly, did not know.

So here we are, sitting on the bed, 14 hours from my alarm clock ringing at 5am, three weeks before the wedding, and I had to wipe a cobweb off my bike helmet.  True story.

My entire game plan is changing.  I am no longer hoping to beat last year's time which was 2 minutes from qualifying for the elite wave.  I am now merely hoping for survival.  Bonus points for no injuries, not drowning and not having a limp following the race.  I'm hoping my arthritic hands and sore neck hold up long enough to get to the finish line.   I'm striving for completion.

The bike is in the car, tires freshly pumped with air.  The goggles and running shoes have been packed.

Ready, set, GO.

Baking Deliciousness

During a completely normal work conversation pertaining to chocolate delicacies (what, you think we'd be talking about work?!), I was introduced to the most amazing thing that I've seen in a long time.  Prepare yourself.  Sit down.  Grab a glass of water.  Meet...

Bakerella. 

Not only is this the most amazing name for a blog about baking but her work and creativity is amazing.  I envy her!  Who is she?  Obviously my best friend.  She just doesn't know it yet.  After I was finished reading about Cookie Dough Brownies drool I realized that I'll have to come back after the next 30 days are over and life has calmed down a bit.  Then I can really put that KitchenAid to work!

Speaking of KitchenAid, guess who is coming to town tonight?!  MOB and FOB along with my best BM from Cali!  We're prepared to celebrate all weekend with my bridal shower, "Surprise Night of Mayhem" and final walk-through at the venue with the caterer and both sets of parents.  I am so excited! The Fiance and I scrubbed the house last night in anticipation of our guest's arrival and, if they're really lucky, we'll mow the lawn tonight :)

30 Days and Counting!

Lasting Love

Part of this evening's craft project...

Met and Papa, my paternal grandparents, were married on August 17th, 1951.  The beautiful engagement ring that Travis gave me on August 7th, 2010 is the same ring that Papa gave Met all those years ago.  She wore it her entire life...

répondez s'il vous plaît

Dear Family and Friends,

You have 8 days.  EIGHT DAYS.  We're still waiting on 57 response cards.  EIGHT DAYS.

Don't make me have to call you.

Love,
TB and TG

Tick Tock...

We're getting close!  And marking items off our to-do list every day!

Thanks to MOB, one of our tasks is officially checked-off and the item has arrived... any guesses as to what this could possibly be?!

EEEEKK!!

Bridesmaid = Burden?

My fabulous Fiance sent me this great article the other day from one of his favorite financial websites, Mint.com.  The article, Not Maid of Money: The Burden of Being a Bridesmaid, shows an adorable graphic and says that the Estimated Cost Breakdown to be a bridesmaid comes to the not-so-adorable number of $1,695.

One-thousand, six hundred ninety-five US dollars.


Granted, this is allotting $300 flights to a shower, bachelorette party AND the wedding, $200 worth of gifts to the bride, and several other items ($50 for lingerie??) that are more than a little unnecessary (errr, at least for our wedding).

The article also lists Best Practices for the Bride and the Bridesmaids.  It's a cute, short read and it really made me grateful to the ladies whom I've stood up for.  I did not spend nearly $1,695 to be a part of their special day and consider it a gift in itself that I have wonderful friends who want to stand up for me on my wedding day.

So, dear friends, just because I'm asking you to wear that dress, just think, it could be worse ;)

2 MONTHS AND COUNTING!!!!!!

I Love the Mailman

Whoa, back-to-back posts!  I'm on a roll!


I initially tried to make this post into a Lesson Learned but I really just awoke the anxious person inside of me so there is, unfortunately, no lesson here.  I am working from the home office today and suddenly I heard the noise.  You know, that noise.  The sound of something opening and slamming shut followed by an acceleration and a slow down.  The noise of the mailman!  I patiently watched the postal truck (like a stalker out of the window) make it's way down our short street, counted to 10 and bolted outside to see who RSVP'd today.  Answer: 0

I know, I know.  We haven't even mailed all the invites yet but I came to the realization that I will now be rushing home from work everyday for the next four weeks to see how many small, ivory envelopes are sitting in the mailbox, waiting to be ripped open and recorded in my google spreadsheet.  This is so exciting!

Accessorizing

I don't know what it is about today but I've been thinking a lot about hair accessories.  My original hair plan for the wedding may be changing (I'll know after my fitting in a couple of weeks!) so I'm trying to decide my new plan of attack.  I did a little research and I'm really not a tiara or a bling-bling type of girl so I haven't found exactly what I'm look for yet.

Ever heard of Charming Charlie's?  A dear friend introduced me to the beauty that is a giant store (think J.Crew size) full of nothing but accessories, organized by color, with totally reasonable prices.  Ahhh-mazing!  I've only been completely overwhelmed once but fully intend on trying it out again tonight now that I sorta kinda know what I'm looking for.

In the meantime, I found the most perfect fascinator... maybe I can wear this to the rehearsal?

Hello, perfect!

SuMMer!!

I love summer.  Like, seriously, ridiculously, OMG love summer.  Today is the first day of the year that temps are reaching 90degrees.  Summer is here!


We survived a double-wedding weekend last weekend and I am still telling everyone who is willing to listen what a wonderful time we had!  Saturday morning started with a long drive to Pueblo, CO to attend Ashley and Colin's wedding at a beautiful Catholic church.  The ceremony was wonderful, the bride was stunning and the time with my former co-workers was priceless.  We headed back up to Denver for Kari and Jue's rehearsal dinner at a local Chinese restaurant (yum!) and I'm proud to say that the rehearsal paid off for all of us!  Sunday was the bridesmaid brunch and pre-wedding festivities followed by a beautiful ceremony and reception at Arrowhead Golf Course.  Kari was glowing in her custom-made dress and has inspired me to take my own wedding to a whole new level!

We met with our Rabbi on Monday and I'm relieved to say that not much work, on our part, needs to be done for the ceremony.  One less task on our to-do list is great!  Speaking of to-do list, guess what we did last night?  Yup, put together the longest to-do list you've ever seen!  Just when you think you don't have that much left to do, you realize that it's the little things that are so time consuming.  Etsy has become my new best friend so some of our DIY projects are pushed in that direction - which is fine with us!

Wedding Craft Party, Round II has been officially scheduled for Sunday, June 12th.  Thank goodness for friends who are willing to try their hand at my crazy, crafty ideas!  We're going to spend this coming weekend building a retaining wall in our front yard... just be thankful I didn't send out an invite for that!

Happy Summer!!

100 DAYS!

We got the guest book last night!  I was really nervous about how it would turn out.  I made it myself using Picaboo (which I highly recommend for online book creation) and got to the point where I was so frustrated that I just hit Order Book.  How many times can you stare at a single page to make sure the pictures look good on opposite sides of the binding, that the frames line up just perfectly  and wonder if you actually do want to put a picture of Travis sticking his tongue out at me for all of our friends and family to see?  Well, I decided that I needed to stare at least 1,000 times before I was sure.  I made it to about 756 before I ordered.  Anyway, I digress.  IT LOOKS GREAT!!  That's one more item checked off the to-do list.

Round II of Natalie's Wedding Craft Party is slowly being planned.  I won't subject my amazing friends to any hole-punching this time but there will be lots of glue and tape and general craziness.  The venue has now been fully paid for (thank you, MOB!!) and the dress is preparing for a final fitting (gulp).  We're in the home stretch, Ladies and Gents!

My dear friend and BM is having her own Wedding Craft Party this weekend so I will be at her house working on the same madness that I subject my crew to.  So excited!!  Next weekend, Memorial Day weekend, we will be guests at TWO weddings and I am so looking forward to them both.  We just booked our hotel room for a Chicago wedding in July but are still praying to the Southwest Airlines Pricing Gods to give us a good sale in the next couple of weeks.  Yes, I downloaded DING! on my computer.  The good news in all of this...

Wedding season has arrived!!