A wintery visit

This blog entry is a little delayed, but I have had a pretty busy week (and I appologize now for its length)! We had the end of the quarter sneak up on us and I had my first speech meet of the year today (Sarah came with too...oh what one does for love!!)

Becky, Sarah's mom, spent a few days with us last weekend! Sarah and her mom spent a ton of time doing wedding stuff: looking for a dress and visiting the wedding fair in Minneapolis. Needless to say, I had some nice down time to catch up on my tivo watching. It was great to have Becky (my future Mother-in-Law) hang out with us all weekend...even if she slept a lot :) Just kidding! Poor Becky was sick as all get out, but we tried to let her relax as much as possible!

This time, well Becky was snoozing during a movie, Sarah and I took some time to try out new hairstyles for our wedding day... 

Can't you tell Sarah loves this game!!

On Monday, Sarah and I had the day off, so we took Becky out to the Arboretum to see the wedding and reception site. We love the Arboretum! It is amazing how different it is during the winter, but we still had a nice time there! 

We started out with a walk to the Trex Deck, where the wedding ceremony will take place! Let's just say, it look very different right now than it does in the summer!! Just be thankful we are not getting married outside in the winter!

After braving the elements, we headed inside to eat in the restaurant. It was a nummy lunch and then we showed Becky the Macmillan Auditorium where our reception will be!

Sarah and I are coming up on the 6th months until the wedding mark...which is very exciting. Our parents are going to meet each other tomorrow morning and we are plugging away at the wedding plans! This has been an exciting ride and we are very thankful for all of the friends and family who have joined us along the way!!

Mission Accomplished!

I found a dress! Yippee! Yahoo! I found a dress!

My mom, Becky, is in town for a three day weekend to do some fun wedding stuff. Yesterday we had a 1:00 appointment at David's Bridal. There's some crazy road construction in the area, so we were running behind and I was feeling stressed out. Not a great way to start a dress appointment. Then there were SO many people in the store. Again, not a great way to start a dress appointment.

However, I was lucky enough to have a wonderful consultant. She really helped to turn the mood around quickly. Welela was a complete sweetheart and she put me right at ease.

I'd already been on their website, so I had some dresses in mind. However, I noticed a great dress on a mannequin almost immediately. I tried on the dresses from my list and then Welela brought me the one from the mannequin. Is it "cheesy" to admit that as soon as I saw her unzip the bag, I knew it was 'the one'? When I put it on and came out to look in the mirrors, I actually got tears in my eyes. As someone who isn't overly emotional, this was a pretty good indication that this was the dress. It's the only one that got such a strong reaction from me.

Travis was right. When I found the right dress, I just knew it was the right dress. That's exactly what he told me would happen.

I would certainly hate to give too much away on the blog, but I would say that dress is perfect. It's elegant, simple, and kinda vintage looking.

Here are some dresses that I didn't get!

Wedding Officiant

Travis and I are striving to make our wedding as unique and personal as possible. So, we asked my youngest brother, Matthew, to officiate our ceremony. After some initial shock, he agreed! In November we went through the process of getting him ordained on the internet. After jumping through a few small hoops, he is now a licensed minister with the state of Minnesota.

We are so thrilled for Matthew to marry us! This will ensure that we'll have the ceremony of our dreams. Travis and I will be surrounded by all of our brothers and that's all we could ask for!

First Christmas Together

Travis and I are thrilled to be spending our first Christmas together. I'm thrilled to be spending my first Christmas in Arizona! Warm weather here we come! It's been so much fun for Travis and I to blend our traditions together over Thanksgiving and now into the Christmas season. We have such great families and are grateful we can spend time with everyone.

On the wedding front, not much is new. We sort of feel like we just "hurry up and wait". We decided on a location so quickly, now things seem to be slower. I keep getting asked about the dress...no luck there yet...I am hoping once the holidays are over my mom and I can spend a weekend shopping for dresses. That will be a nice item to get checked off the "to do" list.

I've heard the nicest compliments about our save-the-dates. Travis designed them! Isn't he a creative and talented guy?!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Save-The-Dates and Our First Holiday

Hello Faithful Readers :)

Sarah and I are headed into a nice break from school. It will be nice to be able to relax and hang out with family. We have been very busy with school and wedding plans. The Save-the-Dates have been ordered and now we just have to wait until they get here so we can send them out pronto as our Christmas card.

Sarah and I are heading up to Alberta, MN for her family Thanksgiving. This will be our first major holiday as a "serious" couple! We are going to get some good quality time in with George and Becky (Sarah's Parents) before heading up to my Grandparent's house near Brainerd. On friday, we will hang out in Nisswa for the Tree Lighting festivities and watch the fireworks. 

As we approach our first major holiday - Thanksgiving - I wanted everyone to know how thankful we are for your love and support! We have an awesome group of friends and family! 

Wedding Gown Shopping

My mom and I had a BLAST today looking at wedding dresses! It meant so much to me that my mom could be there. We met in St Cloud and started with some light shopping at target, fashion bug, and a dollar store. Then it was on to the heavy duty stuff at Mestads. I have a very clear picture in my mind of what I am looking for.

Don't worry...it looks nothing like this! I am picturing casual, elegant, soft, and flowy. Mom and I found two beautiful dresses. One of them is really a stand out to us. I am going to look at some other shops and see what I find. But like mom said, our first instinct is usually right. So, I bet I will be going back to Mestads to order a dress!

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