Newlyweds!

My mother has 5 sisters and 2 sisters-in-law meaning I have 7 very wise women constantly giving me advice - wanted and unwanted. The best thing about advice, however, is that you can politely listen and politely decline the advice if you feel it does not apply. If you feel you cannot be polite, just keep your big mouth shut. That's what I've learned anyway.

At my bachelorette party, two of these aunts came to me separately saying, "Marriage isn't easy" or "Marriage is hard" or some other variation. Naturally, my "smartness" came out and I replied with a sarcastic "No...really?!" or "I thought it was super easy!" Trust me, I'm nicer than I look.

Not exactly advice, now is it? More of a warning like a tornado watch beeping across your favorite TV during Prime Time. Slightly annoying, breaking up your plans.

I take everything with a grain of sand because of my laid-back attitude. I get it from my dad, but it meshes well with Mike's constant worrying.

So this got me reflecting: first year of marriage - hard or easy? Everytime we run into someone we don't see very often the first question is always, "how's married life?!" I'd like to know the proper response to this question. I always say, "Good" or "Great." But I often wonder if anyone is saying "Wow, it's harder than I thought!"

Marriage is hard if you make it that way. We've now been married a little over 7 months and the only thing I find hard is finding time for eachother. We really don't fight unless it's about how little we see each other, or if we're frustrated from work.

We joke and we're both very sarcastic. I can't stand that his socks seem to multiply overnight and find themselves in every nook and cranny of my house. He harps on me for my hair dryer + curling iron(s) + flat iron + roller set cords being all over the bathroom, in addition to my many products in the shower. But both of those arguments are to be expected when you first start living with someone!

Marriage isn't hard. Hard implies it's a part-time job. It's not easy, but what in life is actually easy?! My advice is to cuddle, cook, and cancel. Cancel plans and don't overfill your plate of life or you'll find yourself not being able to spend enough time together. Sneak in extra time with each other whether its carpooling to work or waking up early to have breakfast together.

But DO NOT forget about your alone time. You don't need it ALL of the time, but every now and then it's a good idea to go out with friends, see your family by yourself, or watch Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone while drinking an entire bottle of red wine and polishing off the chocolate gelato. Not that I did that....

Happy Monday!

We're Married!

Wow, I feel like it was forever ago that I started this planning blog as an outlet to my frustrations! Two (almost 3 months) later, we're married and happily settling in. Obviously there are some adjustments to be made when moving in together for the first time so I've compiled a list of "Do's and Don'ts" and short anecdotes of our process!

* DO communicate about the move in process. We did pretty well on this one actually. We have similar tastes in furnishings, although my opinions are probably stronger than his. A little bit of ying, a little bit of yang and we're good to go!

* DON'T forget to be understanding. The day we started moving our stuff in (before the wedding) Mike started getting all excited and offering ideas such as "bean bag chairs instead of couches" and "where can I hang my Guinness wall mirror?" I had to keep in mind that this was the first time he had his own space/place. He had lived with his parents previously, (as did I but I had a couple college apartments) and this was the first time he was being creative with his decor. I had to approach this situation with caution letting him know that while yes, honey it is both of our space, it was not nor would it ever be a bachelor pad with bar lights and bean bag chairs.

* IT'S OKAY if you don't put everything in a spot right away. We didn't find places for some things until much after the wedding. As you accumulate "stuff" you figure out storage for everything. Nothing needs to be immediate, just enjoy the time together.

* MAKE SURE to keep the TV out of the bedroom. It's for sleeping. Among other things. (Hey! We're married!)

*DON'T FEEL obligated to answer people's dumb questions about when you're going to have children. If you do feel so obliged to respond, make it quirky so that people know it's not an appropriate questions to ask. "So when are the babies!?" "So when are you going to (get a job/grow up/stop asking stupid questions/GET MARRIED?) I enjoy answering absurd questions with another question. Tip for wedding process: When people ask you if you're nervous (it seems to be a reaction of some sort for people who don't know what to talk about) simply respond "About what?" acting puzzled OR "No, if I was, I wouldn't be getting married...."

* DO write thank you notes for EVERYTHING! People appreciate them, and you're more likely to get thank you's in return. I even once wrote a thank you to my mother's cousin who came to my college graduation party and stated in front of everyone, "My family doesn't believe in giving gifts or having parties for college graduates because you should be making good money at that point." So, I wrote her a thank you card for coming to the party. Thank you's always make people feel bad if you write them correctly.

*DO buy an awesome couch. Let's face it, you spend most of your time on it. And those of you saying you don't, you're lying. It's called the living room for a reason.

*DO celebrate your first holiday as a married couple! We're so excited, we put up our little itty bitty tree that leans to the left and some decorations throughout the house. I love Christmas, so I'm glad we got married so close to the holidays that we still like each other.

*ABSOLUTELY DO go on a honeymoon. Even if it's a mini-moon. We have such fond memories of Seattle. Even though we didn't go to Fiji or Mexico (which would have been amazing!) we had so much fun spending time with just us, going with the flow, and doing whatever we wanted. *DON'T pack too many activities into your honeymoon, however. Just enjoy each other's company. Wherever you go, you'll have a great time and make the best memories, even if it's just to the hotel down the street.

*DON'T WORRY be happy.

The Wonder-ment of Hobby Lobby

Have you ever been to Hobby Lobby? I don't have one near me so all of my 23 years have been spent in the expensive aisles of Michael's or Joann Fabrics. To get my cheap fix, I've even resulted to Walmart for all of my crafting needs. Never more, never more.

My invitation guru, Lisa Arruno, suggested we hit Hobby Lobby for some design ideas. So this past Saturday after our mid-mark meeting with the hotel, we trekked out to Bolingbrook (yuck) to see the Wonderful Lobby of Hobby. We arrived (for the second time after having to make a bathroom/lunch pit stop at Panda Express....?) and I immediatly grabbed a basket. I tend to have a short attention span and get cranky, whereas Mike is darting all over the place looking at things we've looked at four times, or discovering a new corner. To my amazement, they DO have awesomet things. And everything is 50% off? What kind of place is this? A Christian store...

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Long story short we snagged some sweet booty for like $40 that is really going to add to the style and design of the wedding. Granted, I'm not really sure what style/design we're going for at this point but we're full of ideas and have the merchandise to match!

We picked up a large glass jar for the "Candy Bar." We will actually be borrowing four penny candy jars from Lisa that she used for her son's birthday party. Best.Mom.Ever! Also for the "Bar" we picked up some little easels and chalkboards to write directions and the candy types. We will be doing a mock-up closer to the wedding! Now we just have to decide on the candy types but I found a fabulous website of Old Fashioned Penny Candy that is reasonable so I'm very excited! We plan on purchasing Chinese takeout containers and putting our monogramed stickers on them and VOILA: favors! So exciting!

We also picked up some decorations for our head table that will be cute as decorations in our home as well....when we get one.... :)

Until next time!

xoxo

100 days! Scatter-brained....

No lies, this is the diary of a scatter-brained bride. For whatever reason I cannot seem to concentrate on one task at a time. I guess I don't feel THAT bad about thinking I'm behind on the wedding stuff because I talked to the friend who does my hair; her wedding is August 6th and she is at the same point we are! One small victory at a time, Kelly....

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That brings me to my topic of the week - 100 day countdown! Remember in grade school when the teacher would announce the 100th day of class and you would do things that had to do with the number 100. Both educational and fun, right? Well there's nothing educational about wedding planning except the fact that Mike and I might be able to start a business with all the planning knowledge we have behind us at this point.

The 100th day countdown to the wedding can only mean one thing - tomorrow we're in double digits! Which only makes me lose it just a little bit. It doesn't help that this is the busiest time at work and I'm sick in the middle of summer but to say I'm stressed would be an understatement. I bought some candles, aromatherepy, and got a facial to deal with the stress but I feel like it's still here...underlying stress....

So just for kicks I thought I'd go over what's left for us. It really isn't anything too terrible that we can't handle but just to get my bearings...

1) Find a ceremony musician. (The church provides one, of course my mom wants to find someone to play the "actual organ".)

2) Tuxes. I think I'm going to have to step in on this one because Mike and the groomsmen went out to Bdubs to get together a couple weeks ago and only talked about shoes, went shopping for Silly Bands, and watched my brother eat 9 of the hottest wings. No, they're not 16. (Well, Marc is 15...) but their median age is 22. If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself...?

3) Bridesmaid dresses - some have ordered. Some have not.

4) Florist - need one. Cheap one.

5) Table decs - we're doing these ourselves but we keep going back and forth about what we want....

6) Invites - have been ordered but we'll need to be stuffing and sending these soon.

7) Honeymoon - still can't decide.

8) Finalize menu with the Hyatt

9) Make church decorations - more info to follow on those!

10) Make flower girl's gift

11) Bridal party gifts (we know what we're getting we just haven't gotten them yet!)

12) Transportation?! - *silent scream*

13) Complete Pre-Cana. We're signed up, just have to make sure we show up and get the certificate! :) (And learn something!)

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I'm sure I'm missing things but, as I said before, scatterbrained bride cannot seem to think of what these are! A lot of things are on our completed list however!

1) Venue booked

2) Ceremony booked (Church)

3) Dj Booked

4) Photographer booked

5) Invites ordered (pics to follow)

6) Save the Dates sent

7) Makeup artist picked (trial to follow)

8) Ceremony singer booked

9) Bridal Dress and Veil purchased (fittings and alterations to follow) shoes purchased too!

10) Shower booked! (August 7th!)

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So most of the HUGE BIG things are done. Just little things to do. Hopefully that makes us feel a little better. Mike's coming over tonight for pizza and we're going to go over everything wedding! We're going to check our lists twice! Updates to hopefully follow :)

xoxo,

Scatterbrained Bride

Details, Details DETAILS!

One of the most important aspects in planning my wedding (besides the music!) is the littlest details. It's the smaller things in life that make pictures, moments, and life. While, true, one could care less about the font on the menu cards, I believe the details MAKE a wedding. Why else do we go out of our way to order flowers and arrange tables? Why else do we make sure the dress, shoes, hair, makeup are perfect? Because when details come together, they make memories.

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While I don't want to give away all of the intimate details of the wedding, because I'm sure you'd prefer to see them for yourself, I do want to share a couple of ideas that we will be encorporating into our special day!

We have been throwing around ideas for our card table for months! It has been such a topic of concern, mostly because when people will walk into the reception/cocktail area it will be the first thing they see. Therefore, it really sets the stage for the entire wedding. *MINOR FREAK-OUT* There are two ideas we are currently considering - branches vs. keys.

Because we're going for a really romantic feel, we love the idea of branches. In fact, the branches will most likely make up the majority of centerpiece decorations.

We love that the place cards are hanging and guests will have to locate their names. However, our concern is that if the branches are not sturdy enough, that people will be pulling on the branches and they will break. Also, if all the cards start turning like Christmas ornaments, it may be difficult to locate one's name.

Our second idea is keys. I love the symbolic meaning of an old key, however my concern is that the look and feel is not as romantic as the branches. We would have to find 150+ vintage keys and tie the escort cards to them. The symbol of a key is pretty romantic in my mind and it definitely goes along with my love for the Tiffany key collection. :) We will be going with one of these ideas but I'm going to keep it a surprise!

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We will most likely be doing the branches for centerpieces. HOW we do them is still up in the air. We still have not found a florist but we're working on it!

I love the branches with hanging votives but I know the higher quality, sturdy branches will be more expensive. But I do think this goes along with our "Romantic" theme very nicely don't you?

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In other news: Makeup! I have found my makeup counterpart in Linda Camacho. She is an independent licensed esthetician and makeup artist that was highly recommended to me by a stylist friend who is using her in her August wedding. She has a facial package for brides and I just did my first facial this week! I LOVE LOVE LOVE facials and she uses Bioelement products which I am familiar with. 4 days later, my skin looks absolutely beautiful. I want to make sure my skin is perfect in 4 months so I'll be going once a month, with the last facial being the week of the wedding!

I have not even done a trial with Linda yet, but I know she's the esthetician for me! I will be doing a trial with her within the next couple of months. The look I'm going for is flawless skin, eyes that pop with black liner and lashes, and a pretty pink lip. I LOVE Carrie Underwood's makeup here....

I love her hair in this picture too. I have described my bride styles as "Romantic" along with the theme of the wedding. My dress is in a soft ivory tone with lots of lace and beaded accents. I am wearing my hair down in soft curls, and want everything to be synchronized with the low candlelight - very soft. Side note: it's particularly hard to find celebrity makeup pictures who have the same skin tone as me. Probably the closest would be Julianne Moore! But she often does a red lip that would look hideous on me!

I am MOST excited to do my hair and makeup trials and have everything finally come together and transform me into a bride! :) And don't forget, it's all in the details.

Yes, I Googled.

I'll be the first to admit it: I am a Google fiend. If someone went through and checked my daily "googles" I'm sure there would be many, and they would be obscure.

Because sometimes I'm just sitting here at work and think of something I would like to know the answer to. And away I click and type.

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Today's topic of googling was "Changing Name After Wedding" because I'm clueless! Part of the reason I have a wedding planner is because I've never been in a wedding, my mom never had a wedding so I have no immediate experience or help! So, I felt pretty silly after googling this topic, however I also found it very insightful. Because as we start getting closer to the big day, I am realizing how many things and different documentation I am going to have to change.

And while I'm on the topic, I know that not everyone changes to their husbands name after the wedding. Yes, I thought about keeping my name but that's what I have brothers for! And besides, I'm keeping the same initials and my new last name is very similar. Plus, bonus points for how cute "Kelly Connolly" sounds! :)

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But my goodness! what a process it is! From my understanding, the first step is to actually get married (ha!) and order a couple copies of the marriage certificate. From there, you must fill out paperwork requesting a new Social Security card. Then, hit up the DMV for a new driver's license. Next, gotta order checks, credit cards, business cards etc. with the new name. Car registration and car insurance will also need to know of your new married name. The post office wants to know, but that will go along with us moving. But I think the biggest hassle of all will be changing everything at work. Do I change my email because it is firstinitiallastname@generic.com? It only makes sense right? But what about all the people who know my old email? I think I'll keep the email the same and perhaps just add my new last name next to my old one in my signature. And for payment purposes, I'll have to submit my new S.S. card to my employer. So there's a process and it all seems to begin and end with Social Security. Go figure.

Of course I'm excited to change to my new name, but I hope I'm still recognizable as...well, myself.

4 Month Mark!

Ahh! Four months already? It seems like minutes ago that Mike and I started dating! But no, 5 years ago! Wow, I'm old!

We have so many exciting wedding related things coming up this week; the most exciting of all that is not even related to our wedding! (We will be doing invitations on Sunday, and some craft projects in between! Will update later!)

Saturday, June 12, 2010 we're attending the wedding of our good friends, Brandon and Herminia.

Photography by Nick Gerber

I met Herminia through my roommate from freshman year at NIU. We pretty much clicked immediatly when we found out common ground - We were both engaged! After being at a couple mutual parties and seeing each other multiple times we figured out everything else we had in common; English majors, love for writing, passion for fashion, larger (ahem) busoms. It was friendship at first site.

More recently, we've been making our boys go on double dates with us but it's not very difficult because Brandon and Mike get along swimmingly. Brandon and Herminia are just great people, great friends, that we are so lucky to have in our lives.

Throughout this whirlwind of wedding planning, Herminia and I have shared notes. We've taken ideas from each other, gone registering together, and share our wedding coordinator and DJ! I attended her bachelorette party a few weeks back and met all of her bridal party and friends. Herminia's sisters and friends are such a great group of girls! I cannot wait to see them at the wedding!!

I am beyond excited to see how all of their ideas have come together for their wedding. I'm sure she's stressing out like no other, but I know everything will be beautiful!

Of course both Mike and I are running around trying to get our outfits together, make sure we have a card, and work on transportation for Saturday but hopefully I will have pictures to post soon.

B & H: We are sooo excited! You guys are such the perfect couple and I am honored to share in your nuptuals! I can't wait to see how beautiful you look Herminia, but I'm sure Brandon is the most anxious of all! See you Saturday, love you!