Wedding Progress of the Past Few Weeks

We’ve been accomplishing a lot of little things the past few weeks, so we thought we would do one entry on all of it.

We got our honeymoon flights booked, or Roger and Becky did.  They were very generous and used their miles to get us flights to Cabo.  We’re leaving January 2 and getting back January 16.

We talked to our priest contact at the church and figured out the details on keys for the reception and when we can get into the church for pictures.

My mom came by the Rocking Horse Inn that we’re reserving for two nights, and we found out we can get some of our wedding pictures done there.

We got our program and invitation finalized, which entails getting our songs decided, time of service finalized (7:00 p.m.), order of bridesmaids and groomsmen.  They should be printed by Monday or Tuesday.

We booked a place for our rehearsal dinner and put down a deposit (Bistro 301).

We picked up our invitation envelopes.  Then Rita came over, and she and I addressed all of them that we have addresses for.

We got a price on our wedding cake.

We sent a timeline of events to our photographer.

We’re in the process of getting our online RSVPs set up.

We picked out our flower girl dresses and bought them.

We bought a tuxedo and all the accessories for Kyle (except shoes).

I went to Monica’s and tried on the dress for one last fitting, and decided on how to do the veil.  On the 20th, the dress will be done, and I’ll pick it up.  I also bought accessories for me, though we’re going to try them with the dress before we’re definitely keep them.

We talked to Fr. Pat, and e-mailed him the program to make sure everything in the service looks good.

We have our ceremony musicians (string trio and organist and soloist) booked and let them know the songs they would be playing.  We think we have our reception musicians booked too.

We talked to the liquor store we’re using, and the manager is going to send us a proposal in the next couple days.

That’s all I can think of now.  It seems as soon as we get one thing done, another thing pops up.  But now it’s 7 weeks until the wedding, and soon it will all be done, so we’re trying to enjoy every moment of it!

Wedding “Nightmares”

I have now had two wedding “nightmares” that just end up making me laugh when I wake up, but during the dream, they are very stressful.  One has to do with the wedding, the other with leaving for the honeymoon.

Number 1:

The ceremony is getting ready to start, and the string trio we’re planning on having is not at the church, which is laid out more like a banquet hall than a church.  Luckily, the organist, who we weren’t planning on having at the time (now we are), decided to show up anyway.  So the organist and the singer we’re hiring are playing and singing music, none of which Kyle and I picked out.  Then it comes time for the readings (I don’t think we ever walked up the aisle).  We’re having Kyle’s dad, Brendan, and Ian do our readings.  Ian is not there.  And apparently, Kyle and I never decided who would read which readings.  Kyle and I are sitting at separate tables (remember, it’s like a banquet hall), he with his dad and me with my mom, so through motions we decide that Kyle’s dad will do the first reading, we’ll sing the responsorial psalm (since Ian isn’t there), and Brendan will do the second reading.  We have amazing hand motions skills in this dream.  After this, I notice (only now) that Fr. Pat is not there either (he must be with Ian).  So there is no one to read the Gospel or give a homily.  So my mom and I decide that we’ll go stand in front of everyone.  To do what, I’m not sure.  Kyle stays in his seat.  Once we’re up there, I realize that I am not in my wedding dress, and I haven’t picked out my wedding shoes.  I have on a yellow nightgown that strangely resembles a comforter I own.  And I’ve got on my gray slipper socks with two different wedding shoes on.  Think Sandra Bullock in “While You Were Sleeping” with the hanger around her neck when Jack comes over.  Maybe my dream is telling me I’ve seen that movie too many times.  When I realize all this, I tell my mom, and I ask her if I should go change.  She says no.  As we continue to stand, I notice that one of my old friends from high school’s mom is standing to the side at the front, holding up posters with the names of all the bridesmaids on them and other important people – basically our program in poster form.  At this point, I realize we must not have had any programs to hand out.  And if we didn’t have programs, then we must not have had invitations, considering Uncle John and Aunt Dana are doing them both.  I’m not sure how everyone got to the wedding on time and everything without invitations.  Maybe our website is better than we think.  I tell my mom that we never sent out the invitations, which she just nods to.  Then I said, “Wait!  Yesterday it was October!  How is it already New Year’s Eve?”  As I start run out, I guess trying to find a calendar to see what day it is, my alarm goes off.

Number 2:

Kyle and I are going to the airport to fly out for our honeymoon, and I am mad at him for some reason.  When we get there, he goes to sit down, and I go to check us in.  We don’t have our seats assigned for our second flight (this is true in real life) because there were no two seats together when Roger booked the flights.  So I tell the people that we’re on our honeymoon and ask if we could sit together.  However, I don’t think I’m very convincing because I’m not very happy, so Kyle and I don’t look like newlyweds getting ready to go on their honeymoon.  But the girl at the desk says she’ll try, but she says their airline isn’t actually the one flying us on our second flight (this is not true in real life), so she’s not sure she can get us seats next to each other.  But they do have something special for honeymoon couples.  So I go to wait with Kyle, and I have my carry-on with me.  In the dream, this turns out to be the bag that I walk to work with every day, so I didn’t really pack it, I just picked it up and brought it with us.  Thus, I needed to go through it before we got on the flight.  I’m digging in the pockets, and I pull out silverware: forks, knives, and spoons.  And it’s our silverware from our apartment (and some that we already gave back to Kyle’s mom), so I can’t throw it out or anything because then we won’t have any silverware when we get back.  I just keep pulling out more and more silverware.  And I have nail clippers and tweezers, and all the sharp objects you’re not supposed to have in carry-ons.  I tell Kyle I’m just going to have to call my mom, and he looks up and says that I don’t have to.  I turn, and she’s walking toward us in the airport.  Apparently, I forgot something that she brought me.  I have no idea what it was, but I give her all my silverware, I just dump it in her bag.  Then she disappears, and it’s time for us to go on our special thing for honeymoon couples.  It turns out to be a trip through the “Admiral’s Hall” whatever that is.  We get up to go, and I have no shoes on, and I don’t know where my shoes are.  I just have socks, and as I walk, my socks keep starting to come off my feet.  I keep pulling them up, but for some reason I can’t walk in a way that they won’t come off my feet.  We get to the Admiral’s Hall, and they show us where people come for dinner and all the fancy dishes.  It’s sort of like a museum.  Then we get to this place with all this jewelry, sort of like the Jewel House at the Tower of London where the Crown Jewels are.  As we’re looking at all the pretty jewelry, I wake up.  I don’t know if we ever made it to the plane (and I got all the “weapons” out of my bag) or if Kyle and I got to sit together on our flights, nor do I know why I was mad at him or where my shoes went.  I guess I just went barefoot.

Aren’t dreams wonderful?

Shower Number 2

Last weekend, Michele McBrayer hosted a shower for me at her house.  It was the first time I got to see her new house, and it’s beautiful.  And the leaves on the trees were bright and gorgeous.  Michele was calling her shower the “old lady” shower, but there were a couple girls there besides me.  And Janet brought Juliana.  It was great to see everyone there.  A lot of the people I don’t see very often.

We had a game where teams danced their expressions of marriage, which was quite amusing.  My mom and Kyle’s mom were partners, and they won.  Michele also had a little book that everyone wrote their advice for marriage in, which was a neat idea.  I think I’m going to bring the book to my other showers to have people write in if they want.  Michele made her strawberry cake, which I had requested, my favorite.  Everyone enjoyed it.

We got a lot of good gifts too.  We got mostly kitchen stuff, but a few non-kitchen items.  We’ve already been using a lot of it.  And this weekend, we had a Halloween party, for which we used a lot of our new kitchen stuff in preparation.  We just had to find room for everything back at the apartment, although we did get to get rid of some of our old pots and pans.

Thanks to Michele for hosting the shower!  I really enjoyed it, and Kyle and I are loving our new gifts!

Engaged Encounter

The last weekend in September, Kyle and I went on an engagement retreat called Engaged Encounter at Mt. St. Francis in southern Indiana.  We spent our time writing and talking and listening to the two presenting couples and a priest.  Though the majority of our relationship has been spent talking over the phone or on skype, we still learned a lot about each other over the weekend.  A lot of the weekend was very personal, so I don’t know how much I’ll be able to share, but there are few things.

We got to wander around Mt. St. Francis and we met an artist who has his studio there.  His art was great.  Michelle Dixon told us we had to have our retreat at Mt. St. Francis instead of the other place it’s held, and we’re very glad we did.  It was a beautiful place.

We had a Mass on the second night of the retreat, which was very moving.  We wrote our own prayers and shared them with the presenting couples.  The priest also had a very good homily.  We really enjoyed it.

We wrote betrothals to each other, which were letters to each other about how much we love each other and how we’re devoted to each other.  They were very touching, and mine almost made Kyle cry (which is quite a feat).  He only got teary-eyed.  We’re really happy that we have our feelings for each other on paper.

We’re very glad we did it, and we encourage any engaged couples to do it.  We’re planning on trying to volunteer with the retreat, too.

The Best Beer in the World

I have, currently, in my possession, at this very moment, the BEST BEER IN THE WORLD!

“But Kyle,” you say, “That is an incredibly subjective statement, who’s to say what the best beer in the world is?” You couldn’t be more wrong.  Ask any beer connoisseur, check any beer related website, ask any monk from the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance and they’ll all tell you that there is one beer that reigns supreme over all other beers: the Trappist Westvleteren 12 from the Abbey of Saint Sixtus of Westvleteren. Please, take the time to consult the BeerAdvocate list of the Top Beers on Planet Earth. Now check out RateBeer’s Top 50. Notice where my Westy 12 sits? That’s right, the very top of both lists.

“But Kyle,” you say, “What’s the big deal?  I could go out and buy a bottle at the liquor store.” You couldn’t be more wrong.  You see, the monks at Saint Sixtus are Trappists and have devoted their lives to the tenants of St. Benedict’s Rule – stability, fidelity to monastic life, and obedience.  Did you see making money off beer in that list?  No?  That’s because they have sworn to only sell goods that directly benefit the monastic life, and not to sell so much beer that they have more money than needs to be met.  Westvleteren beers are sold only at the Abby itself, in Belgium.  Not only that but you must reserve the beer you would like to purchase before you arrive, and they will only accept one order per car per telephone number per month . Now it’s a little trickier, isn’t it.

“Wow, Kyle, that’s amazing!” you say, “You must have a really special occasion to get a beer like that.” You couldn’t be more right.  Caitlan and I will open this mother-of-all-beers at the reception of our wedding, New Year’s Eve.  We’ll dance our first dance, lovingly cut our wedding cake, and lock arms while we sip the finest mixture of hops and grains man has ever made.  It will be the second best moment of the day.

Our beer, I took it out for these pictures and had to have Caitlan put it back before I drank it:

Further Reading:

The abbey of Saint Sixtus of Westvleteren: http://www.sintsixtus.be/eng/home.htm

USA Today Article on the brewery: http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2005-10-03-beer-usat_x.htm

An idea of what people are willing to do for this stuff: http://cgi.ebay.com/24-WESTVLETEREN-12-8

My very first wedding shower

My first wedding shower was a small luncheon thrown by my mom’s prayer group (her groupies) for me at Beth’s house.  It was food-themed, and we had delicious food.  And Deb brought my requested dried cherry scones.  We played games with food sculptures, British vs. American words, and wedding word scrambles.

Everyone brought gifts that I can use for cooking.  Most of them are red, so they’ll all go with our kitchen stuff.  We’ve already used the measuring cups and spoons a lot, and I’m looking forward to using the rest.  The groupies also each gave me some of their favorite recipes, so I’m excited to try those out.

It was a lot of fun.  A great way to start off my showers with a small group of people who have known me since I was a little girl.  Thanks to all the groupies!!

A full wedding prep weekend

Kyle and I went down to Richmond Friday evening to prepare for our wedding fund raiser yard sale that we were having at Kyle’s parents on Saturday.  My mom brought stuff over, Kyle’s mom cleaned out their house, and Kyle and I had brought down all the doubles we had after moving in to our new place.  We stayed up late (Dana stayed up the latest), and got everything priced.  We had a lot set up, but had to move a lot in because of rain.  Then Saturday morning, we moved stuff out, and had people show up well before the sale was supposed to start (as can be expected with yard sales).  We probably priced some things too low and some too high (so they didn’t sell), but we sold a lot, and we made a lot.  Overall the yard sale was exhausting, but a huge success.  Thanks to our parents who helped so much.  We even left them early to go meet with Fr. Pat about the wedding service in London, KY.

We went to church at Fr. Pat’s church, and then we went out to dinner with him.  Then we went back to his house and discussed the service.  It was good to talk with him and ask him questions, and I think he was glad to know what we were thinking.  So there are still a few things left to decide, but the service is much closer to being planned now.

This morning we slept in, and then we talked to Kyle’s parents about wedding plans, in particular the rehearsal dinner.  We’re waiting to hear from one more potential place to have the dinner, but we should have the location for the rehearsal dinner decided and booked soon.

Then we drove to Lexington, and met with a jewelry designer, Pattie, recommended to us by my friend Emily’s dad to take over the design of my wedding band.  Gary, the artisan who designed my engagement ring, passed away somewhat suddenly after a battle with pancreatic cancer at the beginning of June.  We also talked to her about doing Kyle’s ring.  Pattie is very nice, and we think she’ll do a great job with our rings.  So we left my ring with her so she could work on the design.  Now it’s really weird that I don’t have a ring on my finger.  It used to feel weird to always have a ring on, and now it’s the opposite.  I might have to put another ring on until I get my ring back.

We got quite a bit done this weekend.  And we got quite a bit done last week, but I’m not going to write about that because I’m a little brain-dead.  Now we’re back in Louisville, and probably going to go to bed early.  We’re still exhausted.  Thanks again to our parents for their help on the yard sale!

Oh no!

I hope our resorts are still there. The Baja Peninsula and Cabo got hit by Hurricane Jimena.

Sears

Kyle and I went to Sears today and registered.  So it no longer has zero items.  You can definitely tell this is Kyle’s registry, but I’m excited about it too.  Now we’ll have cool tools to match my cordless drill, not that we really have anywhere to put them, but we’ll find a way.  And we’ll build more stuff like our table and recycling center.  And there is some electronics type stuff too.  So check it out sometime if you want.

Also, we got an e-mail from Pampered Chef:

Dear Caitlan and Kyle,

We regret to inform you that the following products on your registry will be discontinued as of September 1, 2009. You might want to drop hints to your guests that they’re available for a limited time.

• 2228 / Easy Adjustable Measuring Cup
• 2229 / Easy Adjustable Measuring Spoon

So if anyone wants to buy us anything early, those would be two good things.  It’s not a big deal if we don’t get them.  They’re getting some new products too, and they might have different adjustable measuing things.  But just thought we would let people know.

We’re registered!

We actually registered a while back, but we registered at quite a few stores, so we wanted to make sure nothing overlapped.  There were different, specific things we wanted at each place, and everyone has different stores close to them, so we thought it was okay to register at multiple places.  We are registered at Bed, Bath, and Beyond; Target; JCPenney; Williams and Sonoma; and Pampered Chef.  All have websites (I think you can only get stuff from Pampered Chef online), but some of our products are in-store only.  Click on the Registry button at the bottom of our “Bride & Groom” page and you’ll have links to all our registries.  If you’re in the store, or looking us up online (you have to for Williams and Sonoma), if you just spell my name correctly (Caitlan Adkins), you’ll only come up with one registry, I think, on all of them.  A good thing about having a uniquely spelled name.

We tried to cover a range of prices and a range of types of gifts.  We tried to register at Lowes, but they apparently discontinued their gift registry, so we tried Home Depot and they don’t seem to have one either.  Kyle still wants manly stuff, so we registered at Sears for that (but he hasn’t picked anything out yet).  We’ll be keeping an eye on our registries and updating them when we need to.  Yay!