Shannon and Gregory Hall :: Married June 27, 2008 :: Killian born October 18, 2009

Birthdays, Babies and Bed

2009-10-08T15:20:00.000-04:00

On Monday October 5, I was getting ready to leave work. Greg and I were going to go to Mongolian BBQ with Angela for my birthday, which was October 6.

I had been to the Doctor earlier that morning for a check up. I recieved a phone call around 4:00 p.m. from the mid wife's office telling me to drive myself to the hospital for some further testing. There was something in the routine tests that was not OK.

They told me not to worry, but to get to the hospital as quick as possible. I called Greg who was at home on his day off. He gathered my belongings and met me at the hospital. Luckily I had already packed my hospital bag for the most part.

We got to the hospital and they explained that I had a high bacteria count in my urine. I needed to get an antibiotic treatment from them because being in the third trimester there were no antibiotic pills that could be perscribed to me. I was to get the IV administered and go home later that night. Greg and sat and visited and did our best to relax while I was getting the IV drug.

While getting the IV I was hooked up to a fetal monitor so they could ensure the bebe was doing good. They were also taking my blood pressure. At some point during the evening my blood pressure sky rocketed and the nurse became concerned for mine and the baby's health. I was then instructed that I would be staying overnight.

Greg and I got scared.

While I was in the hospital Greg would work (since he worked there) and then come visit me, and then go home for the night. Nothing happened to me or the baby. My blood pressure was just very high and they were concerned for our health.

Before I left the hospital I was instructed that I would not be returning to work... Probably until after I had the baby. I wasn't on full bed rest yet, but if I don't take it easy and relax and keep my blood pressure down I may end up on full bed rest.

As happy as I was to not go to work, I wasn't mentally prepared for it. I mean, who doesn't want some time off, but then again - I am at work more than I am at home. I have responsibilities, friends and just stuff... to do... That was a hard thing to digest, but once I did - I felt a lot better. My boss was so ery understanding about it that I had no choice, but to embrace the beginning of my 12 weeks off work.

For my 30th birthday, my unborn child gave me no work for 12 weeks! Happy birthday to me!

Overwhelming Gratitude

2009-09-28T15:58:00.000-04:00

I cannot believe that the baby shower was yesterday. We are so grateful to everyone that came. We are thankful to everyone that helped out with the shower in any way!

My Aunt Jenny basically threw the shower and my mom and Aunt Karen helped put it together too. I am so not a fan of getting up in front of everyone like that and have people stare at me while I open gifts from people. I am getting to the uncomfortable stage of the pregnancy where I feel like my skin cannot expand any further. I appreciate Greg getting up there with me and being just as embarassed as I was to sit there for a couple hours and do that!

It was wonderful to see everyone in one place. I wanted to just sit and visit with everyone all afternoon, but alas, I had to eat lunch and sit with Greg and open gifts!

We got so many wonderful things that I know we will need. Bathtub, sheets, blankets, a TON of books, clothes, diapers... If they make, we got it.

There is no way that we could have ever afforded to buy all of the necessities ourselves. We hope everyone had fun visiting and playing games and eating WONDERFUL food that my family all prepared. We are blessed to have all of you in our lives to celebrate the arrival of our little one.

Happiest Baby on the Block

2009-09-11T12:32:00.000-04:00

Greg and I attended our first baby preparation type class yesterday. We weren't really sure what to expect, but it ended up being a lot of fun.

The class was called Happiest Baby on the Block. It basically covers the methods that Dr. Harvey Karp follows. We have no method or preference to follow, but are open to learning about different methods and then taking small things from each one.

Dr. Karp believes that babies, especially in their first few months of life, can experience "fourth trimester" issues. Babies can have a difficult time getting used to the huge amount of stimuli present in life outside of Mom's body. Their reaction to all of this is to cry and cry.

The Happiest Baby On The Block method formulated by Dr. Harvey Karp, addresses these issues by helping you learn how to effectively recreate the environment of the womb, outside of Mom's body. Once you have learned the steps, you will be able to alleviate some, if not all, of your baby's colic symptoms.

Now, they aren't saying that every baby has colic, but they are saying here are 5 methods and if your child fusses, try them... they should work.

There were only 4 couples total in the class which was nice. We all got to ask questions and no one made the class any longer than it had to be. I think Greg and I left there with a feeling of confidence that we will be able to handle being new parents!

Organic Garden

2009-09-01T15:29:00.000-04:00

We finally got the babies room painted. I cannot say "Thank You" enough to my friend Angela, my sister, her friend Robert, and my friend Jenny and her little sister Rachelle.

Without you guys I would not have a beautiful baby's room awaiting wee little one's arrival.

We picked out the bedding a while ago and decided to go with a bright vibrant green color called organic garden that matched the sheets nicely.

I started out the day thinking I could handle it. I quickly found out that 6 months along pregnant women are not designed to paint walls from top to bottom. I could paint only the middle of the wall without hurting myself!

Angela basically did all the green paint that wasn't in the middle of the wall. My sister and Robert did a lot of the white, along with Jenny and Rachelle who did the closet doors. Again, I am so grateful to all of you for helping, and bebe thanks you too!

Fallingwater

2009-08-09T22:54:00.002-04:00

Greg and I have been so busy preparing for the baby. We have worked so hard on the house with each other and with our friends.

A couple weeks ago a friend of mine, also a coworker, brought up a suggestion that a group of us gals take a trip to Pennsylvania to check out Fallingwater. It was asked that it be a girls only weekend since not all the girls are married or dating.

I wasn't sure if Greg would be OK with it since I am pretty pregnant (28 weeks)... Suprisingly, he thought I needed to get away with the girls, and me going away meant he could do absolutely nothing around the house for an entire weekend! He was excited too!

In the end it ended up just being 3 of us total. The car ride was barely 4 hours, which wasn't bad at all. It was great just to chat with the girls for a while and relax in the car. We arrived at our hotel and settled in for the night.

The next day we took a very scenic drive to Fallingwater. According to their website, "Fallingwater is the name of a very special house that is built over a waterfall. Frank Lloyd Wright, America’s most famous architect, designed the house for his clients, the Kaufmann family. Fallingwater was built between 1936 and 1939. It instantly became famous, and today it is a National Historic Landmark."

It was so beautiful and serene. It was definitely something that I needed to do over this summer. On our way back to the hotel we checked out a small village and a few antique shops. Basically we had no plan and just winged it. It was great.

Sunday, we drove home. We stopped at some farmer's markets on the way and picked up lots of fruits and vegetables. I think Greg was happy to have me home, but grateful to have had a few days to do a lot of nothing!

Farewell Dr. P

2009-07-20T13:26:00.002-04:00

As most ladies know (and some guys are probably told) the good ole' "Lady Doctor" can't just be anyone you find. Like a normal family physician... the patient needs to feel comfortable with the Dr. and trust them.

Moving from St. Clair County to Macomb County back 7 years ago, I knew I couldn't realistically drive to St. Clair for those appointments anymore. I began my search and picked a Dr. near me that was in my network. I saw her for a few years and was discussing some things I didn't like about her with coworkers one day. What I thought was normal ended up not really being appropriate for a Dr. like that to be saying.

My co workers referred me to their Dr. When I called to see if she was accepting new patients, she wasn't. The nurse on the phone told me they had just started a new Dr. in the practice and he was very nice... blah blah blah. I can come and just meet him. Him? Him? I've never seen a male for that before...

So I went and met him. I learned very early on that I made a good choice in switching doctors. He informed me that much of the treatments that the other woman had me going through were not necessary. I learned the hard way and now that I was married, Dr. P was guiding me through a pregnancy!

At my last visit in June while only 4.5 months pregnant, Dr. P informed me that he may not be staying in the state of Michigan any longer. He wasn't sure yet, but wanted his patients to know. Shortly after I got a letter confirming he was leaving. I was sad because I trusted him and he was really about letting women have the kind of birth they wanted.

I asked around and everyone had a doctor they liked. For me the easiest thing to do was to stay with the practice and go with another doctor there. I chose Dr. G. Let's just say I don't have much luck with the OB doctor choosing!

I went in for my first appointment with her at the beginning of June. She never introduced herself to me and as soon as she walked in her cellphone rang and she took the call. It was her daughter and she had me wait for 15 minutes while she took the call. It didn't seem like an emergency and she didn't excuse it as being one. She was very short with me and because of the phone call, she didn't have time for questions. The second time I went I asked her opinion of epidurals. Basically I was told I was getting one. All women get them. I don't know if I want one or not, but I do know that I want a choice. If I don't want one, I don't want to be forced to have one!

I left my second appointment with her somewhat frightened of the kind of birth I might have. I called the health insurance and they were completely nice about the situation. They instructed me on all of my options and pretty much told me to not go anywhere that I am not comfortable. So I called around and found a mid-wife who practices with a group of O.B. doctors in Macomb County near us. She was accepting new patients so I went and met her. I am so glad I did!

She is a very up beat person who makes Greg and I feel like she is just as excited about our birth as we are. She is there to advocate for the birth plan that we want and will guide us through every step of the way. I have seen her about 5 or 6 times now and feel so comfortable with her. It is very reassuring. Even Greg has met her and likes her enthusiasm. She answers all of our questions honestly and doesn't treat us like we are asking anything dumb. We are new to this and she understands.

When I tell people we are using a midwife, usually the first question is... Are you having a home birth? Heck no! I am to chicken for that! I chose to use a midwife because I want the least amount of medical intervention as possible. There is no reason to have drugs and be hooked up to machines for the duration of my labor if possible. If medical intervention needs to happen and the midwife agrees, then well, I need to care most about our child's health and my health. I wouldn't deny it - if it is needed.

We are still giving birth in the hospital where all the equipment is. Nurses will be there just like any other birth in a hospital. The mid wife will be there instead of an actual O.B. doctor, unless a procedure is needed. If something is needed one of the doctors from the mid wife's group will step in and do their best to support the least amount of medical intervention as possible.

Measurement Time

2009-06-27T21:33:00.001-04:00

Greg and I got another chance to see the baby! At 20 weeks, most women get an ultra sound to have measurements taken of the baby and various parts to make sure development is progressing as it should.

We went to a larger hospital for this ultra sound since there needed to be a stronger machine to perform the job.

It was great to get to see the baby again. It was so active! Of course, the child had to mess with the ultra sound technician and not let her get the appropriate shots of it's heart. I will have to go back at a later date for that.

The above photo is the baby's profile. As of right now we are not finding out the baby's gender! So far everything is going just fine with the pregnancy!

It is also our one year wedding anniversary! I cannot believe that a year has passed since our celebration of marriage to each other! We have definitely been brought closer by our experiences over the next year and I think that our new baby will bring us even closer to one another!

Say Hello

2009-05-01T15:11:00.000-04:00

What a great feeling it is to see your baby! Greg and I had the opportunity to meet our bebe for the first time yesterday!

We chose to have the ultra sound done at his work so he could participate and not have to take the whole afternoon off. The ultra sound tech was awesome. She explained what parts we were seeing and let us watch the bebe for what seemed like forever.

So much time passed I forgot I had to use the restroom!

We couldn't have been more excited that day! It was amazing! There was our "wee little one" dancing around! Doing somersaults, shaking it's arms and at one point even looking like it was driving a car! LOL! It really was surreal for us and made everything seem so much more real.

She then gave us a CD with an image. Our first photo of our little angel!

The Second Trimester Begins

2009-04-23T14:53:00.000-04:00

I can officially say I have made it this far! I am in my second trimester of pregnancy!

Apparently that means no more morning sickness, daily nausia or sleepless nights. Oh wait. I didn't have any of those symptoms to begin with!

After speaking with a number of friends and women who have had children before, I feel kind of guilty not feeling crappy. I mean, I have my days or my nights where I am just.... blah. But it is nothing that ever interferes with my day and for that I am so grateful!

I will continue to hope that the remaining months of pregnancy are as event free as these first few have been!

First Comes Love, Then Comes Marriage...

2009-03-03T10:04:00.002-05:00

Greg and I have been married for a little over 8 months now, but we have been together over 4 years. Through all this time we spoken about how we want a family. We both agree on more than one.

I was an only child for 14 years. There was nothing wrong with that, but when my parents couldn't play with me and the 2 neighbor children were busy that left me to my own imagination. I remember having a good one, but how much fun would a pal be that was there all the time? Greg would like more than two children. I'm more about seeing how the first one goes and deciding from there. Who knows if we will even get to be blessed with children right?

We decided in January that we were both ready to give it a try. I mean, mentally we are ready, financially, we think it will be OK and who knows how long it might take, I've had friends try for years with no luck and finally it happens!

Prior to this positive one I took a few negatives over the last few weeks. I haven't been feeling "the same" and was convinced I was pregnant. Finally this one came back positive so I took another before bed last night and it was also positive. So, as far as my urine is concerned I am building a baby as I type!

I am sure there is plenty more to do to confirm this, but wow. We are going to be parents.

Look out...

Married Valentines

2009-02-16T21:49:00.002-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day to my husband.

A husband who would sit through Spamalot with me because he knows how much I love Monty Python and I know how much he hates live theater. I caught him laughing plenty of times which is awesome to me!

He then entertained me by going to my favourite Irish restaurant downtown. There was no one in there since we celebrated our Valentines day on Sunday the 15th. We had the best service, the best dinner and a very romantic and sweet time. The food is very traditional and filling which made for a nice winter evening meal.

I have never been one to celebrate Valentine's Day so stereotypical, but the ticket offer just happened to be that day so we turned the day into a good reason to celebrate our first married Valentine's Day! Teddy bear and chocolates included!

Thank you for making it so special.

Merry Christmas, Month Six

2008-12-27T09:41:00.000-05:00

Greg and I had our first Christmas together as a married couple. As usual we were like little children during the week leading up to the festive day. Greg had to work that day so we celebrated on Christmas Eve. It was fun to suprise each other with things we really needed and things that we could have gone without!

With the amount of work we both have been involved in, I hope that we can take the next year to spend more relaxing time together. Even on the weekends we find ourselves jumping into projects that take up quite a bit of our time. We are doing them together, but it's not the same as vegging on the couch and watching the History Channel or something!

We hope that the new year brings tons of good things to everyone and is a new adventure for us!

Month Three

2008-09-27T22:29:00.002-04:00

Greg and I cannot believe how fast time is flying. We have already been married three months and it feels like we just saw everyone at the wedding reception and just got back from the honeymoon.

Not much has changed since we have been home. We are starting some small projects around the house and spending time with Sal. I think he has finally accepted that Greg and I are married and that Greg isn't going anywhere anytime soon! :)

While we were on our honeymoon, our good friends Mike and Julie got engaged. Mike was Greg's best man in the wedding, you know that really good speech giver! We are very excited for them and look forward to watching them plan their wedding! They are adorable and hilarious and are very grateful to have such wonderful people in our lives!

Shortly after being married for a month, Greg and our friend Erica went skydiving. I went along, but was not about to throw myself out of a plane. Instead I documented everything on camera and took a small plane ride around Lansing with a pilot there. Of course watching Greg do such a carefree and exciting thing and then living after he did it, made me not so afraid to try it myself some day. Like I said, some day...

We are both working hard, having fun and doing our best to remember what is important.

Dublin - Day 4

2008-07-07T23:44:00.002-04:00

Today we walked around Dublin a lot. We stopped into a bunch of shops we had been passing for the last few days. We took this time to pick up souvenirs for everyone back home. It was fun looking through all the different shops where people worked so hard on the things they were selling. There was also the standard gift shops where you can find everything Irish!

We made plans with a young couple we met in the Dublin airport to hang out this night. The couple was our age and from just a few miles away from us here in Michigan. Greg and I actually met them in the Dublin airport when arriving from London. After some chatting we thought it would be cool to hang out so we exchanged numbers.

We met them in the Temple Bar district in front of the Hard Rock Dublin. We walked around a bit before we found a place with a menu that looked like something we would all like. It was great to visit with people from home! The guys talked sports and the girls talked about work and stuff.

After dinner we headed to a couple more bars in the area to listen to some great Irish music! We had a great time watching everyone dance and have fun... We also gave it a bit of a shot, but we didn't get down all that well. Must've been that Guiness!

We finally parted ways pretty late... Greg and I had an early morning the next day, but the night was worth it! We made it back to the hotel and got some shut eye and prepared for our last whole day in Dublin!

Dublin - Day 3

2008-07-06T22:07:00.000-04:00

Today we took a half day trip to Malahide Castle and to the Howth Peninsula. It was a nice trip for only being half a day. Our tour guide was an older Irish man who was a sweetheart!

We headed out on a double decker tour bus to the Malahide Castle. It was a beautiful castle that had stayed in the family for years. The person who gave the castle to Ireland is still alive but living in Tasmania on family property there. We were not allowed to take pictures inside, but it was very beautiful and historic.

There was a small church on the grounds, a ton of flowers, peacocks, a dollhouse exhibit and just a gorgeous view.

After the castle we headed over to the Howth Peninsula. The drive there was spectacular. We drove along the coastline and just enjoyed the view of the small towns and the beaches.

Once we retuned to Dublin we walked around for the remaining part of the day. We visited Brazen Head, the oldest pub in Dublin. We explored St. Patrick's Cathedral. We watched a variety of street performers like break dancers, jugglers and mimes. It was a lot of fun to just people watch and take it all in!

Dublin - Day 2

2008-07-05T22:41:00.009-04:00

Walked and walked and walked a little more through Dublin today to find St. James Gate. The map the hotel provided did not have the same street names as what was really there. The street signs were obviously old, but whatever – we found it! Eventually!

We went through the tour on our own which was fine, but somehow there were middle school aged kids on field trips there which made it very hard to enjoy the tour at first. Once we lost the kids, we had fun! There is a tasting section where you get about a quarter of a pint. You also get to try roasted barley which is one of the key ingredients for flavor in a pint of Guinness. We finally made our way to the top where we got our Guinness. The view of Dublin from atop of the Guinness Brewery was breathtaking. The day was beautiful and we could see all the way to the mountains!

While sitting there, of course Greg and I made a couple of new friends. Deb and Mel were here from Oxford, England for Deb’s birthday. They were a couple of really nice people who helped to change our impression of England. They were both quite clear that we experienced tourists London where the people don’t really want to communicate with the tourists. Had we went say… to Oxford – they would have been more polite and open to conversation.

We also found two beautiful churches that we later went back to visit. One was called St. Audons, the other was also part of St. Audons, but when the Anglicans took over the Catholic churches the old mid evil one became St. Audons and when the Catholics could be Catholics out in the open they built a bigger better church right next to it, almost touching it but not touching it. They are both beautiful but we like the older one better!

At St. Audons we met Terry. Terry couldn’t have been more than 35 years old. He clearly loved the mid evil Dublin times and took us on a wonderful and free tour of the church. Greg and I were so grateful to have stumbled upon it!

Dublin - Day 1

2008-07-04T23:04:00.007-04:00

We had to leave London today. We were alright with leaving, but we're sad that there was still so much to do! While on our ride to London - Heathrow airport we sat with an elderly couple from Australia. They were in London headed to Vancouver. Many Canadians had been in London for Canada Day Celebrations which were June 30 – July 1.

Once we got to our gate to head to Dublin, I met Kate and her husband Henry. Kate and Henry had to of been at least 70 or 75 years old. Henry sat in his wheelchair doing Sodoku while Kate told me where she grew up and how her and Henry had only been married for 7 years. They were heading to Wales where Henry resided before they got married and where they both live now. They were very cute!

Once we got onto our flight Greg and I realized we would have to sit by someone. We ended up sitting next to a young man named Keith. Keith had been traveling from Ireland via motor bike through Africa. He was trying to make his way with a friend (or mate as he called him) from the northern tip down to South Africa. He and his friend were planning the trip to be only 4 months. They found that after 6 months they only made it to Nigeria so he had to come home to Ireland to visit his mum.

Once we got to Ireland we needed to find our luggage. We were aggravated with looking for the turnstile with our flight so we went to exchange our money for a break and to gather more patience. While we were there it was obvious that the gal in front of me was from Canada or US. I wanted to ask her where she was from, but I wasn't really in the mood to make small talk. The a young man approached the girl with a ton of luggage. Looking at him I chuckled because he was wearing a Tigers hat and t-shirt!

I had to ask if they were from Detroit, they answered yes... Then I asked where, they answered a small town called Warren... I didn't want to creep them out so I shared with them where in Warren we lived and then we learned they live 5 miles away! Here we are in Dublin Airport chatting with a couple who live only a few minutes away!

We chatted for 15 or 20 minutes and then swapped hotel numbers so we could hang out during the week! Greg and I then ventured off to find our luggage. Once we accomplished that - we hopped on the express bus to the stop near our hotel. On the ride we got to get a brief tour of Dublin and see where the main shopping roads were and where the action was. We got off the bus stop at the main bus station that is across the street from the Custom House (see the image above). After a short walk we arrived at our hotel that sat right on the rive Liffey. It seemed like a very nice hotel. Then we learned they had no record of our reservation.

My initial reaction was let me go potty then I will deal with this. Greg's reaction was let me just sit down for a bit then he will deal with it. So we did that while they dealt with it. We had all of our documentation... so they took care of us nicely. We were fine with waiting 5 minutes while they did that. They were shocked by our patience and politeness, which made us feel good and weird at the same time. What type of reactions were they used to? We enjoyed our view of the river for the week and the yummy breakfasts that were included!

London - Day 4

2008-07-03T23:53:00.001-04:00

We were both very tired this morning. After talking with the very helpful men working as concierge and Ian the door man at our hotel, we decided to do our laundry.

The Laundromat - oh I'm sorry, it's Laundrette and it was only a 5 minute walk. It was the cutest little launderette! The woman working there was so nice to us. She was older and I think she just enjoyed our company. Other people would come in and just leave their laundry to wash or dry, being a paranoid tourist, I was not about to leave my clothes unattended to. Between the woman working the laundrette and a local man from France, they both gave us all the tips we needed to get the laundry done fast and efficient. The local man insisted on showing me how to use the laundry spinner that would spin all of the water out of our clothes so we could dry them for less time and less money.

Later that evening, we took the subway over to the Tower Hill Station. It was quite an easy trip on the subway right off the Circle or District Lines. We met up with a guy named Shaughan (Shawn) who was a wonderful tour guide for the Jack the Ripper tour. We retraced the steps of Jack the Ripper and his victims. Shaughan was an awesome guide and just really got into the role. We walked all over town and then took the subway back home where we spent another evening in search of a late night dinner.

You know, 9 pm is late eating for folks in London...

London - Day 3

2008-07-02T19:39:00.002-04:00

Time for a day trip! We booked a trip through our hotel to head out to Canterbury Cathedral, Leeds Castle, Cliffs of Dover and Greenwich. It was a nice trip. It was a good day because it rained on and off and we were able to be inside touring the various places. We were both in awe of Canterbury Cathedral and Leeds Castle. They were both breathtaking. We were grateful to be surrounded by such history and have everyone around us appreciate it too!

Later, we headed over to the Hard Rock Café London. Apparently this Hard Rock is the first one ever. What would a trip be without me randomly talking to people? We made quite a few new friends this evening. Sergio our bartender and Emily our waitress were wonderful.

Emily was trying to get us to go out in SoHo, but Greg and I got so drunk from Sergio making our drinks that we knew we had to go back to the hotel.

It was a long dark walk through St. James Park but we made it and we made it safely!

London - Day 2

2008-07-01T21:09:00.004-04:00

This morning Greg and I had our first British Breakfast it was good but different. I think Greg enjoyed the variety of meat they had to offer, but I enjoyed the Nutella and croissants!

We headed over to the Big Bus Company stop where we proceeded to take the Hop on Hop off bus all around London for the day. It was a great way for us to get to see a large number of things. We then took the bus over to near Millennium Pier where we took our free boat cruise along the Thames River. Our tour guide was hilarious and very knowledgeable of the buildings along the river.

We got off the boat tour near the London Tower. We walked back to the hotel which was quite a long walk. We became hungry and decided to find a pub to eat at. That was an adventure within itself because pubs in London stop serving dinner fairly early. We were finally able to find a place and we really enjoyed our second English dinner. We are both doing our best to try new foods... which is hard for us both! LOL!

London - Day 1

2008-06-30T20:56:00.003-04:00

The flight to Philadelphia from Detroit had no issues, we left a little late, but these days it seems expected to depart late from the airport… From Philadelphia to London it was a long long trip but a little sleep helped to make the time go faster. Greg got less sleep than I did, but I had the window seat and something to lean on.

We got to London Heathrow and had a minor issue with Dot 2 Dot transfer. The women at the desk were super helpful to us and got us taken care of after a few phone calls. The Dot 2 Dot showed us all around London while dropping people off. It was alright with us since we were over tired and so excited to be there!

We arrived at hotel Jolly St. Ermin around 1 pm. Greg and I rested for a little bit just to recharge ourselves. Then we went out exploring and got some dinner. The streets were pretty easy to navigate.

There were enough landmarks around to get us where we needed to be. We walked around Buckingham Palace and spoke to some police officers, we were allowed to take their pictures but not with them... We watched the guards stand ever so still.

We walked through the very beautiful St. James Park which was right near our hotel. We crossed the Westminster Bridge and walked along the Thames. There were street performers near the Aquarium. There were quite a few different performers but Greg’s favorite was the gymnastics performer. He was a lot of fun and got the audience to participate.

The feeling of being in London was overwhelming for the both of us! Neither one of us felt like we were experiencing what we were experiencing... We felt like it was an out of body experience! But an adventurous one!

The Wedding!

2008-06-30T19:29:00.000-04:00

For anyone who ever said the wedding day would go by as fast as ever. Thank you. When pretty much every single married girl I encountered on the face of the planet warned me of this phenomenon I figured, “Hey, maybe they are on to something!”

First off, Greg and I probably had the worst weeks of sleep ever. We were both worried about tying up loose ends at work and would wake up at all hours of the night worried about some silly task that we needed to jot down or remind someone to do! I would also wake up with questions like, “How were we going to get home from the reception?”, “How were we going to get all of the stuff we needed to get out of the reception hall before we leave the reception” and my favorite… “How are we getting to and from the airport for our much needed honey moon????” Thankfully all of the questions were solved quickly once I remembered to write them down at 3 am!

So, the wedding day. My little sister and I stayed at a hotel near the church. Our talented and patient hair dresser and make up artist Candice showed up around 10:30 am and we got started. Time first seemed to move slowly. It was just the three of us... Chatting and doing hair. Then my cousin Tabitha and her friend came by. They visited for a little bit and then went down to do some swimming outside. Angie came to have a little fun with pictures while we were getting ready. Then Jenny and Beth came to start getting ready and to get their hair done. At some point my mom showed up. The photographer and videographer (and her assistant came too). My other friend Erica showed up so she and Angie could take the programs to the church to hand them out and my Aunt came by to ensure that I wasn’t about to pass out or go insane. And luckily my good friend Jill came by to get my seating charts because the substitute event manager at the hall could not read a diagram that consisted of many NON MOVING points and 19 tables that really needed to be set up how the regular event manager designed it. That is how we arranged the seating chart…

At some point in the early afternoon my mom went and got some champagne to help all of us take the edge off because at some point after noon and before 3 pm time sped up. Magically there became no time left. My cell phone began to ring constantly with text messages and vendors calling me with crazy questions. I thought I might explode.

Next thing I knew it was 3:30 pm and we gals needed to get our booties in the limo and to the church! We arrived at the church with no problems. When I saw Jason, I had a hard time. More like an overwhelming moment that was easily contained. I had difficulty because my dad wasn’t there but also because he was willing to stand in for my dad which was a really big task. We shared some discussion and some jokes and then proceeded to hide me from Greg which was annoying because I really wanted to see him. That would be quite hard without him seeing me!

While walking down the aisle, I stared at Greg and did my best to smile and not cry! He later told me he thought something was wrong! I just wanted to stare at him because I didn’t know who to look at otherwise! I wanted to talk to him so bad once I got up there but we couldn't talk about anything until the wedding was over!

The ceremony was beautiful. Amy and Aunt Jenny did a wonderful job reading. Deacon Eric did a wonderful job with the homily and Father Mike kept us all on our feet! After the ceremony there was little to no time for visiting. We had a million and one pictures to take. Once that was over we went to the City of Warren for some outdoor pictures by their artwork and beautiful flowers. Sometime around 6 pm we headed over to the hall for the reception.

Greg and I had so much fun at the reception! We danced a ton and got to visit with everyone even if just for a brief moment! We had fun watching everyone go in and out of the photobooth and be silly in there! The night blew by and once the night was over… neither one of us could believe it was done!

We are so glad to have gotten to see everyone and we are grateful to all of you who came from so far away to share our special day!

Now we are off to our much needed honeymoon!

T Minus 17 Hours

2008-06-26T22:59:00.002-04:00

In just about 17 hours Greg and I will be starting the wedding ceremony. I am sitting here in my hotel room about 2 miles away from the church. I think I finally have everything together. I have a few things to take care of tomorrow morning but I think it will be fine.

I have been very much on edge lately and I learned a lot about who respects my time and who doesn't. I planned on leaving work today at 3pm. I left at 5 pm. Those two hours were valuable to me to have for myself and it through me for a loop to not get them.

I am OK now, I just need to sleep.

So, I know tomorrow will go by so fast! I am very excited for the ceremony and to begin my new life with Greg.

I will see you all tomorrow!

The Finishing Touches

2008-06-22T23:35:00.003-04:00

Wow. Right now there are only 4 days until our big day!

Greg and I have spent this past weekend putting the final touches on all of the little projects we have going on. The seating chart is complete, the timeline is almost finished and our wedding ceremony is planned.

We are both quite excited about the wedding, the celebration and of course, the honeymoon! Sunday we will be heading over to England for 4 days and then over to Ireland! We cannot wait for the adventure - together!

Well, with all the craziness that we have been dealing with... We have to laugh. When people send us funny things, we laugh and laugh hard!

We hope you find this just as humorous! This photo is from Greg's birthday party a year ago this past May. Someone who I am related to with really good digital imaging skills came up with this! Don't worry Greg doesn't have his tongue pierced...yet!

We will be seeing you all so very soon!

Applying for the Marriage License

2008-06-04T21:45:00.002-04:00

Another big one is checked off the list! Thank goodness I live in Macomb County... I heard getting your marriage license in Oakland County is a bit difficult.

A couple days ago I downloaded the forms off the Macomb County website. The instructions were quite clear, but it was a lot to digest for something that seems so important! The only information I needed was both of our full names, and birth information. I also needed both of our parents full names and birth states. That was it. Then I went down at 8:00 this morning and took it to the County Clerk's office.

Before I left the house, I read over all the documents again. I had overlooked something that seemed important to me at the time. I filled out the application so carefully and neatly in blue pen. I saw this morning very clearly where it said, "Use Black Ink Only". I got a little nervous but figured I better go and see... Of course no one said a thing.

When I arrived it was quite hectic. When it was my turn in line, the woman did not seem happy to be at her job. Once I presented my documents to her she immediately changed her mood to excited! She started asking a million questions about where and when... It was pretty cute!

Once I paid my fee and swore that I was telling the truth... I was told it would go in the mail back to us on Monday! How exciting! Only 23 more days to go!

Veil Drama

2008-05-30T22:42:00.003-04:00

What an accomplishment! After months and months of working on, ignoring and procrastinating having to work on my veil... It is almost done! There is about one hour of work left to do on it and it will be complete! It is perfect with a few minor flaws that make it home made - that I don't think anyone will notice, unless I start telling people after a glass or two of champagne!

I am so grateful to my Aunt for helping me get through a project that I really had no clue of what I was doing. I am also grateful for stumbling across a young woman's website that had step by step instructions for what to do. I thought about posting a picture, then I decided... There are only 28 days until you get to see it!

Greg and I are so excited for the wedding which is quickly approaching! We are putting the final touches on some minor plans and just making sure we tie up all the loose ends with vendors.

We cannot wait to see everyone and celebrate!!! Oh so soon!

Watch Your Mailboxes!

2008-04-24T21:33:00.002-04:00

It is official! At about 9:20 am a very large quantity of invitations got dropped off at the local post office near my house. I am hoping that a majority of them make it to the intended recipients, but after the wedding shower invitation fiasco... who knows!

I was very nervous dropping them off. I have read and re-read these things hoping that I got them all right! I didn't see any misspellings or inaccuracies, but that doesn't mean they are there. I also had to purchase just a few more stamps because I was about 10 short for the response cards! Those will go out tomorrow - or Saturday because it is late and I am tired!

So the shower is in just 10 or so days! I cannot believe that time is moving so quickly! Greg and I are excited to get many of you together to meet and chat and enjoy a nice lunch!

See you all very soon!

Stuffing, Sealing and Sticking

2008-04-08T18:54:00.003-04:00

The invitations, response cards, envelopes and directions are all finally printed. I am finally able to get started with the sorting and stuffing of the envelopes. Over the next few weeks I plan to take it slow and just stuff the envelopes and seal them up and get them ready to go.

I need to go to the post office with a full invitation set up and make sure I have the proper postage on the envelopes! I have read and hear so many horror stories of people not putting proper postage on their envelopes and getting them all returned to them in the mail! That would not be fun!

Only one more week left until the shower R.S.V.P's are due! After that - there is only 2 weeks or so until the shower! I cannot believe how fast time is moving! I think we are both very excited for all of our hard work and planning to pan out into a celebratory event!

The Baptism

2008-03-23T13:50:00.004-04:00

Yesterday Greg was baptized into the Catholic church! It was such a beautiful ceremony. It was also a 5 hour long event! I am proud of Greg for the commitment and the hard work he did to get to this point!

Penguin Suits

2008-03-21T18:41:00.004-04:00

Earlier this week Greg finally picked out the tuxedo that he wanted to wear and the tuxedos he wanted the guys in the wedding to wear.

We went to President Tuxedo just to price it out. We ended up getting the tuxedos from there because we felt they gave us a good deal. They gave everyone a discount and were patient with us looking and deciding.

Greg decided he wanted to have a slightly different tuxedo than the rest of the guys, but I made sure their tuxedos will still match! We did almost end up with Cornflower Blue vests and ties! I don't know how it happened except for Greg and I have a running joke that I will let him get a powder blue suit. So he was joking with the girl at the store and I think she accidentally wrote those color codes down instead of the color we asked for!

No worries though, we just called and told her about it, she checked into it and fixed it. I would have been so angry if on June 25th, the guys went to pick up their stuff and cornflower blue vests and ties would have been there... Man! Now I just have to get Greg to call the guys and explain the deal and what to do!

Guys are so lucky though... They don't have to pay all that much and whatever they get doesn't have to stay in their closet for ever never to be worn again! LOL!

We Get To Have Our Cake And Eat It Too!

2008-03-10T18:03:00.003-04:00

We tackled yet another big one on the list this weekend! We finally ordered our cake!

I think it is safe to say that Greg and I were a little more than annoyed and suprised by the cost of a piece of cake. Never mind the tackiness of some examples and the horrible taste of others... We didn't really know what we wanted to do because we refused to pay so much money for something we were not impressed with!

After flipping through many wedding magazines and cake books we thought out all of our options. Do we want to go all out? Do we want a fake cake with a sheet cake in the back? Do we want to just forget the cake and have a dessert table? Yikes!

This weekend we had another appointment with a woman who makes cakes. We spoke on the phone a few times, I explained how we just wanted simple and it felt like no one could just do simple anymore!! She agreed and promised she could and would do simple.

Greg and I met up with her, after about 10 minutes we had our cake design picked out and she had our color samples cut from my little samples of fabric that I have. We paid her and left with the little mini cake that she made us.

Yeah.. yeah... we bought the cake from her before we even tasted it! That is because we could tell by the little cake she made us that it was the right frosting!

For less that one third the cost of a cake from out here in the city we got exactly what we wanted. Once we got home and tasted the cake... we were soooo pleased with our decision! I don't think I have ever seen Greg so enthused with cake in my life. There is hardly any left from the sample one! We may have to call her sometime in the next 110 days to get another one! LOL!

Second to Last Fitting!

2008-03-05T21:19:00.002-05:00

Woah!

Is it almost here already? With a little over 100 days to go, I have been working on getting my wedding dress alterations done. I found a great woman a few miles from my home that does alterations. She barely charges anything and is really flexible with meeting with me to work on my dress!

I had one set of changes done to the dress already. This time I got to put the dress on and it fit! It wasn't too big and I wasn't worried it might fall off. It was just the perfect length too! We worked on how the bustle would look and work... so it will stay up and not have people trampling on it all night long.

The dress is still just as comfortable as ever! It definitely was very exciting to get to put the dress on and know that the big day is very close to being here!

The thing I like most about the dress being at the alterations place... is that I know Greg cannot sneak a peek at it while it is there!

Now if only I could find the patience to sew 9 feet of pearls onto my veil.... LOL!

One Down, Two to Go!

2008-03-03T21:09:00.002-05:00

Greg and I have a small list of things left that we need to investigate for our wedding. We need a limo, tuxedo place and a cake.

This past weekend we finally took care of the limo portion of the wedding and it felt pretty good to check one more thing off of our "to-do" list! After calling many places within quite a large radius... we decided to go with a very local place with a wide variety of cars.

Of course, I really wanted the 1956 Cadillac limo. We couldn't get it because it didn't hold enough people. We ended up getting a pretty nice limo at a very affordable price.

We did start the cake hunting. A little bit of tasting and getting ideas on what we like and don't like from some local places. Of course that was a yummy task to take care of!!

Tasting Our Dinner

2008-02-04T22:32:00.000-05:00

Greg and I finally had a tasting at the reception location. As a consumer, I found it so strange that venues will not let you taste the dinner you may or may not be eating until you book the hall! We had trust in the Mabry Center that the food would be just fine... but like anyone else spending a lot of money on a reception, we wanted to be sure.

Finally a date worked out that Greg and I could make it to the hall. It ended up being Saturday, February 2nd. I also timed it to have one of the chair cover vendors come to the hall. I was able to have my chair covers chosen before the tasting - which was one more thing that I didn't have to worry about!

Once the tasting started it was pretty straight forward. Get up, get food, taste it, if you like it have more... or not. Try the fondue machine, drool over and step away slowly and carefully! Like most of the other gals there, we used the excuse that there was fruit under that yummy chocolate that made it OK to eat! LOL!

In the end, Greg and I discovered a few things that we didn't like a few things we liked and even more things we loved. I am very glad that we had the opportunity to try some of the food before having to choose a menu in just a few months! I think three to be exact!

The Honeymoon is Booked!

2008-02-01T17:35:00.000-05:00

It is official on Sunday, June 30, 2008 Mr. & Mrs. Gregory Hall will be in the air over the Atlantic Ocean heading to London England. Once our trip is over in London, we will then head to Dublin Ireland.

We have our flights and hotels booked. We may book a few day tours but otherwise we plan on exploring the countries on our own as we go. There are a few things that are "must do's" for us...

Stonehenge
Kissing the Blarney Stone
St. Patrick's Cathedral
St. James Gate / Guiness!
The London Eye
Parliment
The Royal Air Museum

There are so many other places we want to explore, but we will just have to see what we are able to accomplish in such a short time!

I Love Suprises

2008-01-30T19:20:00.000-05:00

I got to put a deposit on something today that will be tons of fun for the guest at our wedding and of course for Greg and I!

It will be during the reception and will provide a great source of fun for everyone sober and tipsy!

We Registered!

2008-01-28T21:45:00.000-05:00

Oh what an adventure that was! I do not think either one of us thought it would be what it was! We had originally decided on registering at only two places, Sears and Bed Bath & Beyond. We hit Sears up first because they closed before BB&B.

When we finally found the area that we sign up to do the registry, we discovered that people at the Sears at Oakland Mall do not know how to run the system. The girls didn't know how to set us up with the little scanning gun. Once they got that figured out, we went on our way only to discover that the scanning gun didn't want us to register for a lot of things! We would scan an item we wanted like luggage and a message would appear on the screen saying "No registerable item can be found!" We were getting so frustrated and we were warm from being in our winter coats. The staff at Sears didn't want to help us and acted as though they had never used a scanning gun! We didn't stick around Sears all that long.

Then we headed over to Bed Bath and Beyond. Talk about a totally different experience! They sat us down in the "Wedding Registry" bar set up they have. They offered us soda, let us put our jackets down and then explained how to register and what to think about when registering. The guy that was in charge of us checked on us often and answered any questions we had about anything. It was a completely different experience than the one we had at Sears!

Sunday we headed over to Target. Greg had a lot of fun there. Target was just an average experience. I think we were both happy with the prices of things at Target. We got to find a lot of things we could find at the other stores we were at...

We are both extremely glad that task is over!

You'll Hate David's Bridal...

2008-01-20T21:59:00.000-05:00

With only 159 days until Greg and I are married, the gals and I finally were able to go out dress shopping today. I had no plans really for exactly what kind of dress I wanted them to wear. I was hoping for one of many outcomes.

What happened today wasn't really something I had even considered, but it turned out just fine! :)

Beth came by the house early and we grabbed some coffee. We headed over to David's for our noon appointment with a sales woman there. I was in no way prepared for the amount of females hormones that we were about to encounter. I had an appointment and you would never guess it. The sales woman was of absolutely no help to us. The gals and I stumbled across a cute tea length dress. It was not only cute, but had this thing that went underneath for a hint of complimentary color and also a matching sash for that "other" color. After lots of trying on and discussing... We decided to go with a emerald green and lilac color. I love the combo. The green is so happy and Irish looking.

The sales people at David's were not helpful to us at all. In fact, they were actually pretty rude. When the girls were paying, the sales person barely acknowledged us. She was so snotty when asked simple questions it was ridiculous. I shouldn't have let the girls even get their dresses there, but I didn't want to put them through another shopping day! Yikes!

Unfortunately, I did not want Terri in the same dress as the gals because I don't feel it is flattering for her. We were not successful in finding her a dress, but we are going on Tuesday after work for that.

We headed to the mall later in the day today and my mom was able to find a great deal on a dress too. So she is set as well... after her alterations are made.

Now.... Greg needs to worry about those tuxedos!

Bring it on!

2007-12-31T23:19:00.000-05:00

In this box there are aproximately 80 bridal shower invitations and 150 Thank You notes of some form or another. No lie, I got all of them on clearance for less than $15! Consider me well armed for etiquette! LOL!

Checklist Update!

2007-11-27T20:48:00.000-05:00

So far at the knot.com I have completed 39 items on their little to-do list. Unfortunately today I received an email telling me that I was slacking on my wedding planning. Supposedly I am over due on 13 items on their handy checklist.

Contact newspapers to announce your engagement (you may need to have an engagement photo taken as well). Not so sure we are even doing this!
Finalize the guest list. I am trying - really I am!!!
Start looking into registering for gifts. Already!?!? Yikes!
Request demo tapes from ceremony musicians. Hmmm.... Do we really want those violinists?
Think about how you might want to wear your hair. Again, trying...
Begin looking for a baker to make your cake. Cake tasting --- yummm...
Brides: Start shopping for bridesmaids dresses. Does trying to schedule a date count?
Make sure your maid of honor and best man are aware of what you expect of them. Like what? Making sure I don't go crazy?
Register for your wedding gifts. I thought we already went over this???
Brides: Decide on the bridesmaid dresses. Again, wasn't this above somewhere.
Purchase and send guests save-the-dates if your celebration is over a holiday weekend or at a faraway locale. Ugh, I don't know about that one...
Book a baker, choose your wedding cake design, and send a deposit. I thought it said to look above... We must really be behind!
Brides: Collect necessary measurements from attendants or pass along vender information so that they can order the dresses themselves. Hopefully this is not necessary and they will get dresses together when we go shopping...

I think it is the lists like this that are stressing me out! Geesh! Hopefully this shower business will be finalized soon and more stress will be relieved!

It Arrived in One Piece...

2007-11-14T22:50:00.000-05:00

What a day Tuesday was! My dress finally arrived in the mail via UPS from Kansas! I was able to track the shipment through the internet. It was so stressful to watch the dress move across the Midwest and not know if it was the right size or the right length that I requested until I finally had it in my hands!

When I was getting ready for work Tuesday morning, I logged on and checked the status. The dress arrived in Detroit at 6:30 in the morning and was loaded on a truck for delivery to me at 6:45 a.m. I kind of thought when I got to work it would be waiting for me, but it wasn't.

Finally around 1:30 p.m. in the afternoon the security guard called and gave me a jokingly hard time. I went down and got the dress. Once I got over the shock of how small the package was, I opened it.

I discovered that the dress was in absolute perfect condition! I went to one of the artist dressing rooms and tried it on because I had to... It was a little big but the length was perfect and fit wonderfully! The dress was exactly what I was expecting!

I am so grateful to have found the deal on eBay. I emailed the woman who sold me the dress and thanked her for the deal because without that I am sure I would STILL be dress hunting!

Whew - that is a big stress reliever. Now I just have to stare at it in the bag for 7 more months.

Another Money Saver!

2007-10-01T20:47:00.000-04:00

I am quite determined to save money on this wedding in any way possible. With just under nine months to go I have decided it is time to start practicing with making my own head piece and veil. With the assistance of my Aunt Jenny, Greg's mom and my friend Elizabeth I have been deciding what supplies I need, how to design the stuff and what I might change to make it better.

A little over a month ago, my Auny Jenny and I went to JoAnn Fabric in Portage and bought some odds and ends to get some ideas for a veil. After lots of surfing on the web and playing around I think I know that for the cost of $20 at the most I will have a lovely pearl trimmed finger-tip length veil... Instead of a plain somewhat sparkly veil for $150!!

Then Greg's mom and I went to JoAnns in Utica. We were there a while and Greg even tagged along because dinner at Macroni Grill was involved... We found tons of things to use on a veil and head piece. I got pretty pearls, swarovski crystals, clear beads and wire. $10 and 45 minutes later I had a headpiece. A headpiece that my friend who does hair said will be perfect to use!

Bammmmm! I saved even more money! Greg does not understand. If I could rent a wedding dress and all the goods along with it for FIFTY whole dollars - I wouldn't understand either!

Pachelbel's Canon in D

2007-09-18T21:14:00.000-04:00

In preparing for the actual wedding cermony, the church has given us a booklet with song suggestions. One song that always makes me think of a wedding is Pachelbel's Canon in D. Most everyone knows this song. When I hear it I usually get teary eyed.

This comedian is absolutely hilarious. He doesn't change my high opinion of the song, but he does make me laugh my butt off! I think you will be hearing this song at our wedding! ;)

I found THE dress!

2007-09-07T21:28:00.000-04:00

I finally found it! Well, I found it a while ago so I should say, "I finally bought it!" The very first time I tried on dresses with Melissa I found it, I just didn't know that I found it at the time.

I went back to the store with Jenny at happened across the same dress. It looked familiar but I wasn't sure if it was the same one. I put it on and it fit like a glove and I fell in love... I danced around in it and made sure it would be comfortable sitting in it and all that good stuff. The only problem was that the dress was a little above my price range.

The women at the store were awesome enough to give me the style number and designer name. Of course I spent the next few days looking for the dress on the internet. Low and behold, I found the dress for almost $300 less than it was in the store! After shipping and insurance, I could save $250!

I found a local seamstress to look at the dress and tell me her opinion on the alterations. She charged about the same as the store that sold the dress so I went ahead and bought it online! I even got to order the propper length that I needed. As we all know, I need a little extra help in that area :)

So - in a few months or so, I should have my wedding dress!

I would offer a picture of it, but since Greg also looks at this site - I can't! Sorry!

Reserve Your Room Online!

2007-08-22T18:11:00.000-04:00

We all know two things for sure about me...

I am an organizational freak!
I love to save myself and anyone else I can ... money $$$

That being said, I know it is early, but I was very excited when the manager at the reception hall told me about a nice hotel nearby that offers free shuttle service to and from the wedding reception. Not only does that mean no cab fare, but also no drunk driving from our inebriated friends and family! That is really important to me, so I hope this whole plan works out!

Here is the deal...

Currently, there are 10 rooms on hold for the night of June 26, 2008 and 15 rooms on hold for the night of June 27, 2008 at the Courtyard by Marriott at 30190 Van Dyke Ave Warren, Michigan 48093.
All reservations at the discounted rate and in our reserved block must be made by June 1, 2008! Just mention the Wilson Hall Wedding to get your discount or use the handy links below to reserve a room online!
If we get at least 10 bookings at this hotel, there will be free shuttle service to and from the reception. The rates for the room will be discounted and breakfast the morning of June 28th may also be discounted! (We will find out later!)
There are two styles of rooms to choose from. To receive the discounted rate
on the web, you must use the links below! Book now and lock in the rate!
A room with 1 king bed.
Or a room with 2 queen beds.
Don't forget to mention the Wilson Hall Wedding to get your discount! You may also call: (586) 751-5777 or (800) 321-2211. Click here for more details about this hotel and a map!

Of course Greg and I hope to see everyone get rooms and not drink and drive, but we know that cannot happen! But, we can do our best to help everyone out!

Finally Booked It!

2007-08-17T22:56:00.000-04:00

I cannot believe we have been engaged for a year and two months already... Do you know what that means? In 10 months we will be married! I think it is about time we finally booked our hall in writing right? We should have done that a few months ago!

Originally we wanted to have our wedding reception at my work in one of the halls there. Once I priced out the dinner with our catering company I quickly realized the reality of it all. The catering company at my work charges way too much for food!! It is not my work that charges too much money, it is the catering company that works out of there that is a rip off!

Anyhow, quite a long time ago Greg found this hall called the Mabry Center. It is very close to the church and close to local hotels and expressways. The venue is only 4 years old and is not out dated like the other places in the area that we could afford.

It took a while to find a number to contact someone at. When I finally got ahold of them we set up a meeting and checked it out. The prices were awesome, the menu was great and from what we met of the staff - they all seemed just fine! We put our name down for our date and the sales rep told me she would call if anyone wanted our date.

We kept in touch here and there, but with time moving so quickly I wanted to just get hall finalized for us on our date. Just yesterday, I finally put down the deposit on the hall! It was a reassuring feeling to know that we can check that off the list officially and that I can tell work that I won't be having my reception there.

Things are very slowly coming together... Now... about the dress...

Bright Beginnings

2007-07-16T22:39:00.000-04:00

Yesterday Greg and I participated in a 6 hour retreat at St. Edmunds Catholic Church in Warren. It was a pre-marriage seminar that is designed to open the doors of communication on a lot of things that young couples probably don't think to talk about before they decide to get married. Luckily for Greg and I we talk about almost everything and took today as an opportunity to keep talking and sharing our thoughts about what our future will hold.

We discussed how we feel about each other, each other's families, what we have in mind for our future family together and how we intend to bring up our children. All these things we have discussed and this seminar just solified that for us.

There were a lot of people there, which was a little overwhelming at first. Once we got going though - we quickly realized we were there for us and no one else would know what we were discussing between the two of us.

The speakers for this seminar were good. The preist, was the preist for St. Edmunds. The other two speakers were the two people that put the retreat together. They were both good speakers, but the guy, John, was very engaging. He had a great presentation about him that reminded me of the comedian Jim Gaffigan. Even when he was talking about serious things that were not funny, I wanted to listen and listen good.

Now that that step is over, we only have a few more things to do as far as the church goes!

Exactly One Year

2007-06-27T14:57:00.000-04:00

I guess it is ok to start counting down now? I have counted down everything else from graduating school to a cool band coming to my work. Now that there are officially 365 days and 1 hour left until we get married... I think it is safe to say we can begin the official countdown. Thats 365 days I have left to worry if I picked or will pick the right flowers, or the right DJ or the right photographer. So fun!

Wow. I cannot believe that Greg and I have been engaged for one year already! It doesn't seem like it was that long ago that we were up north at the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore enjoying peace and quiet and nature. I wish we had the time and the money to do that again this summer - everyone needs quiet time like that!

We have officially signed the contract with the DJ company Jammin' DJ's. I am excited about that because their price is unbeatable and they are just cool! And just so all of you know now, Greg and I have agreed there will be no chicken dance, hokey pokey or macarena at the reception. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news folks...

Next on my list of things to do is start looking at flowers. I have no idea what anything is called, I just have an idea of what they look like. My cousin will be helping me with that part. She has a trustworthy person that I might be working with. Hopefully she will be OK with my tiny budget and able to work magic with the ideas I have!

We Found a DJ!

2007-05-22T17:27:00.000-04:00

On Sunday, Greg and I went to see a DJ in Clawson. Oddly enough Clawson is where the photographer is also... Thanks to a co-worker of mine I was able to get in contact with Jammin' DJs. The owner of the company has been very prompt and good with emails and with answering all of my questions I have had for him.

A side note about Jammin' DJs is that the owner of the company is also the lead singer of the Mega 80s. The M80s are a local band who do awesome cover songs and are very energetic with their shows. To see the owner / lead singer without his outfits on and in normal street clothes was quite suprising!

I finally scheduled a time that was good for all three of us to meet at his office. We got there around 3 pm and I think Greg immediately fell in love with the guys office! There were video arcade games lining both of the walls and it smelled like vanilla in there. I fell in love with the 2 Mac computers he had and all of the editing equipment in the back of the office.

We talked to him for about a half an hour about all of the options we had and what the benefits were to using them. One thing I really liked about him was that he didn't speak in terms of "When you hire us we will do..." rather than "When you hire a DJ you should look for this..." So even if we didn't go with his company, we would have plenty of knowledge to make an educated decision about all of this!

We didn't sign a contract with him, but when we left his office, Greg and I pretty much agreed with dug his company. The price was right, they had tons of options and a great back up system. I will probably be getting ahold of him within the next week to make a deposit and sign the contract!

Get Notified!

2007-04-30T22:58:00.000-04:00

After telling everyone and their mother about this site I realized there was a little problem.

How is anyone suppose to know when to come back and check out the site?

So... Me being the nerd I am, I went ahead and set up an email subscription for the service. I see quite a few of you already signed up after having the link up for a week or so now. That is great!

There are 40 more days of school left before this wedding begins to really get planned!

Only 450 days to go!

2007-04-23T23:50:00.000-04:00

It seems like the wedding day is so close, but really it is kind of far away! We have 450 days until the big day. We still haven't done much planning since the last update, but I will be graduating soon and I am sure it will pick up then.

I need to schedule an appointment with the church to go over some information that we have filled out already. Greg and I also need to schedule time to sit down with a DJ in Ferndale that was recommended to us by a co-worker. With school it is just too hard to find time to meet with people... but in 47 days that will not be a problem!

Last Thursday I started an aerobics class in Warren at the Community Center. It sure did kick my butt, but it felt great! It is only 1 day a week, but it will help me to prepare for the boot camp I want to sign up for in July!

We have started the round of wedding showers and weddings for the summer. For the next 4 months or so, I will be attending other people's events and keeping a mental list of things I would like and not like to have when my turn comes around. For starters, spiked punch. My cousin had spiked punch at her shower and it definitely helped lighten the mood! :)

Another Show

2007-02-27T22:16:00.000-05:00

The wedding planning has been pretty uneventful lately. To me that is good because I have three weeks of my semester left at school and then I start my final one!

My friend Amy and I went to a bridal show at the Troy Marriott. It was kind of crazy there, but somehow it was organized. I got more ideas and more useful information from vendors. Again, I did not win any door prizes, but my friend won a few things - so that is cool!

I did get to meet the woman who is doing the body boot camp that I want to join when I graduate school. It got me a little more excited about joining, especially when she introduced me to a girl that is enrolled in the class now. I wish I could start taking the class now!

I need to be patient. I plan on joining in July.

Are we going to actually spend money?

2007-01-31T23:50:00.000-05:00

Greg and I still haven't actually spent any money on the wedding aside from the rings that he purchased over a year ago! We have decided that we want to put money down on the reception hall so we can start getting rid of that big expense, but the hall is waiting for their 2007 menu to come out so we can get the contract situated and signed. I do have an appointment scheduled for next Friday where I hope to get a contract and give a deposit!

We might also have our photographer picked out! I was a little worried about being able to find someone who was willing to hand over the images that we get taken in good quality digital form... For those of you wondering what that means, reprints will have a cost of where ever the images are printed!

I met with a photographer from AKA O'Mara studios. Anna is the photographer and I got a great vibe from her! Her pictures online were good and her printed images were even better in person. I think (and I hope) that I asked all the right questions. I know I probably missed some, but.. what can I do?

Now - in the next week or so, we may be putting money down or a photographer and signing a contract with her! That seems like an awful lot of things taken care of!

First Bridal Show

2007-01-22T14:46:00.000-05:00

I bravely went to my first "Bridal Show"... And I didn't make Greg go with me! I made Jenny go with me instead ;)

A very talented photographer that I know got me passes to the Brides to Be bridal show in Clinton Township, Michigan this past Sunday. I was a little nervous about going because I didn't know what to expect and I don't like large crowds of people like that. It was hot, crowded and some of the vendors were pushy. It was nice to see ideas and things I know I do not want... My favorite thing to get to see was the centerpieces for rent that were not expensive and looked nice. I cannot recall the vendors name, but I am sure I have their paperwork in my big ol' bag I got when I registered!

We got there just in time to sign up for the door prize drawings, which was the main reason I wanted to go. I was hoping to win a honeymoon or something! :) A few very lucky girls did win.. so there is hope yet!

The Checklist

2006-12-26T12:05:00.000-05:00

According to the knot, we should have the following items completed so far.

To my suprise we have all of this and then some things completed!

Begin envisioning your wedding. check - completed many many years ago! Just kidding.

Decide on a budget. check - that's been the hardest part so far!

Make sure to insure your engagement ring. check! - did that as soon as I got it

Pick your preferences for a wedding date and time. check - June 27, 2008!

Begin asking family AND friends FOR local wedding vendor recommendations. check

Brides: It's never too early to begin thinking about your gown. check

Start interviewing caterers. check

Scout out reception sites. check - we have our place!

Start looking for an officiant who suits your style and spirit. check - of course.. Fr. Mike!

Get organized! Start a notebook for all of your wedding-planning paperwork. check

Brides: Begin looking at pictures of gowns online and in magazines. check

Choose a color scheme. check