Boot Scootin' Boogie!

As you may or may not know, I am (along with Christopher) a country dancing enthusiast!  We go dancing at a local country bar pretty much as often as we can (which is not as often now as it used to be).   Christopher also says that the moment he realized that he was in love with me was when he was watching me while I was on the dance floor.

As such, we thought it only fitting if we did one line dance during the wedding.  Racking my brain, I carefully selected the line dance "Boot Scootin' Boogie" that is danced to the song of the same name by Brooks & Dunn.  We plan to teach the line dance at the rehearsal to our wedding party, but we thought it would be fun to give ALL of our guests the chance to learn the dance.

I scoured the YouTube for an example or instructional of the version of the dance that Chris and I know.  That took for-ev-er!!!  Apparently, the version that we do is not the most popular version so the video below is the best that I can find.  

These folks do the correct version for us, and it is altogether a pretty simple dance compared to many of the other line dances that I might have chosen.  We will be doing the dance after I change into my reception dress following the cake cutting.

So go ye forth and learn the dance so that you can have fun with us (even if you do feel a little silly while doing so)!!!!!!

The Map Project

I have mentioned before that we are getting married at Rush Ranch, which is an entirely open space.

What I may not have made clear is exactly how much we are making this ranch INTO a wedding venue.

Here's the long view of the venue:

You can barely see the connection to the 'main road' right in the top corner.

Now, a little closer:

Some of the buildings become clearer and more discernible.

And this is the space that will be used for the actual wedding:

Buildings, cars, trees, right.

Even though I'd been there more times than anything else, eventually I had to make this so that I could make some sense of what things are and where each part of the wedding will be (yay for Paint):

There we go!

I think maybe one or two small changes have been made, but this is the basic idea of where things will be the day of.   It's a lot of space and it definitely went through many iterations before settling on even the biggest basics, like where dinner and the ceremony will be.

I have sent these to the vendors and given them to the parents...my ushers and greeters will definitely have some things to learns about where everything is. 

I love the space and it should be beautiful and green when we get there.

One Hundred.

There are now one hundred days left until the wedding.

That's kinda scary and kinda exciting.

The countdown just keeps rolling forward, regardless of whether or not I get things checked of that to-do list.

Thinking about it makes me smile and my heart beat faster.  I think about seeing Chris waiting for me when I turn that corner, ready to walk down the aisle.  I think about dancing in the not-quite-summer air, with stars and lights twinkling around us while Chris makes me keep doing spins until I lose my balance just a little during a swing song.  I think of the people I love most in the world celebrating with us and showing their love just with their presence.

I also think of those few last addresses that I need to get, and the decisions as yet unmade.  I think about some of the things that could go wrong.  I think about how I need to make sure that I reserve enough linens, and that I still need to figure out most of the songs we're going to use during the wedding.


I can't wait....but I'm glad that I still have more time before everything needs to be done.

Kick Your Heels Up

Thinking about going dancing tonight with my darling fiance, and I got to thinking about dancing at the wedding.
So, obviously, I started shopping online for brand new cowboy boots in which to do some kick-ass stomping.

WANT:

For the record, I already have these.

AND:

BUT WAIT:

OMG:

ALSO:

The only "problem" is the price tag on these.

Especially the last two, which I LOVELOVELOVE.  And would look SO cute with what I plan to change into for dancing.

A couple of these have more reasonable price tags, particularly considering that they're cowboy boots and totally cute....but I really want the last pair, which, of course, are the most expensive.  Super-crazy adorable, right?

Even with the excuse of the wedding, though, I have a hard time justifying the cost investment.

But I would wear them LOTS!  Like until they fell apart.  And they're well-made and would probably last for years.  And I probably won't spend much on the shoes I'll wear for the ceremony, since I don't wear fancy heels NEARLY as much as I wear boots.

And these are amazing.

BUT.

$410.

On sale.

LUST.

HELP!

Proposal

It occurred to me recently that I had not posted here about how Chris proposed.  So that's what you're getting today! (Let the celebrations commence!)  I know it's kind of long, but I am really proud of him and I love our story; I don't feel that I would be doing it justice if I tried to cut it down.


So, here you are:

Chris proposed while we were on a trip to San Diego in May 2009.  My dad and stepmom were planning a trip to San Diego during the weekend of Chris's birthday; Chris's mom, stepdad and brother were living in San Diego at the time.  Since our parents hadn't met yet, this was a prime opportunity to have the worlds collide, so to speak.  Little did I know what would happen on that fateful trip, and how much Chris had orchestrated...


On Chris' birthday, a Friday, we had made plans to have dinner at one of the best restaurants in San Diego (El Agave in Old Town --YUM!), with the various parental units in tow.  Before dinner, we were going to meet with my dad and stepmom for a drink.  On our way to that drink - to be had in downtown Coronado - Chris took me for a stroll down the boardwalk of Coronado.  For those who are not familiar with the area, you can see downtown San Diego from the boardwalk and it is a truly beautiful walk.  We had walked the boardwalk many times before, most notably on our first date and on our previous anniversary.  As we walked, we reminisced about the times before, talking of love and their relationship.


Near the end of the boardwalk, far from any place where they might meet my family for that drink, Chris stopped walking.  Hand in hand, he asked me if the remembered The Note.  

Of course I remembered The Note!

Here's the deal with The Note:

As you may or may not know, before Chris had left for Thailand in September of 2007 - about nine months after we began dating - Chris gave me a sealed note, warning me not to open it until Chris told me that she could.  Torture!!

When he returned from Thailand, I was thoroughly disappointed to learn that I would not get to open The Note.  I had been so good an patient!  No dice.  During the next year (and then some) Chris took The Note from my possession (citing distrust for my ability to refrain from opening it). I bugged Chris about it, Chris pretended to lose The Note.  Later, I found it and caught him in the lie.  

So, yes, I remembered The Note.

Chris asked if I wanted to read The Note, which, of course (if you know me at all, you've guessed) I did.  He produced the infamous Note from his shirt pocket, handing it over to my waiting and now trembling palm.  I turned my back to him, as if he were going to read it over my shoulder.  
I unsealed it, and drew the innocuous-looking card from the envelope.  
At this point, I was suspicious of The Note and its sudden reappearance, but did not dare to presume what was coming.  
I opened the card and, written inside, having been jealously kept in hiding for nearly a year and a half was:
"Will you marry me?  Check yes or no."

(Sidebar:  

'Check Yes or No' is a very romantic country song, 

and one which, I later found out, 

was playing when Chris was writing The Note)

My eyes filled with tears and I turned to find Chris on one knee, a ring box open and held out in classic style.  Ignoring the box, I flew down on the concrete and hugged Chris, nodding and crying.  Chris would later tell me that many people in the homes and hotels next to the boardwalk were clapping and cheering for what obviously was happening.  
Eventually, Chris asked me if she wanted to see the ring. (Oh, yeah!!  That's part of the deal, isn't it?) 
I did.  It was and is perfect. 


We walked back down the boardwalk, Chris revealing how much planning had gone into that moment.  Chris had been conferring with his parents and mine to organize the event starting in January.  
This also explained why Chris had been so edgy on the plane ride down, when he'd gotten pissy at me when I was trying to ascertain whether or not he wanted a pretzel while I got one for myself.  


I marvelled at the ring, asked questions about how he had put it all together, and listened to him reeling now that it was over. (He was shaking a little, too.)


They arrived at the restaurant and my dad and stepmom were waiting.  They had told everyone there what was about to happen (having known it was coming for months), and we received cheers and joyful looks when walking through to the back patio where they joined my dad and stepmom.  Mostly, I was speechless (well, as speechless as I ever get), but I drank the champagne that was ordered and enjoyed the feeling of the moment.


After the drinks, we joined Chris' family for dinner, which was lovely (although my memories of the evening are fuzzy from all the surprise and joy).  
Following that, we, as a newly engaged couple, went to the country bar, InCahoots, which we had frequented while living in San Diego.  This was also where Chris tells me that fell in love with me; country dancing will always be an important part of our relationship.  We were able to share the news with many of our friends.  Funnily enough, however, another couple got engaged that evening - strangers to us - right on the InCahoots dance floor.


Interestingly, later that evening, Chris asked if it was romantic that he had written the proposal Note so long ago.  I laughed and told him that it most certainly was.  This is why I love this man.

Also, when we left San Diego the following evening, our engagement was announced over the airplane's PA system and they were presented with a bottle of champagne to take home.  (Courtesy of Chris's stepfather, who was working for the airline.)

Logo

One of the things I decided a while ago about the wedding is that I wanted to make sure that it presented cohesively. That is: no mish-mosh of craziness for me...if there's to be craziness it will be intentional in discernible as such.

To that end, at my request Chris put his Photoshop skills to work some to design a logo for our wedding. It's now posted on the right side of the blog page, but here it is once more just for good measure:

We went with the "L" because that's Chris's last initial, which will also be mine following the wedding (yes, I'm changing my name...more about that later, most likely).

The interlocking "C"s for our first initials, which seemed an obvious choice.

The cowboy boot is significant for us because Chris and I go country dancing (think: line dances, two-stepping, waltzes, and swing) nearly every week and it has been a really large part of our relationship since the very beginning.

We added a celtic knot in the shape of a heart because my engagement ring has a celtic-knot sort of feel to it, and we plan to carry that over into mine and Chris's wedding rings. Although we do both also have Irish heritage, I am inclined to believe that this is only a minor player in our decision.

The thing I like about this is that we can change the color rather easily and add it to many things for the wedding: save-the-date cards, invitations, napkins, stamps, return address labels, thank you cards, escort cards, favors, and etc.

I really fell in love with this idea and I hope that it is something that sticks in everyone's minds when they walk away from our wedding.