must...keep....breathing!

There are six days until our wedding.
That is 141 hours and 23 minutes.
8483 minutes
508980 seconds

Yes, I am freaking out.

There is so much to do.
I want everything to be perfect.

I am sitting at work, drowning in paperwork, yet all I can think about is the wedding...
There isn't much I can do from work. I did call this morning and cancel my bouquet. Instead, I will be getting flowers from Pike's Place Market. Originally I ordered the bouquet because I was worried that I wouldn't have a good selection of flowers this time of year. Well, we went to Pike's Place on Saturday and they still have a beautiful selection of flowers. We will go again on Friday or Saturday and get flowers to make my bouquet. It will be gorgeous.

Family will start arriving this week. Sara's sister, Sadie, and her boyfriend, Derek, will arrive first - on Wednesday. They will be put to work immediately. :-) My Mom, Grandma, and at least one Uncle will be arriving on Friday. Sara's Uncle Jim, his wife (Melia), and Cameron, and her Aunt Lucille will arrive on Friday as well. I'm not sure if my Aunt Annie's family and Aunt Alice's family will arrive on Saturday or Sunday. I'm not sure when my sister, Michele, is arriving either. I think that's all of the out of town people. They all have places to stay, and though I love them all dearly, I'm glad none of them are staying at our house. They will probably be glad that they're not staying at our house. :-) If I'm this crazy six days before the wedding, what will I be like two days before the wedding??? Yikes! I can't even think about that.

Though I am freaking out, things are coming together. We did some shopping in Seattle this past weekend and got a lot accomplished. We do still have some loose ends to finish up, but it will all get done. I think that most of our big projects are complete. Everything left seems to be little details.

Gretchen came over yesterday and did some cleaning. That was immensely helpful. With all of the things we've had to do, our housework has taken a significant hit.

I have to leave to pick up Logan for lunch in about 30 minutes. That's enough time to do some notes before I go...

It's possible that this will be my last post until the wedding, but we'll see...

Crunch time!

I cannot believe it.
There are 17 days until our wedding!!! Oh...my....goodness!!!

How are we going to plan everything? accomplish everything? pay for everything?



We have accomplished a lot, but it does still feel like there is so much left to do. We have made so many lists. BUT ... we are crossing things off of our list, so that's a good thing!



Good news ... we have made 1000 cranes!!!



Last weekend we had some good friends come over and help us get some of our decorations ready. Keisha, Kristi, Gretchen, and Erika worked diligently tying ribbons, stringing cranes, and stamping! They were SUCH a HUGE help! I look at the amount of time they helped us, and am not quite sure how Sara and I would have done that stuff on our own!



We met yesterday with the wedding officiant. She has some wonderful ideas. She was able to set our minds at ease - which is a very good thing! She is going to work on the ceremony particulars and get back to us. We can't wait to see what she comes up with. We were also able to take another look at Cascade Gardens! We hadn't been since February, so it was nice to see things in bloom and green. It is going to be a beautiful fall wedding!



This Sunday we will be meeting with the photographer to discuss the particulars of the wedding and what we want photographed.



We are hoping for another productive weekend. We have several projects lined up. The projects we are doing now are fun, so that's exciting.



Tonight is the Bridal Shower. I'm a bit bummed because it's going to be all Sara's friends because mine are all busy, but that's okay. It will still be fun!! I need to go in with a positive attitude!!! It's a Pampered Chef party, so that will be fun. I'm not entirely sure what all to expect, but it will be fun. We are so grateful to Erika for throwing the Bridal Shower. :-)



Time to do some real work (at work)...

I will try to update a bit more frequently, but if I don't it's because I'm busy doing stuff and not able to write about it. :)

five weekends left

There are FIVE weekends left before our wedding ...

41 days.

226 cranes.

Though I have not been posting reguarly there is still A LOT going on! IN fact, I'm not posting because there is so much going on. Every spare moment is spent planning, scheduling, and preparing. There is so much to do. We find that we are lacking two important things - time and money!

Every time we turn around there is something else that requires money! UGH! We are doing things a little at a time and know that we will figure it all out.

We bought my dress yesterday and it should be delivered by the 8th of September. Sara is working hard to pick out her outfit. We picked out Logan's outfit, and we know what color the flowergirl is going to wear (purple).

There are so many details left to plan. We have so many lists around the house. Our thoughts are consumed by thoughts of the wedding. It's great. We talk about the wedding several times per day.

Our goal is to finish the cranes by next weekend... We will keep you posted. :-) :-)

Engagement photos! WOO HOO!

Check one off the list!

Our invitations are done!
We are mailing the rest out within the next day or so, but we are all done making them. That is a huge relief!
I do still have fear that I forgot to invite someone, and I will hurt someone's feeling unintentionally, but I just can't please everyone.
We have already been getting RSVP's back. Hooray! We did get one back of someone that said they couldn't come, but it's someone we didn't think would come anyway (family from far away). I consider it a success that they sent the RSVP back. :-) It's the little things that matter most.
And...this is blogworthy...my sister-in-law-to-be has ALREADY sent her RSVP back. I knew that she was coming to the wedding, but honestly I never expected to get the RSVP back. She is not the best at promptness...BUT she responded to this. Hooray!

**** On another note....pictures... We still haven't heard anything. :-( We will post as soon as we hear something!

Halfway there!

Ever wondered what 520 cranes looked like? Well, your wait is over!

We have been working and working and working and are currently at 520 cranes!!!

(And, as I'm writing this Sara is making more, so we're now at 522. :-) )

An apology is due...

Well.... though we have never complained directly to the person, and she doesn't have enough computer knowledge to even find our website, we feel we still owe Ms. Kathy Hobbs an apology. We still do not know if she is coming to the wedding, but she has redeemed herself. She has acknowedged the wedding.

Sara's car, our main car, is desperately in need of a set of tires. We were told today that the cables are showing and it's not safe to drive it on the freeway. That creates a bit of a problem since we are due to go to the Oregon Coast in eight days! Sara and I were brainstorming...and Sara had an idea (all on her own). She called up her Dad and asked if he would sign up for a 90 days same-as-cash program so that we could get a new set of tires. Mr. Hobbs said that he didn't think that would be a problem, but he would need to talk it over with Kathy. An hour later Sara received a phone call...from Ms. Kathy Hobbs. The first thing Kathy said was, "I hear you are asking your father for money." Sara immediately became defensive and hid her tail between her legs and tried to reason her way out of it. She explained that she had every intention of paying every dime back. After Sara was done squirming, Kathy explained that she had intended to get us a freezer for our wedding, but she would be willing to get us a set of brand new tires if we wanted them. Sara immediately said yes, to which Kathy asked if Sara would like to talk to me about it. Sara was quick to let her Mom know that she did not need to talk it over because she was pretty sure I wouldn't have a problem with it. That day, Kathy put a check in the mail.

While we certainly appreciate the gift - our first wedding gift - it is the sentiment behind it that means more. For Kathy Hobbs to acknowledge that her daughter is marrying another woman was a huge step in a good direction.

I am sure this saga will continue up until the date of the wedding...and beyond. Most people have acknowledged the wedding invitations, but not Kathy. It's okay though because the acknowledgement of the wedding is there. We are happy.

Registrations Complete!!!

After many friends had nagged and nagged and nagged we FINALLY created our Wedding Registries. It was actually fun creating them...it was like shopping without spending any money. :-) People are a bit upset that we didn't put a notice of our registration locations in our wedding announcements, but everything I read told me that it was not "proper." Everything I read recommended that we announce our registration on our website and through word-of-mouth.

So... here is our online notification...

We have registered at Target and through Pampered Chef.
Our Pampered Chef consultant is Carrie Johnson and her website is http://www.pamperedchef.biz/carriejohnson

I think those are the only two places we are registering... Sara says that gift cards for Lowes (definitely NOT Home Depot) are always appreciated so that we could do some home repairs and improvements. She desperately wanted to register at Lowes, but the local store doesn't have the equipment to do so. I told her I would put the word out, so there it is. :-)

It's Really Real

It's been a while since I last wrote in here and so much has happened. This blog posting is going to be so long that I don't know if anyone will actually read it. Maybe I'm writing it more for my own information. :-) I hope that at least someone reads it...

I'm not even sure where to begin because there's so much to write about...

_Cranes_
We are at about 450 and still working. Sara bought more crane paper today, and we plan to make quite a few this weekend. By the end of the weekend we will have at least hit the half-way point. Hooray!!

_Invitations_
Our first batch of invitations has gone out! I hope to finish them by the end of this weekend. We are trying to keep the wedding manageable, and trying to pare down our guest list a bit. I wish that everyone could share with us in this special occassion, but I know that's not possible. We will be sure to post lots of pictures for those that don't come. We have already received RSVP's... Woo Hoo Hoo!!!

_Pictures_
Speaking of pictures, we got our engagement photos taken. A while back I spoke of an amazing photographer we found - Sara Gettys. When we first met we shared with her our dream of getting our pictures taken at a waterfall. Multanomah Falls (in Oregon) is one of our favorites, so we mentioned that. From the beginning, Sara seemed excited at that opportunity. We asked her if she would be willing to take a couple pictures with Logan in them, and she said, "absolutely." So, last Sunday, we made the trek up to Multanomah Falls. Sara G.started by taking some photographs outside our house. As she was taking photos, she said, "ok, now kiss." Sara and I looked at each other and said, "kiss??!???!" Sara G. laughed. Sara and I looked at each other for a while, nervously laughing, and then kissed. We drove up to Multanomah and were a little overwhelmed by the crowd that was already there. We took some photos at the bottom of the falls, and we took some with Logan. Logan was being pretty difficult at that point - he wanted to be in pics that we didn't want him to be in and he didn't want to be in the pictures we wanted him to be in. We did get some pictures with him in them. Then we took the little hike up to the bridge midway up the falls. Sara G. strategically placed us at a spot and told us to stay there and she would take some pics from the bottom. She then told us that she would wave at us at a certain point - and if we wanted to - we could kiss. Well, Sara and I talked about that kiss the entire time we waited for Sara G. to get to the bottom of the falls. We went back and forth worrying, wondering, questioning... Finally, we decided that we didn't care what other people thought and we were going to KISS...in public!!! When Sara G. waved at us, we kissed...multiple times! We have been together for seven years and we have NEVER kissed in public before! After we took those pictures I think Sara and I ran down the kill to "hide." But, we did kiss. After Multanomah Falls, we stopped at three more places and got some more pictures. Sara G. posed us in some precarious positions, but we went along with it. We were already relaxed quite a bit after that public kiss! At one point we found a spot that we both agreed would be perfect for Logan to get out and play and for us to get some good family photos. We called my sister who was at the car with Logan, and she told us that Logan was asleep! Ugh!! We did end up driving to one more spot, waking him up, and getting some pretty amazing (I think) family photos. Sara G. is currently editing and toning the pictures, and we can't wait to get them back! I think we will get to see them this weekend or mid-week next week. We are super excited. Though we were terrified in the beginning, it was an amazing experience. Sara G. was so relaxed and willing to go with the flow. She had so much patience with us. We are looking forward to her photographing our wedding. She will be around for eight hours... At first we were a little apprehensive about someone being around for that long, but after this experience we are looking forward to it. If anyone ever needs a wedding photographer, I ABSOLUELY recommend her!

_Cake_
After all of our heart-ache, we FINALLY found someone to make our cake. We met with Shirley from Shirley's Cakes and put a "deposit" down for our cake. It will be a four-tier cake, with the top tier being the "anniversary tier." The other three tiers will be as follows... Large tier - confetti cake with raspberry swirl frosting... Medium tier - red velvet cake with cream cheese... small tier - cherry chip cake with cherry filling. YUM!!! We are still "discussing" the design...there's a bit of a disagreement, but I'm confident we can get it worked out.

ok...so I have more to write....imagine that, but I have to go work.

News from the Wedding Front

Well, we happily have lots of news to report. We have been busy busy busy with wedding planning and preparation! We were a bit stalled for a while, but we've started back up on things full force!

*Invitations*
We have designed, purchased supplies for, and started making our wedding invitations! Sara and I are working together on all aspects. Sara even went to the craft store with a friend (without me!). I consider that trip progress. :-) I can't tell you too much about the invitations because I don't want to give the design away. You will just have to see them when you get yours. My little sister, Jessica, has even helped with them.

*Cake*
We have found someone to make our cake. I asked her outright what her thoughts were on making a cake for a same-sex couple. She said that she's made cakes for committment ceremonies before and didn't have a problem with it. We will meet with her tomorrow to see if she is willing to make the design we have in mind. I'm sure that we can make some type of compromise. I'm actually looking forward to our meeting. I will keep you updated on the cake progress.

*Cranes*
Current crane count = 276

*Gift Registry*
We finally registered! At Target! We are super happy because we were able to choose two brides. Yay for Target!!! They had an option for "partner" also. I want to be a bride, and Sara said it would be weird if I was a bride and she was a "partner," so we are both brides. We had a lot of fun registering and were able to go without Logan - thanks Auntie Jessie. I was proud of us because we didn't even buy anything, even though Target is one of our favorite stores.

I think that's all of the updates for now.
Check back soon for more.

You know it's bad when you have "make a list" on your list...

Yep, that's right folks, I've lost it. I have officially moved on to 100% wedding mode. It consumes my thoughts. Unfortunately, I have a lot of other things that are occupying many of my thoughts as well. I am in quite a conundrum because I have so much to focus on and can't seem to focus my full attention on any one thing.

But, this blog is to talk about the wedding, and not my other life woes, so here's what's going on with the wedding...

Sara and I have some pretty good ideas about what we want to do for invitations, cake, food, decorations, rings... The invitations are going to be a bit of work, but are scaled down from my original plan. :-) My original plan involved probably one hour on each invitation. Yes, I know, I'm crazy. We have already established this. My scaled down idea will be much easier. I need to relinquish a bit of control and realize that I can allow others to help and it will be okay. Part of me is worried about letting others help because what if they don't do it perfect? I think others are also afraid to volunteer to help because they know I can be a bit anal. I need to find a balance.

One thing I am willing to relinquish a lot of control on is food. I sent an email yesterday to some friends and family asking if there is any appetizer-type food that they would be willing to provide. So far no response, but it's only been 11 hours. I know the wedding is four months away and some people may not understand why I'm asking this so early, but I need to feel like I have one aspect of the wedding under control. If I know that certain individuals are bringing food then I will feel more comfortable. I'm not willing to just "see what falls into place." I have enough anxiety as it is. Sara understands this and is doing her best to help with this. She has a lot of supportive friends and I'm sure that she can get a few that will be willing to provide some type of appetizer. If anyone reading this wants to provide something, please just email/comment/text/call Sara or I so that we can put you on the list. If you need ideas, we can provide those as well.

We decided we need to go look at the Cascade Garden again and determine what decorations we will be needing. We have some ideas. And, of course, our 1000 cranes. What's the crane count now? you ask? Well.... it's about 133. we have a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG way to go. Sara and I need to get down to some serious crane making business. In order to get all the cranes done, Sara and I have to make roughly 5 cranes each per day. We better get craning!!

Wedding favors... I think we're the most set there. I think I've told people that I'm doing a candy table. We have most (possibly all) of the jars/containers. I have some ribbon to decorate them. And we have all the stuff to put together the containers. WOO HOO! We don't have the candy, but that's not something we can get this far in advance, otherwise I would eat it all! I'm feeling comfortable in this area. Hooray!

Flowers... AHHHH! This is probably my biggest area of anxiety. Originally Sara and her sister had this idea to go to Pike's Place Market the day before the wedding in order to get a bunch of flowers there and put stuff together the night before. While I love this idea, I think it may be the wrong time of year to rely on Pike's Place. When we were last there I asked what type of flowers they had available in October...they said dahlias. That's ALL they said. Um..... while I agree that dahlias are beautiful, I would like more than just dahlias. In fact, I have this vision of having red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple flowers. I think the green is just going to be the greenery, but the other colors I would like to see.... AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! This is stressing me out.

Ok...I need to turn my focus on to other things. It will all work out. It will all work out. Sara and I have agreed to talk wedding tonight.

We also need to narrow down our guest list.... It seems as though we are hearing left and right that people aren't coming to our wedding... FINE THEN! If you don't WANT to be there, then we don't want you there! This is a celebration of our love and committment and if you can't handle that, then stay home. Ok... I feel better getting that out.

Thoughts are swirling ....

So ....

There are 4 months until the wedding and there is so much left to do.
There are thoughts and plans that are swirling in our head and they desperately need to be put into action. However, putting them all into action requires money! Ugh! Money does not come easily. Can someone find me a darn money tree??!

We finally thought of an idea for our wedding cake ... Actually, we have a clear vision of what we want. There is one thing ...one significant thing... missing --->someone to make the cake. We have an idea of someone, but I have to figure out how to contact her and see if she wants to make this cake. And...guess what...it requires MONEY!

We have a photographer...and thank goodness she is patient, because I don't know what we would do if she wasn't.

We do have the location reserved and paid for, and we have the time set. Woo hoo hoo!

A list needs to be made.... and money needs to be gotten....
Our mind needs to switch to wedding focus.

We will get there.
Time to go get to work. Focus on work....focus focus focus.
Can't I just take the next 4 months off and plan the wedding?!? :-)

1000 Cranes ... and other updates

It's been a while since I last wrote, but that doesn't mean that there hasn't been any progress on the wedding-front. We've been doing several little things...and some big things.

We made our final decision on a photographer - Sara Gettys. We met with her and it sounds like it's going to be a great fit. We are going to do our engagement sessionat Multanomah Falls (in Oregon) sometime in July. We will be incorporating Logan into the engagement session and also doing some pictures of just Sara and I. We are very excited that our photographer is so agreeable to working with us.

It's so good to have several of the major things out of the way.... We also paid for the Cascade Garden (our wedding/reception venue). That was a huge chunk of change, but it's nice to know that it's paid for.

Yesterday we got some good news. Sara's Uncle Jim and his family have purchased their tickets for October. Hooray! It is becoming more and more apparent that Sara's mother has no intention on coming to the wedding... She can't even acknowledge the wedding at this point. It's nice to know that Sara will have family representation at the wedding. We know her sister will be there, but other family is nice to have as well. Hooray for Uncle Jim, Melia, and Cameron!!!

The title of the post mentioned 1000 cranes.... Yes, we have decided to make 1000 cranes for our wedding. It's going to be great. We are doing them in all of the colors of the rainbow. I know we will get sick of them, but at this point they are fun to make. Cranes are a symbol of honor and loyalty, so they are perfect for a wedding...making 1000 is an ancient tradition, so there you have it. The colors also have symbolic meaning. We are currently at 34 ... LOTS more to go. Unfortunately we can't even illicit help from others because the couple is supposed to make all of them. It';s a good thing we started early. :-) We will keep you all updated on the crane count as we go.

We've been making little decisions and purchases as we go. If we buy stuff a little at a time it won't hit us like a ton of bricks.

We are also doing very well at saving.... We opened a savings account and get rewards from the bank based on our Visa purchases. In the last month we have earned roughly $40. Yay for the bank. :-)

I think that's all for today.... I will probably updating a bit more often now that we're starting to make purchases and decisions.

Photographer -- check!

Well...we have made a big decision in our wedding planning! Hooray! We have hired a photographer... Sara Gettys. She will be doing an engagement session with us in July at Multanomah Falls. We are very excited about that. She has even agreed to include Logan in some of the pictures since we have no family photos. That will be exciting. We still have several details to work out in the way of photography, but those will all be determined once we determine the details of the actual wedding. We are very exctied about Sara's work and know that she is going to capture the important aspects of our wedding - the small details and the bigger picture.

With the decision of our wedding photographer we have also started to do some other planning...in our heads. :-) We need to get those plans on paper and move forward with this process. Every couple of days we are asked how the wedding planning is going and I see genuine disappointment when I have nothing to report. :0) Our next step is to find someone to make our cake. We have several possibilities, but need to nail it down. We hope to do this within the next couple of weeks. I dont' know that we're sure what we want for cake, but we will get there.

We have also talked about food a bit ... appetizers vs. lunch. Our wedding time will be determined by the decision on food.

And rings.... we need to order those soon if that's what we want.

Wow! So much to do and our lives are only getting busier. It will all work out...

I know that we are going to be relying on the support of our friends throughout a lot of this. So... here is our question to everyone...

What talents, skills, abilities, etc. do you have that you would like to offer? :-)

Thank you to everyone for your amazing support during this exciting time in our lives.

Supporting Gay-owned Businesses

Well ... there is a bit of progress on the wedding front. Hooray!

We have written two different lesbian women who own businesses - one is a photographer and one designs jewlery. We have written emails expressing our interest. I have talked on the blog before about the photographer. We have just been in contact via email before, but we want to meet in person to discuss a bit further to see if she is the right photographer for us.

As for the rings, we saw a design by Jude Sharp that we like. You can view her jewelry at www.jasharp.com . She makes custom jewelry. I like that idea because then others will not have the same design as we will.

With all the close-mindedness we have already dealt with, we are excited to support gay-owned businesses!!!

I will keep you all posted... I took a bit of a break from wedding planning, but I'm back to business!!!

I will never understand...

Every bone in my body wants to scream! I refuse to change my wedding date. I refuse to let individuals ruin my wedding day. I will not let it happen.

I received a text message today... Sara's mother is definitely not going to be coming to the wedding - she has made other plans for the day. This is Sara's special day! Would she be doing this if Sara was marrying a man?! I don't know if Sara's father or brother are coming...

Why is it so hard to understand that Sara and I are getting married?? Why is it so hard to understand that we are having a wedding that is just like any other heterosexual couple???

I want so much to say swear words in this email, but I'm doing my best to keep that under control....

Sara deserves to be able to have a special day. She should be able to have her PARENTS at the wedding! Why?! WHY???

I will never understand...

Another One Bites the Dust ...

We are down one guest without even sending an invitation... Wow! I guess that will save us one invitation. When another family member told this person that they would be getting an invitation, their response was basically to tell us not to bother because they wouldn't be coming anyway. Wow. Very nice. Family never ceases to amaze me.

This is OUR special day and I refuse to let ignorant people ruin our day. People that come are those individuals that support us - regardless of whether they support our lifestyle. I'm not asking people to agree with what we're doing. Of course, that would be the ideal thing, but I know that not everyone agrees with the lifestyle we have. Love the PERSON! Regardless of anything in my life I am still a PERSON. And, I'm happy!

I had a friend tell me the other day that if people weren't nice I should just tell them to "suck it." I'm getting closer and closer to this!

Checking things off the list

It feels so good to be able to check some things off our wedding "to-do" list!

I have mailed the announcements to the "out of town" guests... Hooray! I think they turned out pretty cute... Hmm.... can I attach a picture of them? I will try to do that tomorrow - it's too late tonight because I'm sleeeeepy!

We have also sent out an initial email to a photographer that we're interested in. Check out her site and let us know what you think ... http://saragettysphotography.viewbook.com/ . She just put it together recently so it doesn't have a lot, but it gives the basic idea. I really like her style and like the idea of not posing for endless amounts of photos... I do horrible with posing... and Logan does absolutely horrible with posing. I hope to get an email back from her tomorrow and we can do from there. If we decide on a photographer then we will be one step closer.

I also want to find someone to make the cake. We have a couple prospects, but I need to talk to them. I was so disappointed after the Kerri's Cakes incident that it's taken me a bit to recover... I will get back on track.

Progress, hooray!

I'm back.... I know it's been a couple days. I have been feeling a bit overwhelmed with life lately and this is what took back burner. Wedding planning, however, did not.

I have made several purchases for the wedding recently. I have purchased glassware from thrift stores for several purposes. I still have more to glassware to purchase, and it's so fun. :-) There are some great things in thrift stores.

I started addressing our announcements today. They will go to our family and friends out of state. Tomorrow I will work on formatting the announcements and hopefully they will go out on Tuesday. I have a couple addresses I need to get and I need some more envelopes. I am crossing my fingers that our printer holds out. It's certainly having its share of issues lately. It's probably time to invest in another one, but alas, there are more important purchases ahead of us.

Speaking of purchases and money, we finally looked at our wedding budget. It looks like everything is going to work out.

So, while I haven't written a blog posting recently, there has been progress. In the next several months I will be taking on several different project in my personal and professional life, but the wedding planning will never go away. It will be an important aspect of our lives for the next eight months.

Let the countdown begin . . .

A Missing Mother of the Bride ???

A week ago today Sara called her Mother and told her that we were getting married and that we would like her to be there. Her response was, "I don't know if we can come because we might not have enough money." Granted, in August they are going on a cross-country drive and spending a week on the Oregon Coast with us. We are paying for half of the house too... It's not like we have all the money in the world either, we're planning a wedding for goodness sakes.

We aren't asking them to pay for the wedding...we aren't asking anyone to pay for the wedding. We just want ALL of our parents there! Is that really too much to ask? I didn't think so.

Sara's sister is incredibly supportive of everything. She didn't even consider not coming out and is absolutely infuriated that Sara's Mom might not come. Sadie did say that if worse comes to worse she will pay for Sara's Dad and brother to come out. Sadie said that Seth (Sara's brother) will be coming regardless. It certainly makes me laugh at how vocal Sadie can be about things...though it doesn't surprise me in the least.

Well, people have eight months to either come to terms with this or not... We will send out the "announcements" to the out-of-towners within the next month or so... At this point we are waiting for Sara's Mom to even call Sara... When Sara told her I was pregnant with Logan it took her two weeks to call back... We'll keep you updated. :-)

Registry, bridesmaids, and flowergirls ... OH MY!!!

We have so many decisions to make and this is only the beginning....

To have bridesmaids or not to have bridesmaids? To have flower girls or not to have flower girls? Today Sara informed me that she didn't know if we should have bridesmaids. Then she added that she didn't know if we should have flower girls... What are everyone's thoughts on this? I'm wishy washy on the bridesmaids, but I do really want flower girls... Maybe I want flower girls so badly because I was a flower girl when I was little.

And the registry... We have decided that we are going to register at Target, but should we register at more than one place? I have had two people flat-out ask me about gifts... I told someone that I was getting married and the first thing out of her mouth was, "hit me up for a gift." Hmm.... Then today I had someone ask me a little about the wedding and then ask if I was registered yet. I said no, and she said, "let me know where when you do register." Goodness gracious. Should we be registering this early?? And do we really need to register at more than one place?

Back to the bridesmaid/flower girl dilemma.... I think the thing behind it may be that we don't want to hurt anyone's feelings. And, we really can't afford to pay for everyone's dresses... As usual, we welcome anyone's opinion. [ just don't be sad if we don't listen to yours! :-) ]

Martha Stewart Wedding

I got my first wedding magazine today ... Sara bought it for me. It was a Martha Stewart Wedding magazine. I've looked through some of it. It's pretty neat. There are some weird dresses in it. There is one that looks like the bride was wrapped in toilet paper. I don't think I will do that.

I can't wait to see my little boy in a tuxedo! He is going to be sooooo handsome.

Not much to write tonight.... I'm going to go read some more of my Gay and Lesbian Wedding book. :-)

None for you!!!

Made a phone call today to the newspaper. I asked what their policy was on printing same-sex engagement and wedding announcements. Their response - "we don't print them." Well then...that answers that. I spoke directly to the editor of the newpaper. Maybe I should have challenged him, but at the end of my week I really didn't have the energy.

When I got off the phone with the editor I called the "story idea" line. I spoke with the assistant city editor and suggested the idea of doing an article about how challenging it is to plan a same-sex wedding in Yakima. He actually sounded a bit interested and asked me some questions about what challenges we have had. He said that he would speak to the city editor and get back to me. He did say that it sounded like an interesting story. Cross your fingers that they think it is a good idea. My hope is that if the story does get published it will empower other couples to get married if they want to.

I will keep everyone posted on any developments.

Announcements and Guest Lists

Not much new on the wedding front today.

I did buy stuff to make the announcements ... "save the date" as they are called.... We will get those out within the next few weeks to our out-of-town family and friends. We also made our rough draft guest list ... 106 people. Wow! Who knew we had that many family and friends?

We have an idea book filled with different random ideas that we think of as we go...

I LOVE my book. I read some last night and I will probably read quite a bit this weekend.

Got another email from "cake lady." She wanted to know if I received her first email. I hadn't responded... needed to calm down a bit. I sent an email that simply said, "Your email was received." She truly doesn't deserve any more than that. When I am a bit calmer I may send a calmer, more rational, response at a later date.

Tomorrow is the date that my tax return is supposed to be deposited. We have _several_ bills that need to be paid. After that, we will save save save save save! We already have $99.00 in our little savings tin. Hooray! We have a LOT more to save!!

Our new book

We got a book today ... "The New Guide to Gay and Lesbian Weddings."

After my interaction yesterday with "cake lady" it was a welcome relief to get this book. I'm excited to read it and want to read it from start to finish! It's packed full of tips and ideas. Prepare to see quotes from the book here from time to time as I go through it.

Like this one ... " ... by denying same-sex couples the choice to legally wed, society is encouraging those relationships to be insecure and taken less seriously."

At this point I have not responded to "cake lady's" email... I have, however, spread the word to my friends that she is not a person to do business with. Discrimination is never okay. Ultimately, I am glad that I didn't do business with her because I would not want to support her in any form or fashion. As my good friend Amie says, "She's an ignoramus." Well said!

So goodnight all.... and thank you to all of my loved ones for your amazing level of support. I know it's going to be a long road, but we are committed to doing this and paving the way for other gay couples out there.

Equality? What's that??!

As I checked my e-mail this evening, I was happy to see an email from the woman I wanted to do our wedding cake. As I opened the email and began reading, the anger started building. The anger is at an explosive level at this point due to the nature of her discrimination....

Here's the email I received...

~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi Jamie, I talked to you yesterday on the phone about scheduling a cake for a wedding in October. I am very sorry to do this but I will have to back out of the commitment to do this. I was having reservations yesterday after we talked due to the marriage involving two women. I discussed things over with my husband this morning and he is adamently opposed to me doing this. I tried to reach you by phone today but could not get you and I did not want to leave a message of this nature so I am emailing instead. I am sorry that I did not get back to you sooner but I needed to find a time to dicuss this with my hubby before I made a decision...but I did want to let you know now rather than later so it will not cause a hardship in your plans. Thank you for asking.

*~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

I have no words for this. Part of it is if I do begin saying the words I am truly feeling, I'm not sure that I will be able to edit myself. I am angry beyond words. Why do some people _still_ have to be so close-minded? We aren't really all equal, are we?

I welcome all comments. I have not responded to her email ... and I don't know if I will.

I'm hurt, angry, and sad... Unfortunately I don't think this will be our first encounter of this nature.

Location, Location, Location ... (and a date!!)

Big developments today!!

ALL of the immediate family has officially been told.

We found the ideal location today.... Cascade Garden (www.cascade-garden.com). We put a deposit in and it's ours. It is so beautiful. There are trees, flowers, plants, water features, arches, a beautiful lodge, and so much more. There is a lovely place outside for the ceremony and capabilities to do it indoors if needed. It is our ideal location.

We also have a date!! October 10, 2010 .... 10.10.10! How cool is that!!??!

Last but not least, we have our color scheme!! As I say it, I realize it might sound a bit corny, but hear me out! we are going to do a rainbow theme. We are going to focus on colors of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. We aren't going to do a full rainbow everywhere, but the solids are going to be the focus.

We have so many ideas! We bought a binder so that we can organize all of our ideas. I am so excited. SOOOO excited!

I will keep everyone updated on our progress. I'm sure that I will probably update daily for a while. This is all so new and exciting and so much to think about and plan.

Hooray!!

The Central Washington Bridal Show

We were overwhelmed with a wealth of information. Constantly bombarded with the question, "who is the bride?" Everything in me wanted to scream, "WE BOTH ARE!!!" However, I kept my cool and sweetly said, "I am." I knew that Sara would be mortified if I let anyone know that she was truly the bride also. She was already overwhelmed as it was. All of these women in one place trying to plan the "perfect wedding." Photographers, DJ's, bakers, locations, invitations, chair covers, caterers, dresses, tuxes, rings, and so much more!

There are many decisions to be made.

We've created a tentative guest list to narrow down our location. We actually found a location we love! Only downfall...it's $1800... We will call tomorrow to see how much the deposit is and go from there.

Date and location to be determined within the next two weeks...

It's been decided

In July of 2003, when Sara picked me up from the Syracuse airport, she presented a ring and proposed. In the last six years a lot has happened. She moved across the country, we bought a house, and we had a baby! On January 27, 2010, Sara sat next to me on the couch and made a statement that made my heart sing ... "I want to get married." And, it's been decided. The planning began almost immediately. We have set a month (October 2010) and are working on finding a location (probably in Yakima, WA), and are working on letting our loved ones know about our big decision.

We decided to start a blog to let our friends and family get a glimpse into this wonderful milestone in our lives. We will let others know of the address once we let the important individuals in our life know about our announcement.

Tomorrow we are throwing ourselves full force into the planning process. I will be dragging Sara to the Central Washington Bridal Show. We have gotten a babysitter so that we can fully concentrate on the task at hand - taking in a TON of information!!

Wedding planning...here we come!