Two Down, Another 178 to Go

School days, that is! My students came back to school yesterday, and I must say it was a good start for all of us. I was surprised that everybody made it back on the first day of school, as this is the first year we've started school before Labor Day. I was concerned that some families would still be out of town on vacation, but that didn't turn out to be the case at all. The reason we started early was so that we could have the entire week at Thanksgiving off. I didn't like cutting my summer short even three days, but I'm sure I will appreciate the time off come November.

Some of you asked me what a Smart Board was after one of my recent posts. It looks like this:

It's touch-sensitive, so it's interactive. I experimented with it today and used it during the math lesson. The kids thought it was very cool - it is. I had fun with it. However, I need some training so that I can really put it to good use. I keep hearing about all the neat things it can be used for, and I want to know how to do all that.

I'm grateful for the three-day weekend to recuperate from this busy, busy week. Michael is on the road doing the music thing. So, in addition to doing the single-girl thing (laundry, housekeeping, errands, and reading), I plan to address and assemble the wedding invitations with my mom and my sister. Although the wedding is still ten weeks off (only ten weeks!), it's time to get those invitations mailed so that people can make their travel arrangements well ahead of time because the wedding is over another upcoming holiday weekend - Veteran's Day.

Have a great Labor Day weekend!

So Tired

If you know a teacher, be very, very kind to them this time of year. We work so hard - physically hard - preparing everything for our students' arrival on the first day of school. It's overwhelming, really. I never worked so hard until I became a teacher. Never.

Back at It

I tried protesting to my sweetie that shouldn't have to return to work because I already have a full-time job as our wedding planner. But that was a ridiculous argument, of course, and so today I reported back and thus began my twelfth year as a teacher. No students until Thursday, but there's lots to do in the meantime to prepare for their arrival. Usually, during the last couple weeks of summer vacation, I find myself thinking more about school, making lists of things to do once I'm back in the classroom, and spending a small fortune at the teacher supply store. That did not happen this year because I was consumed with wedding plans and traveling instead.

Anyway, I was very productive today, and it was good to be back with my colleagues. The room is coming together quickly, and I've got a new Smart Board to figure out - very cool! I made it to the teacher supply store on my way home and dropped a few bucks there, too.

Back to real life. :-)

Middle Name Meme (With a Twist!)

The lovely Shannon tagged me for this meme. I'm going to put a wedding twist on it, since most of my long-term readers know the basics about me already. For starters, my middle name is Marie, and I really like it. I think it compliments my first name very well.


M - marriage ceremony. The script for the wedding ceremony that our officiant let us preview just didn't suite Michael and me. So, Michael asked me if I could come up with something else. I spent an hour or so online the other day looking at other scripts and cut and pasted something together that I'm more comfortable with (Michael still needs to read it). The original script was light on substance and heavy on what I call the "gush" factor (our officiant is very enthusiastic about what she does!). We thought it was a little over the top for us. The new ceremony is more traditional and meaningful in my opinion.


A - attendants. We will have a total of four attendants (bridesmaids and groomsmen). Mine are my sister Julie, and my "bestest" friend Teresa. Michael's groomsmen are his good friend and landlord Tom (who will be the best man), and his former roommate and fellow musician David, who, coincidently is getting married a month before we are.

R - the ring. I was wrong about the ring. We found a lovely stone and setting in LA yesterday. We were assisted by the most helpful and no-pressure-at-all salesman. I learned so much about diamonds. The new ring is more expensive, but the quality is outstanding. I told Michael that I don't wish to shop for a ring with him anymore. I've asked him to take care of this and surprise me when the time is right. I can't wait for that! I'll post a picture when it's sitting pretty on my left hand.

I - ivory. The color of my dress. Perfect for an autumn wedding - soft and vintage in appearance.

E - entertainment. The wedding package comes with a DJ. Michael is not happy about that. As a professional musician, it pains him to think that there will be canned music at the reception. So, there's a possibility that a friend of his in the Bay Area will be hired instead of the DJ and we'll have live music instead. This is something we still need to discuss further.

I think I've seen this meme on almost every blog I've visited this week, but if you haven't been tagged yet, consider yourself tagged!

Guestbooks and Other Odd Items

Is it just my ignorance, or is there a good reason why brides and grooms continue to include a guest book at their weddings? I know it's a record of who was in attendance on the day of the wedding. But really, does anyone ever go back and read those signatures when they're reminiscing? I can't see Michael or myself ever doing that.

But, it's a tradition. Right? And I'm a fairly traditional girl. So, I searched high and low for a guestbook that suited my personal style. Some were really pretty, but most weren't. Most of them were expensive, and I just didn't want to spend a lot of money for something that would ultimately just contain a bunch of John Hancocks.

I was just about to ditch the guestbook idea altogether until I came across the Guestbook Store. They make semi-custom guestbooks. I was able to choose the cover design, and then I was able to choose from a casual or formal page insert. I chose the casual page insert:

On the back of this page will be a page on which guests can include memories of the bride and/or groom, and give marital advice.

I like this idea because for the same amount of money as many of the other guestbooks I was considering, Michael and I will actually have a book full of memories from our guests - not just their John Hancocks! I also ordered an additional package of pages that allow for the bride and groom to record their thoughts and memories, and pages to record gifts received.

During the reception, I'll have my two lovely nieces work the room and pass out pages to the guests. As things start winding down, they will make sure that people return their (hopefully) completed pages before they leave. To make sure that everyone has a writing implement, I ordered a set of 100 archival quality markers (sold by the Guestbook Store). They come in all different colors, and so guests can express their creativity.

Here's a picture from the Guestbook Store's website of some little flower girls filling out their pages. Aren't they cute?
So, have any of you ever been asked to do something like this at a wedding? If so, what did you think of it?

Licensed to Wed

Today we went over to the courthouse and applied for our marriage license! We now have 90 days to marry before it expires - our wedding date is just eight days before the license is no longer valid. I wanted to get it done now because once I return to work next week, it would have been very difficult to get over there without taking time off from work.

Later in the afternoon we did some ring shopping. This is just the second time we've gone looking, but I think I've found THE RING! I had originally had my heart set on a variation of this three-stone ring:


...but I found something I liked as well today in a different, yet still antique style. Actually, it's similar to the ring above, but it only has one center diamond surrounded by pave diamonds instead of three. The diamond sits up higher in the setting, too. It's really pretty. However, Michael wants to go up to the Jewelry Mart in Los Angeles on Saturday. So, even though I would be content to quit shopping at this point, he apparently isn't. I'm surprised, really. I thought he'd be happy that I was happy, but he thinks we'll find a better deal up there. I think he'll find that we can't beat the deal we found today, and he'll return to the store we were at today and buy the ring I like. So, we'll just have to agree to disagree until he realizes that I'm right... ;-)

I had already decided that I didn't want an engagement ring and a wedding band, and the jeweler who helped us today said she's selling mostly single rings instead of wedding sets these days. So, I guess I'm fashionable! Who knew?

In Lieu of Glass Slippers...

...I ordered these today. I had originally planned to purchase a pair with a lower heel and some detailing on the toe, but I realized that the detailing, although very lovely, was silvery, and the accents on my dress are mostly gold. So, I decided to keep it simple instead and avoid any more adornment. They aren't too tall - just a little under 3". Michael is five inches taller than I am, so I can get away with a bit of a heel. I will probably purchase some Foot Pet@ls for myself, and Julie and Teresa, for a little extra "cush" too. A lot of the wedding blogs I've been following recommend those.

Now, I have to get my rear end up off the couch and work out. Must have shapely arms by November 11th!

All Dressed Up

Once I had a vision for the setting of our wedding, I was ready to find THE DRESS. By then I had purchased probably ten or twelve bridal magazines, and I was disappointed that there was so little variety to choose from as I looked through them. (BTW, I am fatigued by bridal magazines at this point and I look forward to discarding them and never purchasing another one!) Everything is strapless these days - everything. I didn't think I wanted strapless for a November wedding, so I was in search of something with sleeves, even if that meant I wore a lace jacket with my dress. Well, after visiting two bridal salons and trying on about 25 dresses, I began to realize that strapless actually looks good on me, and for the price I was willing to pay for my dress I was probably going to go strapless. It wasn't until the second day of shopping that I found THE DRESS. My mother literally gasped when I walked out of the dressing room wearing THE DRESS, and she proclaimed that Michael would react in a similar way when he saw me in it.

Okay, Joannah! So, show us THE DRESS already!!!

Well, dear readers, I cannot. I have not been able to swipe a picture of my dress off the designer's website. They seem to have some sort of technology in play that prevents one from doing so. However, if you're willing to take a couple of extra steps, you can see THE DRESS here. Once you get there, choose United States, and then find the box that says style # in the lower right hand corner, and enter 1614.

What I love about my dress is the vintage look the netting and beading give it. With that in mind, my sister (Matron of Honor #1) began searching for bridesmaids dresses, and she found this number at Nordies. My other MOH (they are both honorable and wonderful women, so I'm calling both of them MOH), Teresa said it's one of the best bridesmaids dresses she's ever been asked to wear. I haven't seen the dress on my sister yet, but Teresa modeled it for me last week and it looked beautiful on her.

While we were up in San Francisco at Union Square, we began to shop for a suit for Michael, but we didn't find one in our budget - what a surprise. We're not having the guys wear tuxes. It's a semi-formal, afternoon wedding, and we thought dark suits would be appropriate. We found Michael's suit on the way home at the Cam@rillo Premium Outlets at the B@rneys New York store. It was about five minutes before they closed, but we just had to see if they had any good deals. We found a beautiful black suit at a great price there, and we picked up a new white shirt and a champagne colored tie to complete the look. I think his tie will coordinate nicely with the sash around the waist of my dress. He doesn't know that though. I just told him he had to have THAT tie!

So, the wedding party is just about outfitted. We need to scout out some rental suits for Michael's guys, and I need to shop for some accessories for myself and the MOHs. My dress should come in late next month, and I've got to purchase my shoes and a bustier before that first fitting. So, more shopping to come.

Location, Location

We're having a "destination wedding" in California's wine country. Why? Because we both have large families and lots of friends, and hosting a wedding close to home would be very expensive unless we did it at the local Elks Lodge or something like that. I've learned that the average Orange County wedding runs about $40k these days. I think that's insane! So, we wanted to have a lovely wedding with all the bells and whistles, but on a smaller scale. The best way to do that was to move it out of town. We are anticipating about 60 guests to attend that day.

We found this lovely, lovely place (which shall remain nameless until after the wedding) that offered us an affordable package. All our vendors are contracted through the site, and they are top-notch! We met with them earlier this week and we are so impressed with the caliber of service they provide. Furthermore, we were just so impressed with how talented, knowledgeable, and down-right nice everybody was. It is our hope that the weather will be pleasant that day, and that we will be able to have an outdoor ceremony. That's one of the charms of this location - its garden. But the inside of the facility is also beautiful, and if we have to move things indoors, it will still be very nice.

All Things New

You spoke and made the sunrise, to light up the very first day
You breathed across the water, and started the very first wave
It was You

You introduced Your glory, to every living creature on earth
And they started singing, the first song to ever be heard
They sang for You

You make all things new
You make all things new

Then the world was broken, fallen and battered and scarred
You took the hopeless, the life, wasted, ruined and marred
And made it new

You make all things new
You make all things new
You redeem and You transform
You renew and You restore
You make all things new
You make all things new
And forever we will watch and worship You

You turn winter into spring
You take every living thing
And You breathe Your breath of life into it over and over again
You make the sunrise, day after day after day
But there's a morning coming, when old things will all pass away
And everyone will see

You make all things new
You make all things new
Come redeem and come transform
Come renew and come restore
You make all things new
You make all things new
And forever we will watch and worship You
Now and forever You are making all things new
You're making all things new
Hallelujah...

Steven Curtis Chapman

Welcome to my new blog! When I thought about a name for this blog, I just kept coming back to wanting to share all that's new in my life. I feel like I've truly entered a new season of abundance in life - one I've waited for for so long. My friend Stacey always refers to the seasons life has, and I think that's a beautiful way to think about it. This is a new season. All things are new. Things are good, and good things come from God. There's always a song playing in my head, and this year more oftentimes than not, it has been All Things New by Steven Curtis Chapman. So, that's how I came to name this blog. I'll be working with the same person who designed my original blog's headers to come up with something fitting for the new header in a couple of weeks.

I feel very blessed to be enjoying this time of life. In the days to come I will share my wedding plans with you. I've found that planning a wedding is nearly a full-time job in itself! So many decisions to make. Wow! But it's a lot of fun as well. Michael and I just returned from the Sonoma Valley where we'll be married, and while we were there we met with all of our vendors to make the final decisions regarding flowers, the cake, and catering. I also had a trial run with the gal who will do my hair and makeup on the big day. I think she did a good job with what she had to work with - remember that bad haircut I got back in April? I'm hoping for a couple more inches in length before the big day.


It's all coming together.