Maybe You should GOOSE me!

Yesterday we met with Rev. B to chat a little bit about what kind of ceremony we wanted. We asked if he would be willing to encorporate Korean traditions into the ceremony. He seemed pretty excited about this and explained his degree is in multi-cultural relgious studies. Seems more perfect, right!?


I half heartedly explained in olden days Korea, the Groom would give the Mother of the Bride a live goose to symbolize his commitment to a lifetime together. The Goose only mates once in their life. Turns out in Christianity, the Goose also symbolizes the spirit. This double-meaning goose might end up making an appearance at our wedding. We might actually have enough live geese at the wedding venue to be the star(s). Maybe Mr. P should bring his hunting license?

It’s Official

You heard me right, its official. We have officially hired our officiant for our wedding. Today we met with Rev. B and decided it was a good fit for us and are moving forward with the next steps.

I went to the same High School as Rev. B and was friends with his younger sister. He is also the associate pastor at my mom’s church. Mr. P and I both grew up in churches but haven’t found our church home in Denver. This is in part because we haven’t been looking. It was important to Mr. P and I that we found someone we felt like we knew. We weren’t going to call 1-800-Marry-Me and hire whoever answered the phone. This was a more personal decision and we are very happy with our selection.

A special man in our lives—we’ll call him Grandpa M— may not be able to officiate our wedding due to health circumstances, so we were advised to find someone else. Great news is Rev. B is very open to including said special person if he is able to make it to the wedding! Best of both worlds! In lieu of Grandpa M’s health, we decided we needed to find someone in Colorado and someone we had a connection with.

A few things that I like about Rev. B:

1) He doesn’t do “who gives this bride away”. Big bonus points in my book. No offense to any traditional brides who wish to be given away. It’s just not my thing. I’m not really anyone’s property to be given or received.

2) The word “obey” will NOT be incorporated into our vows. Again, big bonus points in my book. If you know me, you’ll know that I don’t take orders very well. Not only would this be pointless because I don’t take orders, I’ll probably see it as a challenge to do the complete opposite of what you are commanding me to do. Right, Mom?

3) He is willing to do what we want for the ceremony. I hadn’t thought this would be a rarity, but it is. When researching questions to ask the officiant there were some crazy questions out there like “Is there a dress code?” “Can we use flash photography?” “Can we use non-traditional wedding songs or readings?” Apparently in 2010—soon to be 2011—there are restrictions on what the Bride and Groom can do, say, sing or wear for their own wedding. Thankfully Rev B is willing to help us shape a ceremony that, as he says, “reflects who we are as a couple”.

4) He’s young. There is nothing wrong with having someone older perform your wedding, but I really like the fact that Rev B is young. I think it will help us relate to one another and I think it’s one of the main reasons he’s so flexible with shaping the ceremony. It also makes him seem like a real person. Often when I meet clergy they don’t always seem like real people. I like this about Rev B.

5) Mr. P likes him.

My goal of having all the venders booked by January is a very reasonable goal. I may actually meet my goal before the holidays. There are only a handful of things left to figure out. We are well on our way to starting a wonderful marriage!

New ways of working out

I thought I was going to try P90X again. Well, that didn't go very well so I'm back to square one of trying to get (back) into shape. May I introduce you to my newest exercise attempt. Meet Studio Tease. A friend of mine, we'll call her Molly, perked my interest and now we are trying to decide what classes to take. This seems like a really fun idea for a bachelorette party too!! I'm totally not coordinated so hopefully I don't make a fool of myself and hopefully I won't look like this....Sexy, no?

And we all know I can't look this adorable. Think B-Dog wants to learn to pole dance?

I went swimming this morning for the first time in weeks. It was hard. After 100meters, my shoulders were on fire. I need to get back in the pool. I'm convinced swimming is the best workout EVER.

So, I'm committed to 2 classes at the studio and will do my best to continue to get to the gym...

Cork-galore!

After "calling all corks" we have been getting them left and right from friends and family! I have to stop here and boast about how freaking awesome our friends and family are for coming through. There are many sacrifices (clearing throat noise...hangovers and headaches) associated with the corks. Thank you friends and family for taking one for the team and drinking the delicious wine.

Today I have 264 corks. I only need 86 more and I'll have more than enough. A special shout-out to David who brought us around 200 corks, and my Dad and Step-Mom who sent us a package full of corks!

Pretty soon I'll need to invest in a hot glue gun and ribbon to get this project started. I'm eager to start my first do-it-yourself (DIY) project!

Here is what it should look like:

And here is what it looks like today:

Wish me luck on assembling :-)

Officiants and Discounts for Music

I feel like I could take on a used car salesman with my awesome negotiating skills! OH, SNAP! I got our DJ to come down $200 from his original quote. While some brides spend upwards of $2,000 on a DJ, we didn't plan on doing that which is why I am proud of myself for being so (cheap) thrifty. I’m feeling so confident I might even consider trying to talk my grocery bill down next week.

On Thursday we are meeting with a potential officiant. I’m excited, but not sure what to expect. I have an idea for which readings I want (still a secret for guests) and we are picking out the music. But what should we do about vows? Should we write our own? Should we go with traditional vows? When I had talked with Mr. P about this he said “Wait, I have to give a speech in front of people?!” Um, yes Dear. That’s kinda the point of a wedding…to profess your love and commitment to one another in front of witnesses.

I’m also not sure what order things are supposed to go in. Sometimes people do readings before the vows, sometimes after and then throw in an “I Do” at some point. What about music? How is it all supposed to flow? Hopefully our officiant can walk us through these logistics. I found a few questions to ask the Reverend and hopefully we can get to know each other a little more when we meet. I’ll keep you posted.

Rollerskates???

So, I found my new favorite song!!! Check it out!!!



:-) I hope you enjoy it too!!!

Girls Weekend and the Boogie Man

I'm sorry I haven't been bloggin in the last week. Time got away from me. I had a great weekend in Breckenridge with the best girls EVER!! It was a blast! Five girls under the age of 10 and moms. Not what you would traditionally think of as a "girls get away in the mountains", but it was so fun. The girls got along for the most part and it gave the adults some precious time to drink adult grape juice. Thanks ladies for a super-fun weekend!

On another subject, I got the contract for our Boogie Man, aka our DJ! I'm pretty excited about it mostly because I've been able to negotiate at least a 20% discount. Can you say bargain bride?!? So, next comes the signing, sealing and details. I like this DJ because he gives you an online account to add song to play, suggested, and do not play. What songs are on your play and do not play lists?

:-)