I'm Back!

Sorry, I would have been updating but my computer had a virus so I couldn't. I'll be updating more now :) Stay tuned!

Music and Photos

Within the last week we have asked a couple of our friends to be our musicians and they are really excited about it. We are excited too. I asked one of my cousins to play piano and sing. Jeremy asked one of his friends to sing with him. They will be great. They're both really great singers!

I have also booked our photographer. Before we were even engaged, Jeremy mentioned that he really liked the photos that this couple took at another wedding we were at. The thing he most loved is that they were not posed pictures. Jeremy's not a fan of standing still and smiling. This is perfect because these photographers "do not believe in posing for pictures" so when we saw that, it was just the perfect fit. We are going to go meet them hopefully this weekend to work out details.

This makes some things seem a lot more real which is good... even though the wedding is still 7 months away.

I'll update more soon!
Rachelle

Initial Wedding Guest Count

So... pre-pruning (if necessary)... My guest list count is 266! Our limit for the reception hall is 220 and that's technically past the "comfortable maximum." I think that that's pretty good considering that I'm 99% sure that at least 50 of the people I'd like to invite will not be able to make it. I honestly thought I was going to be over by much more.

Now comes the task of "pruning" a bit and renumbering because of babies and other small children that will be in high chairs or that might not come.

Wish us luck!

Rachelle

Reception Hall Update

So I picked up the catering booklet today for Chinook Village. I'm getting excited about planning the reception. It's going to be a lot of fun. I think once my mom gets back from Arizona, we'll have to go meet with the Catering Manager. She's been through it once before so we'll get to experience that together.

The hall is very nice. My sister got married there and it just seemed like the place to have the reception. I'll write more soon!

Rachelle

We Found THE Dress!

**I'll post pictures after the wedding just in case Jeremy checks the blog out**
The greatest thing is that my mom picked it out!

We got to Angela's Weddings 'N' Things around 12:30 pm and I immediately started getting dresses pulled and was going through the racks. The lady who helped us was amazing. She also said that because they are having a bridal sale on Sunday here in Medicine Hat at the Lodge, most of the dresses would most likely not make it back to Brooks. For that, I am so glad we went yesterday!

I got behind the curtain and tried on Dress #1... it was an off-the-shoulder dress which was nice but it didn't fit me right.

   

Dress #2 was a strong maybe! It was really beautiful and fit perfectly but I didn't like the front look. It had a nice material and gathering but then the bottom just had tulle showing. It was like the dress wasn't finished. I didn't like the tulle look. Also, it was tight from top to under my bottom and I knew Jeremy didn't like that.

   

Dress #3 (and every one after that) was compared to the second dress. It was a no for sure. It wasn't flattering on me. The thing I did love about it was a deep V back. It looked really good and my sister and mom like it as well. It just wasn't enough of a selling point to get that one.

   

Dress #4 was really pretty and similar to the second dress but it had a heart neckline which did not look good on me at all. The back of this one was very pretty. I liked the back but that was about all.

   

Dress #5 was a no right from the start. There wasn't anything really bad about it except the back had a pleated skirt which I wasn't crazy about. I just didn't feel right in it. It also wasn't flattering for my body shape either (I don't think).

   

Dress #6 was the other definite maybe. My mom picked it out of the window and she even told the lady not to bother getting it off the mannequin but we're all glad she did because it's the one we ended up getting. It is beautiful. It fit perfectly. I don't have to get any alterations at all. As soon as the lady opened the curtain, I was smiling, and then both my mom and Cassie said, "Yes, that's perfect." My mom said, "You were made for that dress." I corrected her and said, "No, the dress was made for me!" It really was great and I'm so happy about the purchase.

   

I did try on Dress #7 but it wasn't good. It had beading on the top of it which was a definite no in my mind and it didn't suit me. We didn't even take a picture of that one because we just knew that our search was over.

I tried on Dress #2 and Dress #6 again and we all picked #6. Now my mom gets to brag that she picked out my wedding dress. We got to take it home right away and now it's just waiting until I get to wear it on our wedding day! I can't wait.

Oh, I forgot to mention that it's not a white dress. It's ivory. Actually it looks a lot better than white did on me. Because my skin is so light, the ivory makes me look a bit darker. I wanted white but I'm very happy with this ivory dress.

I feel so blessed to have not only found a dress, but that my sister and my mom could share in that experience with me. It's something that I will never forget! Thanks Mom and Cas!

Rachelle

Dress Shopping and Saving Money!!

I'm going wedding dress shopping with my mom and sister tomorrow. I'm really excited that I may find the dress I'm going to wear on my wedding day... but I'm afraid that if I find that dress that I will change my mind eventually before the wedding... It's 218 more days until the wedding and a lot could happen in that time. Who knows?! Let's pray that I either find the dress and I don't change my mind... or that I find the dress later on and it's a good price... either way, I'll be happy with that!!

I have some great news too! I am saving money left, right and center which is awesome!

(1) I bought some rolls of postage stamps before the price goes up on January 11th. These are the Prepaid ones so they'll be good for the coming year!
(2) We got the church rental fee waved because I attend the church. We'll still have to pay the janitorial and sound man fee and whatever the pastor is going to cost but, hey, every little bit helps!!
(3) I checked back with the Chinook Village Terrace Room today (where the reception will be) and because I booked before the new year, they are going to give us last year's rates which I'm excited about. I'm not even sure how much the price is going up but, again, every little bit helps!

I'm looking forward to saving more! Let's just hope my dress isn't expensive!

Rachelle

Wedding Date

Today I was able to finalize our wedding date. I had arranged the hall before Christmas (I booked every Saturday in August). I finally chatted with the pastor at my church and we decided on August 14, 2010. This date happens to be perfect because Jeremy's brother leaves for school on the 15th and the Saturdays before that don't work because of family reunions, school reunions, family not being able to make it, etc. My mind is a lot more at ease now that we have a date, a church and a hall.

Rachelle

Our Engagement Weekend

Friday, December 18, 2009
I bought Jeremy hockey tickets for Christmas and had given them to him in the middle of November(ish). He had had a bad day at work so I gave him the tickets as a Merry Christmas / Happy Birthday / Happy Anniversary / Hope-You-Have-a-Better-Day-Tomorrow gift. The tickets were for December 19th for an Edmonton Oiler / Washington Capitals game. Those two teams are his favourite and I was really excited to give them to him.

So we planned to go up to Calgary on the Friday before the game, stay at a family friend's house, and then head to Edmonton on Saturday for the game and after the game, stay at a cousin's house before heading back to Medicine Hat on Sunday.

I had to work on Friday morning so Jeremy let me know via BBM when he was leaving to come get me so that I could quickly make it to my parent's house to change and shower and get ready for the weekend.

We left Tilley later than planned but made our way to Calgary. Jeremy was pretty quiet the whole way and I was tired so we didn't say much which wasn't unusual for us.

I told Jeremy to make a CD for our trip so he made a compilation of about 14 songs and brought it with him. We listened to Ke$ha's "Tik Tok", Something Corporate's "Konstantine", and - among others - Black Eyed Peas' "I Gotta Feeling." (Jeremy later told me that through that whole song, he only sang one line: "Tonight's gonna be a good night")

We got to the city and really had no plans. Jeremy had mentioned that he wanted to go to this department store downtown to check it out. I didn't really have anything planned so I just kind of followed. We got downtown and we ended up getting closer and closer to the  Calgary Tower. I didn't know what our final destination was so I just sat in the passenger seat waiting to see where we'd end up. Jeremy parked in the parkade attached to the Calgary Tower and he basically said, "Well, we're here, we might as well go up. You want to?"

I said, "Sure, I haven't been here since I was like 5 or something. It's been a long time!"

We got into the elevator on the left and shot up to the top (it felt like we were going really fast). We got out on to the top and immediately walked right to the glass-bottom floor. After trying to get used to it for a few minutes, I finally stood on it and looked down. It's a little weird looking down through the floor at the ground that is 525 feet above the ground.

Anyway, we walked around the top. We were the only people there so it was nice and quiet. We checked out more of downtown, Canada Olympic Park, the Pengrowth Saddledome, Chinook Centre, and more. It was great being able to see the city in a way that not many get to experience or even think about.

Jeremy saw this as the perfect opportunity... we were on the opposite side of the tower than the glass floor - near the Saddledome. He began to get down on one knee. I was still gazing out the window in wonder and then... the elevator door opens up and out come a group of screaming Asian girls gasping and giggling about the glass floor beneath them.

The moment had gone. Jeremy quickly shifted his weight into a nearby chair and hoped that I hadn't noticed because if I did, it would have "looked really weird."

I was oblivious but was having a good time anyway. We walked around the top a few times and more and more people arrived at the top. There wasn't another time where it was just the two of us on the top of the tower so as soon as Jeremy saw that there was no one waiting for the elevator to go down, he suggested that we go down and out to supper.

We got into the right elevator and I started to take a picture of the sign that was on the back wall. Jeremy looked at me and asked, "Rachelle, you know I love you right?"

"Yeeaaahh," I managed to spread out. My heart was literally racing. At this point, I thought one of two things: either he was going to jump up and down in the elevator which would have freaked me out... or that he was going to propose!

Then as he looked away, he just said, "Okay, good."

There was a long pause.

I thought, 'Okay, he's not going to jump... or propose.'

Then he pulled out a red, wooden box and said, "You wanna get married?"

Not even seeing the ring, I nodded fast and managed to say, "Uh-huh!" in between gasping for air. I had a hard time actually getting it out! (That could have been from the proposal or from the fast-moving elevator, I'm not sure which - could have been both.) When I opened the ring box, I saw the perfect diamond engagement ring. We had actually picked it out together but he later told me that he didn't buy it. The whole experience was a huge surprise to me. I wasn't expecting a proposal that weekend at all! We laughed and hugged and then we walked out of the elevator as an engaged couple.

We started texting and calling all of our family and friends that we could think of. I had told Jeremy on the way to Calgary that my phone was going to die and he thought it was hilarious because he knew I'd be on it a lot later that night.

We went out for supper at Joey Tomato's and had a very filling supper and then headed to Jeremy's mom's friend's house. We arrived and chatted with her for a while before finally trying to fall asleep.

It was a full but amazing day!


Saturday, December 19, 2009
We woke up the next morning and we had breakfast, packed up our things and made our way to Edmonton. We were dropping off some things at West Edmonton Mall for another friend so we decided to go there first, shop around a bit, and then meet my cousins for supper before heading to the game. We were fortunate that the roads weren't too bad (there were some bad weather patches but for the most part, it was good). We were also lucky to have met the friend just outside the door to the mall. We had gotten there at the same time so instead of hauling things throughout the mall and her having to take them back to her car, we were able to exchange right at the vehicles and go into the mall empty-handed.

We shopped around for a bit but neither of us are big "shoppers" so we mostly wandered around. We checked out Galaxyland, the Roller Coasters (picture) the Sea Lion Show (from the bridge), the Water Park (from the window), Mini-Golf and, of course, the "Ice Palace" Skating Rink. There were so many people... almost too many people. That can make things frustrating.

We had been in contact with my cousins and had decided to meet at Chili's for supper. It turned out that my cousins were going to the same game so we were able to eat and travel to Rexall Place for the game together. They told us all about the benefits of having "Club Seats" and the perks that came with them. We were able to go down and watch the Oilers go out for warm up, we got a picture in front of the Oilers' dressing room door, we had our own consessions and lounge areas, etc. It was such a different and amazing experience and I'm so glad that we were able to do that together.

We watched the game and, unfortuantely, the Oilers lost to the Capitals but Jeremy was able to see his favourite player (Mike Green, Washing Capitals #52) play. I was so glad that I could see him that happy. It was just so good to share that with him.

We took a picture after the game of us in front of the rink. This is where our seats were. They were so good.

We also got the security guard to take a picture of us in front of the Oilers' dressing room door. It was the end to an incredible night!

After the game, we travelled back to my cousin's house, chatted with them for a while and then finally got to bed.


Sunday, December 20, 2009

I slept in in the morning a bit and we all had these cinnamon bites for breakfast (I'm going to have to get that recipe!!) We talked some more before they left for church and we left for Medicine Hat.

The roads weren't as good as they were on the way up but Jeremy is a great driver so we made it without any troubles.

We stopped in Tilley at my parents' house and talked with them a bit also before leaving to go home. They were really excited for us and we're so blessed to have the support of our families!

Rachelle