So what are we up to?

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Taking Care of Business

Gift Registries. For those of you that have asked where we are registered, here are the links to printable registries at Bed, Bath & Beyond and Lowe's.

Marriage License. Its official, or it will be after the "cooling off period", that we are legally able to get married in Iowa anytime after next Wednesday.
Fair Weather. We've been having gorgeous weather lately, just in time for the Iowa State Fair. We spent last Sunday people watching, cooing at the baby animals and eating our fill of fatty goodness. See Matt and his cousin Chris below.

updated by Jillian 08/15/08

The Homestretch! It's been such a busy summer. We both have been taxed with big projects at work. Bryan, Matt's brother, was home for a good part of June with Matt's Bachelor party thrown into the mix. We helped my mom move into a new home with her new husband. And in August we will start pre-marital counseling with Pastor Joe. Our wedding day will be here before we know it!

Shopping. I think Matt would be in heaven if we always shopped with a scanner gun. In any case we registered at Bed, Bath & Beyond and Lowe's.
Stormy Weather. Violent weather has rocked our house more than once this season, but on Sunday Mother Nature kicked it up a notch leaving the neighborhood a wreck and us without power for about 13 hours. We were luckier than most, thanks to Josh(groomsman & neighbor)'s dad bringing us a generator to run our sub pumps with.

Matt scooped water out of our sub pump until the generator arrived.

updated by Jillian 07/29/08

Making it Official! We met with Pastor Joseph and instantly liked him. The only snag... he has another wedding to perform an hour before we wanted ours to start. We mulled it over and in the end decided we'd rather have someone we connected with marry us than start our ceremony at a certain time. Check out the adjusted timeline on the Guest Details page.

Honeymooners. Going on the "when are we ever going to have an excuse to do it again" theory, we booked our honeymoon to Jamaica! Neither of us can remember the last time we took a trip where the only purpose in mind was to relax and enjoy ourselves, so we're super excited to soak up some sun on a Jamaican beach.

Best Dressed. With Bryan in town we took the opportunity to select tuxes for the guys. Unfortunately I was over ruled on the zebra print ties (I'm sure the guys in the wedding party are grateful for that). The girls' dresses should be ordered this week. My mom and I went shopping for the Mother of the Bride dress last weekend, and I think we found it. Things are definitely coming together.

updated by Jillian 06/21/08

More Engagement Pics! Our preview shots are in from the photographers. I posted a few in the photos section.

Wedding Planner. Matt's Aunt Karen is acting as our J.Lo inspired Wedding Planner. She'll keep tabs on who is doing what and make sure they are in the right place at the right time. What a big relief that will be! We sat down with her and Matt's mom to talk over the timeline of the day. Wow there are a lot of things to think about... I'm very happy we are in such good hands!

Task Masters. Matt did a little hunting and found us a task freaks haven. We now have our mile long "to do" list online and hopefully it will become a little more manageable as the days fly by.

Bryan is on his way home. After a very long time away, Matt's little brother Bryan will be home for a visit. The boys will be taking advantage of the time to get Matt's bachelor party in. Hopefully we'll get a chance to select tuxes as well.

updated by Jillian 05/26/08

Wow time has flown. I took some time off from wedding planning to deal with major job drama and in a blink of an eye winter was gone and summer is nearly here! Yikes.

I was going to send out Save the Dates and even had these cute little magnets printed, but invitations will be going out here in a little over 2 more short months. Sorry!
Food! Our menu has been selected. Next to the cake tasting, this was probably one of the better parts of wedding planning. We were sent home with 3 grocery sacks full of doggie bags. yum...

Cocktail Hour (walk around the zoo and have a snack):
- Bruschetta
- Spinach & Artichoke Dip
- Stuffed Mushroom Caps
- Beer, Wine, Liquor & Softdrinks
Dinner:
- Caesar Salad
- Veal Parmesan
- Mostaciolli with Meatballs & Italian Sausage
- Carving Station of Roast Beef Au Jus
- Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Vegetable Medley and rolls for sides
- Beer, Wine, Softdrinks, Tea & Coffee available rest of evening
Dessert:
- The Delectable Wedding Cake
E-Pics round 2. Our photography package included an engagement session. Since Bev was kind enough to take some pics of us last fall, I decided to make this next set of photos special by waiting until our one year engagement anniversary. Our photographers are very creative and I can't wait to see the results. Pictures posted as soon as we have them of course.

updated by Jillian 05/15/08

Hula Dancing! Well... all I can really say is Matt's cousin Chris made this very special "movie" starring none other than Matt and Chris. Check it out for a little Hawaiian delight.

updated by Jillian 03/21/08

Cake Tasting. This was one of the more fun vendor appointments we've had. We were sent home with a whole box full of cake. Yummmy.
DJ vs. DIY playlists. I left this choice up to Matt, and he's decided going with a DJ is one less worry to have that day with the added bonus of not schlepping equipment to and from the site. Now we must look for an available and affordable DJ. Let us know if you have suggestions. Thanks!
California Sunshine. Matt's headed to sunny and warm California for work. Hope he brings back warmer weather. Everyone has had enough snow and ice to last them for awhile.

updated by Jillian 02/27/08

Searching for music: We are looking for this version of Pachebel's Cannon in D. YouTube. This is proving to be more difficult to find in mp3 form than I first thought. Let me know if you have it!

updated by Jillian 01/13/08