Q vs. E

Bought a bunch of 'BOGO' containers today to seperate all my Scrabble letters. Let's just say I only have 2 Q's but about 50 E's...not sure if this is going to work but then again, who even knows exactly what I want yet?!?!?!

Scrabble Boards

So I sent out an 'All Staff' email requesting Scrabble items for a lesson and I figured I could use the extras for the reception. Lucky for me someone was cleaning out their classroom this week since they are switch teams and came upon lots of Scrabble games another teacher had donated to them. Needless to say, I now have a ton of plastic scrabble boards, trays and tiles for free!

Luminous Life

Found a photographer that I like by accident via Facebook. Only issue, they are in Galena...shocking! http://www.luminousportraits.com/

Checkerboard Floor

While at the Galesburg Walmart today, I came across those foam interlocking floor mat pieces and they were sold in packages of 9 for only $5.00! Chris thinks we can buy and spray paint them black and white to make our checkerboard floor! I also asked Chris's dad if he had any suggestions and he said he make one only if there was a trade to be made and he hinted at the black naked lady lamp I own; that trade won't happen though as the lamp is a family item passed down!

Iowa is no Galena

Linda emailed me the name of the place after Amanda sent it to her. Unfortunately the place, One Hill (http://www.oakhillwedding.com/) is somewhere I had already looked at, which I thought might have been the case when they were explaining it to me. The place is wonderful however it is not in Galena; its about 40+ mins away. Sniffle Sniffle...

Gifts

Received my first pre-wedding gift today; Mrs. Worcester gave me a nice book as well as a photo album!

Conneting

Chris came up a with a slogan for our weekend reception adventure; he said we could just plan events and stuff and say we want everyone to 'reconnect' while we 'connect'. He's so clever; that's why I love him! Here is the link to our weekend ideas: http://visauldeyanaweddingplans.blogspot.com/p/weekend-ideas.html

Stoney Creek Inn

The more info we get about Stoney Creek Inn in Galena  http://www.stoneycreekinn.com/locations/index.cfm/Galena), the more we love it. The problem is that their conference room can only comfortably seats 65 people around 8 round tables. Below is a picture they sent me of the room when it was set up for a small meeting.

Otherwise they have a great catering menu and would even let you bring in whatever food you want from home. Same goes for alcohol and decorating. Cutting down our list to 65 is going to be the problem...

Happy

I don't wanna live a day without you
I just wanna be the one that makes you happy...happy


http://www.lyrics.com/happy-lyrics-secrets-in-stereo.html

Responses

So I have emailed over 25+ Galena locations; many have not responded however some have responded either saying they do not have areas for receptions or...well let me just post some of my favorite portions of various responses so far:


Part of Response A: " I could comfortable seat 25-30. What I thought of is to have your luncheon among two or more inns. If you did two, your group would separate for lunch and then switch for dessert. That way everyone would have a chance to tour two or more inns, which may appeal to them."


Part of Response B: "We have one large seating area which seats about 95 persons at tables or the bar. We could section off a portion of the seating area to accommodate your guests and the closer the event is to noon the more freedom you might have to move around. We usually get a large crowd of customers around 2 pm which will pretty well fill the space"


Part of Response C: "Also, due to our zoning ordinance the following music limitations apply: Outdoor: Unamplified Acoustical Only, Indoor: Amplified Acoustical and/or use of our sound system for MP3s, IPods, CDs, etc. Unfortunately DJs or Bands are not allowed."


Part of Response D: "Sorry we don't have a meeting/party room.  And we don't do pool parties.  Sorry!"


Needless to say, these types of responses give me something to laugh about while trying to find a venue, which is seeming to be near impossible.

Cross your Fingers

Spoke with Linda, our District's retiring Assistant Superintendent as well as Amanda, the new incoming Assistant Superintendent, when they both happened to stop into my classroom and asked about Wedding plans. I explained my 'location/venue' hosting issues and both said they knew of a place that not only is beautiful as they both had been to weddings there before, but that the place, which is apparently a barn, allows you to cater in whatever you want as well as also bring in your own alcohol. Neither could remember the name so they said they would email me with it later - cross your fingers this place pans out!

Branching out

Spoke with Mary Ann today about finding a Galena location since I know she visits there quite frequently. After much debate we realized that since they are such a small town/area, the concept of a small indoor wedding was foreign to them as they do not have average sized, if any at all, halls or conference rooms. Apparently Galena locals do everything outside and out of towners do everything 'huge' and spend thousands of dollars; grrr I thought Galena would be easy!

Location Location Location

I went over to Cyndi's today so that she could help me try and find a 'Galena' location since I had not been having luck on my own. She left messages for a few places and even called some of her friends to see if they could pull in some favors however we didn't get lucky as all the places were outside of Galena but at least 1/2 an hour. Why is finding a spot in Galena so hard? Who would have thought that the place known for weddings would be so hard for someone who wants an atypical reception!?!?! Here is the link to our reception locations ideas so far: http://visauldeyanaweddingplans.blogspot.com/p/reception-locations.html

Addresses

For once in my life, something I did out of anal retentiveness long ago is going to save me time now - Addresses! I started making the wedding guest list, and as Lana suggested, I put the people's addresses with it; needless to say, I typed up my 'Christmas Card' address list years ago and just add to it anytime I need too. Considering such, so many people I want to invite I already have their info typed out - Awesome!

Locations

Visited several cheap local rental places with Lana today; the Roselle American Legion's hall (http://www.post1084.net/hall-rental-roselle-post1084.htm) was 'ok' if the walls could be covered.

The rest were not too hot; the Carol Steam American Legion hall looks better on the website (http://www.americanlegionpost76.org/Hall%20Rentals.htm) however we did get to see it decorated for a wedding today; seem cluttered and I did not like the divided room.

Cantigny (http://www.cantigny.org/weddings/weddings_and_receptions.aspx) on the other hand was amazing, as well as fun since the 'Armed Forces Day' event was going on and both Lana and I had no idea; I am sure hosting a party there would cost a fortune.

I guess it is back to Google to search for a location. We want it in Galena however it is so expensive down there and we are not sure how to actually make it work; i.e. finding a place, catering, decorating overnight stays, etc. I am going to email all the Galena locations to see what they can offer us and how much it will cost. Maybe having a party is actually more expensive then an all inclusive reception like offered at the Seville (http://www.theseville.com/wedding/wedding_reception.php)?

Guest and Local venues...

Chris and I do not want a huge wedding yet today while out eating dinner we started drafting our list of people to invite. Yeah, wow we definitely did not think we'd have so many lists of names. Of course though, many people are from out of town so we assume they are not going to want to come but who knows...

Moreover, since I do not want a huge fancy place, Chris convinced me to look at local places, like the American Legion Hall in Galesburg (http://www.alpost285.org/).

Not sure how I feel about these sorts of places. Needless to say, I emailed a local connection, Sue, regarding ones in Dupage. Maybe I could 'transform' the place into something fun and cute...

Unique Venues

So after Googling for 'unique' weddings, I came across 'Offbeat Bride'. Here I came across their 'Surpirse Venues' post (http://offbeatbride.com/2011/03/offbeat-venue-roundup) which had suggestion being "Loft or warehouses are an open space just waiting for your wedding transformation... whatever form it takes." LOVE IT! Now only to find one not in Chicago...

Dress?!?!

Found this by accident - White, Fun, Creative and Slutty all rolled into one! https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgm2SdIPw28UIY8tvq6WMsv56aXgDSX1g5QSivfF1pqlhtzkU-PRJP1FQE3wd8kAAgFyrmx2_MOxxEphPjVH-uT8Vrue7O3VjO6Zc82gPpUFbH4LhDzLwA5TD3Qdf5TPTOM-DCswrtzyT0/s1600/short-wedding-dresses-picture-300x300.jpg

Cancel

As of today, our Galena 2011 trip has been canceled. It turned out to be way more expensive then what we thought even though after talking with the Inn Keeper we got a a break on the taxes. Since it is so much more expensive now then it was when we originally stayed there, we figured that we need to cut back on luxury and start saving for the actual wedding - sniffle sniffle, no 'Old Orchard' cottage for us this year =(

Insured!

Today we got an email from my insurance provider saying:

"We have received the appraisal for your scheduled personal property item. Thank you for providing this information to ensure that your valuable items are correctly insured."

Shortly after, the ring was added to my policy!

Galena!

Booked our yearly Galena stay at the Inn at Irish Hollow (http://www.irishhollow.com/); a bit more expensive then before but we got the cabin we wanted; we are going to try and stay at them all eventually. On the other hand, I am not sure how much an actual wedding there the following year would cost as they suggest you rent out all the cabins in order to make your event private. Talk about costly - Ekkk!

Scrabble

As for Engagement photos...what if, we do Chris and I playing Scrabble?!?! It would be just like our first date. Maybe we have our names on the Scrabble Board. I know our names do not have any words that intersect but maybe if we did Deyana adores Chris, i.e. my name horizontal with the A in my name hitting the vertical word 'adores' and the S in adores and with the S in Chris's name horizontally? We could also build more words off of our names too. I got the idea from: http://weheartit.com/tag/ruffled%20blog 

Insuring the Ring

Spoke with my home owners insurance today; to insure any jewelry, it is a certain amount per $1,000.00 per month, which makes insuring my ring around $100.00 a year. Ironically to ensure my house, its only $150.00 per year; who would have thought a ring would be almost equivalent to a house? Needless to say, we are going to do it however Chris has to first send them a letter/email allowing me to insure it since the appraisal is in his name, not mine, and the insurance is in my name, not his.

Dates

Chris and I both want to be able to remember the date. Should we stick with our current anniversary? 9-12-2008? Hmm or what about 10-11-12 since it is numerically fun? Ehh, seems a bit far and I think 9-10-11 is too close...what about 11-11-11? or 12-12-12? or 3-6-12? Yeah I am a dork as I already check these dates; all weekdays.

If we stick with our original date, September 12th 2011 to me is too close due to everything going on with the boys, but is 9-12-2012 too far?!?!? If is not to far, the only problem is that it is on a weekday; Wednesday, which means we would need to wed at a court house; but hey I'm fine with that! Then we could possibly have the wedding party on the 15th in Galena - A Saturday lunch so people can enjoy their stay in Galena? I think so...

Already sending the email to the Inn at Irish Hollow to see what their wedding options are!

Appraisal

Not knowing, or more of not trusting any Jewelry place, we finally just went to to see what we would have to do for an appraisal. We went Jared Jewelers by Woodfield, since it was down the street from where we ate dinner and didn't have to put much thought into it. They said that their appraisers are only there once a month and it cost $95.00. Cheapo me didn't want to pay for that since we already had the appraisal from the place we got it however we did want to verify that it was real.
Needless to say, I eventually just asked the guy if he could tell me the cut of the ring, which is when he cleaned and examined it. His findings, i.e. the color, cut, size, etc., were exactly what our initial appraisal said so that made me feel relieved. I must admit though I was freaking out when he walked away to another counter to clean it with their steamer; I followed him and stared while he did it.
After he returned it we noticed a grey streak on one side of the stone that we had not seen before. Did he switch the Diamond; were my fears and what happened to my parents coming true? Though the doubt was in my head, I do not believe that he did because I like explained to Chris, neither of us fully examined it closely before going in there due to our concern regarding if it was really what our appraisal said and us not wanting to be let down with something we loved; we should have done our homework though and been prepared before we went in and handed it over - oppps!
What made me feel a little less worried was that I noticed that the stone had the same exactly very slight wiggle it had before. Moreover, when we got home, I did spend quite some time on Google checking to see what a jeweler would need to do to switch our a diamond and it seemed nearly impossible to get it to match with only looking at it for less then a minute before cleaning it (http://www.jewelry-secrets.com/Diamonds/Jeweler-Diamond-Switching/How-To-Prevent-Diamond-Switching.html). I also got the brilliant idea to go watch the video of the ring posted on the listing (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p4340.l2557&rt=nc&nma=true&item=130509894173&si=MDU9Cto7q0dKYxFBXfYTkieXpCU%253D&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWNX%3AIT), and thankfully, if you look closely, you can see a small grey streak in the same spot. I can breath now; I know deep down that have my original stone - Phew!

Court

Apparently being engaged means nothing in the eyes of the court during a custody battle. Gordon tried to fight for us saying it did since Chris bought the ring; Boye responded saying tat a ring is nothing as she could go down the street and buy one...

Andrea

Started contacting my contacts regarding engagement photos. I've been going back and forth with Andrea regarding her taking the photos as she's a great photographer. She's booked for a while but we are in no rush...

Last Names

Chris has been convinced that I do not have to take his last name! Thank you Dawn

To take or not to take....

Ever since I was little, I never wanted to fully take on someone else's last name; be it that I still have my mother's last name or that I am established in my career, there are several reasons. Many would think I would want to change my name due to various things associated with it but I do not; I am who I am and if anything, I would want to 'create' a new name. I think that if I have to change, so should my partner; all is fair in love and war ;) Chris does not care for 'Goodat' or 'Matwin' so I guess I will stay Matt and he Goodwin...

My justifications are many; I am a teacher; Ms. Matt is how my students know me. Also, everything we own is in my name and changing everything just seems like more work then it is worth. Moreover, my credit is good haha. Lastly, I do not want to be known or even thought of as the boy's original mother; I am not the crazy one; keeping Matt would help people realize that I am the second one to come along, not first that we care to forget about... I don't want to be the second Mrs. Goodwin; I choose to stay far away from what is associated with first