Invitations are ready to go!!!

HOLY CRAP - we are now into double digits on the countdown - 96 days from today and 3 months from this Friday, but whose counting???  I think I am still doing well with the planning, I have only had a few minor meltdowns, but overall I think I am doing ok!  The checklist is down to 74 open items out of 128, still a lot, but it seems to be things that need to wait.  UGH!  I just want everything done now. 

My mom and dad came over yesterday to help with the invitation stuffing.  I thought it was going to take forever, but it took no time at all!  We were done in a little over an hour and I am so excited to get them in the mail.  Here they are all ready to go:

We aren't mailing them until the end of this month, so they will sit for a little while, but I am so glad we got them done!

So this means only one thing - all of the big items are complete!!!  Now it's on to finishing all of the little touches.  And boy are there a lot of them. 

Updates

I know, I have become a failure at this blog thing.  I was talking to our friend Ben the other day and he described it perfectly - it's like a job.  I think about it alot, but it takes a lot to update!  I have hit the point in the wedding planning that I dont really want to share all of the little details!  I want many of them to be a surprise. 

So the least I can do (for the few of you out there that really care - and thank you to each of you for caring :-) ) is update you on the progress!!

As of today there are 115 days to the wedding - HOLY CRAP!!!  On the one hand I am SO EXCITED and really want it to be here tomorrow; on the other hand I am freaking out!  I still have 80 open items on the wedding checklist.  The good news is that most of them can't be done this early, so I am still in good shape.

The invitation arrived a few weeks ago and I love them even more than when I picked them out.  They had to be reprinted a second time, because they weren't exactly centered but they are perfect now and I can't wait to get them in the mail.  I am dropping them off to the calligrapher on Friday and they will be in the mail by the end of August - Phew!

Marcin picked up hist suit yesterday and it is Gorgeous!  Am I allowed to say gorgeous about a man's suit?  Oh well, I am  :-)  Brian did such a great job; since the suit was custom made for him it really fits him perfectly!

My mom and I did some shopping over the weekend for the wedding too.  We hit up this craft warehouse in DE and got some of the "little details".  Ribbon, tule, candles, etc.  It was a great trip but unfortuantely I was only able to cross off half of my craft store shopping list items!  So tomorrow I will be heading to AC Moore. 

Marcin and I were down the shore a few weekends ago for The JAWS Youth Fund Fitness Festival in Stone Harbor - he volunteered and I ran the 5K.  It was my first 5K - I did OK, ran just over an 11 minute mile.  I was hoping for closer to ten, but it was HOT that day.  I was proud I finished and ran the whole way!  Anyway, that night our band Touche was playing at Keenan's in North Wildwood so we went to listen to them with my Mom, Dad, Aunt Roe, and our friends Kristine and Mike.  We had so much fun and it made me even more excited for our day!!!

Finally, did anyone realize that the Catholic Church is doing away with the Unity Candle?  Well at least in the Philadelphia Archdiocese they are.  I was told it's a fire hazard!  Doesn't that mean that all the other candles that are lit during a mass are a fire hazard???  Well, I have to admit I was a little disappointed.  Not really because of the meaning of it or anything, mostly because I found a candle that I loved and was going to make myself!  And I looked forward to keeping it for years to come.  So I am still going to make it, and have it on our placecard table at the reception.  So if you see a random candle with rhinestones and ribbon at the reception, now you know why!

Ok, hopefully I will have more to update on later :-)

Tuxedos

I can finally cross another item off the list!  The tuxedos have been chosen.  This was A LOT easier than I thought it would have been.  Marcin is having a custom suit made from Henry A. Davidsen.  He met the owner, Brian Lipstein, through some networking groups and he has always played with the idea of getting a suit made from him.  We both thought the wedding would be the perfect occassion for him to do it. 

Marcin picked out the fabric, lining, and design all on his own; I havent even seen it yet!  I am going with him in a couple weeks for his fitting and I am very excited.  The couple of times I have met Brian he always look very sharp, so I know Marcin's suit is going to be great.  And Marcin is really excited about it!

So we knew that for the groomsmens we didnt want a typical tuxedo, we wanted more of a suit look to complement Marcin.  I was nervous going to Men's Wearhouse thinking we wouldnt be able to accomplish this, but it was A LOT easier than I thought.  Our consultant was really helpful, and in 20 minutes it was all picked out!  Here is a picture of what it will look like, well sort-of, but that's a surprise so I can't reveal everything :)

And Cameron is going to look adorable in the ring-bearer's version!

Next up on the list, singer and organist for the ceremony.  Who knew this one would be so hard!

Engagement Pictures

Phew!  I finally have time to myself again.  My work's annual conference is over and I am somewhat back to normal and I have a chance to blog about our engagement pictures.  WE HAD SO MUCH FUN!  And Marcin was such a good sport about it all.  The weather was nice, the sun was shining, but boy was it windy.  My hair was a giant knot all day!  I almost cried when I brushed it. 

We started the day by meeting up with Sarah and her husband, John at the Wildwood sign in Wildwood, NJ.  Well, actually we met on the highway coincidentally on the way down!  Hanging out at the sign was so much fun.  (Maybe someone saw us on the live webcam!)  We took pictures on the giant beach balls, and I was even standing in one of the letters at one point!  Here is a sneak peak of these

Then it was off to wander down the boardwalk.  I was on a mission to find some skee-ball to play, but no arcade was close to where we were.  I was walking in some crazy heels and they kept getting stuck in the boards!  But Sarah, being the great photographer that she is, found some great spots on the boardwalk to take some shots.  here is one on a bench (check out the shoes!) and one by the Convention Center

We took a lot more on the boardwalk, but these are only the sneak peak from Sarah.  I promised her I wouldnt be the crazy bride who stalks her for the proofs everyday, even though some days I kind of want to be :)

Then it was off to the beach to attempt to not be blown away (literally!)  This was so much fun!  in the following picture, that's my ring in the sand and Marcin and I are making the shadow heart :)

notice the rubberband from my hair on my finger - Sarah, we need to photoshop this out! ;-)

We ended the day at Flip Flopz with beer and burgers!  Marcin told Sarah and John that it's his favorite bar in the whole entire world!!!  It was such a great day.

And Sarah, I promise you I am waiting as patiently as possible :)

6 months!!

WOW!  Where have the last 18 months gone?  I cannot believe 6 months from today we will be getting married.  I am really excited, but stress also started to set in this morning, there is still so much to do!  

On my drive in to work this morning I was trying to find a radio station with a good song and I turned on 96.5 and they were playing The Way I Are!  Marcin and I used to listen to this song ALL THE TIME and we made sure it was on the must play music list for the wedding - so I think it was a sign that it was playing this morning!

Most of the big stuff is done.  We purchased the invitations a couple weeks ago - oops scratch that, I purchased the invitations a couple weeks ago with the help of my mom :) Marcin, I hope you like them!  I am so excited about them, they are simple and elegant.  I went in wanting the pocketfold invitations but I knew that I didnt have the patience to DIY them and I couldnt justify spending that amount of money on invitations that will be thrown away to have them done professionally.  So I found traditional styled invites with their own twist of uniqueness.  (Is uniqueness a word?  Oh well, it is now!)

The last thing we have to do is finish our registry and go pick out the tuxedos.  As soon as those 2 things are done, I will feel better and will start crossing the little things off the list. Oh the list!  I feel like I keep adding things to it, instead of crossing them off.  I now have 91 open items of 116.  Oh boy, we still have a long way to go. 

But that's ok, today I am not going to dwell on that.  Today I am going to sit back and relax (ha! that's a joke since my work conference is 10 days away and my team is scheduling 800 customer meetings before it) and think about all of the fun we are going to have and that Marcin and I will be husband and wife 6 months from today!

Flowers!

Ok, as promised I am going to get better with these posts.  So I decided I should start blogging on some of the little details, although Flowers are a big detail to me. 

Back in November I posted on the overall inspiration of the wedding being brown and orange.  Now that the bridesmaid dresses have been purchased in chocolate brown, it's orange mixed with reds for the flowers!  I started saving pictures awhile ago for some floral inspiration and have included some pictures here:

This is what the bridesmaids bouquets will look like.  I think this is going to look great next to the dresses!

And here is what Reese is going to carry.  As I mentioned before we are still trying to break it to her gently that she can't throw petals. 

I went to the Philadelphia Flower Show with my mom and Aunt Roe a few weeks ago and saw this picture of a Flower Girl Pomander Ball.  Look how cute it is with the Pearl Handle!  I am going to have to come up with a way to make it if my florist cant.

Finally here is Marcin's Boutonniere.

I love the way it looks with this orange tie, but since I went with brown dresses, we can't do orange ties with black, that will look too much like Halloween for me.  And grey isnt really an option for me.  So we are still working on the men's attire, but more on that later.  We actually had already ordered an orange and pink paisley tie for Marcin, luckily he wears ties everyday for work, so it won't go to waste!

That's it for the inspiration of flowers.  I am going to leave my bouquet and the reception centerpieces as a surprise!  I can't give away everything :)

And our florist is Stacey Ballard with Stacey Ballard Floral Design.  Marcin met her through his contacts at work (his connections have really been pulling through for us!)  She does this on the side, her everyday job is real estate development.  This concerned me at first, when Marcin first told me, but I figured I had nothing to lose by meeting with her.  Needless to say I absolutely loved her!!  I knew I would love her when she suggested we meet at the Great American Pub in Wayne.  Beer, wine and flowers - what more can you ask for?  She brought loads and loads of photo albums of her work, and she started telling me stories of growing up in her parents flower shop.  I was instantly sold, and it also helped that she was the cheapest I found. 

I am getting very excited as all of the little details start to come together.

The Honeymoon is booked!!!

Ok so I think my last few posts have all started the same – how I have been lacking with the blog posting. I’ll tell you this house thing takes up a lot of time, but we have had a lot of fun with it. I will post pictures in the next post!  The wedding was put on the back burner a little because of the house, but it is starting to come back to the front.

Marcin and I just booked our honeymoon this week and we are really, really excited for it. We will be leaving Monday, November 8 for San Francisco at 740am, hopefully I will be able to sleep on the plane, or else I am not going to stay awake for anything in CA! We are going to spend that day touring Fisherman’s Wharf and the like and spending the night at the Hyatt Fisherman’s Wharf.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I was in San Francisco once for work but Marcin has never been. I am really excited to tour the area again and check out the sea lions or are they seals? Oh well!
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The next morning we will drive to Napa Valley, where we will spend 2 nights. During the day we will be checking out the wineries and will definitely be shipping wine back home. They better be able to ship to NJ or somewhere close! I will be asking all friends and family in bordering states if we can ship our wine to you :) We will give you a bottle or 2 for your troubles!


We will be staying at the River Terrace Inn – our travel agent sold us on this, when she put in her email: “Great Bar!” I read that to Marcin and he said book it right now! Look at these views!

 








And here's the bar!

On November 11th it’s off to Cabo San Lucas for 8 days, 7 nights!!! We are staying at the Dreams Resport and I cannot wait. Marcin knows the owners of Apple Vacations really well and they gave us an awesome deal :)  I am really looking forward to a swim-up bar, massages, beach and a whole lot of nothing!!!

Dreams Los Cabos Suites Golf & Spa Resort is the only all suite ocean front resort adjacent to 2 championship golf courses and overlooking the Sea of Cortez, this premiere resort offers casual elegance and adds the crowning touch to Cabos most deluxe hotels. The resort is located one mile from the Robert Trent Jones designed Cabo Real golf course and a ten minute drive to the town of Cabo San Lucas. It features a large, majestic freeform swimming pool, health club and spa.

Then it's back to Philly at 11:45 Thursday night.  I am assuming Friday will be spent sleeping from jet lag!

Next up on the planning list - Tuxedos and Invitations!

Update - Bridesmaid Dresses!

Wow, ok I have REALLY been slacking on the whole blog thing lately!  I guess that's what moving into a house will to do you - this wedding has definitely been put on the back burner! 

So Marcin and I bought a house!  It is wonderful and by the third or fourth day in there we were both saying how it felt like we had been there forever.  Our neighbors are great, the house is perfect for us and even to grow into, and we couldn't be happier with our decision.  Although the first mortgage payment is due in about 10 days, perhaps I may change my mind after sending that off! haha Here is a picture of it!  (There's Marcin shoveling!)  I am officially sick of snow - 2+ feet in 2 weeks is too much to handle.  Although I am really glad this time around we have a garage for our cars and we arent digging out in small city streets.

Ok, enough about non-wedding stuff!  Although like I said the wedding has kind of been put on the back burner, so there isnt too much to report on.  But we did narrow down the Bridesmaid dresses!  I decided awhile back that I wanted my girls to be comfortable and happy with the dresses, so I am letting them choose their own style dress.  I picked the color, deisgner, length and fabric and they get to pick the dress.  When I bought my dress my sisters found dresses they liked so that helped make the search easier.  This past Sunday I went with bridesmaids Kristine, Michele, Nell and Maid of Honor Beth to Jay West in Haddonfield.  What I thought might be a confusing ordeal with everyone trying on various dresses, turned into a smooth, seamless process!  3 girls each picked out their dress we were done and ready to go in 45 minutes! I even tried on my dress again - and fell in love with it all over again. 

While there we even found a flower girl dress for Reese - and it is perfect.  We are going back this Saturday with my other Maid of Honor Kristy, Bridesmaids Jen and Laurie, and flower girl, Reese!  Come Saturday we will have all the dresses ordered and Marcin and I can start determining what the men will wear.  I was considering Brown Tuxedos but now with Brown dresses that went out the window!

Here is a sneak peak at one of the dresses!

Next on the list after Wardrobe - Honeymoon!

Met with the Fr. John

Wow, I am really bad at this blog thing - I need to write on here more often!  I have realized that a lot of things I would blog about, I planned forever ago - so I am going to have to start writing about things that have happened in the past. 

But this one is a recent one.  When Marcin and I booked St. Rita's Church we found out that we needed to bring our own priest.  This was pretty easy for us.  My Aunt Florence has a very good friend, Fr. John Zagarella, and Marcin and I had met him a couple times prior and got along great with him.  Very coincidentally I grew up with his nephew and Marcin and I know his cousin through a networking group.  So we quickly called him and he graciously agreed to marry us.  Even more weird is that he is very good friends with the pastor of St. Rita's!

Marcin and I drove out to Paoli last week to meet with him and start the initial paperwork for the wedding.  He split us up to ask us each questions such as - are you being forced to marry?  Have you ever broken up your relationship or engagement with Marcin - to which I replied: "Well I have threatened a few times, but no!" to which was followed by loud laughter from Fr. John and a good few minutes before we could continue :) I knew at that moment we had made the choice. 

It was then Marcin's turn and I was left alone for quite some time.  I was beginning to get concerned - did they forget about me?  should I go knock on the door?  Finally, he came to get me - turns out it took so long because Marcin had to spell all of the long polish names - and we all know that can take FOREVER!!!  It took me about a year to learn the spelling of Marcin's middle name - Krzysztof - (Crossing my fingers this is correct, that second z always gets me!)

We all enjoyed a great dinner together at San Nicola Restaurant where Fr. John and Marcin traded lots of their travels over the years and I drank wine :) (surprise, surprise!)

Announcing the Bridal Party!!!

Happy 2010 everyone!  The holidays were great and very busy as usual, and now I cannot believe it is 2010 already.  Less than 10 months to the wedding - WEIRD :)  Marcin and I went to mass at St. Rita's yesterday with my parents, and I can't even begin to tell you how beautiful it was.  The pictures don't do it justice!  I am really, really excited!

But that's not the point of this post.  I have been wanting to do a post on the bridal party for awhile now, but kept putting it off because I needed to gather pictures of everyone.  That should have been easy, except Marcin's friend Andy, from college lived in Chicago for many years and now in Indianapolis and they don't get to see each other often at all.  And not to mention they are guys, and guys do not take pictures.  Then over the holidays Marcin, me and his sister, Nell were going through a big box of old family photos and we came across some college pictures of Marcin's.  And now my bridal party post can happen! 

Warning: It's a long one!

First I want to thank everyone for being a part of our special day.  You are each, in your own way, been a HUGE part of Marcin and I's life together and we couldn't be more happy that you will be with us that day.

The Girls!

The Maids of Honor - yup there are 2!  When my sister Kristy got married she didnt want to choose between Beth and I so she had us both.  And the tradition continued, we were both Beth's Maids of Honor and now they will both be mine and I wouldn't have it any other way.  My sisters are my best friends - we have all been there for each other through thick and thin - even if we are yelling at each other through it all :)

Bridesmaids:

Marcin's Sister, Nell - Nell and I have gotten along from the moment we met.  Whether its shopping or manicures and pedicures we can always find something to do and laugh at!  Usually Marcin will come along for the ride because he is making us stop for Coney Dogs at La Puma's!

Laurie was the very first person I met when we moved to Blackwood from Philly - she was at my bus stop on the first day of school!  She and I have been through it all together - even when we grew apart at times through the years (3rd grade - Laurie, I'll leave it at that! haha) we always stuck by each other.  It was a no brainer to me that when I got engaged she would be up there with me on my wedding day.

Jen and I became good friends towards the end of high school, probably after graduation even!  She and I can always enjoy a glass of wine together and talk weddings :)   It has been so much fun to share all of these "adult" experiences with her in both of our lives.  I was honored to be with her on her wedding day and I am excited she will be there with me on mine!

Jen is in the middle, Laurie is on the right

(Funny side note - I think Marcin is asking Gregg to be in the wedding in the background!)

I met Kristine Freshman Year at Salisbury University where she lived down the hall from me.  I think I probably met her like 20 minutes after I was crying that I wanted to go home because my roomate was crazy!  She and I became inseparable almost immediately.  The next 4 years were so much fun with her - we share some crazy and good times together.  She knows too much - so I had to ask her to be in the wedding. haha Just Kidding!  Well she does know a lot, but I know too much on her as well.  We have shared good and bad times together and my wedding wouldn't be any different.

Michele and I met in one of our Marketing classes at SU.  But she and I really became friends when we both went on the American Marketing Association's trip to New Orleans for the annual Collegiate Conference.  After that she graduated the next semester and moved to New York.  What really helped us stay good friends is our love of country music and country concerts!  She is always willing to hop on the train to Philly for a good Kenny Chesney Concert.  And she is the only friend who likes to put Marcin in his place with their sarcastic comments!

Flower Girl:

My niece, Reese, will be our flower girl!  She is really excited, but unfortuantely she can't throw petals in the church, so we have to break that to her gently.  Oh and she also wants to wear a purple dress on the day :)

The Guys!

I should probably have Marcin write this one, because the descriptions might be better, but oh well, I'll give it my best shot.

The Best Men - yup, he has 2 also!

Scott - Scott is partially to blame, um I mean thank ;-), for Marcin and I meeting.  My friend Alissa and her husband Justin had a BBQ.  Scott is married to Alissa's sister and he invited Marcin to come as well.  Out of about 30 people at the BBQ, he and I were the only single ones!  and the rest is history.  Scott and Marcin met at work when they both worked at TD Banknorth.  Marcin instantly became a permanent fixture in the Smith/Purcell family since he wasn't always able to get back to Michigan for holidays and such.  Marcin has drunk countless beers in the basement with Scott and spent countless nights on the couch!

I just realized I dont think I have a picture of only Marcin and Scott.

Scott is on the left.  Justin is in the middle.

Mike and Marcin met when they were just babies - their backyards backed up to one another.  They were inseparable growing up and remained best friends even with Marcin moving far away.  Mike and Marcin have shared both good times and bad together and Mike has all the funny stories to document it all!  The funniest story I have heard from Mike is when they were laying on the floor watching tv one day when they were little.  He got up to go to the bathroom and he stepped over Marcin.  Now Marcin's mom is supersticious and she and Marcin started yelling at Mike to step back over Marcin.  He looked at them like they were crazy and Marcin told him if you step over someone you will stunt their growth, so you have to step back over them to make sure that doesnt happen!!!  It's much funnier when Mike tells the story in person of course, but looking at the picture below you will see why it's even funnier!

Gregg is my brother-in-law and sometimes it is scary how much he and Marcin get along.  Usually at family parties if you can't find one of them, you know you will find them with the other either smoking cigars or drinking beer.  I guess that's their way of dealing with our crazy family :)

Randy and Marcin have been friends for years through middle school and high school.  Randy is also polish, which isn't that shocking where they grew up in Michigan - but the 2 of them really seem to bond over that connection :) In fact, here they are doing the polka together!

Sean and Marcin have also been friends for years through school in Michigan. Sean is Randy's brother as well - they have a great group of friends back in Michigan!  Sean and Marcin have remained good friends despite both of them moving all over the place - Sean was in Vegas and now in CA.  I found this picture while going through the box of pics with Marcin in Christmas - this is Marcin and Sean at the Tim McGraw concert!  it was too good to pass up!

And here is a picture of all the Michigan guys since some of the ones above are dark.

John and Marcin also met while working at TD Banknorth together.  Marcin and John have shared way too many happy hours and beers together!  Between the Irish Pub and Drinker's I am not sure if they are allowed back at some of the places ;-)  John has been a great friend along with his wife Melanie and all of John's Brothers and Sisters!! And John, I promise you - even after we move to NJ we will remain friends :)

Marcin and I with John and Melanie

Ben and Marcin met at...you guessed it, while working at TD Banknorth!  Marcin and Ben were inseparable when I first met him.  If he wasn't with me, that usually meant he was out with Ben and most likely at their old favorite bar Skinner's.  This place was a dive, but they loved it! And rumor has it that one of the guys in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia just bought it.  Ben has also been there for Marcin through it all and even me too! 

PS Ben, you are making a weird face in every picture I have of you :)

Andy and Marcin were roomates and in the same Fraternity in College - SAE.  If SAE was at your school, then that should just explain it all.  I have heard countless stories of the parties they used to throw and the times where one of them was almost getting arrested!  But despite not living close to one another after college they have remained good friends!  Here are two pictures from college since the first one they are looking down.

That's Andy on the left.

And last but certainly not least - the Ring Bearer!

My nephew Cameron will be our Ring Bearer.  I dont think he really knows that yet, or understands it, but hopefully by November he will get it! And perhpas we will let him wear his fireman's stuff if it gets him to walk down the aisle ;-)