I became the future Mrs. Bielecki. Wow that sounds weird! And what a year this has been!
Since I already told you all the details on the proposal here, I won't go into all the details again. But I will say that I am really happy we planned such a long engagement. When people would ask us when we set a date, we would tell them November 6 and as soon as we added 2010 they looked at us like we were nuts. Then we had to explain that we wanted a long engagement and we wanted to buy a house first, yadda yadda - like it's really any of their business! haha I was very happy when November 6, 2009 came so I could stop adding the 2010 to it and people might stop questioning it.
I really don't know how brides do it in less time. I have all the details and planning organized and spread out that I think if I tried to do it in less time I might have a heart attack. Aside from the saving money part, it's a lot of work!
I also want to take this time to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year - see you next year :)
Wedding Countdown
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
The Church is Booked
Phew! What a whirlwind this has been. We were finally able to book the church and I had no idea how hard that was going to be. Who knew November 6, 2010 was going to be so popular? I started calling Churches a few weeks ago and started with my parish, the Cathedral Basillica of SS Peter and Paul, and all three time slots were booked - 11am, 1pm and 3pm! That was actually ok with me because for a church they aren't exctly the cheapest. So I kept on dialing and was hitting brick walls everywhere I turned, they were either booked or didn't take outside parishioners. Needless to say I was very frustrated and I think my mother thought I was losing my mind!
My last resort was St. Rita of Cascia on Broad Street - the date was available and all we needed to do was find a priest to marry us, return the information sheet, and have the pastor interview us. The first one was easy, a very good friend of my aunt's is a priest and I grew up with his nephew. A quick email sent and we had a priest - thank you Fr. John! The second one was even easier - the information sheet consisted of asking for your contact information and the priest who will be marrying you - oh and a letter from your parish saying you could get married there. Good thing we already had a meeting with the pastor of the cathedral scheduled for last night and he gave us the letter then. Ok onto the interview - I was hoping the pastor would like us - I mean come on, how could he not?!? Once I emailed Fr. John and told him we were considering St. Rita's I received the best news - he is very good friends with the pastor there! WOW - was it all actually starting to work out?
Marcin brought the paperwork to the rectory today and was told by the pastor that we didn't need an interview and we were all set for November 6, 2010 at 2pm!!!!!!!! The church is absolutely beautiful - I couldn't be more happy :)
That was a big check on the to do list. And yes I really have a list. It is an Excel spreadsheet that is able to be sorted by completed or open tasks, month to be completed, and category it falls in. Marcin thinks I am crazy and gets this scared look on his face everytime I show him the list. I add to it everyday! Right now I have 100 open items out of 108 - after the holidays I hope to check more things off the list so it isn't as scary! I have posted a screen shot of the list so you can marvel at how organized I am or laugh at how crazy I am! I don't mind which one :)
My last resort was St. Rita of Cascia on Broad Street - the date was available and all we needed to do was find a priest to marry us, return the information sheet, and have the pastor interview us. The first one was easy, a very good friend of my aunt's is a priest and I grew up with his nephew. A quick email sent and we had a priest - thank you Fr. John! The second one was even easier - the information sheet consisted of asking for your contact information and the priest who will be marrying you - oh and a letter from your parish saying you could get married there. Good thing we already had a meeting with the pastor of the cathedral scheduled for last night and he gave us the letter then. Ok onto the interview - I was hoping the pastor would like us - I mean come on, how could he not?!? Once I emailed Fr. John and told him we were considering St. Rita's I received the best news - he is very good friends with the pastor there! WOW - was it all actually starting to work out?
Marcin brought the paperwork to the rectory today and was told by the pastor that we didn't need an interview and we were all set for November 6, 2010 at 2pm!!!!!!!! The church is absolutely beautiful - I couldn't be more happy :)
That was a big check on the to do list. And yes I really have a list. It is an Excel spreadsheet that is able to be sorted by completed or open tasks, month to be completed, and category it falls in. Marcin thinks I am crazy and gets this scared look on his face everytime I show him the list. I add to it everyday! Right now I have 100 open items out of 108 - after the holidays I hope to check more things off the list so it isn't as scary! I have posted a screen shot of the list so you can marvel at how organized I am or laugh at how crazy I am! I don't mind which one :)
And here are some pictures of St. Rita's
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Thanksgiving
It's been a week since Thanksgiving and I think I am still stuffed from everything I ate! Since nothing much has happened with the wedding in the last week or so (besides the hunt for a church but I will post on that once we book one!) I thought I would post some pictures from my family's thanksgiving. Some of my family members hate pictures of themselves and will probably kill me for posting them but I like them!
I wanted to take this time to thank my family for all the love and support they always give me, especially when I am acting "like a crazy bride" as my mom would say :) I think I should also especially thank Marcin because he has been dealing with my craziness a lot in the last week!
I hope everyone else had a great Thanksgiving!
I wanted to take this time to thank my family for all the love and support they always give me, especially when I am acting "like a crazy bride" as my mom would say :) I think I should also especially thank Marcin because he has been dealing with my craziness a lot in the last week!
I hope everyone else had a great Thanksgiving!
Me and Marcin
Me and My Sisters
The Argyle Crew! My dad, Sister Kristy and Marcin
3 Generations - very well color-coordinated!
My mom, Niece Reese, and Sister Beth
My nephew, Cameron using Aunt Pat as his step stool!
The family hangin out!
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
The Inspiration - Part II
After I found the Inspiration Ad again, I set out on a mission to find more pictures and images that would inspire me and I came across the most wonderful website ever - The Perfect Palette. The sole purpose of this blog is to inspire color for your wedding; they have custom inspiration boards in every color combination available. I'm not gonna lie, a couple of their boards almost had me change my colors because I was so intrigued!!
But I am sticking with my first choice of Brown and Orange as they have the cutest ideas in the orange boards. I might even have to get orange shoes now! Sarah would be so proud of me :)
Here are some of my favorite idea boards!
But I am sticking with my first choice of Brown and Orange as they have the cutest ideas in the orange boards. I might even have to get orange shoes now! Sarah would be so proud of me :)
Here are some of my favorite idea boards!
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Save the Dates are in the Mail!!
FINALLY!!! I am so excited for these to be done and in the mail. What I thought was going to be a painless process turned out to be a pain in the neck! I am really happy with the final product of the magnets.
But the process of printing the information for the hotel card was a nightmare.
At my old job I purchased this pearl metallic cardstock to use for an event invitation and as soon as I received it I knew I wanted to use it for my wedding stuff. So back in the beginning of October I went online to order it - 100 sheets for $30 + shipping. I figured I could use the extra for programs or something. Once it came in I was so excited - I did notice that it was thicker than the average cardstock but didnt think anything of it. I attempted to print on it using our inkjet and it immediately jammed. So on Monday off to Kinko's I go, assuming I am now going to pay just as much as the paper for the color printing there, but again this paper was worth it and I wanted them in the mail on Tuesday. The guy at Kinko's told me it was too thick for their machines as well and they couldn't print on it. They wanted $21 for 17 color copies on cardstock - I was very frustrated and left because I knew I could go buy my own cardstock for significantly less (ok Mom, Dad, Beth & Kristy - I know what you are thinking, stop making your cheap jokes about me - I am not cheap I am frugal!)
Tuesday night I was at Staples buying ivory cardstock, which is definitely not as pretty as the other paper but was much cheaper - $7.00 for 125 pieces. The printing went seamless at home and then I brought them into work on Wednesday to use the paper cutter. I quickly discovered the paper cutter was from 1980 with a dull blade and that was not going to work! So last night I spent two hours cutting them all by hand - I hope they are all straight - my eyes were starting to cross by the end. If you get one and it looks like I was drunk when I cut it, please do not think any less of me :) (Seriously, I didn't let any of those any where near the envelopes - I hope!) A big thank you goes to our friend Alissa who gave us the cute Love stickers to use to seal the envelopes. There was no way I was licking all of them!
Marcin was a huge help with stamping and labeling. He did attempt to help cut at one point, but I was having a heart attack over him not being the straightest cutter. I figured it was easier to be mad at myself if they looked bad than be mad at him! He did joke around at the end that his fingers hurt from all of the stamps he put on and I almost hit him with the scissors! Here are some pictures I snuck of Marcin helping.
At my old job I purchased this pearl metallic cardstock to use for an event invitation and as soon as I received it I knew I wanted to use it for my wedding stuff. So back in the beginning of October I went online to order it - 100 sheets for $30 + shipping. I figured I could use the extra for programs or something. Once it came in I was so excited - I did notice that it was thicker than the average cardstock but didnt think anything of it. I attempted to print on it using our inkjet and it immediately jammed. So on Monday off to Kinko's I go, assuming I am now going to pay just as much as the paper for the color printing there, but again this paper was worth it and I wanted them in the mail on Tuesday. The guy at Kinko's told me it was too thick for their machines as well and they couldn't print on it. They wanted $21 for 17 color copies on cardstock - I was very frustrated and left because I knew I could go buy my own cardstock for significantly less (ok Mom, Dad, Beth & Kristy - I know what you are thinking, stop making your cheap jokes about me - I am not cheap I am frugal!)
Tuesday night I was at Staples buying ivory cardstock, which is definitely not as pretty as the other paper but was much cheaper - $7.00 for 125 pieces. The printing went seamless at home and then I brought them into work on Wednesday to use the paper cutter. I quickly discovered the paper cutter was from 1980 with a dull blade and that was not going to work! So last night I spent two hours cutting them all by hand - I hope they are all straight - my eyes were starting to cross by the end. If you get one and it looks like I was drunk when I cut it, please do not think any less of me :) (Seriously, I didn't let any of those any where near the envelopes - I hope!) A big thank you goes to our friend Alissa who gave us the cute Love stickers to use to seal the envelopes. There was no way I was licking all of them!
Marcin was a huge help with stamping and labeling. He did attempt to help cut at one point, but I was having a heart attack over him not being the straightest cutter. I figured it was easier to be mad at myself if they looked bad than be mad at him! He did joke around at the end that his fingers hurt from all of the stamps he put on and I almost hit him with the scissors! Here are some pictures I snuck of Marcin helping.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
The Inspiration
So I am definitely one of those girls who has dreamed about her wedding since I was a little girl. I used to think I would have a spring wedding because I LOVE PINK, but then a few years ago I started seeing more and more pictures of fall weddings and fell in love with the colors and flowers. In fact, it was this one wedding advertisement that I saw in a magazine that made me think that was it, that is the wedding I want!
So I ripped it out and put in a box. Yup, at the time I had no boyfriend and no prospects for getting married, so I just tucked it away and thought it would come in handy one day. A couple years later I came across it, and decided I seemed a little crazy for keeping it and threw it away. Then of course the day comes and Marcin proposes; the next morning I pulled out the box and started looking for that picture. After about ten minutes of pulling my room apart, I remembered throwing it away, I was so sad!
About a week later, my friend Anna at work brought in a bunch of old bridal magazines she was done with. I was so excited! So that night, I grabbed a glass of wine and started looking through them all. Marcin barely had a space to sit on the couch, because they were sprawled everywhere! I turned the page and there was the ad from a few years ago!!!! I started freaking out and Marcin once again thought I was crazy. I think there are going to be a lot of those moments between now and the wedding. As long as he can live with it :)
So here is my inspiration for my fall wedding:
(Picture courtesy of David's Bridal)
I'm still trying to work on my sister Kristy to get her to like the orange. And my mom told me a few weeks ago that my other sister, Beth's hair matches the dress too much! So I am working on Plan B because with orange flowers, that may be too much orange for the dresses. But the overall colors of the wedding will be brown and orange and I am really excited - I never knew so many brown and orange things existed out there!
So I ripped it out and put in a box. Yup, at the time I had no boyfriend and no prospects for getting married, so I just tucked it away and thought it would come in handy one day. A couple years later I came across it, and decided I seemed a little crazy for keeping it and threw it away. Then of course the day comes and Marcin proposes; the next morning I pulled out the box and started looking for that picture. After about ten minutes of pulling my room apart, I remembered throwing it away, I was so sad!
About a week later, my friend Anna at work brought in a bunch of old bridal magazines she was done with. I was so excited! So that night, I grabbed a glass of wine and started looking through them all. Marcin barely had a space to sit on the couch, because they were sprawled everywhere! I turned the page and there was the ad from a few years ago!!!! I started freaking out and Marcin once again thought I was crazy. I think there are going to be a lot of those moments between now and the wedding. As long as he can live with it :)
So here is my inspiration for my fall wedding:
(Picture courtesy of David's Bridal)
I'm still trying to work on my sister Kristy to get her to like the orange. And my mom told me a few weeks ago that my other sister, Beth's hair matches the dress too much! So I am working on Plan B because with orange flowers, that may be too much orange for the dresses. But the overall colors of the wedding will be brown and orange and I am really excited - I never knew so many brown and orange things existed out there!
Friday, November 6, 2009
1 year to go!!!
It's so weird to look at the countdown above and see there is only one year to go! These last 11 months since we got engaged have flown by, I can only imagine how the next year is going to go.
Good thing I have been busy with in the last year to get a lot of things off the to do list:
Venue - √
Photographer - √
Band - √
Dress - √
Florist - √
Save the dates - √
The save the dates were ordered on Tuesday and we hope to have them in the next week or so. I am so excited for them, they turned out great. A HUGE thank you goes to Michele, you know the bridesmaid who is a Yankees fan, (we won't even comment how the World Series ended - she and I will be friends again soon!) When Marcin and I were up in New York for her birthday she took some awesome pictures of us in Central Park. We are going to have engagement pictures taken with Sarah but we didnt want to do that until next spring at the beach. So we started thinking about the save the dates and realized we didnt have any pictures we liked for them. I knew Michele loves taking pictures, so it made perfect sense! Here is a teaser of our photoshoot
Good thing I have been busy with in the last year to get a lot of things off the to do list:
Venue - √
Photographer - √
Band - √
Dress - √
Florist - √
Save the dates - √
The save the dates were ordered on Tuesday and we hope to have them in the next week or so. I am so excited for them, they turned out great. A HUGE thank you goes to Michele, you know the bridesmaid who is a Yankees fan, (we won't even comment how the World Series ended - she and I will be friends again soon!) When Marcin and I were up in New York for her birthday she took some awesome pictures of us in Central Park. We are going to have engagement pictures taken with Sarah but we didnt want to do that until next spring at the beach. So we started thinking about the save the dates and realized we didnt have any pictures we liked for them. I knew Michele loves taking pictures, so it made perfect sense! Here is a teaser of our photoshoot
A BIG thank you goes to my parents who have been a huge help through this entire process and will continue to be so throughout the next year!
Marcin, I can't wait to be your wife! I hope the weather is as nice as it is today next year :-)
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