How About A Little Break

Lately I have swamped my readers with many pictures from Washington DC and if you are a lover of history you probably enjoyed viewing the sights. However, if this is not your usual thing then you probably have been bored beyond tears and for those in this latter group I thought I should take a small break from those photographs and update you all on my wedding preparations.

First of all, planning a wedding in two months is not an easy task but with the generous help from my daughter-in-law Trish, my sister Marianne, her daughter Chrissy and my mother, I seem to be making some headway in getting all those details covered.

Bill and I picked out a lovely but old 1732 Inn located in Lafayette Hills just NorthWest of the city and a mere hop and skip from my house. The wedding will be small with mostly family and a few close friends. We rented out the main dining area of this Inn that includes a very large real wood burning fireplace where the vows will be said. The room is small and very cozy and especially will be intimate with an evening ceremony in a candle lit atmosphere.

My sister Marianne and my daughter-in-law Trish will stand for me. Bill's brother Kenny will stand for him. But I also included my two sons in the wedding by having Shaun walk with his wife, then their sons Shaun and Nikolas will follow. Marianne will then walk out followed by me and my youngest son Joseph. If by some miracle, Josh is present, he will accompanied Marianne. Everyone will be seated with the exception of all the above.

Following with tradition, both my mother and Bill's mother will light the unity candles to represent each of our families.

I have my dress, shoes, purse and shawl all in Ivory. Bill has his new suit.

Invitations have been sent out. A second set of invitations will go out at the end of the week. We invited 75 people including tons of children. Most of the children are from my side of the family. But we love children and this celebration would not be a celebration without them. My parents were blessed with many grandchildren and hopefully they will all be in attendance this day.

I picked the menu for the buffet. Mixed green salad with a balsamic vinaigrette dressing. Three cheese ravioli, lump crab cakes and chicken breast in a lemon butter sauce. There will be veggies and cheeses and roasted potatoes and last but not least a dessert table. Our wedding cake will be cut and sent home with the guests. For the little ones under six years of age, there will be chicken tenders and french fries and their own personal chocolate ice cream.

Trish and Shaun arranged for the DJ. Trish ordered the guest favors for the adults but I still need to order them for the children. Marianne ordered the unity candles and holders and they are gorgeous in that very Victorian motif. Chrissy is lending me her cake topper, card box and knife and most importantly the pearl bracelet left to her by my grandmother which I will be truly honored to wear. Mom went with me to meet with the event coordinator and choose seating arrangements. Mom has even offered to buy the flowers which I just started looking at today. I am thinking of going with fall colored roses.

We still need to pick out our wedding cake but I know what I want it to be. I am going for a raspberry swirl pound cake with butter cream icing decorated in Ivory colored roses. I just purchased the bridal party gifts today and I am very pleased with my selections. I hope they are too.

Then there is the question of a honeymoon and it is in this area we find ourselves having the most difficult time. We have come up with four places and must chose one soon. We are investigating the following destinations; Aspen, CO., Laguna Beach, CA., Stowe, VT., or Key West, FL. Then we even thought about just staying home and going to a Bed & Breakfast for a few nights then coming back and taking Shaun & Nikolas to the Great Wolf Lodge for Nikolas's second birthday Nov 30th. What I do not want to do at this time is travel outside the country because frankly I do not think it is too safe with all this nonsense going on over in Iraq and now North Korea. The last thing I need is to get stuck in another country because of foreign instabilities.

So anyway, here is my wedding update and I hope you enjoyed the change from the sight-seeing photo tours you have been subjected too.

Oh yes, there will be more of those coming. I still have two more from that Washington DC trip before I show the Linvilla Orchard Kindergarten School Trip then my friend Linda's wedding photos but I promise they should not be to to long.