contracts......... signed!

We are SET. Contracts signed and in the mail for both 19thCC and caterer. ahhhhh, relief! Sunday have another bridal show in Tinely at Odessey Country Club and then... taking a break until next dress appts on Sat. 2/28:

• The Dress by Nicole (Wheaton): http://www.shopthedress.com/


• Wolsfelt's (Aurora): http://www.wolsfelts.com/

There is a brand I'm really liking (http://www.saisonblanche.com/) that I will be trying on at The Dress :-) I'd post the picture of the dress, but I don't want to in case it's the ONE, but it's similar to the Melissa Sweet Becca that is in a previous post.

have a great weekend! I'm having a girls weekend as my BOY is away for a boys weekend!

yah!

update: everything was great on our visit Saturday. The contract for the 19thCC is being sent in the mail as I type. We will be putting a deposit down with the caterer. We ate at his restaurant on Saturday and the food was aaaahhhhhmazing!! We visited the hotel we will work with, the Carleton, and it's beautiful! I am so excited!! Ceremony & Reception location, done! Date, done! Wedding Officiant, done! (my very good friend's father is marrying us!). And i started dress shopping on Sunday and it went well - Jamie from Bella Sposa is HIGHLY recommended! I feel good, things are moving.

Here is website pics of hotel: http://www.carletonhotel.com/photogallery.asp

The suite rooms are HUGE so will work perfectly when getting ready with my girls!

so excited!

tomorrow we go to the 19th CC at 2pm to see Anthony (caterer) setting up for a wedding! It is me, my momma, FH mom, & future SIL. I am excited to see it again and to show them how much I love the place! We will do dinner later, and drive around Oak Park (and suppose to be 50 degrees!!) since I haven't been there in the day time; and hopefully visit some of the possible hotels and get a feel for the area! I am excited!

I have booked my first appointment to try on dresses at Bella Sposa in Tinely Park on Sunday in the morning - It's a smaller place, i was referred from a friend, and all of thier reviews on line are fab (which is HARD to find when it comes to bridal dress salons!!). I'm excited and hoping it will kickstart my diet I should have started... I am in a biggest loser contest (potentially $800ish at stake!!) and have had a hard time getting started... AND i'm running the Shamrock Shuffle (5mile) marathon March 29th! This weekend I MUST run 2 miles. Must.

registering before picking venue!

Tomorrow we are going to a Macy's "sip & scan" event. They arm you with a gun, cocktails & appetizers, along with a list of "what you should register" for. I am feeling a little strange about it since we have not officially signed on with a venue yet - but we are very close. I guess how i am thinking about it is that you do not have to do things in a particular order, and if this is one thing crossed off the list to do, then fabulous!

We have an appointment to do Crate & Barrel on Sunday, March 1st from 9am-11am - you have the store to yourself (not just US, but other engaged couples) - this one is called the "Wedding Party" event -and they give you a free gift....... why not?

update

we have an appointment saturday 2/7 to see the 19CC again while the caterer is setting up for a wedding; taking Mom, Martha & Emily to gain feedback and ultimately for them to see the venue! Nothing other than that planned - Kelly, Beth, Madelyn & I attended a bridal show last weekend. It was fun to see the runway show (more fun to watch Madelyn watch the runway show - but no flower girls! disappointed). We are going to another one on sunday 2/15 that should prove to be bigger and hopefully different stuff.

waiting

yes it's been awhile, but i have done some updating to the sidebar, so that accounts for something! I've been working with the caterer to get a few proposals and things on paper... once that pans out we may move forward and have more information (fingers crossed!!). Then on to the fun things!

out

i immediately felt the need to blog because i just eliminated KLM from the running of sites. It was subconsciously out anyhow I think - we love the space - but it will just not accomodate our guest list in the manner we would like. We want everyone to be able to be in one room at any given time, and we just don't see how that can work at KLM. The coordinator, Deena, just called me b/c someone else is intereseted in the date [12/12/2009] and since we were penciled in, she wanted to give us the opportunity to sign a contract first (or at least she says...). BUT if anything, that forces you to have to make a decision! We pretty much knew, but now we KNOW b/c it's no longer an option!

looking good!

I am happy to report I loved the KLM Lodge! I arrived just before 5pm last night to do a walk-thru; there was a wedding reception just about to begin (actually some guests had already arrived...) so I got to see it all set up. It was spectacular and just how I'd imagined! Josh wasn't able to go with me b/c he had to work late, but as soon as we can we will go back together, but I cannot imagine him not liking it :-) So it's looking like 12-12-09 at the Katherine Legge Memorial Lodge in Hinsdale! I wish I could have taken more pictures but I felt like I was intruding on the wedding and the host was rushing me around... next time.