Paperwork {check!}

Yesterday morning Mike and I drove downtown to our meeting with Uncle Fr. Bart. We needed to complete our paperwork. And there is a LOT when you get married in the Catholic church. It took an hour just to fill it all out! Fr. Bart also interviewed us separately under oath. I got a little nervous at first...but the questions were simple "Do you promise not to withhold children from Michael?" "Do you promise never to get a divorce?", etc...We obviously passed with flying colors! Now the only thing missing from the paperwork is the affidavit from Mike's parents. Fr. Bart will ask Mike's parents a list of questions under oath and as long as things go well...He will then take the paperwork downtown to get approved. And then we can finally say we are DEFINITELY getting married! I'm not sure what kinds of questions he will be asking Mike's parents..but they will pertain to Mike. For example: Has he ever been married before? Do they approve of this marriage? Under their knowledge are we following the rule of not sleeping together?, etc. I'm not nervous about this because Mike's parents cannot wait for us to get married! And it's really excited to know that everything will be 'legal' in just a few weeks!

We thought we were going to have to take a FOCCUS test. However, Fr. Bart explained to us that is not necessary and his church doesn't do it. He also mentioned he thinks it is silly. From the numerous meetings we have held with him and the Pre-Cana we have already done-he has no doubt that we should be married. This made me so happy! But in a way I was a little bummed not to take it. I wanted to see our answers..just for fun. That's ok though...knowing that he has our full blessing is enough for me!

Fr. Bart also gave us a packet of readings to look though. We have to choose 4 different readings.
A. Readings from the Hebrew Scriptures
B. Responsorial Psalms
C. Readings from the New Testament
D. Readings from the Gospel

I had fun last night reading all the readings. And I think I might have them all chosen already! But I will save that for another post!

Going to meet with Fr. Bart is so exciting for me. We get to drive downtown Chicago..which is always a fun experience for us. And we get to talk about our wedding. Going to see him makes everything so much more real, for this is the most important part of our wedding. Not the centerpieces, my dress, or the flowers. It is our ceremony and our exchange of vows is what is the most important. And meeting with Fr. Bart brings us closer and closer to our wedding day!

Jeff's and Kelly {Part 2: The Reception}

They had a fabulous buffet dinner. Home cookin' kinda meal...Hickory smokey ham, turkey and beef. Accompanied with mashed potatoes, corn, salad, rolls..etc. The Best Man and the Maid of Honor gave wonderful speeches...then the newlyweds cut the cake and fed each other so sweetly..

Their 1st dance (I'm sorry ladies but I didn't know the song..)

Then there was the bouquet toss and the garter toss...

That is the best man showin' off his guns..and Mikey is right behind him laughing at him!

Father-daughter dance. ( You can really see the detail of her dress!)

Mother-Son Dance..(I LOVE this picture!)

Now it's time to party!! (I didn't eat much. Empty stomach + alcohol=trouble!)

Looks like they had a fun night!!

Next up...Mike and I swing dance!

Uh-OH!

Jeff and Kelly 11-8-08

On the morning of the wedding everyone was invited to a luncheon at the church basement. It was a nice intimate lunch. Ham sandwiches, soup and cookies. Lunch of champions!

Here is everyone waiting for the photographer to arrive.

Once he arrived...all we did was wait. And wait. It took 3 hours before the photographer was finished..
Here I am patiently waiting for the wedding to start...Don't I look bored?!

I don't have any pictures of the actual ceremony because we weren't allowed to take pictures. But I have plenty from the reception!

First up..Details!

I was touched..

I have something sweet to share with you guys..it really touched me.

But first, let me tell you I'm SO sick! I'm home sick with a tummy ache and a horrible back ache! I hurt my back when I was 16 and ever since it will go out without warning. It really stinks! But it gives me time alone on my computer (or what Mike calls it "the devil machine"..)

Ok, so while we were in Iowa we stopped at Mama B's good life long friend, Bette's. Bette has been like a mother to her and like a grandmother to her boys. I couldn't wait to meet her. She was the sweetest lady ever. She showed me around her house, and it was so cute. And talk about so many vintage things in her house. w.o.w. I thought I had died and gone to heaven!

But then she showed me this..

Mike drew this for Bette in high school. Mike is now 31. She kept this picture, had it matted and is sitting in her living room..for her to look at everyday. How sweet is that? I was so touched that she held on to this for so long. I'm telling you..she is the nicest lady I have ever met.

Just another reminder of how lucky I am to be joining this wonderful family!

I'm in a rut

So I'm back from vacation. And the wedding made me even more excited for our wedding. BUT I'm in a planning rut. I just haven't wanted to do anything. Here are some of the things on my To-Do list..

• Finalize invitation wording
  
• Order invitations/place cards
  
• Book hotels for our New Orleans honeymoon
• Look for flights for our honeymoon (we decided to fly since I've never flown before)
• Browse/Purchase my veil (I'm still contemplating asking my Mom to make it)
• Browse/Purchase wedding shoes
• Find taper candles to accompany our Unity Candle
• Make throwaway bouquet
  
• Finish my Table # project
• Find ribbon for my bouquet
• Find bridal lingerie
• Decide if we will have toasting flutes/cake servers
• Crinoline slip
• Alter Grandma's ring bearer pillow
• Programs
• Cake topper
• Look for Girls/Guys and parent gifts
• Book Rehearsal dinner venue
• Garter
• Frames for Grandparent pictures

To me this looks overwhelming. And I know I don't need to do it all at once. But just seeing all those things I have to do-make me want to stop..and possibly scream.

Trust me..I am thrilled to go find all these things. Actually I'm so excited I could do a little dance! But at the same time with the Holiday season coming up it seems like so much to handle at the moment...

Any suggestions??

Rehearsal Dinner

Friday night Mama B and Papa B hosted Jeff and Kelly's rehearsal dinner at Olde Maine Brewing Co. It was such a yummy dinner!

There were lots of items to choose from..

Most of our table chose the Rib eye steak. It was delicious. Everyone was having a great time. Our table was the routiness! People from other tables kept staring at us...the Best Man and one of the ushers were just hilarious! We had such a fun time!

Here are some pictures from that night..
Enjoy!

Mama B, Jeff, Kelly and Papa B

Mikey, Anthony and Jeff

Me and Mama B

First Day of Vacation

On the 1st day of our vacation...we went on a road trip to Lohrville, IA. Lohrville is my FMIL's hometown. It is such a cute little town.

Here is the start of our trip. In Mama B's van...

It was a long drive...We got to see lots of farm land and lots of cows...

Did I mention farmland??

I also got to meet Bette. She is like a mother to Mama B and a grandmother to the boys. She was the nicest lady of all time! Her house had so many beautiful vintage things in it..I wish I could have taken a picture of all of it. (But I really didn't want her thinking I was crazy..)

Here we are in front of Bette's house. Silly me forgot to get a picture of Bette...

Here is a Cancer Memorial plaque in Honor of Grandma...

We then ventured out to the cemetery to say Hello to Grandma and Grandpa..

This 1st day was my most favorite. I had so much fun meeting and learning about my future hubby's family. His Mom and I definitely bonded while on this trip...and I'm so thankful. We were close before..but now I am proud to say we are even closer. Mike is part of a great family and I can't wait to join them!

Later that night me and the boys joined the groom in his weekly dart league. It was a great night.....the groom was so cute..and umm drunk!


Next up..the rehearsal dinner!

Stay tuned!

I am so honored!

I won a blog award! I was nominated by Krista from Canadian Bride. Krista is so sweet! She says I'm funny...am I really? Maybe funny looking! Ha..just jokes. I am so honored for such a cute award! Thank you Krista! Check out her blog..I love reading it! She is one of the many blogs I stalk..

Click here for to see the other nominees! I stalk these ladies as well!!

The Uber (AKA Super) Amazing Blog Award is a blog award given to sites who:
-Inspire you
-Make you smile and laugh
-Or maybe gives amazing information
-A great read
-Has an amazing design
-And any other reason you can think of that makes them uber amazing!

The rules of the award are:
-Put the logo on your blog or post
-Nominate a minimum of 5 blogs
-Let them know they received this award by commenting on their blog
-Share the love and link to this post and the person you received your award from


Here are my nominations.....you must check these girls out. They are amazingly awesome!

Blabber and Blunder (for being my best friend and being such an inspiration)
The Bride (for being so honest-she is one of my favorites!)
Gage's Mom (for being such a wonderful mom.)
I Hate Planning My Wedding (for being so damn honest!)
Our Little Haus (for being my inspiration)

I'm back!

I'm back from my Iowa trip! I am so glad to be home. The trip was nice but I got a little home sick. I have a lot of pictures to post and things to tell you about! But I'm still unpacking..and have lots of laundry to do. And I need to go through the hundreds of email I have and my 405 blogs in my google reader. I also have to go through all the lovely comments I've received since I've been gone! (Thanks for all the comment love!)

I will leave you with a few pictures. So you can see all the fun I had...

Please excuse my crappy camera. I'm in desperate need of a new one.

Do you see the excitement in our faces???

As you can see there isn't much to see in Iowa. Lots of farms and cows.

I am so happy to be home..I can hear cars driving by. Oh how I missed civilization.....

Guest Post from our children..

Mommy and Daddy...

Grandma fed us too much..we just can't pick ourselves off this comfy couch...



*meow..HURRY HOME! We miss you!..*meow




Love,
Stoli and Dimitri