We're Married!

It's been a crazy - but amazing - couple of weeks!

Since I feel bad that I haven't posted ANYTHING, I want to put together a quick entry and potentially go back and write more in detail.

The wedding day was perfect. The temperature only reached a high of 81 degrees, and that's unheard of in Phoenix over Memorial Day weekend. I'm convinced that Mike was up there by the thermostat, making sure that it was just the right temperature.  All the details came together just as we had hoped, and I really think people had a whole lot of fun.

I had been warned that the day would fly by, but I'm proud of us for being able to step back a few times throughout the day to look around and take it all in. That was Mal's suggestion to Patrick, and I would definitely pass on the advice to anyone about to get married.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the wedding day:

 
After the wedding of our dreams on Saturday, we spent Sunday and most of Monday with our family and friends. Then, we left for Jamaica on Monday night! Even though it was a little different than we had expected, we had an amazing time together and got some great pictures from the trip.

I have to admit that it makes me sad that I don't have a huge party and trip to plan!

-Lisa

It's the Wedding Week!

 
It's just about 5am, and I'm wide awake! I've been sending emails to multiple vendors to make sure we have the main timeline set for the day. It seems as though their specific timelines weren't shared (like I was told would happen), so I'm making sure everyone's on the same page. It's a little more difficult than I thought b/c each vendor (photographer and DJ specifically) ideally wants everything to work out in their best interest, but there's only so much time, and I'm set on not paying for more time at this point. I'm sure everything will work out great in the end though... Crossing fingers.

It's kind of a crazy feeling knowing that both sets of parents are going to be getting into Phoenix this morning at some point. I feel like it'll be just a blink until we're actually at the wedding ceremony/reception.It's not that I didn't think this day would ever come... It's just that we've been planning it for a year now, and we could always say, "There's plenty of time," "It's a ways off," etc. We can't really say that now!

Now that I'm up, I figure I'll hop in the shower and go into the office so I can use the binding machine to make the wedding info packets for our guests.

Heeere weeee gooo!
-Lisa

Keep it Up, Mother Nature

I'm kind of amazed... I just checked the weather (again), and I've refreshed the screen a number of times to make sure it wasn't an error. When I posted on Friday, the forecast was saying the rehearsal dinner and wedding days were supposed to be 101. The latest update is saying 98 for Friday and NINETY-ONE for our wedding day!

I'm knocking on wood that it continues, but that's a change of ten whole degrees and is still a 0% chance of rain. Incredible!

On Saturday, I had my dress fitting and hair trial. When I tried on the dress, it felt fantastic. All the little changes have made my dress exactly how I want it. Janet is just fixing a couple tiny things, and I'll pick up the dress on Thursday. The hair trial went MUCH better than the initial trial. I wasn't really sure what to expect with the hair extensions, but I was happily surprised. They clipped in and didn't bother me at all. It added a solid 4 inches when straight, and added a few inches even when curled. I'm sooo excited to see the whole look together.

I could keep writing, but I'm exhausted and need to get to sleep for my last two days of work before my 2-week vacation. Goodnight!

- Lisa

My Crafty Evening

Since tonight was a kickball night and I didn't want to risk getting hurt a week before the wedding, I allowed myself a relaxing night at home, and in addition to catching up on the latest episodes of 'Say Yes to the Dress,' I got a few wedding projects out of the way!

First, I made the cupcake picks... One color for each of the flavors:

Then, I made a couple directional signs featuring our little Flower Dog & Ring Dog. Here's one of them:

Overall, I'd say it was a very productive night!

- Lisa

Escort Cards: Finished

The escort cards are finally finished! I had decided that stapling the green tabs to the base of the names would work well, but that genius idea didn't work exactly as planned... and apparently, stapling both of your thumbs (at the same time) REALLY hurts! Patrick just laughed at me when I walked into the bedroom sucking both thumbs haha.

The tabs are actually lime green, and the foam bases are black

Besides for that little hiccup, the assembly went smoothly. I decided to push each staple into the foam base by hand, so after 220-ish staples (2 each + a few that I messed up and had to fix), my fingers are pretty sore.

My hair is now definitely blonde... no question about that! Because it's so much lighter than it had been (I hadn't dyed my hair in at least a year), I keep looking at every mirror/window when I walk by. It's a very fun change!

We get our French doors installed tomorrow. They got delivered today, so we just need the installers to show up during their scheduled time frame.

Saturday, I have both my final dress fitting (at noon) and hair trial (at 2). I think the reality that the wedding is almost here will hit me when I have the dress on with my hair blonder.

We're down to single digits, and that means the 10-day forecast shows the expected weather for the wedding weekend. I'm THRILLED to see that we're at 0% chance of rain for both Friday and Saturday at this point. The average high is 94, so we're definitely higher than average, but I'll take hot over rain for a wedding day (and outdoor rehearsal dinner) any day.

Before I go to sleep, I have to give Patrick credit for the gorgeous red roses + baby's breath he gave me. It was such a sweet thought, and the note "I can't wait to be your husband," topped it off. He's amazing, and (yes, you can gag if needed lol) I'm still not sure how I got so lucky.

- Lisa

Baby Explosion!

Last night, we went to see Will and Adrienne, and we got to meet their 5 day old little girl named Addison.

Patrick & Addison

The Lloyd Family

Patrick and I got to hold her for a little bit, and she's sooo sweet. Will & Adrienne seen to be doing really well with her, and she's doing well with them, too ;).

On the subject of babies, a few members of our wedding party have had some exciting news over the last few months.We're so excited that both Mandy & Mal -and- Kate & Mike are expecting a little addition to their families later this year! Mandy is due is October, and Kate is due in November. I mentioned a few months ago that Lindsey is pregnant, so yes... that means that HALF of my bridesmaids are pregnant!

It's going to be an exciting upcoming year!

- Lisa

Lesson'ed Out

We had our final dance lesson tonight, and I have to admit that I'm proud of how far we've gone since our first lesson. We've learned two types of dances (rumba and foxtrot), and somewhere around 10 different steps/moves to go along with those. I think that we should practice putting the choreography together to make sure it flows, but we're really close to being set!

For all the other lessons, I had worn flats, but tonight was the debut of my ridiculously high (and very sparkly) wedding shoes. They worked out better than I expected! They're a little bit slippery, but that can be fixed.

Patrick really impressed me with how quickly he picked up the moves (especially with the lacking communication of our instructor). I'm so lucky!

- Lisa

Table Numbers

They're finished! The picture isn't the greatest (I had a hard time getting the lighting right), but it gives you an idea. The teal color should blend in with the tablecloths, so hopefully the green numbers are the only part that really stands out.

They actually took a lot less time to figure out than I expected. My first attempt for how to do them worked out, and I'm really happy with the final product.

On that note, time to sleep!

- Lisa

Menus & Hummingbirds

We're down to 17 days until the wedding, and people start coming into town in 13 days. Until that time, our calendars are completely booked in the evenings except for one day. The weekends have at least one thing on the calendar each day, so I can't say our life will be boring over the next couple weeks lol! Tomorrow is our final meeting at Aldea. We'll go over the final details with Evelyn and who knows what else. After the meeting at Aldea, we have our second-to-last dance class.

I worked on putting the finishing touches on the programs tonight, and once everything's proofread and double-checked, those can be printed, folded and put together pretty quickly.

The menus are finished! A menu will be tucked into the napkin of each guest at their seat, and my mouth is watering just looking over the list of food for dinner.

I finished the seating chart, and the wire escort cards are written out except for 3 or 4 names. I'll be printing out tabs with first/last names & the appropriate table number - to be attached under the name's base. I still want to make a seating chart to use as a visual to be displayed next to the escort cards, and I need to assemble the table numbers onto a base of some sort. That's hardly anything that's left!

We've had a few new additions to the backyard... A table/chair set and a bright red patio umbrella! We had about 8 friends over this weekend, and we got to use the grill & patio! It was kind of our (scaled-down) trial run for the rehearsal dinner, and I think it went as well as possible.

This was our setup with the additional table. The umbrella can tilt to block the sun, and I love how the color pops. I had only thought of getting a neutral-colored umbrella until we went to the store and saw this one; at that point, we both knew it would be perfect.

When we were working on the yard earlier that day, Patrick called me over to show me something. He had found a couple little lizards, and I was able to catch one! This proves that we have wildlife in the backyard. ;)

Over the last week and a half, we have had a couple of hummingbirds come to our feeder on a regular basis. One of them is by far the coolest and most playful hummingbird I've ever seen. Patrick and I were standing in the kitchen and looking out from the sliding door.

The hummingbird flew right up to the window and hovered a couple inches away from the glass - and stared at us! Since we were pretty close to the glass, the little guy was at most two feet away from us, and we all stood there looking at each other for probably 15 seconds. I've always thought that hummingbirds bring luck and are a sign that everything will work out, and I LOVE our hummingbirds.

A little while later, we were playing fetch with Chance and a tennis ball. On one throw, the hummingbird flew out of nowhere and divebombed the ball. I really think he (I'll refer to the hummingbird as a male) just wanted us to know he was there and wanted to play, too!

- Lisa

"Are You Getting Nervous?"

That's the question I've been getting more than any other, and I have to admit that it's kind of starting to annoy me lol. Are people wanting to know if I'm getting nervous about: ...my decision to marry Patrick? ...if I think all the details are going to come together? ...if I have a lot of last-minute planning to do? Is it just what people think they should ask?

I don't know. I feel like it's just an expectation that I'm SUPPOSED to be nervous, and I don't know how I feel about that. The more people who ask me that question, the more I feel like it's the feeling I'm supposed to have. That's the thing that creates nervousness. I'd much rather get the question, "Are you getting excited?" or "What's your latest project?" The question that's worse is when they flat out ask, "Are you sure?" Reeeally? If I wasn't sure, I definitely wouldn't be at this point!

With all the planning we've done the last 11+ months, we have almost everything together. There's not much left to do before May 26th.

When it comes down to it, I'm completely confident in the decision we made to get married. I'm crazy about Patrick, and I have no doubt that we're the right people for each other. We've gone through so much in the last couple years, and we've come out stronger than I could have imagined. We have the same plan for the future, and that plan includes both of us. I couldn't create a better guy for me if I tried, and I think (hope!) he feels the same about me.

The name thing still gets me; that's been the thing that I've been having the hardest time with. I've been Lisa Kowalewski for more than the last 29 years. Growing up, I got used to being called Kawasaki and most often "Lisa K" because they couldn't (or were scared to try to) pronounce it. Not many people had last names that were 10 letters, and I liked that it was unique. I accomplished everything I have with the last name Kowalewski, and I'm still not used to the idea of giving it up.

Patrick + Lisa = <3

It's not that I'm against taking Patrick's name; I'm actually really proud to do so. I've always planned on changing my name when I got married, but still... It's just my mental struggle having to do with the thought that it's partially giving up my independence and the person I've been up to the wedding day.

I've tried to get myself comfortable writing/signing my name, but each time I do so, I feel like I'm a little girl in elementary school doodling my name with my crush's name, haha. I have my signature figured out, but it's still going to take a while for me.

- Lisa

Dress Fitting #2 & New Hair Idea

I had my 2nd dress fitting today! The changes Janet said she'd make were made, and it's almost perfect! There are still a few things to change, so she's going to do those alterations, and I'll go back on May 19th - exactly one week before the wedding!

After the dress fitting, I headed to meet Amy, the hairstylist. Last night while talking to Patrick, I asked him again how he would prefer my hair, and his response was "either down or half-up-half-down" (but he did say I would look good no matter what). Since I was planning on having an updo, I decided to change my thinking and immediately called Mandy for details on her experience with hair extensions for her wedding.

I sent Amy an email asking for suggestions since I know practically nothing about extensions. I stopped at Sally Beauty Supply to ask for suggestions, and unfortunately, talking to that girl was like talking to a wall. I decided not to get anything right then.

Inspiration Hairstyle Picture

When I arrived at Amy's house, she said that she hadn't checked her email and said it would be a much better idea to wait until I have the extensions and I have my hair colored. She gave me some suggestions and we set up the trial for the same day as the dress fitting. She said that the extensions will help hold the curl; that was one of the reasons I didn't want to have my hair down. I felt better with that comment.

My inspiration picture for the style (not the color - I'll be MUCH blonder) is to the right, and I masked out the face so you can just focus on the hair. I'm thinking/hoping it'll turn out really well. Even though it wasn't my initial thought, I actually like this style better than any updo I've seen... Patrick's a pretty smart guy if I do say so myself, and I'm really glad he made the suggestion.

-Lisa

Patio Pictures

I took some 'after' pictures of the patio, and the before/after pictures together really show how the patio creates a look that's much cleaner and more finished.

Before #1

After #1

  

Before #2

After #2 - The dogs love it

Closeup of the texture/color

The grass is struggling a little bit right now, so we'll work on getting that going this week/weekend. To make it look as good as possible for the rehearsal dinner, it may need some additional reseeding, but hopefully just pumping up the water will do enough. It's coming together and looking soo good!

-Lisa

Videography Surprise

Since we started our wedding planning, Patrick & I had decided that we weren't going to hire a videographer. Even though I had gone back and forth multiple times about whether or not we should change our mind, the cost for videographers was so high, and we thought we'd be good without one. 

Well, that changed this weekend! While at the Vegas airport waiting for our flight, I got a voicemail from Trish, our florist. The short version of her voicemail is that her best friend's husband Todd is a videographer who has done many documentaries and is getting into the wedding industry in the Phoenix area. He wants to get onto Aldea's list of preferred vendors, but in order to do so, he has to film a wedding at Aldea to show Evelyn, the owner. Guess who Trish suggested he contact...!

Since Todd is just getting started in the industry, he doesn't have much on his website to show examples of other couples he's filmed, but here's the best part... His intro email to us included the line, "I wanted to confirm that I will be filming your wedding free of charge." HECK YESSSSSS. 

I admit that I was nervous for a second b/c of his limited wedding experience, but then I snapped back into reality: this is amazing! Banks did such a great job with our engagement pictures, and he just takes pictures for fun. No matter what, this will be much better than no video, and it'll be a great memento from the wedding day to keep forever. I am ALREADY looking forward to meeting him and seeing the finished product. We're going to meet up with him a couple weeks before the wedding (probably the weekend of Mothers Day) for an interview for "Our Love Story."

Part of Todd's bio from his website says, "After traveling extensively and living in Italy for awhile I moved to Los Angeles and obtained my film degree from Columbia College.  In addition to my own film projects and wedding love stories I have worked on developing television shows for networks including Food Network and Fine Living. I have also worked freelance for companies such as Guitar World on music based projects."

It's a different Columbia College than the one I attended, but that line made me smile. What an incredible surprise!

-Lisa

Tomorrow = Patio Day!

Before:

Since we're having the concrete patio put in tomorrow, I wanted to post a 'before' picture. When I left the house this morning, the dirt are did NOT look like it does in the picture, so technically it's a 'during' picture. They moved everything, leveled out the dirt and made the area ready for the concrete. They said they'll be matching the color of the firepit & the curbing, so hopefully the patio blends in well. There will be a small step down from the existing slab of concrete, and we're throwing around the idea of covering that area with tiles that match the tile in the kitchen. The new concrete is going to be lightly stamped and will show a texture that I think will be similar to the texture on the walls on the outside of the house. As compared to a flat patio, the texture should add a lot.

We got some larger pieces of lava rock for the fire pit. They make the fire really dance, and they create more heat from the firepit. I'm thinking that if we get 15 more pieces (to form a 2nd ring around the bigger pieces), it'll be perfect.

My day was made around 11am this morning. I got a  call from my high school's athletic director, and he let me know that Francis Howell North was creating an Athletic Hall of Fame. He went on to explain that they had a committee decide on the inaugural class, and I will be one of the eleven inductees.

That's amazing to me... Knowing that FHN is not a small school (it has about 2,400 students each year) and was founded in 1983, that's a whole bunch of other student athletes that had to have been considered. The induction ceremony is scheduled for January 18th, so I already have a trip to St. Louis on the calendar for 2013. Hopefully I can get through this Hall of Fame weekend without tearing an Achilles... You better believe I'll be passing on any alumni games if I'm invited to play ;).

Patrick gets back tonight. With his long week of training (and getting used to the 3-hour time difference), he's ready to get home. I'm excited to see him, and we're both excited to go to Vegas TOMORROW evening!

-Lisa

More House/Backyard Updates

We made the final payment on the honeymoon today! Jeeves, watch out... We'll see you in six weeks!

I've realized I've become a big wimp when it comes to anything wedding-related. I was watching 'My Fair Wedding with David Tutera,' and my eyes welled up with tears as the couple was exchanging vows. I think that's a bad sign for my wedding eye makeup... Don't worry though; I've been able to find a waterproof mascara AND eyeliner that have been tested to stay in place when hit by tears. I'd like to pretend that I won't cry at all on our wedding day, but come on: we all know better ;).

The concrete patio is the amazing gift from Patrick's parents, and that has started the wheels turning in our heads. We realized that we need to think about a table and chairs for eating outside. Well, I kind of did more than just think about it... I bought a set today!

The picture from the Craigslist ad

I found the set on Craigslist last night and sent Patrick the link. After work, I went to go look at it (with no intention of buying it on the spot b/c I didn't have a way to transport it), but the guy lived in the same neighborhood as Mal and Mandy. I really liked the set and even thought it started out a great deal, I was able to get him down on the price a little bit.

Since Mandy said I could put it in their backyard until we figure out transportation, I got it so we wouldn't miss out on the deal! The guy helped carry the table around the block with me (Google Maps said it was 0.3 miles), and Mandy used her SUV to help get the chairs to her house. Now, I'll hopefully be able to get a friend with a truck to help get it to the house.

I also am REALLY excited because my parents told us that they're giving us French doors (for the door going out to the backyard) for the wedding! I'm going to Lowe's tomorrow to hopefully see the doors in person and find out more information on how long it would take to get them ordered and installed. We're looking at the doors that have the blinds inside the panes of glass. That means we'll be able to get rid of the ugly, heavy (and half-broken) vertical blinds that are currently up on the back door (!), and this is going to really open up the house.

On that note, I'm ready for a happy night's sleep.

-Lisa

Phoenix Shower and Rings

I feel like I've missed out on a few big updates, so here goes...

Last weekend, Mandy held a bridal shower for me at her house. Most of the pictures were taken on Mandy's camera, but I have a few pictures of the decorations (including rose petals on the ground and balloons & paper lanterns in our wedding colors).

Mandy had put together some fun games, and it was a really good time with the girls in Phoenix.

Yesterday, we picked up our wedding bands! My ring was as sparkly as I remembered, and Patrick's ring looked great with its new finish. I'm not sure why, but that one little thing seemed like such a big step.

The thing that been standing out in my mind is that we can actually say, "We're getting married NEXT MONTH." It gives me butterflies to think about that, but the months of planning (and trying to stay ahead of schedule) has really paid off. There's a short list of things that are on the 'to do' list, and just about all of those things had to wait until the last month (after the guest list is finalized). Every once in a while, I feel like the nerves start to hit me, and being overtired - like I was last week - made it even worse. Overall though, I'm feeling really good and am getting more and more excited.

This Thursday, we're having concrete people come over to take a look at the patio area, and they'll be back on Friday morning to lay the concrete! With that patio, we're tying up the loose ends of the backyard, and it looks amazing.

Next weekend is our trip to Vegas, and with Patrick out of town, I have a week full of free evenings before that.

-Lisa

50 DAYS

HO-LY COW. We're down to 50 days?! That's unbelievable. It really seems like I just posted 300, then 250... 200... 150... and 100.

Latest RSVP update (with very round numbers!):

YES - 40% / NO - 20% / NO RESPONSE - 40%

- Lisa

Dancing Machines

We've done a total of three dance classes so far, and I have to say that we're getting better! We've been working on the rumba box step, the foxtrot and a few turns for each dance. Since I don't think I posted an update after our last lesson, here we go..!

I bought a Groupon for five 45-minute private dance classes, and we had our first lesson at the new studio last week. As compared to the little blonde Russian girl who taught our complimentary lesson, this instructor is dark-haired chick named Elie. She's probably very good at dancing herself, but she's not the best at communicating what we're supposed to do. Don't get me wrong; we're definitely learning, but I think more experience will make her a lot better down the line.

Patrick thought this studio had a much "colder" feeling than the first, but I didn't feel that as much. We did get a much quicker tour/intro of the studio and Elie didn't ask many questions about us, but for some reason I was ok with that. In our first lesson, we had only worked on the box step, and Elie decided that we were going to learn the foxtrot when we started working with her. Once she listened to our song, she realized it was an appropriate dance and decided to teach us both. Right.

I'm having fun learning the steps, but it does get overwhelming when I just can't seem to figure out a step. At both lessons, there have been around 5 other couples in the studio for lessons, too, and it's distracting when other songs come on (which is most of the time) and Elie is saying "quick, quick, slow," etc, AND I'm trying to focus on the steps we're supposed to be doing. Letting Patrick lead has been the biggest issue for me - I like to be in control, but I feel like it's slowly getting there.

With the weather being practically perfect lately, we've had a few evenings to sit outside. Patrick got the dogs an outside bed/tent, and they love that their feet don't have to touch the rocks/grass more than necessary (yes, they're spoiled). 


They don't like to walk in the grass, and they don't like to walk on the rocks, so they stick to the concrete curbing as much as possible. It's really funny to me to see them run around the curbing as quickly as possible.

Even with the crazy eyes, they're pretty darn cute, though.

 

- Lisa