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