Our Wedding Day

Our day was perfect...

p.s. I know they are in random order :) Our day was perfect but my skills with this program are not :P

In Loving Memory...

(Kim) As the big day approaches I am starting to feel a piece of my heart aching that I haven't felt before. One of the most special people in my life wont be at our wedding. Not because they didn't want to, but because God had other plans. I will always miss my Oma, but never more than on that special day... I love you Oma. xxx

Guess Who's Coming to Perth!?!?!

(Kim) It's actually starting to feel real now that the very special people in our lives that live outside of Perth are arriving. Leigh, Jana and the Sarti Party arrived in Perth on Tuesday, Alastair and Ruth arrived last night and my BEST friend since grade 3 Lori, will be arriving on Monday. It's all so exciting! (There will be lots of !!!! and "exciting" from now on!!!!) I cannot wait until next Saturday arrives and I will get to see the most special people in my life all in the same place at the same time! Bring on the 13th!!!!

My Kitchen Tea!

(Kim) On the 2nd of August my Mum and Christie organised a Kitchen Tea for me and it was so much fun! Christie took me out shopping for decorations and I felt spoilt before the event had even begun! My house filled with friends and family, food and decorations and gifts of all kinds! I wish to give thanks for all the wonderful gifts I received from everyone and all the memories we recalled and created on the day. I had an awesome time and Christie and Mum did a wonderful job. Christie planned some games and had everyone make something special for me as a keepsake. Christie had purchased a sweet little album and asked each guest to write a piece of marriage / relationship advice which was placed in the album and presented to me after I opened all my other gifts... it was beautiful! There were two things that made the afternoon particularly special for me. Firstly, Christie has also arranged for each person at the party to write down their fondest memory of me. Some made me laugh whilst many had me almost in tears of joy. It's amazing how a couple of words can really melt your heart! Secondly, my Mum had bought a cake with the words, "Congratulations and Good Luck" written on it. She asked Glenn to come into the lounge room (full of women I might add!) and gave a short but "Mum" speech before Glenn and I cut the cake and it was served for afternoon tea. It was such a great afternoon!

Coming Together

(Kim) Well as of today there are only 86 days until our wedding day. It's really not that long now and it's all starting to come together.

Today I went to Silk Elegance to collect my "smalls" and got a call from both Studio Collections to tell me the bridesmaids dresses would be ready for collection next week and also Pearls Bridal to arrange my first fitting for my gown along with my accessories.

Today was also exciting because we received our first official RSVP after posting out our invitations last Friday. I wish to thank those of you who have passed on some wonderful compliments regarding the invitations. I enjoyed putting them together... every pain staking moment! I do have to admit that I feel a touch of RSI from tying so many tiny bows!

Today I also got my head piece delivered! It's been quite an eventful day without even trying! After so many months of trying to find the perfect head piece to match my other jewellery, I was able to find the perfect piece at Rush Creations and when it arrived today, it was more perfect that I imagined!

Last weekend Glenn and I had a visit from a men's formalwear company that actually come to your home and do all the fittings etc then deliver and collect from your home after the wedding. This weekend we will be visiting some other places to get a good idea of prices and the options we have available. I have asked around a bit and the price they gave seems pretty similar to the prices I have found on the web, but we will see what we find out on Saturday.

Saturday night I am having a bunch of the girls over for an Undercover Wear party to look at some options for the honeymoon. Glenn doesn't seem to have any problem with this, as long as he isn't asked to model anything!!!!!

A Dog's Life

In other news, our dog Sasha has been unwell but is in recovery today after a day and night at the vet. Hopefully after having next week off work to relax for a bit, I wont end up there myself! Milly has also pulled herself together after having to spend that time by herself, hogging the heater and having us all to herself. It's a dog's life!

Wedding Invitations

(Glenn) The invitations will be sent out very soon. Kim and I, well mainly Kim, have been hard at work making them...

The Wedding Rings

(Glenn) This whole marriage thing is now becoming very real! Last weekend Kim and I went and bought our wedding rings. For those that don't know I don't wear jewellery at all, not even a watch. So the experience was very new to me. The lady at Rosendorffs was very helpful and offered a lot of advice. In the end we are both really happy with each others selection. Below are some photos of what we will be wearing soon...

The Honeymoon - Part 2

(Glenn) It's been a long time since updates, with Kim's Mum's 50th, my birthday, my sister's birthday and her engagement party! But we've been busy with wedding plans too...

Kim and I have had to readjust the honeymoon a lot since our last post in April. We've removed Bedarra and instead are staying on the mainland near Port Douglas which will be fantastic. We can now go and spend time in the Daintree or go up to Cape Tribulation, or (my favourite activity) do nothing and just relax with my soon to be wife, Kim.

I'm not going to tell you where we are staying. You can figure it out with the pictures above

Finalising Details

(Kim) Time is starting to run out so Glenn and I are starting to tie up loose ends and finalise some details. Today we have an appointment with the florist to finish up with plans for the flowers and tables for the reception. My flowers were ordered last year so they should be in abundance for September and I am so excited to see what they will look like "in the flesh"!

Later this afternoon we are seeing Gillian, our cake lady to put plans in place for that. Simple yet yummy is the plan for the cake! Glenn said that as long as it has chocolate he is happy. That makes things easier for me!!

We also got a call from a mobile suit hire company that might be dropping in this afternoon to check some of their ensembles out. That should be interesting because we haven't really looked at the guys yet!

I chose the jewelery for the bridesmaids a couple of weeks ago but had to order them in. Pearls Bridal gave me a call the other day and said they had arrived so I have to collect them. Thank goodness... it was hard to choose something I really liked that would suit their dresses!

We might be dropping in to our travel agent as well to put some more plans in concrete. Things with the honeymoon are taking more time than expected. It will all work out in the end we are sure!

Time Out

(Kim) Work has been really hectic for me so I have decided to take the day off tomorrow to sort a few things out for the wedding and get stuck in to making the wedding invitations.

On Sunday I went into Perth with Mum to check out a necklace I had ordered in the week before from The Glitter Co . I was looking for something that wasn't too over the top and was the right colour to match my dress (yes, apricot!). When we were there last weekend they had the necklace in one colour but I needed to see the colour I wanted so when we saw it on Sunday I bought it right away. It was perfect!

Mum and I also stopped in at Rosendorff's to get my engagement ring polished and check out the mens and womens wedding bands. I wanted something simple and elegant for me, but for Glenn I am really not too sure. We will have to go check them out together I think.

Tomorrow Glenn and I have another Pre-Marital counselling appointment with Pastor Max from Subi Church. Lots of people have told us that they felt it was a bit of a waste of time. Glenn and I have discovered all sorts of interesting things (positive mostly!!!) about each other as well as areas to grow in. It's amazing how much you can miss because you see each other every day.

I have been spending time with my personal trainer Emma working on getting into my wedding dress without corsets and things. I want to be able to enjoy friends, family AND food on my wedding day! Tomorrow I have an appointment at Pearl's Bridal to see how much work I have to do to get into my dress without worrying about being sewn into my dress! Emma told me it was important to be realistic about my goals and have something real to work towards. I am a little scared I have to admit, especially after enjoying so much yummy food in the USA in December/January!

Tomorrow night we are also catching up with Gillian about our cake. Unfortunately we wont get to taste her chocolate mud cake tomorrow because her grandkids ate it all but we are still excited none the less!

I am also hoping to catch up with my friend and hairdresser Lisa to find out about my hair style and accessories for the big day. She's the person I need to give me advice about veils, hats, tiara's, flowers, hair pins, afro's, crimping and teasing... just kidding! Just a few quick questions and a long chat over coffee most likely!

Happy Anniversary Honey!

(Kim) I can still remember the moment we shared our first kiss in the driveway of my parents house in Huntingdale on this day, 9 years ago! I remember the awkward moments confirming my feelings over the days that followed because deep in my heart I truly felt that this was going to last forever. 9 years on so much has happened but my love for you grows deeper and stronger every day. Happy anniversary Glenn, I love you!

Groomsmen

(Glenn) It's taken me a long time to come to a decision on who I would like to share in this very special day of my life. My first, and easiest, choice is my brother Leigh, who will also be the best man. I asked Leigh when we were over in the USA for christmas and I'm glad to say he accepted with a huge grin on his face. My second choice was Drew, my soon to be brother-in-law. I managed to surprise him with my request, which is no mean feat! My last choice is my very good friend David. I have only asked David recently and was happy that he said yes immediately!

So now the bridal party is complete Kim and I can start organising in earnest. I had a look at the calendar just before I wrote this post and September is not far away at all. Time to pull my finger out and get stuff organised.

It's Not Quite Paris...

(Kim) Because we haven't been lucky enough to win lotto since our return from the USA in January (probably the result of not actually buying a ticket!) we have had to choose an alternative location for our perfect honeymoon. Our original plan, failing winning lotto, was to do a bit of a fly-drive holiday up the East coast of Australia. Because I was fussy about hotels and Glenn is adamant that we stay on an island somewhere... we have had to come to a financial compromise. Either we change a few things or Glenn stays home and I enjoy our honeymoon by myself! Well, as you can imagine, Glenn wasn't too keen on the latter or the two ideas so we have decided to change one or two things. The only thing that we have set in concrete is a stay at Bedarra Island on the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland. We are looking at spending some extra time in Cairns or Port Douglas so we will have a chat with Clare (our travel agent) and see what she has to say.

The Bridal Party Is Complete...

(Kim) Well, after many months of deliberation, Glenn has finally confirmed his groomsmen. I have been advised by a certain person that I am not allowed to reveal the details before he does, so I thought I would just give you a tiny bit of a hint... actually no, I wont. You will just have to wait like I did! *mwah*

If The Shoe Fits, Buy It!

(Kim) For the first time in my life I was able to find the absolute perfect shoes for ME! Having one size 10 and a half and one size 10 and 3 quarter's foot is just rediculous, especially when you are looking for something VERY specific. After visiting a couple of random shoe stores we made our way out to Osborne Park to Benelli Shoes . I can't believe I have never been there before! I tried on shoes that were even too big for my feet... can you believe it!?!?! Amazingly enough I was able to find a shoe that fit my description to perfection so I handed over my hard earned money and walked away one happy lady! As they say... "if the shoe fits..."

p.s. Don't ever take Lawrie shopping there again!

The Show Must Go On...

(Kim) I had always hoped that a friend of ours might be able to DJ for us, but it was not meant to be. With a heavy heart Glenn and I decided that it was time to consider booking a DJ and it just so happened that my GM at work had recently been to a wedding that had a good DJ so I jumped on the web to check them out. Elisa had raved about the atmosphere that was created and the fact that they took photos that were available to guests on their website. I had a look at "The DJ" and got a call back asking if we were interested in booking in the date, to which we confirmed, YES! Although it was not our first choice, we are sure he will make an awesome night of celebration for us.

Sweet as Honey...

(Kim) I knew that one thing I must get whilst in the USA was the fabric for the flowergirls dresses. I wanted to make sure that Holly, Rhiannon and Bella all looked like the beautiful little girls that they are, not grown ups. My honest opinion is that children are asked to grow up way to soon and I just want to embrace the sweetness in the three of them on our special day. Anna took me to her favourite fabric store, Fabric Land and we took the time to find what I felt was the best match to my dress (not being white and all). We couldn't believe our eyes when we also found a perfect match for the Bridesmaid's dresses as well, so we snatched that up pretty quick also. Anna very generously offered to sew the girls dresses as a gift to Glenn and I. I am very greatful to Anna for offering her time, and know that they will be just as sweet as I hope they will be! I just have to sort out super-spunky Leighton's outfit now!

Did Someone Say Craft Store?!?!?!

(Kim) When Jana and Anna hinted at the idea of shopping, my ears automatically pricked up! We put aside a day during our holidays so that I could go shopping with the girls to look for wedding stuff. We went to a couple of stationary stores to look for the materials for our invitations but really didn't have much luck. I think that aubergine (oobergine according to my Mum!) must be the most difficult colour to find in the world! I had my heart set on a certain product and couldn't find it anywhere. My first thought was that I must be blind because you can buy EVERYTHING in the USA, but I was wrong. Especially since the product I was looking for was from an Australian company! See if you can guess what it is at the Cristina Re site. We looked everywhere for ribbon, embellishments, paper, envelopes and all things wedding invitation but to no avail. I decided I would just see what I could do from home. We did discover the perfect vessel for our "favours" and bought 100 of them. Poor Kim S. (aka Dad #2) had to bring them home for us as we had no room left in our 5 suitcases to bring them home ourselves! I love Michaels!

How Do You Spell That Other Word For Favours?

(Kim) We spent lots of time in Las Vegas hunting down the perfect items for our bonbon... bonbonier... (how do you spell it?!?!?!), for our gifts to those who will be honouring us with the attendance at the Wedding Reception. We had a very good idea of what we wanted but I was being very particular. The weather in Vegas was shocking; gusty winds, frosty temperatures and Glenn wasn't too happy about the situation either. We made our way up "The Strip" to Planet Hollywood Casino and next door was the store we needed to visit. 4 Floors of colour and madness and after 30 minutes of shopping, we had an extra 10 pounds to add to our suitcases, but we had what we needed! For those of you who haven't yet been told what we bought, you wont be disappointed... mmmmmmmmmmm!

And The Best Man Goes To...

(Glenn) This post will be updated soon!

(Glenn) Ok, so it wasn't that soon. See 24th April post....

Location, Location, Location!

(Kim) We made the decision on the location of the ceremony at Araluen Botanic Gardens, and we have decided on Bennett's Lawn. It's a nice big, open area with plenty of room for everyone. There are lots of little nooks for sweet moments to be captured and whether it be sunny or cloudy, the spot will be beautiful. Thanks to everyone for their comments and suggestions about the location, you advice was most helpful!