Ringing in the New Year

I know... it's been awhile.  But things got busy, and since the wedding wasn't until 2009, we had some time to chill out.  Until that day in December when we decided it'd be a good idea to change our date.  To next year.  In August.  Then we went into wedding planning overload.  We got a church, we got a reception venue, a photographer, florist, baker, dress, M's wedding ring... you name it, we got it.  And we got it - fast.  This was done in about a 5 day span, starting the Tuesday after my final, and finishing about last Saturday or so.  We got our first wedding gift, our cake toppers, finished up our registries, and chosen (but not asked) our maid of honor and best man (we'll have a small bridal party).  

We were able to spend time with both families over the holidays, and had a wonderful time with them.  We soon start back to Mobile (tomorrow or Monday) while I start class on Tuesday, and M flies out the week after.  

Here's our cake topper, which is much larger than we anticipated so we may have to make some adjustments.  We plan on keeping them on display either in our bedroom or in the living room in CO to remind us of that day.  

as you can see, the birds can be flipped upside down to change the shape of them.

Here's our first wedding gift, a set of Shun classic steak knives.  M has been eyeing these for more than a year now, and his parents surprised us with them when we came back from visiting my family.  His brother (who recently got engaged and will get married in May) also received a set of these knives.  

With the wedding about a year earlier than anticipated, there's a lot of work ahead. Most of it will be done in my mini-breaks throughout the semester, and we are hiring a wedding coordinator who will hopefully aid in this process.

I hope to keep this blog updated more regularly, and upcoming posts will include dress shopping, M's band, the reception venue, and our actual ceremony, among other things. Stay tuned!