Jason's 10-year high school reunion

This last weekend was Jason's 10-year high school reunion. Lucky for him, he went to school close to where we live, so we could attend. As most of you know, I went to high school across the country in Washington state and wasn't able to fly out there for the weekend reunion this last spring. But I was really excited about coming to his reunion! I actually am friends with a few people we went to school with, so it made for a really fun night!
Not too many people came to the reunion. Apparently there were around 100 people that they graduated with, but only 20 or so came to it, but it was a larger crowd because they all brought someone with them.
It was pretty funny when we pulled up to the restaurant, because you could almost tell there was a reunion going on inside because everyone brought their best vehicle with them! Hummers, BMW's, or family cars... you know what I mean?
Oh, and I have to tell you too that Jason was so cute! Apparently, he was telling everyone about us getting married and I'd have random people coming up to me asking me about my wedding and wanting to look at the ring! It was really funny, and cute!

Wedding updates: caterer and photographer

There aren't many updates to the wedding, but I did want to keep tabs on what's going on.

Caterer:

So far, we only have the ceremony and reception location confirmed. Jason and I went to the best Italian restaurant to find out what we need to do to get them to cater our reception, but as they know my sister Lori's in-laws, all they said was "no problem" although it was a little comical because the sister-in-law of the owner of the restaurant has a very strong Italian restaurant and a little on the older side, and kept giving me a hard time because the wedding was over a year away and "not even the same year!" Ha-ha [but not really] because I want to figure this stuff out before someone else does and takes all the people we want for our wedding! The owner, Bruno, is really funny and kept talking to us, while we ate the best lunch ever, and when we were done eating, the lady told us that she put our name down for 10.10.10 and then said, "that was in November, right?" and I must have had a funny look on my face, because she was just teasing me and started laughing at me, but told me that she had it down and that we didn't need to worry! But we did leave without knowing any pricing or anything, so I'm not sure how we're supposed to not worry, when we don't know how to budget without knowing how much it will cost! Oh, well, I'm sure they'll give us a good deal. We'll just have to go there when the man in charge of the charging part is there so we can find out more information on how much it will cost. Also, I think we'll have them make homemade bread for all the tables and then have mostaccioli spinach stuffed ravioli, and a chicken Parmesan or mostaccioli with meatballs. Again, it's all up in the air still until we get more details on cost.

Photographer:

I've only met with one photographer and I really like them! Two people, somewhat local and very comfortable to talk to and tell them what I want and what I don't want. Unfortunately, they are on the pricey side, but I think they're still reasonable. $2,000 for 8 hours and $2,400 for all day long, unlimited. The only thing is... that my friend Laura recommended them, she is getting married next June and is only paying $1,200! I don't know if she got a different plan, but that's quite the difference if you ask me!

There are other options I've looked into but they go around 3 and 4 or even up to 7 thousand! Oh, but I did ix-nay on one photographer... I checked out her online blog and found not one but TWO pictures of the bride with the maids bouquets laying on the bottom of her dress, somewhat as a frame! WHAT? I DON'T THINK SO! NO WAY!

There is so much to figure out! I need help!

That's all I got for now... so... who wants to help me???

Our Tree

Jason and I finally got a chance to go back to where he proposed and take some pictures.

Here's the tree he got me interested in, while I got the ring out...
I think this picture would've turned out a lot better if I had a nicer camera and focused on the actual ring and not the tree! But still looks kinda cool!

And here we are in front of our tree... we hope it'll be there for a long time!!! Apparently, someone owns the property it's on and we're only allowed to be in the water, technically... Either way, it was pretty cool to go back and take those pictures, since we didn't have a camera on us when it actually happened!

Our three year anniversary!

Jason brought over a huge mum plant for me, for our three year anniversary and it's so beautiful! We celebrated 3 years of official dating on August 31st! I just brought the plant to work today and it still looks brand new! I love it! Thanks, Jay!

Oh, and Jason pointed out to me today that we have one year, one month, and one day until our wedding!

An alternative to guest book

I love the traditions of weddings; however, I'm really interested in doing things differently for mine. Just not the same as other weddings and spice it up, but not too weird... you know? I want whimsical, unique, and original for my wedding. Since today is really slow at work, I've decided to do some online research on alternative ideas to the wedding traditions. Such as the post before this one. If we can pull off having our centerpieces look like cute pumpkin carriages, it would be adorable! Very different then having flowers or pumpkins! And yet, still super cute!
So, back to the guest book. I've been thinking of guest books, and wondering what I would do with mine, after the wedding! I mean, I don't remember ever looking at another person's guest book, or seeing theirs displayed anywhere in their house, which means to me that they probably have it in a box in the basement or up in the attic... I am in search of something different! If anyone has an idea, LET ME KNOW!I just found this website with a really neat idea for the guest book. Have all our guests write well-wishes for us, and put it in either a bird cage or large glass vase. It would be simple to DIY this project, cutting paper in just the right size and having multi-colored pens to make it colorful and then assemble them throughout a wedding scrapbook or something.

I also found an idea on etsy where they have a box, and paper inside where the guest can put their addresses and other contact information on it and also leave a little message for the Bride and Groom... which sounds pretty cool! Although we'd most likely already have their mailing address, if they were invited! But having all the other information and all together would be nice and make thank you cards go a little easier!Does anyone else have any other ideas?

A pumpkin Carriage! And other cute ideas!

I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner, but I finally thought to google these pumpkin carriage ideas and look what I found! And I'm sure we could make it not so dark and creepy, but it's really cool!
I love the metal embellishments on the top of the large pumpkin, around the window/door areas and on the wheels! I think that looks so adorable! And If I use a white or orange pumpkin for the large one, it will look more wedding-like. Also add in some wire with curls in it, that will look so cute!
Here's another one I found online, though not as cute.
Here's another cute idea:
And here's another one:I think my sisters, friends, and family are going to be working really hard for my wedding!