update!

So I know I haven't posted in over a month but you will have to forgive me because August of 2009 was one of the busiest months of my life. Randy and I have officially moved from our tiny, one bedroom apartment to a 3 bedroom row house with a backyard. We gave ourselves a few weeks to transition from one place to the other and Randy's parents came for about a week to help us out which was a life saver. We are now completely moved in to the new place, however, there are boxes aplenty that need to be unpacked.

On top of us moving, 2 of my friends got married this month. Michelle (a close friend I had church school with until we were confirmed in the 10th grade) got married back home in Dannemora, New York at the same church where Randy and I will be getting married. Courtney (friend from college, post college roommate, and bridesmaid) got married a week ago in Congers, NY. A bunch of our college friends from Siena were there so it was a lot of fun to see everyone.

August also held two back to back weekends of my bridal showers. My first bridal shower was in Danvers, MA and was thrown by Randy's mom, Donna, in his Granny's garden. It was a beautiful day and a nice chance for me to see his side of the family again. My second shower was thrown by my Mother in Dannemora, New York. I got to see a lot of my Aunts and family friends that I haven't seen in a while which was very nice. Both my Mom and Donna went above and beyond anything I could have expected for my showers and I feel very grateful.

Also during the August Mayhem, Randy and I managed to get all of the invitations printed and sent. Randy used his handiwork on the computer yet again and the invitations turned out beautifully. Since Randy was on call every third night in August, my friends Michelle and Karen helped me assemble all the invitations. So now we have started getting our response cards back and its crazy to think that this wedding really is right around the corner. We are so excited that our day is almost here! Can't wait to see everyone there!!

Dress Fitting!!

I had my initial dress fitting today with an Italian dress maker in Elkins Park, PA. She spoke broken English and wore fabulous shoes so you know she knows her stuff. The dress only has a few changes that are needed before it goes to the cleaners. It will be shortened, a new zipper will be added, and the bustle loop will be adjusted. I can't wait until August 28th for my appointment to try it on when it is completed!! (that is also the day that Randy and I are going to NY to get our marriage license! Big Day!!).



I'm bummed my Mom couldn't be there to share the day with me. I think she would have liked to have been there but alas the North Country is 7 hours too far to justify a visit over a dress fitting. She is currently enjoying the beauty of camp on Chazy Lake and I can't say I don't blame her. I'm actually pretty jealous. I did have some support with me for the day. My friend, Michelle, who works with Randy at Abington Memorial as a surgical resident luckily had the day off and she came to ohh and ahh at me. I'm lucky we have made such good friends in the area :)

Mapping the North Country

Our latest wedding endeavor has been working on the wedding invitations. Randy finished that actual invitation and response cards yesterday. His newest project has been working on the map of the north country that we will be adding to the invitations that will be sent out. We got the idea from weddingbee.com which had a blog article on DIY maps. We used googlemaps to pull up the map of the area, then Randy using his super computer skills made it so that it looks like a handwritten drawing instead of a computer printout. There are a couple more tweaks that need to be made before it is done but once they are complete, the invitations will be going out in the mail. Here is a picture of Randy hard at work on the map. We thought about taking a picture of me eating tortilla chips while watching but I left my chair to lay down instead (haha).

So you think you can dance?

We had our first dance lesson this evening. It was a lot of fun and now we can safely walk in a straight line (with Randy walking forwards and me walking backwards) as well as a basic box step. We aren't known for our smooth moves (to be honest I don't move much beyond my shoulders when I dance) but our teacher told Randy he looked like an athlete and that it seemed like I had a music and rhythm background so be prepared for some smooth moves.
We won't tell you what song we are dancing to but our goal is to not look like we are in junior high and to not be cheesy. Wish us luck with our 8 remaining lessons!!

Ring Bearer Bowl

Randy and I decided to go a different route when choosing how our rings will be transported down the aisle. Instead of a traditional ring bearer pillow, we ordered a custom made bowl from Paloma's Nest on Etsy.com. The inscription on the bowl says "Bridget & Randy, 10.10.09, Two Hearts, One Soul". It came today in the mail and it looks great. We will change out the ribbon for one that matches the colors of the wedding. After the wedding, we will use the bowl as a Christmas ornament to commemorate our wedding! Here is a picture of the bowl!

Honeymoon!!!!!!!!

We booked our honeymoon officially yesterday. We will be spending 6 nights and 7 days at Atlantis on Paradise Island in the Bahamas. We will leave on October 12th and return on October 18th. We are staying in the Beach Towers and got a room with an ocean view! The entire Atlantis resort is a water park with pools, pristine beaches, water slides, and lazy rivers. One of the things we are looking forwards to the most is a deep water swim with bottlenose dolphins!!!!!!
Check out www.atlantis.com to see pictures of where we are staying and what we will be doing.

Bridesmaid Dresses

The bridesmaid dresses were ordered!! The dresses are from the Wtoo designs from Watters bridal. They are silk shantung (the same material as my dress!) in amaretto. Rachel is the best maid of honor. She did a great job organizing the crew and working with the bridal shop so I wouldn't have to. Thank you!!!!

The lastest things to check off the list:

We've made some progress in the past couple of weeks and it feels good to check some things off the never ending list.

1. Rehearsal Dinner will be at the Butcher Block in Plattsburgh, NY.
2. Bouquet's and Boutonnieres
3. Center pieces
4. Signed up for Pre Cana classes

We just found out that the Inn at Smithfield seems to be filling up fast so make those reservations soon! Here is the phone number again (518) 561-7750. Please book it under Munn-Kimball wedding.

Something Blue!

I bought my something blue last week while I was out shopping with Rachel. I'm so excited!!!

I bought my veil while out shopping today. It was a fraction of the veil budget so I'm psyched about it. I'm not posting a picture of it though because I want it to be a surprise for the wedding day.

Wedding Planning through Procrastination

So instead of studying the typical developmental progression of fine motor skills (which is next on my list of subjects to cram into my brain before my exam tomorrow), I decided to update the blog because I feel like we actually did something proactive in wedding planning this week which made me feel so good. Randy got out of work early on Friday (thank you Shadis!) and we decided to finally get our Save the Dates printed. My original plan was to go tomorrow after my exam but this was so much better because we got to together. We went in thinking they would download Randy's design, we would pick out paper, order the save the dates, and then come back in a week to pick them up. What really happened was we went in at 5pm with a jump drive holding the design's PDF file and left at 5:30pm with a box of 120 Save the Date cards and envelopes. It was so easy and the printers at Jenkintown Business Graphics were so nice and helpful.

During a study break yesterday, I bought labels and completed my first mail merge through repeated trial and error. I felt guilty for my extended study break so I hit the books for another couple of hours with the Save the Dates constantly in the back of my mind. So I finally gave in and started stuffing, addressing, and stamping envelopes. It felt so good and relaxing.

We still have a couple more addresses to get and a few more books of stamps to buy and then they will be out in the mail. Hopefully by the end of the week these babies will be out announcing the date our wedding to all our guests. yippeeee!!!!!!!!!

This was my make-shift assembly line. The OT books made an excellent stand to hold my address labels.

Hotel Arrangments

A block of rooms has been booked for a discounted rate at the Best Western The Inn at Smithfield for the night of the wedding under Munn/Kimball wedding. The hotel is about 20 minutes away from the church and 25 minutes away from the reception. We were holding out blocking rooms because we thought that our reception site was going to be building a hotel but with the economy the way it is their plans fell through. :(



Side Note: The Ground Round behind the hotel is where Bridget worked as a waitress/hostess/quickdraw girl for the summer in 2002.




Best Western The Inn at Smithfield
446 Route 3
Plattsburgh, New York, 12901-6519
Phone: (518) 561-7750
Fax: (518) 561-9431
http://www.bestwesternnewyork.com/hotels/best-western-the-inn-at-smithfield/


If you would prefer to stay at another location, here are some other options for Plattsburgh lodgings.


La Quinta Inn & Suites
16 Plaza Boulevard
Plattsburgh, NY 12901
Phone: (518) 562-4000
Fax: (518) 561-3234


Holiday Inn
412 Route 3
Plattsburgh, NY 12901
Phone: (518) 561-5000
Fax: (518) 562-2974

















This place was in the running for holding the reception when we started planning. It would have been the most convenient to hold the reception because the ballroom is in the hotel and there would have been lots for the little kids that couldn't come to the reception to do. However, the ballroom was way too small to hold the size of our lively party so we declined. We were still going to block rooms here but then one of the biggest fires Plattsburgh, NY has ever known burned that option to the ground.

Wedding Party

Here is our Wedding Party in no particular order (all though the cutest are at the beginning) because this was the hardest blog post to organize.

Annie Munn-Flower Girl and Bridget's Cousin

Adam Munn-Ring Bearer and Bridget's Cousin and Godson

Ben Munn-Groomsman and Bridget's Brother

Two for the price of one!!

Paul Mulligan and Vin!! Mazzuca-Groomsmen, both lived with Randy while they went to Siena College.

Kristopher Kimball-Best Man and Randy's brother.

Heather Gorman-Bridesmaid and lifelong friend of Bridget

Rachel Munn-Maid of Honor and Bridget's twin sister

Carly Drown-bridesmaid and lifelong friend of Bridget

Elise Munn-bridesmaid and Bridget's little sister.

Karl Robstad-groomsman and Randy's roommate in college and medical school.

Kristine Minasi-bridesmaid and Bridget's desk+running buddy in grad school.

Calvin Leung-Groomsman and Randy's roommate in College and Medical school.

Courtney McHale-Bridesmaid and Bridget's friend from college/post-college roommate

Registry

Randy and I registered last month while we were in Harrisburg for his USMLE exam. We went to Bed, Bath & Beyond after he finished up the first day of his exam and spent 2 1/2 hours with a wedding consultant. We honestly thought that they were going to give us a scanning gun and let us do our own thing. We were wrong. She led us through the store, offered suggestions, and gave us direction when we really had no clue. All though it took FOREVER, we got it all done, and she was honestly very helpful!
www.bedbathandbeyond.com