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

Cake Topper

I know I haven't posted in a while but this month has been crazy. I graduated on the 12th with my Master's Degree in Occupational therapy so I had to enter the real world and start my job hunt. I've accepted a position at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia as an OT in inpatient rehab and I start on January 12th. I've still been on the lookout for wedding stuff but the majority of my energy lately has been on finding a job.

I bought a wedding magazine last week while we were in Harrisburg (Randy took step 3 of his USMLE exams) and I had nothing but time to kill while he was taking his test. It turns out the magazine was Canadian based which was hilarious because they had favors and themes that had completely different names than we would call them. For example, Stag night for bachelor party (My friend told me that for women it is called a Hen party and the women dress up like chickens. . .yikes). Well they had some really strange things that I didn't like but they also had a few things I did like. One thing Randy and I both agreed on was the Love Bird cake topper. We googled it online this morning and found one for a reasonable price so we have officially bought our first decor item for the reception. Here is a picture of the cake topper.

Dress Rejects

I thought it would be fun to post the dresses that I tried on and are now dress rejects:

This is the dress I initially wanted and if it was $2000 or even $1500 cheaper it would have been mine. Unfortunately, reality is that Randy and I are paying for the wedding and this dress is not in the budget so I sacrificed this beauty to help make the rest of the day special.

I tried this dress on with my sisters and it was very pretty and looked nice. I really didn't want an A-line dress though and kept this as an option for just in case. We thought it was really funny that the website airbrushed this girl's waist so she looks like a Barbie doll. You'd think with all the airbrushing at her waist, they could have done something with her face and hair too. Yikes!

I really liked this one too but the one I have is 100% better!

This one made me look hippy and I felt blah in it. Definite NO! I've come to the conclusion that I like the idea of lace but lace and I do not mix!

Dress!!

So after visiting 3 different bridal shops over the past month with either friends or family, a friend that works with Randy suggested that I look at the Nicole Miller Sample Sale in Manayunk, PA yesterday. I had it in my head that the dresses would be too expensive and it would be complete bridal chaos (I was picturing "White" Friday at Nicole Miller would be the same as Black Friday at Best Buy). I told Randy I wasn't sure if I wanted to go because I had found dresses at the other shops that I liked and I thought if I added more dresses to the mix, I would just be more confused and not be able to make a decision. Well I got to the shop at 9am yesterday morning and when I walked in the door I was pleasantly surprised. There was one other bride looking at dresses and 3 sales associates (I did not have to fight the other bride for my dress which was one of my initial fears of a sample sale). I picked out 5 dresses to try on. The 2nd dress ended up being the dress but I told myself to try on the other ones just to be sure. The other ones didn't even compare so I put on THE dress one more time and the girls handed me a bouquet and put a beautiful triple-strand of freshwater pearls and I turned around and knew it was the dress for me. Bonus: It was regularly $1900 dollars which was well above my price range marked down to $950 which is totally within my budget. I then called my mother and bridesmaid, Courtney, to get their opinions of the dress and through text pictures we all agreed that the dress was perfect. So I walked out of the boutique with my dress later that morning. I have the dress hanging in our hallway closet and I'm researching dry cleaners and seamstresses in the area to help make the dress completely mine (as you all can imagine, the dress is way too long but that is the story of my life and I knew any dress I got would need to be at least hemmed). I love it and I can't wait for Randy to see me wearing it as I walk down the aisle next year.

No spoiler alerts on the blog. . . .you will all just have to be surprised next October!

Music!

We booked the DJ this week. We really wanted a band to play at our reception but unfortunately the lone band of upstate New York (I'm sure there are more but I haven't heard of them) has been dragging us along with for over a month about whether or not they wanted to sign a contract. It was a hassle and a headache dealing with it so Peacock Music will be providing the entertainment for our reception. We are so excited that we have our important vendors booked and can finally focus on the fun stuff. . . . . .

Photographer

Randy and I booked our photographer!! It was a little more expensive than we wanted to spend but the pictures are one of the most important parts of our wedding and we are willing to splurge. Here is the website so you can all see what we have to look forward to: http://www.mclaughlinphoto.com/

wedding dress shopping

I'm heading down to DC this weekend to spend time with my sisters! Elise is down in DC looking at colleges with Rachel. I really want to have my sisters with me for at least the first time I go wedding dress shopping so I am taking advantage of having both of them together in the same city. I won't be buying anytime soon but I want to find the dress that makes me feel bridal. I have no idea of what kind of dress I want (no cupcakey ballgowns). Hopefully, I will get an idea of the styles I like from this weekend! Wish me luck!

Save the Date

We've set a date to be married: October 10, 2009!!!

The ceremony will be at St. Joseph's Church in Dannemora, NY and the Reception will be in the Gold Room at the Rainbow Wedding and Banquet Hall in Altona, NY.

Save the Date cards will eventually go out in the mail so keep checking that mail box!