On Their Way

I forgot to post this yesterday, but my dad, being the great dad that he is, took all the invitations into the post ofice personally and handed them to someone, as opposed to just dropping them in a mail box somewhere.  He told me that he even went so far as to tell the postal worker what they were and she assured him that they'd take care of them and they'd be on their way.  So as of yesterday, our invitations were mailed!

A Productive Saturday

This past Saturday might have been one of the most productive wedding days we've had since we started planning.  I mean, I thought we got a lot of things done before, but this was just great.  Jack and I started our day with a quick run to Starbucks and then headed to City Hall to apply for our marriage license (see Jack's blog about that here).  Afterwards, we headed to the jeweler to pick up our wedding bands.  We had to try them on, obviously, to make sure that they fit.  Once I put mine on, I didn't want to take it off!

I then dropped Jack off so he could go to the gym and do some of his own things for the rest of the day.  I packed up my car and then headed out to Oak Brook to the Nordstrom Rack.  Occasionally they have what they call "Large Size Shoe Event", which is a nice was of saying they are bringing in more shoes for people with abnormally large feet.  Since I fall into that category, I decided to check out their selection.  I found a few pairs, but much to my surprise and delight, I found my wedding shoes!  I had been searching various stores and online shoe sites for some options, but could never seem to found just what I needed.  This pair though is just perfect!  I don't think I could have sketched a pair that would have worked any better.

After my shoe adventure, I headed to my parents' house and for the rest of the evening, my mom and I prepped the invitations to be mailed.  Because she has the most beautiful handwriting, she volunteered/I asked if she would address the invites.  She worked all last week to get them done since she knew I was getting anxious about getting them out.  Then together we numbered, stamped, and stuffed all of the invitations.  We ended up with quite a system.  And while I put the final stamp on the outside envelope, she licked every last one!  I will say though that I really enjoyed that we did this together.  It gave us a chance to chat and make jokes and just a relax a bit.  It definitely gave me the feeling that we are in the final stretch of plans and preparations, which makes me very relieved and very excited!  Thanks for all your help, Mom!  I hope your tongue and writing hand has recovered! :)

Bridal Shower #1

About two weeks ago, we had our first wedding shower.  My mom hosted the event, with some help from my dad, and it was spectacular!  I don't know that I had a preconceived idea about what it should be like that day, but it was just what I would have planned for myself!  It was held at Old Oak Country Club in Homer Glen, which is very near to where my parents live, and also happens to be where my dad works as a golf ranger during the summer.  My parents let me have a say in the food for the afternoon, not because I am a picky eater, but so that I could have just what I wanted.  The menu included cream of chicken soup (my favorite!) and a salad that was enormous and had fruit, candied nuts, large grilled shrimp, veggies, and much more that I can't even remember.  It was so huge that a common theme was to eat "all the good stuff" and leave the lettuce once we each realized we were barely making a dent into what was on our plates.  For dessert, we had vanilla ice cream with warm blueberries and whipped cream.  Oh, and the beverage of choice was a delicious punch, which if I could, I would have packaged up what was left and brought it home with me!

The room we were in had floor to ceiling windows with a view out on to the course, and thankfully, we had a beautiful day so it was nice and sunny!  The Banquet Manager, Juan, put out purple napkins for each place setting, since we told him that was the theme color.  And then at each seat, my mom had a purple gift bag with a bunch of my favorite candies from when I was a kid, along with a split of champagne for each guest.  There was a balloon attached to each bag to add some festiveness to the room and then there were purple and yellow flowers in the middle of each table.  My parents did an AMAZING JOB! 

When guests started arriving, my dad made sure to get pictures of each guest with me before they even had a chance to put down their purse.  I felt really special to have all of these people come and celebrate this day with me.  I had relatives I do not get to see too often and a friend I haven't seen in years!  And I felt so honored that in addition to all the planning my parents have done for the wedding and all the effort they have been going to, that they would add planning and hosting a wedding shower to their list.  That is the kind of people my parents are though - they go the extra mile and do all they can to make things special. 

After everyone was done eating, we moved on to a game where people had to form as many words out of "Sobczak Minster" as they could, but each word could be no less than 4 letters.  After people had time to think and write and write some more, we found our two winners and awarded the prizes.  We then moved on to Jack and I opening gifts and I was just completely overwhelmed and excited.  I have heard some people say that it is tough to be excited about getting towels, but every time I opened anything I was thrilled!  I thought, "one less thing for us to have to buy!" and I could start to picture setting up house in our new condo.  I was imaging how so many of these things would look and I started to picture us eating dinner using the utensils from the Nayder family, the plates from my Aunt Leah and the knives from my parents. 

We are so very grateful for all the gifts, but more importantly, it was just great to have everyone there that day.  It kind of prepped me for what it would be like at our wedding -- getting used to the idea that as much as you'd like to, you can't spend as long talking to people as you'd like, but realizing that everyone there is just excited to be there and share in the day.  Thank you to all who could attend.  Thank you to Gina & Kristen (two of my bridesmaids) for keeping things straight with all the gifts.  More importantly, thank you again to my parents for going above and beyond to give their little girl a day she will always remember!

The Bridal Shower: A Modern Groom's Perspective

Mary had her first of two bridal showers last Sunday at Old Oak Country Club for her side of the family and her friends.  It came with some standard accoutrements: favors, mimosas, a light lunch, and of course, shower gifts.  All along, I knew that my attendance was expected.  To be honest, I was looking forward to it.  I expected it to be one of the more fun and easy-going events leading up to our wedding.  I expected this because I knew it wouldn't be an overdone or overly elaborate event.  It was a time for many of the women in Mary's life, of all ages, to celebrate our upcoming wedding with just her.

For many grooms, I'm sure they dread having to attend the bridal shower.  Having to be up in front of female friends and family and pretend to be excited about measuring spoons and vacuum cleaners is certainly something I wouldn't rate at the top of my list of fun activities.  Chit-chatting with the girls is also probably not a groom's favorite Sunday afternoon activity.

For me, however, I really did enjoy having a chance to talk to some of Mary's friends and family that I don't normally see.  While I felt I was mostly there in a support capacity for my bride - pulling out her chair, getting her mimosas, loading up the gifts - it was a nice warm-up for our actual wedding.  I made some introductions, was introduced myself, had a chance to catch up with important people, and also got to celebrate our upcoming nuptials.  As a broad generalization, since women tend to be more social than men, being surrounded by women helped get me into the wedding-mingling mode!

I think that since I had already resolved that I would enjoy myself, I found it much easier to do just that.  I was relaxed and comfortable, and truly did enjoy the socializing.  Mary also looked great in her nice white summer dress!  As far as the gift-opening is concerned, just think about how excited you'll be when you open your brand new wine tool set and beer pilsners.

It Zipped!

My mom and I went to my first dress fitting last night.  Now don't get me wrong - I was very excited to get to see my actual dress and be able to try it on, but for whatever reason, I was VERY nervous.  I think I was afraid that my weight had fluctuated or something and the more I kept thinking that that is always possible, the more I was afraid that it would not fit.  I worked myself nervous enough that I thought maybe we would not be able to even get it zipped.  I cannot tell you the relief I had when it zipped all the way up with no trouble at all!  From that point, I was just totally excited to be in my dress! 

We knew that they would have to alter the dress on top since my top half isn't the same size as the bottom half of me, but overall, they didn't have to do too much and the price for it all came back pretty reasonable.  I was also pretty relieved to figure out that I can wear a "normal" foundation piece and that the alterations person can add a snap from it to the dress to ensure that it stays in place the whole day!  Whew - one less thing for my bridesmaids to have to check on all day.  And to top it off, I do not have to have the length of the dress altered at all!

The alterations person, Vicky, was extremely nice and definitely seems to know what she is doing.  She took her time and explained what she was doing and how that would change the way the dress would fit.  She would ask what we thought to be sure we were happy and she was just so pleasant and calm.  It was a great experience.  And I am just so glad that my mom is able to do these things with me.  It makes it so much easier to have her there, and also that much more exciting.  Thanks, Mom!