Invitations

Our invitations have been ordered!  What a huge weight off my shoulders and what a relief to check that task off my to do list.  I actually ended up ordering them online.  My cousin, Linda, ordered through this same company, The Wedding Outlet, and had a great experience, so I decided to order through them as well.  I don't know how much invitations would cost at a paper or specialty store, but I feel like I got a good deal. 

I will say though that ordering them online is extremely nerve-racking!  Yes, I got to proof what my invite would look like, but I couldn't proof all of the pieces, only the main invitation.  For the reception card and the reply card, I could only proof the text.  The only other drawback is that in selecting a color for the inner envelope lining, the color boxes online are not true representations of the actual colors.  I called the customer service number and the woman was extremely helpful in helping me figure out which color to pick and what they looked like.  But still, to not see them myself made me anxious.  In the end, the color I picked and the invitations will be great - not because of the color but because of what they say. 

And to top it all off, I wrote an email asking when they would be complete and when they thought they would be shipped.  I just got a response back saying that they should be complete by this Friday and we should receive them by the middle of next week.  I cannot believe how fast that is!  How exciting!

Registering: Rounds 2-3

Mary and I finished all our in-store registering this past weekend.  We went to Bed Bath and Beyond in the city on Saturday and were there for about four hours.  Sunday we drove out to the suburbs to go to Crate and Barrel, then a quick stop at another Bed Bath and Beyond to look for some missing items.

Of the three places we registered, Target, Bed Bath and Beyond, and Crate and Barrel, I think that Bed Bath and Beyond probably had the most organized registry program.  We just showed up at a store and said we wanted to register.  They immediately began to take down our information and ask us all sorts of questions to get an idea about how we might approach this task. 

After going through the basics of collecting information and giving us all kinds of booklets and pamphlets and handouts, they asked if we would like a demonstration/lesson on cookware and knives.  Had Mary not been as prepared as she was about the exact items we needed to search out, this would have been a great route to go.  Neither of the other two stores even gave us much information.  The woman at Crate and Barrel gave us a brief synopsis of the store layout, and everyone showed us (me) how to use the scanner gun, but that was it.  So although we were asked every 10 minutes if we needed help by the Bed Bath and Beyond staff, I really feel like I got better service there then anywhere else.

Now, for the question you've all been waiting for...which scanner did I prefer?  While all three offered me high levels of entertainment and helped enhance some of the more mundane tasks of registering, I have to say that I preferred the Target scanner over the others.

The woman at Crate and Barrel said it was too difficult to change quantities or remove items directly on the scanner and we should do that after the scanner and computer "talked."  And although I figured it out on my own, it was definitely NOT an intuitive interface (remember-computer nerd).  To delete items from the Bed Bath and Beyond scanner, I had to scan the item, then scan the "oops" barcode on one of our many handouts.  That was a little silly to me.  Plus navigating through the items directly on the scanner was somewhat difficult.

The Target scanner had an easy to use menu.  I could easily remove items and update quantities.  The best part, though, was that unlike the other two stores' palm-pilot-like design, the Target scanner actually resembled a gun with a trigger!  It was as if every time I scanned an item, I was earning points in the registry game!!

Anyway, once we're all done modifying our lists, I'll post the links under the Wedding section of our site.  I'm sure Mary will have some of her own thoughts to share on the registering process as well!

What's in a Name

Ever since I was old enough to think about boys and getting married, I knew that at some point, I would no longer sign my name Mary Sobczak, but instead would sign it with my husband's last name.  At the time, it was just that simple.

Now that our wedding is just about 3 months away, my brain begins to wander to the smaller details and what will happen when we join our lives together as husband and wife.  I am still going to change my name, but it's interesting to me how I think about it now all these years later.  I realize that I have really become attached to my last name.  I am sure that most brides go through this when thinking about changing their name, but I never thought it would be this tough for me. 

For me, my last name signifies my family, our history and the relationship I have with my parents.  My name was a part of me for 27 years and in some ways, my name represents the person I am today.  It means something to me.  People I meet through work recognize my name because they know my dad and they have great respect for him.  It creates a connection between me and them before they even know me.  That means something.  And in some ways, my last name makes me feel a part of my family. 

Now that the time is coming for me to change it, I see the significance in this.  In taking a new name, it is the realization that although I am still a part of my family, Jack and I will now be our own family.  It isn't just a new name that you sign on a receipt - a new name represents a new start.  I understand that I will always be a Sobczak, but it is a little tough to think of myself as a Minster.  (nothing against the Minsters of course!) 

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet." ~Juliet (Romeo and Juliet (II, ii, 1-2))

This was the first quote that came to mind when I was thinking about this blog.  When I looked it up, it said that Juliet was saying that a name is somewhat meaningless and that no matter what it is called, a rose is still a rose.  Although I disagree that names are meaningless, this is a nice reminder that I am still me, no matter which name comes after Mary.

Big Additions

After taking my sweet time for the last few months, I finally got around to asking three of my close friends to be ushers in our wedding.  From the beginning I wanted to have ushers so I could include more of my friends in the formal wedding party.  Mary and I went back and forth on the topic a few times, but in the end, with some encouragement from Mary, we decided that the wedding party wouldn't be complete without these final additions.

So last night, Chris, Bob, Ken and I all hung out in Downers Grove.  After a couple beers and half-way through our cigars, I asked them to be a part of our special day.  Fortunately, they all happily agreed!  Although it was rather uncermonious, I'm really happy that I was able to share a night with just the guys for this event.  My best man, Steve, I was able to ask in person, however, my other two groomsmen both live out-of-state, and I had to ask them over the phone.

The bottom line is that now our wedding party roster is complete (we think).  I have my guys, Mary has her girls, we both have our ushers, ring bearer and flower girl, and of course, our parents and families!

Small Additions

While it's somewhat old news, we forgot to blog about this one.  (You can't really blame us, we've been going non-stop for weeks now!) Mary and I decided to have an un-official (more on that in a second) Ring Bearer and Flower Girl.  We've asked that Mary's nephew, Andrew, be our Ring Bearer and my niece, Annalee, to be our flower girl! 

Why "un-official?"  Well, at St. Johns, the have a policy about allowing children of a certain age walk down the aisle.  I suppose it's understandable because it's kind of a long aisle and there is a lot of potential for a child to change his or her mind and just walk the other way!  So although we can't have Andrew and Annalee walk down the aisle, we still can't wait to see them in our wedding party and all dressed up.