One Month!

First, my apologies for being absent from the blog. But, as today is our one month anniversary, I had to make time to post. WIth Josh's new job and my student teaching plus moving we have been so busy. I hope to keep up with the blog on how our wedding went and our newlywed adventures. Everyone always asks, "how's married life?" Our first two responses are mostly fun and weird. Fun because we are always together laughing, bike riding, cooking, etc. Weird because it's all so new. It takes time getting used to seeing each other all of the time. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE it, but it's still a big change that takes getting used to! It's such a joy being married to Josh (finally!!) and our first month has been simply amazing. 

(This was at an event Josh and I were at for his work!)

Our Wedding: The Flowers

To go along with our rustic theme, we decided to do wild flowers! My sister and I went to J's Fresh Flower Market yesterday to order some flowers! I'm SO excited! The variety of flowers is beautiful and wild flowers look so fresh! Here's some wild flowers they happened to have in the store while we were there.

Bridesmaid of the Week: Stephanie Froman!

          Stephanie is also one of my bridesmaids who I have known for a longggggg time. We have A LOT of embarrassing pictures together (I will not be posting the really embarrassing ones :) ). Our favorite song is Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch which led to our nicknames. We've had tons of sleepovers, been to concerts, took the train to Chicago, made beadie-buddies, spent weeks at camp, and we used to sit next to each other nearly every week in church growing up! Love ya Steph!

50 Days!

I know I posted the two month countdown not too long ago, but a 50 day countdown seems unreal! Time is flying!!!

Bridesmaid of the Week: Melissa Rich!

         Melissa and I were destined to be friends! Actually, Melissa and Josh have known each other since they were little. The new year's eve before my freshman year of college, Melissa and Josh ran into each other again and Melissa told Josh that she would be going to GVSU in the fall! Josh casually mentioned that Melissa and I should become friends, but Melissa figured with the amount of students it'd be unlikely that we would meet. But, God had different plans for our friendship! At my first GVSU event (a Campus Ministries Picnic) Melissa and I met! From then on Melissa and I spent tons of time with each other and then lived together our sophomore year! Melissa is the easiest person to get along with and we have so much in common. I love her so much! After she transferred colleges, we were no longer roomies, so now we have to make an extra effort to spend time together. Melissa also was a huge help to Josh when he proposed - Thanks Melissa!

2 Month Countdown!

Couldn't help but smile when I received this e-mail today :)

Wedding Updates!

With spring classes underway, things have been busy! But, here I am to give some wedding updates! Josh & I are almost two months away until our big day. The majority of the major details are pinned down and decorations, etc. are bought! Now we need to start thinking about the smaller projects - printing invitations and programs, favors, etc.. Needless to say we are getting SO excited to be married. For your enjoyment, here is a little wedding detail:

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Josh's Graduation

This past Saturday Josh graduated from Calvin College with a Bachelor's of Arts in Media Production. It was such a great weekend and I couldn't stop smiling because of how proud I was of him! It was great to spend time with Josh's parents, grandma, and brother as well as my mommy! Now, our next big event is the wedding!

Bridesmaid of the Week: Rebecca Sissom!

           Rebecca and I grew up in church together and have been friends for a long time. We have had a lot of fun times shopping, taking pictures, singing in church, watching movies, camping, and most frequently we can be found drinking slurpees :). After Josh proposed Rebecca brought me a slurpee and my favorite candy as my congratulations gift! We have tons of fun together and love to laugh! Rebecca has been in school in Massachusetts, and I have missed her tons, but I'm excited that we'll both be moving back home around the same time in June!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to the two best moms (and part time wedding planners) in the world! We love you!

~Josh & Katie

Priceless Pictures: January 2007

Bridesmaid of the Week: Katherine Wybo!

      Katherine and I tell everyone that we meet the story of how I inspired her birth. Katherine and I are a little over nine months apart and we have been friends since she was born! Our moms bought us matching Gymboree outfits... we had tons of barbies, including cars and houses... and our favorite, American Girl Dolls! Needless to say, that's not what we like to do now... We have also taken a few trips to Chicago and enjoyed a few years at Lake Ann Camp together. I feel so blessed that Katherine and I have been lifelong friends. She is my only lifelong friend (besides CC :) ).

My Ring!

    I had been looking at rings since my freshman year of college. I had been dropping hints at what kinds of rings I liked since my freshman year of college. Josh finally took me ring shopping shortly after the middle of my sophomore year so he could get a better idea of what I liked. I showed him a few rings that I liked but secretly fell in love with a certain one. After seeing that specific ring in the store, I visited the website often to drool over it again. One day, I returned back to the site and the ring was no longer available - I was SO sad. I remembered hearing it was an exclusive ring which meant it was only being sold for a certain amount of time and may or may not come back. I called Josh right away (even though he wasn't supposed to know I secretly loved that ring the most..) and told him. He seemed bummed but not nearly as upset as I was (which kind of annoyed me.. ;) ). Little did I know, he had already purchased THE ring and was just waiting to give it to me!!! When Josh proposed I was SO shocked that he had the ring.. I had NO idea that he had bought it before it was unavailable! Needless to say, I was exceedingly happy and felt so loved that Josh bought such an awesome, perfect ring for me. The ring has three stones in the middle which signifies past, present, and future. For Josh and I, this seems extremely appropriate! We have spent a good portion of our lives together already and that's something we never want to forget!

I'm excited that I get to wear this ring for the rest of my life :)

Our Wedding: The Table Numbers

Our table numbers are one thing I seemed to have tons of ideas for. I finally decided to use something that could incorporate the red bird. The table numbers are definitely a DIY project, but it's been fun experimenting and finding a way to make them perfect! I even got Josh to help me with the painting :).

Bridesmaid of the Week: Natalie Bogusky!

Natalie and I met and then became step-sisters! We shared a room and consequently became very close friends. Our room was ALL purple.. Natalie now hates purple. When Natalie and I are together we mostly laugh. I love that Natalie remembers all of the funny things that have happened when we're together and reminds me of them often. Love you Natalie!! :)

4 Month Countdown!

Received this in my inbox today:

 

Glad we have this already checked off the list!!!

Bridesmaid of the Week: Christy Wilson!

Now, CC is technically my Matron of Honor, but for the blog title's sake, I had to write bridesmaid :). Where do I start... my sister has been and always will be my best friend! She is the only person who has been with me through everything. She made a beautiful bride last September, and it's been such a blessing to have her and all of her bridal knowledge throughout my planning process. I feel like I could say much more, but I have to save that for the wedding program! I love you CC!

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ALSO, thank you SO MUCH to CC for creating our awesome blog layout! It's amazing!

~~Katie

Checklist!

Due to extreme craziness at school, wedding plans have unfortunately been the last thing on my mind! (Ok, they were actually the first thing on my mind, but the last thing on my list of things to do..) I had 8 projects/papers due over a two week period which meant little free time. I can finally relax a little as I have things finished and am just waiting to turn them in. So onto blogging! Earlier today I was able to make a to-do list of all of the major things that need to be done asap! The list consisted of 18 things - not sure if that is good or bad! Luckily only about half of them should be done very soon.

Today, we were able to check off a HUGE to-do, which was book our flight to Hawaii!! My nana has been calling airlines for the past few weeks trying to find a good deal but was having no luck. On a whim today, I decided to see what I could find online. To my amazement, I found the best deal that we had been able to find yet! I am feeling so relieved that we got this done! When I realized four months until the big day was right around the corner, I knew we had to get our tickets fast! SUCH a BIG THANK YOU to Josh's mommy for all of her help today! I am going to have the greatest in-laws :).

Here is where we will be staying in Hawaii (with an ocean view room I might add :) THANK YOU NANA AND PA!):

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~~Katie

Our Wedding: The Red Bird

In honor of my dad's birthday today I thought I would share how we are going to be remembering him on our wedding day. It's extremely hard to figure out how to commemorate someone who should be such a huge part of your wedding. Not only is it really sad, but it's hard to know the right way to do it. My sister got married last September and found a really neat way to represent our dad in her ceremony. My dad was a firefighter, so she put his firefighter hat on the chair next to my mom where my dad would have been sitting. I think it really touched everyone's hearts who were at the wedding, especially those who knew my dad.

(Photo by Genevieve McKeiver)

To go along with that, Josh & I will be incorporating the red bird. A while back my Nana shared with me, The Legend of the Red Bird. I'm not exactly sure of how the legend goes, but basically when someone in our family sees a red bird we remember my dad and are reminded that he's looking down on us. So, throughout our ceremony and reception I plan on incorporating red birds. It's amazing how many times I've seen an actual red bird since hearing the legend. In the dead of winter even. I think it's God's way of reminding me of His perfect plan. Here's a picture I took last November of a red bird I happened to see. You may have to look pretty close to see it!

I'm not exactly sure if these will be the only ways we remember my dad at our wedding, but so far this is what we have planned.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

~~Katie

Our Wedding: The Invitations

I have to admit, invitations weren't my biggest concern. Knowing that people just read it, and eventually end up throwing it away or storing it in a keepsake box reminded me that I didn't want to spend a fortune. This doesn't mean I wasn't going to be sure they were really nice, but I didn't want to spend a lot of time and money on them. I remember reading that the average couple spends about $700 on invitations. Compared to other wedding expenses, that isn't too bad, but I was sure I could still get something that Josh and I loved while spending a lot less. Personally, I would rather have the money we could save for our honeymoon! Anyway, my mom and I were out shopping one day and had no intent of buying invitations. We stumbled upon a great deal on some invitations that I had casually seen before and really liked. So I called Josh made sure he was fine with it, which he was. Needless to say, we bought them! Including printing them on our own, I think the total cost will be around $100! Here's a picture that doesn't tell all:

Our Wedding: My Shoes

My shoes were another awesome deal I got. My sister wore pink shoes at her wedding, and it made for some awesome pictures, so I decided to do the same but in purple! The best part is they were only about $6. They were the last pair in the store and just happened to be my size!

 

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