Engagement Party Photos

Enjoy the pictures of our engagement party!!!

Held at Wood-N-Tap in Hartford (after party at Pour House, downtown) & thrown by the two best Maids of Honor that ever could be. One of the kids I work with asked me today why I have two maids of honor; "because you couldn't choose?" I told her, "I didn't want to." Emily & Shannon: you two are so incredibly important to me (now us), each in your own unique and individual ways. There was never a doubt in my mind, that I wanted both of you right by my side through all of this. You truly went above and beyond. We could never thank you enough for such a memorable party.

Thanks so much to all who attended and to all who could not be there but sent their love. We love you all.

New Year, New Update, New Plans

The Holidays:
My plan was to get some wedding stuff organized on the plane to Cincinnati to see Joe's parents for the holidays. That plan failed the moment I sat down in my last-row-next-to-the-bathroom seat on a tiny little hopper plane--separated from Joe, in seat B2--me, next to a man who insisted on telling me all his bad experiences on "NorthWorst Airlines," and everyone congregating around me waiting for the lav while we all sat on this dinky excuse for a plane for FOUR hours, waiting for the stewardess to tell us one more time that she doesn't have any information as to when we were leaving. Can we say, anxiety???

It felt uncomfortably similar to when Joe, Lela, Ricky, & I (Joe's cousins) went on the Mission: SPACE ride at Epcot. The thought of getting in an enclosed spaceship didn't cross my mind after a few grown-up libations at Rainforest Cafe--Until, they crammed me in the ship, shoved me into my harness, slammed the door shut next to me, and spun us around.

Only this time, on the plane to Cincinnati, the worst part was, the stewardess couldn't serve any alcoholic beverages to calm my nerves because "we aren't in flight." Yeah, thanks for reminding me we aren't in flight yet. Eventually, we made it to Cincinnati, after a few minor panic attacks and frantic texts to Joe in B2.

The Update:
We have said "goodbye" to the venue we originally chose: EO Art Lab in Chester, Connecticut. Although when we first saw the space and thought it was awesome, there were too many glitches and hang-ups in the plan. Bottom line was, it just didn't feel right any more. It's not quite perfect for us and our guests. So, we broke it off with them, and DISH as our caterer for the wedding. Although we love Audrey (catering manager) and DISH's menu and style, our prospect for a new venue includes catering. Audrey & DISH: we hope to meet again. If not for wedding-related planning, definitely as a place to go out in Hartford and we highly recommend DISH as caterers for any event. Audrey is fantastic to work with!

The Plans:
We are excited about our new potential wedding site. Yes, it is on the massive list to the right. And actually, it was one that had been on the list from the start, but we didn't think it fit our needs at the beginning of this crazy planning process. Luckily, we are back in touch with the manager and we hope to iron some stuff out and quickly finalize our venue. Now that we know all the right questions to ask up front, we are hoping this attempt goes much smoother. With more space and more convenience in location for our guests, we anticipate it being less-stressful and leave (literally) more room for partying and just plain ol' fun!