The "Run"away Bride

I've recently reintroducing myself to running, and I am surprisingly not hating it. I've set a few goals for myself, including a 1/2 marathon in April. The farthest distance I've ran so far in 4 miles, but hopefully by April I will be able to breeze through 13.1, ha. I've found it to be extremely inspiring and an excellent way to eat anything I want and still squeeze perfectly into my wedding dress!

Please pray for me and wish me luck!

In wedding news, almost all of the save the dates have been mailed out. I'm still trying to get a few Newkirk side addresses, but most friends and close family have Philip and I's face on their refrigerators!

We are planning on registering for gifts in the upcoming weeks, wahoo! We'll be registering at Bed, Bath, and Beyond, Target, Sayer's (in Independence) and getting custom dinnerware made from Elk Falls Pottery!

Thanksgiving this year will mark one year to the date that Philip got down on one knee and proposed. It was the best birthday present a girl could ask for! I'm just not sure if he can out do himself this year, I'll keep you posted!

I'll be posting a vendor "set list" soon for who we have doing what for the wedding so far, and our tentative vendors we haven't booked yet.

My goal for the wedding is LOCAL! LOCAL! LOCAL! Anything my family and I can't do ourselves, we want to be down in Southeast Kansas. That is the main reason we are registering at 4 places, instead of the standard 2-3. We know we have a lot of out of town guests and didn't want to limit their choices. However, we also wanted to give Indy and Howard locals a chance to put money back into their local economies, thus saving the world as we know it. :)

SAVE THE DATES!

I just got the save the dates in the mail! They are absolutely AMAZING! I want to drop all of my homework and address them NOW! However, I will try to wait until the weekend.

Be looking for them in the mail in the next two weeks! :)

HOORAY!

Next on the to do list:
1. bridesmaid dresses
2. reception decor
3. mom's dress
4. ceremony music

:)

I just realized

I never gave you the link to the engagement proofs!

Click here!

The password is: heather (all lowercase) :)

They are only up for another week!

It's been awhile...

So I haven't wedding blogged in a few months..

However, I'm back at it! Wedding planning is going grrrrreat! I just picked up my wedding dress this weekend in Pittsburg, and I bought the veil and jewelry, too!
I was just going to wear a strand of pearls, but I'm really glad that I went a little more contemporary. My wedding look is pretty much complete! Just got to buy my shoes and work on my hair/makeup! Oh..did I mention that my dress zipped up perfectly and needs no alterations with the exception of the hem?! : )

Also, I placed the order for save the dates, and they should be coming in the mail to me very shortly. I'm extremely excited for them. I got them here, and I recommend their services to everyone!

We are right around 8 months to go, and I think that I am trucking along quite nicely with the plans. Of course, with Dad's death, there are a lot of things that I'm changing. The first is that I want my wedding to be a little more special, unique than I had wanted before. I won't be throwing all traditions out the window, but I need a twist on what I had originally envisioned. I think that if I don't make the wedding less traditional, then I will keep reminding myself of what's missing from the wedding that I always had pictured growing up.

I'm pleased to tell everyone that my godparents are going to be walking me down the aisle. (both my dad's siblings). The idea just came to me after a long night of prayer and reflection, and I couldn't be happier with my decision. Another twist will be the ceremony music, I'm not exactly sure how we're going to make it happen, but don't expect to hear trumpet voluntary or the canon when I walk down the aisle. Philip and I are working up a very amazing piece! Also be ready for some possible Beach Boys and/or Beatles music during the ceremony...(I know, pretty cool, huh?)

Anyway, I'm sure I'll be griping about addressing save the dates soon!
-Heather

It's getting closer...

First, we've booked our reception venue! It will be at the Civic Center (below Memorial Hall) in downtown Independence. I'm very excited that we are getting this venue because it is such a big, clean space that will give us so much to work with! I absolutely can't wait to start planning all the decor details.
Second, we're getting our engagement pictures taken this weekend. I am so thrilled that I can't stopping thinking of new ideas for our photo shoot! Kim (our photographer) has given me so many cool ideas as well! I promise to post a link to our proofs as soon as they are up online!
Third, I can't believe our wedding is one year from this weekend. I know that we are having a longish engagement, but I still can't believe that in one year I'll be walking down the aisle, all grown up!
We've been browsing some different registry sites, but we still can't decide where we'd like to register. We know we'll register at Sayer's in Independence, but we don't know which national chains to register at. If anyone has any suggestions just let me know!

okay...you'll hear from me after engagement pictures!
wahoo!
-Heather

wow. 13 months from today...

I will become Mrs. Newkirk! I know it's still a long ways away, but we're making progress. In wedding update news, we've been eyeballing some catering businesses around my home town, and I'm still trying to cut the guest list, ugh!
We're also getting our engagement pictures taken next month, which I am super excited for! I'm currently trying to find some props so if anyone has any vintage hardback books or old blackboards I can borrow please let me know!

I have also been slowly working on growing out my hair for my big day! I'm getting it thinned and trimmed about every 9 weeks to keep to growing healthy! My hair stylist, Laura, (who is amazing!) is helping me pick a wedding day look with my hair. Each time that I go in before the wedding, we end the appointment with a different possible wedding hairstyle, take a picture of it, and save it until the wedding day! Then I'll pick my favorite at the end and go with that one! :)

I had been putting wedding plans on the back burner since Spring Break, but wedding season has put a spring back in my step for wanting to get things done. I went to my friend Lauren's beautiful wedding last weekend, and it really made me want to plan away!

I think what I'm most nervous about is decor. I have no idea what I'm going to do for centerpieces, reception decorations, or even ceremony decor. I don't want my wedding/reception to look like everyone else's but I also have a very limited budget. ...oh the woes of a poor bride. ha! So, if anyone has any cool purple/yellow/grey summery fun decor ideas let me know!

I'll try not to wait three months before my next post!
-H

The Dress!

He can't change his mind now because today I bought my dress! :)
It is the most beautiful thing I've ever laid my eyes on!
I'll only give a few details on here because I don't want Philip to know what it looks like until our wedding!
It has a sweetheart neckline
...and (my favorite part) POCKETS!!

I ordered it from Sarah Loree's in Pittsburg, KS. If you ever need a wedding/formal dress; I strongly recommend this store. They had excellent customer service and an amazing selection of dresses! (not to mention a former questie working in the store!)

It is weird that I won't see my actual dress for 5 to 6 months. I'm also not interested in hearing any of the horror stories of wedding dress ordering. (I've heard at least 3 already since I placed the order today)I have complete confidence in the store and the designer that my dress will be magical!

Anyway, if you want to know any details about the dress, send me a facebook message and I'll send you to the designer website!

WOOHOO!
-Heater