Fiance Friday! - DIY Wedding!

Hello blog-o-sphere!

I know it’s been a few weeks. As I sit here, I have been watching game 2 of the World Series. It’s currently 8-0 Giants in the bottom of the 8^th inning. Coincidentally, it is currently Thursday night at 8pm here on the West side of the country. Do you know what comes on TV on Thursdays at 8pm? Yup, Grey’s Anatomy, followed by Private Practice. Since Hollyanne is at a classmate’s house working on schoolwork, we have the TiVo set to record both shows. Now you might be saying to yourself, “Kevin, what’s the big deal? TiVo can record on one channel while you watch something else on another.” Well, technically yes, but not if you own a Series2 TiVo that you bought off Craigslist from some guy in a shady Walgreens parking lot two years ago for $30. So, 8pm rolled around, I had a choice to make. I could continue watching the Giants game, or I could allow the TiVo to change the channel and record Grey’s. Needless to say, I’ll be asking my co-workers in the morning how the game finished up. Grooms of the world, trust me when I say that there was a right and a wrong decision that could have been made in that situation. I chose the right one. :)

Anyhow, enough about me missing the end of the second game of the World Series. Did I mention that baseball is my favorite sport? I digress…So, today I thought I would talk a little bit about this whole DIY wedding concept. For those unfamiliar with the term, it stands for “Do It Yourself Wedding.” Now I can’t knock the entire concept. Those who know me know that I’m a frugal guy, always on the lookout for the best deals. Don’t believe me? Re-read the story in the first paragraph and focus on the section about my buying a used TiVo from some random guy in a parking lot. For the most part, a DIY Wedding is a GREAT way to save money!

However, I have learned that there are many things grooms may not fully comprehend when planning a “DIY Wedding.” There is no such thing as a free lunch – trust me, I’ve have my share of many breakfasts, lunches, and dinners over the years. First, type in DIY Wedding into Google. Check out how many blogs and websites are devoted to future brides and their DIY weddings! I’m fairly certain that my beautiful fiancée may have visited close to all of them. There are also magazines upon magazines devoted to the DIY Wedding concept. I’m looking at you, Martha Stewart (PS – I’m still waiting on your response from both of my letters…Don’t think you can avoid me!). In fact, there is an entire industry devoted to DIY Weddings! I would call it the Anti-Wedding-Industry-Industry. Or, since I’m in Student Affairs and we like to make acronyms, AWII.

My main word of warning comes in this form, however, grooms: Craft Nights. Yes, that’s right. DIY Weddings lead to “craft nights,” which can and will eventually turn in to “craft weekends.” You see, there is no joking on this one, grooms. You’ll be up to your ears in superglue and construction paper before you can say “Do It Yourself.” In fact, I got the full effect when my beautiful fiancée looked me sweetly in the eyes this week and said, “By the way, I invited a friend over to do crafts for the wedding this weekend.” So, while you all enjoy games three and four of the World Series, I’ll be doing crafts, and watching TiVo’d Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice. Did I just mention that it is World Series time again?? :)

Before signing off, I just want to give a quick Fiancé Friday shout-out to my former classmate Joe and his new wife Allie who just got married last weekend in Ohio! Congrats to both of you!

Until next week…

Peace, Love, and Crafts,

Kevin

Fiancé Friday #4!

Hello again blog-o-sphere!

It is Friday afternoon again, and everyone knows what that means: Fiancé Friday!! For those of you who are new to the blog, every Friday I get to take the opportunity to post my two-cents on this whole wedding planning business. This week, I thought I would chat a little bit about pictures and hotels.

Last weekend while we were in Omaha, we had the opportunity to take engagement pictures with our wedding photographer. Having never been engaged before, I had no idea what to expect. What I learned, was that apparently you can't just pick out your outfit the night before you are getting these pictures taken. This process can take weeks or even MONTHS! Not only were there outfits to pick out, but we also had to make sure we had props! Have you ever bought 36" balloons before? Neither had we, until this engagement picture process.

I must admit, the pictures themselves were fun to take. We took some in the Old Market, and then some out at Zorinsky Lake. We should be getting them back soon, so stay tuned for those...

Also, many of you know that we have been having some issues in regards to finding a hotel block for our wedding. A mid to late June wedding in Omaha means only one thing: College World Series. Yes, it's my favorite time of the year to be in Omaha (except for the 100+ degree temps and 95% humidity). However, if you are attempting to get hotel rooms for a wedding, it can turn out to be a nightmare. We may have solved that issue, but stay tuned and keep your fingers crossed!

One last note for this week is that I passed my comps, so I will be graduating in two weeks! My Master's hood gets here next week, so I think I will just be wearing my robe and hood around constantly until graduation - Harry Potter style. :) I hope you all have a great week! To end with, here is another picture from our food tasting last week!

Peace, Love, and Wedding Planning,

Kevin