Our first engagement announcement

Being a celebrity couple isn't easy. It requires smiling (a lot), patience (a lot more) and the ability to autograph. Thankfully, Julie and I have all three. Right now, we're not able to share that with people on a regular basis because we're in two different states; Julie is with her family in Missouri, and I'm with mine in Colorado.

But we're still wowing people across the country, even if it's with a photograph.

That's what happened Saturday. Our next-door neighbor called and asked why in the world she hadn't been told the good news. Our engagement announcement, it so happens, showed up in the local paper (to read that tiny font, just click the photo over on the left and you'll get a larger version). Mom and Dad had been over for an open house the night before, but had been engaged (if you will) in other topics of conversation.

Well, once we found out it was in the Longmont Daily Times-Call, we had to get our copies.

I asked for between five and 10 copies, and Dad said he'd get as many as he could find. He got 10 and cleaned out a gas station and the local Kmart in a hurry. It turned out really nicely. I hadn't expected them to print our photograph in color, but they did, and it reproduced really nicely. 

In retrospect, I should have added more information about us, but I also know that it probably would have frustrated the page designer to no end to have to come up with a way to fix 3,000 inches of copy onto a page that was also used for other couples' announcements.

Once the wedding is over, I'll write up a centerpiece for them to publish. In fact, they could print a special edition. All on me. I'll provide the content for free.

Everyone had copies of the announcement at church services today and was graciously providing me with copies. They're great. One woman commented on how pretty Julie was, and one of the men told me that a great marriage is truly fantastic. He and his wife have been married for 44 years. 

I'm inclined to believe him.

It's been so much fun so far, and I'm confident it will continue to be. I can't imagine things being any different. Life is sweet!

Merry Christmas, everyone — may we all count our blessings and enjoy every minute we can spend with those we love.

Until the next post, I am

Nate

Winter Break is Finally Here!!!

Only 94 days until the wedding!!! It is exciting to have less than 100 days until the wedding. Only my Mom doesn't like to hear the countdown because that makes her worry about getting everything done. Just thinking about it makes me want to jump up and down and shriek with excitement like a teenage girl.

Over Thanksgiving break we were able to get almost all of the Save the Dates addressed and mailed out. Dad also printed the invitations and they turned out amazing. We also went out on black Friday to raid Michaels craft store where we bought them out of glass candle holders for the wedding. What fun! It really is possible to plan a nice, elegant wedding without spending tons of money. You just need to shop around for the best deals.

Nate has gone back to Colorado for break, but over New Years I am planning on flying out there to visit. What fun that will be! Most of the main planning things are done now all that is left is working out the little details.

I can't wait for March 22nd!!!

Julie

An update...

Dear Friends,
Things have been moving right along with the wedding planning. Most of the save the dates are addressed and soon will be sent out once my Dad finishes printing them. We also purchased the invitation paper last weekend and we are hoping to work on those over Thanksgiving break which is thankfully only a few days away. :) My Mom is telling me there is much to do over break so maybe we can knock-out a bunch more wedding plans. It is very rewarding when you are able to check things off of the several feet-long to-do list involved with wedding planning. I have attached a photo from the Forrest Wedding Anniversary party. What fun that was last weekend! I can't wait until Nate and I reach our 40th Anniversary, Lord willing. Can you believe that there are only 129 days until the wedding?? Hurray!!
Julie

Save-the-Dates arrive...

Good evening (or morning) to all:
Julie and I got together tonight, and she showed me the save-the-date announcements her dad printed for us, and they are fantastic! They've got a picture of us from the weekend we got engaged, they've got the purple color scheme and they've got other important tidbits, including our names and the date of the wedding.
Life is moving along briskly. We've got three weeks until Thanksgiving break, which I plan to spend with Julie's family out in eastern Missouri. I can't wait for Nov. 16. I think I am going to go to bed, and squint my eyes very tightly, and wish that it were the 16th, and awake in the morning to discover...it's still October. But a day closer nonetheless!
Have a great weekend!

Nate

Weekend plans

Tonight, Julie and I spent several hours going through our list of things to put on our registry. We were able to narrow some items down and determine exactly what to look for at which stores. We're planning to make a first run at building our registry on Saturday. Anyone have suggestions? It should be fun! More to come from this, your modern couple....

It's raining!

Good evening, everyone,
Just a brief note before I head to bed to say that it's been a fun and busy weekend. Our friend Mary, who will be Julie's maid of honor, came in from Kirksville (up north of here) for the weekend, so we were able to catch up and talk shop (i.e. wedding) here and there.
Tonight, we had a good ol' thunderstorm in Columbia, lots of lightning and heavy thunder. There was a lot of rain, and a bunch of the roads around these parts don't have reflective stripes, so getting around is, to say the least, a bit of an adventure on which most would rather not start out. But what can you do? Drive, of course - on to Fall Semester 07, Week 7!

Smiles

The more I look at that "Nate & Julie's Wedding" title, the more giddy I become. It's not like I didn't think it would ever happen, because I had faith that it would. It's not like it's breaking news - we got engaged on Aug. 31, nearly a month ago.
But every time I realize that I'm getting married in March, I can't help but smile. I want to tell the world. I want to shout from the highest mountain.
Everyone deserves to be this happy all the time.
This blog is intended to keep our friends and family updated on our plans and progress. It's about time I got a regular writing gig, and this will allow me to play the parts of personal historian and creative writer/journalist/scribe. We want our wedding to be memorable, and elegant, and perfect. Above all, we want to enjoy it.
You'll want to keep those suit coats and fancy dresses handy, but you've got a few months to wait. If you've got questions for us, we'd love to hear them, and we'll do our best to provide answers. If you've got tips, we'd love to hear those, too.
What's love got to do with it? Kick off your Sunday shoes, settle in and read on.

Nate