Engagement Pics

So we went out on two shoots with Jeff & Abby Laub, our photographers.

The first shoot took us to Ashland, the estate of Kentucky statesman Henry Clay, which is located near downtown Lexington. As a child, I grew up just a block away on Sherman Avenue, so I have many fond memories playing there. Everything from throwing frisbee with dad, to hiding in the garden. We spent a couple of hours getting shots in various locations on the grounds, and wrapped up shooting around sunset.



My favorite place on the site is the garden, however we arrived after the official closing time, so the gate was locked. But we were able to get a few shots in front of the gate, with the garden behind us, so that was good. We ended the day with dinner at Jalapeños.



Jeff and Abby are so fun to work with, and put you at ease throughout the affair. I'm more used to being behind the camera, so I appreciated it. ;)

Our second location was out at Talon Winery, where the wedding will be held. We headed out there in the evening, looking for some prime sunset light. Locations included between the vineyards on the hill near our ceremony location and down by the large pond near the winery's entrance.



Thanks to Jeff and Abby for all their hard work, and more importantly their friendship.

the latest - cake tasting and more

On July 4th, James, his folks and I went to a local bake shop to check out wedding cakes and prices. Let’s just say it was a memorable experience--though not a pleasant memory.

First off, they didn’t even have us marked down as coming in that day, so we show up and the manager has to be called to come in and meet with us! Then when he gets there, he is not professional at all, and did little talking until the end when he wanted to know when I would sign a contract (he asked about 42 times!!). Then while we were there Mrs. Patti (James’s mom) overheard that they had messed up someone’s order. I can’t imagine having someone come tell me my wedding day that they “forgot” about my order or that they did the “wrong” cake!!!! Talk about Bridezilla!!!

I also got James a birthday cake there, and it had a finger print in the side of it. And the lady asks me, “Do you want us to fix that?” ARE YOU KIDDING?!?! Do you even have to ask? Seriously!! My goodness! It is a laughing matter now, but not at the time!

So on July 18th, we met with the ever-so-awesome Tinker’s Cake Shop for a tasting and consultation. Not only are they professional, but they are kind and warm, and you just feel good as soon as you walk in and the same when you leave.

They sat down to discuss different options and pricing. I designed our cake, so he gave suggestions as to how to make it work and fit in our budget. It’s going to be amazing!!! Mattie, Dock and Amanda joined us for this event and it was so fun. Mattie kept saying “CAKE!! CAKE!!!” and she ate two cups of fondant pieces!! Haha.

We signed a contract with them and walked out of there confident about our cake and Mr. and Mrs. Tinker themselves! I can’t wait to see it!!!

Mrs. Patti and I went to a bridal show Sunday July 12th and browsed around. I wish my mom and sister could have made it, but they were in Louisiana with daddy. It was neat to see the different vendors but we focused on DaRae & Friends Catering, who are the ones actually doing our catering. Mrs. Patti has worked with DaRae for events at the college where she works, and James and Amanda have tasted her food when she has done events for the church. It’s yummy stuff!

We went to Starbucks downtown in Triangle Park and drank coffee, talking about wedding plans and what we thought of the different vendors we saw at the Bridal Show. It is so nice to be gaining a mother-in-law I can have fun with and talk to--very refreshing! (Although no one takes the place of my sweet mother, who I wish could have been there with us!)

On July 15th, mom and I went and met with a lady who does wedding flowers on the side as a personal business. I heard from a couple of friends and a co-worker that she was good and enjoyable to work with, so I wanted to at least meet with her. Mom and I couldn’t tell at first, 'cause she seemed to rush everything. But then we realized she is just super-organized and knows what she is talking about. She is to-the-point and gets the job done, which I like. She was quick to tell me, “That’s not going to look good honey!” as well as to create ideas from little things I would say. Everything we looked at in her albums--whether my personal taste or not--was gorgeous! You could tell she truly enjoyed working with flowers. I am so excited about her! Her name is Beth and her company is Ivory Rose.

We have had two photo shoots for our engagement pics, we will post those as soon as we get them! Jeff and Abby have been so fun! We shot first at Ashland, the Henry Clay Estate near downtown Lexington and then last night at
Talon Winery where we will be getting married! It was so fun, close to sunset, but it was HOT!! James was laughing at me cause I get snippy when I am hot! I try not to but sometimes I can’t help it! I hate being hot and sweaty! He’s so sweet to just let me be snippy and then I get over it! He’s SOOOO great!!

That’s all that’s been going on in our wedding planning world--oh wait the Sears registering experience! UGH was that a not so fun experience. Our scanner gun thingy kept breaking, so we finally hid it in a secret place (hahahaha) and left and James just registered online!

We have been wedding band shopping for James once but haven’t found the right one yet. As far as our house hunting, we put in a backup offer on the house we really liked and WANT SO BAD and should know more this Wed. if things with the other people’s offer is going to fall through or not. Is it wrong to pray for someone to not get approved for a home loan?? Ooops! Hehe

the dress

So last week I got antsy and wanted to look at dresses at David’s Bridal for Amanda and Kristen (matron of honor and maid of honor). I took Amanda to Geno’s--a local tuxedo shop where we are getting the tuxes from--to try on some dresses they had there, and found one or two that were “nice” but not “the one” for them to wear.

So later that evening after we ate dinner Kristen, Amanda and I ran to David’s Bridal. The trip that was to be about them ended up being about me as well. I tried on a few but only one really stuck out. We had the girl mark it down for when mom was to come in town the next week. Amanda and Kristen went in and out of the dressing room and nothing boiled me over or gave me that “yes! This is it!” feeling. I pondered over dresses they tried on and ones I tried on for the next week.

Mom came in town this past Tuesday the 16^th and on Wednesday the 17^th, mom, Amanda, Kristen, Mrs. Patti and I, (along with a couple of Kristen’s family members) met at David’s Bridal for an evening of fun! I showed them the one dress that we liked from there and although everyone thought it was pretty I still didn’t feel it was quite right. The color was nice (Ivory and Champagne) and looks good with my skin tone but I didn’t get butterflies or feel excited. I tried a few others on and found NOTHING.

So the focus went to bridesmaids dresses. We showed my mom the ones from when we had been the week before and no one went “Wow” so I knew those were not the dresses either. I was beginning to get depressed and worried. Then Mrs. Patti (James’ mom) found this beautiful green dress (we had thrown the green color idea around but not this soft, delicate green color). I lit up, I loved that color. We searched a couple different styles in that color and found the one. It swoops to the side at their waist and has some decorative stuff at the chest. It is strapless but comes with spaghetti straps which I think they would like to use so they aren’t tugging at their chest all evening!

I was ecstatic! We found their dress! We had Avery, my niece, put her flower girl dress on and had her stand next to Amanda with her dress on. It was nice and they had a bow for Avery that was the same color as the bridesmaids dresses that ties around her little waist with a bow in the back. Her dress is Ivory. The soft colors of the Ivory with that soft green (peridot) looked great together, and very Fall. The guys will be wearing a very deep brown, European style tux so we found a dress that was the same color brown. Kristen held the brown dress next to Amanda and Avery with their dresses on and everyone’s eyes popped and looked at each other and were like, “That’s It!!!!” Even the 2 girls working at David’s Bridal who were helping us looked at each other and said “I never would have put that together but it’s lovely” I knew it was the right dress then! At least we got that accomplished.

The next day I was off so mom and I headed out to meet with the people at Talon Winery (the place we were wanting to get married). It’s as pretty as a vineyard out in California according to James. I had not seen it and neither had mom. We walked around with the lady and talked through where things would go, how we would decorate, flower ideas, ceremony and reception stuff for the longest time. We were beginning to picture it. Mom looked at me and said “This would be a lot of fun!” I knew then it was the place.

There is a gazebo called the Moondance gazebo where we would be married at the edge of a vineyard. The center aisle is actually through the vineyard so I will emerge from the vineyard. It’s beautiful! Then a short walk away is the Barn. It sounds bad I know but this is the hippest, coolest barn I have ever been in (not that I have been in many). The lady showed some decorating ideas previous brides had used, and we began planning where the cake, and food, and band and everything else we could think of would go.

I got excited!!!!! This was actually going to happen. Mom loved as did I. Amanda and the girls met us there (girls meaning Avery and Mattie--my nieces). Amanda started coming up with ideas as well and before you knew it we had the whole thing worked up in our minds and were starting to see the end result as we stood there!

We all proceeded to lunch at Olive Garden for some yummy soup and salad. We talked over ideas some more and got all excited! It was going to be a lovely yet totally fun wedding and reception! Mom and I left lunch with Amanda and the girls and headed to a couple of florists. We found a bouquet that I LOVED and will hopefully be the one I will have. It’s the perfect bouquet and I hope it works out to get it. I may take him by there and show him so he can see. He is good at designing stuff so he might have some ideas.

Just for fun, mom and I ran by Geno’s so she could see the tuxes James and I had selected. She loved the deep brown color and thought it would be perfect for the fall! Since it was across the street we stopped at another bridal shop but didn’t see any dresses there. We went to another place in town and found one we liked but I still didn’t get the “That’s it!” feeling. There was one more place to try, and I wasn’t very hopeful in finding it there. We walked in spotted one instantly that we liked and the lady took it off the display. We looked around as the girl started us a dressing room and found several good choices. One caught my eye from the beginning that had the coolest material for the sleeves. It was elegant, different, and made me feel like a million bucks! It was THE DRESS!!!!! I couldn’t believe I actually had “the dress” on! I got tears in my eyes (although I didn’t let anyone see) and instantly knew it was “the one!!” Of course it was the most expensive and mom would have to talk to dad, but I knew in my heart it would all work out. I was willing to cut corners anywhere else in the wedding planning to make this dress make the cut!!

Amanda came with the girls after mom called her and said we think we found the dress. She loved it, it was different so it took her a minute to decide but she loved it and said it looked like me! Mom wanted to wait and talk to dad about it so sadly I left knowing there was only one in the warehouse in my size, another would have to be ordered and it wouldn’t ship till Sept.11 which would cut it close to the wedding for alterations and such.

Today at lunch I went to Amanda’s house and walked in to mom talking to dad about the dress. She hung up and gave me the news that IT’S GOING TO BE MY DRESS!!!! I couldn’t believe it!!!! Dad flies in tonight to Lexington so we are going to show him the winery and the dress tomorrow!! I can’t wait to put it back on!!!!!!!! He is going to love it!

So I ended on a happy note yesterday and I have not stopped thinking about that dress since. I will definitely feel like a princess on October 23, 2009 thanks to an incredible man who is choosing to spend the rest of his life with me and the beautifully stunning gown I will be wearing! I am so thankful!

How we met - Lauren's story

After moving to Lexington in September 2007 I spent a while working on myself. There were a lot of emotions that had to be dealt with and even changes in myself that needed to be done. We are always a work in progress but come Spring of 2008 around April I found myself starting to notice the male species in a fond way again.

The first person to catch my eye was James. I asked my sister about him since I knew they served on the staff same team at the church and she had nothing but wonderful things to say about him (from what she knew of him and what others had said). One thing that a couple of people both said that spoke highly to me was that “Jon LOVES James,” Jon is our senior pastor at church and this comment from a couple of trusted sources let me know James was one to take more than one glance at. I talked to a couple of people about him and although a crush was forming on my end, I still didn’t feel like the timing was right.

I struggled with some things through the summer of 2008 but come August I felt truly healed and ready to put my heart out there. Again, James came to my mind and I started watching him more on the weekends I would serve on vocal team or pass him in the worship center. I shared my crush with a couple of friends and my sister. James and I became friends on facebook and shared a couple very lengthy chats on there. I loved talking to him and hated when the conversation ended. He was shy and as you all know I AM NOT!! We threw around the idea of getting together for lunch or dinner some time but nothing ever came of it. I took it to mean he was NOT interested.

I laid low for a few months and then rehearsals for the Christmas program at church started. I saw him a good bit during that time and just knew that I was to be with him. I just prayed and prayed and prayed for me to wait on God’s timing. But like most of us I was so excited I couldn’t stand it. Which leads to Decmeber23, 2008.

I was at work and we had just wrapped up the Christmas program at church that weekend so I knew in the back of my mind he would be off work most likely so on Tuesday December 23^rd my patience had run out! I sent him a text asking if he would be interested in having lunch. It took a little while but when I got the response stating that YES he was free and asking where I would like to go my heart stopped and I am sure I grinned from ear to ear! I couldn’t’ believe that after more than four months of chatting on facebook and crushing that we were actually going to have lunch!!!!!!! At that time I only got 30 minutes for lunch, but thankfully, due to slow service (hehe), we were able to have lunch for over an hour!! It was mostly him talking cause he was nervous but I loved it! I did notice however that he would not look me in the eye which I thought was weird (I now know it was because he was nervous!)

I think we both left lunch that day planning our future. He had to get over some fear issues seeing as it was his first relationship which is understandable but here we are about to get married in a little over 4 months and I couldn’t be more proud or more excited! I am honored that he chose me and I am so thankful that God has brought me here!

I have told James this before and I mean it with my whole heart, that I would go through every heart ache, every emotion, listen to every insult and I would cry every tear over again if it brought me right here where I am now. With him, engaged to him, sharing life with him and soon to be Mrs. Lauren Raye Rutledge!!!!!! I couldn’t be more happy! We both find our joy in the Lord first and then each other and I couldn’t be more thankful for the opportunity to love again!

How we met - James' story

James Rutledge is four months and two weeks away from living happily ever after.

How did he do it?

A. He cheated

B. He's lucky

C. He's a genius

D. It is written


Once upon a time there lived a boy named James. He lived in a simple world, surrounded by family and friends, but in many ways, he was all alone. But it was only for a time. This is the story of how he was ambushed by a beautiful girl and fell in love. This is my story. The first part of it anyway.

The man upstairs has some funny timing some times. Of course, it's always perfect, but it's hard to see that unless you're looking in the rearview.

The story before the story. Call it a prologue if you will.

It was the summer of 2007, I was starting to get burned out at my job, and was really struggling with what seemed to me to be a fundamental lack of direction in what we were doing. A lot of stuff just seemed to be plate-spinning and not really making a difference. Come August, I took a long-needed trip out west and explored the wonderful state of Colorado. I stayed with Darrin & Alissa Graham, and their two boys Eric and Collin. Darrin had been on staff at Southland, and had since moved back to his home state and was working at Flatirons Church there.

I knew that when I went out there I might get recruited pretty strong, and I wasn't sure what I would say. But I went. I flew in to Denver and rented a Nissan 350Z for the week. I stayed at the Graham's house for the weekend, and went to church with them on Saturday. It was in a strip mall and everyone was crammed in, but there was electricity in the air. A whole different spirit (Spirit) was about it. I enjoyed worship for the first time in a long time. I sang. Really really loud.

On Sunday morning we drove to Pike's Peak, and I was in awe again. Darrin had to go back to work on Monday, so I packed my bags and headed off to spend the rest of the week alone, exploring Colorado. I drove all over the state and just took in Creation. I needed time with someone bigger than me. It was a good thing to feel small.

By the end of the trip, I was amazingly rejuvenated, and at the same time convinced that I needed to go back to Kentucky for now--that there were plans for me there. I could see myself in Colorado in the future, but I wanted to help bring that experience that I had at Flatirons back to Southland.

I didn't know what that meant then, and I don't know that I do even now, but we are getting there. Now I know those plans for me included someone very special. But I almost missed it.

the beginning.

Saturday, June 28, 2008 was the first time I really noticed her. I don't recall if she had been on stage before that, but I remember mixing that weekend and Lauren was singing, stage left. She was very cute and outgoing, but I didn't know much about her. I remember writing her name that day--on one of the channels of the audio console. Lauren. Cute name, that.

The weekend came and went, and some of our staff team found ourselves traveling north to Indianapolis for the North American Christian Convention. Jon would be teaching a session, and our worship team was lined up to play multiple sessions. One sunny afternoon we had time to kill, and several of us were relaxing at the hotel pool. Lauren's sister Amanda, Derrick Breaux and I were chatting about church stuff and I mentioned to Amanda, "Your sister did a great job this weekend." She agreed. "I could hear her," she said. OK so I may have pushed her up in the mix a bit, but those are the perks. ;) Derrick mentioned that she would be singing a Kelly Clarkson song in a few weeks, and Amanda commented on how it would be good for her to sing those words. ('Because of You'). I didn't know about her experiences, but that hinted at some hard ones. They kept talking and I thought about Lauren for a while. We came back home, and life went on.

Early in August, Lauren was on the team again and I think I may have been around her in the green room. That weekend she added me as a friend on facebook. Then came the first chat. Her first words were, "Hi new facebook friend!" Being the natural keyboard conversationalist, we chatted for quite a while. The following Monday was my coveted day off, and I made the trip across town for a Cracker Barrel breakfast. As I was being seated, an email came in from her via facebook, and I responded immediately. She was at work and responded back. "My kind of girl--quick to the punch," I thought. We mailed back and forth a couple of times while I was eating breakfast. OK now I was getting interested. Very interested.

But then the last line in her last message set off an alarm: "What do you have planned this week? What kind of music are you into? I ask a lot of questions I know!! lol"

OK now I know she's interested. Fear hit me like a sack of vegatable soup falling from a second story window and messed me up in a bad way. "She probably just likes me because I'm nice and I chatted with her," I thought. "But I would do that with anyone," I rationalized... Until then, I'd never gone any deeper than that. I couldn't admit it, and I didn't really know it then, but I was afraid of relationships. More than just about anything else. But it was even more than that. I had convinced myself of the lie that no one would ever really like me, because I didn't like me. I had built up some pretty tall walls, and I kept them pretty clean. "I can't let anybody in and know the real me," is what I was thinking. Now to do what I had always done before when people were interested... Ignore them and they will go away. I know that sounds terrible, but it's what I did. Things got busy at work. It helped.

She emailed me three times over the next month, but I pretty much blew them off with trivial or one-sentence responses. I was in denial mode and didn't want to be saved from it. I'm not proud of it.

It took a good friend to dig me out of my hole. Saturday, October 18, 2008 after church, I went to Jalapeños for dinner with Coby Gammon and his family, including his parents. As we were being seated, I noticed they had changed the lighting fixtures over to some kind of halogen fixture and I didn't like it. Too blue and it killed the feel of the room. As I was looking around, I saw Lauren was there. She was sitting in a booth nearby with Kristen and some of her crew. I was very excited, until my fear kicked in and then I was just nervous. I made eye contact a few times. I wanted to go over and say hi, but my shoes were heavy as lead. Fortunately for me, we left at the same time and she walked up to me and said hello. I said hi back but I was too nervous to remember what else I said. I didn't sleep too well.

Fast forward to lunch on Tuesday of the next week, and our production team had ventured to Bellacino's for some sandwiches. I hadn't so much as sat down as Coby looked me straight in the eye and said, "Now James, the other night at dinner I noticed a certain young lady that lit up when she saw you. Now what are we going to do about this?" Crack. A big chunk of my wall cracked open at hearing that. It's not that I hadn't noticed. But hearing someone else say it made it real. "Yeah, she does seem to like me..." Coby would have preferred me call her then and there, but I escaped to stew a little longer. Nothing happened for two months. I regret that. But I guess I still wasn't ready.

"It's the most wonderful time of the year!"

December rolled around, and so did our big Christmas production. This year we teamed up with the Children's department and did a Christmas show. Lauren was in the show, cast as one of the leads. I had no chance. ;) It was quite silly--even before and after rehearsals, if I saw her around I would escape. But I would also admire her from afar. If only I could get over this fear thing. I still wasn't sure anyone would really like me if they really knew me. Over the course of the show I was more and more interested, pulling off quite a bit of facebook stalking. ;) I found myself thinking about her a lot and hoping I would see her.

But it would have to be her to make the first move. I wouldn't have done it. I'm thankful she did.

Tuesday, December 23, 2008. I rolled over in bed and woke up. I looked at the clock. 11:25am. "Hmm," I thought, "time to call Jeremy and see about lunch." I leaned over from the bed and reached for the trusty iPhone. No joke--as I am reaching for the phone, it goes off with a text message. "Want to meet for lunch?" It was from Lauren. This kind of stuff only happens in movies. I believe in providence over coincidence, so I grab the phone and stare at the characters on the screen. "It's meant to be," I said to myself, and I responded, "Sure, where would you like to go?" I couldn't believe I responded so easily. But I had to. It felt great. It felt right. We agreed to meet up at Puccini's Smiling Teeth Pizza off Boston Road at 12:40. I got ready with a spring in my step. I was really, really happy. I was on time (and I am never on time).

I was nervous walking in, but for some reason I knew it was what I was supposed to do. When I walked into the restaurant, I was greeted with a big bear hug by Ron Leach. Weird. Were there others that had come along too? No, it just happened that Ron was there with Jim Cox and Dale Thomas, at a table nearby. OK. Regroup.

There she was, sitting in a booth all alone. I felt confident, but my, she was beautiful sitting there. She was just wearing her work clothes--khaki pants and her Credit Union logo polo shirt, and her hair was up. Wow. I looked in her eyes as I sat down and said hello and I just about freaked out. I don't know if I had never really looked her in the eyes before, but I found myself getting lost in them. Every time I looked into her eyes time slowed down. I had to look away to avoid seeming weird. I was nervous all of a sudden and I talked the whole time. Really fast. She says I mumbled. Haha. My goodness. And she still liked me!

After about an hour I had to let her get back to work, so I asked her for a second date. She said sure, and I about flipped. It sounds cliche, but as I got into my car, I felt a sense of calmness and I knew in my heart she was the one. It took my brain a while to get around that, but that's a tale for another day.

Now here I am, writing out the first part of our story. I'm four months and two weeks away from living happily ever after.

How did I do it?

D. It is written

all aboard!

So we have a busy week ahead! ...one of many, I'm sure. This week we need to nail down the look for the guys, because the place wants 4 months advance notice. Yipes. No pressure there. "Make it work!" Lauren and I found a look that we really like. It's very european. Dashing.

Midweek we've got dinner plans forming with Jeff and Abby to talk about photography. We have some pretty rad ideas for engagement photos, too. You'll dig it.

News at 11.

here goes something!

So we stole this idea from Lauren's friend Jami. She got hitched down in Disney World last week and we attended the amazing wedding. Besides the fact that Sean, the groom, was laying down some mad bass work, the whole shindig was one of the best weddings I've been to, hands down. Even the Disney staff was commenting on the musicianship at the reception.

Jami and Sean created a blog to chronicle their adventures preparing for their wedding--though even now the updates continue during the honeymoon. I admire the dedication! (though it's probably for Miss Judy's sake! --the bride's mom)

Anyway, back to this. While Lauren and I were driving back to Kentucky from Louisiana earlier this month, we decided that we should do the same. We are also planning a 2-week cross-country trip for next year, and want to tell that story on here, but the wedding is coming up, and this will be a great way to keep folks up to date without having to re-tell the same thing over and over and over. So if you're a friend of ours and always want to be up on the latest, follow along and let's do this thing!

This site is for everyone to keep up with our adventures--the first of which is going to be our wedding. Lord willing, on Friday October 23, 2009, I will get the lifelong honor of taking the hand of Lauren Raye Davis in marriage.



We're getting married!

So far we have the rehearsal dinner location booked. I've been told, however, that the most important thing right now is booking a wedding location, since we are only talking 5 months here. We have some prospects. My only request was not to get married at SCC--not that I have anything against the place, but ask yourself, would you want to get married at work? Exactly.

Dad and I took a road trip on Monday down to Acres of Land Winery in Richmond, KY. I took the scenic route--the way I'd go if out on the bike. We arrived about a half-hour later than we should, but it's about the journey, so... Acres of Land didn't really do much for me. The name was fitting. There were undoubtably many acres of something like land. In spots, grass even covered up the land. Or were they weeds? Why did I have the sudden urge to find a piece of hay and a straw hat? I snapped a few photos with the iPhone, but didn't even bother getting the Nikon out. I was looking for reasons to like it, so we moved on. Heading north, we took a ride on the Valley View Ferry to check out Talon Winery. At the front of the dock, waiting on the ferry to cross back over and pick us up, a young lady on a Vespa scooter pulled up cautiously behind us. She had some well worn knit gloves and a wayfarer look about her that said she had seen a few adventures. Once loaded on the ferry, we heard her discussing the vehicle with the boatman. "Made in 1962," she said. "Gets a hundred miles to the gallon! Only thing is, I got to mix oil in with the gas. I shore get around though..."

Upon reaching the other side, we came upon a long line of cars and trucks with trailers all stuck behind a pickup that wouldn't start. Hopefully they weren't there too long. I bet the guy in the truck wished he had that Vespa.

Talon was much more along the lines of what I was thinking. Very much a California Napa Valley style establishment in many ways, Talon really pleased the eyes and had you looking around, going, "wow!" Of course it will probably also be expensive. So we'll have to see what they say for prices. A friend suggested another winery, so I will probably go check that out as well. I sent a request to the events director at Talon to see if it is available and what the rates are.

In other news, Lauren has a cake tasting party set up at Tinkers Cake Shop on July 25. So we will get to sit around and sample delicious cake options. She found another shop today, so we may schedule something there as well.

On the invitation front, I've started compiling a list of potential folks we'd like to attend. Right now that list stands at 208. Obviously there is no intent to leave people out--but there will probably be an editing phase at some point due to space limitations. I think the barn at Talon seats 160, although more chairs can be added, especially if it is nice--then they could spill outside.

We are going to try to get Brewster and Jon to both officiate the wedding. I confirmed Jon today, so now I just need to get with Brewster. It is going to be a blast having all our Southland family around for this.

Stay tuned!