GAME ON!!

This will probably be the last post I make before our wedding. WOW. Can you believe it's finally here?!

I actually sat down last night and finalized our schedule for Friday and Saturday. Yeah... I know. I can be a nerd when it comes to organization. But this way everyone will know who is supposed to be where and at what time. I surely don't want to be bothered by that stuff on my wedding day! All I know and all I care is that I am walking down that aisle at 4:00 to marry my future husband!

Friday we are meeting my Mom, Aunt Kathy, Heather (my matron of honor) and her husband at Cracker Barrel for breakfast (YUMMY!). Then we will be spending the rest of the day decorating the venue for all of our special guests. After the rehearsal, our family and friends will gather for dinner at Cedars of Lebanon State Park, catered by Whitts BBQ.

SATURDAY.... the Big Day. I'm taking Heather, Michelle (my sister) and my Mom to have manicures and pedicures (FUN!!). My Mom hates for people to mess with her feet. I hope I can talk her into the pedicure! After that, we're headed to the salon where Jason (my stylist) has booked out his entire salon for us. Champagne will be on ice and waiting for us as we make our final preparations!

We will arrive at The Mills around 2:30 in time for some pre-wedding pictures. Sip on a little more champagne...and then it will be 4:00 before you know it! WE ARE SO EXCITED!

I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with my best friend.

Love you all....hope to see you on Saturday!!

Foot Update

Sorry I haven't posted a blog in a few weeks. I have been asked by several people to give an update on my foot. Thanks to everyone that called, sent a card, sent prayers, or just thought about me in the past few weeks! It helped more than you probably realize!

My foot is healing very nicely, considering the circumstances. The doctor removed the stitches (there were 5 of them...) last Monday. I had to wear a "walking boot" for another week, and I actually got my foot into a tennis shoe this past Monday (YAY!). It's still pretty tender, and it feels like I am walking on a deep bruise, but the doctor gave me a silicone gel sleeve to wear on my foot to pad the sole. I walk with a very noticable limp without that sleeve, but at a slow turtle's pace with the sleeve. I'll probably have to wear it for the wedding, so thank goodness my dress is long and will cover it.

For those of you worried about how this will affect my dancing....NEVER FEAR! Ain't nothin' gonna keep this East Tennessee girl from cloggin' to Rocky Top at her wedding!! :-)

A Minor Setback......

It happened so quickly that my head is still spinning.

Last Tuesday night I was walking thru the living room and felt a sharp pain in my foot. I immediately sat down on the floor and examined my left foot. I pulled out a sewing needle from underneath my big toe, right on the ball of my foot.

Wednesday I tried to ignore it...thinking it was just sore because the needle I pulled out was pretty deep.

Thursday morning I decided I needed to go to the doctor. The doctor gave me the news I did not want to hear..... "we need to operate on your foot". Seems the eye of the needle broke off in my foot near the bone of my big toe. He told me this couldn't wait until I got back from my honeymoon. It needed to be removed now.

Reluctantly.... I had foot surgery Friday morning. So 24 hours from the time of my initial doctor's visit on Thursday, I was put to sleep to have a needle removed from my foot. Now I'm on crutches and trying to recover quickly so I can dance at my wedding in less than 3 weeks.

I'm a little bummed right now. Ok... I admit I'm alot bummed. But I know everything is going to be ok. My mom came up from Rockwood to take care of me Friday and Saturday while Lewis was working... I don't know what I would have done without her! Now Lewis is pulling "Kim-duty" and has waited on me hand and foot. No pun intended.

I'll keep you updated on the recovery process.

Our Wedding Shower

Last Sunday we went to East Tennessee for our first wedding shower! My cousins Paula and Lisa hosted the shower in Oak Ridge (thank you ladies!). It was so great to see everyone altogether and celebrating mine and Lewis' upcoming nuptials!

We received alot of fabulous gifts! After opening 3 or 4 beautifully wrapped presents, I had to take a moment of pause to assure my mother that I was not an alcoholic! We received alot of nice glassware that will contain adult beverages! :-) We did receive several items off of our gift registries, which was very nice. Many people don't realize that even though Lewis and I are combining our households, we don't have anything "together". I have a few plates, he has a few cups. Our silverware doesn't match. Don't get me wrong..... we are blessed and have everything we need. But it is nice to begin getting stuff for "us" as a family now.

We thank everyone that took the time to attend.... it was such a beautiful day and we were happy to spend it with our family. THANK YOU EVERYONE!!

Our first uh-oh!

Well....no matter how well you plan, you know SOMETHING is bound to go wrong. I found out earlier last week that the directions we sent out to all of our guests are incorrect! Talk about a BIG uh-oh! My caterer brought the mistake to my attention (thank you Eleanor!) when she tried to find the venue last week. Seems that I inadvertently put the highway as the exit number! So..... for anyone that regularly reads this blog and is planning on coming to the wedding, please note that the Lebanon exit is #238. The rest of the directions are correct.... we just got the exit number wrong. We are sending out revised directions this week, so look for them in the mail. Remember....EXIT 238!!!

No Turning Back Now!

We have officially passed the point of no return! We got the last of the invitations mailed out on Monday. Now we are having fun going to the mailbox every day to see who has RSVP'd! We love reading the personal comments that are sent to us. We are compiling these and will keep them in a book so we can enjoy looking at them and reading them for years to come.

Only 38 more days!!!!!! It's hard to believe the wedding is almost here......

A Nice Surprise!

Lewis and I woke up yesterday morning knowing that Saturday would have a full agenda in store for us. The girls were scheduled to cheer at a football game in Mt. Juliet at 2:15, right smack-dab in the middle of the day (and the heat!). So we knew if there was anything we needed to get done, it would have to be in the morning before the game.

I had picked out a florist in Lebanon to take care of my wedding bouquet and Lewis' boutonniere. Much to my surprise, my cell phone began to ring just as I was exiting off the intersate to Lebanon. It was my Aunt Kathy. She was in Lebanon too!! She was calling to let me know that she and Grandma had driven to Lebanon that morning just to check out the hotel and wedding site. I was so excited!! Little did she know that I was literally only about 500 yards away from her when she was calling me. I told her that we were also in Lebanon and directed her to the florist shop to help me select my wedding bouquet.

Only a minute after Lewis and I had pulled into the parking lot at the florist shop, Grandma and Kathy pulled in right behind us. I can't tell how ecstatic I was to see them!!!! I think I must have hugged all the breathe right out of them! :-)

After selecting my bouquet, I got the definite "thumbs up!" from Kathy and Grandma. Kathy said she was ready for a party, and I'm pretty sure that Grandma is up for it too! I'm so excited that my family is anxious for September 29th to get here. I have to tell you that seeing them yesterday made my day. IT WAS A GOOD DAY.

The Waiting Game

I guess most of you have realized that I haven't posted anything in the past few weeks. Right now there isn't too much to report. The most exciting news is that Lewis and I finished all of our pre-wedding planning last weekend, which was right on schedule! We vowed to have everything done by the end of July since school starts in August and our personal schedules get really busy. Right now I'm just waiting on my wedding dress to get here. I'll feel alot better when they call to tell me I can come in for my fitting.

I really wondered how well Lewis and I would get through this planning by ourselves. I knew it would either bring us closer together and strengthen our relationship as a team..... OR it would end in disaster with heated discussions about differing opinions about the wedding. This ain't my first rodeo (I was married in my previous life when I was young and stupid), but this is Lewis' first marriage. I knew from the get-go that he did not know how much time, energy, (and money!!) it takes to pull off a wedding. Lucky for me, he was willing to learn and he never batted an eye. I thought for sure after the first week he would be runnin' for the hills when he saw the seven page to-do list! Let's face it ladies.... how many men REALLY want to be involved in the wedding planning. "Just tell me when and where to show up....." Does that sound familiar?

I'm very blessed to have a wonderful (and patient) man to plan this wedding with me. Although the planning has consumed almost every weekend for the past 3 months, we have had some fun along the way. So for now, I'll wait patiently for September 29th to get here. The wait won't be too bad....... Lewis and I will do that like we do everything else. Well do it together.

A Touch of Orange With a Touch of Class

It should come as no suprise that orange has been incorporated into our wedding plans. When I first mentioned to people that we were using orange, I wish I had a camera to take snapshots of all the crazy looks I got. Ok, ok. So we are UT fans. But does that mean that we can't use orange tastefully? I guess if you're not a UT fan, then the answer would be yes. So those doubting Thomas' that think just because we are from East Tennessee and our blood runs orange that we cannot do tasteful orange, then please wait to pass judgement.

Besides, it won't be the orange napkins or orange flowers everyone will remember when the day is done (although anyone with orange blood will definitely be proud!) But hopefully it will be the celebration with family and friends that everyone remembers most. We hope so.

FOUND: Orange ties!

After scowering Middle Tennessee for the perfect orange ties for our wedding, Lewis finally found them. First of all, let me preface all of this by asking .... has anyone tried to find a good looking orange tie lately? Yeah... GOOD LUCK. And if you do find the right color, then the price is wrong. About 40 buck wrong! Lewis (once again) came through and found enough orange ties at a little kiosk at Opry Mills. And he got the "Buy 5 Get 1 Free" deal on top of that. PERFECT! He got the ties for about 75% off original costs.....EVEN BETTER.

So I guess with all the money Lewis saved on the ties, I get to buy more fun stuff for the wedding... right? :-)

The Clothes Make the Man

Kim has ordered her dress so Saturday was my day to get my wardrobe in order. We picked up my dad and met Bobby and Aaron at West Town Mall to get fitted for tuxes. Bobby and Aaron arrived first and had been measured by the time we arrived. I showed the attendant what I was looking for in their brochure and she immediately started typing 200 words an minute but seemed to be getting nothing done.
Finally Kim was able to get her to show us in the showroom what we were ordering. After what seemed like an hour she finally measured me. She had me try on a few jackets but as usual the jackets that fit my waist don't fit my shoulders. My middle needs a size 43 and my top needs a size 50. She of course didn't know what to do so for now I am stuck with a jacket where the midsection looks like a before picture and the top looks like the after. Although I like having big arms it does make buying clothes an adventure sometimes. We decided that we would look into buying a tux out right and applying the money from the rental (that my dad so generously paid for) to that purchase. That way I can have it tailored to fit me and I won't have this problem next time I need a tux. Afterward we went by Neyland to take a couple of pictures. We're not sure how we will use them yet but we wanted them anyway.

What China Do I Choose?

So if you know me at all, then you know that I'm pretty much a no-nonsense kinda person. Lewis is too. So when we began registering for gifts and the first book they put in front of us was the China selection, then you won't be surprised that we respectfully declined to look at it. We don't need it. So why bother? I'm sure you can imagine the horrified faces we got. But they ain't cleaning my house or dusting off that china cabinet I don't even have...so what do I care? You guessed it.... I don't.

Which leads me to the next relevant topic... what China do I choose to use at my wedding? This is pretty simple. Anyone want to guess? WE'RE NOT USING CHINA. We opted not to have a sit-down meal, so we really don't need China. We are serving heavy hors d'oeurves and such, but still no need for the formal plates. We began looking at the cost for the caterer to bring in plates versus buying disposable plates ourselves. Guess what won?

So if you attend our wedding (and we hope you will...), then please make it a point to comment on our beautiful plates that Lewis and I carefully picked out with the comfort and enjoyment of our guests in mind. We hope that you will find them as useful and practical as we did.

Attention Vol Fans!!!!......

We are asking that all Vol fans bring their orange and white shakers to the wedding. We will be incorporating these shakers into the wedding. Please spread the word!

Where Did The Weekend Go???

You know how you can't wait for Friday afternoon, knowing that your weekend is just about to begin? That's a great feeling! But then Sunday evening you look up at the clock and realize your weekend is over and that tomorrow is Monday all over again. UGH. That's how I felt last night at 10:00. I have no idea where my weekend went. But I do know we got LOTS accomplished in our short two day weekend.

I spent some time Saturday printing off the individual envelopes for our wedding invitations, until the computer told me we were low on ink. Process stops.... gotta go to Office Max and get more ink before we can continue. We stopped by the party rental place to add a few things to the list as well.

Then yesterday we spent several hours between Michael's and Wal-Mart getting those nagging little things checked off the list: material to line the ring box Jade will carry; flowers to glue onto the flower basket Jasmine will carry; fall leaves to decorate the reception tables; colored sand for the ceremony; candles; and all the plates, cups, and forks for the reception.

Lewis and I are focused on getting everything we need for this shin-dig purchased and put together this month. I think we'll own stock in Michael's before this is all said and done!

Time to Buckle Down!

It is now 3 months until our wedding day! I have been in Myrtle Beach since Sunday and returned last night realizing that the Big Day is just around the corner....time to buckle down! We have a few things left on our list to "tidy up". Like calling the caterer to let her know the menu we decided on. Choosing our songlist for the DJ (if you have a special request....let us know!) We are going in to East TN on July 14th for Lewis and his guys to get fitted for the tuxedos and pick out their ties. Jade and Jasmine's dresses will be on the "to-do" list for that weekend as well.

All of the big stuff is done..... what we're mostly busy with now is just paying everything off at this point. Lewis and I agreed from the start that we will not go into debt for the wedding. We have heard Dave Ramsey enough and had our own experiences on top of that to know that paying for things up-front is the way to go. We both realize that we do not want to be faced with a large bill when we get back from our honeymoon. So it is our goal to have the wedding and honeymoon paid off when we walk down the aisle. Luckily we are managing that pretty well at this point. There are bigger things we want to focus on after the wedding, like buying a new home.

So 3 months away and we are buckling down! We're going to get those small details done and we're going to tighten the budget-belt. I guess that means I'll have to skip that pedicure appointment and Lewis will drive through McDonalds a few less times in the next 90 days. But that also means we won't be in debt at the end of it all!

Only 99 More Days!!

99 Days.... 99 Days....99 Days!!!!

Everything's Coming Up Roses

Lewis and I decided not to hire a florist. I know.... many of you I'm sure are thinking we are crazy. But we are practical people. And we also happen to be the people paying for the wedding. We couldn't justify spending hunderds of dollars or more on flowers that we would be throwing away after using for only a few hours. It just didn't make sense to us.

Soooooooooo....I made a trip to Michael's. I decided to try my hand at making flower arrangements. In particular, I wanted to make Heather and Michelle's bouquets. I was in luck.... Michael's was justs putting out their fall arrangements so everything wasn't picked over. I found some beautiful autumn flowers that I thought would be great for our fall theme. Wednesday night I put together my first bouquet..... and it's perfect! I started snipping and arranging and adding a bit here and there ... and WALAH! I have to say I'm pretty proud of my creation. It is ridiculous how much money I saved on these flowers. I think I'll take those savings to the craps tables on our honeymoon! :-)

My First Freak-Out

The whole planning process for me and Lewis has been relatively stress-free. Yesterday, however, was a different story. I think I can honestly say I had my first moment of "freak out".

I called the Bridal Shop where I ordered my wedding dress to check on getting a color swatch from the bridesmaids dresses so we could match the guys ties. At the end of the conversation, I just happened to ask what the status of my wedding dress order was. The girl checked her computer and told me it was scheduled to deliver the first week of SEPTEMBER. Huh??? What did she say?? I told her politely that I had paid for a rush charge in order for my dress to arrive by end of July. After further research, she found the "rush charge code" had not been properly entered into the system, and it was too late to rush the dress. It is now scheduled to arrive the first week of September. Oh nooooooooooooo........ !!!!!!!

She did refund the rush charge I paid...but that doesn't do me any good. I still have to buy a veil.... which typically you get after you buy a dress. How can I try on veils with a dress that I don't have yet? Oh...and let's not forget that the dress will need alterations. There will be a minimum of two fittings, barring the seamstress gets the alterations perfect the first time.

Yep.... a moment of freak-out. Plain and simple. I finally realized there is nothing I can do to change the current situation, so no sense in worrying about it now. I guess now matter how well you plan, something is going to go wrong. I just didn't think it would be the wedding dress!!

Any Trouble Booking Your Room?

If you have had any trouble booking a room at the hotel, please let me or Lewis know. There are 2 other weddings going on in Lebanon that same weekend and we all have rooms blocked. My mom called a few weeks ago to book her room and they told her there were not any left. However, I spoke with the manager and she assured me I still have the block of rooms for the discounted rate. I think we got it all worked out.....but let me know if you have any trouble.

Mug Shots

So how many of you have passports? Lewis and I applied for passports for the first time this week. The process is actually quiet simple, but I was surprised about the whole picture-taking process. I'm not sure if requirements have changed since 9/11. And its not that the requirements bothered me. I was just a bit surprised.

Lewis was first in line to have his mug shot made. I say "mug shot" because that is exactly what it looked like....without him holding the sign with his name and inmate number on it! He was told not to smile or to make any facial expressions..... just look at the camera. Of course, that got him cracked up and he crossed his eyes and stuck out his tongue! I don't think the guy was too amused.

I was next and I stood in front of the screen just as Lewis did. The guy focused, then brought his camera down and asked one of the other worker about my hair. (What???) I was told that my hair had to be behind my ears with my ears clearly showing. (What again???) The only reason I think this is strange is because the only time you see my ears is if I put my hair up. So the way I look in that "mug shot" is not any way you will ever see me. I also learned you cannot have any earrings or jewelry showing. It is indeed indicative of a mug shot.

When it was all said and done, we looked like two common criminals that had just held up the local liquor store. It was a good chuckle for us in the middle of our very long day.

Checkin' Off!

Lewis and I took a personal day off on Monday to get some wedding stuff done. I use the word "personal day" because it was certainly no vacation! We left the house at 8:30 am and got home about 12 hours later. HOWEVER... we got alot accomplished!

By 9:00 am we were in downtown Nashville at the Office of Vital Records. We had to get original birth certificates to apply for our passports. By 10:30 am we were at the caterer's, going over the reception details. We did get to sample some of those wonderful chocolate and pecan brownies! (yummy!!) After our meeting with the caterer we drove to a party rental place to secure our rental items, such as the candelabras. Then it was off to Wal-Mart to get our passport photos made. Can you believe the picture place in Wal-Mart was closed???? When does anything in Wal-Mart ever close? Oh well.... That was a brief hiccup....so we stopped for a minute to eat lunch.

We drove next door to Walgreen's and got our passport photos made...then back to the house to make copies of our birth certificates. From there....we were off to the post office to actually apply for the passports, which will take about 10 weeks to get back. Then...back in the car to go talk to our State Farm agent to get some insurance stuff taken care of. FINALLY....back home for an hour before we left, once again, to go meet with our preacher.

It was a productive day.....but glad that stuff is done. It's not the big stuff that wears you out. It's the little things. The leg work. I think we're gonna be ready for that nice long honeymoon when this is all over...... I can't wait! :-)

Crafting Invitations

Lewis and I began working on invitations last weekend. We opted to save some money and do them ourselves (I know.... that's a shocker isn't it?). Plus, we think it adds a bit of personal touch. I can honestly tell you, I thought I might get stuck tying all the ribbons and sealing all the envelopes when he figured out how detailed and time-consuming this task was going to be. However, he continues to amaze me with his enthusiasm for planning the wedding. He is involved in every minute detail... everything from picking the colors to the decorations to the food to assembling invitations. EVERYTHING. This is a picture of him cutting the velum papers for the invitations. And yes... he has to hand-cut them. All 125 of them! Lewis rocks.... just another one of the many reasons why I love him. Sorry ladies....he's taken! :-)

THE DRESS

Last Saturday was everything I had dreamed of and more. I picked my Mom up in Rockwood on Saturday morning and arrived in Knoxville with all of my family waiting for me. Strawberries and mimosas began our perfect day.... and the day was CRAZY. My cousins had the perfect assembly line going on in the dressing room....we must have g one thru 30 or 40 dresses in record time! Lucky for me this wasn't their first rodeo.

And the opinions about each dress were loud and clear. I knew exactly what looked good, and what didn't work. My family can be honest. Brutally honest. That's what I love about them! I knew I didn't

have to worry about picking out a dress.... no way they are going to let me walk down the aisle in an ugly dress! :-)

Here are some pics of my family at the bridal shop. And yes.... for the record... we do start 'em young! That's Caroline taking it easy on Janice's shoulder...looks like we wore her out! The pic on the right is Paula and Lisa trying to find me that perfect dress!

Hotel Reservations

Lewis posted a link over on the left side of the page that will take you to the Hotel Reservations page. We have blocked 20 rooms at this hotel. They are all suites that have a couch, microwave, and refrigerator. There is a free hot breakfast served in the morning (eggs, biscuits, gravy, waffles....). It is right off the Lebanon exit, and just a few miles to the wedding venue.

I found out there are 2 other weddings taking place the same day as mine.... and they have the remainder of the rooms blocked for their families. So be sure to book early if you plan to attend. If we run out of rooms we'll have to find another hotel for you. Thanks!

S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y....hey!

I expect Saturday to be a fun day...and I can't wait! I'm going to Knoxville to meet my family for a fun-filled girls adventure on a mission to find the perfect wedding dress! My cousin that lives in South Carolina, and one that lives in Virginia will be there too.... which makes it even more special. My Aunt Kathy (my Mom's sister in Knoxville) has organized the shopping day (THANKS KATHY!). My family is awesome and I'm so blessed that they are excited to be a part of this occasion.

As the bride, I'm going to watch as the ladies swarm the dress racks and pick dresses for me to try on. Eventually, I will find "THE" dress among the 4,273 dresses that I will have to try on. Do I care that I won't be picking any of my own selections to try on? Absolutely not! Knowing that the gown I wear on my wedding day was picked for me by my family will make it THE perfect dress.

It's In The Mail.....

Lewis dropped all of the "Save The Date!" cards in the mail today! These also include information about the hotel accommodations. We booked a block of rooms for Friday and Saturday night (28th & 29th). The hotel is right off the Lebanon exit and only a few miles to the wedding venue. I found that there are two other weddings going on that same weekend and those families are booked at the same hotel. I'm going to go ahead and assume they must be Vol Fans as well! :-)

I'm still looking for an affordable hotel in Nashville for those wanting to stay in the downtown area to experience some honky-tonkin' while they are here. Unfortunately, Vanderbilt has a home game that weekend .....so alot of the hotels have already blocked rooms out for that weekend or they have jacked the prices up on the rooms. Go figure. So stay tuned for the down-town hotel information.

Hotel Accommodations

We have set the ceremony for 4:00 pm on September 29th. For all of our out-of-town guests.... stay tuned for information about hotel accommodations. Tomorrow we're working on getting a block of rooms booked for those wanting or needing to stay overnight. There are a few hotels at Lebanon, but if you are interested in staying in downtown Nashville please let me know and we'll get additional information for you. Downtown Nashville is about 30 minutes from the wedding venue in Lebanon.

A Well Deserved Date Night

After we opened our bridal registery at Target last night, Lewis and I decided to go to the late movie last night. Seems like forever since we've been to the movies so we took advantage of having some alone time without kids. We sure miss 'em when they're gone, but it was a great opportunity to chill out for bit. We've been burning both ends of the candle since we got engaged, trying to get things booked for the big day.

This morning we turned the NFL draft back on to see how many Vols have been drafted, grabbed the morning paper, brewed some coffee, and had a nice quiet morning alone before we had to welcome back reality. :-)

And Now....The Fun Stuff!

Today Lewis and I picked out our wedding invitations. Heather had suggested we could save some money and make our own, which I thought was a great idea. Less money spent and a personal touch to our day. Kills two birds with one stone. We found the ones we liked at Staples (believe it or not!...) and I'm guessing we saved ourselves at least 100 bucks or so. Love it!

Now we're getting ready to jump on our bikes and do some fun stuff this evening. Noooo.... not a long ride down the Natchez Trace... we're going to open our bridal registries! Ok..ok..ok.... I know some folks think this might be a "faux-pas" to register for bridal gifts and post them on our website. I've read the do's and don'ts and shoulds and shouldn'ts. Everything I read was conflicting. So I guess it's up to what the bride and groom want to do. Now, we certainly don't expect gifts... that's not what the wedding is about. But several of our family and friends that live out-of-town have asked us where we are registered. So rather than end up with some fuzzy-covered canister set that crows when you open it, I figure we should just go ahead and register for some things that we could really use.

Stay tuned.... "faux-pas" or not, we'll have a link up to our registeries when we're done. :-)

The Never-Ending To-Do List

Here's the latest and greatest from Harkness Wedding Central!

I've been in Atlanta for a few days attending a conference. No worries, though..... Lewis is great with this wedding planning stuff and didn't miss a beat. I think he might have missed his calling, though I don't think I'll tell him to quit his regular job just yet!

We have all the major vendors booked now, including the photographer. Lewis' persistance paid off, and we got a great photography package at a very affordable price. This guy will even take my bridal gown and Lewis' tuxedo fitting pictures. He lives and works in Lenoir City, back in East TN.

Last weekend Lewis and I met with Teresa Coleman, the potential wedding coordinator for our wedding day. She is a local lady and she and her son started a bridal consulting business a few years ago. We probably chatted with her for an hour or so and felt very comfortable that she could handle any of our wedding day debacles...though I hope those are few!! We hired her on the spot.

Thanks to a great suggestion from Heather (my Matron of Honor), Lewis and I were able to create some neat "Save The Date" cards to send to our out-of-town guests. We'll be addressing and stuffing the envelopes this weekend so we can get them to the post office before the price of postate goes up! Yes.... every penny counts.....

Photos Are Forever

We now have a DJ and a caterer booked! The only last major bookings to make are the photographer and the florist. Who'd a thunk a photographer would be so dang expensive??? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know. "We must capture the most important day of our lives." "Photographs are timeless". I get it! But I can't see myself paying over a thousand dollars for a perfect stranger to pictures of my family and closest friends while they are gettin' down on the dance floor. I ain't payin' extra money for those embarrassing photos that will get tossed in someone's desk drawer for decades until one day when I die they clean out those desk drawers and find these pictures of strangers doing goofy things. Sure, they'll be fun to look at .... but I think we've got enough of those photos laying around already. I think we're going to buy the disposable cameras to put on the reception tables and let the guests take the candid shots. THAT will be worth the money to see what kind of pictures my crazy cousins take.

A Wedding Coordinator

We have an appointment this weekend with a wedding coordinator. We're mostly interested in someone to take all the stress off of us the day before and the day of the wedding. We have decided to do most of the planning and decorating for our big day, but we don't want to worry about who takes down the decorations and turns the lights out after we leave. I think this will be a good investment! I spoke with her briefly this afternoon. She is a local lady, and she seemed very nice.... I hope it works out!

What to do First?

What comes first? The colors? The caterer? The photographer? The DJ? The invitations? Oh yeah, and what about one of the most important things.... my dress?? Unless I'm getting married in one of my Vegas dresses I better get searching for my wedding gown now! (No Mom, I promise I won't wear one of those dresses, so don't freak out!) So much to do! I've made a list, and we are slowly checking things off. We did book the venue, so that is a huge item off our list. On to the next thing... We really need to get a good DJ.... anybody got a good reference? A good DJ is the key to a successfully fun party. So this is next on our to-do list. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! --Kim

Game On!

In case the title didn't give it away.... we're getting married! Lewis proposed on April 7th in Knoxville in true Big Orange fashion. Lewis bought a personalized UT football jersey with "Harkness" on the back and gave it me.... on bended knee. Oh yeah... and did I mention the RING?? Wow. It's beautiful!!!!! He did a great job.

There were about 40 or so of my family members there to see all of this take place, which was the true icing on the cake. I couldn't have been more surprised or thrilled!

So as they say.... today is the first day of the rest of our lives. Please check back to see our progress on the wedding plans. We hope this site will serve as a place of information for our family and friends.