Monogram courtesy of fellow knottie Kim (lindeenwedding)  Thank you Kim!!!

Katy and Brett

October 4, 2008
Gran Bahia Principe Resort
Runaway Bay, Jamaica 




How We Met - The Proposal - The Bling - www.destinationweddings.com 
The Resort - What I'll Wear - The Hair - Customized Girl Items  - Brett's Suit
The Bridesmaids - What the Bridesmaids Will Wear - The Groomsmen - The Gifts - The Flowers 
The Paper - Palm Fans, OOT Bags and Guest Book -  The Cake - Our Photographer - The "Must Have Photos" - My Second Life 
Our Furbaby, Bailey - DW Siggy Challenge - Good Knottie Guide



How We Met:

Brett and I met in June, 2003.  He moved to the Chicago area from Sioux City, Iowa in order to work for our company.  Brett began working in the same department as my best friend.  Our office is full of young people and we'd typically go out every Friday night, after work.  Going back and forth to visit my best friend in her department, I got to know who Brett was.  Going out after work, I got to know how much fun he was.  I never thought of us as anything more than friends until one night when just a few of us went out for drinks.  He and I sat at a table in the bar and talked for hours.  I never felt such ease in talking to someone.  We laughed, we shared stories, it was like there was no one else in the bar.  After that night, we started e-mailing one another at work and calling one another on the phone.  Finally, finally, he asked me out to dinner.  Sitting across from him at dinner, I knew he was "The One".  Four years later....

The Proposal:  


We were at the Royal Lahaina Luau in Maui, HI.  Halfway through the show, the MC said, "Where are Brett and Katy?  Brett and Katy, will you come to the stage please?"  My stomach jumped into my throat!  "Could this be it????" was all I could think as we walked on stage.  However, I didn't want to get my hopes up, so, I said to myself, "No, she's going to call other people to the stage too".  I was so nervous being in front of so many people, that I didn't notice our friends and family at the foot of the stage with their cameras ready.  The MC talked to us a bit about the show, about our trip, and then said Brett had something to say to everyone.  She handed the microphone to him and he said, "I'm here on this beautiful island with my wonderful girlfriend.  And I would like to ask..." and he turned to me, got on one knee and said, "Will you be my wife?"  I was speechless!  I shook my head yes, gave him a kiss, and proceeded to weep.  I couldn't speak the rest of the evening.  I think I was still shaking the next morning!  And then....


...we woke up to this scene the next morning.  My aunt says it's a sign that Brett and I are meant to be.

The Bling:

This stock photo shows what the sides of my ring look like, which I absolutely love.  
I had been looking for rings on the internet on my own for quite a while.  Never really finding anything too exciting, I started just looking at stones and thought I could find a setting seperately.  I really like ascher stones and wanted to see what they'd look like on my hand.  (I have tiny fingers, and some stones just look strange on my hand.)  So, I went into Jared one day, just to see if they had any.  The saleswoman said they didn't have aschers, but, had something similar.  She brought me to the Elara settings and I fell in love.  Just like they say you know your wedding dress just "because you know", I knew this was my ring.  I told Brett about it and two weeks later, it was on my finger!

My Wedding Ring:



Brett just bought me a necklace for Valentine's Day.  He's extremely proud because, in passing, I mentioned that I needed to buy a new necklace to go with my dress.  He likes to brag with this purchase, because, "He listened!".  



Brett's Wedding Ring:

The "Corsal" band.  I bought it from titaniumkay.com

My Earrings:

The lovely nestie steenie41 has been kind enough to lend me earrings for the wedding.  Thank you Christine!!!


DestinationWeddings.com
Once we decided on a DW, we had no idea how to even begin planning.  We didn't know where we wanted to go, what we needed to do, we were clueless.  So, I did an internet seach of "Destination Weddings".  Up popped destinationweddings.com and Brett and I were intrigued.  We went back and forth and decided to go ahead with it.  We liked the idea of having 24 hour "roadside assistance".  We liked being able to be in constant contact with our TA.  We liked the payment plan that each guest is able to utilize.  After paying out $50 deposit (which was then applied to our trip costs), we were assigned Travel Agents Sue and Paul Adams.  They're a husband and wife team and we couldn't be happier with their services.  They helped us pick a location and Sue responds to my e-mails within an average of two hours.  Our guests have loved communicating with Sue and Paul as well.  Brett and I are very pleased with our entire dw.com experience.  If you have any specific questions, please feel free to ask.


Gran Bahia Principe Resort
Runaway Bay, Jamaica




I fell in love with this gazebo...it was one of the main reasons we picked this resort.

Here is the gazebo decorated for a wedding.  I love it!!!



The Dress:
These are the stock photos of my dress on Davidsbridal.com.  While  just trying to get ideas of what I wanted to look at, I came across this dress.  I printed it along with several others, but, somehow, I knew it was "the one".  My sister, aunt and I went to David's, I tried on several dresses...honestly, with an open mind.  But, as soon as I put this one on, I knew this was the one.  It's simple and "me".  

Stock Photos

Me at my first fitting (Yes, I need to lose some weight):



Dress Trial Number Two:



Final Fitting:



The Shoes:  

 "Juliana" by Coloriffics.  


The Bag:

Yep, I'm adding a punch of color.  Thank you EBay...and I'm purse twins with Dannie and Morgan!

  

The Hair:
I had anticipated doing my hair half back, but, I got my hair trial done and really didn't like it that much.  So, once I got home, I took it all down and then just randomly threw it in some clips.  I actually think it looks a lot better pulled all the way back.  So, looks like I'll be having my hair up for the wedding.  These pictures are just me fooling around after my hair trial.  But, you get the general idea.





I also had my make up done by Mac Cosmetics.  I loved the majority of that they did.  By the time I took these pictures though, I'm a little shiny.  I'll have to find some way to fix that.


The goal is...."puffy" in front.  But, not too "puffy".  I dont' care if it's straight or curly...and I don't care how it's gathered in the back.



I randomly found my veil after seeing another knottie post about www.wedding-veil.com on my local board.  I was just browsing and found exactly what I wanted, for less than any other price I've seen.  It's a white, two tiered veil (30 inches and 36inches long), with 3/8 inch satin ribbon at the ends.  I'll post an "in real life" picture as soon as I get it.



Customized Girl:
I'll surprise Brett with these just before, as well as during, our trip...


**The "I Do" boy shorts were originally made by former Knottie SoonToBeMrsHampton, now, Nestie Wendells.  Thanks Wendy!**

and I'll travel wearing and using...


My Garter:
Brett loves the University of Iowa ANYTHING.  He's got a rather strong obsession...so....I'll sacrifice and wear this:

I bought it on E-Bay from seller Kristi's Charmed Life


Brett's Suit:

We bought it from Men's Wearhouse.  We were in and out in 20 minutes.


The Bridesmaids:
This is my friend, Jannee.  We work together and have been friends for around 6 years.



And this is Esme.  She was my very first, real friend.  We met in the first grade.  That's a whopping 23 years of friendship, so far!






The Bridesmaid's Attire :
This is the J. Crew dress that I have chosen for Jannee and Esme.  This color does not reflect the true color of the dress.  The actual color is hot pink.  This picture makes the dress look red.  





The girls will tie an orange ribbon around their waists.  I'm hoping to have them look like knottie DestinBrideJen's BM dresses....



Jannee chose these shoes for herself.  No shoes for Esme yet.  



The Groomsmen:


This is Brett and his best friend, Mike.



On the left of this picture is Brett's younger brother Corey...and on the right is his step-brother, Ryan.  Ryan just found out that his wife is due to have TWINS on September 22, 2008 (less than 2 weeks before our big day!) so he won't be able to come to the wedding.  But, Corey will be there and will be in the wedding.


 Brett's still not sure who he'll choose as his Best Man, he may just have two Best Men.


The Flowers:
I never thought I'd be into such bright colors, but, in looking at bouquets I decided that hot pink and orange really stand out to me.  Like this...



After removing the green leaves and adding a little more pink...this is what my bouquet will look like....


This will be the BM bouquet.  However, we'll make some cosmetic changes.  The roses will be hot pink (like above) and the gerbera daisies will be bright orange.



Bridal Party Gifts:

For the "Ladies":

Got these "Team Bride" tanks from Victoria's Secret.  How happy am I that they're my color?


The infamous Starfish necklace:


and probably a Coach wristlet for each of them.

For the Guys:

We're all HUGE Chicago Cubs fans.  So, Brett wants to get Corey and Mike the jersey of their favorite Cubs players:



More to come....

The Save the Date Postcard:  


Don't know what this big, white bar at the bottom is, but...


The Invitations:

I ordered from "Invitations by Dawn" and I was really pleased with the results.  The invites are great...and best of all...it took less than a week to receive them.  The price was decent as well.


Invites have been mailed!!
My Bridesmaids (and Esme's son, Nathan) came over to help stuff envelopes (thank goodness!!).  

 

The boys are happy they didn't have to help.


The finished product.  Notice the DW Board in the background...

The Photo Share Cards:

Front and Back

Palm Fans:


Brett and I worked long and hard on wrapping each fan handle.  Once done, I uploaded our monogram onto zazzle.com to make stickers.  Then I found this handy-dandy hole puncher with scallopped edges to make the tags.  Punched cardstock with the hole punch and used a normal hole puncher at the top of the tag.  After that, I just took more colored ribbon and tied the tags to the handles.  I'll be cutting the too long ribbon on this one.  
Sorry for the bad pic of our monogram.  

The OOT Bags:

I filled the bags with:

Two Yankee Candle Car Jars per person (Sand & Sun, Ocean Water or Coconut Bay Scent)
Hand Sanitizer
Aloe
Sunscreen
One Sweet and One Salty 100 Calorie Pack Per Person
A Pen
A Flip Flop Shaped Note Pad
Chapstick (One Per Person)
Off! Insect Repellant Wipes
One Pack of Kleenex
Advil
Pepto Bismol
Photo Share Card
Welcome Letter





The Guest Book:
Knottie Hurachee made this fabulous guest book for us.  I think it's fantastic!






The Cake:
Looking for cakes has been fun.  I want something rather simple with clean lines, I typically like square cakes...with the ribbons around the base.  With a few exception, of course...

This pic courtesy of knottie RedShoeGirl

This pic courtesty of knottie sstubben




All of the above are from TheKnot.com

Love this cake from TheKnot.com, but, I think it's a little busy for my wedding.  But, it's gorgeous.

This cake from TheKnot.com may just be my favorite so far.  It's clean, has the ribbon I like, and has our monogram, so, I may not even need to get a cake topper.  It'd obviously need to be our colors, but, I love it!

And I think this is the cake topper I want to use...if we need one.

We'll have a small 'K', a large 'L' and a small 'B'



Photography:
After much discussion, Brett and I have decided to hire Leah Stafford from Leah Stafford Photography to photograph our wedding.  Leah is a great friend (and fellow/former knottie!) and we're honored to have her and her husband Eric at our wedding.


The Must Haves:
The following are all courtesy of fellow knottie megneric's fantastic compilation of Must Have pics on Shutterfly.  If I've credited incorrectly, please let me know...




The following pic is from megneric's bio, not her Shutterfly collection...


This pic is courtesy of knottie kingandprincess



Something Old, Something New....

Something Old:

This handkerchief was my Grandmother's.  It desperately needs to be pressed...however, it's so old, I'm afraid to do anything to it.

Something New:

So many new things...but, for this purpose, we'll go with my dress.

Something Borrowed:

Nestie Christine's Earrings

Something Blue:

From Customized Girl.com


My "Other" Passion


Besides planning my wedding, the majority of my time is spent doing volunteer work.  For the past 4 years, I have been volunteering for the March of Dimes.  The March of Dimes helps raise money to fight premature births.  Each year, I am part of the committee that puts together the IL North Suburban March for Babies.  A 5K charity walk that raises money to fight prematurity.  In 2008, our walk raised over $200,000.  I volunteer in honor of my God daughter, Ailish.  She's the baby on the right in the picture above.  If you're interested in more information about what I do, please click here.  



Our Bailey:


This is Bailey...our Chocolate Lab.  She's eight years old.  She drives us crazy, but, she's the most lovable dog in the world.



Destination Wedding Board Siggy Challenge:

Each week the girls choose something to post in their siggy.   This gives each of us an opportunity to show off just a little bit more of our lives to everyone on the board.  Subjects are typically voted on, with the majority ruling.  All suggestions will be taken and worked into a schedule that you can see posted here until I am no longer updating my bio.   (Which I can't foresee happening until I'm really old and not into computers anymore.)  In that case, it will be passed onto another DW bride to continue.  Siggy challenges typically roll over on Mondays, but, some girls like to change their pictures early.  

To put a picture into your siggy, you'll need to log into your "The Knot" Profile (NOT your bio!) and click on "My Knot" at the top of your screen.  After that, on the left, under "My Community" is a link to "Update Profile".   Once in your profile, there is a box titled "Signature".  In that box, paste the following code:
<img src="tinyurlhere" width=200>  
replacing "tinyurlhere" with your personal tinyurl for that week's picture.  Save your changes and your picture shoud now show up in your siggy!

**Please note that not everyone will be able to participate each week.  Some subjects just don't work for some people.   However, majority rules and the likelihood is, you'll be back to participating the next week!**

Remember to try to include a picture of yourself each week, along with your siggy challenge picture.  The girls all like to associate names with faces!  


The Schedule:

04/21/08 - 04/26/08:  You and/or FI as Babies/Kids
04/27/08 - 05/03/08:  Furbabies/Pets
05/04/08 - 05/10/08:  Proposal or Engagement Photos
05/11/08 - 05/17/08:  Silly/Drunk Pic of You and/or FI
05/18/08 - 05/24/08:  If You Were A Celebrity Couple, Who Would You Be?
05/25/08 - 05/31/08:  Mood Board
06/01/08 - 06/07/08:  Your Worst Sunburn
06/08/08 - 06/14/08:  Pic of Your E-Ring
06/15/08 - 06/21/08 - Pic of Your Cake
06/22/08 - 06/28/08:  Pic of You and Your Dad (IHO Father's Day)
06/29/08 - 07/05/08:  Your Dress
07/06/08 - 07/12/08:  Your Tattoo/Piercing
07/13/08 - 07/19/08:  Your Celebrity look Alike
07/20/08 - 07/26/08:  You and Your FI Doing Your Favorite Outdoor Activity
07/27/08 - 08/02/08:  Your Favorite Drink
08/03/08 - 08/09/08:  Tan Line From Your E-Ring
08/10/08 - 08/16/08:  Favorite DIY Project
08/17/08 - 08/23/08:  Pic of FI When He Least Expects It
08/24/08 -  08/30/08:  Your Favorite Pair of Shoes
08/31/08 - 09/06/08:  Your College (or High School) Mascot
09/07/08 - 09/13/08:  Your Cake Topper
9/14/08 - 09/20/08:  Pic of Where You and FI Met
09/21/08 - 09/27/08:  Pic of Someone You Admire
09/28/08 - 10/04/08:  Your Monogram
10/05/08 - 10/11/08:  Your Garter
10/12/08 - 10/18/08:  The Favorite Room in Your House




Happy Siggy Challenge Everyone!!!!


The Good Knottie Guide:
Courtesy of knottie jebuell


How To Do PIP (Picture In Post):
Upload you picture into a picture share site like PhotoBucket or ShutterFly.
Then go to TinyUrl and make a TinyUrl out of the picture's URL.
Return to The Knot and create a post using this code:
[*img]tinyurlhere[*/img]
Remove the stars and that is what your PIP should look like.  
NOTE: Some browsers copy the tinyurl in bold and you will need to unbold it in the message for it to properly post.

How To Do a LIP (Link In Post):
First get the URL and make a TinyUrl (like with PIP).
Return to The Knot and create a post using this code:
[*url]tinyurlhere[*/url]
Again, remove the stars and make sure the TinyUrl is not bold.

Why Doesn't It Work!?
Sometimes The Knot is just picky.  It usually doesn't like it when you try to post more than two  pictures or links per message, so think about only putting one or two per message then replying to your own post if you have more.  If you fail the first time don't give up.  It can be a tricky thing to get a handle on but you'll do it eventually!

How To Create a Siggy:
Click on "My Knot" and then "Update Profile".  
Scroll down and find the section titled "Signature".  The is where you will put your siggy code.
Upload your siggy picture to a photo share site like PhotoBucket or ShutterFly.
Take the URL of the picture you want to use and make a TinyUrl out of it then post this code in the "Signature" section:
<*img src="tinyurlhere" width=200*>
Remove the stars and you have a picture!
Note To Mac Users: TinyUrl won't work for you.  Instead go to DwarfUrl and enter the image URL, then just use the code they give you.

To Add Wording:
If you want the words next to the picture, just start typing what you want next to the code.  
But, if you want the words to go below the picture (like a caption) do this:
<*img src="tinyurlhere" width=200*>
<*br*> Wording Goes Here
Remove all *s and the wording will appear below the picture.

To Add a One-Touch Bio Link:
I'm just going to show you this using MY bio link.  To make it your bio link just replace the "katers1279" with your user name (there are TWO places you need to do this!).
Place this code wherever you want the bio link to appear.  Remember to use the <*br*> code to create a new line.
<*a target="_blank" title="http://community.theknot.com/cs/ks/user/page.aspx?username=katers1279" href="http://community.theknot.com/cs/ks/user/page.aspx?username=katers1279"*>My Bio<*/a*>
Then,  just replace your information with mine and, viola!  You have a siggy!


How To Create the RSVP Thing In Siggy:
Sent out your RSVPs?  Want to keep track of the "Yes"s and "No"s in your siggy?  Just use this code:
(NOTE: The numbers before the "<*img " part is the number of people you invited and the number that have responded yes, then the number that have responded no.  Change the numbers as you get RSVPs in!  For this I will be using 100 invites with 75 "Yes" and 25 "No")

100<*img src="http://tinyurl.com/2sdozd"*>
75<*img src="http://tinyurl.com/32ch7p"*>
25<*img src="http://tinyurl.com/2ts57r"*>
RSVP By Date: August 1st

The Final Product Will Look Like This:
100 75 25  RSVP By Date: August 1st

How To Create a Bio:
I think ALL Knotties should have a bio!  They're actually a lot of fun to build once you get the hang of them, and can be addicting (like in my case).  They also help organize ideas and serve as a place where you can share your ideas with other and future Knotties.   I would recommend starting simple.  Don't do anything fancy, just the basics, and get your bio up!  Then, as you get more comfortable with the process, you can add the pretty borders, more pictures, more details, etc.  

I could try to sit here and tell you how to do it, but luckily for me someone else already had!
Check out MrsPresley And Her Wonderful Guide To Building a Bio!

For Color Codes and help creating borders check out the Advanced Bio Builder.

What Does PIP, OOT, AW, etc. Mean?:
Ah, yes.  The wonderful world of Knotting and all of our fun little lingo.  Some of them may be familiar from other boards, but we here at the DW board have some lingo of our very own!  Time to learn what it all means!

Abbreviation  - Meaning
AW - Attention Whore (all in good fun!)
BF - Best Friend / Boyfriend
BIL - Brother-In-Law
BM - Bridesmaid or Best Man
BP - Bridal Party
B-Pics - Boudoir Pictures
BTW - By The Way
DF - Dear Fiance
DH - Darling Husband
DW - Destination Wedding
E-ring - Engagement Ring
E-party - Engagement Party
FG - Flower Girl
FI - Fiance
FIL - Father-In-Law
FILs - Future In-Laws
FBIL - Future Brother-In-Law
FFIL - Future Father-In-Law
FMIL - Future Mother-In-Law
FSIL - Future Sister-In-Law
GF - Girlfriend
GL - Good Luck
GM - Groomsmen
GTG - Knottie Get Together
HM - Honeymoon
HTH - Hope This Helps
IHO - In Honor Of
ILs - In-Laws
IMHO - In My Humble/Honest Opinion
IMNSHO - In My Not So Humble Opinion
JK - Just Kidding/Joking
JP - Justice of the Peace
KWI - Knotting While Intoxicated
LAM - Look at Me
LIB - Link in Bio
LIP - Link in Post
LOL - Laughing Out Loud
LTBM - Living Together Before Marriage
LUB - Listen Up, Bitches (all in good fun!)
MIB - Message in a Bottle
MIL - Mother-In-Law
MOB - Mother of the Bride
MOG - Mother of the Groom
MOH - Maid/Matron of Honor
MUD - Made-Up Drama
NH - New Husband
NWR - Not Wedding Related
OMG - Oh My God/Goodness!
OOT - Out of Town (as in guest)
OTC - Oriental Trading Company
P&E - Planning and Etiquette Board
PIB - Pictures In Bio
PIP - Picture In Post
PITA - Pain in the Ass
PSA - Public Service Announcement
RB - Ring Bearer
RD - Rehearsal Dinner
RL - Real Life
RP - Repost
ROTFL - Rolling On The Floor Laughing
SIL - Sister-In-Law
STDs - Save-The-Date Cards
TIA - Thanks In Advance
TMI - Too Much Information
TY - Thank You
WP - Wedding Party


Still to Come:
Me in my dress
More Must Have Pics
More Hair thoughts
Groom's attire