wedding dance VETO

this week, my fabulous friend & personal attendant, jen, scored us **FREE** tickets to my most favorite story of all time.

the sound of music.

the des moines playhouse is a local organization that features plays with all local actors. i was BEYOND thrilled about going to see this on 'pre' opening night (hence the free tickets). it was like an early christmas for this bride to be!!!!!!

now, i own this glorious film on both VHS & DVD and have watched it no less than one hundred time. i also, to joel's dismay & multiple dismissive head shakes, still have the sound of music oprah special on our DVR library to this day. AND my (second) favorite day of my life -- next only, of course, to july 22nd -- was the sound of music bike tour through salzburg this summer.

sigh. i love this movie.

and my fave scene in said movie?!??

THE LAENDLER

so, as jen & i were witnessing the enchanting love story of maria & captain von trapp unfold on stage, she leaned over & whispered: "you and joel should TOTALLY do that for your wedding dance".

if you know jen, picture her ornery grin.

i (seriously) thought it was like the best idea ever!!!!

i rushed to joel's singing "the hills are alive" to myself maria-style in my car, find the below scene, and hit 'play'....smiling proudly the whole time.

he literally just stared at me.

apparently i had agreed to 'no choreographed dances'. but technically i thought he only meant no choreographed WEDDING PARTY dances.

again --- just a **loving** look.

(was it the clapping part of the dance? he could totally pull that off.)

silence.

except: cue the sound of the HUGEST balloon of hope being popped.

i think he also said something about me being dramatic.

:)

joel: 1

freuline sarah: 0

a lost art.

i went to work today & found this in my lunch box:

a love letter.  major sigh.

joel and i used to mail each other letters from time to time.  we would get out a pen & paper and write what our hearts said (cheesy?  maybe.  totally & utterly enchanting?  without a doubt).  we would address an envelope, place a stamp on it & take it to a mailbox.  my heart always smiled when i would see his handwriting in my mailbox.  even if we had just spoken on the phone, or over text, or over facebook.... handwriting...real, true INK words always seem to mean just a little bit more.  perhaps it's the old soul in me.

one of my co-workers told me that his grandpa mails his grandmother a letter every week.  every.single.week.  how incredibly awwww-worthy & beautiful is that?!!!

my love letter today (which i have read at LEAST six times --- and smiled inside & out) made me feel so very blessed.  so very loved.  so very very lucky.  i can't wait to marry this man.  my one.  :)

now ... y'all get out some paper & a writing utensil and get some sort of letter in the mail today.  to your parents, grandparents, a sibling, or to your own darling--- even if you're under the same roof.  scrounge up 44 cents and send some love.  it's SO worth it.

turkey, pie & big red earmuffs

hello dear friends!

i hope your thanksgiving was filled with blessings and fantastic food.  joel, ethan & i went to columbus for the holiday to attend our annual kurtenbach side christmas at the st. bon's social hall.  it was ethan's first trip to nebraska, but i just knew he would have a fabulous time ----- and thanks to my super incredible parents & nieces & nephews, he is ready to go back.....tomorrow.  :)  we also had a special guest appearance by mike & roxanne!  they drove six hours from minnesota to partake in our crazy family festivities.  we also were able to show them the church & oak ballroom.

insert curve balls:  two incredibly generous donors decided they would like the church repainted.  and by repainted, i don't mean a little touch up here and there.  i'm talking a complete upheaval of the now earthy/golden gorgeous-ness that is what i have known for the last 20 years.  they have begun to introduce blues & siennas on the ceilings & pillars.  estimated completion date?  easter.  wedding date?  the friday after easter.  holy crapola!  (bad pun...i know).

additionally -- this was the first time the bride-to-be has seen the oak ballroom.  and let me tell you, folks.  it's a lot of oak.  :)  but it is wide open & completely different than any reception hall i have ever seen.  i'll have to find a decorator that will turn this into the elegant vintage 1930s ballroom it yearns to be.  ;)  the gal that manages the property & allowed us to sneak in made mention of tool & twinkle lights.  i digress....there will be no tool & twinkle lights.

amid the incredible feast of homemade turkey, stuffing & the most wonderful apple cream pie that one can only dream about (i made an important phone call on tuesday evening to my aunt jeanie b to make sure this would be on the dessert table ---- a bride needs a final hurrah before working on that dress fitting shape, right??!!!), roxanne said we could sneak out to see the invitation samples that aunt tricia put together.

brace yourselves......they are going to be the most fab things you've ever laid eyes on.  i'm SO very excited!!!

friday brought grand finale game day in lincoln -- major sigh of relief at the final score.  i was almost as excited about my ear muffs as the game.  thanks to my sis-in-law's mom for letting me wear this new fave accessory!!

we drove home on saturday & started decorating!!  i truly am grinning-from-ear-to-ear in love with this season.  i have been cheating & listening to carols for a couple weeks now....but now i can play my pandora christmas station without joel having a minor tantrum.  :)  christmastime is here, folks!  we were able to get our  indoor decorations up when we came home ------ all of them were brand new as of the day after christmas LAST year.  roxanne helped me pick out a tree, a huge wreath & more ornaments, garland, lights & flowers than you could even imagine.  joel thought i was out of my mind.  roxanne thought i was the daughter she never had.  ;)

ps - i am now the proud owner of clothes line posts!!!  (although now i'm not sure what will replace them as THE first item we register for!)  we dug them up last weekend when my parents were here.  joel's dad has already accused me of using the proverbial "we" when it comes to things joel (and my dad) fully did themselves.  i think moral support is of sound importance & thus entitles me to the "we".

happy christmastime!

diy ---- after. and others...

it has been far too long!  where does the time go when a girl is trying to plan her wedding?
it has been ages since i typed, so...what is it that i've accomplished, you ask?
hmmm.... that's a wonderful question when we're talking about approximately FIVE MONTHS til 'i do' day.

insert calming yoga zen breaths here.

the past month-ish in pics:

joel takes ethan out on the ice for the first time in his sweet columbus, nebraska salvation army ice skates.  :)  that smile never left joel's face.  i loved it.

to minnesota we go for the cornhusker/gopher showdown.  joel's uncle johnny scored us some fabulous seats with his buddies.  they left for the bar at halftime. ;)

we cheers'd to our friends trisha & andrew as they walked down the aisle the last weekend in october --- beautiful ceremony & beautiful real china & plate service at their reception.  ahhh the luxuries of weddings in a booming metropolis.

the second pic is a random my brother sent of sweet little lizzie.  she certainly has the life, doesn't she?  i can tell you this wedding planning isn't stressing her out one teeny bit.

 

and here we are.  DIY results revealed.
dun dun dun..............................................
epic fail on the first big balloons.  major frowny.

cue a pep talk from roxanne.  for those of you who know this computer-savvy gal, you would be very impressed to know all the extra research she has put into these blasted lanterns on which i have my heart set.  she's convinced that once we can get ONE to work out, the rest will be a @#%ing cake walk!  :)  she clued me in on a specific wallpaper paste sold at ace hardware that lantern lady extraordinaire swears by.  refusing to be defeated by a lantern that, if you recall from the earlier post, a CHILD can make (seriously, i could hear that little brat laughing at me while my lace crumbled before my eyes), i marched right into ace hardware & asked the nice gentleman where to find harvest gold (or something of the like) paste.  although the wallpaper market has been on a slight decline since the early 1990s, ace did not disappoint.  i happily paid my $4 and all but pranced out of the place.  game on. 

DIY take three & four are as follows:

two down --- three curtains, two table cloths, a few valances & 10 yards of curtain lace to go.  :)

our little angel has also been keeping life interesting.  joel said harvey wanted no part of his kennel one day, so he gated him in the kitchen.  among the casualties...an entire sunday newspaper, many many engagement cards :(, photos from the fridge, a paring knife from germany, and a number of paint pens (to which joel had a **hint** of disappointment in his voice while discovering they were NON-toxic).

we also went to the orchard with joel's parents.  that place will put anyone in the mood for apple cider and pumpkin carving.  it was a bit of fall heaven (not to be confused with the "heaven" kim kardashian proclaimed on her wedding day, but that is a WHOLE other blog....eye roll).

long on pictures, short on words.

the next blog shall cover:
invitations -- lace trim is en route to aunt tricia as i type!
gift registry -- i kid you not when i say the first item we're scanning is a clothesline.
faux china for the reception -- the next best thing to real plates!  eek!

diy ---- take one.

once upon a time, sarah learned about pintrest from her dear bridesmaid kara. as soon as she discovered the world of searching & pinning .... saying she was hooked would be an understatement. who knew that searching for "lace" would produce fabulous upon fabulous photos and ideas. and then she saw it ------ "do it yourself" doily lanterns. visions of these lanterns danced in her dreams. this is just what the oak ballroom needs! stunning doily lanterns! it couldn't be that hard, correct? for pete's sake --- the blog from which the pintrest photo was taken showed a CHILD doing this.

and so it began...the search for doilies. who knew they'd be such a pain, and such an expensive paint at that, to find. plan B, here we come. i have had marvelous help in tracking down lace...my darling bridesmaid hanson found lace tablecloths and curtains in fairbury, nebraska. roxanne & i have been goodwill & fabric store shopping for lace curtains & lace fabric. my mother has dug out some of grandma rosie's old lace valances & curtains. needless to say, this bride is swimming in lace. and couldn't be happier about it.

time to jump on the DIY bandwagon....it can't be THAT hard, right??

i brought out my bags of ultra fine & luxurious lace and considered my approach.

i know you can make string lanterns...and roxanne mentioned the idea of using strips of lace. so i spread out one of my curtain panels & began to cut. did i mention that i had some help?

i started with the smallest balloon since i thought it would most manageable. umm....let's just say it wasn't starting off so well..... this DEFINITELY is NOT what the easy peasy blog looked like.... i mean, what kind of freak of nature gifted child WAS that little girl?!!??

what is a bride to do? stress out & start over? nah --- i just wallpaper pasted the bejeezers out of that balloon & used thinner strips. it looked better at the end, but still not DIY-blog worthy.

mind you----that sucker took me about an hour. major HMPH to a nice & fun sunday evening arts & crafts project. ;)

okay...time to pull out the big balloon: one of those punch ball balloons i loved when i was a kid. for this round, i decided to cut small squares & circles from the various curtains that i had:

let me tell you, when you add a bunch of lace & a quart of wallpaper paste to a balloon, it isn't exactly light or manageable anymore! i'm not quite sure how they will dry, but hopefully (a) the lace won't stick to the balloon when it's popped or (b) collapse if i do manage to successfully remove the balloon when it all hardens.

so, at this moment, i call it a tie in the battle of the DIY doily lanterns versus the bride-to-be. we shall see what daylight brings!

six months, folks!

six months from today, i will be walking down the aisle toward my one.

i received a phone call at my desk this morning:
"sarah engelbert, this is ralph from the security desk downstairs. there are some beautiful flowers down here with your name on them!".

be

right

down

!!

what girl doesn't love flowers at work??

i eagerly tore off the tissue paper & read (something to the tune of):

six months until the best wedding ever! counting the days!

your matron of honor

isn't she the best, cutest, most wonderful matron in the world??!!

i love her to pieces.

it's arts & crafts weekend! i'm going to attempt to work on some reception flair. stay tuned.

six months, people!! holy cow.

epitome of overthinking

well ladies & gents,

this week i began a pesky little list item i have been avoiding. i even scrapped the half-done 'save the date' postcards (and let me tell you, they were CUUU-UTE) to prolong the inevitable....

caterers? sure. cake samples? bring it on! bridesmaid dress shopping, engagement pic taking, DIY website and wedding blog stalking....check, check & check.

guest list?

dun dun dun.....

first of all, let me preface this by saying that typing out a guest list with proper names, street numbers, zip codes, and childrens' names is no easy task. throw in the fact that you only have a laptop with that mystery pad that shoots the little cursor all over the place? cue random temper tantrums by this bride-to-be.

i digress.

i was (by the way -- it just did the mouse thing to me again), no joke, given a typed guest list by my mother the first weekend we were back in columbus. Neatly, next to each name in her perfect penmanship, was the respective address.

the first trip to iowa by joel's parents following the proposal, roxanne comes prepared with several pages of yellow loose-leaf paper with perfect (cough cough, ahem) penmanship spelling out names & address of their friends & family. (i have a lot of highlighted items in the spreadsheet after going through this sucker - on a mission for NO typos!) ;)

alas, nearly three months later, i am compiling this little beast of a spreadsheet.

for those of you unfamiliar with the engelbert/kurtenbach family....it is large. throw into the mix that i am a late (SURPRISE!) child & my first cousins are in their mid forties....well...that means the cousins i grew up with are my first-cousins-once-removed. thus adding an exponential tier to the possible guest list. needless to say, minnesota family & friends....get ready for nebraska overload. you're going to love them. :)

then you start to go through all the weddings you've been invited to & those whom you want to invite because you obviously value their friendship & want to share the news, YET, you don't want them to feel obligated to (a) make the long journey & (b) purchase a gift. co-workers, neighbors, facebook friends, the mailman.....what if we miss someone?

and you know what? my darling groom thinks i'm getting a LITTLE too stressed about the guest list.

as if him dissing my favorite shirt for the engagement pics wasn't enough...

sigh.

:)

cheese!

hello my dear friends! and so ends another busy weekend...

first of all, i must wish my most fabulous papa the happiest of birthdays!!! he turned the big 7-3 today....crazy to think that handsome devil is a day over 50. :)

let me preface this blog by apologizing in advance for the cheesy cheese references. i'm new at this.

say cheese.

that's what we did this weekend!! we gussied ourselves up on saturday afternoon for our public display of LOVE. aka: engagement pictures.

Joel's fabulous cousins Stacey and Anna are photographing our wedding! They started their own little business in Minnesota called Buckett Photography (http://www.BuckettPhotography.com). Check them out!

one thing i have come to appreciate (i'm also learning to use happy & in-love & always & forever alternatives to OTHER words females sometimes think when it comes to man & woman on the same page...) is that i will probably be planning/packing for two for the rest of my life. :) That being said, i not only had to fret about MY outfits for these much-anticipated photos that will be cherished and smiled upon when we're 80 years old and sitting on our porch swing...but i also had to analyze my darling's closet and pick his complimentary apparel. i carefully hang my outfit choices and sift through his clothing. i pick out some ideal shirts and set them out -- only to have him (the man who rarely has an opinion on anything clothing-related outside of his coveted baseball caps) say:

"i don't like that shirt"

what do you mean you don't like this shirt? i bought this shirt & i think it will look perfect with sarah outfit #1.

"that's my least favorite shirt"

why?? i think it's really dressy!

"i think it looks like a farmer"

a WHAT?!!? did you really just tell me this about my shirt purchase?

"just pick out any other shirt in the closet"

(hmph --- i don't want to pick out any other shirt in the closet -- pout)

he won. i picked out a different shirt, but i'm still a little offended he doesn't like one of my favorite shirts.

i digress....

:)

have i told you that we are are OH SO IN LOVE??!

but in all seriousness --- it was such great fun to revisit Bush Lake where the proposal occurred. to sit on the bench again. to walk hand in hand. to have him spin me around and dip me. all while the cameras are clicking away. stacey & anna were so much fun to work with ---- they had great vision, countless different photo op places, a COUCH in some tall grass (i can't WAIT to see those shots) and smiles that matched ours. it truly was a lovely afternoon. of love. see? i warned you about all the cheese.

speaking of -- the lovely day came to a totally rotten moldy wisconsin cheese end when my beloved cornhuskers were pummeled on the football field saturday eve. my darling and i went to a nebraska bar to watch the game. it is the perfect locale for any die-hard big red fan unable to make the trek to an away game because they bring in their own little pep band complete with a tuba, trombone, trumpet & drums. every first down, we get a little husker ditty. every score is a rendition of hail varsity. this bride-to-be was happy as a clam the first quarter or so. even her fiance is coming around...clapping along in his herbie husker shirt & red N cap. now THAT'S

something to smile about.

:)

and so is this...two little sleepyheads on the way home today:

sneak peek?

Joel and I spent a glorious (and gone-in-the-blink-of-an-eye) long weekend in Phoenix a few days ago. My brother has lived there for twenty years or so, and I have been spending my “spring breaks” down there since I started working in 2005. This past year, I had to forgo my trip due to our little adventure in Europe. This made me quite sad, so Joel & I decided to buzz down there to spend time with the kids and watch my oldest (stud of a) nephew play football. We arrived Thursday night and the mayhem began. Throughout the duration of our not-quite 72 hours we: played a lot of cards, went for a run, went to a pep rally, watched my nephew ask his girlfriend to homecoming in front of the entire school (a plan he didn’t come up with, but went along with WHOLE HEARTEDLY), hiked camelback, was Nicole’s show-and-tell at school, had some Mexican & margaritas, went to a football game (Adam had a TD!!), watched Sam for five holes in a golf tourney, stopped at the mall, watched the Nebraska game, went to church, failed my all-time partner John by losing to Joel and Sam in washers, played more cards, and laughed and told a lot of stories.

Quite an agenda, right? This is a day of NORMALCY in their lives. My brother and sister-in-law have four children. Four very active children. I would need the fanciest scheduling device Apple has invented in order to ‘keep up with the Engelberts’. Bad joke, I know. J

It’s amazing how you get caught up in the excitement of LIFE there. Always somewhere to be and always something to do. Will we have a household of kids? Will we be strategically planning how to get this child here & that child there? Will we have four children & five vehicles in front of our house? Will we be running out to the grocery store the night before the big pep rally to buy a dozen roses so our son can have THE big invite? Will we have boys? Will we have girls? Will they share rooms and live to tell about it??

Will we have a little princess that REALLY likes to sing? J

I sure hope so!!!

not just 20 questions....

hello hello!

first of all...if anyone is able to let this blogger know how to comment on a comment, that would be fabulous. shorty -- i tried to add a comment on the previous post to the tune of "yes, i do love my tulips. yes, my tulips are in season. yes, my florist sent pics of an all-tulip wedding she has done...." (cue downcast shamed look) i didn't particularly care for them! eek! am i becoming too dramatic-loving for my own good?? for shame! woe is my #1 flower for years! or perhaps woe is my budget. ;)

all non-comments aside, joel and i had a big week last week! we met with a priest at my parish in west des moines named father george. he has been ordained for two years & is from kenya. and by golly that man never stopped smiling. it was fun & surreal & EXCITING to discuss our marriage prep timeline. first things first (dun dun dun...), the FOCCUS survey. this is something created by the omaha arch diocese to identify talking points as we continue this engagement journey. we were to answer: agree, disagree, or unsure. the topics ranged from faith to finances to children. i really hope we pass. :)

ps --- one of the first questions: there are some things my future spouse does that annoy me.

hmmm.....(cough cough)

:)

we are waiting to hear from our sponsor couple to begin discussing all of our (surely agreeable) answers. stay tuned!

two football fields. of lace.

joel and i went to nebraska this weekend because we were hosting the washington huskies. my co-worker from seattle and his cousin made the trip to the good life state to watch the NU/UW showdown for the 3rd time in 12 months. that's a lot of purple, people.... anyway, we had a group dinner on friday night that included the four of us & two of my best friends and their husbands. the boys were totally jazzed when wedding convo started (duh). i was telling them how ultra excited i was that joel's aunt tricia volunteered to lead 'operation invitations & programs'. i also casually mentioned that i ordered lace trim for the project. two hundred yards (it only came in one amount!). Casey (my co-worker) just stared at me. "that's two football fields. you know that, right?". men.

:)

another piece of 0h-so-utterly exciting news!!!!!! my very first -- we're talking MY NAME ON THE LABEL -- BRIDE mag came in the mail last week!!! ang gifted me a subscription right after my engagement! and by right after, i'm talking there was a confirmation email waiting for me in my inbox when i returned to work that monday. yes, i know. she rules.

it was a planning roller coaster last week. despite my lace high, i was defeated by the floral gods in the latter part of the week. cue the melancholy music ---- my mom called with some bad news regarding my obsessive desire to have peonies as THE flower. google led me astray in believing they were in season in april. i suppose they CAN be in season --- at FIFTEEN DOLLARS A STEM. i die.

back to the drawing board on flowers. you know, back in college when all of the girls were making wedding dream scrapbooks (don't judge), i was the girl that said i was totally doing fake flowers. you should have SEEN the appalled looks. tee hee. maybe i'll revisit that notion...... ;)

testing...one...two...three...

hello to all!  fancy this the first official blog of the blushing bride-to-be.  thank you to my o-so-fab matron of honor for getting this site rolling.  i did a quick bio on my love and our story, and now onto the posting!  had i been of adequate computer literacy, i would have much more time to dedicate to my much anticipated (humor me, here) first post.  alas....i am tech'ed out for the night.

fret not --- i promise words to come about the joys and stress of planning small-town nuptials. :)  i already have so much to be thankful for.  My wonderful (and patient and understanding and...) groom-to-be, my incredible parents & equally ah-mazing Brett/Louis clan have been helping and supporting us from day one.  we are so very lucky and we are SO very ants in our pants excited to walk down that aisle and say "i do"!!

Here we Go!

Hello! My name is Angela, and I'm soo excited to say my dearest friend is getting married!! Just like me & millions of other girls in this world, she has been dreaming of this day for so long, and no one deserves the love and fulfillment she has received from Joel more than her. She will be the most beaming, most beautiful, most happiest bride, and I cannot wait to be a part of her special day! Congratulations to the happy couple, and I cannot wait for the planning to get rolling! Here we go! Engelbert, I love you & I am soo happy for you! HUGS!!