Last minute!

Hi everyone,

The wedding is a week from tomorrow! This means that Scotty and I have just a few more days until we fly to Wisconsin and the fun begins. We'll be out at the farm most of Thursday and Friday if anyone wants to come and help!

Since the wedding is less than ten days away, I've been checking weather.com multiple times daily and am not liking what I see. There's no way there will be scattered thunderstorms for six days straight, right? Right? Everybody think dry thoughts!

Everything is about as ready as it's going to get. Remember, our wedding will be casual. There's no itinerary and we haven't assigned all of our families with jobs to do during the reception. I'm hoping this means everything will flow naturally and not that I'll be freaking out the whole time.

I can't remember the last day that I wasn't talking wedding details. I'm excited that it's so close, but I can feel myself getting nervous. I had terrible dreams for awhile where I would have ten minutes to get ready for the ceremony and my shoes would be missing and I didn't have time to shower and there were no decorations. My mom dreamed that I vanished out of my dress on the way to the aisle. I have a feeling these dreams are my subconscious reminding me how much thought I've put into this and how it is a really big day.

But I don't want to get caught up in making everything perfect. It's not going to be. It could rain the whole time for all I know. But the important thing is Scotty and I are getting married, and all the people we care about are going to be around us, and that that's going to be really, really amazing. So for the next week, I'm going to focus on that. Whatever happens, we'll be happy. If it rains, we'll just be happy and wet. See you so soon!

Love,

Becky

P.S.--If you misplaced the invitation, here are the directions again from 151:

Take the exit for Mineral Point (Hwy. 23)
Continue down Highway 23 for 2 miles.
Turn left at Commerce St.
Turn left at Highway 23/39/E. Follow for 9 Miles.
Turn Right at County Highway G.
Turn right at O’Neil Rd.
The farm is the first driveway on the left. 17539 O’Neil Road, Mineral Point, WI

We'll have a sign up on the corner of 23 and G, and flowers at the bottom of the driveway. Come up the driveway and park on the right, the field will be mowed there below the barn. If that's full, you can park on the side of O'Neil Rd. below the driveway.

We're getting married soon. Wow!

Hi all! The wedding is quickly bearing down on us, with less than two months to go. We're still finalizing the details of the ceremony and doing some other planning for the big day--really hoping the weather is good! Daily life is keeping us from stressing about the wedding; there are too many other things to think about: Scotty defends his creative writing thesis on Monday and graduation is next Saturday! Work continues to take up a lot of my time, and a new features section in our paper is giving me motivation but also takes a lot of work! I've been helping coach track for kids ages 4-14 two nights a week, and it's been so fun! Their first meet is Saturday.

My parents have been hard at work on the farm, as always. The barn roof is nearing completion, and we're hoping to have electricity hooked up there for the dance. I'm so thankful that Steve-O is a handy man! :-) Sadly, Harold won't be with us at the wedding. He passed away peacefully April 29. I know he will be in many of our thoughts as we celebrate at the farm where he made his life for so many years.

I hope all of you are enjoying spring, almost summer. I've only received a handful of email RSVPs so far. When you get a chance, let us know you're coming by emailing scottandbecky.july24@gmail.com. I really appreciate it. Oh, also let me know if you're planning to camp! Most of the spots are perfect for tents, but there will be room for some campers if you want to make a weekend of it. I think it would be really fun if a lot of people camped. Just something to think about. ;-) See you all soon!

Love,

Becky

Three months from today...

We'll be flying in to Wisconsin. The wedding will be a few days away! It's hard to believe the wedding is almost here, but at the same time I can feel it barreling down. I had a great trip home in late March, and the bridal shower was so much fun! Thanks to all who came :) The farm looked great, and I'm excited to see it in July, all green.

Invitations are going out in the next couple of days. I'm a little nervous about this and wish there was some sort of insurance you could put on each individual piece of mail to make sure the invites get to everyone! We're sending out about 130 invitations, and will probably invite other friends/neighbors verbally or through email. A lot of our friends are planning summer vacations around our wedding, which is really flattering and exciting! All of our favorite people in one place to celebrate our marriage!!

As spring gets rolling, Scotty and I are busy bees, but we're both itching to find time to be outdoors. The Internet told me that morels grow in certain pine forests that have been burned, logged or otherwise had the soil disturbed. This is really exciting and I really want to go search them out in a national forest near Leavenworth, a three hour drive from our place. Maybe this weekend. Hopefully all of you are planning your own camping trips, or at the very least looking forward to setting up your tent at the farm for the wedding! Seriously, you guys. You'll have so much fun! There's a stand of pines behind the farm that has dozens of ready-made campsites complete with a pine needle cushion. You probably don't even need a tent! I really hope people take the opportunity to enjoy the farm. Come Friday night and stay the weekend! There's plenty of space and my parents have been working day in and day out to clean the place up. It will be great. Anyway, that's my plug.

I'll try to post some updated pictures of the farm here soon. Miss you all!

Love,

Becky

Giant Planning Update Extravaganza

Hello loved ones! Just wanted to update you all on the wedding planning. Things Are Happening! We have reserved some high class port-a-potties for those of you who are, for some reason, above peeing in the corn field. (Don't look at me, I will be using the bridal toilet, inside, which flushes. Suckas!) Tomorrow we're going to the printers to design our invitations! I'm working on an insert with directions, info on camping at the farm (highly encouraged), and other tasty tidbits. I want to get the invites at least started, if not sent out, before I come home to Wisconsin for my bridal shower (I will be home in three weeks!!!). A block of rooms has been reserved at the Comfort Inn (I think the name has changed...Quality Inn?) in Mineral Point for those guests who are not tent-friendly. We also went suit shopping last weekend, which was fun for me but Scott started freaking out after about an hour because he hates shopping. Looks like we're going to order from Lands' End (yeah employee discount!). My/mom's dress is undergoing some alterations, thanks to my talented aunt Lynda, and I'm excited to try it on when I'm home. I've been spending my evenings trolling the internet for shoes. After checking prices on men's suits and dress shoes, and since my dress is a much appreciated hand-me-down (read "free"), it looks like I've got a $300 shoe budget. Yeeeeaaaaahhh!

Also, very exciting news: Steve-o has been taking care of Harold every day, playing dominoes and cards, making lunch and doing all kinds of good nephew things. He has also found the time to start work on the barn, which is a beautiful structure which, though aged, has a solid foundation. Rotting floorboards are being replaced. Walls are being fixed. New windows are ready to be installed (thanks Ger). The roof will be replaced in the coming months. And, according to Steve-o himself, THE BARN WILL BE DONE IN TIME FOR THE WEDDING!!! At least, Steve-o said on the phone last night, "That's what I'm planning on." Say it with me people: BARN DANCE.

That is all.

Love,

Becky

Just for fun.

http://www.countdowndays.com/8360/

To register or not to register?

Now that the save the dates are out, we've started making concrete plans for the actual wedding, and some things are difficult to do from halfway across the country. Did you know you have to apply for a marriage license in person in the county you're getting married in, 10-20 days before the ceremony?!?!?? At least those are the rules in Lafayette Co., WI. Not sure how we're going to swing that one.

Another thing we've been struggling with is a gift registry. First of all, it seems really weird and disconnected to go to Target or Bed Bath and Beyond or whatever and pick out exactly what gifts we'll receive for our wedding. Secondly, we don't really have the ability to haul a bunch of stuff back on the plane to Washington after the wedding (though my parents are planning on taking gifts along when they visit this fall). So what to do? I'm worried that people will be frustrated if there's not a registry--it's really easy when you know exactly what the couple wants and needs, and I think people have come to expect it. But we're also thinking that if we're going to get gifts, we want them to come from the heart. Gifts that our friends and family saw and thought of us. Things that we'll have forever to remember our wedding and the people who shared it with us.

So long story short, I don't think we're going to have a gift registry. If you want to give us a gift, walk down to your locally owned, artisan shops and look around. What screams Scott and Becky? I know you can do it people. Not that we expect gifts or anything. We actually just can't wait to see all your smiling faces this summer!

Love.

Save the Dates

So the save the dates are out! After months of working on them in fits and starts I (Scott is not crafty) got them all stamped and we got them addressed. We may have missed a few but those missed will get formal invites in a few months. If you already know you're definitely coming because who would want to miss such an amazing party anyway?!?! ...RSVP to scottandbecky.july24@gmail.com. So were they in good shape when you got them? I was worried the ink would run and they would stick together in transit. Miss you all and don't be afraid to post a comment!

Becky