Nate and I have been really good in getting things for the wedding done lately. I'm pretty proud of us. It still feels like years away but I have a feeling it will all come together pretty quickly and the stress will too! So getting two big things checked off the list is exciting!!!

First one, we booked a DJ! Whoo-hoo! So exciting! I'm afraid there wasn't much work that happened in order for us to book a DJ. We should have probably done our homework and then interviewed DJs...however, we had such a great time at Jill and Todd's wedding we knew who we wanted...plus Joe (Nate's cousin) works for the company so it was almost a given :) DJ Dan from Midwest Sound gave us a good deal so we are happy! So the next step is to start thinking about music! What to dance to? What fun to dance to? Can we stand the chicken dance or is it banned!?!

Second item off the list is we found a photographer!! I was a bit worried about this one because pictures of so important to my parents. I looked at a ton of websites and everything just started to blend together so it was getting hard to pick.

One of my sisters (Hlee) is into photography and works in the media industry. She met this guy at a fashion show and suggested him. Last Monday Nate and I decided to meet up with Fong to see what he had to offer. It was probably meant to be as we pretty much went home happy. It's great because he's Hmong so there won't be a language barrier with some folks in my family. Plus he has shot a wedding with 1,000 guests...and I thought we had a big guest list! Eeks! Since he does more than just weddings (such as fashion) he has a neat perspective on what he does...and hopefully he can make me look good! You can see some of his work on Fong's MySpace page.

That's it for now...but whew, it feels good!

Happy Holidays everyone...and here we come 2010!

We had a competition to decorate each department area. IT of course was the best...a giant gingerbread house! Hehe..enjoy!

I've been stalking my save the date order since I submitted it last week. Waiting anxiously for them to arrive...how will they look? Will it be just as I had imagined in my head they would be? The wait was over on Friday, November 20th!

The verdict = they turned out perfect! The colors were just right and the quality of how it printed was excellent...I'm not just saying because I work for the printer. It did make my images and letters on the words all come out very clear (see my last post which shows just the design template I created on my computer and the photos of the actual product below to compare how exact it came out). Of course I was showing it off right away to everyone in the office.

 
Image 1: This is the magnet itself.

 
Image 2: This is the carrier card the magnet fits into. On the back it has hotel information.

 

Image 3: The magnet with the carrier card.

 




Story behind the design:

This design came out of Nate and my dating history. Nate lives in Saint Louis Park (Minneapolis) and I live in Saint Paul. Not a far drive but not a short one either. I'd say the drive is anywhere between 20ish minutes on a good day and up to an hour on a bad day. So whenever planning a date, we some times get into the battle of "come over to my side of the river!"

On the save the date we have Nate trying to pull me over to his side of the river. But who is the winner of this battle? Wait to see!

(Thanks everyone who voted and helped me pick my design!)

I've mentioned this before that I work for a company that makes wedding stationery. So when it comes time for stationery such as save the dates I knew exactly who to go with! Problem was which one? We have such a talented group of designers and we have so many awesome designs (see for yourself). We have about 2,000 save the date designs and I looked at all of them! Being a DIY girl and someone who loves to play on Photoshop I decided I'd venture out and design something myself.

I wanted something personal that reflect Nate and me. I went through a whole bunch of ideas, some better than others. The following two concepts made the final cut...I will reveal which one next week when I get them back! Can't wait!

Do you get the concept? Does it reflect Nate and me? Which one is better?

So we decided we should take some "engagement photos". It served as a very good practice for Nate and I as we both really don't like to take photos. We really need to get use to getting our pictures taken and smiling a lot! With all sorts of people watching us smiling and posing. I think we still need more practice! Here's some photos to enjoy:





Thanks to Hlee and Vickie for taking the pictures!!

My friend Heidi did a great write up on the Hmong wedding celebration.
Read it here:
Truly Engaging

One down...one to go! Thank you everyone for making our Hmong wedding so memorable!