before, during & after the vows.

joseph and i are saying 'i do' at the older [of the two] st. joseph's catholic church in downtown dexter. the beautiful church was where both his parents and my parents said 'i do' many moons ago. due to it's old-fashioned appearance, not much decorating will be done, except for a blushing bride and handsome groom at the altar. my childhood dream of being married where my parents were married is now reality - i will be walking down the aisle, arm in arm with my mother&father, wearing the same viel my mother wore twenty-eight years ago, towards my future [jaw-droppingingly attractive] husband-to-be. six lovely ladies and one handsome dude will be on my side during the ceremony - julie, cassi, erika, jamie, stephanie, carlie & sean [he will not be wearing a dress, but maybe open toed shoes. kidding.]. the ladies will be wearing a beautiful cornflower matte satin, strapless, floor-length bridesmaid dress. they will be carrying a tight mini bouquet of white gerbera daisies while i carry a simple bouquet of the original white shasta daisy.

the girls'    mine

on the other side of the altar will be seven incredibly handsome groomsmen - drew, mike, nick, tim, david, cj and justin. we haven't chose their get-up, but we are thinking black tuxes with a faint silver vest and white tie. joseph will be wearing a black tux with white vest and white tie [to look different, of course]. after the short, but sweet, ceremony, and that first kiss as husband&wife, we will exit the church and take our first pictures with our amazing photographer, adam czap, in the exact spot my parents had their first pictures as husband&wife on may15,1982.

when the pictures are complete, we will hop aboard a bright red 40-passenger trolley with our bridal party&their guests, headed towards grandma&grandpa ottoman's farm for another photo shoot. jello shots and beer will also be aboard, as well as a beer bong that was used for justin&alli's wedding in o7. the main goal for the trolley [other than to have a rockin'-good time] will be to avoid any spillage on the white-lacey dress and to remain as sober as can be as to not appear trashed when we arrive at the reception hall. how classy would that be?

our reception hall is at the comfort inn&suites. the banquet hall is detached from the hotel so we will not have to worry about wedding crashers. the wedding planner at the comfort inn will be doing setup&cleanup, catering and providing the booze [liquor, beer & wine!]. i will not be doing any decorating or cleaning up on the big day - very important for the easily stressed bride. the reception will begin at five pm [the wedding party will be fashionably late, i'm sure] and last until one am. the dj is booked. joseph's aunt is making our cake for our wedding present [and my grandma&grandpa dziurgot's cake topper will add a something old touch].

now onto the more simple things that have proven to be the major stressers - an example, place cards. joseph and i decided to be uniquely different by giving each table a name based upon a location or object that is meaningful to us - examples are fort benning, shoreview drive, mastercraft, labatt blue, the big house, metro airport, crooked lake, waterloo road and the farm. i've been tossing around ideas of how to do the place cards and table numbers; the simpler and less time-consuming for me, the better. i found these place cards through etsy by lamawork's; i want them. joe and i aren't into doing favors, but these would be fantastically perfect. simple&classy and i would be hitting two birds with one stone. nothing better than that.

after our plated dinners, my new husband and i will be making our way to the dance floor to share our first dance as a newly married couple. we have so many choices... only you can love me this way by keith urban, i just call you mine by martina mcbride or i can't help falling in love with you by ingrid michaelson. the three songs match well with our relationship and feelings towards one another - i wish we could use certain parts of each song and combine it into one. father&daughter dance will be next; i am more nervous about this dance than with joseph. my dad and i are very close and i'm his first child and only daughter. per his request, "let's dance to a more upbeat song so i don't get all blubbery." isn't she lovely by stevie wonder or have i told you lately by rod stewart are the two choices, thus far. joseph and his mother will more than likely dancing to what a wonderful world... he has not made a decision yet, nor do i think he wants that responsibility. hopefully these decisions are made in due time. so until then, the songs will remain on repeat until that spark flies.

116 days to go... it will be here before i know it.

i can't believe it's been a year.

exactly one year ago today, joe and i were visiting drew&tim in snowmass, co. the vacation was a last minute idea - to get away from the dreary michigan weather and enjoy time with close friends. the second day we were in snowmass, we woke up to a bluebird [bright blue - no clouds in the sky] day. joe was in an unusual happy&excited mood. while i was getting bundled up for a day on the moutain, i could hear the boys laughing in the kitchen. a statement joe made stood out questionable in my mind: "she will never do it." walking into the kitchen i was approached by the three of them, explaining the proposed plan for the afternoon. we were going to hike up the side of the mountain called "longshot" and overlook the maroon bells... my immediate reaction was "absolutely not." the word hike was standing out in my mind - i'm more of a safe, bunny-hill-type, skiier. after much persuasion by tim, saying "it is super easy and the most photographed mountain view in the usa," i decided to give it a go.

after a steep ten minute hike, we reached the top. the jaw-dropping beauty of the maroon bells helped me forget how tachycardic and diaphoretic i was. the three boys walked out towards the cliff; i happily stayed back, capturing the view with my camera. joe was motioning me out onto the cliff with a shit-eating grin on his face. i shook my head absolutely, definitely, NO. this acrophobic lady wasn't walkin' out onto no cliff. more persuading was done by drew&tim, using phrases like "you will regret it if you don't see it from this view" and "it's even better out here." huffing&puffing, i walked towards joe, watching my every step, hoping i didn't fall off the cliff. when i reached joe, he grabbed my face and began to say the most memorable words i will always&forever remember...

rebecca, you make me so happy. i would be even happier if i could be your husband. i want to spend every second of the rest of my life with you. will you marry me?

YES!

so here is to us, the palmer-to-be's; may the rest of the wedding planning go as smoothly as it has thus far & that our marriage begins just as happily as our engagement did! i love you joseph. thank you for making my life complete.

how are you going to wear your hair?

"how are you going to wear your hair?" until i was asked, this thought never crossed my mind. the simpler things seem to be overwhelming my thoughts... and now, every night before i fall asleep, i envision how my hair will look on the most important day of my life. up, down, to the side, half-up, curly, straight, accessorized... so many choices. i would prefer to have my hair down, in soft curls, resting on my shoulders... a very classy look in my eye; i must be crazy to think after all of these years, my hair would hold the soft curls for an entire day. instead, i'm aiming more towards the look the bride had in "the hangover" [should i be using any ideas from the hangover... is it bad juju?] my hair stylist, after a pre-scheduled trimming, messed with the possibility of soft curls in a side pony tail... i looked in the mirror after her quick work of art and a tear came to my eye. "this is it" i remember saying. we even began to envision an accessory to be added, like a daisy or some simple pins. "but are you going to wear a veil?" yes. i plan on wearing my momma's... but how will i wear it if i have a side pony tail?

the evening i was introduced to blogging, i was also introduced to a very intriguing website called etsy; an online marketplace of handcrafted items made by every day people. i make a daily appearance on etsy, searching different wedding ideas... dreaming of how i can make my day more simple&classy. i searched "daisy" one afternoon and was overwhelmed at the results. i was click-happy; each item was better than the previous. i came across three hair accessory possibilities; each offering a classic approach to beautiful. my first hair trial date is set for may26, so i have a couple of months to decide which accessory will complete my bridal wear. so pins or satin flowers?

a party to celebrate a party.

so what exactly is a dinner rehearsal? a rehearsal dinner is an informal meal after a wedding rehearsal, which will take place the night before the actual wedding... simple, right? nope. not for this couple. joseph's defintion of a dinner rehearsal is an oppurtunity to "throw a party to celebrate a party." after seeing how much alcohol was consumed at a dinner rehearsal we attended in summer of o7 & joseph's statement of "this is exactly how i want our dinner rehearsal to be," i confidently chose to have our rehearsal dinner the thursday night before the wedding... in hopes the bridal party will not be hungover on the big day. so we are going to throw a party to celebrate a party, in joseph's parents backyard, with "at least two" kegs & plenty of drunkenness. classy.

after a night of online window shopping for wedding ideas, i came across a dress that screamed my name and defined my character - simple&classy. since the dress was involving the majority of my attention, i did not notice where the dress originated; delia's - my dream catalog in my teenage years. what better dress to wear for my dinner rehersal than this simple white number that represents my younger years and years to come? now to find a cute pair of [preferably] blue flats. i successfully ordered the dress online today - i'm really hoping that my past luck with ordering through catalogs doesn't reflect when i try this dress on for the first time. it may be the same dress i wear to the shower if it turns out to be as perfect as i'm imagining.

so now the decision remains... what goes better with a ton of beer - hot dogs&hamburgers or a taco bar?

where we will be begin our marriage [the honeymoon].

one of my childhood dreams has progressed into an early twenties dream; a vacation to hawaii. my parents have traveled to this magical place and many stories have been passed down about the enjoyment of their stays on the islands. my dream is finally coming true and i'm going to be able to experience this dream with my new husband. what an incredible way to have a dream come true.

we began making plans for our honeymoon in december of last year. i ventured towards the travel agent route; they're supposed to save you money, right? from the get-go, joseph and i decided that oahu&maui were our islands of choice for the honeymoon adventure. eagerly, we had our travel agent book the flight&hotels [that she chose to correlate with our personalities]. not much research was done on my behalf; our travel agent made joe and i feel completely confident that she made the best decision in hotels for us. after my mom and dad returned from their most recent trip to hawaii, they offered advice on how to approach our honeymoon on the more "inexpensive" route. my dad purchased a guide book of maui that showcases the hawaiian gems [specific places on the island that only the readers of the guide book will be aware of]. i broke down the travel agent itinerary and found that joseph and i were paying approximately five hundred buckaroos, per night, at the westin maui resort and spa; i was completely appalled. to spare everyone the details of the conversation i had with our travel agent, in conclusion, joseph and i kept the flight and hotel option in oahu [or we would have lost eight hundred dollars for cancelling the package, which we were not aware of] and cancelled the reservations with the westin.

we will now be enjoying our stay on ka'anapali beach in maui, north of the black rock, at the luxirious royal lahaiana resort - our package includes honeymoon accomodations, eight days/seven nights, daily breakfast buffet, sunset dinner&cocktail cruise for two, local luau for two and a welcome bottle of champagne - all for an affordable price, approxmiately twelve hundred dollars cheaper than the westin [where all we had included in our stay was a place to rest our head]. my chances of seeing a sea turtle have also tripled considering this remote area has been known to accomodate a quiet environment for the beautiful creatures.

i'm sure there will be plenty more posts about our honeymoon... which is exactly four months away. :) 

here goes nothing. & everything.

hi.


and so it begins; my first post on my very own blog. words cannot describe my excitement and nervousness. much thanks to my new friend rachel, i was welcomed into this creative&mysterious world. i was so very intrigued with silver spoon, paper plates, i just had to put my toes in the water and now i am ready to jump right in. and so, as the title of my very own first post says, here goes nothing. & everything.


who am i? i will try and keep it simple&short. i am a twenty-four year old firecracker. i love life and everything it encompasses. i grew up in a small town in michigan, with a roof over my head and plenty of love given by my parents&brother. after k-12, i moved on to hope college and received by bachelors in science in nursing. here i am now, a registered nurse, at one of the most prestigious hospitals in michigan. i'm all grown up; when did that happen?

i'm marrying my best friend in a little over four months [06.19.2010]. we bought our first house in july. the quaint baby blue ranch has quickly turned into our home, where we rest our head every evening. many of my future posts will be related to our rapidly approaching wedding day.


i am oddly obsessed with turtles, drawn to the simplicity of the daisy and could not survive a single second without my family&friends. i welcome you all into the world of rebecca.suzanne; i hope my posts draw in followers as i continue on my path towards tomorrow.


r.