WWFS?

(Photo by David Jay)

Ok, so "What would Freud say" about my dreams?

I have admittedly been through the wedding planning process before, but have NEVER had wedding dreams in my LIFE until the last month or so. Early Thursday morning, I had my second wedding-related dream.

Erik's friends tell me they've had them before and that it's not uncommon, but I'm feeling wierd about them .... is this normal??? Especially since the wedding is about 7 months away!

So, my first dream was shortly after Robin's wedding. In the dream, Erik and I had to hurridly move our date up to shortly after Robin's wedding (don't ask me why because I have NO CLUE!). We were rushing around and trying to get things sorted out .... and that's all I really remember now (hey, gimme a break, it's been almost 2 months since THAT dream).

Fast forward to early Thursday morning. My dream involved Erik and I having a destination wedding. Hmmm....sunny, warm beaches instead of this frigid mess of Kansas? Yes, please!


(Photo by David Jay)

Anyhow, we were having the ceremony, but our photographer, Heather, showed up just in the nick of time (I KNOW she'll be on time with bells on her toes to the wedding in September, so I'm not worried). Then, we tried to get group photos done, but didn't get through them before the ceremony, and we couldn't get them done afterwards for some reason.

THEN I saw a breathtaking sunset and wanted something beautiful and artsitic with Erik, me and the sunset. The problem? There was no photographer to be found! EEK!!!!!! (REMEMBER: this is ONLY a dream!). At that point, I grabbed my camera and was trying to set up a photo with Erik and the sunset, then run into the frame while the camera was on a timer. Strange, I know. In the dream, it didn't work.

How strange is that????

Ok, so share YOUR crazy wedding dreams!!! (Please, someone tell me I'm not the only one having these!).

# 68 — Eat authentic sushi

.... CHECK!

Ok, so this is the first item I'm blogging about from my 101 in 1001 list. I have a few more that are checked off, but don't have photos ready to go, and since I'm a photogrpaher .... I just won't share them without photos! ;-)

The sushi eating commenced after the fabulous Flourish Workshop in Louisville, Ky.

I didn't fly out until the day after the workshop was over, so on Jan. 23, we headed to Sapporo . I was with some sushi veterans, such as Angela, Kim, Kitty and Meredith.

Meredith helped me navigate the menu and suggested the California roll. But that wasn't my first piece of sushi.

I'd like to introduce you to the eel.

Meredith documented my first bite of sushi ... and at this point, I was trying to come up with excuses to NOT eat the eel, but couldn't come up with any...


...so I took my first bite...


... and meditated on the experience a bit. ;-)


Overall, it was a positive experience. I don't think I'll start frequenting sushi bars by myself any time soon, but I'm certainly willing to eat some more if and when the opportunity presents itself.

Groom's Cake

As far as a "groom's cake" .... I strongly suspected Erik would want a MU or Royals or Chiefs cake. He, however, surprised me and said he didn't see much of a point. Fine with me ... the above is the most regal looking groom's cake I've seen ... and below are some wild ones!


This one is pretty cute .... but I'm sure grooms would prefer for us to not refer to a groom's cake as "cute." That's not a very manly word to describe a "man's cake." ;-)~


And a creative one for sports fans (ERIK!)




I know a few people who would get excited about a "dead deer" for a groom's cake...



One person who I know would like the deer cake *might* also like this one....



Um, can *I* have one of THESE Harley-Davidson cakes, please?????


Ok, so this is for my Florida friends, but I also thought it was pretty cool .... I'm not sure how I'd feel about eating green icing, though!


And THIS one is fantastic! It reminds me of Steel Magnolias when they're talking about the Armadillo Groom's Cake ... talking about how difficult it would be to makie grey icing, especially with blood red velvet cake! HA!


Standard fish cake:


Hmm...I wonder if they could make a Boulevard Wheat or Blue Moon cake...


AND I was saving the BEST for last! This one CRACKS me up (pun fully intended!)

Flour, water, eggs & sugar?

Wow! I had NO idea how vast the world of wedding cakes can be! There is everything from the elegant (above) that I like to the zany...

On Monday, Erik and I met with the reception location manager and she helped us through most of the reception details. I must say I was "decisioned out" by the end of our meeting, but we have made TONS of progress.

With regard to cakes, though, I sort of felt like Steve Martin in Father of the Bride when we started talking about cakes.

Our converstaion went a little something like this (Kathy is the most patient and comprehensive person I've ever MET!):
Kathy: What kind of cake do you want?
Me: Nothing chocolate. Oh, and I like the flavor of almond extract.
Kathy: We could do carrot cake or cheese cake or something special like that?
Me: Um....
Kathy: Or we could do a strawberry cake.
Me: I LIKE strawberry cake! But we should probably have some white too, but not chocolate.
Erik: How about wedding brownies? (j/k! He didn't really say that!)
Kathy: Excellent! What shape would you like your cake?
Me: Shape? (internally: are you serious? we just decided what kind of cake we want ... and now there are MORE decisions??? I don't care!)
Kathy: Here are pictures of round and square ones....
Erik: I like the square ones (THANK YOU for making the decision, dear!)
Kathy: What about icing?
Karen: (internally Yes, we want icing on the cake)
Kathy: What kind of icing?
Karen: NOT chocolate.
Kathy: The cream cheese one is excellent with the strawberry cake.
Karen: SOLD.
Kathy: How do we want the cake to be decorated?
Karen: I'll get back to you after we have our awesome designer do the invitations...

When did a cake become more than flour, water, eggs and sugar???

OK, so here's a wild and crazy cake:


Once you've selected the cake, surprisingly, you're NOT done with cake decisions (strange, I know!). Ya gotta decide how to decorate it, or at the very least what kind of cake topper you want to plop on the top.


There are some beautifully traditional cake toppers (above) ...as well as some *interesting* cake toppers (below). There is no final verdict, but I *think* we're going to go with flowers to adorn the cake, so it's one less "thing" to find, then store after the wedding.


OK, this was amusing, and it's too bad I didn't see this before Robin and Chris were married, because I think this would have been given SERIOUS consideration by Robin...


THEN, there are toppers I'm sure are MEANT to be humorous, but I wouldn't want to be the bride who has to "hook" or "drag" my groom into marriage.




On a final cake note, Erik kept joking about having "wedding brownies." Um, I'm ok with brownies, but I'm NOT a fan of chocolate cake...anyhow, below is a CUTE alternative to the traditional "groom's cake."



Be SURE to stay tuned, because I have all sorts of wild and wacky groom's cakes coming up! I was initially going to include them on this post, but there are TOO MANY good ones and I decided they merited their own post!

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...

I was making an early morning drive from Salina to Hays today ... and NPR's Morning Edition is my favorite early-morning driving companion. On the drive, I learned today is the 40th anniversary of the first broadcast of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.

While I don't remember the first airing (come ON! I'm not THAT old!), I have some memories of the jolly fellow.

Actually, thinking back on it, the memories are more foggy than I would like to admit. I remember him walking into the house, putting on his sweater and sneakers (or was it slippers?) and sitting down ... I also have foggy memories of some sort of train. But I can't push through the fog to see the program any more clearly. :-(

Leave a comment on YOUR memories of Mr. Rogers!

Help us choose a first dance song!

SOOOOO....Erik and I are trying to come up with a first dance song (no, we don't have a song that's "our" song ....).

We went about this by both Erik and I making compilation CDs .... it was fun, but also challenging. We have VERY different musical tastes (but THANKFULLY he is not a fan of country music!). Oddly enough, my dance song with Dad IS a country song ... but we have to have SOME surprises at the wedding! ;-)~

Ok, here's two from Eva Cassidy. Erik introduced me to her music and I LOVE it!

The song Erik likes from her is "Time After Time".

Ironically, her rendition of "Fields of Gold" was on my CD!!!! (We think it's a sign!)

Erik also suggested "I Will" by the Beatles.

Other songs I'm wild-crazy about include: "We Are Man & Wife" by Michelle Featherstone and "Falling In Love At a Coffee Shop" by Landon Pigg. I'm also a BIG fan of "Feels Like Home"written by Randy Newman.

Leave us a comment and help us choose!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Ok, this is the most DARLING story and I couldn't resist posting it!

An inevitable love affair
Couple's Valentine's Day marriage came after unknowingly sharing a band class, a church and a town.

By Kathy Hanks
The Hutchinson News

Dottie Biays played the flute and Howard Gibson played the baritone in the 1950 Russell High School band.

But it wasn't until Valentine's Day 2003 that the two truly began making music together.

That's the day they married, after a whirlwind courtship that began on Thanksgiving Day 2002.

While their paths crossed in high school, they can't recall each other. Not even a band photo showing the two just a few seats apart can jog a memory.

"I was a senior and her brother and cousin were in my class," he said. "But she was a freshman. I never crossed elbows with her."

"He was responsible for setting up all the band chairs, he had to know each person in the band," she said, baffled that they didn't talk to each other in the small high school. "He chummed together with my brother."

Still, it took nearly 50 years, until 2002, for the two of them to come together again.

After high school, they both married and pursued careers.

Biays lived in Hutchinson for 20 years, raising a daughter, Diana (Hill) Kroeker. When her husband was ready to retire, they moved to Bella Vista, Ark.

He had been dead five years, and Biays, though lonely and dating occasionally, was pretty certain she would live the rest of her life alone.

But a mutual friend, Jean Morton Stone, also from Russell, kept after Gibson and Biays to meet each other.

They were both living in Bella Vista and attending the same church, but attended different services.

Gibson built up his courage to make the first call, after several months and several attempts. He'd usually pick up the phone and then lose his nerve.

"When I finally called, we talked for over an hour," he said. Then they agreed to meet at a big community Thanksgiving dinner.

She was 67 at the time, and he was 70, but they both felt like teenagers that day.

By Christmas, they were engaged. They decided to get married on Valentine's Day.

"We didn't mess around," he said smiling, leaning into his wife, sitting on the arm of her chair.

The minister, citing their age and experience, decided to forgo the usual couples counseling that precedes a marriage. If anything, could have offered him some pointers.

Together they were ready for some new adventures - selling their homes in Bella Vista and moving back to Russell. In January, they moved to Hutchinson.

They will celebrate their fifth anniversary by attending the Hutchinson Symphony on Valentine's Day. A bit of irony for certain because, after all, it was music that first brought them together.

Even if they didn't know it.

Wedding invitation wording ....

So....the lovely and talented Heather Essian is designing our wedding invitations. We've selected some things we like, but before we send Heather the information, I thought we should come up with the wording.

I suggested something such as:

Karen Lee Mikols
&
Erik Robert Bonar
request the honour of your presence
as their lives are united in Holy Marriage
1:30 p.m. — Nuptual Mass
27 September 2008
St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church
Wichita, Kansas

5:00 p.m. — Recaption, dinner, dance
Petroleum Club
xxx, Suite 900
Wichita, Kansas

www.mywedding.com/erikaren/

Erik's response? "I'd prefer if it didn't say recaption ;-)"

THEN his "serious" reply:

The trail winds onward
through the hills
from here to prairie's end;
Will our journey ever last?
as long as you're
my love my friend
and thou shall not Wabash at thine reception

Which one should we use??? ;-)~

Help me choose! Sould I get new specs????

OK, so I'm totally obsessing about this, but I've had the same frames on my glasses since 1999. I *like* them, but wonder if a change is in the air? The above photo was taken during my adventures at Flourish Workshop. The ladies there seem to think I need to go with square spectacles...

The other attendees gave me their glasses to try on ... what do you think?

Is this me?


Maybe THIS is me, darling!??!?

I LOVE the idea of Tortise Shell glasses, but am concerned with my blonde hair that it won't look quite as cute as it does on my friend, Sarah....

Here and here are a few more options...

Leave me a comment and let me know what you think! I'm going in to the eye doctor Monday (Feb. 18), so post those comments SOON!

I <3 Heather Essian!!!!

Ok, so it's official OFFICIAL.

Heather Essian (pron. S-Ian) is going to partner with Mike for photography for my wedding to Erik! I'm SOOOOOO super duper jazzed that Heather is coming up to Kansas from Ft. Worth, Texas for the event.

Her blog is down right now, or I'd post links to some of my favorites from Heather's work.

And I'd be remiss if I didn't brag on Mike, too. His work blows my mind. I often find myself editing through or toning wedding images and being pea green with envy that Mike took a photograph I didn't see. But that's why I'm SO jazzed they'll BOTH contribute visually to our wedding!