What to do with the dress?

Hi! It's been soooo long since I have actually sat down to write about anything wedding....

As time continues to fly by we have been and are going and will be going to friend's weddings, etc.

I have even been asked to "take some pictures" at an outdoor casual wedding next month.

SO I have been spending a little bit of time here and there looking at everything wedding online- just browsing for photo ideas and such. {side note.... I am so happy to be done planning a wedding. I loved it, but was VERY time consuming and took over every single thought I had in my mind}

ANYWAY... today I have come across {this} website. I go back and forth about my dress... "what to do with it?" I have been VERY lucky and was able to sport my lovely and beautiful wedding dress for both our Cabo wedding and the MN reception. I LOVE wearing it... like all other brides, her wedding gown has to be the MOST favorite outfit of all time!

Leading up to the wedding, I came across a dress idea if the Bride shall want to sell her dress after the wedding... she could have her gown sketched for keepsake purposes!

{image via}

I am still in love with this idea... so I have a friend, Jayme, who puts her dress
on each year for her wedding anniversary- what a great idea!!! I think I would like to put my dress on for the 1st anniversary and have it sketched.... how fun!

Now... I have 6ish months to research this and find someone in MN... that will take a picture of me wearing the dress and sketch the gown OR... will it be easiest to have a picture sent in to a website, again, like {so} and wait anxiously for the final product to arrive on my doorstep!?

What would you do? or better yet... What did you do with your wedding gown after you were married?

why!?

Ok... our wedding day has come and gone & the planning is done {tear}... now can someone please explain WHY I keep on having "wedding day" nightmares!!!?

It's been the last three night, THREE NIGHTS! I seriously wake up a tad stressed out and it has been because I couldn't pick between 2 different wedding gowns!

Or the bridesmaid's colors were all wrong, everything was orange!

OR I was not ready in time {not even close to being dressed and no make up and my hair not done} AND everyone was starting to show up...

and then... to top all of that off Aaron and I couldn't even go and get ready because there was a HUGE snow storm!!

Oh my... I am hoping that I do not have another one of THOSE tonight.... wish me sweet dreams!

xoxo, Andrea

Changing My Name

This is quite the process... it's just A LOT of paperwork. It's also crazy just sitting to actually really think about ALL of the things that my maiden name has been attached to.

On March 20th I went and got my license changed- $13 to change my name from Schlomka to Sonnek. It was crazy, a little sad- but again very exciting all at the same time, really. In fact just the other day I received my new MN DL in the mail- and I have this different look to me... maybe it's the face of a married woman shining through... I don't know! I will say... Aaron said I looked "Mexican" well duh Aaron- we did just get married in Mexico! hehe so I am tan in my DL nice! Thank You Cabo! hehe

Another funny story- the other day we both received {or so I thought} mail from Blue Cross, I handed Aaron his mail and I went to open mine... from the other room he called out "Uh... this is your mail, not mine!?" well it's actually quite funny how similar our names now appear on paper {take a second and write both names out- super close! haha}

You should see me signing my new name... it's difficult {i miss being able to sign things without thinking about how to spell my own name!} but today, as I was signing paychecks here at work, I realized that I think I've got it figured out {yessss}! Good thing my last name still starts with a "S" and ends in a "K" I am able to get by with pretty much my same signature.

Last random name changing fact, I had a friend tell me about MissnowMrs.com as a tool for easy assistance in legal name changing... I found this to be a great tool right away {thank you Cass!}. The website had me fill out all of my info which in turn prefilled a letter that can be mailed out to all of my contacts. This will notify them that my name and address have now changed... neat! If you're getting married soon and you are changing your name, check it out as well! {p.s. i used my favorite coupon site retailmenot.com for a $10 coupon, another great deal!}

I am officially addressed as Mrs. Sonnek by the following:

• My bank
• Target
• My MN State Drivers License
• My Health Insurance

I still have a ways to go... just saving it all for a rainy day {i hear making a stop at the SS office is no fun...} but I'll get there.

xoxo, Mrs. Sonnek ;)

TO and FROM

I am hearing that guests are starting to receive their travel documents from Tammy. This is exciting- it only means that the trip is right around the corner and it SO IS!

Aaron and I have yet to get ours but they should be at our doorstep very soon.

On another note- if you did not book thru Tammy then you won't get anything from her.

SOoooo.... some have asked "How are we getting to the hotel from the airport?" when you booked with Tammy, your transportation is included. If not booked with Tammy you will want to arrange for something before getting to Cabo.

When Aaron and I traveled to Cabo the first time with Brad & Kris we used the company called TransCabo (Kris set all of this up, and it went very smoothly). When jogging Kris' memory on this she also mentioned that there are always a lot of suggestions on Trip Advisor Cabo forum for transportation ideas to and from the airport to the hotels.

Another note to all: when you DO land in Cabo you will get off the plane {outside in the sun!} and then you will do all the fun customs stuff like getting your passports stamped, getting your luggage, etc... THEN.... you will locate the exit doors which are hard to find on purpose.

In order to find the exit doors you will need to walk thru what we call the "TimeShare Tunnel" this is just a wide walkway with many many TimeShare sharks- they will say and do anything to get you to listen to their shpeel- don't fall for it. They even go as far as saying that have a free cab ride waiting for you- LIARS!! anyway, don't say I didn't warn ya- just don't get sucked in.

When you do get outside- there will be someone somewhere with your name on their clipboard, these are the people you will be riding with! We have done this twice and that really is how it works. Now depending on what day you fly in the TimeShare sharks may or may not be there- one year they were no where to be seen {it was a Wed} and then the next year they were everywhere {it was a Thurs}.

"What the heck did I just say?" It's simple of you booked with Tammy- get outside of the airport and look for a dude that has your name on paper. If booked on your own- set up travel before getting to Cabo we suggest: {http://www.transcabo.com/}

Let us know if you have any questions on this!

xoxo, Andrea & Aaron

sun kissed

and without the sweat & tears!

Remember me talking about wanting to try out an air brush tan?

Well.... today I looked into, I booked an appointment for 6:30pm with Forest Lake's Hawaiian Tan and in a matter of minutes I looked like I had been laying on the beach alllll dang day! awesome! really really awesome.

It was super simple- you get hand sprayed while standing in your undergarments, swimsuit, topless or nude- but the thing to remember is that there will be insta-tan lines.

After asking a lot of questions, getting the scoop, applying my barrier lotion and picking a shade of "mocha" the process took a total of about 15-20 minutes. There was only a need for a couple of minutes to dry, some simple "when you get home instructions" and vuala- TAN for 7-10 days!

What do you think?

**note: with having the bachelorette party this past weekend I am still sporting my "tanning bed skin" from Saturday- so I am actually A LOT darker {and/or fake tan} then normal... but with time running short I wanted to try the air brush out to make sure I liked it.

I will be going back for a pre-wedding air brush on 2/15 {2 days before we leave for Cabo}. It will be rather difficult to go back to the old 15 minutes of laying in a bed and tanning...

xoxo, Andrea

TWENTY-10!

2010 is here!! WOW!!!

So..... 2.20.10 is only HOW MANY DAYS AWAY!?

ML

This weekend Aaron and I are headed down to Minn Lake for the weekend.

Since it's Fall Harvest and Aaron favorite time of year, he is hoping to get some farming in, but it might be too wet still.

I on the other hand will be busy with having an appointment to try on my dress!! YAH! I am excited to try it on again, but in my size! We (Mom, Kay & I) will also be meeting with the caterer that will be doing the food for our reception back here in May. That should be fun too, maybe we will even get to try some food!

We'll be back with an update on the progress made with food and the to tell you about all the fun I had at my dress fitting- but there still won't be any pictures, sorry. Enjoy the weekend!

xoxo, Aaron & Andrea

Invites are here!!

I have been checking the mail each and every day... waiting and waiting... and guess what!!?

YOU GOT IT- the invites are here and they are so great... if you weren't think about Cabo before... you will be once you get these!! I promise!

Aaron and I will be working on putting them together and getting them out to you by the end of this month. exciting!

I also have another Cabo Booking update for today: Michelle and Jake are set to arrive in Cabo on Thursday the 18th and will be staying until Tuesday the 23rd!! YAH! (she too loved working with the ever so helpful Tammy).

Progress {update}

We're on a roll this week!

Let's take a look back at my list of "in progress"...

• Ordering the BM dresses this week {CHECK!}
• Finding a shop/graphic designer to help produce the Cabo invite {in the works!}
• Finding my Groom-to-be a suit {CHECK!}
• Helping parents/grandparents with Wedding Day attire
• Getting our Cabo trip booked
• My Wedding Dress!!

Also- happy to note another booking update: Sheina & Tom, traveling Thursday Feb 18-Monday Feb 22 :) Sheina mentioned that Travelocity had the best rates she's seen so far! http://www.travelocity.com/ <----- check it out!

Making Some Progress

I just thought I would share some info to help answer the question "How's wedding planning coming along?" (we have been hearing that one a lot these days!)

Things are going well- everything seems to fall into place when needed- so far.

The top items on the list of "in progress" include;

• Ordering the BM dresses this week
• Finding a shop/graphic designer to help produce the Cabo invite
• Finding my Groom-to-be a suit
• Helping parents/grandparents with Wedding Day attire
• Getting our Cabo trip booked
• My Wedding Dress!!

The girl's dresses will be ordered on Tuesday and I think they will be in about a month and a half to follow.

The Cabo invite has been fun to "think about/create" but the reality of actually getting it made is another thing. My first source has proven to be a little too spendy for our "budget". As a result, I am taking the idea elsewhere (for now) to see what I can come up with. We hope to get the invites out by the end of Oct!!

Aaron and I went out last week to get a feel for what he wants. I like what he envisions himself in on our wedding day- now we just need to find it. I think we are going to go out and about again this week to try again.

As for Grandma & Grandpa- I know my Gma will look fabulous (always does) she just wanted help with color. As for Gpa, f I left it up to him he would be down in Cabo wearing his overalls everyday. Since he is playing a very important role in the wedding we are going to attempt a try at finding him something a little bit cooler. BUT you never know- he might end up in those overalls after all, he says "no one will know it's me!"
I plan to go shopping with either Dad or Lorri, or both to help find something for FOB to stand out from the rest of the wedding guests. Mom [MOB] found her dress with my help while we were in Florida- very pretty! and Paul will wear what Mom finds for him they will look awesome no matter what! Kay [MOG] has her dress picked out and will be getting that ordered when all the BM dresses get ordered- she (along with my mom, and gma) are very worried about the "right" thing to wear- everything will look awesome, no matter what! Ambrose [FOG], I trust that he will look exceptionally well with whatever fits in his "carry-on"- he's a pretty cool dude.

We've been looking and looking at all the deals and trying to figure out when it will be the best time to book with our travel agent. Aaron and I will actually be meeting with some RIU staff at an MLT Vacations convention here in St. Paul that runs Oct 5th-7th. After talking with them we are going to book our trip which will be Wed 2/17 thru Saturday 2/27 with the RIU Palace.

My wedding dress is said to be shipped and in on 10/9- so I hope to be traveling soon for a first fitting!! :)

Cabo is going to be SOOOO FUN- We are getting soooo excited!

The following details are in place for our reception back here in MN on 5.15.10;

• Reception Hall is/has been booked
• DJ booked
• Photographer is booked
• Caterer is booked

Go Home Hurricane Jimena

A few friends asked me if I was aware of the Hurricane headed right for Cabo.

Well... I wasn't- so in turn I worried about it... looked it up... thought about it... freaked out... etc... I love that Carrie comforted me is saying "pfff, plenty of time to rebuild".

It now seems that Hurricane Jimena is no longer a threat to Cabo San Lucas (read more here) well not to the part that we are worried about at least.

SO all y'all settled down now.

people do this?

I was reading a wedding blog today and thought to myself... I would SO do that!!!
Well, not really but I can see myself wanting to.

Anyway, since we will be in Mexico I don't think I will have any issues with being "preoccupied" and honestly- I think I would for sure be able to control my FB urges for a whole entire day!

Too funny- If you've got some time check out this post.