Wedding Progress

Travis and I were in the paper! His mom put an engagement announcement in the paper (in Idaho) and sent us a copy when it printed.

It was really nice to be able to see it and it got me thinking of ways to share what's going on down here. I know that she hasn't been able to see many of the details for the wedding (or hear about them since Travis has no clue on some of it, like the flowers), so I've decided to post some pictures and information about the wedding...

The location is Neverland Farms in Cleveland, GA. I have some pictures of other weddings held there...

The property is a farm with horses, so there will be horses in the pastures and I will arrive at the ceremony (and Travis and I will be taken away from the ceremony) in a carriage.

Here are some other pictures of the location..

This is the cabin where I will get ready for the ceremony and where Travis and I will stay that night.

The guests will wait in the "barn" (where bluegrass music will be played) until the ceremony begins.

My favorite part of the barn is the loft. This is where Travis and his friends can hang out until things get started and they can overlook everyone in the barn or sit in a private area (if Travis is hyperventilating).

The ceremony is outdoors under an arbor right by one of the pastures. Hopefully the horses will roam close enough for photos during our ceremony.

The reception will take place in a covered pavilion that looks like a barn, but it's open. I put a picture of it during the day and at night...

Here is a picture of the buffet table and cake table.

The menu that we picked out from the caterer is:

Starter:
Fresh Chipotle Salsa & Spiked Sour Cream

Salad:
Fancy Spinach Salad

(Baby Spinach, Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Slivered Almonds, Bacon & Parmesan, Country French Dressing)

Entrees:

Neverland’s Hickory Smoked Pork Loin

(with Secret Brown Sugar Rub and Moonshine Vidalia Peach Sauce)

“Smoked on the Bone” Chicken
(Ellijay Apple Cider Brined and Finished with Garlic Shallot Vinaigrette)

Sides:

Pecan Crusted Squash Casserole
(Squash, Zucchini, Bell Pepper & Vidalia Baked in Cheesy Cream under a Pecan Herbed Crumb Crust)

Roasted Garlic & Cream Smashers
(Yukon Gold and Baby Reds Smashed in their Skins and loaded with Neufchatel, Herb Butter, and Sour Cream)

Then, from the bakery for the cake: I picked the hexagon shape of the first cake and the design of the second cake (minus the bottom layer - our cake will only have four layers). The brown/green layers will be chocolate cake and the ivory/ivy layers will be white butter cake.

I also picked a Willow Tree topper. Travis will even be wearing an outfit that looks like that! It seemed much better than the traditional ones with the groom in a tuxedo.

Then, when we leave the reception, there will be a sparkler farewell.

On to other details...

The flowers: I finally decided to use calla lilies. I will be carrying white lilies and everyone else will have yellow.

Some of the other flowers and plants that will be used are: star of bethlehem, lily grass, hypericum berries, and variegated pit.

For the favors, I ordered matches online and I made decorative candles. I got the candles at Wal-Mart and tied ribbon around them with a heart charm at the knot. This took me a while, but it was like the invitations... it seemed more personal and it saved money.



My mom and Heather (the maid of honor) have picked out what they are wearing.

I got my dress (but can't show it because Travis reads this) and my accessories - antique looking jewelry and flip flops as my shoes.

Travis and I both got our rings for the ceremony. Mine is a band that matches the engagement ring and his band looks a little like a tire tread and is made out of titanium (I put it on my thumb to take a picture, but it's still a little hard to see).

I finally picked out a guest book. I couldn't stand the idea of white "pillow top" guest book, so I bought a journal from a book store. It has lined pages and opens flat, so it should work well. It also looks like a normal book when you turn it sideways, which means that we may actually keep it on a bookshelf somewhere.

Ok, well, that's it for now. I still have to pick out music and a few other things... and we meet with the officiant tomorrow. We had to take personality tests for this, so I will post the results (although I already looked up our results on-line, which makes sense based on my personality).