Christmas Cookies & Wedding Cakes...

Well, it's certainly beginning to look a lot like Christmas! I spent the day baking Christmas cookies with my mom, sister-in-law, and cousin. We ended up making over 5 different types of cookies (and maybe sampling a few too!) As you can see my mom has quite the collection of old aprons and we've made it a tradition to wear them whenever we bake...it's kinda fun!



Now for the wedding updates...for those of you who don't know, I've decided to wear my Grandma's wedding dress for our wedding. My Grandma Adeline is my Mom's Mom who wore the dress in 1943 for she and my Grandpa's wedding. My Mom and I went to play BINGO with my Grandma a couple weeks back and I asked her permission to wear her dress. She teared up and said "Yes!" I was so happy!

We will do some alterations on the dress to make it a better fit for my style but overall I intend for it to stay as close as possible to its original style! I'm very excited to see the final product!

The same (awesome) woman who will be altering my dress is also making our wedding cakes (yes, we're back to the idea of cakes instead of cupcakes). She asked Paul & I to put together a list of some of our favorite cake flavors...wow...ok...we can do that! I'm excited to see what she comes up with as we've given her some "creative freedom" on the actual cake design.

On the "girly side" of things...I've been working with some former classmates to organize hair stylists for the bridesmaids for the morning of the wedding. I've also ordered and received all the bridesmaids' dresses which is nice to have checked off the list!

While looking at jewelry for the bridesmaids, I had a change of "vision" (oh, how dramatic, huh?) for the wedding color scheme. Originally I had been leaning toward a pink & green color scheme....but now I've settled on a green, blue, ivory, brown scheme. I asked Paul how he felt about my new idea and he said "It will all look brown to me" (due to being partially colorblind)...which I then interpreted to mean "I love it, Kendra!"...Oh, it's nice to have such an agreeable fiance! ha!

Paul is working on deciding what meal will be served at the reception of our wedding. The reception site has a big menu that we can select from and with so many weddings lately, we've been able to sample many of their menu items ahead of time. We hope you all end up enjoying the meal....and cake...and overall, just the whole day! (but if not, then at least you know who to blame for the meal selection! - kidding!)

I finish up my last final exam of the semester this week and then we can focus on enjoying the Christmas season AND getting this wedding planned! It's now less than 6 months away!

Thanks for checking in!
K&P

PS: Did I mention I have another cousin that got engaged? Just last week! Congrats Jake & Gina!

Bye, Bye, Bye...

Update: Paul read the post....and the boy-band, pop songs have been removed...dang.

Probably for the best!

Weddy, Set, Go!

How often do we begin by apologizing for not posting often enough? Too many times...and today won't be different. So, here it is....Sorry. Ok, now let's move on!

This Saturday will mark the start of the "6 months until our wedding count down". I know you all have that marked on your calendars and have been anxiously awaiting it. Well, rest assured...it's almost here!

Hmm...what kind of updates do we have for you today? Well, I will be ordering the bridesmaids' dresses tomorrow, which is pretty exciting...mostly because I was actually able to convince 9 very different ladies that they'll "just love" this dress. I rock! (Now, fingers crossed that they actually will!) I will definitely be happy to have that crossed off the old wedding planning list.

We started our wedding registry...which is pretty fun but also difficult. Our house is not very big...and some of those "small" kitchen appliances just may end up being stored in Paul's closet. (Sorry Paul - ha!)

I've spent several evenings, playing songs on YouTube to try to get our list of wedding songs together. The scene usually plays out like this...

Paul: (while watching football) "Go, Go, Go....NOOOOOOOOOOOO..."
Kendra: "Hey Paulo...do you like this song?"
(song plays loudly over the sound of football announcers)
Paul: (leaning in to hear the announcers) "Yeah...it's nice."
Kendra: "Ok, it's on the list."

I then proceed to add numerous boy-band, pop songs to the list. One of the 2 following things will happen as a result....

1) Paul will read this post and promptly ask me to remove these songs from the list
OR
2) He won't and we'll walk down the aisle to something by N'sync, like maybe this....



Boy, you're in for a show!

Paul & I recently booked our trip to Jamaica for our friends Ryan & Stacy's wedding in January! We're very excited for Ryan & Stacy...and to have such a great excuse to hit the beaches during a MN winter!

I have 3 weeks of class left, 2 huge presentations and a final exam. BUT, after that...it's wedding planning boot-camp. We've got to get the bulk of everything nailed down (tight!) so by the time I head into second semester, we're good as gold or at least solid as silver....we'll take what we can get.

The picture of us, above, is from Thanksgiving! (Thanks Dennis!)

Thanks for checking in!
K&P

PS: Hope you're ready...Paul's been practicing some pretty crazy dance moves lately...who knows what kind of choreographed routine he'll work up in the next 6 months? Just consider yourself warned. (He's going to love this post! - ha!)

The Wedding Party!

TWO posts in ONE day....what's going on!?!? Ha! I've been told by some disgruntled followers (my coworkers!) that we need to get better at updating the blog more often....so we're working on it! You'd think that seeing me 5 out of 7 days a week would be enough....some people!!

So, let's talk wedding...it's time to meet Our Wedding Party!

The Ladies...

Matrons of Honor:
Joleen (Kendra's sister)
Lynn (Kendra's sister)

Bridesmaids:
Kara (Kendra's sister-in-law)
Megan (Paul's sister)
Gina (Kendra's cousin)
Sarah (Kendra's cousin)
Traci (Kendra's college friend & teammate)
Amber (Kendra & Paul's good friend)

Flower Girl(s):
Madison (Kendra's niece)
Baby M. (if a girl!)

Personal Attendants:
Natalie (Kendra's college friend & teammate)
Krista (Kendra's college friend & teammate)
Gretchen (Kendra's cousin)

The Men...

Best Man:
John (Paul's good friend)

Groomsmen:
Matt (Paul's good friend)
Pete (Paul's good friend)
Chuck (Paul's good friend)
Mark (Paul's brother-in-law)
Chris (Kendra's brother-in-law & Paul's good friend)
Jeff (Kendra's brother)
Eric (Kendra's brother)
Jesse (Kendra's brother-in-law)

Ring Bearers:
Joey (Paul's nephew)
Brady (Kendra's nephew)
Benjamin (Kendra's nephew)
Baby M. (if a boy!)

Ushers:
Kyle (Kendra's cousin)
Brian (Paul's cousin)


That's 29, counting Paul & I!! Sounds like the perfect wedding party to us!

Ta-Da!

Our house is (almost) done!!! I hate to say it's completely done because frankly, it seems as though it will NEVER be completely done! However, I can say confidently that this particular project is about 99% done! I've included some before & after pictures in this post! We're pretty proud! Seriously, sometimes I go outside just to sneak another peek of it - ha!

Thanks again to all of our friends & family who helped us get this massive project done!

House Update #2

Hey all,

Again, my posting is delayed, but for good reason! Paul & I (with the help of many friends & family) have accomplished much in the last couple of weeks.

We're so close to finishing up our house remodel!! (Phewf!) After the first weekend in November, we should be completely finished! Check out the updated pic I've included in this post. We are only waiting on the new shutters we ordered, one more window in the front, some trim and the new gutters! We can't wait to be finished!

Last weekend, we also celebrated Paul's 32nd birthday....by doing work on our house! Lucky guy! We did break early so we could enjoy a huge feast of Mexican food, cocktails and fun with a bunch of friends and family!

Paul & I are just about 7 months away from our wedding and have much to do yet! We're planning on finishing up the house first, then refocusing our efforts back to the wedding planning. I do think we'll begin the great "dress hunt" in the next month, which will make for some fun times for all the women involved in the wedding!

We're looking forward to a quieter weekend of handing out Halloween candy and perhaps eating some ourselves too! Back to working on the house the following weekend and hopefully wrapping it all up then...just in time for winter!

Hope you are all doing well!

Happy Halloween,
K&P

Old House, New Tricks!

Well, where have we been? Didn't I say I was going to try harder to update the blog more frequently?? hmm....well, allow me to explain...

This past weekend, Paul & I started our HUGE home renovation project! Now, some of you may be saying "But Paul & Kendra don't know how to remodel a home...", well you're right...we don't....BUT our family does! We're so fortunate to have the help of many skilled handymen (and women), cleaner-uppers, and cooks who helped make our weekend go more smoothly!

We aren't done yet, but we got a good start. We now have 4 of the 8 new windows installed, 1 of the 3 new doors, and about 1/4 of the house sided. We'll continue on with the efforts this next weekend and if there's still more to finish, we'll continue the following weekend. After that, we'll get new gutters put on our house too! Our goal is to have the outside of our house completed before Halloween so we can hand out candy together on our first Halloween in our newly remodeled home!

If you haven't heard - this weekend it also began to snow in MN! This morning we woke up to even more snow that continued ALL day, so we may be wearing our snow boots next weekend as we work on the house! Such timing, we have!

We hope everyone is enjoying Fall (without snow!)....We'll post some "AFTER" pics of the house when it's ready!

Stay warm,
K&P

Congrats Eric & Kara!

This past weekend, Paul & I stood up in my brother's wedding in Wisconsin. It was a really fun weekend! It was neat for Paul & I to be in a wedding together, especially now that we're planning our own, as we spent much of the time taking mental notes!

Eric & Kara's wedding was outside near a beautiful pond in Kara's parent's yard. It rained all day Friday and we were all fearing the worst when it came to Saturday's weather. Well, Kara & Eric certainly lucked out and had the most beautiful day! The sun was out, a cool breeze was in the air and the trees were flaunting their best autumn colors! I've included some photos from the weekend!

Paul's parents, Dennis & Florence, were able to join us in Wisconsin for the wedding and thankfully, my goofy family didn't scare them away! After a wonderful dinner, we all spent some time on the dance floor together, though Dennis never did follow through on that polka dance he promised me!! ha! Dennis - no avoiding the polkas at our wedding, ok?

We're getting pretty excited for our wedding day which is quickly approaching (just over 8 months away!) I was pleasantly surprised to hear from some relatives that we're "ahead of the game" in regard to our wedding plans! It's hard to tell now that we're in the thick of it....but at least it appears like we've got our ducks in a row! Stay, ducks, stay!

I'll end this blog post with an awesome quote from Paul on Saturday night while dancing....."Kendra, ya know, I'm not entirely looking forward to all the stresses of the wedding day...but I'm really looking forward to be married to you!" - phewf....always good to hear!

I'll try to blog again in a couple days as I should have some more updates very soon!

Have a good week,
K&P

The What's Up-date!

This week has brought about some solid updates to share...

-DJ: Booked! (yes!)

-Photographer/Videographer: A close friend has a side photography business and has agreed to be the man behind the camera for our wedding day (well, not the whole day, we'd like him to have a little fun too!) We're so fortunate!

-Transportation: Booked! (Due to having a large wedding party, we've booked a large "party" bus to transport the wedding party from the church to the reception - should be a blast!)

-Cake/Cupcakes: We're waiting on quotes from a couple contacts but are hoping to make a decision on that shortly!

-Ceremony Music: My high school choir director has agreed to play the piano during our ceremony and we're waiting to hear back regarding reserving some excellent soloists, as well! (Side note: My brother will also be singing a song or two at our wedding....we're thrilled!)

Well, I think that's it for now....if you have any fun ideas, feel free to send them our way....we're always open to new ideas!

Hope all are doing well and I'll try to be better at updating the blog more often!

Take care,
K&P

Know Vacancy....

A new bit of info to share with you regarding hotel accommodations - The Schumacher's historic hotel on Main Street in New Prague will officially open once again on October 1st of this year!

For those of you who prefer a little more small town charm in your stay, this would be a great option! Schumacher's hotel touts 6 newly renovated rooms that keep with the tradition of being named after the months of the year! Paul & I have booked the "June" suite (obviously!) for our wedding weekend! I've included the link to their website where you can find more information, however please consider this an option for your "vacation" to New Prague, MN next June!

Schumacher's also has an on-site restaurant and pub. Room rates are approximately $190/night for Friday & Saturday. If your stay extends into any day between Sunday and Thursday, a $50 credit will be applied to the daily rate! These rates do include breakfast!

Please Note: I wasn't able to block any rooms at Schumacher's as they don't allow that unless we could guarantee to fill all 6 rooms. So, if you'd like to stay at Schumacher's please call as far in advance as you can. I'm certain they will be filling up fast since this year marks their re-opening!

www.schumachershotelandgrill212.com

If we can help answer any questions, don't hesitate to contact me at kendrasticha@yahoo.com

Chat soon,
K&P

Picture (almost) Perfect...

So, as I mentioned in our last blog entry, love is in the air! I've included a photo of myself and 2 of my closest cousins in this entry. Sarah, Gina & I have been like sisters for many years and have made a tradition of occasionally meeting up and singing karaoke together at a local small-town tavern. We enter our song requests under our "stage name" of "The Sticha Chicas"!! How crazy things work out that in the year 2010 all three of us will be getting married...not only that, but we'll also all be in each other's weddings! Tonight, Paul mentioned that perhaps we'll have to find a new "stage name" and immediately made his suggestion of "The Chicas formally known as Stichas", which I thought was actually pretty good!

And now to explain this blog's title..."Picture (almost) Perfect": You see, the topic of the price of wedding photography has brought about our first "wedding debate"! I, personally, feel that the wedding photographer is one aspect of our wedding where "you get what you pay for". Paul, on the other hand, feels that just any wedding photographer is fine since essentially "you hang one picture on the wall and put the rest in an album to sit on your shelf forever". Hmmmm... Paul's got a good point yet I think I'm right on this one. (go figure!) Well, let's hope we settle this debate before June 5th or we may need all of your help on taking some photos of our big day (KIDDING!)

Dare I even bring up the wedding cake, DJ, and flowers??? ...maybe tomorrow!! ha!

Thanks for checking in - K&P

Eat, Drink & Be Married....12 Times!

So, this past Saturday (September 5th) Paul & I had 2 weddings to attend...my cousin Holly and her fiance Eric and Paul's high school friend Brandon and his fiance Cortney. Paul & I decided to split up for the day - I went to Holly & Eric's wedding and Paul went to Brandon & Cortney's wedding. Later, I met up with Paul to spend a little quality time (mostly on the dance floor) at Brandon & Cortney's wedding!

The fun thing about my cousin Holly's wedding is that it was the first of 7 cousins' weddings within the next year! Yes, that's right, my Grandma Sticha has 7 grandchildren getting married within 11 months! YIKES! The schedule goes as follows:

September 5: Holly & Eric
September 26: Eric (my brother) & Kara
October 24: Julie & Phil
January 9: Gina & Brandon
June 5: Come on - you know this....that's right, Kendra & Paul!
June 26: Mike & Mandy
August 21: Sarah & Ben

Holy Matri-moly, right? Anyway, it's made for quite an exciting year! I've included a photo of all 7 of us and my Grandma Sticha just for fun!

On top of these weddings and including our own, Paul & I have several friends getting married within the next year...our grand total is now 12 and we couldn't be more excited!

Well, I think that's all for today, but check back in soon!

Thanks,
P&K

Cheers!

The Weducation

So, here it goes....we've decided to create this blog to keep family, friends and the wedding party in the loop on our wedding plans!

Tomorrow marks 1 month since Paul & I got engaged! So far, we've reserved the church, the reception site and the hotel...only about one million remaining items to plan!

The wedding will take place at St. Patrick's church of Cedar Lake in New Prague. My family has made up approximately 99% of the church's membership for as long as I can remember and just like my sisters did, I've always imagined I'd get married there. Paul & I feel especially lucky as my former priest, Father George, has agreed to come back and perform our wedding ceremony! The church is small, but adorable, and although it will be tight quarters during the ceremony, we're hoping you'll still join us for the ceremony.

St. Patrick's Church of Cedar Lake
24425 Old Highway 13
Jordan, MN 55352
www.stpandc.mn.org

The wedding reception will be held at the Park Ballroom in New Prague, which has a HUGE dance floor - so start brushing up on your dance moves, folks!

Park Ballroom
300 Lexington Avenue South
P.O. BOX 113
New Prague, MN 56071
www.theparkballroom.com

If you're a "plan-ahead-er", feel free to book your hotel room at the AmericInn Lodge & Suites in New Prague. We've asked the hotel to set aside 20 rooms, which they'll hold up until one month prior to the wedding - so, act now!

AmericInn Lodge & Suites
1200 1st Street North East
New Prague, MN 56071
http://www.americinn.com/hotels/MN/NewPrague

We've been researching photographers, bakeries, videographers, and acrobats (ok, kidding about that one!) for our big day and are hoping to have those items checked off the "to-do" list soon.

Aside from the wedding planning, we've been keeping quite busy! Paul & I will be standing up in my oldest brother and his fiance's wedding at the end of this month. The wedding will be held in Loyal, WI (where my future sister-in-law grew up) and we're very excited! Paul's parents, Florence & Dennis, will be joining our family for the festivities and will get a first hand glimpse at how the Stichas celebrate weddings! Let's hope this doesn't scare them off! ha!

Paul has been very busy with work...which is both a stress and a blessing, but overall his hard work is not going unnoticed! We've recently joined a couple's fantasy football league, which I feel was mostly a scheme to get the women more interested so the guys could then consider fantasy football a "date-night" discussion item....men! Either way, its been pretty fun....I pretend to know what I'm doing and Paul pretends that it doesn't bother him!

I, too, have kept busy with work and will be heading back to school part-time 2 nights a week this Fall. I'll be working toward my Masters of Business Communications degree which makes me both excited and nervous!

We'll try our hardest to keep this site up to date so we can share some fun details with you. We hope you're able to "Join us in June!", so please save the date: June 5, 2010.

Take care,
Kendra & Paul