Some other plans

Dave and I had a chance to get out on the boat on Saturday for several hours and did nothing but chat about the wedding. It was great to have each other's undivided attention without any distractions other than the loons and the fish jumping.

We're still looking at chalet's to rent in Ellicottville, NY. We've started to narrow down exactly what we're looking for in space, rooms and price, so that's good. I have found a few more places on some different websites that look promising, but it's so hard to tell from photos online. Luckily, I think I can rely on some family and friends to go check out some places in person for us.

I still want to incorporate a Celtic theme in some fashion into the ceremony and reception decor. I was quite surprised, when my mention of Dave possibly wearing a kilt, seemed to intrigue him and I found him first thing the next morning looking at kilt rentals online. The entire outfit for a wedding was surprisingly inexpensive. Something we might be able to look into.

We won't be hiring a band or musicians (at least at this point) to perform at the ceremony or reception, but I have asked my sisters and niece if they'd like to sing a song at the wedding for us. They all have terrific voices. And I think we'll just load up our iPod with all of our favorite tunes and play that after the wedding. I might be able to rely on a couple of people to "run" the iPod for me. I have a portable speaker unit that should work fine. Hmmm...I'm just remember my niece has a karioki machine. Hmmm....

And I've tentativly asked my friend Deb to cater the wedding, but we're still in the discussion stage on that. I'd rather she come and enjoy the day, but she's a terrific cook and I know her food wouldn't dissappoint. I am looking at a few catering options in the area, but it's limited.

The other big money item Dave and I discussed was our honeymoon. Instead of traveling to NY for the wedding and having to pickup and travel again for the honeymoon, we've decided we'll stay in The Berkshires a couple of night on our drive back to Maine. The Berkshires hold some special meaning to us as it was a half-way point for us to meet when I still llived in NY and Dave was in Maine. It's such a beautiful area and the end of June should be beautiful there. We stayed in an inexpensive hotel there once and it appears they're still open.

THEN, we'll plan and save for the real honeymoon in Scotland further down the road. I wasn't dismissing the idea, but we'll need to really plan for it and save.

The time spent on the boat was wonderful and I think we both really needed that. It suddenly became beautiful and sunny. As soon as we docked the boat, the clouds rolled back in. Must be God wanted us to spend some quality time together too. :-)