futuremrsbeck.com

Yes, we have been back for 7 weeks, but I am finally getting around to posting our honeymoon pics! We had such an amazing time at Excellence Playa Mujeres, it truly looked just like the website. Being 7 weeks pregnant, the all-inclusive nature of our honeymoon was a little bit different than we intended; I think it included more sleep than alcohol! The pools were amazing, especially the lazy river.

We visited the ruins at Tulum and took an amazing catamaran ride and relaxing day at La Isla Mujeres.

And we ate . . . a lot!

And the humidity wrecked havoc on my hair every day, but thankfully Nate loves me anyway!

Here is a link to all of the photos from the trip.

http://picasaweb.google.com/michellekoch1/Honeymoon?authkey=Gv1sRgCJuorrfuu-id4gE&feat=directlink

Did I mention that we loved our photographers Boone & Gabe from http://gabrielboone.com/ We received our complete slideshow link last night and about 1,200 images to go through. I had to look at them all despite an awful migraine. Thankfully my honey won us a new awesome iPad so he put all the images on there and they were super easy to look through. The slideshow can be viewed here: http://gabrielboone.com/darkroom/share/?n=Beck

Here is one of my favorite images from the day.

So, as many of you may have speculated with a glimpse of my, how do I put this delicately “my wedding dress that did not fit at all,” we are going to have a baby! As of the wedding, I was 7 weeks pregnant; we did know that baby was on board for a few weeks but it never crossed my mind to try on my wedding dress to see if it fit since I was not showing at all. Of course, I did not take my gigantic chest into consideration. J Thankfully my dress mostly stayed in place for the evening and I only had to fend off a few of the “are you pregnant” questions. Yes, I was most definitely pregnant, but we wanted to focus on the wedding and not the baby.

I am now 14 weeks in and feeling pretty good. Baby is due April 11, 2011 and we are not going to find out the gender. Nate and I have started a baby website, so please check it out here: http://futurebabybeck.com/

It’s been a month now and I think I have recovered from the wonderful, amazing, exhausting weekend that was our wedding. Nate and I had family and friends at our house for 5 days straight and had a wedding in between. While not everyone has a bouncy house 30 feet from their wedding ceremony and the first words that you hear are not usually “mawwage is what brings us together today” ala Princess Bride, it was the perfect wedding for Nate and I. We had such a great day and hope that everyone else had fun as well. Thank you for all who were able to share in it and to those who did not make it, we missed you! Here are some photos from our awesome photographers http://gabrielboone.com/darkroom/share/?n=Beck more to come soon. Here are some also taken by family and friends of the weekend. If you have more photos that you would be so kind as to send on a disk or some other mode, we would love to see them!

So, if you know me, you’d think I would be totally done with all of the wedding stuff. Well, I am close, but not all the way there. My last few days as a single woman are going to fly by, mainly because there is a lot to pack in! Two more days of work, stuff to do around the house, vows to write (Yes, I still need to work on my vows), maps to print, Costco to hit, and so many other things. And my family starts to arrive on Wednesday evening. YAY! I cannot wait for my family and friends to all converge here to be with us at our wedding. I am pretty sure I have not had any bridezilla moments, yet. Nate may disagree, but I think I have held it together pretty well. I can honestly tell you though, working the hours we work, trying to raise four kids to be good people, having some sort of a life and planning a wedding is rough. Not that I would have let anyone else plan my wedding because I am such a control freak, but I am really looking forward to having some free time and discussions that have nothing to do with the wedding. I just want it to be a great party and fun to be had by all. Oh, and I am GETTING MARRIED on Saturday!!!

The past year has gone so fast.  In 16 days and 20 hours-ish, I will become Michelle Beck.  Over the next 2 weeks Nate and I will be finalizing the last items on the to do lists and making sure all of the details are set. Well, I will be checking everything off in my notebook and Nate asks what he needs to do and then we work on it together.  It strikes me as funny though that on the list for this weekend are trips to: Costco, Ikea, Joann’s Crafts, Camera World and The Dollar Store, when all I would love to do would be to nap and relax, maybe read a book. I guess that is what the honeymoon is for!

I have had so many offers of help during the wedding weekend and for the life of me, I am not sure what I need yet. There will need to be some decorating at the Roadhouse the morning of the wedding and clean up after the fact, but not too much other than that. Friday, there will be putting together of centerpieces and some napkin folding, which I know sounds super exciting. If anyone feels like joining, come on over! At least the hard part of making decorations is done. As many of you know, I am not a crafty person, but I figured I would give it a whirl and made some “kissing balls” to hang inside the barn and add a little color. I only had a few minor incidents with the hot glue gun, but overall I think it was worth the effort!

 Also on the list for this weekend is to pick out some great music, finalize the ceremony details and track down those few people who have yet to RSVP. I am sure there will be something that I don’t think of and will arrive at the Roadhouse on the 21^st and remember what it is, but you know, it probably won’t matter at all. What is really important is that Nate and I, surrounded by our family and friends will say “I do.”

So, the invitations have gone out and now it is up to you! We received our first RSVP today while at work, Joleine handed it over and said “You could have saved the stamps!” We arrived home to find 4 more RSVP cards in the mail today; as silly as it may seem, it is very exciting to me. It means the world to us that all of you want to come share in our wedding day. My sister (a.k.a. “the maid of honor”) called me tonight: “I am RSVPing!” “Well, thanks Sister. Just write the number 1 on it and drop it in the mail.” I realize that for many of you, those I have known the longest and who I have lifelong connections with, it is quite a trip and the only summer vacation for many of you. Thank you. For those of you close by, the wonderful friends that I have made in the past few years and the family that I am gaining, thank you as well, for welcoming me and being amazing people that I now get to share the day to day stuff with.

Okay, enough of the sappy stuff. People – fill out the RSVP cards! Check how many of you are coming or sadly, if you cannot make it and send it back so I can check off my list. If you are coming from afar, book your hotels soon as the blocks get released (TownePlace Suites on July 11 and Residence Inn on July 20). Check out: http://futuremrsbeck.com/hotels for the options near our house, near the wedding and also in downtown Portland. Everything is about 20 minutes from each other, check out the map (http://futuremrsbeck.com/maps), you can click on the map, make it interactive and choose your own routes, etc. to get around. There is also a list of things to do over the weekend http://futuremrsbeck.com/thingstodo.

If you are going to be in town as early as Thursday, please let me know as we are hosting the rehearsal dinner at our house that evening and you are welcome to come. I did hear that Lady Gaga is playing that night in town at the Rose Garden, so that would might be an acceptable excuse for missing the dinner, however I am missing the American Idol tour stop in Portland because they chose MY wedding night to play here. The nerve! :-) Ah well, maybe Nate can take me next year when they come to town for our One Year Anniversary!

If you have any questions about Portland, the weekend or wedding events, just let Nate or I know. We cannot wait to see you!

XOXO

Last week, I went to pick up my wedding dress. I had to wait a few days longer that I would have liked because the bridal store moved locations, but I went in and was the second customer in the new store and the first bride to try on her wedding gown there. My friend Stephanie came with me and took pictures (none of which you will be seeing here by the way) and we had a great evening – thanks Steph! I tried on the dress and it fits perfect; if I lose a little or god forbid, gain a little weight in the next 2 months, the dress is perfect and will still fit wonderfully! We tested out veils, hair styles and even talked shoes. The dress was slightly too long and most brides would go and find the perfect white (tight and uncomfortable) sandal with a little heel to make the dress just brush the floor. However, as I told the bridal store owner as she was lacing me into my dress and I could not breathe it was so tight “Stop, I am into comfort over beauty!” So, yes, I am going to wear bejeweled white flip flops under my beautiful wedding dress!

So I brought my dress home and my flip flops! Nate only gets to see the shoes, so I hung my dress in the clear bag in the guest closet. Not that Nate needs to go into the guest closet very often, but he was warned! Today, I took the dress out, wrapped a blue sheet around it, put it back in the clear bag and zipped it back up. Now, when he goes into the closet, all that he will see is a blue sheet in a bag. In 70 days, he can see what’s under the sheet!