What is one of the best parts of a wedding reception??

THE CAKE of course! We want nothing but the best for our guests at the reception! We did our due diligence, tested a few bakers and learned that even the most expensive cakes aren't really that delicious. This past weekend, we did one final test and put our money down on the winning baker (who we really, really enjoyed working with).

I'd love nothing more than to explain to you what flavors we chose for both cakes and what the design will be (because let's face it, I can't keep surprises)however, I must refrain from doing so until August 21st. Let's just say, you may want a piece of both cakes :).

Updates from the groom!

Steph has really been on me about not updating the blog - and with good reason, it's been 3 months since I took the time to post anything.  I'll try to make up for it by giving a few updates on what we've been up to:

DJ - After many delays, we finally decided on Complete Music and a DJ who described his voice as "Smooth as Butta".  I'll get him in touch with Joe G at some point and they can hash out the details.

Reception - We went with the Austin Club.  It's a block from the church and had everything we wanted at a price we were willing to pay.  SFA Hotel had some great features to it, but we just couldn't justify the additional cost.  It also lacked the charm of Austin Club. 

Cakes - Who knew cake tasting would be so tough?  It's hard to make a decision when they all taste good.  All in One Bake Shop is currently in the lead, but we have a few more places to check out.  Definitely my favorite wedding task so far...

Rehearsal Dinner - My Dad was in town a week or so ago and we checked out a few places.  Last week I got an email saying we were all set for Z Tejas off 6th.  Was almost too easy.

Our song - We've started the search for our song.  Snow Patrol is probably our favorite band, which should make it easy.  Going through the lyrics - maybe not.  Crack the Shutters is at the top of the list right now.  Set Fire to the 3rd Bar is out thanks to that new movie that's coming out (name escapes me).

Dance Dance Dance - As I found out the hard way a while back, Steph has 2 right feet (I say that in the nicest way possible), so we took part in Free Day of Dance Austin.  We might be on to something so stay tuned.

Man Registry - I finally went to Sears and registered for some manly items.  Their website leaves a lot to be desired and is not the easiest to navigate and add items to a registry.  Going to the store isn't much easier because customer service is swamped, the scanner failed to pick up a number of the bar codes it scanned, and it smells funny in there.

Tux Talk - Regular Tie or Bow Tie?  That's the current conundrum.  Luckily we have about 3 months before I need to start looking.  I do want to get a custom tailored shirt since no shirt fits me like I want.  Should add a nice touch too.

That's pretty much all I have for now.  I could go on about upcoming races but that would just be boring.

Wedding Ticker

Bed Bath and Beyond- CHECK!

After a few minor hick ups with our scanner at BBB, we were off and running into the store full of "As Seen on TV items (one of my favorites), various kitchen gadgets and racks full of plush towels. The "Registry Coordinator" instructed us to think of the things we always wished we had but didn't really need. Sounded a little off to us but nontheless, we starting scanning away using our similar method from Macy's - I picked and Mike scanned :).

Two registries down and one more to go! Mike will be registering at Sears in the next week so look for the man list to complete our wedding registry experience. :)

Classic Case

Steph: "Yay, this vase is from our registry and we love it!"

Mike: "Wha? We registered for this?"

Steph: "Yes, I added it online :)"

Happy 2010!

Mike and I are wishing you wonderful and safe happy new year! It's going to be a big year for us and we couldn't be happier. See you all soon!

The results are in!

A couple of weeks ago we met with Mr. Dick Phillips (our contact at the church who reviews the results of the Marriage Prepare test) and learned quite a few things about each other. More than we thought we would just by taking this test. I'll be the first to admit that I wasn't keen on the idea of taking some test to determine our strenghts and weakness. Partly because I'm stubborn and the other being that a member of my own family had reviewed results with other couples at one time and I remember thinking, "How awful that you have to tell a couple that they shouldn't get married or that they will have a tough time with their relationship if they do decide to get married". As usual, my perception (and fears) were skewed and I'm happy to say that I'm extremely glad we did this. I *highly* encourage couples to take this test before they are married.

Both Mike and I learned that we rank very high overall on having a healthy relationship (among the other 2,000 couples that have been married for XX amount of years). Both of us also scored high on good communication within our relationship and with each other (yes, those are two different things). Both of us are very independent (can be good or bad) and we both have a very low tendency on avoiding topics, discussions, problems, etc. One of us (I won't name names - OK FINE, me)is very stubborn. The other (Mike) is also stubborn but not nearly as much as I am. Something we both already knew, I just didn't realize how much more stubborn I was than Mike. I'm also very unlikely to lean on someone else for help. This makes complete since to me because that's how I was raised but, it didn't really hit home until I read how we answered on certain questions. That's a definitely a weakness that can be worked on.

We both didn't realize that although we've talked about children, we'd never REALLY talked about what our roles as parents would be. How were we going to handle discipline? Would one of us be overprotective and the other one not so much? How would we handle? What were the roles and responsibilities of being parents?

We came home with some homework but not dreadful homework by any means. We also learned it's not the quantity of time you spend with each other that makes you stronger as a couple, it's the quality and the communication. Great lessons learned:).