Save the date: 9/10/11

"It doesn't matter where you go in life... what you do or or how much you have... it's who you have beside you that matters."

The Fisher wedding save the dates have been ordered and we expect them to be delivered in a couple of weeks. We're hoping to get them out in the mail to family members and close friends by the end of February. We selected our save the dates from magnet street. They have a great selection to choose from and were reasonably priced. I think the hardest part was selecting which photos to use. My original idea was to do a photo booth style magnet with words below each picture that said: We're getting married, save the date, 9/10/11, be there. But, we opted for the magnet shown above to use some of our favorite engagement photos. We also explored a couple other ideas before deciding to get magnets. Adam really liked calendar stickers with our names and date on it. I found a great company that did these and they were really adorable, but I'm not sure how many people use daily planners. But, everyone has a fridge (this is where I put all of our invitations anyway... so it just made sense to get a magnet) We also thought about making a postcard with our picture on it or a small card with the information on it. I really like the postcard idea and I think I might used it for our RSVP's.

-Penny

We got our engagement photos

"How beautiful life can be when touched by love."

I had the opportunity to meet up with Meghan Easterly this week and pick up our engagement pictures. I know that I've mentioned this in previous blog posts before but we had such a great time at our engagement photo shoot with Jason and Meghan Easterly of Narrative Image. They spent the entire day with us capturing the moments of the day. We loved the photos and can't wait to see the photos from the wedding. If you don't have a photographer you should definitely book them. They are based in Florida, but are willing to travel. Here is a photo slide show of a few of our favorites.

-Penny

A piece of cake

"How beautiful life can be when touched by love."

What is the one thing you can't do without at the reception? My dad would say cake. He'll be very pleased because Adam and I will be having a delicious cake prepared by Rachel Weller of Whimsical Cake Designs. Rachel and I have been sharing e-mail correspondence for the past couple of weeks... sharing pictures and ideas and I think we have a game plan for the Fisher wedding. I can't wait to see what Rachel creates for our wedding. We still have several other details to discuss during the next few months leading up to the wedding, but I think we're going to end up with a delicious, beautifully decorated cake. I'm planning to order our cake topper this week. We're getting a diamond-encrusted "F" in our wedding colors. I posted a photo of a letter that looks similar to the one we'll be purchasing.

-Penny

Eat, drink and be merry

"Love begins in a moment, grows over time, and lasts for eternity."

We were able to check another item off our long to do list this week thanks to Adam's amazing parents (Amy & David Fisher) Amy was so thoughtful and helpful with planning our rehearsal dinner for the night before the wedding. It's been a little challenging for the four of us to plan the event since we all live in Florida. We thought we found the perfect place about a month ago... until we found out this week that the restaurant is closing. So we were forced to search for another location. I think Amy spent all of her free time this week trying to secure another spot and she did it. I think our evening at The Ram is going to be fabulous. We're really looking forward to spending some time with our really close friends and family members the night before we say our I do's. Adam and I are so thankful and blessed that Amy wanted to take care of this for us. She's awesome!

-Penny

Our wedding bands

"The joining of two hands makes one heart."

I've been trying to find ways to personalize everything for our wedding. I really want the entire process to be about us even down to the minor details. One of those details I've been exploring is having the ring bearer carry something other than the ring tied to the traditional pillow. I've heard of some brides putting a glass slipper on the pillow to compliment a princess or fairytale theme. I thought that was a really neat Idea and it got me to thinking what would fit our theme or lives. I ended up coming up with several options, but narrowed It down to my two favorites.

Option one: Our ring bearer will be holding an old issue of the Ball State Daily newspaper. Adam and I met while working at this paper in college. I was the features editor and he was the assistant sports editor. The newspaper will be rolled up and tied with ribbons and the rings will be attached to it.

Option two: Our ring bearer will carry a Jermaine O'Neal teddy bear from Build-a-Bear that Adam made me for me on our very first Valentine's Day together. The rings will be tied to the bear using ribbons. This could also serve as my something blue for the wedding because the bear is in a blue uniform.

-Penny

Finding your table

"Marriage is choosing someone again and again to love
and to cherish with each new dawn."

Instead of using chronological numbers for our reception tables I decided to bring in some personality. I initially thought that we would use traditional numbers and put photos of us in corresponding ages on the tables. For example, table 16 would have a photo of Adam and a photo of me at age 16. But, then I explored other options for using numbers. I thought about using years that have been important in our lives. This would include: the years our parents got married, we were born and when we met. Then I thought about using random numbers that are significant to us. This would include: 12 the number of Jim Kelly (Adam's favorite player) 7 the number of Jermaine O'Neal (Penny's favorite player) and 91011 the date of our wedding. But, we finally decided to name our tables after locations that have been significant. These will include: where we met, where we live, where he proposed and vacation hot spots. In addition to the location name there will be a short paragraph describing why the location is important to us. I thought this would be a neat way for our guests to get know us a little better.

-Penny

Ringing in 1.1.11

"Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right."
Oprah Winfrey

Ringing in the new year last night had a little different meaning than others I've celebrated. During the ninth month of this year Adam and I will be married. I'm so anxious for the tenth day of that month to arrive. I keep having to remind myself to put on the brakes and enjoy it. I just can't wait to see how everything unfolds for us. The anticipation is killing me. Some other exciting things are in store for me in 2011. I'll be starting a new position with the Naples Daily News on Monday. I was notified about my promotion a couple of weeks ago and I'm really excited to start the new year with a new job. I've also started traveling for Barbizon Modeling. So for this year I'll be taking six trips to Louisiana and one trip to Mississippi. I'll also celebrate my 30th birthday and our six year anniversary (of dating) in March. I'm exciting to see what other opportunities and adventures are in store for us this year. I hope all of you find happiness in 2011.

Happy New Year!