We Have A Venue!!!

Finding a venue was MUCH more stressful than I anticipated. I think I envisioned visiting beautiful places and leisurely strolling around them with family and friends, while picturing myself at each one for what will be one of the most important days on my life. Only that's not how it happened. First, it was cold. As in, I was wearing sweaters, a pea coat, two paris of socks, and Uggs (and I was tempted to put on long underwear under my jeans). Not only was it cold outside, but each venue was freezing as well because, understandably, they don't heat a space when there is no event taking place in it. So we shuffled through chilly buildings, gardens, and lawns all day Saturday. Thankfully I had wonderful company with Matt, my parents, and his parents. It was so nice to compare our thoughts over a warm lunch afterwards! We were so surprised though at the increase in costs since my sister got married five years ago. I have AMAZING parents though and so with lots of talking and number crunching and a little negotiating, we finally settled on a venue and a date. Hooray!!!

Matt and I will be getting married June 4, 2011 in a morning ceremony at Calamigos, a venue tucked into the canyons of Malibu. It is a garden setting with a reception hall attached to it and, as Matt says, it "feels like a hug." Hugs, of course, are one of my favorite things! This is the venue my sister and brother-in-law were married in 2005 and I hope my marriage is as blessed as theirs has been. I am so blessed too that my sister wants to share this place with me. What a fun connection and memory we will have!

I am attaching a few photos we took on the day of the tour as we wandered around. Of course, everything will be decorated differently on our day but it will give you an idea of what's to come. We can't wait!!!

You can't see it in this picture, but there is a waterfall that goes over the row of windows in the back. So beautiful!

Wedding Party

Picking a wedding party was tougher than I thought! Not because I don't have amazing friends, but because it's so hard to choose between them all. I thought long and hard about the length of these friendships, the personalities of these friends, and what my needs will be during this process. Here is what I know: I am a stressball, emotional basketcase of a girl. I plan, plan, plan but that also means I freak out, get wound up, and doubt myself. I knew I needed a team who knew me well, would keep me grounded, and would keep me laughing. So after picking my team of besty-bridesmaids, I (of course) planned on how to ask them all! I ended up finding old pictures of us each and creating them into cards. I wanted to do something I felt was personal and memorable for them, should they want to hold on to it for a keepsake. They all said yes and I can't wait to start this process with this wonderful group of lifelong friends! So here is the lady line up for future Team Scott.

Matron of Honor:
Melissa- My sister and biggest support. My best friend.

Bridesmaids (in no specific order):
Bianca Cahill Fuller- I have known Bianca since she was a little girl and she is like my little sister.

Danielle Siebenaler- My future cousin-in-law, current co-worker, and person who is most likely to make me pee my pants from laughing so hard.

Kristina Pettit- Friends since 2nd grade, my childhood best friend, and a best friend I know will always be a part of my life.

Jennifer Ashley Scott- Matt's little sister and my new partner in crime. I have a feeling we are going to have a lot of fun in the future. Especially doing girly things and being neighbors once I move.

Flower Girl:
Kiera Fryer- Danielle's adorable little girl

Ring Bearer:
Ben Stone- my little sweetie-pie nephew

This is just the beginning! I can't wait for the rest!

P.S. I am not sure the status on Matt's men so that will come later.

Future Team Scott

As a little girl, and even as a much older girl, I dreamed of planning my wedding. I dreamed of who he would be, how we would meet, how we would fall in love, how he would propose, every little detail of our wedding I would plan, and every possibility for our future. I am so excited that I am finally here!

Matt and I met in the fall of our second year of college at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, California. I had been on crutches and very hesitant to spend much time ouside of my apartment due to the endless hills to manuever and my inability to drive with a cast on my right foot. Finally the cast came off, a walking boot was put on, and I accepted an invitation to meet up with a group of friends from class. That's the night I met Matt. Well, technically. Neither of us really remembers meeting each other that night due to our other interests and activities but we do remember seeing each other the second time we "met." That started a friendship, a tutoring routine for my statistics class, and numerous more activities with our friends. We dated for several years before taking space apart for several more years. Today, we find those years apart were so valuable for maturing, growth, and focus for each of us. While dating, I had always teased Matt that he should "keep me" because I was, of course, such an amazing catch! Well, after our time apart it would seem he still agreed and he pursued a relationship with me again. After dating again for a year, Matt showed up on my doorstep on Halloween, dressed up as the Cat in the Hat, got on one knee, and proposed to me. I said, "YES!!! "

So here I am- Planning a wedding. Somedays I never thought this dream would come true. Already, time is flying by and decisions are needing to be made. Part of this wedding planning will include where we will move to in the Bay area (since that is where Matt's job is) and what job I will find. So many of our family and friends live far away, or will be far away after I move north, so I wanted this blog to be a way to stay connected. Please join us as we plan our wedding and move forward to our future as "Team Scott" (as Matt calls us)!

Love,
Staci (& Matt)