wedding stuff!

I haven't posted wedding details or info here for awhile, so I decided today that maybe I wanted to. I used to think that maybe I'd start a wedding blog when I got engaged, but it turns out I'm not complicated enough to fill up more than a couple entries! I bought a wedding planner months ago (before I was engaged actually, lol) and I'm not using half the pages. So rather than an entire blog, we'll have an entire post (and maybe more posts later, as we approach the date--3 months, 25 days as of today.)

♥ The Website Just because we don't have a blog, doesn't mean we don't need a website. =) Most of the personalized websites are super expensive and/or ugly, not to mention time-consuming, so Dan and I just made a simple page on The Knot.com. For reference, the address is: www.theknot.com/ourwedding/LaeciTurk&DanielWilliams

♥ The Registries
Target (we have most of our stuff here)
Bed, Bath, and Beyond (this supplements our Target list)
Walmart (we're registered for dishes and a few extra things here)

♥ The Date & Time
August 3, 2008, at 10:30am. Here are some actual questions (slash whining) I've answered about the date/time:
Q: Why August in Redding?!? It's sooo hot!
A: Originally my ideal date was in July, actually--but it just so happened that half my family is getting married this summer (exaggeration: only my cousin and my aunt) and it's all happening in July. Because I don't get out of school until the third week of June, that left August.
Q: But seriously! Sooo hot!
A: Yes, it is--which is why the wedding is at 10:30am, before it really starts to roast. In addition, Shasta Lake is about 10 degrees cooler than Redding and it's always cooler by the water (Shasta Lake itself), so the weather should be pretty nice. My cousin Deeanna got married in the morning at the Dam a few years ago, and at first it was cool enough for sweaters.
Q: Isn't 10:30am too early? Will you (and Dan) even be out of bed?
A: Of course I'll (we'll) be out of bed, it's our wedding lol! In addition to the heat factor, Dan and I want a relaxing day for those who have to drive home afterwards (since it's a Sunday, and many people work on Monday), plus this way we're not worn out for our honeymoon. =)

♥ The Location
Dan and I finally decided on the Shasta Dam recreation area in Shasta Lake, CA. (Here's the [albeit ugly] Shasta Dam site.) We're having both our wedding and reception (immediately following and completely lowkey) in the park to the right of the dam. Here's a picture of the approximate location (ours is actually a bit to the right, but the view of Mt. Shasta is the same.)


And here's the dam itself (because it's cool):


♥ Our Colors
Green (Dan's favorite color), cream (the color of my dress), and brown.

♥ The Wedding Party
Maids of Honor: Kaeli and Makayla Turk (my younger sisters)
Bridesmaids: Daylene Alexander (my cousin) and Kassi Turk (my youngest sister)
Flower Girls: Calle Turk (my cousin) and Hannah Williams (Dan's half sister; the decision's not 100% but we think she'll do it.)
Best Man: Christian Cardenas (Dan's cousin)
Groosman: Kyle Williams (Dan's half brother)
Usher: Brian Gruber (Dan's friend; at least I think he agreed to this) =)
Pastor: Don Smith

♥ My Dress & Accessories
I purchased my gown from Bridal Mart in Rancho Cordova, CA. Even though it will most certainly be the most expensive anything I've ever worn, after shopping for wedding dresses in Sacramento all day we felt like we found a great deal, and I recommend this store to anyone in the area. I don't have a picture of the actual dress (and even if I did I wouldn't post it, because the surprise is half the fun!) but here are some that are similar:



The differences are that my dress doesn't have a train or a flower/bunchy thing on the gathered fabric, it's cream-colored, and it doesn't look this hot on me (because, after all, I'm not a model.)

My shoes came from Kohl's. My sister Kassi and I were shopping and she found them for me, and they were on sale for only $9! They look a lot like these shoes, only with a higher (foam) heel:



I bought my necklace and earrings from JessicasBridal.com:

(They don't have a picture of the earrings on the website, for some reason; I found 'em both in a catalog.)

My hair barrette (which I'm doing instead of a veil; I'm just not a veil girl) looks a lot like this, only it's a barrette instead of a comb, and it has (faux) pearls scattered among the sparklies. Oh, and I bought it at Icing (yes, in the mall lol).

I bought these garters from Brides' Village for my Something Blue (now I just need old/borrowed):

(The little one is for tossing, the big one for keeping. I like the little heart bead!)

♥ The Bridesmaid's Dresses We found them at Ross, so of course they're not on the internet, but the basic structure of the dress is like this:


Our dresses have a chiffon overlay, are more gathered at the bust, and are (close to) these shades of green:


(The front of the dress has a stripe and sash that are slightly lighter than the rest of the dress.)

♥ Invitations
We're not sending them out until June, but I actually purchased them (from Michael's) in January... yeah, maybe I jumped the gun a little bit. =) They're the kind where you print your message yourself, which will save some monies, and they were Dan's and my favorite!

(this is it for now... I'll update as I get more stuff done, so check back!) =)