How Engaging

This is Christy, and this is a post for the ladies (mostly). Since becoming engaged, I've been asked by many of my female friends and acquaintances: "How did he propose?" (this question is usually accompanied by a squeal of some kind) I feel like my answer is always kind of a letdown: we discussed it over dinner, and it wasn't necessarily a "romantic" moment for either of us (well, it was, but not like how it is in the movies). I mean, it was exciting, but we both kind of knew that we wanted to get married already, and the actual engagement talk was more about the logistics of everything rather than the drama and the mushy stuff.

So because of that, there was no proposal per se, and therefore there was no ring. I didn't really mind, because I've never been into jewelry, much less diamonds. But then when I told my parents that they were engaged, I found out that there was a ring that had been in my family for generations, back when my Dad's mom's side of the family owned half of the Pacific Northwest.* And this ring old, and fancy, and probably worth a fortune, and has a big fat diamond. Here is a picture of me wearing it (to prove that it exists):

Holy crap! Isn't that nice?? Needless to say, I'm terrified to wear it. When I told my dad that though, he said that my mom felt the same way and didn't wear it either! So that made me feel better.

But not to be bested by a 100+ year old heirloom, Daniel had other engagement-recognition plans. And this, my friends, is what it is (just got it today):

A full-on head-to-toe Adidas "engagement" tracksuit! I'm ridiculously excited. There's even a matching T-shirt...and shoes! Perfect for all occasions! Now I've got to start thinking of engagement presents for Daniel... maybe he needs an engagement tracksuit too! Any suggestions?

Oh, and speaking of engagement stuff, here are some pictures from the engagment/picnic games/sushi party at Emma and Johanna's the other week:

(An Imperial cheese tray, and fruit tray)

(Guess who we beat in beer pong...) More will be posted later, when we have more time and patience to upload and move around pictures on here. Talk to you soon!

*Not true, except it is, kind of. We're descended from Dorsey Sing Baker, of "Baker Boyer Bank" fame, as well as "Baker Faculty Center" and pretty much anything else named "Baker" in Walla Walla, and other parts of OR and WA. He had a really long beard.

COLORS

And by colors I do not mean the 1988 movie directed by Dennis hopper staring Sean Penn and Robert Duvall.

Here are the colors we think we want to go with for the wedding.
many hours were spent on this choice(DB b2-1 & DB d5-1) the monitor you are using may not do these colors justice, so remember that before you say to yourself, "I can not believe Christy & Daniel would choose these colors!".

This color is Submarine(d5-1).

And this color(whose name I hate) is Frivolous Berry(b2-1).
So yeah, we figured out this part.

Welcome!

Hi everyone! Christy here. As some of you may not know yet, Daniel and I are getting married next summer, or more specifically, June 27, 2009. This blog will be a way of keeping in touch with friends and family as the big day approaches, letting you know how our plans develop, and making a space for suggestions and/or requests if you have any (since this is the first time either of us have planned a wedding, we don't really know what we're doing). So feel free to leave comments here, or, if you prefer, you can also email us at reynoldsandspitzeratgmaildotcom. That's right, we made an email address just for the wedding, and when the time comes, we hope that everyone will RSVP by email. Maybe once we're married we'll continue using this email address as a way to send everybody Christmas letters and pictures of our cats.

The wedding is a little less than a year away, so we don't have a whole lot to report as of yet. But we do have the date and the venue. Those are the most important thing. The date, again, is June 27, 2009 (this blog replaces the need for a save-the-date card, which saves paper and money!), and we got a great deal on the most awesome venue in town. The place is called Dancing Deer Mountain, and here is their website: http://www.dancingdeermtn.com/ (I'm still inept with web publishing, even with something super easy like blogger, so i don't know yet how to hyperlink. that's what Daniel's here for, but he's not at home right now so...yeah.)

Dancing Deer Mountain is a place out in Cheshire, Oregon (about 30 min. away from downtown Eugene), and it's beautiful, with lots of big trees, ferns, flowers, creeks, an amazing looking reception area, and fancy bathrooms. Here are some pictures we took of the site on the day we signed our contract:

The lawnchair "hang zone" at the entrance.

The bathrooms (not sketchy at all, my mother is pleased).

The lawn where we will have the ceremony. In the background you can see the open air reception hall.

The reception hall, built from trees on the property site.

The beginning of the "aisle" (check out those huge ferns!!)

This little cabin is the bridal "hang zone" (I guess this is where I'll be hyperventilating right before the ceremony), but I wanted to include this picture to give you a sense of how big the trees are and how lush the greenery is.

So there you have it! I hope you're excited by now.

We've made a few other wedding related plans, so since you're curious, here they are:

Colors will be green and orange (are you surprised?)

Flowers and ferns will be native NW plants, and there may be a chance for you to take potted plants home at the end of the day.

The cake will be from Sweet Life: http://www.sweetlifedesserts.com/ (we haven't contacted them yet, but we will settle for nothing less, this place is the best)

Beer and wine selections are TBA, but with so many amazing breweries and wineries in Eugene, you know that it will be local and delicious. (any requests?)

And we will be forgoing professional catering and will be making our own food! It's crazy, I know, but if you know us, we are obsessed with food and entertaining, and have come up with a menu plan that's feasible (and with lots and lots of fancy cheese!). I don't really know what I'm doing when it comes to making food for 50-150 people, but Daniel's been cooking and catering professionally for YEARS, so I trust him to lead the way. And anybody who will be here in the days leading up to the wedding, you are more than welcome to help chop vegetables, plate meat and cheese, etc. It'll be fun, I promise.