Bridesmaid Bonanza

I have chosen the bridesmaid dresses! Well, actually I chose them about 2 days after we got engaged, but I'm finally getting around to posting about them. We all know that it wouldn't be a Kristi Minsterman wedding without J.Crew. It is my favorite clothing store and 95% of my wardrobe is from there. My first few years in Virginia the Charlottesville store manager and I were on a first name basis. (Hi Joe!) Since money has gotten tight (and is only going to get tighter), I have less of an opportunity to shop at, what some would consider, my mecca. But that doesn't stop me from working it into the wedding!! I have loved this dress for years. I actually own this style (but in silk tricone and blue) and wore it for the Charlottesville Catholic auction a few years ago. It is comfortable and wonderful and as far as bridesmaids dresses go - pretty darn affordable.

Photo from jcrew.com

This is the silk chiffon Sophia dress from J.Crew in color Clover. I know most of you thought I would choose pink dresses but this color really called to me and, keeping the men in mind, I didn't want to get too frilly. We have not solidified the bridal party, but the few friends I have asked (AK, Joey, Robin and Morgan) all adore this dress - and more importantly, all look fabulous in green.

Christopher and I are also very aware when it comes to the finances of our attendants. We want our close friends and family to share this day with us - not to empty their bank accounts. I talked with the girls and this is a dress that will most likely never go out of style. Unlike most bridesmaid dresses, you REALLY can wear this again. Throw on a cardigan and you're off to a picnic or garden party (that's how we do it down south), or a pair of heels and fancy jewelry and it works for someone else's wedding. I feel very confident having the girls in these dresses and it makes my heart happy that they are happy with the choice. (I did choose a few dresses and let them select their favorite - every single one liked this the best).

So now you know that one of the colors of the wedding is clover green. Any takers on the other colors??? It's only my favorite color combination...

Happier Times

One of our first pictures together.

When Chris and I first got engaged, we hoped to have the wedding this coming summer - in late July. But then some events occurred which were out of our control and we decided to postpone the marriage until 2010. I must admit that I was (and still am) a little disappointed that we had to wait so long for our wedding; but also relieved that we now had more time to focus on the more pressing issues in our lives. Don't worry, this postponement isn't stopping me from looking at gowns, picking out flowers and venues, and dreaming of my perfect day - it's just providing me with AMPLE time to make it even more special.

As some of you have heard, things have not been easy around our home lately. God has thrown us some curveballs and, I must say, I think we are handling them quite well. Many thanks to everyone who has sent good thoughts and prayers our way - we sure need them to get through these difficult situations.

Amongst all the turmoil, it's sometimes nice to think about happier times and focus on all we can be thankful for. A little reminiscing never hurt anyone. :-) The photo at the top was one of the first pictures Chris and I had taken together - I think it was actually the second. The first (which he loves) I thought he looked crabby and I may have reprimanded him for spoiling such a nice moment. In the second shot, I think he realized how crazy I was and was thinking to himself "God, what have I gotten myself into?" I think it's such a fun picture though - one that everyone girl loves because even though he may be thinking I'm insane, he's looking at me with pure adoration. It was taken in early March at his sister Kathy's benefit "A Taste for Art."

Christopher had done all the design work for the benefit - the brochures, the invitations, etc. We had only been dating about five or six weeks at the time, but he was invited and wanted me to tag along. This meant a trip to Pennsylvania to meet his sister Kathy and her husband Matt. We had such a great time and I instantly fell in love with this little portion of his family. The benefit was beautiful and it featured food by local chefs, wine, and art. We hadn't eaten all day in anticipation of the event, so we were starving by the time we arrived. From what I hear, the food was delicious, but I wouldn't know. Every.single.table (but one) was seafood. Those of you who know me are well aware that I don't prefer any type of seafood so I was left eating carrots and strawberries (the garnishes) off the drink tables. We finally made it to a table that was serving chicken. YAY - CHICKEN! I like most kinds of chicken, but was still hesitant. Chris forced me to try it and amazingly it wasn't too bad! I remember saying, "It's spicy, like Mexican. I like Mexican."

I really thought it was Mexican. Perhaps the only reason I had eaten it was because in my mind it was Mexican and that is one genre of food that seems appetizing to me. It wasn't until a few days later when we retelling the events to AK in which I was informed, that no, it wasn't Mexican. It was Indian. Curry was the "spiciness" I tasted. Here I was telling everyone what great Mexican chicken I had eaten. Oops. A natural Kristi Minsterman moment.

Our sweet little trip to PA was our first "vacation" together and I have wonderful memories of it all. This was also the first time Christopher had met my parents; we stopped by Dauphin on our way to Kathy and Matt's. Boy was I relieved when he fit right in at home and I realized that Big Barry really did like him (as much as Daddy can like a boyfriend!) When we were pulling out of the driveway, Daddy just nodded to me and that was the best present I could have ever gotten. Ah, the beginnings of a beautiful relationship...

The Changes a Year Can Bring

Yesterday was Christopher and I's one year anniversary. Before the food poisoning incident of 2009 occurred, we had plans to go out to dinner to celebrate. I even bought a new dress. All things considered, we decided to delay the dinner and opt for church and a reunion at the Starbucks where we first met. My new dress is still hanging on the linen closet door, and my romantic anniversary dinner consisted of... food with zero color.

Food poisoning sucks.

We went to 5:00 mass (where Father Dennis proceeded to ask Chris which arm was broken - implying that I had to twist one of them to get my ring) and then over to the Starbucks on Pantops for some reminiscing. Starbucks was unusually packed so while we waited on a table, we did some post-food-poisoning grocery shopping at the Giant next door. (God, this anniversary sounds SO pathetic). By the time we got back to Starbucks, the place had cleared out - even our original table. Aw... So sappy. :-)

Because of my still queasy belly, I had tea and Chris got some triple shot mocha caffeine something or other. It reminded me of how he got a latte on our first date and I thought he was gay. Apparently the quadruple shot of espresso I had gotten made him think I was on speed. Perfect. We didn't even last ten minutes before I started to feel sick and asked if we could go home. But don't worry, I saved my coffee collar and put it in my "Christopher Memory Box" right next to the one I saved from our first date.


Looking at these side by side made me realize how much can change in a year. In my wildest dreams, I could have NEVER imagined that so many wonderful things could happen in such a short period of time. Yet, here we are - 365 days later - and on our way to spending the rest of our Starbucks days together.

Gown Shopping Delayed By... Salmonella?!?

Although I had started trying on gowns while in Boston (more on that later), I was super excited to visit Charlottesville's ONLY bridal shop on Wednesday morning to scope out the inventory. Joey was scheduled to go with me and it was the first time I would limit the choice of gowns to an actual budgeted amount - no more Vera Wang. I spent Tuesday evening sifting through webpage after webpage looking at styles and silhouettes and marking down my favorites. I went to bed around 1:00 am with a little bit of an upset belly - but nothing out of the ordinary.

That all changed at 4:14 am (yes, I remember the exact time on the clock) when I awoke with the worse nausea of my life. After six hours of vomiting every 15-20 minutes and suffering other tummy related symptoms, I asked Chris to take me to the doctor. I couldn't stand up straight, nor keep an ounce of water down. I spent all Wednesday in the triage center hooked up to an IV and having vitals taken by 80 different nurses (who were all in love with Chris, by the way). We came home late Wednesday and today I finally made it from bed to the couch.

May God bless my wonderful, amazing fiance who has now seen me at an ALL TIME LOW and still loves me just the same. He's also quite the dictator when it comes to taking my antibiotics and drinking my fluids. :) Maybe Joey and I can make it to West Main Bridal sometime this week (although I think I'm a few sizes smaller than usual now!!)

Wedding Time Out

I would like to take a moment to pause briefly from all the wedding chit chat so say...

IT'S MILLER TIME, BABY!!
GO STILLERS!

Bling Bling

Every little girl dreams of the moment the love of her life will ask for her hand in marriage. Will he get down on one knee? Will he say something romantic? Will we be alone - or with friends and family? Will I immediately scream "YES!" with the most beautiful, naturally surprised looked on my face? What will the ring look like? And most importantly, will he have asked Daddy's permission??

I have yet to hear of a girl who dreams they will be in sweatpants and a t-shirt, having just woken up from a 4-hour-nap in a Volvo station wagon. That she will be coughing and have snot running down her face. That her voice will sound utterly romantic - similar to that of a 90-year-old lunch lady with emphysema. And finally, that she will scream, "No, no, no - this is not happening. That ring is not real. No. I am in the car. I am still sleeping. No, no, no, NO!"

Christopher is one lucky fella.

Our engagement was a stereotypical Kristi Minsterman moment - an utter disaster. But it was beautiful and wonderful and romantic. I can't remember a single word he said. I don't remember what he was wearing or how many knees he got down on. I can't even remember if I said "yes" or just shook my head, or if "uh huh" eventually sputtered out of my mouth. It was PERFECT.

We had just gotten back home in Virginia from visiting Mama and Daddy in Pennsylvania for the Christmas holiday. I was just starting to get a terrible sinus infection so I slept the entire way home while Chris drove. By the time I walked in the door I was just so happy to be home that I didn't pay a lick of attention to anything else that was happening in the house. Mama had gotten me the rest of the Willow Tree nativity set for Christmas and I was so excited to set it up. So while Christopher unloaded the Volvo, I sat in sweatpants attempting to arrange the donkey so he had a clear view of baby Jesus. (A daunting task by the way; there are a lot of animals and Jesus is a TEENY TINY baby).

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Chris put my "guys" under the tree and they were holding a note. For those of you who are unaware of my childlike qualities, I am very much attached to my yellow baby blanket (Fluffy), a stuffed hippo I got from AK after my second arm surgery (Tubby), a lion from Joey, Robin and Sarah before my endoscopy (Leo Lionni) and a silly looking giraffe named Georgie. I assumed the note wasn't important so I ignored it. Don't judge - I could not be bothered by notes when I had sheep to position!

Finally, Chris said, "Look - your guys have something for you." I decided to humor him so I scooted over under the tree and read the note telling me to look up at the first ornament we had as a family. I was still utterly clueless and I glanced up to the cheapo Santa sled imprinted with "Our First Christmas" to see bling. Just bling. Shiny shiny bling. The bling was hanging from the sled ornament. No, that bling is not real. It's HUGE. ENORMOUS. He's playing a trick on me! What a mean boyfriend! He hates Christmas!


And then it clicked. It was real. It was a real diamond. It was a real ring. He wanted to marry me. Now get ready for it - every man's dream response: I start backing away from the tree. "No, no, this is not happening." And he's trying to get my attention. "Kristi, Kristi look at me." I keep moving toward the door. "No, it's not real, this is not happening." I find the courage to glance at him quickly and then my eyes shoot back to the tree. Here is where I basically collapse onto the ground.

I think he got on two knees since I was no longer standing. He grabbed my hands and starting saying stuff that for the life of me I can't remember. (I'm really angry about that too - I bet it was good stuff). I do recall him saying something about never wanting to spend another day without me. Here's where the screaming entered the scene. "YOU WANT TO MARRY ME. YOU WANT TO MARRY ME." Over and over again. Hugging and screaming. And then looking at the tree and again, "YOU WANT TO MARRY ME!" I didn't care about the ring at that point, or the wedding, or my runny nose, or my sweatpants - not even the fact that it was coming out as "YOU *cough* WANT *cough cough* TO *gag* ..." Chris got up, got the ring off the tree and put it on my finger. I think he asked again if I'd marry him but I don't remember. All I understood at that moment was that he was never going to leave me. And I told him so.

"Now you have to marry me and you can't leave me because divorce is a sin!"

Very romantic, Minsterman. Way to bring a little Catholic guilt into a beautiful moment that you want to tell your grandkids about someday...

For all you Curious Georges:
1. He DID ask Daddy while we were in Pennsylvania. He asked Daddy AND Bubby (my brother) at the same time. I admire his respect for my family so much, not to mention his COURAGE. There were guns in the truck!
2. He picked out the ring HIMSELF. Robin gave a little guidance, but I had nothing to do with it. I had no idea the engagement was coming and was completely oblivious to his ring shopping extravaganzas. The ring is GORGEOUS - exactly what I always dreamed of - very classic.

Twenty Bucks I'm Going To Marry Him

I love Facebook, really I do. I enjoy the ability to "stalk" people from the comfort of my home and be notified at the EXACT moment that an acquaintance from high school moves from "single" to "in a relationship." Almost a year ago, I was impatiently waiting on my new pink laptop to arrive and needed a way to pass the time. At this point I only had 100 friends or so and I think I went through every single person's page. My friend Tara, the mother of one of the boys in my kindergarten class, had posted new photos of the kids. I wanted to see what my little babino was up to since I left Charlottesville Catholic and low and behold I ran across a photo of Christopher being "Santa'd."

Now let me explain what it means to be Santa'd. Tara has this creepy plastic statue of St. Nick that is approximately the size of a second grader. In order to spread the holiday cheer all year long, her and the kids stash Santa in random places with the hopes of scaring the living daylights out of the victim. Santa has been put in refrigerators, closets, under the covers, and in Chris's case - the bathtub. After the victim has regained sanity, Tara makes sure to take a photograph of Santa getting some love. Here is the picture I ran across on Wednesday, January 23, 2008.

Chris giving Santa some sugar.

Since I am a classy girl, I was IMMEDIATELY attracted to the young man embracing a Santa in the bathtub. (Mind you at this point, I didn't know what Santa'ing was). Half jokingly I sent Tara an e-mail that read,

"Who is Chris and where can I get one?"

Apparently that's all you need these days to get asked out on a date. Suzie and I went to Catechism and Tara checked Christopher's availability and he e-mailed me. Within an hour we were on the phone making plans to meet the next night for coffee. After rummaging through 8 outfits and 3 fits of hyperventilation, I was ready to go. The second he walked in the door of Starbucks my nerves went through the roof. I ended up spilling my double shot of espresso (good for the stability of my hands) ALL over the table. That's not the embarrassing part though. The embarrassing part is that I pretended it didn't happen. I IGNORED the mess and kept rambling about Lord knows what. Chris had to actually stop me and clean the spill himself. I am quite the catch.

He asked me out for the next night and I went to his house on the other side of town. We just hung out and talked for a few hours and when I left I called Robin and said, "Twenty bucks, I'm going to marry him." I'm still waiting on my twenty, Fox. So I guess it wasn't love at FIRST sight, but more like second.

The Minstermaids

The Minstermaids
Current Team Roster

From left to right, top to bottom

Kristi "Mins" Minsterman - Bride
Morgan "Mo" Reightler - Bridesmaid
Robin "Robo" Fox - Bridesmaid
Joanna "Joey" Bass - Bridesmaid
Ashley "AK" Hess - Maid of Honor and Team Leader
Minky "Mama Mins" Minsterman - Mother of the Bride

"Minstermaids" is the team name that AK gave to my troop of bridesmaids. It stemmed from plans to attend the Filene's Basement event "The Running of the Brides." A must for any bride on a budget, the one day sale of designer dresses for knock-em-dead prices is the ultimate catfight. As defined by Filene herself...

"The day of the sale, brides-to-be and their helpers line up early. When the doors open, they run full speed towards the racks. In less than 60 seconds, the racks are stripped bare (store employees have to hold on to the fixtures so they don’t topple). The women grab whatever gowns they can, haul them off to a corner, strip down to their underwear and start trying on dresses. Minutes later the trading begins. Every dress, no matter what size, style or color, gets bartered for another, as each bride tries to find the gown of her dreams at a cut-rate price."

http://www.filenesbasement.com/bridal

Since the gown prices range from $249 to $699, the notion of getting in a fistfight for a Vera Wang is starting to look PRETTY good. Robin has already procured her safety whistle, so I think we're good to go. Plus, she's little and can dart through the racks. I am really excited about this female bonding in Tyson's Corner on April 3rd.

Any suggestions on how we can keep Mama Mins fiesty so she doesn't get caught up sharing life stories with a stranger?

Why a wedding BLOG?

As many of you found out through Facebook, I had started to create a traditional "Knot" wedding website. I thought creating an online identity would help to celebrate our engagement and share our love with friends and family. I had no idea the ramifications of such a venture. Although we have not yet picked a date, nor decided on the color of the bedroom linens, the wedding template needed to know these details. "Don't know your date? Just enter an estimate!" it reassuringly tells you. "You can always change it later!" Meanwhile, people are marking their calendars with an estimated time for your nuptuals and all the local hotels are booked. (Ok, that last part was a bit of an exaggeration).

The main reason for the blog is for me to share the progress of our wedding with people who actually want to know (i.e. my mother and the bridesmaids... the list may stop there). I felt too constrained by the pre-determined wedding website categories and wanted a place where I could just ramble without being repremanded.

Lastly, I was thinking about a conversation AK and I had when I was in Boston. She told me to take the planning slowly and enjoy every minute of it, even if the wedding IS a year and a half away. So the blog will serve as a little memento of our journey to the aisle.

Enjoy! Love, Kristi