Well, we're officially close enough to the wedding to begin receiving gifts and need to write thank you notes. For some reason, thank yous are one of the most dreaded wedding experiences. I have a hard time understanding the issue but it is issue enough to have endless content on websites and wedding books dedicated to this task.

Andy and I are already trying to be organized. We've purchased cards. We made an excel spreadsheet to keep us organized. Now its time to take all the advice I've compiled on the subject and put it to good use!

The Knot has offered some insightful tips:

 “Set up a designated writing area at home. Make sure it's a comfortable place, not too far from the kitchen or bathroom, with a TV or radio nearby."

Does my living room qualify?

“Equip yourself with pens that you like to write with. Stay away from the cheap supermarket variety that make big ink blobs when they're overused. Go for a more grown-up writing instrument -- roller-ball pens are much smoother. Mont Blanc makes some impressive models, if you've got the cash. Go ahead and have it monogrammed, as long as you're in we're-married-now mode. "

WHAT! I'm supposed to have special married lady pens? These people are smoking crack. I'm sure the pens in my drawer are well equipped to write nice words too.

They even offer sample thank you notes, particularly for the always awkward $$$$.

I've been so lazy lately. Working on my doctorate and all this wedding planning is a tad bit overwhelming right now!!!

Since this is a wedding blog, I feel obligated to finally blog about the last wedding we attended... Heather and Chase! Heather and Andy are college friends.

It's funny how much more you pay attention to wedding details when you're in the midst of it yourself.

The wedding was in Connecticut in a town near Mystic (sorry, my New England geography is severely deficient). It was a a lovely winery! I love wineries! It made me miss my parent's Michgan house since it was nestled in a strip of vineyards. The ceremony was outside in the vineyard. It was a pretty backdrop. Luckily, the weather cooperated and the rain stopped long enough to have a ceremony outdoors.

The bride and groom wrote their own vows and they were darling! I love the thought of doing the same but it's also scary! I was so impressed by how lovely theirs turned out. They also had some live acoustic guitars playing. It was so serene.

The reception kicked off with a nice cocktail hour. Gotta love wineries, you get to drink their wine! YUM! There were tons of appetizers including some cheese on the cheese plate that I dubbed "butter cheese" because that's what it tasted like to me. There were little crab cakes, scallops... mmm, I'm getting hungry.

Dinner was inside. I loved their centerpieces. Chase's dad made them. They were zen gardens with candles in the middle. I can't tell you how much fun everyone had doodling in the sand. AWESOME idea. It was simple and really elegant yet totally fun.

Heather's mom made the cake. It was all sorts of different flavors including creamsicle?! They had a little two birds theme throughout the wedding including the cake topper.

But, my favorite was the guest book! It requires a little backstory though. On Heather and Chase's anniversary, Chase gave Heather a letter in a bottle. He told her to open it the next year on their anniversary. Next year rolls around and Heather opens it and reads the letter that concludes by telling her she's the girl he's going to marry. Then, he gets down on one knee and proposes!

Well, the guestbook was messages in a bottle. All the guests wrote notes on paper and dropped them in the bottle for the couple to open on their anniversary and read! AMAZING! It was so sweet.
Overall, it was a really fun time. The wedding was beautiful and it made me so excited to have my own wedding!!!!