Saturday, February 7, 2009

WELCOME SAVE THE DATERS!


WELCOME "SAVE THE DATERS"!
We are so excited that you have received our "Save the date" postcard in the mail & decided to come give our blog a visit! The actual invitation with the ceremony & reception details (& our spiffy new wedding website! with lots of fun information & activities!) will be making their appearance in your mailboxes come late Spring! We just wanted to get our date out there so you could mark us in your calenders. Here is a little info about what you will find on this blog! Right below here is a video I put together when we came home from our trip to Vail, Colorado - where Heath asked to marry me!



Now this is where things get complicated. I have typed out instructions for your viewing of the blog. (Yes, I know instructions? There is a method to my madness)

1. DO NOT watch the video first! There will be a sound conflict with the blog song! (which makes the stories so much more romantic! ;)
2. After finishing this entry, scroll down to the bottom & read about Heath's proposal "Once upon a time..."
3. Now, you can keep scrolling up & catch up with the other updates if you would like then go down to the very bottom of the page and click PAUSE on the song playing so you will be able to listen to our video!




As you can see, we update periodically with enlightening and memorable happenings during our wedding planning/engagement chapter of life! We would be so blessed to read your comments! We are very excited that you have chosen to make such a irreplaceable role in our lives & can't wait to spend our day with you in August!





Love, Heath & Audra (The future Downings!)

Better late than never?

My oh my!
My oh my!
I can't believe how long it has been since I have updated! I suppose the thought of strategically wording & picturing an update was mentally exhausting so I kept delaying.

We are 181 days away from THE DAY! WOW! It will come faster than the speed of light!

I am super excited for this entry because there are so many fun updates!
::drum roll::
After a lot of heart to heart talks & much consideration we have picked our wedding parties!! If you don't understand why it was so hard for us to pick then you must not know us very well! We have had so many people in our lives that have meant so much to us, & yes it is our day but we still don't want to hurt anybody in the process. There were also a few girls in my mind that would have a hard time traveling here & I wouldn't want to cause any trouble! Enough of that! Here is the golden list! (In no particular order)

Maid of HONOR: None other than my beautiful sister, Siera Naomi! 15 in all of her glory!


Bridesmaids:
Alexis Rushing
Hope Barclay (Soon to be Hope Steinle!)
Christina Dolan
Katie Nichols
Leanne Arnold
Anna Oehlert
Laura Smith
Katie Tiegreen

Best Man: Matthew Wayne Downing
Groomsmen:
Steven Foster
Sean Steinle
Andrew McClellan
Jason Taylor
Justin Wood
Chris Slankard
Johnathan Wilson
TBA (haha)
??
There are detailed reasons for why we chose every single one of them & you will be able to indulge in those reasons when we expose our wedding website (oo lala!) when the invitations make their appearance in April!

We tried to ask each person in a special way, either with an edited picture, a letter in the mail, etc.

Officiant: Pastor Stan Nichols
We wouldn't have anybody else!

Flower girl:
Kaia Krumweide (Heath's 2nd cousin! what a doll!)
we sent her a picture (not this one! but I can't find the actual one!) in a present in the mail, so she should we getting it very soon!

I will not yet reveal the ring bearers (yes! I said bearerS) because we haven't got their presents in the mail yet, so I don't want to ruin any surprises.

Ceremony Venue:

Mustard Seed Church

I wish I had a picture of the sanctuary!

This is the church where I spend all of my time throughout jr.high & highschool! It is very beautiful inside & I hold it dear to my heart! We have defiantly been to a TON of weddings there though, so we have some special surprises to "spice" the decor up!

Reception Venue:
Liberty Hall

I think that Liberty Hall is perfect. For 1, I saw Nickel Creek, The Spill Canvas, & Hanson (& many others! haha) play on the stage that we will be dancing on.
2, it's so classic & lovey! I don't have a picture of the lobby but its pretty much gorgeous.

That stage will be our dance floor, & where all those people are is actually 2 different levels where all of the tables will be. :)

This update has became pretty long but there is just so much going on! Here is a list of things we have done!

Colors! a shimmery plum & cream (I realize that plum is a deep color for August, so I am goin to balance it our with short bridesmaid dresses!) Ok. PLUM not purple! There is actually a big difference! haha You will just have to wait & see.
We have our first dance song (secret)
My dress picked out! (secret)
The men's suits! Which I can post!
Heath's request: Not skinny tie, not normal tie, inbetween tie! haha, & rather form fitting! I guess he doesn't dig the whole "penguin" look!

We have a major reception activity booked- that is a secret! But probably my favorite part so far! I mean, besides marrying the love of my life & all! ;)
We aren't 100% sure on photography but I have a huge lead.
We aren't really in the mood to do a Unity Candle, but we wanted to do something like that, not sand, so if you have any ideas let us know!
We are having somebody open the ceremony with dancing, & that somebody is a secret for now. We know what song is going to be sung just not by who yet! We have a few ideas.
We have favors... food... bakfjasklfjslakfjd;lkfj;ldkjflkd;jf;ldksjf;dklsjf.
This really will be a night to remember!

I could go ON and ON and ON! But I think this is enough for now!



P.S. I designed our SAVE THE DATES (for those of you who arent familar with those, they come out prior to the actual invitations just so people can mark us down in their calendar!)
We ordered them from the printing company & they should be here ANYDAY! So be expecting yours in the mail! Also, there is a reference to this blog on them so the next entry will be a WELCOME SAVE THE DATERS! So they can catch up on Heath's proposal & the rest of the updates! We love you all!