Ahhh, relax.....

The word John and I always referred to when asked about what we wanted our wedding to be is, "relaxed." I have told many people, "I don't want to be the center of attention" and often the response is an immediate strange look followed by, "but you're the BRIDE!" and this is exactly why we want a relaxed wedding.  So it will consist of just friends, family, music, candlelight, food and drinks. We decided to try to have a 'as small as possible' wedding meaning- limited invites and intimate ceremony. By intimate ceremony I am mostly referring to the bridal party and groomsmen..or should I say groomswoman? John and I decided that our sisters will be the only attendants in the wedding- Alyssa next to me and Mary next to John. There two reasons for this decision- first, we both have too many close friends that it would be impossible to choose between them and our wedding party would end up being pretty much the entire list of invites. Secondly, the area for the ceremony is relatively small. There will be about 30-40 chairs and the rest is standing room. There is a 'loft' area (I forgot the fancy word for it) where people can watch from above as well.

We also initially were going to register on a Honeymoon website but, instead we opted for the usual, Macy's and Bed Bath and Beyond. The first night, we went to Macy's- both of our excitement building we the lady slowly handed us the scanner. John took IMMEDIATE control the scanner and I was the "ooooooohh" and "ahhhhhh" and "what about this" person. There were many discussions on whether or not to replace our current items that were hand-me-downs from our great-great-grand-aunt's-second-cousin twice removed...and thankfully we were both on the same page!

Planning has been coming along all at once lately! My sister, Alyssa's friend Leanna will be our photographer, my brother-in-law Paul will be our officiant, we have the venue and food picked out, John and I have been cake testing at one place (so far) and I GOT MY DRESS!!!! (I'm not excited at all or anything...) I feel like we're finally getting some stuff done and it feels amazing...

As we get closer to the wedding, we'll be updating information about the Hood River area and things to do (wine-tasting and brew-pubs are common...along with snowboarding and skiing). Until then!!!!!

Introducing......(drum roll please) The Hood River Hotel!!!!

Ladies and Gentlemen we have a venue.  As mentioned before, Brenna and I will be getting married at the Hood River Hotel in the beautiful town of Hood River Oregon.  It is a just a 45 min gorgeous Gorge drive from Portland along I-84.  I'm sure most of you have never been to or even heard OF Hood River and its Hotel so we're posting some pictures of the place that made our heart skip a beat by turning our idea of getting married into a reality. So without further ado, here they are:

These two pictures are of the outside of the hotel

 

Then this is the view when you enter the front doors

Brenna and her good friend Tami who came with us

 

This is the lobby and the ceremony will be in front of the fireplace

 

Directly opposite of the fireplace is this cafe are which will be emptied out for the ceremony

These stairs are located in the cafe and it's where Brenna will be making her entrance from  :)

 Going back out to the hotel lobby.  There's a balcony that people will be able to watch from as well

They have some toys for the kids so hopefully the grownups can play

A look back to the front doors from the hotel lobby

Then after the ceremony we will head downstairs to their banquet room for the reception...