Back to Wisconsin for Wedding!

The beautiful landscapes around Joel's cabin in Northern Wisconsin!

Oh yeah, we also tied about 300 ribbon wands with bells... Yikes.

Northern Wisconsin in the Fall.

The week of the wedding was finally here, and all of the crafts that I had been procrastinating were about to come around full force.  Including the 300+ name tags that I typed individually on Bari's adorable blue type writer were finished only hours before I bored the plane with my overweight bag loaded with crafts!

Wood burning and creativity = card box!

Using Nancy's stencil to make many more bar signs!

Folding napkins, day in, day out!

Just a small batch of homemade crafts and wedding supplies from the Marsh factory!

We ran around ironing out the details of programs, hair, decorations, candles and the like most of the week.  I also spent a lot of time home trying to craft many of the homemade projects.  That however didn't stop us from taking a small trip up to Joel's cabin with Lyssa to hang out one last weekend before the big day.  That is where I confessed that we should probably go hunting to celebrate my last weekend as a single woman.

Wheezie opening the many boxes of chair covers!

Wedding planner and coordinator extraordinaire!

Marky making it happen in the kitchen!

The week was such a whirlwind of crafts and trips to Whipps that it all blends together, but one thing is for sure, somehow we managed to get everything done before the big day. All of the napkins were tied together, all of the signs written and displayed, and finally we had slideshow for the guests.  We also had gift bags for my bridesmaids, candy bar extraordinaire and so many mason jar decorations that it felt like I was in a canning factory!

Dressing up the wedding hall, loved the way this turned out!

Even had Curty doing the table runners!

Tiggy, Bumps and John all helped tie a boat load of napkins!

The more hands, the better!  Nice tight rolls John, you'll have to teach Bumps!

Spending a little quality time before the big day!

Dinner at the Andersons, with Tiggy herself!

Many van loads full of supplies and decorations went out to Whipps!

It's all coming together quite nicely!

Burlap table runners, cut to perfection!

I wood burned all of the table numbers into small tree slices, I should open an ETSY! Not.

There's always enough time to enjoy an Uncle Buck with the Retirement Boys!

Paul was able to help set the hall and see the beautiful place before our wedding day!

All I can say is THANK YOU to Mom and Dad, Lyssa, the Anderson family and friends, and the Whipps for being there for all of the last minute tasks that I needed help with.  The week was a blast, and I'm so glad I had that time and opportunity to enjoy the build up of excitement before the wedding.  It was AWESOME.

Pittsburgh NHL Preseason Game

The fresh ice before the game started.

Paul and I haven't enjoyed a lot of the sports that Pittsburgh has to offer, but during the Penguin preseason, Paul found a great set of tickets for us to use and watch the game without spending a fortune like we would with regular season tickets.  It was a workday evening, and we drove downtown to get to the Pens game. I hadn't been to a hockey game in years, and the last one was the Green Bay Gamblers, so this was a really neat experience!

We had to document how close our tickets were!  We were only a few rows back!

We had a wonderful evening together and enjoyed our little date full of popcorn and mass quantities of sodium.  It was the true experience. Thank you Paul for getting the tickets and organizing this time together!

Pittsburgh Bachelor Party!

The program covers = love!

Because I have baller friends, my Pittsburgh crew wanted to throw a little fiesta to celebrate my last weekend as a single lady!  Being awesome, they also agreed to help me craft a crap ton of program covers (300 to be exact) which would be handed out at the wedding.  We were stamping each one with trees, deer, and a pine branch thank you message.  They turned out perfect, and the rubber stamping was working great!  Bari also crafted my veil which was made out of netting and a broach that Anna's gift card got for me.  It all came together so nice, and I got a lot of compliments on my hair piece!  Just some hot glue and a few stitches and I saved a couple hundred dollars! Sweet!

Thank you Josiah.  Also, can we take a look at that cheese board?!  Total Wisconsinites!

Nancy writing! Reception shoes!

Not now boss, I'm in the ZONE.

 

Crafting Party!

Old Fashions.

Nancy also busted out her penmanship skills and wrote some beautiful chalk signs that were going to serve as our bar menus!  They were amazing.  Unfortunately I had to try to copy them later because we needed about 8 more of each - haha!  Let's just say I could tell by one glance which signs Nancy wrote and which ones I desperately tried to copy!  She also crafted the message on my dancing shoes, which was a hit.  It basically summed up how I felt when I got to the reception: Let's dance, and LET'S PARTY!

Nancy!

Once the crafting was nearly done, the celebrating began and I made some Wisconsin Old Fashions and put on country music - the perfect recipe for any party really.  We then hit the streets in search of a place to continue the festivities and landed at a Karaoke bar... yikes.  Well, it was my bachelorette party, so I obviously had to sing.  My song of choice you ask?  Garth Brooks, I've Got Friends in Low Places of course.  Luckily I had backup singers (whew, thank you ladies!)

My favorite part about this photo is that we are guaranteed to be talking to Duerr.

Bari Stephy love.

It was a superb night, and a great way to kick off the wedding festivities that were about to begin!  Thank you for all the help in crafting and the support over the last few years!  My Pittsburgh Crew is amazeballs. (that one is for you Anna)

 

Toast!  "This is Dom Perignon!!" - Anna

The Weekend of Weddings: Nagel & Rickert

Besties.

This summer was packed with weddings, and I was really looking forward to Justin and Hilary's wedding in Lake Geneva!  Luckily I was able to get back for the festivities in September, and it was perfect timing because Matt and Leanna had their wedding celebration on that Friday evening!  Talk about making the best of my flights back to Wisconsin!  Paul couldn't take off work, but on Friday night I had to keep up with Westerhoff and of course my date Lyssa came with the Marsh family to celebrate!

This is more normal, although Lyssa had to be persuaded.

I flew in early Friday morning and immediately went to Jessica Ulmer to get a much needed haircut so she could actually style my dead ends for the wedding.  She does such an excellent job - I was so happy with my hair-do, and luckily I had the chance to show off my new locks at two weddings - WORTH IT. 

Boettchers were there to join us all!

Katie and Dan Morris, waiting for the babe!

Mom and I were running wedding errands like mad!  I had the morning schedule jam packed with flower appointments, meeting Kathy to exchange all of the milk glass pieces and programs.  It was so productive! Luckily we were rewarded with a relaxing night at the hotel connected to Matt Nagel's wedding venue!  We arrived and quickly realized that we needed a Bota Box - one of my favorite boxed wines, so we decided to stock up for the weekend full of weddings which resulted in my purple teeth.

First vacation with the little one, lovebirds with a new family member!

Dinner was excellent and the dancing was a blast, especially the last few songs which were "Ding-a-ling-a-ling" and Clarance Carter's classic: Strokin'. Haha it managed to get a few people on the dance floor, including myself and Haus! (Well of course it got Haus on the dance floor, they're the ones who love the song so much, those crazies.)  Haus and I had the chance to catch up and refill from the Bota Tap, which was nice and warm and just hilarious really.  I ate a lot of Pop Chips in my room.

Same is always down for a dance marathon... warmin' up the floor!

The next morning we went straight to pick up Lyssa and head south to Hilary and Rickert's wedding.  With just a few minutes to spare we changed at the hotel and made it to the ceremony.  I was running behind by a fair margin (per ush) and only had time to curl the front/face pieces of hair, and the back of my head looked like a wild woman/lion.  Hey, pictures were a priority.  I also was wearing a dress that resembled PJs and some massively high nude heels... it was pretty spectacular, and I made sure to change into a decent dress for the reception. HAhah!  Pretty standard exchange with Lyssa after that appearance, so I could get help for my wardrobe. Some things never change.

Jay stomped it so hard on the floor, he lost his sole...

The ceremony was beautiful and we retreated to our hotels to try to get ready while the wedding party was taking photos.  Our hotel was right on the lake, and luckily we had a waterfront view and balcony.  We enjoyed a glass of Bota Box and tried to catch some sunshine before walking to the reception down the road.  The reception was so beautiful, I left because I thought it was some millionaires wedding!  Turns out it was the right place - haha!  We made our way to the back balcony and enjoyed happy hour, only to see Jay Kelly on some random guy's boat!  HAha, he was all fancied up in a tux while the beach crew in the speed boat was whipping cheerios in the water.  It was probably the funniest thing I saw all night - gosh that kid cracks me up! So random!

Jay's soul... on the dance floor.

Dinner was delish and then the dance floor called our names.  Lyssa and I were fighting off heart attacks from the extremely fast movements and dancing we were trying to pull off.  I remember thinking I was going to need a rescue inhaler.  Sam's moves only added to the fire!  I kept bugging Carl VanGompel to dance with me, but he claimed he hasn't heard any of the songs they played all night, lol.  Curty and I took our turn spinning in circles on the dance floor trying to get our rhythm for the father daughter dance at my wedding - it was good practice!  The night ended with some unexpected flattery from Brian Krabbe who jokingly invited us to his wedding to serve as dance floor inspiration, ahhah!  I just kept promising him that I didn't even need a plate of food, as long as there was a DJ, I was in!  So funny.

It was an amazing weekend back, and I was returning in just a few short weeks for my own wedding preparations and celebration!  Booyah!

In good dancing company!

 

Alyce's Bachelor Party in Houghton, MI

The Mosquito Inn - Bruce shows us how to get down! It's all in the knees!

Luckily, we chose the date for this fiesta a few months before the shindig went down.  All of my bridesmaids have crazy busy schedules, and finding a weekend where we could all get together and celebrate was difficult, but totally worth it!  We called it, the Bachelor PARTY.  This was probably the part of wedding planning that I was looking forward to the most. No crazy bar crawl, but some good times in the Northwoods was all I wanted.  Let's just say that Lyssa delivered!

We all made it!  Let's celebrate!

Saturday Morning = Deb's Buttermilk Pancakes & Mimosas!

After flying in, we quickly went to my house to gather all of the party supplies and apparel.  Me, Lyssa, and Lizzo loaded our stuff into the Marsh Van and started the long journey up to Lake Eva.  It was awesome to catch up with the ladies on the journey north.  We of course stopped for subs at the Trackside and enjoyed the fresh lettuce and bread that makes them so delicious. 

Captain Curt and the 'Merican Ladies!

Classic Curty Selfie...

The voyage north was made much more interesting by the van's lack of breaks in general.  Deb had to keep pumping the breaks so they would actually work - it was an art really - and with the power steering almost gone, it felt like we were taking our lives in our own hands around every turn.  The finest example of the quality breaks came from when we had to "tread the needle" between a mailbox and another car turning left - haha - a moment we'll never forget I'm sure.

Winsand Marsh Agency Reunited!

The Pontoon Embarks on its day long journey!

Lizzo navigating the waters for us...

 We stopped at Joel's camp to grab a few things and say hello to Uncle Tom, who was celebrating his Birthday that same weekend.  We toasted to the occasion and headed further north, next stop... The Mosquito Inn!  Turns out the crew from Chicago and Madison were not too far behind us, so we thought the Skeeto was the perfect place to meet before making the blind drive through the woods to the cabin!  Once those crazies walked in the door, I knew it was going to be a great weekend.  They had a long drive from Madison, and Alyssa had to bus up from Chicago to meet them, only after getting her wallet stolen at work!  She was a champ and some how got a temporary ID and some cash so she could go out with us!  Cripes, that's dedication, and I loved it! We of course had to fill the jukebox full of dollar bills and got the place rockin'!  There were only a few people in the place, but Bruce was one of them and turns out he has moves!  We formed a dancing circle and Bruce stole the show with his wicked fast knees! 

College Music Mix Tape = DANCE PARTY.

My Name is Todd, and I'm an American Citizen.

After the Skeeto, it was back to the cabin for gift opening and settling in for the night.  We hadn't seen each other all together in so long that it was nice to catch up and chat the night away... but the sunrise came too soon!  We got up for pancakes and immediately put on our swimsuits to enjoy one of the warmest days that Lake Eva had seen all summer.  Leave it to Joel to schedule some perfect weather for our Bachelor Party.  It had been rainy and cold most of the summer and only a few days were warm enough were you could acutally swim!  We lucked out and had a perfect day for running around and causing trouble on the pontoon. 

Ohh yeah, I'll bait 'dat 'der hook.

Got'em.

Fish kisses.  Nice catch Lyss!

All in our 'Merican gear, we hit the waters with Lizzo in the driver's seat.  The pontoon didn't have the horse power that she was used to, and we could tell that it was killing her to be on the water but unable to barefoot ski haha!  

Roomie hugs = venom.

CANNONBALL!

Fish dive... one of my favorite party tricks...

Lyssa and Alyssa wanted to do some fishing and catch some Eagle bait, so we threw out a few lines and snagged a bunch of logs in the process.  They were able to land a few big mamas and we had to get the net out to get the job done.  With only a short break for lunch we were back on the water and met up with George's pontoon!  Curt and George were awarded matching Captains' hats for putting up with us all weekend. We had a long day and mowed down dinner as one would expect.

Toss the anchor over, we're going swimming!

The Lake Eva Boat Crew!

Captains Curty and George!

  We let Lyssa nap a bit, but we needed to get to the Skeeto one last time before the festivities were over, so I woke her up by jumping on the bed and begging her to get a second wind, ahah.  I wasn't certain she was going to move after a few attempts to convince her, but after leaving the room, twenty minutes later she was upstairs in American flag suspenders and shorts.  I was such a proud roomie!

Bachelor Party Second Wind!

The Skeeto Inn CREW!

Awkward family photo.

No explanation needed, shuffleboard is intense.

We all put on as much Red, White and Blue as possible and headed out the door for one last dance party at the Skeeto Inn!  Curty was a trooper and put up with us all night after we kept him up chatting the night before.  We took some awkward family photos, played shuffle board like crazy, and danced the night away.  We were all pretty tired from the day in the sun, but somewhere found the energy to continue.

Emm and Sarah whipping up egg sandwiches in the "egg pan"!!

The next morning we all had to hit the road early in order to get back to our respective towns and back to business.  The road trip cut into our quality time a bit, but the view at Lake Eva is worth every minute.  Every time I go up there, I'm reminded of how lucky we are to be greeted with such scenery.  Thank you to all the roomies who made this weekend so great - it was so much fun, and I'll never forget it!

Survival of the Bachelor Party - August 2014  Liz, Emm, Sarah, Alyce, Alyssa, Becca, Lyssa

You guys are the best!