Butterflies and Jamaica!

First, I am sure all of you Houstonians guessed that we are having our wedding at The Museum of Natural Science in the Cockrell Butterfly Center.
That's right...inside the butterfly exhibit, with butterflies fluttering around. It is one of the places I originally wanted, but had ruled out because there is a maximum occupancy of 50. Now that we are having a smaller wedding, it is not a problem. I love the outdoor feel of the rain forest setting without the threat of my wedding being rained out. I like how intimate the space feels, and how different it is from everywhere else we looked at. It is perfect for us.

Second, we booked our honeymoon trip! I am beyond excited. We will be spending a week in Jamaica. We chose a smaller 60 room hotel in Negril, which is supposed to be the more laid-back part of Jamaica. All of the rooms are separate little "treehouses."

We have also planned and overnight trip to the mountains during the middle of the week. Mostly, I plan to sit on the beach, each lots of food, and listen to lots of good music. You might even find me up there on that daybed, reading a book or two.

I don't know what I am more excited about now...the wedding ceremony or the honeymoon!

Metamorphosis.

Changes.

Our wedding plans just didn't feel right to us lately. We needed to make changes. So that we did.

The first change was the size. We never wanted a huge wedding. However, with extended family alone we were topping sixty people. Then picking and choosing which friends to invite seemed wrong. At some point we realized, it needed to be about who we wanted most to be with us on our wedding day. Our immediate families. Our best friends that we talk to daily. The couples that we go out with on the rare occasions that we leave the house! Those are the people that should be with us. We threw out the guilt we felt about excluding uncles we haven't seen in seven years, cousins and their wives whose names we don't know, and that one friend we talk to once every two years. It isn't that we don't want them there. It is just that we most need the people who we share our lives with everyday. With that in mind, we sat down and rewrote our guest list, narrowing it down to around forty people. A small group of family and friends.

The second change, the biggest change, was just how we were going about this wedding. I wanted a wedding that felt elegant and over the top. I wanted extraordinary. Kenny wanted fun and relaxing. He wanted to kick back and enjoy his wedding. Combining the two was difficult. We made lists. We searched through idea after idea. We finally came up with a great idea, a great location. A plan that fits us exactly. One that requires no waiting until March of next year.

And just what exactly are going to do? Well I will give you some hints now, and tell you all the details in the next post. No cheating if you already know!

Hint 1: These guys live nearby.

Hint 2: You will probably see some of these during our wedding.

Hint 3: Besides a band, you will hear this in the background.

My John Hancock

At lunch yesterday, one of my bridesmaids, Anita, and I determined that I must change my signature style to better match my soon-to-be new last name. And my ring. That is totally normal, right?

Currently, my signature is this

which totally fits my current last name. And, you know, is an adaptation of my dad's signature. Hey, I had a lot of forging to do back in my high school days, it was just easier to make my signature the same as his signature.

But you know, it is time for a change. After Anita showed me several of her top options, I spent the day practicing (and learning that I can't seem to spell my soon-to-be last name while writing in cursive. I keep leaving out a letter, and it isn't like it is a hard last name to spell!). Anyway, after several hours of practice (shut up, I know I had other things I should have been doing), I am leaning towards this

Now that I have that squared away, maybe I'll get around to finishing up the wedding planning.