Bridal Shower #1!

The lovely ladies of our church's women's ministry, W.O.V.E.N., were kind enough to throw me a bridal shower this past Saturday.

Being surrounded by all that love and laughter, and all those beautiful women who are as excited about my upcoming marriage as I am, was such a blessing!

Here are a few pictures....

I can't believe I get to experience this again at shower #2 (my bridesmaids are planning one in Los Angeles the Friday before the wedding)!

"So Are You Gonna Cry?"

I've asked Galen this question ("Are you going to cry at our wedding?") plenty of times.

Considering that in 5 1/2 years, I've only known Galen to cry 2 or 3 times and have never really actually *seen* him cry, I feel like years from now, when I look over our wedding pictures, there won't be one of him shedding a tear or two. 

But if I'm honest...I kind of want him to! Isn't it romantic when grooms cry during the vows, or at the sight of their bride coming down the aisle?? Even so, I'm almost certain the only people who'll be shedding any tears will be family and friends.

As for me? I'm sure my mother would whole-heartedly disagree but...I don't really think I'm a crier!!! 

Sure, if you ask Galen, he'll laugh and tell you about the time I cried because King Kong died at the end of the movie, or my mother will tell you about how easily I cry if my "little feelings are hurt," but in all honesty, I don't think I'll cry at my wedding.

(Yeah, I said it! And that's the story I'm sticking to!)

:)

--JeLisa

Someone bought us a gift!

It's okay to be excited about that, right?

:)

Hope so, 'cause we are! While doing a final run-through of our wedding gift registries, we noticed that some items have been "completed" (or purchased) at two of our three stores. That was a pretty awesome surprise, we must say.

Thanks, whomever you are!

JeLisa found her wedding shoes! Again...

Ironically enough, I had to find--and buy--my wedding shoes TWICE!

The first time I bought them online, FedEx dropped them off...in front of my apartment building!!! Needless to say, someone stole the package, and I never got to lay hands on my precious, not to mention EXPENSIVE, wedding shoes!

After a couple tears, a little anger, and a tense call or two to the store I'd purchased them from, I received good news and bad news:

- I'd be receiving a full refund from the store *but*

- I had purchased the last of the shoes--they'd been discontinued!

:(

I was soooo bummed. The shoe had been perfect, and really hard to find (my wedding shoe color of choice is kind of unique).

Fast forward a couple days and I, still ever the bummed-out bride-to-be, was searching for new shoes online and there they were! The same exact discontinued shoe, on sale for about 60% off! 

I went from bummed to blissful in no time. ;)

RSVPs are coming in!

It's pretty exciting getting the first RSVPs!

In lieu of spending extra money (and wasting paper in this eco-friendly time!) on paper RSVP cards and postage, we opted to do electronic/on-line RSVPs. 

What's cool about that is each time someone RSVPs (confirms or declines their attendance at our wedding), not only is our Guest List automatically updated, but we receive an e-mail notification.

The ultimate in convenience as well as excitement. :)

It definitely starts to set in that the wedding is really happening, and SOON!, when people start telling you they're coming. So far, 12 people have done so, and we can't wait to see them there!

(If you are on our guest list and have yet to confirm or decline your attendance, please RSVP by clicking here.)

Planning the Ceremony

I can't begin to describe how exciting it is planning the ceremony aspect of our wedding. It's really the most important part to me--more meaningful than my dress, the food, the reception, or any other part of the wedding. For me, the ceremony is what's dearest to my heart. It is, after all, what sets the standard for our marriage and officially seals our union.

So planning it today has been really fun!

I've done a lot of research and liked a couple of things I saw and, taking that into consideration along with Galen's preferences, I was able to outline our entire ceremony!

The best part, though, has been coming up with my own personal ideas. These are things that I've personally come up with and decided to include in our ceremony based on their direct significance to Galen and I, and our faith as a Christian couple. It's such a good feeling to create these unique elements for our ceremony knowing that they'll be perfect for Galen and I because they were created by and for us!

Now, let's just pray I can get through our ceremony without doing the ugly cry...

:)

--JeLisa

Thanks for the Honeymoon, Uncle Alphonse!

Aww, someone in Japan loves us!

That someone is Galen's uncle, Alphonse, who paid for our honeymoon as a wedding gift. Coolest uncle ever, right?

Yeah, we think so, too!

So now, instead of the planned "MiniMoon" in Aptos (our favorite California vacation spot), we get to escape the frigid weather of San Francisco and go soak in the Cancun/Playa del Carmen sun for a week.

Can't exactly say we'll miss the fog...

:)

**Information for Wedding Guests**

Here is a (hopefully) helpful bit of information for our wedding guests!

The following information and links have been compiled in response to the questions we've been repeatedly asked in regards to our wedding. Simply click on the links to use them! 

---------------------------------------------

RSVP here (by September 1st): RSVP

About us and our wedding: Wedding Webpage

Helpful Guest Information: Guest Info Page

Our wedding colors are White, Silver, and Powder Blue with Bronze accents.

For the convenience of those who've expressed interest in giving a gift, we've created gift registries at the following stores (which can be purchased/accessed online or in-store):

• Bed, Bath, & Beyond
• Macy's
• Crate & Barrel

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If you need further information, please call us at 310.902.5813 or email us at SterlingSmiths@gmail.com.

See you in September!

Wait a minute...is our wedding really next month?

Didn't we just write a blog complaining about having 4 months to go?

And now, our wedding is NEXT MONTH!?

Well, we just have three things to say about that:

1. WOW!
2. Thank GOD!
3. It's about TIME!

Happy Birthday to us! :)

As our birthdays are 6 days apart (JeLisa's is July 29th; Galen's is August 4th), we kind of tend to have a birthday week every year where we're both celebrating each other and transitioning into a new age and stage in life.

The first birthday we celebrated together (21) was about becoming all legal and liberated (you know how that goes). The second, 22, was about ending college and figuring out the future. Last year (23), it was being engaged. 

Of course, this year, turning 24 meant becoming a husband/wife and building a marriage. This is probably the biggest transition for us yet, but undeniably the most welcome and exciting. 24 is the age we get married!

Who knows what 25 will bring (if you're thinking a baby, think again! Give us a few years!), or all the other ages to come. All we know is 24 will be an amazing journey, and for the rest of our lives, every July, August, and September (our anniversary) will hold a special significance that sets us on the path of new journeys. 

We can't wait to let the transitions and celebrations unfold.