One year ago...

We were here!

Wedding Photos

Some lovely edited wedding photos can be seen here! YAY!

Wedding Photos

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If you took any shots on the wedding day, don't forget to send them to CNweddingpics@gmail.com. Chris and I would love to see them! If you are interested in seeing some of the photographer's photos you can find them HERE. There are 200 or so in the gallery out of the 1100 snaps that he took that day. Chris and I have the RAW files and the rights to all of them so keep watching for more GREAT photos! Robin (MoH) tolk some AMAZING pictures. Some of them can be found on Facebook.

I <3 Pictures!

Chris and Christine Nealis

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We did it! It is done! On May 30th, 2009 Chris and I got married. We are now, as they say, "one flesh" and we are our own family unit -- "The Nealises"

Our Wedding was GREAT. If you missed it, you really missed out on a fantastic day. Our wedding party was the best this world has ever seen! Everyone was so helpful and supportive and we got through the day alive... tornado and all.

Chris and I would like to publicly thank our families and our amazing wedding party for all of their help and for being such a great part of our amazing day. THANK YOU!! We Love You!

Wedding Day Weather

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Our wedding is now in the 10 day forecast.
So far, everything looks GREAT!!

WOAH!

We are getting married in 10 days!!!!

Finishing Touches

A lot of things are happening this week...

Chris' passport came in the mail
Chris' wedding band is done being sized
My wedding band will be done on Thursday
Saturday, I meet with the dancers to teach them the choreography for the ceremony
Centerpieces are finished being painted.
Groomsmen Gifts were bought
I bought a dress for the rehearsal dinner
Chris' car is being primped for our get-away
Guests are finalizing travel plans
The time schedule for the day is being set
Final counts are coming in
Decisions are being made
AND the day is almost here!

Chris and I are so excited to get married! We can't wait to share the day with so many people that we love and that support us in our journey ahead.

Honeymoon here we come!

Tulips Tulips Tulips

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Today, I have decided that being my own florist = not THAT hard.

Last night Sara and Brandee came over and we played with flowers for the wedding. We just wanted to see if it was possible for commoners like us to make loverly flowers for a wedding. The ones at the wedding will be more colorful, but you get the point.

Observe the work of three floral amateurs:

Liturgical Dance

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I have finally decided on a song for the dance during the wedding!!! This is VERY exciting to me because I have really been struggling with this decision (not sure why). I will be choreographing a piece to a song that has been dear to my heart for over a decade. It always speaks to me in some way regardless of what I'm experiencing in my life at the time. It is acoustic and David does a great job of singing it in a very heartfelt way.

The song is called "We are Each Other's Angels" by David LaMotte. David is an artist that many, who are familiar with Montreat, know and love. Perhaps I should Blog sometime soon about Montreat and what an amazing place it is (for those who don't know how great it is).

I will be meeting with the beautiful Mehola Dancers that have agreed to dance on my wedding day. It couldn't possibly be a wedding of mine without some amazing dance to accompany it. We will meet on May 9th, 2009 to learn and collaborate on the choreography. I am very excited, but I feel pressure to make this choreography the best I've ever created.

Lyrics to "We are Each Other's Angels"

Well I hope I see you later
'Cause it's time for me to go
Someone just pulled over
Sure was good to know you
Go answer your calling
Go and fill somebody's cup
And if you see an angel falling
Won't you stop and help them up

'Cause we are each other's angels
And we meet when it is time
We keep each other going
And we show each other signs

Sometimes you will stumble
Sometimes you might fall down
Sometimes you will get lonely
With all these people around
You might shiver when the wind blows
And you might get blown away
You might even lose your colors
But don't you ever lose your faith

we are each other's angels
And we meet when it is time
We keep each other going
And we show each other signs

Thank you for the water
I thought I was gonna die out here in the desert
But you quenched my thirst
Let's break a little bread together
I've got a little manna
It was a gift
From somebody who was passing by
And offered me a lift
Now go answer your calling
Go and fill somebody's cup
And if you see an angel falling
Won't you stop and help them up

We are each other's angels
And we meet when it is time
We keep each other going
And we show each other signs

ElderBeerman: China on Sale

FYI: Chris and Christine's Wedding China on Sale this week at ElderBeerman.

Regular Price: $129.00
Today's Price: $64.50

4.24.2009
Edit: This deal is gone this week the price is back up to $90.30.

Many pieces can also be found on Amazon.com that are not offered at Elder Beerman.

Honeymoon Booked!!!

(via canoland)Today I can mark "HONEYMOON" off of my to do list!

We are officially booked at a 5-star all-inclusive resort called, Majestic Elegance, on Bavaro Beach in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.

Map of Punta Cana within the DR:

Map of the resort:

Wedding Post: Pew Decorations

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On Sunday April 5th, 2009, my amazing Matron of Honor and my awesome Mom helped me put together 14 pew decorations. To the dismay of my thumbs, we used some nice strong wire to make them all stay together.

We added some silk flowers to pick up the wedding colors and some golden sticks that give nice height. My hope is that these pew decorations will bring some whimsical springy-ness to the sanctuary.

Only 50 days left!!!

Wedding Post: Flower Girl Dresses

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After much searching and much deliberation, we are MAKING the flower girl dresses. Chris' mom and aunt found several nice dresses, but none that fit quite right. After 5 sets of dresses, I found this fabric at Joann Fabrics. We had to drive to the Castleton location because, of course, the Anderson store did not have it.

This creates one more job for my Mum, but we tried to choose a simple pattern. And she seems up to the job.

I think this fabric is beautiful. The girls will look amazing, and they bring my tulips and all our colors together.

Our flower girls are my soon to-be-nieces. They are full of life and love. They love to sing, dance and play baseball. They also love their uncle very much. Just like me!

Wedding Post: Wedding Party Resue!

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A few weeks ago we got some unfortunate news from one of Chris' groomsmen, Bill Slyder. He had an important family obligation come up that just happened to fall on May 30th, and he is no longer able to be a part of our wedding party.

This gave us the opportunity to ask a friend from Lafayette to be a part of our wedding. Brad Sommer is our new groomsman, and he is a seasoned pro at being a groomsman. Since he got married to his beautiful wife Brandee just last August, he will know exactly what kind of support Chris will need on the big day.

So we owe Brad a big thanks for helping us out of a groomsman jam.

Blog/Guestbook

We have decided to create a new blog/guestbook page since the old guestbook kind of went out for a walk on us. We'll try to post some fun stuff shortly.

Wedding Post: Invitations SENT ! ! !

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At 5pm yesterday, Chris and I put our invitations IN THE MAIL!!

There is NO turning back now!

<--- to the left you will see the inspiration for the invitation shape. The invitations were designed by my beautiful and talented baby sister Robin, and I think the colors we used are bright and cheery. Hopefully, they will make people think of spring when they arrive because that's what this wedding is all about.

Visit our Wedding website www.chrisandchristineswedding.com. You can find all kinds of fun information about us and details about the wedding. You can explore photo albums, wedding party bios and registry information.

Wedding Post: Bridesmaids Dresses Arrived

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On Saturday March 14th, 2009, all eight of my bridesmaid's dresses arrived. We ordered them on Houseofbrides.com because they were about $100 less than any retail store could offer. I realize this makes it difficult for storefronts to compete, but when it is that large of a difference there's really no question.

When many of my maids were in town for invitation stuffing, I was able to see 6 (out of 8) maids in their dresses! It was very exciting. I'm starting to really get a feel for the wedding and how its going to look. There is SOME question as to how the bows will be tied, but I'm sure that will work itself out.

Everyone's dress fit beautifully except for several hems to shorten up the skirts just a little. I am VERY pleased with the color palette and I think these beautiful ladies will make great decoration :)

Bridesmaids pictured: (from the left) LizS, LizP, Michelle, Sara, April and Robin.

Wedding Post: Invitations

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On March 21st, 2009, some of my most favorite people in the whole world gathered together to help me address and stuff countless wedding invitations.

These invitations were designed and delivered by my beautiful and talented MoH. They are tulipy, bright and cheery. I hope that when people see it they smile because they are so happy-looking.

With 8-10 people working we got all the work done in under 4 hours! It was really great to hang with everyone, and it was great not to have to do it all on my own.

Wedding Post: Pre-Marital Counseling

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On March 7th, 2009, Chris and I traveled south to Dale, IN. We had the fortunate opportunity to work with our wedding officiant Martha Friz-Langer for the entire day.

Martha is an amazing woman. She was the Interim Associate Pastor at the First Presbyterian Church from 1996-1998 (ish). She and Rev. Bower led my confirmation class when I was confirmed in 7th grade. She also had a hand in the beginnings of my passion for Dance. She is also a breast cancer surviver and the author of an awesome autobiography, "Soul Biopsy."

We had a fun day with her. She got to know Chris and got to know me and Chris as a couple. We explored some of the marriage "hot topics" like money, family, children etc. At the end of the day, Chris and I felt like we were still exactly who we thought we were. Most of the things we discussed were topics Chris and I had already covered in our everyday conversations.

I am suprised that some people don't discuss most of this stuff before even getting engaged. There are people out there that don't tell eachother about the amount of debt they have, how many kids they want, their family (medical) history and what you really want out of life. With divorce rates up up it is important to make sure we talk about these things before we dive in.

It was fantastic for Martha to get to know Chris, and I really think she is going to help make our ceremony very meaningful to both of us and our families.

Wedding Post: Clink and Drink

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I am, as you may know, the ULTIMATE bargain shopper. On Saturday, I took my Mum and April to help me add more items to Chris and my wedding gift registry. I have given up on Chris because his schedule is too WACKY to work around (between the Apple store and recording albums).

We came across a few 85% off shelves on which we found these Mikasa Flutes $10.80 for the pair. April took it over to the price check station and started to laugh out loud.

Wedding to-do list
Find toasting flutes.... Check.