- Musicians -

Allow me to introduce some dear friends who have taken on the huge task of performing all of our ceremony music!  

How we met: SLU has a crazy awesome 10PM Mass, and this 10PM Mass has a crazy awesome 10PM Mass Choir. As a meek little freshman, I spent my first several Sunday nights showing up to join the choir and sing at Mass. Annnnnd...

...How we became attached: These crazy awesome musicians who I adored turned into acquaintances. Then these "acquaintances" turned into friends, and these "friends" turned into family. They [especially when all together!] are pure wonderfulness. Annnnnnd...

...How they got the job: [Well, I may or may not've hired this bunch before I even knew Brian existed. Oops.] But then Brian came along. He put a ring on it in October 2011, these peeps saved the date, and now the rest is history! ;) 

Wedding guests: fasten your pew-belts, because you're in for a wild ride with this group!

DIRECTOR ~ Sean Dineen
[He tends to blur after a few Red Bulls...]

CANTOR ~ Chris Klaber

PIANO ~ Nick Hennicke

TRUMPET ~ Joe Malburg

FLUTE ~ Mandi Goethals

VIOLA ~ Ted Juch
[...Yes, we know this isn't a viola...]

SOUND MAN ~ Rob Palermo
[Unpictured because all his mug shots are copyrighted...]
[AND because he be too cool for FB where I stole all the other photos!]

Friends: we are so so excited to have you be a part of our special day and can't wait for everyone to hear your fabulous music! 

Thank you, thank you, thank you all! :) 

- {DIY} Glitter Gourds - Part I -

To accessorize our reception tables, we will be throwing out some small white pumpkins [AKA - glitter gourds!].  The best part? We're DIY-ing and growing them in the back yard!! We borrowed this idea from the Bloome family after Kelly's beautiful wedding last July.  Thanks, guys!

Dad spent a little time earlier this spring chopping the Bloome's old glitter gourds to get some seeds. [Machete madness...ahh!]

Once the plants started growing, they needed a little TLC and LOTS of watering...

First gourd! Success!

Grow little pumpkins, grow! We are ready to make you glittery and gorgeous!

Check back this fall for pictures of the final product...

- MOB Dress -

[Believe it or not,] finding the perfect mother-of-the-bride dress was a huge challenge! We looked and looked and looked, and then we looked some more. Oh, did I mention we looked again?  From St. Louis to Edwardsville to Litchfield to Chicago [and literally everything in between], we scoured every single mall and bridal store. Nothing on the racks was flattering enough for my cute momma!

Last February during our girls roadtrip to Chicago, we made an appointment at the Macy's Bridal Salon on State Street. [Have you ever been to this place?! Hooooly moly.] Manny was Mom's little helper and best friend, and he was positive that we would find something here. Wow...talk about a man passionate about dresses and full of energy! Thanks to Pat and Laura for tagging along with us! Sadly, we left Chi-town empty-handed. 

In March, we stopped in at a bridal shop in St. Louis called Distinctions; this time we found THE ONE!!! Mom looked amaaazing and beautiful and so radiant when she walked out from the fitting room! [Seriously, like totally breathtaking.] 

I'm so happy that she found what she was looking for and am so excited for her to walk it down the aisle in November!

Forget about the bride, here comes the MOTHER! ;) 

- Marrying my Dad -

I'm marrying my dad...

...no seriously, I'm marrying my dad.

It's pretty crazy how similar these two are!  Ahh!

- May to May -

Our relationship has changed from May to May (to May!), and so have we! 

May 2010

May 2011

May 2012

- {DIY} Guest Book -

Want to make the cutest and cheapest (and easiest) guest book ever?!

...Ok. It's super easy: book Kelly Manno for your wedding photography, and you're set to go! ;) 

She'll mail out a huge stack of engagement prints; all you have to do is spend a few hours listening to your favorite music and taping prints onto black cardstock. Add a few silver pens and a lot of heartfelt messages from loved ones on the wedding day, and your super cute project is perfected! 

We can't wait to see our finished product! 

- Engagement Pictures -

We had such a great time doing our engagement session with Kelly Manno! Here are some of our favorites...

Kelly: Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! You are so wonderful, and we love you very much! :) 



CLICK HERE to view our engagement post on Kelly Manno's blog and HERE to visit her very own photography website!

- Guest List -

[Here goes our best effort at a well-oiled smoothover...]

Because we're sharing all of this wedding information on Facebook, let us just [tactfully] take a second to say:

Our guest list is getting tight.

What does this mean?

It means that we are trying our very best to include everyone who has been a part of our relationship and grown with us over the past two years.  It means both sides of our families are huge.  It means we are already way past our max number on the guest list. It means we have some rearranging and prioritizing and choosing to do.  It means we are number crunching.  It means it's getting uncomfortable. 

(((It means we can't invite everyone we would like to.)))

And we feel really, really badly.

But in the end, it boils down to one thing:

November 10 is our day.

My day, Brian's day, and a celebration of a sacrament that we will absolutely be celebrating every day for the rest of our lives. We chose venues that mean something to us in the city that means something to us, and unfortunately these capacities mean that we can only wine and dine with a small percentage of loved ones who mean something to us. 

Sad.

But still, the wedding is one day.  The marriage is forever.

One day < FOREVER. 

While our reception hall has tight seating limitations, the church does not. Space is no issue here, and we would love for you to be witnesses of our first sacrament together! That being said, [reception invitation or not,] EVERYONE reading this is welcome to attend the ceremony at Saint Francis Xavier College Church! Click the "Ceremony" tab on the left for any information you need.

Thank you for sharing our love!

We love you! :)

- Food Tasting -

We spent last Saturday night at the Cedars [halfway] wedding crashing, [but mostly] sampling lots of food options for our big day! 

Annnd final decisions were MADE!

Yummy!

- Wedding Party -

Meet our beloved parents, bridesmaids, flower girls, and groomsmen! :) 

Parents of the Bride ~ Mark and Resa Stieren

Maid of Honor ~ Kaitlin Weitekamp
Friend of the Bride

Matron of Honor ~ Laura Wagahoff
Cousin of the Bride

Bridesmaid ~ Emily Mohan
Friend of the Bride

Bridesmaid ~ Meghan Geyman
Friend of the Bride

Bridesmaid ~ Alicia Schneider
Friend of the Bride

Bridesmaid ~ Chrissy Woods
Niece of the Groom

Flower Girls ~ Ellyana O'Neal and Melody Vazzi
Nieces of the Groom



*******************************************************

Parents of the Groom ~ Ron and Ann Fleming

Best Man ~ Marko Dragovich
Cousin of the Groom 

Best Man ~ Brant Fleming
Brother of the Groom 

Groomsman ~ Garett Fleming
Brother of the Groom 

Groomsman ~ Jon Dragovich
Cousin of the Groom

Groomsman ~ Nathan Huhn
Friend of the Groom

Groomsman ~ Andy Andrasko
Friend of the Groom 

- Things To Do -

There's more to our city than great sports teams... ;) 

As our wedding [conveniently] falls on a holiday weekend, we encourage you to hang around on Sunday and explore the city we love! Here are a few recommendations:

• Shop 'til you drop at the Saint Louis Galleria.

• Meet the animals at the Saint Louis Zoo.

• Take a tour of the Gateway Arch...

• ...or the Gateway Arch Riverboats.

• See the clydesdales at the Anheuser-Busch Brewery Tour.

• Make your belly smile with a delicious treat at Ted Drewes.

• Stroll through the scenic City Garden...

• ...or the Botanical Gardens.

• Enjoy a few of our favorite drinks at the Schlafly Bottleworks Tour.

• Take a relaxing walk through Forest Park (where we got engaged!).

• Wine and dine "the Italian way" on The Hill.

There are plenty more things to entertain you; these are just our favorites! 

Enjoy! 

- Cheers to TWO Years! -

We've come quite a long way in two years! 

Rewind to May 2010 and journey through a month-by-month timeline of our ever-changing and always exciting relationship: 

~May 2010 -- The dating games "officially" begin...

~June 2010 

~July 2010

~August 2010 

~September 2010

~October 2010

~November 2010

~December 2010

~January 2011

~February 2011

~March 2011

~April 2011

~May 2011

~June 2011

~July 2011

~August 2011

~September 2011 

~October 2011 -- (World Series Game 7!)

~November 2011 -- Publicly announcing our ENGAGEMENT!!! :) 

~December 2011

~January 2012 

~February 2012

~March 2012 

~April 2012

~May 2012 

Reminiscing on twenty-four months of memories has made us realize how blessed we have been and how much we have to look forward to in the future! 

Cheers to two years!