I have a solution

Hello all! Lots of info about what is happening with us. Actually it is pretty boring right now. We haven't really been doing all that much. The weather is nice and cool, which is so amazing because we don't have an air conditioner. But we only have to deal with that until the end of August!

Okay, so posting the original wedding photos has been a pain. Often they take forever to load, and then sometimes they don't even work. So my love for polaroid photos has won over! There is this supercool program called Poladroid. It changes any photo into a digital polaroid photo! You are able to see them "develop" on your screen and you can even shake them. And these photos load super fast on blogger. So these are some of our wedding photos that I have transformed. I know they aren't nice and clean like the originals, but I love the old feel of them. I am going to be posting more about our wedding service soon (most likely, it will include polaroids). 

So I got a letter today from my department. They have sent back all of my finals and papers along with a letter telling me I can proceed to my dissertation. Thank goodness!!!! I was super worried. I had written a paper that I didn't feel very confident writing and it showed in the results. But I passed and that is all that matters! In fact I only had to pass all of this stuff to get to the dissertation. But I feel a lot more confident in the fact that now I only have it left to write. It still doesn't motivate me to go to the library (which is something I am working on) but hopefully it will give me the confidence I need to continue on. Only 3 more months to go!

So, I have had tons of questions about where we are going and what we are doing when we get back to the states. At the moment, our plan is to move back to Birmingham. Of course this depends on jobs. Andy is putting in portfolio's with several Birmingham area advertising agencies and we are hoping for the best. My plan is to get a job wherever I am able to and start my phd in the fall of 2010 at Tuscaloosa. Our lease here in Canterbury is up August 20, so that is the proposed date of our return. We might stay on until September, because that is when my thesis is due and Andy is worried I won't finish it if we go home. But honestly I am ready to go home now. I am tired of giving up everything I have, moving to a different place, and having to start all over again. I am ready to have a place to call home. I am also ready to live close to friends. We have absolutely no social life. I was so happy when our families were here because it was familiar faces doing things with us. I can't wait to get back to Birmingham and having coffee with friends or having game night. I would really like to start a Bunco group or a book group, or something fun like that where I can get together with other people and have a lot of fun. Oh and I can't wait for the $1 movies! 
Okay so more to come soon. Thank you all for following our little blog. It will become much more exciting soon because we will be traveling a little more in July and August. Feel free to pass us on to other people who might want to keep up with everything!

We love you all,

Suzie and Andy

Photos

Finally...... a few of the photos have loaded. These photos are from the photographer and take forever to load due to the quality. It takes about 10 minutes each and have a 50% chance of failing. Poor Andy is not able to use the internet while I am trying to post them. 

These are just a few of the many after wedding photos that were taken at St. Martin's Priory in Canterbury. I hope to post a few more, but we will see if the internet cooperates with me. 

Our family and friends around the pond.

Me and Andy

We LOVE this one! I was so glad we had a clear day so you can see the cathedral. We took several shots on this little path. 

Here we are again. 

We were so thankful for the beautiful weather. It turned out to be an amazing day. After all the family shots, we sent our family and friends off to do a river boat tour while we took our photos together. It was such a good idea. Even though we were not totally alone, we got to relax and spend time together. We really wanted to make it our day that we were able to enjoy and take in together. Once we got to the hotel, we went to our room and relaxed before the reception. We wanted to make an entrance to dinner. When it was time to eat, they called and told us to come down. It was convenient because the reception room was just down the stairs from the honeymoon suite. 

The Reception

Our reception was held at the Chaucer Hotel in Canterbury. The hotel was amazing, they made life easier on the day. We wanted a very intimate meal with family and friends, so they put us in the Ivy Suite (which the painted right before our event). 

Menu

Mixed garlic mushrooms 

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Tomato and basil soup

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Sorbet

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Roast lamb with mint jelly

served with

roast potatoes and seasonal vegetables

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Profiteroles with chocolate sauce 

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Coffee and mints

Cake

My wedding cake was baked by my mother because we didn't like the bakery we had originally chosen for the cake. It wasn't exactly what I envisioned but it tasted amazing! She made a spice cake with a white chocolate icing covered in chocolate shavings.

We asked the best man, Andy's dad, and the maid of honor, my sister, to give the speeches at our reception. 

I don't have a copy of Andy's dad's speech but he talked about Andy's unconditional love.  

My sister, whom I love so much, gave this speech:

Wow, what can I say about Suzie.... 

Suzie has always been the independent girl. 

It always made me admire her more and more with the warm outgoing attitude about her.

As a child Suzie was the person I always looked up to and wanted to be just like. 

Her beauty has always been ravishing and her heart strong.

 I know that these are only a few of the qualities that make Andy love her.

Today is the day that I have anticipated my entire life, the day that I get to witness my sister's bond and love for the man of her dreams

From the moment Andy entered into her life, he captured her heart. 

I have never seen Suzie more in love than right now in this very moment. 

My big sister has a glisten in her eyes every time she looks at Andy, and I can truly see that this is the love that lasts forever. 

Whether you realize this or not Suzie is a gem. 

She is a rare diamond that shines brighter than any other jewel around her. 

Suzie is a person that you can talk about anything with so wether we are having a conversation about Chips funny habits or an in depth discussion about life, she is always the one to listen. 

Though we have had our quarrels and strife with each other ... 

you knocking out four of my teeth...

with maturity we have a relationship that I wouldn't trade for anything. 

I hope that you and Andy have a long and happy life together, 

because we all love and adore both of you. 

Andy will protect and keep you sane and Suzie will help you and guide you when you are in need.

With each other, your love will be strong.  

I know, I know

I don't know what it is, but at the moment blogger does not like me. I have tried several times to post photos on this blog, but they never load. I thought everyone might be busting at the seams to see some photos of our wedding and honeymoon, so you might want to check out the two links to our facebook albums. I am really going to try to work on this blog thing to get it all worked out. I am thankful for the one photo it allowed me to load after 15  minutes. There will be more to come soon, I promise. 

Facebook albums:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2074217&id=41801604&l=ccf7a53706

and 

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2074281&id=41801604&l=c52865b2a3

Love, 

Suzie and Andy

Wonderful news....

Okay, so I have been in the thick of things lately. I have been trying to finish 2 exams and an essay. I have to be honest it's not going so well. There just aren't enough hours in the day. I have to have them all finished by Monday night, and the sad thing is that I know it's not going to happen. But I'm working hard and we will see what happens.

Well our families begin arriving on Tuesday! I am so excited and I can't even think about everything I need to do. I am ready to see everyone and have them see where we live. It will be a crazy few days before the wedding, but it will all be worth it. 

So big news! I have to start by saying that I love Andy so much and I'm so luck to have him. He is so good to me. When I got home Thursday from the archives, Andy said he had good news and bad news. I chose good news first. He said it was that our honeymoon wasn't going to be as expensive as we thought. Band news was that we weren't going to Paris. I didn't know what to say. Where was he planning to take me? Well..... He said- We are going to Venice instead! I was ecstatic! On Easter we had talked about places we wanted to visit in Italy because Jayne had lived in Italy for a while and she and Alec were leaving for Florence that week. I had said that if I had to choose, I would want to go to Venice. So now, I get a week in a cabin in the Italian countryside! Andy did an amazing job and I am so happy! 

What else to do on a Tuesday?

Well, not much time left. This is the last week of the term and I am supposed to be busy working on essays and exams. I say that because I get distracted easily. I spent the afternoon in the library at school doing research and making photocopies and tomorrow I have a table booked at the Cathedral archives. I hope this week to finish my paleography, manuscript and Canterbury exams. Next week I need to write an essay for my Palaces, Princes, and Portraits class and then soon after have to work on one for Gothic Imagination. I've taken out as many books as I possibly can from the library, so now I just have to write.

I did have a welcomed relief this past weekend. Andrea came to stay and we had a great time. It was so good to see a familiar face. We have missed hanging out with friends so much. Canterbury is not very big, but I hope Andrea enjoyed exploring it. We were sad to see her go back to London, but we will see her again soon. 

As far as wedding plans go, everything is going smoothly at the moment. Monday was our wedding meeting day. We finalized church program, menu, and suit hire. I have a little workstation over my desk complete with schedule for the week of the wedding, list of all vendors and contact information, and a list of things that I need to complete in the near future. Andy has been working hard on invitations and they are going to be amazing. I'm just ready to be able to enjoy it all. 

A bit of bad news

Well today started out as usual. I am stressed about everything that's going on and not going on at the moment. I've had one of those days where I just want to clean up so I don't have to be stressed about how shabby the apt looks on top of everything else. So I put a load of clothes on to wash, soaked some hand wash items, made the bed, picked up, and started cleaning the bathroom. I try to do everything at once if you can't tell. Also, at this point in time I am trying to break in my wedding shoes. Picture me in pj pants and a t-shirt with fancy shoes on. 

Well after most of the cleaning is done, I get online to talk to my mom briefly. While talking to her, I am watching some news videos on CNN. I come across one titled "Peace Corps Worker Killed." I click on it because Andy had been in the Peace Corps not two years ago.  It started telling the story of how Kate Puzey was found murdered on the front porch of her home in Africa in mid-March. So that peeked my attention. Kate was a volunteer for the Peace Corps in Benin and began her term in July 2007. I told Andy what had happened and that she was in his training group. He was a little unsure, so I asked if he wanted to see her picture. He walked behind my chair and was astonished.... "Oh my God.... she was one of my friends." 

We tried to find out if they were releasing what happened, but they are not. We watched several clips of her parents talking to local Atlanta news stations about how much she loved teaching English at a school in Benin and that she loved what she was doing. Andy is devastated. I know it is already hard on him that he left Benin, and it is even harder because he found out so late. 

Busy, Busy, Busy

I thought I would give just a few snippets of my dress.... I don't want to give to much away!

The back of my dress

Just a little detail on the train.

We have been super busy putting everything together. We are only 6 weeks away, and it seems that everything is coming together. I am getting so excited and anxious about everything. I want April 25 to be the most relaxed and enjoyable for everyone involved. I know that most of our family and friends are not able to come, so I wanted to catch you all up to date on the planning process. We actually met with the Rector of St. Martin's and decided on our readings and music. I am so thankful that we are able to have the parish organist and choir available at our ceremony. Our music is going to be:

Arrival of Guests:

Handel- Water Music

My Entrance:

Wagner- Here Comes the Bride

Hymn 1:

Love Divine All Love's Excelling

Hymn 2: 

O Perfect Love

Signing of Certificate:

The Lord Bless You and Keep You

Hymn 3:

Bind Us Together

Exit:

Mendelsson- Wedding March

So, that is all falling into place. I am a little concerned about the readings. I have picked 2 Old Testament and 2 New Testament passages and can't really decide on one of each. I have chosen Isaiah 61:10-11 and Hosea 2:19-20 for the Old Testament ones, and Ephesians 3:14-19 and Colossians 3:12-17 for the New Testament ones. 

I have also had a dress fitting this week, met with the chocolatier, stylist, photographer, and venue staff. My dress is amazing! I am so happy that I got the one I did. I am using a local shop called Jodi's Bridal. The ladies there are so nice and helpful. I got to walk around in my dress on Wednesday. The only thing that had to be altered was the hem because my shoes made up for a little of my height deficiency. For the chocolatier and stylist, there is a local shop called Salon Chocolate. A couple owns the shop: she sales chocolate and he styles hair. They have also recommended a makeup artist for the day. They have been extremely helpful in sorting everything out. We met with a photographer on Friday named Rob Parker. We feel like he is going to be a good fit! You can find him here www.kentishweddingphotographer.co.uk . 

I also wanted to include some photos that have inspired what we are going to have at our wedding. Our event is on a very small scale but we are making it all fit. 

We are going to have a white wedding cake covered in shaved white chocolate. It will be much smaller than this one, but this is the idea.

For flowers, we are having Easter lilies, green hydrangea's, pink ranunculus and lily of the valley. I have been a little disappointed with the florist, I have to say. I put in the order at the florist around the corner, but have heard nothing back from them as to wether they actually ordered the flowers, what the prices are going to be, or any information at all. Every time I go in they take down my contact details but never actually call me. So I am about to go somewhere else and order the flowers. I am going to stop in tomorrow so we will find out! 

So for one of the favors at the reception, I wanted to do little bird's nests with chocolate eggs in them for the place cards. But I am having the hardest time finding little nests. I have the eggs ordered already. The problem is that next week is Mother's Day in the UK, so most shops haven't put out their full Easter items. So I might have to be creative with my nests. I might just have to order them and have them sent to someone in the US (all the companies that I can find are in the US and only ship to the US). If I'm not able to get them, I'm sure Carol and I will come up with something creative!

We are asking our guests to help us make this event full of both English and American traditions. Because of this, we have asked ladies attending the wedding to wear hats. I know, everyone's grumbling, but I want to make this a special time that we can all bond. I have found a lady in our area who actually rents hats out for special occasions like weddings. I thought this would be a good idea for everyone because you don't actually have to buy a hat you will never wear again. You can view a few of the hats at www.thathat.co.uk . Apparently she has a lot more that what is on the web site and basically has them in every color. She also has some really cute fascinators for the young at heart! I hope that everyone can enjoy this little bit of dress up! 

It's coming together.....

St. Martin's Church

The Chaucer Hotel

Okay, so a lot of things have been going on here. I have been swamped with everything going on. I have been trying to complete some exams that have been hanging over my head for a long time. Still working, but feeling a little better about it. 

This past week I was able to sing in the Cathedral for the second time. The university chorus and symphony orchestra performed on Saturday night. I hope that everyone enjoyed the show. Lots of well known people were in the audience, including Orlando Bloom. He was in the 6th row and very recognizable, even from a distance. But I have to be honest, I'm not really a star struck person. I don't go gaga over famous people, they are just people. I'm sure Mandy would have just loved it! Maybe you can see him when you are here in April; he's from the area.

Okay on to the next thing. We have been working hard to get everything ready for our wedding. We finally have a location for both the service and the reception, flowers, a cake, food, decorations, hats for the moms, and my dress. The only things we really have to figure out is the photographer, hymns, and what Andy is wearing. But other than that we are set. It has been very hectic trying to put all this together on such short notice and without help. We are getting there. I was so excited when I went to pick my flowers and when we met with the reception venue to plan the menu. I'm really starting to look forward to all this. Now I just have to do everything I need to do in the mean time. 

So just a short word about our church. St. Martin's is the oldest church in England. It really is a lovely little church made of reused red roman bricks and stones. It is the perfect size for our little ceremony. We are also able to have the choir sing and the organist play. I am so glad that this is possible. It would be a sad day if no one sang at our wedding. For our reception, we are using the Ivy Suite at the Chaucer Hotel. It is a beautiful little room where we can have an intimate sit down meal. We also get the use of the terrace for our pre-dinner drinks and finger foods. 

I am trying to use all local people for the items for our wedding. We live in a nice little area of the city and we are using a florist, pastry shop, and salon right around the corner from the apartment. I really am enjoying being a part of a little "neighborhood" and getting to know my neighbors, even if they are little shops and restaurants. 

Well, I must get to bed, I have a full week of studying ahead of me. If anyone just feels the need to write a paper on the role of the post-Reformation Cathedral just let me know. 

A little crazy at the moment...

Well, I thought I would give this a try. My computer has been acting up so I am not able to use my usual iWeb site to blog on. So I hope to update everyone on this site. I am a little busy at the moment but will be filling this thing up with all the information you might need to know. I should probably get back to the books at the moment, but I promise there is more to come!