Making progress...

Hello all! Nikki here, making my first post on the Team Stikki blog. Be kind. ;-)

Apologies to those who feel like they've been left out of details for the past month and a half since there was a new posting. Clearly you haven't had the opportunity to hang out with either of us, since we're pretty much discussing wedding stuff 24-7 these days, no matter how hard we (or at least I- Steve does it just to drive me crazy) try. Having said that, here's the news:

We've selected venues and are in the process of signing contracts and getting people paid. The reception will be at the Fabulous Fox Theatre in one of their ballrooms. This is cool for a variety of reasons, including the fact that I usher there, it's only a few blocks from my condo, it's an Atlanta icon, and (for a small fee) they'll put our message as a scrolling marquee item. Fantastic!

The wedding venue we've selected is the Renaissance Atlanta Hotel Downtown, which has rooms on the 25th floor with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking midtown, Tech, Turner, and downtown. It's the perfect place for our small ceremony and dinner with family.

Save the dates will go out soon, officially announcing this site and dates (for those who aren't insiders). ;-) Steve designed a fantastically clever and "us" announcement, so be on the lookout. They should arrive in mailboxes sometime around Halloween, once we get through all that addressing work.

The registries are a work in progress, but are up for people to check out: Most of our practical stuff is at Macy's and we've started beefing up our library at Amazon.com. We're still taking suggestions for books that should definitely be a part of our collection or items we've forgotten about.

What else... We've narrowed the caterers down to a handful and are doing tastings to decide who'll we sign. We've got some ideas for dresses for me, wedding favors we love, and honeymoon plans. We're thinking Tahiti- you can't go wrong with the South Pacific, right? Steve has made incredible progress at his house, moving "our retirement" collections into storage and trashing mountains of stuff that has collected over the years; we hope to get some minor work done and have it ready to put on the market between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Things still on our to do list include invites, photographers, DJs, and cakes- Feel free to comment with any suggestions you've got in those areas.

In life outside wedding planning (if such a thing exists right now), I've been kept busy with a very mediocre GT football season, getting back into rock climbing with friends, my 10 year high school reunion last weekend, and the usual travel for work and fun. I leave on Friday for a week in Europe- seeing my brother Chris, meeting my new niece Carlie, playing with my nephew Caleb, and jetting my sister-in-law off for a few days in Prague and Vienna without any of them in hopes of preserving her sanity. =) Steve stays busy with work, trying to finish up the series of shorts that just won't die. He did take time out of his busy schedule to roadtrip with Kohler up to Ohio for a Genesis reunion tour stop- Those who live in Atlanta will likely notice the new hoodie that has been added to the collection.

I think that's it for now. My brain's empty. =) A lot of stuff, but it's been a busy 6 weeks since the last post. You're all caught up!