Let Them Eat Cake!

So, Cary and I briefly looked into wedding cakes before we left for clinic. He's not a huge cake fan, so he could probably care less what we have at the reception. I want something that is beautiful but also delicious, that our guests will enjoy. And cakes today are simply pieces of art...and can be a bit over the top!!

Yep, that's all edible...can you imagine cutting it?
Or you could just have a life-sized model of yourself...don't worry, Cary, I'd include you, too, in this vain confection!
However, I think I prefer something a little more classic like this.

Anyway, we asked the married couples in our class about their cakes and got a wide range of prices (and they all had beautiful cakes). Cary's mom checked out a local bakery who quoted prices starting at $4 a slice, which for 200+ guests really adds up! We knew the cake would be expensive, but come on, it's only flour and sugar! So we've contemplated a smaller cake, fake tiers, or going to the local grocery store (which actually has a LOT of nice options).

This one is from Publix...cute, huh?

Anyway, while searching the internet for wedding cakes, I came across this HILARIOUS blog about cakes that somehow went terribly wrong. It includes all sorts of cakes and is the ultimate "lost in translation." Take a look and get a good laugh. And in the meantime, if you have any suggestions or want to try your hand at cake decorating, let me know!!

Updates from 450 miles apart

Cary:

Clinic is going well so far. I've spent my first week at NHC-Farragut, a wonderful skilled nursing facility west of Knoxville, TN. When people hear nursing home, they usually have thoughts of a rough place, but skilled nursing is a little different. The population is more selective, and most of the patients are those who have left the hospital planning to go home, but are just not quite ready. My job (as a future PT) is to learn the best and most efficient ways to achieve that goal of getting back home, while being independent. I am staying with the in-laws of a guy in my class and they've helped make the time here that much better. My original rotation in Augusta was canceled, but this facility is just under 1 mile from their house, so I couldn't have asked for a better fit. My days consist of an 8-4 day at the nursing home, followed by a little time to exercise, study, and eat. The family lives in Fox Den Country Club so sometimes I'll watch the golfers for entertainment as well. It took only 1 day for a patient to tell me that I would soon be "bleeding orange and white." I may go to a game or 2 while here in Knoxville, and I may even root on the SEC, but I highly doubt I'll be bleeding anything resembling orange or white. Although Kelly and I knew we would be distanced for 8 weeks, I don't think either of us realized how far it was. Google says it would take around 7 hours in the car or a little over 5 1/2 days of non-stop walking. But, only 7 more weeks and I'll be back in Augusta, 300 miles closer and much more feasible to visit. For now, we have most of our wedding planning done other than flowers (or at least that's what I think). We'll definitely try to finalize everything in December, as we have a full month off from school/clinic.

Kelly:
My clinic is going well, too. I am in Savannah, at Memorial University Medical Center doing an in-patient acute rotation. I have to admit it was interesting figuring out all the lines and tubes, and since I am on a post-op floor, I still get one every now and then that I have no clue what to call much less how to take it with us down the hall! Figuring things out as I go. I'm actually living with my aunt and uncle in Richmond Hill which is a suburb of Savannah...so I have a MUCH farther drive than Cary--about 40 minutes. So far it hasn't been bad, though. I was able to join the hospital's gym and I'm looking into a dance studio in Richmond Hill (no ballroom...I'm hoping for lyrical or modern or anything that sounds new and exciting). Like Cary said, it is an adjustment to not see each other every day, and when you compound that with bad cell phone reception (on my end) it makes it even more frustrating. I think we can manage 7 more weeks. Luckily, some of the wedding planning can be done via internet (such as finalizing save the dates and contacting florists). I expect December to be busy just like May was.

School Update and Sports Snipits

So, Kelly and I are officially done with finals FOREVER! Grades are in and we took our A's to the bank. We still have to take the national board exam next Summer, but that should be the only test left for us. We have one more wedding to attend (at Chateau Elan) this weekend, then we are off to clinic. Kelly will spend all of Fall in Savannah, and I will split time between Knoxville and Augusta.
Now for some sports snipits. Finally, with some time off, I've caught up on my sports. Braves are pedaling hard for the playoffs, scoring 11 runs in the last inning of the the last 3 games...Go Braves! Seriously though, Greg Norton? 58 ABs and 50 of those with no hit. Three starting pitchers have a higher batting average.
Did anyone else see the fake punt on Sunday night pre-season football? Wow, you should watch that.
And once again, SEC seems to be pretty good. Four teams in the top 10, none of which are UGA though. College football season is only 4 weeks away with some good top-10 matchups the first weekend. And I'll be in Knoxville for the Georgia-Tennessee game.
And just because I love deals: Anyone traveling US Airways in the next few months? Check this out. Free Elite status for 90 days.

From head to toe

So in the matter of about one week I purchased my veil, shoes, and head piece for the wedding. It all just sort of fell into place, so I couldn't resist going ahead and getting them. I bought the veil and headpiece through sellers on Etsy. If you've never visited this site, you should take a look. It is a "place to buy and sell all things handmade." They have wedding items as well as any home decor and clothing items you could imagine. It is full of individual sellers who all make unique, handmade things. So my headpiece and veil were both custom made by two different sellers. I simply told them what I wanted, they sent me pictures of the work in progress, I made changes, then bought the final product through the website. Pretty cool, huh? And they are just as beautiful in person as they were on my computer screen.
While I can't show you pictures of the veil or headpiece (Cary reads this thing, you know!), I am going to show pictures of my shoes. I figure, no one really ever sees the bride's shoes, so why not show them here.
I bought them during the tax-free weekend in Georgia, so they were tax-free!! Aren't I thrifty?

Favor Box Contest

I think our wedding favors are taken care of now! One of the wedding blogs that I read www.stylemepretty.com (which is awesome, you should check it out), features amazing wedding vendors and occasionally gives away products from those vendors. Last week they featured Dooby Design Group, a custom design company based in Michigan. The company decided to give away 100 of their custom favor boxes to readers of this blog. I figured I would put the UGA journalism skills to work, so I wrote up a quick anecdote about what Cary and I plan to giveaway as favors at our wedding. Then the company owner picked a winner from about 90 other entries.
Here's what I wrote:

I love all of your color combinations, and the weddings on your blog were just gorgeous! I couldn’t find my exact color combo, navy blue and fuchsia with bright green accents, but I know you could easily pull these off. My fiance and I want to give away spiced pecans. As a little girl, I can remember picking up and shelling pecans from my Grandfather’s yard. When I met my fiance, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that he loved spiced pecans, a favorite of my family, too!! I’ve made spiced pecans for him on several occasions, and I always make them around Christmas time. We would love to share this family favorite with our wedding guests, and what a beautiful way to do so with Dooby Design Group’s favor boxes.

Well, one week later, I got an email announcing that I won the contest!! Pretty cool, huh? First our engagment pictures, now our favors. Too bad my wedding dress wasn't a contest prize! Anyway, the favors will be similar to this:

(but not pink or black) I can't wait to get them!

310 Days to Go...

...but who's counting? Me! I'm still getting little things done for the wedding, all the while trying to not let it distract me from school. Cary and I are also counting down the days until class is over (for good), and we go out to clinic. But we have a lot of projects, presentations, and tests standing in our way. We also still have a couple of friend's weddings to go to this summer, with one this weekend. But that will be a wonderful break from all of this studying and school work.

I also realized today that I need to look into the process of changing my name as well as insuring that my PT license will say Dr. Kelly West!

Honeymoon

We have decided where to go for our honeymoon. Kelly let me do all of the planning and although not all the plans are completed, we've at least picked out a location. We will head to Atlanta after the reception and then fly out to St. Lucia the following morning. Delta changed their SkyMiles Award Structure to utilize a low, medium, and high level system for booking award tickets. Tickets can only be booked 331 days in advance and so from June 26 until July 6, I checked the website daily as to what level the flight to St. Lucia was. I have been waiting on the level of the award ticket to go to "low" and on Monday, although Coach remained at "High," First Class was at "Low." An easy choice...fly first class for a better price than coach or wait? Kelly has never flown first class and although I have once, it was many years ago and for a much shorter flight.
Even though we don't have the rest of the honeymoon details just yet, we're looking at one of the three Sandals resorts in St. Lucia. Two of our classmates and my best man all spent their honeymoon with Sandals and spoke wonders about it. Feel free to comment and add suggestions.
And if you are wondering...no, the entire wedding isn't free or purchased through rewards. We did get the engagement pictures and flights for free (still requiring considerable effort to accumulate the miles and pay a couple government fees), but I think my wedding frugality has run out.
Sorry if you read both our blog and my cousin's, but below is a picture of our flower girl and ring bearer, Julia and Weston, from a family Fourth of July cookout.