Finally....

After months of sitting around looking at other people’s blogs and casually considering creating my own, I have gone ahead and done it! Awesome sauce. I guess the "waterfall wedding" title, albeit cheesy, is a bit hopefully rather than telling. Ultimately, I think Jon and I both want to be married on a river, and hopefully somewhere scenic like a waterfall. Why a river, you ask? If you’re asking that then you must not know Jon. Jon is an avid kayaker, and by that I mean that if kayaking were a girl, he would marry her not me. Every weekend and every vacation is centered on kayaking. You can check some of his fabulous photos out here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/jon.loehrke He is really, really good at it. I think the only reason he doesn’t quit his job and go pro for a living is that he can’t see himself as conceded like that and really wants to make a difference in the world in addition to enjoying himself…but those are two of the reasons I love my baby! A touch of adventure and a touch of caring – the perfect blend!

I want to be married on the river because I too enjoy kayaking, but more importantly, some of the best times in my life have been had on the water – be it a river or a lake. I myself have always had a real love of freshwater, and I think the symboligy of the ever changing river and a natural setting will really suit us. More on all that natural stuff and why it suits us later.

We want to find a place that means something to us, however, and with both families being on both coasts, that is a challenge. I think having at least the reception on lake Winnipesauke would be perfect. My extended family have a lot of property in the town of Meredith, so some people would have free places to stay, and I grew up there in the summers and LOVE it. Plus its real close to the Manchester airport, so people could get there easy enough. But that leaves out Jon and his family! Another option would be Jon’s parents place. It’s beautiful and remote, and would meet a lot of our criteria for setting. It would be great for people’s budgets because there are ample camping areas for them to utilize. It would be hard for the princess in me, however, because it is really out there and not near any sort of recreational centers that would have motels, etc. While I am sure it could be blinged out enough, it would take some serious work to make some of those special areas I always envisioned for getting ready – like a place to put on a white dress and get my hair did ;-) Also, it is a good two hours from the airport, and I would have a lot of relatives flying in who do not do so well with travel…Oh yea, and did I mention, the most important thing ever is to have our best black friend, the test-child, the best gift the universe has ever given us, involved and at the wedding?

Its great to have options though! We have also had plenty of discussions about a ceremony and reception one place, and another, follow up party on the other coast so that everyone will have a chance to participate. On our next foray into the north woods I am thinking I am going to make Jon look at some potential areas. With only a year to go and a TON of relatives on both sides, I want to get the news out there. If oil prices continue to rise the way they have, it may be near impossible to get people together to celebrate with us, and that would be a real bummer.

I hate to leave you with all these questions, but I have to get off the computer and go make something out of myself. In fact, I am supposed to baby-sit our next door neighbor, Charlotte, soon. She is absolutely adorable and a bit of a princess like me. I’ll leave you with a picture of her that I took this past winter while bothering Jon who was trying to get some work done…

Coming up:

What we do for a living and what we do for fun

How we met

The proposal