IA Wedding Shower

Well, with one week to go before the wedding, I find that things are getting a little more rushed in terms of taking care of all that needs to be taken care of. Ken and I did finally get to the Courthouse to get our marriage certificate. His sister Maria came along as our witness. When we signed all the paperwork for that, I had to declare then and there what my name was (is?) going to be after marriage. Rather than keep you all in suspense, I'll just tell you that I'm keeping my name. I realize some people may not agree with that practice and some may think it's just fine. As for me, I decided that keeping my last name was important to me, and Ken didn't really mind, so I'm staying the same. We decided that we'll be just as married whether we share the same last name or not. Of course, when I went back to the Courthouse a few days later to pick up the license, etc., the Clerk had written Ken's last name as the "Bride's Name After Marriage." When I corrected her, she gave me a weird look. I suppose living around here I'll get a few weird looks when Ken and I introduce ourselves with different last names from here on.

A few weeks ago, my sister Melissa threw me a shower in Iowa for my friends and family here. It was a lovely event and it was good to see so many people all together again. We had it at the John Deere Supervisors Club in Waterloo, which had a room big enough to fit everyone in it. Here are some pictures from the day.

This is a picture of the ladies in my immediate family. Back L-R: Sister Melissa, Sister Connie, Brittaney, Mother, Niece Nicole, and Aunt Sheila. Front: Me, Grandma Frieda, Sister Corrina.

Here is a shot of my mom, Aunt Sheila, and some of Mom's co-workers. The woman in red on the right and in the center was actually there working at the hospital the day I was born. She was an OB nurse (and now teaches at the college) and even remembered what room my mom was in when I was born! That made my day!

Here I am posing for a picture with my new set of cookware! It will be so nice having some "good" things at home and to be able to pass along some of our "gently used" items collected during bachelorhood and graduate school days.

Here is simply another shot of the room showing some of the wonderful guests who were able to make it. I wish I could have talked to everyone more, but it's so hard to get a chance to just sit down and catch up with everyone. I know that will be something that's hard for me about the wedding day too, but I am excited for the chance to see everyone and hopefully catch up if only for a little while.

And so there it is. One week from today, Ken and I'll be married. It's hard to imagine that this day is almost here after 8 years and a lot of memories already together.