Birthdays, Fillings, Priests, Germany, and..Guns?

This weekend was filled with exciting "wedding stuff!" Frank and I left Friday afternoon from Brooklyn to head Upstate for my Aunts Birthday dinner. It was wonderful! The whole family was there, we drank, ate yummy food, and celebrated. Unfortunately I didn't get a photo with the birthday girl, but she looked wonderful. :)

Saturday was our busy day! We woke up and had our lazy coffee at my aunts house,and relaxed by the pool for a bit..I had to leave for a filling (wah) at our local dentists office, but before I left, I had to pose in my new 'Bride to Be' sash from my lovely cousin Bridgett!

 After my filling, lopsided mouth and all, Frank and I had our first meeting with the priest of the church we're getting married in! I have been baptized, had my first communion, and confirmation at St. Mary's Church in Coxsackie, NY. Its a beautiful church where I've witnessed many family members and friends have their weddings and funerals there. I think getting married in St. Mary's will be very special.

Except, here's the kicker -- We were just notified by our priest that he will be retiring Sept. 1st 2015! Thats literally two weeks before our wedding. Hahah :) Luckily, I do know another priest who has been a part of St. Mary's that I can hopefully ask to do our service if our current priest is unable to come back for ours. But, its official, folks! We're getting married on September 12th 2015!! I'm so excited. After meeting with Father Moyna, Frank and I had some homework to do. We had to discuss the things we would like to bring into our marriage and the things we would not like to bring into our marriage. It was really fun getting to talk about those special things with Frank. I think we're going to have a very strong and solid marriage..

After meeting with Father Moyna, we set off with the rest of the family to Macy's in Colonie Center. Mom was really excited to use the gun to shoot things for our registry. Haha! 

She really did have the magic touch though, because every time I tried to shoot something, I was told there was an 'error' or that the item was not in stock! Jeesh! Anyway, that was really REALLY fun.

 Frank and I had already been registering online, but it was great to finally be able to see some of these things in person and to touch them. I think thats really important, especially with bedding and towels :)  We played in Macy's for a while, and I found the most adorable apron! So cute!

Our final photo after our lengthy "play date/registry time" at Macy's!

Once we were finished Mom, Dad, Frank, Alex, Megan, Brooke, and I left for dinner at The Macaroni Grille in Albany. We had a great time, and in this particular restaurant you can draw on the tablecloth, so we all played Facts Five! That was so much fun.. I totally forgot about that game! Frank won, by the way.. :)

After dinner, we had a dance party in the car on the way home, my brother Alex sang a song for us in Spanish, and then Frank and I left to go over and have some wine with my Aunt Ali and Uncle Ty. We chatted and chilled for a while, and my cousin Brenna and I looked at some super old family photo books. Its hysterical and pretty mind blowing to see how much we've all really changed. <3

The next morning we woke up, went over to Ali's again for coffee, looked at more registry things online, and then went back to our house to set up for the World Cup party! My father is German so of course the Betke's had bratwurst, kielbasa, sauerkraut, beer, etc.. And my Uncle John is Argentinian, so he was rooting for Argentina. ( We had Taco Grande for you, John!) It was so funny to see us both cheering and competing for our respective teams. Last week, my Uncle drove through our town with their Argentina jerseys, while waving the Argentinian flags out of their car. They're hysterical.. I love them. So it was awesome when Germany won the World Cup! I sent a message to my uncle singing, "Don't Cry For Me Argentina," hahaha.

 

After that, Frank and I packed up our things and hit the road back towards Brooklyn. While driving home, my grandfather called to let us know that we are officially able to have our wedding reception on their property! They are building a barn on their land, and generously offered to let us have our reception there! We are so grateful and beyond ecstatic. It's going to be so beautiful..:)  Of course heading home we ALWAYS hit major traffic, which gives me and Frank an excuse to talk lengthy about things in private. We talked a whole lot about our future plans and wedding ideas...Gosh, we are so excited and can't wait for what's in store ahead.

Thanks for stopping by, and stay tuned for our next adventure!

XOXO

K&F

P.S. If you're interested in what we have listed so far in our registry, visit our "Knot" Wedding Site and click "Our Registeries." There you will see our current registries for Crate & Barrel, West Elm, Macy's, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Pottery Barn! :)