We've set the date!

Mark your calendars for August 9, 2008!! The wedding ceremony and reception will be held at East Fork Country Estate.

Naturally, we are very excited!

~Julie

The Aerie at Eagle Landing

Now, don't get wrong...this was a beautiful place. It just wasn't right for us. I'll post pictures after I download them off my camera.

The golf course is gorgeous! Unfortunetly, they are undergoing construction for row houses near-by. They may ultimatly obstruct the view, which is very sad. Also, you can't count on when they will and won't be working either. They will, however, close down the holes near the site when a wedding is in progress, unlike The Resort.

The lady, Olivia, was very nice. She showed us around when we got there and we gave the tour to my parents after they arrived. The lawn for the ceremony was quite large and had some fountains near by. There was also a mini golf course which we could rent for our guests, you pretty much have to rent everything, at an additional fee (Even the dance floor!).

So, in the end, we decided to go with East Fork Country Estate.

The Resort at the Mountain

Can't say that I really liked this one all that much. It wasn't done up for anything, and was a bit hard to imagine being anything more than a big tent. I'm sure its beautiful, but it just didn't feel like "the place" to me.

The tent:


More of "the tent"...she went on about a 'Tulle Package' where they cover those metal poles with Tulle...yeah.

The view of the "laser leveled croquet grounds"....uh huh...


"The Limo"...yeah they would cart me around in that in my dress so I wouldn't have to go pee in a "port-a-pody"...


Thoughts?

East Fork Country Estate

Wow. we really liked this place. The lady was really nice and had great suggestions, and really liked us as well. We can also have a horse and carriage during the ceremony. I really liked the idea of that. See below for pics!

The dancing area:

The ceremony site, you can barely see the gazebo, but its there!

Some areas for pictures:
The ceremony site, from below:


Brides Changing room:
The view from the Bride's Changing Room Balcony!
There it is! What do we think?

Pictures from Lakeside Gardens

This is Lakeside Gardens:

Where we would be eating/dancing the night away:

Where the actual ceremony would be, pending, good weather:

Pretty tree, they have fountains too:

Fountains, they glow at night too:

My second best friend (After Steven) :
So, that's it in a nutshell... What do we think? More pics and stuff tomorrow!

Jewels

Lakeside Gardens Site Visit

Last night we went to visit the Lakeside Gardens. It was very beautiful with lots of flowers and a big lake. There was a swan in the lake who wanted to be my best friend. He seriously followed me wherever I went. It was kind of cute.

We met with the lady, also named Julie, and she showed us around. This was after we got there 45 minutes early and we all walked around on our own. Larry took lots of pictures. I'll upload those after I get them on my computer at home. It seems like it could be a good place. We want to look around some more though. They are already completely booked for August, but we could get August 30th, Labor Day Saturday, or anytime in September. Either would be fine with me!

More pictures when I get them, and two visits scheduled for Saturday. Its all very exciting!

This post was blogged from the desk of Julie Meloy.

Engagement Photos!

Larry agreed to take some pictures for us, like he did for graduation. We went out for a dinner and photo session. Kodi was very excited to be running around free while we were shooting.

This is a great picture, if only the shadow over Steven's face were gone!
Kodi was being a brat while we were taking this one!

This is probably one of the best pictures. I picked that flower myself!

More on Wednesday after the Lakeside Gardens visit. We drove by it on Saturday, on our way home from the Ash Scattering, and it looks awesome! I can't wait to go inside.

Pictures and Magazines!

I can't seem to download any pictures when I'm at my desk at work, so those are soon to follow!

Last night we met up with Larry and Marlene and Tara, who came home to stay with Kodi, and had dinner. Then the boys watched "Austin Powers" on TV and the girls took a ride to Freddies to get some more magazines and ice cream! It was a really fun night, picking out colors we liked, laughing and catching up.

We will start visiting some sites this coming week. On Wednesday night we are meeting with the people at Lakeside Gardens and a week from today we will be meeting with East Fork Country Gardens. I'm still trying to get appointments for The Resort at the Mountain, and a new place, Aerie something or other. Be looking for pictures and reviews!

This is my first attempt at blogging!

Friday night Steven helped me do the chores that we normally do on Saturday morning. He was telling me that we were going to do something on Saturday, but he wouldn't tell me what!

We got up Saturday morning and Steven went to the store, which we had forgotten to do, while I got ready for the day. When I was ready to do we got in the car and decided to go to our bakery to pick up our yummy fresh bread for the week. Steven treated me to a yummy fresh doughnut when we got there too. Then it was back in the car for our adventure!

We drove out to Hood River, because I had never been there before, and stopped at the Columbia River Gorge Motel (Hotel?). We went out to walk around the gardens and the waterfall behind the building. After watching some windsurfers for a bit, I sat down on a bench and Steven joined me. Then, before I knew it, he was on one knee with a gorgeous ring in his hand. How could I say no to that!?! After lots of hugs and kisses we went inside and had someone take our picture.

Then we got in the car and drove back home via the Old Highway. About halfway home we realized that all the cars in front of us were stopped and suddenly there were lots of people on the side of the road! We wondered what was going on and suddenly we turned to the right and there was an antique train, scheduled to arrive in Portland later that night, and train enthusiasts everywhere! I managed to get two pictures before we had to get going again. It was a real treat for us to see. We stopped at Crown Pointe, Vista House (our spot) for a look/photo op. Then we went to the Troutdale General Store for some lunch. Along the way we called Mom and Dad and Larry and Marlene too.

Then it was home, to make cupcakes and get ready for our fancy dinner at Portland City Grill (Thank You JHI Engineering!)... We had such a great dinner and I even got a fancy Bellini Martini and then we got those yummy cookies and ice cream.

It was truly a special and wonderful day....after that....the wedding planning began!