Matron & Maid of Honor

So, I did something a bit more differently than the typical bride. I decided to have a maid of honor (Ali) and a matron of honor (Kellie).  Both of these ladies are extremely important to me, and I want you to know that too! Together they will be working together as a team to keep this functional bride sane through the wedding planning process. This blog is dedicated to their awesomeness!  Thanks girls for being with me through all different walks of life.  You both mean the world to me!

Maid of Honor

 Ali Tess Tucker is my little, redheaded, fireball of a sister. I am the oldest of 7 siblings (4boys and 3girls all together), and Ali is the closest to me in age. My sister and I spent most of our childhood growing up all over the United States.  Of course, the two of us had our sibling rivalries growing up—but we always seemed to work it out.  Most times, our mom (unwillingly) would find herself trapped between the two of us while we attempted to kick the snot out of each other.

The two of us spent ALL of our childhood traveling back and forth across the country.  For school, we spent most of our time in Kentucky with our mom; for holidays (most of the time) we would travel to California to spend those times with our dad and grandparents.  Needless to say, Ali and I spent nearly every waking moment together.  For over 10 years we shared a bedroom room together. I would keep my light on every night and read for hours while Ali complained until she fell asleep.  Even at school, we would find our way together—especially, when we played soccer.

 We’ve always watched each other’s backs, and we can depend on each other. Together we were always a team.  Together we always managed to figure out those difficult moments growing up. And, for everything we’ve been through together, I will always be grateful.

Matron of Honor

Kellie Conway Edson has been a really good friend of mine since junior year of high school.  If it weren’t for Kellie, adjusting to a new school would have been an absolute nightmare.  After moving, I didn’t intend to join band class because I didn’t want to receive the “dork” label right off the bat. It was only a matter of time though... Kellie managed to find me within the first week of school. And, within that week, she somehow got me to join band as well as introduce me to Ryan.  I was so lucky to have found Kellie at Truckee High School. 

Kellie has always gotten me to stretch my wings and RELAX.  I can be serious and enjoy myself simultaneously when I’m spending time with her and I LOVE IT. Thank you Kellie! Interestingly, Kellie and I both chose to be English majors in college (writing, reading and literary discussion has always been a common addiction).

You can also call Kellie the “match maker” and give her all the credit for getting Ryan and me together.  So, make sure you give her a big hug and a kiss. Kellie is a rock star!

Interesting Facts about these lovely ladies:

1.     Kellie’s given name is Joy. She gets her name by her middle name Kellien.

2.     Ali shares the same birthday with Ryan and Toby—July 6^th.

3.     Ali hates soda.

4.     Kellie played the saxophone in high school. She proceeded to teach music lessons for most of her college years.

5.     Ali knows how to make you laugh. She has an awesome sense of humor.

6.     Kellie is a Zumba instructor!

7.     Ali and Kellie are both softball girls.

8.     Kellie is a vegetarian. You go girl!

9.     Ali is an animal lover!  Boston the dog is always by her side.

10. Kellie is also an animal lover!  She has two kitties at home—Bunny and Bert.

The Unanswered Details

So, you must must MUST being dying to know all those little details that I've failed to mention in the last few blogs. Detail numero uno: I am awesome. Detail number two: this blog is awesome. Detail number three: only those people who have awesomeness tattooed in their soul will enjoy what I throw down.

Seriously though, I haven't shared some of the most important details.

Detail Number One:

This is my ring. There are many like it, but this one is mine.  My ring is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. My ring, without me, is useless. Without my ring, I am useless. My ring is white gold with princess cut diamonds. I first came in contact with my ring on the coastal shores of Mendocino. 

I gave my ring up shortly after the proposal. It had to have a makeover and get resized. It lost some weight--one ring size to be exact. So, when you see Ryan, be sure to congratulate him for a clean-cut win win choice on an engagement ring. Every day it becomes more and more beautiful.  I love it! Thanks RyRy!

Take a look at the ring!  Did it blind you?  On the first glance the shine may sting your eyes. So here is what you need to do: cup your hands over your eyes. Squint. Slightly open your fingers and take another look!  There's my ring! There it is!


Detail Number Two:

This is our venue. There are many like it, but this one is ours.  Our venue is our best friend. It is our life. We must master it as we must master our lives. Our venue, without us, is useless. Without our venue, We are useless.

If anyone guessed this serene, peaceful picture for the venue we chose, YOU ARE RIGHT!!! After some deliberation and discussion, Ryan and I decided that we wanted to tie the knot in Calistoga, California!  Would you have been able to deduce this information from the picture below?  A picture says a thousand words, right?  Well, out of everything on the property I took a picture of, why did I choose this?

Are you excited? Because I'm excited.  Those rocks and that leaf is excited! The venue is so truly beautiful. We are so blessed to be able to tie the knot in one of the most beautiful places in the world!



Detail Number Three:

So, I've got the ring. We've chosen the venue. So, the next logical step would be that we've set the big day in stone (or rocks as you can see). Right?  Woot Woot! After much deliberation, Ryan and I have chosen to tie the knot on October 20, 2012.  Only 254 days to go (I only know this because the website I am working on tells me this)! Seems like a whole bunch of days, but the time will come and go before we know it. So, do you know what I'm trying to do right now at this very second? ENJOY the wedding planning process!  I promise you, for all of those stressed brides, it can be done!  It can be done!

So, as a final thought in connection to my last blurb, I give you the picture of our save the dates! This is the picture of our engagement postcard that Ryan and I are sending to family and friends.  I recently ordered  them through www.weddingpaperdivas.com, and they turned out to be spectacular! Here is an interesting fact about our engagement photo:we didn't hire a professional to take our picture.  It was Ryan's sister Heather that took the picture, and it was our friend Kevin that did all of the touchups! For all those brides out there looking for ways to save some money, this would be one quick way to do it!


I look forward to the next stage in the wedding planning process.  Let the little details begin!

Where to do "I Do"

This weekend was dedicated to locating the venue. I know you've been patiently to hear where The Function is going to take place, so I made sure to take lots of photos of each venue. A picture is worth thousands and thousands of words, right? So, only the best photos where employed to represent each location that we visited. 

CAN YOU GUESS WHICH VENUE WE CHOSE?

FUNCTION LOCATION 1

Our first stop led us through Sonoma to one of the oldest wineries in all of the area. I snapped this photo while we were gathering more information about the venue.

Did we go with this one?

FUNCTION LOCATION 2

You may or may not recognize this logo.  It turns out that this location doesn't have weddings. So, unless we force ourselves onto this property, we won't be getting married here.

We did not go with this location.

FUNCTION LOCATION 3

We arrived to this particular location ten minutes early, and our host was twenty minutes late for the appointment.  We were in the process of stealing some lemons (because the host stole our time) when the host pulled into the gravel parking lot.  Di dropped her lemon on the ground. You are seeing the lemon I started to pull of the tree...

Did we choose this location?

FUNCTION LOCATION 4

This beautiful location caught our attention right away, but it came with a price. My arm and leg, Ryan's toes and Di's fingers would have remained with the owner...we decided that keeping those minor thing were in our best interest.

We did not go with this location.

FUNCTION LOCATION 5

This twisty location had beautiful views and a beautiful house. Unfortunately, they don't throw weddings, so we had to say no. It was an offer we couldn't refuse.

We did not go with this location.

FUNCTION LOCATION 6

You are looking at the side of a building.  The building had four sides and a roof over it.  The particular spot just recently began hosting weddings.  This location rhymes with "mooit thirst." Can you guess where it is?

Did we choose this location?

FUNCTION LOCATION 7

You're totally right! This is a vintage truck with a cool light and a more-than-awesome grill. And, no matter how cool you think it is, we couldn't go with this location. They don't host weddings either... the internet gave us misleading information.

We did not go with this location.

FUNCTION LOCATION 8

You are now looking at a really cool water feature (or at least the corner of a really cool water feature). Fire shoots out of the center of it. Neat, right?  This piece of art is just one of many scattered throughout this property. While you walk and spa, each and every new corner gives you something new and different to admire.

Did we go with this one?

 FUNCTION LOCATION 9

You are now looking at a small section of the world's largest collection of corkscrews.  I bet you can figure out where this location is--I just gave it away.  This large corkscrew collection takes over a narrowly long room to your right as you enter the building.  It's not a bad conversation piece. My first comment may sound something like, "wow that looks painful."

Did we go with this one?

FUNCTION LOCATION 9

This was the last location we visited. Function location 9 was actually the sister to function location 5.  We were a little late visiting this property.  Interestingly enough, we had been to this particular venue for non-related function tasks while other weddings were taking place. The question now is...

Did we go with this one?



So, where did we decided to do "I Do?" Any guesses?  Feel free to also guess locations. And, yes, we did choose one of these, but you will have to wait to see which one until next time... mawhahaha!

The Wedding-Dress-Wanna-Be-Coma

I am guilty.  I am guilty of destroying my living room with bridal magazines.

Toby's undeniable opinion...

And, I now I need a major detox because all I can see is the color white—white with ruffles. Do I want to look like the waves of a greasy chip on my marriage day? Um, no—but every bridal impostor grazing through these magazines made a voluntary choice to flash these white, irritating layers. They appear to me like robots. Who wouldn't resist such a temptation--robots, fluff and potato chips? 

Now what is the current result of my wedding-dress-wanna-be-coma? Just look. Look.

The ruffle, whip dress

If you didn't really look long enough, go back and look again. The details of this masterpiece confuse me. Every time I search for the words to gently and delicately describe this dress, I think, "Ha". One thing is for certain though--in a dress like this, you wouldn't ever be forgotten. Odds are that you may not even be able to kiss your new Husband with that fluffy barrier.  But that's ok because your guest, Jane Doe, saw that dress (and that's all she/he saw the whole time).

Ok, now I want you to consider this next example. You've just ordered this sweet, chocolatey drink at Starbucks but one really really important detail was left out...the whipped cream. How would this dress solve your issue?

Ironically, i've found myself more appealed to this potato sack than most of the dresses I've passed by. What would Ry say if I walked down the isle wearing this?

Sadly, with either option, I have a feeling no one would ever forget that day...

So, I bet now you are wondering, "What is Karlee going to wear on that special day?"  Well, if you must know, right now I have nothing other than my birthday suit (because I haven't gone to get a dress).  But, when I do...

You will just have to wait like everyone else. Wink.

So, What Do We Do Now?

After we established that I wasn’t going to take a swim with the fishes, Ryan and I returned up the path--not as boyfriend and girlfriend but as fiancé and fiancé (cool right?)

We walked in silence for a few minutes before I asked: “So, what do we do now?”

Other than calling people—many of who already knew what was in the works—Ryan and I didn’t know what to do.  So, we held a short and small debate about our wedding date located a mere 5 yards from a major highway…

This is what was originally proposed: 2 May’s from now. What? Two Years? What? So, I made a counter offer: next Fall (the year of 2012). It was an offer he couldn’t refuse (winky face).  I think Ryan’s goal was to make me wait and wait and wait (by my calculations, waiting and waiting and waiting would mean 8 years of waiting all together). By then, I could be the first lady president of the United States twice.  I could be the potential savior or destroyer of America’s people.

Man, who wouldn’t want to marry that right away?

So, after our phone calls were made, and I announced my engagement to the world of Facebook, I started to prioritize what I needed/wanted to do.

This is what the functional bride has established so far:

• My best lady
• The ladies of my wedding party (you will have to wait patiently for the revealing)
• Who I am going to/want to invite
• The time of year (which is the fall)
• That like the fall things are going to be rustic.
• That my ladies are going to look haut
•  That Ryan should have x amount of guys to my x amount of girls for continuity. We will see what happens with this…
•  That we are going to dance like hipity hopity bunnies
• That Napa/Sonoma County is looking really inviting
• What my wedding dress isn’t going to look like

This is what Ryan has established so far:

•  That he has submitted to a fall wedding
• That he has a best guy
• That he is the best guy
•  And that all his men will either be dressed in powder blue or powder orange tuxedos (cough, cough)…
• There has even been mention of a European trip for his bachelor party and the purchase of a shed to replace the barn I want to get married at (har har har)

Needless to say, we have our work cut out for us. While that’s cool and stuff--all that work coming up--what I am truly excited for is the love and support we will get to absorb through this process. Family and friends have already given us a plethora of knowledge to store up in honor of the upcoming nuptials. So it will make it even more exciting for that big day!

Introducing the Functional Bride

Hi Everyone!  My name is Karlee Tucker, and you can call me the Functional Bride!

Technically, I am a Functional-Bride-To-Be--hence the web address: “www.thefunctionalbridetobe.blogspot.com” but my hope is that you may place me into that category of “functional” (you will have to decide this on your own because I will be rather biased about this—I am the bride after all.)

The  Functional Bride

I guess you could also place me in the following categories:  Napa/Sonoma County Bride, Rustic Bride, Fall Bride, Innovative Bride, and the most awesome, most spectacular bride (the last one is strictly objective—Ryan thinks I am pretty spectacular—my goal would be to get you on my team in the process).

I bet you want to know what my fiancé looks like too, huh?  Well this is him:

Ryan making a kissy face.

The cliff

He waited, not 1, not 2, but 6 years (yes 6) to ask me to marry him. I had to get my hopes up a few times and dream that he would say those wonderful, magnificent 4 words:  “I lovith you much”—that’s not quite right—“Pochinie, I love you”—nope that’s not right either—“will you marry me?” Yup, that’s right. Except he didn’t say it like that, he said my first, middle and last name: “ Karlee Tucker Tucker will you marry me?”  (there has been some debate about my middle name).

He also asked me those splendid words next to a cliff—it was either a yes or a plunge into the watery depths. It was my choice, and according to Ryan, “I chose right.”

Years previous, he also said the "forbidden 3 words" next to a watery, ocean cliff. “I love you” became an option of survival too. Hmmmm…

Ryan was really clever though; he wouldn't tell me where we where going and he wouldn't tell me why (I had my suspicions after that).

Sappy moment warning:
He took me to Mendocino County and asked me to marry him. We were also in Mendocino County when he told me he loved me. Good job RyRy, good job.

Now back to the story...

I had been taking pictures with Ryan’s newly cleaned camera. Snap. Look. Snap. Look. And then I snapped an awesome photo of Ryan’s silhouette in the sunlight (really romantic stuff, yup).  I went to show him the awesome picture, and that’s when he told me he had a surprise. Awwww…

Ry contemplating life, and I suppose love.