Getting the Marriage License

Before we got married in Las Vegas, we had to get a marriage license. Above you can see the building that we got the license in. We were driven there in a limo, courtesy of the Wynn.

Here is Brian at the window:

I took this shot in an attempt to capture the fact that the booth was #10, my lucky number.

Here I am:



Here is Brian in the limo:

There was great people watching at the Marriage License office. We got to see some odd couples in the long line for a license. It was entertaining.

We were the only ones who pulled up in a limo. We felt very classy. Our limo driver, Sam, was also awesome as he told stories on the ride and kept us amused.

Wedding Photos

Photo courtesy of Andrew Berns.

Hello from the newlyweds! The wedding ceremony went perfectly and we have some great pictures online. Go to:

drop.io/BrianAlicia

These include pictures that Brian and I took throughout the event and the honeymoon and pictures that friends have uploaded. While there, you can view pictures, upload your own photos and download photos to your computer. If you went to the ceremony or are going to the reception, please share your pictures with us! The more pictures, the merrier.

Also, our wedding photos are available from the official Wynn photographer at:

https://wynnshop.cashmanpro.com
Customer login: bcopeland
Password: aglaser

Type in the username and pictures and click on the link on the upper left hand corner to view our photos.

We had a great time and we hope you enjoy the pictures!

Cupcake Trial Run

Before leaving for Las Vegas, Brian and I decided to test out Paula Dean's red velvet cupcake recipe. We plan to make these cupcakes as favors for the Minnesota reception. They had alrady been tested by my Mom and Dad. My Dad said the"frosting is too good; I can feel the waist growing." I think that is a stamp of approval.

Above you can see my first batch, before frosting. One looks a little funny because I accidentally squished it with my tongs.

Here is the frosting:

It is cream cheese frosting and it is so good that I threatened to grab a spoon and camp out with it in front of the TV. Brian did not find this acceptable. He did, however, find the end product to be a success, as can be seen with his thumbs up:

Sorry the picture is blurry; I was laughing at Brian. The cupcakes were delicious.

Guestbook

We got our guestbook in the mail yesterday. I am really excited about it. We created it and ordered it at blurb.com. We designed the whole thing. Here you can see one of the pages:

As you can see, there is a section for signatures and notes on the left side. On the right, there are pictures from our relationship with captions. It was really fun to create and we hope you enjoy it! Look for it at our receptions!

Our Engagement Story

It was 2008, and I (Brian) had been with Alicia for three years. I'd been telling her I loved her for awhile and we'd lived both together and apart. We didn't ever fight (still don't!) and we never seemed to grow tired of each other's company. I knew she was the girl for me.

But what was weighing on my mind the most were the numbers. I've always sensed a social stigma towards couples that marry too fast or too young. I didn't want to look back at ourselves and regret that we jumped too fast into marriage. At the time, I was 23 and we'd been dating for over 3 years. Those numbers felt right.

I broke the news to my parents over Easter weekend and they stealthily helped me shop for the ring. During my spring break trip home, I selected the diamond and setting. The ring was created specifically for Alicia, then shipped to me in New York.

As you might guess, the ring was burning a hole in my pocket. As the weekend approached, I realized that April 25, 2008 would mark three years, two months and 10 days from our first date on February 14/15, 2006 (Alicia was a night hawk... the date started at 11pm.). This would be 3-2-1-0, a countdown to the big question.

To set the scene for the proposal, I suggested we try to knock off two items from our New York City to do list. David Copperfield's is a bar serving good food, and Glaser's Bakery is an extremely old bakery bearing Alicia's surname. We treked up to the upper east side and started a great Saturday. We had bleu cheese burgers and then black and white cookies. I smoothly (probably not!) suggested we walk to the park overlooking the east river.

As we entered the park, my heart rate skyrocketed. Alicia thought I was acting weird but didn't know why. We found a bench to ourselves and split a cookie. Once it was finished, I got down on one knee and proposed.

Alicia starting the cookie

SHE SAID YES!

Vegas Movies

Anyone who knows me (Alicia), knows that I love movies. To prepare for our trip to Vegas, we have been watching various Las Vegas themed movies. Below are our top seven Vegas movies with their trailer or a clip:


7. Vegas Vacation (National Lampoon's)
This is what is going to happen to me at the blackjack tables:



6. Godfather II
On a list of top movies of all time, this would be higher but this is a Vegas list and I do not think of the Godfather first thing on a Vegas list. However, as you may recall, the Corleone family moved to Vegas in the second movie. My favorite scene in all of the Godfather Trilogy is in this sequal:



5. Ocean's Eleven
We all know this remake:



4. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Hunter S. Thompson. Need I say more?



3. Casino
This will keep me from ever dreaming of cheating at a casino (warning: it's a bit violent with some swearing):



2. Swingers
This will also happen to me while playing blackjack:



1. The Hangover
If you haven't seen this movie and you like comedies, go see this. It is hilarious. It is probably at the top of the list because it is so new and has Ed Helms in it. Brian has noted that he plans to do NONE of these things at his bachelor party.



Honorable mentions: The Cooler, Showgirls, Viva Las Vegas, and Leaving Las Vegas

My Favorite Memory of Alicia

My favorite Alicia memory was spending time with her this past Christmas. We were scheduled to fly back to Minnesota the day before Christmas Eve, but snow in the Chicago area canceled our flight and didn't get us home until Christmas Day.

As a result, I spent my first Christmas Eve away from my family. Needless to say, we were both disappointed. But Alicia and I decided to make the most of it. We went out for barbecue at a local restaurant and stuffed ourselves fat. Because of the proximity to Christmas, we had the restaurant all to ourselves. We then rented the last few episodes of a series we had been watching for a month (The Wire). It was a lot of fun.

Most importantly, though, I got to feel what it was like to spend a holiday with my new family.

Wedding Hairpiece

I have wanted to post about this for awhile. I was very excited by my successful DIY project. I made a headband of wire, pearls and Swarovski crystals. The above picture shows the headband before I attached a ribbon to it. In order to make it, I had to cut the wire to length as you can see in this picture:

As you can see, Livia became interested in the wire as well. She forced me to hurry the cutting process because she really wanted to steal that spool:

Here are the beads I used:

I twisted the wire around beeds to hold them about an inch apart on the headband. It took some practice and some patience but I like the final product. Here it is spread out:

I am excited to wear it as my "something new" on my wedding day.

My Favorite Memory of Brian

After the bridal shower, where everyone read their favorite memories of us, and our friend Jon's wedding, where the couple showed a video of memories, Brian and I started thinking about our favorite memories of each other. We decided to post our favorite memories of each other on the blog.

My favorite memory of Brian is our trip to Thunder Bay, Canada. We made the decision to go there quickly, with little planning and no real knowledge of the place. We wanted to go because Brian had never been to Canada and I just love to get out of town.

So, we drove away from Duluth one weekend and headed to Canada. At first it seemed great! The views of Northern Minnesota and Lake Superior heading there were beautiful.

However, no one warned us that when you cross the border into Canada, the beautiful views of Lake Superior stop and Thunder Bay is boring. There are no good views of the lake from Thunder Bay and no sprawling boardwalk on the water like in Duluth. It is just a dull, industrial town. The dullness of it almost discernible by my complete lack of pictures of the experience.

This story seems lame but Brian and I somehow had a lot of fun there. We went to a casino and gambled, played mini-golf, ate terrific pizza and got coffee at Tim Horton's. Brian never whined, he never complained that he was bored or that there was nothing to do. We just kept finding things to do. Brian is never one to just sit there; if things aren't immediately fun, he makes them fun. We had a lot of laughs on that trip. We vowed never to go back to that dull town but I learned that I have fun with Brian no matter where we are.

Brian's favorite memory of me is coming soon.

Bridal Shower Fun

The picture above is of my mom, Alexa, Amara, Nicole, Kelsey and me. It is from the wonderful bridal shower that Nicole threw for me at my sister Vanessa's house a couple of weeks ago. It was a lot of fun.

We played a fun game where everyone had a sticker with the name of a famous person on their back and you have to ask other people questions to figure out the name. I was Paul Newman. I think my Aunt Sue's clue was the most helpful when she told me that she would have "snuggled up" with the man if she could. Circa Cool Hand Luke I would have too.

Nicole also had everyone bring a written card with a favorite memory of me and Brian. Everyone went around in the circle and read their memory. It was really sweet to hear everyone's favorite memories.

Here's a picture of Vanessa, our mom and me:

Here I am opening presents:

It was strange to be the center of attention like that!

Of course, once the present opening was over, I had to show my true colors:

It was a great party, with great food, family and friends! Thank you Nicole and Vanessa! Thank you also to Stacey for helping pack; I don't know how I would have condensed everything in time without you!

On a side-note, for those curious party-goers, we did manage to fit everything. Brian somehow got suitcases to close that I couldn't. Thank you, everyone, for the wonderful gifts!

Poll: Wedding Dress

I put a poll on the right side of the blog for people to voice their opinion on something that I cannot make up my mind about. I do not know if I should wear my wedding dress to the Minnesota Reception.

Pros:
I get more than a single use out of it
People who didn't see me in Vegas will see me in the dress
I don't have to find another outfit for Minnesota

Cons:
Will it be tacky since I will have been married for two weeks at that point?
It might be very hot to wear
Brian won't be in his rented tuxedo, so we might clash a bit

If you have any strong opinions, please feel free to comment on the post. Otherwise, please record your vote in the poll box on the right side of the blog.

Thanks everyone! I can't wait for the wedding!

Minnesota Reception

On August 29th, 2009 we will be having our reception in Minnesota to celebrate our August 15th wedding in Las Vegas.

We will be having the reception at Brian's parent's house in Eden Prairie. We plan on starting the event around 2pm so that we all have time to hang out in the pool (bring your suit!) and enjoy a cocktail while visiting! Dinner will be served in the early evening, around 5pm, with snacks available before.

This map shows the location of the house:


View Larger Map

Click on the map for more detail and to get directions from your location. Feel free to park on Mayfield Drive or Cottonwood Lane. We are very excited to have our reception at the house and share new memories with family and friends.

Invitations

The first set of wedding invitations was mailed today! I am very excited about this since we had so many problems getting them printed. First, our ink smeared. So, Brian had to have them printed at school. Then, the envelopes smeared at his school! We had to buy clear labels that were overpriced but got the job done. Typing this makes the problems seem so small. However, each error meant another day or two passing without getting them done. I feel like I have been working on the invitations for years.

These invitations were a labor of love. They were designed by us and assembled by us with help from Tanya and Jorge (Thanks guys!). I hope everyone enjoys them.

Since we destroyed so much paper with smeared ink, we have to wait for another shipment before we can make the reception only invites for the Minnesota reception. I am hoping that the errors will be avoided through our experience with the first batch.

I will post better pictures when people start getting them in the mail. Again, I do not want to ruin the surprise!