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!

Alicia Ordered Her Dress!

I finally got over my natural aversion to dresses and ordered my wedding dress. Of course, being me, I could not obtain a dress in the normal way. I ordered my dress online directly from China.

In this dire economy I wasn't about to spend $3000 on a dress. So, I discovered that dresses are significantly cheaper if you order them online and have them shipped to you. So, I ordered my dress from Julius Bridal (www.juliusbridal.com)

I learned about this dealer from the Bridal Bargains book and looked around their website. I loved this dress immediately. I also have to admit that a part of what I loved about this dress is that it is called "Anita" which was my Grandma's name.

Here are a couple of pictures of it from their website:

I am very excited about this dress!

Las Vegas Reception

Photo from brianh's photostream on Flickr

Brian and I finally booked the reception in Las Vegas. It is going to be held at The Buffet at the Wynn. Since the reception will be in the same casino as the wedding, guests will not have to go very far!

We booked The Buffet from 7pm until 9pm. So, if you are coming to the wedding in Las Vegas, be sure to leave lots of room for dinner! Also, you will not need to worry about lines; guests will be able to bypass the line and be seated in our section at 7pm.

This buffet is supposed to be the best in town with lots of delicious choices. According to my event planner, Linda, the Buffet has:

"Sixteen (16) live action exhibition cooking stations and a sumptuous array of extraordinary dishes [that] make this all-you-can-eat experience one that will re-define your notion of buffet dining. The endless parade of dishes is showcased beneath a sun-filled glass atrium surrounded by terraced seating and gardens."

Here are a couple of photos of the buffet:

Photo from Miss Shari's photostream on Flickr

Photo from Miss Shari's photostream on Flickr

We are very excited to have our reception there! It looks beautiful and a buffet seems like the perfect way to celebrate a wedding in Vegas!

Registries Completed!

Brian and I are finally done with the arduous task of registering. We registered at the following places:

1. Crate & Barrel
2. Target
3. Bed, Bath & Beyond

All three registries can be viewed online by just searching for our names.

When it came to registering, Crate & Barrel was our favorite experience. We went to their wedding event to register and it was a lot of fun. They gave us free food, let us wander free and we got the heart shaped bowl (pictured above) as a gift for registering. They definitely won me over. Plus, many of their products were more reasonably priced than at Bed, Bath & Beyond! Who knew?

Why Vegas?

(Photo from NNowack's photostream)

I chose Vegas because I have always wanted to get married in Vegas. When I was in the 4th grade I saw a show on TV about the crazy weddings in Vegas. It showcased drive-thru weddings, Klingon weddings, and weddings with an Elvis impersonator. I decided then that I wanted to go to Vegas. It seemed like such a fun, laid back place to get married.

Brian and I also love casinos. I have gone to Mystic Lake in Minnesota many times with Brian, playing the slot machines, wandering the floor and people watching. I even took Brian to Atlantic City for his 22nd birthday. We have great memories of casinos: my winning $200 on a pull tab and drinking free coffee late into the night.

Announcement

(Photo from Roadsidepicture's Flickr Stream)

Guests do not have to feel required to come to Las Vegas. We are having reception in Minnesota on August 29th in order to enjoy this occasion with those people who do not have the time, money or desire to fly out to Las Vegas. We understand that people have other commitments and that a trip in this economy is a burden. I just wanted to say this so that no one feels badly if they can’t make it.

Honeymoon Booked!

We finally booked our honeymoon. We are very excited about it. We debated our options for a long time and finally settled on a sort of compromise.

I wanted a road trip. I love road trips. In the past I have driven to Seattle, New Orleans and to New York twice with Brian. While this seems like a lot of fun, Brian convinced me that it was a poor idea for our honeymoon. It would be very hot in a car, gas is expensive and we would be racing to get from hotel to hotel. Plus, we would have to pay for every little thing along the way. This does not sound very romantic.

Brian wanted a cruise. He loves the idea of an all inclusive, trip with swimming pools, bars and a casino all in one place. He has great memories of going on a cruise in high school and has always wanted to share the experience with me.

So, we chose a cruise. To make me happy, the cruise leaves from New Orleans, so that I get to share a bit of my road trip memories with Brian (most of which involve cajun food and various hot sauces). The cruise is through Carnival and it goes to Cozumel and Progresso in Mexico.

We are already having fun dreaming about our day excursions and the fun things to do aboard the ship!

Any advice for things to do in Mexico or in New Orleans?

(p.s. sorry about the blurry photo)

My Registry Research

I am a bit obsessive. I have a fear of getting discombobulated at the store when I register. So, I treated the registry like any other project I take on: I did my research.

I read, cover to cover, Alton Brown’s Gear for your Kitchen and took copious notes about the products he uses and recommends. Brian and I adore Alton Brown and basically follow his advice in the kitchen as often as possible. So, I now have an 8 page registry list that is annotated with all of Alton Brown’s advice. For example, when Brian and I pick a cooling rack we want to make sure that it has the following:

• That it will fit on my cookie sheet so that I can use it in the oven (to cook meat over a pan and catch drippings)
• It must be woven and not parallel bars
• It should be made of chromed steel

When we choose a stock pot we want it to have:

• Heavy gauge metal that is anodized aluminum, stainless steel with aluminum or copper-cored disk or cladded stainless steel)
• Comfortable sturdy loop handles
• Be able to hold about 8-12 quarts

I think my hard work will pay off. I hope that my detailed list will help keep the whole experience under control and simple.

I was wondering, is there anything that you would recommend that I definitely have on the registry? Please comment!

Save the Dates!

Now that most of our Save the Dates have been mailed and received I feel that I can blog about them! Brian and I designed and made them ourselves.

We printed on white cardstock which we trimmed. Then we mounted it onto precut chartreuse color, #10 size cards from Paper Source, an online paper seller. Finally, we finished off with a hole punch and a bit of black ribbon. They all went into orange colored, #10 sized envelopes from Paper Source.

It was much more time consuming then I expected. We had started looking at possible designs a long time ago! First we thought about doing a boarding pass design. I tried making that look right for months, to no avail. I got frustrated one day and decided to look at a boarding pass that I did like and try to copy it. I realized that no boarding passes actually look cute. I just thought that the "idea" was cute. Some ideas do not work in reality.

So, then we went through other choices: magnets, passports, and simple cards. Finally, our favorite comic newspaper, The Onion, released this issue:



We loved this issue (click here for online version). We read it from cover to cover.

We were inspired and decided to design something like this. We wanted the same superfluous words and fonts. We had a lot of fun creating our own version. Here it is:

Wedding Registry Planning!

Brian and I (Alicia) are gearing up to register this weekend. We are starting off at Bed, Bath & Beyond tomorrow morning. Bed, Bath & Beyond seems like a good choice because they have many branches and a wide variety of products (no I am not being paid by them to say that). Plus, it is the basic home store that Brian and I use the most in New York.

Next, we plan on doing a Target registry online from home. We are doing it from home because the Target in Brooklyn is horrible (see The Consumerist’s article calling the Brooklyn Target an “Abortion of Retail”). That store is so awful that I have actually written complaint letters to Target Corporate about it. None the less, Brian and I enjoy every other Target we have been to and want to register there.

Finally, I reserved a couple of spots for us to attend the Crate and Barrel Wedding Event on February 22nd. It is on a Sunday morning before the store opens, so all the engaged couples can have the store to themselves before they open for the day. There is supposed to be free food and we get a heart shaped bowl for registering. It sounds like fun and we are excited to go.

Is there anywhere else that I should register? If you have a suggestion, please comment!

When we met...

Alicia and I (Brian) met over a year before we began dating.

I had just started my first year at the University of Minnesota, Duluth (UMD) and Alicia was pounding out her last. We technically met at a Mock Trial informational meeting. Alicia was interested in pursuing a legal career, so she attended. I'd been watching a ton of Law & Order and I really enjoyed Mock Trial in high school, so I tried to make it. But alas, I was new at UMD and couldn't find the room. I made it, but was so late that there was standing room only. My face was just one in a sea of students. We didn't talk, so technically we weren't introduced, but we were certainly at that meeting. Since I'm writing this, I'm going to claim that I fell in love with Alicia right then and there, and that she thought I smelled funny.

The first time we actually acknowledged each other's existence was in Cina 102, the room Mock Trial meetings occurred. Every Monday and Thursday, the team would meet to work on that year's case. Unfortunately, I was on the Prosecution side, Alicia on the Defense, so we talked very little. (To be honest, I didn't really learn Alicia's name until January, when I had to write her name on the team rosters before every round. I'm really bad with names.)

Cina 102

When the season ended, we went our separate ways. Alicia graduated UMD in the spring of 2004, so she was no longer eligible to be on the team. But the stars aligned for me, as she returned to the team as an assistant coach. I was only one of two returning team members, which greased the wheels for us to become better acquainted (Talking to people you've already met is an awesome way to avoid meeting new people. What can I say, I'm lazy.).

The 2003-2004 Mock Trial Team, with Alicia and Brian!

We really, truly got to know each other by coming to Mock Trial meetings early. I was in class until 5:40 (Mock Trial started at 7:00), so it was easier if I didn't go home before meetings. Alicia worked until 5ish, so it was easier for her to simply go to UMD. Thus, we came early and talked! We usually fought playfully over whether Target or Walmart was better. Walmart is better, so I always won.

A big turning point occurred when the big regional tournament for Mock Trial came in February. The tournament took place in St. Paul, MN. Thus, the team would split up and carpool down from Duluth, MN. Alicia had to take the LSAT, thus she drove down in her own car. I rode in Prof. Grau's van. Prof. Grau sucked all the fun out of the car trip by grilling me on the case to help prepare. So when the tournament was over and I found out Alicia lived in the same apartment complex as I, I insisted it'd be easier on Prof. Grau to not drive me home. We chatted about movies, games, etc., all the way home. We were some chatty Cathys. My heart goes out to Liz, the poor third student who rode along with us.

Alicia as Assistant Coach

It was awesome knowing someone living basically next door and I'm rather shy, so I knew that if I didn't call Alicia the next day, I'd rarely hang out with her. Luckily, Alicia was thinking the same thing. I called Alicia the next day. On February 14^th, 2005 (Valentine's Day, no less), we had our first date.

Save the Dates!

Save the Dates have been mailed! I thought that i would post teaser pictures of them so that you can look forward to them. They took a lot longer than I expected. Brian and I designed and made them ourselves, printing on our home printer and cutting the cardstock with our trusty laser printer. Above you can see the envelope when it is sealed (I blurred out our address in the picture). Yours will come with tape on the string so that it won't get caught in the USPS machines. Below is a picture of the card just peaking out.

Hopefully you will see yours soon! I will also post more pictures and explanation of how we made them and why we chose our design later. I do not want to ruin the surprise.