This isn’t really a wedding update, but here are the stats for our other big summer event:

Yep - I'm ahead 3 points!

Our engagement announcement was in my hometown paper this weekend!  (Thanks Mom Hutko!) 

Bonus fact: I had a newspaper route throughout my childhood.  The paper-route cliches of being chased by dogs and having to collect overdue money (like the movie Better Off Dead) are totally true!

I enjoy our weekly trips to Bed Bath & Beyond, but the registry building process was definitely overwhelming at first.  (Though the scanner gun was great right off the bat).  We now have a system where we do a lot of online browsing beforehand to keep us organized, and a lot of dinner or bowling afterward to keep Ben interested.   

My favorite part about the whole thing is that there are a number of items on the check-list the store gave us that I just have no idea what they are .  Among others, these include:

• Baker - I can only hope that this means an actual man who will live in our kitchen and bake for us.
• Utility Set - This is a gut-wrenching one not to understand since the name implies it would be useful.
• Finials - I don’t even have a guess on this one.  Not a clue.  This might not even be a word.  Who knows?

So, apparently there’s now competition for the unpaid (and unoffered) position of Head Blogger at this website—this time from Brendan. I don’t understand what’s going on here—is the economy really that bad?

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Half an hour ago, Joanna and I sent out our save-the-dates, including a link to our wedding website. Ten minutes later, I received the following email from Dave:

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While I love the idea of an aquarium wedding, one of the tricky points is finding a spot for the ceremony.  Aquariums are so windy that there isn’t always a good spot for the traditional aisle, rows, etc. 

Our ceremony is going to be in front of the shark tank.  (The tank is HUGE).  It’s actually a very nice amphitheater-style space, but I do feel a little silly about getting married in front of a bunch of sharks.  Ever since we chose the space Ben has been rehearsing his vows – he likes to add lots of “Whoa – look at that shark!”… and… “What about that one!” exclamations interspersed between lines.   

I do think the ceremony will be very intersting – both for the people watching us and thinking about eating afterwards, and for the sharks watching and thinking about eating us afterward.