La La Love You

The Oread

2010-04-21T17:36:00.001-07:00

There is a block of rooms being held at The Oread for our wedding, under the Lowdermilk-Wall wedding. This is just a reminder post that those held rooms are being released to the public next week-- April 29th-- so if you want to stay where the action is, don't forget to make your reservation soon!

Honeymoon Drama and Invitation Issues

2010-04-13T17:06:00.000-07:00

GRRRRRRRRR....it would be so nice if everything could've gone off without a hitch. We were so close! Well, we recently closed the door on one set of issues only to have another stick it's furry little head up like the worst game of whack-a-mole ever!

Let's start with the honeymoon. IT turns out that about 2 months ago, they canceled some of our flights both to and from Tahiti. This would not have been an issue, had they not also forgotten to tell us! DRAMA! So what we had to do is push our honeymoon up a day on the front end and on the back end, we have to spend an extra 2 days traveling. We leave Moorea, sleep in Papeete, fly to LA, sleep in LA, fly to Texas and then to KC. This is why Megan and I have registered for a jet. You can find our registry for this at Gulfstream.com.

Well, after a few deliberately worded emails from Carol, this issue was put to bed without any additional cost to us.

Of course, like I said, this wedding is a whack-a-mole, so up pops the issue that it would appear that 30 percent of our guests did not receive invitations! I mean come on! I don't even know how to battle that one other than by sending out an e-vite! Blech.

So if you got an invite you might be reading this. And if you know someone who got a save the date and no invite, tell them to call us please :)

We hope to see as many of you as we can very soon.

La la
M&T

Engagement Photo Shoot

2010-04-01T12:33:00.001-07:00

It was incredibly cold. In fact it was the coldest day this winter when we met Matt Frye of One Tree Photography to take some shots for our engagement. We were looking to capture memories of the time. Images that would only improve with age like a fisherman's best catch. Little did we know the experience itself would be the memory worth catching.

Click Here to see the slideshow of the shoot :)

Clearing up the details

2010-04-01T11:08:00.000-07:00

In the interest of keeping the invitations as simple as we can (we don't like clutter) I guess some of the details of the wedding are up in the air. So let us clear some things up for you :)

First off, we have a block of rooms (all but ten of the entire hotel) reserved at the Oread Hotel in Lawrence. This is in fact the hotel at which everything is going to take place so that's convenient!

Also, people have wondered about our registry. The fact is we are registered at both Macy's and Crate and Barrel however, we are in desperate need of a new car. Now while we are still waiting for T. Boone Pickens' response card, I think we can safely assume that no one will just up and buy us one. So Megan and I have set up an account (which you can read about to the right) in order to allow guests to donate towards the purchase of a new car for Megan and Tom!

So that being said, check back here often as we will be posting more and more as our happy day approaches.

Take care everyone!

Lala
T&M

Less than two months!

2010-03-27T08:11:00.000-07:00

It is getting really close to the wedding and things are beginning to pick up steam. We finally, after numerous snags, got the wedding invitations out so look for those in your mail boxes :) We've met with Duff over at Huffords to finalize the design of Megan's band. Her dress is in, my suit is bought, my ring is in (although I don't get to see it until it's on my finger) and best of all, yesterday we got to have a tasting of appetizers over at the Oread. Oh my god were they good :) We tasted eight appetizers and were completely stuffed before we went to meet with our new friend and photographer Matt Frye from One Tree Photography.

All in all, it's been busy but we are excited to be on the way and getting ever closer!

Still work to do though before May 22.

We will see you then

Lala
MandT

100 days and counting

2010-02-11T05:52:00.000-08:00

It has been a while since we posted on here, but with the wedding a paltry hundred days away, it seems like a good time to catch everyone up on what's been going on. For starters, we met with Matt Frye, an amazing photographer, from One Tree Photography. Matt did our engagement shoot and produced some really wonderful moments for us. I can't hardly wait to see what he does at our wedding. The photos from the engagement can be seen here.

Secondly, we met with Red Door, our wedding planners, and they recommended Ruffhouse Designs for our wedding invitations. This was a wonderful match. Not only is Jill, the proprietor and owner, located in Lawrence, but she makes the coveted letterpress invitations at a reasonable cost. So far the samples she has sent us are very good and we are coming close to finalizing a design.

Megan and I, in the interest of looking our best, have also decided to start P90-x, which is, as far as I can tell, some sort of self imposed torture. We begin that program monday as well as a month long cleanse (and by cleanse I mean no booze.)

All in all, things have been pretty manageable. We have a meeting with Red Door tomorrow to go over some textile samples for the tables at the reception and things are running smoothly.

Personally, I cannot wait for this day to come. Not only do I get to marry my best friend but I also get to have the most memorable night of my life.

For now
M&T

The Ring

2009-12-24T08:16:00.000-08:00

It was only a few minutes before my mother's annual solstice party that I finally got around to giving Megan her ring. Yes, the long awaited ring is finally on Megan's finger. And it looks fantastic. Honestly I think I am more excited about it. All night long I kept looking at it and trying to bring attention to it.

It is beautiful, just like my Megan :)

Lala
Happy Christmas Eve!

Random Text Message 10/16/09

2009-12-08T19:45:00.000-08:00

SUBJ: Could be many reasons

MSG: It may be the lack of sleep. It may be the 2 glasses of wine. It may be my lowered tolerance from lack of sleep and resultant tipsiness from two glasses of wine but I need you to do something for me and we should start now.
It could be a nice distraction from other things, kind of keep your mind off the mundanity of being alone... but Megan, I really want this and I think it will serve us both.

And remember, I would do anything for you.

Megan...

I would like you to make me a green tuxedo for St. Patty's Day. What do you think?

18 Days and Counting

2009-12-02T20:49:00.000-08:00

With less than three weeks until Tom gets home, I feel like I have too much to accomplish. And yet, it seems my current plan is to... avoid. My Christmas tree and ornaments are up... but the rest of my decorations sit scattered in boxes throughout the house. I have a few gifts ready... but the rest are simply on a list, not located or purchased. Piles of mail sit on the table. Even my Tivo is feeling the pain. Work seems to be an idle distraction, one that just fills some hours that in my head should be used for other activities, like decorating or shopping or cleaning-- you know, those other things that I am ignoring.

I am inertia. I sit here and wait. Wait.

And yet, at the same time... I can't wait.

I am so ready for Tom to be home.

Lala
MJL

Missing You

2009-11-29T08:53:00.000-08:00

With only 3 weeks left of my studies abroad in Copenhagen, Megan and I have officially passed the 6 month point until our wedding. And it has been so hard. We have both struggled with being apart for so long, with only the briefest of visits punctuating this purgatorial experience. At times, when I actually sit down and think about it, I miss her terribly. That is, when I actually let myself think about it.

Having your best friend a whole world away is miserable. And it truly is a world. We have separate everythings at this point: separate lives, experiences, friends. All I want is to be in Lawrence, back with the woman I love and start our life together in earnest. It seems like some inachievable dream to think that in only three weeks, 21 days, we will be back in each other's arms. And this time for good.

I cannot wait.

And this time, I will never leave again...not without Megan coming with me.

Lonesome in Copenhagen
Lala
TBW

Forgot to mention

2009-11-23T04:13:00.000-08:00

When I was back in the states two weeks ago, Megan and I finally handled the ordering of her engagement ring. "It was about time!" seemed to be the general consensus, but there it is. We did a bit of shopping around and after meeting with the good people at Genovese Jewelers up on Olive Road, we were set in our decision to have them make the ring for us. We had a design we liked, we picked out a diamond which we lovingly called "spready." We called it this because it was cut to be wider and flatter instead of the proper proportions. We thought we were done.

We made one other stop that afternoon at Nieman's just on a whim to check out the selection there. There were some very traditional rings for some very untraditional prices. And by untraditional I mean ridiculously expensive. There was one ring that Megan liked, which unfortunately would have meant trading in the wedding for the ring. So I promised that we would get it for her "one day" and moved on. We hated the sales lady anyway...she was an almost depressing caricature of an aging Nieman's sales lady, complete with the vacuous visage and overly colognated corpus.

We were sold on the Genovese ring. But on a whim, we figured we would still go to Hufford's on the following day and see if he couldn't match the price or at least work some deal.

The next day, Megan and I went to meet with Duff. We sat down and Duff pulled out the rings that we had seen on a previous visit as well as the style that Megan had wanted to see (he had had it overnighted from the designer.) Damnit it looked good on her. Duff also had some diamonds set aside for us to look at, and let me tell you this was the selling point for me. Duff''s diamonds were a far cry from the ones offered at Genovese. Near flawless, brilliantly cut, sparkling to an almost blinding level. To me, the perfect symmetry, the mathematical prowess of the cut, the beauty of the nature of the crystal, was all I needed to make me happy in the ring. The setting could have been anything. The setting, of course, was of a little import to Megan so I was presented with the difficult decision of choosing the right setting for my Meggles.

I asked her to leave the room so Duff and I could discuss which one I chose. I told him.

We went out of his office to meet Megan and Duff measured her finger for the ring.

It took Megan no more than one full minute to figure out which ring I had bought her. Apparently I had forgotten that one of the rings required a special measuring technique. Megan had not. And I had failed to measure her both ways. Ah well...sometimes she is too sharp for her own good :)

Anyway, the ring is bought, it is being made, and we should have it relatively soon. Duff says about 2 more months.

So YAY! Ring's on it's way!

Lala
TBW&MJL

Home again home again jiggety jig

2009-11-11T07:17:00.000-08:00

Tom arrived back into St. Louis for an early thanksgiving this last Sunday. He was a little forlorn in the idea that Megan wasn't going to be joining him until Wednesday afternoon, but she had work and meetings and what was he to do. He called friends, organized dinners, did whatever he could to make the time go faster until Megan was to arrive.

Tuesday night, Tom and his family welcomed their dear friends, Maura, Phil and their lovely daughter Cosi over for a dinner. We were all having a great time, talking, having a couple of drinks, enjoying seeing one another and catching up. It was after the salad course that Tom heard a noise that struck him as awfully familiar. It was a chiming noise that generally is followed by...whoomp...it hit him...Butter's nose that is. His dog Butter, who had been residing in Lawrence, had managed not only to find her way to St. Louis but also to firmly plant her nose right into his crotch under the table!

It hit him hard and fast that he had been had. Megan had tricked him and everyone had been in on it. Megan came in a day early and surprised him. It was wonderful, and it felt like the world melted away as he held her in his arms, trying his best to absorb her through an embrace. It had been far, far too long.

He has promised to never do that again.

Lala
TBW&MJL

Diamond Hunting

2009-11-09T05:31:00.000-08:00

Today I get to go looking for the big and the sparkley...and with any luck at all (I've been storing up good karma for this) cheap! That's right, Megan's naked ring finger is going to be one step closer to being bedazzled with the luxurious and luminescent. I am going to head over to Hufford's this afternoon and spend several hours looking for that perfect stone. And I bet Megan wishes she was here to take part :)

Lala
TW

The Oread

2009-11-08T07:22:00.000-08:00

When Tom was home in August, we set aside one day to finalize our locale(s) for the wedding. Luckily, his mom and stepdad were able to be here with us to look around. Each place that we visited seemed like "the place" until we met with our wedding-planner-to-be, who suggested that we not discount a new hotel, The Oread.

We set up a time to meet with the Eldridge staff ( a local hotel that owns The Oread) and we were treated to a hard-hat tour of the new building. The Oread is located just on the very edge of KU's campus, in the spot where a well-loved college hangout, The Crossing, used to sit. As soon as we stepped out onto the 5th floor terrace and took in the beautiful views of KU and Lawrence, we knew this was the spot.

Please go check out the website to see what this place has to offer. We have reserved a block of rooms (well, actually, every room except for ten) at the hotel, so feel free to make your reservations now! Our wedding date is Saturday, May 22, 2010.

Lala,
MJL & TBW

One Tree Photography

2009-10-28T20:47:00.000-07:00

Tom and I picked out a handful of options for our wedding photographer and had narrowed it down to three.... before looking at prices. Seriously, photography is outrageous!

That being said, we went with our gut on this one, without spending an arm or a leg. Not to mention-- his pictures are great!!

Go check out One Tree Photography. (and don't skip the music.)

Gift Registry, v.2

2009-10-20T16:36:00.000-07:00

I signed us up for a Crate and Barrel registry simply to enter a contest for a $4000 gift card. I might be greedy, but only 4K worth. (Well, except for the ring, but that's a whole other post.)

In thinking about registering for gifts, here is our logic: although we don't technically need anything, there are some things that would be nice to have. Like new towels. Possibly some new knives (this is Tom's thing, I'm fine with my knives). Take the opportunity to get rid of some old and bring in some new as we settle in together. I mean, if people are going to bring gifts (which they will invariably do), they might as well be gifts we would want, right? And it's not like we can just say-- hey, give us money! We're having a wedding and we're going to be broke because of it! Here's our account number, deposit at your leisure.

Back to the original point. The registry was for a contest, but I think we should just go ahead with it--- not until Tom is back in the states, though. Registering online is no fun-- I can't wait to have laser gun wars in the furniture section with Tommy. ;-)

lala
MJL & TBW

Gift Registry

2009-10-20T03:14:00.001-07:00

So this is interesting. Since we have both been down this path before, there is not so much we need in the ways of the standard wedding gift. I mean, we have a blender, we have a cuisinart, we evern have two mixers...one orange one white. So what are we to do?

In what I can only imagine was a fit of boredom mixed with greed, Megan set up a bridal registry for us at Crate and Barrel. Currently there are two items on it...so we obviously need to add on. I will be adding knives I am sure, since we are lacking in that field. And possibly some things of my own liking that Megan will be sure to think silly or even ridiculous.

But there it is...

Lala
TBW & MJL

Our Very First Post

2009-10-11T13:08:00.000-07:00

So this is it. This is the place where I, Thomas Wall, and my amazing bride to be Megan Lowdermilk will be posting information about the wedding, locations and times of events, not to mention stories and photos of the whole process up to and after our marriage on May 22, 2010. Please come back often to take a look around and see what is going on in our lives.

La La Love You!
TBW & MJL