and the wedding planning has begun

i can't believe we've already been engaged for 3 months now. even though time has passed, it still feels new, and in my mind i perpetually have a year before the wedding to plan...so it freaked me out a little when i got my email from theknot.com that told me i had 9 months to go...uh oh...

we have gotten a few major things off the list:

1. we have a date! september 13, 2008. that's pretty huge. we knew we wanted september...it was the month we started dating & the month we got engaged AND hopefully it will have started to cool off a bit and won't be 105 degrees in alabama. also, the 13th of june is danny's birthday, so i'm hoping that sharing the same number (13) will make it easy for him to remember.
2. we have a venue! monte sano lodge. it's in huntsville on top of the "mountain" where we go mountain biking. i think it really fits us. we're going to have both the ceremony and the reception there. the ceremony will be outside, and if it rains, there's space to have it inside. for the reception, i'm picturing it very open with people flowing inside and outside. the view from the bluff behind the lodge - which will be the backdrop for the ceremony - is gorgeous.
3. we have a photographer! allison jansen. i fell in love with her work long before we got engaged. i think she takes great pictures. she's a bit pricey, but i think she's worth it & after meeting with her, danny thought so too. her time at the wedding is unlimited, so she'll be with us all day. we're also going to do some engagement pictures with her at some point before the wedding.
4. we have maids & men! nat, yamini, amanda, scott, dave, & jimmy. danny and i each have 3 people standing with us, but what makes it really special is that they really cross both sides. the 3 men standing next to danny are just as much my best men & the ladies standing next to me are just as much danny's maids of honor. they are all 6 our best friends.
5. we have an officiant! mr. terry wayne. it was important to us that we have a relationship with whoever it was officiating over the wedding ceremony. i didn't want some random person that i had never met before playing such an important role in the wedding. wayne was really the obvious choice.

wow, that list made me feel some what accomplished. 5 things is pretty good, right? the next big thing on the list is finding a caterer.yamini and i are going to go to a bridal fair on saturday, so hopefully, we'll meet some potential candidates.