Well, I think it's official enough to announce - I am going to be a June bride! The big day will be June 15th, 2003 at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens (BBG). Ryan and I are so excited to be having our wedding there, as it is a special place for us. It's close to home (we'll be living in Brooklyn once we sell his place and find one to rent together), incredibly beautiful, and we have spent many a happy day there. I think it's going to be a really lovely place to have a wedding. The ceremony will be in the meadow, and the reception in the Palm House.

When I started looking around at places, I was really surprised that the BBG wasn't more expensive. It turned out to be on par with other nice places we looked into, but with far more beauty and meaning. If you live in the NY area and haven't been there, I really suggest you had down there sometime this summer. It's just this lovely, peaceful sanctuary in the middle of Brooklyn.

There was really only one other place I seriously wanted to do this at, which was Oheka Castle on Long Island. This also had a sentimental value for me, as I had attended a summer day camp on the grounds when I was very small. It's a beautiful mansion, which would be absolutely lovely for a wedding. Unfortunately, the price range was $250-350 a head, which was way more than twice as much as I could/would want to spend. I can't believe they get that kind of money! I mean, even Ryan's birthday dinner at Montrachet didn't come to that much per person.

Anyway, Oheka was beautiful but couldn't touch the sentimental value of the BBG. And that's what a wedding is all about, so why not make this memory in a place where we already have some lovely memories?

OK, now that I've told you that much, I want to promise this won't become a totally wedding-centric blog. I definitely plan on knitting and writing about that, despite the past week's activities. Actually, I am planning on knitting for my wedding! No, not the gown. But for my bridesmaids (three + maid of honor) I want to knit some dressy tanks that they can wear with a long skirt instead of a traditional bridesmaid gown. I have seen this look in the wedding magazines, but with purchased knits, and I would like to make something myself for each of them. That way they can (a) save money on buying some ridiculous (even if it's pretty) gown they will never wear again, (b) have a gift that comes directly from my heart, and (c) wear the tank again after the wedding is over - for real!

If anyone has yarn/pattern suggestions, I am open to them. I am thinking something fairly simple in shape, but made in lovely yarn. Not too strappy, as most of the girls have enough up top to prefer wearing a bra. I haven't picked out a color yet, and now I am wondering do I pick the yarn first or the skirt first? Hmm. I would ideally like to have different shades of the same color (because I am not insane enough to think I could find exact matches) probably with the top a bit lighter than the bottom. I know I have 11 months to do this, but since I have to make four of these, I don't want to put it off to the last minute.

Boy will I be sick of that pattern by the time I am done!