WE GOT HITCHED!!!!

The wedding day was just beautiful. We had perfect weather and the day was seamless. It just flowed from one moment to the next and was absolutely lovely! We were so thrilled that so many of you could make it to Dallas to help us celebrate our marriage and start of our life together!

A BIG HUGE THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU AGAIN!!!!!



The Wedding Cake was Delicious AND beautiful....(despite a small mishap with a small person trying to "steal" our bicycle couple cake topper! :-))


Married Life is blissful so far!!!!

Check back in a week or so for more photos!!!!

XOXOXO, Grace Ann & Carl Ekstrom

8 DAYS UNTIL OUR WEDDING DAY!!!!!

Gulp.

Well, we are right on track....the details are nearly taken care of and we'll be ready ready READY on November 1st! :-)

Can't wait to see all of you!

XOXO, Grace Ann & Carl

Carl's "Bachelor" Party!!!

Carl's Last Single Spin....

....took place on Saturday, October 11, 2008

Carl's Best Woman, Karla Barfield, organized a fabulous celebration combining Carl's favorite things: Cycling, Mexican Food & his Girl!!! (Yes, I was invited to the "bachelor" party :-))

The guys met at our house at 5:00pm and went for a spin (read: race) around White Rock lake....then met back at the house for homemade vegetarian tortilla soup, quesadillas, guacamole & chips, jalapeno poppers, flautas, libations and fun!

It was an AWESOME "BACHELOR" PARTY!!!! THANKS KARLA!!!


Tom, Jim, Karla & Carl


Lisa


Toasting to Carl's last single spin and first step into marriage......awe.....


Karla, Michael & Carl


Tina, Tom, Karla, Renee & Paul


Paul, Frances, Joe & Eileen (with Michael & Carl from the back)


Carl & Karla :-)

Countdown Continues.......

Well, we are officially 4 weeks away from our Wedding Day! :-) There are a few minor things left to complete but if the wedding was to happen tomorrow we'd be ready for it!
We have been receiving RSVP cards almost daily now and it is great fun to open the envelopes and see who has replied.
We are looking so forward to seeing all of you and celebrating with you on November 1, 2008!
Love, Grace Ann & Carl

Happy Hour Shower

Sherie, Sonya (Dr. Merrill), and Nadia (Dr. Habal), some of my friends and colleagues from work, threw a super fun "happy hour shower" for me today at Enchiladas Restaurant! It was really sweet and thoughtful of everyone to want to celebrate with me. We had awesome swirl margaritas, chips & salsa, queso, nachos, and other wonderful appetizers. I received many lovely gifts from the girls and a very generous gift card to Bed, Bath and Beyond from all the guys (and one gal) at work too! THANK YOU SO MUCH EVERYONE! You really made me feel special today!


(Nithya, Tracy, Sherie, Nadia, Me, Sonya & Tiffany)


(Sherie, Tracy, & Julie)



It was so much fun you guys!!! Thank you again! :-)

Bridal Shower

My friends Melinda, Deirdre, & Jeanine organized and planned my shower, which was originally scheduled for Saturday, September 13, 2008. However, due to Hurricane Ike it was postponed and rescheduled for Saturday, September 27, 2008. A few days before the shower Melinda told me that she may not be able to come due to the aftermath of hurricane Ike, as the area in which they live was strongly affected and they were still in the process of cleaning up and assessing damage.
On the morning of the shower when Dee and Jeanine arrived to start setting up, Dee said, "Come here Grace Ann, I want to show you something" and out popped Melinda! I was so surprised and happy to see her that I cried! :-) It was a very nice surprise!



(Melinda wiping my tears! :-))




My Sister-in-Law, Lynn Bodin, also flew in for the day and was a great help in setting up and making pretty balloon decorations. She is also responsible for my lovely "practice bouquet" for the rehearsal :-)






Mother-of-the-Bride and Bride-to-be :-)




Jeanine (House Party), Deirdre (Bridesmaid), Me & Melinda (Matron of Honor)



Aunt Grace & Mom




Gifts..... Carl and I looked at our gifts together after the shower. We love everything and cannot wait to unpack and begin using it all! We are so happy that all of you will be a part of our marriage celebration......Thank you again to everyone!





The CAKE!!!! This was probably the best cake I have ever had! Jeanine picked out the cake and it was a hugh success! Everyone talked about it into the next day. :-)

Bachelorette Weekend in Austin

Deirdre, Sherie, Jeanine and I went to Austin this past weekend for a "bachelorette" celebration. We went canoeing.....swimming.....hiking......ate Mexican food while watching the sunset over Lake Travis.......and then.....






....out on the town!!!!! Melinda was supposed to come with us but due to hurricane Ike and evacuations etc... she was not able to make it.
(We'll celebrate with you later ;-))

INVITATIONS HAVE BEEN MAILED!!!

Well, there is no turning back now! :-p
We mailed out invitations yesterday and have nearly reached the final countdown. As of this Saturday, it will be five weeks until W Day! We are very excited and yet, as I am sure some of you who have planned a wedding in the near past can relate, we are ready to get the show on the road! We can't wait to see those of you who will be coming to the wedding!!!

Hurricane Ike Wreaks Havoc on Bridal Shower Plans :-(

My Bridal Shower, which was scheduled for tomorrow, September 13th, has been postponed until Saturday, September 27th (same time & location) due to hurricane evacuations and possible difficulties with weather here in Dallas. I know that some of you who were planning to come tomorrow cannot make this new date but hopefully some who could not come tomorrow can now come on the 27th!
Thank you to everyone for your patience & understanding....Happy Friday!
XOXO, Grace Ann

Milestones Reached!!!

Well, November 1st seemed far off back in March when we began planning but now it suddenly seems very near! We have decided on a caterer, gotten Carl fitted for his tux and now there are really just a few minor things left to do! Yay! We are greatly looking forward to celebrating our special day with all of you!

Wine, Wine, Wine.

We went to Times Ten Cellars (x10) last night to sample some wines so that we could purchase a couple of bottles to take to our tasting this Sunday. If the tasting goes well then we will finally have everything set for November 1st! and we can relax until then! HA.
Anyway.....at x10 there was a box of wine trivia cards on the table and we had some fun seeing how much we know, or don't know, about wine. I discovered that all of those years working in restaurants paid off. I was able to answer correctly on most of them. :-D. Carl discovered that being a customer in bars and restaurants does not necessarily pay off in the same way. :-( But we had fun!

Blackberries!!!!

Pay attention......these may be involved in part of the reception plans.

Wedding Memories From the Past

Mr. & Mrs. James A. Bodin (Grace Ann's parents)




Mr. & Mrs. Ferdinand Ekstrom (Carl's parents)

Updates on Planning Milestones

Musicians have been booked for the ceremony!

My wedding gown arrived and I have had my first fitting (fits wonderfully!)

Bridesmaids' dresses are in as well!

NOW there really are just a few minor things left to do! We are in the 9th week before the actual day and I can't believe it is so near!

Updates....

We met with the Texas Winds String Trio on Sunday and just loved them! They will be playing the cello, viola & violin at our ceremony. One of the women is actually a neighbor of ours that we met this summer at a neighborhood party.

Next week we are heading off to Sweden for a vacation and to spend some time with Carl's family. We are both very much looking forward to it! We'll post our blog address on this blog so that you can see what we are up to while we're away! www.kanelbulle2008.blogspot.com

Wedding Party

Melinda McWherter (Matron of Honor) and Grace Ann



Grace Ann & Deirdre Deignan (Bridesmaid)



Arianne Swearingen (Flower Girl & Cousin of the Bride-to-be)



Karla Barfield (Best Woman)



Wayne Simms (Groomsman)

Honeymoon!!!!

Okay, all I can say is that I can't wait to get there! Carl says we can only go there as a married couple so I have to wait until November 2nd :-)

Like the proposal, this is just the "practice honeymoon". We have to wait until next year when we both have more vacation time saved up for the "real honeymoon".

Ceremony & Reception Site Photos

Ceremony:

Dallas Arboretum - Nancy's Garden




This photo shows Nancy's Garden from the direction that I will walk in from.

Reception:

Times Ten Cellars too




Carl and Grace Ann standing in front of the entrance to Times Ten Cellars too.




This photo shows the inside of the reception area, minus the decorations of course! It's going to be so cool!!!

Wedding Planning Milestones....

Well, we have had a tasting with two caterers now....and still no closer to a decision!!! We are planning a third tasting....they say "Three's a Charm"! We'll keep you posted.

Just a few things left to do:

Invitations
Booking musicians for the ceremony
Getting Carl's tux/suit situated
Waiting for my dress & the bridesmaids dresses to arrive (then alterations!)
A few minor things...

The main things, however, are set:

Locations for ceremony & reception
Minister

November 1st still seems so far away but the time is creeping in!

BRIDAL LUNCHEON

On Saturday, July 12, 2008 my Aunt Grace gave me a lovely Bridal Luncheon at her home in Houston....



She also gave me some wonderful stationary with my new name to be (you can see it in the photo above)! It was a wonderful afternoon: we had a fabulous menu of cheeses and hors d'ouevres to start, then a sit down lunch with a delicious starter salad with pecans, dried cranberries and avocado, then a main course of a shrimp and rice casserole with green beans and cashews (YUM!), and finally....dessert! Pecan ice cream balls with homemade sugar cookies and praline sauce. It was just to die for!

Here is a photo of me with my mom and aunt:





Mom, Me, Aunt Grace.....THANK YOU AUNT GRACE!!!