I will take a number one please with a coke.

Well, this last week is proving to be more eventful than I had imagined. I have not had time to sleep, eat[and when I do, it seems to be a big mac, which to my amazement, has made me lose even more weight- Oh wait, maybe that's just STRESS!] do my hair or make up, tie my shoes, walk my dog, or as my friend Jolie has said, "I haven't even had the time to fart." ;p Jeff and I have been burning the midnight oil as they say as far as getting last minute stuff together for the wedding which is in 4 days.... 4 DAYS!
In between all this wedding related chaos I have had the chance to enjoy some Halloween festivities as well as have my bridal shower which was really nice!!! Megan put together a very creative "wedding basket" for me which was super awesome and Kara gave me a very thoughtful gift as well, a collection of some of her recipes... which is a pretty big deal, because Kara makes some of the best damn food I have ever had!!! :)

There is still plenty to do in the next few days.... ugh... but it will be worth it, and tomorrow and Friday I intend on getting A LOT of this shit done so that this Friday and Saturday I can just enjoy and rest up for Sunday!

Here are some random photos from this last week:

Video of the theater

It was brought to my attention by my mom that you can find footage of the theater on Youtube, so I looked into it and sure enough, I found a couple videos of it!

Check out its spooktacular atmosphere and envision it lit up in the soft glow of candle light and carved pumpkins... also picture a foggy atmosphere and haunting music... You wont want to miss this! >:)

From the balcony: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yv3IAhbmAuY&feature=related

The main floor: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Tn6Fle8BFU&feature=related

Updates from a sick bride to be

With only 8 days left before the wedding it is a very good thing that this cold/flu hit me now instead a week later! I wish however that it had passed me over completely so that I could stay on track with wedding projects and other things, but I am not entirely surprised that the stress over the course of this month beat my immune system down enough to infect me with it. Besides, I work with the public 40 hours a week, not catching this popular virus would have been a miracle! So I look for the silver lining here from my bed, where I have stayed for almost 48 hours, and decided it is not being sick on my wedding day at least! My only hope now is that it overlooks Jeffery! I have taken the liberty to buy vitamin C and Zinc for him to take in order to help boost up his immune system and I have even disinfected the apartment. So hopefully that will have helped a great deal. I have to say, that in the midst of my illness, Jeffery has been taking on a lot to make sure that things get done in time for the wedding which has helped ease my stress, and I can not thank him enough for his HARD WORK on everything! I hope that this extra day of rest will help heal me up in time for this weekend so that I can forge on ahead with wedding projects still needing to be completed and lessen the load for him. I am so grateful and so lucky to have such a devoted friend and love that will soon be my husband!

So what is left to complete before the big day? Well, a couple more videos which are almost completed. The "Play Bills" which will be the programs for guests of the ceremony have been pretty much completed last night by Jeffery. We figured that since this is taking place inside a theater it would be a nice touch to create a "Play Bill" to add to the atmosphere instead of just a program. Jeffery also finished all the seating cards the other night and posters that we plan to hang on the windows, also in homage to the theater atmosphere. I need to add the ribbons to the masks still and print photos for the picture frames as well as get supplies for the trick or treat table. There are small personal projects I need to complete as well, such as finding a veil fastener, painting fake nails I plan to wear that day, buying make up for the occasion, and other little things that a girl does for her wedding! ;p

So yes, 8 days and still a bit more work left to do, but thankfully plenty has been done thanks to Jeffery and also I am glad to say that all that needed to be ordered is FINISHED and on it's way! The guest book should arrive next Thursday and our My Jones Soda will arrive today which I am very excited to see! :D

After some confusion that had me just about slip into a bridezilla moment, I got my dress and Jeffery helped fit me into it which was really sweet of him to do. Thankfully it fits GREAT and I can not wait to wear it!!!

Yesterday we went to apply for our marriage license which was interesting since I was feeling at my very WORST yesterday and could hardly stand. I think we were there for maybe a little under and hour and in that time I think I was out of the bathroom just long enough to sing the paperwork for it. It was a pretty miserable experience unfortunately thanks to this flu.

All in all... 8 more days and we will be married and I am very excited about it! I know that this wedding is going to be spooktacular and absolutely one of kind! All this hard work will pay off in the end! And afterward, the reward will be spending time with the love of my life relaxing on a beach for 7 days in Maui. No wedding planning, no illness, no stress, no drama! :D
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Some random shots of things we have been getting done and got; Seating cards, My corset & shoes! The awesome "Congratulations Newlydeads" candle holder gift from my friend Alex, Cameras that we purchased for guest's to use in our spooky photo booth area, our check list for this month and some materials for the Trick Or Treat table! :) There are plenty more things I want to photograph and share with you, but it will need to wait till I am feeling a little more better! Stay tuned fellow spooks! ;)

For Always

Jeffery and I invite you to preview our book, "For Always", which is a collection of photos that we have taken over the course of our 11yr relationship. The book is also available to purchase. We look forward to sharing this with you at the wedding as our "guest book", please write in the white spaces of the book! :D

13 days!!!

Book link: http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1659288

Invites

The invites have been finished and sent out! We're excited to see you all in 29 days!

Vampires In Love... Coming October 31st!

A brief back story to this silly little film we put together-

Before the time of Ipod and Zune, Walkman and Discman was what you had to listen to your favorite music and when Jeffery & I met in high school “mixed tapes” were still a popular thing to make someone you were interested in or dating. So one afternoon [while I was “grounded” I am sure, since 90% of my adolescent years was spent being “grounded.”] I made him a mixed tape which consisted of a bunch of songs that made me think of him. It started with some NIN- Were In This Together Now, Garbage- #1 Crush and Marvelous 3’s, Vampires In Love.

Another thing that was popular between friends and lovers in high school, before everyone had a cell phone and could text message one another was Notebooks you would use to write notes in and then exchange to one another in between classes. Jeffery and I started a notebook and I added a bunch of sentimental quotes and photos [mostly clipped from Rolling Stone, oh yes… Rolling Stone was still relevant back then! ;p ] of things we liked and reminded each other of us in some way. One of the photos I glued in that notebook was the old Ray Ban advertisement of the Vampires wearing sunglasses and laughing in the sunlight. I thought of us and the “Vampires In Love” song when I saw it!

Now some of you might be to young still to remember this commercial that the advertisement was based on so here is a link to it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASrnHSNwqMw

Fast forward 10 years to this summer. Jeffery and I were getting ready to go on yet again, another trip out to Vegas, and I had decided it was time for me to get some new shades for the trip! I have always wanted a sweet pair of Ray Ban Sunglasses so I decided this year I was going to get them! When we went, Jeff tried on a pair and liked them as well, so we BOTH got a pair. I right away laughed out loud when I thought about that old notebook we had in high school and the photo I clipped out to glue inside it.

Then I had a silly thought… “Why don’t we do a parody of that Ray Ban Vampire commercial since we both own a pair of Ray Ban’s now and we can have Marvelous 3’s, Vampires In Love, apart of it??!”

Jeff, who tolerates most of my silly ideas, agreed that it would be a fun little project to do, and with the wedding coming up and the “Vampire Ball” theme we are hosting for the reception, we thought we could also use the film to utilize the theater. So we chose to film it in the cemetery that we have been going to for YEARS and where Jeff proposed to me.

So with that and the other films we have planned for before the ceremony, we hope to have a entertaining experience for everyone to enjoy. All the short films are sentimental and full of meaning. We are putting together the videos with a 1920’s era feel to them since the Kenosha Theatre was built in that time. “Vampires In Love” is a preview for the Reception which we have also titled after the song.

"Vampires In Love" Link: http://www.youtube.com/user/TheSpookshowBabe?feature=mhum

Enjoy! :)

The Historical Kenosha Theatre

It would be September 1st 1927 that The Kenosha Theatre would open its doors to guests for its first vaudeville performance and a silent motion picture set to music by the Mighty Wurlitzer organ. The theatre was built by Universal Studios Chicago for Universal Studios and was commissioned by Carl Laemmle who had a reputation in the 1930’s to have produced some of the most iconic monsters and horror classics of all time with his son Carl Laemmle Jr. Horror films such as Dracula staring Bela Lugosi, Frankenstein staring Boris Karloff, The Mummy, The Invisible Man and Bride of Frankenstein.

The theatre had some memorable headliners such as Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, and Harry James to name a few. It served its community for 36 years before closing in 1963. Since then the theatre has stood a vacant and silent reminder of days gone by. The owner however will tell you about the lingering feeling and some strange occurrences that have happened inside the theatre which lead me to believe that though the theatre has been abandoned for 47 years, past guests have come to revisit a place they once shared a timeless memory at.

After sitting down with Jeff Baas one afternoon to discuss the history of the theatre we had also talked about it possibly being haunted by previous movie goers. He said that though for the most part he has only experienced a few minor things here and there he has been told stories by other people who have worked inside the theatre of possible unexplained phenomenon. He told me about how someone had said that they felt a sudden strong chill once inside the theatre. Another person claimed to have felt a breath on the back of there neck. Some have said they have heard strange noises that they could not clearly describe, and that did not sound like the building structure.


I have gone to the theatre a handful of times myself and I can say that being inside the building alone can feel a bit spooky. Though the fine craftsmanship that went into building this theatre has allowed it to remain in great structural condition after all these years of neglect, a broken roof and leaks have caused a lot of deterioration on the inside. The walls are cracked and the paint is chipping and has faded over the years. An old screen that once showed films, still hangs tattered and spoiled over the years of leaking rain just above the stage. The original chandlers once a beautiful plated gold has completely rusted and hangs from a broken ceiling. The bathrooms still have toilets and sinks, but are defunct. The building overall almost feels as though you have entered the Titanic. A once beautiful and living structure that held many wonderful memories of couples first dates, and anniversaries. Birthdays and Holidays and rumors of possible gangsters of that time catching a flick while passing through the city. Now it stands quiet, cold, forgotten, and left to waste and yet you can feel a definite energy within the theatre.

The first time I went I had experienced a couple strange noises in the upstairs area and a sudden feeling came over me at one point when I started to make my way up to the projector room that I should not. It was not an evil or very aggressive feeling, just a feeling of like I do not belong there or should not be there, like if you walked into the back room of a retail store where you do not belong. The second time I had gone I felt a sense of joy, but mixed with a feeling of being watched which is always a little unnerving. Again, it was not a negative feeling, just the awareness of me being there.

The theatre will be where Jeffery and I get married this year on Halloween and host a reception/costume party with a vampire ball theme. We are very excited to be able to use this historical and haunted building for such a memorable day. We hope that it will breath life back into the theatre once again and keep with it an energy of love and joy like its past patrons.

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Here are some of the photo's I took inside the theatre. I have set these photos up so that you can compare the photos I have taken to the ones taken by Life Magazine in 1938 when it was still a functioning theatre. [The Kenosha Theatre was the second theatre in the United States to play it's first audio film and Life Magazine was there to document the occasion.]























More of Life Magazine's images of The Kenosha Theatre can be found at this link:
http://images.google.com/images?um=1&hl=en&safe=off&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&tbs=isch%3A1&sa=1&q=Kenosha+theatre+source%3Alife&btnG=Search&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=&start=0&biw=1280&bih=588

The Kenosha Theatre official website: http://www.kenoshatheatre.org/

~Crystal

NOM NOM NOM NOM!!!! >;)

I think my mask of sanity is about to slip.

One of my projects for the wedding is making masquerade masks for our ceremony guests. Most of them I added some personal flair to for each guest which has been fun! The idea came to us when we decided to host the reception/costume party as a "Vampire Ball." I have got a fair share of them done thus far and hope to finish them today. Here is a glimpse of them.. :)

Kenosha Theater Directions/Map

You will all be receiving this information with your invites, but in case it is misplaced, I have posted the directions and map for future reference.


Kenosha Theatre:

5919 Sixth Avenue
Kenosha, WI 53140
ph (262) 658-2355


Directions:

Take Interstate 94 into Kenosha County and Exit on Highway 158. Head east on Highway 158 until it ends at Lake Michigan. Turn South on 6th Avenue and go 6 blocks to the intersection of 6th Avenue and 59th Street. Jog around the island at this intersection. Be careful not to angle off on to "6th Avenue A" but head due South on 6th Avenue. The Kenosha Theatre is the second building on the left once you come through this intersection. If you look up and see a highly ornamented facade and two bell towers, you know you're at "The Spanish Castle" which is the Kenosha Theatre.

Hotels in Kenosha

If you are traveling to Kenosha for the wedding and plan to drink alcohol at the reception but do not have a designated driver, we hope that you plan to stay at a hotel within the area. Here is a list I put together of hotels in that area with Rate/Contact info so that you can plan accordingly for the evening. The BEST option I put as the first option, it is the cheapest and is literally within walking distance of the theater.

1. Best Western Harborside Inn: [2 Minutes from Theater]
5125 6th Avenue, Kenosha, Wisconsin 53140-3403
Phone: 262/658-3281
Rates: Standard Room for 1 night- $90.00

2. Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites: [2 miles from the theater]
7887 94th Avenue • Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin 53158
Phone: 262/942-6000
Rates: Standard Room for 1 night- $94.00

3. Radisson Hotel & Conference Center Kenosha: [4 miles from theater]
11800 108th Street, Pleasant Prairie Wisconsin 53158
Phone: 262/857-3377
Rates: Standard Room for 1 night: $119.00



If none of these appeal to you and you want to look at more options here is a link to a list of other hotels:

http://www.google.com/search?q=kenosha+wi+hotels&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

Vampires In Love

Jeffery & I portrait.

Jeffery and I have made some MAJOR head way in the last month! We have completed 98% of our shopping for materials, we are just about done with all the invites and hope to have them mailed out by THIS Friday and we have both our wedding bands and outfits. We have what we plan to rent figured out and just need to put the money down for it which we hope to do next week and all that is really left at this point are the random little things here and there that you kinda forget along the way which wont be hard to complete.
It has been a bit stressful and times, but I have to say that I would NOT have done this any other way. It has given us complete control of how WE want things which in my opinion is a lot better than leaving it up to a planner who might really not share the same vision and mess it up. Not to mention we are both very creative people, so being able to work on the things that we have planned for the wedding has not only been FUN, but has given us creative release. I wont give to much away, because I really want some of the things to be a surprise, but I will say that I have made the center pieces and that thus far was my favorite thing to work on. I was a bit nervous at first thinking whatever I did would look like shit because I never had made a Halloween wreath before, but once I got started and the ideas came it was a lot of fun to put together! I am also GLAD we are getting as much done as we can this month to free up time to enjoy the Halloween season next month! :D I am very excited to be apart of Haunted Wisconsin this year and will enjoy going to all the haunts and having the chance to put in my 2 cents about them on the site! :) I am also very excited to start Halloween shopping and decorating the apartment! I just simply LOVE this time of the year!
Our wedding has been the main focus this last month however and we both are getting more and more excited for it as things start to come together. It is going to be pretty damn epic! :D

Progress thus far...

Things have been moving forward these last few weeks, Jeff and I have ordered our outfits for the wedding and our wedding bands. The wedding bands shipped out on Friday the 13th [fitting ;) ] and we got them last week. For the unveiling we went to our favorite cemetery after eating at our restaurant, Mama Mias, and to the spot where Jeff proposed. It was a pretty magical evening the way the sky turned a stunning shade of orange, purple, pink and dark blue at almost the very moment we tried them on for the first time.
My dress should arrive within the first week of October, and I can’t tell you how excited I am to see it in person! I think it’s a stunning dress and it’s hard to decide how I want to accessorize with it because I would hate to do to much to take away from the dress itself. Since we are getting married on our beloved holiday, Halloween, I feel I should play with that a bit, maybe some Halloween tights or a few bats on my jewelry or in my hair? I have not decided completely yet on what I am going to do, but I do feel that pearls would work with my dress and I am seriously considering wearing my grandmothers pearl necklace, who sadly has passed and will not be in the audience like I so had hopped she would be.
As things come together, I feel a odd mixture of stress and relief. We have completed our design of the invites and just need to start making them and sending them out which we hope to start next week. I am very excited to get them done and mail them, it is the one thing that keeps in the back of my mind all day.
So what is left? I need to come up with an idea of how to decorate the tables and some areas around the theater. This theater stands alone as a simply breathtaking backdrop and has a lot of atmosphere, so again, I am trying to tie the Halloween elements into the wedding degore, but I don’t want to do to much that it would distract you from the theater. We plan to use a lot of candles and of course there will pumpkins, that much I am sure of! I am sure there is plenty more to plan, but for now this is the main focus. I am also trying to complete our guest photo book, mostly while I am work so I can still enjoy the evening free of wedding stuff, and Jeff has started to create our film as well as some added ones that we plan to play throughout the night.
Overall, things are getting done and we look forward to the wedding more and more each day as we discuss ideas and plan what we will do! Things are starting to get very exciting!

Aloha Maui!

I am SO excited right now! Jeff & I have booked our Honeymoon at the Hotel Wailea, [http://www.hotelwailea.com/] a STUNNING and very romantic luxury hotel on the west side of Maui. We have both been doing a lot of research on what the island has to offer and have a pretty epic trip planned already.
We are very excited to go to Haleakala National Park and hike up to the volcano's crater to see the milky way and sunrise! We plan to drive along one of the most beautiful roads in the world to Hana, which has several beaches and waterfalls along the way, and of course this will be in our Mustang convertible that Jeff specifically has requested! ;p We hope to go Whale watching [if it is the right season for that] and of course scuba diving as well so that I can swim with the manta rays! :)
We may have a lot of adventure's planned, but we still also plan for plenty of R&R and relaxing days at the Spa that our hotel is famous for!

I feel truly blessed to have such an amazing man that loves me so much and treats me so wonderfully. It honestly brings tears to my eyes. We have been together for a long time and have walked through many twists and turns in our relationship, but we have always had this amazing bond, and undying love and respect for one another. We are the greatest of friends and I honestly believe from the bottom of my heart, true soulmates.

As the months go by and we plan for more and more, I realize everyday that this is the guy who I will be with for always and there is no greater feeling than that for me. We plan to celebrate our love this fall in all the ways we can, a wedding and honeymoon is not cheap... but it really is not about the expenses, but how we will enjoy it together as a couple. Hell, we could not have a honeymoon at all and get married by Elvis in Las Vegas and I would be okay with it as long as we were together, but the fact that we have saved EVERYTHING possible to celebrate our relationship over all these years just shows how devoted we are to one another and it gives me such an amazing feeling to know I have that kind of love and devotion from him and he has it for me as well. <3

Memories

Jeffery and I went to visit the theater today and get a better idea of how things will work out come this Halloween for our wedding! It sounds like Jeff Bass, the owner, is going to be doing some work on it this summer which will help when we get in to clean and set up; as well as having a volunteer day in May to do some cleaning that we plan to attend. He also gave us a lot of impressive information about the theater and it's history, like how the Kenosha theater was the second theater to play a film with audio and it created quite a buzz. Recently, he was excited to find many fantastic photo's that Life Magazine did back in 1938 when that picture played. Here is a link:
http://images.google.com/images?um=1&hl=en&safe=off&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&tbs=isch%3A1&sa=1&q=Kenosha+theatre+source%3Alife&btnG=Search&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=&start=0

All in all, it was a great meeting and it was wonderful to see the theater and it's beauty that even in it's condition you can still find plenty off. It hold's a strong atmosphere and it is very exciting for us that we will be creating another memory within it's walls that has held so many for many years. :)

Kenosha Theater webpage: http://www.kenoshatheatre.org/history.htm

Progress

Things are starting to move forward in our wedding planning adventures! We have selected wonderful wedding photographer's who we met with yesterday over at Moe's Irish pub. Simon & Jake of Valo Photography [ http://www.valophotography.com/ ] does some pretty AMAZING things with a camera and I can not wait to work with them on our engagement session and wedding! I have been following there blog's for a couple months now and I really respect them as artist's and the work they have done together. As a photographer, I knew I would be rather picky about this one key element of the planning, but I have to say that I feel very confident in our choice! I am sure they will do a GREAT job and bring a lot of fun to the event!

In just a little over a week we plan to meet with Jeff Bass who owns the theater we plan to marry in and take a look at it & discuss the details of the wedding. I have seen it once before when I did a photo shoot a couple years ago, but Jeffery has not, so this is going to be pretty exciting for him to gain a better understanding of how this will all be set up and play out.

Then there are the "Save The Date" cards that we plan to start working on this week which I am really excited about! I would like to get them out by the end of April at the latest, so we are currently coming up with ideas that will fit with our theme. Jeffery and I have got a few good ideas and concepts sketched out so it’s just a matter of selecting one and starting to design them! So far I think this has been my favorite thing to plan with him because we have been able to let our creativity out and bounce ideas off one another. It is always a lot of fun to collaborate and it’s extra special when you get to collaborate with someone you love!

All in all, I am very pleased so far with how this is all going and I know there is still plenty to do, but in all honesty, I don’t feel to stressed out about it. I am looking forward to ordering my dress next now that I have made it to my goal weight and feel confident in the size I will need to order. I look forward to booking our tickets to Hawaii and though I am NOT looking forward to the flight AT ALL, I know it will be magnificent and I am very excited to spend a week on the beach drinking Mia Thai’s, surfing in the crystal blue waters, walking on a volcano and scuba diving with sting rays! :D

There is a lot to look forward to and it's really starting to get me pumped for this summer/fall which is shaping up to be one of the GREATEST one's of all time!

Debauchery

We're excited to announce that we are planning a Bachelor/Bachelorette Party for this summer in the ultimate mischievous city of LAS VEGAS! :D

Most of you are probally well aware of the fact that Jeff and I have been going for YEARS to our favorite vacation city, Vegas, and in a way it has become a strong part of us and something we both LOVE! We're both REALLY excited to share the experiance with those closest to us this year for a 3 night stay starting June 28th- July 1st!
Jeff and I plan to stay at Caesars Palace [a personal favorite of ours] and hope you plan to stay there as well with us! We will be hitting up all our favorite nightclubs like LAX, Ghost Bar, Cat House and more and enjoying some great food, and entertainment! We already have some confirmed guests which we are REALLY happy about, but if anyone else wants to jump on board let us know ASAP and we can go over all the details with you! :)

VIVA LAS VEGAS BABY!!!

Sneak Peek...

Here is a little "teaser" image of my dress....