Wowie! Zowie! Wed Dog in Maui!

Um, so I know that was a little cheesy, but I haven't posted here in awhile, so easy there, tiger.

I know I said in our wedding announcement that we were going to the Galapagos Islands and it's true we were thinking about it. But as time passed and we still hadn't booked it, the logistics started getting to be a real headache. So I fixed the announcement before it ran to say something vague like "a December honeymoon is planned," and then did my favorite thing: asked my mom, or her travel agent rather, to send us somewhere awesome.

So she did! We're spending eight beautiful days, including Christmas day, in Maui at the Maui Prince Hotel. We're spending one morning (if you count 3 a.m. as the morning) driving up to the top of the Haleakana Volcano so we can bike ride down it at sunrise. Whee! We're also planning to snorkel, kayak, and hopefully surf. Also, we plan to participate in as much leisure as possible and drink fruity drinks out of coconuts and pineapples.

It will be great!

I don't know if anyone still reads this, but if you do, you are awesome.

Wish you were here,
Wed Dog

A Somewhat Evil Tip

Registering for presents is sweeter than one might think. Most popular registry merchants (Macy's, Crate & Barrel, etc.) offer a discount to "complete" your registry--that is purchase any items remaining that you didn't receive as gifts. Well, after the wedding, I had a thought. Hey, there are some things on here I would like to give as Christmas gifts. So I added them to our registry so I'd remember to buy them when we were in Houston finishing off our lists redeeming gift cards and all. Then it occured to me: hey, I get a 10% (or so) discount on this stuff. So I'm not going to connect the dots entirely here in case you now suspect Matt has alligned himself with a woman who thinks scruples are Russian currency. It's more of a word to the wise shopper, you know. Registries are excellent and useful (even for a limited time).

Wish you were here,
Wed Dog

The Fine Art of Brevity

"Be brief, be sincere, and be seated." -Sir Winston Churchill

Hi friends,

Are any of you still tuning in? Now that we're back on the scne as married peops, some of my parents' friends have been requesting an announcement in the paper. Well, that's just dandy, except for the fact that most of the announcements I've read in the paper make me ill with their excruciating detail of trivial facts.

For example, here is an excerpt from one I found in the Shreveport Daily News. The bride and groom said their vows in front of a cross carved from a beloved oak tree that once stood on the property of the bride's childhood home. A dinner reception followed on the lawn of the home. Guest tables were covered with chocolate cloths and lemongrass silk overlays. Each of the tables was adorned with hand blown trumpet vases or crystal bowls filled with hydrangeas, roses, dahlias and winged elm branches.

After this, I am left wondering if the cloths were actually *made* of chocolate or just a very good facsimile. Further, a prize to the first person who emails me with a basic idea of what in the world a lemongrass silk overlay is or a nice drawing of a winged elm branch.

As any of you who have read this blog or attended our wedding can appreciate, I am really anti any type of wedding literature endorsing the idea that my parents likely traded cattle or a substantial portion of land to Matt (or Matt's parents) as payment for my marriage to him. So I tried to avoid that kind of language. Also, I excluded too much personal information for any potential stalkers or suspicious persons reading. And lastly, I tried to avoid any photos that did not capture mine and Matt's thin side because as Matt has so gently put it "no one likes to see people looking fat on their wedding day. It just makes you feel sorry for them."

So here's what we (I) came up with:



Jean and Coulter Templeton of Mineola are pleased to announce the October 6, 2006 marriage of their daughter Mary Rose to Matthew Robert Turner, son of Marilyn and George Turner of Friendswood, Texas and grandson of Mrs. Frances Kay Griffin of Waco, Texas. Mary is a 2002 graduate of Rice University in Houston and a 1998 graduate of St. Scholastica Academy in Canon City, Colorado. She is currently employed as a weekly columnist and editor for several Houston-area newspapers. Matthew is a 1997 graduate of Friendswood High School and current student of Forestry and Wildlife Management at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches. The two plan a December honeymoon to the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador and will reside in Nacogdoches.

Photos Galore!

I know I said I'd keep up this weblog...and I will. I just needed a break. But until I am back in the swing of things: photos!

Matt and I went out on a limb, scandalizing the world apparently, when we decided not to hire a wedding photographer. Instead, our friend Jo graciously offered to take both film and digital of whatever we wanted and then some. Matt's mom, my mom, our friend Brad, and Matt's cousin Ron also all got into the act for some really amazing and beautiful shots. Lucky us!

Eventually, I will pull them all together in one place, but for now:

Jo's "Picks of the Pics" on Flickr

Marilyn's (+ some of my mom's) Comprehensive Photo Anthology of the Mary/Matt Extravaganza on Snapfish (includes engagement party, my dad's 80th birthday, our house in Nacogdoches, rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, ceremony, reception, and Saturday brunch).

More to come. Stay tuned.

Wish you were here,
Wed Dog

P.S. The best part about being home was getting the real live Wed Dog back. Arrroooo!

Thank You and Good Night

Friends and family,

Thank you for joining us and making our wedding so special and memorable. We enjoyed every minute and it was due so much to the warm and loving send-off we received. So just to update: we've now been married a full 48 hours and we both agree this is the best thing we've ever done.

There's a lot more news to share and photos to come, but Matt and I just arrived home in Nacogdoches and we're exhausted. We hope to see all of you again real, real soon.

Lots of love and gratitude,

Mr. and Mrs. Wed Dog

In the immortal words of U2...

I can't liiiiiive...with or without you. (Whoa-oa-oa-oa!)

For those of you who simply can't live without your wed dog (ha!), this blog will continue for at least a couple of weeks (months?) after the wedding as I discuss the mischief and mayhem post-extravaganza. I hope you'll join me, though I am certainly not above pontificating for my own gratification. :)

If you're tired of the wedding stuff, check out my daily (at least most of the time) blog at French-Roast.com. Warning: may contain hearty portions of snap!

Miss you already,
Wed Dog

Tempus Fugit

As you may have noticed (or not), I have not yet posted all about the lovely shower of yester-weekend, but what you may also realize is that I also have not had a terrific night's sleep in quite some time, either. And hey, Matt still hasn't gotten around to his first post on here, so I guess I'm doing pretty well. Both Matt and I are stirring at this late hour, despite being very tired because, I guess counting sheep isn't working out for us for now.

We did, for the first time since perhaps March go to the movies tonight (yes, we've only been engaged/planning to move since June, but we apparently had many other pressing activities in April and May). It was awesome to see, even if the movie (The Black Dahlia) had a lot of marginal and unresolved sub-plot issues. Afterward, we stopped at a photo booth where we got pictures with the heading of "90% Angel." (We thought that one was a lot funnier than "Love" or "Happy Halloween." We are probably only 90% angel if added together, and even that might be a stretch.) It felt like olden times when we went on dates and hardly knew each other--you know, like eight or nine months ago. As we walked carefree out to the parking lot after the movie, we were both kind of struck with the fact that within 48 hours, we'll be married. That sounds like a buzz kill or something, but it was more like a kick in the shins that you both want and need, but would prefer not to ask for.

I am mostly all packed to go to Galveston tomorrow for our rehearsal and all, and if there's something I haven't done at this point, well, it's probably just not happening. So say a little prayer for us and we'll be thinking of you as you travel from near and far to share this special (and a little scary) time with us. We're really looking forward to it.

See you really, really soon,

Wed Dog

T+2 (not T-2, right? my brain hurts)

Wow. We're really getting down to the final moments and just last week, I foolishly thought all the details were covered. Silly rabbit. Thanks for the emails and calls of encouragement everyone--not to mention the lovely gifts. :) Seriously, being able to make toast or amuse ourselves with the kit kat clock has really made for a lovely week.

Did you know there was quite a delightful shower in our honor on Saturday afternoon in Houston? There was and it was really wonderful. I must recommend a shower to everyone. I am going to tell you all about it...tomorrow, of course--when I will get everything else done too, right? Ha.

For now, it's bed time. At least for a few hours.

See you very soon, friends.

Wish you were here (I could use a hand--or a paw),
Wed Dog