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We’re Getting Married!

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Mr. Merach and Ms. Knitting Code Monkey would like to announce our upcoming wedding on April 13, 2012. 

We have received many surprised looks when we mention our 13-month engagement. In Utah, the average engagement is a mere four months. Many don’t understand why we aren’t rushing down the aisle as fast as our legs can carry us!

We understand the wedding is just a single day meant to mark the beginning of a marriage; a relationship meant to last the rest of our lives. We feel it is more important to take the time to build a solid foundation for a healthy and successful marriage before walking down the aisle on our wedding day.

Over the next 13 months, we’ll be keeping a collection of ideas and research on this page while we plan. Stay tuned for more boring wedding and honeymoon planning details.

Creating beauty in the details

Knitting Code Monkey : August 23, 2011 3:18 am : Wedding
After the realization of what vintage meant to me, I decided I wanted to incorporate some of my own handmade details into an otherwise cookie cutter wedding. I have knitted for years, but I’ve only recently taken up spinning, and I am currently obsessed with Estonian inspired lace and shawls. After discussing with my bridesmaids my ideas, I have decided to spin a pound of BFL/Silk roving custom dyed by Greenwood Fiberworks, and knit each bridesmaid a shawl meant to match their unique styles.

Tiffany, my best friend and matron-of honor, wanted a poncho. Though not a traditional shawl, she explained that diagonal details and triangular points accented her body shape. With minimal effort, I decided upon the “Triinu Scarf” by Nancy Bush. I could double the width of the scarf, make two, and seam them together to make a poncho. I may even add the edging around the entire piece taking care to increase at the corners.

When I asked Steph, my sister, what she would like for her shawl, she nearly cut off my question! “Give me something slinky and sexy!” she exclaimed. She went on to provide the rectangular shape as her favorite. I’d been dying to try my hand at knitting the “Lily of the Valley Scarf” by Nancy Bush. Her desire for the finer things in life made this the perfect choice. I will have to triple the width and double the length to convert it into a shawl fit for this bridesmaid.

Brittany has been rather busy lately. Being 39 weeks pregnant with her first child, I could hardly blame her for being a little too busy to talk details for a wedding nearly 8 months in the future. I did manage to get hold of her, but all I got was “You decide. Something lacy maybe?” After considering what was chosen before her, I decided a triangular shawl would be different than the others, but also compliment her style. I sent her a few photos of the “Echo Flower Shawl” by Jenny Johnson Johnen. Brittany couldn’t have been happier with this choice.

At this point, I thought the story was over! I was showing my daughter, Dana, the shawls I had chosen when she asked if she could have one, too. If I made one for her, surely her sisters would each want one as well.


Would I really have time to spin enough yarn to knit 6 shawls in only 7 months? Not if I wanted to keep my sanity. I suggested to her that we find a simple enough pattern that she could knit her own while I worked on the others. She seemed a bit wary, but liked the idea… provided we found a shawl she felt confident enough to knit herself.

I remembered a friend of mine (that’s you, Cyndi!) showing off her newly knitted shawl at one of our bi-weekly spinning guild get-togethers. It was a simple design, but draped gracefully over her shoulders. I logged onto Ravelry at once. Right on the first page of the pattern search sat the “Weekend Shawl” by Anne Kuo Lukito. It only took one look to get Dana excited. I’m pretty sure Dana will be willing to work on her shawl to completion, but the other two shawls will have to be commissioned. I’m hoping I can convince Cyndi to knit a couple more for Holly and Jaymin as my wedding gift.

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Lotus Flowers and Vintage Beauty

Knitting Code Monkey : August 22, 2011 5:20 am : Wedding

My life has been filled with lotuses lately: my wedding ring set, beading details on my dress, the lotus pond at the venue. The lotus took on more than it’s initial historical symbolism and started to signify that something was simply meant to be part of this wedding.

Stumbling upon this bouquet was the kicker. Though ‘Lotus’ was a given, I wasn’t sure how to execute a vintage theme until I saw these flowers. Vintage can mean a lot of things. It could mean 70′s platforms, or pre-industrial farmland. Is it Victorian steampunk or 1920′s flapper?

These flowers reminded me of days-gone-by when possessions were sparse. One didn’t simply own something because it was pretty, they owned it because it had a functional purpose in their lives. Cables and lace were hand-knitted into shawls meant to block out the cold. Curvy silhouettes were carved into kitchen tables. Words of wisdom were embroidered on quilts. Faded lace, old skeleton keys, dusty rose and earthen greens.

These days, everything is machine-made to perfect uniformity. Imperfect, handmade beauty is magical because it is so rare! I marvel at the time and care it took to create each vintage piece. Someone made this with their bare hands, perhaps even by candlelight. Somebody poured love and attention into each detail. They knew that the most precious things took time to create, and would be cherished even longer.

I want to live life with my husband and our family appreciating the little things that show just how much we truly care about each other. I want to bring a little bit of that magic into our home. I want to create beauty in the details.

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Norway Tour ideas

Knitting Code Monkey : July 10, 2011 8:55 pm : Honeymoon, Wedding

I’ve been oogling Norway in a Nutshell® tours for the last week or so. After much deliberation and some self-honesty about how we really want to spend our honeymoon, I’m thinking Hurtigruten & Norway in a Nutshell® is the way to go.

Itinerary:

  • Fly to Oslo with a 7.5 hour stop on Paris. That may not be long enough to sneak a peak at the Louvre Museum, but the Eiffel Tower should be accessible!
  • Spend a day recovering and trying to get on top of the Jet Lag. Finding a yarn store will be one of my top priorities.
  • Take a train to Trondheim (appx 5.5 hours)
  • Spend a few days enjoying the sites in Trondheim
  • Take a cruise to Bergen (28 hours)
  • Spend a few days enjoying the sites in Bergen
  • Enjoy the day trip from Bergen to Oslo on the Norway in a Nutshell® Tour
  • Spend a few days enjoying the sites in Oslo and the surrounding areas
  • Fly Home!

We’ll be spending three days in flight (or in Paris!) and 10 days in Norway. I’m absolutely excited to start making reservations.

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Why Norway?

Knitting Code Monkey : July 10, 2011 7:33 pm : Honeymoon, Wedding

“Norway? Why Norway?!”

Because it’s cold. Seriously.

Merach and I aren’t exactly warm loving people. We HATE summer, and the idea of spending our honeymoon sweating it out among a gazillion other half naked, sweaty people on some godforsaken, claustrophobic island sounds absolutely miserable.

Now consider Norway. Majestic Glaciers, impossibly tall waterfalls, wide open spaces, the Northern Lights, medieval churches, ancient farm towns, Vikings. We’re talking beauty and history everywhere you turn. Even the cold entices you to spend an extra hour in bed. What about Norway doesn’t scream romantic honeymoon?

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