Hi All. It is now over a week since the big day and I think I might be ready to face the world. It was so incredible celebrating with you all last weekend. I can't tell you how grateful I am for everything that everyone did for the event. I think that is the hardest part, I have such a huge feeling in me of gratitude and love that words don't express how I feel. So just know that you are all loved.

And on another note there are pictures up for all to see at http://www.pikcilingis.com/laaa. Be sure to look at the flickr site of my cousin Marsh, whose pictures are amazing. A very talented photographer indeed.

Thanks again for all the support!

We're closing in on the big day! Only a few weeks left!

Today I braved near-record heat in Boston to go to the jeweller's downtown for our wedding bands. They both look great, and mine fits very well. It's funny to see a ring on my hand because I've never worn one for more than a few seconds. I'm sure I'll get used to it pretty quickly.

The pieces are all coming together for a wonderful event; both Laura and I are very excited to see everyone and to dance and enjoy wonderful food, and most importantly to have you all there for our ceremony.

See you all soon!

Also: The Macy's registry is now fixed and our casual dinnerware is available on it.

For the small price of a couple dirty shoes, a set of sheets and the temporary well-being of one man's digestive system, this bachelor had a wonderful Saturday evening.

Things stayed pretty well under control, considering, and save one decision to order crab-cakes at 1:00am everything went smoothly. Even the crab-cakes went smoothly until they were mistaken for more alcohol and rejected accordingly. There were no contusions or lacerations suffered thanks to some miracle of bachelor partyhood.

That said: I can't wait until it's everyone else's turn.

More than anything else, spending time with so many wonderful friends just made me even more excited about the wedding. The debauchery and shenanigans all served to remind me how much fun these people are, and I know August 25th-27th is going to be one heck of a time!

The wedding season is on! I just had an incredible whirlwind of a weekend sponsored by those who love me. Adele and my girls (and Mike to!) put together an incredible batchelorette party on Saturday night. We started at Julia's house in the Back Bay where we had delicious drinks and food. The best part of the night was when the toasts started. In classic Gardiner/Burnes fashion, Addie and Sarah Pikcilingis put together lyrics to rap along with Will Smith's Gettin' Giggy With It. Instead of gettin' giggy with it, it was gettin' Pikcy with it... nice work ladies. Everyone did such a fantastic job roasting me. I am just grateful that it wasn't in front of the whole wedding!

After sufficiently embarrassing me, the group headed out to a bar and then on to dancing. It was a perfect night filled with perfect people. I feel so grateful to have all these incredible people in my life! This sentiment was further underscored during the shower. This is the best part of weddings I think... the reminder of the community you have around you.

With that said, I am going to have to add that being the bride at a shower is an intense experience. Not only are all these people there to see you but then they put you in a chair and have you open gifts in front of them. It is a gift throne. Good god was that a strange experience: all eyes on me, being showered in material goods, all sorts of ooohs and aaaahs. I know the gifts are a symbol of love and support, but it still feels crazy to receive so much all at once!

In any case, I am feeling a deep sense of gratitude and exhaustion. It is just practice for the big day!

The invites were printed beautifully, and after a short and simple trimming correction (the printers did it for free!), they were ready to go. Many generous and wonderful hands addressed, assembled, stuffed, and stuck the invites into readiness and they went into the mail on Wednesday. Word on the street: some have already arrived!

Special thanks to everyone who helped on the assembly, and to Flemming Printers in Porter Square, all of whom did fantastic work!

So keep an eye on your mailbox as the invite should be arriving in it shortly!

Ah, the mighty invitation. So magestic in its natural habitat (a box from the printer and shrink-wrap)....

The invitations are printed, and came out VERY close to what we'd wanted. That's what you get for designing your own, I guess, but I can't remember my previous dealings with a print shop going so smoothly. For those of you planning your own events and doing your own invites, I highly recommend Fleming Offset Printing in Cambridge, MA (right in Porter Square). Ask for Renee.

That means the invites are only addressing and assembly away from going out, so they should be en route to your happy homes soon enough!

Site Update: Macy's merged with some other store and managed to duplicate, erase, un-erase, and then mess up our registry there. You'll probably find that some of the items aren't available and that things look generally broken. We're working on it, I promise. And don't think they didn't apologize--they sent us a token of their sorriness:

(Just so you're aware: we didn't ask for this, and we're definitely going to re-gift it. Please don't use it as a guide (unless it's a guide for what not to get).)

Last Friday my mom and I went to the dress maker and I had my first dress fitting. Now I was warned that when you first try on your dress you don't like it. It doesn't fit and because of that it looks like a sack. In my case, since there are some details the dress maker wanted to get perfect, I was trying on a mock up of my dress so it wasn't even the real fabric! It *really* didn't look great when I slipped it on. However, the seamstress went straight to work pinning and pinning and pinning the seams and eventually the dress looked amazing. It fit perfectly and even though it was made of muslin, I could get a real feel for how great a dress it will be. It makes me really excited. I really looked like a bride... my kind of bride.

Through this whole dress choosing process it has been really hard not including Aaron. He is myco-wedding planner and more over my fashion consultant... I don't like not being able to ask his opinion. Granted, usually his opinion is given from under the covers when he is half conscious and I am getting ready for work and therefore is not entirely reliable. But still, I like his sleepy opinion about whether or not the shirt I am wearing goes with the pants...