Here Comes the Bride (and Groom)!

Only Six Days to Go Until Wedding Bells Chime

Monica and Bruce

Wow!  What a difference a week can make!  After a long haul getting an incredibly complex foundation in place for our new home at East Beach, our builder, Jim Schnieder of Schnieder Custom Builders, and his team are rocking and rolling!  The house is starting to taking shape.

Two large steel support beams were installed this week.

Steel support beams were installed on Tuesday.  Take a look at these monsters!  The beams were called for by the structural engineers from Sinclair Pratt Cameron, P.C. of Virginia Beach due to the open floor plan of the living and dining rooms. In addition, there are a lot of windows, dormers, and doors, so the engineering team and our builder had to make sure the house would withstand any weather events that may arise in the future. Thus, steel reinforcement was required. Once the beams were in place, the vertical construction (framing) began on the main house.

In the background is the garage and carriage house apartment. This building is farther along as the framing started earlier as no steel was required.

Garage and Carriage House Apartment

The plan is for Bruce and me to be married in the house.  We've been sweating this as we didn't know how much, if any, of the main house would be in place by the wedding date of December 28.

But it will be ready. HOORAY! Jim and his teammates, including Jeff and B.J. and others, are working 'round the clock during the week and Saturdays to get the house ready for the ceremony.  Only rain will keep them away from their mission.  By the 28th, the one-story side of the house will be completely framed and covered.  (The second story side of the house will not be framed by that time.)

Our wedding is going to take place in less than a week!

The box bay window opening (and altar) in the kitchen.

Lee Rosenberg (East Beach Photography), my former neighbor here at East Beach and our wedding photographer, met with me and Beau Beau this morning to go over photography plans. Lee is so creative! He's already scoped out where the ceremony will take place (in front of the box bay window of the kitchen overlooking the Live Oak trees of the park), where the violinists will play (in front of our future fireplace), and where the group and family shots will be taken.  His mind works in CRAZY ways -- he's thinking of staging a shot where the future furniture will be so he can later take a shot when the house is decorated -- sort of a before and after series.  What fun!

Beau Beau on his way to supervise
 the job site.

Six days and counting....  

Rain is in the forecast for Monday, but then clear weather is expected for the remainder of the week, Christmas Day, and our wedding day.

Happy Holidays to everyone and have a Happy New Year!

Monica, Bruce and Beau Beau