2.26.03 - Congratulations Katie and
Bill! More Birthdays Too...
Congratulations are in order for our good friend Katie Pope
and her new fiancé, Bill Kannel. They were engaged
on Sunday in St. Louis and we couldn't be happier for them.
Didn't she get a piece of that bouquet?
Also, we want to say happy birthday to bridesmaid Kate Weigand
(incidentally, Ms. Pope's neighbor...it was a good week for
our friends in STL) and a belated happy birthday to Chris's
sister Connie and brother Rudi. We Love you. Hope to share
some cake with you all soon...
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2.21.03 - New Pics to Share
The galleries have been
updated with photos from our ceremony.
All shots are from the cameras of loved ones. Fran and I want
to thank all our friends and family that have contributed images
to our library. We're sorting through everything we have, looking
at the proofs from our photographer, and getting ready to create
our album. But some of the best moments we've seen have been
captured by our guests...thanks again to those who sent us
copies and CDs.
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p.s. Congratulations to ringbearer Thomas Barth who achieved
his yellow belt in tai kwan do yesterday. Now you really don't
want to mess with him...
2.14.03 - HAPPY
VALENTINE'S DAY
Just wanted to quickly acknowledge my first Valentine's Day
with my beautiful bride. We're spending a quiet evening at
home with each other tonight and going out tomorrow to celebrate.
Hope you have someone to cozy up to as well...
I continue to receive requests from Fran to update the site
with more pictures...those of you who are looking for an update,
stay tuned. Time has really flown by, but I plan to get some
more goodies up this weekend.
I have added a page to the site
detailing how it was built and a basic "how
to" for those who might need help building a wedding
web site of their own.
-cb
2.12.03 - Best Man Update
Please pray for the safety of my best man, Capt. Ross Toth,
and other men and women in the military. Ross was deployed
yesterday. Fran and I both plan to send some Love his way
and keep his spirits up. Hopefully, he will return soon.
-cb
Marianne, Mary Helene, and Ross Toth
12.24.02 - Married Christmas
We want to wish all our family and friends a happy and safe
holiday season. We hope we'll get to see some of you in the
coming days to share some Love.
-c+f
p.s. The galleries have
been updated with pics from the rehearsal
dinner. More to come...
12.16.02 -Slowly but Surely
I updated the galleries today
with images from the wedding showers in Zionsville and Middlebury.
I've decided to work chronologically from that point, so you
can expect the rehearsal dinner next. That's assuming anyone
is even looking at this thing any more...
If any one of our relatives, friends, or guests has photos
(digital or otherwise) of the special event, please let
us know. We'd love to get our hands on 'em.
-cb
12.15.02 - No, We Didn't Fall Off the
Planet (Although We Did Visit the Other Side)
Wow. Where to begin? It's been a long time since we've been
able to update the site and although the time just seems to
have whizzed by to us, many of our friends and family have
been asking for an update. Or at least a photo or two. Well,
the images have been coming in (God bless digital cameras)
and we have amassed quite a collection. Hopefully we can get
some new stuff up for the holidays. Check the gallery
section for more on that. We'll also be including images
from our honeymoon in Thailand as soon as we can. Our trip
was fantastic and we both thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. More
on that to come.
Photos: Fran and Chris on a bamboo raft,
statue in the royal palace, baby elephant at the Maesa Training
Camp.
We want to thank all of our guests and well wishers for the
wonderful gifts, cards, calls, and e-mails. It means a great
deal to us that we are surrounded by so many people who care
about us. The wedding went off exactly as we planned it and
we hope you all had as great a time as we did. And we're sorry
if we didn't get to talk with you at the reception...but that
band was really rockin'. We've never danced so much in our
lives.
Check back soon...
-c+f (the Barths)
p.s. Happy Birthday to those we missed especially Gregg Barth's
on Nov. 13th, bridesmaid Julienne Barth's on the 2nd of November,
and Ringbearer Thomas Barth's on the 9th of this month. Last
but not least, congrats to Chris's brother Tom and his wife
Melissa on the birth of their new son Hunter William Barth
(Chris is an uncle once again...and Fran is an aunt too)!
Little guy is already smiling...
12.14.02 - SECRET PROJECT
X REVEALED!
My special gift for Fran was
a long time in the planning and I thought I should share both
the plan and the results. As I get the artwork scanned in,
I will be putting it up for all to see. A special thanks again
to all my artist friends who assisted me in giving Fran a truly
one of a kind gift. Here's the link.
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10.8.02 - We Can Almost Hear the Bells...
We'd just like to thank Chris's sister Julienne for throwing a
beautiful shower and also Anne Toth (Mrs. Toth eternally
to Chris) for hosting it at her home. The little touches are
what makes a party unique and Julienne went all out. The decorations,
the food, the games, and the favors were all very special.
It was great to see so many of the guests wearing the wedding
colors as well. Coming in from quite a distance, Katie and
Anne Barth were able to join the party as was little Megan
Stefl, Tammy's new little girl (see below).
Nana made the drive in from Mishawaka and two of Fran's coworkers,
Carrie and Tiffany, came down from Kalamazoo too. It was fun
to see everyone and we can't wait to see you all again at the
wedding. Thanks so much! And thanks for the french fry dinner
Mr. Toth...yum.
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In other wedding related news, Fran was finally able to get
her engagement ring back from the jewelers and was very excited
to look "taken" once again. We also picked up our
wedding bands over lunch last week and I had to hide them from
her so she wouldn't "just pretend". Hey, if you haven't
already, get your RSVP in ASAP...the due date was last Saturday
(oops). Also, just a reminder to all the groomsmen to get those
tux measurements in...we want you to look good while you swing.
-cb
10.1.02 - Indianapolis Shower/Kentucky
Fried Chicken
This past weekend was again quite eventful.
While Fran spent her weekend attending a shower given by the "B" ladies
(Mrs. Barnes, Brown, and Buckley) and doing various wedding
tasks, Chris headed down to Kentucky with his brother Bruce
for his bachelor party...
After a busy day of trial makeup, hair cutting, and dress
fitting, Fran attended her Indianapolis shower. Judy Barnes,
Coanne Brown, and Susan Buckley put together a bountiful spread
of desserts and decorations. Fran was very impressed by the
details and especially loved the heart shaped chocolate cake.
The wedding colors were everywhere and Fran loved seeing so
many of her Zionsville friends and family. Thank you so much
for all your time and effort...the shower was absolutely delicious.
Martha would be proud.
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Chris also ate well on his trip. And drank well too. Or maybe
drank too well. Although not the standard bachelor party fare,
Chris, bestman Ross Toth, and groomsmen Tom Pletcher, Brian
Schultz, and Bruce Krueger headed for the hills of Kentucky
for some "rustic" camping at Natural Bridge/Red River
Gorge and the 13th
Annual World Fried Chicken Festival featuring the World's
Largest Skillet:
The festivities came to a head Saturday evening after Kentuckian
Kelby Kidd Price arrived and the world's longest game of hearts
began (shooting the moon has never been so easy). Special thanks
to the grillmasters and to Bruce for breading and frying the
onions, peppers, and finally, the steak. That's all that can
be said. Thank God Brian's camera-gizmo PDA
crashed...
-CB
9.24.02 - Emily Post Might not Approve,
but...
Bridesmaids Kate Weigand and Jackie Rush threw an informal
shower for us last weekend in Chicago. A quick summary of events
from Kate's follow up e-mail:
The festivities began with a private GBV show
for Chris and Fran and a few thousand of their friends,
followed by some Taiko
drumming. [Editor's note: it was the day after a
Guided by Voices show in March that Chris proposed]
We then moved the celebration (minus
a few thousand friends) to Jackie and Kim’s place,
where bar-themed gifts were presented and tested.
On Sunday, we were able to rouse ourselves and make it
to breakfast by noon at the Lincoln
on Lincoln in honor of Jeff
and Melissa’s birthdays.
If you have any questions about the photos,
you will have to ask Chris because he had the camera most
of the time.
It was a great event and we appreciate the amazing job you
did to pull it together. It was just what we needed (although
Fran thinks Chris might have had just a wee bit much of "what
we needed"). The cookies were awesome too. Thanks to all
our friends who were able to attend, especially lo-fi Brian
Rozman from Detroit, former UDers Jess Dixson and Chris Lyke,
and our new German friends. Also a special thanks to groomsman
Tom Pletcher and wife Meg who sent poetry with their liquor
(in iambic
pentameter, no less). Hey, if this is what all wedding
showers are like, expect to see me at a few more...
-CB
p.s. Fran's back is doing better (physical therapy, yoga,
and TLC). Now if she only wasn't feeling so bruised by the
5 shots she had to get for our honeymoon...mine are tomorrow.
Ouch.
9.19.02 & 9.20.02 - Happy Birthday
Jeff and Melissa
Whenever friends gather, our friends who have passed are there
in spirit.
9.17.02 - Congrats Chris and Jen!
Although Fran was unable to make it to Chicago with me this
past weekend, I truly enjoyed seeing Chris (ChrisChrisBiologyChris
to those who know him well) get hitched. The reception was
incredible (and Fran would have loved the chocolate-raspberry
dessert). The high point of the evening was the new couple's
tango...she made Chris look like he knew what he was doing.
Totally hot. Can't wait to see them burn it up at our wedding.
So congratulations and best wishes again. Have fun in Italy.
-CB
9.13.02 - Happy Birthday Mom.
Julie Barth celebrates her birthday today! Hope your day was
fun.
-fb+CB
9.12.02 - Wedding related injury?
The bride is currently experiencing technical difficulties.
Fran has been having terrible back problems this week and won't
be able to travel to Chicago with me on Saturday for college
friend Chris D'Jamoos's wedding. If you've got any good pain
relief advice for the bride to be, give her an e-mail at: fran@chrislovesfran.com Hopefully,
she'll be in good form after some physical therapy, as she begins
the "shower circuit" next week.
-CB
9.9.02 - New BABY!
And another Reunion...
Congratulations to Tammy and Troy Stefl, proud parents of a
new baby girl. Megan will be our youngest guest and we are
very happy she decided to join us for the Barth-Barth wedding.
Click on the image below for a larger pic...
In other news, Fran accompanied Chris to his 10 year high
school reunion on Saturday night. Chris didn't get back from
a business trip until very late Saturday, so we had to make
a fashionably late entrance (something totally foreign to us).
The reunion was interesting... more than anything else, it
seems, 10 years makes a lot of babies. Groomsman Tom Pletcher
came into town for the occasion (Ross and Matt couldn't make
it) and, as was the tradition in high school, had a little
gathering at his parent's home after the official events. Thanks
Mr. and Mrs. Pletcher. Chris took Tom to Midway Airport to
spend a bit more time with him on the drive and also got to
hang out with Brian and Jackie and the rest of the Chicago
crew afterwards. It will be good to see all of them again soon.
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9.3.02 - Has It Really Been That Long?
We had another full working weekend in Indy which featured
Fran's 10 year high school reunion. We went with the former
Tina Randel, now Tina Lizama, one of Fran's best friends
from high school. Chris felt very lucky to have Tina's husband
Dominic along, especially since he's a graphic designer as
well and they were able to geek out on the latest software,
design trends, and web technologies while the ladies reminisced.
We wanted to thank them for a good time (the first of many
we hope) and also thank Dominic for snagging those last few
cookies.
We got to spend some quality time with family this weekend
too. Katie and her boyfriend Adam Wright were around to visit
and we all had a great meal together with Uncle Garry, Aunt
Debbie, and Judy Barnes. We also found out Fran's Uncle Denny
and his son Josh are definitely able to attend, making the
long haul from Florida. We are very happy to be able to include
the southern Barths in our joyous occasion. We were just about
to say there weren't enough Barths at this thing...
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8.27.02 - 8
YEARS OF CHRIS LOVING FRAN! (8 OF FRAN LOVING HIM TOO).
8.25.02 - The Countdown Begins
Starting tomorrow, we're just inside of 2 months until the
big day. That's hard to believe. What's even harder: on the
27th, we will have officially been together for 8
years! On August 27th, 1994, Fran was visiting Chris
at UD (she had just transferred to Ball State). She left
a note for him inside a datebook on that very day stating
that she loved him. As he had already professed his love
to her a number of months earlier(!), this was an especially
important date. From then on, Fran and Chris have been inseparable
(figuratively at least--hundreds of miles separated them
for almost another 6 years). We're really looking forward
to making this relationship permanent. And geographically
convenient.
On the wedding planning front, we had another eventful weekend.
Bridesmaid Tammy Stefl donated her Friday evening to addressing
invitations. Her 2 year old son Ryan (who is just a little
jealous that Chris is the boy marrying Fran) kept Fran busy
with plenty of activities, including an extensive home tour
and Builder Bob videos. Thanks Tammy!
Saturday found us heading to the jewelry store once again--with
a big difference: the wedding rings are finally purchased.
Then we headed south to Middlebury for more invitation design
and assembly. With Julie Barth's help, we made a good dent
in the workload.
We spent most of Sunday with Chris's family. We want to congratulate
his sister Julienne Marta Catherine Barth on her confirmation/first
communion in the Catholic church. We also want to wish Bob
Toth a Happy Birthday and thank the Toth family for the food,
wine, and hospitality.
The days are getting shorter and we
are getting more excited. Be sure to check out the galleries later
this week for your fill of Fran and Chris pics...
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8.19.02 - Congrats and Happy Days...
Congratulations to the newly wedded Mr. and Mrs. Scott Pentzer.
We thoroughly enjoyed your wedding. From the pictures Chris
took, it looks like the dancing at the reception was one
of the high points of the evening. Please note that in the
photo below, Fran's father Gregg Barth was just getting warmed
up. Have fun in Maui!
While we had a great time with the Pentzer and Wright families
this past weekend, we also took care of some more wedding business
of our own. Fran had her first gown fitting (she was excited
to get back into her dress) and Chris made his final selections
for the tuxedos. Fran also picked up all the bridesmaid's dresses--she
will be getting them to her girls as soon as possible. Bridesmaids,
be on the lookout. We also met with the organist and made our
ceremony music selections. The organist was very impressed
with Fran's extensive music list and even asked to have a copy.
We also wanted to wish a Happy Birthday to all our August
B-Day friends and family, including maid of honor and super
sister Katie Barth, bridesmaid Tammy Stefl, bridesmaid Jackie
Rush, flower girl Hannah Barth, groomsman Matt Schwartz, and
head usher Sean Abercrombie...whew!
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8.13.02 - Another Step Towards the Aisle.
The invitations are off to the printer. It was a group effort
and everyone chipped in with their own 2¢, but we finally
finished. A larger version of the map we created for the
invite will be available online soon as a PDF (portable document
format) so you can print it out.
Be sure to visit the rest of the site. Often. We're adding
stuff as fast as we can. Go donate food to the hungry on our links page
or take a gander at Katie Barth's soccer stats from the link
in her bio on the wedding page.
We'd also love to hear from you.
CB
p.s. You will need Adobe
Acrobat Reader 4.0 or up to view downloadable documents
on our site. Download it here:
8.4.02 - Paper, People, Pastries, and
Pizza.
The last week has been spent getting a few more things crossed
off the to-do list. After some early disappointments, we finally
booked our honeymoon. We're both very excited. Um, we'll share
more about this later...it's still a mystery. Charles Farris
sent us a couple of proofs from our engagement sitting. We
really liked this one:
Fran and Julie spent Friday evening picking out papers for
the invitations and ceremony program. Fran and I stayed the
night in Middlebury and woke to have Essenhaus sweet rolls
with my parents...always a good thing. Fran went to Kalamazoo
to meet with her hair stylist of the last 5 years to see if
she could talk her into coming south in October. And finally,
Fran and I did some more work on our little web project over
a Papa John's Pizza with extra garlic butter. We will be adding
much more in the next couple of weeks.
CB
The most important thing that happened this week was that
all the dresses came in, including the wedding gown!
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7.28.02 - Getting Closer
The big work weekend went very well. We were able to accomplish
all our goals and we got to spend time with the southern
Barth family before their big 30th anniversary trip to Glacier
National Park. The taste testing was delicious...we're really
looking forward to having the dinner we selected. We both
also enjoyed our time at the bakery when we put in the cake
order. Taylor's has great donuts too. The flowers were fun
for Fran and Anne (Chris refrains from commenting) and we
got to know the crowded streets of Indianapolis a bit better
while ring shopping and passport applying. We completed our
engagement photo on Sunday with Charles Farris. He was great
to work with and we felt very comfortable with him. Thanks
Charles! Julie and Julius also were able to make the reservation
for Gisela's and the menu looks awesome. Anybody for Oktoberfest
before the wedding?
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7.16.02 - Birthday Wishes
Happy Birthday to our all our July Birthday friends. Julius
Barth on the 6th, Tom Barth (see below), Tina Lizama on the
14th, and Emily Linderman on the 17th.
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7.14.02 - Weekends Mean Wedding Work
Chris and I spent a good part of the day Saturday trying once
again to find our wedding rings (not that I particularly
mind going into jewelry stores). I have good news to report...we
found his! And we may have found mine as well. We are wishing
we were still on vacation in North Carolina, where we spent
the 4th (thanks again Kate), but there is much to do. Next
weekend is a biggie. We will be taste testing, meeting with
the florist, having our engagement photos done (look for
them up here soon), and meeting once again with Sandy, our
priest, to finalize scriptures and hymns.
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p.s. Happy Birthday to Chris's brother Tom. We wish we could
have joined you for your party...see you soon.
7.1.02 - CHRISLOVESFRAN.COM Launches
After many discussions, some
inspired planning, and a thorough design phase (we creative
types need extra time to get things just right), we have launched
our wedding site. We hope it brings you some joy. We're having
a blast putting it together. Check back from time to time for
more additions.
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