I will first dovetail on what casey said. Hand planes are something that last a lifetime and can be very satisfying to use if they are good quility and you learn to tune and sharpen them. It go's alot smoother if you have a mentor from the begaining to help select good planes. I wouldn't cut a slab just to fit it through a planer. As casey suggested,have someone run it through thier large planer or drum sander. Depending on a few variables slabs can warp or split. That only adds caracter and is easy to remendy if nessary. My favorite method is useing a router because it will do slabs that power planers can't. An example is where the log is split leaving you with a half round that is impossible to power plane but is a piece of cake for a router.. Go to magizine's online like "Wood" and "Fine Woodworking" and search instructions for building nessary sled for router. I find it easier to debark logs with a pressure washer and "TURBO NOZZLE"before taking it to sawmill. If I get a slab with bark intact I usually proceed with project unless bark is already starting to slip. If bark is still intact when project is complete,call it caracter and leave it.

Sealer or paint is applied to the ends of logs to slow the faster evaporation of water from the ends and make the drying more even. (I'm not sure how well this really works, but I do it anyway. I'm pretty sure paint is near useless, but wax sealers might be beneficial.) This helps reduce splitting from uneven drying. Once the drying is complete the paint or sealer has fulfilled its purpose and can be cut off. Air dried lumber is a pleasure to work with. and there's no reason it won't be fine for your project. The rule of thumb is 1 year of drying time for each inch of thickness under ideal conditions, but your best friend will be a moisture meter to test whether the wood is, in fact, uniformly dried. Once you've worked with well-seasoned air dried lumber it's hard to go back to kiln dried. It's easier to plane or turn, more predictable in terms of movement when cut and frequently retains better color.

It was funny to see this thread come back, it reminded me I should post some pictures of where I am at and how things are looking. Table is in the spot you all helped me with. I have added an area rug for the sofa, and pillows. I am having a large walnut burl coffee table being made, should be done in about a month. The current coffee table we have is just too small with the size of the sofa. I have a new fan for the ceiling which has a light in it, just waiting for the electrician to install. I plan on replacing the two dark brown leather chairs at the table with something lighter, maybe a beige or off white. Not sure yet but I feel the dark brown chairs are too dark. I got side tables for the sofa which match the live edge table. One of you said Rome wasn’t built in a day, so true. It’s been a fun project. Thanks once again for all your help!

Ask your woodworker to show you samples of her various finishing regimens on the same kind of wood as your table. Then pick what you like, assuming that it has the appropriate durability. No way you can or should pick based on web site descriptions or whatever. If s/he hasn't used this product before s/he should make a sample, following the exact schedule of sanding and finish products that would be used on your table. This should preferably done using an offcut of the same boards as in your table. Anything else is asking for disaster. I can't imagine asking a customer to be a guinea pig for an unproven finish-- especially on a piece where it will be especially hard to strip it off and start over when you find out it has "the look of real plastic".