1 1/2 months

Honestly. I really thought that I could be an avid blogger. I guess I fooled myself. Blog you fooled me.
Actually, I did forget about this for awhile. And now that I am so freaking busy, it seems like I remember. And I have an urge to update when I can't sleep. There are crickets outside. chirping. loudly. my windows are closed.

The past 6 months flew by.

• Yes, we found and booked a place. We paid them the monies. The food is going to be delicious!
• We booked our honeymoon. We're going to spend 3 days in Key West relaxing, then drive to Orlando and run around like 7 year olds at Disney and Universal Studios for a week! HARRY POTTER!!!
• After several months we were able to get in touch with my friend who does DJ'ing on the side and convinced him to DJ our wedding. We looked up other DJ's and talked to a few, but I'd much rather give the business to someone I know (plus he was a LOT cheaper).
• We are expecting our friend to do the photography (reminder to get in touch with him). He just had a baby, so he's all busy doing baby things.
• We booked our cake. We're getting it from Vegan Treats. It will be really awesome, but it is also really expensive. The delivery fee is like $450 or something. The cake is worth it and I guess in some ways the delivery fee is worth not having to worry about picking it up ahead of time, and storing it somewhere and getting it to the wedding place. Plus it is also probably a lot less worry to have someone else make it rather than me end of making it myself (that was never going to happen).
• We booked two sting players for the ceremony and cocktail hour.
• Bridesmaids have their dresses and hopefully they are getting them tailored if needed.
• I picked out my dress. Just waiting for it to come in. They said any day now. This is a bit nerve wrecking as I still need to get it altered. Hopefully, not too much has to be done to it.
• My mom got her dress.
• The bridal shower took place a few weeks ago during hurricane Irene. We got lots of stuff and I was so excited. I knew about the shower, because I really didn't want to be surprised (I hate that stuff).
• Made hair and make-up trial appointment and appointment for the day of the wedding.
• Our wedding night hotel is booked.
• We ordered favors, they came in the mail earlier this week. It's not a big deal, but we need to put labels on them. Just wish I had known ahead of time I would be doing manual labor. 
• The planning for the bachelor-ette party is taking place. We're doing a joint thing. It's much easier that way.
• Centerpieces are about maybe a quarter finished.
• Douglas' mom is making the bridal bouquets and boutonnieres. 
• The dudes got fitted for tuxes.
• We're meeting with our wedding coordinator this weekend to go over final plans for the wedding day.

My life other than wedding planning has also been hectic. Work has just entered a brief busy time for me. I interviewed for another position at my company. Wasn't offered the position (sort of thankful of that), but was also told that they want to promote me and are looking to do so after I get back from the honeymoon. I'm not going to hold my breath (as I've heard this all before), but it seems a little bit more promising than the last few times, so we'll see how it goes.

We've been going to a lot of shows: Death Cab for Cutie, Fleet Foxes, Bon Iver, Bob Dylan... I've also been buying a lot of vinyl recently. The way I figure it is, I'll rarely listen to CD's (I couldn't tell you the last time I did this), but I listen to vinyl all the time. Also, it costs the artist more (especially if they're not signed to a large record label) to cut vinyl. If I want it on my iPod, Douglas can transfer it (and re-master it to sound right) or most vinyl purchases come with a free digital download.

I also work with Ang now, so that is totally AWESOME! I got her a job at my company.

We've been having problems with the cat. He seems to have forgotten how to use the litter box. Most likely a behavioral issue, but we did take him to the vet and he did/does have a urinary tract infection. It is hard to squirt medicine into a cat's mouth. We installed a new sump pump in our basement, and Niles is such a baby scaredy cat, that he can't use the litter box (which is right next to the pump). We've been waking up with a few surprises from the cat. I'm glad we have hard wood floors. Thank you Nature's Miracle. Basically I have been potty training a two-year for the past weeks.



That's about it from my world. I have just about 45 days to go. Bought another wedding magazine the other day. I don't know why I did that. They're all the SAME. 87 pages of ads for wedding gowns, 31 pages of advertisements for honeymoons, and the rest equal the table of contents (6 pages), two page spread of "ask the expert" and a one page article. Good Grief!

Can't wait to go on the honeymoon. I've been more excited about that than the actual wedding I think! I'm just really looking forward to having time off from work and spending that time with Douglas.

10.29.11

We have been extremely busy with wedding stuff since my last post. We've visited lots more places and finally found a place that we love and is available on a Saturday!!! We are in the "signing of the contract" phase with Greate Bay and will be putting down our deposit soon. We'll be having our ceremony and reception there on Saturday October 29th.

We had checked out Renault Winery. We did like the place, but it was a bit expensive and the rooms weren't as nice as other places we had seen. It was a bit dark inside. They did say that they could make a vegan cake and would have no problems making vegan meals.

We looked at Flanders Hotel in Ocean City. The decor inside was really nice (1920s style), but the woman we were meeting with was 20 minutes late to our appointment. Not a good first impression. She was also very interested in knowing all of the places we had visited and what we liked the best. I don't see why she had to be all up in our business. This place was also expensive (more than Renault), and was not available on a Saturday in October until after 6 PM. I'm glad we didn't like it much. I did inquire about vegetarian meals (I didn't even get into vegan because I wasn't liking the place much, but was curious none-the-less). She said they do vegetarian meals, but the whole time she kept talking about filet mignon. No thanks.

The last place we looked was Tomasello Winery. We liked this place too, but the venue was just really small. You can do the ceremony at their gazebo (which unfortunately, is about 30 feet from the White Horse Pike), up near the reception hall (under a tent), or our in the vineyard (which we would of done). Unfortunately, if it rains they have to put your ceremony inside the reception room. One room. The same room where your cocktail hour and reception take place. The woman there was so so so so so so nice, but the place was just not what we were looking for. The price was comparable to Greate Bay, but you also needed to purchase your own alcohol. I would recommend if you are having a small wedding and potentially your ceremony will be somewhere else. They can also do vegan meals!

We're really happy and excited for our wedding! My brain is on non-stop wedding planning. I've already figured out what I want to do for the centerpieces and for decorations. Since the wedding is right before Halloween, I'm also thinking of doing a little something for the holiday.

I made a wedding website, but there isn't any info there yet. I'm not sure if we'll do save-the-dates. If so, we'll need to get those out soon. I was thinking of doing a save-the-date email, but I don't have email addresses for all guests (and I don't think all the guest have email addresses - like my fiance's grandmother). I think I'll look at save the date cards online, and decide on whether or not to do them, based on if I find any I like!

I'm making my fiance work on an art project for the wedding. Since we're getting married in October, I want to do an autumn theme (YES I have a theme!!!) slash nature theme. I've seen some ideas online where people have done a tree as their guest book. Every guest writes their name on a leaf on the tree. Instead of buying this (or a book that will never get looked at), I'm making my fiance draw a tree and leaves. Then we'll hang it up in our house after the wedding!

I also went dress shopping last Sunday! Originally I was going as "sister-in-law" for my sister-in-law (obviously), but I got roped into trying on dresses. It was a family event and I brought my matron-of-honor along. I ended up trying on 10 dresses. There were a few that I liked actually, but none that I was going to buy on the spot. I want to go to a few other places and check out some different styles. I'm thinking of a cream-colored dress. And I think I still want pockets.

Beware when giving our your phone number to wedding websites and DAVID'S BRIDAL! I get about 3 calls a day now from weird numbers (they don't leave messages) and at least one call a day from David's Bridal. I actually have no idea how DB got my number. I was also getting unsolicited emails from them, but was able to unsubscribe. I feel like I signed up for one wedding site and somehow my email address got wh*red out to the entire wedding world!

Options, Options, Options

After several weeks of being on a wedding planning hiatus, the planning has come back in full swing (just in time for the start of spring)! A week ago I was getting ready to make a post about nothing, but it feels good that I can give an actual update this time.

Yesterday we went and checked out the Ram's Head Inn. I liked it a lot more than I thought I was going to. We had been toying with the whether or not we wanted to have an actual wedding, or if we were just going to go down to the court house and then have a party. We've decided to check out a few places and see if we can find a place to get married at this October.

We felt a bit rushed seeing RHI, mainly because they were setting up for a party. But we didn't have many questions to ask, due to my extensive research on the place. They seem like they'll be very accommodating with catering to my vegan needs. The woman we met with knew what vegan meant (they had actually listed on their online menu package that they can offer vegan and vegetarian selections).

Unfortunately, the RHI is not available on the date that we'd like until 7 pm. They have another event going on that day that ends at 5 pm. We could always find another place to do the ceremony, but 7 pm is still a little late to eat dinner. I'd prefer to have the wedding on a Saturday, but another option would be to hold the wedding on a Friday or Sunday. Not sure I'm 100% sold on that idea yet. There are few others places that we want to take a look at. I'm hoping to make some appointments for this Saturday.

We also bought out invitations. They were on clearance and we got 3 boxes of 50 for less than $9 each. There wasn't a thank card pattern that matched, but that doesn't really matter so much to me. The invitations are a simple design and they are the print-at-home yourself type. We should easily be able to find a template on line. And if in a few months I don't like 'em, well I only spent $27.

I spent most of the day today looking up flights and hotels for out honeymoon. Why does everything have to be so expensive?!?!? We want to go to Key West for a few days, then drive up to Orlando and stay there for about 7 days, go to Disney World and Universal (HARRY POTTER)!! I really, really, really, like the Bay Lake Tower at Disney's Contemporary Resort, but the room we like is over $500 a night. Guess I'll just have to keep looking for better deals or save up a lot more money.

My future sister-in-law got engaged two weeks ago. At the Philadelphia Flower Show and it was on the news. She seems to be more gung-ho about wedding planning than I am, but good for her. She seems really happy and that is very good. Next Sunday she is going dress shopping and I'll be tagging along and playing the role of sister-in-law.

9.10.11

I've been having a hard time lately figuring out what I want our wedding to be like. People keep asking me, "what are your wedding colors, have you looked at dresses yet, what is your theme, what kind of flowers are you going to have...?" I have no freaking clue people! I guess I never really thought about all of those aspects. I mean I realize that you need to find a space, pick out flowers and other decorations, and get a dress, but I didn't think there had to be a 'theme'!

I doubt we'll have a theme. We're just not that kind of people. But I have been slacking on the wedding planning lately. I said in my last post that I was going to work on finding a space, make some calls, see some places. None of that has happened. But with the arise of all these questions that I have been getting, I have been thinking about what I want.

I have come to the conclusion (with the help of the hubby-to-be) that a formal, fancy-smanchy wedding is not what we want. We're just not that kind of people. We're simple, easy-going, laid-back, casual people. And that's the type of wedding we're going to strive for. At this point, we are thinking about some changes, and really thinking about exactly what we want, and how we would picture our day. We're also realizing that January may not be the best month, and wouldn't want to have to cancel or miss part of our honeymoon due to the weather. Updates on those changes to hopefully come in the next few weeks after we sort some things out.

I have been receiving an abundance of wedding offers via email. I'm not sure how this happened, but it all started over the weekend. I think one of the wedding websites I go on might have sold or gave out my email address. I'll have to go and check the privacy policy. Hopefully it wasn't anything from the wedding expo we went to a few weeks ago. I did get 'offers' from some of those vendors, but all those emails stated they were from the expo. These emails just say "Congrats on your engagement. Come see our venue in North Jersey." The North Jersey location is weird, since we have no interest in getting married there, nor have I indicated North Jersey as a location on any wedding site I've gone too. Oh well, I just hope they don't have my phone number!

I'm up to 9 or 10 wedding magazine purchases! This is way more than I ever thought I would buy (I do have to point out that 2 or 3 were given to me). I think I'm done. They are all the same: 100's of pages of ads and wedding dresses. If I need to look at anymore, I'll just go hang in Barnes & Noble for a few hours. My one friend/co-worker did give me a great idea: cut out pictures that I like from the magazines, and then recycle!

Budget, Honeymoon, Bridal Show... Time

The past several weeks I've made some headway on the wedding planning. We've worked through some budgetary items, visited two reception spaces, and have made a list of 7 other reception places to make appointments to look at. Hopefully this week some of those appointments will get made and maybe the guest list will also get finalized.

We've been talking a bit about the honeymoon. We want to do a long vacation, probably 10 days or so. I want to go to harry potter world (Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal in Orlando), and I think I've convinced fiancé of doing so. :) We've talked about doing Harry Potter and Disney for a couple of days, and then renting a car and driving down to the Florida keys, and then maybe driving to New Orleans.

A few weeks ago we also went to a bridal show at World Cafe Live in Philly. There were a whole host of vendors there (many, many photographers), including one dj company we may use. It gave us a good chance to see what the vendors had to offer. I've also received several emails since then, that have discounts for their services.

I'm not feeling overwhelmed yet, which I guess is a good thing. There's also still a year until the wedding, and we haven't totally dived into everything wedding planning yet. So I guess there's still plenty of time to get overwhelmed. Knowing me, I'll either get every thing done way ahead of time, or at the last minute. It's always one extreme or another.

Smaller NYC Wedding?

Well it's after Christmastime, and we haven't secured any plans or really done much in the area of wedding related things lately. Everyone keeps asking us if we have figured out where we want to have the wedding or if we've picked a date yet. I guess that's the hint that we need to get rolling!

Fiancé and I talked the other day about potentially having a smaller wedding at a restaurant, potentially in NYC. It would be nice to have the 'ceremony' in central park, but there are some things we need to think through. I think in my head this sounds like a great idea, but when I look at it outside of my head, there are certain things I think I would miss out on. So there is much to think about, especially the fact that would need to cut the number of people from 100 to about 50 or 60 (depending on how many people the restaurant can hold).

I have been off work since Christmas eve, and have been watching a lot of wedding shows on tv. One in particular called "My Fair Wedding". I won't miss any upcoming episodes, because I have now DVR'ed it! I think at least watching a wedding show will either help me get ideas about what I want (or what I don't want). One episode that was on, was for a bride whose wedding theme was "Day of the Dead". Fiancé thought she wanted a zombie wedding (like the movie Day of the Dead). The bride obviously meant Día de los Muertos. I had to set him straight.

Tomorrow we plan to hit up a bookstore to pick up some wedding books/magazines. I'd also like to potentially pick up a calendar organizer of some sort. I have a hello kitty one, but there's not much room to write in it.

Lastly, I made a few new years resolutions that I hope to keep:

1. Exercise more
2. Plan my wedding
3. Take more photographs (I'm doing a 365 flickr project)
4. Blog more
5. Go on more weekend camping trips
6. Vacation to somewhere awesome for at least 4 days
7. Learn to snowboard

Winter Wedding

We decided fairly soon after we got engaged to have our wedding in the winter. Neither of us like hot weather, and my fiance is especially fond of snow. So January 2012 it is! An exact date hasn't been picked yet, but the wedding will be on a Saturday. We'd like to try to be as open as possible in case the hall/caterer is not available one particular day or another.

I've started looking online for places where I'd like to have the wedding. There are several places I'd like to check out, although they are all very different in their locations and "style". One of the places seems like it would be really great; it's right near the restaurant we want to cater, and there is a bar up the street too. Only problem is not a hotel close by.

I've signed up for a couple of wedding sites and my future sister-in-law also bought us (more so me really) a book called "Anti-bride". It has a bunch of good tips in it. I think our plan is to try and have the wedding booked before Christmastime. We need to get it together!

I'm excited for the wedding (and to wear a cape!) and hope that snow won't be an issue.