Nothing at all to do about weddings, I just love my dog.
14 years ago
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Thank you, internets!
In case it isn't overwhelmingly apparent, I'm a newbie to this whole blogging thing. I tried, and failed, at it about a year ago. I just couldn't come up with enough material to post everyday. But this being-engaged-planning-a-wedding thing has unleashed the floodgates. I have a LOT to say and for some reason, writing it all down helps to keep me on track.
I was introduced to the fabulous world of Google Reader about a year ago by a friend and got hooked. I started reading wedding blogs a few months before I actually got engaged. I'd star posts that I liked - pretty pictures, interesting DIY projects, good advice. Before I knew it, I had hundreds of posts that I regularly turned to for inspiration. Periodically, I'd go through them all and narrow them down as my vision for our wedding became more and more clear.
So a big Thank You to all the great wedding blogs out there - for sharing your stories, triumphs, disasters, wonderful DIY projects, great advice and amazing pictures. I've only bought two wedding magazines to date and count on wedding blogs for almost everything. Mainstream sites are great too - I stalk Weddingbee daily and used Projectwedding for daydreaming (their "Real Weddings" feature is amazing) and for their free wedding website service (more on that later!).
I was introduced to the fabulous world of Google Reader about a year ago by a friend and got hooked. I started reading wedding blogs a few months before I actually got engaged. I'd star posts that I liked - pretty pictures, interesting DIY projects, good advice. Before I knew it, I had hundreds of posts that I regularly turned to for inspiration. Periodically, I'd go through them all and narrow them down as my vision for our wedding became more and more clear.
So a big Thank You to all the great wedding blogs out there - for sharing your stories, triumphs, disasters, wonderful DIY projects, great advice and amazing pictures. I've only bought two wedding magazines to date and count on wedding blogs for almost everything. Mainstream sites are great too - I stalk Weddingbee daily and used Projectwedding for daydreaming (their "Real Weddings" feature is amazing) and for their free wedding website service (more on that later!).
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Problem Solved: Venue
Since my Mom lives in the city where FH and I will be getting married, she has ended up as my de facto coordinator, doing all of the things that I can't do from afar, like visiting venues and talking to vendors (thanks, Mom!)
The very same afternoon she went to check out a potential venue for me, she ended up running into a good friend and neighbor who lives two doors down. Said friend asked how the wedding planning was going and my Mom explained how stressful finding a venue had been and that really, all I wanted was to get married in the backyard.
"She can use our backyard!" was the response. "We'd love to offer it!"
When my Mom called that night to tell me, I was in near tears. I had been so stressed and worried and this was such a breakthrough. Now I can move forward with planning and know that I am going to get married two doors down from where I grew up, in a place that I know well, surrounded by people that love me and FH. It is literally a dream come true.
So now, instead of daydreaming about a chic city hall affair, I'm keeping busy looking for backyard wedding inspiration - and there are a million great ideas out there. Right now, I'm thinking casual elegance. Sounds like a contradiction, but I think I can pull it off. I'm thinking somewhere on the spectrum between this and this.
The very same afternoon she went to check out a potential venue for me, she ended up running into a good friend and neighbor who lives two doors down. Said friend asked how the wedding planning was going and my Mom explained how stressful finding a venue had been and that really, all I wanted was to get married in the backyard.
"She can use our backyard!" was the response. "We'd love to offer it!"
When my Mom called that night to tell me, I was in near tears. I had been so stressed and worried and this was such a breakthrough. Now I can move forward with planning and know that I am going to get married two doors down from where I grew up, in a place that I know well, surrounded by people that love me and FH. It is literally a dream come true.
So now, instead of daydreaming about a chic city hall affair, I'm keeping busy looking for backyard wedding inspiration - and there are a million great ideas out there. Right now, I'm thinking casual elegance. Sounds like a contradiction, but I think I can pull it off. I'm thinking somewhere on the spectrum between this and this.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
The ring!
Keeping with the theme of getting ahead of myself, I just realized I hadn't posted about my ring yet.
Here she is, with a crab... (messing around with my digital macro setting)
I know its probably shallow and materialistic of me, but I adore my ring. The FH (Future Hubs, as I will refer to him from now on) looked at rings together about three months before we got engaged. He took me to the Jewelry District in downtown LA.
I was a little skeptical at first - downtown LA is a little rough around the edges and finding a ring amidst all of the stores seemed like an unlikely prospect. We tried the California Jewelry Mart on Hill Street first. Eli's was the first and only store we went into. The minute we walked in, all of my nervousness about such a big purchase went away. Family owned and operated, they have been in the same building for thirty five years. They spent almost two hours with us, explaining the four C's, showing me different types of settings and stone cuts, and just generally being awesome. I found my ring that day and knew it was the one for me. In fact, the second thing I said (after YES!) to FH when he proposed was, "it is the ring from Eli's?"
Here she is, with a crab... (messing around with my digital macro setting)
I know its probably shallow and materialistic of me, but I adore my ring. The FH (Future Hubs, as I will refer to him from now on) looked at rings together about three months before we got engaged. He took me to the Jewelry District in downtown LA.
I was a little skeptical at first - downtown LA is a little rough around the edges and finding a ring amidst all of the stores seemed like an unlikely prospect. We tried the California Jewelry Mart on Hill Street first. Eli's was the first and only store we went into. The minute we walked in, all of my nervousness about such a big purchase went away. Family owned and operated, they have been in the same building for thirty five years. They spent almost two hours with us, explaining the four C's, showing me different types of settings and stone cuts, and just generally being awesome. I found my ring that day and knew it was the one for me. In fact, the second thing I said (after YES!) to FH when he proposed was, "it is the ring from Eli's?"
Stressful Wedding Things: Venues!
I got a little ahead of myself with the blue shoes post. More to come on the random things I want at my wedding, including the Ring Dog saga. But please click here for a little preview on the latest and greatest in Ring Dog finery. If that picture doesn't make you (1) smile, (2) love dogs or (3) peruse etsy at random, something is wrong with you.
After my unique proposal, I immediately went into planning mode. I plan events for a living and figured planning a wedding, even in a very short amount of time, would be a snap. Perhaps I got a little cocky, or optimistic, or both, but really, how hard could this be??
Answer: very.
I knew I wanted to get married in my hometown. It isn't the most glamorous of places and in fact, regularly makes Top Ten lists for things like this and this. But it's HOME and for some reason, that's important to me.
Another thing I knew I wanted was a wedding that wasn't like anybody else's. Where I'm from, you get married at your church and then have your reception at a club (either country or private). Not very many people deviate from this, and as a result, there aren't a lot of options for people who want to think outside the box.
I did a massive amount of online research, most of which was depressing because everything available was too cookie-cutter or too expensive (or both). I wanted something unique and non-stuffy. I loved the idea of a backyard wedding and began stalking the blogs of those who have pulled it off, but my parent's yard was just too small.
We both liked the idea of getting married outside and the local art museum had a beautiful garden. But it was pricier than I wanted (although still a bargain compared to getting married in LA or SF) and they only had one date available. Then I found a great little art gallery that did special events. It was downtown, a little funky and different, but still not exactly what I was envisioning.
At this point, I was beyond stressed. I would aimlessly scroll through my massive venue spreadsheet, hoping that something would jump out at me.
We needed a venue before we could set a date, we needed to set a date before we let people know. I had no idea what to do and spent a lot of time daydreaming about a nice little vintage city hall wedding.
After my unique proposal, I immediately went into planning mode. I plan events for a living and figured planning a wedding, even in a very short amount of time, would be a snap. Perhaps I got a little cocky, or optimistic, or both, but really, how hard could this be??
Answer: very.
I knew I wanted to get married in my hometown. It isn't the most glamorous of places and in fact, regularly makes Top Ten lists for things like this and this. But it's HOME and for some reason, that's important to me.
Another thing I knew I wanted was a wedding that wasn't like anybody else's. Where I'm from, you get married at your church and then have your reception at a club (either country or private). Not very many people deviate from this, and as a result, there aren't a lot of options for people who want to think outside the box.
I did a massive amount of online research, most of which was depressing because everything available was too cookie-cutter or too expensive (or both). I wanted something unique and non-stuffy. I loved the idea of a backyard wedding and began stalking the blogs of those who have pulled it off, but my parent's yard was just too small.
We both liked the idea of getting married outside and the local art museum had a beautiful garden. But it was pricier than I wanted (although still a bargain compared to getting married in LA or SF) and they only had one date available. Then I found a great little art gallery that did special events. It was downtown, a little funky and different, but still not exactly what I was envisioning.
At this point, I was beyond stressed. I would aimlessly scroll through my massive venue spreadsheet, hoping that something would jump out at me.
We needed a venue before we could set a date, we needed to set a date before we let people know. I had no idea what to do and spent a lot of time daydreaming about a nice little vintage city hall wedding.
Check one off the list
I found my blue shoes! (thanks to the ever reliable Zappos)
Now I just need a well-behaved dog to serve as Ring Dog, and all of my wedding wishes will come true.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
A Very Good Place to Start
Hi there. It's been a long time. I'm a bad blogger, I realize.
But now I have a topic that is consuming me and I need to get it off my chest - wedding planning. I think way too much about it and read a ton of blogs, so why not write about it, too?
To begin at the very beginning, I am engaged!
Picture it - February 6, arriving at my parent's house after a long car trip. My boyfriend is already there, drinking a beer with my Dad (nothing strange so far). He seems a little squirrley, but, whatever, he gets like that sometimes. I tell him I'm going to do laundry, does he have any I can throw in with mine? He goes out to the car and returns with a laundry bag. At some point (this will be important later) he either hands me this bag, or I already have my bag in my hand.
We both come back in the house after retrieving said dirty laundry and he stops me in the dining room and starts talking. Once I realize where this talk is heading the ONLY thing I can think is that he is proposing to me while I have a sack of dirty laundry in my hand. I blurt out something inappropriate along the lines of "I'm holding a sack of dirty laundry!" In one fell swoop (it probably wasn't, but this is how it plays out in my memory of it now), he rips the bag of laundry from my hand, tosses onto a nearby couch, and gets down on one knee. I think he pulled out the ring after he popped the actual question, because I remember thinking for a *very* brief and shallow moment, wait, there is a ring involved, right?
Once he pulled out the ring and put it on my finger, I started laughing (I laugh when I get nervous/excited/overly happy) and couldn't stop. Then - even better than the ring, in a way - he pulled out two letters from his back pocket. They were from his kids, inviting me to join the family. I don't think I've ever been so overwhelmed with emotion and love in my life.
But now I have a topic that is consuming me and I need to get it off my chest - wedding planning. I think way too much about it and read a ton of blogs, so why not write about it, too?
To begin at the very beginning, I am engaged!
Picture it - February 6, arriving at my parent's house after a long car trip. My boyfriend is already there, drinking a beer with my Dad (nothing strange so far). He seems a little squirrley, but, whatever, he gets like that sometimes. I tell him I'm going to do laundry, does he have any I can throw in with mine? He goes out to the car and returns with a laundry bag. At some point (this will be important later) he either hands me this bag, or I already have my bag in my hand.
We both come back in the house after retrieving said dirty laundry and he stops me in the dining room and starts talking. Once I realize where this talk is heading the ONLY thing I can think is that he is proposing to me while I have a sack of dirty laundry in my hand. I blurt out something inappropriate along the lines of "I'm holding a sack of dirty laundry!" In one fell swoop (it probably wasn't, but this is how it plays out in my memory of it now), he rips the bag of laundry from my hand, tosses onto a nearby couch, and gets down on one knee. I think he pulled out the ring after he popped the actual question, because I remember thinking for a *very* brief and shallow moment, wait, there is a ring involved, right?
Once he pulled out the ring and put it on my finger, I started laughing (I laugh when I get nervous/excited/overly happy) and couldn't stop. Then - even better than the ring, in a way - he pulled out two letters from his back pocket. They were from his kids, inviting me to join the family. I don't think I've ever been so overwhelmed with emotion and love in my life.
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