I hate the invitation part

I really really really hate this whole invitation thing. It's the stupidest part of the wedding. Etiquette this Etiquette that... I'm so tired of doing my research on what I'm supposed to do. And for the most part I don't care about the etiquette but then I think about the presentation of the whole "package" of the invitation and since I've already gone so far with what I'm doing I don't want to skimp out on anything.

I already changed my mind about the color of some of the paper and the reply envelopes... I had to order different paper stock yesterday, which means I'm out money on the paper stock I originally purchased. And I still don't think I really love what I'm going with now... but it's really too late to turn back now.

I'm so sick of thinking about these stupid invitations! But I can't stop because I'm an obsessed bride.

One good thing is that we finalized the menu and the set up with the caterer. So I don't have to think about that anymore. But I wasn't really worried about it to begin with since our caterer is so professional.

I actually haven't been worried about anything so far EXCEPT for the invitations.

And there's no need to comment on how the invitations will look fine, and everything will turn out beautiful etc... I'm not looking for reassurance I'm just ranting. :)

Elopement for some...

We have some friends that are eloping to Vegas this weekend and again they got engaged after we did. We now have 4 couples who have done this. Doesn't anyone have long engagements? This past 10 months of being engaged have been the best months of my life, I love the anticipation, planning and dreaming about our wedding. I'm excited for this couple though... it's the perfect thing for them.
So I thought it would be such a nice surprise to send them up a bottle of Champagne to their room in Vegas. We found out where they were staying and I called the Concierge this morning and set it all up. They will bring a Chandon Blanc up to their room tomorrow night at 8pm for a mere $56.59 (valued at any store here = $16) but it's all worth it for the sentiment. :) I think it's a pretty cool thing to do.

So last night Jason and I had a very romantic Valentine's dinner at home. Since we always go out to restaurants we always stay in on Valentine's. It's probably like the opposite for some couples. ;)
I was going to cook our meal and had already done all the shopping the night before so I came straight home from work. When I walked in the house Jason had flowers, chocolates and a card on the coffee table. He set it all up when he came home for lunch. The flowers where yellow and orange (our wedding colors!) and he had set them in a vase. I opened the card and I did a double take... it was the EXACT same card he gave me the year before! So funny... of course what he wrote on the inside was different. I called him (he was still at work) to thank him and give him a hard time about the card and he was shocked that he picked the same card. I guess he really likes that one card! I got out the older card and put it on the table for him to see when he got home... so funny. And he only buys me 2 cards a year! You'd think he'd remember... but men are different that way I guess.

By the time he came home I had dressed up in a nice skirt and top (usually I'm in sweats the second I walk in the house), had all the candles in the house lit, cheese and crackers out and a bottle of wine open.


I had just started on the home-made Gnocchi too (which I'll never do again, I'll explain later). He opened his card and we sat and chatted for a bit, and then as a slave to the gnocchi I was called back to the kitchen. He went upstairs to shower and I went on to the umpteenth step in making the gnocchi and opened a bottle of Champagne. We're not the biggest champagne drinkers but someone left a bottle over New Year's so we thought it would be fun to have it.

When he came back downstairs he had dressed up in slacks and a buttoned shirt for me because I was dressed up, so sweet. We toasted with the champagne to our love and he stayed and helped me with the gnocchi. I swear I've never made anything harder than this dish. It's not even hard to make but so many many steps go into it and so many many pots and dishes. It was fun though, we were dancing and drinking and talking. He ended up finishing the gnocchi so I could clean the mess that was forming around the sink. I then made a salad and once the gnocchi was finished we sat down to eat. We had polished off the bottle of champagne and so Jason opened a nice bottle of white to go with our meal. The salad was red leaf lettuce, red onion and chopped up oranges in a olive oil and balsamic vinegar dressing and the gnocchi had a meyer lemon sauce so everything was very citrusy! The gnocchi didn't taste like gnocchi, it tasted just like potatoes... but it was good, just not what I was expecting. The salad however, as simple as it was, was fabulous! Both recipes we got from our food and wine magazines we get in the mail. I'll never make gnocchi again! It's too hard. :)

I cleaned the kitchen, we both changed into our sweats, decanted a bottle of Pinot and then I brought out a heart shaped chocolate piece of cake as a surprise. It was delicious!

One of my favorite things to do with Jason is to listen to him play the guitar, so he brought it out and all our favorite music and he played and we sang together for the rest of the night. It was a perfect evening!



Oh, and the only bottle we finished was the Champagne... we opened a few bottles but only had a couple of glasses out of them, I just wanted to say that so no one would think we had all 4 bottles of wine!

Tonight we have a friend coming in from out of town and he'll be staying with us through to Monday. It'll be fun because we'll be entertaining all weekend, going out, BBQ'ing, etc.

Whew! And so our week is practically already over again! Time really flies fast these days! :) Before we know it we'll be married, just like everyone else we know. ;)

Oh, and how cute are our cats? They love each other so much!

Invitations

My goal is to have the wedding invitations done by next week and the assembly done the week after and the invitations in the mail the first week of March! I can't believe it's already here. Once I drop off the invitations at the post office it will be the most exciting part of the wedding. Not only because it's a big step closer to the day but I won't have to stress about them anymore! I bought all the (expensive) materials for the invitations but I think I changed my mind on some colors so... I might have to go buy more. When I told Jason this last night he rolled his eyes... but since I paid for it all with my own money I can do (waste?) what I want. :)

So the wedding site is paid in full as of 5 minutes ago. I signed and sent a deposit to the photographer today. My dress should be here in about 2 weeks. I have my hair appointment on Feb 26th.

Jason and I really need to focus now on the songs for the reception... we've started our lists and got lists from our parents but we need to narrow down some specifics. I'm also looking into live music for the ceremony, which Jason doesn't know yet. I have to ease him into it slowly.

We met with the caterer to finalize the menu on Monday, Jason says now that he's more confused than ever about what we are doing but I think it's all perfect. I think from here on out he should know as little as possible about the details so he won't have to stress out. :)

I just have one more big event coming up here at work and then things will be smooth sailing through to the fall. Barrel Tasting Weekend: Friday through Sunday for the first 2 weekends of March. We will see thousands of people a day here at our little winery. It's very tiring especially on the second weekend. So wish me luck!

4 months to go...

We are just moving right along... but it's really a lot of waiting right now for stuff to be done.

The main project right now is the invitations. I want to have them finished and sent out by March 1st. I ordered the paper supplies yesterday and they should arrive sometime next week. I'll then have my graphic designer finish the inserts and then have them printed and cut. The only thing I'll be doing is the assembly and the addresses so I'll have about 2 weeks to do that. I figure if I do about 10 a day I should be fine. They are going to look so awesome!! I came up with the colors and design myself. :)

I had to drop off my engagement ring to the jeweler designer yesterday. :( He'll have it for about 1 week. I'm having my wedding ring made to match my engagement ring so he has to have it to build the mold for the wedding ring. I'm having my Nana's (great-grandmother) diamonds from her wedding ring put into my wedding ring. It should take about 8 weeks for that to be finished.

I've worn my ring everyday, 24 hours a day, since Jason gave it to me about 9 months ago, so it's really strange. I keep feeling for it and it's not there, so for a second I think I've lost it.

My dress should arrive by the end of February and I can't wait to try it on and get it altered. I know it's going to be too big. I've lost a solid (no water weight) 5 pounds this month! My dress is really tight fitting so after I get it altered I don't want to lose anymore weight... I won't have time to re-alter it. I'll have to really regulate my diet of eating more or less everyday... lol

I literally just got off the phone with the photographer. I just hired him to do the wedding... I really now have a sense of relief, he'll be there all day to take all the photos and we don't have to worry about one of our friends or family doing it like Jason originally wanted.

I decided that I'm paying for certain wedding things out of my own pocket (like the photographer!). It's worked out so great! We already budgeted everything a while ago and Jason knows what we've paid and still owe etc. That never changes... so when I want more things I just buy it myself and I don't have to hear him complain about it. Genius... yeah I haven't been able to do much clothes shopping lately but I'm okay with that for a few more months.

My mom and Heidi are starting to work on the Bridal shower, that's only 3 months away! I can't wait! Heidi and I are also planning my bachelorette party too... lots of parties. :)

Jason knows someone who owns a house up in Tahoe and he's letting him and about 10 of his friends go up there for the weekend for his bachelor party at the end of April.

That's about it for now... just lots of waiting and meetings in the next month. Finalizing a few details, etc.

On my days off I really let loose, frequent restaurants/bars, etc... here I am at Stark's Steakhouse (after a few drinks). It was a request by all 3 patrons in the bar for me to play piano... I'm just hitting the keys... I don't know what I'm doing. ;)

Booked!!

KAUAI!!!

ALOHA!

All Wedding, All the time

So... we've really gotten down to business this last week. Now that the holiday's are over Jason is full on with this wedding.
He asked me not to talk about it until after the holidays. December is the worst time of the year for his job and he gets very stressed so he didn't want to have to think about anything else. I totally understood so I stayed away from that subject as much as I could.

So here's a list of what we've accomplished and are in the middle of accomplishing!

(I did get my dress a few months ago and it should arrive by the end of next month)

We figured out what Jason and all the boys are wearing! Jason and I were grocery shopping and while at the checkout I turned and saw a bridal magazine with the perfect outfit for him! The girl on the cover was wearing the exact same color white as my dress and together they looked amazing!

Heidi was at Macy's the other day and found the exact same tie for his suit so she bought it... now we just need to get him the suit. But that's the easy part since we know exactly what we want. We are going to match up the groomsmen and the Dad's to the same colors.

I also found the flower girl dresses, they will also tie in with all of us. It's funny how 6 months ago I couldn't imagine the color scheme, attire, etc. Now it's all a perfect picture in my head... I love how it's all coming together.

We asked my brother to be an usher and we are also asking one of Jason's closest friends too... they will also wear matching suits. We wanted both of them to be apart of the wedding and this worked out perfectly. We figure with so many people coming to the wedding it would be nice to have ushers to help seat and organize the group of people so no one would be confused. We aren't having split sides to the seating so we want everyone to mix on both sides but we will have some reserve seating, etc.

We met with the baker yesterday and ordered our cake! I still have to go back and finalize the outer decor but the deposit is in and the flavors are picked.

Marsha wrote a wonderful letter for all the guests about all the pre-wedding activities and the wedding itself. She's sending those out this week.

We are meeting with the caterer next week to finalize the menu and rentals.

I started on the invitations... I have some of the wording down and I think we know kind of how we want it to look. A friend who is going to help design them, is temperately out of commission... so I'm just on hold with that for now. I'm not sure if she'll still be able to help us or if we have to use someone else.

And we've finally started working on the music list. Jason worked for a few hours yesterday, downloading some songs we're pretty sure the DJ doesn't have. We know the very last song of the night! But we have much much more to do... we still haven't picked out "our" song yet... it's so hard!

I'm getting my trial hairdo done next month... it's so great that my hairdresser is also my mom and Heidi's hairdresser so she'll be able to come out to the site and do all our hair and then of course stay for the wedding! She's friends with a lot of us so it really worked out perfectly.

We just need to decide on a photographer, and if we want a videographer, and the invitations... that's about it!

Phew! So much work but it's so fun!

Here's a few pics from New Year's Eve... we had a few people over for appetizers and drinks... it ended up being a great night!!

All Right, All Right

Yeah I haven't posted in a while because I'm lazy... :) But from the overwhelming requests to read more new posts I've come back to catch you all up... all three of you who will still read this.

5 months to go!! I'm starting to feel the pressure even though I've already gotten most of the big stuff done. It's the figuring out Jason's outfit, his best men's outfits, Jason's ring and the music selection. So basically all the stuff Jason needs to decide on. I'm going to make that be my goal for next month.

I'm also getting the invitations designed next month along with my wedding ring, which I've already designed with the jeweler. Once my wedding ring is done by the end of January we will pick out Jason's ring too.

We will also go and sample cakes and write the ceremony next month. I told Jason and Heidi last night, "Just be prepared for many many "wedding" meetings in the upcoming months." They just rolled their eyes at me.

So lots of little stuff to do but I think I have everything pretty organized. Jason's parents were in town over the holiday and we were able to decide on some more things for the rehearsal BBQ and we also decided to go with seating arrangements at the wedding which we weren't originally going to have but since there will be so many people we thought it would be best to have it a little more organized so people don't have to decided where to sit on their own and feel awkward.

I want to be done with all of this by the end of February which I think is possible... we'll see! I'll try and make more posts as I get things done, mostly for myself so I can come back after all of this and laugh at my silly antics. :)