hi

3:35PM

step 1: attempt to buy flight/hotel package online. Have attempt thwarted for unknown reason, but incur "pending" charge of almost $2500 on bank account. This is the cost of the flight, but do not receive any acknowledgement or correspondence from Orbitz, nor any indication that they tried to charge you for the rest of your trip.

step 2: when pending charge disappears, try again with mildly tweaked info (make husband, whose card you are using, the primary traveler). Experience exact same result. Call bank, learn your debit card has a daily spending limit of $2500, and that Orbitz attempted to process your trip as two transactions. The first cleared, the second did not, so the entire trip is void.

step 3: when second pending charge disappears, call bank and temporarily raise limit. Attempt to book trip with Expedia. Fail. Repeat call/fail process 3 times. Glance at online bank statement, realize there is a pending charge from Expedia for something like $900. Gradually realize your limit was only raised for one transaction and it was wasted on the same nonsensical two-transaction method apparently employed by all internet travel companies. See no solution.

step 4: give up and punch nearby objects.

step 5: ???

2:29PM

Lance and I decided we are going to Gibraltar for our honeymoon/one-year anniversary! It has everything--nice weather, gorgeous scenery, beaches, caves, birdwatching, historical artifacts, monkeys...

I'm so excited I don't even know what to do with myself!

9:40AM

( I got marriedCollapse )

7:04PM - Writer's Block: I May Be Crazy

I May Be Crazy

What does this Rorschach blot look like to you?

Reply 316

2:54PM

our wedding rings--sorry for poor quality

8:58PM

I finished the registry!!! woooooooo!

10:55PM

Martha Stewart has a cute idea for a semi-alternative guestbook; she recommends sticking empty, colored envelopes onto the pages, then having guests fill out index cards and stick them in the envelopes. I love this idea, and the opportunity for guests to leave more than just their names and addresses. I wrote a silly little poem to explain the concept to guests. What do you think?

Today's the day to pour our hearts,
So here's the honest truth:
We're burdened with naivete
That often follows youth.

When it comes to marriage working,
We have a lot to learn.
We bet you have advice to share,
And now, here is your turn!

Envelopes are in the book,
And cards are on the table.
Jot down advice or wishes,
And leave them, if you're able!

7:10AM

I finally finished my favors, as well as the send-off matchbooks/candles! Photos are coming, but my camera cord is MIA again. I should really keep better track of that!

My best friend is getting married on June 6th, so while I have been planning my own wedding, I've also been helping her to plan her own. Her bridal shower is coming up at the end of the month, and it has made me think about how grateful I am to my own maids for all the wedding chatter they put up with from me! Sometimes, a bride-to-be needs a wake-up call to remember the wedding is only the center of her universe, not everyone else's!

Being a bridesmaid is a lot of work. It's expensive, time-consuming, and, as I learned last night while filling out invites, it can cause a mean case of writer's cramp! Not to mention, in the case of my maids, they have had to watch me mutate into a craft-doing, lace-loving, wedding magazine-buying bridezilla! Okay, no, I'm not a jerk (yet), but I do have a hard time shutting up about the wedding for more than a couple of hours.

So, basically, this post is a big THANK YOU, not only to my bridesmaids, but to bridesmaids everywhere, past, present, and future!

8:21AM

Sorry for the lack of posting lately. My grandfather died over the weekend, and it's been a pretty tough process.

As a very quick update, though, I asked a stylist friend to do the bridal party's hair, I'm talking with Ian's about catering, and my wedding favors are finally done--or getting there, at least.

7:57AM

On Monday, I had a terrible, stressful day at work. When I finally got home, there was a box waiting for me on the doorstep that turned my whole day around!

Wanna know what was inside? I'll give you a hint--it's white, it's full of pretty, lacy flowers...and I got a great deal on it!

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When was the last time you received a package that fixed your bad day?

4:50PM

I was inspired by a post on Wedding Bee this morning to work on my card box, so I made a quick run to JoAnn's for some felt. Five hours, a lot of hot glue, and a quick pizza break later, I have a card holder.

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I used felt, hot glue, buttons, and a panel of cardboard in the top. I also braced each side with a small sheet of hard-ish plastic.

Overall, I'm pretty pleased with the result, especially considering I had no idea what I was doing and possess little/no artistic talent. If the design is recognizable as branches, I'd say it's a job well-done.

8:39AM

I've read differing opinions on whether etiquette dictates that I pay for my flower girl's attire, or whether it's the responsibility of the parent. Eventually, I decided that since my brother and his wife were already paying to travel up from Illinois, as well as paying for the attire of their other daughter, I would pay for the flower girl.

I would guess it's clear by now that I have not been shy about bargain-hunting for all my wedding stuff. Flower girl dresses generally cost between $100 and $250, so I was planning to spend about $180, tops. I'd heard of some brides scouting Easter and Christmas dress sales for all-white dresses, but I really wanted my flower girl to be able to wear a princess dress. That's what I would have wanted as a toddler--lots of tulle and a big, twirly skirt. Eventually, though, I told myself, "You're being an idiot. Just buy a dress for $50 while you can and stop whining about it--your wedding isn't that formal, anyway."

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So, that's my flower girl dress. I'm not even going to attempt a guess at her shoe size!

I feel pretty good about saving so much money. What was the last great bargain you found?

7:31AM

Meet Pickle (and a sleepy Lance). He is our nine-month-old green-cheeked conure, and he is my partner in crime. This photo was taken the day he and Lance met, back in August, and it is still my favorite.

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8:31AM

Rejoice! I found my camera cord while cleaning our room, so now, be prepared for photos of my DIY projects, aka my all-consuming life at the moment!

( some of these were taken last night, and some were taken this morning, so my apologies for the flash in some photosCollapse )

9:26AM - Wedding Bands

A couple of weeks ago, I attended a local jewelry store's trunk sale. I didn't know how good of a deal I would be able to find on wedding bands, because I knew it was a bit if a high-end shop, but I thought I'd give it a shot.

Well, I bought Lance's band, no problem--it's titanium and looks a lot like this:



We're a bit concerned that it will be too big, but we don't know yet--and anyway, titanium is nice and light, so I think we'll be fine. Maybe we'll insure it just to be safe, though.

I also found a band for myself that I LOVED, but--eek! It was $565!

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7:55AM

DIY projects are great for wedding planning!

They are inexpensive, fun, and they really get you psyched for the whole bridal ordeal (as if I wasn't already). I'm making quite a few items for my wedding, because--well, I don't have $50 grand for this thing, plus I want everyone to see it and think, "Yep, this suits them."

Lance seems to have lost my camera cord for the time being, otherwise I would have some photos for you, but some of my DIY projects include...( Read MoreCollapse )

Do you have any DIY projects that you are working on right now? If you have planned/are planning a wedding, what items did you make yourself?

8:46AM

I have been killing myself trying to think of a way to incorporate Lance's and my heritage into our wedding. The three nationalities we plan to represent are France, Norway, and Finland. French is the only country of origin that Lance and I share, although, of course, Finland and Norway are pretty close.

Of course, I am a francophile from way back, so I dove into this task with great gusto. Of course, the obvious tradition to undertake is the coupe de mariage ceremony, or the practice of drinking from a two-handled cup, but eh...it's kind of hard to find something suitable in the United States that I actually like, and this cup is supposed to be an heirloom. I doubt our kids will want to adopt the tradition.

Soooo...my other idea is the wedding procession. There is a tradition that dictates the groom greets the bride at her home, then they walk together, with their guests, to the church. When they arrive, there are children barring the doors with white ribbons. I, the bride, would cut the ribbons, then all of us go inside (this includes the guests), and the wedding can begin. How cute would it be if the wedding party slept at a hotel downtown the night before the wedding, then Lance greeted me at my hotel room door? The thought of walking in downtown Madison in full wedding garb on a Sunday morning is adorable to me. What do you think?

Problems:

I'm gonna get my dress dirty.
I lose my grand entrance.
How do we corral all the guests to partake?
It seems time-consuming.

Someone help me make this work!

9:47AM

ah, vendor drama...

As I mentioned in a previous post, Lance and I were planning to have Thony from Cafe Costa Rica cater our wedding. Well, he appears to have dropped off the face of the planet, so I am giving him until March 1st to either call me back or respond to my emails with some sort of answer as to why we do not have our price quote yet--he promised us we'd have it in January, so I think I've been more than fair. He's been dodging us since the new year.

In the likely event that we have to make other catering arrangements, we are planning to revert back to our original plan of just ordering 50-60 pizzas from a local place. Some people are happy about the change, some people are disappointed, but--well, it's not like we're ordering from Pizza Hut or Domino's, and it will mean we get to tear up the thousand-dollar check that we cut for Thony but haven't mailed out yet. In fact, I estimate that it will probably cut our bill in half. Plus, no flan means I'll probably put together a candy buffet and use our chocolate fountain!

So, those of you who are familiar with Madison's local fare, please tell me which of these you would prefer to cater:

Ian's
Pizza di Roma
The Roman Candle
Glass Nickel

I'm leaning toward Ian's or PdR myself--it seems like Brooklyn-style crust would hold up better, don't you think?

Also, I'm planning to do about 1/4 pepperoni, 1/4 cheese, a couple of vegan pizzas, and the rest as house specialties (including fancy sauces). Does that sound like a good division to you?

9:12AM

If you're a friend of mine and would like an invitation to my wedding, please comment here with your address. I will screen comments. I don't have anybody's addresses, and this will also help me ensure I don't overlook anyone! I'm trying to limit my guest list to 150 people, but I've actually managed to get under that by about 25 people, so...let me know!

10:03AM

I'm starting to think a bit more about the music to be played at the reception. We have most of our "dances" chosen, but I'd love to feature others' favorite music during the rest of the party.

Our first dance is "Time in a Bottle" by Jim Croce.
My father-daughter dance is "Forever Young" by Rod Stewart.
I'm toying with the idea of my sister dancing to "Loves Me Like a Rock" by Paul Simon with all her sons--Lance's mom isn't in our lives.

Some other must-haves include:

"Higher and Higher" - Jackie Wilson
"Love You More than Life" - Neutral Milk Hotel
"Romantic Junk" - The Red Elvises

I'm walking down the aisle to "Day After Day" by Badfinger.

Also, any soprano, a cappella suggestions for a song for my soloist to perform before the ceremony?

10:11AM - Thony and Carl

Carl Loeffel and Thony "Mango Man" Clarke are the ones who will be feeding my wedding guests. Here is a little info on how we chose our baker and caterer.

We found Carl of Carl's Cakes first, at last year's Madison wedding show. For those of you who have never been to one of these events, they're basically hundreds of vendors there for a meet-and-greet with potential clients. And there's tons of free cake--most of the bakers bring along samples for you to try.

Before I went to that first show, I read tips for attending them and for choosing a baker. I was warned to watch out for bakeries that use a lot of filling to compensate for a flavorless and/or dry cake, and to remember fondant looks nice, but buttercream tastes nicer.

So I walked around with Lance, gorging myself on cake, but I could not find anything that really jumpd out at me. I did find several bakeries who really did pull that "extra filling" trick, so it's a good thing to watch out for. Finally, I realized I'd overlooked a bakery booth, so we went to check it out. As soon as I tried my first piece (hazelnut apricot, our tier cake choice), and Lance tried his (dark chocolate raspberry, his groom's cake), we just looked at each other and nodded. The cakes he had on display (which turned out to be real, not dummy cakes) were lovely, too. "This is exquisite," I gushed to the man in the booth, who looked charmingly out-of-place in his white tux (he looked like he'd be more comfortable in some jeans). He thanked me, and I knew I had my baker. The next day, I brought along my MOH (who is now planning her own wedding), and made her try the cake, too. Carl remembered me, so I asked if there was any way for me to set up a tasting then and there. He explained that he didn't have his appointment book, so I called the next day.

Our tasting went fine, and we decided on the hazelnut for the 3-tier display cake, the dark chocolate for Lance's cake (last I asked, he wanted it decorated to display Spiderman riding a surfboard), and white chocolate raspberry for the full sheet. I guess that's their most popular flavor. Now, this is enough cake for something like 250 people (we wanted to allow everyone to have a couple slices), and our bill, including delivery and setup, was about $300. That is CHEAP, and I really believe Carl's is the best cake in Madison.

This year, I went back with Kathy (MOH) so she could check out some vendors and I could buy a few things on the cheap (I got my ring bearer's pillow and my cake serving set). Also, I was craving some more of Carl's cake! Sure enough, he was there, and I asked him if there was any way I could buy a piece of cake from him at the end of the show. He told me to just come back, and he would just give me some. So I showed up at the end of the day, and to my surprise, he meant to give me an entire tier! Neither of us had a box, but I had an empty vendor's bag, so he was just going to set it in there. Well, it fell on the table, so we just scraped it into the bag. "It's already a mess in there, right?" he asked, to which I laughingly responded in the affirmative. In reply, he threw a second tier in there, too! I thanked him profusely, insisted on giving him a few bucks (he would only take $10), hugged him, and told him I thought he was very nice. He actually teared up a little, which just cemented my opinion that I have the best local baker I could have chosen.

Check him out for yourself!

Now, as for the food...

Thony, who owns Cafe Costa Rica, is a regular customer of Lance's--my fiance manages a convenience store near our house. He asked Lance a few months ago if we had a caterer yet, and Lance said we didn't. At the time, we thought our budget would be much, much smaller than it is, so we were actually planning to order about 50 pizzas from one of the local, well-reviewed pizza shops (Ian's or Roman Candle, probably). Thony invited us to come visit his restaurant and see what we thought of it--if we decided it was right for us, he'd give us a nice deal (Lance is on a friendly basis with him).

My father was coming up for a visit around the time Lance talked to Thony, so we thought Costa Rican food might be a nice, original thing to feed my dad, and we'd also get another opinion on the food. We all LOVED it. The restaurant is quite small, but not in a cramped way. It's just cozy. And Thony himself is wonderful. He's friendly and charming, and I knew quite quickly that I would love to involve him in the wedding. We set up a tasting with me, Lance, and Lance's best man, Kyle, during which we were served full portions of at least a dozen different items. Thony would only allow us to pay for our drinks, but we're sneaky, so we put a nice tip on that check. :)

This is the menu:

Appetizers:
Curried tilapia on baguette (better than it sounds--Thony's name for it was The Yummy-Yummy or something like that)
Plantains, of course
Empanadas (pork and potato, spinach and cheese)

Main Course:
A make-your-own taco/burrito bar (Tico steak or chicken) which includes the meat, lettuce, cilantro, seasoned rice and beans, and I forget what else--nice, because this can easily be made vegetarian, or even vegan, so nobody is left out.
A ton of rice and beans--seriously, they're to die for, and I hate beans.
MAYBE coconut-curry tilapia, depending on cost

Dessert:
Flan
(and cake, of course)

Just so you know, Cafe Costa Rica also delivers!

7:35AM - Every bride thinks she's fat

So, I've gained a substantial amount of weight since I moved in with Lance. In fact, I have gained between 20 and 30 pounds in the last year and a half! That's outrageous. So I need to do something about it before the wedding day.

As most of you know, I lost a lot of weight after high school. Over the course of two years, I lost over 80 pounds, but it wasn't the most healthy of scenarios. I actively purged throughout most of that time, and when I wasn't doing that, I was generally eating about 600 calories per day.

I can't go back to that. I don't mean to say I wouldn't (unfortunately, I know I would), I just mean I don't believe I'm capable practicing bulimia anymore--I developed some crazy stomach problems from it and almost died before. So now I'm just filled with the immeasurable self-loathing I used to feel when I was losing weight, but without the added benefit of actually losing weight.

I guess my question is--how do you do it? In my heyday, I would eat a grapefruit like an orange for lunch (about 50 calories), then eat a modest meal for dinner (usually limited to about 500 calories). For a while, to appease Lance, I just tried to keep it under 1000. 1000 became 1500, and so on.

Lance eats a LOT. For dinner last night, he had a quarter of a huge sub (the kind you buy at the grocery store to feed your whole family), two corn dogs, a can of pringles, and some goldfish crackers. He also tries to be the supportive fiance by telling me I look fine, and I know I put him in a difficult position because he can't really tell me I'm getting fat. But I need someone to help me.

8:14AM - Gates of Heaven and Olin-Turville Pavilion

Here are a few facts about my venues (my favorites in bold).

Gates of Heaven Synagogue


(you get a drawing this time, because last time I posted about it--in a panic--I gave you a photo)

-It's the fourth oldest surviving synagogue building in the United States.
-It's a national landmark.
-It was originally located at 214 West Washington Ave, but in 1971, they moved it, still assembled, to James Madison park to avoid demolition.
-That one-mile journey took 7 hours.
-The building was constructed in 1863.
-It has housed a Jewish congregation, a Unitarian congregation, the Women's Christian Temperance Union, a Christian Scientist congregation, a Lutheran congregation, and the Church of Christ. It has also been a funeral home, a tea room, a government storage facility, a dental office, a beauty shop, veterinarian's office, and the headquarters of a former congressman!
-It was originally known by its Hebrew name, Shaare Shomaim.
-During its Unitarian incarnation, it was the worship spot of Frank Lloyd Wright.
-August Kutzbock, the architect responsible for the second state Capitol building, designed the synagogue.
-"The structure is perfectly symmetrical transversely and longitudinally inside and out."
-The Wisconsin Legislature named GOH as its memorial site for Abraham Lincoln when he was assassinated.

Olin-Turville Pavilion



-"It was built in 1884 and designed by Madison architect David R. Jones as 'Normal Hall' for the Wisconsin Sunday School Assembly."
-In the 1920s, it was a dance hall.
-"This is one of the few remaining buildings connected with Madison's heyday as a resort community."
-It was used as a meeting spot for traveling preachers in the late 19th century.
-Over 15,000 people would come to hear these sermons--more than Madison's population at the time.
-Uh, this is the view across the lake:



'Nuff said.
-It can hold 260 people comfortably if they're standing. We'll find out the ratio when they're sitting, I guess!

Okay! So now you know a bit more about my venues. I'm pretty stoked to have two historical buildings (both with gorgeous lake views), and I think my guests will be, as well. Plus, less decorating = a happy me!

Oh, and there's a playground right outside the pavilion on one side, and an expanse of empty grass on another. Did I hear someone say bouncy castle rental???

7:58AM - Wedding Favor Drama

My wedding theme is "Time in a Bottle". That's our first dance song, and I'm tying it in by using bottles as centerpieces (again, please save your empty glass bottles for me!), using autumn trees as symbols for time in a few places (considering carrying a bouquet of bleached branches with a few blue flowers wired to them--what do you think?), by sending "message in a bottle" invites, and, among other things, by using glass bottles in our favors.

I am making tiny sand art kits as my wedding favors. I have been driving myself crazy trying to find someone who would sell me bottles small enough to fit in a favor box, but large enough that they held more than a miniscule amount of sand. I was also hoping to pre-fill the bottles with my caterer's homemade mango sauce (it's incredible), then tell people to rinse them out for the sand art. For that, I needed a pretty wide opening on the bottle. So, basically, I visited every craft store in town without even a glimmer of an option.

Finally, I checked eBay, and I found bottles that were a bit too small, but that was a step up from everything else I'd seen. There were tons of lots for sale, and I only needed about 100 (one per family), so I decided to wait. A few weeks later, I went back, ready to buy, and I found the PERFECT bottles. I had to buy 150, but for $50 total, that's fine with me! Now I can do one per person! I placed my order on Monday or Tuesday, and they arrived yesterday.

They are awesome and I am in love with them, but they are in little packets of 10 and there's one extra. I'm a nice person, so I wrote to the seller and asked if she wanted me to ship the extra packet back, but she said it was a gift. :) Nice girl, you should check out her shop!

This entry was probably incredibly boring to people who are not me.

9:06PM - Okay, so this should not come as a shock to anyone...

I have had this livejournal since I was 15 years old. In it, dozens of life changes are recorded. Right now, much of my life is dominated by wedding madness--in fact, I can't recall the last time I posted an entry that wasn't wedding related.

I'm getting married on September 20th. I have a dress, two venues, a caterer, a baker, a photographer, a DJ, and a hodge-podge of other wedding bric-a-brac. (I love hyphens!) Oh yeah, I also have a groom.

Here are the things I still need:

-flowers
-the rest of my attire
-bridal party gifts
-to order my maids' gowns
-tuxes
-an officiant
-linens and china
-to lose about 30 pounds
-the rest of my sanity!

At the moment, my best friend is also engaged, and my other best friend is pretty close. It's been a great bonding experience, but, again, it has resulted in conversation leaning irrevocably toward bridal-speak.

Did you know that the average American wedding costs over $22,000? That is outrageous. It's an important day, but it's one day.

One. Day.

I am a bride on a mission. I plan to prove it is possible to have a beautiful, personal wedding for under $10,000.

Who knows? I might just prove I'm a lunatic.

In any case, tune in--I may just get back into the swing of blogging for a few months.





Oh, this is important. I want to integrate plain, clear glass bottles into the centerpieces, but for that, I need your help. If you have any plain bottles (please, no logos ON the glass--this includes frosting) that are either colorless or light blue and hold 500-1000 ml, will you give them to me? Please, internet? I'd pay you back for postage if you want!

8:52AM

help me choose a bridesmaids' gown!

These are the three choices. Please note that on option 2, the sash would be white. I AM considering letting my girls individually choose which of these three they prefer, but I'd like some outside input, too.

12:17PM

here is a blurry photo of my new engagement ring!

6:45PM

that is all.

1:06PM

I just learned they found the body of a girl I knew in high school in a river.

Fuck this shit.

Rest well, Mahalia.

Current mood: crappy

8:45AM

I am 21 today! :D

Current mood: birthday!