Day Dreaming

2009-04-29T21:19:00.000-07:00

I thought it'd be fun to write just a little about the week leading up to the wedding, and maybe the day itself. Nothing like seeing a wedding from the crazy bride perspective! We were fortunate that our families could come out the week leading up to help since inevitably some things can't be taken care of until all of the final decisions are made. The best part, at least to me, was having so much time with our families.

My parents arrived Friday night, exhausted but excited, and so were able to help me on Saturday to finalize the flowers. We also made another stop of many at Kinko's, where Andy and I tried to figure out how to print the menus and the little cards that were attached to the champagne glasses. Despite all my test prints, whenever we actually got them to Kinko's, they were off. So at that point, all we could do was print the menus (which was actually a simple printing job), and fiddle with the files more. Since Andy's parents arrived that night, he went to see them, and the Schultz family had an evening together.

Little did I know that after Sunday most everything would be finished. I'll admit, the month or so before the wedding I was pretty burned out. We'd been engaged so long, and I'd been planning so long, that it could have gone off without all of the extras I'd planned to do the week before. I'm so humbled that everyone wanted to make everything match up with my crazy imagination perfectly - my motto for the week was, "if it doesn't happen, no one will know!"

Andy and I ran some errands in the morning (very important, time together before the wedding), and our families were ready to get to work! With only six days before the wedding, you would think I would have been nervous about all the things to do. But, I really wasn't. In fact, it all seemed really do-able. Especially since everyone was ready to work! Andy's mom generously brought her circular cutter to cut out the menus, and I had this circular paper punch that, in my mind, would really dress up some plain cardstock circles. It lasted about ... five minutes. Six punches and hours later, we finally had enough menus! I was really afraid everyone would hate me after that; the whole time I said we should just reprint the menus and cut them out with straight cuts. But once they were finished, we got started on the escort and photo sharing cards! Those were a short job, so it was on to measuring out M&Ms and printing and assembling programs. It was an eight-hour work day in the wedding sweatshop.

Monday was a work day, so no wedding work got done. Instead, we went to Lucille's for my uncle's birthday! It made me really miss having family close by for celebrations. It was an early night, which was a good thing, as it gave us a chance to pick up some supplies for the rehearsal dinner afterward.

Tuesday was the last work day before the wedding, and also my last day of work in that particular position. We had dinner with Andy's parents, and made a strategy for finishing up the last of the details. I still hadn't bothered to get a garter, despite having a garter toss in the schedule! We finalized the reception timeline with our DJ, and spent the rest of the night pulling together our gifts for the rehearsal dinner.

Originally, I thought all of the menus, programs, and favors could go together Wednesday. But since we agreed to drop it all off at the florist Thursday, I'm really glad everyone got me going early! My mom and I sat at the kitchen table and tied together all of the favors before Andy's parents arrived with some sealing wax and a blue garter. When I'd originally conjured up adding a monogram to the menus, I didn't think sealing wax could cost that much. But when I went to buy it, it seemed outrageous! 10-15 seals per box, at $6 a box ... is too much money. It ended up I read it wrong, and after my mom and Andy's dad stamped all of the menus, they barely used a whole box!

Since the work was done so early thanks to so many generous helping hands, we opened some wedding gifts, I made a picture for the signing frame, and trekked over to Islands for dinner. Not the best dining experience, but sure nice to have everyone together!

Thursday was the rehearsal, and getting really really close to the big day. First, my family got together to try on and pick up tuxes. We then took everyone's hard work - menus, favors, the guestbook frame - all to the florist. I wasn't really comfortable leaving it all there, even with my detailed instructions, since we left it with someone I didn't recognize. But, I had detailed instructions, and the one lesson we learned from the wedding is that our florist is amazing.

When I woke up that day, I felt a little tired. But, seeing as how we had all been working so hard all week, why would that be unusual? Plus, the weather had turned a little cold. It wasn't, until we got to the chapel. I was exhausted, my throat was raw, and I could hardly talk. I was determined to make it just exhaustion. We were early and they let us watch the rehearsal before us. The rest of our party arrived, and we met with the coordinator before the actual rehearsal. We handed over the marriage license paperwork and at that point, it seemed awfully official! Our coordinator that day was a riot, directing us all where to stand and what to do during the ceremony. So many people were there, though, that to me the whole thing felt real. Even if I could only squawk.

By the time we got to the restaurant I was getting depressed. Everyone was there. Everyone was excited. Everyone was having a good time. I had been waiting for the rehearsal for so long, and now I could only smile and nod at people. The dinner was wonderful, Andy's dad gave a very sweet toast, and I think everyone really liked the gifts we had picked out for them. It would have been so much more fun if I wasn't about to fall out of the chair! We called it a somewhat-early night, Andy and I exchanged wedding gifts, and I took a hot bath to try and feel better.

Friday rolled around and there was very little left in the way of wedding-related tasks, much less last minute emergencies. In fact, I'd planned most of the day to relax! I started out with brunch at Le Creperie with two of my lovely bridesmaids, and dragged them to Rite Aid. In all the preparation, I realized I was out of razors! These are the kinds of things you forget when there's so much going on! We met my mom, grandma, and aunt at a little nail salon. Afterward, we picked up my dress from the store, clean and pressed and ready for the next day. On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at Albertson's to order some lunch for the wedding day, and checked me in to the hotel. It didn't really feel like I was getting married the next day, even though there was no more work to do! We checked me in to the room next door to my parents, and carefully hung my dress over the second double bed in the room.

My last single dinner was with my parents at Polly's. No wild partying, no strippers, no alcohol. Just the three of us together. It was lovely, and calm, and even though I was feeling better I didn't want to jinx it. That night I painted my toenails.

The whole reason I bother is just to remember the outpouring of love and excitement the week before the wedding. Not all weddings have contentious familial drama. Not all weddings have last minute emergencies. Not all brides are bridezillas (although regarding the menus, our families might disagree). The wedding day itself truly was the happiest day of my life, but the celebration started an entire week before the "I will."

Video Clips!

2009-04-22T18:37:00.000-07:00

Our videographer finished editing the footage from our wedding ceremony while we were on our honeymoon. It came out so well that there are clips on his website!

The whole video isn't available, but you can see some parts here.

Post-Wedding Post - Photos!

2009-04-05T15:41:00.000-07:00

We had a great day yesterday!!! Thanks again everyone for making it such a fun time!

Just a reminder for everyone to please upload photos to our Flickr! The info for posting was on the M&M champagne glasses, but if you don't have it, ask someone else for the info :)

Craft Day

2009-03-30T08:42:00.000-07:00

We had quite a full day yesterday putting together menus, party favors, and chapel programs. Thank you to the families for helping us out to get this all done. Emily has been planning all of this for a while and I have to say it is a relief to see it all come together yesterday. Cutting, punching, counting, proofing, printing, M&M counting, perforating, collating, and tying ribbon - it was a flurry of activity! Looks like the bulk of it is done, and we'll have plenty of time on Wednesday to finish the work. We had originally thought we'd just do it all Wednesday, but I'm not sure we could have pulled it all off in one day. As we were working, we kept saying that we were glad there weren't 300 guests!

The tough part of planning the wedding isn't really any one task - it's just that there are many smaller tasks which you can't keep in your head all at once. So a maintained to-do list is key for me to get any sleep at night. Actually I'll just lay down at night and think of 3 things I need to do; so only after they're added to the list can I sleep soundly. The big thing left is the slide show. Should only take a couple hours - got some software for it from JF, and we already have the photos all scanned in thanks to our moms. I'm considering putting little video snippets in there, too, but we'll see how much time I have to get fancy like that.

Bridal Shower!

2009-03-15T09:05:00.000-07:00

Emily's ladies really surprised Emily with a bridal shower! She thought we were going to go to a lecture on the economy at a fancy hotel; so she was actually not really looking forward to getting all dressed up. But I think it worked out well :) Here's the video as we got to the Fair's house...

We're Licensed!

2009-01-26T18:55:00.000-08:00

Last Friday we got our marriage license!

Invitations by (my new bff) Dawn

2009-01-21T09:28:00.000-08:00

I picked out invitations two years ago. It never occurred to me, at the time, that they might stop selling the design (thankfully they didn't), and I kept looking but pretty much settled on it.

I placed the order right after Christmas when there were a lot of people around to a) participate and b) check my work. Proofread, proofread, proofread. As a bonus, Invitations by Dawn says they print invitations in 3-5 days, and mail them immediately after. Great! That should be about two weeks, excluding weekends.

So two weeks come and go, with no sign of invitations. Not even a change on the order status site, much less an ASN or any contact at all. Now, I like to think of myself as a pretty careful internet shopper. But it was at this point that I actually googled the company, and it was not pretty, even after filtering out the bridezilla complaints (i.e., "I wanted cornflower and they sent me sky blue!!!!!!!! I spent hours on the phone with them and talked to their manager! Oh the humanity!" etc). Yikes.

So the morning after a long, sleepless, self-induced stressed out night in which I dreamed that no one came to the wedding but a few family members because no one knew where or when it was, I called the company. And you know what? They were lovely. And helpful. The design was out of stock, and they had gotten more in but were a little behind printing, but they would upgrade me to overnight shipping, just for my inconvenience (which I was going to ask and pay for, but the conversation never got that far). Keep in mind the only thing I said on the phone was "Hi, I'd like to check the status of my order."

The invitations came at the exact time they said, and were prettier in real life than I had imagined.

The moral of the story: yes, they probably should have called/emailed me. But they were so nice, and helpful, and considering the cost, they are amazing. So if you're googling Invitaitons by Dawn at 2 a.m. in a panic, just give them a call in the morning.

2009-01-12T18:15:00.000-08:00

Since the holidays have passed, we're on wedding overdrive! This Saturday we spent all day working on wedding related things:

Meeting with our ceremony musician for a concert. She is a lovely woman who really loves her music! We spent an hour listening to a huge variety of music.
Meeting with a potential DJ for the reception. Finding a DJ is hard, especially when you have very few references and few friends who have recently gotten married! This particular DJ was professional and well put together, but we're still working on the final decision.
Spent hours in the jewelry district shopping for Andy's wedding band. You would not believe how many styles there are! It's especially hard when you have all manner of custom jeweler available.
Had dinner with a friend in Santa Monica. Not wedding related, but sure was fun.
Stopped in at Bed Bath & Beyond to look at dishes and add to the registry.

Whew! And that was just Saturday!

I'm also planning smaller projects - the table numbers and favors. I have about 10 phone calls to make, and meetings to set up, and decisions to make!

On top of it all, the invitations have gone missing. I hope they turn up soon...

Coordination Meeting and Hotel Scouting

2009-01-05T10:32:00.001-08:00

We had our coordination meeting at the chapel yesterday - seems like everything is well in order. The chapel is very professional and with it, so we're both confident that things will go smoothly day-of. It was just a gorgeous day, too, to be out there in PV - one of the clearest days you could ever have. Catalina was doing it's thing (being an island), and also one of the channel islands (not sure if it was San Nicholas or Santa Barbara) was also visible. Cold in the shade, but perfect in the sun. We are hoping to get a similar day in April :)

After that we scouted out the Queen Mary hotel (you can stay in the ship's cabins). It's got great proximity to The Reef restaurant where we are having our reception, so that is a plus. There's not much around it, but on the other hand, I think that makes it pretty safe place to stay. I wasn't sure if the rooms would be musty, but ends up it was a very nice room which wasn't too small. Hallways are 2 if not 3 times wider than modern cruise ships which is nice.

Next, we went to the Courtyard Marriott by the Long Beach convention center and the Best Western which was right across the street. Saw rooms in the Courtyard, and though we did not see rooms in the Best Western, we found out the the building is under two years old so I'm sure it's great inside. The neighborhood seemed quiet, but I'm not sure what it is like at night. There's a restaurant across from the hotels and maybe other things to do nearby.

Emily ordered the unity candle, and after a skype conference with my parents, we're getting closer on the rehearsal dinner...

Assembly Line

2008-10-28T18:18:00.000-07:00

Emily and I got all the goodies in the mail for the save the date cards! We really like how it all came out - we essentially got a free full bleed color photo printed on the back side of the note card, and it looks great. So we assembled it all together last night. All we have left to do is get our guest list transferred to the mailing label template, print and affix the labels, and get 'em mailed. We were talking and we really had to get a lot of stuff done to get to this point. Have to have a date, a city, engagement photos, guest list... whew, neat to see it all come together.

We're also hunting around for my ring. Might make a trip up to the jewelry district on some Saturday to try some on, though I'm seeing one or two I like on Blue Nile. "I'm not spungin' fer rum! It be gold I'm after!"

Pre-Wedding Dress Preservation

2008-09-09T16:07:00.001-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I picked up my dress, since it came in much too early to start alterations. My aunt- and uncle-to-be are kindly letting me keep it at their house, so that we can have the big surprise walk down the aisle! On the hanger, it looks like a giant pile of fabric, so only a couple of people know what it really looks like …

This left me with quite the predicament. How do you store a dress for six months? There's plenty of information on how to preserve a dress, but that's assuming you're not going to wear it for a long time. So as a PSA to my fellow brides to be, here's what I learned:

Store your dress in a fabric garment bag - not plastic. Something that breathes well. If it's for longer, store it in a paper box (think like a giant cake box, with no plastic window). I read the plastic could make the fabric moldy or smelly. Ew.

Storing it in a box is better for longer term. If you store it in a box, fold it accordion style and put acid-free tissue paper between the folds. I don't know what kind of paper that is, but the dry cleaner might have some.

Since this is only a few months (OK, a lot of months), keeping it in the garment bag works. Hang it by the annoying little dress straps that always pop out at inopportune times. Then wrap it in a plain, white, brand new, unwashed flat sheet. (That might be overkill, but whatever.) I bought a queen size for my dress, and twin for my veil, and they worked out pretty well. The idea is to keep the light out, but keep air moving.

Ultimately, it'll need to be steamed and pressed again. Seems like that should come with the alterations, though.

Engagement Pics!

2008-08-31T16:00:00.000-07:00

Our photographer let us know she posted a couple of pictures from our engagement session last week. Super crazy yay!

So far I think I like this one the best ... but ask again in five minutes; I'll have changed my mind.

See the rest here!

Engagement Photo weekend

2008-08-25T09:38:00.000-07:00

We got our engagement photos taken this Saturday at Manhattan Beach. I think it is one of the most beautiful beach areas around in the city since it has some nice houses tiered on a hill, a decent pier, and typically a great view of Palos Verdes and the South Bay. Saturday's weather was pretty good, though unfortunately PV was in some fog and tough to see.

But engagement pictures aren't about the location - they're about us! We had a lot of fun shooting on the pier, around in the alleys by the houses, and also on the sand. We should see the photos in the next week or two... can't wait!

Photography is Set!

2008-07-25T19:28:00.001-07:00

Oh, I'm so excited. We just got confirmation that Araxi Photography is photographing our wedding!

Eeek!

I saw her work when my coworker got married last year. Even as a second photographer, she had such a great eye for detail - their pictures were amazing! They found her through (ready?) my coworker's husband's family friend. Most of the pictures on her blog were family portraits, but I love those too. And, she's just a downright nice person.

I think our site(s) are a great match for her style, and I think our formal portraits will be real family treasures. And that's what it's all about!

Getting Ideas

2008-07-16T10:24:00.001-07:00

First: I look at a lot of wedding-related stuff. Tons of pictures from photographers. Now, there aren't really any ugly, or terrible weddings; I can't say I've ever seen one that made me think "oh my, they did that??" But the thing that really makes or breaks the wedding for me?

The dress.

If the bride's dress isn't a huge, fantastic, architectural wonder, the whole rest of the photos are just meh to me. They could have amazing flowers, cute favors, an 11-tier cake, the cutest ideas. I just can't get past the dress.

Sadly, big, fantastic dresses just aren't in style right now. And it's not like I can't say I don't love these sleek, silky, lacy dresses - they're amazing. I never tried a single one on. They just didn't feel like wedding dresses to me; they were just really pretty dresses that I like and wish I had somewhere to wear them.

Thankfully my dress is on a slow boat from China. And it certainly wasn't what I had envisioned, but it's somehow the perfect dress for me. It's the type of dress that makes the wedding a production ... a monumental life event. Because that's what it is!

Now, I will need something for the rehearsal ...

The Reception

2008-06-06T23:22:00.000-07:00

Before I went to Japan, I was bound & determined to book a reception site. After much deliberating, we booked the Reef in Long Beach:

The room we booked (in my opinion, at least!) is by far the most beautiful. The view is just what you'd want from California, and it's right next to the Queen Mary. We had dinner at the beginning of the year there, only because it was pretty high up on the potential reception site list. I wasn't expecting anything special, but the food was fantastic. Something I hope everyone will enjoy!

The Great Wedding Binge

2008-03-10T18:36:00.000-07:00

When my mom bought her airplane tickets to come out and visit, I was beside myself. After all, a wedding is something a girl plans with her mom! So I hatched a plan that I thought would lead us to finding the reception site and the dress.

Oh, how naive I was. Really, I had only tried on wedding dresses twice, and Andy and I had checked out a few reception sites in Rancho Palos Verdes one day. And even though I'd done a lot of research on line and requested a lot of quotes, it's nothing compared to the actual footwork.
In my mind, I'd dreamed up a reception in a ballroom on the top floor of a tall hotel, with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the ocean and the coast at night and all the city lights. So with this in mind, I planned a weekend of dress shopping and reception site hunting (around my hectic work and school schedule).

Day 1: dresses

First, dress shopping. I got up and managed to get gas and coffee and be only 5 minutes late in picking up my mom to go to our first appointment at Mon Amie. I was a little worried about the traffic but the carpool lane worked out pretty well. We were there plenty early, and still had to wait a little before being assigned a consultant and starting to seriously pick out dresses. At first I was worried - I'd heard that the sample sizes run small, and while I wouldn't call myself big, I'm not a size 2 any more. It ended up that the samples were closer to a street size 6 or 8, and every dress had to be clamped up and down the back just to stay up! They were all the finest designers, with price tags in the $4,000-$5,000 and up range! That really wasn't what I wanted to pay, and although the dresses were all very nice, they weren't quite what I thought I wanted. There was one Lazaro dress that I really liked, but for $4,800, it wasn't going to work.

I'd mentally prepared myself to be in my underwear all day (and made a point to wear good ones). Even still, it was awkward to be the only person undressed in a room where everyone is looking at you. The most priceless moment was when the consultant asked if my strapless bra was the Victoria's Secret . Nope, I said - Penney's!

I was a little afraid the appointment would run long and we wouldn't have time for a fancy lunch at South Coast, but we did! Our fancy lunch ended up at the Rainforest Café - with cookies and Victoria's Secret afterward. After odd encounters with the salespeople - we ended up with about 6 cookies and one clerk at Victoria's Secret told us to just take a pair of underwear - we started off for our second appointment.

A lot of people had recommended Jinny's Bridal to me, but I didn't know much what to expect. The store was much smaller, and the designers were not ones you'd see right away in Martha Stewart Weddings, but each dress was beautiful. Gorgeous. Perfect. And there were hundreds. My mom and I wandered around a while, just in awe of each one. And the owner not only helped my try on as many dresses to my heart's content, she pulled out even more. I tried on a dress so incredibly similar to the Lazaro dress at Mon Amie, that it might just be the big winner. We managed to narrow it down to two, very different, dresses at that store.

Day 2: reception sites

Saturday, the first thing we did was hit McDonald's for breakfast and head straight to the Crowne Plaza Redondo Beach. I thought for sure this hotel would have what I was looking for. Right on the ocean, and just across the street from the pier, not to mention the convenience! First off, we started poking around the ballrooms, looking for one on the upper floors. Nothing upstairs but guest rooms, and the ballrooms we saw had no windows. The concierge was kind enough to show us around, give us a TON of information, and show us their one ballroom with windows - that were tiny, curtained, and overlooked the street. I couldn't have been more disappointed. But it had a lot of other wonderful points, so it made the consideration list.

We then drove up and down Ocean, thinking there'd be a hidden restaurant or boutique hotel that might be just the ticket. We stopped and toured nearly every restaurant and picked up information (except for the Cheesecake Factory. Really kind of had a problem with that). But everything was either too small, or too open, or too something that just wouldn't work.

Day 3: MORE reception sites

The day started off with my mom and I going to Sunday service at the Wayfarer's Chapel. I really wanted to go, even though we have a copy of the ceremony and I'd investigated the church pretty thoroughly - you never know what kind of kooky ritual a random church has, right? The service was sweet, and there were only 40 or so people in attendance. It was also not-too-sunny, but still beautiful.

Afterward, we went to the Reef. I was really hoping that, once my mom saw it, she'd be sold. The bridal fair, however, was held in the side ballrooms, while they served Sunday brunch in the main restaurant. I was hoping they'd have the Pacific room set up as an example we could see. Inside, the Garden ballroom had just a few vendor booths and in the center was a giant table of cheese, fruit, and a chocolate fountain. With the hors d'oeveurs that were being passed (and tasty), we certainly didn't need lunch!

The breezeway between the Garden and Harborview ballrooms was open, and we got cornered by what seemed like a friendly, nice pastor. Who proceeded to tell us that the Wayfarer's chapel was overpriced, a rip-off, and he would have done our ceremony for free. And so, my mother was initiated into the bridal fair experience.

Among the different booths were sample cakes from both Polly Ann and Rossmor bakery. We tried Polly Ann first, and it was really good - even though I'm not a superfan of cake with fruit filling. but Rossmor was, quite possibly, the best cake we've ever had! I was so glad to get to try it, even though I was already sold on their reputation. We hung around until the fashion show started, since I still thought we'd be able to find a dress (although, I should know better by now!). The show started innocuously enough - some nice dresses, some tuxes, cute flower girls. Then came the "bridesmaids" dresses. Which I could best describe as things straight out of a Vegas show. One of the poor girls looked close to tears in a dress that was cut down Jennifer Lopez-style down the back. For the final dress, out came a girl who slinked down the runway like a stripper, and could barely walk in her impossibly high lucite heels. Even though they brought out more, normal, even pretty dresses ... I don't think my mom and I will ever forget that. I took my mom over to see the Pacific room afterward, but the bathrooms weren't working when we left - kind of a turnoff, of course.

At this point, I think, I was done. I suggested we go back and try on more dresses, but the prospect of going to Huntington Beach and crawling in and out of major structures just didn't sound appealing any more. We went back home to meet up with Andy so I could recuperate and regroup. After the break, though, we were back on the move - this time on a mission to hit all of the tall hotels in downtown Long Beach for a high ocean view ballroom.

Four hotels, tours, and info packets later: nothing. All of the ballrooms were buried deep in the hotel, no windows, and on the first floor. Downtown Long Beach is so beautiful, and there isn't a single place that shows it off! I know, we passed by Breakers and the Sky Room a few times. I'm just a little scared of them, given their reputation online.

So, we had just two contenders: the Reef, and the Crowne Plaza. We'd had all kinds of food at the Reef, so we decided on dinner at the Crowne Plaza's restaurant. I'd read reviews of the CP Splash, and they weren't glowing, but they weren't bad either. I don't know if it was just Sunday, but the service was sort of slow. We each ordered a dish that was on the banquet menu, and although I liked mine (I was really hungry), it wasn't anything special. We weren't totally surprised, like when we had dinner at the Reef.

At this point, I was tired, bummed, and generally wedding-ed out. I saw dresses that I liked, but never had that "this is the dress" moment. We at least narrowed the reception sites between the Reef and the Crowne Plaza, and each had such strong good points. But, at least I got to do some wedding planning with my mom, and we did get a lot accomplished!

April Showers

2008-01-18T19:17:00.000-08:00

Weather.com has a neat tool that acts sort of like a Farmer's Almanac for the cities they provide weather forecasts. I didn't even think about looking at the weather for April! Then again, it is California, and there's a very good chance the weather will be nice.

Here are the typical temperatures for Rancho Palos Verdes, California:

And it looks like there's a pretty small chance of rain, but I've heard it's lucky to have rain on your wedding day:

Queen Mary Bridal Show

2008-01-16T19:21:00.000-08:00

Sunday my friend Maggie and I went to a wedding fair on the Queen Mary. I have to admit - I was kind of more excited because I'd never been to the Queen Mary, more than the show.

We started by cruising the different vendors. There were a full three floors of photographers, makeup artists, cake samples, stationers; just about everything you could think of! We saw just about every single one, but I was a little disappointed. I thought a lot of vendors would be from the Long Beach area, and therefore perfect for us, but most of the vendors I talked to were from quite a distance (except for a certain Mary Kay saleswoman who wouldn't leave us alone). After watching a little bit of the fashion show (and an adorable two-year-old flower girl model), we got a free tour of the ship and the ballrooms! The captain led us through three or four rooms, set up for events, before inviting the group to roam the ship. I'd seriously considered the Queen Mary for a reception - it'd be so unique, and I do like art deco design. But the rooms were too big, failed to impress, and smelled kind of funny. It was great to check it out and we took some fun pictures, but not quite what I had envisioned.

After the tour, we headed out and passed the Reef restaurant on the way. I've heard good things about their wedding receptions, and we're planning on going for dinner some weekend. It's a little bit of a distance from the chapel than the places we visited the day before, but they offer a lot of the things I had imagined for our reception.

Andy and I pooped out the day before, so we didn't get around to looking at the Long Beach Museum of Art. Since it was on our way back, we stopped in! Claire's Cafe is in the Anderson House next to the museum, and it was busy. The courtyard was set up with a tent and chairs for what looked like a wedding ceremony. As our last stop of the day, Maggie and I agreed that this was a good contender for the reception.

Potential Reception Sites

2008-01-15T20:07:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday we spent the better part of the day looking for a reception site. I've spent a lot of time researching places online, getting quotes, and getting familiar with the area. We planned to visit at least three places on my list.

Los Verdes Golf Club
Our first stop of the day (after visiting the chapel). The banquet hall entrance is to the side, away from the golfing, and was pretty secluded. Since they were already setting up for a wedding, we didn't feel like we could pry to check it out. But, from the windows overlooking the course, it looked nice inside. We couldn't tell how large it was inside, but the courtyard where ceremonies are usually held seems like a nice place to have hors d'oeuvres or cocktails. Another bonus is it's fairly close to the chapel.

Harlyne J. Norris Pavillion

I saw this on Here Comes the Guide, and it seemed really unique and fun at the time. But, it's across the street from a mall, and reminds me of the studio at the Krannert Center. It would be a nice open space that you could really go wild with, but I have to admit - I don't really want to design the decor from scratch! It made me realize that I'd really like a hall or room with windows overlooking the shoreline or ocean, which would be pretty during sunset and into the evening.

La Venta Inn

The La Venta Inn was our final stop of the day. We couldn't even drive close to the building because of a sign that said "Private Party, Invited Guests Only." But the view even from the road was amazing. We also witnessed a bus full of guests arriving! Andy got some good pictures from the side of the road, and although it was a bummer we couldn't get in, it was nice to see somewhere as amazing in real life as it is in the pictures!

Ultimately, the only problems we had during the day were that the roads in Rancho Palos Verdes are very windy, so there's no direct way to get from one place to the other. Also, California doesn't really have a "wedding season," so we couldn't get a good look anywhere because they were all hosting weddings! The upside was we got to see what the chapel is like during a wedding.

No decisions yet, but there's definitely some places I'll need to investigate further!

Save the Date Cards

2008-01-05T22:28:00.000-08:00

Today we picked out a cute closeup photo of us on the Wedding Bench at Wayfarer's Chapel for the save the date cards.

Announcement

2007-10-18T20:43:00.000-07:00

We'll be getting married Saturday, April 4, 2009, at 4 p.m.

Hooray, decisions!

2007-10-10T18:19:00.000-07:00

We've made some planning progress this week!

First, we made some additions and got closer to a "finalized" guest list. Now that we know how many people (about) we're inviting, we can get our location.

Imagine:

the Chart House
Harlyne J Norris Pavilion
La Venta Inn
Los Verdes Golf Club
the Portofino Hotel and Yacht Club
the Reef
the Sky Room

Yes, we have some more decisions to make. But here's a hint: the actual day is just over 500 days away...

Wedding Planners

2007-09-20T20:45:00.000-07:00

What do you do when you have stacks of wedding magazines to read, and not enough time to read them?

Yay, I have help wedding planning!

Bouquets

2007-09-07T18:48:00.001-07:00

I learned how to make roses out of ribbons on our cruise. They're tough to make, but if you're careful and use nice ribbon they come out really beautifully. I was trying to look up the instructions, but I can't seem to find the exact style that I learned on the boat. I did, however, run across this beautiful bouquet:

While that's pretty, it's really DIY, and that's not me as an MBA candidate. I think it's pretty, though, if you're trying to save a little money but still want something pretty.

Personally, I want a combination of the long ribbons and flowers in these: