First DIY Project: Invitations!

My first attempt at breaking the robot in me was to get back in touch with my crafty/artsy side by practicing how to emboss for my future invitations. Sad as it may sound, I haven't felt this excited since high school when things like going to art lessonsand making home-made cards were what I looked forward to doing most after school.

Sitting in my parent's dining room, I opened up all the goodies I purchased right before the snow storm, which included some plain invitations, stamps, clear ink, embossing powder, and an embossing heating tool.

My goal was to at least learn how to emboss so that sometime next year, I can make my invitations to look somewhat like these (from the weddingbee):

At first attempt, I practiced embossing initials because I wanted to incorporate our initials on the outside of our pocketfolds. I got a little excited and actually ended up embossing these upside down on the first two cards. Really, I was THAT excited! At the third attempt, I finally got this:

For the inside, I practiced embossing a pattern with some of the stamps I found. For the actual invite, I'm having a pretty hard time finding a stamp with a pattern that I really like (i.e. the exact ones from the weddingbee inspiration). At least for practice, I ended up with this:

So you're probably wondering - Is it really worth all the effort to do your own invitations? As I expressed frustration in messing up my first two trials, I could see my family (who thought I was crazy for doing all this), ask themselves this very question. Through online research, I actually found that I could probably have invitations (which would I be perfectly happy with) professionally made for fairly cheap - maybe even cheaper than what it would cost for me to do it myself.

What makes it worth it for me is the prospect of creating again - to experience that joy and sense of accomplishment of starting from scratch and then see your final product come to life. I'm sure my patience will be tested. I'm sure that at some point during this process, I'll want to give up and just order the invites online. Still, I have a smile on my face just thinking about the work it will take to get all of this done and that's just something you can't put a price tag on.

The mess I made at my parent's house:

To my neat freak fiance - "I'm sorry" in advance!

Five Hundred and Twenty Two

....days to go until May 5, 2012 - Our wedding day

Must I really wait 522 days to see all of my ideas come to life? I wonder how many more dresses I'll buy (and hopefully sell). I wonder how many times I'll change my colors. More importantly, I wonder how much money I'll be able to save!

Looking to save on the big ticket items by locking in 2010 rates, I was luckily able to book the following:

1) Venue: From the previous post, we had a very hard time deciding. In the end, my upfront research definitely paid off because the venue we picked raised their rates less than a week after our appointment. (Picture from the open house below!)

2) DJ: A highlight of my sister's wedding was the music and party atmosphere. One of the reasons for this (other than all the fun guests) was their DJ. To top it off, they offer a very reasonable rate!

3) Transportation: Although this isn't really something that people book THIS early, the venue that we selected partners with a trolley company and quoted me what seemed to be a good rate for an all-day trolley service for the bridal party and for guests to be picked up from the hotel to the reception. So I figured...why not? I might as well book them now before prices go up in 2011 and again in 2012!

4) Church: This doesn't really fall into the category of raising rates but this was the first thing that I made sure to research before I did anything else because I was not a parishioner in any of the Philadelphia churches. But through some research, I now feel better knowing that there are options for us in Philly. Pending a meeting with their priest, I hope to officially tie the knot and walk down the aisle at St. Rita of Cascia.


Venue Sneak Peak at the open house this past Sunday taken with my new camera =)



522 more days....really?!?!?

The Cronicles of an Indecisive Bride To Be...

...Should be the name of this blog.

A few people - ok most of you - know about my wedding dress "issue" and how many I have racked up even though the wedding is not until 2012. My problem is that I happen to like...no absolutely Loooove...alot of different options. I'm picky but not really. I don't even know if that makes sense.

Unfortunately, in the wedding business, there's no such thing as returns or exchanges so being indecisive is not a good thing. Most wedding dresses are final sales especially if you've altered it or purchased it at a sample sale. Wedding venues require that you put a non-refundable deposit which are at least $1000.

The issue of absolutely loving everything definitely came into play when the fiance and I booked seven wedding venue appointments yesterday. We managed to make it through all of them but one and surprise surprise, I absolutely loved every single one of them. I walked into each venue like a girl who had just realized that her dream wedding could actually come true. I "ooohed and ahhhed" and twirled around every venue's dance floor despite running on 4 hrs of sleep the night before.

At the end of the day, I knew EXACTLY where we would have our wedding (emphasize the "I knew" and not "WE knew"). The more I saw (or didn't see) the same level of enthusiasm from the fiance, the more I second guessed my choice. Luckily, contracts haven't been signed and we have two weeks to decide.


I'll save the reviews on the other venues at a later time. For now, I'd like to focus on the two that are in the running.


Option 1: Ballroom at the Ben

Pros: + Meets the budget BUT wedding must be done in March

+ Ballroom with built in up lighting and pin spot lighting on tables (only brides will appreciate this!) which is typically extra cost everywhere else (at least $500)

+ Lots of weddings have happened here and it s well photographed so I've seen lots of pictures online that validate how beautiful it is and that it can hold the number of guests that we'll be expecting

+ Slightly closer to hotels downtown


+ Fiance loves it and prefers this over Option 2


Cons: - Wedding MUST be before end of March to meet budget which is still cold weather and wedding will be during lent

- Guests park a block away in a lot and must navigate themselves to the ballroom inside a multi-purpose building (office space and condos). We can choose to pay for everyone's parking and they are given a voucher ticket at the ballroom to present to the garage attendant. I've heard from a review that didn't work out so well and guests had to pay for parking even though bride and groom pre-paid.


- Must pay extra for linens other than ivory or white

- Cocktail hour area (balcony above ballroom) looks dated


- Guests must go down elevators and out lobby of the building to get some air

Here are professional pictures...

[Source] [Source]

Option 2: Tendenza
Pros + A very unique venue that is unlike anything that I've seen. I was blown away as soon as I walked into the space


+ For a little bit more than budget, we can have the wedding in April or May which is warmer than March.

+ Included in the price is the only thing that fiance asked for which is a raw bar

+ No additional cost for different linen options and square tables

+ No additional fee for duet entree which is one of the things we are considering to have

+ For an extra fee (similar to Option 1's parking fee) our guests will have valet parking right outside of the venue at no cost to them

+ Common outdoor courtyard on the same level as venue so easy access to get air

+ Color scheme of the place matches what I wanted for our wedding colors (black, ivory, and a couple of accent colors that I haven't decided on)


Cons - It is brand new and has not officially opened so no history of weddings or online pictures to better visualize a wedding set-up

- Planner says they max out at 40 people over our planned party size. Fiance is worried that it will be tight for our size party

- Over budget by $10 per person

- Light colored floors and walls (in some areas) which look great now but worried that it will look dirty and worn by the time our wedding comes around (space is booking fast even though they haven't opened yet)

- Fiance is worried that it looks like a club


Here are some pics from my iphone. I REALLY wish I brought a camera with me that day.

Cocktail Hour space - stairs lead up to dinner/dance space




Dinner/Dance Space



One of two Bars (they are back to back - one in the Cocktail reception area and one ine the dinner/dance area)






So long story short, I'm confused yet again. Help?

It's House Hunting all Over Again!

...actually, I meant to say it's venue hunting but so far, it sure does feel like house hunting all over again

Putting the same rigor in researching venues as I did our house, all options are being considered. For the time being, I'm setting my eyes on downtown Philadelphia which is almost exactly halfway between our families. Through all the research (mainly photographer websites and wedding forums), I've found a few places that are somewhat within reach of our budget. To be exact, we're visiting seven venues and one church... all within one day during our next trip to Philadelphia.

I'm not quite sure how the day will go or if we'll actually be able to pull it off. But I am sure that the fiance and I will need lots of coffee, patience, and time management skills. In preparation for our venue-hunting day, I carefully planned out our appointment times so that we're hopping around Philly through the best, most efficient route:

Beginning at 10 am at Old St. Joseph's Church and ending at 4pm in the Northern Liberties neighborhood to see Cescaphe Ballroom and their new location Tendenza, I'm hoping that by the end of the day, we'll get a very good idea of how feasible a downtown Philadelphia wedding will be.


More updates to come once we actually see these places in person. For the time being, wish us luck!

Also, please share any questions that we should be asking the coordinators of these venues.

Thanks!

Not As Simple as Walking Down the Aisle...

Everyone knows it. Everyone talks about it to their close friends. But howcome you never see the not so fairytale side of weddings discussed out in the open? Hardly any mention of in bridal magazines and websites. Hardly any mention of it in wedding blogs...

You may have noticed my lack of posts as of late. In all honestly, it's because I've had a few of these items that I'm about to list weighing down on my mind. And when I seek advice from others, the common answer seems to be - The most important thing is what you and your groom wants. It's about your marriage and not anyone else's. And though true, the pressures of today's wedding "norm" has put that core concept of a wedding at the bottom of a very long list of delicate things that must be addressed in preparation for your special day.

So in no particular order...

1. Planning a large reception. For as long as I can remember, I've always wanted a fun wedding everyone eats well and dances afterwards. I'm not sure exactly where I got this idea from but cultural and media influences I'm sure played a role in this dream. And because we live in a capitalistic country, there are those that capitalized on the fact that millions of other girls are are dreaming up big wedding receptions. Therefore, the wedding industry emerged putting a large premium on anything wedding related. If you mention wedding at any venues, you are presented with a package showing a much higher price than if you were just planning any ole party. And the result? Let's just say that my groom is planning on picking up extra hours at work(even though I hardly ever see him) and I am now looking for a second part-time job.

2. Determining who will make the invite list. Because of #1, it's pretty much safe to say that we can't quite afford to invite everyone. Because people sometimes equate not being invited to a wedding as a sign of disrespect or that I guess you weren't really as good of a friend as you thought, then it makes this whole business of planning a wedding very political. Rather than focusing on each other's relationships, the bride and groom now have to assess their relationship with everyone else. Will this person be hurt if they don't get invite? Will they no longer talk to me? Will it affect me professionally?

3. Making sure both families are happy. Aside from a bride and groom making the commitment to God and to each other, weddings I think are also a symbolism of two families coming together. But when the two families have different traditions, beliefs, requests, and suggestions, it translates into difficult decisions for the bride and groom. How do you make both families happy? Although holding separate celebrations might satisfy the differences of both sides, it is not in the spirits of bringing two families together. In trying to determine the solution, the bride and groom will likely realize that there's really no way to make everyone happy. And although in the end...is the bride and groom's day after all...how do you say no your family?

4. Choosing who is in your wedding party. Looking through wedding forums, I'm amazed to see how many posts are about friendships that have ended because one wasn't chosen to be in the wedding party. And I'm wondering...does not being in someones wedding party really mean that you're no longer friends?

5. Expectations of your wedding party. A second popular topics in wedding forums are about how many friendships have ended because one was a disappointing bridesmaid or moh. It seems that in this day and age, there is so much emphasis on what being in the bridal party means and the responsibilities that go along with that. When reading through some of these forums, I often wonder how people could let a few "mistakes" relating to all one day trump all that their friendship has meant every day prior to the wedding.

I'm sure there are alot more to this list that can be added. But for now, I might have already shot myself in the foot by posting some of these. At least I know that I'm not the only one nor was I ever the first one to thing about these.

How about you? What are you currently/or have experienced relating to these topics and how did you address them?

Since I haven't officially asked...

I won't reveal yet the names of my actual bridesmaids. But I thought that since I wrote a little tidbid about the husband to be, that I would reflect back on the amazing women that will become the official witnesses of my marriage.

In no particular order....

Bridesmaid 1. For almost two whole years, she enjoyed being the center of the universe for two happy young couple. That is, until little ole me popped out of my mother's stomach crying....and crying...and crying for what must have been forever (from what my mom tells me). During her kindergarten or first grade graduation, I cried because I wanted to be up there with her as she received her diploma. In 1990, she finally ran far away enough for me to follow. In 1994, I was back in her face again determined never to leave her side. I followed all of her interest...the Flyers, the Braves, and Ace of Base. She may not know it but I always wanted to follow. I always strive to be like her.

Bridesmaid 2. If there was one person in this world who knew exactly how to piss me off, it's her. She's Dart Vader and I'm Yoda...which proves that even the most optimistic and patient of a person can have a short and angry side. But just like Dart Vader, she has within her a good side. Ok, that was one too many Star Wars analogy. lol. Anyway! Despite the occasional tension between us which we so often keep bottled up inside, magically...and out of nowhere...things go back to the way they've always been. Two people that genuinely care and love each other...and no matter what, I know she'll always have my back.

Bridesmaid 3. I remember the exact moment that I knew we were going to to be great friends. We were taking a stroll on the beach and she asked me a question that I hadn't heard in a very long time... she asked casually and genuinely.... "So, what do you like to do for fun?" And in the years to follow, we combined our "what do you like to do for fun" list and did them together. Partied in Vegas, relaxed in Puerto Rico, went to happy hours, talked about boys, and jumped up and down hand in hand as we celebrated her engagement. And through the years... when you realize that the party is over and you have to face the difficult parts of life, it's those that stay right there with you that are your friends for life. I'm so lucky to have met this person and one of these days, I'm going to have to give her an unforced and totally NOT akward hug. HUGS!

Bridesmaid 4. Like any other middle child, I had (and still have remnants) of extreme middle child syndrome. I was super sensitive to jokes and I felt slighted when people joked at my expense....and being the jokester that she is, we were a match made in hell from the very start. She constantly made fun of my FOB tendencies pushing every little button in me. But through those tortuous jokes, I learned that it is absolutely ok to laugh at yourself...because after all, I did do some pretty laughable things...like flip over my inside out shirt outside of a church... ::crickets::
As it turns out, behind all the jokes was my best friend who patiently listened and told it to me straight up. A no nonsense - no bs friend. When I was being a brat, she told me so. When I was acting crazy, she told me so. And when life was good, she celebrated with me. What more can you ask for in a friend?

Bridesmaid 5. On occasion, I do read up on my zodiac sign (Cancer). And all the information that I found says that Cancers are ridiculously sensitive...which causes us to act on emotion...ya know, act like one of those crazy girlfriends that leave multiple text message and voicemail? ummmmm anyway! Luckily, I met a very special friend that made me feel normal for once....for she, a fellow Cancer, was just as crazy as I was. To us, it was perfectly ok to plan our weddings before we even got engaged. We dreamed and gushed and talked about our perfect day. We gushed about our significant others to each other only to text an hour later saying that we were through and that our worlds were over. Perhaps it's not so healthy to have someone reaffirm your craziness but in actuality, she has been a person to make me want to be a better person. She taught me how to be honest with myself because not everything can be peachy and great all the time. And of course, she stood by and helped walk me through the difficult stuff.

Bridesmaid 6. Women talk alot so it's pretty rare to find a girlfriend whom you can just sit or watch tv with and not say a word....and it's perfectly ok. No awkwardness. No pressure to talk about something. A person, confident about who she is and unbeknowst to her, taught me to be confident about the person that I am. Because its ok for me to have my own taste. It's ok for me to have an opinion different from others and it's ok to express them. But what I treasure most about her is her ability show me a different perspective - to make me see how lucky I really am when I'm sometimes feeling ungrateful...because after all, I have a friend who despite all the craziness going on in her life will still be thoughtful enough to get my favorite cake on my graduation.

So there you have it. Now guess who!


Disclaimer: this post was induced by a bottle of Summer Nights.

I Used to be Crafty..

...waaay back in the day.

But I think it's safe to say that since I actually had friends (which didn't come until much later in high school), all my free time outside school was spent socializing and basking in all that I missed by being such a hermit at home. But during those 'I'm a loser with nothing to do on a Friday night days', I actually started to learn a few things here in there.... like knitting, crocheting, origami, etc. I even even made my high school graduation invitations.

Well, what better time to bring back the ole crafty me than planning for my wedding? Due to a limited budget and still over a year and a half before our projected wedding date, I plan on accomplishing the following DIY projects:

Centerpieces
Bridal Party accessories (probably a belt)
Table place cards
Save the dates
Isle decor

.....at least for now. I'm sure that looking online will give me a lot more ideas.

Here's a practice run at an origami flower project for possible place cards or just as napkin decor. Seemed pretty simple when I started but it turns out that each petal has to be individually folded. But hey, one flower down....200 more to go! errrrrrrrrrrrr times 5 petals = 1000 petals to fold!!!



Bridesmaids and girlfriends - Get your fingers ready for my bridal sweat shop = )


(excuse my terrible handwriting)

Now that the sappinness is over...

...Let’s talk about the fun stuff!

To me, the most fun wedding related activity is dress shopping. If you’re anything like me, I’m sure that you’ve been looking online for a wedding dress since the web was invented. I remember sketching mine when I was still in middle school. It was quite hideous…as it was a short body hugging inner layer with a sheer and poufy outer layer. But I watched a lot of Sailor Moon around that time and I’m sure I modeled it after one of her get-ups.

In high school, I wanted a huge ballroom gown with a cathedral train and veil. And of course, this had everything to do with the fact that I was completely and utterly in love with Prince William. I was sure he was the one. And I was going to be the ultimate princess bride.

In college – the emo days – it was all about the simple dress – no poof – and I was getting married on a beach somewhere….maybe even Boracay. But after college, I all of sudden started having hot flash issues and having a beach wedding where I would sweat profusely didn’t seem like such a good idea anymore.

And through further refinement of what I think would look good on me…what I think would be classy…would hide the pit fat…and flatter everything else, I found THE dress online about two years ago. Unfortunately, because I found it two years ago, it seems that the dress is actually nowhere to be found other than on the web. The style is called Alvina Valenta 9906. If anyone can find this dress for me, let me know ASAP!

AV9906

In the meantime, I didn’t waste any time taking advantage of a good sample sale. Last week, Priscilla of Boston had one of their blowout sales where sample dresses were an additional 50% off their already marked down price. It was the first time I had actually even tried on dresses and I acted like a little kid…no, a little kid deprived of any sweets…in a candy store. Thinking that it would be running-of-the-brides-esq, I arrive early just to ensure a spot…and of course, I felt just somewhat crazy when I find that I’m the only one waiting for them to open upon arrival. I walked out of that store with not one, but THREE dresses.

The first dress was nothing like I had envisioned myself in. It was strapless dress trumpet style dress with two bows in the back. Strapless was a big no-no to me but to my surprise, it didn’t make my pits look unflattering. I suppose that I was convinced because the dress fit me almost perfectly. I would really only need to adjust the height and that’s it! This dress cost me the most and I don’t wanna post how much because I’ve actually decided to try selling it. Here’s the listing

The second dress was very similar to what I had envisioned myself in. A dress with straps, flowy fit and flare, simple, and flattering. I felt great it in not only because of its stye but especially the price. I purchased that dress for a whopping $100. It was originally $4K and I just couldn’t, in my right mind, walk out of that store without that dress. (Not showing pics of this one =)

Lastly, while waiting from a fellow bride-to-be friend to arrive, I sifted through the bridesmaids gowns and found a gorgeous long black formal dress on sale for only $35. Someone have a black tie wedding so I can wear this dress please... And if not, maybe one of my bms can wear it to mine =)

So that’s my dress shopping journey so far. I’m still eyeing others (because I not getting married til 2012 and wedding dress shopping is just TOO fun) but I know that I have budget and there's really no room for me to exceed that.

A Wedding Story Begins...

with a memorable engagement story. That once in a lifetime moment when time stands still- the moment where all of your dreams of a man proposing finally comes true.

It all began at Christine Cueto's house. He was sitting in her kitchen looking salty and unhappy. And when my roommate slyly nudged me and whispered "That's him...he's single" followed by two eye brow gestures, I couldn't help but roll my eyes. Really? The cranky guy?

Almost exactly three months later, I sat on my bed and read out loud an email that I'll never forget. It read:

WILL YOU BE WILLING TO BE SEEN IN PUBLIC WITH ME, WILL YOU HELP ME MAKE IT OUT OF PHARM SCHOOL, WILL YOU JOIN ME ON WALKS IN THE PARK, WILL YOU GO WITH ME TO THE MALL TO PICK OUT CLOTHES, WILL YOU EAT PHO WITH ME, I guess what I'm trying to say is : WILL YOU GO OUT WITH ME ????

Without hesitation, I look up at the man sitting by my side and said Yes.

Two years later, we're unloading a uhaul full of boxes into our first apartment together in Virginia.

A year past that, and he is graduating from pharmacy school. Our families meet for the first time during his graduation lunch and as he begins his "thank you for coming" speech, my sisters jaws drop because they think he's about to propose to me in front of everyone.

Yet another half a year passes and I get a pink eye staying up all night writing my final paper for my master's program. He gets up periodically to make me coffee...to keep me company....and in no time, I finally received my diploma as well.

And through more happiness, celebrations, tragedies, and life-hurdles, I sat in our apartment and waited...just like any other day...for him to come home from work.

I was a mess. My hair unkempt. My mascara and eyeliner smudged behind my eyeglasses. If you can imagine the least bit lady-like bum, that was me that night. When he finally arrived home, I was greeted with "Hey beautiful!". I smiled thinking to myself that Mr. Cranky was not cranky tonight.

Giving him a play-by-play of what I had done earlier in the evening, I gushed at our friend's recent engagement story. I joked that our friend had hidden the ring in the garment bag of his suit and that I was getting ready to sift through his garment bags too just in case. I suppose my story panicked him just a little. As it turns out, he had been hiding my ring in his suit garment bag as well.

The moments following were nothing but the two of us being silly with our guessing games. And as I opened my eyes from correctly guessing that I had nothing but a coin in my hand, I see him on his knees with a ring placed in his palms.

This was the moment when time stood still. I remember a big silly smile on his face. I remember a big silly smile on mine. I remember thinking if this was really happening right now. I remember thinking that I looked like a horrible mess. But the important part is that I remember saying....

Yes!














I'm not gonna lie...the ring makes it much more enjoyable to type ; )