Holiday Hiatus

In honor of the upcoming winter break (and finals!), I’ll be taking a short hiatus from blogging. But I plan to be back in January to continue writing about my journey through the world of wedding planning.

We’re about to pass the six months mark, and I’m not sure where all that time went. June 15^th will be here before we know it! Because of that, we’re planning on getting a lot done during the break. So if any good stories surface from that, I’ll try to blog about them when I can.

Thanks for reading! I’ll be back soon.

Happy Holidays!

-Paige

The Cake

I’m envisioning it now… square, three layers, lots of chocolate, dragonflies, and Japanese cherry blossoms. Or something like that. Keep in mind that the cake is something I haven’t crossed off my list yet—I haven’t even met with a baker or anything. I’m merely in the process of brainstorming at this point in time.

My ideas stem from a cake I saw about a year ago while flipping through a bridal magazine. Check it out:

But imagine this as a much smaller square cake. And the colors would be something like this: white for the base color, green for the ribbon-looking thingies, and orange for the middle of the cherry blossoms. I’m also interested in adding button-like shapes around the bottom edges of the cake, as seen on this cake:

This cake is actually made at Homeland, and for a pretty decent price, I might add. After I saw this in their bakery catalogue, Homeland made my list of contenders for the cake. Although I do like this design, I think it’s both a bit too simple for me and a bit too flowery. I also like their cake topper, but Keegan and I have already picked one out.

As some of you may know, Coheed & Cambria is mine and Keegan’s favorite band. And Keegan owns just about every big preorder package that Coheed has released. In one of the packages was a dragonfly—one of Coheed’s major logos. It’s a pretty good size and is made of some kind of impressive metal (ask Keegan—he’s the one with the chemistry degree). All that to say, I really wanted to incorporate some kind of dragonfly design into the cake. And when Keegan suggested Coheed’s dragonfly as our cake topper, I thought this would be the perfect way to do it. 

Thanks to Keegan for taking this photo

So I guess if I were to combine all of the ideas I’ve told you about, it would look something like this (again, please forgive my crude drawing skills—or lack thereof):

Of course that’s not exactly how the dragonfly will actually look, but because of my lack of artistic skills, I just did the best I could at drawing my own version of a dragonfly. Of course it’s also not drawn to scale. And the cake doesn’t have to turn out exactly like this, but this is the idea that I was able to translate from my brain onto paper in the best way I could.

If you have any suggestions or cool new ideas, let me know. I’m happy to hear your opinion!

-Paige

You Are What You Eat...

Happy Thanksgiving!

In honor of this special holiday, I thought food would be a fitting topic for today. And besides, who doesn’t want to talk about food? Food connects us all and transcends language and culture. Food brings everyone together (as proved by countless family gatherings across the nation today), and it has the power to help people communicate even when they don’t share a common language.

When I was in China, I shared many meals with both my American companions and my new Chinese friends. One evening during dinner, a very friendly Chinese man sat with us. He couldn’t speak any English (with the exception of “I’m full”), but I was able to communicate with him because of the food that we shared. He wanted to teach me how to properly use chopsticks, so instead of using words, he used his hands and the food on our plates to communicate with me. And we understood each other—my chopstick hold has improved and I think of him every time I use chopsticks. 

Lots of yummy food we had in China. (Learn Chinese: "I'm full" -- 我饱了

。

Wǒ bǎo le.)

So the moral of the story is that food is international, and it brings people together. Well, that’s exactly how we want our wedding to be—our theme is internationality, and the celebration of our partnership will bring many people together. We feel that the food at our wedding should be the same way. And because mine and Keegan’s taste buds reside on completely different planets, we plan to serve many different kinds of foods—from all around the world.

We’ve come up with a sort of “Venn diagram” of food, if you will. On one table, there will be Keegan’s favorite food—Mexican. We’re not sure on the specifics of what we’ll have, but we’re thinking along the lines of things like burritos, nachos, tomales, etc. On another table, we’ll serve my favorite food—Asian. I’m hoping we can have sushi and other side dishes like spring rolls or edamame. And yet another table will feature Italian food—this is where mine and Keegan’s taste buds overlap. I thought lasagna would be a pretty good Italian dish to serve. And since I’m a vegetarian, I’d love for there to be a veggie or all-cheese lasagna in addition to Keegan’s meat lovers version. Plus, this would give my vegetarian friends some more options.

So as you can see, we’re planning on serving a wide variety of food at our wedding. It fits with our theme, our taste buds, and I think it will give people plenty of options to eat something they’ll enjoy.

I had an idea on how to decorate the tables that will be holding the food. To go along with our theme and to represent each of the different foods, I thought about either hanging a flag from that food’s country on the table or just using tablecloths in the pattern of the flag. And yes—they actually make those (although I’m having a hard time finding one for Japan—though it would be easy enough to make). See for yourself:

Irish Flag Tablecloth 

And if you were wondering, we are planning on having all of this catered, but we haven’t officially booked our caterer yet. Our university actually has its own catering branch, and because we’re students, we get discounts, which is always great! So our university’s catering service is a major contender—we just haven’t had the time to make it official yet.

Once we do figure out our catering plans, I’ll be sure to talk about them in another entry.

Again, I hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving and enjoy this time spent with family and friends.

-Paige

Location, Location, Location

UPDATE: Our save-the-dates came in! They’re BEAUTIFUL. I won’t give away too much, but we’re very happy with the company that made them—Wedding Paper Divas. They came way before the estimated arrival date, they turned out perfectly, and the envelopes they came with are actually more solid than I thought they would be (so we may not have to buy extra envelopes). I’m so excited! Okay, I’ll say no more—you’ll just have to see for yourself when they come to you in the mail!

Onto today’s topic: the venue.

Location is everything, right?

When it comes to our wedding, I’d tend to agree. And that’s why we’re having the ceremony (and probably reception) at our church. It’s where we met, after all. And as we’re both Christians and most of our family members are as well, it’s important to us to have our wedding at a church—preferably ours.

Here’s the thing about our church: it’s not built yet. Don’t get me wrong—our congregation is currently renting out a place in a small strip mall. But we’re working on building a new building (very exciting stuff!), and it’s not finished yet. It’s estimated that it’ll be finished in spring of 2013, but that’s cutting it a little close, and as you can imagine—it’s a little nerve-racking.

But progress has already been made—the new building has a roof now! It’s pretty exciting to pass by it and see the dreams of many coming into fruition. I know the building will be beautiful when it’s finished, and there will be lots of stories told, hearts moved, lives changed, friendships made, and celebrations to be had in our new building. I know there will be at least one celebration there—our wedding.

Although we’re not 100% certain what the interior will look like, an artist has drawn up some sketches of what the building may look like. Here, take a look for yourself:

Artist renditions by Randy Foster, Kaighn and Assoc., courtesy of Sheri Lashley and BridgeView United Methodist Church

Artist renditions by Randy Foster, Kaighn and Assoc., courtesy of Sheri Lashley and BridgeView United Methodist Church

Artist renditions by Randy Foster, Kaighn and Assoc., courtesy of Sheri Lashley and BridgeView United Methodist Church

I’ve started brainstorming about decorations, but it’s been a bit challenging since I’m not exactly sure what it will look like. But I’ve got ideas—they include candles, white Christmas lights, Japanese shoji screens, and Coheed and Cambria’s Keywork. Here’s a vague sketch of an idea I had for the main decorations during the ceremony (please forgive my lack of artistic skills):

As for the reception, this is where a lot of obstacles come into play. There are plans for a separate fellowship hall to be built in addition to the main building on down the line, but for now, the sanctuary will double as a fellowship hall. So at this point, there’s not really another place in the building where we could hold the reception. And we really don’t have the money to have our reception anywhere else. So we’re thinking we’ll hold the reception shortly after the ceremony, both being held in the sanctuary.

But there might be some challenges to that. First of all, seating—chairs or tables? Chairs are fine for the ceremony, but if we want to bring tables in for the reception (which, we will since we’re having food), that’s going to take a few extra hands to help out and a potentially long wait for the guests between the ceremony and reception. And I know how people get antsy during that time at weddings. And then there’s the food—it’ll have to be brought in and set up.

We’ve talked with our pastor and she’s made some good suggestions about all this. There will be a kitchen area that’s right off the sanctuary. If we already had the food mostly ready to go, waiting in the kitchen or in the corner of the sanctuary behind a partition or something, we could bring it in with little or no problems. But, of course, that correlates with the tables. My mom suggested having the tables already set up so that guests would sit at the tables during the ceremony as well. Although I was against the idea at first, I’m slowly warming up to it because, in reality, that would make things a lot easier.

But we’re definitely still at the brainstorming stage for all of this, so if you have any suggestions, feel free to leave a comment. Your opinion is always appreciated.

Ideas for next entry:

-Food

-Decorations

-Cake

-Honeymoon

-Your Suggestion

-Paige

Celebrity China

UPDATE: We ordered our save-the-dates! They should be getting here in a couple of weeks and I’m so excited to start the process of addressing and stuffing envelopes and then mailing them to our family and friends. It’s sinking in… Our wedding day is finally becoming real!

Now let’s talk about cookware and china!

I know this isn’t exactly directly related to weddings, but cookware is something you’re going to need when you move out on your own, regardless of whether you’re getting married or not. And even though it’s not the most exciting thing to think about purchasing, it’s important.

My fiancé and I decided that we don’t really have any use for fine china. In our opinions, it’s a waste of money—although they can look pretty, they’d probably sit in a cabinet and come out only once a year, if at all. Plus, they’re super fragile. So we’ve decided not to put any fine china on our registry, and we’d kindly like to ask our guests not to purchase fine china as a wedding gift for us.

But cookware, on the other hand, is really important to us. And we’ve actually already made our first cookware purchase together, with a little help from Celebrity China. 

Me and Keegan opening our boxes of cookware--our first big purchase together. Thanks go to my mom for taking these photos!

I found out about Celebrity China and Cookware when I went to a bridal show over the summer. I had never heard of them before, but they were doing some kind of giveaway so I inevitably entered my information. A few days later, I got a call from their office in Kansas and they said I had won a “free gift.” At first, they didn’t specify what the gift was and, of course, there was a catch to receiving it—my fiancé and I had to come to their showcase demonstration. So, long story short—I fell for it. But I’m glad I did.

Here’s why:

We went to the showcase and we were actually the only ones who came at that specific time slot. It was pretty awkward, to say the least. Two men traded off showing us their products—they talked about the company’s history, the quality of their products, and the benefits of making a purchase. All of their cookware is made by their partner company, Vita Craft. They also cooked for us in one of their pans. So we got to eat a bit of food (I had vegetables and Keegan had chicken) and experience first-hand what their products were capable of doing. Keegan and I were sold on their products—the food tasted great, the products had energy-saving features, and a lifetime warranty—but we weren’t sold on their prices.

They did offer great discounts if you bought one of their packages at the showcase. And they would throw in another free item of your choice if you decided to pay in full that day. But even with the discounted prices, for us college kids, it was just too expensive. Keegan kept talking money with the sales rep while I tried to decide which package or individual products would be most useful to us in our first few years of marriage. Keegan finally wheedled another deal out of the sales guy—if we bought their used demo set, we’d get it half price.

So we went for it. We got their cheapest used demo package for half price. But we also decided to pay in full that day (rather than setting up a payment plan), so they threw in an extra free gift of our choice (we chose a huge skillet). And we did receive our free gift that I won from entering the drawing at the bridal show—a “free” hotel stay for three days and two nights (you have to send in a refundable $50 deposit), and two toasting glasses of our choice. And because we made a purchase that day, they upgraded the glasses to their more expensive (and better-looking) options.

The used demo package we purchased included:

-Small pot with lid

-Large pot with lid

-Steamer

-Skillet with lid

-Three detachable handles

-Cookbook

Free gifts:

-Two new, crystal toasting glasses with platinum rims

-New eleven-inch gourmet skillet

When we received them in the mail, they looked just as new and unused as any brand new products would look. We were pretty happy with how much we got for our money. So even though we had to be “wined and dined” into making a purchase, we had a good experience with them and we believe we made the right decision on our purchase. 

Just for the record (if you can't tell), this is a joke. It was my mom's idea, if you must know. :P

Ideas for next entry:

-Food

-Invitations

-Venue

-Cake

-Your Suggestion

-Paige

P.S.

About Celebrity—there’s been a lot of talk on the Internet discussing whether or not this is a scam. I was also wary of it at first, but I did some research and we decided to go. Sure, I may not have been “randomly selected” from the drawing (heck, they could have contacted every single person who put in their information), but I don’t think this is a scam—after all, we received our free gifts, and before he started the demonstration, our sales rep told us we would receive them even if we didn’t end up buying anything. Everyone’s experiences differ, but I think a lot of it weighs on what kind of sales rep you end up with. Ours was kind and informative—he didn’t pressure us, he understood where we were coming from (but that is to be expected from any good salesman), and he didn’t present us with wrong information. We received our items, and they looked even better than he said they were supposed to look. Since we purchased used items, he said there might be a little browning from food residue, but there wasn’t on our products—they were very clean. My point is—it’s a good thing to be cautious and go with your gut, but don’t think it’s automatically a scam just because one person had a bad experience and is ranting about it on the Internet. Do your research, trust your gut, discuss it with your partner, and just use common sense.

The Pros and Cons of Going to a Bridal Show

In case you’re curious, we haven’t made a decision yet on the save-the-dates. But even if we did, I probably wouldn’t disclose which design we chose since some of you will be receiving them soon! Keep your eyes on the mail in December…

Now it’s time to talk about bridal shows.

Signing in at the bridal show. Thanks go to my mom for taking these photos!

I went to one over the summer with my mother and maid of honor. And like everything else in life, there are pros and cons to going to a bridal show.

My maid of honor and I putting our names in a drawing for who knows what.

 Pros:

-It’s more or less a catalyst of ideas—you can see dresses that are on display from different vendors to generate ideas for your dream dress. You can talk with photographers about your vision and get feedback on how that might translate into the actual photos. You can even meet dermatologists who may have helpful advice on skin problems that you might have. The list goes on and on.

-So many vendors come to share their wedding-related services. You can make a lot of connections this way and even decide on some of the vendors you might want to book. I actually met my photographer at the bridal show I went to.

-Some vendors offer discounts if you book with them on the day of the bridal show.

-There are lots of drawings and contests to enter! Take advantage of this—sign up for everything. Have whoever’s with you sign up for everything, too. Although the odds were low that I’d actually win something, I did get contacted by Celebrity China, who told me that I had won a “free gift.” (Perhaps my next entry will be about our experience with them… there’s a lot to talk about on this.)

-It’s exciting. Even for a quiet and somewhat shy person like myself, I enjoyed the atmosphere of brides (and some grooms) getting geared up for their wedding day. Any time I get the chance to gather ideas for my wedding, I get really excited. And this was another opportunity to do that so I enjoyed it.

-Free stuff! I went over to the David’s Bridal booth to see what they were advertising (even though I had already done my shopping there). One of the reps started talking to me and I mentioned that I was planning on going to their store later that evening to pick up a bridesmaid dress. Because of that, she set up a faux appointment for me (I already had one), and gave me a $20 gift card to Shutterfly for “making an appointment with them.” Also, a couple of vendors were handing out free cookies—no strings attached. Who doesn’t like free cookies?

Cons:

-Obviously, vendors are still basically trying to sell you stuff. So if you’re not a fan of advertising (and who is, unless you’re the advertiser?), it can be kind of annoying. 

-The drawings and contests are great if you’re okay with your contact information being given out to tons of vendors. There’s always that off chance that you could win something, but either way—you’re going to be bombarded with emails from the vendors (and their affiliates) from here on out. So be prepared for lots of ruthless advertising headed your way.

-It’s exciting, but it can also be a headache. It’s extremely loud and crowded. If you’re not a people person and you’re not ready for it, it can catch you off guard. If you’d rather shop around for vendors online or go to a bridal store late in the evening when hardly anyone’s there, a bridal show may not be your cup of tea. Personally, I’m not a big fan of crowds but I got over my phobia for a few hours for the sake of getting ideas and having fun.

-There’s almost always a catch with the “free” stuff. At the bridal show we went to, my mom spun a random prize wheel just for the heck of it. She “won” an all-expenses-paid-vacation, but when she talked to the rep, there was a catch—you had to be “eligible,” and of course, airfare and all that jazz were not included.

So if you’re willing to spend a few hours with hundreds of other brides, sifting through a chaotic maze of wedding vendors, I’d recommend going to a bridal show. After all, you never know until you try it.

Ideas for next entry:

-Cookware/China

-Food

-Invitations

-Your Choice

-Paige

Save The Date for Save-The-Dates

And… the countdown is on! We’re about to hit the six-months-out mark in December, so we’re in the middle of searching for the perfect save-the-dates. And let me tell you, it’s been a little difficult—probably a bit more difficult than it should be (but I’m extremely picky).

The thing is, I know what I want, but apparently I have expensive taste, so it’s been hard to find what I want in my price range. So I’ve slowly started accepting (although reluctantly) different ideas for our save-the-dates. But I’ll go ahead and tell you what I originally wanted. Our theme is “internationality,” and so I really liked the idea of having our save-the-dates in the form of a passport, complete with a picture of the two of us on one of our trips. But I wanted it to be authentic-looking—none of this cheesy “Passport to Love” stuff. I wanted it to actually look like a passport. And, of course, that’s pretty hard to find.

To give you an idea of what I really want (but can’t afford), here’s someone on Etsy who seems to be doing this out of their home and customizing them to your specific wants and needs:

Passport Save-The-Dates

I love them. They’re perfect. But they are NOT in my price range. Although they’re beautiful and the designer gives you LOTS of options to customize them, I still think they’re outrageously priced. Plus, they want you to pay a $50 deposit in addition to the cost of the actual save-the-dates. And the cheapest save-the-dates are $3.75—each! Frankly, I can’t afford this at all.

But here are some I found that I got ideas from but definitely wasn’t going to order:

Passport to Romance Save-The-Dates

These just look way too cheesy. I might have considered them if it weren’t for what it says on the front: “Passport to Romance.” Seriously. Gag me with a pitch fork. And if I feel like gagging, then why wouldn’t our guests who receive these want to gag? Plus, I wouldn’t really say Keegan and I are romantic (although I like romantic literature and ballet—not the genre, the time period). So romantic + cheesy = not us.

This is about as romantic as we get. And this was five years ago.

Well, I guess we can look romantic when we want to. Many thanks go to London for the use of this photo!

I’ve seen a lot of save-the-date magnets lately, and I know they’re gaining popularity. But I really like the concept—they’re not going to get lost in someone’s pile of junk mail since they can conveniently stick on the fridge all year ‘round, and it can be a keepsake for the guest. So when I did a Google search for “passport save-the-dates” I ran into this: (by the way, it’s that easy. If you’re looking for something and you’re not quite sure where to find it, all you have to do is type it into Google. You may or may not find what you’re looking for, but it’s almost guaranteed that you’ll get some good ideas if you look long enough.)

Passport To Love Save-The-Date Magnets

These are a good size and a decent price, I think. I did a little research on them and found out that the colors, fonts, and pictures are all customizable, so that’s a plus. And of course you get to add a personal picture, and that’s something I really wanted to include in our save-the-dates.

Passport To Love Save-The-Date Mini Magnet

These are the “mini” version of the same design. We measured them out on a piece of paper and they’re actually really small. And while they don’t exactly look like a passport (do they look like a passport to you?), I like the format (and the pricing) of the smaller magnets better than the larger size. But if I really wanted to make our picture noticeable, I don’t think I could really do that with these since they’re so small.

I also ran into these:

Love Airways Save-The-Date Magnet

I really love this format. And yes, it’s not what I originally wanted, but I think they’re pretty cute. The only problem I have with these is that I think they’re going to make people think we’re having a destination wedding, which we’re not. So I don’t want to give people the wrong idea about the location of our wedding (especially since you don’t normally include the location on the save-the-dates). What do you think? If you got this from a distant relative that you don’t know very well, would you think their wedding was going to be a destination wedding? I honestly could be overanalyzing things, but that’s just what I do (I’m a writer, after all).

So I think these are some major contenders. But unfortunately, I don’t think anything will measure up to the ones I found from that designer on Etsy.

Please, please, please feel free to comment—hearing your opinions on this will help me make a decision (and I need to make one pronto!). If you have any suggestions, questions, or other advice, I’d love to talk with you. Your opinions are always appreciated.

Ideas for next week’s entry:

-Bridal shows

-Cookware/China

-Food

-Invitations

-Paige