2 Become 1

Apartments that is. For a variety of reasons, B is moving into my current apartment which is a great two-bedroom near Ball Square. It is very neighborhoody, close to the Red Line, and affordable. My one complaint is the stove from 1970 but I have a washer/dryer, basement storage and a backyard.

The problem is that I have been living by myself for just over a year and by the time he moves in, it will be two years. I like things my way. I like answering to no one and if I want to eat Kraft singles in bed, I can. I also do things a certain way and do not like change.

The best example is locking the door. I lock my door with a key, even though I can just turn the knob thing and lock the door before I close it. I do that when I close the door at B's but at my place I have to lock it with a key from the outside. However, there is a reason for my rule. I forget my keys a lot. I misplace them often. I lose my keys several times. So if I am outside my apartment there is a good chance that my keys are inside. So if I only lock the door with a key, I always know that as long as the door is locked, I have my keys somewhere. It is a simple system and it works for me.

Now if B is over and we go out, he tries to lock the door his way not with a key. I don't like it. It puts a crimp in my system and could cause me to get locked out. Then I have to get my landlady to let me in and I feel stupid even though she says "that's what I am here for" when she lets me in.

We have Gocco'd

So B and I tried out the Gocco machine yesterday and it is awesome. We still were unsure about how it worked. It is as simple as the instructions say but there will be some complexity in dealing with the invitations since we will have multiple colors and our print area is bigger than the printing screen.

Here is the machine on my dining room table (with a towel underneath just in case).

This is the image we were trying to print copies of.

Here is the screen with ink.

Then we press down...

And voila! We have created prints in gold ink of the picture. We tried it on textured and flat paper. We like the textured better.

I have to remember to go heavy on the ink but still pretty cool and easy.

Save the dates are next!

Playing Hooky

I mentioned a few posts ago that B and I were taking off the Friday after the BC/VaTech game. I am glad we did since after the miraculous win, we (along with some of his friends) were the last to leave BSG. The win made for a non-cranky B on Friday as we went to Rockport for some no frills, economical, delicious lobster, clam chowder and ice cream. The drive up was really pretty as the foliage is hitting its peak. And being a Friday, there were not that many out of state leaf peepers. We hope to start exploring New England more. Next I want to go to a corn maze. We will see when that actually happens.

Our no frills table and chairs...

Our view...

Other pictures around Rockport...

BC's next game is Saturday at home - we have a wedding and I have much empathy for the bride dealing with her BC alumnus groom to be. I wish her Godspeed. And B is not allowed to check scores during ceremony or reception. But I am sure any of his ten BC friends will keep him updated.

Cake Time!

We are not having a large cake and instead are having cupcakes with a small two-tiered cake for cutting into (and serving that night) and preserving for our one year anniversary. If we were having a cake, I would use the one below as inspiration. Imagine a whole cake that looked like me in the same wedding dress. There is only one word to describe it - Awesome!

Keeping Secrets

I am a horrible secret keeper - if you have told me something in confidence I have more than likely told B. The good news is that he is a great secret keeper so if I did tell him your secret, it will go no further than him. I like to think that he would not have caved to Voldemort and Harry's parents would not have been killed. But that is just me.

And after dress shopping, I realized that me not divulging anything about the dress is going to be torture. I have to keep this to myself for over a year (and 2008 is a leap year so I have an extra day to deal with). If I do falter, I do not doubt that he will quickly put me in my place. I already have been scolded because I accidentally left some pictures up on my computer screen after I transferred them from my camera to the computer. They were thumbnails so he didn't see much except blobs of white or ivory. I would have looked.

The other weird thing is that we discuss (and he might say overdiscuss) every wedding decision. This is a very big one and feels weird for me to be making it all by myself. It is also hard because I want him to love (not like) the end result.

Registering

Because I can't show the pictures that I took on Saturday, I am moving on to another topic - registering. After we had gotten engaged (or as New York would say, after B engaged to me) we did not go down to New York and visit any reception sites for almost two months. In those two months I got antsy to do something wedding-related, so I decided to open up a registry.

Because of their lenient return policy I knew that we were going to register at Bed Bath and Beyond and then another store to be named later. After blogging about going to Target with B after I had already done all my shopping, I thought it was too bad I didn't register at Target. The other store we picked was Macy's because it is everywhere and everyone knows it. I didn't want to send people to a store that I don't shop in normally (Williams-Sonoma or Fortunoff) and everyone has Bed Bath and Beyond or Macy's near them. Also I have heard that Crate and Barrel discontinues things fairly often and many brides have to register multiple times because their original items are no longer in stock.

Also Macys and Bed Bath and Beyong usually have good sales or send you a million coupons (I am looking at you Bed Bath and Beyond...20% off any one item). While registering, Lynn (our bridal consultant) informed us that even though the 20% off coupon lists a bunch of brands that are not included in the offer, all you have to say is "I didn't know know it didn't include [insert brand name here]. I don't know if I want it" and the cashier is supposed to allow you to use the coupon "this one time." It is part of their training in providing the utmost in customer service.

So on this Saturday afternoon, we have our first encounter with the scanner. B was intrigued and the first five items placed on our registry we his choosing. The jigger was the first item we registered for and he picked it. While I did look forward to registering, it was very overwhelming and after awhile, I started to feel uncomfortable about selecting the exact things I wanted and how much things cost. After about two hours, we turned in our scanner and decided to finish off the registry in the comfort of home and over the next few months.

One weekend when I went to New York without B, I dragged bridesmaid extraordinaire, Kim, with me to Macys and started that registry. Macy's Herald Square was definitely overwhelming but I liked that they had EVERYTHING there. I saw all my options in person rather than on the computer screen or just a picture in a flyer. (Also when you tell them the number of invited guests they tell you how many gifts you should register for and the number in each price range which is handy.) While there Kim feel in love with a pineapple patterned china. One day Kim, one day and it will all be yours. After about an hour in Macy's, we left and replenished our bodies at the Beer Garden but that is a whole other story.

On another return trip to NY, B and I finished off our Macy's registry for the most part - he selected the bedding. I say for the most part because I feel like they are in a state of constant flux. I add stuff and then feel guilty about how much I have registered for and take stuff off (I do that with actually purchasing things either I go to the strore put a lot of things in the cart and then slowly put most back or I just buy a bunch of things and then end up returning some). I go back and forth as to whether I should have an item on the Macy's list or the Bed Bath and Beyond one or both. B gets a gift from work which is similar to something on the registry so I take that off. I think I need to stop thinking about it for awhile and just let the registry sit, unchanged, for awhile.

Day of Dresses

My Saturday consisted of trying on several dresses in the Boston area. The started with me meeting Laura, trusted dress advisor, in Davis Square at 10:30 and ended at 6:00 with said dress advisor dropping me off at home. And while I was exhausted and tired and couldn't look at another dress, I was able to get a good idea of what I wanted and what worked for me. I am now able to really focus my search for the one dress to rule them all. While I can't go into specifics about what I am now looking for, I can tell you a few things:

1) I don't like pouff
2) I hate petticoats
3) Facial hair does not look right on a lady (though she was very nice, patient, and helpful)

Thanks a ton to Laura for shepharding me through the day and Alett for infusing us with some life towards the end of the day.

Detour!

We take a break from our regularly scheduled dress talk to discuss the package that was on my doorstep today.


My Gocco Printer!!!!!!!!


This is a picture of every thing in the box displayed nice and neat. Unfortunately, it does not look that way in my living room. Things have kind of exploded.


For those of you not in the know - Gocco is a fully self-contained compact color printing system invented in the 1977 by Noboru Hayama. Using flash bulbs similar to those found in old cameras, an original image is thermally imprinted on a master screen.

The name "print gocco" is derived from the Japanese word and concept "gocco", loosely translated as a type of make-believe play used to learn common rules and knowledge.

In December 2005, Gocco’s parent company, "Riso", announced they are ending production of the Gocco system due to low sales in Japan. An Internet campaign was started to find a new home for the product. (definition courtesy of Wikipedia)

So all I want to do now is print something. But because you of the process, just playing around for one or two prints is not really the thing to do. The goal is to use this printing machine to create save the dates, invitations, reply cards, thank you cards, anything card related for the rest of my life, etc.

Examples of Gocco-created invites are below (click the links):
WeddingBee example-this also gives a bit of an example of the process
An IndieBride
Another IndieBride

Dress Thoughts

I don't wear a lot dresses and the thought of big, poofy, heavy wedding dress give me panic attacks. I am looking for a simple dress that is not too shiny, heavy, ornate, over the top, or meringue-like.

As I have only really looked in magazines and torn out pages, I am not even sure what to expect in terms of dresses at stores. I am not going to lie - the thought of dress shopping intimidates me.

I am not going to wear a dress like this. B and I discussed no color for the wedding dress (I want to look good for myself as well as for him, so I ask him his opinion in a very vague manner):

However, something like this is okay:

I like dresses like (remember to click the link to see unless you are my fiance, then don't click anything. there is nothing to see) these:

Dress 1

Dress 2 (last one)

Coming Soon

I will be posting somelinks to dresses that I like right now. I like the look of these dresses and like them regardless of how they may look on me. Also B visits this blog from time to time and because of that, I have to post the links rather than the actual picture. The question all of you may be asking yourself is thatwon't he look. And the answer is no, he won't. Why won't he - I don't know. I just that he won't. He doesn't even look at his phone if he gets a text while watching TV or doing something. It drives me crazy. However, we did discuss what would happen if the situation was reversed andwe decided that I would totally look. And I would. Don't judge.

See you at the movies

I hung up the phone a few minutes ago and booked another vendor. This is the last one that I have had to deal with it and I had been procrastinating. It is the videographer. And it is of lesser importance to me and one of the only reasons we are getting one is because of Brendan's oldest brother's kids. I guess when they were younger, their parents' wedding video was their favorite "movie" to watch. Since video is of lesser importance and I didn't feel like traveling to New York to look at other people's wedding, I selected this vendor solely on word of mouth and price. And according to ladies on the Knot, they are fabulous.

We selected (and by we I mean me since videographer has an "E" next to it) Halo Video. Click here to see some clips of their previous work.

And they keep rising...

So because all of you care, the football team that caused the wedding to change dates has been doing quite well this year and keep rising in the polls. Below is a picture of my nephews (Thomas and Ryan) who were excited to wear their new t-shirts and at the time BC was only ranked 14th in the nation. I can only imagine the excitement they have in wearing the t-shirt of the #3 team in the nation.

Virginia Tech will be a tough game. I took the next day off of work. BC win=B happy=Me happy.

And pretty maids all in a row

Since the color of the wedding had been decided (remember - wine), I have turned my attention to selecting a dress for the bridal party.

I had a few requirements for the dress:
1) It had to not be strapless
2) It had to cover the knee
3) It had to look pretty in wine/red


I like the look of J.Crew dresses but their price tag seems a bit steep, especially if the girls never wear the dress again. (I know all brides want their bridesmaids to wear the dress again but I don't think many do it).


J.Crew: I liked this one. So the search was on for a similar dress.




Then I saw this one on David's Bridal:








Then Bridesmaid Kim decided to find one she liked (I guess that means she doesn't like the others?). And she sent me this:







Several people have said not to juge the dress color based on the Internet and that all the dresses look different in person. I hope to get at least one bridesmaid to a store before the end of the year. We will see...

Or I could go in a completely different direction...

I saw this and quickly decided against it, but if you wanted but color and function from a bouquet, then this may be for you. Click here for link to a different take on the bridal bouquet.

It would be awesome during a long ceremony if you found yourself hungry.

Orange Blossoms?

So my lovely sister posted a comment about using Orange Blossoms in the bouquet as this is traditional and she used them. I had never heard and had not come across any mention of it in all of my Internet reading. So of course I have to find out what this is all about. According to factmonster.com (a link Ann sent me):

"Orange Blossoms Worn at Weddings
The Saracen brides used to wear orange blossoms as an emblem of fecundity; and occasionally the same emblem may have been worn by European brides ever since the time of the Crusades; but the general adoption of wreaths of orange blossoms for brides is comparatively a modern practice, due especially to the recent taste for flower-language. The subject of bridal decorations being made a study, and the orange flower being found suitable, from the use made of it by the ancient Saracens, it was introduced by modistes as a fit ornament for brides. The notion once planted, soon became a custom, now very generally adopted by those who study the conventions of society, and follow the accepted fashions."



My original plan was a dark red bouquet but orange blossoms are white. And I told Ann this. In much to my surprise, she answers and has included an image from the Internet that looks like this.




This is not orange blossom but stephanotis (close enough) and this bride does not look happy.

Side note: I would like to note that yesterday I read the fecundity three times (once in this definition and twice in a book) and fecund once. I still do not know what it means.

Random Old Photos

While my sister was visiting my uncle, they were going through old photographs. And because I find them funny and cute, I am going to share them with my adoring fans.

(I assume Uncle Billy took all these photos and deserves credit for anyone wanting to use them)

Here is me and my cousin Jen on the kitchen table. Because that is where you put babies in the 70s. And I think that is a can of WD-40 on the table with us which explains a lot.

My brothers Rich (left) and Bill (right) with our older sister Ann.

And my siblings with our other cousins, Karen (far left) and Kevin (far right).

April Showers bring May Flowers

While this may be true, it doesn't help me pick flowers for a November wedding. In order to find a florist, I wanted to send them examples of what I wanted in a centerpiece and bouquet. All the advice on flowers say to select flowers in season to save on costs. So I had to figure out what flowers were in season during the fall. So I go to the trusty Internet and read up on flowers that are available during November.

Unfortunately, I am not a flowers person. I don't know what the names mean so I have to google everything: Amaranthus, Amaryllis, Callistephus, Celosia, Crocosmia, Dahlia, Echinops, Gladiolus, Gomphrena, Sunflower, Hypericum, Kniphofia, Physostegia, Saponaria, Scabiosa, Sedum, Solidago, Zinnia. This becomes too tiresome.

I also read that roses and Gerbera daisies are available all the time. So I just Google images of wedding pictures with those two in them because I know I like them. I compile a bunch of ideas like these:















For centerpieces, I liked these:




However, we won't finalize the flowers until next September. So don't hold your breath.

The DJ and the Lesson I Learned

So I mentioned in my previous post how we divided up the to do list -right? Well my first lesson learned comes in choosing a DJ. B is in charge of the music and the DJ falls into his list of responsibility. He had emailed a few people that I had found on the Internet (before we made the list) and the DJ his sister used. He would tell me what was emailed back and I would reply to his informative email with 3-4 more questions about prcing, what he is asking/telling the potential vendors, also points to consider, etc. It was after doing this a few times that I realized I have to give up control. I didn't want to make all the decisions and B wants to help.


I had to let him choose the DJ just like he had let me choose other vendors. Because if I did this for every thing he is in charge of, he will either stop doing things or I will feel like I am doing it all. Neither is good for anybody's stress levels during wedding planning. And it is not like I have such discriminating tastes that he can't pick vendors up to snuff. And he wants a good DJ just as much as I do, at least I hope so. I sent him an email that just "Whatever you decide is fine" and left it at that.


In the end, he went with the DJ his sister used and the DJ takes direction very well and won't play the songs we don't want played. Also he is a known quantity. For all the weddings we have gone to, not many have been in New York. We didn't have a large list to pull from (among those we have already seen in action). And while most have showcases, we were not going to drive to New York to go to see various DJ's pretend to be at a wedding and excite the crowd. I just keep thinking of the movie "The Wedding Singer" when Jon Lovett performs for Drew Barrymore and she just watches him. It seems like a showcase would be awkward.

The Decision Making Process - Who is in Charge?

So we have the wedding planning items divided up between the two of us. And in our budget spreadsheet each item has an E (me), B (him), or T (together) in the first column and the letter indicates who is responsible for that line item. And as it stands now, I hold responsibility for 23 items, B 13 and together we decide on 5. Now some of the items are at a granular level such as flowers (E) - the spreadsheet has it broken out by centerpieces, bridal bouquet, bridal party bouquet, groom's boutinneires, groomsmen's boutinieres, etc. B has music which encompasses ceremny music, cocktail hour music and reception music. So that means I have to find the vendor and then choose the flowers for each line item. We each get to pick out our own ring which can be fun - our bands do not have to match. In fact, for the wedding in general I am not into matchy matchy. I guess the bridal party dresses will be matching but they don't have to be.

The reasons for doing this was:
1) So I didn't feel like I was doing everything for the wedding
2) I don't have to hand out things for B to do, he has access to the list and I hate micro-managing
3) It reminds me what I have to do as well

I figure I won't allow myself to ask B how his tasks are coming along until I am notified by the Knot (they have this checklist of tasks and items and each month I get an email about what should be completed in that month) that the item needs attention. And according to the Knot, we do not have any outstanding items for October AND November. So we are free until December in theory. Unfortunately, people and vendors book up fast in NYC so I am using the checklist as a guide.

Color Me

I am not a big pink kind of girl. And on some level I didn't really care about the wedding colors. So how we went about picking them was more about the colors I didn't want - which is actually how I make a lot decisions in life. I am a chronic process of elimination girl.

I am somewhat old fashioned and didn't want my bridal dressed all in black so I was down one color. Next I looked to the season - fall - for inspiration. This eliminated pastels. Then I decided I didn't want blue. So I went to the David's Bridal web site because they have a color pallette on the web site and I started to look at the dresses by color. This helped me see what the actually colors looked like - for the most part. So in searching I realize that I don't like any dress in green. So that is out. Then I stumble upon the reds and while I never would have picked red out as the bridesmaid dress color, the wine/merlot color looks really nice and I think it is a great fall color.

And while we were at the caterers I looked at the tablecloths and liked the brown ones they had out. I decide the wine will go nicely with brown and there you have it - our wedding colors.

Now there is one downside, it turns out that I am not original. Wine and brown are very popular color choices on the November 2008 board on the Knot. Oh well. I already changed the date, I am not changing the colors as well.

Image taken from a web site:

Engagement Photo Session

So after one engagement photo session we hadn't planned on, we found out our photographer includes one as a standard part of every wedding package - even ours. Her reasoning (at least what she told us) is that it allows her to get a sense of who we are and what we like and it lets us get used toher and having a lot of pictures taken of us. She will take one of the photos and create cards from them that will be available during the wedding. These cards will have a website and password for the guests to see all the photos taken. Guests can also purchase them if they want is a benefit to her. All in all I guess I do not mind having it done.

I figure I can have a hair and make up trial and have the pictures done.