It's That Time of Year: Wedding Fair Season

I found this in my secondary e-mail account:

Here's your Complimentary Ticket to the Bridal Event of the Year!

We'd like you to be our guest at the Modern Luxury Weddings Bridal Event at the San Francisco Ritz-Carlton Hotel on Sunday, January 10th. It's an unforgettable afternoon filled with decadent hors d'oeuvres and gourmet tastings from renowned chefs, champagne and martini bars, the glamour of the Vera Wang and Monique Lhuiller High Fashion Runway Show and over 80 magnificent exhibits filling the ballrooms of San Francisco's only Five-Star, Five Diamond hotel...

Um...can I still go?

The Most Dangerous Wedding Gift Ever

Do you know what these things are?


It's a creme brulee torch, a mortar and pestle, and a lemon reamer. AKA, our wedding gift from our friend G, given to us with the instructions that we not use them on each other in disagreements. Thanks, G!

(Side note: last Easter I came across a site where people tortured Marshmallow Peeps in a myriad of ways. Now, unlike many people, I am a fan of the Peep, but this trio of gifts could really be put to interesting uses in that little endeavor come next Spring).

We also got a surprise gift: a bundt cake pan and a box of double chocolate bundt cake mix. Now I can make a bundt cake and have something to put in my cake stand!
BONUS GIFT: more packing materials for Kitty!

Steamy!

It happened again!

Petunia investigated:


Oh, pretty wrapping!


It's the All-Clad 3 Qt Steamer Set!


Thanks, J & A & A! We can't wait to steam things.

It was not as interesting for kitty, but she still shows no sign of being tired of the Crate & Barrel packing materials that she lounges around in all day, every day.

Presents!

This wedding stuff has taken an exciting turn. On Friday, I came home to THIS:


I could barely wait to get it open. We had some fun for a minute trying to guess who the early bird was - I guessed S & D, because they had registered at Crate & Barrel for their wedding and it just seems like S. to be on top of things, like sending a gift early so you don't have to lug it with you from San Diego. But actually, it was from Sweetie's friends T & D, who sent us two sets of the Aspen dinnerware we had registered for. Now we have 8 sets of matching plates/mugs/salad plates/bowls, instead of just a mishmash of our unmatched stuff carried over from our previous lives! Nice.


Bonus!!! It turned out to be a treat for kitty, as well. She spent the better part of the weekend ensconced in packing materials. We're leaving it out until she tires of it.

Ka-wow-ee!

THIS is where we're going to be in 80-something days!!! We booked it tonight! That's going to be us on those outside bar stools! Another pina colada, please!


Like most East Coast kids, I first heard about Hawaii from the Brady Bunch episode. Growing up, nobody went to Hawaii - people would go to the Caribbean. Hawaii was someplace you would maybe go on your honeymoon, but that was it. And now I finally get to go! That's called livin' the dream.

I'm excited because in the pictures, the rooms look very nice. No tacky flowered bed spreads here - it all looks clean, modern, tasteful. Maybe this will be our room? We did spring for an ocean view...


Sweetie found this place, proving once again that he has excellent taste in hotels.

I Am Turning Into the Biggest Sap

What is happening to me???

This is the kind of thing that I would have totally made fun of in the past, if I had even bothered to watch it. But now, I'm a little embarrassed to admit, I was almost in tears at the end because, well, they just all look so joyful.

OMG, this wedding/love stuff is just turning me into the BIGGEST sap. And I always thought of myself as such a Miranda!

No, wait, this kind of makes sense. I love movies that are not musicals, yet end with everyone singing and dancing (see The 40 Year Old Virgin and There's Something About Mary), and this is a little bit like that.

But still, um, no, we're not doing this at our wedding.

Do I Have to Wear White?

No, you don't have to wear white, according to this book by Anna Post, which is the latest of the wedding books that I have been borrowing from the library (why buy when I'm only going to use them this one time? :) I, of course, will be wearing white. Well, ivory. It goes much better with my skin tone.

Anyway, this book was useful because it covered all sorts of etiquette questions, as well as the nuts and bolts of the ceremony and reception. All that stuff that I feel a little bit clueless about. I really liked that the book included lots of questions about same-sex weddings, too.

Which reminds me of a phone conversation I had with my brother in CT a couple of weeks ago. He told me that he was talking about the wedding with his family, and someone - presumably his wife or one of my nieces or nephew - asked why I was getting married in California instead of Connecticut, where most of my family is. Um, maybe because I haven't lived in CT since I was 18? Maybe because I've been in San Francisco for 10 years now? Maybe because Dave's family and friends are all in the Bay Area, and it's a heck of a lot easier on everyone to have it here rather than have them all trek out to CT?

It actually never occurred to me to have the wedding anywhere but here. But when I think about it, there are two reasons why having it in CT would have been cool. Reason #1, of course, is my Mom. Because she's getting on in years and because she has always hated to travel, she won't be coming to the wedding, a decision I fully support and am at peace with. Reason #2 is because I love the idea of getting married in a state that allows same-sex couples to be wed. Hooray, CT ! And Massachussetts, and Iowa, and soon Vermont, New Hampshire, and possibly Maine. I still can't believe how backwards the majority of California is on this issue. I know it's just a matter of time. But in the meantime, I love the idea of some "Yes on 8" Central Valley bride-to-be reading this book and seeing that the Emily Post people approve of gay weddings!

Three Months!!!

92 days until we get married! Yikes, time is just flying. And so much to do! Much of the major stuff is done - the place, the dress, officiant, photographer, cake, bridesmaids gowns - but there are SO many other things left. Sweetie's suit, my shoes, flowers, flower girl dresses, the rings, music, favors, cake topper, centerpieces, deciding what to wear in my hair. LOTS of stuff. For the next three months it's all going to be Wedding, Wedding, Wedding.

Oh, and stamps! We got our invitations today, and we're so happy with them. They're so cute and they just set the perfect tone for the wedding. I want to mail them NOW, and not wait the recommended 6-8 weeks before the wedding.

OH! And I have three months to get all Buff Bride. Good start today - I worked out, and Sweetie made his yummy sweet potato/rice/chicken dish for dinner. The key is going to be to make healthy food at home and avoid eating out as much as possible.

Three months! I wish I could have gotten that cute Knot ticker to work on my Facebook page.

***Update*** I was just informed that No, the next three months are NOT going to be all Wedding, Wedding, Wedding. Hmm...I guess SOMEONE is reluctant to have this cut into our Scrabble tournament and quality TV watching time (we've still got PR Season 3 before Season 6 begins on 8/20 !).

The China Question

Swagfest '09 (aka my engagement) continues with our latest acquisition: a Monique Lhuillier mug that I "won" at a drawing that I don't remember entering when I went to that party thing at Bloomingdale's last month. When I went to collect it last night, I expected them to just grab it from a pile that they had reserved for all the other brides-to-be who didn't actually register that night, but no, it was gift-wrapped and had my name on it and a personalized card and everything. Classy, Bloomies!

It's quite pretty, and if I were a china person I would consider her collection even though I haven't a clue how to pronounce Lhuillier correctly. But we decided against registering for china, because really, when would we ever use it and where the heck would we store it? Do couples who live in cities in apartments without formal dining rooms really need that stuff, with the matching gravy boats and all? Is our marriage doomed if we just keep eating off those same basic Crate & Barrel plates? I don't think I've been subscribing to Real Simple and Martha Stewart Living long enough to know the answer.

If I change my mind, I'm sure my Mom will give me hers. She's become quite the minimalist in her later years, and seems frustrated by her house filled with stuff (she happily gave away the dining room furniture to my niece a couple of years ago). I've actually already alerted her that I am interested in the crystal and please don't give it away to my nieces. I just have to figure out a way to get that stuff from CT to here someday...

Swag!

I was never one of those girls who dreamed about her wedding, so it really surprised me how much I've been enjoying the planning. Aside from the fact that this will all culminate in getting to spend my life legally wed to a wonderful guy, the wedding planning has thus far involved many of my favorite things: the ones that are FREE! The swag has just been great.

Take, for example, the gift bag that I got for going to Bloomingdales' Registry Night. You didn't even have to actually register - they just gave it to all brides-to-be who showed up:


Two All Clad pot holders, two Le Creuset mini spatulas, a sample of Jo Malone cologne, a sample of Nespresso coffee, and a Victorinox knife. This is somewhat representative of the calibur of stuff you collect going to wedding fairs, though there you get a lot more things like bath salts (thanks, Claremont Hotel). OK, it's not the most valuable stuff, but I like it.

But we did win something valuable at one of the wedding fairs we attended: this blue 3 1/2 Qt Le Creuset Dutch Oven, which retails for $185.


Cooks Unlimited of Noe Valley was at the fair advertising their registry services (which we're still considering), and we entered their drawing. I've pretty much been entering any and every drawing at those fairs - it's easy becuase I just bring along those little return address stickers that I've been deluged with in the mail - but this is the only thing I've won (and really, one of the things we really wanted to win). It sits in a place of honor on display in our kitchen, but we haven't used it yet. I've need to find some recipes.

Maybe I'll find one in The Bride & Groom's Cookbook, which was our gift for registering at W-S. They do great registry events, complete with hors d'oeuvres, cake samples, and champagne (I've probably had more glasses of champagne since announcing our engagement than I've had in all my years combined. It just rains on you. I swear, at the Bloomies event I had my own guy following me with an open bottle of Veuve, just waiting for me to give him the cue for a refill).

I love the little heart shaped glass bowl we got for registering at Crate & Barrel. It was made in Poland, just like my people. We keep our keys in it in the hall - and we never lose them!


See what I mean? Swag! I love it.

Happy Lucky

We went and picked out our wedding invitations today, at San Francisco-based Hello! Lucky. And we proofed our save-the-dates, and added thank you cards to our order, as well. SO fun! And fun not only because they do cute, quirky, quality work, but also because half the time we forget the name of the company and call them Happy Lucky or Lucky Happy or Hello Kitty.

I won't be previewing our stuff here - that's a surprise - but here are some enjoyable examples of their work:

Sweet!


Who doesn't love space monkeys? Nobody, that's who.


Awww! Next year.


Good stuff.

www.hellolucky.com

The Search for the Dress

Yesterday was a marathon wedding dress shopping day. I went to four - FOUR! - bridal salons and tried on I don't know how many dresses and posed for countless pics with dresses that were the wrong size clipped to me to get the effect. Exhausting! But, I enjoyed it. I never thought I'd be this girl.

And I'm almost done! I don't feel the need to look at any more dresses. I'm giving it a bit more thought, studying the pictures a little more, and soon I'll pick out The Dress and go buy it.

Funny, I went into this with some VERY specific ideas of what I wanted, and what I didn't want. First rule: NO STRAPLESS, and no poofy skirt. I'm not that kind of bride. Second iron-clad rule: NO VEIL. Any time a well-meaning wedding shop attendant came at me, beaming and holding a strip of tulle, I would practically hold up my fingers in a cross and hiss. NO.

Funny how some of your original ideas can go straight out the window...

Turns out, 90% of all wedding dresses are strapless for a reason: because they look really good on, even if you don't have a model body type. And the spaghetti straps that I had also nixed -- well, my top dress choice has spaghetti straps. Go figure.

Like I said, I did start off with a very clear idea of what I wanted. In early June of '08 I sat in a movie theater between my friends Justyna and Margaret, watching the Sex and the City movie. During the wedding dress montage scene, I inwardly gasped at one dress. There it was - The Dress that I wanted to get married in! It was so clear to me (and I should point out, Sweetie and I had only been dating, oh, about two or three weeks at the time. Even then, I knew).

Since then, I have been driving myself mad looking for images of that dress. You'd think it would be super easy to find - just Google Sex and the City Wedding Dress Oscar de la Renta. It's the sleeveless dress with a V-neck, and she's wearing a big red flower in her hair. SO elegant.

But instead of my dream dress, THIS is all that comes up when I try to Google it:


Aaack! Euww! No, no, no! BAD! Just so POOFY and HARSH and POINTY and unflattering and don't even get me started on that thing on her head. NO.

So I can't find a picture of that dream dress, but as it turns out, Jenna Bush wore a very similar Oscar de la Renta to her wedding. At least, I think it was similar -- why is she at that weird back angle in all of her wedding photos? At first I figured she was disguising a baby bump, but months later, no new Bush has entered the world (thank God for that!).

Anyway, pretty dress. But I haven't found anything similar that I like. So this probably won't be my wedding look after all (though I am still considering the big red flower in my hair like Carrie had).

One more thing: at Lilac Boutique in Alameda, they had a dress that was JUST like Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy's! Now, I know that that dress is kind of a cliche at this point, but I was still excited to try it on. And whoah -- I was at once entranced, and utterly horrified. Bias cut is the least forgiving of all cuts. Every bump, every ripple of flesh is magnified. Oh, dear.

So, no slinky Carolyn dress for me either. But it's still a wonderful image, all these years later:


Loving the filmy wrap, the shoes, and the simple ponytail. Now those I can do...