Save the Date Sample/Preview

Had so much fun and an easy time creating a sample Save The Date for our upcoming wedding!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stationery card

View the entire collection of cards.

Weddin' Timez - SO EXCITED!

NaNoWriMo is going...slowly...but it's going. However, it's being put on hold this weekend because my friend, hetero-life-mate, and former college room mate Rachel is getting married on Saturday! So excited! I'm a bridesmaid (first time). We're headin' out bright and early to get to Owensboro by 10:30 to help decorate the reception site. Rachel and her mom already finished decorating the church. I'm very glad that Owensboro is an hour behind us because otherwise we'd not be getting there on time.

Gotta get my tires aligned before we leave tomorrow, wait for my friend Matt Tobbe to be prissy and fuss for 30 minutes with his hair (and then the whole 2 1/2 hour car ride), get gas, stop for food somewhere, and get lost because the road signs have been knocked down and not replaced. Maybe somewhere along the way we'll see another beaver-cat; Cassie insists it was a prairie dog, but I know better. Hopefully, Rachel took our advice to make driving easier; we insisted Rachel mark every turn with a hay bale, decked in blinking lights, with a regular sized Easter egg. Very efficient idea no?

I am making Dustin drive on all the windy back roads. Funny enough, it's faster to drive through Indiana to Owensboro than through KY on Western KY Pkwy. I'm going to try not to worry about Lily over the weekend. We're leaving her plenty of food and water; our friend Brett, who lives across the road, is going to check up on her. This weekend is all about Rachel and having a good time! First time in forever all our college friends will be together in one place to have a huge party! Again, cannot stress how EXCITED I AM! WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A FABULOUS TIME!

Here's Rachel in the middle with the bridal crew (missing two: Leslie and Kristi); It goes me, Mary (Rachel's sister), Rachel, Cassie, and Matt. :)

A Country Weekend

Weekend before last I left behind my comfy city life and internets for the country in Owensboro, KY. My friend Rachel was having a wedding shower. I carpooled with my friends Cassie and Matt. Matt and I were ashamedly late arriving to Cassie's apartment; thankfully, she was not too upset with us and did not give her teacher lecture. Despite the fact I was responsible for being late, I placed the blame on Matt saying he had to change four times before we left his apartment (note: he came up with the excuse and gave me permission to use it). Cassie drove to Owensboro as she was an expert at navigating back roads and had a car that would actually make the trip. The scenery was really pretty; we saw lots of farms with HORSES (yes, I'm still a 10 year old girl who gets excited at the sight of horses).

We only got lost a little bit due to missing/poorly placed signs and some street address confusion. We arrived at Rachel's and chilled for a little bit, playing with her kitties and puppy. Then we went out to the Bridesmaids luncheon at a new, slightly fancy international restuarant. I ordered a Mahi Mahi stuffed with spinach and ricotta cheese served with pesto fries. The food was good, albeit the portion was rather small. Not having eaten all day, I was still starving. Cassie felt the same; we went to the Dollar General right after lunch to get cards and wrapping paper, but also bought a big bag of pretzels to share. We went back to the house where Rachel gave us our bridal party gifts; she gave me a spangly, bohemian necklace & earring set.

We hung out a little more at the house until it was time to go out to her Grandpa's (on her dad's side) house way out somewhere in the country further than we were before. The house was beautiful with the most fabulous screened porch and gazebo ever! There were also horses and barn kitties present. We ate a great dinner of ham, other stuff, and the best baked beans in Owensboro (that Rachel's dad made it a point to pick up personally). Rachel opened presents, and everyone just sat around drinking and talking the rest of the night.

We got to the swanky hotel Rachel's parents put us up in late that evening. Matt and I went in ahead of Cassie (she was doing something important, can't remember what). Matt mentioned how nice he felt in his business attire and it looked like he just came from an important business conference. I said to him, "Matt you know it looks like we're having an affair now right. We're both in business attire and walking into a hotel together. Men only go to business conferences to have affairs, you know." We had a good laugh over it. The next morning we got up early to eat breakfast and go to church. Cassie left super early for choir practice. That left Matt and me to get ready around the same time. I told Matt when we were both getting ready in front of the bathroom mirror, this was married couple behavior, and I fully expected him to leave his imaginary wife for me. As we were leaving the room, Matt said, "Damn, it does look like we had an affair. We're both leaving the room and getting in the elevator without looking at each other."

Rachel's church is a Methodist church. All of us joked about Matt and I being Catholic and not having been to Protestant church but once. We needed a little instruction as to what the proper behavior was. Rachel warned us her preacher was really wacky, and told us not to judge all Methodists/Protestants by him. The preacher made obvious jibes at Catholicism talking about the Sacrament; he compared Catholics to pagan heathens. He then went on random tangents about spiritual and physical gifts/talents and something about football; I got kinda lost in the Southern church metaphors. We all chuckled in church but refrained from inappropriate behavior since Rachel was getting married in the church and with many of the same people present (who were all very nice, I might add). I think the most notable moment of the service was when Cassie and Rachel sang a duet together; it was such a pretty number.

Following church we got lunch from Ritzy's; it's a local Steak-n-Shake type place that Cassie kept raving about for its cherry amaretto shakes. We took the food and at Rachel's aunt's farm. This was the first time I'd been to a real farm. We went to the pond and saw giant Coi and Catfish. There were chickens and Guinea fowl wandering all about the place. There was a really nice dog and barn kitties galore (all of whom where either black, black & white, or gray)! The barn kitties were really sociable unlike the ones we saw the previous night. We saw a momma goat and her two babies. We got to hold baby chicks (one had just hatched that morning)! The best part was when we got to pet the horses! There were five total, and one was a six-month-old colt! I probably acted like I was an elementary school kid the way I was squeeing and getting all excited about the animals.

We eventually had to leave to get back to the church for the second wedding shower. The basement was decorated to fit Rachel's western theme. We played some fun shower games, snacked, and watched Rachel open presents--best of which was the infamous "Ugly Bowl" which had been in her family for a long time. Rachel vowed to turn it into something beautiful. I said, "Rachel you can bedazzle it!" She said, "I'll bedazzle it and give it to you at your wedding. It's time the Ugly Bowl found a new home." After the presents were all opened, Cassie, Matt, and I booked it back to Louisville where I gushed to Dustin all night about going to the farm and petting the animals.

Quickie Blog of Lotsa Topics

Need to go to effing bed and stop dwelling on grad school "dra-ma." I wrote a long convoluted blog to myself to rationalize everything. I know what the answer is, despite how I protest and say I don't care and "fuck this shit!" I do care; I would regret not finishing grad school. So I gotta suck it up, find some way to pay for one more semester of candidacy, and I am going to get my shit together for real.

Gotta get up early; heading to Owensboro tomorrow/today for Rachel and Will's wedding shower. Carpooling with friends Cassie and Matt; road-tripping with multiple people is always fun. Rachel's parents are putting us all up in a nice hotel. :) Bridesmaid luncheon tomorrow too. I forsee lots of Mimosas, laughing, and inappropriate comments and behavior. Then another shower on Sunday with the other side of Rachel's family (her mom's I think); that shower is the "girly" one. Rachel is bringing two of her three kitties and dog; I'm so excited as I love cats, and Bob and Cece are still kittens to boot! And Alice is adorable!

Thank God for Dustin and his awesome family! He puts up with all my grad school drama in addition to whatever craziness is going in my life. His parents took us out to dinner tonight. Then Dustin and I poked around B-A-M, and he offered to buy me Catching Fire, the second book in The Hunger Games series. BEST FIANCE EVER! I told him, he didn't have to get it because he's saving up for bills and tickets to Spring Awakening. However, he insisted; I think it was partially to make up for the fact he bought FFXIV today. I told him to take me to Target because the book was cheaper there despite being in hardback. He was tired by the time we got to Target (he'd been up since 7 AM with almost no break), so he told me to just take his card and go inside to buy the book while he waited in the car. Again, BEST FIANCE EVER! Books are always the best gifts! Love him regardless of presents, but it's always nice when he sporadically buys a book for me.

Brief Life Update

Blog, blog, blog, I always feel I don't ever have anything exciting to write about. I don't feel like I should be forced to write when I don't feel it. However, I have had quite a few things worth a quick blog about, so I'm gonna shove 'em all together.

My good friend and former college roomie Rachel Roberts is getting married this November! Since I'm a bridesmaid, my social calendar suddenly has a whole bunch of fun things filling it up. I've been getting a lot of fancy, social important mail, save the date, wedding invitation, shower invitation, and bachelorette party invitation. It makes me excited to check the mailbox and a little grown-up.

Dustin and I have new friends, and they're a couple to boot! Their names are Julie and Timothy. They're nerds but primarily gamers. We hung out together on Saturday playing Smash brothers (I fail at this game), Disney Sing-A-Long (Dustin and I sang A Whole New World together--very romantic and cute), and Cranium (which Dustin and I totally dominated with our college learningz). We'll likely be hanging out again in the future sometime though not sure when. I'll just wait for a facebook messaging.

There needs to be a "Parking Downtown Lousiville for Dummies" guidebook for me because I not only fail at driving downtown, I fail at parking too. Apparently, all this time I thought I was parking in the KY Center garage, I was parking in the River Front Garage. The latter is more expensive and not free on weekends or after 8 PM. However, it does lead directly up to the KY Center which is really confusing. On Sunday, when I finally found and parked in the correct garage (right next door, though kind of hidden); I forget which side I parked on only remembering I parked next to an elevator. I took the elevator in the front of the building down only to not find my car; so I went up and down for like 20 minutes (I'm sure my co-workers thought I was crazy and the dumbest girl imaginable if they saw me). Finally, I just walked out the front of the center, down the sidewalk to the front of the garage, took the stairs down, and then magically ended up at my car. I didn't understand how I could take an elevator up from the garage to the center, but not back down to the same place. Then Dustin reminded me, there are two sets of elevators in the building. DUH! Again, seriously, someone needs to create a downtown Louisville parking guide, but it's freakin' confusing and nuts down there! I think I could write an epic novel on my parking/driving exploits downtown.

My Dream Wedding - Literally

I had the wildest wedding dream last night, which is likely a manifestation of some of my wedding anxieties...despite the fact it's like two years away.

I was dressed in a beautiful, albeit very revealing wedding gown--kind of like this photo only the cut was lower, there was a larger gap between the cups of the bodice, and the top edges were more pointy (yes, with certain dreams, I remember a crazy amount of detail). I have a notable lack of boobness to say the least, and so in my dream, I obviously needed inserts. There's a huge gap between my boobs and the bodice. I attempt to insert this little gel pads into my bodice, but they aren't fitting right and the bodice isn't filling out. I look at the box, they're shoe inserts! I run around in a panic looking for boob inserts.

I run upstairs where Dustin is, and I say to him, "Oh wait, you're not supposed to see me. Oh well, I don't care." I run back down stairs to outside. A guy I know from the IRC chat I frequent, tells me I have to walk down the aisle to Canon in D. I tell him "NO! Fuck you! I'm NOT going to walk down the aisle to Canon in D!"

I run away again, this time to a drugstore run by a Vietnamese lady. I see a woman with nasty, blonde hair with black roots showing crouching down. I pass her in my search for boob inserts. She then tries to run out of the store unseen, but is caught by the owner. She apparently was trying to steal money. And the Vietnamese lady starts yelling at her, "You're trying to steal my money?! You didn't ask to borrow it or anything!" I look up and down the aisles of the store, finding more shoe inserts and tampons and pads. I finally spot one boob insert, which actually looks like half a bra without the strap, and address the store owner in Vietnamese. However, I don't know how to ask "Do you have any more of these in stock" in Vietnamese, so I ask her in English. She tells me "no."

So I run back to the place I was getting ready at. On the way I pass the chapel, and see my friend Simon. He tells me, "All the guests have been waiting for an hour and a half! It's Super Bowl Sunday or weekend!" I'm like, "I know! I'll be really quick!" Then a girl I know from theatre at U of L, shows up and tells me using an IPod to provide music for my type of wedding is tacky. She says she has everything all orchestrated for me. I staunchly tell her I'm going to use my IPod, and I don't care what she thinks. I realize I left my IPod in my high school locker. The locker is locked with a combination lock which I can't remember the combination to. I keep trying the numbers and finally give up, ready to tell the music girl to use the orchestra and Canon in D. Then I go back to the dressing room and find my IPod in my purse.

Frustrated by not finding boob inserts, I start ripping up brown and pink fabric and wrap it around my boobs on top of my dress. I yell, "I don't care anymore!" Someone hands me a bunch of light purple balloons to hold. I look at my bouquet sitting on the table and then to the balloons; I say, "I don't care! It'll cover my boobs!" I grab the balloons and then decide since I'm going to be tacky, to slip on my teal Old Navy flip flops.

After all these shenanigans and frustrations, I wake up. I didn't even get to walk down the aisle. Nevertheless, it was pretty amusing, not to mention wacky. It was a literal dream wedding though definitely not ideal.

Snow Day + Wedding Dress + Red Lobster = Perfect Day

Louisville got snow, though not as much as we were hoping and that the weather people originally predicted. The patterns changed and the southern and western parts of KY got more snow. Makes me a little disgruntled. Though I haven't been one for playing out in the snow much lately. I just think it's pretty and you know always provides a chance to miss school. Yes, I still think snow days are the most awesome thing ever when school is canceled.

Showed my future mother-in-law, Dena, and future sister-in-law, Amanda, my top three dresses today. I've got it pretty much narrowed down to two dresses. I'm 99% sure of which of the two I'll end up choosing. Pictures and other wedding talk on wedding blog.

Reading a new vampire novel by Robin McKinley called Sunshine. I'm not feeling a strong fondness of the book as of yet. I went and looked at some reviews after finishing part one. There's primarily a love it or hate it kind of feel. However, the few on the fence gave the best input--or at least comments I agree with so far; it's an interesting thing to read and see McKinley experiment with a genre she's not written before. I think it's a little tedious, but I think it's purposeful for slowly building suspense and letting the story unfold and tell itself bit by bit. I'm missing my Sookie Stackhouse with the zinger wit and sexy vamps and romance; I really enjoy them for light reading. Not enough funds to purchase a new one and they're too popular to be traded on PaperBackSwap.

Went to Red Lobster on a "double date" with Dustin's mom and stepdad. I ate so much and drank half of a Bahama Mama (which is a lot for a small, asian girl).  I ordered the pick two: grilled salmon and coconut shrimp. It came with two sides, I chose a salad and rice. Then there were biscuits to eat, and on top of that Dustin ordered crab legs which I couldn't let go by without eating a couple. I stuffed myself silly. Thank goodness we didn't get dessert. I felt sick when I got home--a mixture of overeating and alcohol. Dustin's said, "I'm going to go play a game." I promptly replied, "How about we play the game where you get me two pepto and glass of water--warm?" I was joking, but he being the most wonderful boy in the world, did exactly as I asked. Today was one of those perfect days.

Storybook Endings, Fairytales Comin' True

So I went dress shopping again this Saturday with my good friend Cassie. I am so happy I held out and didn't buy the red dress last week! I went to two shops in Louisville: Terry's Bridal (where my friend Rachel got her dress) and Regiss Bridal and Prom (which is right down the street from me). I have to see, despite having ghetto looking exteriors, these shops are beautiful on the inside! My friend Cassie posed the theory that so much money goes into the content of the stores, they probably don't have the money to make the exterior look nice.

Regiss was my favorite store and where I found two dresses I love. The best part is that the seamstress there is an expert and really goes the extra mile to do what's best for the dress and bride; that means in the case of hemming a dress with an elaborate design at the bottom for a petite bride, the design does not have to be compromised. Plus she can add extra things like a colored trim or a different colored sash. I had so much fun in the shop. The lady who was my consultant was so nice to me and Cassie. She helped me with everything and gave me a ton of info. There was no pressure to buy at all.

My favorite dress (and what I'm becoming more and more certain is "THE DRESS) ended up being something completely different than what I'd been looking at. It was a fitted, chiffon dress that looked like it came out of a Jane Austen novel. It's very reminiscent of the Regency Era. When I wore it, I felt like I was a princess stepping out of a story book.  It's all white and made of chiffon. It's strapless, fitted with an empire waistline. There's a silver sash under the bust that becomes a droopy, romantic bow in the back. Then there's silver beading at the top of the dress above the sash. The dress splits into two panels in the front. So there's the outer layer of the dress and an inner layer. I wish I could find a photo online, but I can't. The bridal shop didn't allow pictures. I tried this dress on three times! When I added a little floral tiara to it, I had a moment of "OH WOW!" The dress is $940--so it's under a $1000! It also doesn't look so blatantly weddingish that it's possible to wear it again. The dress choice influences wedding colors, so now things have changed again for bridesmaids dresses.

My wedding is set for June 2012, so  it's more like a year and a half away. I think it's important to plan everything as soon as possible because it's going to be during peak wedding season. I want to get married in the NC State Rose Garden on a Saturday afternoon.  It's a popular spot and season, so you have to book at least a year in advance. To order a wedding dress, get it altered, then pressed and steamed, I was told takes about 8-10 months. Then I've got to book a venue for the reception, back up ceremony site (in case of rain), caterer, DJ and all that other important wedding stuff. So I don't think I'm jumping on things too soon; I want as much planned out as possible, so that when it comes time to book and pay the money, there's no decision making, just do it. Also, planning on a budget really requires advance planning, I think.

I'm going to start a wedding blog, so that all my wedding stuff can go there and all my relatives and friends can go there to see it all without having to dig through all my daily life blog posts. And also for those you know actually interested in my daily life (haha) don't have to bombarded daily with wedding stuff. So here's the URL: http://anerdtasticwedding.blogspot.com/

I'm gonna double post this entry on there. But I will also be adding photos and youtube links with my wedding ideas. Anyhoo, here's couple pics to help you kind of imagine the dress; think a cross between these two pictures, substitute silver beading, make the dress all white and strapless, and add a silver sash under the bust.

The Quest for the Dress

Two of my friends are now engaged--both with a few weeks of each other. Both are getting married in 2010, one in August the other November. I went out today with my friend Rachel and the rest of the bridal party (who I all know and love). I missed going dress shopping with her Saturday. Going to Steak n' Shake for ice cream kinda made up for it. We had fun talking about wedding stuff and drama. Then she measured us for our dresses--she's making them herself. They're strapless, knee length, dark purple cocktail dresses. It's only going to cost us $20.  I'm really excited because it's purple and I can wear it again. Even though I'm getting married too, my wedding's two years down the road, so this is a fun and learning experience for me.

Saturday I went to try on dresses for a second time. I went with my future mother-in-law to Bridal Warehouse in Louisville. I unexpectedly found the possible "IT" dress. I've posted a few pics Dena took with her camera phone; we thought cameras wouldn't be allowed, but there were plenty of people taking photos. (Note: I'm posting photos of two dresses I liked most, but the one I'm considering is the red) This dress has the drama, glamor, elegance and COLOR I want in a dress. I actually decided I liked red better than dark purple. The fact is such a shock because for so long I was gunning for purple, and no one could dissuade me. I was so excited this dress had the option of dark purple accents, but when I held the purple sash up to the dress to imagine the dress in purple, I realized the red popped more and looked better. Also, what's funny about the experience is that the dress was the next to last dress I tried on. I didn't really like it on the hanger because of the "v" underneath the bust, but I tried it on and it was beautiful!

The experience at the bridal store though was less than desirable. I had little fun and felt the service was definitely lacking. Too many of the dresses were poofy princess dresses and stark white to boot. There were almost no dresses in my size or even anything remotely close to my size (I'm size 0 and petite; it's rough) My bridal consultant left me alone for way too long. I know a few times she was going to look to see if a dress came in my size or in a different color for me. Still, she left me to pick out dresses myself, not even bothering to ask what I liked. She originally left me alone to try on dresses without any help. Imagine trying to get into a dress 8 sizes too big and like 6 feet (exaggeration) too long when you're my size. I had to ask her to come help me. She also looked at me funny when I talked to her about trying on bridesmaids dresses; bridesmaids dresses have become really elaborate and come in a ton of different colors. I felt like I was being pushed to find a dress from the seller whose new dresses were being debuted in the trunk show that day. When I did find what I thought to be my dream dress, I was told there was a strong chance it could be discontinued because it was designed in 2006. The dress was $749.99--not bad for all the beautiful dress, but I didn't think it was right to drop the money yet (even though I had more than enough saved away). I don't have a job yet; it's only my second trip to the bridal shop; and I felt way too much pressure to buy.

I feel that if it's the right dress, I shouldn't feel pressured to buy it because it might not be there in the future. My wedding is 2 years away! If it's "the dress" I should have no hesitations about dropping the money. Also, with this dress there is a length/alteration problem. They can't order the dress in a custom length. When the hem the dress, they will have to cut off the beautiful beaded applique at the bottom, but they can keep the red trim. I feel shouldn't get a dress I have to compromise a design element on because of my size.

I've decided to hold out for a better dress (one I'm 100% sure of) and more importantly shop at a store where the service is better and more personal. If I still think about this dress constantly withing the next several months, I'll know it's the one. I have the designer and style number and can order off the designer website. Although my first wedding dress shopping experience was wonderful, I still couldn't find the dress of my dreams. The second experience was less exciting though I found a possible dress. My friend Cassie told me today she would go with me this weekend to some local bridal shops, one of them being the place Rachel found her dress. Also, these places carry 2s and 0s which is a plus.

2010: Post 1 of Many

First post of the new year! I'm steadily picking my life back up from the pieces it broke into after last semester. I'm done with the crying and overwhelming anxiety (well almost). Everyone is entitled to a bad semester; I screwed up, I took on too much, I admit it. It's done; I can't change it and am going to move forward.

I have to say with pride and honesty, I have the most wonderful fiance. It just really hit me at the end of the semester when he told me, "I don't care about anything but the smile on your face." I'm so proud of him now that he's almost officially a real teacher. He's just started student teaching. He genuinely cares about teaching, but he's also realistic and knows it's not going to be like Freedom Writers. He said the reason he wanted to be a teacher is a person who made a strong impact on his life was a teacher, and he wants to be able to do the same. If he can get through to one student, that's an accomplishment. :)

Break was pretty uneventful, except for trying on wedding dresses. I tried on a beautiful ivory, lace gown that almost made me willing to forgo a purple or purple and white dress. I spent most of break planning, mostly obsessing over wedding dress styles and finding a dress that doesn't compromise any of the elements I want. Although color is becoming trendier, especially red and black and white dresses, when you walk into a wedding salon, you're still drowning in a sea of white and ivory. The dresses that do have color, have it mostly as an accent. I didn't realize how overwhelming trying on dresses can get until I did it over break, and I lost sight of what I wanted. I'm seriously considering the custom route, possibly outsourcing the dress because I'm not certain I can afford custom any other way. I'll make a more detailed wedding blog post with all my ideas sometime later. ;)

My other obsession of late, besides wedding dresses, is the Sookie Stackhouse novels. It's the new crack for me. I gave it shot, and I really love it! It's the perfect blend of romance, smut, mystery, and of course the supernatural (namely vampires). I've been plowing through them mighty quick, and many of the witty insults and the Southern phrases have me laughing out loud. I'm on book 4; so far I think book 1 is best (with the mystery). I'm definitely an Eric fangirl. I've been putting off reading any more Anita Blake after Lunatic Cafe because I know I'm close to the point where the books become pure erotica and no longer urban fantasy or supernatural mystery. I'm not ready to break up with Anita Blake just yet. Funny thing, as many vampire novels as I've read, I've never read Interview with the Vampire or any other Anne Rice novel. Must do so--my only official resolution.

Thankfully, I'm doing a culminating project for grad school. My prospectus is due the Jan. 11, but thankfully it is a short but detailed explanation of the revisions I'm going to make to a paper that I've already written. I know I have to extensively revise the paper--I'm pretty much rewriting it through the whole semester so it's no longer a piece of shit. I'm fairly certain I disappointed my professor I wrote the paper for who's also my project director. I went to the library yesterday and met a fellow grad student who did the culminating project instead of a thesis. He said it was much easier and the conversation/defense of it was much more pleasant.

Last semester of grad school! One class and writing my culminating project! I'm taking an Art History course--specifically on medieval Byzantine and Arabian architecture. Something new and completely different from literature and history of England, France, Italy. No more fucking theory!!! Thank God!!! Now, the big task is to find a job--preferably one that utilizes some of my skills with writing and computers. It's rough trying to find something with an English degree that I actually would be interested in doing. I don't want to just be answering phones and writing notes and emails. Going to the temp agency tomorrow; I figure it's easier than hunting through the internet or paper. Once I find a job, I'm planning to get an internship at the Frazier either for the semester or summer; while it's unpaid (except for parking reimbursement), it ought to be an awesome and insightful experience.

Going to finish strong! I'm going to take better care of myself, which in turn will help Dustin. I'd say I'm settling back into real life okay.

Epic Wedding Recap

I'm back in Louisville, THANK GOD! THE WEDDING IS DONE! Over the summer, I've had want-to-have-a-wedding-right-now syndrome really bad, especially looking at all the awesome weddings featured on OffBeat Bride. I have been cured thanks to this is experience with my aunt's wedding. I know Dustin's mom and Tamela (my bestie) are currently bemoaning this. I'm sure it's only temporary, albeit a LONG temporary period of not wanting to have a wedding.

Going to recap the wedding & post wedding events now:

We woke up around 8:30 AM and ate half a bagel when my mom got a call from my aunt Hien telling her we have to be ready to go at 12:00PM. We were going to my aunt Hanh's (bride) house to help her get ready for the wedding. Being three women sharing one tiny hotel bathroom, my family and I rush to get ready. We're showered, made-up, in dresses and accessories by 10:00.

We attempted to put wedding gift in gift bag purchased day before; doesn't fit. Decide, well we have time to spare; mom and sister go to Saveway across street to get wrapping paper & stuff, while I stay behind in hotel. Mom & sister got back a little after 11:00 (which made me a little nervous). Had the present wrapped and ready to go a little before noon. Go down to the lobby and called my aunt, told her we were ready and waiting. She was ten minutes late. Seeing my aunt in plain clothes,  my sister and I thought "Maybe we weren't supposed to be dressed for the wedding yet, just have our stuff together." So we ran to get extra clothes from the hotel room. We  jumped in my mom's car and followed my aunt to the house.

My aunt Hanh was sick (with a cold or something she caught two days before) and stressed and a nervous wreck. She's normally super bossy, but that day she was even moreso. She was freaking out because the hair & make-up stylist wasn't at the house yet. My aunt Hien called him to find out his location; he was stuck in traffic. My aunt Hanh managed to calm down some, and said she was grateful for us being there. She showed us the dress (beautiful of course). She asked if we're hungry and offered us food. My mom made my sister, me, aunt Hien, and herself delicious ham sandwiches.

Hair/make-up guy arrived; blatantly homosexual and Vietnamese too. Finished just a little before the time we're supposed to leave to go take pictures. Everybody, except the bride, changed and gathered stuff together trying to help my mom and aunt Hien out. We left for the garden where the wedding would take place. We arrived at Elizabeth Gamble Gardens and went inside the house where my aunt would get ready. Her friends Kitty and Carmen, and my aunt Hien all helped her into her dress and get her accessories on. My sister, mom, and I watched; afterward, my sister was put in charge of my aunt's Hanh's blotting sponge, and I took hold of her purse.

My aunt went to go take private pictures with the groom, and I went to chill with my family in the sitting room that lead to the garden. It was so hot, everyone was sweating and fanning themselves. Thankfully, ice water was provided. Then we all moved outside to the area by the tea house to take photos. Eventually, ceremony time hit. We all got seated after a little confusion about who was supposed to process before the bride. The ceremony was very simple, elegant, and beautiful and SHORT! Everyone moved back to the tea house to talk and take more pictures. My sister and I wandered around the gardens more and took lots of pictures.

Finally, the time came to head towards the reception. We went to a fancy French restaurant called The Plumed Horse. We wandered through the fancy dining room, past a giant wine cellar, went down the elevator to a private dining area. We were greeted with champagne and hors d'oeuvres (however the hell you spell it). There were lots of delicious fancy, petite foods--my faves being the mushroom cream soup, caviar on a coin-sized pancake type pastry, and crab cakes. The menu for the main meal was as follows: corn soup with sturgeon and caviar; caramelized onion tarte with duck confit, frisee, and truffle vinagrette; wild Alaskan Halibut with herb crusted potato, piquillo pepper OR braised beef Danube with purple potato puree, haricot vert (I ate this); and almond vanilla poundcake with hazelnut chocolate mousse or raspberry mousse (which the menu failed to mention; I got the latter).  The meal was delicious! The soup was funny because at first it was just a big bowl with a tiny portion of corn and fish, with cream sitting in the middle. I was thinking "WTF?!" My cousin Theodore brought up the idea that maybe the waiters would pour the broth afterwards; he was right. I wish I'd gotten a chance to eat the chocolate, hazelnut cake, but the raspberry was very good.

I drank a two glasses of champagne, a little white wine, and a couple sips of a white dessert wine. Then it was dancing time to mainly late 70s and some 80s music. My aunt and her husband started out with a formal, slow first dance then switched to a choreographed disco dance. We ended the night with the Chicken Dance apparently which most of my aunts were not familiar with. My aunt Hien's boyfriend kept requesting it all night, and the DJ finally played it at the end.

Overall, the wedding was highly stressful, super fast, really fun, and great. A few negative things here and there: my mom getting a little upset after the ceremony thinking about Neal, being snubbed by my grandfather, getting blisters on my feet after dancing and walking up and down a hill carrying wedding presents to put into my aunt Hien's car, so she could take it to my aunt Hanh's house later. So glad it's over. The next day we went to a low, key picnic/barbeque at New Brighton State Beach. Ate organic, beef imported from both New Zealand and Australia! Pretty good. My sister and I were bored for most of it, since the water was too cold to swim and there wasn't anybody really to talk to that we knew. My cousin Jonathan, aunt Hang, and uncle David kept us company for a little while. They left early to fly back to Arizona though. 

Eventually, my family and I left with my aunt Hien and her boyfriend. We went to her house, so I could root through her wardrobe and take the expensive, designer clothes she couldn't fit or didn't want anymore. Then we went to an awesome local, Vietnamese restaurant called Da Lat for dinner. On the way back to the hotel, I rode in my aunt's boyfriend's BMW convertible. It was pretty fun.

My sister and I finally got to go swimming in the pool at the hotel. We switched between the pool and hot tub. We swam for maybe 45 minutes before going back to pack and sleep. Packing was a mess, I was afraid all my stuff wouldn't fit, but it did. We got up early the next morning to eat, return the rental car, check-in and get to our gate. 

I got home around 10 PM Louisville time; I was really cranky, tired, and ready to rip some one's head off when my flight arrived. I'll admit, I was a super bitch to Dustin when he picked me up. I was craving pizza. We tried to go to Wick's which is usually open late; however, they closed at 10 on Sundays. We went home and ordered Pizza Hut, I ate, piddled around on the net, then crawled under the bed covers and crashed. Apparently, I kept kicking Dustin hard and telling him to turn the TV volume down and mumbling about the bears. I had a dream about bears and lions mauling and eating people.  

Now this epic blog post about this epic wedding is done. Bedtime. Got to finish reading for class tomorrow and Wednesday.  

California-Nia...

Is nice to the homeless... I love the South Park episode: Night of the Living Homeless. Their version of 2Pacs California Lovin' never fails to crack me up. Though I doubt the area of CA where all the wedding stuff is taking place is nice to the homeless. My mother is snoring like a beast; my sister is snoring too, but she sounds more human. I slept for maybe three or four hours. My body is all out of whack going from KY to CA.


Vacations for my family 8/10 times always end up more stressful, boring, and unfun than relaxing, exciting, and fun. Currently, we're in CA for my aunt Hanh's wedding. We had a to rent a car and drive ourselves around. This is really difficult because 1) we forgot the GPS 2) we're not from here 3) my aunts that live here are not much help because they are too busy running around with wedding stuff to drive us or guide us to locations. Thankfully, we discovered my mom's phone has a GPS system, and we can try it out for free for 30 days. My poor mom is so disoriented, frustrated, and stressed out. Thankfully, my aunt from Arizona and her family are staying in the same hotel as us. They're more comfortable and familiar with driving around the area, so we can follow them.

The rehearsal dinner tonight was at an Italian restuarant called Vero's. I was expecting a big, hearty pasta dinner. However, none of the dinner choices included pasta except the kids; they got to eat Bolognaise which looked really good. I ate red snapper in a tomatoe sauce (not like spaghetti tomatoe sauce); not bad, subtle flavor, but I really was craving pasta. I think the best part of the meal was dessert: tiramisu and cappucino. I keep thinking of the movie Super Bad (awesome movie by the way): When am I going to fucking need to know how to make fucking tiramisu! The actual quote according to IMDB is

"Look, we all know home-ec is a joke - no offense - it's just that everyone takes this class to get an A, and it's bullshit - and I'm sorry. I'm not putting down your profession, but it's just the way I feel. I don't want to sit here, all by myself, cooking this shitty food - no offense - and I just think that I don't need to cook tiramisu. Am I going to be a chef? No. There's three weeks left of school, give me a fuckin' break! I'm sorry for cursing."

It's kind of fun being with all my family. My cousins look so different; the last time I saw my cousins Nathaniel and Jonathan--they were both smaller. Nathan is now super tall, with long hair, and still very opinionated just on things like religion and politics. He likes arguing and doesn't  mind going up against the entire family when they're all start harping him about religion. He was also the only person in my family to know that Old English is Anglo-Saxon English and to be impressed by the fact I could read and translate it. Jonathan still has a baby face and looks so precious. He's twelve--too old for me to scoop him up, hug him, and kiss him. My cousin Theodore looks way different with a shaved head and long beard. I didn't even recognize him. I thought to myself, "who is this slightly creepy looking guy sitting at our family's table?" Then my aunt said this is your cousin, "Theo." "Oh...way to go..." was my mental response I think it's funny how my aunts think it's necessary to introduce me to all my relatives like I've never met them, even my grandparents--granted, I haven't seen them in over ten years.


Today is the wedding day. I love weddings and analyzing their different styles. I'm looking more forward to the reception. From what I've been told, there will be lots of good booze, 80s music, and dancing. The second is the most important factor to me because I can't drink heavily due to being small and Asian.

I'm seriously considering sleeping out in the lobby area of the hotel. There's a large solid but comfy wooden bench. There's a cushy couch in the front desk area...somehow I don't think the hotel manager would appreciate or allow me to sleep there long. My sister suggested the cushy lounge chairs in the pool area. I also thought about the bathtub in our room. Dustin tells me from personal experience that bathtubs are actually very comfortable. The door almost completely blocks the sound of my mother's snoring.

I feel like I should make a more interesting blog post than this. I actually made a lot of notes in my head during dinner about snarky and amusing things to say about the meal and guests. However, I feel they're more suited to actual conversation rather than blog post. I think I'm going to continue eating my pack of goldfishes and read a fantasy novel until I start feeling sleepy or finish the book.