There are just not enough hours in a day to get my real work done and write about weddings! LOL. Unless I want to work overtime, and that is soooo not happening today.
Unfortunately, the former of the two takes precedence, mostly because my job depends on it.
Sigh....
Something more interesting to blog about tomorrow, hopefully.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
The great Honeymoon debate
When...where...which one...and how long? A lot more questions to answer than I thought with regards to our honeymoon. Who knew picking out a destination would be so difficult? Office Groom and I have never had this much trouble with previous trips (Mexico, Germany, Switzerland - to new a few) so why now?
Because it's a honeymoon. And like a wedding, the moment you attach a certain name to something, it feels different. Even though it's really not that much different.
So here are the issues. My holidays work a bit differently from most other companies, including Office Grooms. Instead of January to the following January, my holidays start from September. We also have a "use 'em or lose 'em" policy, so I have to put on my math hat and try to figure out how to divvy up days. On the plus side, I get an entire week off during Christmas in addition to my 3 weeks. So when we decided that we would wait to go on our honeymoon in December, we though we had it aaaallllll figured out.
Oh. Wait. Someone (me) forgot that prices are jacked up during the festive season.
D'oh.
Plus, a few of the adventure trips we're really interested in would require us to leave on Christmas day.
Double D'oh.
There was also the option of going to an all-inclusive during that time, but I gotta be honest about something. Two weeks on a resort is a bit much for me. While I enjoy the lazy days on the beach, I love adventure, and I know that I'd start to feel closed in if I didn't get out enough. And before you point out that countries like Mexico or Cuba have plenty of activities outside of the resort - I know. Office Groom and I have been to both places. I know it's silly but I always imagined that a honeymoon should be somewhere new and exotic. Not familiar.
So - ok. The debate is mostly coming from my end, I'll admit it. And while it's easy to point out that I know that this is just another awesome trip with OG, the "H" word haunts my mind and is affecting the way I'm thinking through this whole thing! With less than 6 months left, I feel like we need to figure this out soon, but I can't make my mind up on anything! Gah!
Because it's a honeymoon. And like a wedding, the moment you attach a certain name to something, it feels different. Even though it's really not that much different.
So here are the issues. My holidays work a bit differently from most other companies, including Office Grooms. Instead of January to the following January, my holidays start from September. We also have a "use 'em or lose 'em" policy, so I have to put on my math hat and try to figure out how to divvy up days. On the plus side, I get an entire week off during Christmas in addition to my 3 weeks. So when we decided that we would wait to go on our honeymoon in December, we though we had it aaaallllll figured out.
Oh. Wait. Someone (me) forgot that prices are jacked up during the festive season.
D'oh.
Plus, a few of the adventure trips we're really interested in would require us to leave on Christmas day.
Double D'oh.
There was also the option of going to an all-inclusive during that time, but I gotta be honest about something. Two weeks on a resort is a bit much for me. While I enjoy the lazy days on the beach, I love adventure, and I know that I'd start to feel closed in if I didn't get out enough. And before you point out that countries like Mexico or Cuba have plenty of activities outside of the resort - I know. Office Groom and I have been to both places. I know it's silly but I always imagined that a honeymoon should be somewhere new and exotic. Not familiar.
So - ok. The debate is mostly coming from my end, I'll admit it. And while it's easy to point out that I know that this is just another awesome trip with OG, the "H" word haunts my mind and is affecting the way I'm thinking through this whole thing! With less than 6 months left, I feel like we need to figure this out soon, but I can't make my mind up on anything! Gah!
Monday, March 29, 2010
And More?
Yesterday the Office Groom and I went for a car ride around the city, and we saw this store sign along the way...
"And More"? Like what - animals? Aliens? What?!
"And More"? Like what - animals? Aliens? What?!
Friday, March 26, 2010
Wood you marry me?
Sorry - I like puns.
But seriously. Wood rings - how uniquely cool and beautiful are these? If I wasn't so worried that these wouldn't last as long as a traditional metal ring (unless they do, in which case, I plead ignorance) or that I would break it (that, I can be sure would happen, being as clumsy as I am), I'd be all for it! Office Groom and I are urban tree huggers - meaning - while we love living in the city, we equally love and respect nature, and do what we can to live a "green" lifestyle.
These rings come from Simply Wood Rings - a eco-conscious company that uses salvaged wood and other materials to create these beautiful pieces.
Source
Source
Source
Etsy seller MinterandRichterDes also carries a great selection of wood rings. This one's my fave:
Source
I love how warm and organic all of these rings look. Waddaya think?
But seriously. Wood rings - how uniquely cool and beautiful are these? If I wasn't so worried that these wouldn't last as long as a traditional metal ring (unless they do, in which case, I plead ignorance) or that I would break it (that, I can be sure would happen, being as clumsy as I am), I'd be all for it! Office Groom and I are urban tree huggers - meaning - while we love living in the city, we equally love and respect nature, and do what we can to live a "green" lifestyle.
These rings come from Simply Wood Rings - a eco-conscious company that uses salvaged wood and other materials to create these beautiful pieces.
Etsy seller MinterandRichterDes also carries a great selection of wood rings. This one's my fave:
I love how warm and organic all of these rings look. Waddaya think?
Thursday, March 25, 2010
DJ - Just play that song!
Yeah, that’s right. I’m quoting J.LO and I’m not ashamed!
Because as of yesterday, the Office Groom and I booked our wedding DJ!
In the early stages of planning, OG and I agreed to do our own music via itunes. Between the two of us we have a wide selection of music that could work well for dinner, and get our guests on their feet for the dancing afterwards.
However, as time passed, there were a few things that came up that made us change our mind:
1. Having a wide selection of music is one thing. Putting it together into a playlist that will flow in just the right way is an entirely different thing. Creating even ONE playlist requires a lot of time, patience, and disagreements – things that OF and I either lack or don’t need any more of in our lives presently
2. Question – Who’s going to look after the music on the day of? We have a remote that can control our laptop, but we would still need someone to control…the control. We certainly didn’t want to do it. We didn’t want to ask our bridal party or family members to do it because they should be having a good time. Same goes for our guests. If we just let it play for the night, there was no way of knowing if we’d have enough music, or if guests would “feel free” to change it up on their own.
3. Eventually, OG’s parents offered to pay for a Dj as a gift and told us that this was one thing we shouldn’t DIY and let a pro take care of.
Done, and done.
However, going the DJ route still presented some concerns for us. We wanted to avoid cheesy games, and even worse, cheesy music. I’ve been to one too many weddings with “original” games to get the couple to kiss, the chicken dance, and swirling a napkin over my head in a lame attempt to win the centerpiece. Although all of these were fun to be a part of, it’s just not “us.”
OG went on the hunt for DJs but the first few he got in touch with were either too $$ or not very accomodating. That’s when Andrew Hussey, from After Dark Entertainment, came into our lives. Andrew, aka DJ Hussey has been in the business for over 14 years and has performed for all types of events, including many weddings at our venue. In our first e-mail convo, we knew that we were dealing with a pro. Without even asking, he provided us with a professional resume, a price quote (affordable!!), quotes from previous clients, and a link to a mix session he did for a corporate event.
The real selling factors though were that he was all for no games and he’s got a great selection of music with room for OG and I to throw in a few from our own library.
Sah-weet.
So, we went the DJ route, and we’re really happy with that decision. However, I should point out that I still think that an itunes wedding could’ve worked if we had been more dedicated to the whole idea. I’ve heard many success stories about ipod/itunes weddings and I think they can be a lot of fun and really showcase who the couple are. In our case, we’re learned that we’re somewhat lazy but nonetheless, unique :)
Now I’m going to listen to a few dance sons on-line and get some inspiration before meeting with DJ Hussey in a few weeks!
Because as of yesterday, the Office Groom and I booked our wedding DJ!
In the early stages of planning, OG and I agreed to do our own music via itunes. Between the two of us we have a wide selection of music that could work well for dinner, and get our guests on their feet for the dancing afterwards.
However, as time passed, there were a few things that came up that made us change our mind:
1. Having a wide selection of music is one thing. Putting it together into a playlist that will flow in just the right way is an entirely different thing. Creating even ONE playlist requires a lot of time, patience, and disagreements – things that OF and I either lack or don’t need any more of in our lives presently
2. Question – Who’s going to look after the music on the day of? We have a remote that can control our laptop, but we would still need someone to control…the control. We certainly didn’t want to do it. We didn’t want to ask our bridal party or family members to do it because they should be having a good time. Same goes for our guests. If we just let it play for the night, there was no way of knowing if we’d have enough music, or if guests would “feel free” to change it up on their own.
3. Eventually, OG’s parents offered to pay for a Dj as a gift and told us that this was one thing we shouldn’t DIY and let a pro take care of.
Done, and done.
However, going the DJ route still presented some concerns for us. We wanted to avoid cheesy games, and even worse, cheesy music. I’ve been to one too many weddings with “original” games to get the couple to kiss, the chicken dance, and swirling a napkin over my head in a lame attempt to win the centerpiece. Although all of these were fun to be a part of, it’s just not “us.”
OG went on the hunt for DJs but the first few he got in touch with were either too $$ or not very accomodating. That’s when Andrew Hussey, from After Dark Entertainment, came into our lives. Andrew, aka DJ Hussey has been in the business for over 14 years and has performed for all types of events, including many weddings at our venue. In our first e-mail convo, we knew that we were dealing with a pro. Without even asking, he provided us with a professional resume, a price quote (affordable!!), quotes from previous clients, and a link to a mix session he did for a corporate event.
The real selling factors though were that he was all for no games and he’s got a great selection of music with room for OG and I to throw in a few from our own library.
Sah-weet.
So, we went the DJ route, and we’re really happy with that decision. However, I should point out that I still think that an itunes wedding could’ve worked if we had been more dedicated to the whole idea. I’ve heard many success stories about ipod/itunes weddings and I think they can be a lot of fun and really showcase who the couple are. In our case, we’re learned that we’re somewhat lazy but nonetheless, unique :)
Now I’m going to listen to a few dance sons on-line and get some inspiration before meeting with DJ Hussey in a few weeks!
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Wedding sites to pass the time
You've finished your report within the first hour at work and now you have eight more hours to kill. An extended lunch perhaps? Or maybe a smoke break...even if you don't actually smoke.
Then again - you don't have to go very far to pass the time. That's where the good ol' www comes in handy.
Here are a few wedding websites to check out - some are useful, while others are just entertaining :)
Rock n Roll Bride - 'Cause even the most conservative bride has a bit of rock n roll in them :)
The Clever Bride has a great post on how to leave your guests speechless after making your own speech.
Catie Ronquillo's photos are fun and fabulous. Consider yourself lucky if she's in your area!
Wedinator isn't for the overly sensitve types. If you can laugh at yourself and the whole wedding process, then you'll appreciate this.
Partease has a cute post on everything butterflies. Love it!
Then again - you don't have to go very far to pass the time. That's where the good ol' www comes in handy.
Here are a few wedding websites to check out - some are useful, while others are just entertaining :)
Rock n Roll Bride - 'Cause even the most conservative bride has a bit of rock n roll in them :)
The Clever Bride has a great post on how to leave your guests speechless after making your own speech.
Catie Ronquillo's photos are fun and fabulous. Consider yourself lucky if she's in your area!
Wedinator isn't for the overly sensitve types. If you can laugh at yourself and the whole wedding process, then you'll appreciate this.
Partease has a cute post on everything butterflies. Love it!
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
From the Desk of... Amy
My co-worker Amy proves that planning a destination wedding can happen from the comforts of her work desk...
"Sometimes an overly organized, control freak needs a well deserved break! That was my attitude when my fiancé and I set out to plan our wedding. We opted for a destination wedding right off the bat – a chance to get away with our family and closest friends and a good way to sit back, relax and let other people plan it for you. Sure there was some stress, but all in all it was by far the perfect choice for us.
The first step was choosing our destination. We decided on the Dominican Republic as it was one hot spot that we both had never been to and we had heard from several people that the beaches were to die for – and boy were they right! We figured that choosing a resort was going to be the tricky part as every travel brochure makes every resort look good and the online reviews should be taken with a pinch of salt. I didn’t have to go very far to get some ideas; it was in my very own office that two people suggested a particular resort as their friends had currently gotten married there. I told my fiancé right away and to my surprise he said that his co-worker suggested the exact same place! Little did we know that the recommendations would keep flying in throughout the year ahead, as more and more people exclaimed how wonderful the resort was! It was certainly an amazing feeling knowing we had made the right decision.
So what can I say about the planning? Well, it was pretty much organized all over email. In a day’s work I would be corresponding with my wedding coordinator in the Dominican Republic, sometimes several times a day. She was so quick and thorough, answering all my never-ending questions. In the end, the wedding day was summed up on a one page questionnaire which allowed us to choose everything from the ceremony site to the dinner menu. Easy peasy! Since it was so easy, even the Groom wanted to get involved. As we all know ladies, sometimes it feels like the man’s only duty is to show up. Well, not in my case. The Groom was just as pumped about the destination wedding and just how simple it was to organize that even he had a lot of say…even though I had the final one haha!
One thing I would highly recommend is having a very good and efficient travel agent. I think our biggest stress was dealing with ours. She was always slow to respond to our emails and messages and even had the audacity to not respond to our guests’ questions. It was pretty frustrating, especially when we were only a couple weeks away from our wedding trip and we still didn’t have our tickets! It wasn’t until the week before the trip that she finally apologized and mentioned that her father was recently diagnosed with cancer and she was taking care of him. Now, I’m not a completely heartless bitch, but I really wished she had told me sooner than later or maybe passed her workload on to someone else in her office. It would have definitely alleviated some stress in our lives and probably hers.
Ahhh…the wedding trip. There was no disappointment here. The resort was spectacular and the wedding day was truly one to remember. I figure it’s a great compliment when all of our guests asked if we could all go back again in a few years to renew our vows. Hmmm...do I sense another destination wedding to plan? Definitely!"
From the desk of Amy
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