Flowers

I like to receive flowers, I like the way the smell, I am actually one of those people who will stop and smell the flowers, and flowers usually make me smile. The funny thing is I don't have a favorite type of flower. I didn't even know where to begin when I started looking at bouquets. I just knew that flowers out of season = expensive so I told the two flower shops I looked at that I wanted something in season. I began my search online. I dare you just type in flowers in season for (insert month), you won't come up with very much information. I'm thinking this is some secret squirrel stuff why wouldn't this information be available. All those wedding websites weren't helpful either; they just talked about different flower shops in the area. So to begin my search I just started looking through pictures of bouquets, I looked at a ton of pictures and eventually decided that the deep purple color I was looking for would probably best be displayed in calla lilies. I was a little hesitant about getting calla lilies because I had always heard that they were really expensive.
Florist # 1 meeting day comes along and I just crossed my fingers and told the florist what color I was looking for. They started talking about roses these were special roses from Mexico and they last longer and they don't cost extra because they grow them all year round blah blah blah. Granted roses are pretty I usually stop to smell the roses that grow at my house. In high school marching band I marched in the Tournament of Roses Parade....I just didn't really want roses. I just felt like they were so common I wanted something that wouldn't be so common. Plus flowers die and I knew I was going to be upset about my flowers dyeing.... (I was). Anyway I almost relinquished the whole flower thing and I probably should have, at least my bouquet part of it. I didn't really need a bouquet and the only time I held it was walking down the isle. It did double duty as a decoration after the ceremony, as well as the bridesmaids flowers. I digress so back to this florist they were cool but I clearly didn't know exactly what I wanted and they didn't have very many suggestions, I don't want to include their name because for other brides this might be what they want, it just wasn't what I wanted, the price for what I would have gotten from them was outstanding as well.
Florist # 2, Jackie's Flowers out of Elk Grove, was AWESOME!! She had great pictures her shop was full of different props I could rent to place flowers on or candles or whatever and she has some wonderful ideas!! She is truly an artist. While looking at her pictures I found this gorgeous bouquet of caramel colored roses and I knew that's what I wanted just modified a bit. So we talked it out and add the deep purple calla lilies to the caramel roses, the bridesmaids would carry a single calla lily with feathers (1920's theme). The backdrop to the ceremony would be a rustic/medieval candelabrum with flowers and candles on it.  Another thing that sold me was she hand picks her flowers at the flower market in San Fran!  Wait until you see the pics! If you have never been to The Firehouse Restaurant back patio you need to check it out. It is very beautiful back there and one of the reasons for picking it was we knew it would require very little decoration. I had some ideas about other things I wanted from Jackie but they were putting my flower budget out the window so I had to scale back. Jackie is awesome though (as I 've said) and the day of the wedding she surprised me with some of the things we had talked about that were out of my reach because of my budget.
Anyway some ideas that I had that didn't come to fruition were to have some carved pumpkins around with Mike and I initials and things like that, it was Halloween after all, but that was going to be too time consuming and was out of my budget.  I didn't want my bridesmaids and groomsmen sitting around carving pumpkins the night before the wedding (although that could have been fun). I also had ideas to have small pumpkins be part of the table centerpieces that were just scattered around. What we ended up doing instead was free and only took some time of some very good friends. I bought gold, silver, and ivory with various design's scrapbook paper, placed two wine bottles with white ostrich feathers, candle's and ivory rose petals on the table. This was very inexpensive and looked fabulous!
In closing flowers are beautiful but, not necessary and I really really had to twist Mike’s arm to get him to wear a boutonnière. I just knew that my grandma, mother and mother in-law would appreciate the touch of flowers so I bit that bullet instead of fighting it. I did see some pretty cool looking homemade flower ideas on etsy.com while browsing there so if you are against flowers then that’s the way to go!

The Pre- Ceremony reading

As you know by now Mike and I really wanted our guests to have fun at the wedding, even during the ceremony! We both wrote our own vows and included things in the ceremony that were "serious" and funny. We actually had laughter during the ceremony because of things that we included in it. We had references to the things we like (Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Team America) as well as things that were "appropriate" for Halloween (zombies). So without further ado here is the pre-ceremony reading! Enjoy! Before beginning I must note that the pre-ceremony reading I found online and borrowed it from the author. She gave permission on that site so that's why I did it. I'll post the other's later, I just didn't want to make it so long !
 Pre-Cermony reading
Dearly loved friends and relations, I have the honor of welcoming you all to this ceremony, in which we will wed Michael & Sharon to each other.
They asked me to say a few words to set the proper mood and tone for their wedding.
I thought for quite some time about what I would say, discarding metaphors and quotes of love, before finally settling on a topic near to their hearts - Today I'm going to say a few words about zombies.
Zombies. The shambling ghouls of black and white Saturday matinees and the quick, ravenous monsters of modern horror are all suffering from the same disease - disconnection - from the world around them and from each other.
And aren't we all there sometimes?
Don't we shuffle to work, monosyllabic, until we get our caffeine, and then go through the motions of work and house as if completely unaware of other people? Don't we set our sights on one desire after another, rushing from experience to experience without actually stopping to enjoy any of it?
Haven't you found yourself staring into space, wishing for just a little more brains?
Michael & Sharon were there too and they've decided to take the only vaccine that works - they've decided to get married. By which I mean they've decided to get connected - unashamedly, unhesitatingly connected - to each other.
In this they refuse to become numb themselves, they promise to give each other attention, consideration, and kindness - emotions zombies most certainly do not share. They refuse to feed on the heart and mind of the other, agreeing instead to grow those things together and share them equally. And they vow not to allow the other to become a zombie when they aren't looking - slipping into apathy, these things with the shotguns of their love strapped strongly to their backs and the truncheons of their humor held firmly in their hands.
Together, they will defend their humanity and their home with all the wit, grace, and power of any spunky heroine or over-sized hero.
Together they are an example of what is possible when two people set their sights on the same star. They cut through our 21st century cynicism and prove that, in fact, zombificiation is not inevitable - that friendship, love and desire, when held with both hands, are the only weapons any of us need to stay human.
With the zombies held at bay by their mutual promises, Michael & Sharon are ready to face the other monsters of life - defending against the Frankenstein coworkers, the Soul Vampires of false friends, and the Mummy of age itself.
The adventure they are about to embark on has all the magic of any Hollywood movie and all the terror of true Lovecraftian horror - dread Cthulhu has nothing on balancing family Christmases.
But the truest fact is that as long as they stick together, connected to each other, the zombies of life, real and imagined, apathetic and disastrous, cannot harm them.
That said, let's get married, shall we?
- Written by L.E.H. Light, 2008

I'm in the final days and I'm thinking about things I can't control....ie weather

 So I just checked the "extended" weather forecast....Yes I have a rain plan but, I really don't want to use it!!!! It says partly cloudy and a high of 68 with a 20% chance of precipitation! Holy shit it's going to perspire on my wedding... or maybe I'm going to do that...is there a  word to describe one type of precipitation like geese vs goose? Perhaps not, I don't have the time to check right now either. I know it's possible and I can't stop mother nature but,I really don't want rain on my wedding day...! Speaking of rain on your wedding day here are some myths that I came across on the interweb. This was taken from Metro Creative Services
According to Greek culture, tuck a sugar cube into your glove on your wedding. The sugar will sweeten your union.
• English tradition says that Wednesday is the best day to marry. Monday is for wealth and Tuesday is for health.
• The groom carries his newly betrothed across the threshold to protect her from evil spirits.
• Hindu tradition says rain on your wedding day is good luck.
• For good luck, Egyptian women are known to pinch the bride on her wedding day.
• In Holland a pine tree is planted outside of the newlyweds' home for good luck and fertility.
• A law in 1775 said a wedding was not legal if the bride wore makeup during the ceremony.
• Wedding and engagement rings are worn on the fourth finger of the left hand because it was long believed a vein ran from that finger directly to the heart.
• Ancient Greeks and Romans said a wedding veil protected the bride from evil spirts. It has been a tradition to wear a veil ever since.
• The term "tie the knot" comes from Roman times when the bride wore a girdle tied in knots that the groom was later able to untie. Some also believe it refers to the knots of rope that were tied to form the marriage bed.

Those are some interesting fun facts.  Anyway less fretting about the weather...

2 Weeks to go, Vows.

OK so I'm 2 weeks out, and I am going to post everyday until the day of the wedding! I'm getting excited, we have a lot of Halloween stuff to decorate with and I'm hoping it doesn't look tacky. I think I'll be able to make it look good still. Mike and I were picking out our the sayings we want for our ceremony late last night, I'm pretty excited with what we've picked. I'll post the whole thing after the wedding because I don't want to give anything away but, make sure you listen up! I think you will find our vows/ceremony touching and funny at the same time!
Well I know this post is super short but, I wanted to a least get something out there! see everyone soon!

Location Location Location

 My dream wedding location was a winery. I just loved the idea of being out in the vines when they were all orange and red with bits of green during the autumn! Plus I figured that if it was a winery I'd be able to save on alcohol.... Little did I know just how much a winery would cost!! This was actually the very first thing we did. Before anything else I wanted to get the location nailed down. I felt it would help us be more realistic with decor and what we wanted it to feel like in the long run. A wedding is nice but, it's not just about the wedding it's about the marriage. Mike and I knew we didn't want to spend a small fortune on the wedding so I guess you could say I'm a bride on a budget!

We started out looking at some winery's in Napa. This one with the wine cave was perfect for our theme! It was on Halloween and the cave was just sooo cool there were this really cool rustic looking black chandeliers and it wasn't a huge space so it would have been nice and intimate . It really would have set the theme.  Once I called and set up a tour of the cave with the event coordinator I realized this just wasn't going to happen, This location alone without anything else was going to put us in way over our heads debt. So the search continued. 

I still had my heart set on a winery I just thought well maybe because it's Napa it's expensive. I mean if you think about wine country most people immediately think of Napa County. They don't think about the many many other regions of California that have wineries. So off to Amador County I went.  I loaded up the car with my friend Nicole and we took the one hour trip from here to Amador county. Where there are many wineries! 

There were 3 out here that I liked. The first one Karmere vineyards and winery It was beautiful it sat atop a hill looking out over the vineyards but, considering that my wedding is at the end of Oct I didn't really want to have to worry about rain and there wasn't an indoor area that would work just in case of rain. Also out here the vineyards were again more than I wanted to spend. NOT as bad as Napa but still bad. 

The next one was Bella Piazza Winery, this place was beautiful!!! Included many wonderful things in the price and it was a top contender. Perhaps a little more then I wanted to spend but more in the price range. Also had an indoor location in case of rain and a bridal suite and contracts with hotels allowing for a bus transportation to and from the winery for the wedding. 

The last one out in Amador county was the sister winery to Bella Piazza Winery and I felt like it fit my theme a little better. (Remember when I was looking for a winery out here I still had my heart set on the wine cave....)

The Villa Toscano Winery was a little more Tuscany and absolutely gorgeous. Again it wasn't the wine cave but, I still liked it. My hang up with these locations were. Weather (Plan B), location from hotels and at all the wineries there was a 10:30 noise curfew.  I took the information home and the search continued.



Next I took Mike out and we went to a winery that is closer to Sacramento in the Delta about 15 min from downtown, The Citizen Hotel, Tsakopoulos library and finally the location we chose, The Firehouse Restaurant in  old Sacramento.

Wilson Vineyards were in the price range and close to Sacramento. Mike and I just weren't sold on the location. It was pretty and a good deal for the money but, it just didn't have the right feel to it. Also they had a 10:00PM Noise curfew so there would have been an after party.

The Citizen Hotel  was pretty cool. It had an old world feel to it as far as the price was concerned it was about the same as Wilson vineyards.  The Tsakopoulos Library Galleria was pretty cool also. They were very restrictive on which vendors you could use so that made the price go up. Plus sides to these were close to hotels and no noise curfew limit.

We finally decided on The Firehouse Restaurant, it is beautiful has all the things I was looking for and wasn't going to break the bank!! I'm not going to post any pictures of it I want you guys to see it the day of. So I'm not even going to tell you which room I am going to use because I want it to be a surprise!! Mike and I spent about 3 months looking for the location and we found it in Jan. We ate here for dinner one night and just loved the food so we came back to get information for the wedding! I would say this was the least painful process. It was hard to pick a location because there are a lot of places at there to choose from!  

Awesome Vendor's

      I'm sure everyone loves there vendor's mostly I feel like I've found some really really good ones!! The first one that Mike and I found was our DJ. I had gone to a friends wedding last year and this was the DJ that they used. He was very energetic and I felt like he had a good read on the crowd, keeping the dance floor full for most of the evening. I think one of my pet peeves about DJ's are the ones who just sit up at their podium and say stuff like "We have everything folks, just request it". I really think to be good you have to have personality. I'm no expert so those are just my thoughts. The DJ that we booked is  Mitch Perez Showtime DJ. Like I said we got the DJ first then very shortly after we got the location.
     After the DJ I attended a bridal show in Feb and met Jennifer Starr of The Memory Journalists. We stood there and talked for about 30 minutes about life, the universe and everything but wedding except for a brief moment when I said I was still looking for a photographer. It was a connection I couldn't get out of my head and I had Mike meet her and he agreed. It was a little out of budget but, I know we are going to get great pictures and some great friends possibly! I'm looking forward to working with her and I am excited about a little surprise we are putting together..... :)
     Finally, I got around to cake tasting. I went to my favorite bakery and I wasn't impressed...I was pretty bummed out about it actually because I love this bakery so I searched on for another baker. I had seen ads for Sugar and Spice Specialty Desserts and decided to give her a call. Carissa Jones the owner was fabulous!! When we went for a tasting she brought out this huge plate of different things to taste along with 3 different types of cakes (they were still warm)! Everything was good!!! It was hard to make a decision but, we did and I'm sure you'll love what I picked out!!!

I just had to post about these guys because they are so great. They are great business owners and even if I'm not the only bride in the world I sure do feel like it!! They always know who I am when I call and I think that's another great thing!! 

 

The search for the dress...

So in the beginning of my search, I wanted something sleek, something with lace or maybe satin. Something that would fit into the 1920's Halloween costume of the bridal party! You see Mike and I are suppose to be Bonnie and Clyde and I wanted to find a dress that would accent this....So here is the story of my search....!!

In February I went to David's Bridal with my maid of honor, Crystal, and a bridesmaid, Nicole,  to try on dresses. I liked several that I tried on but, I just felt like this isn't the right dress. The sales lady kept asking me "What would you change about the dress?" I didn't really know I liked them enough but, I'm having some body issues and I kinda wanted the dress to go with the theme and for me to like it. Dress 1 fit the theme but, Crytal said it made my hips look huge and Nicole said she felt it just wasn't the right dress and it did accentuate my hips! I'm glad I have friends I can count on to tell me the truth and not sugar coat things. I tried on a few other dresses and I was torn....I really liked this one but they were right it didn't look the best on me and the other dresses I tried on were just ok. The sales lady was a real help with her query of "What don't you like about it?" each time!!  Really!? You are suppose to be a bridal consultant and that's all you can come up with?

When I finally did find another dress that I liked ,similar to dress 2 picture, the sales lady came in for the kill!!! No really that's how it felt she wasn't helpful then to top it off I find a dress I like and she's like, "if you don't order it now we may not have it, this is the last one in stock, it's a sample dress that we are trying at this store for a limited time" ! She was pretty relentless... I told her I'd like to talk it over with my friends before I made a decision. My friends were like we can tell you don't love it and we know you wanted your mom to be here when you find the dress so why don't you see if they can hold it and then come back in a month when they get here. I think at that point that's where I was headed then Crystal asked me a very good question "How upset would you be if dress 2 got away?" I thought about it and I wouldn't be that upset I decided. So The sales lady comes back and I tell her what I've decided "I'd like to make another appointment to come back when my mother and grandmother are in town so they can see the dress and I can get their opinion". The sales lady immediately changes her tune of "you have to buy this now before someone else gets it" to "Oh we can do that, you're not getting married until Oct so you have plenty of time if we needed to order it!"

PLEASE where was this 5 min ago?! This was my first attempt and the only bridal store I had gone too I wanted to go try on other dresses I just wasn't sure. Additionally, with Davids' Bridal what they have in the store is what you get so if they don't have your size to try on tough luck...I think the only dress that I actually wanted to try on of the 10 or so that I did was the first one I posted on here. I digress..
     So a month goes by and I have an appointment at DB and  an appointment the following day at two other bridal salons. Just in case you are wondering Monday is apparently a very busy day to go try on dresses....not Sat or Sun as you may be thinking. I'm sure those days are busy too but, Monday OMG it's almost impossible to get in without an appointment!! I take Mom and grandma to DB and I try on the first dress for them. This time the consultant is very helpful and she gets me into a bustier corset type of undergarment and a slip I try this dress on and my hips don't look huge!! I like it even more now!! but...grandma isn't sold.... mom likes it but, she says its up to me.
      A quick side note Mom is a tomboy and doesn't really have an opinion about dresses, grandma is old fashioned and the whole idea of our wedding with costumes and what not she's not digging it! 
OK, so I like this dress but, I'm not certain and I want to try on more dresses. I think I'll have better luck with the consultant this time around she seems to be very knowledgeable and very helpful!! I try on about 8 dresses and each time grandma doesn't like it....I know I'm not trying to please grandma but, she is getting silenter by the moment. The women in my family are the stubborn silent type.... The Bridal consultant comes into the fitting room with me and says "OK what do you want? I can see you aren't happy with the choices your mom and grandma are picking for you and I just want you to know this is your day, it's about you. It's not about what mom and grandma want..." That was very nice of her I just felt like I wanted a different body....You see wedding dress makers are cruel and if you are a size 10 in real life you can expect to be trying on a size 12 or 14 in wedding dresses....I know size doesn't matter if the dress looks good on you but, this is one obstacle that is very difficult to get around. I tell her I'm just not sure and I want to try on more dresses. I need some time to think about it before I jump into a $700 purchase that isn't returnable... She totally understands, she says "I want you to be happy with your dress, you are spending a fair amount of money and I don't care about my commission I just want my brides to be happy!" I'm telling you she was great!! I actually need to get around to writing a thank you note to her because she was so outstanding!
     The next day we head out to Bridalmart, a lower end bridal salon that offers everything! When we walk in I'm directed to the room with the dresses and they way they do them here is by bra size....ok a little strange but I had like 10 racks to look through! So far a much better experience then DB. I pick out like 20 dresses including my dream dress.

I'm only allowed to bring 5 at a time  back to the dressing rooms oh and I was suppose to bring my own undergarments they don't have those to try on with the dress....I wish I would have know this before, I'm wearing decent undies but a bright pink bra.....Great, ok we will make do with what we have. I try on 3 dresses that are immediate no's besides not fitting (because they go on the rack based on bra size...) I'm just not liking them but I think them but, I'm optimistic because I have such a huge selection. This time my consultant says "OK so all of the dresses you've tried on so far have similar things in common they sort of have a drop waist. I have a dress I want you to try on that I think will look great on your shape!" I'm thinking OK I'm open to suggestions and was that a compliment or not?!  "Let's try it" I say. I try it on and it's the first dress that fits, I don't need the clamps to hold it on!! I'm excited about that part. I walk out to my mom, grandma and Crystal (she joined us for today). They all look up and Crystal says..."Uh oh...I think we found it" I look fabulous in this dress. It's not anything I had started looking for but It's beautiful!! I like it, grandma likes, it mom likes it (she even said that), and Crystal likes it. I say "Let's try it with a veil". I didn't expect this but as soon as I got the veil on I started getting emotional. I was tearing up and everything...."I think I found my dress guys" I say to them all. My voice is a bit shaky but, I'm sorta holding it together! I hadn't yet tried on the dress I came here for so I decide I want to try that dress on even though I'm sure I found the one!! I try it on and it is beautiful (it also fits) but, it's not the one. Everyone knows it.... So I call the other salon after purchasing my dress and I tell them I'm canceling my appointment because I found my dress, they are bummed and try to talk me into coming anyway but, I tell them I don't want to waste their time. We all go out to lunch after that to celebrate, and I get to cross another thing off my list!


UPDATES:
Here is a picture of the dress I ended up purchasing. :)