The Registry

One of the best parts about getting married is registering for gifts.  I hate to say it, but it is.  At first, I was against it and so was hubby.  We didn't feel right registering for the wedding because of a few factors: for one thing, Hubby and I have been together for so long already.  We already have a house for another.  And third, it feels wrong asking people for stuff.  I know a registry is just a suggestion, but it is what it is.  You register for gifts you want people to buy you.  You are basically telling people what to get you and where.  

After talking it over with my bridesmaid, who convinced me I should register for the bridal shower at least, I convinced Hubby to accompany me to Yamuni to open a wedding registry. I went to Yamuni with mother-in-law to get material to make a dress and happened to ask about their registry.  I made an appointment on the spot and waited with anticipation for the day to come.

On the day of our appointment, we arrived right on time and was greeted and attended to right away (I guess they were expecting us).  We were interviewed, filled out a form and then we were off.  I was expecting to be handed the scanner and be left to ourselves, but instead we were followed around by a sales associate.  She handled the scanner (and the computer which she pushed along to enter the data into the system.)  Each time we saw an item we liked, we handed it over to the sales associate so she could scan it.  It took a longer time than I had expected (2 full hours)... and she did slow us down some, but she was also very helpful.  Any questions we had, she answered..  And she was not at all pushy (when another sales associate took over halfway through, she was just as pleasant.)   I have to say, overall the experience was a good one.  I am so excited now (for all those gifts) LOL.

On a side note, we made another appointment to open another registry at another store, Cemaco.  But at the last minute, decided against it.  So many factors were involved, but in the end, I think having 1 registry is enough.  I don't expect much from it, but it was a fun thing to do in preparation for the wedding.

Wedding Nightmare

I guess it's bound to happen to every bride before her wedding day: the dreaded wedding day nightmare where everything that you think could go wrong does.  Thankfully it's only a dream (for most) but it still left me shaking when I woke up.

This is the second wedding day nightmare I have had.  But this was the worst.  So lets see if I can recount the dream:

On the day OF the wedding, an hour before start time, nothing was done.  We were still setting up while guests were arriving. I was embarrassed because I had told guests to arrive on time and yet I was the one that was late.

The bridesmaids hadn't gotten their dresses so the day OF the wedding, my lovely mother in law was sewing dresses for all the bride-maids. Also, we had no makeup or hairstylist so at 3:08 (yes, that was the time in my dream), I decided to go off and look for a makeup artist and hairstylist to come to my house to prettify my bridesmaids.  ON a SUNDAY.  I was out doing this because my maid of honor was MIA!

I trekked to many salons and no one could help.  It was literally a nightmare.  Also, we didn't have our rings so nothing to exchange after saying our I do's, so I stopped at a jewelry shop to look at rings.  This whole time, I was supposed to be getting married.  But instead, I looked a hot mess (well at least my hair was flat ironed).  I had no dress (yeah the seamstress didn't do any of the alterations) and we had no shoes. It was literally the worst wedding ever.  Not sure if I found a makeup artist or if I got my dress or if any of the catastrophes got fixed as I woke up thankful that it was only a dream.

Home Re-do

Along with wedding planning, we're also remodeling the house in anticipation.  The roof has been fixed, along with the kid's bathroom.  We also had the entire house painted inside (we will be painting the outside as well).

I took the opportunity while rearranging the house from disarray to re-organize and "spring" clean.  I dusted every surface and hung photos that have been laying around for years.  The kids rooms are finally DONE! YES!  They are all in love with the colors they picked out. And I am finally in love with my house.

The office

P's room

P's room (he got a TV for his 12th b-day from father in law).

Our room (we used the same colors as the office and P's room to save on cost).  I love this color!!!

Princess's room

Princess got a dresser from father in law for her birthday

Princess's Princess accessories

Fatty's room... his favorite color is green so the color is perfect

Kitchen with a fresh new coat of paint

Hallway (we kept the color for the main areas similar to what it was before, but it looks so much fresher)

Food Tasting

We have been toying with the idea of hiring a caterer for our wedding and found one we really like. They offer all the bells and whistles we need for a seamless, stress-free and elegant wedding.  And their prices are pretty reasonable. Although a bit high for our budget, they include a lot to go with it. After our first official meeting, we set up a tasting appointment, which was today.  We were offered our choice menu items that were available with our preferred package.

We arrived early and were attended to almost right away. The table was set with our linen color choices and we were offered a drink.  We did have to wait a bit for the food and the manager (but nothing I would even complain about).  Also, the chef did get our appetizer and hubby's main course wrong but it was quickly remedied. Everything was delicious and I was full after the first course LOL.

It didn't look like a lot of food but it was so filling and Hubby enjoyed his food so much, he finished every last morsel.  We were able to talk about the menu options, the catering service and all the fine details.  I really enjoyed the tasting and I really like Annie, the manager.  I hope we can book with them.

The menu consists of:

Appetizer: Cream of broccoli soup

Main Course:  Spinach and cheese stuffed chicken breast in cream of mushroom sauce, salad, dinner roll, garden rice  (the chicken comes wrapped with a piece of bacon which I took off since I don't eat bacon).

Dessert:  Lemon tart 

Hubby's plate will be the same except he will have fish fillet

Moulon Rouge-y

I knew I wanted to have a garter for the wedding, one for keeps and one to toss.  I also knew I wanted it to be my little something blue. But I have no idea why.  Where did the idea of wearing a garter come from?  I guess this is where Wikipedia comes in but before I could research it's origins, I went ahead and got my garters anyway. 

Now I know it can be embarrassing as your husband hikes up your skirt and showcases your bare thighs to your entire wedding party, grabbing your garter with his teeth (usually)... but it can also be fun if done tastefully.  It's not for everyone but it might just be for me... a little brothel type, moulon rouge feel for a few seconds at the wedding. 

I thought I wanted to buy my garters, so I looked for ones I liked.  I saw one for $11 at the bridal salon but figured I could find one a little cheaper, and so when I found one for $3, I bought it.  But I still needed one more, so I let my DIY persona take over. After all, for the price of 1, I could have made at least 6.

With my mother in laws help, I was able to make the perfect garter... now to decide which garter to toss (the store bought one) and which to keep (the DIY one). 

First thing I needed was some ribbon, which I got at the material store for less than .50 cents for the meter.  measured my thigh with the ribbon to see how much I needed and cut.  I did a simple stitch as a marker and to hold the ribbon together for sewing. I did sorta kinda follow a simple DIY tutorial on youtube, but not to the T, just the basic idea.

My mother in law took over here and used her machine to sew the ribbon and the lace together.  After she did this, she strung the elastic through and sewed the garter shut.

I glued the cute little bow and silk flower on the garter.  Final touch will be a personalized ribbon with our names and wedding date.

"The Rings Please...."

You tube strikes again.  I am telling you, having youtube.com as a source of inspiration and a tutorial guide is awesome.  As a personal touch for the wedding, I want to do a few DIY items but nothing too grandiose. I know my limitations and skill set so I wanted to do a few simple items that would not only look good but also save me money.  This is where youtube.com comes to the rescue.  Just type in what item it is you want to make and there are a myriad of video tutorials (some better than others) for your choosing.   

I figured a ring pillow would be something easy for me to make.  I took home economics in high school and sewed two pillows. Granted I also forgot much of the sewing techniques I learned so many years ago BUT I recently signed up for a weekly sewing class at the local Catholic church, so my confidence in amateur sewing has increased.  A ring pillow was right up my skill 'alley', so I took to youtube and found a tutorial for a simple (yet pretty) no sew ring pillow. I followed the tutorial BUT decided to sew the pillow instead. The results are amazing, if I do say so myself.

For a heart pillow (my theme is two hearts): trace a heart on a piece of computer paper, then place the heart on the fabric and cut.

Attach bobby pins to stabilize (prevent from moving, making it easier to sew) the 2 pieces of fabric, then sew together with a simple stitch. Sew on the INSIDE of the fabric as you need to flip it over.

My mother in law showed me this trick of cutting mini pieces at the edge of the fabric to make it smoother once I turned the pillow over. Make sure to leave a little opening for stuffing. As an added touch, I sewed the pillow using a sewing machine, which is not as intimidating as it seems. This allowed me to remove the simple stitching.

Flip pillow over, then stuff.

After stuffing, attach lace with hot glue around the pillow for a more finished look... also makes it look more like a ring pillow.

Attach ribbons anywhere on the front of the pillow for a little bit of 'pretty' and also for the rings.

Voila! The finished ring pillow.  Because my mother in law already had the materials, the pillow only cost me the price of the ribbon (so a whopping .30 cents or so).  I saw a nice regular square pillow with a heart box attached for the rings for about $7 that I was tempted to buy. I am so glad I decided to make my own pillow, because I ended up saving over $6 bucks AND the pillow goes perfectly with my theme. Not to mention, it means so much more because I made it. 

Save This Date

Save the dates went out this weekend for the wedding! I know they aren't a necessity but, they were so much fun to make and even 'funner' to hand out.  I made 10, handed out 7 and have 2 more to give away. I am debating if I should make more and sent to family in Boston. We'll see.

I had another idea for the save the dates entirely, but in the end did something even simpler and cheaper than the original idea. These save the dates cost about $5 and I went with an older photo of Hubby and I. I figured what a great way to showcase how long we've been together, like a timeline almost of our enduring 14 year love affair. :)