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We spent the entire day in the Hamptons and had a blast. First we went to Atlantica where we got to see the tent (for the cocktail hour) for the first time. Last time we were there it was April and still too cold to put it up. We saw photos and liked it, but in person it was amazing. We sat out on the deck listening to the ocean, feeling the breeze and watching the fabric of the tent billowing around us. Even though it was a hot day, it was very comfortable under the tent. (more…)

After dancing, we met up with Jonathan for dinner and a music discussion. We picked out many songs and came up with a good description of the feeling we are going for so we can tell the DJ what we want. Basically we want to have funky dance music that everyone can sing along to, but not songs that are played so much you’re tired of hearing them. Now that we have a lot of the songs planned, I am really starting to picture the party coming to life.

We also discussed how to keep the traditional wedding elements we want, but at the same time having a fun dance party that can flow naturally without too much interruption. The main way we are trying to acheive this is to have the dinner courses served during a set time, rather than stretching it out and getting up and down for dancing and then the next bit of food. We’re also going to try and group together some of the other wedding bits so they don’t interrupt the dancing multiple times. Sounds fun, right?

Today was an amazing day, but I almost forgot, I have to write about yesterday first! Yesterday Pete decided he didn’t feel up to dancing at our lesson. At first I felt a little weird, but I decided to go ahead and spend the hour dancing with our instructor. It was a really different experience. Rather than me and Pete both working on learning something one step at a time, then slowly putting it together and then adding the music, we were just dancing away and I learned new steps at full speed. We played about 6 different songs too. At the end I was really glad I decided to dance without Pete because it was exciting to learn so many new steps in one lesson. I learned more swing steps, more side steps, another type of side step and maybe some other things I can’t even remember right now. Sometimes it’s hard to describe what I learned because my brain doesn’t always quite understand the step, but if I don’t think about it too much, my muscles remember. The most interesting idea I learned today is that with swing dancing, as long as you can do two steps and a rock step you will always come out even no matter what crazy turns your partner is doing or making you do.

So, I want to tell you about our e-photo session, but I can’t say too much. While there are a few who have seen a sneak peak, they meant to be unveiled at the wedding. For those of you who don’t know what an e-photo session is, it is a complementary photo shoot given by your wedding photographer. The purpose is to get you feeling comfortable in front of the camera. And if you really like the pictures, you can purchase prints, etc. Let’s just say that out photographer and I were on the same page before we even opened our mouths. I had the perfect location in mind and she was in full agreement. When the day came for us to shoot it was very hot. I did have fun taking the photos but I was very exhausted. I guess because that weekend was so busy I felt really tired. By the time I saw the photos I had ambivalent feelings. But like a fine bottle of wine aging over time or a nice concrete slab undergoing chemical reactions in a process known as curing, my appreciation for these photographs solidified. Now I am bursting at the seams with excitement. All I can say is that they have managed to amalgamate the images of my lovely fiancée and myself with a visual style I really love. I’d say more but I’d probably reveal too much.

This weekend Pete and I had pre cana at the Brooklyn Diocese. Friday night there was a liturgy that was very similar to what our wedding will be like (minus the vows, ring exchange etc). The priest gave a really great homily, that Pete and I both enjoyed. Because we were at an interfaith pre cana, he said we are all there for a reason; somehow our journey has led up to the point that we decided to marry in the Catholic church, but we should not look at it as coincidence or chance. Those words made me feel very welcome and secure. Sometimes I find it really hard to paraphrase the words that led to feeling I walk away from church with, but I guess that’s the best I can do. (more…)

Today we bought our airline tickets to Hawaii. I found a really good deal, and we figured we would get started with that and fill in the rest of the details as we go. We are also planning to stay in San Francisco for a few days. I started doing some more research and talking to a friend who just went to Hawaii a few weeks ago. It’s a little overwhelming how much there is to do, and how man different types of places there are to stay! I’m think it will be good to spend about 3-4 days in each place. We don’t want to move around so much that we wipe ourselves out, but we also want to see as much as we can. Who knows if we’ll ever have a chance to go to Hawaii again. I started researching hikes because I know Pete always enjoys hiking. I love how descriptive everything is. One in particular sounded great to me. It started out under fruit trees, traveled under a canopy and ended at a waterfall with a pool of water at the bottom that you can swim in. I can’t wait to get there!

On Monday morning, Pete and I met with our stationer to review our concerns with the invites. She agreed and so did the printer, so they are being reprinted and should be in by Monday. That gave me a week to get the envelopes addressed, order the postage, get the wax seal, and assemble everything so they are ready to have the invite inserted and sent out as soon as they come in.

On Monday afternoon, I went to the post office to confirm the amount for the postage, and then I ordered the stamps. I then went to order the wax seal, but suddenly I noticed something I hadn’t before. They cautioned that the wax seal may make the envelope too thick, which then means you have to pay extra postage. So now I’m not sure if we should order it since I already ordered the postage based on the invite without the seal.

Once I finished with the post office I went to buy a color laser printer, because I figured it would come in handy for the invites, menus, programs, escort cards, gift tags etc. I brought the invite in to the store, to consult with the sales people. I got a great printer, but not for the envelopes. I tried every possible setting for thick material and it just couldn’t pass through. Then I got in touch with the stationer, since she had told me it is done “all the time” with both laser and ink printers. It turns out she was mistaken, the printers use a straight path ink printer, since the lined envelopes can’t bend enough to go around the drum of a laser printer.

So then today I started researching straight path inkjets. Canon has several, but those particular models are only sold through their online store, which would mean I have to wait for them to ship or pay high expedited shipping charges. And to be honest, I didn’t want to risk spending all that money and then it still not working. So back to the store I went, armed with my new knowledge. I found another printer in the store that has rear access to the paper path, so you can manually feed it straight through. The salesperson (who was extremely knowledgeable) assured me I could configure the software that came with the printer to use the rear access.

Once I got home I couldn’t figure it out, so I got on the live chat support. The “technician” was practically illiterate, and had no idea how to help me so I asked for someone to call me. I had to call them, and I got assigned a “ticket” number with the information about my product and issue. I was told I would be transfered to a technician who could help with my particular problem. After being transfered, the ticket number seemed to have no bearing, because I had to give all the information again (only to find out I was transfered to the wrong department). After being transfered to the wrong place for the third time, I politely requested that the correct person call me instead of transferring me again. She refused. So I then asked if I could speak to her manager and SHE HUNG UP ON ME! I once had an HP scanner and I had the same horrendous experience with their customer support. NEVER AGAIN!

After that I decided “I give up.” Two days wasted is enough. I’m returning the printer and hiring a calligrapher. On the bright side, the calligrapher I decided to go with comes highly recommended and can have them done by Monday like I originally wanted!

Everything seems much better from where we stand tonight than it did yesterday walking to the bridal shop. Once we got there, Stacy got a different person who was much more willing to help. I think he sensed that we were really upset and we weren’t being caustic, so he was willing to help us out and get Stacy fitted. After that we went on a mission to set up the tuxedo rentals, but on the way we stumbled on the perfect wedding band for Peter! He was having a hard time deciding what material he wanted the band to be made from, but once he tried on titanium he was really impressed. He’s never worn jewelry before, so the lightweight feel of titanium appealed to him. (more…)

I guess it’s inevitable that I was going to have a meltdown somewhere in the process of wedding planning. It felt like everything was going wrong for the last few days. First we had the lackluster centerpeices on Thursday. Then Pete and I had a fight (also inevitable in wedding planning). Next, the invitations came in on Friday. I thought they were okay but not great at first, but after looking at them closer and showing them to Pete, I realized they were not okay. So now we have less than a month until we planned to get the RSVP’s back by, and no invitations to send. We finally reached the woman doing the invites late last night, and she promised to call by 9 am this morning. This morning 9 came and went, then 10, then 11 and no call. Finally at 11:30 when we were on our way into the city I realized she had emailed me instead of calling. Then Stacy arrived from Maryland for her bridesmaid dress fitting. As Pete and I were walking to the store Stacy called to say she was there, the seamstresses were all gone for the day (and wouldn’t be back until Monday) and she couldn’t come back to New York until a few weeks before the wedding. I couldn’t even stop myself from crying while walking down the street in Manhattan.

Tonight Pete and I went to look at the first mock up of our centerpiece design for the reception. We were a little disappointed with the amount of green and thought there was not enough white. The florist promised to make it more white and swap out the two types of greens at the bottom for eucalyptus since it’s a softer, paler green. She also said she will make it a little higher by having some of the calas at the top instead of the stock. And she said she would switch out the roses for the same kind that will be in my bouquet, I thought those were too yellow looking, whereas the bouquet is vendela roses – a white with a slight pink undertone. Hopefully once those changes are made we will love the design!