Posted in daily life, The Bride Likes on September 26, 2011| 1 Comment »
I bought my first pair of beautiful, expensive Italian shoes. Behold: Luciano Barachini.
Don’t you step on my blue grey suede shoes
I guess there’s a time when you buy crazy beautiful expensive shoes and never look back. They were 33% off the original price, satisfying my internal bargain huntress.
Oh, Switzerland. How you are skewing my perspective on how expensive clothes/shoes/everything should be!
Posted in daily life, memories, The Bride Likes on November 11, 2010| 3 Comments »
I’m pleased to report that we’ve been married for a little over two weeks, and we’re both very happy.
Maybe a little too happy.
It’s funny; people ask me, “So how’s it being married?” and my reply is, “Pretty much the same as being not married.”
Which is true. We still live together in the same little house. We’re still going to work and writing the thesis, as it was before the wedding.
But, we now have some shiny new things that make our lives a little nicer. (Wow, did I ever need a new nonstick pan.) Also, I’ll see J fiddling with his ring from time to time, or discover it in random places in our house. He’s getting better with remembering to wear it, and I smile every time I notice it glisten in the light.
And our cranes! I packed them in a big amazon box, and they are now in the middle of the floor, waiting to be sealed and sent to Canada. But, I haven’t done it yet. I know they are going to go to charity and eventually join a massive flock of cranes for a big exhibit, but they are all so special to me. It breaks my heart a little bit to see them all in that box, each a heartfelt contribution to our wonderful day. It was striking to see them all together.
So, on we go. I’m getting the professional wedding pictures this week, so then we can have proper recaps!
Posted in memories, The Bride Likes on November 4, 2010| 1 Comment »
Here we are, 11 days later.
I had to take a few days pause because I haven’t been able to find exactly how exciting the entire five days leading up to the wedding were, or how blissful the actual day was. In fact, I’m not even completely sure where to start.
But, I will begin with how grateful I am. Our wedding was more than an affirmation of our commitment and love; it was a day to celebrate with our loved ones and thank them for all the ways they have supported us financially and emotionally. I felt so lucky that both sets of parents were there with bells on, all four couldn’t have been happier that day. My brother was a tremendous support and his heartfelt speech was perfect (and was one of the only two times I teared up on wedding day.) Our families loved each other. Our friends dissolved into a rowdy, carousing celebratory pack of singers and dancers. Hours upon hours, we had toiled to make the beautiful forest of cranes, the perfect backdrop for our vows. We had earned this moment, and I am so happy and grateful for everyone who came, contributed and celebrated with us in person or spirit. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
There was something special in the air on our wedding day. Clusters of ladybugs gently scuttled about outside the educational center, some caught in the gentle folds of my dress until released by an alert bridesmaid. In fact, a large cricket landed directly on J’s boutonniere during pictures. The rain in the morning broke into gentle sun for an unseasonably warm October afternoon, and the evening melted into a sunset rainstorm that erupted into a lightening show that lasted for hours. Incredible.
Well, being me, I’ve got plenty of stories to tell, so future entries will probably be me talking about how I remember the wedding. There’s also an adventure of a honeymoon to cover….and then, life beyond the wedding will continue too. I won’t be going anywhere.
After all, this blog is about when two hearts collide. The physicists will tell you that it’s what happens after the collision that they are interested in, that is, the energy, the resulting pieces of whatever they can detect after. It’s through analyzing what happened after the collision that help them understand what really occurs during the impact.
That’s sort of how I feel about the wedding, as I talk to as many friends as I can, read entries in our guest book and skim through the pictures, trying to better understand what happened that magnificent day, one instant in time. It’s all a little hazy.
But, I do remember walking down the back path, about an hour before our ceremony. The wind was blowing and Keri was tending to my train. Lane, my photographer, was setting up our first look, and she was calling for us to walk down. We turned the corner to see Tom standing next to my groom, both facing away from our approach. Keri and Tom exited, and, on the count of three, J turned around.
He and I alone stood in the middle of the path, our faces breaking into happy smiles. And as we hugged, I nestled my head into his neck to stop the flow of tears.
Posted in daily life, The Bride Likes on September 21, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Today, we got two more plain white envelopes, each containing three big cranes. One from Albany, and the other from Providence, RI…
At least we’re seeing a trend with the East Coast.
The plot thickens…
Posted in The Bride Likes on September 21, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Because our venue and caterer are awesome, we’re allowed to purchase our own alcohol for the wedding.
So, this summer, we’ve been having wine tastings to help us figure out what we’re going to buy for our wedding. J went through the Binny’s website and choose 3-4 options with good ratings within our price point for us to buy, and then we’d partake with friends to select a winner.
The reds had a strong winner~ and even with a late entry of a very tasty Portuguese selection, we still remained true to our Two Vines Vineyard 10 Red from Columbia Crest. Even out of a freshly opened bottle, it’s an accessible red, opening up to pair well with food. A hat tip to our time in Washington, this wine reminds me of where we started to learn all about vino. Super excited.
The whites went through two versions of trials. Originally, we had settled on another Washington, a Chateau St. Michelle Chardonnay, but then two things happened: Binnys changed the vintage on us, and we discovered Wishing Tree’s Unoaked Chardonnay from Australia. I fell in love with it before it was uncorked, and happily, it lived up to my sentimental expectations. As our relationship blossomed in Australia, I love that this wine reflects that as well.
Champagne was a slightly trickier beast to tame, as people seem to have very widespread opinions on it. Luckily, it’s only a small glass, so if people don’t care for it, it’s not a primary beverage. I’ll let you know more about what we settled on later.
I would have loved an Oregon Pinot Noir such as Montinore Estates or a sweeter white from Argyle since we have spent time in Oregon’s wine country. Or, a bright Chianti Classico to remind me of our trip to Italy. But, it makes me happy to add these two wines to my list of favs!
Posted in The Bride Likes on September 5, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Current Crane Count: 651 cranes! (625 in packs of 25, 17 waiting for a pack, and 14 misshappen cranes.) Big shout out to Zeynep, and Ken & Amelia for each taking some paper in August. This means that I have less than 100 to fold. Our goal here is 740 since my parents have promised 60 more (I already picked up the 40), Kellen has promised 100 and Janette & Brian have promised 100. With under 50 days to go, I think we’ll be able to finish making them!
The next problem is display and stringing. As if it wasn’t enough effort to MAKE all these cranes, they have to go somewhere
If you look around the web, there’s various ways that people have displayed their cranes at weddings.
from weddingbee.com
A gazebo! Very pretty~ love their wedding colors too.
from thegirlinthepinkweddingdress.com
The picture above and below were sent to me by Louisa. Again, love the paper, love how fun and festive the cranes are!
Slightly jealousy inspiring? Do I regret all the cranes being gold yet?
Well, at least this could be really cool
from anntorrence.com
Well, and then there are people who just LOVE cranes so much that they make them a really big part of their reception. Which brings me to the couple below and their incredibly awesome music video (do I now regret not purchasing video for our reception…..?) Click on the link for more love below.
Lauren + JP from Matt Odom on Vimeo.
And finally, a tutorial on how to use the cranes as place cards
from projectwedding.com
After all this, I still haven’t found a tree. A single tree of golden cranes.
from weddingsattlaquepaque.com
I will keep looking, though.
Posted in The Bride Likes on September 3, 2010| 3 Comments »
So last week, I was stressing out about cake.
I had decided that I wasn’t going to get all picky about Cake. As long as it tasted good and didn’t look too garish, whatever we decided was going to be fine
Or so I thought. (more…)
Posted in The Bride Likes on August 31, 2010| Leave a Comment »
I thought we were sooooo clever.
Let me tell you: Getting married on a Sunday has been good in many ways. Venues were not snatched up immediately, we didn’t have to scramble to secure our photographer/caterer/florist/DJ nearly a year in advance. Some vendors offer discounts for Sundays, and instead of taking Friday off, our guests are staying a long weekend and leaving Monday. But, if we’re going to have a rehearsal dinner the day before the wedding….
Bingo. It’s Saturday.
Shoot.
At least we weren’t looking to have another big wedding venue deal again (and now, on a very short timeline) but restaurants are not as easy as they seem. In fact, let me share with you what I learned in calling 20 restaurants in the Joliet/Bolingbrook/Plainfield/Naperville area
At nearly every place I called, there was a combination of 1 and 2 or less common, 1 and 3. This meant that our idea of having a small, casual and cheaper rehearsal dinner was starting to fall apart. Heck, even PIZZA places were having weird space issues. I called and called, and was disappointed that everywhere was running higher than I wanted. The other thing was that I didn’t want to go too far from the hotel (the venue is already 20 min away) and didn’t want to go to Joliet (see my previous post about looking at some locations down there.)
Finally, I just dragged Google maps to rt 53, searched “restaurants” and started clicking on every dot from Brown’s Chicken House to IHOP to Portillos. When suddenly, I stumbled upon Suparrosa, and Italian restaurant just north of the hotel. I clicked on the website, and my heart began to race. Italian food. Not too expensive. Private parties. Pizza!
I called J and told him I was taking him to dinner that evening.
Happily, the food was really good (and HUGE!) and when J finally said midway through our third course that he thought this would work, I cheered and gave him a big hug. We called his parents on the way home, and booked it the next day. Score! It’s close to the hotel, has great food, and a space just big enough for family and the bridal party. And next door is Cabana Charlie’s. I have a feeling that’s where we’ll move the post-rehearsal party and hang out with all our friends. Word!
Posted in daily life, The Bride Likes on August 19, 2010| 1 Comment »
This is no big secret: I love flowers.
I love the way they smell, I love how bright and cheery they are, I get sad when they die. Basically, I have this thing about flowers which means that I will actually care quite a bit how they look at the wedding.
So, I solicited three main quotes–one mainstream flower chain in the western burbs, one small boutique place, and one girl who does flowers herself as a side business. All had pros and cons to their proposals, (cost vs. quality) so I found it difficult to narrow it down.
What really sealed the deal, for me, was the talent around my choosen florist. All the pictures that I’ve seen are gorgeous; she’s completely in line with our vision, and will allow me to purchase vases so my guests can take the arrangements home after (big plus: no worrying about returning rented items.) While I would have gotten more flowers for the same price, or even saved more money with another florist, I just felt much more comfortable with the level of quality I could expect. So, I went with Fleur Couture.
The website is really beautiful.
Am I selfish for wanting English garden roses in my bouquet? Yes. But, when else can I get English garden roses? Maybe if we visit England or grow them. Freesia in the bouquet? Hypericum berries? Sunflowers and dahlias for my ladies? Yes, yes, yes!
As I said, I love flowers. And, I’m especially excited that we’ll have some beautiful ones!
Posted in daily life, The Bride Likes on August 9, 2010| Leave a Comment »
My weekend was AMAZING. I feel so loved and so lucky to have got to hang out with my best friends. (And, I think they like each other, so that’s good.)
Details to come! I’m so excited about the wedding now~ it’s going to be awesome!
PS. We found shoes!
When Two Hearts Collide 