This Wednesday's Wish

I recently scheduled a tasting with our caterer, and I sure do hope he brings the cake, in ALL requested flavors. :) Maybe it is just the holidays, but man would I die for a big, succulent slice of spice cake! And wouldn't this be the PERFECT cake cutter for our woodsy wedding?

www.bhldn.com

 

 

 

 

 

And it would work so well with this fall-themed cake!

Via Pinterest

The Never-ending Guest List

Disclaimer: Even if you or the group you are involved with seems to be alluded to in this post, it is not you, per say, but the concept that I am discussing. Do not take this personally.

Ok brides, I need some advice.

What in the world do you do to corral your never-ending guest list?!

When we first met with vendors, we quoted "about 100" as our tally of guests. We figured we really didn't have that big of families, we are having a destination wedding, and let's face it, we're really not that popular.

But now, it is getting out of control. Problem #1- Everyone we know has children. Problem #2- We know everyone. Problem #3- We can't say no to a Friday night dinner date (or 2, or 4, on the same night). Problem #4- We've attended nearly 20 weddings together already. That is 20 couples to invite. Problem #5- Colorado is freaking beautiful.

We are party people, the more the merrier, right?

Or am I wrong. Totally, utterly, wrong. I am truthfully considering inviting ONLY family at this point.
(But let's face it, that wedding would seriously lack some Jack Daniels shots and inappropriate dance moves).

So, now we are in a conundrum. We truly love all our friends and family and want to share our day, a day we've been waiting for over 6 years now, with everyone we love. I am somewhat ashamed to admit that the list is nearing 200 if you count all the children. The main issue with this is the budget, being blown out of the water with an extra 50 or so unanticipated guests. A second problem is the size of our venue. Seating for 98 at the ceremony site might just lead to some uncomfortable and unhappy guests.

In truth, I have a feeling all will work out in the end, and I hope that this issue is resolved like the other snafus we've hit, like practically breaking up for good after I was still sans ring when the 6-year landmark hit. :) But at this point, I am open to suggestions. I am also offering this word of advice: for future brides- try to come up with a guest list before choosing a venue or getting quotes from vendors.

Whatever shall we do? In a quagmire.

Confession: Black Friday Edition

I have a Thanksgiving and Black Friday confession. I hate to admit it, but this time of year just makes this issue blatantly obvious. As I looked around the spread of the 2 Thanksgiving meals we attended, I could no longer, in good faith, deny this truth.

Confession #3:
I do not own a Crock Pot.

There, it's done. I've let it be known! Go on, judge me as you will. You people and your slow-cooker recipes. Your planning and preparation in the morning hours, loading up the pot with the ingredients needed for dinner in a mere 12 hours. Your superior cooking and ability to go to work while dinner is being prepared by the robotic function of the Crock Pot. I know, I am a lone holdout. I can no longer live with shame, but must face the truth.

And how might this relate to Black Friday, you ask? Well, the deals of course. Crock Pots here, there, everywhere on sale. And do I go out to purchase said Crock Pot? No, I do not. I am holding out for the time honored tradition of registering for my wedding, and on that registry will be Crock Pots of various sizes. I could not imagine missing out on the experience of getting not 2, not even 3, but potentially 4 Crock Pots on my wedding day! Of course, some of those would be the exact same Crock Pot, but due to Target's lack of efficiency in checking off the registry items, I know I will be blessed with various duplicates, which I will then get the opportunity to return in exchange for toilet paper or cleaning supplies. How could I deny myself this experience, which has been shared by brides near and far throughout all of time?

I am holding out, and by next Thanksgiving I'll have that Crock Pot, in silver, with automatic shutoff, and digital temperature control, and I will finally be able to bring that dish over to our friends' houses with pride to join in the great circle of moms and dads who have perfected their Crock Pot expertise.

www.amazon.com

Wednesday's Wish- Thanksgiving Edition

Today's wish is not as tangible as the last few weeks' have been. I always try to concentrate on the things I am grateful for during the Thanksgiving holiday. It all started with my dad making us go around the Thanksgiving table and say what we were thankful for each year when we were younger. I try to carry on that tradition with my students by reminding them to be grateful over the weekend, and not greedy like the Black Friday deals may cause some to act.

So I want to start my wish off with a great, big thank you to those who read what I happen to write. One coworker this week, well we were team building, wrote that he/she "loved to read my writing". This meant the world to me, coming from an English teacher. Even if it is the same people who read every post, I really appreciate feeling as though I am heard, and the relief I get from sharing my worries, plus the joy I get from sharing my happiness, makes this worth it for me with or without an audience.

The second part of my wish is that I get 5000 views before the end of the year. I am getting closer and closer to that goal. I am not sure why, but 5000 just feels like I've made something of this blog, like I've become an accomplished writer of sorts. So my Wednesday wish is that you'll recommend my blog to a friend. Maybe it is just a single post that suits someone you know well. Maybe you remind a mutual friend to check the latest updates. Maybe you even subscribe to my blog via e-mail, but whatever you do, please help me to reach my goal. I in turn promise many fulfilling entries, hopefully some laughs, some crazy Friday confessions, and pictures galore!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Thank you.

Shout out to Vistaprint!

I love you Vistaprint. I love that I finally OVER budgeted for something in this wedding. I love that you let me mess with the format of the templates on your website to get exactly what I was looking for. I love that there was a Google Deal last week so I saved even more. You have saved me from endless hours of searching for the perfect Save the Date format and price. Now I won't feel bad about splurging on some other items.

Vistaprint

Now that I have gushed over this recommended website, thanks to past brides who were also budgeting wisely, I really do want to give my review of using it for our Save the Dates. I was really concerned about finding a nice Save the Date on which I could include our beautiful engagement pictures, but that also conveyed the important information necessary to help our out of town guests plan ahead for a destination wedding. As we were searching through templates, it was nice to find that "fall" actually counted as a category, as many wedding paper companies don't have seasonal selections. After browsing through various templates, I also discovered that there are "advanced editing" options. Using this feature, I realized that even though the template only showed 1 photo spot, I could add additional photos and format them in different ways, although a limited number of ways. I also found out that I could change font, text, size, and position. After messing around with the original design we liked, we then LOVED our new Save the Date. It is simple but gets the point across. I figure I'll save the details and labor for the actual invitations. 

So now I will highly recommend using this site for others, and not just for weddings but any printed mailings. Great deals and great options. Just opt out of the "free magazine subscription" offer at the checkout screen. :)

Friday's Confession- Literary Inspiration

This week I have been hanging out with English peeps at the National Council for Teachers of English conference in Chicago, IL (yes, where I got engaged this past June!- this time without Kyle, unfortunately). Overheard the other day: "Oh my gosh, Nicholas Sparks is going to be here! That is AH-MAY-ZING!" An adult said this. An adult who teaches LITERATURE. An adult that should have in her repertoire much more complex and intriguing, not to mention realistic, love stories. Austen? Bronte? Hell, Shakespeare. I am more than supportive of a variety of literary texts that are out there about the nature of love, which need to exist to support any number of readers and different reading abilities and preferences. But I expected more of you, English-Teacher-who-cares-enough-about-English-to-go-to-a-national-conference-about-it. And thus, my Friday confession this week brings out the literary snob in me:
CONFESSION #2:
I love a love story, but only when it is a tried and true classic love story, and I don't like sappy romance of the modern popular fiction genre.

The thing that irks me beyond all else about this topic is when people deem Romeo and Juliet "the greatest love story of all time." It is a LUST story. It is about suicide, about death, about loss and tragedy of friendship. NOT LOVE (Taylor Swift). Nice allusion, if you would have gotten it correct.

So as I think about my wedding, I hope that I can produce a fabulous, tried and true, authentic love story to continue to share with all of you, my loyal readers, and prove to you that you don't need the shallow or sappy "happy endings" of the contemporary literary world to find out what love is really all about.

Wednesday's Wish

This wish coming to you from Chicago- IL. Although what I am really wishing for is some fun while at this conference, and some great learning opportunities to be a better teacher, I can take this moment to be indulgent for a second:

From Weddingbee

Wouldn't do the hair design, nor the pink-tinted rhinestones, but I like the shape and style. I'll keep looking for the perfect amount of bling for my hair!

The Moment You've Been Waiting For...

Engagement Pictures are HERE!!!!!!

Thank you to Renee Clancy Photography (my coworker who is also amazingly talented) for this great adventure and these beautiful results. Here is a video link to some of the best ones!  Video Preview

And the photos I love follow.

ALL PHOTOS COURTESY RENEE CLANCY PHOTOGRAPHY

My last birthday as a "single lady"!

Kyle kindly reminded me last night that this would be my last birthday as "Erica" instead of "Kyle's other half". Ha ha! I responded with "Kyle's BETTER half, you mean!" It is kind of surreal. The way I see it, it can only get better from here, because I'll have an even bigger family to celebrate with. Well, I've pretty much had the extended family for years, now, but it will be official next November 12.

Every year all I ask for from Kyle is a date with him. And I always want to go someplace we've never been. This year it was Cornish Pasty. We went to the one in Mesa instead of Tempe because it is bigger, so we were hoping for a shorter wait (it was short, by the way). We had the Chicken Pot Pie and Rosemary Steak, topped off with the Caramel Apple dessert. My favorite part, besides the food being amazing, was the German beer on tap!

Cornish Pasty at Dobson and Guadalupe

Our dessert!

Highly recommended.

This blog isn't titled "confessions" for nothing!

My newest adventure begins this moment, with weekly Friday confessions from this bride-to-be! Inspired by my blog's title, my friend's recent Facebook post about keeping it real regarding motherhood, and my inner id, I am going to take each weekend to let it all out. Hopefully I'll gain some piece of mind, and cause some laughter.

Confession #1: I worship LMFAO.
I figured that I might as well get that one out of the way. I know that no one in their thirties should enjoy the "Party Rock Anthem" as much as I do (and not because of the dancing hamsters, I never even saw that commercial until well after my obsession began), but I just want to DANCE every time I hear the pounding beats and electronic riffs. "I'm Sexy and I Know It"currently pumps me up at every Zumba class. I have their last CD uploaded on my iPod so that I am motivated to run just a little faster. Truthfully, when Shots comes on, I go right back to college, imagine myself in the frat house again, and take a moment to be 21 instead of 31. Now, I'm not about to go by some animal print pants and neon tanks, but I am going to turn up the music and rock out, and plan to include them at the top of my playlist for the wedding!

From LMFAO Facebook Page

Wednesday's Wish

I keep looking for decorations for the wedding that would also work for our home. I love this candelabra I found at West Elm in their holiday gift guide. It matches our silver tree vases and silver branch candelabra from Target that are currently sitting in our living room.

www.westelm.com

Uptown Bridal!

By far, the best experience I had shopping for my dress was at Uptown Bridal in my own home of Chandler, AZ. I cannot say enough positive things about this shop. Although I have no officially ordered the dress yet, I have fallen more and more in love with it, so am feeling more assured that it is "the dress" as the time passes.

Upon making my appointment, I already had high expectations because of the recommendations of former brides. When I walked in I just felt as though I was not just surrounded by beautiful dresses but by a happy and optimistic vibe. Then I met Ali, my consultant. She was the first person who not only gave me freedom to browse dresses to try on, but then made suggestions based on both my preferences and my body type.

I was hesitant to ask to try on dresses that were on display on the mannequins in the windows, but Ali insisted that I try one, which turned out to be my favorite. I appreciate the extra effort it took to take the dress off the mannequin for me, and her carefree and helpful spirit helped lead me to "the dress"!

This shop is locally owned by amazing women, and I can't wait to accessory shop and return over and over when my dress comes in an I get fitted for alterations. I fell in love all over again, and finally feel less stress about the dress because of it.

And this is my favorite detail from the shop:

Stenciled on the wall of the roomy dressing room!

Wednesday's Wish!

I don't know what it is about these adorable little forks, but I feel the need to have them for my wedding! A wedding accessory we can keep using!

www.bhldn.com

Engagement Photo Shoot

When I first told my mom that Kyle and I had scheduled engagement photos, she expressed her surprise that this is a common occurrence in modern wedding planning. Granted, like all holidays nowadays, the commercial aspects of weddings have seemed to increase, despite this I have been really excited to get some professional photos taken. I believe that having a memento of our relationship at this moment will be something we find we cherish in the future.

I am so glad that this is a trend, because I truly enjoyed every minute of our engagement photo session with Renee Clancy. First, we somehow convinced her to accompany us to Sedona so we'd have a unique and beautiful Southwest backdrop. Second, she agreed to climb down rocky embankments to get our photo in the middle of Oak Creek. Third, the 2-hour drive there and back flew by with our endless storytelling. It was a perfect day, sunny and calm, full of laughter.

We chose multiple backdrops, from the river with fall colored trees in the background, to the red rock walls of Sedona, to the setting sun. Ironically, my parents had traveled to Sedona years ago, when I was in high school, and found the Church of the Holy Cross. They came home and told me that they found the place where I should get married. Even though the 12-person capacity won't be enough for our guest list, we took our shots overlooking the red rocks from this location. It is crazy that time and fate have led to me moving to Arizona and meeting Kyle, and now getting our engagement pictures in the exact location my parents found over ten years ago.

We were a bit rushed to take pictures with the setting sun having hit traffic coming into the city. Renee was calm, creative, and positive throughout the entire experience, helping me to keep calm and enjoy the day. I simply cannot wait until I can get the pictures and share them with everyone!

from www.azjerome.com