Practice Makes Perfect?

Ah, the joys of the wedding week chaos and last minute issues. I would have taken the entire week off, given the opportunity! It was so hard to close up a quarter, pack for 3 weeks and a 50 degree difference in temperature, remember all the wedding requirements (forgot some), and get my butt to Colorado. I get the "local" wedding benefits now, but in the end I wouldn't have changed my location or plan for the world!

This post is primarily discussing the day of the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. Let me tell my story!

The day of our rehearsal, my planner and various other brides gave me the advice to "escape" the family for some alone time with Kyle to de-stress. Being that Kyle makes me really happy, I figured this was a great plan. Being that he can also drive me crazy because he is so laid back, this could have also backfired. Luckily, I was proven to be calm in the face of adversity when, after the massage and little fall hike, and a light lunch downtown Vail, I got a phone call.

My officiant was terribly ill, his car had broken down (transmission), and he wasn't going to make it up to Vail for our rehearsal.

Ok, this we can work with. I begged him to rest up so that he could make it up to our actual wedding, which he promised he would! Then I calmly called my planner, and told her it was all her for the actual rehearsal. We were just meeting up in a park, and the real "practice" was the walking order and standing formation. It would have been nice to run through the ceremony and the music, and our vows, but we had a copy of the complete ceremony so we knew what we needed to do. We should have taken the time to practice the first dance flash mob (more on this later) and the toast we planned for the end of the ceremony (which got left out in the actual wedding anyway.) In the end, it all worked out although I was pretty overwhelmed and a bit stressed out with so many people paying attention to me at the park.

Kyle would explain this afternoon a bit differently:

Phone rings.
Erica: "What! Oh! Ok, well, will you make it to the wedding itself?! I guess that is the best we can hope for..."
to Kyle: "Um, omg, we totally don't have an officiant and we have to run the rehearsal ourselves!"
Kyle: "Call Johnna."
Erica: calling her mom "Ok, so we just got news that our officiant is not coming. Hopefully he'll make the wedding tomorrow. If not, at least Brett is ordained."
Kyle: "Call Johnna."

Later that afternoon, arriving at the rehearsal at the park.
Erica: "Why is everyone asking me questions and wanting to talk to me!?"
Kyle: "You're the bride. Where's Johnna?"
Erica: "Can you just make everyone give me some space and leave me alone?"
Kyle: "Johnna, can you get everyone away from Erica so she can stop freaking out?"
Erica: "Kyle, why aren't you taking charge and telling people what to do?!"
Kyle: "Erica, you are the only one who knows anything right now, besides Johnna. Ask the right person!"
Erica: "Let's just get this over with. I can't handle all the attention."
Kyle: "That's a first..."

Lesson in this: Get a planner.

Anyway, in the end our rehearsal dinner at Montauk was a lot of fun! Lots of friends, wine, and gifts for the wedding party. Kyle got his groomsmen cooler bags, grilling spice, koozies, and a meat brand that said "Bite me".

I got my bridesmaids custom necklaces and earrings to match the colors of their dresses, monogrammed tote bags, pashmina shawls to keep warm, and nail polish (which I had sent earlier).

We also presented our parents with gifts of thanks. We got Rob an authentic Buddhist prayer bowl (that rings, hard to explain but it is freaking cool) from India and Peg a strand of Tahitian pearls. We got my dad guitar pick shaped cufflinks that said "Dad, you rock!" and my mom a necklace engraved with my parents' anniversary date and then our anniversary date, adorned with the the stones for each month of the weddings, a pearl and a sapphire.

Enjoy some of my favorite pictures.

With my gift bow bouquet in front of our venue.

Kyle and Jared practicing the first dance.

With the savior Johnna, our planner

Handing me off!

Practicing in the park- with the most beautiful of backdrops!

Speech!

The Davis Kids and spouses! Nick, Shannon, Karen, Casey, Kyle, me, Brett, Anji.

My favorite picture- our Vail Gondola, which we have 3 pictures in now!

With aunt Pat and uncle Jim

Groomsman gift

Parents gifts

Happy flower girl Lotus!

Happy flower girl Rory.

My family- Bryce, Amanda, Cassie, Mom, Dad, Brian, Irina

Kyle's boys all matched for the occasion! Dave, Brian, Nick, Pat

I just love this face!!!

Gifts for my maids of honor

The necklaces were all personalized with their initials and colors.

Phoenix Bachelorette Party!

That's is right, bachelorette #2!

What a night to remember/forget! (I remember most of it!)

Thank you so much to my ladies Bev, Drue, Amanda, and Lindsay for helping to organize my evening of debauchery.

We started the evening with gourmet pizza and sangria at Grazie. There I was given a bouquet of lollipops and was told I needed to sell them to buy an outfit for my honeymoon! (see photo) Then we went to Dos Gringos, mostly for nostalgia, but somewhat to get the party started. It was too quiet, so we went to a club called BS; nearly all men there, if you get my drift, but what else would a bachelorette want?! It was totally by chance, but when I saw the nearly naked guys dancing on stage, I knew we found a good place. Cheap drinks, too! Then we moved to the final destination of Martini Ranch, negotiated a reduced cover charge, and watched Rock Lobster rock the 80's tunes, with a short trip to the club to dance, too (but a creepy guy ruined that for me). We weren't kicked out until after 2:00, but then I was insisting on a snack, so we hit up the after-hours bar, Gus's for pizza, where a very nice man practically let me steal slices from his pizza since the line was so long. I never made it inside. And I think I walked there barefoot. Rickshaw back to the Valley Ho- quick night's sleep- and a great breakfast and some pool time topped off the weekend. (Need I remind you this all took place the night of my shower, I was EXHAUSTED)

P.S. I made $70!

Things I learned at this party:

1. When eating outdoors at Grazie, bring an umbrella to protect yourself from the misters/rainstorm (the misters soaked us!)
2. Order bread
3. Always carry a "big-ass glass" with you because it is much harder to spill when dancing (see photos)
4. Don't try to sell Scottsdale douchebags a lollipop before 10:00 p.m., or before 5 drinks...
5. Use pathos to get people to feel sorry for you and give you cash (for the lollipops)
6. GO TO BS, the club where male go-go dancers (hotter than strippers) will give you jello shots and there are 2 for 1s every Saturday night!
7. Pizza, Gus's, 2:00 a.m., DONE!
8. Get a hotel room close by, like at the Valley Ho
9. Hire a rickshaw
10. Wear sensible shoes
11. Go see Rock Lobster at Martini Ranch and rock out!
12. Water, drink, water, drink, water, drink

Oh man, it was a great time, probably the most fun I've ever managed to have in Scottsdale.

My "big-ass glass" from Karen!

The lollipop bouquet and glass I carried all night- got my arm workout in!

Mom rallied for the first stop!

Nadja made it out to 2 bachelorette parties!

This one was for Kyle and all my friends who love The Captain! Not sure where I got the crown...

My Wonderful Shower!

Girl time post #2: My Bridal Shower!

I am not the world's largest fan of showers for many reasons. One, I am burnt out after all the bridal and baby showers I've attended over the past few years (they are countless). Two, I usually feel awkward asking anyone to do anything for me like plan a party. Three, I usually plan the party, so I know it will be exactly what I imagined, thus giving up control makes me a bit uneasy.

But my shower was perfect! It was at The Living Room (my favorite bar and the location of my 30th birthday bash 2 years ago), in Chandler. This martini-themed bar specializes in small plates and fabulous drinks.

30 or so of my female family and friends gathered together to celebrate! I must admit that it is exhausting to socialize with three or four different groups of people at once, making sure they are all having a good time (I know that this precursor to the wedding was good practice). We had a spread of bruschetta, flatbreads, hummus, and classic wedding cookies from Barb's Bakery downtown Phoenix.

My sisters created a few simple games, Kyle and Erica trivia for one, and Bride Bingo (for gift opening, when I got a gift or said something about the gifts they got to mark it off), and then created a mad lib out of my wedding website story. Totally typical English teacher.

My sister-in-law, Karen, also created amazing decorations and my other sister-in-law, Anji, sent out adorable invitations. My third sister-in-law, Shannon, helped put up the decorations and my mother-in-law Peg helped cover the cost!

Thank you all for all you did for me. I never felt more loved and special.

AND of course I got some wonderful gifts, the highlight definitely being my CROCK POT (so I can shut up about it now) and some scandalous goods for the honeymoon, too. :)

And of course, pictures:

My sister-in-law, Karen, created this awesome banner (and another with our wedding date) for decoration!

My sister painted these glasses with chalkboard paint and wrote in names for favors.

The ladies of the Jensen family were all here!

The spread- amazing cookies and flat breads.

Gift time!

My knives!!! :)

Thank you for making me learn to cook!

Thank you, Audra, for the Crock pot!

The new family! Anji, Peg, Shannon, Aunt Pat, Karen. Thank you for all your help!

Happy 4th of July!

Nothing says "my wedding is coming in less than 3 months" like a 4th of July full of all-American fun and food. And by all-American I mean the classics for a 4th feast: Zumba, turkey and avocado salad, vodka tonics, and yard/house work! But, at least we got cooler weather here in Phoenix, only in the 70s right now, cloudy, and raining throughout the day!

Hope your 4th was festive and safe. This is one of my all-time favorite holidays!

Our rainy backyard barbecue!

This is what dedication looks like

Friday Confession: Surviving Wedding Diets

I know that perhaps my posts seem to have a common theme lately, but when you decide to go, go big I guess! We are in the second week of our new workout regime/ pre-wedding diet. This is the "cleanse" stage. I think it means that I have to get rid of all my memories of anything with cheese, sugar, bread, or alcohol.

Here are my tips to all brides who are looking for help while trying not to think about food (although sooooo hungry...) on their pre-wedding fitness journies:

1. Shop for wedding stuff on Etsy to take your mind off of how you are feelings- it will eat up hours of your time. (sorry, didn't mean to bring up "eat" there)
2. Shop at Target for absolutely nothing in particular, or better yet "pre-shop" your registry as often as you can. You can't expect to pick out all the gifts you'll need for life in one trip!
3. Look through fitness magazines at all the girls who look like how you WILL look after you survive this time. Then tear their faces off.
4. Call your best friends and ask them to tell you stories about what they are cooking and how many disgusting calories are in that food.
5. Exercise. I recommend long walks to clear your head with an LMFAO soundtrack, Zumba with a Pitbull soundtrack, and smashing things with a Linkin Park soundtrack.
6.  Stop watching daytime TV- too many commercials for food, restaurants, and Health Alert systems.
7.  Stay as far away from your significant other as possible, you'll want to kill him when he loses all his weight in the first 2 weeks, while eating pizza...
8.  Sneak a Hershey kiss, you know you want to, no one will ever know...
9.  Mix a lime in with diet tonic water and pretend you are drinking, or drink water out of a wine glass, margarita glass, martini glass, champagne glass, hurricane glass...
10. Buy your dress in a larger size so you don't feel the pressure to diet in the first place?

As I seriously fight off my food withdrawals, I will try to follow my own advice (most of this list has already been accomplished), and I look forward to the day when I can happily eat a bread stick with my salad.

All I can think about is food...

Could really use these about now, since I'm chopping everyday!

The most awkward meal ever...

Have you ever eaten a meal where you felt you were being scrutinized by chef? This is a common fear in my house I assume, as I am still in the "experimental cook" phase, but nothing tops the awkward moment of apprehension that occurs during your wedding meal tasting.

I was not worried that the food would suck, but more that my comments and praise of the chef would be inadequate. It was not our caterer's fault at all, but moreso the setting and atmosphere that created the uncomfortable tension. There we were, at the official catering kitchen, and in case you've never experienced it before, they are not exactly 5-stars in decor and atmosphere. This is good, it means I am not paying for showmanship. But I just couldn't get past the fact that my purse sat atop a stack of linens and the glasses were towered precariously close to my head.

Then the meal started. It was divine. Not to ruin any surprises, but we chose a fish and beef main course, with a vegetarian and kids option, and some amazing passed appetizers. My favorite part, as always, was the bistro salad with warm goat cheese. If I get nothing else but that during my reception I'd be a happy girl. Along with this, we got to taste 1/3 of our cake. After completely stuffing our faces, and feeling like we weren't going to be able to fit through the door, we were satisfied with our menu selections.

Pinterest

During the meal, the bizarre part was having the chef watch from across the table as we took each bite. I felt like I was taking some sort of test. I know really that he was the one being tested, but I just didn't want to take a bite and grimace. Luckily, the food didn't suck. He did teach us about how each item is made, where he gets his ingredients from, and how he plans to present and serve each item with his staff. I now better understand what party planners and food critics experience.

The last awkward moment was finishing my 10th glass of water (it is altitude, it is really dry!) and then realizing there was no obvious bathroom. Luckily we found a nice flower shop next door that let us use theirs. To think, on my wedding day those bathroom emergencies will require helpers, due to my dress!

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.