Saturday, December 20, 2008

...and the planning begins!

Lets rewind back to Tuesday May 3rd 2005...

I lazily roll out of bed, it's that time again, time to go to work. I soon realize I forgot to put my load of whites into the dryer before falling asleep, leaving me to dig into the over heaping basket of dirty clothes that were slowly inching their way out of the closet doors. I peer down to my belly, its growing beyond my control. Now not only do I need to find a shirt that's semi-clean, but one that will fit, and one that won't look to heinous, as I am going to be married today! The pink one with the bow will work...Yeah, it makes my boobs look bigger. With my hair pulled back, as I often do working with kids, out the door and into the car I went, morning sickness got the best of me as I had to pull over twice before even reaching my destination. The morning was slow, cranky kids and poopy diapers...you know, the usual. Finally the afternoon rolled around, it was time to go get married! It was pouring outside - but you know what they say about rain on your wedding day: *rain on your wedding day means that your marriage will be blessed with fertility and good fortune* Lol...Anyway, Rey and I were to meet at the fed-ex at 3pm, to pick up the re-sized engagement ring to fit my then, smaller finger. I hurriedly drove around for an extra 30 minutes trying to find the darn place, circle after circle, stinky from work, sweaty from panic - I finally found it! With a quick hug, we jumped into my car to go retrieve the marriage certificate which needed to be signed at the courthouse where we would be married. What should have taken a few Minutes, in-and-out, took nearly 45! Running to the car, dodging gigantic puddles along the way, our hair wet and pressed to our foreheads, the time was 4:30 and we needed to make it to the Bernalillo courthouse before they were to close at 5pm...Which is at least a 25 Minute drive from downtown Albuquerque, but we were determined - May 3rd was our day to be married! It took 3 phone calls to reach the judge, letting her know we were on our way. Through the pouring rain, we arrived at 5:05pm, the doors were still open, only the judge and only a small handful of people were still in the building. The judge looked at us and said, "and your witnesses?" Wait, witnesses? Rey and I looked at each other with deep concern and panic. "Maybe I can round up two witnesses for you." She said. A few moments later, we had our witnesses. With a shake of hands, the ceremony went on. At 5:15pm on Tuesday, May 3rd 2005 - I said, I do. I do, for the rest of my life! Tears, hugs, love, and happiness were exchanged between us, there was nothing else around me, no flowers, no clapping, and even if there was, all I saw was my husband, the man I was going to spend the rest of my life with! A quick snapshot was taken from the judge, cell phone quality to say the least. Smiles the size of Russia, and a happy couple indeed! Sushi dinner was our honeymoon, and I swear I can still taste it in my mouth...

There has always been talk between us of having a real wedding...May 3rd 2008, was originally the set date, our 3rd wedding anniversary. Again it was put on hold as I found myself with another growing belly, round 2! Lol - given that, Our little Zachariah, was born on July 24th, 2008. So here we are again...Well folks the time has come! Sunday, May 3rd, 2009 - The day of our 4th wedding anniversary we will have a ceremony to celebrate our marriage. A re-commitment of vows, if you call it.
Here's what I have so far:


Nothing.


Lol...Okay so I have Ideas...The thing is, we have to wait for our income taxes before we can buy a single thing for the ceremony and our japan honeymoon!

Photographer:
http://lovelyuniverse.smugmug.com/
I don't know much about the gal, but I like her style! :)



Setting Outdoors, One location:
This is probably one of the hardest parts! You want something that's affordable and nice, and able to accommodate all of your guests!
So I've been looking into Places like www.homeaway.com, and sister sites: www.vrbo.com & www.vacationrentals.com
I've found a few nice places that have nice yards...between $150-$300 a night, so it will fill two purposes if needed. A place for out-of-towner guests (if the want) to stay the night and also the location in which we can have the Ceremony! I would just need to rent tables and chairs...Along with tablecloths :)...And a sound system (oh crap, I forgot about that part!!)



Decor:
Paper Lanterns (In MANY different Colors - Not white!...as I have no color theme, just lots of color!!) - These hanging from trees, along with outdoor string lights.
And fire pits to keep warm! (if needed)





When we got married in the courthouse, we decided to wait to exchange our rings until our actual ceremony. With the courthouse wedding, I gave Rey a temporary sterling silver ring. And Rey gave me my engagement ring. (although with his proposal, he did ask me to marry him with the ring :) So when we have the ceremony, these are our rings:




Daisy's for my bouquet and the "wedding flower"...Simple, pretty, spring-y, cheap, and one of my favorites!



Table Tops/centerpieces:
mUlTiCoLoReD Sphere Candles in many sizes large and small, Mirrors, and photofetti :)




Food:
Now this is another hard biggie!! (an expensive biggie too!)
To cater...or not to cater!?!?
Ok so if we don't cater, that leaves a lot of responsibility upon us...right? finding the time to cook and serving our guests, who would do that? Not us, I would hope! Lol...so I think since were saving so much elsewhere in our budget - we may just have it catered, that way our guests, can enjoy themselves too, ya know? Rey and I are talking Chows Asian Bistro to cater.



We wanted to do Sushi and/or Japanese cuisine...But - that's REALLY expensive, like catering x2! Eeekkk...Then our minds went to way low budget mode - not just cheap sushi, but yucky, desperate, cheap costco $13 party platter sushi.



I don't know if we could bear it, being the sushi snobs that we are! Okay, okay...and then our guests - lets not kill our guests! Lol...lets Nix the sushi idea (we'll get plenty of that for ourselves on our japan honeymoon anyhow!!)

The Cake:
Again mUlTiCoLoReD layers OR 1 solid color, other than white!
With edible daises:
Not sure on the flavors yet...



My Dress, I've already got it!...You'll just have to wait and see!!


The bridesmaid/maid of honor dress...still to come!! :)


Hhhhmmm, what am I missing?? Oh yes, the Honeymoon! Yippy! :D :D :D




I'm on the search for a great deal ;) We want to see as much of Japan as we can possibly see in one visit!
This one includes airfare, all meals, accommodations, transportation in Japan:
what you'll see:
* Nara (Giant Buddah / Deer Park)
* Bullet Train Ride
* Kyoto (Kiyomizu Temple / Nijo Castle / Golden Pavilion / *Miyako Odori)
*Miyako Odori is not available for March '09 departure
* Shizuoka (Tea Ceremony at World Tea Museum)
* Mt. Fuji (5th Station)
* Hakone (Mt. Komagatake Ropeway / Owakudani / Lake Ashi)
* Tokyo (Imperial Palace / Asakusa / Ginza / Shinjyuku / Hama Rikyu Garden / Sumida River Boat Cruise)

And it even comes with a "free" Japan Deluxe Tour Traveler's Kit!!!! Lol...





Each Japan Deluxe Tour participants will receive following traveler's kit free of charge.
JDT Tour Kit

1. Japan Deluxe Tour Hand Book
2. Custom and Immigration Forms
3. Gratuity Envelope
4. Neck Pouch
5. Zipper Bag for Liquid Products on the Air Plane Cabin
6. Pen
7. Passport and Document Holder
8. Name Tag
9. Foldable Tote Bag
10. Infomap Japan Magazine
11. Plastic Pouch


#11 Man, that's what sold me on Japan...The plastic pouch, baby!! Wow, now I'm really excited! :D :D :D