Tuesday, March 29, 2011

October 1st



With under 200 days to go and 6 months more of planning, it surpirses me how insignificant our date actually was to us prior to the planning process.  Of course after October 1st, that date will mean something very special to my fiance and I for the rest of our lives but I was surpirsed to had chosen a date that I knew nothing about.  First, we had wanted to select a date that had meant something to me from as a tribute to my father...for instance his birthdate (Jan 25) or my grandmother's birthdate. Then we realized we might be able to have 11/11/11 and that became our top winner, but after researching all of the dates and "off season" vs "season" pricing on flights and hotel stays we realized we couldn't make any of those dates work and wanted the stay to be as affordable for our guests as possible. So, then we asked...what is an available date that is in your off season but not in the dead of summer...the venue's response was...October 1st. Perfect...we'll take it.  Unfortunately, hours after signing the contract I reaized that was the date I had lost a best friend on and it just so happened to be my fiance's ex girlfriend's birthday...sign...but now it will be our wedding anniversary as well. :) My best friend would be happy I am changing a bad day into a happy day in my and so many friends we share lives, and frankly exes are exes for a reason. :) But this has led me to wonder..what else has taken place on that date... Wikipedia...here I come.


 To my surprise being the Disney Freak I am , Walt Disney World opened in 1971 on October 1st!  We went there every year growing up as a child, and if I had an unlimited budget and David Tutuera answered any of my many letters, we would be getting married there.  Disney has a huge spot in my heart for it reminds me of my father and a very happy childhood I had.  Even the word makes me smile now as I am typing it.  I am a hopeless romantic and still watch every Disney love story with a warm heart and a sense of wonder.  I screamed when I say Beauty and Beast has been released from the evil "Disney Vault."  And on another Disney side note, Epcot center opened on October 1st, 1982. 

So what else happened on October 1st...many things but here is a brief list...

  • 331 BCAlexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of Gaugamela.




  • 1869Austria issues the world's first postcards.




  • 1903Baseball: The Boston Americans play the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first game of the modern World Series.




  • 1957 – First appearance of In God We Trust on U.S. paper currency.




  • 1982 – Sony launches the first consumer compact disc player (model CDP-101).




  • Moving Day (New York City from the mid-19th century to c.1945)




  • World Vegetarian Day




  • Children's Day (Singapore)




  • Earliest day on which World Habitat Day can fall, while October 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of October. (International)




  • But now October 1st will be the best day of my life for I will be marrying my best friend and lover...  Isn't it funny how a date can change and be significant or insignificant in the matter of a year? It just shows to respect each day of your life because you never know when it too will be significant the next year.  What history falls on your date?

    Monday, March 28, 2011

    a perfect ending

    Friday, I received a message from Key West Rentals indicating the management had changed hands for our Villa.  Mind you everyone else's stay would not be affected, but ours was one of the few proprieties that would be.  <Sigh>  If you remember closely or read my facebook rants, this is the second time we have changed our plans in where we are staying.  You would have thought with a long engagement, I would know exactly where we were staying months ago, but no...here we are 6 months out and are unsure of where to stay.  We love the Southernmost, but after a significant rate change it had sent us packing and to the idea of renting a house/villa/cottage/what-have-you.  We ARE staying at the Southernmost before and after the wedding, but we wanted a house rental where we could have a "staging area for the flowers" and a "regrouping area" from the chaos that will surely surround the big day.  After googling and researching I found Heather's Villa...now 2 months later...the hunt is on again. 

    If you recall from my previous post Where should we stay , I told guests and friends about a beautiful Inn that I had fallen in love with and was envious we wouldn't be staying at. We researched it and thought it was more than we needed and wanted, but in a complete turn of events...it's perfect.  So ladies and gentleman, we have our perfect suite at the Jasmine House in the Garden Suite.  There is also a Tree Top Suite which is amazing.  There are other rooms in the B&B next door to us if guests would like to stay in the house as us from $75 a night.  http://www.keywestjasminehouse.com/ CALL Toll Free 1 (877) 413-5299 


    So just maybe.. everything may happen for a reason after all! I hope friends or family can stay next to us, but if not we'll be a few steps away. 

    Isn't it funny how a rough road actually will lead you to a perfect ending.  Has this happened to you?  It really makes you appreciate each bump for you know the end will be worth every bump or rough patch you hit.

    Wednesday, March 23, 2011

    A legend dies and a closet is bare

    It's such a sad day when a legend like Elizabeth Taylor dies.   She died at the age of 79.  She was a powerful beautiful woman who had her fair share of weddings.  She was married 8 times.  Geesh.  I can't even get through one. :) She was well known for her beauty and classic Hollywood style.


    A few of my favorite wedding and non-wedding quotes by her:

    “My mother says I didn’t open my eyes for eight days after I was born, but when I did, the first thing I saw was an engagement ring. I was hooked.”

    "Big girls need big diamonds. "

    "It is strange that the years teach us patience; that the shorter our time, the greater our capacity for waiting. "
    "The problem with people who have no vices is that generally you can be pretty sure they're going to have some pretty annoying virtues. "

    And the bare closet...

    My dress is at the seamstress.  I took my dress 5 scary blocks ( I had to dodge drunks and hipsters with coffee the whole way)to the seastress to what I thought would be an easy job.  Turns out it isn't (is it ever?) and will take 4 weeks...and a lot more money than I had hoped.  Sigh.  To be cont...

    Has this ever happened to you? You expect something to be easy, and it turns out to be an overhaul? Of course it has tell me about it:)

    Sunday, March 20, 2011

    Happy first day of spring!



    Spring is in the air! Yesterday, I spent the day stuffing 52 invitations and next weekend I plan on putting the final touches on them sending them on their way.  Then daisy and I played fetch in our backyard.  These are my dream days.  It's funny when winter came this year, I got excited, because every season change is a season closer to our big day!! And when I heard the first bird of the season chirp away, I bolted out of bed (even with 3 hours of sleep from my 2nd job).  It still awe strikes me that James and I will be having our dream wedding.  Sure...it's not at Disney or has a Big Fish theme BUT it is our dream day because we will be sharing it with our friends and family.  I have to constantly tell myself to slow down and enjoy this time in our life and cherish every day(even the stressful ones).  These are the good ol' days.  So, to all of my friends, followers, and family...go enjoy your Sunday and make it a great day!


    What does Spring mean to you?

    Friday, March 18, 2011

    Hello, my name is Elena and,yes, I am a flower stalker.

    It feels like as soon as I got engaged I began to stalk flowers and the florists around my house.  See...I love roses I do, but I am obsessed with daisies.  I started out thinking I wanted to walk down the aisle holding a handful of wild daisies while the bridesmaids were holding Gerber daisies. 
    Then I started looking at bridal magazines remembering my long love for roses.  I even have two rose tattoos.  Roses have always meant something special to me.  See they reminds me that everything beautiful has to first develop from a bud and may encounter a thorn or two along their way.  They remind me of life.  To achieve anything great, you will certainly hit a bump along they way(or a thorn).  It also reminds me to be thankful for the hard times (thorns) as well as the good times (rose petals).  This is from a poem I once read:

     "My God, I have never thanked You for my thorns.
        I have thanked You a thousand times for my roses, but never once for my thorns.
        Teach me the glory of the cross I bear;
        Teach me the value of my thorns.
        Show me that I have climbed closer to You along the path of pain;
        Show me that, through my tears, the colors of Your rainbow look much more brilliant."

    So that being said, how could I walk down the aisle without a rose bouquet?  I began to consider roses....but then what color??? White to signify the innocence?? Yellow, but wait doesn't yellow mean "friendship"?? And red doesn't really go with our color scheme (yellow,orange, and blue).
    Then I thought what if I combined the daisies and the roses?


    But then deep in my flower stalking I remembered how much I adore pink roses...and I know there is no chance in H. E. double hockey sticks James is letting me mention the color pink at the wedding let along have it anywhere.  It hit me, I need want a colorful bouquet!! So the hunt began...
    I like the colors...but where are the roses?
    Closer...
    My bouquet...I love it.

    What do you guys think?  What is your favorite flower and why?

    Tuesday, March 15, 2011

    The Guest Book

    Something I have always loved is a great photo! I take pictures where ever I go.  I think it's because I have a bad memory and I like to relfect on the photo and remember the good times.  One of the the saddest things I have witnesses with our every growing technology is the online sharing sites...only because it has replaced the photo albums.  I remember as a young girl (maybe 4 or so) I would sit with my Granny and look at all of her family albums.  She had one for each child..each separate family.  I loved to look through our family story.  I loved to see how young and beautiful my mom and dad were when my brothers were born and how happy everyone was.  I loved seeing the history of my Granny and all of my aunts and uncles.  They all had such interesting and amazing lives to me as a child (and still do now).  There were photos of my granny on the beach with flowers in her hair and my mom with my brother at Disney rocking a tube top onezie! While I love the fact that I can share my photos with my family and friends with a touch of a button now, and I am sure you and 100's of others will see me in my gown minutes after I say "I do" thanks to facebook, twitter, and shutterfly, I am somewhat saddened I don't take enough time to print out more photos and place them into albums for myself and my future children.

    One for you...one for us
    Which brings me to the guest book,  by now you can see how important a photo guest book is to me.  I want to be able to tell my children who was at their parent's wedding and show them what they were wearing! I first had the idea of Polaroids.  I loved the idea that guest could photograph each other and slap their photos next to their message to put their seal and blessing on our big day. Just one problem.  Polaroids are almost extinct.  Making Polaroid guest books are very close to becoming extinct and  scary expensive.  Which brought me to a photo booth! A photo booth where guests wouldn't have to worry about cutting themselves out of the picture or developing it wrong or asking someone to take it for them! They would be able to pile into the booth and wait 2 minutes to have 4 pictures to place in the guest book and then keep a copy to take home.  I fell in love with this idea.  Sounds too good to be true...it is...no one else loved the idea so much...and it was much more expensive than we had hoped.  So back we went to the Polaroids which will work and will serve the purpose of what we are wanting to achieve. <insert big girl sigh>

     I guess I was starting to lean towards my original dream wedding by adding the photo booth...my BIG FISH wedding.  Big Fish is one of my favorite movies, and it reminds me of my father.  I love the scene in the small town with the little girl stealing everyone shoes so they can't leave.  <Sigh>  Don't get me wrong I love or wedding, but I wish I could incorporate both the beach and the big fish feel.  Any one ideas that are free? Ya...I didn't think so... ;) David Tutera-save me?


    What about you? What are some of your memories from childhood you are incorporating in your dream wedding?

    Saturday, March 12, 2011

    The doorhangers

    Early on in the wedding process we saw a post from our amazing wedding planner Kristen at Swankey Events.  She posted a favor from a wedding where the bride and groom gave out "do not disturb doorhangers."  We fell in love with it!! And then the hunting began.  I have googled and binged my way around the world wide web, and finally the creativity bug hit me today! We knew we wanted one side to be in chalk paint, because we would use any excuse to use chalk paint (it's just neat) and we thought the guests could have fun with it after the wedding.  They could leave messages for room mates, kids, or loved ones.  Then the hunt went on for card stock paper thick enough for a doorhanger.  Here is my first attempt at it:
    I printed it in white and yellow...
    Thin I cut the whole...
    Whipped out the old chalk board paint... BTW...the first time I have ever used spray paint
    Added some glue...
    My first thought was to only spray a rectangle..
    Umm ..yes I cut the rectangle out of my invitation printing instructions.
    Who knew you need a screwdriver to open a spray can...
    Ummm...I am not quitting my day job.
    I just went for it...
    And now time to dry...
    A very bored Daisy May...
    This is no fun at all..
    Finished product...ok so I learned that the paint get's everywhere...I am guessing I need to tape the paper down.
    The back side...Still a little wet but writable!!!

    Invitations!

    Me vs the Invites
    Last night, we started writing our invitations.  It really didn't seem like a big deal at the time, BUT we now realize it is.  The tone of the invitations set the mood for the wedding.  We wanted to be unique and possibly funny.  I saw a few great RSVP cards on weddingbee.com where the bride added a mad lib and another who added twist on words.  We settled for one that seemed like "us."  So here we go...
    The Supplies
    The test one we put together...
    James hunting for the appropriate wording...
    The test
    The printed test...I like.
    Travel Instructions...
    The finished product.                        



    All in all, I love them.  I thought originally I would change the brown for yellow ribbon, but I really, really love them and I can't wait to send them.