9/25/10
Pete and I enjoyed the first peaceful Saturday we'd had in a while. The housewarming party was over and Pete's dad and stepmother were safely back in Pittsburgh. So, I brought up the much avoided topic (on his part) of wedding planning. I said 'Babe, now that we're mostly settled, I think we need to start thinking about the wedding.' And he was surprisingly very open to the discussion. We had talked about a destination wedding and I bought a calendar so maybe we could figure out a date. Or even narrow it down to two weeks or so. Pete said very plainly he wanted to get married in Hawaii. He'd mentioned this before, so I went ahead and started looking at options online. I showed him what I'd found. I also looked at some options in Monterey, CA, closer to home thinking it might be less expensive. And it was! So, I showed him everything and when I showed him the Monterey option I found he said 'That doesn't look like a destination wedding. That'd be a destination for everyone but us!' So, we talked for a while and narrowed it down to sometime within the middle two weeks in April, 2011. And I agreed I'd keep looking for information for Hawaii weddings while I was in WV for my next trip. A good start!
9/27/10
I spoke to my mom tonight and told her about our plans for a wedding in Hawaii next April. She was fairly upbeat and said she really wanted to be there, but if we had the wedding in Hawaii, she didn't think she'd be able to make it. If we did something in California, she'd do her best. I was REALLY disappointed because it sounded like she'd just resigned herself to not coming because it was going to involve travel. So, we talked some more and I asked her to come wedding gown shopping with me the following Sunday.
A little while later, I talked to my dad and had the same kind of conversation with him. He actually tried to talk me out of getting married in April because April was prime fishing season. REALLY? Then he said 'Well, you do what you guys want to do, and I know you will.' I had to interrupt at this point, because so far in the process, I had only been thinking of everyone ELSE, not me or what I wanted. What I wanted was to get married on a beautfiul beach, to the man that I love, with my family there. So, I told him as much and I told him it would mean alot if he could take a few days off from fishing and come to my wedding. I'm pretty sure that won him over :).
9/28/10
Today was pretty sad for me. I was continuing to look for Hawaiian wedding options but everything is so expensive! And I was trying to think of ways I could convince Pete to get married in CA. But, I did make an appointment at David's Bridal to look for a wedding gown :).
10/3/10
I found my wedding dress today! Me, Mom and Stacy drove up to Pittsburgh and had a great day! We left early enough so we stopped at Olive Garden and had a nice lunch. Then we went over to David's Bridal, where Mandee helped us out and we found 'The Dress'. Here it is! I actually didn't see this one, nor was it on my list of dresses I wanted to try on. My mom found it, so I took it and tried it on and it's PERFECT!! It fits me perfectly and it's super flattering and comfy. It's flowy and perfect for a beach wedding :). I think it will only need hemmed, since I'm so short :). So, I paid for it and they're going to ship it to me in San Jose, so I can get the alterations taken care of there!10/9/10
I showed Pete more wedding options tonight. I started making my case for keeping our wedding in CA and going to Hawaii for our honeymoon. He was very disappointed, which nearly killed me. I really want him to have what he wants as far as the wedding goes. But he doesn't really care if anyone comes, where I do. I want my peeps there. And it will cost us much less in CA. He really didn't like the Monterey options I found, and I'd almost set my heart on one of them, so I was disappointed. But he suggested some other CA beach places and I'm going to look for information on weddings at some of them. Man, this wedding planning stuff is rough!
10/17/10
We sat down again to talk about the new 'stuff' I found over the week, for some other possible wedding locations. I looked at Santa Monica, Pismo Beach, Coronado Beach, near San Diego, and Ventura Beach. After speaking with several wedding planners at hotels on these beaches, I found a nice hotel on Pismo Beach that seemed to better suit us and our small wedding, closer to our budget. It's the Sea Venture Resort and it looks fantastic! We can have the wedding right on the beach and the reception in a banquet room overlooking the beach and coast. And, it's far less expensive than other options. One problem I've found is that lots of hotels have a 50-60 person minimum for weddings and if you don't have that many guests, you still have to pay for enough food and drinks for that many. The Sea Venture's minimum is 25, so even if we still don't have 25 guests, there won't be as much waste I don't think. Crossing my fingers!
10/20/10
I've kind of struck up a friendship with one of Pete's manager's wives. Her name is Malory and she and her hubby came to our housewarming. I got along with her right away. We're both crafty and she's actually a Stampin Up consultant, so I emailed her to see if she could help me brainstorm about handmade wedding invitations. I really think hand stamped cards add a little something. So, she said they had a Wedding Sweet stamp set and invited me over to her house to brainstorm and visit this afternoon. I had such a good time with her! We're actually having dinner with her and her husband this Saturday, but I really enjoyed some girl time :). Especially since I haven't met many women here yet and I don't know many people other than Pete's coworkers. So, anyway, we decided on specific colors to work with for the invitations that could be carried over into the favors and thank you notes. I ordered the wedding stamps and once they come in, we're going to play around with some different designs. FUN!
10/30/10
I'm getting ready to leave for my next trip to WV. We've kind of gotten away from talking about the wedding stuff over the past week or two. I've been in contact with the wedding planner at the Sea Venture hotel and I've got pricing all together and it looks like our best option. And, I asked Pete about it tonight and he said if I like it, we should go ahead with it. I showed him the website and he said it looked perfect! Yaayyyy! So, I'm going to work on booking our date and paying our deposit next week :). By the way, we did set the wedding date as April 17, 2011!
Here's a link to the hotel: http://www.seaventure.com/
11/4/10
I emailed Lauren McIntyre a signed contract and authorization for our deposit to secure our wedding and reception at the Sea Venture Resort, today! What a relief to have that taken care of! WHEW!
2/17/2011
Wow! I can't believe I haven't updated the blog since November! Guess we've been kind of busy!
In the past 5 months, wedding planning kind of took me on a ride. After booking the hotel, I took a little breather from the wedding. Of course, we had the holidays to work through and my job took a new direction, so I didn't really get a break from anything. But I felt like I could relax a little after booking the venue. In January, we made our second payment for the hotel. Since then, I've booked the photographer, florist, bakery and I've spoken with our dj and minister, so I feel like everything is coming together nicely. I've been to David's Bridal here in San Jose, for two fittings and I have my dress back, all hemmed and bustled. So now almost all we need to do is pay for everything.
I took a trip to Pismo Beach earlier this month and was able to explore the area a little. The hotel, while very small, is right on the beach and I think it'll be perfect for our wedding! After seeing the area, I'm even more excited than I was. Of course, for the past month or so, it's been a little more stress than excitement, but the stress is slowly fading :).
I've booked airfares for my sister and niece and I heard from my mom that she and my stepfather will be making their arrangements soon. So, this is really happening! Pete's family are all excited too. Hotel reservations have been made for our families as well, so I'm just waiting for all of our rsvp's to come back to get a final head count.
I worked with Mallory and made our invitations. They turned out gorgeous, I think! I've already started receiving rsvp's which is exciting. And, I've registered for gifts at Macys and Crate and Barrel. I don't really expect anyone to buy us gifts, but a few people have been asking and I'd rather get things we want and need, than stuff we'll have to return.
At this point, I'm thinking of the little things. The music to be played while guests (all 15 of them) are being seated, the song to play after our kiss, the kinds of flowers I want, finding bling-y flip flops to wear. Fun stuff, right? I'm going to make my own bridal jewelry and I found a really nice bead store in Mountain View, so I need to go back and buy some supplies. I've also started tanning to get some 'bridal glow'. No, I'm not a huge proponent of tanning salons, but let's face it, I'm pastey white and I have a strapless, ivory, wedding gown. Pastey, Ivory and Strapless should never be in the same sentence together.
Now's the time when I have to depend on Pete to do what he needs to do, which hasn't happened yet (not a huge surprise). You know men; they're not always into wedding details. But I've put him in charge of just three things: his suit, his wedding ring and making our honeymoon arrangements. As of today, exactly two months before the wedding, Pete neither has a suit to wear nor a ring. So I'm gonna need all the help I can get with him.
I'm planning another trip to Pismo the first weekend in March, to go see the girl who will be doing my hair and makeup, so that should be fun. And, in less than 60 days, we will be married and hopefully on our way to Maui.
I wonder how I'll feel, doing all this preparation by myself, when it's all over. Hopefully I don't get all emotional and I can actually enjoy the reception. Cheers!
3/31/11
I absolutely can NOT believe that in 17 days, Pete and I will be married! Man, time is really flying! But, I'm ready, he is ready and everything should be in place.
I went back to Pismo earlier this month and had a great time with Amy, the girl who will be doing my hair and makeup. We need to tweak things a bit, but at least we met and she got a feel for what I want. I'm also going back there this weekend, for a cake tasting, which should be fun too :).
Pete got his suit and ring! They're both perfect and it was a load off my mind to have that taken care of. And, I ended up taking care of making the honeymoon arrangements. Honestly, I feel kind of bad about it too. I feel like I stepped on Pete's toes a bit. But, with less than a month left and still no airfares, I didn't think I had much of a choice. So, we are all set! And I am so excited about having a week to relax in a Tropical Paradise!
Unfortunately, some of our friends who we hoped would be coming to the wedding, aren't able to make it, so we have a very small group of only 14 guests. But, it will still be nice and I will have to choose additional appetizers and drinks to fill in for the 25 person food and beverage minimum.
Other than those things, I have spoken with our coordinator at the hotel and we have a plan for the big day. I've also worked with our minister, photographer, florist, DJ and baker to coordinate the deliveries. So, I think we are set!
Everyone is getting excited about coming out to sunny, CA. I'm in Brea right now, for work, and when I go back home to San Jose, everyone will start arriving about a week later. So, this is a very exciting time for us. I have to admit, I've been a little stressed about everything. But it'll all work out as it should. I still can't quite wrap my mind around being Mrs. Donatelli :).
Wish me luck!
2/17/2011
Wow! I can't believe I haven't updated the blog since November! Guess we've been kind of busy!
In the past 5 months, wedding planning kind of took me on a ride. After booking the hotel, I took a little breather from the wedding. Of course, we had the holidays to work through and my job took a new direction, so I didn't really get a break from anything. But I felt like I could relax a little after booking the venue. In January, we made our second payment for the hotel. Since then, I've booked the photographer, florist, bakery and I've spoken with our dj and minister, so I feel like everything is coming together nicely. I've been to David's Bridal here in San Jose, for two fittings and I have my dress back, all hemmed and bustled. So now almost all we need to do is pay for everything.
I took a trip to Pismo Beach earlier this month and was able to explore the area a little. The hotel, while very small, is right on the beach and I think it'll be perfect for our wedding! After seeing the area, I'm even more excited than I was. Of course, for the past month or so, it's been a little more stress than excitement, but the stress is slowly fading :).
I've booked airfares for my sister and niece and I heard from my mom that she and my stepfather will be making their arrangements soon. So, this is really happening! Pete's family are all excited too. Hotel reservations have been made for our families as well, so I'm just waiting for all of our rsvp's to come back to get a final head count.
I worked with Mallory and made our invitations. They turned out gorgeous, I think! I've already started receiving rsvp's which is exciting. And, I've registered for gifts at Macys and Crate and Barrel. I don't really expect anyone to buy us gifts, but a few people have been asking and I'd rather get things we want and need, than stuff we'll have to return.
At this point, I'm thinking of the little things. The music to be played while guests (all 15 of them) are being seated, the song to play after our kiss, the kinds of flowers I want, finding bling-y flip flops to wear. Fun stuff, right? I'm going to make my own bridal jewelry and I found a really nice bead store in Mountain View, so I need to go back and buy some supplies. I've also started tanning to get some 'bridal glow'. No, I'm not a huge proponent of tanning salons, but let's face it, I'm pastey white and I have a strapless, ivory, wedding gown. Pastey, Ivory and Strapless should never be in the same sentence together.
Now's the time when I have to depend on Pete to do what he needs to do, which hasn't happened yet (not a huge surprise). You know men; they're not always into wedding details. But I've put him in charge of just three things: his suit, his wedding ring and making our honeymoon arrangements. As of today, exactly two months before the wedding, Pete neither has a suit to wear nor a ring. So I'm gonna need all the help I can get with him.
I'm planning another trip to Pismo the first weekend in March, to go see the girl who will be doing my hair and makeup, so that should be fun. And, in less than 60 days, we will be married and hopefully on our way to Maui.
I wonder how I'll feel, doing all this preparation by myself, when it's all over. Hopefully I don't get all emotional and I can actually enjoy the reception. Cheers!
3/31/11
I absolutely can NOT believe that in 17 days, Pete and I will be married! Man, time is really flying! But, I'm ready, he is ready and everything should be in place.
I went back to Pismo earlier this month and had a great time with Amy, the girl who will be doing my hair and makeup. We need to tweak things a bit, but at least we met and she got a feel for what I want. I'm also going back there this weekend, for a cake tasting, which should be fun too :).
Pete got his suit and ring! They're both perfect and it was a load off my mind to have that taken care of. And, I ended up taking care of making the honeymoon arrangements. Honestly, I feel kind of bad about it too. I feel like I stepped on Pete's toes a bit. But, with less than a month left and still no airfares, I didn't think I had much of a choice. So, we are all set! And I am so excited about having a week to relax in a Tropical Paradise!
Unfortunately, some of our friends who we hoped would be coming to the wedding, aren't able to make it, so we have a very small group of only 14 guests. But, it will still be nice and I will have to choose additional appetizers and drinks to fill in for the 25 person food and beverage minimum.
Other than those things, I have spoken with our coordinator at the hotel and we have a plan for the big day. I've also worked with our minister, photographer, florist, DJ and baker to coordinate the deliveries. So, I think we are set!
Everyone is getting excited about coming out to sunny, CA. I'm in Brea right now, for work, and when I go back home to San Jose, everyone will start arriving about a week later. So, this is a very exciting time for us. I have to admit, I've been a little stressed about everything. But it'll all work out as it should. I still can't quite wrap my mind around being Mrs. Donatelli :).
Wish me luck!
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