.eat. .drink. .be merry.

There are only so many things that people will remember from your wedding- the bride’s dress and the food. Our tasting was last month and we are delighted with our menu options and our signature drinks. Our reception package included two signature drinks and we had to give them four options, which included:

Purple Haze Martini:

* 1 oz. freshly squeezed pomegranate juice* or
POM Wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice
* 1 1/2 oz. Hpnotiq
* 1 1/2 oz. pineapple juice
* Orange rind and apple slice for garnish

Blushing Bride
1 oz peach schnapps
4 oz Champagne
1 oz grenadine syrup


Romeo and Juliet Cocktail

1.5 oz Absolut Apeach
1/2 oz Gran Marnier
1/4 oz cherry or Chambord raspberry liqueur
2 oz chilled peach juice
maraschino cherries
orange spiral

And one other drink that of blueberry vodka, pineapple, Curacao and a few other ingredients. What did we select? Well, we loved the purple haze and the mystery blue drink! Now, we just need to name them….

The food menu, sooo yummy, I can’t wait for this food:
Cocktail Hour, Passed Hors D’Oeuvers:
Tomato and Mozzarella with Basil and Olive oil on Bruschetta
Minted Mandarin Shrimp on Buttered Brioche
Coconut Shrimp with Sweet Chili Mint Sauce
Mini Beef Wellington

Two Hour Dinner, served Buffet Style:
Live Action Pasta Station:
Cheese tortellini and Penne with sauces of Bolognese and Garlic and Wine
With toppings: shrimp, grilled chicken, baby scallops, mushrooms, scallions, onions, peppers, tomatoes, parmesan, garlic, fresh herbs and fresh focaccia bread

Carving Station:
Steamship round and Roast Brest of Turkey

Mashed Potato Bar:
Red Bliss and Yukon Potatoes served with: cheddar cheese, bacon, sautéed mushrooms, caramelized Onions, Parmesan cheese, Goat Cheese, roasted garlic, roasted pepper pesto, basil pesto, sun dried tomato pesto

Mixed greens:
Caesar Salad
Mesclun greens tossed with crumbled blue cheese, toasted pine nuts, and dried cherries with balsamic vinaigrette

.invites. .rsvps. .and headaches.

I’ve already heard tons of horror stories on guest lists and RSVPs…. And thought that, for some reason, we would be exempt from any drama. Ummm…no! Our final invites were sent out in two rounds: the first round went out in January for our OOT guests. The second round went out in February for our in-town guests and for our family who has already told us that they would be coming to the wedding (some even booked rooms already!)

With two or three days left until the RSVP deadline, we were still missing almost half of the replies! So between my FMIL, Mr. Nearlywed, my mother and I, we had to make a ton of phone calls. Some people never even answered our phone calls and some said yes they will come and some, although they turned in their RSVP with a Yes or a No, some have already called to change their mind.

PEOPLE! This isn’t a carnival. This is an expensive event, where we are paying for each and every one of you to be there with us. If you RSVP no and then say yes, we are short. If you RSVP yes and then change your mind, we have already paid for you and it is rude. If you are family and have not responded to any one of the three phone calls that we’ve made, then it is rude. There, if I could say that to everyone, I would be so much happier.

I have to admit, I am really panicked about the guest list, STILL. Although we’ve written off the non responders and have heard from most people, I’d be lying if I said that the list makes me comfortable.

.sticking with some tradition.

I am marrying a wonderful Filipino guy. I am a full blooded mutt mix of Polish, Czech and Greek…. The only thing that our cultures have in common in being Catholic and The Money Dance. My future mother in law explained the role of “Sponsors” to us and we tossed the idea around for a while on whether or not we would like to have any.

Since we aren’t having a traditional Catholic wedding, we weren’t sure if we should move forward with this tradition or not, but in the end, we decided to go for it. We have two sets of couples here, in Vegas, whom we look up to, respect and are happily married for years and years.

We, unfortunately, had to ask our couples via phone because we were unable to get together with them, but no matter how we asked them, they were thrilled and honored that we asked them to do this.

Well, apparently we didn’t research their roles well enough because they asked us what we wanted for them to do and we were clueless. We aren’t doing a unity candle, cord & veil or coin ceremony. So in the end, we designed them as “Primary Sponsors”, which was described as such:

The Principal Sponsors (aka Ninang and Ninong): These are women and men whom the bride and groom respect & admire. They are, as in the early days of the Church, sponsors of the couple attesting to their readiness for marriage and freedom to marry. These are often aunts and uncles or close friends of the family. In the Philippines, they are the official witnesses of the state and they sign the marriage license. Worldwide, their participation is symbolic of the wisdom & support they shall offer the new couple. The number of sponsors can vary from a single couple to many couples. The Principal sponsors are part of the bridal procession. At the nuptial blessing, they may also be invited to come up with the celebrant and to extend their right hands to join in the prayer of blessing. In doing so, they are fulfilling their roles as sponsors.

We will acknowledge them during the ceremony and then have them enter during the reception. There- a compromise on traditions.

.and then there were shoes.

Whew… getting my shoes was a struggle, without any exaggeration. I first took them to a reputable store, which I’ve heard was expensive, but come on…how expensive can it REALLY be?

Well, here is how my conversation unfolded at store #1:

Me: Hi. I’d like to get this pair of shoes dyed to match this fabric swatch. And can you fix the heel on the inside, they flop off.
Guy at the store: Ok, sure we can dye them. That will be eight each. And the heel, well they will have to rip it apart and reconstruct it.
Me: No thank you. Ok, can you also dye this other pair to match this other fabric swatch?
Guy at the store: Sure, (taps calculator)…. That will be One hundred sixty dollars.
Me: HUH? (Look of shock and fright on my face) I thought that you said, “EIGHT EACH?!?!?”
Guy at the store: No, I said EIGHTY.
Me: Grabs shoe boxes and everything and runs out the door, saying, “no thank you.”

When I was in high school, dyeables were all the rage for proms and homecoming. Taking them to Thom McCann and having them dyed cost all of maybe $12 back in the day?? And now you want to charge me $80? To be honest, that is more than I paid for each pair of shoes.

So I use the Google and find another place. When I show up, to say that I was shocked at the goods for sale in this establishment would be an understatement. On the left side, they sold hookah pipes, in the middle they sold handbags and shoes, in a display case, on the right; they made keys and fixed shoes. When I presented the store owner with my swatches, he was kind enough to test out the colors on some fabric. The green was a no brainer; it was the purple that frightened me. I really wanted something dark for my reception dress…. So I left the green shoes, walked out with the purple shoes for another week.

Long story short, he dyed them both for $40 each and they look great! The colors look amazing and I am thrilled to have this checked off of my list!

.jackpot part 4.

When picking a bridal party, it is important to pick the people who you know have your back. While a bridesmaid doesn’t “technically” have to do anything other than show up to your wedding, there are some who fly to the moon and back for you. For my wedding, I was lucky enough to pick two Zillaz who would fly to outer space and back for me.

They are planning all pre-wedding activities with two others who each live 2,000+ miles away and are three hours ahead of us. They both have families, jobs and one is even back in school taking classes.

When it comes time to work out the details of a shower that is in disarray, they were ready willing and able to meet with me at a moment’s notice and work out the details. When I need someone to go shopping with me, they are available at any time, even if one starts the day with me and the other finishes with me. When I feel like the wedding world is against me, they both reassure me that everything will come together, everything will be fine and I will be beautiful.

When I express concerns about fitting into my dress, they offer to work out with me and if all else fails, rip off our insulin pumps and go rogue with me. Even though we won’t do it, I care that she cares. When I tweet about someone upsetting me or calling me a word that I have to look up on dictionary.com, they will immediately send an email, asking if everything is OK and offer their great advice, even if it is from a cartoon, “Smile and wave, boys. Smile and wave.”

They both cried when I asked them to be in my wedding and to stand up with me and watch me marry the love of my life. They both cried with me when I was shared with them what it felt like when I was diagnosed with diabetes and shared with them some very personal details of my struggle with my life and health. When I need a pick-me-up, it isn’t too far off to find a silly video posted on my facebook account or a request for a sushi date at our “first date spot.”

I know that these two Zillaz are friends for life because of what we’ve been through and what we will continue to experience together. I also know that we will be friends for ever because we have already crossed all of the bumps in the roads from brutally honest emails to just plain old not speaking to each other and look at us now…we all have matching slippers.

To K-Zilla and M-Zilla, thank you from the bottom of my Bride-Zilla heart for all that you have done for me, to me and bring to my life!

.the bad and the ugly.

Ok, yes, I am a blogging slacker… I get it. Let’s hope that this makes up for my slacking. As of today, we are 101 days away and it can’t get here quickly enough. I know that we should enjoy this special time, I won’t be a fiancé again and I won’t plan my wedding own wedding again (vow renewal, anyone?!?) but it is sucking the life out of me. For serious.

Lately, I am feeling defeated. This is the ugly side of wedding planning that I will share with you. Of all the blogs I read, this subject hasn’t come up often, but I am not the only bride who wants to just quit, go to the courthouse and get it done. If we didn’t already pay half of our event to our venue, that would be an option.

Planning a wedding could seriously be its own job and that is why there are wedding planners- it is their job. How many weddings a year do they plan? That is their fulltime job. Me? I have a full time job and am planning a wedding, so it is becoming a bit much.

While most of the details are worked out, there are logistics to handle. So… I will go ahead and post all of the things that aren’t going right, at this point.

1. The dress. I haven’t tried it on in months. SO it may fit. I haven’t lost any weight since it arrived, months ago. I’ve been working out like a fiend, which I am loving. (More on my workouts another time)
2. I need undergarments and furnishings for this dress that I am praying fits.
3. My shower, while I am VERY appreciative that anyone invests any amount of time or money into me, it has become chaotic. My sister is trying to plan it from 2,500 miles away. I have two Zillaz here who want to step in and help more. Maybe my sis wants to be a good sis and plan it all. But we ran into some snafu’s…
4. The invites weren’t done in time. So with 4 weeks until the shower, they weren’t approved or even created. I am not sure what happened and don’t want to know.
5. My wedding invites are going out now and I don’t want to crowd the mail box with a shower invite and a wedding invite. Nothing screams “GIFT” more than two invites in one day.
6. One Zilla replied to an email and CC’d me on it. It was the email with all of the shower details and a gift idea that the girls thought of for me. So of course, I read it…. I could have NOT read it. But I now I know everything.
7. Bachelorette party. A-Zilla has offered to help plan this since she is on modified bed rest. This is a GREAT thing…but then I feel badly when the cost of anything comes up. But it is part of being in a wedding; these are things that need to be paid for and not by the bride, right? I will have a stash of cash anyway.
8. My list keeps growing
9. One of the mothers still doesn’t have a dress. And when I offered to go shopping with her, she said that it was too early. Now she wants to go next month and I am slammed with work, wedding planning and staying healthy.
10. My health. In case you didn’t know, I am a Type 1 diabetic who has been doing a decent job of maintaining good blood sugar numbers. The wedding hasn’t been stressing me out too much. Well that is starting to change. My numbers are fluctuating all over the place. The other nite, I woke up with an extreme low. So even with the working out, the healthy eating, it is my life right now that is taking me all over the numbers map.

I’ve asked Mr. Nearlywed to help keep me as stress-free as possible over the next three months. Stress free and weddings don’t normally fit in the same sentence but we can see how it works out.

Ok, there ya have it. Weddings seem like fun, but they can be insane. And there is a piece of my insanity that I’ve shared with you.

.happy 2010.

Happy New Year! This is the year in which I will be married. Yippeeee! While it seems that it can’t get here fast enough, it is really right around the corner.

The planning is ho-hum, but not wanting to start the New Year with an ugly blog, I will focus on the good. The bad and ugly will come tomorrow.

With 103days until the wedding, we have:
1. Started our pre-marital sessions (another blog will elaborate!)
2. Are starting our dance lessons tonite. I am white. I can’t dance.
3. Our invites are going SOON! Yes, it is three months early, but we have a TON of OOT guests and they are getting their invites soon, it will also make for hunting down people for RSVPs a TON easier.
4. My shower is in one month.
5. Make up is booked, yay!
6. My candy buffet has been reconfirmed.
7. We are meeting with our vendors slowly and surely to wrap up details.
8. Next week I meet with someone about creating a head/hair piece for me!
9. Mr. Nearlywed and I are really working well together as a team
10. I AM GETTING MARRIED!

There are many more good things, but that is what is making me happy right now, while I am in the middle of wedding chaos. Again, that post is scheduled for tomorrow.

Yes, I still owe you more on flowers, our invites, our DJ and videographer…. Stay tuned.

I wish you ALL a HAPPY NEW YEAR! And Happy wedding year, a happy engagement year, a happy dating year, a happy year of being in your BFFs wedding because it means the world to her, trust me, I know this.