.professional roll call.

With just about 4 months to go until the wedding, I figured that a Professional Roll Call is in order…. These are the folks who we are using for our wedding and those who we have personally selected- or- have been matched up with by our planner. They are truly, utterly, seriously the DREAM TEAM.

This also gets a JACKPOT label.... for the reason that we truly are hitting the wedding JACKPOT by using these fine wedding professionals!
In no particular order:

Venue: JW Marriott Resort & Spa

Photographer: Imagine Studios

Zillaz Dresses: Bella Bridesmaid

Hair: Hair by Andeen

Make Up: One Luv Bridal

Cake: Gimme Some Sugar

Cinematographer: Lighten Films

Floral: Enchanted Floral

DJ: DJs TO YOU

We are still working out a few other details.... and vendors...but for now, this is the solid dream team! Check them out- if you are in Vegas and getting married, these all come highly recommended by yours truly!

.results of my procrastination.

If I followed my checklists from various sites like Project Wedding, Wedding Wire, or The Knot, I would have completed this one task back in June. It is now October. What task is this? Finding an Officiant. Tisk-task.

I just figured that everyone would happen to be available on our wedding day at our wedding time. In April. On a Saturday. We attempted to make an appointment with one lovely option and she was booked. Yes, a "she". Her ceremony seemed fabu and her voice was soothing and calming. I could tell that the "she" part sent Mil into a tither but regardless, we are unable to book this lady.

My friend's father is a Rabbi with a great ceremony. No, I am not Jewish. Flo and I are both Catholic with weekly church going parents. I knew deep down that Flo really wanted a Catholic influenced ceremony. Me? Well I could take it or leave it. I want my ceremony outside and that is more important than having it be Catholic. More of my time is spent outside than in church. Or judjah as Ster and I would call it. ::Hi, Ster::

Anywho, Rabbi Craig reached out to several of his colleagues once he heard that we were both Catholic. As luck would have it, today, after I nearly had another- yes, another- breakdown he gave us the contact information of a former Priest who left the Priesthood for marriage. Wow- being married must be something fabu.

Our first appt with him is November 7th. Our initial convos were great and we are quite happy with this connection. Flo finally admitted that he wanted Catholicism to be a part of the ceremony to appease our parents. I can tell you that while, yes, this will make my parents happy, they never would have made mention of it being a non denominational ceremony performed by a Rabbi. This is one of those subjects that was more important to Flo and his family than to me and mine and is why I searched high and low to find something to closely resemble a religious ceremony! :) I knew that it was important to Flo without him having to say anything. Maybe my wifey sixth sense is already kicking in?!?

.vendor saturday.

Today is going to be one busy day....it doesn't help that I went to bed at 1 am and woke up just after 6 am. Why, you ask? When you find out, let me know.

FINALLY it is eyebrow wax time. Is it just me or does it seem like your hair grows twice as fast once you make the appointment? I made this appointment about 10 days ago, instead of styling my hair, I need to style my 'brows to keep them out of my face. They are so gawd awful right now that my sister commented on them being "rather full". How did she do this? Via webcam on Skype. Yes, you can tell from 2,500 miles away how in need they are of some grooming.

The brow obsession started back in about 6th grade when I realized that my brows resembled Bert's brows.

No, really, I mean it. And NO pre-teen should EVER attempt to fix her own brow. EVER. Doing that caused me about 18.5 years of uneven brows. So now I only trust them to Tessa, my esthetician. She's been caring for my hairs for coming up on four years. One of the few long term relationships I have here in Vegas, so that goes to show you how good she really, truly is.

Dear Tessa,

I am sorry for the beast who is coming to see you today, forgive me, Tessa for it has been about 8 weeks since my last brow wax.

Love,

The NearlyWed

Then.... I can come home, nap-- I should take my flab to the gym, but sweating for 24 hours while your pores are open from a wax is bad news, darn-- so then I will nap and head back out to meet an invite stationer and then a something super special and super secret for our wedding. What is it?? Well I may just crack and spill what it is..... lemme think about that one.

Tomorrow finds us meeting with out wedding planner to discuss what is left to do (a LOT!) in the next 3 months.... and then the final wrap ups that are due in the last three months. Wow.... only two quarters of a year until we get married. Where does the time go?

So I leave you with no exciting photos of today, but stay tuned for my invite inspiration and meeting recap. And maybe, just maybe I will share a secret with you!

.our toasting flutes.

Just arrived in the UPS yesty. I am stoked. Clink, clink. Chin, chin.

You can read about and see them here.

What do you think? We ordered and received the flutes...everything else was put on the registry. Obviously there is no guarantee that we get it. So do we buy the cake cutting and service set? Or wait and hope? Decisions, decisions.

.progress in the fashion area.

We made some progress in the fashion department over the past few weeks:

1. I bought my dad a tie. This compliments both the wedding and my mom's dress. I had originally found this on The Tie Bar and thought, "oh we have PLENTY of time"....well when I went to buy it.... it was gone. At J. Crew, I had seen one there and after finally making it to the local J. Crew Outlet, they had one left. One left in two colors: an olivey green and a brighter green. It looks like the tie below...except without the white. But now that I see the white...hmmmm.....

2. Flo bought some ties at the Tie Bar as well. We bought two green ties and matching pocket squares. Am loving the The Tie Bar, for serious. We haven't.... He hasn't decided on which tie her prefers. That will be his choice. He is fashion aware, as I like to call him and will give him that decision to make.

3. We are ordering the Zillaz dresses! Yay! M-Zilla and K-Zilla were able to try on the dress and both gave it three snaps up and a Z formation. So we moved forward with the order forms. I am hoping that the Zillaz all get them in and ordered by October 1. I had emailed all four of my Zillaz and heard back from one that she got it and has ordered her dress. But I have faith that all will be ordered on time. I know, it is me being crazy...but a "hey I got it." Or, "Hey I ordered it" would calm my neuroses.

4. We are ordering coordinating ties for our guys! We are going with the Dessy Group Satin ties and Pocket Squares in concord. They will coordinate with the Zillaz. So Groomsmaids and Zillaz are all set, for the most part.

5. MOB ordered her dress, had it shortened like I suggested (yay! It was optional, but it will look way cuter for the "theme"). She is going with a sassy navy dress. I haven't a clue what MIL will be wearing which is making me mildly nervous....but I can't control every detail. We haven't revisited her outfitting since showing me something white she'd like to wear. Again, my neuroses...

6. I ordered shoes. Yup. Finally. They are NOT the Louboutin's that I had dreamt about... but we DID change our venue and add quite a bit of $$$ to our budget for that. It's all good because I do love these.... and bought them for a great price. I actually love challenging myself to see what I can find for the lowest price. They are the "Giselle" by Liz Rene. Still debating on dyeing them to match Flo's tie tho....

.we picked a zillaz dress.

Last Saturday, K-Zilla and I ventured to the other side of town to check out the Zillaz dress. I loved it already, so this was a nail biting trip. M-Zilla went the week prior to check it out and she loved it as well. Well, at least I think that they love it. Maybe they are lying but I doubt it. So far the count is 2 yay and 0 nay. I am guessing that my other Zillaz won’t be able to try on the dress—no because they won’t, but it is a hard sample to come across.

Jamie at Bella Bridesmaid was kind enough to order a sample and even better—she ordered samples in colors that I was considering. After seeing the color “Concord”, I decided that was THE ONE. Originally, I wanted different colors for the Zillaz, but with Concord being the only color I truly like, we are sticking with one color but will wrap the dress different ways.

I love this dress so much that I’ve considered buying my own. A word to the wise: This dress runs BIG. And in sizes XS-S-M-L, which is great for those who don’t want to get measured!

In case you haven’t read my post on wanting my aisle to look more like a runway, read my post here.

We will be ordering the dresses within the next few weeks! Check that off of the list!

.more venue delight.

I love this blog post that was written for Tweet My Wedding!! It truly captures more of venue debacle and delight.

Go there. Read it. And enjoy it.

.a wish and a dream.

Our first “date” after meeting was on a Thursday nite/Friday morning, after Flo had gotten off of work. Who knew that within a year we’d be engaged and getting married right back where it all [almost] started?? Not us.

If you remember back to my post about finding a venue, you would know that I was in love with the aesthetics of the venue. If you remember my post about awful service, then you won’t be surprised to know that we cancelled that venue. Done. Over it. You provide AWFUL service and therefore, we won’t give you our money. Yes, we cancelled because of the “event coordinator” who is really more like a receptionist who was given added responsibility to save money. Big mistake on their part. Big.

When word got out to some industry friends, they were more than willing to help us achieve a dream wedding! I am not one to ever use the words, “dream, perfect or princess”, but I can’t help but use the words “dream and perfect” to describe our new venue and how we now feel about the wedding. It took about a month for us to get it worked out, but they were more than accommodating and more than willing to help us out and create a custom package to fit our desires. That is service. None of this crap where you won’t accommodate us after 4 pm.

Anyway, words can’t describe my excitement after giving the verbal “YES!!!” to the new venue and words can NOT ever describe how excited I was to send my “cancelling and give my deposit back” letter to our first venue. I hope that they take my words, read them very carefully and reevaluate the way that they treat their clients.

So why didn't we do this in the first place?? Well, with our original guest list...it was out of our budget. While it sucked, we had to make some trims here and there...We hacked about 50 people from our original list. This also included previous cuts... but that is the first way to stay within a budget.

I try not to be an emotional sap too much…but we get married where we had our first official date, our first smooch and where Flo first looked into my eyes and said that he has never seen green eyes and love them. He still says that to me every nite before we fall asleep.

The contract is in my hands, we are just going to review, sign and deliver on Tuesday when we do our walk through.

In the meantime, allow me to introduce you to our new venue, the JW Marriott

Here we are checking it out:



And here it is:




.above photos found here.





.above photos found here.

.where oh where has the newlywed been.

Well Blog followers…. It has been a month almost since my last post. In that time, there have been a bunch of new followers! ::Hi, new followers!:: And hopefully it gave long time readers time to catch up on old blogs.

The months of July and August were interesting and flew by. Although, when it was 120 degrees for a week, those days crept on by. Anyway, my friend who got married in June (already THREE MONTHS AGO?!?!?!) told me that the summer flew by in her planning- and she was right. And then the next few months will fly because it’s the holidays and then darn it- it is almost the wedding.

So why haven’t I blogged? Been busy- plain and simple. And uninspired.

The summer started early in May with the birth of the most beautiful girl in the world- my niece. I was lucky enough to spend two weeks on the East Coast getting to know her. I was in a wedding and spent some time with my dear friend, A-Zilla. Then, my sister returned the favor and came to Vegas for a five days and my mother in law was here for just over three weeks. So then we enter into July. I have a break from visitors and then my parents came to visit for 10 short days. In those 10 days, we did a few wedding related things: I picked up my reception dress, we talked about favors, we saw our venues, we looked at a new venue, we gambled and ate at buffets like they were brand new. What is that I wrote?? We looked at new venues? Hmm…what does that mean?

Then, my parents leave and frankly, I am exhausted. Having guests is fun but a ton of work and once they left, it was time to recoup, recover, and rejuvenate. And connect with my hubby-to-be, again. When you have people in your house for such a long time, you start to become roommates instead of fiancés and worry too much about making sure everyone is happy and entertained. If we had no guests until the wedding, I would be a happy wifey-to-be. The months of March and April next year are going to be insane. That is all.

In August, we tasted cakes, met with a florist and some other things…. More details will follow, there needs to be a reason for keeping you reading, right?

Ok- so we passed the nine months to go and the eight months to go. We are just over seven-and-a-half months until “WE DO!” And big things are happening in the wedding of the Nearlyweds.

Now that I am back on and back to blogging…. You will have to stay tuned for the big announcement. Ohhhh….it’s killing you, isn’t it!

.let them eat cake.

Since the beginning of time, I always thought that cake tasting would be my fave task of the wedding planning. So far, so right. Now, with the aid of insulin, I can freely taste away. This was something that had worried me while my pancreas still functioned slightly. Now, no worries! Just take my doses and eat, eat, eat!

We did our first tasting last nite at a new, cute little place called Gimme Some Sugar. Both Kristen and Miranda are fun, creative and full of energy! There are people that you can instantly click with and there are those where it takes time. This was instant! We tried three flavors- a chocolate, a white and a red! J But they are more than just white, chocolate and red… however, I am keeping the flavors a surprise. We may want to do one more tasting and change up the white, I am not sure.

Cake tasting is awesome, so is Gimme Some Sugar….but I hope it’s not the last tasting that we do!

Here is the inspiration for our cake. The realization will be kept secret until after the wedding! SUSPENSE!




.photos were taken fromvarious websites, my apologies for not listing proper credits. If this is your cake or work, please let me know.

.service without a smile.

I didn’t want this blog to be a ranting place because my fear was coming off all Bridezilla-y. However, it’s been plaguing me about some of the craptastic service I’ve encountered so far in my planning.

We will start with the dresses… When I booked my ticket to the East Coast in March, I immediately contacted a few stores to set up gown appointments. The week before my appointments, I called to confirm my times and voila! One place did not even have me in their books. I kindly explained that I will be traveling across the county and have a very tight schedule so this appointment needs to happen. It was a no-go. So I told her to fuggggeddaboutit and moved along. After jostling my schedule they call back saying “ohh we had an opening!” Yay. Psh. So like a sucker, I took it.

My next dress gripe was follow up. Only once, yes, one time….wait, I lied, twice, has a store called to follow up on my visit. If a bride cries, wants to take photos or calls her BFF and her parents while she is in a gown in your store, chances are you can sucker her into buying it. No, really, you probably can. Of ALL the places I’ve visited and filled out a customer card and they’ve written down the dress that brought me to ear to ear grins, only two ever called to check in on me and see if I was still interested.

Maybe my business skills are of a different set than others, but customer service should always be the prime goal, correct? This should be your goal, regardless of what state the economy is in. However, in this especially solemn economy, one would think that service standards would be stepped up a bit? It is a battlefield for business right now, isn’t it???

Lately, I’ve been having issues with my reception venue. Emails aren’t being returned and when they are, they are cold and hard. I had requested a time to come in and show my parents the venue, I said that my schedule is open but need something later in the afternoon, like 4 or 4:30. Recalling that they shut down and the coordinator was less than enthused to ever work up until 5 pm, I tried to squeeze out the latest appt possible. Today, I feel combative with our reception contact. She point blank said, “My office closes at 5 pm. I do not schedule appointments that late in the day.” Maybe she has afternoon recap meetings? Maybe afternoon tea or a nap? I’m not sure how one can read an email and respond with that and not even say, “Let me check, maybe one day I can adjust my schedule to accommodate that.” As an event planner myself, there are days when I come in early to accommodate event set up for a regular client. There are times when I am here on a Saturday at 4:30 in the AM for a charity walk. It ain’t pretty, but our clients are satisfied and that is what matters.

I called the community and found someone who is willing to help us out! She has asked that we forward the emails from our coordinator that say, “My office closes at 5 PM and I will not take appointments that late.” Since when is 4 pm late when your office closes at 5??

Stay tuned for the update.

Foreward to Pre-Planning

Let’s face it- I would be a complete and total liar if my blog boasted about how simple wedding planning really is. I am here to tell you that it is not. But it also does not have to be all-consuming and eat you alive. I am an event planner by profession, also a former wedding coordinator, and it overwhelms me at times, even though I though my cool and composure would be kept at all times.

My own personal rule #1:
KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE PRIZE. What is this day about? It is about marrying the love of your life, your best friend and committing to each other for life, not for one day, so don’t make the event about one day. Things can and will go wrong. You can make those moments a little less stressful by being prepared (you did ask your A-team to be bridesmaids for a reason, right??) and by staying focused on what this day means. It will not define your marriage or your life if one small thing goes wrong. Even if a major catastrophe crops up, it does not define you or your marriage. By keeping your eye on the prize (your new husband or wife) these minor jolts in the day will seem miniscule. Laugh about it on your five or ten year anniversary….

My most overwhelming ditty right now?? The guest list! I asked the parents for an A-list and a B-list. D-listers, beware! It pretty much looks like an A-lister wedding all the way! We are 50+ over where we had hoped to be, luckily, the invites aren’t going out tomorrow. The daunting part for me? Do you know how many people are going to enter into our lives or come out of the woodwork over the next several months? It is time to put a cap on the list, this goes for me too…. I keep adding people. Shhhh…don’t tell on me.

My least overwhelming ditty? My vendors. Most of them are already verbally secured, thank you to my career in events and weddings. Hey, when isn’t “You ARE doing my wedding, I can’t have an event without you!” not considered secure?

As I finish my story on Las Vegas Bride, more planning information will come forth. In the blog queue right now: a blog on dress shopping in NYC, “The Entourage” where we introduce you to the members of our wedding entourage and soon it will be time to dig deep into the details with photos and ideas! Stay tuned….

Cheers!