One of These Things is Not Like the Other

Every night for the past few weeks I have been looking at this stack of books that are on my night stand and I can't help but laugh to myself a little.  I spend a lot of time in the airport traveling - almost every other weekend- to see Jon and these books have been my reading material over the past few months. 

Some may find reading an etiquette book to be boring but I actually enjoy being educated on things like that...so I read Emily Post Wedding Etiquette from front to back except for the part about different cultures joining together in marriage because the only thing culturally different between me and Jon is that he is a Raven's fan and I am a Steelers fan.  

Colin Cowie Wedding Chic was a gift from my mom - she saw it in a store in California and brought it back to me...it has some nice pictures in it and its good for when I don't actually want to read.

A Brides Book is a wedding planning guide but I find very annoying so I am not using it....I am the queen of to-do lists and staying organized but I am also very OCD when it comes to how I do it...so I prefer my own excel spreadsheets and not to be confined to a pre-printed planning book.  Plus, I found that there is a lot of excess paper in there.....like I don't really need to know my bridesmaid's measurments...I trust them to pick out a dress that will actually fit them.  And it annoys me when I have to write N/A.... yeah, I know - O.C.D. 

But then there is the book by Tucker Maxx....I know, I know, not the most lady-like book but frankly, I find him to be a fantastic writer and hilarious.  (Although side note - I am not so sure that his life is all that much crazier or more fun than any normal college student, I just think he is a really good writer and can make it sound cooler).  I swear, Tucker decided to put almost all of the times that he used the "F" word in giant bold print in this book - which I didn't remember from his first book.  I was reading this book on an airplane ride back from Las Vegas in December while I was sitting in the middle seat....I was having a hard time containing my laughter but I was also a little bit self conscious of what the 2 people were thinking of me reading a book with such vulgar language.  I was a bit self conscious but I didn't think that anyone would actually say anything!  I was wrong.....the guy sitting next to me goes "I don't mean to be nosey but I can't help but notice how bad the language in that book is! You don't look like the type of girl that would be reading something like that." Didn't his mother ever teach him that its rude to stare?!  I am sure if he had read Emily Post's Etiquette book he would have known that..... 

Second Trys A Charm

So a few weekends ago Jon and I were supposed to meet with our priest and go cake tasting but both had to be rescheduled.  This past weekend we were able to get both appointments in and both went really well! 

I have to admit, I was a bit nervous to meet with the priest because I am not the best example of a good catholic right now. I consider myself a religous person and I was raised to go to church every Sunday but ever since I went to college I have turned into what my parents called "Italians" growing up - meaning that I only attend church on Christmas and Easter.  (side note, I have no idea why they called people who only attend church on holidays Italians but I am pretty sure it was not meant to be mean, it was always sorta a joke on Christmas and Easter that we had to get to church early to get a seat).  Jon and I were both afraid of 2 questions #1. How often do you attend church and #2. I won't be too specific but it has something to do with pre-marital relations.  We both knew we couldt lie to a priest and that both answers were not what he was going to want to hear.  We knew that meeting with the priest was something that we were going to have to do so we were just going to grin and bear it. Lucky for us, the meeting was very laid back and very straight to the point.  The only questions he asked us revolved around logistics of the wedding - like what time we wanted the rehearsal, what time the wedding was, how many attendants we were having, etc.  He explained to us all the certificates that we need and how many people we could choose to be involved in the ceremony to do readings, etc. And then we had to take a "test" called "Focus" or something like that....apparently its required in the Erie Catholic Diocese before you are married in the church.  It was a series of 156 statements and we each filled in a scantron sheet for "Agree" "Disagree" or "uncertain".  I am pretty sure Jon and I are on the same page on almost all of them...but the priest will graph out our responses and we will be able to see where we agree and where we disagree with eachothers responses.  All the statements were things that any couple should talk about, so I am sure it will be an interesting learning experience for us when we go back in May to find out our results :).   I had to chuckle at a this one statement statement though: "I am concerned about my future spouse's gambling habits" because on night this summer when Jon and I were in Las Vegas for vacation/a friends wedding he finished showering before me and told me that he was going down to the lobby to the ATM while I was showering and getting dressed for dinner.  I showered, dried my hair, did my make-up and got dressed and Jon still wasnt back.... I texted him to see where he was and his response was "at the Excalabur, meet you in the lobby at 7:30".  He was gambling, when he told me he was going to the ATM.  Jon doesnt have a gambling problem, he enjoys to play blackjack and make some sports bets, but he always knows what he is comfortable spending and what he isnt....and I have no room to judge him there because I enjoy shopping quite a bit - we each have our "things" we like to spend money on.  But needless to say I have never let him live it down that he told me he was "going to the ATM" when he really went to gamble. 

So, the meeting with the priest went better than expected - but cake tasting was just as much fun as I had hoped it would be.  It was an extra special day for me because I gave up sweets for Lent, but since the entire point of the meeting was to taste cake and this appointment was arranged before Lent started I made an exception.  I hope the big man understands.  This is what was waiting for us when we got to the appointment:

Yes, that is 8 cake flavors and fillings to choose from.  And this is what it looked like when we were done: 



We ate everything except for the carrot cake sample - and I tried it, just for kicks even though neither one of us is a huge carrot cake fan.  Jon and I both love chocolate but we agreed that a wedding cake should be white - so we chose to have 1 layer of  champagne white with fresh fruit and cream which not only was very tasty but sounds very "wedding-like" to me and then another layer of white cake with brownie sundae filling  so we have something for the fruit lover and something for the chocolate lover, and since its my wedding and I am the bride I am going to ask for a little of each :)  Since we have so many people that are going to need to be fed from our wedding cake, the caterer suggested that our anniversary cake topper be pre-boxed for us to save and the whole cake be cut and served.  That worked for us because we got to choose a 3rd flavor for that. We both love chocolate so much and no one will see it but us so we chose chocolate with oreo cream filling.  Yum, cant wait for our 1st anniversary :)  

Low fat chocolate mousse passes the fiance test

Valentine's weekend was supposed to be filled with 2 wedding appointments - cake tasting and meeting with our priest to start planning our ceremony.  Just as we were making our way out the door at 7:55 on Saturday morning for our cake tasting appointment, I got a phone call saying that the owner of the company who would be doing our tasting for us woke up in the middle of the night with the flu.  Jon and I were disappointed because we were both looking forward to cake tasting, but I had a hard time getting too disappointed, as I myself was sick with bronchitis the whole week before and I understood that its just that time of year when coming down with a cold or the flu seems to be running rampid.

We decided to get coffee and then get on the road to the lake so that we would have some time to stop by the house and go to the store before our meeting with the priest. The drive to the lake ended up being a "white knuckle" drive which was unexpected - it snowed the whole way and the roads were actually pretty bad.  We finally made it to the house as the snow stopped...figures.  We got out of the car and were greeted with great big wind gusts.  My parents have been spending some weekends at the lake and had been reporting back to Pittsburgh about how much snow Conneaut had and how the lake was completely covered but I was not prepared for such a huge climate shift - after all, it is only about 100 miles away from my house in Pittsburgh.    But it was full blown artic conditions out there! We only had about 30 minutes to kill before we had to get back in the car to go to the church but in that 30 minute time frame the wind blew a pile of snow on the driveway (which was plowed the night before) about a foot deep.  I sorta knew that it was going to be an issue when I looked at it but I tried to drive through it anyways.... welp, my car got stuck and after Jon trying to dig it out, basically in his socks (because I forgot to tell him to bring boots) we realized it was not going anywhere.  I called our priest and he suggested we just reschedule. 

Not being able to get anything on the "to-do list" done didn't turn out all bad - this day turned out to be one of the most relaxing days I have had in a really long time.  After we threw in the towel on trying to dig my car out, we built a fire and watched The Town (which I was little disappointed in...in case you want my opinion - I expected a little more from Ben Afflack).  It was so nice, there was no one around to bother us, no one to ask us to do anything and it was a gorgeous setting - something so different than what we are used to in the summer.  I took a few pictures - its hard to imagine that this yard is where our wedding reception will be in 6 months! 

So, as I write about everything except for the chocolate mousse.... I will get to my point.  I made dinner for Jon and I that night - a cooking light lemon chicken recipe followed by the low-fat chocolate mouse.  Yes, I am even forcing Jon to participate in the guilt-free pre-wedding dress meals.  He liked the chicken, but he LOVED the chocolate mouse.  I am pretty sure a bomb could have been going off and he was going to finish eating his chocolate mouse before he reacted to anything else.  So, nice work, weight watchers - your low-fat chocolate mouse passed the man-test with flying colors, its not just something that a chocoholic, like myself, would appreciate.

Chocolate for a Bride-to-be

If you ask anyone who knows me, they will tell you that I have never met a chocolate I didn't like.  Its a problem, and I partially blame my mom who ate big macs and chocolate while pregnant with me, but I fully admit that I am a chocolate addict.  Since the turn of 2011 I started a wedding dress count down to when my wedding dress will arrive in May.  3 and a half months seems SO close, so I have been trying to watch what I eat and step it up a bit at the gym so I can look nice and lean in my white dress.  I've been pretty good at sticking with my protein smoothies for breakfast, and high protein, low carb lunches and dinners but one thing I cannot and will not give up is chocolate.  The other day I came across this weight watchers recipe for low-fat chocolate mouse and I figured what the heck, I would try.  Well, it did not disappoint and it was all the chocolate-craving-fulfillment I needed all for about 150 calories!  I couldn't believe I could actually enjoy something so chocolately and not feel guilty... I am going to test the recipe out on Jon this weekend for our valentine's dinner and see if it passes the man-test but even if it doesn't, its a keeper in my book!

Recipe:

1 container of fat-free cool whip
1 package of fat-free, sugar free instant chocolate pudding mix
Hersey's dark chocolate syrup
Fresh Raspberries

Using an electric blender - mix the pudding mix with the cool whip until smooth (yep, its THAT easy!)

To serve - garnish a clear dish with Hershey's dark chocolate syrup (about a tablespoon), add the mousse mixture and then garnish with Red Raspberries on top.

"I can do anything if I have the right shoes"

These days "reception dresses" are pretty trendy - reception dresses are like your little black dress only they are white.  I guess it is for the bride who wants to wear a wedding dress for her ceremony and then be a little more comfortable in a short dress for her reception.  To each their own but I love my wedding dress and want to wear it all-day-long!  Haha I might even wear it after the wedding....Jon will come home and I will just be hanging out in my wedding gown for fun.  I have however realized that I might in fact wear 3 different pairs of shoes on my wedding day.

My wedding shoe shopping all started one day when I was bored at work - I was browsing all the major sites for shoes - Nordstrom, Piperlime, Macy's, DSW and Saks.  I happened to stumble upon this pair of Jimmy Choos on the Saks website and lucky for me they were on sale for like 60% off!  Oh, an they were only available in 1 size.... which just so happened to be mine.  It was meant to be. I was meant to have these Jimmy Choos.  I didn't even wait to have my parents buy them for me, (because you know, having Jimmy Choos for my wedding is an obviously necessity and should come out of the wedding budget) I bought them right away - it was such a rush - having a pair of Jimmy Choos was like a life goal of mine and what better way to accomplish that?  On sale for 60% off, in my size and for my wedding?!  It was a done deal.  I couldn't wait for them to arrive....I even got a pedicure before I tried them on.  Thank goodness they fit, I think I would have been heart broken if they didn't. 

So Jimmy and I were meant to be...but the more I thought about it....I don't think that Jimmy and my outdoor reception are going to get along very well.  Those stilettos are going to be sinking into the grass and I will be tripping all over the place, that is not going to be very elegant which is the look I am going for on my wedding day.  So, it was off to the Internet to do more shoe shopping....this time I was looking for wedges that had feminine details - like ruffles.  I still wanted some height because Jon is about a foot taller than me.  Thanks to Allie, Kathryn and Catherine who helped me search for wedges online...I found these guys - pretty much exactly what I was looking for!

The only problem with these guys is that the ruffles are made of suede and the straps are really flimsy so I am going to need some help getting them on.  I sound a bit pathetic, but last night when I was trying them on it took me about 2 minutes per foot to get them on.  So, sorry in advance bridesmaids....I am going to need some help getting my "after the ceremony" shoes on. 

Then, just to be safe, I am going to have a pair of reception flip flops in my arsenal just in case my feet start to hurt in the wedges.  There is nothing worse than a pair of shoes ruining your dance moves. I haven't bought my reception flip flops yet...but I am thinking something like this pair of JCrew flops.  I can't resist the gems...I just love sparkles :) And I guess if I don't need to make a 3rd shoe change on the wedding day I can always wear these guys on the honeymoon! 

Practice makes perfect

Everyone knows that the day before the wedding is the rehearsal.  When the bride, groom, bridal party and parents meet at the church - briefly run through the ceremony a couple times so that everyone can get an idea of where they need to be at each point in the ceremony.  But there are a few other things that you get to practice before the big day that are also pretty fun! 

Eating

When I first contacted my caterer to ask for some more information on pricing, menus etc.  they asked me to come out for a complimentary tasting.  They felt like that was the best way to sell their products - and let me tell you it worked!  Jody's Pantry catering prepared a great sampling for my parents and I - along with showing us videos and pictures of previous events they had done. (Special cheese display by Jody's Pantry pictured above.)  Everything was so good - and that was just the first of 2 more.  One for the final menu we decide on and one for cake. 

I seriously cant WAIT for the cake tasting.   Jody's Pantry offers 25 cake flavors and 25 cake fillings. Champagne white, wedding white, orange mimosa, chocolate fudge, dulche de leche just to name a few. I have never really met anything with sugar in it that I didn't like so picking out my favorite is probably going to be tough.  Luckily since wedding cakes are multiple layers I can pick more than 1 flavor.  I don't think I can have a 25 layer wedding cake - so I guess in this situation, Jon's nut allergy is kinda a good thing because it will help to eliminate some of our choices.

Hair/Make-up

How many times in your life do you get to practice getting your hair and make-up done?  Usually, its a special enough occasion to have your hair and make-up professionally done.  For your wedding you get to practice getting pretty....I have to admit it is very fun....

some pics from my hair/make-up trial runs....

Unfortunately, I didn't get to show off my hair or my make-up....after my hair trial run I did yard work, and after my make-up trial run I took a nap. 

Dancing

Jon and I have been discussing what kind of song we want to dance to for our first dance.  A few weekends ago we turned a song on and practiced slow dancing to it.... haha it did not turn out well - Jon and I only have 1 dance move- the twirl and dip, and that one took us about 2 years and many sorority formals to perfect.  I still remember the first time that we tried...ok, I tried, Jon wasn't ready - and I landed on the floor.



I decided that since we don't have 2 years to practice our first wedding dance, that we are going to enlist the help of professionals and take dance lessons....so I guess our "first dance" wont really be the first time we dance to our wedding song....we will have practiced before.  But I am confident that that option is better than Jon dropping me on the dance floor in my wedding dress :) 

Potty Wars

If you talk to my family and friends they may say something different, but I think that I have been a pretty reasonable bride - at least if TLC was trying to make a TV show out of me it probably wouldn't be very entertaining.  I have only had a few minor bridezilla moments and they mostly had to do with things that I am convinced that no bride-to-be can avoid- which is dealing with two different families coming together and trying to keep everyone happy. It doesn't matter if its a wedding or not, that is stressful!  Last night was probably one of the first times that my Mom, Dad and I have really disagreed on something in the wedding planning process and would you believe it was about Porta Potties?!  Yep, we are talking, yelling at each other, ended in the silent treatment disagreement....and I think you might be surprised to know that it is my Mom that wants to have porta potties at my wedding reception and that my Dad had the strongest opinion about not having them. 

I had mixed feelings about them....at first, I was open to the idea because I found out that you can rent trailer units that just look like a really simple bathroom - almost like if a new house was built with the most basic necessities - thin dry wall, small mirror unit, white toilet and thin carpet. These are called "executive units". I thought that an "executive unit" might still be an eye sore but we could try to make it blend in behind the tent so that the only way you would be able to see it is if you were actually going to use the rest room.  I also thought that having an extra 2 rest rooms (in addition to the 5 that we have in our house) would be a nice convience for once people started to drink a bit heavier after dinner and needed to use the rest room a bit more frequently ;)  Well, then I found out that not only were the "executive" units booked for my wedding date at the vendor we had been referred to but that they also came with a $2,400 price tag.  That is quite a hefty price tag for a giant white trailer that would have been stealing eyes away from me in my big white dress....and I think we can all agree that on your wedding day you do not want to compete with a porta potty unit for attention. The next option down from the "executive" units are really just normal porta potties that aren't in an obnoxious color like green and blue that you see at construction sites and community events.  The porta potty companies call these units "elite".  Im sorry but there is nothing elite about them, they look like you put an airplane bathroom in a box and stuck in on the lawn. 

My Mom is convinced that we need to have this at my wedding reception because she doesn't think that the 5 bathrooms that we have in our house will be sufficient enough.  My Dad and I think that it sends the wrong message to people that they aren't welcome in our house and they need to stay out of it even to use the bathroom.  (Which isn't the case at all - the reason why I chose to have my wedding at my families home is because I want people to see it and how great of a job my parents have done decorating.) When my mom and I have disagreed on some minor details prior in the wedding planning process my Dad has acted as Switzerland but last night it was clear that even he knew that there was nothing elite about the "elite" line of porta potties.

So....all in all we were not able to come to a conclusion on whether or not we will have porta potties....My Dad and I still think its appalling and my Mom still thinks they are a necessity.  So the outcome is TBD....but just know that if they do end up at my wedding reception that it was against my will.....