In Progress...

I can't stop looking at it. I. LOVE. IT.

Add my teal peep toe stilletos and birdcage veil with feather fascinator and I'm soooo good to go.

P.S. Told you I wasn't scared, despite my nightmare ;)

T-minus 7 months and counting

Sooo I was in a movie screening this afternoon and randomly received a text from one of my bridesmaids: "7 more months to go," she wrote. Haha. It feels so great to have someone remind me of our exact wedding date than to remind the rest of the world when Jeff and I are going do the damn thing.

"What day are you guys getting married?" "Oooh when are you guys getting married again?" "When's the wedding exactly?"

Ahh, it was so refreshing to get that text today.

I had a nightmare about my dress last night. I dreamt it was crap, looked like it was made from cream-colored couch upholstery, uneven, and nothing like the directions or inspiration photos I had sent to the company. I haven't had a wedding nightmare in a while so I guess I was due for one. Haha, thankfully I have no real fears about the dress that I am having produced.

Out of left field Jeff has been told that a lot of people are pretty excited for our wedding, people who we never actually considered of going, have told his parents they look forward to it. Thats kind of scary, we welcome the company, but we honestly only figured only our closest family and friends would make it, so we've planned a wedding for 78 people at the most, including ourselves. We're already at 25 for sure, at this route we might hit 100. Well... who really knows with this recession though?

Yay, we have guests!

I am so happy to say that we have at least 23 guests/family members/wedding party attendants already ticketed for the wedding. Thanks to Yapta.com & Kayak.com everyone so far has gotten tickets for $450-$550 flying out of SFO. I am super excited to know that people have purchased tickets in this economy and before Xmas! I can't believe it. Thats almost a third of the number of people we expect in Hawaii.

Kind of scary now... you think we could hit 100 guests? Haha... at this rate we just might.

If Kate Wants...

I'll make a run to Whole Foods to hook the future wife up with the best chicken cutlet I can find. I'm sweet.

In the works...

MY DRESS IS IN THE WORKS!

Ahh finally. I have now begun to realize that my dress may require breasts that I do not possess. HAHA. I'm always lacking in some way or the other, breasts, height, yadda.... Anyways, the dress is a sweetheart neckline which looks best with cleavage slightly pouring out of the top. Maybe "pouring" is a bad description... more like "peeking out." Well, basically I don't have much, so I will need to buy "chicken cutlet" silicone enhancers which help give that "extra" if you know what I am saying.

I asked for them for last Christmas from the man, yes, I asked my future husband for breast enhancers, he denies the fact that I need them and looks at me like I'm a crazy vain little thing. I can't deny it anymore I will need them on the big day-of.

Beauty requires "enhancements" all the time!

BY THE WAY... I have decided to make a conscious decision NOT cut my hair until I get back from the wedding. SACRIFICES are a bitch! I will have "in-between" hair for the next 7 months. What a bitch... All for just one day of my life.... JK. My hair is pretty darn short at the moment and although I would love to just slap on some extensions like I'm some kind of celebrity, I know I really should grow it out.

Aches in the head

I quite possibly have the biggest wedding headache ever. We are in between eight and seven months now. Most "big ticket" vendors are booked or in the process. Everything except who is going to marry us.

My head is aching.

SCORE.

I scored TWO Polaroid Cameras (circa 80's-90's) for about $4 from one of my favorite thrift stores. Luckily one still had film inside, so it functioned as soon as I repositioned the film cartridge. Another camera had an empty cartridge but it still had power left to operate the thing. I switched it around cameras and found a second functioning camera in the same model as the first. Total purchase for two Polaroid Cameras (to be used for the wedding guestbook and future personal use) $7.50.

Sadly I wasted a whole lot of money by purchasing a Polaroid package from a newlywed knottie who only needed the camera for her wedding guestbook, it was fairly new camera (purchased only for her wedding purposes) with two unopened packages of film. I paid $50 for the package, which seems like a good deal because she bought it for $75, plus I gave up on trying to find them in thrift shops! I think I'll try to sell it back to someone for $30+shipping, then at least I get to keep the polaroid packs which makes it worthwhile.

I had such a great find, its too bad Polaroid won't make the film very longer. SADFACE.

Darn.

Already been done....

I wanted to do Thriller at the wedding. Check out the groom in this video, you know it was totally his idea.... hahaha

I have decided....

To FORGO the following:

_ NO garter toss, I don't even want to buy/wear a garter
_ NO bouquet toss, I want to keep parts of it (not ordering bridesmaid bouquets)
_ We are also on the fence about the money dance, it takes up too much time

I feel these are all obligatory time crushers, if your reception is super long--then by all means have at it. Our reception has to end at 9:30pm, so we're cutting things we don't really care for.

Absolutely Necessary:

_ Complete wedding party introduction
_ First dance
_ Father-Daughter/Mother-Son dances (same time, can't waste!)
_ Toasts/speeches from the 2 moh's and 2 best men
_ Slideshow
_ Cake cut-cupcake feed
_ At least a full hour of dancing time, if not more

I got the shoes...

SO I have been searching sporadically for shoes. It can't hurt to already have them in my possession right?

Well lo and behold a pair I have had my eye on was on sale on Overstock.com, in my color, and only ONE left in my size. So I jumped on 'em. They were practically half off at $54, msrp at other retailers is still $105, plus shipping was only a dollar. They were made for me, it was too good of a coincidence.

Problem is... they're stilettos! They're currently the highest heels I own, but they fit perfectly! Do I need to remind everyone that my whole ceremony and reception is on grass?!?

In all their glory, The Charles David "Tux" in teal:

Since they are stilettos I am going to have to get a pair of these as well, with out girls from theKnot I would have never known these existed:

Sole Mates High Heelers

Feather Fascinators!

Thats what they're called.

I love you internet.

Feathers?

I absolutely hate feathers. I have a great fear of birds, partially due to their feathers. BUT, after watching Project Runway and seeing vintage inspired feather hair pieces I think I will try to overcome my fear for the wedding day. Haha. [Semi-spoiler alert] You know how SJP wore a crazy bird-feather piece on her head on her (first) wedding day? [End spoiler-alert] Well the bird was a little much but I thought the presence was awesome, and super stylish.

I am currently working a custom hair flower with birdcage veil with Etsy seller: Myrakim. I'm thinking I might ask for big feathers. DID YOU SEE THE PROJECT RUNWAY FINALE? That's my rationale, despite my fear--I'm going to over come it for fashion. Myra's work is beautiful by the way, check it out:

Definitely NO brown or colored feathers for me, the one above is still too much too look at, its giving me goose bumps. I would go with a safe plume-like white.

And in case you missed the PJ finale, the look used by Kenley.

Hello China!

So due to my influx of downtime and because I am wedding crazy I have ventured past the Hawaii board on theKnot.com and occasionally lurk on the NorCal board. Because of this I am introduced to a completely different set of brides with resources I've never heard of. I love it, its awesome.

I stumbled upon one girls post who was showing everyone the progress of the dress she was having constructed, based on her custom design, in CHINA! She is paying about $400 for it and its super freaking complicated. It has also come to my attention that many famous designers outsource their dresses to China anyway. So that Melissa Sweet 3k "Nell" dress I originally wanted? Yeah... its only really worth about $300, easy. So I contacted the bride and she told me she's done TONS of research, checked multiple possible vendors and they had the best reputation and reviews.

So, I took a chance and contacted them too. I sent them photos and a detailed description of my hearts desire. They sent me back a quote...

DRUMROLL FOR THE GRAND TOTAL: $140 for the dress (materials & labor), $50 for the shipping, $190 done deal.

I feel like I want to run into the streets and tell the first person I see that my custom wedding dress is only going to cost me a little less than $200. I also feel like calling every female I know, just to hear some kind of crazy congratulations, followed by a few concerned questions on if I really trust the company/process (of course, I expect this).

This finding has come at the most appropriate time as well, its almost serendipitous. BECAUSE... I have been using my FMIL as my middle-man to have my dress done by the same designer who created her 25th anniversary gown last year in the Philippines. He seemed to think that he knew exactly what I needed, a couture flowy gown for my garden/beach wedding. I don't know why Filipino gay men are such divos. He has no clue who I am, he wanted me to "leave it up to him" based on a recent photo and my measurements. Insert my "HELL NO" right now. Did I mention he wanted $550 for the dress he was going to make with HIS IDEAS? It still gives me a headache to think that someone would want me to trust them with their own perception of MY wedding dress. AHH HEADACHE! I have such a huge opinion on just about every damn thing I can't even think someone in this world expects me NOT to have an opinion on wth I wear on my wedding day. He's crazy, I can't thank the other bride enough for announcing her custom dress at the right time.

In case anyone needs to hear my prepared justifications...
My TOP 10 REASONS as to why I am willing to go through this process, in an instant:
_ My parent's were going to have this dress created for me in the Philippines, my mom absolutely has no sense of fashion sometimes, I am her biggest critic but I love her intensely, she has NO CLUE on how to direct a dress for me
_ Do I need to mention the divo dressmaker who wanted me to "leave it to him?"
_ I was quoted for $1400 from SF dressmakers, for the same dress with the same exact descriptions
_ The company has raving reviews from US brides
_ They are great with communication and there is no language barrier, no "lost in translation"
_ They create a dress pattern first and then a "test dress" to make sure the real dress is accurate and what you want, they adjust the "test dress" at least three times if they need to
_ They send you updates and photos throughout the whole process
_ It only takes 60 days
_ Its $190!
_ I can spend $$ on other things...

I envisioned the dress to be a beautiful combination of the two following dresses:

Contacts!

For my own personal sanity I have vowed not to be in contact with wedding vendors this week. I don't mind planning but I've just been overwhelmed with the number of people I have been in contact with lately. Lets count shall we?

Kate:
_ Wedding coordinator
_ Potential florists, THREE separate (still trying to see who fits the bill best, LITERALLY!)
_ Cupcake maker
_ Potential bartenders, THREE separate
_ Full-service wedding company for rentals & waitstaff
_ Custom bridal hairpiece maker
_ Custom cake topper artist
_ Hawaiian Airlines for an airfare discount
_ American Airlines for an airfare discount
_ Vacation rental companies
_ Hotel chains for group discounts
_ ETC, ETC...

Jeff:
_ Officiant (I of course started the leg-work for this, he hasn't even personally contacted the company yet)

The other day I was PISSSSSED at Jeff for making our save the date mailing more labor intensive than it needed to be. I thought I gave him such an easy task, to set up the mailing labels. The next day I blew up when I realized not everyone on our list was printed on the labels, and our list didn't denote whose was mailed out and whose addresses we still needed. BLEW UP.

With my list... you can see why. All is forgiven though, haha.

P.S. I really do love wedding planning though. I have a natural knack for planning in general, I got this from my dad. Plus, its pointless to try to use Jeff as a middle man, honestly--he'll just f-up, and we both know this. If you want it done right, you do it yourself.

ROSS... I got it at ROSS..

I think I will definitely be making a trip to ROSS when we get to Oahu in July. I went in today to look for some cheap candles and found all sorts of stuff to be dolled up for a wedding. First off they had huge apothecary jars for $9.99 each, and a smaller set of three for $11.99. While I don't expect to have a candy buffet (other than the mere fact that it makes a great photo) it is tempting to think of something to fill those beautiful jars with. I also went around looking for wicker baskets because we'll be needing one to house parasols, check, they had wicker laundry baskets starting at $5.99. I thought we'd have to go to Cost Plus or Michael's but NOPE, no more, I will just go straight to Ross when we get off the plane.

Its great to shop savvy.

Ohh and they also had ridiculously cheap cake cutting sets, not fancy-fancy-wedding-types but WHO REALLY CARES? Another check on the list.

Wedding Day - FAIL

Wedding Ring Exchange -FAIL

Aaaaaaaaaahahahahaha. How mortifying, luckily I'm not getting married on top of a swimming pool.

Note* I think Jeff and I have the worst sense of humor because I sent it him the link and he responded with pure laughter. I laughed so hard the first time I saw it.

Did you hear the girl who was laughing though? It was a "oooOoohhhh hhoo hoo Nooo.. hah ahha ha" laugh. Now that's messed up.

"Thought for the Day"

My dad sends mass emails called "Thought for the Day" a few times a week. Today it said:

"Don't marry the person you think you can live with. Marry the one you can't live without." -Unknown

Cake Topper

I'm currently in contact with a great artist to have a custom cake topper created.

My Guys by Meredith Dittmar

First Dance, FINAL.

Not corny, good beat, and meaningful words.

Happy 7 years 3 months to the future husband.

The Cutest Wedding Ever

Tulips, Barong Tagalog, the bride is in Vera Wang, AND its at a vineyard. This was my California wedding. Documented by Leigh Miller.

Updates

SO WE'RE BOOKED!

FMIL did a fare check and noticed that fares on Priceline went down to the same price as last week. My folks, sister & her bf, and Jeff & I are all set. Jeff's immediate family has been booked for a week. One less thing to worry about =)

My dress is in the early stages of being produced. I think the dressmaker/designer has a few ideas of his own about the dress, and I'm waiting to see a sketch of a "new & improved version." We'll see, I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt, but I've been dead set on my initial ideas for some time. Next thing I have to do is get my measurements taken. The dress will be ready by the time my parents return home from their Philippines trip this January.

I'm in touch with so many different vendors my head hurts... vacation rentals, a caterer, a baker, multiple florists, bartenders, officiants, etc etc etc!!!

Its all coming together though, its all coming together.

VENT

Today I got a fare alert from SFO to HNL for our ideal travel dates for the wedding, the price dropped a whopping $350+ dollars, to about $458. My dad and I have been putting off the purchase until the evening, and lo and behold it skyrocketed back $300 more dollars, same flights and everything. My FMIL was quick and made her purchase at 5pm, she was lucky and got each of their fares for $451.

UGH. HOW FRUSTRATING, that was just THREE HOURS AGO.

Now I have to practice patience.... There's plenty of time but damn, I hope they drop that low again.

Catholic ceremonies.... outside?

SO.... so far I have seen photos of two different catholic wedding ceremonies performed outside of a church. The first is in one of my books full of ridiculously expensive weddings, apparently the father of the bride is a big-time business man in Mexico and got the archbishop of Mexico to perform the ceremony on the beach. That's so unheard of, plus its not allowed. I guess money talks right? The second was found in a Philippines destination wedding album from photographer: Gene Higa. The ceremony is set near a mountainside, its definitely an outdoor ceremony and that is definitely a catholic priest.

No fair.

I know I talk about avoiding the church and whatever, but if church law is LAW its not fair that I can't have a catholic ceremony outside, but people with big money can.

EHH. I guess its another thing to list of grievances with the catholic church. Its ok though, because ONE DAY... Jeff and I are going to get married here:

St. Dominic's in SF, architecturally stunning--for a big anniversary we'll say "I do" in a church. But for now, while we're in paradise, we're going to utilize the surroundings.

New Cinematic Wedding Videography

Jen + Ming's SDE - San Francisco, CA from StillMotion on Vimeo.

Because you too might want your wedding video to look like a teaser of the newest MTV reality show. Soooo dramatic... I love how her dress was hanging off of an SF street sign, a little risky, but the payoff was worth it.

How do they pan sooo quickly, as if their cameras are on a track... In case you're wondering how much this costs, its about $4k+ for StillMotion services.

Yikes!

We're sticking to super 8mm (as soon as we can get our hands on one!).

So... how's it going?

My wedding planning is going great as far as what I want, but I haven't talked to my WC or any vendors about it. So basically the wedding is all set in my head, haha. Jeff and I are lagging on getting an officiant still, its funny how we care about everything else except for who marries us.

Knottie Bio updated if you're into that thing.

The DRESS

So I am absolutely set on having a custom dress created. The problem is I've been quoted up to over a thousand dollars on what I feel is a very sweet & simple short dress. Its not fair. Its just because its white and its for a wedding. Honestly, I would practically be getting married in a white cocktail dress. I don't believe in spending big money on clothes, sure I will buy $70 jeans then pay $15 to have the original hem reattached, but my heart won't let me pay more than $500 for a dress--even if it is my wedding day.

I am heaving huge sighs as I type this.

I don't want to result in having my parents take my ideas to a seamstress in the Philippines. I fear it won't work out as I hope, sure maybe if I came along as well--then maybe. But without me? No, I have major anxiety.

Do I give in to the major price tag but guaranteed love of my dress? Or..... Do I take a shot, have someone pick the fabric themselves, and interpret my design idea without me only to hope it works out--for a lot less money?

HUGE AND HEAVY SIGHS.

Hair

I had my hair cut VERY short yesterday and it also has purple chunks. I forget that I should probably watch how long my hair is because it has to be within a certain length for the big ass day.

Yeah... thats all I had to say.

Overdue!

So finally... I'm here to blog.

And thankfully we've passed the one-year mark. I've felt so crazed telling people how much I've already done when I had so long to go. Whatever though, when it comes to things I'm excited about I really don't let it rest much.

So here's an update from our scout day from earlier this month. We began by picking our wedding coordinator, Evonne, from the airport. We really hit it off and we're so glad to be working with her, it was the first time we've met face-to-face. We then went of check out our ceremony/reception site. It was a bit of a struggle and they wouldn't let us in at first because apparently Ms. Halle Berry was on site for a photo shoot, ridiculous right? Yeah, we didn't see her, she was probably hiding in her trailer. Anyways they finally let us in, LANIKUHONUA IS FREAKING AMAZING! Jeff and I are so lucky to avoid the church and get married out in beautiful surroundings. Here's a peak... this is our exact site:

Jeff was completely in awe. I have to say I basically chose the location myself, I just told him about it but I'm not sure he realized the true beauty of the site. Of course I showed him images and he would always reply "Cool, thats where we're getting married? That's awesome." But seriously he could barely speak while we were walking on the grounds, he was so happy that this was the place. Haha... probably more than me. We both loved it instantly finally seeing it in person, we can't regret the destination wedding route at all.

We had two separate cake tastings for our cupcake cake and also met with our photographer, who we also booked prior to meeting. You gotta work fast with who/want you want for your wedding! Our last plan of action was to try a local take-out catering spot (think L&L but better!). I ended up canceling previous appointments with full-service caterers because they wanted big dough for food that might or might not impress, Jeff and I didn't want to take the chance. Plus going this route really helps us budget-wise and the Hawaiian food was still super good. If we like it I'm sure our guests will agree.

I've started a Knottie Bio in case you want to check out my visual planning: msk8teohh9, knottie bio

Yes dude, I've been absorbed by "The Knot."

This wedding business is real serious, thats all I can say.... hahah.

SOON!

Update soon....

I hope...

Haha... anyone there?

First Dance!

[Yeah crazy, first dance a year ahead? Yeah, I'm excited]

So after careful consideration Jeff and I have a good feeling about this one. I wanted something with SOUL, something like Luther, or Mary, or Etta... We think Aretha is perfect for this one. Jeff remembered how much I love this song and its so hard to get he's been trying to track it down. He finally got it:

I'm only one step ahead of heartbreak

one step ahead of misery

one step is all I have to take

backwards, to be the same old fool for you

I used to be

I'm only one step ahead of your arms

one kiss away from your sweet lips

I know I can't afford to stop for one moment

Cos I'm just out of reach of your fingertips

Your warm breath on my shoulder

Keeps reminding me

That it's too soon to forget you

It's too late to be free, can't you see?

I'm only one step ahead of your love

I try and yet I can't take two

Seems like I'll have to take that one step backwards

Cos one step ahead is a step too far away from you

Cos one step ahead is a step too far away from you

Just one step ahead is a step too far away from you

Everlong Violin

Jeff makes fun of me because I want to copy this scene exactly. After the kiss the violinists play the breakdown of "Everlong." Its one of those "little girl" wedding dreams I've had since I first saw the scene on tv. Everlong is one of our songs, the man just doesn't want to recreate what they did.

P.S. We're writing our own vows. YIKES! Haha. Good thing I feel comfortable expressing myself through words (or else I would NOT be a blogger).

Nuts

I honestly thought I was kind of nuts for having so much for the wedding done and I still have about a year to go. But shit, there's girls out there who are getting married after me and already have their dress and invitations ready to go. WTF, I thought I was Ms. Obsessive Compulsive? THEN AGAIN, LOOK WHAT TIME IT IS! ALMOST 3:30 because of catering research! HONESTLY, I just like to eat and I will research food any chance I get, can't help it.

Not even a year yet

I can't understand WTF these brides are talking about on TheKNOT.com. There's so many damn acroynms I'm lost. I understand, FI = fiance, FMIL = future-mother-in-law, anything after that is a different language.

Where can I find a translator?

ITS JUNE ALREADY...

SO... Where can I begin?

We're currently at the 13 month mark. Jeff and I will be taking a trip to Oahu for a wedding next month and we're taking a day out to meet our wedding coordinator and a few vendors we're interested in seeing. By the time a year hits, we'll have many of our vendors already picked and booked. Yeah... its nice to be ahead of the game.

As previously mentioned Jeff and I were lucky enough to have two engagement sessions with two very talented photographers. Here's one of my favorites from Hayley of Polka Dot Photography:

I really hope to have some sort of formal wedding website by the time I leave for Hawaii. People keep pumping me for information and I wish I could just direct them to some beautifully designed spot on the web with everything, photos and details.

Everytime I go online to do some wedding related research I stay on for hours and never really accomplish anything except getting lost in a trance. A few blogs to share:

A blog by Events By Evonne, our wedding coordinator
Style Me Pretty: Amazing details, style, and complete wedding "looks"

I could be online for days because of this wedding... eventually I'll add links to the blog permanently.

Preview

Engagement session DOS, courtesy of Jon of Encarnacion Photography

We're super in love... it will make you sick and give you illness.

Our first session, done by Hayley of Polka Dot Photography should be ready real real soon!

SUPER 8MM!

I got quoted for $3k+ for some super 8mm coverage of the wedding. Dude, I don't even want to spend $1,000 on a wedding videography. SO you know what? I'm going to buy the cameras and film myself, then I'll pass them onto whatever guests/relatives I find available. The best part is that there is no sound coverage, its just moving vintage-esque textured pictures. Its meant to be sloppy and choppy and cut over and over and the only thing people can do while they're being filmed is to constantly wave at the camera and make funny faces. I LOVE IT. I don't care if my wedding video is 30 minutes long, its all about highlights and showing someone what our day looked like (not necessarily what it sounded like). I don't plan on the finished video to be a silent film, but imagine how old-school cool that would be... with the beauty of technology we can dub some appropriate music over the moving pictures.

Its gonna be "WONDER YEARS" status!

What I think so far....

In random order... be ready...

_ I got a quote for $1,800 custom made dress. YES I WANT MY DRESS CUSTOM MADE, I'm a designer and designers have to design everything! Its a blessing and a curse at the same time. SO... I am supplying my Dad & Mom with pictures and drawings and details and obsessive instructions on how to get my dress produced in the Philippines for a few hundred $ while they are there in January. If it sucks, I still have 6 months to recover, hopefully it won't be necessary. FINGERS CROSSED.

_ NO. I haven't tried on any dresses, I honestly don't want to do the whole bridal gown boutique thing. Dresses happen to be the hardest article of clothing I have trouble finding. I can try on a dozen dresses and none of them will ever work out. My senior prom dress was pretty successful and that was custom made.

_ WEDDINGS ARE FKING EXPENSIVE.

The Budget.

I am about 90% sure I am going to blow my wedding budget. I haven't told my pops, and Jeff will only find out because I am typing this blog.

We started at 12k, I knew I wouldn't get crap with 12k, especially with the quality of photography I want, along with planning the whole thing on a blank canvas of a private estate, so I asked for 16k, but it my heart I know this will pass that. 20k? Probably... (If you're wondering, we've split the costs down the middle between families)

HAHA.

OHH WELL, Jeff and I can't buy a house in SF anyway. Its not even humanly possible these days.

Anyways wedding planning is back in full effect (almost), we're 14 months away and we've begun to book and plan.

Engagement shoot pictures should be ready for viewing in two weeks, we haven't caught a glimpse yet but our photographer is super excited to give them to us.

Thats my update... holler.

Still waiting around...

Jeff and I have nothing to do and nothing to plan for now. I'm tired of getting all excited with the event so damn far away. NEXT MONTH we can finally book our venue and our photographer, freaking finally. Thats what happens when your man listens to you and actually proposes two years before you actually plan on getting married. Our date is still more than a year away...

The good thing is that we're trying to give everyone a heads up on the dates they should be traveling. We're sending our "Save the Date" this summer, and we'll be including a photo from our engagement shoot which will take place next month.

My coworkers preggy wife is our wonderful photographer, she's due late next month, and she's still bouncing around working, haha. It should be great, cause finally Jeff and I will have solid photos of us TOGETHER. Since we have a reason to be photographed professionally we will definitely make the most out of our engagement shoot and the wedding, and we're spending top dollar on it.

Our engagement photographer, Haley: www.polkadotphoto.com

Planning

The planning has hit a nice slump because we can't really do anything until we book the reception/venue site. We won't be able to do that until Jeff's birthday, 14 months before the requested date.

Its still nice and far away... However we already have a coordinator, site (waiting to be booked), and photographer (waiting to be booked after date/venue is finalized). Pretty good yo.

Next plan of action: find an SF photographer for our engagement photos and send out our save-the-date (this spring).

Going crazy...

You know you're going wedding fever crazy when you start listening to Diana Krall on LastFM (by choice).

I have no idea how old my soul is, but I know its A LOT older than 24 years. I don't mind though, the soul was always older than the rest of me. =) I blame the Diana Krall on my pops though... that and everything else...

Seriously though...

It took me a while to get to sleep last night. Wedding anxiety has been already keeping me up for the past week, and we have barely even started.

The wedding coordinator I talked to wanted $4,200 as their "destination wedding planning fee."

Freaking bananas isn't it?

No matter what I know I need the help, I have to find someone who really knows their shit, and I'll have to pay them--because I can't do this. I have obsessive compulsive tendencies when it comes to plans, details, and events.

No wedding research today, I need to sleep.

New PLAN!

So change of plans...

Jeff and I are going to get married at a park, preferably one that has a bridge on the playground (that way we're higher and people can see us). Then after the ceremony a taco truck will be coming to cater, all you can eat tacos! And for dessert we're hoping an ice cream truck rolls through. Ohh and my moms is gonna bring a cake from Costco.

NEW PLAN!

Face painting and caricatures will be done by Paul Abadilla.

Donations being accepted

So apparently our dream wedding would cost roughly $10,000 more than our original budget, plus its on a completely different island.

I spoke with a wedding coordinator from Honolulu this afternoon about my diva-bride "vision" (cause only divas have a "vision" regular people just have a "picture," well me, I got big dreams and a "vision") anyways... Jeffrox and I gotta find a way to make this happen without cutting corners.

HOLLER IF YOU WIN THE LOTTO, free graphic design for the rest of your life if you pay for my wedding. *wink and snap-finger-point*

AudioVisual.

Is it crazy that I do not want a videographer for the wedding? No matter how many people will tell me how much I will regret it, I don't believe I will. I can't watch myself on camera and I feel uncomfortable watching myself on any form of vido. PLUS PLUS PLUS, I will never watch it. I will look at pictures over and over and over.... and I will show pictures over and over and over. BUT I will not pop in a dvd and tell everyone to watch it. I really won't.

Honestly, my engagement was caught on tape (I really wish it wasn't though) and I haven't watched it yet, and I don't have any plans to watch it. I just manage to remember the moment how it happened, not caught by someone else's point of view. I'm not sure if I am explaining this properly, yeah.... I'm not explaining this quite right...

UNLESS, the "video" was done in either a film-noir-silent-vintage-way on 8mm film (which would be fking siiiiiiiiiiiick if you ask me) or unless Michel Gondry or Wes Andersen could direct the videographers in super sick ass way.

Ahhhhhh.... crazy ass bride dreams.

Just Mauied

Hahah. Just Mauied. That cracks me up. It hella sounds like some 4 year old from Brooklyn. Just Mauied. I guess we're not flying a photographer over to Maui. It looks like we found an awesome photographer already there. But it ain't going to be this one for sure. Haha.
JustMauied.com

YEY.

SO WE SAID WE'D PLAN...

I remembered that a new quarter just started which means new wedding magazines. I've been stuck with my last round since October. So we hit Borders after work to scout the new material. There was a real wack magazine soley dedicated to Hawaiian weddings but it had a vendor section where I found some pretty good leads. Instead of buying the crappy magazines I wrote all the relevant vendor websites down.

Its coming along very slowly. Hopefully next month we start seeing/talking to wedding planners so we can get a better picture of what it takes to make everything happen and most importantly HOW MUCH THIS WILL ALL COST.

Groom's Gift Ideas

Date Nite

We're celebrating 6.5 years together tonight.

Big date: Juno + Japantown

PF Flyers Number 5

Kate knows that I will not wear dress shoes to our wedding. Not even our own wedding? Yes. It's our wedding. Kate and I are calling the shots. Kate and I are paying a hefty portion. Kate and I will have our own style. But the one thing, up until now, Kate and I could not agree on is me wearing leather Chucks for our wedding (the ceremony and the reception). For the past six years my dress shoes have been leather versions of Chuck All Stars or Vans Slip-ons. I own about 15 Chucks, two of them being dressy counterparts to the classic black/white canvas joints. The other one is a brown leather, lo-top oxford pair of Chucks. Then I have all black canvas Vans slip-ons and brown leather slip-ons.

Well, Kate thinks they are still too casual. Anyhow, Kate and I have finally agreed on a pair of shoes. The PF Flyers Number 5. Everybody I talked to still thinks it's too casual but Kate and I have flare, yo. I'll rock this shit in a dope suit and it'll look hot. For too long, guys have been suited up like penguins and plain as hell. We're not quite traditional. We will both walk down that aisle as Jeff and Kate, not Jeff and Kate acting like a bunch of other people (not even on our wedding day). Like I said, it's our wedding. With that said, the shoes...