Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope everyone had a nice holiday and Santa was good to you this year! Santa was beyond good to me, I'm so thankful for my family and friends!!

Not much to report this week and next with the holidays, except we are going to Lebanese Taverna for a rehearsal dinner tasting tomorrow night with me, Belinga, our moms and my brother Alex who is visiting from California.

As soon as we hit 2008, I think time is going to FLY by...I'm starting to get a little nervous! I am doing a walk through of River Creek with my day of coordinator in a couple of weeks, invitation design is being finalized and put into process, and plans for the shower and bachelorette party are in full swing!

So stay tuned--if you have questions about any of the events, don't hesitate to let me know!

Boot Camp, Session 2--check!

If any of you are following my Boot Camp saga, tomorrow marks the end of Session #2. I wasn't quite the avid boot camper this session as I was last session, but that laziness is gone and will be marked by a drastic improvement in attendance come the start of the year! (Whatever--you get up every day at 5 am!!!)

I wanted to show you guys the awesome shirt my awesome friend Laurie sent me to encourage me to stick with it!

4 Months!!!!!

Guess what is 4 months from today?!

Mr. & Mrs. Sullivan!

Many of us ventured down to Spartanburg, South Carolina last weekend for the wedding of Kristen Heatherly and Ben Sullivan. We had a great time catching up with lots of old friends and boogeying down...please see below for evidence.

Finally Mr. and Mrs.!

Laura and Kera Party Like Rock Stars

Best part of the night--Jack D and Caryn touching my a$$

Troy St. Girls Crooning to HELLO
Mmmmmm Chicken Fingers

These Girls are Hot!


Soon to be Essamas!

Gotta love the Jew in front of the Xmas Tree

Take a Bite out of Crime!

Congratulations Michael and Jenni!

I was remiss a few weeks ago when I neglected to congratulate our friends Michael Toole and Jenni Gray on their engagement!! (The picture above was snapped by some college kids who saw what was happening and thought they should capture the moment for them.)

This is particularly exciting because I had a hand in setting the two of them up. Michael is a coworker and I knew Jenni through Christine Borden. Christine had met Michael before and we both thought they'd made a great couple. So around Halloween of last year, we organized a happy hour where they met, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Michael proposed to Jenni on the beach on Florida at the beginning of November.

They also asked me to be a reader at their wedding, which completely caught me by surprise and made me tear up a little (to which Michael said "Oh God...") I am so honored to be a part of their special day next August!

Book your hotel room now!

Hi all,

It's come to my attention that the Lansdowne resort is full on Friday night (April 18) and almost full on Saturday night (April 19--night of the wedding).

If you are coming in from out of town, or even thinking of staying at Lansdowne for Saturday night so you don't have to worry about driving home after a few cocktails, I would highly recommend you call Lansdowne STAT to book your room.

Make sure you call 703-729-8400 and ask for In House Reservations. If you don't ask for In House, they will transfer you to the main number and won't see the wedding block. Then make sure you mention the Javad/Essama wedding to get the negotiated rate of $135 a night plus taxes and fees.

If you are having any problems making a reservation, please let me know and I will talk to Lansdowne personally.

Right now, there are only 6 rooms available in the block on Friday, April 18. There is more leeway with Saturday night, but please don't wait to book in case they sell out, there are not many left. You can always cancel later if you are not sure of your plans right now. Better to be safe than sorry.

Thanks!

Honeymoon Booked!!

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

Woohoo! We booked our plane tickets to Asia tonight! We are so excited for 12 days not worrying about wedding details and just enjoying married life!

Here's the itinerary:

Tuesday, April 22: Leave for Hong Kong
Wednesday, April 23: Arrive in Hong Kong in the early evening and spend 3 nights here
Saturday, April 26: Depart Hong Kong for Bali, Indonesia
Saturday, April 26-Saturday May 3: Stay in paradise
Saturday, May 3: Depart Bali for return home
Sunday, May 4: Arrive back home

Now on to the millions of details I haven't tackled yet! Planning travel is way more fun though!

5 Months and Counting!

Well everyone, today is the 5 month mark to the wedding!! I can hardly believe it's gone by so quickly!

I'm also starting week #4 of boot camp and just completed a 5k over the weekend! I'm a running machine people!

Let's see, still little things left to do:

• I'm sending in the ceremony and cocktail hour music contract which I have been majorly snoozing on


• Trying to decide on a videographer and if we'll even have one


• Order the bridesmaids dresses!


• Pick out the invites (which is currently stressing me out)


• Get on Belinga to pick out a tux for him and groomsmen


• Finalize Rehearsal Dinner location


• Probably 5781239509235678234067 things I can't think of right now

Day One--Check!

Many of you probably don't know, but I started a Boot Camp today! It's a Monday-Friday program from 6 am - 7 am where we are put through the ringer by a "Drill Instructor". This morning was my intro workout with the 5 other newbies and I'm already sore--I was sore right after I got out of the shower...this doesn't bode well! :-) But I'm committed and hoping this will kick me into shape.

I will say that it did feel really good to be up and active that early, despite the 35 degree weather, my lack of a hat and gloves and a mat. I didn't think the lack of a mat or gloves would really matter--until I was forced to do push-ups, mountain climbers and burpees on the freezing cold cement in bare hands. :-(

I will keep you posted on my progress. I hope I can get up tomorrow!

Can anyone guess what is 6 months from today?!

That's right folks--OUR WEDDING!!!! I just realized today is October 19, which means that in exactly 6 months at this very moment, I will be getting hair and makeup done! Wow, time flies!

(Last post for today, I promise--I thought I'd give you a good dose since I haven't written in 2 months!)

Check back Monday--we're doing a rehearsal dinner tasting this weekend--yummy!

HONEYMOON!!!!

Did you know that the word "Honeymoon" in Farsi is mah e asal? Translated it can mean both honey moon or honey month/month of honey. And in French it's lune de miel.

Speaking of honeymoons--we know where we're going now! Belinga's mom has so generously given us her St. Maarten timeshare for a week, which we traded in for a week in a far away land (I know many of your are thinking what's wrong with St. Maarten?!). We figure there won't be much opportunity ever to take so much time off of work, so we're taking advantage of it and taking off about two weeks and going to BALI, INDONESIA!!!!!

Click here to see where we're staying in Bali.

We will probably also do a 2-3 night stopover in Hong Kong on our way over! Can't wait!!

Worst.Blogger.Ever

Sorry everyone I've been a major slacker at the blogging. I've been grappling with how much detail I'm giving away regarding the wedding because I want some things to be a surprise! :-)

But I can tell you that I did book the baker in West Virginia. Her name is Margie with Artistic Cake Creations (she is in the middle of creating a new and separate website for her wedding cake business). She's super nice, a "retired" art teacher (she stays at home with her kids now) and does tasty cakes for a good price. She allows you have a different cake and filling flavor for every layer, which is OBVIOUSLY what we're going to do! Now comes the hard part of figuring out what to pick!

I've ordered my wedding dress and the bridesmaids dresses will be ordered in the next month. We all have our shoes (or should have them--ahem--whoever hasn't ordered yet better get on it!)

We have booked a florist--Holly Heider Chapple in Leesburg. She basically matched Sharone's price at Davinci Flowers and is local to the area and has worked at River Creek numerous times. I'm very excited to work with her!

We also booked a day of coordinator! My constant need for control and tendencies for paranoid freak outs necessitate this. :-) I keep thinking something is going to go wrong (which I'm sure it will, but at least she can alleviate some of those concerns). Lynn at The Finer Points will be our coordinator ensuring everything goes smoothely not only the day of the wedding, but in the several months leading up to it.

Though it's not official yet, we will be signing a contract shortly for our ceremony and cocktail hour music as well! I'm a major dork--I cry every time I hear wedding-related music on their sample CDs.

I think that's it for vendors for now! I promise I'll post more!

Let them eat cake!

I found a tasty cake baker on the cheap and she does some amazing work. Going to visit her in a couple of weeks for a tasting. YUMSTER!

Only dagger is she's in Charles Town, West Virginia, but it's actually not that far from where we live, so it'll be a nice scenic drive! And maybe we'll go to Charles Town Races and Slots!

Kera, will Big Sam be there on Sunday, September 16th? :-)

Check, Check and Check!

I've been noticeably MIA the last two weeks because I have been doing nothing but meeting with people after work, before work and during work (shhh, don't tell my boss)!

I've gotten lots done! From my last post I told you I really liked the hair and makeup people I met with, so I booked them. I've also found a DJ I like, so I booked her!

And thanks to our friends Jacqueline and Todd, we now have an officiant to marry us! Ken Knapp married Jacqueline's sister a couple of years ago and will be marrying them as well, about 8 weeks after our wedding. They graciously told us about Ken so we decided to meet with him as well. We really liked him, he's a cute older guy who is an ex-Catholic priest. He left the priesthood to get married and have kids and is now divorced and dating an ex-nun. We thought he had a very interesting background! He was just the right amount of spiritual without focusing on one specific religion, but definitely incorporates the spiritual/religious aspects we wanted in our ceremony. We are looking forward to him marrying us and also in sharing him with Jacqueline and Todd! How cool--we can say forever now that the same guy married the four of us!

Now Todd and Belinga can bond over this and their love of Michigan football. Go Blue!

Hair and Makeup Trial

I had a great hair and makeup trial with Up Do's For I Do's last night! Ashley did my hair and Molly did my makeup. They were both super nice, with Ashley being the more talkative one of the group (she's pretty much like all of my friends--talks pretty fast, pretty loudly and is usually super excited about whatever she's saying. I basically hearted her.)


Here are some pictures! Obviously the hair is very rough and she didn't go through with a flat iron or use any product, but it was a basic "This is what you're going to look like" do. And I liked my makeup a lot. Not too subtle and not too much either.

Oh, I totally thought I wanted a tiara until I put one on and pretty much didn't like it. Inspired by my friend Beth who did this with her hair, I thought of putting jeweled pins in my hair and Ashley happened to have some on hand to play with. There would be probably about 6 in my hair and placed a lot better than how it is below, but it gives you an idea.

I liked them a lot!!

Flowers!

I met with a really nice flower guy today (Sharone at Davinci Florist) who was recommended by several Knotties (members of the DC Area Knot Board for those of you not in the know...)

It's located in hur-tang Silver Spring and the shop looks majorly ghetto and run down from the outside. But once inside there's a room off to the right that is decorated with some sample tables, there was a tall centerpiece I think he had mocked up for another bride and it wasn't so bad! On the left there was a cooler full of all the centerpieces they were making for this weekends weddings and some were so pretty!

Sharone had the daunting task of paring down the plethora of purple flowers I had printed out (he said he never had a bride bring in so many pictures!) and trying to create a vision of what I had in my head. And let me tell you, he's really good at it. He was able to suggest some stuff while at the same time allowing me to make decisions. I started off with every flower under the sun and he helped me figure out that I needed some texture to the flowers but not too much, some contrasting colors, etc.

In the end, he gave me a really good estimate and we had included all the flowers I wanted (though I still wanted to throw some more--such as peonies, ranunculus--in for good measure but he said it was too much).

I'm going to check out a few more vendors, some which are more local and familiar with River Creek and then make a decision. But I have a feeling many of them are going to have a hard time beating my man Sharone!

Basically we talked about lavender roses, orchids, purple hydrangeas, purple calla lillies, tulips, lisianthus, blue delphinium, with some green berries mixed in for good measure. Clearly I have an obsession with purple at the moment!!

Alert! You Have Been Attacked by the Fro Virus!

For those of you who knew me way back when, you will recall I had slight hair issues, such as frizzy hair I didn't know how to tame. Hence the unfortunate 8th grade picture where my hair actually expanded outside the frame of the photo (I will spare you all the actual picture!)

I have come a long way since then, learning to blow dry my hair straight...and also how to master putting it back in a clip 99% of the time so I don't have to deal with it. (I'm trying to be better about that, I swear!)

Anyway, I have a hair and makeup trial next week with the person I'm hoping will do my hair and makeup for my wedding! They come highly recommended by The Knot (which I stalk every day for great local vendor advice) and many girls who have used them. And surprisingly, unlike everything else in this area, they're not a fortune! In fact, their hair trial is FREE (GASP!) and makeup trial is only $25.

Only downfall is they're located in Columbia which is where the trials take place and only Monday-Friday. But they do have late appointments until 8 pm, so that's helpful. They will also travel to us in Leesburg and do the hair and makeup of the BMs and potentially female family members, which is invaluable!

Some have said "Isn't it a bit early that you're doing hair and makeup trials?" but my logic is twofold: A) Honestly, it's so much nicer to get this stuff out of the way and handled so I have nothing to deal with close to the wedding day. And B) A lot of the good people get booked up very quickly. They won't hold your date without a contract and a deposit and I'm certainly not giving anyone my signature or money without seeing with their services actually are. So therefore, I am taking care of this sooner rather than later.

Enough babbling! Here are some hair ideas I've been thinking about!

Ch-ch-ch-changes!

Of course, right when I think I've finally made a decision, something else awesome comes along the way and forces me to reconsider!

Laura, Christine and I went to Aria to try on the aforementioned green dresses. I loved them and had decided those would be it! Until, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a dark purple dress. I had them try them on, despite the over 90 degree weather and lack of AC.

Because I want a purple and green theme, I had them try on the green sash as well. We al thought it would probably look terrible, but it actually looks pretty good I think! So my friends, I think we might have a winner here!

Check Laura out wearing the silk dress in Aubergine with an Aloe sash and an example of the pretty purple flowers they will probably carry as well!

On Top of Her Game!

Props to Christine Kohlmeyer (affectionately known as "The Other Christine) for being WAY on top of the ball and reserving her room at Lansdowne for the wedding!

She's the first...who will be next?!

PS: I recommend staying at Lansdowne b/c that is where we are staying as well as where we will after-party at Stonewalls Tavern. All the cool kids are doing it. :-)

Happy Birthday Future Husband!

Hotel Blocks

The hotel blocks are done! Well--I need to sign the contract with Lansdowne, but it's basically done.

So here's the lowdown:

1. Lansdowne Resort--Lansdowne, VA

We had some communications problems here at first, but that resulted in an advantage for both our guests and ourselves! Basically, my calls and e-mails weren't returned for a couple of weeks and I made a phone call to another sales manager indicating that I was getting a bit frustrated. I got an e-mail the next day with profuse apologies--for my trouble they reduced the previously negotiated rate of $179 down to $135 and they're comping Belinga and I a suite for 2 nights!

Lansdowne is a beautiful resort! There are 2 championship golf courses and 1 short course, which guests can play for a fee. There is a wonderful spa on the premises with numerous services as well. There are also 5 pools on the premises (unfortunately most won't be open b/c it won't be season yet, but there is an indoor pool).

$135 a night is a steal for Lansdowne! The rooms usually run at least $250 and up a night!

Transportation can be arranged through Lansdowne for $25 each way.

2. Holiday Inn at Carradoc Hall--Leesburg, VA

I was able to work out a slightly reduced rate here. There are 10 rooms reserved for the nights of Friday, April 18 and Saturday, April 19. The rate is $109 and includes free transportation to and from the airport.

The hotel is currently undergoing renovations and the rooms look pretty nice! There aren't any frills here though, just your basic hotel room.


Please make sure you refer to the Javad/Essama wedding block at both hotels to get the rates!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Today is the greatest day of the year, if I do say so myself! Had a great weekend in Annapolis with Belinga, Rommie and Christine. We checked into the Loews Annapolis Hotel, which I got a great on deal through Priceline (I was very nervous, was my first time Pricelining, but it was great!) We had appetizers and drinks at Middleton Tavern, one of the oldest taverns in the country, where Thomas Jefferson used to hang out (or so we think), we took a sunset schooner cruise and then went to LunaBlu for a wonderful 4 course meal that was only $35 each. On Sunday we went to Cantler's for a big ole Maryland style crab feast. We topped it all off with some tasty homemade ice cream from Storm Brothers. Was a great weekend!

Bridesmaids dresses!

While no decisions have been finalized, I am pretty close to saying that these are my bridesmaids dresses!

Rachel, Maggie and I went to Aria Bridesmaids in Dupont Circle on Friday evening to take a look at a few dresses I'd seen online. Despite the fact that it was pretty hot, the AC wasn't working and the door buzzer didn't work and we were all stranded outside at one point or another, it was pretty fun!

I've been grappling with what colors I want and I think I finally have that nailed down also! My colors will be Green and Purple with perhaps Ivory/Champagne/or Silver accents--I'm not sure yet on the accents, but I know I want green and purple.

Please forgive the terrible camera phone pictures! Above, you can see Maggie modeling the exact dress (colors are Kiwi Stripe for the body of the dress and Aloe for the top and bottom trim and the sash) with a picture frame Aria had of purple flowers.

The second picture is of Rachel in the exact dress I like and Maggie in the style of dress I like, but in the colors Rachel has on.

It feels really good to be making progress on something!

LBS--Lazy Bride Syndrome

(This is what you get when you Google Image search "Lazy Bride Syndrome"!)

All you acronym-lovers out there (Caryn?!) take note--it's a new one I came up with today to describe what I am suffering from.

I have been given a stern talking to by several blog stalkers who are none too happy that I haven't been posting. I'm sorry!

There's lots to blog about--I've gotten quite a bit done in the last week or so!

Wedding Website Update

I know I have been shirking my blogging duties lately, but please bear with me as I get set to re-launch into more wedding related activities after a brief hiatus. Thanks for being patient, it's been a very hectic few weeks for the future Essama family!

I wanted to keep you posted regarding our wedding webpage. In my haste to put something up when we first got engaged (lest I get harassed by The Knot and Wedding Channel stalkers--you know who you are!), I set up a page at The Knot. I have now taken that page down and switched over to Wedding Channel. You can find us here: http://www.javadandessama.weddings.com/

We decided to do this for a couple of reasons:

1. Wedding Channel incorporates most of your registries onto one page, so they're easier to find. Plus if you register at Macy's, like many do, Macy's does not show up on The Knot!
2. I want to put our wedding web page on our save the date magnets that I will eventually send out and The Knot's link was some ridiculous jumble of craziness. Wedding Channel is very straightforward with their urls, as you can see above.
3. Wedding Channel allows you to link your registries to a charity of your choice so that when and if people buy you gifts online using the Wedding Channel link, a donation is made to the charity of your choice.

Being able to link to a charity of your choice, ours being the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, was very important to us because one of Steve/Belinga's groomsmen, Gary Walton, unfortunately passed away last week after a long battle with leukemia. Therefore we wanted to do our part and see if we couldn't raise a little money and awareness for the cause as you help us celebrate our big day.

You can still however go to The Knot and search for our wedding webpage and it will lead you to the Wedding Channel page. Pay no attention to the fact that if you search The Knot, it says we are getting married in PA. I'm trying to get them to change that...it's so hard getting a hold of any of these people--it's only done through e-mail and not on the phone!

Stay tuned for more exciting updates as I seriously start to decide on bridesmaids dresses, colors, flowers, invitations, save the dates, etc!

PS: For those of you kind enough to leave guest book comments at The Knot, have no fear, I moved all your comments over to Wedding Channel!

Love is in the Air!

There must be something in the water folks!!! Everyone is getting engaged!

Mazel Tov to our good friends Caryn and Brett who got engaged on June 9 and congratulations to our good friends in Denver, Laurie and Brad, who got engaged yesterday, June 17!

That makes 6 weddings next year already and more to come I'm sure! How exciting!

Busy Weekend!

This will probably be a long post as this was a very hectic, busy, whirlwind weekend!

As most of you know, this weekend was our engagement party hosted by our good friends Fred and Beth Reevey. They were gracious to offer their house for our party and it was wonderful! Many of my bridesmaids and many of Beth's friends enabled all of this to happen by bringing various foods, beverages, a delicious cake and the best party favors ever! Christine and Laura, with help from others, slaved over a smores kit (complete with graham crackers, chocolate and marshmallows) to fit in with the camp theme. Fred cooked up a storm on the grill and there were tons of other treats to feast on!

Belinga and I had a wonderful time with our closest friends and family--we only wish we could've spent more time with everyone! It seemed like we only briefly talked to everyone and some people we didn't even get to talk to. I guess it's good practice for the wedding because there will be three times the amount of people there and about the same amount of time. It's so hard to not have quality time with everyone, but it was so great to see everybody! Thank you to everyone who helped us celebrate and made the party a success!

I will post some pictures up as soon as I upload them!

Before the engagement party, I took my sister Laura, my friend Blair who flew in from Boston, and Christine to Jeanette's in Manassas to try on more wedding dresses. Man, it really is tiring! You get pulled and squeezed so much to see how the dress would look on you were it to actually fit; my stomach was hurting pretty bad. I found a few other contenders, but my search isn't over yet! I like to make fully informed decisions so I'll probably hit up Bridal Visions sometime soon as well.

Then on Sunday after dropping my sister off at the airport, Belinga and I headed to Macy's to start another registry. Let me tell you, it's not as fun as I'd thought it would be! It's really tiring and there are so many choices it makes your head hurt. We spent 2 hours there and only decided on china, crystal and flatware. But we have plenty of time so we'll keep plugging away!

So that's the update so far--stay tuned for pictures from the party!

To Block or Not to Block, That is the Question

I've been busy calling a few places to obtain room blocks for the wedding. Yes, I realize our wedding is about 11 months away, but a) it's never too early to plan and b) I can't make decisions on things I really need to do like pick out colors or bridesmaids dresses, therefore I do things that are easier! :-)

I've contacted the two closest hotels to River Creek: Lansdowne and the Holiday Inn. Both have their pros and cons.

Lansdowne is a beautiful, top-notch resort, but obviously more expensive. They also want me to sign a contract for the number of rooms I think I'll need and I can't get out of it. Most hotels will just release the unbooked rooms back into the system by a certain date, but not Lansdowne. I will basically be responsible for paying for any of the unbooked rooms. But the flip side is that it's gorgeous, with two 18-hole golf courses, 8 pools and a spa, and overlooks the Potomac River. It's also most probably where Belinga and I will stay on the wedding night and we'll probably after party at their bar.

The Holiday Inn is not that bad either. The main buildling is an 18th century mansion house, which gives it a nicer feel than your regular hotel. However, they are undergoing renovations at the moment, though they promise to be done soon. I also just read some reviews online that make me nervous.

I might need to extend my search into Leesburg, though this will be even further away from River Creek. I'm contemplating just blocking at Lansdowne so that I know where I suggest is sure to please--it truly is a beautiful property and at $159 a night, I've been able to negotiate a major discount off their normally $200+ rooms. My contact tells me he might even be able to get me a slightly bigger discount, so we'll see.

Now I need to move on to the harder decisions like flowers, invitations, save-the-dates...EEK!

SODA

As in Sodalicious (aka So Delicious). Sorry for those of you not in the "acronym-know"! But get with the program people!

So, my "soda" reference is to chocolate fountains! Yes folks, I am considering getting a soda chocolate fountain as a dessert option for the wedding! YUMSTER.

To make this more economical, my friend Beth suggested I buy my own dipping items from Costco like she did for her wedding, instead of paying the ridiculous $4 a person they're trying to charge for some strawberries and marshmallows. But my site won't let me bring in outside food. They'll let the vendors bring in food, but not me.

Therefore in all my wisdom and sneakiness, I will need to find a vendor who will allow me to buy my own items and then they take them in as their own. I talked to a very nice guy named Reggie at Capitol Chocolate Fountains, and I think he might aid me in my quest to stick it to the man.

Veils

Can we talk about how veils are so ridiculously expensive?! I tried on a gorgeous one (VERY similar to the gorgeous one above) that matched the dress I really like and the lady told me it was "only $350."

WHAT?! $350 for a piece of netting?!

Crazy! However, Bridal Mart also carries veils, so I'm going to see if I can pilfer the style number from Macy's so I can see how much it would be at Bridal mart.

If not, I will probably just get one over the internet like so many people I know did. I will have to check on what site it was that people have used.

Dresses Galore!

This weekend was slightly less productive than I thought because Belinga and I decided not to go to the Bloomingdale's registry event. A) We didn't feel like it and B) We don't think we're going to register there anyway, so we didn't want to waste time (when we could be sleeping...) Not a shocker to those who know us...

Anyway, I DID go dress shopping though at the Macy's Bridal Salon at Tysons II. Their salon carries only Demetrios dresses and they were having a trunk show of their Fall 2007 line that hasn't hit stores yet. Laura and Christine came with me and thank God because those things are heavy and not easy to put on.

We had it down to an art--Laura would go in through the top so I could figure out where to put my arms and Christine would go underneath to make sure the lining was all in place. The two of them saw way too much of me--hee hee! Thanks girls for all your help!

I tried on a bunch of different dresses and tried keeping an open mind about everything. But what I initially imagined I wanted is pretty much still what I want. I don't want to give too much away, but there is definitely a frontrunner right now. I'm going to keep looking to see what else is out there, but I keep comparing the other dresses I try on to the first one.

Laura also told me about a great place in North Carolina called Bridal Mart where you can get almost any dress for a fraction of the cost. All you need is the designer and the style number and they can get it for you. I called them this morning and the Demetrios dress I tried on I can get for $400 cheaper from Bridal Mart!!!

Everyone should order their dress from Bridal Mart!

Might do some more dress shopping this weekend--it's actually kinda fun! I thought it would stress me out a lot but it's fun, especially if some people go with you.

Dress Shopping!

Sorry I've been on a bit of a hiatus lately, I feel like I've had nothing interesting to say! However, I know there are a few of you out there who actually read this, so I'm going to try to be better!

This weekend I am doing a couple of wedding related things:

1. I've somehow convinced Belinga that it will be fun to go to the Bloomingdale's Registry event on Saturday to learn how to register. I'm not sure how I managed that but he actually said yes without me having to beg! I know it might seem like common knowledge as to what one registers for, but I don't think it really is. There are things I don't think I need, like a KitchenAid mixer or a food processor, but I know they will come in handy if and when I ever decide to cook. So we're going to see if we learn anything, which is at 2 to 1 odds right now. However, they serve free food and libations, so who are we to pass this up? Plus we've made a pact...if it gets boring at any point, we're bouncing and going shopping!
2. The moment many of you have been waiting for! I am going to try on some dresses this weekend! I was going to wait until I lost some more weight, but I figure I might as well bite the bullet and just go. Plus Macy's is having a Demetrios trunk show with their new Fall 2007 line that isn't in stores yet, so I figured I'd give it a go.

Hopefully the dress I end up with will look nothing like the above picture. And BTW, it's pretty much not cool to have your baby as an accessory at your own wedding. I know I'm not much of a traditionalist, but I'm pretty sure the old saying went "First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in the baby carriage."

Strike a Pose

Hi everyone, I'm back from sunny Florida! My high school reunion was actually pretty fun, got to see lots of people I haven't seen in 10 years. It's funny though--you pretty much talk to the people you talked to in high school and don't talk to the ones you never spoke to. And that pretty much held true at good old Ransom Everglades.

Anyway--so I can say now that we have two big things crossed off our wedding checklist! The location and date obviously and now the photographer!

We have booked Renee Michele, who seems to be a very talented photographer and has been voted one of the best in the area by Washingtonian for the last two years. Belinga and I really liked her and we seemed to get along very well and after interviewing about 6 or 7 photographers, decided we had our person! We're very excited she will be photographing our wedding!

Next up--we're going to Bloomingdale's next weekend to learn how to register and what we should register for (and obviously for the free food, drink and gift we get for coming!)

Today we are all Hokies

In light of this week's tragic events at Virginia Tech, Friday, April 20th is Orange & Maroon Effect day. Please show your support to the victims, families and the whole Virginia Tech community by wearing Hokie colors today.

I also just want to say that one of my bridesmaids, Christine Borden, attended Virginia Tech and my thoughts and prayers are with her and the many other Hokies I know during this difficult time.

1 Year to the Day!

This bride to be is heading on some much needed vacation--the last 4 weeks have been a whirlwind of talking to people, celebrating, booking vendors and trying to enjoy our engagement.

I'm heading to sunny Florida for my 10 year high school reunion which should be fun and very interesting!

I will be back April 27th!

I can't believe I'll be married in exactly one year--WOW!

The Knot

The stupid Knot is not working for some reason! I know a lot of you have asked about our wedding web page and while it's still a work in progress, there is some preliminary information on the site. There are still lots of things to be updated like the rest of Belinga's groomsmen, etc.

You can't search for us by name because it's not appearing, but use this link to access the page. I have an e-mail into The Knot, so hopefully the search function will be up and running in a bit.

Enjoy!

368 Days and counting!

The countdown is on!!! There are officially 368 days to go until Belinga and I get married on April 19, 2008!

We finalized the contract today with the River Creek Club in Leesburg. We're so excited!

Do You Accept This Rose?

So I realize this isn't exactly wedding related, but sitting here watching The Bachelor: An Officer and a Gentleman inspired me to write!

Now, I'm honestly not even sure where to begin with my comments because there is just so much to say, but here are some observations:

1. This show has been on for what, 10 seasons and still the girls cry and moan about how hard it is to date someone who is dating 14 other women at the same time. Um, duh, that's the premise of the show. Not sure why you came on if you can't deal with that.


2. Why do they always have to out the poor virgins? Like that's anybody's business, especially a bunch of hos.


3. Why do none of the girls have an ounce of body fat? It's like watching the Miss USA Swimsuit competition for 10 straight weeks, but you're missing the talent part.


4. Why does the bachelor usually latch on to the least attractive/ditziest/hooker type and keep her around for weeks when the audience can see right through her?!


5. Am I the only one who gets creeped out when you see the girls and the bachelor getting "intimate"? I don't mean behind closed doors, but I mean, like in a hot tub with a girl(s) and they're making out and saying icky things to each other and I just feel like I've been caught with my hand in the cookie jar, yet I can't stop gawking.


6. You see it every season, but there are always those girls who are convinced the bachelor is their one and only and they're convinced by halfway before the first rose ceremony that they're MTB and refuse to accept anything other than marriage. And then they cry profusely when they don't get a rose and wonder how it could be that this guy they had this like, amazing connection with for about 30 minutes could let them go.


7. I'm tired of the girls coming up with some catchy phrase to say when the bachelor asks if she will accept his rose. And why do they always have to have some creepy kiss and hug after he gives it to her? They always hold on just a bit too long to make it awkward for everyone involved.


8. Why the hell does Chris Harrison come out EVERY SINGLE time right before the final rose to announce that the final rose is about to be given out?! I mean, I realize most of these girls are vapid and have not much going on in between the ears, but come on. I'm sure they can tell there's only one rose left. IT MAKES NO SENSE!

PLEASE enlighten me with your observations as well--I know there are some good ones out there!

My Maids

Thank you to all my bridesmaids who have all now officially accepted!

Early last week, I sent little notecards in the shape of a dress, hanging on a wire hanger, to all my bridesmaids, asking them to stand by me when I get married next year. I can't find a replica online, but I think they were really cute!

I have 8 bridesmaids and I think it's pretty neat that all of them represent a different time in my life. I'm very glad they all said yes--I can't wait!

So here they are (in no particular order!):

1. Laura Javad--Maid of Honor and my sister
2. Christine Borden--friend from childhood
3. Laura Kendrall Beglis--friend from childhood
4. Blair Lesser--friend from high school
5. Maggie Sklar--old roommate and friend from college
6. Rachel Somberg--old roommate and friend from college
7. Monika Last--old roommate
8. Lola Fashoyin--Belinga's sister/future sister in law

Now hopefully I won't turn into a bridezilla and make them wear dyeable shoes and all have the same hair, jewelry, nail polish and shoes...

In case anyone wanted to see my bridesmaids dresses and my gown

People are Crazy

So I was perusing The Knot, stalking my friend Kristen who is getting married in December, wondering when she will EVER post her wedding web page, when I realized there are message boards for brides-to-be and I figured "Why not? Let me go take a look."

I clicked on the April 2008 brides because I'm pretty sure this is when we'll get married and found a host of girls talking about budgets, color schemes, etc. I then stumbled upon a post of how far people have gotten in their wedding planning and I thought I'd compare myself thinking "Ha, I think I have my reception and ceremony site, I'm on top of the ball here!"

Alas, boy was I wrong! These girls are certifiably NUTS! They literally have planned almost everything--with over 1 year to go! They have bridesmaids dresses picked out, flowers, DJs, photographers, favors, EVERYTHING!!!! They've even already sent out save the dates (or STDs as many of us brides-to-be like to them!)

I thought for a second I was crazy for not having done this and then I quickly realized--nope, it's them, they're just INSANE!

So--here's my question--how many of you are those girls who keep binders of what they want and you've known since you were 3 how everything in your wedding would look like? It's ok if you are--I just want to know how many people are like me and are just doing this as we go along and how many have had this whole thing orchestrated for years.

Look at this Photograph

(*Christine, that was for you!)

I've been looking into photographers lately and let me tell you, they are expensive! Who knew it costs so much to take some pictures? Now granted, these photographers are basically artists, some of these pictures I've seen you couldn't have set up more perfectly, but they were captured as they were happening.

I've gotten several referrals from friends who were recently married. Tomorrow I'm meeting with Michael Bonfigli who did Laura and Kera's weddings. He is amazing and has been named one of the area's best photographers by Washingtonian Magazine for the last 6 years.

I'm also meeting with Bella Pictures on Thursday. They have some nice stuff on their website and are definitely cheaper than what seems like the going rate around here of at least $3,500. The downside is that it's a company with many photographers and you don't meet the person you're assigned to until 60 days before the wedding. I'm not sure my control freak ways will be able to deal with that.

River Creek

Belinga and I went to check out the River Creek Club last Thursday after work and thought it was by far the prettiest place we've seen so far.

It's nestled right on the banks of the Potomac River in Leesburg, Virginia, right down the street from Lansdowne. River Creek is a private gated golf course community with pretty much the most ridiculously sized houses you've ever seen in your life. They're enormous!

Anyway, the clubhouse was really nice. There is a large terrace spanning the back of the clubhouse which overlooks the 9th and 18th holes of the golf course and the Potomac, which would be a great setting for cocktail hour. Unfortunately, we couldn't get married outside like we wanted to due to the golf course, but there is a very nice side room with French doors and a fireplace where we can have the ceremony.

And their Executive Chef used to be the Executive Chef at the White House for 11 years!

They charge no site fee (though they mentioned this is changing in May for 2008 weddings) and their per person charge is very reasonable and pretty comparable to everywhere else we've seen and gotten information from. And they're a good $40 cheaper per person with great food and top shelf liquor than Lansdowne down the street.

This is definitely the frontrunner folks!

Ceresville Mansion

I took off this morning from work to go to the Ceresville Mansion in Frederick, MD because from the website it looked awesome.

I liked it but it had a few drawbacks. One, it was sitting right on the road, not set back. And it was at the intersection of two big roads. Mind you, they weren't freeways or anything, but there was enough traffic for me to be a bit concerned that noise might be a factor in the outdoor ceremony.

Second, the ballroom will be cramped with 150. We haven't put our final guest list together obviously, but we're going to have to make cuts to even get it to 150. And the bar would be in another room, not the ballroom, which I thought was kind of weird.

Plus, I'm not sure Belinga will like it. And I didn't immediately say "This is it!" when I went.

So I will keep looking. I liked it, don't get me wrong, but after only seeing two places (not counting Raspberry Plain) I'm not convinced that I want to have it there yet.

Am I just being too picky?

It's Raining Diamonds!

Congratulations to our friends Stephanie and Simba, who recently got engaged in Argentina!

Congratulations also to my friend Meg Hennessey, my study abroad partner in crime and roommate, who got engaged the same day we did!

How far is too far?

In trying to figure out the perfect place for me to get married, I (and some others) got to thinking, how far is too far to go for a wedding?

Many of us have picked up, gone across the country, rented cars, and stayed in hotels just for the privilege of seeing our friends get married. It usually entails a lot of money, but we are happy to do it because it only happens once (or hopefully only once anyway!).

That brings me to my next question. For a local wedding, how far is too far for you to travel? If you had to go 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, more? Does it depend on who it is? Does it even really matter?

Please post some comments and give me your feedback!

Are you a Quince Girl?

That was the burning question yesterday when Laura, Christine and I hit the Bridal Showcase at George Mason on Sunday. Turns out it was part Bridal Showcase, part Quince fashion show. For those of you who don't know what a Quince is, you obviously didn't grow up in Miami. :-)


Nothing very interesting, got a lot of information from various vendors, tried buttloads of cake and went away 2 hours later so very tired and with hundreds of new possibilities that left my head swimming. And seriously if anyone asks me again when the wedding is, I'm going to explode!

But if any of you need a really awesome Cinderalla chariot to take you to your Quince (or wedding!), we know just the place!

Location, Location, Location

On Saturday, I dragged my new fiance (it's so weird introducing him to people as that!) to a couple of places I had scouted on the internet to have our wedding.

We went to Raspberry Plain in Leesburg and Whitehall Manor in Bluemont, about 20 minutes past Leesburg on Route 7.

While both people we met with were really nice, Belinga and I really didn't like Raspberry Plain. I thought we were going to have a problem when we drove up on the gravel road that had 9 trillion potholes in it. The outside of the old mansion was beautiful, but the inside was old feeling. And there were too many knick-knacks everywhere. You know when you have crocheted table covers, there's a problem. And at over $7,000 for just the site fee alone, it's ridiculous.

Whitehall, on the other hand, we both really liked. It's in the middle of Loudoun County Horse Country, very quiet and peaceful and pretty views of the rolling hillsides. Though Belinga would prefer if it was "grander," whatever that means. I told him when he started doing research into venues and giving me other ideas, he can offer his opinions on the grandeur of the sites we see!

No date set yet--we're still looking!

Damn you WWW

No one can doubt the internet has brought us all closer--immediate communication, instant gratification, etc.--however it has its down sides.

The count now stands at 2 friends who have found out through MySpace or other blogs that we got engaged! Oops!

Sorry everyone--I'm calling as fast as I can! My throat has been parched for 5 days and I can barely swallow. But please don't think it's because I don't care or you aren't important!

It's funny, you wait your whole life for this day and then you get tired of talking about it. Ha! So fickle!

You're Engaged? When's the Big Day?

Why is it that when you tell people you just got engaged 5 minutes ago that they immediately ask you when the wedding date is?

I mean, I know I've been waiting a while to get engaged, but I'm not mental enough to already have all my plans in place!

So, for the record, there is no date yet! Sheesh! :-)

Appraisal

Who knew getting a ring appraised is such a hassle?! Our jeweler is out of town and can't get us her original appraisal, so I called no less than 5 places trying to get my ring appraised. They either are over $200 (which is RIDICULOUS) or their appraisers just come and go as they please and have a 30 minute timeframe where they are actually in. And some don't take appointments.

UGH! Who knew trying to get this thing insured would be so hard!

But there is a silver lining! I found out it would only be roughly $90 a year to cover it under our homeowner's policy! Not bad!!

Every time I come around yo city, Bling Bling

Ah, what would we have done without the immortal words of the Cash Money Millionaires?

In case any of you wanted to see the ring (and lbh, you know you did, don't lie!), here it is!

It hasn't even been a week and when I take the ring off it feels weird, like I'm missing something that was there for a long time.

And don't even get me started on how much I stare at it and watch it sparkle in different lighting.

So weird how something so little changes everything. Or am I just being vain?

10 years, 9 months, 2 days!

It only took this long for my beloved to propose to me, but it was worth the wait!

We were in Baltimore for a work function of mine and decided to stay over because we were attending the Robin Thicke concert that night in Towson.

Well, the weather didn't want to cooperate with Belinga's (aka Steve) waterfront proposal as it decided to snow that night, providing terrible weather conditions! This didn't stop Belinga though--he took it in stride and we decided to go to the hotel bar for a few drinks after the concert.

We stopped in our hotel room that had a view of the Baltimore Harbor and he summoned me to the window. I pointed out a pretty building in the distance and he suggested another one. I couldn't see what he was pointing at because he was behind me, so I said "What building are you talking about?" He again said "That one over there." This time though, his arm was outstretched with the ring box open.

I, being ever so eloquent, was a bit in shock and staring at the sparkly bauble said "WHAT IS THAT?!" He turned me around, got down on one knee and looked at me inquisitively. I stood there patiently waiting. And...nothing. So I said "Do you have something to ask me?!" The poor guy chuckled and asked me to marry him.

Obviously I said yes! Now the fun begins...