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...