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!