Picking a theme for the wedding...

One of the first things I started thinking about (besides finding a venue) was the theme for our wedding.  I wanted something that really fit both our personalities and described our relationship.  Whenever we went on long car rides, we would chat about what theme we would like for the wedding and came up with a few, but none really clicked or seemed cohesive with other aspects of the wedding.  We thought of using romantic theatrical plays or operas, Shakespearean plays, and book titles, but it just wasn't clicking.  As I was perusing through a bridal magazine, I saw an article on "storybook" themed weddings and I showed it to Robert and we both loved it right away.

Now I'm sure you are asking, how does this describe their relationship?  Lets go back a ways; one of my favorite Disney movies and the "princess" that I connected with the most was Beauty and the Beast. A few years ago, my mom found a Lennox figurine set with Belle and the Beast, however she felt that having the Beast on the cake was a little offensive to Robert and wrote to Lennox that they should create a set with Belle and the Prince.  A year later, they came out with that figurine, so my mom bought it as well.  Also, for our one year anniversary, I told Robert not to buy me any gifts, but to make me something.  He made me Storybook cookies and pulled them out one by one and told me the story.  Here are a few of the cookies:

The final piece of the puzzle was the television show we were watching when he proposed, "Once Upon a Time".  Funny enough, the episode was the Beauty and the Beast episode.  It was meant to be.  

The search for the "perfect" place...

This past weekend, Robert, my parents and I took a day trip to Sonoma to look at venues.  We started out with three appointments and had plans to drive to Healdsburg to look at a venue there.  We ended up dropping in at one other on the way, so we saw a total of five venues in one day.  That was exhausting, and the worst part, none of them clicked with us.  Here's where we went:

First stop was Kunde Family Winery.  Robert and I visited this winery in July 2011 (there is a blog post here about our trip) and decided we wanted to come back to have a tour of the venue.  My dad really liked their Syrah, so I figured that at least the wine would be drinkable for our guests, which is always a plus.  We looked at their Boot Hill site and the view was amazing.  The entire site is out doors, which for September, shouldn't be a problem and you have a 360 degree view of the Sonoma Valley.  There are giant oaks that give just enough shade.

The positives of the venue:

• Wine is good, not great but good.
• Views are incredible
• The site is picturesque
• The winery is close to a lot of lodging and other attractions
• Price is affordable at $8,000-$10,000 depending on season and day
• Limited electricity is available
• Bathrooms are on the site
• Dog friendly

The negatives of the venue:

• No indoor area at all in case of inclement weather so we would have to rent a tent
• The site is all lawn and a bit uneven, but there are plans to fix that for next season
• You have to hire a shuttle to take guests from the parking lot or hotel up a dirt road to the site 

All in all, it just didn't click with us as the "perfect" spot, although it is a contender still.

Our next step was Paradise Ridge Winery which I did not do enough checking into.  There was a tasting room in the Kenwood area, but the winery itself was in Santa Rosa.  Thankfully I had enough time scheduled between Kunde and Paradise Ridge to have lunch and get up there!  This site really didn't work for us at all.  

Positive:

• Affordable at $7500
• Had a separate room for child care
• Dog friendly
• Views were pretty
• Staff was friendly

Negative:

• Closest lodging is a dumpy Travelodge 30 minutes away from the site
• Bridal changing room was small and shabby
• A lot of stairs to get to the scenic parts of the site

We crossed this place off our list pretty quickly.  It just wasn't right for us, and the lack of lodging is not cohesive to the amount of out of town guests we will have.

We then drove back to the Kenwood area (so. much. driving!) and decided to take a detour to Landmark winery which I had heard did weddings.  My parents really like this venue and it definitely is pretty, but their maximum amount of guests is 150.  Since it was just a drive by, I don't have a lot of information on it, but I have sent in an email to get more.  We shall see!

After Landmark, we headed to a little place called Kenwood Farms and Gardens.  It was right off of Highway 12 next to Kenwood Winery.  There is a dirt driveway and to the left is a field for parking.  There is a cute little barn for dancing or eating and a nice lawn area for the ceremony.  The owner was friendly, but a bit scattered.  Its very charming and quirky and I liked it, but it didn't feel right.  After talking with the owner and going over some things with him, it was too much of a cookie cutter wedding venue.  They do all the catering and have an in-house wedding coordinator and florist and baker, which sounds great for people who don't have plans for that, but I already do.  Anyway, lets list out the positive and negatives:

Positives:

• Affordable venue price at $3500
• Charming site
• Friendly staff
• A very nice Bridal suite

Negatives:

• They have a special with Kenwood Winery, which, in my opinion, has horrible wines, however, they do let you bring in your own bottles for a corkage fee of $4.50
• All the in-house requirements really limits your choices for your wedding, although for a small family venue, it is understandable that they have this package deal
• The owner was scattered.  I would tell him the number of guests and two minutes later he changed the number.  He also forgot our names a couple times and went on a lot of tangents.  It was a little hard to follow his train of thought

I wouldn't say Kenwood is off the table completely because I like that we could bring in our own wines, but having to work with a wedding planner working for the venue makes me a little nervous.

After Kenwood, we still weren't done.  My mom wanted to go and see Villa Chanticleer in Healdsburg.  My grandfathers family was from Healdsburg and my mom has a lot of memories visiting.  The town of Healdsburg is so much fun, so I was all for it.  I had tried to get an appointment to visit the site, but ended up playing phone tag with the site coordinator who ended up not being there this weekend, but she assured me that there was another event and staff would be on-site to answer questions, but she couldn't remember when the event was or when it ended.  We got there, and no one was there.  The garden area where the ceremony would be (I'm assuming) was closed and we only were able to peek in.  It was pretty, but if I wanted that sort of setting I'd book the Mountain Winery in Woodside.  It was a bit of a disappointment, especially after dealing with the site coordinator.

So, after six hours of touring venues, over 300 miles driven and seeing five very different venues, we came home with nothing decided.  When I got home and updated a few people, I ended up with a lot of suggestions and friends and family willing to do some foot work on finding the location.  Thanks to Deby Minter for her suggestions, my future brother-in-law Ryan for all his help and several more who gave me some great ideas.  Hopefully in the next few weeks I will have a post with the location and date picked!

The engagement story

On July 4, 2010, Robert asked me to move in with him.  At the time, I had one dog and three cats so it was obvious that moving into his apartment wasn't going to work.  So we started the search for our first home.  In December 2010, we closed the deal and moved in to the house.

One of my stipulations for moving in with him was that he would have to propose to me before his 40th birthday.  

Month after month went by and nothing.  We went on several romantic get-a-ways where I thought for sure he would pop the question, but he wanted to surprise me and keep me guessing.  The week before his 40th birthday he took me on another romantic wine country get-a-way.  All our family and friends were expecting him to do it that weekend, but I was skeptical.  It was too obvious and I didn't know how he would manage to "surprise me".  We had several lovely dinners and wine country travels, but there was no proposal.  We got home and I resigned myself to the fact that it was just not going to happen.

We sat down and started watching one of our weekly television shows, "Once Upon a Time".  About half way through I went to grab a bag of desserts that he had picked up on our way home from Napa.  Inside was this:

When I asked what it was for, he said it was the key to my Valentines Day present and presented me with this hand made heart shaped jewelry box.  Inside of the box was my great-grandmothers ring.

My initial response to him was "What is this?".  After laughing at me, he looked in my eyes and asked me if I would marry him.  And I said "yes!".

The story of us...

In 2007, Hillbarn Theater put on a production of The Music Man.  I was ensemble and Robert was the constable.  After one night of rehearsal, Robert asked if anyone wanted to grab a drink.  I said I was up for it, and he looked at me and asked "How old are you?".  I assured him that I was in fact of legal drinking age even though I looked more like I was 16 years old.  We met up with a few other cast members and had drinks at a local restaurant.

We started talking and he told me he just moved into a new apartment in Foster City and was looking for furnishings.  I offered to help pick things out for his place and he agreed.

During the rehearsal process, I was also in a production of Godspell.  I was pleasantly surprised when I saw Robert in the audience and speculated back stage with mutual friends why he was at the show and if he was interested in me.  A few weeks later, I found out...

On April 22, after a very long rehearsal, I wanted to get food and he was the only one up for it, so we went to TGI Fridays.  Just the two of us.  I then told him I wanted to go shopping, but didn't want to go by myself and I had an idea for a couch that he may like for his apartment so he agreed to go shopping with me.  After making him carry my shopping bags, we went to Restoration Hardware and I showed him this huge leather couch that could fit two people laying down side by side.  Then we looked at the price tag and I almost had a heart attack.  I told him I'd keep looking for another couch because of the price and he said, okay.

After our shopping trip, we went back to the car.  He tried to kiss me multiple times, but I wouldn't let him...I had to play hard to get, didn't I?  Finally he convinced (it didn't take a lot really) to go back to his apartment so I could see it and get ideas for decorating.  We ended up watching Casino Royal...well most of it anyway, after lots of persistence he got the kiss he was hoping for...almost 5 years later, he FINALLY proposed...I'll leave that story for later :)

Oh and by the way, that couch that I showed him at first, I'm sitting on it now while writing this blog.  Its a very comfortable couch.

Our Wedding

So I decided, in addition to my floral and event blog which you can visit here, I'd write about the process of planning our wedding.

Lets be honest, I've been planning this wedding for years.  Especially more so in the past year.  We knew we were going to get married, it was just a matter of time and him figuring out how he wanted to ask me.  I will write more about that later.

So here is my second blog.  Mostly for friends and family to keep up with the planning process, but also as a go-to-guide for brides during their planning process.  I hope you enjoy it!