This weekend, Robert and I had our bachelor and bachelorette parties. I won't go into all the details other than saying, we had a lot of fun!
Spending time with all my bridesmaids made me decide to tell all my readers about the girls I picked, and what I know of the guys that Robert. Each of them represents a certain aspect of our lives, so enjoy!
My Matron-of Honor is my former neighbor and mother of my goddaughter. Laetitia and I met when I was in high school and her and her husband had just moved across the street. We became close friends and I was their go-to babysitter when they had their first child, Max. Over the years, we got as close as sisters and it was an obvious choice for me to ask her to hold this position in my wedding. She jumped on the chance with a lot of enthusiasm and has been a big help.
Adena Demonte and I met 6 years ago when she started dating one of my best friends, Dan. She represents the theatrical side of me. We've directed multiple shows together, laughed, cried and drank...a lot...together. She is always traveling now with her job, but I know that when we do get to see each other, it will be like no time has passed at all.
Narineh Ferderer represents the high school part of my life. She was a year ahead of me, but we had a close knit group of friends that hung out at the C-Wing at Woodside High. When she left for college, we lost touch with each other, but a few years later, reconnected and became best friends. We are both book nerds. I had the honor of helping her and her husband, Chris, plan their wedding and doing the flowers for them. Now I get to watch them as their little family grows!
Becca Ohlin is probably my longest lasting friendship. We've know each other since, well...she waved "hi" at my sonogram? We were raised in Redwood City at PCC and even though she moved all the way to Vacaville, we are still as close as ever. She is a goof ball, but one of the sweetest most genuine people I've ever met.
Brandi Minter represents the dance part of my life. We met in second grade when her mom started teaching at the school I was going to. We became inseparable and would spend our summers together watching Nickelodeon, while her mom was teaching summer school. We were on the dance team together at PCC and choreographed many many dances for church and for fun. I accompanied her to LA when she auditioned for So You Think You Can Dance, and now I teach with her at Community Street Jam. She is funny, extremely talented and a great friend.
Jen Driver is my cousin, so obviously she is the family representative. We grew up playing games like "Pretty Pretty Princess", and have always been pretty close. She is a bundle of energy, very intelligent and an over-all amazing person.
Robyn Stuart is another life-long friend. Her dad and my dad went to San Jose State together and all the college friends and their families would spend Memorial Day Weekend together every year. She was several years older than I, so I was always in awe of her beautiful curly hair, and how cool she was. Out of all of the kids from that group, the two of us have stayed in touch, and I couldn't imagine not having her standing up there with me. She is beautiful, talented, smart and extremely kind.
I've known Stacey Sondy since she was born. I was always very protective of her and I look at her as if she were my younger sister. I had the honor of being in her wedding last year, and just had to have her share in my day as well. She has gone through a lot in her young life, but she is one of the strongest people I know.
On to Roberts side. I don't know as much about them as I do about my own girls, but here it goes...
Michael Taylor is Roberts vocal coach and his Best Man. They have been working together since before he and I met, and they both share the same sense of humor. Michael has a great big laugh that you can hear from miles away, and he is an incredibly talented performer. I know he was really excited when Robert chose him to be his Best Man.
Dan Aden is having a bro-mance with Robert. They met at Google and discovered they both went to the same college at different times. Dan's wife, Melissa and I sit back and watch our men's shenanigans with lots of eye rolls. He and Rob are two peas in a pod and get into so much trouble together. Somewhere on the Google campus, there is a concrete bust of an Android that the two put together. Drive around and see if you can find it!
Joe Dowd is one of Roberts Cal Poly roommates. I don't know half the things they did in college, and I probably don't want to know most of them!
The last two on Roberts side is his brother, Ryan, and my brother, Jonathan. I have to give a shout out to Ryan for how helpful he has been during this planning process! My brother got a long with Robert as soon as they met. Not sure what else to say about the brothers!
So that is our wedding party. A lot of great friends and great memories with all of them. 11 days left! Things are coming along! Just a few more details to iron out and we are good to go! Looking forward to partying with everyone!
We're Getting Hitched!
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Thursday, September 13, 2012
16 days...
I can't believe how quickly time has flown by, but here we are with 16 days left until the wedding!
My head has been spinning with all the little details that are in need of attention like, final guest count, shuttle and valet services, song choices for the DJ, types of flowers and designs, ceremony timeline and layout, reception timeline and lay out, seating chart, hair, makeup...and the list goes on and on and on.
More craft projects are getting checked off the list. There are just a few finishing touches to be done, and then we are good to go!
The bridesmaid dresses are in, and there only needs to be simple alterations, but they all seem happy with them! Speaking of dresses, my dress is looking more and more perfect every time I go in! The last fitting will be on the 25th (cutting it close, I know!) and then after spending some time with my mom in the city, we will be able to take it home!
This weekend our wedding party is throwing us separate bachelorette and bachelor parties. Looking forward to spending time with our friends and living up the single life one more time! Not sure I will be sharing many pictures of that night! We shall see!
Well, off I go to work on more details! Here's hoping for no more bumps in the road!
My head has been spinning with all the little details that are in need of attention like, final guest count, shuttle and valet services, song choices for the DJ, types of flowers and designs, ceremony timeline and layout, reception timeline and lay out, seating chart, hair, makeup...and the list goes on and on and on.
More craft projects are getting checked off the list. There are just a few finishing touches to be done, and then we are good to go!
The bridesmaid dresses are in, and there only needs to be simple alterations, but they all seem happy with them! Speaking of dresses, my dress is looking more and more perfect every time I go in! The last fitting will be on the 25th (cutting it close, I know!) and then after spending some time with my mom in the city, we will be able to take it home!
This weekend our wedding party is throwing us separate bachelorette and bachelor parties. Looking forward to spending time with our friends and living up the single life one more time! Not sure I will be sharing many pictures of that night! We shall see!
Well, off I go to work on more details! Here's hoping for no more bumps in the road!
Monday, September 3, 2012
Things to do...
The last time Robert and I went up to see the venue, we decided to check out some wineries and other attractions near by and let you know how they were!
We didn't spend a lot of time in the town of Geyserville, but we did have lunch at Diavola Pizzeria. It was delicious! They have a lot more than just pizza, and they also have this dipping sauce that is very tasty. Definitely a place for you to try when you are in town!
We tried out four new wineries, but only three are worth mentioning (partly because I forgot the name of one of them, and partly because it didn't stand out to us).
The first we tried was Hawkes Winery. Its a very small production, but has some great wines. The manager of the tasting room turns out to be the daughter of the family that is renting their house to us for the wedding. We bought a couple bottles of whites for the wedding, so be looking for it!
The second, White Oaks, was a recommendation from Hawkes. Its a little more upscale than Hawkes, but it has beautiful grounds and some good wines. I think there will be a few bottles of white from this winery as well!
The third is Passalaqua winery. Another small winery, but had some interesting wines, and pretty grounds. You can even do tasting on the patio and enjoy the scenery.
A few of the others that we have tried in the past are Simi Winery, which is on the way to the venue and has nice picnic grounds and their Cuve is delicious. Going on the other side of 128, there is Amista winery, which isn't great, but is dog friendly! One of our favorites is Lambert Ridge. The road to Lambert Ridge is windy and you lose all cell reception, but it is beautiful and the wine is amazing! They also have two large fuzzy dogs that welcome you by lifting their heads off their bed! Its a definite must when you are in town!
I hope this gives you something to do while you are visiting the beautiful Sonoma Wine Country! 27 days left!
We didn't spend a lot of time in the town of Geyserville, but we did have lunch at Diavola Pizzeria. It was delicious! They have a lot more than just pizza, and they also have this dipping sauce that is very tasty. Definitely a place for you to try when you are in town!
We tried out four new wineries, but only three are worth mentioning (partly because I forgot the name of one of them, and partly because it didn't stand out to us).
The first we tried was Hawkes Winery. Its a very small production, but has some great wines. The manager of the tasting room turns out to be the daughter of the family that is renting their house to us for the wedding. We bought a couple bottles of whites for the wedding, so be looking for it!
The second, White Oaks, was a recommendation from Hawkes. Its a little more upscale than Hawkes, but it has beautiful grounds and some good wines. I think there will be a few bottles of white from this winery as well!
The third is Passalaqua winery. Another small winery, but had some interesting wines, and pretty grounds. You can even do tasting on the patio and enjoy the scenery.
A few of the others that we have tried in the past are Simi Winery, which is on the way to the venue and has nice picnic grounds and their Cuve is delicious. Going on the other side of 128, there is Amista winery, which isn't great, but is dog friendly! One of our favorites is Lambert Ridge. The road to Lambert Ridge is windy and you lose all cell reception, but it is beautiful and the wine is amazing! They also have two large fuzzy dogs that welcome you by lifting their heads off their bed! Its a definite must when you are in town!
I hope this gives you something to do while you are visiting the beautiful Sonoma Wine Country! 27 days left!
Friday, August 31, 2012
Accomodations
Hello everyone!
If you are keeping up to date with our wedding planning via this blog, then here is an important update!
The Holiday Inn Express no longer has rooms at the discounted rate. Apparently only 3 people made reservations even though we had asked for 19 rooms!! You can try and see if there are any openings without the discounted rate, but I can't guarantee it.
I am waiting to hear about the number of rooms left at the Days Inn in Santa Rosa, which is also apparently now called the Palms Inn. If you call them, you must ask to speak with someone named Kent, otherwise the front desk staff gets very confused!
Also, if you are reading this, can you please email me at beth@bethandrobert.com and tell me where you will be staying and if you'd like to take advantage of the shuttles we have arranged to pick up guests and bring them back to both the Holiday Inn and Palms Inn. There is room for 30 people to be picked up at the Palms Inn and 50 people to be picked up at the Holiday Inn.
Thanks!
Beth and Robert
If you are keeping up to date with our wedding planning via this blog, then here is an important update!
The Holiday Inn Express no longer has rooms at the discounted rate. Apparently only 3 people made reservations even though we had asked for 19 rooms!! You can try and see if there are any openings without the discounted rate, but I can't guarantee it.
I am waiting to hear about the number of rooms left at the Days Inn in Santa Rosa, which is also apparently now called the Palms Inn. If you call them, you must ask to speak with someone named Kent, otherwise the front desk staff gets very confused!
Also, if you are reading this, can you please email me at beth@bethandrobert.com and tell me where you will be staying and if you'd like to take advantage of the shuttles we have arranged to pick up guests and bring them back to both the Holiday Inn and Palms Inn. There is room for 30 people to be picked up at the Palms Inn and 50 people to be picked up at the Holiday Inn.
Thanks!
Beth and Robert
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
32 days!
The past few weeks have been a whirlwind! I don't even know where to begin with this post!
I'll start with the most recent events:
Sunday, my bridesmaids threw me a wonderful bridal shower. Having my friends and family there was wonderful. Lots of laughs and lots of fun times. Big thanks to everyone who came out and celebrated with me, and for those that couldn't be there, you were missed!
Plans are almost finished. For anyone interested, there will be shuttles from the Days Inn in Santa Rosa and the Holiday Inn Express in Windsor. Email us if you are staying at one of those hotels and if you are interested in taking the shuttle!
We took a day trip to the venue a few weeks ago to see the few changes that have been made and get an idea on where to put everything. It was a very helpful visit, and helped solidify a lot of ideas. Next week, I will share a few different wineries that we suggest visiting while you are there!
The dance for my dad and I are done. We had a great time at Boogie Woogie Studios. The first dance for Robert and I...is coming a little slower than I'd have liked, and its not Robert's fault. He is actually doing pretty well (even though the only arguments we've had over this whole wedding revolves around dance steps!). Our instructor is interesting. She's really nice, but she changes the choreography almost every session. We've had to add two more sessions to the original five and we still aren't really done with the dance. We have one more on Tuesday night, and we will see where it stands from there. If we don't get it finished, we may just go to Boogie Woogie studio's in Foster City and work on it there.
Other than all that, things are coming along! I can't wait to see it all come together!
I'll start with the most recent events:
Sunday, my bridesmaids threw me a wonderful bridal shower. Having my friends and family there was wonderful. Lots of laughs and lots of fun times. Big thanks to everyone who came out and celebrated with me, and for those that couldn't be there, you were missed!
Plans are almost finished. For anyone interested, there will be shuttles from the Days Inn in Santa Rosa and the Holiday Inn Express in Windsor. Email us if you are staying at one of those hotels and if you are interested in taking the shuttle!
We took a day trip to the venue a few weeks ago to see the few changes that have been made and get an idea on where to put everything. It was a very helpful visit, and helped solidify a lot of ideas. Next week, I will share a few different wineries that we suggest visiting while you are there!
The dance for my dad and I are done. We had a great time at Boogie Woogie Studios. The first dance for Robert and I...is coming a little slower than I'd have liked, and its not Robert's fault. He is actually doing pretty well (even though the only arguments we've had over this whole wedding revolves around dance steps!). Our instructor is interesting. She's really nice, but she changes the choreography almost every session. We've had to add two more sessions to the original five and we still aren't really done with the dance. We have one more on Tuesday night, and we will see where it stands from there. If we don't get it finished, we may just go to Boogie Woogie studio's in Foster City and work on it there.
Other than all that, things are coming along! I can't wait to see it all come together!
Monday, July 30, 2012
2 months!!!
So, I have not posted in awhile, as I'm sure you are aware. I started working at a summer camp a few weeks ago, and our internet has been spotty at home. Its working on this computer, so I suppose an update is in order!
Since my last post we have:
Since my last post we have:
- Gotten the tuxes rented
- I had a first trial for my hair
- ordered manzanita branches and other decor
- Put the final payment on the venue
- Sent out several rounds of invitations
- Added more things to the rental order and took a few things off
- Started taking dance lessons with my dad and Robert (my feet have only been stepped on about 3 times between the two of them so thats not too bad!)
- Got the call that my dress is in!! I've been playing phone tag with the salon for the past few days, but I hope to have the first fitting scheduled by Tuesday!
I cannot believe that in just two days, it will be August! Where did July go? This month will be extremely busy. A wedding I was hired to do floral design for, birthdays for my dad and brother, bridal shower and finishing up all the crafts for the wedding! Robert pointed out that this will probably be the last "slow" weekend we have until after the wedding!
Next Sunday we will be taking a day trip up to Geyserville to check out the venue one last time. The owner says she made a few changes to the layout, and we will be able to see what everything will probably look like at the end of September!
I think thats all for now!
Monday, July 9, 2012
If its not plates, its napkins
The Great Plate Hunt of 2012 has been resolved (well, mostly. We still need to find dessert plates), but of course once that got resolved, The Great Napkin Conundrum of 2012 rose its ugly head. A little back story:
On Tuesday of last week, my bridesmaid Brandi and I headed up to Sonoma to check out a rental place. After a short detour in Petaluma thanks to my GPS, we finally made it to the right spot and started a rental order. Tables, chairs, linens, etc. The nice lady got all my information and said she would get me a quote in a few days.
On Thursday, I got the quote and nearly died. With just tables, chairs, napkins, plates, table cloths and a dance floor, the total quote was $4900! Of course I had picked the most expensive napkins since they were the only ones in the right color! $600 for 200 napkins. I immediately started looking for other options. The rental company also had cotton napkins for $1 each, and $200 was much better than $600, but I still was not satisfied. I realize that they are just going to be used to wipe BBQ sauce off of hands and faces, but I want my table settings to look nice. Even if no one notices, I will, being the planner and detail freak I am.
After a few nights (and I'm pretty sure several crazy dreams about napkins), I finally found an amazing solution! I typed in to the wonderful Google search engine : "wedding napkins bulk" and was led to a site where I found 200 white napkins for $106 with shipping and tax! Sure I will have a ton of napkins to deal with at the end of the night, but compared to spending $200-$600 on napkins for rentals, I am feeling really good about this purchase.
Now to figure out how to make the napkins look nice while sitting on the table. My amazing mother has been playing with different ideas that will be simple and pretty so at the next craft night, we can put them together!
Other than all that, things are coming along. Our wedding website went up this week and the electronic invitations are getting worked on as we speak. Our invitations for family have been shipped and will hopefully arrive next week so I can get them put together at the next craft night!
This week, I meet with my amazing floral team and can't wait to see what they come up with! Most of the crafts are almost done, and our wedding favors are being designed.
84 days left! I can't believe it!
On Tuesday of last week, my bridesmaid Brandi and I headed up to Sonoma to check out a rental place. After a short detour in Petaluma thanks to my GPS, we finally made it to the right spot and started a rental order. Tables, chairs, linens, etc. The nice lady got all my information and said she would get me a quote in a few days.
On Thursday, I got the quote and nearly died. With just tables, chairs, napkins, plates, table cloths and a dance floor, the total quote was $4900! Of course I had picked the most expensive napkins since they were the only ones in the right color! $600 for 200 napkins. I immediately started looking for other options. The rental company also had cotton napkins for $1 each, and $200 was much better than $600, but I still was not satisfied. I realize that they are just going to be used to wipe BBQ sauce off of hands and faces, but I want my table settings to look nice. Even if no one notices, I will, being the planner and detail freak I am.
After a few nights (and I'm pretty sure several crazy dreams about napkins), I finally found an amazing solution! I typed in to the wonderful Google search engine : "wedding napkins bulk" and was led to a site where I found 200 white napkins for $106 with shipping and tax! Sure I will have a ton of napkins to deal with at the end of the night, but compared to spending $200-$600 on napkins for rentals, I am feeling really good about this purchase.
Now to figure out how to make the napkins look nice while sitting on the table. My amazing mother has been playing with different ideas that will be simple and pretty so at the next craft night, we can put them together!
Other than all that, things are coming along. Our wedding website went up this week and the electronic invitations are getting worked on as we speak. Our invitations for family have been shipped and will hopefully arrive next week so I can get them put together at the next craft night!
This week, I meet with my amazing floral team and can't wait to see what they come up with! Most of the crafts are almost done, and our wedding favors are being designed.
84 days left! I can't believe it!
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