Under Pressure

Wow folks, it has been a busy few weeks, wedding-wise.

Today I accomplished what seemed like an impossible task: securing the services of a top-quality DJ who was not only free for October 1st, but who also provides karaoke services. Andy and I are both very relieved to scratch this one off the to-do list, but we still have a lot to do, and not a lot of time left before the big day.

On her last visit here, Andy perfected her vision of our DIY centerpieces, and I paid close attention so that when the gigantic boxes of flowers, sand, seashells, and other assorted supplies finally stop arriving at my apartment, I will be able to assemble the rest and give her a much-needed break from wedding stuff. Here's a picture of the prototype, I think it came out looking amazing. I'm only sorry the photo is not of better quality (I took it in dark lighting so it would be more obvious that they were illuminated from within by LED lights):

I have ordered my wedding band, and have received my wedding shoes this week as well. I am very excited that things are coming together, but there are still a lot of little, tiny details that we are going to have to deal with. One thing at a time, I guess...

Red, White, & Lobstah

Happy 4th of July!

Rick and I attended Craig and Leah's absolutely beautiful wedding last weekend and I was convinced that we should have a karaoke machine at our wedding. I initially put my foot down, but Lura convinced me it would be fun. And fun is what we want to have, so there will be karaoke.

Rick has gone by the Ashworth recently and tells me that the renovation of the boardwalk area in front of the hotel is close to complete. The view is beautiful, so I really hope that is all done by October.

For those of you coming from out of town, be sure to check out our page on places to stay in Hampton Beach. Of course, the Ashworth has a block of rooms available for our guests too. It's a lovely and historic hotel and worth the splurge.

Don't hesitate to contact me or Rick if you have any questions.

More Details

Here's the menu (there will be a selection of Hors D'Oeuvres as well):

Fresh Fruit Cup with Sherbet

Iceburg lettuce wedge with bacon, bleu cheese, tomato confetti, and balsamic vinaigrette

Baked stuffed haddock with seafood stuffing and lobster sauce

Sole Florentine with spinach and seafood stuffing

Stuffed breast of chicken with supreme sauce

Bow tie pasta with shrimp, tomato, basil, and mozzarella cheese

Roast prime ribs of beef au jus and horseradish cream

Seasonal vegetable

Rice pilaf

Herb roasted potatoes

The menu is subject to change, but this should be close. We chose something with a lot of variety so there would be something for everyone.

Unfortunately, I can't get the dress I ordered. That's the danger of having a small outfit make a dress. If just one seamstress quits, all bets are off. After a close call of becoming a panic stricken bride, I was able to find another one. First (and I'm sure it won't be the last) disaster averted.

Rick has ordered his special wedding shoes and has chosen a wedding band. Now he just has to decide what he's going to wear. He's looking to match our wedding colors, but is steering clear of the whole tuxedo thing. I'm sure whatever he chooses, he'll be a very handsome groom.

We still have to find a DJ and photographer. I also need to find a place close to Hampton Beach that can do wedding hair and makeup. If anyone has any recommendations, please let us know.

Favors, Menus, and Playlist. Oh My!

It's a busy wedding week for us. I'm working on favors and centerpieces and Rick is working on the invitations. We're both trying hard to come up with songs for our playlist, making final decisions on the reception menu, and choosing our rings. All of these little details put the pressure on and I am approaching panic mode. Thankfully Rick is the calm to my frantic. As usual, we make a great team. My advice to anybody planning a wedding is to approach the tremendous task at hand as a TEAM. Seriously, it's a sanity saver.

Rick and I just took a nice break from all of this over Memorial Day weekend. We spent a day in Boston shopping. Rick thought that a relaxing weekend being pampered at a hotel would do us both some good. He surprised me with making reservations for us to have a river view room at the Hotel Marlowe. We had a fabulous time.

Last call for those that would like to suggest songs for the playlist! Watch those mailboxes, we'll be sending the invitations out this week

Piece of Cake

After a few months with no real progress on our wedding plans, we have become productive once again. This past weekend, we were lucky enough to have picked an incredible bakery at which to schedule a cake-tasting and consultation, Frederick's Pastries in Amherst NH.



Having long known of the buzz and local prestige of the establishment, I was nervous that our meeting would result in disappointment-- a cake we couldn't afford, unreasonable terms, whatever. I simply assumed that although we were aiming high, we would eventually decide that we had to settle for a second-rate cake from a second-rate bakery.



However, our meeting went smoothly, quickly, and successfully. Our original idea of a two-tiered cake was thrown out the window, along with a few other details that we had envisioned, but for good reason: These guys are the best at what they do, and they know what they're talking about. Every suggestion made perfect sense to us.

The end result was our choice of a cake in the "Innocence" design (see picture), using blue frosting with brown ribbon.



Here's an example of an "Innocence" cake that Frederick's lists in their gallery.
It fit right in with our vision of smooth, relatively unfettered simplicity.



Our cake will also feature a decorative smattering of white chocolate seashells, and blue chocolate lobsters, with crushed graham cracker "sand" sprinkled along the cakeboard and the topper. Andy had the brilliant idea of adding some blue seaglass to the decoration, which Frederick's assured us would be no problem at all.

The tasting went incredibly well too. Although we were originally set on red velvet, we tasted their chocolate, golden vanilla, and almond cakes, with a variety of fruit and nut fillings. Our final decision was that each tier (starting with our anniversary top tier) will alternate between vanilla with strawberry filling, and chocolate with raspberry filling.

I am very excited and pleased at how well things went, and the price turned out to be considerably less than we had budgeted for. As you will notice, we were so taken with this bakery, Andy added Frederick's to our links list here at the blog.

I'm no big connoisseur of cakes or desserts, but this bakery and the whole experience just blew me away. Now I'm not sure I can wait 5 months to have dessert!

THE Dress

CANCELLED, , , ,

Not a setback I was preparded for, but the seamstress can't make my dress. So, I'm back to shopping for another one. I can just feel my bloodpressure rising. I was able to get the shoes and I am picky about shoes so that is a positive.

And THE shoes. . . .

Champagne swatch.

Bye bye. . .

Wedding Salute to Regretsy.com Part 5

Once again taking "til death do us part" too seriously. This is a ring bearer's box.

Elton John would be proud of any bride brave enough to wear these.

A bat groom that defies explanation. Unless you're Batman this shouldn't be part of your wedding decor.

Wedding Salute to Regretsy.com Part 4

Paint can champagne chiller. Really?


Here comes the. . .oh my god!

Another offering from the bizarre cake topper category. A twinkie and a bear? How is that supposed to work?

Bacon heart sculpture. Another item that you will not find on our registry. Rick would just eat it anyway (if The Boys didn't get to it first). Mmmm, bacony goodness.

Wedding Salute to Regretsy.com Part 3

Even without the paint splatter this is one ugly wedding dress. Who would BUY this? And pay for the artsy ummm. . . paint job? I could buy a thrift store dress and enlist the help of local pre-schoolers if I wanted artsy. Pass.

I just find these weird. The seller suggested this as a wedding gift or cake topper. Yummy. . .yarn in the cake. Plus, these are kind of creepy.

And speaking of creepy. . .Ken and Barbie looking as if they are drowning or their heads are being boiled in a pot is just not my idea of a charming necklace.

Happy New Year!

Wow, a new year already. When I think back on the last 2½ years, I both enjoy it and don't. I enjoy the feeling that every minute Andy and I spend together seems to become an adventure. I don't enjoy the feeling that 2½ years seems to have gone by in an instant, but I know I'm not alone in feeling like time goes faster and faster with every passing year.

This past weekend served as both our first Christmas and our first New Year's together, and it was as much an adventure as any other visit. I flew to the DC area on New Year's Eve, and we spent the weekend relaxing at the Westin on a sort of mini winter vacation. We exchanged gifts, and I was very pleased (but not surprised) at how thoughtful and practical Andy's gifts to me were. I got some great video games, some really nice shaving accessories, and a few lobster-related items, among other things.


I think this print is my favorite of Andy's gifts this year.

Our New Year's celebration was pretty tame. We had a few drinks at the bar, and were delighted to see that a familiar face was working that night: The bartender who had concocted Andy's challenge of a Caramel Martini during our last visit to the Westin. She (the bartender) informed us this time around that the Caramel Martini was a huge success at the bar, and was now the hotel's "signature drink".

During our stay, we got some minor shopping and major eating accomplished too. We also had a series of our typically excellent conversations concerning our fascination with the human condition, and the endangered species known as "etiquette", having made many first-hand observations of rudeness that was so blatant as to be completely inexplicable.

2010 was a great year, but 2011 promises to be even better. Now that the holidays are over and the year is off to a wonderful start with the wedding less than 9 months away, Andy and I have made our own joint resolution to get back to work researching vendors and ironing out the details of our reception.

Happy New Year to all of you, from myself, Andy, Ducky, Spooky, and Oscar!