The wedding planning continues!

Clark and I finally got around to registering this weekend and it was fun, but kind of overwhelming at the same time. Our first stop was Macy's and it was such a nice experience. The lady helping us gave us a barcode scanner "gun" and we were off! I knew I wanted to register for Fiesta Wear for our everday plates, but didn't know what to get for our fancy china. Luckily, Clark and I both liked the same design. It is a pretty simple, classic, and elegant Kate Spade design of white with silver trim. What is awesome about registering at Macy's is that they gave me a nice RED (my favorite color and our main wedding color) tote bag and I also got a free lip gloss from the Clinque counter. Score! I love freebies (thanks mom for instilling that in me!)

Since we bought a house over two years ago, we have purchased furniture, decorations, and some house stuff, so we didn't need to register for all the typical things, but we did register for new items that we are currently using our hand-me-downs from college...like dishes, pots and pans, and knives.

Our next stop was Bed Bath and Beyond. Here we registered for a new set of bathroom towels and some new bedding. I am sure we will add more, but at this point, we were getting a little overwhelmed, so decided to call it a day.

We also ordered our invitations and were so pleased when they arrived in the mail! They are red and have the "double happiness" Chinese symbol on them and the color and design nearly mimic the design of our wedding website. The invites are classic, simple, and elegant.

To fully complete this wedding planning weekend extravaganza, we researched some possible honeymoon destinations...we are thinking of taking a "mini-moon" to Cannon Beach right after our wedding in September and then taking an extended 2-week honeymoon to Fiji in early November.

So far, the wedding planning stress hasn't gotten the best of us, so cheers to that trend continuing!

Me and Clark with the registry gun in front of our china

Andrea loves Fiesta Wear!
Our wedding invites arrived in the mail - woo hoo!

Here they are...our wedding invites and response cards

Cheers to a weekend full of wedding planning by drinking a bottle of wine from McMenamin's Edgefield - where we are getting married in four and a half months!

5 Month Countdown...until "I DO"

5 months from today Clark and I are going to be saying "I do" in front of family and closest friends and I couldn't be more excited! When we set the date and picked our venue last October, we thought we'd have plenty of time (11 months), but with the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, we really put off all the wedding planning until this year...then January came and went...February came and went...and before we knew it, it was March and the 6 month countdown was upon us! So, the last month we (okay, me) have been making "to do" lists and as the days pass I am of course excited, but starting to panic a bit with all the planning and decisions that need to be made. Big recent wedding planning development - we finalized our guest list and ordered our wedding invites! To save money, we are not sending a "save the date" and in lieu of that, we will send a "save the date" email and paper invites will go out in early June.

So here is a list of what we have accomplished so far:

• Set the wedding date (Sunday, September 19th, 2010)
• Picked the ceremony and reception venue (McMenamin's Edgefield)
• Figured out the catering menu (brunch reception w/ mimosas and bloody mary's)
• Purchased wedding dress (see post from last fall re: Brides Against Breast Cancer)
• Created wedding website (www.mywedding.com/andreaandclark)
• Finalized our wedding party (see wedding website)
• Picked wedding colors and theme (red and asian accents)
• Picked bridesmaid dress (red, of course!)
• Finalized our wedding guest list
• Ordered invites

Here are the things we hope to accomplish in May:

• Finalize honeymoon plans
• Register
• Research vendors (DJ, florist, cake, photographer)

Cheers to wedding planning! 5 months more months...

6 Month Countdown Begins Now

Six months from today Clark and I will be saying "I Do" and getting hitched is a big deal for us. I mean, we have been together for 5 years (we met in March 2005) and we have been engaged for over 3 years (December 2006). Yes, that is not a typo. You read correctly. We have been engaged for OVER THREE YEARS. Why, you ask have we been engaged so long? Well, long story short, we got engaged when we lived in DC and shortly after we were engaged, Clark accepted a new job in Tacoma, WA. We spent 2007 trying to figure out our living and job situation - I eventually moved back in June and got a new job in July. Oh yeah, we also bought a house in September. So all of our time and money went to adjusting to our new life in Tacoma. 2008 was a year of adjusting to the new jobs and house and we adopted Lucy. Before we knew it, it was 2009 and we realized we still had not yet a wedding date. Bottom line is that we are procrastinators, but we FINALLY settled on a venue and secured a date.

So, Sunday, September 19th, 2010 at McMenamin's Edgefield in Portland, OR will be the place we will celebrate! We still have A LOT of details to plan, including securing a florist, DJ, photographer, ordering invites, ordering a cake, figuring out decorations, our ceremony details, finalizing our menu, and planning our honeymoon. Let's be honest...I love event planning, excel spreadsheets, color-coding lists, and "to do" lists, but I just can't get motivated to start this because it all seems so overwhelming and when you start looking at the prices of everything, it is kind of ridiculous. So, here's to a 6 month countdown that I hope is stress-free and fun!

For our family and close friends, please visit our wedding website for details: www.mywedding.com/andreaandclark

Here is a picture of Clark and me right after he proposed

We are at a restaurant in DC, I was taking him out to dinner for his birthday

December 12, 2006

Trip to San Diego for Graham and Erica's Wedding

After work on Friday, Clark and I headed to San Diego to spend the weekend with the Mather family to celebrate the wedding of Clark's brother, Graham and Erica. Graham and Erica got engaged on Christmas Day and didn't want to wait to plan a big wedding, so they planned their wedding in less than one month. While Graham and Erica live in Atlanta, they met in San Diego. Erica was born and raised there, so her family still lives in San Diego. Chris and Nancy, Clark and Graham's parents moved down to San Diego a couple years ago and live in Oceanside, about 45 minutes north of San Diego. We were excited for a sunny weekend getaway and able to see the Mather family since we didn't see them over Christmas.

We got in late on Friday night and basically just went straight to bed. On Saturday, Clark and his dad had a "boy's day" and went to a PGA tournament at Torrey Pines. This was Clark's first time attending a professional golfing tournament and he was very excited at the chance to see them up close and personal. What also made this event special was that he had golfed at this course a few years back. Meanwhile, Andrea and Nancy met up with Erica and her mom for a "girl's day" filled with shopping, pedicures, lunch, and a bridal shower. We went to Old Town San Diego for authentic Mexican food. We surprised Erica with a small, bridal shower complete with all the cheesy fun of a bachelorette party, including a tiara, balloons, and lingerie gifts.

After the fun girl's and boy's outings, we met up for dinner. Then Clark did his best man duties and took Graham and his friends out on the town for his bachelor party. Needless to say, I didn't hear from Clark until 7 am the next morning.

Graham and Erica had their wedding ceremony at 3 pm at the beach in front of Hotel Del Coronado. It was a beautiful backdrop. Their wedding dinner reception was held at Gordon Birsch. It was after dinner that I got a text from my brother that Vanessa was going to give birth to baby Alexis. I was so excited...so much to celebrate...a wedding and a baby niece!

The next day, we were able to explore around San Diego some more and take a long walk along the beach (what I had been dying to do since we got there!) Unfortunately, we were only able to take off one day vacation from work, so we headed home on Monday night. It was a fun weekend.

Erica wearing her tiara with her mom at lunch at her impromptu bridal shower

No bridal shower is complete without balloons

Erica was serenaded

Erica got some cute little lingerie gifts

Cheers to the bride!

Erica walking down the aisle with her dad

Graham and Erica saying their vows on the beach

Their first kiss as husband and wife

Happy bride and groom

Graham and Erica with their parents

Erica with her nephew

The next morning we got to hang out with them for a bit at Pacific Beach

Here we are at the beach

Brothers - Clark and Graham

My Wedding Dress

When I got engaged, my mom told me she had two wishes for me and my wedding dress. The first was for me to wear her dress. I tried it on and while it fit, my mom got married in the 70s, so the dress had long sleeves and it was made of polyester. It had a neat vintage feel to it, but just wasn't my style. Good thing my mom understood. She said she will use the fabric to make my baby (someday) a baby blanket. Her other wish was for me to purchase my dress from a wonderful organization, "Brides Against Breast Cancer."

This organization has a great story...the founder is a breast cancer survivor from Portland, OR and wanted to do something to give back, so she had her friends donate their wedding gowns and then re-sold them at a fraction of the price and donated the money to grant wishes to women diagnosed with Stage 4 Breast Cancer and not that much time left to live. Word of mouth, her organization grew and pretty soon, she went on the Oprah show and BAM! All of a sudden she started getting donations of new wedding gowns from designers and boutiques all over the country. While she still accepts gently used gowns, the bulk of her collection consist of new gowns - sold at a fraction of the price. A true win-win for everyone...the bride-to-be purchases a beautiful, designer gown at a fraction of the price and all the proceeds go towards a wonderful cause. Brides Against Breast Cancer doesn't have a store, but they travel the country and hold wedding gown shows in nearly every major city.

I went to a wedding gown show with my mom in Seattle in January 2008 and we found "the dress." I knew it immediately once I tried it on. Not only did it fit me perfectly, but it was so simple, but yet elegant at the same time. My mom, Ms. Waterworks, was crying so I knew it was the one. I bought it, along with a slip, and a veil - all of those three things PLUS sales tax all for under $300. It is wonderful.

Fast forward to now. Since it has been awhile since I purchased my dress and we set a wedding date, I was starting to wonder if there was another dress out there that might be more perfect for me. Especially after I saw my best friend, Jen, get married in a gorgeous lacy, antique-looking dress. So I thought it might be worth going back to see if there was another dress in a different style that might fit me better.

So I took the day off to attend another dress show in Portland with my mom and this time, Jen, my matron-of-honor was able to join me. After trying on some vintage dresses, while they were beautiful, I still couldn't bring myself to return my original dress - the simple and elegant one. So there you have it, I didn't purchase a new dress but re-confirmed my original purchase was still "the one."

I would post pics of the dress and me in the dress, but that would be bad luck...so you will have to wait until the BIG DAY!!!

Brides Against Breast Cancer - a great organization

Me shopping and trying on new dresses
Me with Jen, my matron-of-honor and her baby son, Kelley

My mom and I wedding dress shopping for the 2nd time - it is still THE ONE!

We FINALLY set a wedding date!

Well, after being engaged for over 3 years, Clark and I FINALLY set a wedding date and secured a venue for our ceremony and reception! It is official because we put a deposit down - we are getting married at the McMenamin's Edgefield in Portland, OR on Sunday, September 19th, 2010.

We are having an outdoor ceremony in a private garden area and an indoor reception just next to the garden. We chose McMenamin's because of all the wonderful things to do at this place - two par-3 golf courses, a Spa, pool hall, movie theatre, numerous bars and restaurants, and most importantly...they brew their own beer, make their own wine, roast their own coffee, have an ice creamery onsite, and even have their own distillery onsite. There are over 100 guest rooms and it will be a fun mini-weekend getaway (we hope) for our out of town family and friends.

We will have fun weekend activities for our out-of-town guests to participate in including a beer and wine tasting on Friday night, golfing with the Groom on Saturday morning, spa day with the bride on Saturday morning, and movie night on Saturday night. On Sunday, we are having a midday ceremony and a brunch reception afterwards. To check out all the amenities McMenamin's has to offer, see our weekend activities, and learn about how we met, how Clark proposed, and our wedding party, please visit our wedding website we created to keep our family and friends updated: www.mywedding.com/andreaandclark

Cheers to wedding planning and celebrating the big day!

Clark and Andi (and our trusty fuel-efficient Prius) in front of McMenamin's Edgefield